I haven't browsed all the replies to your post so apologise to anybody if I've repeated their input.
I think all places on the globe offer nuances of pronunciation - that's probably why you've had so many replies!
Anyway, different pronunciations of place names is rife in Australia - and I'm not referring to the often tough to pronounce Aboriginal names. (Try the famous "Woolloomooloo" for instance! The "common" (and therefore correct?) pronunciation is "wool-a-mar-loo").
We Western Australians can instantly identify an outlander by their mispronunciation of the towns of Derby (Derby us, Darby them) and Albany (Al-bunny us, All-bunny them). The one that always gets them however is the town of Toodyay - we say 2-jay, "they" just mangle it!
Victoria (and Tasmania I think) persist in saying "cassle" - when we know they really mean to say "carssle" (for castle).
Just for a laugh, how about these: Innaloo (a suburb of Perth, pronounced exactly as it looks - unfortunately!), Upper Swan (also in Perth. By the way, what IS the word for intimate but unnatural relations with a swan?) and Blackbutt (one in both Queensland and New South Wales - named after a type of tree).
Cheers
Stales
