Quirky Tasmania

Tasmania’s quirky and unusual place names reflect the island’s colourful history and appeal.

Bagdad
The small rural community of Bagdad, 40 km north of Hobart, was bombarded by confused web users in 2003, after the Iraqi invasion began. Messages of sympathy and support were sent to the town’s Online Access Centre from around the world.

Whereas the besieged Iraqi city of Baghdad is home to around 5 million people, the population of the Tasmanian town is just 650.

Bay of Fires
In the far north-east, the Bay of Fires was named by Captain Tobias Furneaux in 1773 upon seeing the blaze of Aboriginal fires burning along the shore.

Bust-Me-Gall Hill & Break-Me-Neck Hill
Situated on the road from Hobart to Orford, the precise derivation of these two names is not known for certain, however, early east coast settlers and travellers, with their bullock drays laden with supplies, had difficulty in negotiating the two steep sections of road. The assent of Bust-Me-Gall was so difficult that travellers often had to dismount from their horses or wagons in order to relieve the animals of some of their burden. The descent on the other side was just as steep and equally difficult to negotiate.

Legend has it that Break-Me-Neck was named after an exclamation uttered by a wagoner during his first experience of the hill. It is not surprising that after negotiating these two hills and the Gatehouse Marshes, the trip down the Prosser River Valley with its convict-built road was seen as, and accordingly named, Paradise Gorge.

D’Entrecasteaux Channel
This area was named after French Rear Admiral Bruni d’Entrecasteaux, surveyor of much of south-eastern Tasmania in 1792.

Dismal Swamp
Named by early explorers for the ‘dismal’ (wet) experience they had surveying the swamp. Dismal Swamp today is one of Tasmania’s most novel tourist attractions – an exciting mix of fun-park and nature. Dismal Swamp is located on the north-west coast, between Smithton and Marrawah.

Doo Town
Just passed Eaglehawk Neck, on the way to Tasman’s Arch, the Blowhole and the Devil’s Kitchen is the holiday village of Doo Town. The homes have all been named in the ‘Doo’ theme: Gunadoo, Doodle Doo, Love Me Doo, Doo Us, Doo Me, Doo Nix, Wee Doo, Xanadu, Rum Doo and, the house which reputedly started the fashion, Doo Little – a suitable name for a holiday home. There is one dissenting house in the town, daringly named Medhurst.

Elephant Pass
Named after Mount Elephant, which is said to look like the silhouette of this animal.

Hell’s Gates
Popular belief has it that this name refers to the fact that the entrance to Macquarie Harbour can be treacherous. In fact, it was named Hell’s Gates because of the hellish conditions of the penal colony in the harbour.

Paradise
Paradise, in north-west Tasmania, was named by its first white settlers, who were devout Calvinists.
The original name was Reuben Austen’s Paradise, after one of the settlers, who remarked upon seeing the sun glistening on the picturesque mountain vista, ‘This is Paradise.’

Penguin
This pretty seaside town overlooking Bass Strait was named by the distinguished botanist Robert Campbell Gunn after – unsurprisingly – the fairy penguins that still inhabit the local coastline.

Promised Land
Named by early settlers because of its promise of a better life, the area is today home of Tasmania’s International Rowing Course at Lake Barrington.

Snug
South along the Channel Highway from Hobart lies the adorably named town of Snug. Proclaimed a town in 1908, the name is believed to have come from sailors who found ‘snug’ anchorage for their ships in the D’Entrecastreaux Channel. Interestingly, blocks of freestone cut from the quarry nearby were used in the building of the Melbourne General Post Office.

And there are more:
Daisy Bell, Egg and Bacon Bay, Flowerpot, Jetsonville, Milkshake Hills, Nook, Nowhere Else, Needles, Ouse, Squeaking Point, and Tomahawk… and many more to discover.