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History of country town names - R


The following information is a summary of the origins for towns names in rural Western Australia. Please select the first letter of the town you wish to see.
Please note: The names of all rural towns are being added progressively to the database.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

RANFORD

Latitude 32° 48' S Longitude 116° 29' E

The Townsite of Ranford is located 125 km south east of Perth and 3 km north east of Boddington. In 1936 it was proposed to develop a townsite here to serve the Industrial Extracts Ltd. Factory (the company produced tanning extracts). Amongst names proposed were "Darnminning" (after a nearby pool), "Mertan" (after the company's product), "Pollard" (after the first settler in the immediate area) and Ranford, after the late Henry Samuel Ranford, a surveyor who had traversed the Hotham River and marked out the first holdings in this vicinity in 1874. The name Ranford was adopted, and the townsite was gazetted in May 1936.


RAVENSTHORPE

Latitude 33° 35' S Longitude 120° 03' E

The townsite of Ravensthorpe is located in the south coastal region, 541 km east south east of Perth and 50 km north north west of the coastal town of Hopetoun. The Ravensthorpe region was first settled by the Dunn brothers in the 1860's, and it was James Dunn who first found gold in the area in 1899. Gold mining in the area was not very productive until a new find in 1900 resulted in rapid growth. The Ravensthorpe area soon had a population of over 1000, and a strong demand for residential land.

Ravensthorpe was gazetted a townsite in January 1901, the name having been suggested by surveyor A.W. Canning after the nearby Ravensthorpe Range. The Ravensthorpe Range was named by Surveyor General J.S. Roe in 1848 in honour of Bishop Augustus Short who, prior to becoming Bishop of WA & SA in 1847, had been the Vicar of Ravensthorpe in Northamptonshire (England) from June 1835. Bishop Short is also commemorated by Mt Short, a hill in the Ravensthorpe Range.


RAVENSWOOD

Latitude 32° 35' S Longitude 115° 50' E

The townsite of Ravenswood is located in the south west region, 83 km south of Perth and 8 km south east of Mandurah. It is located on a bend in the Murray River, and was originally the name of a property taken up in this area by Adam Armstrong in the 1840's. Armstrong's property was known as "Ravenswood Farm". Ravenswood was known as a locality as early as 1895, and following private subdivision in the area in the 1960's the Shire of Murray requested the declaration of a townsite. The townsite of Ravenswood was gazetted in 1970.


RED LAKE

Latitude 33° 09' S Longitude 121° 43' E

The townsite of Red Lake is located in the south coastal agricultural region, 817 km east south east of Perth and 86 km north of Esperance. The townsite is located on the railway line from Esperance to Norseman, and was selected as the site for a siding in 1916. The name Windich, after Tommy Windich, an Aboriginal companion of John Forrest was at first proposed for the siding and a proposed townsite. However, the area was locally known as Red Lake after a nearby lake, and when the townsite was gazetted in 1922 it was named Red Lake. The name is descriptive, being first officially recorded in 1910.


REDMOND

Latitude 34° 53' S Longitude 117° 41' E

The townsite of Redmond is located in the great southern agricultural region, 381 km south south east of Perth and 28 km north west of Albany. In 1912 the government opened a railway siding here named Mulikupp, but changed the name the same year to Redmond. The following year the District Surveyor for the region advised there was settler demand for blocks in the area, and proposed a scheme of subdivision. A school was soon built at the siding, and in 1916 the townsite of Redmond was gazetted. The reason for selection of the name Redmond, first for the station, and then the townsite, is not known at present, but it is believed to honour John Edward Redmond (1856-1918), Irish nationalist leader and the leader of Irish Home Rule in the British Parliament.


REEDY

Latitude 27° 08' S Longitude 118° 17' E

The abandoned goldfields townsite of Reedy is located in the Murchison Goldfields, 721 km north north east of Perth and 70 km north east of Cue. Gold discoveries in the area in the early 1930's resulted in mining development, and a 1933 request from Cue-Day Dawn Road Board for a townsite to be surveyed and declared. Following survey of lots a name was sought for the townsite, and Mathers and Triton were suggested, with Reedy being another choice. Reedy was selected, and the townsite gazetted in 1934. The name is derived from "Reedy's Well", a nearby water source shown on maps from 1908. It is believed to be named after H Reed who discovered gold in the area around 1899-1900.


REGANS FORD

Latitude 30° 59' S Longitude 115° 42' E

The townsite of Regans Ford is located in the northern agricultural region, 135 km north of Perth and 40 km east of Lancelin. It is located at a ford of the same name over the Moore River, the ford being named after Edward Regan. Edward Regan was the supervisor of James Clinch's flocks of sheep on the Moore River in the 1860's, and acquired land near this ford in the 1870's. The name has been shown on plans since 1880. Land was reserved as a watering place for travellers and stock here in 1880, and in 1968 it was recommended that this land be utilised as a townsite. This decision followed the planned construction of a new road from Gingin to Eneabba, crossing the Moore River at Regans Ford. The road was later extended to Dongara, and in 1976 was named Brand Highway.


