'Can-del-oh' and 'Tath-ruh': Here are the top most mispronounced towns in the Bega Valley

A member of the crowd jeered back, 'It's CAN-DAH-LOW!'. The whole audience erupted in laughter.

I too giggled along with the crowd, but as someone who only moved to the area around a year and a half ago, I must admit that I was guilty of doing the same when I first called real estate agents in search of a coveted rental.

I got a similar, 'oh, you mean Can-dah-lo?' back on the line and she and I both then knew that I was definitely an out-of-towner.

Australia is blessed with some beautiful place names, many of which are derived from Indigenous language and localities.

Throw in some names transported from Britain and Ireland, and an uncanny Australian twist on certain words and you have yourself a smorgasbord of placenames. It's no wonder we struggle when we leave the comforts of our birthplaces to get unfamiliar place names to roll off our tongues.

Here are the top mispronounced place names across the region.

Pronounced: Bee-guh

Sometimes mispronounced: Beg-gah

Origin: According to some sources the Imlay Brothers, some of the earliest settlers in the district, arrived in 1839 and established a property they named Biggah which is thought to be a Yuin word meaning either "big camping ground" or "beautiful". However Sister Smith, who founded the Bega Pioneers' Museum, had a theory that since there was already a town in NSW called Biggah, Bega was renamed to commemorate a Catholic saint. According to the Bega Historical society, the name Bega first appeared on record during the Proclamation of the town in around 1851.

Pronounced: Muh-rim-byuh-luh

Sometimes mispronounced: Muh-rim-bool-la

Origin: Merimbula is derived from a local Aboriginal word meaning 'two lakes', a reference to Merimbula Lake on the southern side of the town and the smaller Back Lake on the northern side.

Pronounced: pam-byuh-luh

Sometimes mispronounced: Pam-bool-la

Origin: A name of Indigenous origin, originally 'Panboola', meaning 'two waters' or 'meeting of the waters'. Panboola is now the official name of the wetland vegetation area at the bottom of the main street in Pambula. The area is a conservation, restoration, educational and passive recreational, and tourism project.

Pronounced: Jil-lah

Sometimes mispronounced: Jel-lat Jel-lat

Origin: A word with Aboriginal origins likely meaning 'many', but many of what was unclear in my research. But the the word was repeated to emphasise the amount. These days local people do not repeat the word.

Pronounced: Can-dah-low

Sometimes mispronounced: Can-del-o

Origin: Local historical sources suggest Candelo was named after Candelo in Piedmont, Italy - a resort town loved by tourists. The original owners of Kameruka Estate were English aristocrats who would have often visited the European continent for an official tour. It is thought that as Kameruka Estate and the village was blossoming, someone had the bright idea to name it after its Italian namesake.

Pronounced: Tah-thruh

Sometimes mispronounced: Tath-ruh or Tar-trah

Origin: According to Djirringanj elders Tathra, possibly originally spelt 'Titra', means "beautiful country". According to the Bega Historical Society, many in the previous century referred to the town as Tar-trah, but it is not known when or how the 'th' sound into the word came from.

Pronounced: Core-mah

Sometimes mispronounced: Que-amah

Origin: According to the Historical Society it could be of Indigenous origin. The village was formerly known as Dry River until the early 1900s. It is thought the word Quaama could have also had some reference to the riverbed that runs through the village.

If you think we've missed somewhere let us know by sending an email to ellouise.bailey@begadistrictnews.com.au.

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