Lexington
Coral Sea Park, and the area of shops and mainly public housing locally known as Lexington (centered around Lexington Place) are built on and around the old Maroubra Speedway. The park and street names in this area are derived from the names of ships that took part in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942. This was a famous naval battle in the Second World War. It was the first major engagement between aircraft carriers, and marked a turning point for victory against Japan in the Pacific theatre.
Lexington is a historic town in Massachusetts, USA, now a district of Boston. It was first settled in 1642. We do not know for certain why it was called Lexington. Some historians think it was named after a town in Nottingham Shire, England called Laxton (previously known as Lexington). During the Middle Ages Laxton was the administrative centre of the Royal Forests of Sherwood and the site of Laxton Castle. Others say the town in Massachusetts was named after a British nobleman called Lord Lexington who was associated with the Laxton (Lexington) area. Either way, there is a connection between the name and the area of Sherwood Forest, home of the legendary Robin Hood. See Lexington History.
Lexington Massachusetts was the site of the first engagement in the American War of Independence against British rule in 1775 - see Battle of Lexington. Because of this, various other states in the USA have towns or cities called Lexington, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Maryland, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Some Lexingtons of note:
- Lexington Missouri was the site of another historic battle - this time in 1861, during the American Civil War.
- Lexington Kentucky produces fine thoroughbred horses, and claims to be the horse capital of the world.
Lexington has been used as the name for various American naval ships, including the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV2) commissioned in 1927. This ship was hit by Japanese torpedoes and bombs in the Battle of the Coral Sea, and was abandoned and scuttled in May 1942. Later that same year a new US carrier was named USS Lexington (CV-16/AVT-16) , and served with distinction until 1991.