Names
Australian Placenames of German Background
Hoffman (or Hoffman Mill), Western Australia
Hoffman is a rural neighbourhood 27 km north-east of Harvey in the south-west of Western Australia, on Pinjarup and Kaniyang land. Hoffman is a former timber mill town that was established by the company Millars Timber and Trading Co in 1897. A fire in 1917 year burned out the settlement and the company established a new settlement approximately 16km south-east of the original village in the year 1921. At its peak about 150 people lived at Hoffman Mill, and the township had a general store, post office, a sweet (lolly) shop, billiard hall, community hall and a one-room schoolhouse. There was a cricket pitch and even some tennis courts. An improvised swimming-pool was created in the Harvey River for the worker's children. In 1961 the mill was closed, and the buildings and other infrastructure were either demolished or relocated to other places. The site of Hoffman Mill became a campground and picnic area within the Dwellingup State Forest, and over many years there was an annual November reunion at Hoffman Mill of people who had grown up there during the time of the timber mill.[1]
Place name sign at the campsite at Hoffman Mill, W.A.
Photo source: the photo appears here by kind permission of Ian Lewis
Origin of the place name
The place Hoffman Mill was named after the type of bandsaw that was installed at the mill.[2] The saw was developed by Hoffman Brothers, a company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, around the year 1893.[3] The brothers Hoffman in the USA were no doubt descended from German immigrants. Hoffmann is one of the most common German family names, and Hoffman, without the final “n”, is a variant spelling that arose in the USA, in Poland and in the Czech Republic. The name is the 10th most common surname in Germany.[4]
In November 2022 public access to the area around Hoffman Mill was closed due to mining activities.
◀ Placenames in the Northern Territory & Western Australia...
♦ Notes:
1. Hocking Heritage Studio (2015), p.540
2. Sclater, J.B. (2005). History in forest names. In: A Forest Conscienceness: Proceedings of the Sixth National Conference of the Australian Forest History Society, Inc. (editors Mike Calver et al). Rotterdam: Millpress Science Publishers. p.479. Online at <https://www.foresthistory.org.au/Proceedings2004/141.pdf>.
3. Prescott, D. Clint. (1910). The Evolution of Modern Band Saw Mills for Sawing Logs. Menominee (Michigan, USA): The Prescott Company. p.9. Available at Project Gutenberg <www.gutenberg.org/files/55863/55863-h/55863-h.htm>
4. Kroiß, Daniel. (2023, July 17). Hoffmann. In: Digitales Familiennamenwörterbuch Deutschlands,
URL: < http://www.namenforschung.net/id/name/10/1 >
♦ References:
Hocking Heritage Studio. (2015, November). 'Hoffman Places'. In: Municipal Heritage Inventory Review - 2014, for the Shire of Harvey, Western Australia, p.540. Online at <www.harvey.wa.gov.au/build-and-develop/planning/heritage>