The Gazetteer of Australia is an index or dictionary of the location and spelling of geographical names across Australia. Geographic names include towns, suburbs and roads, plus geographical features such as hills, rivers, and lakes.
The index is compiled by the Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) from determinations made by state, territory, and Australian government agencies.
The authorities that work on geographic names in Australia are as follows:
Australian Capital Territory - National Memorials Committee - National Memorials Ordinance 1928ACT Place Names Committee New South Wales - Geographical Names Board of New South WalesGeographical Names Board of New South Wales - Geographical Names Act, 1966 Northern Territory - Place Names Committee for the Northern Territory - Place Names Act 1978 Queensland - Department of Natural Resources and Mines manages Queensland place names - Queensland Place Names Act 1988Queensland place names South Australia - Geographical Names Board of South Australia - Act 101 1969Place Names SA Tasmania - Nomenclature Board of Tasmania - Survey Co-ordination Act 1944 amendments of 1955 and 1964The List Victoria - Place Names Committee - Survey Co-ordination (Place Names) Act 1965, updated to Geographic Place Names Act 1998VICNAMES Western Australia - Geographic Names CommitteeWestern Australian Place Names and Addressing - Land Administration Act 1997 (originally the Nomenclature Advisory Committee, appointed in 1936)
As of January 2012, there are 370,000 place names in Australia. These are searchable in an online database hosted by Geoscience Australia and the entire data set can be downloaded here.
See also Committee for Geographical Names in Australasia Suburbs and localities (Australia)
References
External links Australian place name search Committee for Geographical Names in Australasia