Tom Uglys Bridge - History - Origin of The Name

Origin of The Name

Tom Uglys Bridge took its name from the geographical feature at the northern end of the bridge, known as Tom Uglys Point. The point was known as Tom Uglys Point over 80 years prior to the construction of the bridge.

There are several theories about the origin of the name of the point. All the theories involve a distortion of the name of either a local European or Aboriginal resident of the area. One theory is that it was named after a local resident Tom Huxley and the name was a mispronunciation by local Aborigines. Descendants of Thomas Huxley have concluded that he lived and owned land in the area, but official records do not exist to verify this. An alternative theory is that the name is derived from the name of a local Aboriginal man, Tow-weiry, who lived in the area and died about 1846. Another theory is that there was a local fisherman resident in the area by the name of Tom Illigley. Yet another is that there was a one-legged man, possibly an army deserter or a boat operator, called either "Tom Woggleg" or "Wogul Leg Tom", either because of a mispronunciation of wooden leg, or from the local Aboriginal dialect word for "one".

The name was officially adopted to distinguish between the various bridges of the Georges River, after the opening of the Captain Cook Bridge in 1965 and the Alfords Point Bridge in 1973.