Name Origins of Places in Rowville and Lysterfield

Corhanwarrabul Creek

The name "Corhanwarrabul" (commonly pronounced corhan-warrabul with a silent 'h' but regarded as incorrect by the archaeologist, Eric Willacy, who pronounces it cor-hana-warrabul) has been widely used in the Knox area. Mt Dandenong was first known as Mt Corhanwarrabul, a name which persisted until the turn of the century.

The first white settler of Knox, James Clow, named his run 'Corhanwarrabul'. In more recent times, Sir George Knox established a Corhanwarrabul Polo Club which operated between the wars.

The creek which flows through Scoresby and crosses Stud Road at the twin bridges near Caribbean Gardens bears the only use of the name today. The creek, in fact, was originally named the Narra Narrawong Creek in 1840 by the surveyor T.H. Nutt. The date of the change of name is not known.

The spelling of Corhanwarrabul has had many variations. T.H. Nutt in his 1839 survey of the Yarra River referred to the mountain as Corren Warabille and Daniel Bunce called it Korenth Marabool. An explanation for this may lie in the diverse English accents of the men who traversed the area who had no written aboriginal language to guide them in the spelling of aboriginal words they heard.

The meaning of Corhanwarrabul is uncertain. Helen Coulson in The Story of the Dandenongs suggests it means a desirable and attractive place, replete with birds flying, kangaroos jumping and lyrebirds singing. Muriel McGivern in Aboriginal of the Dandenong Mountain thinks that its name could mean, instead, "one of the two large humps in the range," a reference to the Corhanwarrabul peak being just below Mt Dandenong, known today as Burke's Lookout. Les Blake in Place Names of Victoria offers a third alternative meaning, "one of the feathered tribe".

Dandenong Creek

The following notes are taken from Muriel McGivern's book 'Founder of the Dandenongs'.

There has always been much speculation about the meaning of the word Dandenong. The aboriginal word banyenong comes from banye (a burning) and nong (the past) an appropriate reference to the Dandenongs after bush fires. The surveyors of the 1830s and 1840s recorded many variations of this word - 'Tanjenong', 'Tangynon' and 'Bangeong' - all seem to be interpretations of the aboriginal word.

Problems were caused in the translation because the aborigines slurred English sounds, especially "B", "T" and "D".

Muriel argues that "Dandenong" may not in fact mean "high" in the dialect of the local aboriginals as is indicated in most works. Rather, the aborigines of the area when interrogated, most probably meant that the creek came from a high place.

Monbulk Creek

Monbulk Creek was originally known as Dargon's Creek after the pioneer pastoralist Thomas Dargon who arrived in the 1850s. The name Monbulk appears to have come from an aboriginal word Monbolloc meaning a hiding place in the hills. Monbolloc consists of two aboriginal words, "mon" meaning magic and "bolloc" a pond or lake. This is reference to the nearby springs and their medicinal properties, thus the "ponds with magic powers". (Muriel McGivern uses the spelling Mun Boolok ). Modern day Monbulk is believed to be the area which aborigines used as a sanctuary, bringing their wounded and sick to be healed at the springs. Nathania Springs and Coonara Springs Restaurant remain as indications of the location of these springs.

Lysterfield

The area called Lysterfield on the southern boundary of Knox was originally covered by the pastoral run known as Monbulk. As the pioneer selectors moved in it became known as part of Narree Warren, though the locals referred to it as 'The Flats'.

This title continued until the mid 1870s when the name Lysterfield was adopted at a public meeting. As with Rowville, the suggestion was made as a compliment to a famous local personality William Saurin Lyster, who was a pioneer in draining the Monbulk Creek flats and turning the land into the rich dairying country it still is today.

Rowville

The history of Rowville can be traced back to 1838 when James Clow established his pastoral run "Corhanwarrabul" and built his homestead "Tirhatuan" near Wellington Road on the banks of Dandenong Creek. Yet it too, like so many localities in Knox, has only been known by its present name during the 20th century.

It was originally regarded as part of Narre Warren, being in the parish of that name, but became part of Lysterfield in the early 1870s.

The name "Rowville" was adopted in 1903 at the suggestion of Nick Bergin, the local blacksmith as a compliment to the Row family whose property 'Stamford Park' had been the focal point of the district since the 1880s.

John Waterhouse

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