BALLINA: 

Originally called Depford then change to the indigenous name Bulloona (Discoveries in the N.E. Portion of New South Wales_Mitchell Library)

James Ainsworth, son of Thomas Ainsworth, said the name Bullenah was the aboriginal name for Ballina. He understood it related to fish and oysters, their abundance in the neighbourhood and the ease with which they could be obtained ((Trove 31.07.1936)

Balloona is also an Aboriginal name meaning 'place of dead, dying or wounded',' blood running from wounded' (Trove 26.4.1904 p.13)

The name Ballina is derived from the Aboriginal term bullen-bullen, meaning tournament, of which many are believed to have been held there and are often referred to in Aboriginal mythology.Various legends tell of a balugan, or hero, leaving home to travel to the coast intending to try his fighting prowess at a tournament (Steele, 1984).

Another legend associated with the Three Brothers states that the beautiful daughters of the brother who moved inland came over the mountains to Ballina to visit their kinsmen once a year. The daughters are said to be hidden in the dust storms that blow for two or three days in September (Steele, 1984)

An 1845 map of the Richmond River drawn by Assistant Surveyor J.C. Burnett shows the mouth of the river marked with the native name "Bul-loona'.(Lismore 100 years_Trove).

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