Dapto - Place names

Bong Bong Rd Dapto

Parish of Calderwood County of Camden

One of the first references to the name Dapto was in instructions issued to Surveyor Knapp on 10 April 1829. Knapp was instructed "to survey ten 100 acre lots for veterans on Dapto Creek". In 1833 George Brown received a grant of 300 acres south of Mullet Creek. George Brown transferred the Ship Inn from Wollongong to Mullet Creek Farm in 1834 and thereby established the nucleus of Dapto.

With the coming of the railway in 1887, however, the centre of the township was moved south and the original Dapto, where the inn was located, later became known as Brownsville. A new town began to grow up around the station attracting businesses and services from Brownsville and other nearby settlements. The name Dapto is said to be an aboriginal word either from "Dabpeto" meaning "water plenty", or from "tap-toe" which described the way a lame aboriginal chief walked. The aborigines called the area "Mookoonburro" meaning "grub".