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History of metropolitan suburb names - C


The following information is a summary of origins for suburb names within the Perth metropolitan area. Please select the first letter of the suburb you wish to see:

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

CALISTA

Similar to the adjoining Kwinana suburbs, Calista is named after a ship. The "Calista" was one of the first ships to bring settlers to the Swan River Colony. She arrived with 73 passengers on the 5th August 1829 under the command of Captain S. Hawkins. Two of the most notable passengers on the ship were Lionel and William Samson.


CANNING MILLS

All of the names which containing "Canning" relate to the Canning River which is named after George Canning, the Prime Minister of England in 1827 who instigated the expedition by James Stirling to examine the west coast of Australia for a suitable site for a colony. Canning Mills was originally the name of a railway station on the Upper Darling Range Railway between Pickering Brook and Karragullen.


CANNING VALE

Another name derived from the Canning River. The suburb of Canning Vale was locally known as North Jandakot until 1925. The name is descriptive, the place being a low lying area situated south-west of the Canning River.


CANNINGTON

This name was given according to the English practice of adding the term "ton" to a name, denoting a town. Subdivision of the suburb of Cannington began in 1882. A railway station was constructed there in the early 1890's and was named Cannington. The area surrounding this station soon became known by this name.


CARABOODA

This name was adopted for a suburb near Wanneroo in 1982 and takes its name from the lake in the area. Original spelling as recorded by J.W. Gregory in January 1843 was Karroborup when marking Swan Location 113 for M. MacDermott, but by 1867, the current spelling was in use.


CARDUP

In 1844, Surveyor Robert Austin recorded that Cockburn Sound Location 22 was called Cardoup. The brook joining the northern boundary of this location was shown variously as Cardoup or Cadup Brook. In 1851, the location was purchased by H. Mead, who gave his address as Cardup and this spelling was used for the brook on most subsequent plans and surveys. By 1927, a railway siding had been erected nearby and was called Cardup after the brook and although the siding is no longer in use, the place still retains the name. Cardup is an Aboriginal name said to mean "place of the racehorse goanna"(Kurda).


CARINE

This suburb was formerly included in Hamersley and Waterman. The name "Carine" was suggested by the Stirling City Council and the name was approved in December 1973. It is derived from two swamps in the area, the larger having been recorded as Carine Swamp by R Quin during 1865 - 1866. These swamps are now known as Big Carine Swamp and Little Carine Swamp.


CARLISLE

Following the opening of the Perth-Pinjarra Railway on the 2nd May 1893, Haydon's Siding was constructed near the foundry of that name to the east of Victoria Park. From 1893 to 1912, the area was gradually settled and a station was built near the siding and it was first known as Mint Street but later changed to Victoria Park East. Following a meeting of ratepayers in May 1919, the name "Carlisle" was chosen for the station. Although it is said that the station was named after the railway town in England near the Scottish border as it was considered that the area was on the border between Perth and its suburbs, it is interesting to note that manager of the South West Timber Hewers Co-operative, which purchased the land and a rail spur here in 1919 was named Carlisle.


CARMEL

The area was originally known as "Green's Landing" after a siding on the timber line. Levi Green, a well known Perth businessman, had moved into the district in 1844 and the siding was named after him. The name "Carmel" was formally adopted for the siding in 1915 and for a Townsite in 1918. The name was probably first suggested by Edward Owen who had established an orchard and founded a Methodist community near Green's property. It is a Hebrew word meaning 'park' or 'garden of God' and is also the name applied to a mountain ridge in Palestine.


CARRAMAR

Carramar is an Aboriginal word meaning "shade of trees", and was approved as a suburb name in 1997.


CASUARINA

This is another suburb of Kwinana named after a ship. The "Casuarina" was a 30 ton cutter used in the French exploration of the WA coast in 1802-03 and also because a type of casuarina tree is found in the area. The cutter was commanded by Louis De Freycinet.


CAVERSHAM

Land in the area was originally selected by Peter Shadwell in 1830 and he held it until 1837 when it was acquired by a surgeon Richard Hinds who had earlier that year arrived by the "Shepherd" with his wife Susannah and children Sarah and Richard. Hinds referred to his property as "Caversham Rise", and the shortened form of Caversham soon came to be recognised for the area.


CHAMPION LAKES

Formerly part of Westfield, the name Champion Lakes was chosen to identify this area with a proposed championship rowing course to be developed in the area. The name was approved in 2002


CHIDLOW

Chidlow Townsite was originally named Chidlow's Well after a small waterhole near the old Northam road. The watering place had been known to travellers for many years and was named after a pioneer family of Northam. Settlement began in 1883 when it became known that Chidlow's Well was to be the terminus of the second section of the Eastern Railway. The railway station and townsite were changed from Chidlows well to Chidlow in 1920.


CHURCHLANDS

The area which today comprises the suburb of "Churchlands" was originally granted to Henry Trigg in 1831. In September 1891, this area was acquired by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Perth, the Right Reverend Matthew Gibney. Gibney was far sighted in his acquisition of land for the Church, and this area became known as "Church Lands" as a result of it being owned by the Church. The City of Perth referred to an area just south of here as "Churchlands" as early as 1924.


