Yorkey's Knob

Book excerpt: Sick Sheep Gully. Nightcap. Tittybong. Believe it or not, these are all true blue Aussie places. But how did they get such quirky monickers? All is revealed in YORKEY'S KNOB, a light-hearted romp through some of our more bizarre localities and the perfect gift this Christmas. From the many delightful names derived from indigenous words (Coober Pedy, for example, is said to mean 'white man down hole') to the optimistic (Arcadia), the pessimistic (Mount Despair) and the downright sniggerworthy (Burrumbuttock, anyone?), this book is chock-full of fascinating snippets of Australian history and trivia - and quite a few tall tales. And the Yorkey's Knob of the title? Well it was rather prosaically named for a local fisherman who hung out at the big end of the beach. But today the locals sell T-shirts that proudly claim: YORKEY'S KNOB: BIGGER THAN MOBY'S DICK!