the town began as an outstation of the region's first cattle run, boisdale, named by pioneer grazier lachlan macalister after a village on the island of south uist in the outer hebrides, scotland. the town appears to have taken its name from a group of squatters from maffra, a village in the monaro region of nsw, with its location between current maffra and newry being written on an early map. the squatters moved on, but the name remained. the monaro maffra was probably connected to mafra, a town in portugal.