Full list: Gold Coast’s most mispronounced suburbs and places revealed
Is Ormeau pronounced aw-mow or aw-me-o? And how do you say Clagiraba? Find the answers you seek in our guide to the city’s most confusing place names. WATCH THE VIDEO
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Gold Coast is a pretty multicultural place.
Tourists from all around the world descend on our world-famous city for sun, surf and spectacular nightlife.
But while the name “Gold Coast” is pretty straightforward for out-of-towners to pronounce, some of our suburbs? Not so much.
So it’s hard to believe all of our Glitter Strip locations were left off a list of the most mispronounced places in Australia.
The list was compiled by language learning platform Preply using analysis of Google Search data.
Cairns, Prahran, Melbourne, Launceston and Gloucester all made the top five, followed by Canberra, Balmain, Ngunnawal, Warwick and Derby.
Feeling snubbed, we put together our own list of the Gold Coast’s most mispronounced names, in no particular order.
1. Mudgeeraba
How it’s pronounced: muh·juh·ruh·baa
What does it mean: It is believed the name came from an Aboriginal expression describing sticky or muddy ground.
According to the Yugambeh-Bundjalung Dictionary, it also describes a geographically “boggy place”.
Fun fact: The suburb’s first hotel, named The Mudgeeraba Hotel, opened on December 21, 1883.
2. Bonogin
How it’s pronounced: Buh-no-gn
What it means: The name is believed to be derived from the Aboriginal word Boonoo, meaning red bloodwood.
Fun fact: Some of the first industries in the area were timber cutting and dairying.
3. Coombabah
How it’s pronounced: koom·buh·baa
What it means: It is thought to be derived from an Aboriginal word meaning place or home of the turtles. Another suggestion is that it means “pocket of land”.
Fun fact: The area is very popular with retirees.
4. Clagiraba
How it’s pronounced: kla-gear-a-bah
What it means: It comes from the indigenous name “Kalagareebah” meaning young or single men’s ground. This area is known for being a place where young indigenous men were taken during their initiation ceremony.
Fun fact: The 2010 Miss Universe pageant second runner up, Jesinta Franklin grew up in Clagiraba.
5. Guanaba
How it’s pronounced: gwuh·naa·buh
What it means: This was a major meeting place for the Yugambeh people in Beenleigh, which was originally known as Guanaba.
Fun fact: It had a population of 793 people in 2016.
6. Tallebudgera
How it’s pronounced: ta-luh·buh·juh·ruh
What it means:According to Tallebudgera State School, it is an Aboriginal word believed to mean “good fish”. It combines Talle meaning “fish” and budgerie meaning “good”.
Fun fact: Tallebudgera was originally known as Maybree
7. Tugun
How it’s pronounced: choo·gn
What it means: It’s understood Tugun got its name from an Indigenous word of unknown dialect and means “breaking waves”.
Fun fact: The Tugun Surf Life Saving Club first started beach patrols in 1925.
8. Worongary
How it’s pronounced: wuh·rong·guh·ree
What it means: It is believed the name was derived from an Aboriginal word meaning the flight of a pigeon, indigenous vine or “the vine that climbs”.
Fun fact: The Worongary Creek drains into the lakes in Clear Island Waters.
9. Wongawallan
How it’s pronounced: wong-guh-wol-lan
What it means: Believed to be derived from an Aboriginal expression describing a pigeon and water, “wonga” meaning pigeon and “walla” meaning water.
Fun fact: The area was originally called Mt Goulburn
10. Yatala
How it’s pronounced: yah·taa·luh
What it means: It comes from an Aboriginal word describing a swampy area and means “water running by the side of a river”.
Fun fact: The area’s most well-known landmark is the Yatala Pies shop.
11. Benowa
How it’s pronounced: buh·now·uh
What it means: Derived from the Bundjalung word “Boonow”, it means bloodwood tree.
Fun fact: A Benowa resident in the early 1900s believed that the area’s name actually meant “silver water”.
12. Gaven
How it’s pronounced: gay·vn
What it means:The Centre for the Government of Queensland explains it was named after a prominent family in the area. Eric Gaven served as a local shire councillor between 1935 and 1966 and later, a state representative for Southport between 1950 and 1960.
Fun fact: Since 2004, much of Gaven was renamed as the separate suburb of Pacific Pines.
13. Ormeau
How it’s pronounced: aw·mow
What it means: Ormeau means “young elm” in French
Fun fact: It took its name from an early sugar plantation in the area owned by A.J. Boyd in 1871.
14. Molendinar
How it’s pronounced: mo·luhn·dai·nuh
What it means: Named after a stream in Glasgow called Molendinar Burn but its dictionary definition relates to a mill or a person who works in or lives in a mill.
Fun fact: The area is also known as Silver Bridle, the same name as a local park.
15. Pimpama
How it’s pronounced: pimp-paa·muh
What it means: Little is known about where the name comes from but it is believed to be of Aboriginal origin, referring to freshwater crayfish or species of native birds.
Fun fact: The first school in Pimpama opened in the 1870s.
Join the conversation
Burleigh-to-Gold Coast Airport public transport bombshell
Futuristic buses and a giant transit centre in Burleigh are on the agenda to connect light rail to Gold Coast Airport as the tram’s future extension south is increasingly unclear.
Read more
The words we need to hear about Gold Coast transport
Whether roads, rail or buses, amid stultifying gridlock on the Gold Coast the residents of this city desperately need to know what’s next, writes Keith Woods.
Read more