Morandoo is the name of railway sidings at Port Waratah in Newcastle. A 30 June 1937 article suggests that Morandoo was also used as a locality name.

Although this name appeared in the Newcastle Family History Society’s list of obsolete names in 1984 the name for the siding is still in use , although it will be an unfamiliar one to many. The name first appears in the NSW Government Gazette of 28 October 1918, in the Railways By-Law 525.

A number of places say that “Morandoo” is an aboriginal name meaning “the sea”, but I have not found an authoritative source. In particular the Awabakal language dictionary does not contain this word, so I have some doubt about the suggested meaning.

This page is part of the collection of Newcastle’s Obsolete Place Names.