Canberra Travel Journal

Canberra, Australia’s name has an interesting origin. Not many people know that it was named after the great-great-grandfather of the famous late American baseball coach, Yogi Berra. Yogi’s grandfather had an unusual name, Can. His parents were probably nauseatingly power-of-positive-thinking people.

No one is quite certain of Can Berra’s connection to Australia or, more specifically, the settlement that came to be named Canberra. In fact, little is known about him at all except that he was a bon vivant and a chowhound. If he is remembered for anything it’s for a saying he coined, “If you see a fork on the table, eat with it.”

Yogi Berra paraphrased that when he came up with his famous nonsensical aphorism, “When you see a fork in the road, take it.”

So, now you know the origin of “Canberra” in Australia. It’s derived from the name of Yogi Berra’s great-great-grandfather’s name, Can Berra.

What? You don’t believe me? Look it up on the internet. Such as here, for example. If it’s anywhere on the internet, it must be true.

Whether you believe me or not, please enjoy the posts on Canberra that this category page links to.

This is a sub-subcategory of “Australia,” which is a subcategory of “Australasia.”