Perth is home to many suburbs, some with unique names. But the pronunciation (and mispronunciation) of Cockburn leaves both locals and vistors perplexed as to how became the first contender to name a suburb after.
Australia, and in particular Perth, is tied to its colonial beginnings. Perth’s founding by Captain James Stirling saw a swathe of suburbs named after officers in the British Navy, and hence the name Cockburn pronounced ‘co-burn’, came about.
According to local history in 1827, Captain Stirling named the city after well-known British Naval Officer, Admiral Sir George Cockburn.
The son of a British Parliamentarian, the suburb’s namesake joined the navy as a captain’s servant before he turned 10 and had become a lieutenant by the time he was 19. By the time he was 40 he was gaining fame for his contributions to the War of 1812 between England and America, leading an attack on Washington DC and the Whitehouse in 1814.
Journalist and historian Peter Snow offers a different perspective though in his book When Britiain Burned the White House. In his words: “When he began causing havoc in the Chesapeake in 1813, he was soon condemned by Americans as a ‘brutal monster’ and ‘a disgrace to England and human nature’. He attacked towns and villages, setting them alight and killing any who resisted his attacks. The United States offered a huge reward for his capture – alive or dead – and even 500 dollars for each of his ears.”
Before the war in Amercia, Cockburn had been commended by Britain’s Admiral Nelson for his efforts in the Napoleonic Wars, being the first gaoler of Napoleon.
Following these two career highlights, he returned to England where he was elected as a Member of Parliament in 1818, serving as the Parliament’s First Naval Lord. In this position, he made improvements to all aspects of life for the British Naval Fleet, which made him popular with navy personnel, and hence the recognition by Captain James Stirling.
The City of Cockburn’s Local History Officer, Denise Cook said it is strongly believed that because of Cockburn’s reputation, Captain James Stirling favoured him.
“The Admiral seemed to have been a very active navy and political individual who was seen as outstanding at the time after being promoted multiple times in his career.”
Ms Cook said: “The naming of Cockburn represents a different era in naming, it was an era when places were named after significant people, usually kind of high-ranking people in society, government, or politics.”
But he acknowledged that the name did not hold any importance to the history of Perth and had the potential to change.
“I don’t know that it necessarily is important that we keep this name, I suppose we are in an era now, where we are reviewing a lot of names, but that’s a political decision that may be made down the track.”
Though the colonial history behind the name provides context to Admiral Sir George Cockburn’s timeline, the suburb has been on several lists of worst suburb names across Australia.
Licensee Director at Professionals Property Executives in Cockburn Sara Doig said her company decided to drop Cockburn from their name when changing companies.
“We are based in Cockburn Central, and we used to have the business name Cockburn Central Property Executive, but I will admit that when we moved to Professionals, we did drop and get rid of Cockburn from our name.”
Ms Doig said most West Aussies are used to the name, but she often encounters a few prospective buyers from over east who ponder over the pronunciation.
“I’ve never had anyone say the name put them off buying a property in the area. I feel like it is just accepted locally, when you deal with people over east, you get a few of those comments.”
Though the name might hint otherwise, Cockburn has an annual economic output of $28.868 billion and provides 51,957 jobs for the state’s economy.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the most recent census in 2021 found that Cockburn had 115,824 residents, including the 32,145 families who are choosing it as the suburb to raise their children in.
City of Cockburn resident Sompong Colwell said that she would never move suburbs after living in Cockburn for 40 years.
“The name is one thing, but the acceptance and bond I have with the community since I moved from Thailand so many years ago is one that I refuse to leave. I have raised my children here and will continue to raise my grandchildren here.”
This article is part of a larger project called Where What Why. You can find the whole collection of stories about places and their names here.
