List of Australian place names changed from German names

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During World War I, many German or German-sounding place names in Australia were changed due to anti-German sentiment.^[1] The presence of German-derived place names was seen as an affront to the war effort at the time.^{[citation needed]}

The names were often changed by being anglicised (such as Peterborough), or by being given new names of Aboriginal origin (Kobandilla, Karawirra) or in commemoration of notable soldiers (Kitchener and Holbrook) or World War I battlefields (Verdun, The Somme).

New South Wales

Old name	New name	Date of name change	Notes
Bismarck Street (Canterbury)	Cressy Street	December 1914^[2]^[3]^[4]
Bismarck Street (Kogarah)	Kitchener Street	10 November 1914^[5]
Deutschland Street (Canterbury)	Onslow Street	December 1914^[2]^[3]^[4]
Germanton	Holbrook	20 September 1915^[6]
German's Hill	Lidster	1 February 1916^[6]
German Creek	Empire Vale	1 May 1915^[6]
Hamburger Street (Punchbowl)	Victoria Road	December 1914^[2]
Kaiser Street (Canterbury)	Mons Street	December 1914^[2]^[3]^[4]
Reuss Street (Merewether)	Kilgour Avenue	14 January 1918^[7]	Newcastle section renamed 1918. Merewether Municipality section Reuss Street until 1938.^[8]
Schlinkers Lane (Ultimo, Sydney)	Bullecourt Lane	1917	No longer exists. Development on 428-466 Harris Street, Ultimo is named "Bullecourt Place".
Webber's Road (Kogarah)	English Street	7 September 1915^[9]

Queensland

Old name	New name	Date of name change	Coordinates	Notes
Bergen	Murra Murra	October 1916^[10]	27°14′24″S 151°55′15″E / 27.24°S 151.9208°E / -27.24; 151.9208 (Bergen / Murra Murra)	Bergen is a locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland. Murra Murra is a property within the locality (not to be confused with another property of the same name in the locality of Nebine)
Bergenside	Neuve	August 1916^[10]	27°15′37″S 151°53′26″E / 27.2603°S 151.8906°E / -27.2603; 151.8906 (Bergenside / Neuve)	Neuve is a village within the locality of Bergen. It surrounds the former railway station.
Bismarck	Maclagan	March 1916^[10]	27°05′02″S 151°38′06″E / 27.0838°S 151.635°E / -27.0838; 151.635 (Bismarck / Maclagan)
Engelsburg	Kalbar	July 1916^[10]	27°56′31″S 152°37′24″E / 27.9419°S 152.6233°E / -27.9419; 152.6233 (Engelsburg / Kalbar)
Fahley	Kilbirnie		27°13′56″S 151°49′26″E / 27.2322°S 151.8238°E / -27.2322; 151.8238 (Fahley / Kilbirnie)	^[10]
Friezland	Kuridala		21°06′10″S 140°22′57″E / 21.1027°S 140.3825°E / -21.1027; 140.3825 (Friezland / Kuridala)	^[10]
Gehrkevale	Mount Mort		27°47′08″S 152°26′16″E / 27.7855°S 152.4377°E / -27.7855; 152.4377 (Gehkevale / Mount Mort)	The Post Office was renamed Mount Grace in about September 1916, then Mount Mort in about November 1916^[10]
German Gardens	Belgian Gardens	January 1915^[11]	19°14′57″S 146°47′31″E / 19.2491°S 146.7919°E / -19.2491; 146.7919 (German Gardens / Belgian Gardens)
Gramzow	Carbrook		27°39′36″S 153°12′50″E / 27.6599°S 153.2138°E / -27.6599; 153.2138 (Gramzow / Carbrook)
Hapsburg	Kowbi	October 1916^[10]	25°10′43″S 152°13′47″E / 25.1786°S 152.2297°E / -25.1786; 152.2297 (Hapsburg / Kowbi)	See Isis railway line
Hessenburg	Ingoldsby	September 1916^[10]	27°44′12″S 152°15′59″E / 27.7366°S 152.2663°E / -27.7366; 152.2663 (Hessenburg / Ingoldsby))
Kirchheim	Haigslea	October 1916^[10]	27°34′00″S 152°38′00″E / 27.5667°S 152.6333°E / -27.5667; 152.6333 (Kirchheim / Haigslea)
Marburg	Townshend	June 1917	27°34′02″S 152°35′41″E / 27.5672°S 152.5947°E / -27.5672; 152.5947 (Marburg / Townshend)	reverted to Marburg in 1920^[12]
Minden	Frenchton	October 1916	27°33′25″S 152°32′44″E / 27.5570°S 152.5455°E / -27.5570; 152.5455 (Minden / Frenchton)	reverted to Minden in 1930^[10]
Roessler	Applethorpe		28°37′03″S 151°57′19″E / 28.6175°S 151.9552°E / -28.6175; 151.9552 (Roessler / Applethorpe)	^[10]
Teutoburg	Witta	1916^[10]	26°41′51″S 152°48′43″E / 26.6975°S 152.8119°E / -26.6975; 152.8119 (Teutoburg / Witta)

