What do the man who translated the Koran into English, a boy married before his second birthday and a Turkish tree have in common?
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They all have streets in Orange named after them.
The history of Orange's streets is a rich tapestry.
Welcome to the first of a weekly series, where with the help of the Orange and District Historical Society, we will be exploring the streets of your town.
This week we look at three streets named after people who have never lived in Orange.
SALE STREET
Englishman George Sale lived and died long before the English arrived in Australia and therefore long before Orange was settled.
The noted orientalist and solicitor is best known for translating the Koran into English in 1734.
Historian and former Labor MP for Orange William Folster, who wrote a series of articles in the Central Western Daily in 1949 on the history of Orange's streets said it was unclear why the link to the Orange street was made.
"There does not appear to have been any particular reason why his name was chosen other than that he was a famous linguist and scholar," he said.
BYNG STREET
It is unsurprising that British figures got the nod for Orange street names when the town was laid out in the 1850s.
But naming one after an admiral who was court martialled and shot dead by a firing squad for failing to obey instructions to attack the French is unusual.
Admiral John Byng was only 13 when he followed his father into the British Navy in 1718.
He went on to build a fine career in the navy and became a member of parliament in 1751 before being sent to Minorca to relieve a British garrison under fire.
After a battle with the French navy he retreated to Gibraltar to repair his ships.
However he was found guilty of failing to "do his utmost" to prevent Minorca falling to the French.
He was shot dead on March 14, 1757.
In 1949 Mr Folster said the NSW surveyor general Sir Thomas Mitchell named the street and the area east of Orange after the admiral "which showed he judged Byng to be a most honourable man."
SAMPSON STREET
William Sampson, described as being from a pioneer Bathurst family, owned 640 acres, called Campdale, on Orange's western edge, including where Duntryleague now stands.
He paid 160 pounds for the land grant in 1836.
Orange and District Historial Society treasurer, Les Hughes, wrote in the 1980s that Mr Sampson later lived in Bathurst and Mudgee.
"So far as can be ascertained Sampson never lived in Orange," he wrote.
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