Physiography of Werribee Area. 185 



The Lerderderg River also presents a problem of nomenclature, 

 It is believed by some to be aboriginal, and to signify a '^ broken 

 Teed/' Others state that the name was given by Messrs. Bacchus 

 and Hepburn, who, when exploring in these wilder parts, were 

 'Constantly humming certain minstrel refrains, then '* all the rage " 

 in London. Thus, it is stated, we get the '* Jim Crow," a creek 

 near Daylesford, and the " La-di-dah " — from two of the better 

 known refrains. Thia word La-di-dah, on being printed on maps, 

 was given (it is said) the dignity of an improved spelling, which 

 led to our present " Lerderderg." 



The late Mr. C. Crisp, of Bacchus Marsh, a well-known authority 

 •on the history of that district, published a brief account of Bacchus 

 Marsh in 1891; therein he mentions the Lerderderg as being the 

 camping place o^f Mr. Bacchus, junr., in 1838, and states that the 

 river was then called Lardedairk by the natives. This account of 

 the origin of the name seems the most probable one. 



It will be seen that the gathering of reliable accounts of the origin 

 of place names is attended by much difficulty. An effort has been 

 made in this section to bring together, as briefly as possible, the 

 most interesting and most reliable instances. Kind assistance in 

 the collection of historical facts was given by Mr. A. W. Greig, 

 Secretary of the Historical Society of Victoria, and by Mr. Saxton, 

 of the Lands Department. 



V. — Rainfall and Water Supply. 



It has been found possible under this head to make some attempt 

 at quantitative work. By the courtesy of various officials, records 

 of rainfall, evaporation, run-off, sediment carried, etc., have been 

 collected. 



It may be advanced as an apology that the records are few, and 

 do not extend over a length of years. Still it is possible to make 

 •estimates from the material in hand, and this has been dons. It 

 will at any rate serve as a beginning with which future workers 

 in this area may make comparisons. 



(a) Rainfall. — This as supplied by the Commonwealth Meteoro- 

 logist from sixteen selected stations, in or near the Werribee basin, 

 is set out in tabular form as follows. The stations are placed in 

 order from maximum to minimum. They are the records for the 

 past ten years, and include the very wet year of 1911, with more 

 than 12 in, over the average, as well as the dry years of 1908 and 

 1914. 



