You may have noticed that my URL for this blog is humpybong.blogspot.com.
Now you might be wondering what or who is a Humpybong.
Is it a smoking implement you use to increase your prowess before jumping into bed with your latest love of your life?
No. It is a name. The name Humpybong is predominant in my area.
There is Humpybong Creek, Humpybong Esplanade, Humpybong State School, Humpybong Car Park. A lot of business feature the name; Humpybong Real Estate, Humpybong Electrical, Humpybong Holiday Accommodation. My own business name is HumpyBong Technology.
It is a very historical name for Queensland. The first white settlement in Queensland was established at Redcliffe.
The first settlement at Moreton Bay was founded in September 1824, under the command of Lieutenant Murray of the 40th (South Lancashire) regiment, principally as a place of punishment for convicts who had committed offences after transportation to Australia. The original site was not up the river, where the city of Brisbane was built, but at Redcliffe, on the shores of Moreton Bay.
Because of the absence of a sufficient water supply, Governor Bourke in 1832 advised the abandonment of the Moreton Bay settlement, and in 1839 the prisoners were withdrawn from it to Brisbane.
After the abandonment of this position the Aboriginals called it Oompiebong, an 'oompie' (or, as more commonly spelt, humpy) being a hut, and 'bong' signifying dead; it was the place of the abandoned huts. Hence it is called Humpybong to this day.
So now you know. I think it is a great name. When I become Benevolent Dictator for Life of Redcliffestan I will change the name to the People's Republic of HumpyBong.
Stay good and be kind to each other
7 comments:
LOL I love some of the indige names.
Yeah, some of the Australian native placenames are just plain weird and funny-not like Caloosahatchee, Chattahoochee, Tallahatchee, Winnipesaukee, or Memphremagog (all lakes and rivers in America).
"What is this mess??? Humpy Bong"
Was also one of my mum's exclamations when the house was a mess...
That word is one of Queensland's greatest additions to western culture. It's not only a place, but also a lifestyle choice.
Actually thinking about it further the exact wording may have been:
"where do you think you live?
in Humpy Bong???"
It was pretty derogatory.
Moko: Yep. There are some great Aboriginal names around. I'd like to see some places revert to their original name.
YD: Pretty ordinary names quoted there.
Ysambartman: The Humpybong lifestyle... nothing like it.
G-B: You can call someone a humpybong and the wouldn't know if you were insulting or praising them.
yep. so good aboriginal names I'd like to see come back are:
Wherethefarkarewee and
Whothefarkareyoo
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