The early settlement of Melbourne had many interim names, Bearbrass among them. Other names in use included Batmania, Bearport, Dutergalla, Glenelg, Neramnew, and The Settlement.
It seems that Bearbrass may be a mis-rendering of Birrarung, meaning ‘river of mists’ in the language of the original inhabitants, the Wurundjeri people.
The Melbourne Bearbrass Probus club (Bearbrass), meets monthly in Docklands and has many other social activities conducted within the city of Melbourne, surrounding suburbs and sometimes “up the country”, interstate and overseas.