Early settler John Alexander Sutton donated land for a church and cemetery on the condition that he could name the church. At that time, flocks of birds nested in rookeries along the nearby creek, and Sutton admired the pink-feathered birds then known as “Pink Curlew.” He chose to name the church for them, and Curlew later became the name of the creek, the surrounding land, and eventually the road. The birds Sutton admired are now identified as roseate spoonbills.