The original "Batmania" in Melbourne, Australia

[weezer17]

The man who led the settlement on the Yarra River that would become Australia's largest city for a time and that is now the second largest city in the country was named John Batman. He is responsible for a controversial treaty with the Wurundjeri in Port Phillip that is today known by historians as Batman's Treaty, and Melbourne for a long while was named "Batmania" after him.

Batmania.

I've been studying Australian history in my free time and this made me do a double-take. Now I'm off to find more people with Batman as their surname!

Any Melburnians have any more interesting things to add about Mr. Batman and his namesakes?

[Laevatein]

The name Batman sometimes pops up in Melbourne - for example, Batman Avenue, near the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and Batman railway station in the northern suburbs.

The surname was likely derived from the military term for a personal assistant to an officer. Wikipedia lists a few people with the surname "Batman".

[nepenthes]

I don't have the image at hand but there's actually a Ranger scene quite deliberately set in Batman Park towards the end of Incorporated. I've seen Morrison mention that Melbourne is his favourite Australian city (for nightlife yeah, beaches no, if you want the truth ). Also it's pronounced John BATman, not BatMAN, like our guy.