Goanna in Australia likened goannas to the South American lizards.. Over time, the initial vowel sound was dropped. A similar explanation is used to link possum to the American opossum. Another possibility is that the name might have derived from the South African term for a monitor lizard, "leguaan", as the Cape of Good Hope was a popular refresher stop for immigrant ships to Australia from Britain. For a list of all monitor lizards of the genus, see Complete list of genus "Varanus". The following are found in Australia. For the most part, in common names, "goanna" and "monitor" are interchangeable.
Goanna (band) the EMI Music. By 1981 the band was now Shane Howard, Rose Bygrave, Warrick Harwood, Peter 'Brolga' Coughlan on bass guitar, Marcia Howard (vocalist & synthesisers), Graham Davidge (electric guitar) and Robbie Ross on drums.They had shortened the name to Goanna, and with their increasing popularity they attracted the interest of major record companies. They supported James Taylor on the Australian leg of his 1981 tour, with Rose, Marcia & Shane invited to sing backing vocals in part of Taylor's set. It was here where they met Billy Payne (Taylor's keyboard player), who would later become the producer of their