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Names that fit as Snug as a bug

AS a Melburnian I am peeved with the Sydney suburb of Kirribilli. Why does itb get to enter the national lexicon with the "Kirribilli agreement"?

AS a Melburnian I am mightily peeved with the Sydney suburb of Kirribilli. Why is it this suburb gets to enter the national lexicon with the "Kirribilli agreement"?

This was the 1988 arrangement between Bob Hawke and Paul Keating regarding a proposed transfer of prime ministerial power.

Some places, like Kirribilli, get a free public relations kick when they attach their names to an important concept. Kyoto will forever own the environment space. Philadelphians must be clever because of the phrase "to be as smart as a Philadelphia lawyer". Even Stockholm gets a look-in via its unique association with hijackers: Stockholm syndrome is said to apply when hostages connect with their captors.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are other place names that clearly deserve a wider audience.

Who can resist smiling wherever they see written the Tasmanian township of Snug? Please tell me Snugglers live in Snug.

South Australia's Yorke Peninsula was once home to the Shire of Bute, which then merged with others to form the grander but blander district council of Barunga West. Bute is a word of Scottish extraction and is pronounced "beaut".

I want to be the mayor of Bute. (Do you think I could hold that position while living in Snug?)

Elsewhere in South Australia there was (again prior to boring amalgamations), the Adelaide municipality of Happy Valley. Pure marketing gold; surely everyone would want to live in Happy Valley. And yet the good people of Happy Valley saw fit to toss in their lot with the much-amalgamated City of Onkaparinga. Please Onkaparingans let my people go for I will lead them back to the place from whence they came. I will lead them over the rainbow to Happy Valley.

Elsewhere in Australia there are the towns of Banana and Orange; they need to get together with a delightful town on the west bank of Italy's Lago di Garda called Limone. Why can't sister cities be connected by fruit?

Several years ago while perusing an atlas for no apparent reason, I came across the town of Cucumber in the American state of West Virginia. And speaking of the US and unusual place names I offer the following factual advice. In Pennsylvania's (Amish) Lancaster County there is a town called Intercourse (population 1600). The neighbouring town is called Paradise (pop 1100). I have checked the road network and apparently it is not necessary to go through Intercourse to get to Paradise.

I promise I am not making this up. (And could I suggest when Googling these places that you use the search phrase "town of Intercourse".)

Who'd have thought the Amish could be so blunt in selecting place names? But not all towns are naturally blessed by their names. There is a town (more of a district really) in southeast South Australia called Dismal Swamp (pop 380). Apparently it is warmly regarded by the locals who affectionately refer to Dismal Swamp by the abbreviation Dis (pronounced Diz).

I have always been intrigued by the biblical towns of Sodom and Gomorrah. What were the residents up to in these places? The bible is such a tease. Either spell it out, Genesis, or run a sealed section.

And why is it that Sodom has had to cop bad PR for more than 2000 years as a place of debauchery and yet Gomorrah to this day gets off scot-free? How lucky is Gomorrah?

It got to carry on as it did, an equal and willing partner with Sodom, and yet Gomorrah's good name remains untarnished.

I suggest that we deliver justice on behalf of Sodom by ascribing an unpleasant term to Gomorrah. I've got it. Anyone who escapes justice even though they are guilty as sin is said to have "done a Gomorrah".

Bernard Salt is a KPMG Partner.
Facebook; Twitter; bsalt@kpmg.com.au

Bernard Salt
Bernard SaltColumnist

Bernard Salt is widely regarded as one of Australia’s leading social commentators by business, the media and the broader community. He is the Managing Director of The Demographics Group, and he writes weekly columns for The Australian that deal with social, generational and demographic matters.

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