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1. The many variations in the physical characteristics and general configuration contour of the country are not only recognised but expressed, amongst the generic terms thus met with being those indicative of island sea, beach, mainland, river, swamp, forest, desert plain, precipice, mountain, etc.*1 Each tract of country is specialised by the people traversing, occupying, or hunting over it, and hence, as often happens, may be called by different names. Barrow Point, for instance, is known to the local blacks as E-polin, to the Starcke River ones as Mo-yir, and to the natives of the Normanby and Deighton Rs. as Par-chammoka. On the other hand, there are certain large tracts to which a single name is applied, but in these cases any reference to them is made by Aboriginals speaking a similar language. The meaning of the actual words so applied to such an area is in many cases lost, whilst in others it is significatory of some local peculiarity. Amongst the former may be mentioned an interesting example from a camping ground in the neighbourhood of Cape Flattery known as Yaborego, from which a present-day family name at Cape Bedford is derived, apparently identical with that of Yaparico given in Captain Cook's narrative *2 as that of an individual with whom the 'Endeavour' crew came into personal contact. Amongst the latter, we have similes drawn from shape, soil, vegetable or animal life. *3 Tamal-nobun (= foot-one) is applied to a hill mountain in the neighbourhood of Cape
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* Bull 2 sect 10. *2 Hawkesworth's Edition. London 1773. 3. M x T. Petrie gives several Examples in his native place-names.