Place Names of South Australia - B
Bookabie - Booleroo Centre
- Bookabie
- Bookmark
- Bookpurnong
- Bool Lagoon
- Boolcoomatta
- Boolcunda
- Boolcunda, Hundred of
- Booleroo Centre
Bookabie
Nomenclature
A town in the Hundred of Magarey 105 km north-west of Ceduna is derived from the Aboriginal boogabi or bogabi - 'bad water'. The name was applied to a nearby waterhole.
General Notes
A photograph of the post office is in the Chronicle,
11 July 1929, page 36,
of the school and students on
6 February 1930, page 36.
Biographical details of Frank Gray are in the Advertiser,
5 February 1937, page 27a.
Bookabie - Booleroo Centre
B
Place Names
Bookmark
Nomenclature
In January 1858 and July 1859, William Finke took over pastoral leases from John Chambers and A.B. Cator (c.1826-1864), one of which he named 'Bookmark', a corruption of the Aboriginal pukumako - 'flintstone axe' or 'sandstone grit hole'. Near the Bookmark country there are bands of red flintstone in the cliffs.
General Notes
The Advertiser of 7 August 1865, page 3f reports the name as "Buckmarke".
The Chaffey brothers proposed irrigation scheme at Bookmark is discussed in the Register,
20 December 1886, page 5e,
7, 8, 17 and 22 January 1887, pages 6a, 4f, 6a and 4e,
15 February 1887, page 4f,
21 May 1887, page 4f,
23 August 1887, page 5a,
1 September 1887, page 5b,
14 October 1887, page 5a,
2 November 1887, page 5c,
Advertiser,
25 July 1921, page 8c.
Also see Place Names - Chaffey.
The pastoral lease is described in the Register,
4 June 1892, page 6b.
Bookabie - Booleroo Centre
B
Place Names
Bookpurnong
Nomenclature
In the County of Alfred, proclaimed on 15 June 1893, derived from two Aboriginal words - bookani - 'to swim' and purnong - 'the wide place'. The 'Bookpurnong Run' was established by Richard Holland in 1868, (lease no. 1658) on country held originally by John Chambers.
General Notes
An account of a young boy, Michael Glover, being lost in the bush is reported in the Register,
6 October 1874, page 5e:
-
In 1874, Michael Blood, aged about 14 years, was hopelessly lost from the Hon. A.B. Murray's Bookpurnong station. Black trackers helped and traced for a while the weary wanderer's movements for several days while other men scoured 40 miles of country without success. 'He reached a spot 80 miles from Kulkyne, formerly known as Gayfield Station, near Swan Hill, and was taken into the station. His mother's name is Mrs C. Blood of South Petherton. We don't know whether to believe him or not. No white man ever crossed the country he must have crossed. He had unposted letters in his possession...'
Mr R.F. Mayfield's farm is described in the Register,
1 December 1910, page 9b.
The Bookpurnong Dam School opened in 1914 and closed circa 1943; see
Advertiser,
19 August 1912, page 12b for information on a proposed school and
23 August 1921, page 10i:
-
Ä school should be opened at Bookpurnong. A room was available for the school but the department had objected to it. There were 12 children in the district. Mr. C.G. Nitschke offered a room and after harvest the residents would erect a new room. The Premier said the difficulty in the department was the shortage of teachers...
A photograph of a German Church is in the Observer,
10 May 1913, page 31,
of the old and new church in the Chronicle,
11 October 1924, page 39.
Bookabie - Booleroo Centre
B
Place Names
Bool Lagoon
Nomenclature
In the South-East 24 km south of Naracoorte. Bool is Aboriginal for 'sweet drink'.
General Notes
"Bool Lagoon in the Sixties" is in the Observer, 8 January 1927, page 63d:
-
In the 1860s Bool Lagoon was without doubt Australia's greatest water fowl home. The Coorong at that time was not comparable to it. It comprised an area of many thousands of acres and round its margin was the home of the jack snipe, flocks of Cape Barren geese and magpie geese in the thousands. Early morning and late afternoon for miles the ground was blue with bald coot. I have seen millions of duck rise until coming between me and the sun, they darkened the day.... Had the government of the day only proclaimed and protected Bool Lagoon as a bird sanctuary it would have
contained the greatest variety of water fowl in the world. Alas, all this wonderland is practically a thing of the past now. The government has partly drained the lagoon; settlers on the surrounding plains have got at the teatree and carted large quantities of it away for fencing, building and firewood. Great parties of shooters have ruthlessly destroyed the duck and other wild fowl. In that weird, wild place my eyes have seen what few men have ever observed, and what my eyes will never see again.
