Coniston - Place names

CONISTON

Parish of Wollongong County of Camden

Coniston was formerly known as Mount Drummond or South Wollongong. The area was originally a grant of 280 acres made to Rachel Moore White. The Coniston Railway Platform was first opened in 1924 under the name of Mount Drummond. It received its present name on 1 November 1925. The word Coniston is said to mean 'the king's manor'.

MOUNT DRUMMOND

Parish of Wollongong County of Camden

Mount Drummond was the original name of Coniston, also sometimes referred to as South Wollongong. It was a grant of 280 acres made to Rachel Moore White. It seems that land in the area was owned at one time by a J. Drummond. Drummond is said to have owned 300 acres, bounded on one side by Garden Hill Estate and running down to Tom Thumb's Lagoon. The debate over a suitable name for the area seems to have continued for some years, the Mercury reporting in 1923 that "Mt Drummond, or South Wollongong or Coniston which of these names will settle permanently on this locality is not definite". One objection to the name Mt Drummond was that there was already a mountain of that name in the County of Hardinge near Armidale.