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.
Dirawong Goanna Headland, located at Evans Head in New South Wales, is one of the most easterly points on mainland Australia, and the town where Queen Elizabeth II flew into during her Royal visit to Australia in 1954. The Headland is believed by Bundjalung Nation Aborigines to be the body of the mythical Dirawong. When viewed from above, the headland has a rough outline showing the shape of a goanna, within which the spirit creature is believed to exist even today. Goanna Headland has been the mythological place of origin of the Bundjalung Nation, for thousands of years. The Bundjalung Nation