Traditional Place Names

We recognise that Australia always was and always will be Aboriginal land, and we want to learn more about Indigenous culture, history and language.

Australia Post - 2021

In 2021, Australia Post launched parcels marking traditional place names.

Australians will now be prompted to include traditional place names when addressing letters and parcels.

The new Australia Post packaging will include a dedicated spot where customers can choose to include the First Nation country, just above the street address on a letter or parcel.

AustPost - Find A Post Code

At this point in time (2024), AustPost does not display a Traditional Place Name with a suburb / post code.

Find A Post Code

How to find a Traditional Place Name

To acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land your item is being delivered on, you can include those place names in the address field. When sending items you can include a Traditional Place name in either the address you're sending from, or in the recipient's address.

To find Traditional Place names, check AIATSIS, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Councils, or Cultural Centres in your local area.

AIATSIS

Map of Indigenous Australia

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia is made up of many different and distinct groups, each with their own culture, customs, language and laws.

They are the world's oldest surviving culture; cultures that continue to be expressed in dynamic and contemporary ways.

This map attempts to represent the language, social or nation groups of Aboriginal Australia.

It shows only the general locations of larger groupings of people which may include clans, dialects or individual languages in a group.

It used published resources from the eighteenth century-1994 and is not intended to be exact, nor the boundaries fixed.

It is not suitable for native title or other land claims.

David R Horton (creator), © AIATSIS, 1996.
No reproduction without permission.

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The AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia
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Copyright and reproduction permission for the AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia

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Australia

Below are the traditional place names of Australia's major cities. Please note this list is not definitive. Alternative place names and alternative spellings may exist.

Importantly, each city is located on the sovereign and unceded Country of First Nations people. In general, acknowledging Country is not the same as using traditional place names. For example, Boorloo is the traditional place name for Perth, but Boorloo is located on Whadjuk Noongar Country.

Mparntwe (Alice Springs)⁠ - Arrernte Country
Tarndanya (Adelaide)⁠ - Kaurna Country
Meanjin/Magandjin (Brisbane)⁠ - Yuggera/Jagera and Turrbal Country
Gimuy (Cairns)⁠ - Yirriganydji and Yidinji Country
Canberra - Ngambri and Ngunnawal Country
Gulumoerrgin (Darwin)⁠ - Larrakia Country
nipaluna (Hobart)⁠ - nipaluna country
Naarm (Melbourne)⁠ - Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung Country
Boorloo (Perth)⁠ - Whadjuk Noongar Country
Warrane/Warrang (Sydney Cove) - Gadigal Country