ROCKINGHAM

Latitude 32° 17' S Longitude 115° 44' E

The townsite of Rockingham, located 47 km south of Perth, received its name from the ship, "Rockingham", which ran aground on the beach which fronts the present day suburb. The "Rockingham" was a 423 tonne vessel, and was the last of three ships to bring Thomas Peel's settlers from London to the new Colony. The "Rockingham" arrived at Cockburn Sound in May 1830. The ship grounded on the beach when coming in to shore. Although initially salvaged, attempts to repair the ship on Garden Island failed. The site for the townsite of Rockingham was identified in 1846 by the Surveyor General J.S. Roe, and a townsite surveyed by Alfred Hillman in 1847. It was gazetted in June 1847. The Aboriginal name for the area is "Mooriburdup".


ROCKY GULLY

Latitude 34° 31' S Longitude 117° 02' E

The townsite of Rocky Gully is situated on the Muir Highway 65 kilometres west of Mount Barker and 354 km south south east of Perth. Land in this area was subdivided in the 1930's, and a site selected for a townsite to be named Rocky Gully. However, it was not until 1951 that a small farming community was established here as part of the War Service Land Settlement Scheme. By May 1951 there were 220 people living in the area, and later that year lots were surveyed and the townsite of Rocky Gully gazetted.

The name Rocky Gully is presumed to be descriptive and was apparently coined by local travellers. A 1907 proposal from the Plantagenet Roads Board was "to have 320 acres of land reserved for travelling stock on the Mount Barker-Blackwood Road about 6 miles East of the Frankland River at a place known as Rocky Gully". No doubt, the spot where the road crossed the gully was of a rocky nature, giving rise to the descriptive name.


ROEBOURNE

Latitude 20° 46' S Longitude 117° 09' E

The townsite of Roebourne is located in the Pilbara region, 1563 km north of Perth and 40 km east of Karratha. The Pilbara region was first explored by F T Gregory in 1861, the area being regarded by Gregory as highly suitable for pastoral settlement. The first settlers arrived in the Roebourne area in 1863, and in 1866 the townsite of Roebourne was gazetted. The name of the townsite honours John Septimus Roe, western Australia's first Surveyor General.

John Septimus Roe(1797-1878) was a naval officer, surveyor and explorer. He was born on 8 May 1797 in Berkshire, England, becoming a midshipman in the Royal Navy in 1813. In 1817 Roe was posted as a Master's Mate to the surveying service in NSW and took part in numerous coastal surveys. He became a Lieutenant in 1823. In June 1829 he arrived in WA to take up the position of Surveyor General (which he held for the next 40 years). Roe was influential in Western Australia's development. Records of 16 journeys of exploration by Roe exist. He was responsible for inspiring the likes of John and Alexander Forrest and the Gregory brothers. He retired in 1870 and died on 28 May 1878.


ROELANDS

Latitude 33° 17' S Longitude 115° 49' E

The townsite of Roelands is located in the south west agricultural region, 166 km south of Perth and 20 km east of Bunbury. It is named after a property of the same name granted to the Colony's first Surveyor General in 1830, John Septimus Roe. In 1893 when the railway line from Pinjarra to Picton Junction was opened, a railway station was established at Roelands, but named Collie, after the nearby Collie River. It was changed to Roelands in 1899, because it was confused with the new town in the coalfields (now Collie). In 1909 a school was established at Roelands, and in 1916 a private subdivision was undertaken surrounding the schoolsite. In 1963 the subdivision was gazetted a townsite at the request of the Shire of Harvey.


ROTHSAY

Latitude 29° 17' S Longitude 116° 53' E

The abandoned goldfields townsite of Rothsay is located 427 km north north east of Perth and about 70 km east north east of Perenjori. Gold was discovered in this area by George Woodley in 1894, and the area was at first known as "Woodley's Find". Woodley sold his claim to a Scottish company in 1895, and the name of the townsite most likely came from this company. Following a request fro a townsite from the local Progress Association in 1897, lots were surveyed and the townsite gazetted in 1898.

This townsite is almost certainly named after the Scottish town of Rothesay on the island of Bute off the Scottish west coast. There has been some doubt about the spelling of the name. The Progress Association used the spelling Rothesay in May 1897, and this spelling was used consistently for 18 months until just before the townsite was gazetted, when the Minister for Lands approved the spelling as Rothsay. This was most likely an error. It was gazetted as Rothsay, and has retained this spelling ever since.


RUABON

Latitude 33° 39' S Longitude 115° 29' E

The townsite of Ruabon is located in the south west agricultural region, about 14 km east of Busselton. In 1906 the government opened a railway line from Wonnerup to Jarrahwood, and in 1914 a new stopping place named Abba River was established in the area of this townsite. The stopping place was named after the nearby river, an Aboriginal name first recorded in 1834. "Abba" is a word of friendly salutation among the Aboriginals about Augusta.

In 1924 a request was received for land at the siding, and after the survey of lots a townsite named Abba River was gazetted in 1925. In 1928 the Abba River District Progress Association requested the Abba River siding be renamed Ruabon, the reason given being "the Ruabon Post Office practically adjoins the townsite, the Abba River Post Office being 2.5 miles distant from the siding". The siding and the townsite were renamed in November 1928. Ruabon is the name of a small Welsh town, and the choice may have been influenced by group settlers of Welsh descent in the area.

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