How did Orange get its name? The myths behind the colour city

It was previously known as Blackman's Swamp and Soup Kitchen Valley, which according to the Freeman's Journal were not overly popular with the residents.

"Blackman's Swamp and Soup Kitchen Valley - names the present inhabitants would shudder to be applied to their flourishing town," it wrote in 1878.

Another discontinued newspaper, the Sydney Mail also published a story in 1896 showing a dislike of the former name.

"Blackman's Swamp, the old name of the township, was not sufficiently dignified and euphonious to suit the aesthetic tastes of the inhabitants."

In the late 1820s the name 'Orange' appears on the maps as a village parish. But it wasn't until 1846 that it was proclaimed a village and officially named Orange, advancing from a village to a town by 1885.

One myth suggests that Orange received its name when tap water was first introduced to the town in October 1890.

When Governor Lord Carrington turned on the first town supply at Gosling Creek reservoir the water was dirty, resembling the colour orange.

This led some to believe that Orange was named after murky tap water, but a resident from 1934 denied this.

J. D. Padey, told the now defunct Murrumbidgee Irrigator that the myth was false.

"I won't have it that the coloured water running through the water pipes has anything to do with giving the town of Orange its name," Mr Padey said.

Before tap water, residents had wells in their residences or neighbourhoods, which supplied "cold, clear water from an underground source", according to the Murrumbidgee Irrigator.

As maps and documents state, the town was named Orange long before 1890, so dirty tap water is unlikely inspiration for the name of the city.

Another account on how the city acquired its name was also in relation to the colour orange.

In the book, Orange and District Illustrated, published in 1925, the author wrote how Orange derived its name, writing it "has been a problem that has been frequently debated".

The author wrote there had been several declarations that the town was named by the Governor of NSW, Sir Charles Augustus Fitzroy when he visited the region in 1846.

"The Governor ... saw the wattles in full bloom everywhere, and was so impressed with the sight that he said 'call it Orange'."

This narrative was supported the editor of the defunct Coonabarabran Times, who claimed he was a "direct eye-witness" to this event.

Another myth, written in an archived newspaper, said it offered "a plausible explanation" as to how 'Orange' derived its name.

The Sydney Mail wrote in 1896 the former name of the town, Blackman's Swamp, was not "sufficiently dignified for the inhabitants".

According to the Sydney Mail, the residents of the village were asked to suggest a new name.

Simultaneously, they had written a letter to Sydney, which wrote "the residents desire that the name may be changed".

However, there was some confusion and the word 'changed' was deciphered as 'orange'.

"Taking this for an answer to the letter asking for a suggestion, and reading the word "changed" for "Orange," ... the name was gazetted," Sydney Mail wrote.

According the legend, Blackman's Swamp was then changed to Orange, as it is officially known today.

The most commonly accepted explanation for the city's naming is attributed to the explorer and surveyor Lieutenant Colonel Sir Thomas Mitchell.

The name 'Orange' was first referenced in a plan in 1829, but only to describe the parish - not the village, which was still known as Blackman's Swamp.

This plan was signed off by assistant surveyor J.B Richards, who named the town after John Blackman, the discoverer of the road to Wellington Valley.

Despite being signed by Mr Richard in 1828, Sir Thomas Mitchell held the influential role of Surveyor General, giving him sway in the naming parishes and villages.

Lieutenant Mitchell was a key figure in the surveying of South-East Australia and also served throughout the Peninsular War in Spain.

He acted as a personal assistant to the Duke of Wellington when he became friends with Prince William of Orange, whose name became inspiration for the naming of the Central West town.

W. Barrington Rothery from Saratoga wrote in The Land in 1953 that "I am surprised that the origin of the name is not well known in Orange".

"(John) Oxley had already named Wellington Valley after the great Duke," Mr Rothery said.

"So, what more natural than that he called the parish Orange after his close friend?"

The name of the parish appears to have eventually been used to described the entire village, officially appearing in the Government Gazette in 1846.

And 'Orange' it has remained ever since.