WERE towns and villages in other parts of the world that have North-East place names, such as Newcastle in Australia and Durham in North Carolina, originally settled by people from the North-East? - Jeff Wilkinson, South Moor, Stanley.

NEWCASTLE, New South Wales, is Australia's second oldest city and is certainly named after Newcastle upon Tyne. It was given the name in 1804 by a local governor called King, who also named the surrounding county Northumberland. Newcastle is on the Australian east coast, at the mouth of the Hunter River, 80 miles north of Sydney and, although originally a penal colony, is most famous for its rich seams of coal. Like Newcastle, England, it developed as a coal mining town and there can be no doubt that this influenced the choice of its name. Coal was shipped from here as early as 1799, so a good supply of miners was needed. Many people came to Newcastle from these areas. A study of place names around Newcastle shows that they are derived mainly from Aboriginal words or British place names. A large number are named after towns and villages in the North-East of England. Also, at the mouth of the Hunter River, opposite Newcastle, is the town of Stockton. However, it is claimed that this is a corruption of 'Scots' town', signifying Scottish settlement in the area. There is a place called Darlington in this region, but most place names have their equivalents in Tyneside, Wearside or Northumberland. They include Gateshead, Killingworth, Jesmond, Hebburn, Heaton, Lambton, Gosforth, Seaham, Ryhope, Hetton, Rothbury, Morpeth, Newbottle, Hexham, Elemore and Pelton.

Durham, North Carolina, takes its name from Dr Bartlett Durham, who gave his name to the city in the early 1800s. The city and its neighbouring county, also called Durham, are famed for the curing of tobacco. Its most famous brand, Bull Durham, was made here after a certain John Green of the American Blackwell Tobacco Company adopted the Bull emblem from Colman's Mustard in England. Mr Green mistakenly believed that Colman's mustard was made in Durham, England, and so called his brand Bull Durham. The mistake arose because Durham City (England) was once famed for making mustard. Colman's of Norwich had developed the mustard recipe invented in Durham in the 1700s. I don't suppose the name Bull Norwich would have ever caught on.

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