Noongar place names and Perth

Before the Europeans came to Perth, the Whadjak Noongar had lived here sustainably for thousands of years. They had a physical, cultural and spiritual connection to the places developed over time so that the names they gave them were related to what they could find there, what they did there or some other cultural or spiritual significance. 

When the Europeans came there was some acceptance of naming places according to the Whadjuk Noongar but in most cases they named them after people or other places back home, usually in England. That is to say, the name had no direct relationship to the place. 

Lake Monger - This was called Galup meaning place of the home fire by the Whadjuk. So I gather there is where they had their camps. That makes sense. Now it was named Lake Monger by the Europeans but I don't know why and frankly my life would not be enriched knowing why.

   

Herdsman Lake - This was called Ngoorgenboro and the closest meaning I have found to date is 'the place where Nyungar’s catch bird’s (black duck’s) and collect eggs with other food sources'. 

There are a lot of resources becoming available now to assist with renaming the various places and just as importantly, rehabilitating the places so that they can reconnect with the meaning attributed to them. 

Of course, attributing a Noongar place name to a place which has been called something else for a long time doesn't come easy. A while a go I came across a map (see extract below) which appears to have been prepared in 1921 which for Perth, shows the European place name and known Noongar place name. Apparently it was prepared to assist with navigating around Perth because the Noongar used one name while the settlers were using another. 

The map is covers an area from north of Ngoorgenboro, across east to Guildford and south of Fremantle. Perhaps something similar initiative could be coordinated at a State level.