Box 4 Folder 3: New South Wales place names, 1899-1903 - Page 2

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                                                                       Police Station Maclean
                                                                         6th September 1899  

Re the collection of Aborigine's words
              and meanings                  

Const Heffernan reports that after
making careful inquiries amongst 
the Aboriginies, and some of the oldest
residence of the District who speak
their language, he finds that very little
is known about the origin of names
given to places by them; some of the
persons he has interviewed have been
associated with the Aborigines for 
more than twenty years, and have not
the faintest idea what yamba or Iluka
mean, some say these words do not belong
to the native language, but are merely 
corruptions of it. Mr Caulon who is considered
an authority upon the habits of the natives
and has a good knowledge of their language
informed the constable that Iluka means
"near the sea" and Yamba - "a headland"
he also informed the constable that he
would take the first opportunity of
having a conversation with the old
natives, and endeavour to obtain from
them the meaning of names of other places
**about this District; the constable 
will forward any information he may
recieve to Mr Parker with the 
                                     above

** Sub Insp Parker
       Grafton