Sir Walter Scott and place names in Australia and New Zealand

Summary of the Talk:

This text explores the widespread influence of Sir Walter Scott’s work, particularly his novels and poems, on place naming in Australia and New Zealand. The talk discusses how various locations, including streets, towns, and properties in these countries, were named after Scott's characters, novels, and even his home, Abbotsford.

1. Scott's Influence on Place Names: A significant number of places in Australia and New Zealand are named after Scott’s literary works rather than the author himself. This practice mirrors how Shakespeare’s characters have been used for place names in other parts of the world. In these countries, towns, streets, and even gold mines were named after characters like Ivanhoe, Waverley, and Kenilworth.
2. Colonial Memory: The spread of Scott-related place names reflects the colonial relationship between Britain and its former colonies. Scott’s works provided settlers, especially the Scots, a literary connection to their homeland and its traditions. His novels were used as a framework to romanticize the colonial experience, blending the adventurous spirit of settlers with the themes of property, stability, and British cultural heritage.
3. Waverley and Abbotsford: "Waverley" is the most common place name derived from Scott’s works, seen in locations across both Australia and New Zealand. The suburb of Waverley in Sydney and Melbourne’s Glen and Mount Waverley suburbs are examples of how Scott’s literary influence persisted in place names. Abbotsford, though seemingly named after Scott's home, often had different origins, such as being named after local settlers or surveyors.
4. Scott’s Cultural Role: While Scott was highly regarded in the colonies, his fame did not always translate into widespread readership. For example, while Waverley was a popular title, other works like Ivanhoe had far fewer borrowings in libraries, suggesting that Scott’s legacy was more cultural than literary for many settlers.
5. The Role of Scots Immigrants: Many of the settlers who named places after Scott were Scots themselves, aiming to recreate a sense of home and nostalgia in their new environments. Some of the naming was motivated by a desire to "domesticate" the foreign landscapes of Australia and New Zealand.
6. Literary Romanticism in the Colonies: The naming of places in colonial Australia and New Zealand often carried an air of romantic adventure. This was tied to the settlers’ desire to reframe the challenges of colonial life into a more reassuring and heroic narrative, much like the plots in Scott's novels, which typically feature a final resolution of chaos into stability.
7. Burns vs. Scott: While Burns enjoyed more formal public commemorations (like statues and clubs), Scott’s influence was primarily through place names. This may be because Burns was seen as a symbol of distinct Scottish identity, whereas Scott was more intertwined with British culture, making him a less central figure in public Scottish commemorations abroad.

In summary, the talk reveals how the names inspired by Scott’s works in Australia and New Zealand serve as both a testament to his literary legacy and a reflection of the colonial mindset. They reflect settlers’ desires to retain a sense of Britishness and continuity in new and unfamiliar lands.