Garie Beach

Pronouncing Towns in Australia!?

Can someone tell me how to Correctly pronouce these places! I think i can get most of them, just dont want to sound like a total tourist on my trip to australia! :) thanks! Airlie Beach Bondi Beach Byron Bay Cairns Fraser Island Hervey Bay Kuranda Sydney (just kidding!) Whitsunday

Public Comments

1. AIR lee (emphasis on AIR as in hair; lee as in sea) BON DI (Bon as in hot; Di as in Princess Di) BY ron (emphasis on BY as in cry; ron as in tin) Cairns (rhymes with tans) FRA SER (emphasis on FRA as in may; ser as in zer) HER VEY (emphasis on HER as in tar; vey as in sea) Ku RAN da (Ku as in ca(t); emphasis on RAN as in pan; da as in duck) Whit- Sunday (Whit ryhmes with nit; Sunday as in the day of the week) I hope this is easy enough for you to follow. In any case, don't worry if you pronounce the places incorrectly. Many Queenslanders themselves still stumble over the pronunciations over different places and suburbs. Hope you have a great holiday; it sounds like you're visiting some fantastic spots!
2. I might get some of these wrong myself (and I am an Australian!) but here goes: Airlie Beach - AIR-ly Beach Bondi Beach - bon-DIE Beach byron bay - BUY-ron bay Cairns - either Cairns (air as in hair) or CANS (Queenslanders use the latter) Fraser Island - FRAY-zer island Hervey bay - I would say this HER-vee bay however Queenslanders say HAR-vee bay. Kuranda - I would say koo-RAN-dah Sydney - I'm a sydney-sider so I have to say SINNEY- for everyone else its SYD-ney Whitsunday Islands - wit-SUN-day islands a couple of others you might want to remember too: Wooloomoolloo (nsw) - WOO-loo-MOO-loo Wauchope (nsw) - WAR-hope Uki (nsw) - You-KIE (kie rhymes with sky) Buladelah - b-YOU-la-DEE-lah Jervis Bay - JAR-vis bay Coogee - in Sydney say COULD-gee, in Western Australia say coo-GEE (but dont mix them up or laughter will ensue). Albany (wa) - AL-ban-ee (al rhymes with halal not ball) Albury (nsw) - ALL-bury Monkey Mia (wa) - mon-KEE MY-ah Derby (wa) - DER-bee (not darby) Artamon (nsw) - ar-TAR-mon (not ARTA-mon as west aussies say it) Cockburn Sound (wa) - COE-burn sound Mandurah (wa) - MAN-Joo-RAH Melbourne - Victorians say MAL-bourne, everyone else says MEL-bourne.
3. Don't worry, I'm sure you will get laughed at if you pronounce them wrong but Australia is so full of strange names that no one gets them all right. Sometimes there are interstate celebrities on the tv that have to read a list of people from various localities that have made donations or won prizes etc and it is quite hilarious hearing them trying to say all the local place names and getting a load of them wrong :)