South Australia

The South Australian Nomenclature Act 1917 authorised the compilation and gazetting of a list of place-names contained in a report of the previous October prepared by a parliamentary "nomenclature committee", and authorised the Governor of South Australia, by proclamation, to "alter any place-name which he deems to be of enemy origin to some other name specified in the proclamation".^[13] The table below includes the 69 changes gazetted on 10 January 1918.^[14]

The Nomenclature Act 1935 restored the former names of the towns of Hahndorf and Lobethal, and the Adelaide suburb of Klemzig.^[15] About 20 other names were reverted in the 1970s and 1980s; some of them were assigned to larger localities rather than reverting to the original place name, as also shown in the table.

Old name	New name	Date of name change	Notes
Bartsch's Creek	Yedlakoo Creek	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted to Bartsch Creek 1986
Berlin Rock	Panpandie Rock	10 January 1918^[14]
Bethanien	Bethany	10 January 1918^[14]
Bismarck	Weeroopa	10 January 1918^[14]
Blumberg	Birdwood	10 January 1918^[14]
Blumenthal	Lakkari	10 January 1918^[14]
Buchfelde^[16]	Loos	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted to Buchfelde
Cape Bauer	Cape Wondoma	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted to Cape Bauer in 1948
Carlsruhe	Kunden	10 January 1918^[14]
Ehrenbreistein	Mount Yerila	10 January 1918^[17]
Ferdinand Creek^[18]	Ernabella Creek	10 January 1918^[14]
Mount Ferdinand^[18]	Mount Warrabillinna	10 January 1918^[14]
Friedrichstadt	Tangari	10 January 1918^[14]
Friedrichswalde	Tarnma	10 January 1918^[14]
Gebhardt's Hills	Polygon Ridge	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted to Gebhardt Hills in 1986
German Creek	Benara Creek	10 January 1918^[17]	Reverted in 1986
German Pass	Tappa Pass	10 January 1918^[14]
Germantown Hill	Vimy Ridge	10 January 1918^[14]	Became part of Bridgewater; road name (only) reverted to Germantown Hill Road
Gottlieb's Well	Parnggi Well	10 January 1918^[14]
Grunberg	Karalta	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted to Gruenberg in 1975
Grunthal	Verdun	10 January 1918^[14]
Hahndorf	Ambleside	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted to Hahndorf in 1935^[15]
Hasse's Mound	Larelar Mound	10 January 1918^[14]
Heidelberg	Kobandilla	10 January 1918^[14]
Hergott Springs	Marree	10 January 1918^[14]
Hildesheim	Punthari	10 January 1918^[14]
Hoffnungsthal	Karawirra	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted to Hoffnungsthal in 1975
Hundred of Basedow^[19]	Hundred of French	10 January 1918^[14]
Hundred of Homburg^[20]	Hundred of Haig	10 January 1918^[14]
Hundred of Krichauff	Hundred of Beatty	10 January 1918^[14]
Hundred of Paech^[21]	Hundred of Cannawigara	10 January 1918^[14]
Hundred of Pflaum^[22]	Hundred of Geegeela	10 January 1918^[14]
Hundred of Rhine (North)	Hundred of Jellicoe	10 January 1918^[14]
Hundred of Rhine (South)	Hundred of Jutland	10 January 1918^[14]
Hundred of Scherk^[23]	Hundred of Sturdee	10 January 1918^[14]
Hundred of Schomburgk^[24]	Hundred of Maude	10 January 1918^[14]
Hundred of Von Doussa^[25]	Hundred of Allenby	10 January 1918^[14]
Jaenschtown	Kerkanya	10 January 1918^[14]
Kaiserstuhl	Mount Kitchener	10 January 1918^[14]	Renamed Kaiser's Seat in 1975; subsequently changed to Kaiserstuhl
Klaebes	Kilto	10 January 1918^[14]
Klemzig	Gaza	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted to Klemzig in 1935;^[15] football club retained the name Gaza
Krause Rock	Marti Rock	10 January 1918^[14]
Krichauff^[26]	Beatty	10 January 1918^[14]	Changed to Mount Mary 1940
Kronsdorf	Kabminye	10 January 1918^[14]	Changed to Krondorf in 1975
Langdorf	Kaldukee	10 January 1918^[14]	Incorporated in the bounded locality of Tanunda
Langmeil	Bilyara (near Tanunda)	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted to Langmeil in 1975
Lobethal	Tweedvale	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted to Lobethal in 1935^[15]
Mount Meyer	Mount Kauto	10 January 1918^[14]
Muller's Hill	Yandina Hill	10 January 1918^[14]
Neudorf	Mamburdi	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted 1986, became part of Lobethal
Neukirch	Dimchurch	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted to Neukirch in 1975
New Hamburg	Willyaroo	10 January 1918^[14]
New Mecklenburg	Gomersal	10 January 1918^[14]
Oliventhal	Olivedale	10 January 1918^[14]	Became part of Birdwood
Petersburg	Peterborough	10 January 1918^[14]	The Petersburg Times protested against the change until 1919.^[27]
Rhine Park	Kongolia	10 January 1918^[14]
Rhine Hill	Mons Hill	10 January 1918^[14]
Rhine River North	The Somme	10 January 1918^[14]	Changed to Somme Creek 1971
Rhine River South	The Marne	10 January 1918^[14]	Changed to Marne River 1971
Rhine Villa	Cambrai	10 January 1918^[14]
Rosenthal	Rosedale	10 January 1918^[14]
Schoenthal	Boongala	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted 1986; incorporated in the bounded locality of Charleston
Seppelts^[28]	Dorrien	10 January 1918^[14]	Incorporated into the bounded locality of Nuriootpa
Schreiberhau	Warre	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted 1975
Siegersdorf	Bultawilta	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted in 1975; incorporated into the bounded locality of Tanunda
Steinfeld	Stonefield	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted 1986
Summerfeldt	Summerfield	10 January 1918^[14]	Incorporated into the bounded locality of Palmer
Vogelsang's Corner	Teerkoore	10 January 1918^[14]	Reverted to Vogelsang Corner 1986; incorporated into the bounded locality of Geranium Plains
Wusser's Nob	Karun Nob	10 January 1918^[14]	Changed to Wusser Nob in 1983

