Talk:Woronora

Page move
This page was moved from "Woronora" to "Woronora, New South Wales" as per the naming convention set out at Wikipedia:Naming conventions (places) -- Ianblair23 07:16, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

Location
Is there a better way to word the intention of "near the sources of the Port Hacking"? 59.167.44.164 (talk) 11:41, 12 June 2008 (UTC)Dave

Name
The excellent discussion of the origin of the name Woronora makes no mention of another name commonly confused or used or misused for it, usually in connection with the Woronora Cemetery, which is the major cemetery serving the southern suburbs of Sydney, located in Woronora. That name is Woniora - which would appear to fit some of the Aboriginal word roots cited. It is in fact the name of a major road in Hurstville and Blakehurst, just to the north of Woronora. A google search indicates a number of funeral notices where the cemetery at Woronora is referred to as Woniora cemetery. I have been unable to find if there are any linguistic or historical links between the two names. The earliest reference I noted (without an exhaustive search) was at http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/16065833, where there are two funeral notices for the same person (Charles TURTLE), one of which names the cemetery as Sutherland (in which Shire the cemetery and Woronora are located), the other of which names the cemetery Woniora. I have found other references as late as 1996 with the same spelling used, so it is a persistent name. It would be useful if someone with more resources than I could search to see if there is any link between these two names - particularly in period street maps to see if Woniora Road ever connected through to Woronora. Modern maps have it connecting with the Princes Highway - which was not always there. I do wonder if Woniora might have been an older spelling of Woronora... Ptilinopus (talk) 01:34, 31 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Further to the above, I have found at least one reference that indicates that at least part of the Princes Hwy was once known as Woniora Road. The Princes Hwy was so designated in 1920. In Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), 23 Dec 1899, p17 (http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/14231840), Woniora Road is indicated to be as far south as Tom Ugly's Point, (where the current Tom Ugly's Bridge crosses the George's River bridge to Sylvania en route to Woronora), and Townson Street (which still exists) turns off it. At the time there was no bridge, and there was a punt to ferry traffic across (on 21 July 1908,the SMH had article of a proposed tram route and bridge at that point). At nla.gov.au/nla.map-lfsp1237 is an 1894 map of this locality, showing the streets, and indeed Woniora Road extends to the end of Tom Ugly's Point. Another map at http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-lfsp1131 indicates that what is now known as Woniora Road was in 1891 known as "Woniora-Kingsgrove Road OR Croydon Road" - indicating it was a road connecting Kingsgrove with Woniora... The 1885 map at http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.map-lfsp1156-s2-v shows Woniora Road and indicates that the area taking in the eastern part of modern Blakehurst and southern Carss Park, down to Tom Ugly's Point was known as Woniora Estate.  All of which leads me to wonder anew as to the connection between "Woniora" and "Woronora"... Ptilinopus (talk) 04:59, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Wonder no more.

WORONORA is the older word and first appears in print in 1831.

"HOLSWORTHY. John Lucas, 150. One hundred and fifty Acres; bounded on the North  by a line West 47 chains; on the West by a line South 33 chains; and on the   South and East by Woronora Creek.

Promised by Sir Thomas Brisbane on 18th November, 1825; Quit-rent, £1 5s. sterling per annum, commencing 1st January, 1833." (The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser Saturday 1 October 1831, p.1)

The reason there is a WONIORA "as far south as Tom Ugly's Point, (where the current Tom Ugly's Bridge crosses the George's River bridge to Sylvania en route to Woronora" is that when Sir Thomas Mitchell first laid out the route of the road to Illawarra through the "Bottle Forest" and down the Mountain at Bulli Pass it ended at WONIORA POINT at BULLI NSW. (The Australian Friday 9 June 1843 p.3).

Both words - WORONORA and WONIORA - are probably corruptions (through inexpert transliteration) of the same original Aboriginal word of unknown meaning.

Street Name Pattern
There is no reference in this article to the street naming pattern which is outlined in the Sutherland Shire Council's Street Name Origin pdf. I have therefore added it under the Features and Facilities Headings but there could be a better place for this.