77

Grosvenor Street,
Toowong, S.W.1.
15th April, 1940.

Mr May,

Dear Sir,

I have your letter and additional list of place
names to hand. Of the latter I have made a review and am
enclosing it herewith. The names of which I have no knowledge
I have marked X. Please notie that with regard to differences
in spelling that dh, t, d, ch, and j are correctly optionally
used as is also k and g which may also be sounded as kg.

I the few occasions where v occurs it may be sounded as b or
bv or bf but never as v alone.

Re. Widgee Widgee Station, I cannot think that the name has
any connection with Widgee Widgeepin and I can offer no
suggestion except as previously given. In the district
now being dealt with, wojei wojei-bin means place of cedar
trees, and at Widgee Widgee station the word with the same
meaning would be pronounced almost the same, but I do not know
whether cedar trees were ever in evidence at either place.

Re Milmerran, I once spent about four months in this
locality. Mil'-mer'ran is the name of an isolated mountain a few
miles from the township to whcih its name has been given.

While there I learned that the name was derived from mil,
meaning eye, or, to see, and merran, the literal meaning of
which I cannot give but which practically means the surrounding
terrain. The name may be interpreted as "See all round
about". My informant express this by spreading his hand out
horizontally and moving it around in a circle. From the
top of this mountain an unbroken view of the surrounding country
for a great distance may be obtained.

Regarding my deductions as to the meaning of Goompi q.v.,
I would point out that ngumpin, ngumbing, and umpi are optionally
used except, perhaps in the opinion of an aboriginal purist.

The nasal, gutteral disgraph is, as one early writer, J.D.
Lang, has remarked, is used by the aboriginal as causa
euphoniae, or, for the sake of sound.

In the---