Tasmania

Old name	New name	Date of name change	Notes
Bismarck	Collinsvale	1 July 1915^[29]
Germantown	Lilydale		^[30]

Victoria

Old name	New name	Date of name change
Germantown	Grovedale	1 March 1916^[31]
Hochkirch	Tarrington	1 March 1918^[31]
Mount Bismarck	Mount Kitchener
Reinholtz's PO	Reynold's PO	5 November 1920^[31]
Waldkirch	Freshwater Creek (Anglesea Road, south-west of Grovedale)^{[citation needed]}
Weinberg Road, Hawthorn	Wattle Road
West Prussia Road, Wantirna	Wantirna Road
Grünwald	Arkona
Bismarck Avenue, Surrey Hills	Warwick Avenue	December 1918^[32]
Bismarck Street (off Doncaster Road), Doncaster	Victoria Street	circa 1914^[33]

Western Australia

Old name	New name	Date of name change	Notes
Heidelberg	Bickley		^[34]
Mueller Park	Kitchener Park		reverted to Mueller Park 1981

References

^ "German Place Names". The Mail (Adelaide). Vol. 5, no. 234. South Australia. 11 November 1916. p. 11. Retrieved 1 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jervis, James (1951). A History of the Municipality of Canterbury. Canterbury, NSW: Municipality of Canterbury. pp. 97–98.
^ ^a ^b ^c "THE KAISER GOES". Evening News. No. 14, 814. New South Wales, Australia. 1 December 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b ^c "ABOLISHING GERMAN NAMES". Evening News. No. 14, 826. New South Wales, Australia. 15 December 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "KITCHENER-STREET". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 23, 976. New South Wales, Australia. 12 November 1914. p. 10. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b ^c Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List- NSW". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
^ "CHANGING A GERMAN NAME". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. No. 13, 478. New South Wales, Australia. 15 January 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "SHOULD GERMAN NAMES BE CHANGED?". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 24, 974. New South Wales, Australia. 21 January 1918. p. 8. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "THE NAME OF A STREET". Barrier Miner. Vol. XXVIII, no. 8447. New South Wales, Australia. 14 September 1915. p. 1. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List- Queensland". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
^ "CHANGE FOR THE BETTER". Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954). Qld.: National Library of Australia. 13 January 1915. p. 4. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
^ "Marburg (entry 20917)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
^ Nomenclature Act 1917 (SA)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap ^aq ^ar ^as ^at ^au ^av ^aw ^ax ^ay ^az ^ba ^bb ^bc ^bd ^be ^bf ^bg ^bh ^bi ^bj ^bk ^bl ^bm ^bn ^bo ^bp "Nomenclature Act 1917 Change of place names" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. 1918. Government of South Australia: 37. 10 January 1918. Retrieved 2 January 2021 – via AustLII.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Nomenclature Act (No 2231 of 1935)". Government of South Australia. p. 1. Retrieved 29 December 2018 – via AustLII.
^ Named for geologist and philanthropist Leopold von Buch
^ ^a ^b "Changing Names". The Daily Herald. Vol. 8, no. 2437. South Australia. 11 January 1918. p. 2. Retrieved 10 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b Named by Ernest Giles for botanist Ferdinand von Mueller.
^ Named for M. F. Basedow MHA, MLC.
^ Named for Robert Homburg MHA.
^ Named for Friedrich Paech MHA.
^ Named for Friedrich Pflaum MHA
^ Named for Johann Theodor Scherk MHA
^ Named for Moritz Richard Schomburgk, director of Adelaide Botanic Garden
^ Named for Alfred von Doussa MLC.
^ Named for F. E. H. W. Krichauff MLC.
^ "Our New Title". The Times and Northern Advertiser, Peterborough, South Australia. National Library of Australia. 9 May 1919. p. 2. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
^ Named for winemaker Joseph Ernst Seppelt
^ Phoenix Auctionsl History. "Post Office List- Tasmania". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
^ "Lilydale". The Age. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List- Victoria". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
^ "Camberwell City Council". Camberwell and Hawthorn Advertiser. 20 December 1918. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
^ Betty Smith nee Thiele resident at the time
^ Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List- WA". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 22 March 2021.