An obituary of E.W.T. Pustkuchen is in the Register,
27 August 1902, page 4c,
Observer,
30 August 1902, page 36a.
Drainage operations are reported upon in the Advertiser,
2 and 10 February 1906, pages 4g and 9d.
Observer,
17 February 1906, page 42b.
A strike is reported in the Observer,
2 February 1907, page 38d.
For an essay on SE drainage see under Place Names - South East - Miscellany.
A horse race meeting is reported in the Observer,
11 January 1908, page 22b.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Horse Racing.
Its school closed in 1965 - prior to 1925 it was named "Hundred of Robertson".
Bookabie - Booleroo Centre
B
Place Names
Boolcoomatta
Nomenclature
North-east of Olary. Aboriginal for 'kangaroo people'. The 'Boolcoomatta Run' was established by T. and J.E. Tapley in 1857 (lease no. 572).
General Notes
A report of a child lost in the bush is reported in the Express, 2 September 1870, page 2d:
-
In August 1870 Mr. Lillywhite left the station with his wife and children bound for Burra. On the second day out five girl members of the family left the camp to gather native peaches and after walking some distance the youngest, Katie, was left by the other four, who told her to take charge of the peaches they had gathered whilst they proceeded into the scrub to gather some more. On their return they found Katie gone... Bushes were beaten, country examined and two black trackers did all they could towards recovering the lost one. For 13 days the search went on but the poor little innocent remained missing...
A mine is reported upon in the Express,
8 August 1872, page 2d,
Chronicle,
19 October 1872, page 4f,
8 February 1873, page 13a,
Express,
13 October 1881, page 3c.
Also see South Australia - Mining - Coal.
"Charges Against Captain Trestrail" is in the Register,
20 February 1873, page 5f.
The pastoral lease is described in the Register,
21 August 1890, page 6b;
its sale is reported in the Express,
3 April 1911, page 1h.
Observer,
7 and 14 February 1925, pages 39d and 7a.
"In Memory of Andrew Smith" is in the Observer,
18 July 1925, page 35.
Bookabie - Booleroo Centre
B
Place Names
Boolcunda
Nomenclature
Aboriginal for 'marsupial mouse place'.
General Notes
The Boolcunda copper mine was situated about "20 miles NE of Quorn" - see Record of the Mines of South Australia (fourth edition), page 34.
Also see South Australia - Mining - Coal.
The Boolcunda School opened in 1883 and closed in 1885;
the Boolcunda East School opened in 1885 and closed in 1940, while
Boolcunda West School existed from 1892 until circa 1938 (it was renamed "Castle Springs" in 1894).
The Boolcunda Creek ghost is discussed in the Advertiser,
6 May 1887, page 7e. See Place Names - Cradock.
A drought-stricken countryside is discussed in the Chronicle, 5 December 1896, page 20a:
-
We crossed the Boolcunda Creek which in places is almost choked with sand, blown off the surrounding paddocks, was reaching nearly up to the buggy axles. We saw a few trees once more, whose grown foliage was quite a relief to the eye. At Mr. Finch's farm stock had been lost, including five or six milking cows, and the four that were being milked gave about half a dipper of milk per day. His sheep were in the hills at Moochra (sic) and dying every day. Later in the day I saw heaps of them lying dead near the creek where, after a big drink, they had lain down and being too weak to get up again had perished....
Also see South Australia - Northern Lands Development and Allied Matters - Comments on Goyder's Line.
Bookabie - Booleroo Centre
B
Place Names
Boolcunda, Hundred of
Nomenclature
Aboriginal for 'marsupial mouse place'.
General Notes
For information on the Hundred and its early settlers see Register,
23 February 1882, page 5g and
1 March 1882, page 6c.
Bookabie - Booleroo Centre
B
Place Names
Booleroo Centre
Nomenclature
Anthropologists differ as to its derivation; one source says it is a corruption of bulyeroo or bulyaroo, meaning 'plenty'; another says it means 'soft mud and clay'. The 'Booleroo North Run' was established by J.H. Angas, circa 1877, out of leases held originally by Messrs. Tinline and Murray in 1853.
Mr Geoffrey Chard of Cannonvale, Queensland advises that "my grandmother's birth was registered [at "Booleroo"] in October 1863... possibly the place name was applied earlier to the leases held by Messrs Tinline and Murray."
General Notes
A sports day on Mr McKean's property is reported in the Chronicle,
4 May 1878, page 21c:
-
An athletics sports day was held at White Cliffs in the paddock of Mr. McKean on Easter Monday, 1878. The secretary was Mr. J. Miller, Messrs E.B. Allen and J. McEvoy acted as judges and Mr. W. Barber as starter. A refreshment booth was on the ground and seemed to do a good trade, though no one overstepped the bounds of sobriety.
