Captain Sturt had a stutter

Subject: RE: Captain Sturt had a stutter
From: cnd
Date: 31 Oct 22 - 08:24 AM

The song seems to have been written by members of the Riverina Theatre Company for a show called Miss Litchfield's Rivernia Follies which they debuted in November 1977 - link (pg. 31)

Subject: RE: Captain Sturt had a stutter
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Oct 22 - 05:48 AM

So if you're passing through a town called Book Book or Grong Grong
Gumly Gumly or Wagga Wagga you can sing this song
Just think of good old Captain Sturt and how he tried to say
His words just once but they came out twice and now the names are here to stay

Then repeat chorus...

Subject: RE: Captain Sturt had a stutter
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Oct 21 - 09:31 AM

Gidday, Denis

A Geo Road Trip – Part 6 – Northbound

a blog about a roadtrip

... We lived in Narrandera from the time I was 4 until 9 years old, so it was great having dad there to navigate around town and point out some of the buildings I would not have been able to find or remember…I loved showing the girls my old primary schools and houses, and I really enjoyed putting my memories to more recent pictures ...

... Meanwhile, Summer was fascinated with the song I had running through my head, making me sing it over and over….when I was in year three (? Possibly earlier) I learnt a song about Sturt, the early explorer of the Riverina region of NSW, but can only now remember the first bit … a little googling and my big bro gave me the last bit:

“Captain Sturt had a stutter and he named the towns all wrong,
He called Wagga Wagga Wagga,
He called Grong Grong Grong.
But these are not the only names that Captain Sturt mistook,
He called Gumly Gumly Gumly,
And called Book Book Book.”

For those not in the know, these are all double-name towns, like Woy Woy. It’s a catchy little rhyme, but is quite incorrect…the double naming comes from the Indigenous language (from what I understand, it makes it many/much, so for example, Wagga means Crow, and Wagga Wagga is Place of Many Crows. Woy is water, so Woy Woy is deep water…but don’t quote me on it!) – the thing with double town names is, some are colloquially accepted as the single, like Wagga or Kurri (rather than Wagga Wagga or Kurri Kurri, their ‘proper’ names), but people shy away from Woy (except feral locals like me, who call it Woys that is!)…I wonder what Nowa Nowa does? ….anywho, place names are weird, but cool like that….

sandra (BMC)

Subject: Captain Sturt had a stutter
From: GUEST,Denis McKay
Date: 11 Oct 21 - 01:19 AM

I seem to have lost an mp3 of a song which started "Captain Sturt had a Stutter, and so he got it wrong. He called Wagga Wagga, Wagga, He called Grong Grong, Grong. Who wrote and performed it and anyone have the complete lyrics?