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The European Naming of the Oldfield River

Named as the Oldfield River by the settler Michael Simon Dempster in a letter written in 1866, the river is thought to have been named after Augustus Frederick Oldfield a plant collector who was active around the south coast of Western Australia. The river was most likely named by Albert Young Hassell of Jerramungup who explored the area in 1861.[4]

There appears to be some conjecture regarding the European naming of the Oldfield River. One theory is the river was named by the settler Michael Simon Dempster, in a letter written in 1866, after Augustus Frederick Oldfield, a plant collector who was active around the south coast of Western Australia. Another is the river was most likely named by Albert Young Hassell of Jerramungup who explored the area in 1861. However, in early 2022, a staff member at the National Herbarium of Victoria (MEL) catalogued a specimen of Hibbertia racemosa (Endl.) Gilg. collected on the Oldfield River with a hand written annotation by Ferdinand von Mueller stating "This river was named by me. F.M.", no doubt after his colleague Augustus Frederick Oldfield.

Label of a MEL specimen of Hibbertia racemosa, (Syn. Hibbertia subexcisa), collected at the Oldfield River which attributes the naming of the river to Ferdinand von Mueller.

Category:Rivers Category:19th-century Australian botanists