 By 1909, a general store and other buildings had been erected on private land, and in 1912, the Government finally acceded to the request, naming the town "Killili" after a local Aboriginal word meaning "bullrush" following the Surveyor General's request for a "euphonious native name".For many years, the police station, road board (1912) and hotel were the only buildings in the area, and in 1938, the Roads Board complained about the name, saying that "Gascoyne Junction" and "The Junction" were the names in common use, and asking the Lands Department to "expunge" the name of Killili.The name was changed and gazetted in 1939.