CITY BEACH

In 1917, the Perth City Council purchased the Lime Kilns Estate of 1 290 acres, situated between the Endowment Lands and the City, thus linking the City with the ocean beach. The Council proposed to lay out an up-to-date seaside town near the ocean beach on garden city lines, embodying approved Town Planning principles, and making ample provision for recreation purposes. By 1928, the Council had allocated finance to commence work, and also referred to the beach as "City Beach". It appears this name developed because it was an area developed by the City Council and much more acceptable than "Ocean Beach" which was even more descriptive than City Beach.


CLAREMONT

In September 1881, a little more than six months after the official opening of the Fremantle to Guildford section of the Eastern Railway, tenders for additional platforms at East Fremantle, North Fremantle and Butler's Swamp were called for. In a timetable published on the 1st may 1883, the station formerly known as Butler's Swamp is listed as Claremont and this appears to be the earliest official use of this name. Claremont was named by Mr James Morrison, the owner of Swan Location 702, who gave his land the name of Claremont Estate after his wife Clara Charlotte (nee de Burgh) whom he had married in 1869, and on account of the hilly nature of the country.


CLARKSON

The name was proposed by the Shire of Wanneroo in 1979 in honour of an early settler who held large leases of land in the area.


CLOVERDALE

The suburb name was probably derived from "Cloverdale Estate", a subdivision in the area advertised for sale in 1910. It was officially recognised as a suburb name in 1954.


COMO

Originally the present "Como" comprised of three large land grants, Swan Locations 40, 41, and 42. Edmund Hugh Comer, a farmer of Christchurch, acquired the land by succession in February 1891. Extensive subdivision of the land was commenced in 1905 under the name Como Estate, a name thought to be derived from the owner's surname or after the town situated on the shore of Lake Di Como in northern Italy.


CONNOLLY

Name adopted for this suburb adjoining Joondalup in 1980. Named in honour of John Connolly who held land in the area in 1838. Connolly was a private in the 63rd Regiment who arrived in the colony in 1829 and who farmed at Upper Swan and Bindoon after being discharged in 1834.


COODANUP

Coodanup was approved as a suburb name in October 1970. The meaning and derivation of "Coodanup" is unknown although H.W. Bunbury, in his book "Early Days in WA." (1836), gives "Colanup" as the Aboriginal name for the mouth of the Serpentine River. This area was subdivided as "Coodanup Park Estate" 1956.


COOGEE

The suburb of "Coogee" takes its name from the lake in the area. Originally, this lake was named Lake Munster after Prince William, the Earl of Munster and later King William IV. The Aboriginal name Kou-Gee was recorded in 1841 by Thomas Watson and variously spelt as Koojee, Coojee and Coogee, which gradually gained pre-eminence over the old name.


COOLBELLUP

"Coolbellup" was recorded by AC Gregory in 1842 as the Aboriginal name of a lake in the area. Surveys by RM. King in 1877 showed the local name to be "North Lake" and both names were shown on plans. The feature is in fact the northernmost of the chain of Lakes lying between Mandurah and the Swan River. In 1954 most of the land west of the lake was resumed by the State Housing Commission and an intensive housing scheme was planned. A meeting in 1957 decided that the place should be called "Coolbellup" in preference to North Lake.


COOLBINIA

"Coolbinia" was for many years regarded as part of Mount Lawley. Development was mainly in the late 1940's and early 1950's and in 1953. The name chosen for a new school in the area in August 1953 was Coolbinia, an Aboriginal name meaning "Mistletoe" and it soon came to be adopted for the adjoining suburban area. Street names in Coolbinia commemorate many town and district names in Western Australia, eg., Carnarvon, Ardross, Marradon, Koorda etc.


COOLOONGUP

Is named after Lake Cooloongup. Lake Cooloongup was recorded by Surveyor AC Gregory in 1843. The meaning of the Aboriginal name is not known. The suburb was named in 1974.


COTTESLOE

In September 1886, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, John Forrest, announced his intention of subdividing an area of Crown Land between Perth and Fremantle into suburban lots and asked His Excellency, Governor Sir Frederick Napier Broome, to suggest a name. The Governor suggested "Cottesloe" on the 21st September after "the title lately bestowed on a member of the Fremantle family". "Cottesloe" was named after Thomas Francis Fremantle, Lord Cottesloe. 1st Baron of Swanbourne (in 1874), the older brother to Captain Charles Howe Fremantle who, on the 2nd of May 1829 raised the 1st British flag at Fremantle.


CRAIGIE

Craigie is one of the four "Whitfords" suburbs that resulted from the State Government rezoning a large area of coastal land for development in 1969. Craigie was chosen as a suburb name in 1970 and honours an early councillor of the City of Wanneroo who did much work in developing the City.


CRAWLEY

Most of the land comprising the suburb of Crawley was acquired by Henry Charles Sutherland, one of the colony's first surveyors, in 1837. Sutherland named his property "Crawley" after his mothers maiden name (Anna Crawley). The land was later purchased by Sir George Shenton who bequeathed much of it to the University of Western Australia.


CULLACABARDEE

An Aboriginal word meaning "meeting place" - derived from an Aboriginal dialect of south west Australia. Approved as a suburb name in 1981.


CURRAMBINE

Currambine was approved as a suburb name in 1980. The name was chosen by the City of Wanneroo in 1979 from a book on Aboriginal Place Names by A.W. Reed. It is an Aboriginal word from New South Wales meaning "heaps of rocks".

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