MOUNT BUGGERY TO NOWHERE ELSE by Eamon Evans

The stories behind Australia's many, many strange, inappropriate and downright hilarious place names. 

From Dismal Swamp to Useless Loop, Intercourse Island to Dead Mans Gully, Mount Buggery to Nowhere Else, Australia has some of the strangest, funniest, weirdest and most out-of-place names going - now described and explained in one humorous and fascinating book. 

 Australia's vast spaces and irreverent, larrikin history have given us some of the best place names in the world. Ranging from the less than positive (Linger and Die Hill, NSW), to the indelicate (Scented Knob, WA), the idiotic (Eggs and Bacon Bay, TAS) to the inappropriate and the just plain fascinating, MOUNT BUGGERY TO NOWHERE ELSE is a toponymical journey through this nation of weird and wonderful places.

From the moment I saw this book listed in the Hachette Australia catalogue, I knew this was something I would definitely be interested in. Not only because there really are some bizarre names all around Australia--I mean, I grew up near a place called Rooty Hill!--but also because as a writer, I love setting stories in Oz. So this book is going to come in very handy.

This turned out to be quite the book. I love the cover and even the way everything's set up inside. Each state and territory is separated, has its own introduction, and the places within each section are in alphabetical order. Very handy! There are also a bunch of peculiar, but funny illustrations peppered throughout. And some of the meanings--not just the names--to some of these places will either have you scratching your head or laughing out loud. I know I laughed at a few. LOL.

Actually, the only thing I was disappointed with was the lack of pictures. It would've been really cool to have location pics featured in the book.

And just for the record, yes, Rooty Hill is mentioned! :)

If you've ever wondered about some of our weird and wonderful location names, then this is definitely a book you'll want to check out. I'm shelving it in my reference book section, and I know I'll get plenty of use out of it.

Mount Buggery to Nowhere Else, October 2016, ISBN 9780733635588, Hachette Australia