Also see
9 September 1905, page 13b;
photographs appear on
14 September 1907, page 31.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Athletics and Gymnastics.
The school was opened in 1879; Booleroo Township School opened in 1893 and had its name changed to "Mount View" in 1894.
The opening of a new school is reported in the Register,
22 November 1928, page 12g.
A photograph of children going to Booleroo West School on horseback is in the Observer,
13 May 1905, page 25.
A horse race meeting is reported in the Chronicle,
27 August 1881, page 22c.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Horse Racing.
"The Wants of Booleroo" is in the Register,
15 September 1879, page 6b,
11 August 1882, page 6f,
"Booleroo Past and Present" on
19 September 1904, page 3g; also see
Observer,
24 September 1904, page 12c;
Advertiser,
2 February 1910, page 10h.
A banquet to Mr G. Reece is reported in the Register,
3 April 1885, page 7f.
A tennis match against Melrose is reported in the Observer,
27 April 1901, page 20d.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Tennis.
"The Booleroo Railway" is in the Chronicle,
10 and 24 August 1901, pages 25c-33 and 30c,
5 February 1910, page 45b,
Register,
12 September 1901, page 6e,
6 December 1902, page 9f,
15 March 1904, page 3e,
7 and 25 September 1905, pages 7f and 7d,
25 October 1907, page 7c,
24 May 1909, page 5d,
5 October 1910, page 5f,
The Critic,
4 May 1910, page 15.
A train journey from Laura to Booleroo Centre is described in the Register,
1 March 1910, page 10e;
for the official opening see
28 April 1910, page 9a.
Also see South Australia - Transport - Railways - Miscellany.
A coursing event is described in the Observer,
14 September 1901, page 20c,
Register,
1 August 1903, page 4e,
Chronicle,
6 August 1904, page 20b;
a photograph is in the Chronicle,
7 August 1909, page 30.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Coursing.
The district is described in the Observer,
12 September 1903, page 12a,
Register,
5 September 1903, page 8c and
the town on
7 March 1906, page 7e,
19 November 1909, page 11g,
27 January 1910, page 6g.
"The Northern Floods" is in the Observer,
9 January 1904, page 12d.
Also see South Australia - Natural Disasters - Floods.
"Booleroo Past and Present" is in the Observer,
24 September 1904, page 12c.
A photograph of the Institute committee is in the Observer,
16 September 1905, page 27.
"From Orroroo to Booleroo - Old-Time Memories" is in the Advertiser,
19 August 1908, page 7h.
The hospital is discussed in the Observer,
9 September 1911, page 17a.
Information on the Catholic church is in the Observer,
30 March 1912, page 17d,
Register,
15 August 1912, page 3d.
Photographs of the hospital and its staff are in the Chronicle,
26 April 1913, page 31,
of a football team in the Observer,
5 October 1912, page 32,
Chronicle,
24 October 1935, page 36,
22 October 1936, page 37.
Information on a golf club is in the Observer,
11 July 1914, page 27b,
1 August 1914, page 28d.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Golf.
"Farms and Farmers" is in the Observer,
10 and 17 November 1923, pages 5b and 6a.
"Around Booleroo Farms" on
14 November 1925, page 5a.
An inspection of farms is reported in the Register,
28 October 1926, page 5e.
Observer,
30 October 1926, page 7a,
6 November 1926, page 6a.
Biographical details of Herbert R. McHugh are in the Register,
11 February 1927, page 12,
of S.F. Arthur in the Observer, 16 April 1927, page 30b.
Booleroo - Obituaries
An obituary of Dr E.M. Steven is in the Observer,
8 February 1902, page 33d,
of William Lewis and James Repper on 28 February 1914, page 41b,
of William Girdham on 13 February 1915, page 40a,
of William Davison on 15 May 1915, page 46a.
An obituary of Johann F.W. Zilm is in the Register,
3 February 1906, page 7c,
of Mrs R. Piggott on 21 February 1913, page 6h,
of Mrs William Lewis on 25 February 1914, page 14b,
of William Girdham on 9 February 1915, page 4g.
An obituary of Mrs Dobney is in the Register,
25 June 1914, page 8a,
of David Young on 30 August 1924, page 8g,
of Finlay McMartin on 19 December 1924, page 15c,
of Alfred Trestrail on 23 July 1926, page 10f.
An obituary of Alexander Hawthorne is in the Observer,
6 August 1921, page 34b,
of James Collins on 7 October 1922, page 25c,
of John Arthur on 3 March 1923, page 35b,
of S.G. Jeffery on 28 March 1925, page 38a,
of Alfred Trestrail on 31 July 1926, page 43d,
of Richard Stanton on 24 March 1928, page 50a,
of John Repper on 13 July 1929, page 29a.
