Bushwalk Australia

It seems paradoxical to have a car park named after this great pedestrianist who never drove a car in his life, let alone parked one in the memorial car park at the old Carlon's farm.

I think you might find it's called the Dunphy Camping Area, though I'm sure it hosts more cars than campers

tom_brennan wrote:I think you might find it's called the Dunphy Camping Area...

I thought that too, but can't find any mention of it on the NPWS web site . I think I remember signage to that effect? Maybe it's time to do another walk from there...

No problem with the Dunphy Camping Area, but some of the clubs have been programming it otherwise, perhaps not knowing better.

A few people I know still call it Carlons Farm.

michael_p wrote:A few people I know still call it Carlons Farm.

Yes, I do and so do most others I've met. The general location is still commonly called Carlons including by parks staff.
I believe the Dunphy Memorial Campground/Carpark is really just the area on top of the hill overlooking the rest of Carlons/Green Gully and beyond.

Started my walk from there last Saturday. I'll let the picture tell the story:

To be honest, I don't know that he ever did camp there. But it's a better shrine than a "car park".

The 'no campfires' restriction now in place there probably doesn't fit too well with traditional bushwalkers either. I doubt Dunphy et al would have spent many camps without a little fire to cook over and keep them warm!
On the bright side, the more recognition for iconic bushwalkers and conservationists who were well ahead of their time in their demands to protect wilderness areas the better if you ask me. I think a lot of younger people think environmentalism started with the Franklin dam or the greens. It is amazing to realize how far back it goes. It's also great that bushwalkers can probably claim to have done more collectively for the Aussie environment than possibly any other group in society!

Yes indeed.

The name came out of a discussion I had with the Area Manager at Blackheath shortly after the NPWS bought the place with money from the Dunphy Fund. I submitted a formal proposal, and they accepted it. The alternative might have been to use some politician's name ... a ghastly thought.

Cheers

There are a few other, some unofficial, bushwalker names on places that are named after Dunphy. Anyone out there care to name them?

juxtaposer wrote:There are a few other, some unofficial, bushwalker names on places that are named after Dunphy. Anyone out there care to name them?

To get the ball rolling, these are the only two "official" ones I found:

Dunphys Pass:
http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/name_search/extract?id=JPlpZxrXGH

Myles Dunphy Bushland Reserve:
http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/name_search/extract?id=KWIOjzKmKW

I know there has to be more but my mind is a blank right now. I don't have handy my copy of Brian Fox's Upper Blue Mountains Geographical Encyclopedia. I'd hope to find a few in that.

And there is Margaret Falls near Kanangra Walls named after Myle's wife Margaret Dunphy

Dave

Keep those names rolling in folks. Although there are no prizes to be won. Fox's book does not cover the area, johnw. Dave is in the neighbourhood.

juxtaposer wrote:Fox's book does not cover the area, johnw.

Yes, found that out when I had a look tonight. A bit surprised .
I'll have to start scouring maps when I have time.

Why is the modern sign ordering officer so scared of the apostrophe ?

Although you'll see exceptions, I've got a feeling it is convention not to include the apostrophe in place names. You'll find this the case for example if you look up the postcodes of places like Nobbys Beach and Greys Plain etc. It seems to be a national standard. So technically even bushwalker names like Gentles Pass should not have the apostrophe, although I don't know if they would make an exception with a name like Rosss (Ross's) Knob. Probably it would have to be called Ross Knob.

I assume you're after Myles Gorge (Myles Chasm) between Wallarra Falls and Margaret Falls, and Dunphys Lookout at the southern end of Mt Wallarra?

climberman wrote:Why is the modern sign ordering officer so scared of the apostrophe ?

There's a naming convention climberman: place names do not normally have an apostrophe. I think the logic is that the place is not "owned" by the person after whom it is named, so doesn't require the apostrophe.

Interestingly one exception seems to be the old name for Tasmania - Van Diemen's Land. There are not too many others.

Kind of related, I saw a nice piece on facebook that was headed something like "How a comma saved Grandma". It was followed by two signs:

"Let's eat grandma!" and "Let's eat, grandma!"

cheers

Peter

juxtaposer wrote:Although you'll see exceptions, I've got a feeling it is convention not to include the apostrophe in place names.

