This blog provides information, stories, links and events relating to and promoting the history of the Wimmera district.
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Thursday 6 November 2014

Wot's in a name

What is in a name, its spelling, its pronuncation or its meaning, and how do these change over time?
The original gateway to North Brighton (the posts are over 5' high)
While out touring on the weekend there was some lively discussion as we drove along Mokepilly Road near Kewell - on how it was the same spelling as the other Mokepilly near Stawell.
Sure that it was Muck rather than Moke originally, I couldn't let it rest, so cranked up the PC to check out the Duffy map (PROVs online version of The 1862 Duffy Land Act map) fairly sure it included Muckpilly as an out-station of the Kewell Station. I was half right, the out station was "Muckbilly". 
Kewell Station was named as "Kewell or Muckbilly" and "Kewell & Muckbilly", it was settled by the Wilson brothers John & Alexander in April 1845.
And in fact the Mokepilly of Lexington Station is also spelt Mokepille in some sources.
The other bone of contention was the correct pronunciation of Darlot (of James Monckton Darlot fame) was it the French "dar-low" as with Darlot Swamp or the more common vernacular "dar-lot" as with Darlot Street. I think it is the old-timers who like to use some class and refer to the original dar-low while the lazier Aussie speech is sounding more a chopped-off dar-let.
Darlot settled Brighton with Archibald McLachlan in July 1843. It was subdivided into North and South Brighton in 1859.
The tour included a number of historically significant sites - the Kewell area, the entrance to North Brighton, and the remains of the Dooen Weir on the Wimmera River. 
Looking downstream of the Dooen Weir

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