WHENCE CAME THE NAME

Although there is no absolute certainty concerning the source of naming Dalby, the theory most widely held and certainly the most acceptable is that it is named after the "pretty little town" of Dalby situated near the west coast of the Isle of Man, about five miles from the ancient city of Peel.

The name of that village derives from two old Norse words - Dal and By (meaning Dale town) obviously given to the place by the Norse conquerors of the island over a thousand years before. The inhabitants were sturdy and industrious and clearly belonged to the Celtic race and even in the early days of this century conversed in Manx. Since then, for economic reasons, the native tongue has given place to the most useful English speech.

During the middle of the last century, the population of the island Dalby steadily declined and many families migrated to Australia and other British Dominions.

Although it has never been satisfactorily established that any of the early settlers actually came from Dalby itself, there is much evidence that there was a considerable amount of immigration of Manxmen just prior to the establishment of the Queensland Dalby when it was colloquially known as Myall Creek, so that the Manx origin is by far the most likely.

Another theory which was at one time propounded locally was that the town's name was chosen in the office of the Home Secretary of the time in Sydney and that it was named after a prominent officer of that department but there was no confirmation whatever of this suggestion.