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Mar. 30th, 2011 01:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xenithThis might be of interest people who don't know about it (which is probably most people on the planet).
This is the Town Square, in the centre of Launceston, in Cornwall, in the UK, near the River Tamar. (Nothing interesting about that particular image, except it was easy to use, because I borrowed it from Wikipedia Commons).
But back in 1758 the town was the birthplace of Philip Gidley King, who was governor of NSW from about 1800-1806, at the time when it was decided that the latest attempt at a settlement in northern Van Diemen's Land needed a name. So in honour of King, the city-to-be was named Launceston, on the River Tamar, in the county of Cornwall. (Although we don't use counties now, but the name hangs about in various places.)
Which is this place. Ten times the population of its namesake, and probably one-tenth the age.
The tendency of British settlers to recycle familiar place names is well known, but I think they outdid themselves just a touch there. (Interesting anecdote on the Wikipedia page about the fountain being misdirected. I haven't heard that before, but the fountain did come from France (from the World Exhibition in Paris IIRC) so it's possible.
There used to be a closer connection between the two places, gift exchanges, visits by each mayor (or whatever the correct title is). I have read a note from the UK dignitary claiming that Tasmanian city is the daughter city of its UK namesake so Melbourne must be the grand-daughter city.
This is the Town Square, in the centre of Launceston, in Cornwall, in the UK, near the River Tamar. (Nothing interesting about that particular image, except it was easy to use, because I borrowed it from Wikipedia Commons).
But back in 1758 the town was the birthplace of Philip Gidley King, who was governor of NSW from about 1800-1806, at the time when it was decided that the latest attempt at a settlement in northern Van Diemen's Land needed a name. So in honour of King, the city-to-be was named Launceston, on the River Tamar, in the county of Cornwall. (Although we don't use counties now, but the name hangs about in various places.)
Which is this place. Ten times the population of its namesake, and probably one-tenth the age.
The tendency of British settlers to recycle familiar place names is well known, but I think they outdid themselves just a touch there. (Interesting anecdote on the Wikipedia page about the fountain being misdirected. I haven't heard that before, but the fountain did come from France (from the World Exhibition in Paris IIRC) so it's possible.
There used to be a closer connection between the two places, gift exchanges, visits by each mayor (or whatever the correct title is). I have read a note from the UK dignitary claiming that Tasmanian city is the daughter city of its UK namesake so Melbourne must be the grand-daughter city.
