81

Grosvenor Street,
Toowong, S.W.1.
28th February, 1940.

Dear Sir,

In replying to your letter of 27th inst. asking
for aboriginal words meaning plenty of water, I have no
knowledge of the western languages, but the word kung, or
koong, a word meaning water, was used by the natives over
a large part of S.E.Q'land including the Darling Downs
and probably was in vogue at Roma. If the name is to
be applied to a large extent of water the words koong
gumai, meaning big water, may suit. These are Logan
district words. Common Kabi (Wide Bay) words for
plenty, much & many, are maiyan, murrin, and murra,
differing so with locality or speaker. If the name
is to apply to a place where the water is plentifully
available I would suggest the name Kunģamuŕra
(Koong(a)murra) as being the most euphonious. The
intermediate letter a (to be barely accented) is
inserted to liquify the sound of the compound word as
is aboriginal custom.

I have some hesitation in suggesting a name for a
western place because the adjectival syllables here given
may have quite different meaning in the local dialect.

Surely two such common words might have been acquired
locally from some old hand who has been in contact with
the blacks about Roma.

Yours faithfully,
FJWatson
(F.J.Watson).

To/
Mr. Sydney May,
Hon. Secretary,
Place Names Committee,
University of Queensland.

Kobbo-walla