Wollongong - Place names

Wollongong

Parish of Wollongong County of Camden

There are many conflicting suggestions about the meaning of the name Wollongong.

1. The meaning of the word, according to positive information handed down traditionally from a great-niece of Dr Throsby, is "the sound of the sea". The word was pronounced Woll-long-gong, the second syllable being accented, and is supposedly onomatopoeic for the pounding and surging of the waves.

2. An expression of surprise and fear uttered by the aborigines when they first saw a ship in full sail. This has been rendered as "see! The monster comes". According to this view the original word was actually pronounced "Nywoolyarngungh".

3. Wollongong has also been thought to be from "Wol-lon-yuh" meaning "sound of the sea". Other versions of the word are "Wolonya, "Wollonga" and "Woolyunyal".

4. "Woollungah" is the correct aboriginal name for Wollongong, according to Aboriginal Billy Saddler (of "Nioka" Port Kembla). Woollungah means a place where a marriage took place between the son of one great king and the daughter of another great king, long before Captain Cook found this country. The word also means that there was a great feast of fish and other good things at the wedding, which was such a remarkable event that the place was named after it. The name has also been spelled "Wullungah".

6. Some other suggested meanings are: hard ground near water; song of the sea or sound of the waves; many snakes.