The origins of Frankston’s name continue to spark historical debate, with new attention drawn to evidence that challenges one of the most popular explanations. While Frank Liardet’s early presence in the area has long led to the belief that the name evolved from the informal term “Frank’s Town,” this theory is not universally accepted—and may, in fact, be incorrect.

Liardet was an early settler in the Frankston region and had strong connections to Melbourne’s earliest mail services. These factors made it plausible that locals referred to the developing coastal settlement as “Frank’s Town,” a name that could have later been formalised as “Frankston” during the official land sales in 1854. This explanation has persisted in local history for decades.

However, a letter published in The Argus newspaper on 30 May 1916 cast serious doubt on this claim. Written by a member of the Liardet family, the letter firmly rejected the idea that Frankston was named after Frank Liardet. The correspondence included extracts from communications between the Liardet family and the Victorian Department of Lands and Survey, which directly refuted the theory.

Instead, the documents proposed an alternative origin: that Frankston was named in honour of Charles Franks, an Irish-born settler who holds a tragic place in Melbourne’s early colonial history. Franks is believed to have been the first European killed by Indigenous Australians in the Melbourne region.

Charles Franks arrived in Melbourne in 1836 aboard the Champion from Van Diemen’s Land and later made a squatter’s claim near Mount Cottrel, west of Port Phillip Bay. His land bordered that of early explorer and surveyor John Helder Wedge, whose property was managed by his nephew, Charles Wedge. Before securing his own land licence in what is now the Frankston area, Charles Wedge maintained strong ties to the surrounding settlements.

According to correspondence from the Department of Lands and Survey, when the area was surveyed ahead of the 1854 land sales, the name “Frankston” was likely proposed to commemorate the late Charles Franks, who had once been a neighbour of the Wedge family.

This account adds a new layer of complexity to Frankston’s toponymic history, suggesting the suburb’s name may reflect remembrance rather than settlement. As historical records continue to be examined, the true origin of Frankston’s name remains an intriguing and evolving story.