This locality has been known by a number of names since Europeans first came there, including
North Clunes,
Whian and
Purgatory (because of the number of
ticks there). The current name of Eureka was popularised in 1883 after the opening of the Eureka Boarding House which, in 1885, became the Eureka Hotel. Despite this the other names did remain in periodic use. There are two main theories of where the colonial name of Eureka came about with the first being that it was named after the locality of
Eureka in
New Zealand. Another prominent alternative that it was named after the first
selector, an Englishman William Strong, lost the tree he had marked as a guide and exclaimed 'Eureka!' when he found it again. ==References==