Ponkepurringa

Abstract

‘Ponke’-paringga was a Kaurna name for all or part of the Onkaparinga River on its coastal floodplain. The name was recorded as ‘Ponkepurringa’ on a map published by Sturt in 1833, the only known primary source of the spelling. ‘Purringa’ certainly represents the Kaurna word paringga, ‘at the river, river place’. The name therefore means “place of the ‘Ponke’ river”. However, the correct spelling of ‘Ponke’ and its meaning (if any) are very uncertain.