Repentance Creek, New South Wales
Repentance Creek
Guhnyin or Coonyun (Bandjalang) | |
|---|---|
Repentance Creek | |
| Coordinates: 28°37′54″S 153°24′4″E / 28.63167°S 153.40111°E | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales |
| LGA | |
| Government | |
| • State electorate | |
| • Federal division | |
| Population | |
| • Total | 104 (2016 census)[2] |
| Postcode | 2480 |
Repentance Creek is a locality located in the Northern Rivers Region of New South Wales and it is located in the Lismore City Council local government area and is approximately 28.5 kilometres (17.7 mi) from the regional centre of Lismore.[3]
It is on the lands of the Widjabal people of the Bundjalung nation who are its traditional owners.[4]
History and origin of place name
One of the first Europeans to explore this creek was Dan Withers, a 'cedar-getter' and teamster, who was involved in the forestry industry and primarily based at a logging camp in Bexhill and it was then known to Europeans as Boggy Creek. He recorded to Bundjalung language name of the creek as being coonyun which he was told meant 'good-fellow'.[5] Linguist Margaret Sharpe believed this is a misspelling of the word guhnyin which means friend.[6]
The origin of the European name are less clear with numerous stories involving repentance, all in relation to logging, which relate to either regret about financial loss or theft.[6] The name came to use around 1873 when it began being used regularly, replacing the earlier European name,[7] and, in 1928 the Northern Star stated "[t]he scenery is beautiful, even if the name seems inappropriate".[8]
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Repentance Creek (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Repentance Creek (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ "Repentance Creek (Locality)". NSW Place and Road Naming Proposals System. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ "Lismore's First Peoples". www.lismore.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ Brunswick Valley Historical Society Inc (2019), Labels and landmarks : the many meanings of Brunswick Valley place names, Brunswick Valley Historical Society Inc, p. 78, ISBN 9780958592192
- ^ a b Marciniak, Catherine (12 September 2017). "Find out how Repentance Creek got its name". ABC News. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
- ^ "The new road to the Tweed". Clarence And Richmond Examiner And New England Advertiser. Vol. XV, no. 973. New South Wales, Australia. 2 September 1873. p. 6. Retrieved 9 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Repentance Creek: its history outlined". The Northern Star. Vol. 53. New South Wales, Australia. 18 September 1928. p. 11. Retrieved 9 September 2025 – via National Library of Australia.