Australia has a good selection, I'm excluding Australian aboriginal names that look odd to our eyes.


Come by chance, NSW
Immortalised in a Banjo Patterson poem, this settlement in north-western New South Wales got its name from pastoralists who happened upon a large vacant block, while en route somewhere else more promising.

Foul Bay, SA
Named by Matthew Flinders in 1802 because of its poor anchorage, this bay on the Yorke Peninsula is far nicer than its moniker suggests. Also nearby is the delightful sounding Tiddy Widdy Beach.

Mount Buggery, Victoria
The evocative and typically Aussie name

Nowhere Else, Tasmania & SA
Located near Devonport in north-western Tasmania, there really is "nowhere else", like Nowhere Else. Well, actually there is ... like many of our visitors have pointed out, a place called Nowhere Else can be found on the Eyre Peninsula in SA too!

Rooty Hill, NSW
Area in western Sydney named by Governor King in 1802. Disappointingly, the name refers to roots exposed in fields around the hill following floods.

Tom Ugly, NSW
Tom Ugly Point, near Sylvania in Sydney's south, is named after an Aboriginal Australian who lived in a rock shelter in this area during the mid-19th century. His nickname was said to be ironic as he was a strong, handsome fellow.

Yorkeys Knob, Queensland
Located just north of Cairns, it got its name from a fisherman from Yorkshire, George Yorkey Lawson, who lived nearby in the late 19th century. Locals have since resisted attempts to rename it Yorkeys Beach, fond as they are of the original moniker, despite the reactions it sometimes provokes.