External links

[1] "German Place Names". The Mail (Adelaide). Vol. 5, no. 234. South Australia. 11 November 1916. p. 11. Retrieved 1 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.

[jervis-2] Jervis, James (1951). A History of the Municipality of Canterbury. Canterbury, NSW: Municipality of Canterbury. pp. 97–98.

[cant-3] "THE KAISER GOES". Evening News. No. 14, 814. New South Wales, Australia. 1 December 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.

[Canterbury-4] "ABOLISHING GERMAN NAMES". Evening News. No. 14, 826. New South Wales, Australia. 15 December 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.

[5] "KITCHENER-STREET". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 23, 976. New South Wales, Australia. 12 November 1914. p. 10. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.

[PONSW-6] Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List- NSW". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 22 March 2021.

[7] "CHANGING A GERMAN NAME". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. No. 13, 478. New South Wales, Australia. 15 January 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.

[8] "SHOULD GERMAN NAMES BE CHANGED?". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 24, 974. New South Wales, Australia. 21 January 1918. p. 8. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.

[9] "THE NAME OF A STREET". Barrier Miner. Vol. XXVIII, no. 8447. New South Wales, Australia. 14 September 1915. p. 1. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.

[POQLD-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List- Queensland". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 22 March 2021.

[11] "CHANGE FOR THE BETTER". Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954). Qld.: National Library of Australia. 13 January 1915. p. 4. Retrieved 3 February 2016.

[12] "Marburg (entry 20917)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 19 September 2014.

[13] Nomenclature Act 1917 (SA)

[y1918-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap ^aq ^ar ^as ^at ^au ^av ^aw ^ax ^ay ^az ^ba ^bb ^bc ^bd ^be ^bf ^bg ^bh ^bi ^bj ^bk ^bl ^bm ^bn ^bo ^bp "Nomenclature Act 1917 Change of place names" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. 1918. Government of South Australia: 37. 10 January 1918. Retrieved 2 January 2021 – via AustLII.

[y1935-15] "Nomenclature Act (No 2231 of 1935)". Government of South Australia. p. 1. Retrieved 29 December 2018 – via AustLII.

[16] Named for geologist and philanthropist Leopold von Buch

[Herald-17] "Changing Names". The Daily Herald. Vol. 8, no. 2437. South Australia. 11 January 1918. p. 2. Retrieved 10 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[ReferenceA-18] Named by Ernest Giles for botanist Ferdinand von Mueller.

[19] Named for M. F. Basedow MHA, MLC.

[20] Named for Robert Homburg MHA.

[21] Named for Friedrich Paech MHA.

[22] Named for Friedrich Pflaum MHA

[23] Named for Johann Theodor Scherk MHA

[24] Named for Moritz Richard Schomburgk, director of Adelaide Botanic Garden

[25] Named for Alfred von Doussa MLC.

[26] Named for F. E. H. W. Krichauff MLC.

[27] "Our New Title". The Times and Northern Advertiser, Peterborough, South Australia. National Library of Australia. 9 May 1919. p. 2. Retrieved 16 April 2015.

[28] Named for winemaker Joseph Ernst Seppelt

[POTAS-29] Phoenix Auctionsl History. "Post Office List- Tasmania". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 22 March 2021.

[30] "Lilydale". The Age. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2017.

[POVIC-31] Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List- Victoria". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 22 March 2021.

[32] "Camberwell City Council". Camberwell and Hawthorn Advertiser. 20 December 1918. Retrieved 27 November 2014.

[33] Betty Smith nee Thiele resident at the time

[POWA-34] Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List- WA". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 22 March 2021.

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