Ulimaroa

Ulimaroa was a name given to Australia by the Swedish geographer and cartographer Daniel Djurberg in 1776.[1] Djurberg adapted the name from Olhemaroa, a Māori word (this is disputed, as the Māori language does not use the letter ‘l’) found in Hawkesworth's edition of Captain James Cook and Sir Joseph Banks' journals which is thought to have been a misunderstood translation — the Māori were actually referring to Grand Terre, the largest island of New Caledonia.[1] Djurberg believed the name meant something like "big red land", whereas modern linguists believe it meant "long hand" — echoing the geography of Grand Terre.[1] The spurious name continued to be reproduced on certain European maps, particularly some Austrian, Czech, German and Swedish maps, until around 1820.,[1] including in Carl Almqvist's 1817 novel Parjumouf Saga ifrån Nya Holland (Stockholm, 1817).

Djurberg's 1780 map, with Ulimaroa

However, in Oceanic Migration: Paths, Sequence, Timing and Range of Prehistoric Migration in the Pacific and Indian Oceans (2010), Charles E.M. Pearce and F. M. Pearce claimed that Ulimaroa may well have been Australia: maroa means "large" and "parched", and can also mean "dark skinned", while uli means "tribe," making it an appropriate description, and that Maori from New Zealand were unlikely to view Grand Terre as a large island.[2]