“Invarcargill”
“ Invercargill ” means “ Cargill’s estuary ”, named after Captain William Cargill, whose only connexion with the place was that he happened to be the Superintendent of Otago in 1857 when the first permanent habitations were built. Captain Cargill may not have felt flattered at the time, for the first surveyor of the estuary which receives the waters of the Waihopai, Makarewa, and Oreti rivers described the area as a “ mere bog and unfit for habitation ”. This digression into the origins of the Dominion’s southernmost city is, of course, prompted by the mis-spelling, “ Invarcargill ”, in the School Certificate geography paper. A hard-hearted Education Department has announced that it will not allow the mis-spelling as an excuse for failing this paper. The department explains that the fault lies with the Lands and Survey Department, whose map was faithfully reproduced, mistake and all. One wonders how long the Lands and Survey Department would have got away with its blunder but for this blaze of unfortunate publicity. The moral of the story, if there is one, appears to be that the Lands and Survey Department should purge its Invercargill staff of sassenachs, for none but a sassenach could have perpetrated “ Invarcargill ”.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19661202.2.105
Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31232, 2 December 1966, Page 12
Word Count
196“Invarcargill” Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31232, 2 December 1966, Page 12
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Acknowledgements
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