Sorry juxtaposer - I missed the post where you make the same point.

cheers

Peter

On the money, Tom. But there are still a few to go (if you think more broadly). With regard to Mt. Wallara, before the 1:25,000s this was called Mt. Wallara East. The sandstone top on the opposite side of Myles Chasm was called Mt. Wallara West. But the Geographical Names Board didn't like this and decided that designations like east and west had to go. I think Mt. Wallara West then became Mt. Barrallier. In fact Dunphy had divided the whole Christies system up into East, Middle, West and Main. The junction of Middle and West he called Central Christies and Main was from there to the Kowmung. It's not hard to imagine what an incredibly remote and complex place this was at a time when nothing more than an old buggy track reached Kanangra, and maps gave very little away. Dunphy's system conveyed an understanding of the topography that was useful to bushwalkers. However, it did not conform with the formalised nomenclatural procedures of the GNB and was disposed of, although some bushwalkers today do still use them in an unofficial context.

climberman wrote:Why is the modern sign ordering officer so scared of the apostrophe ?

Notwithstanding the other (sensible) replies, the cynical side of me wants to believe it's a government decision to cut costs on signwriting. Or alternatively someone's idea to follow the Australia Post rules for addressing envelopes.

If the criteria includes members of Dunphy's household the another one might be Mt Colboyd after Dexter Colboyd Dunphy, his second son? Or is it the other way around? Also Dex Creek after the same, and his dog Dexter Symbol (which I think has come up elsewhere in these forums.

Mt Colboyd - the name comes from Boyd as in Boyd Plateau and Colong - the ridge lies in a direction between them. His son was named after the ridge, just like Milo Kanangra Dunphy was named after the Walls.

Another one is Dungalla Cascades on the Boyd Plateau - which comes from Dunphy and Gallop (Herb Gallop) - which was a thing Dunphy ddi quite a lot - join two names together - e.g. Morrieberrie, dawry-lawrie, Colboyd, Rayfran Dell,etc

Dave

DaveNoble wrote:Mt Colboyd - the name comes from Boyd as in Boyd Plateau and Colong - the ridge lies in a direction between them. His son was named after the ridge, just like Milo Kanangra Dunphy was named after the Walls.

Another one is Dungalla Cascades on the Boyd Plateau - which comes from Dunphy and Gallop (Herb Gallop) - which was a thing Dunphy ddi quite a lot - join two names together - e.g. Morrieberrie, dawry-lawrie, Colboyd, Rayfran Dell,etc

Dave

Ah! Thanks for the clarification Dave .

And Dungalla Heights. I think that just about wraps them up. Or does it? There might be, I think, one other that I just might keep in my pocket for a while. Could it be that I am the only person living who knows about it? Surely not. The clue is: it is not in the Blue Mountains. Dave is right about the origin of the name Colboyd. But keeping it in the family, there is also Mt. Milo. Myles' eldest son, Milo, was born in 1929, so is he named after the mountain or the mountain named after him?

Milo's brother, Dexter Dunphy, is currently chair of the Blue Mtns World Heritage Institute

http://www.bmwhi.org.au/news/dexter.html

DaveNoble wrote:Mt Colboyd - the name comes from Boyd as in Boyd Plateau and Colong - the ridge lies in a direction between them. His son was named after the ridge, just like Milo Kanangra Dunphy was named after the Walls.

Another one is Dungalla Cascades on the Boyd Plateau - which comes from Dunphy and Gallop (Herb Gallop) - which was a thing Dunphy ddi quite a lot - join two names together - e.g. Morrieberrie, dawry-lawrie, Colboyd, Rayfran Dell,etc

Dave

Interesting Dave. I have a copy of a Henry Gold book with an inscription to Paddy and May Pallin, signed by the members of the Dungalla Club.

Just because it's a convention doesn't mean it isn't stupid.

A campground in a National park, named after a person, is not exactly a suburb.

I agree with you, Climberman. But think of the thousands of litres of paint and ink our cash strapped government agencies are saving by not including the apostrophe. I'm sure they are motivated by conservation principles. A note re the Dungalla Club: this was a club for retired bushwalkers. Brian Harvey of SBW was the mover behind its formation. They had a newsletter called "The Dungalloper". Membership declined and the club folded some years ago.