Tanilba Avenue

Tanilba Avenue, named Tanilba Track by Henry F Halloran, followed the original track used by Aboriginal people camped in the area. The trail led to Lt William Caswell’s Tanilba House estate.

Tanilba, as it was called by the local Aboriginal people, derives its name from ‘tanil’ meaning white flowers, and “ba” which means water. Tanilba is therefore the place of white flowers beside the water. White flowers, or flannel flowers, bloom in huge numbers throughout the peninsula in spring.

Name Changed from Tanilba Track

In the mid 1970’s there was pressure from newcomers to Tanilba Bay to change some street names. Tanilba Track is the only street name that was changed from the original name given to it by Henry F Halloran. Tanilba Track was renamed Tanilba Avenue. It is for this reason that it is only 1 of 2 streets that do not have alliteration in their name.

Tanilba Avenue No Through Road

Adding to Tanilba Avenue’s unique characteristics, there’s a peculiar aspect where a segment of the road was never developed between King Albert Avenue and Lloyd George Grove. Consequently, you are unable to drive along the original track once used by the Aboriginal people and early settlers.

The road surface of Tanilba Avenue was never developed between Lloyd George Grove & King Albert Avenue. See the dotted lines on the map. This is now a no-through road.