Re: ODD DESTINATIONS

["Ron BESDANSKY (formerly Ron BEST)" <ronbest@bigpond.com>]

Eddie Oliver <eoliver@efs.mq.edu.au> wrote in message
376F81F1.91D0B5D9@efs.mq.edu.au">news:376F81F1.91D0B5D9@efs.mq.edu.au...
> "Ron BESDANSKY (formerly Ron BEST)" wrote:
>
> Snip

> > For that matter, why would you call
> > a place "Last month"?? (Ultimo, Sydney - could be added to the original
list
> > as there was an Ultimo tram depot, and, of course, Ultimo Street Signal
> > Box.) (If anyone doesn't know the origin of "Ultimo" as a place name,
and
> > wants to, pls tell me.)
>
> And Ultima in Victoria?
>
> Presumably it was not called "ultimo" to mean "last month". "Ultimo" is
> just one variant of a Latin word which takes many different forms and
> from which the word "ultimate" is also derived.
>
> Eddie

The story I heard was that Mr Harris (as in Harris St etc), who owned much
of the land in what is now Pyrmont/Ultimo, was on some charge or other. When
it got to court, the charge was dismissed because the date of the offence
was shown as "12th Ultimo" (don't know which actual day of the month, but it
doesn't matter), whereas it should have read "12th Instant" (i.e. 12th of
the current month). So he saved a bundle of money or a jail term because
someone incorrectly wrote "Ultimo", so he named his estate after the word
that saved him!
-
Rgds

Ron BESDANSKY (formerly Ron BEST)