Reference
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 AUSTRAL ENGLISH: 
 
 A DICTIONARY
 
 AUSTRAL ENGLISH 
 
 A DICTIONARY OF 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN WORDS 
 
 PHRASES AND USAGES 
 
 WITH THOSE ABORIGINAL- AUSTRALIAN AND MAORI WORDS WHICH 
 
 HAVE BECOME INCORPORATED IN THE LANGUAGE AND THE 
 
 COMMONER SCIENTIFIC WORDS THAT HAVE HAD 
 
 THEIR ORIGIN IN AUSTRALASIA 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD E. MORRIS 
 
 M.A., OXON. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH, FRENCH, AND GERMAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES 
 IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE 
 
 itonfcon 
 MACMILLAN AND CO. LIMITED 
 
 NEW YORK : THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 1898 
 REPUBLISHED BY GALE RESEARCH COMPANY, BOOK TOWER, DETROIT, 1968
 
 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 68-18003
 
 TO 
 
 THE DEAR MEMORY OF 
 
 CALLED HENCE 
 ON APRIL 19, 1896. 
 
 Librajj
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 i. ORIGIN OF THE WORK ix 
 
 First undertaken to help O. E. D. 
 The Standard Dictionary 
 
 n. TITLE AND SCOPE OF THE BOOK xi 
 Not a Slang Dictionary 
 
 in. SOURCES OF NEW WORDS : 
 
 1. Altered English ... ... xii 
 
 2. Words quite new to the 
 language : 
 
 (a) Aboriginal Australian ... xiii 
 (i>) Maori xiv 
 
 iv. THE LAW OF HOBSON-JOBSON xv 
 Is Austral English a corrup- 
 tion? 
 
 v. CLASSIFICATION OF WORDS ... xvi 
 
 vi. QUOTATIONS. THEIR PURPOSE xvii 
 
 vn. BOOKS USED AS AUTHORITIES xviii 
 
 vin. SCIENTIFIC WORDS 
 
 ix. ASSISTANCE RECEIVED 
 
 ABBREVIATIONS : 
 
 1. Of Scientific Names 
 
 2. General 
 
 xix 
 
 XX 
 
 XX111 
 
 xxiv 
 
 I. ORIGIN OF THE WORK. 
 
 ABOUT a generation ago Mr. Matthew Arnold twitted our nation 
 with the fact that " the journeyman work of literature" was much 
 better done in France the books of reference, the biographical 
 dictionaries, and the translations from the classics. He did not 
 especially mention dictionaries of the language, because he was 
 speaking in praise of academies, and, as far as France is concerned, 
 the great achievement in that line is Littre' and not the Academy's 
 Dictionary. But the reproach has now been rolled away nous avons 
 change tout cela and in every branch to which Arnold alluded our 
 journeyman work is quite equal to anything in France. 
 
 It is generally allowed that a vast improvement has taken place in 
 translations, whether prose or verse. From quarter to quarter the 
 Dictionary of National Biography continues its stately progress. But 
 the noblest monument of English scholarship is The New English 
 Dictionary on Historical Principles, founded mainly on the materials 
 collected by the Philological Society, edited by Dr. James Murray, 
 and published at the cost of the University of Oxford. The name 
 New will, however, be unsuitable long before the Dictionary is out of 
 date. Its right name is the Oxford English Dictionary ('O.E.D.'). 
 That great dictionary is built up out of quotations.spacially gathered for 
 it from English books of all kinds and all periods ; and Dr. Murray 
 several years ago invited assistance from this end of the world for 
 words and uses of words peculiar to Australasia, or to parts of 
 it. In answer to his call I began to collect ; but instances of words 
 must be noted as one comes across them, and of course they do not
 
 x INTRODUCTION 
 
 occur in alphabetical order. The work took time, and when my 
 parcel of quotations had grown into a considerable heap, it occurred to 
 me that the collection, if a little further trouble were expended upon 
 it, might first enjoy an independent existence. Various friends 
 kindly contributed more quotations .: and this Book is the result. 
 
 In January 1892, haying the honour to be President of the Section 
 of "Literature and the Fine Arts" at the Hobart Meeting of the 
 Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, I alluded 
 to Dr. Murray's request : 
 
 A body like this Section, composed of men from different parts of scattered 
 colonies, might render valuable help in organising the work of collecting authori- 
 ties for our various peculiar words and usages. Twenty or thirty men and women, 
 each undertaking to read certain books with the new dictionary in mind, and to 
 note in a prescribed fashion what is peculiar, could accomplish all that is needed. 
 Something has been done in Melbourne, but the Colonies have different words 
 and uses of words, and this work is of a kind which might well extend beyond the 
 bounds of a single city. At first it may seem as if our words were few, as if in the 
 hundred years of Australian life few special usages have arisen ; but a man with a 
 philological turn of mind, who notes what he hears, will soon find the list grow. 
 Some philologers speak, not perhaps very satisfactorily, of being "at the 
 fountains of language " : we can all of us testify to the birth of some words within 
 our own memory, but the origin of these, if not noted, will in time be lost. There 
 are many other words which the strictest cannot condemn as slang, though even 
 slang, being the speech of the people, is not undeserving of some scientific study : 
 words, for instance, which have come into the language from the Aborigines, 
 and names of animals, shrubs, and flowers. It might even be possible, with 
 sufficient co-operation, to produce an Australian dictionary on the same lines as 
 the New English Dictionary by way of supplement to it. Organisation might 
 make the labour light, whilst for many it would from its very nature prove a 
 pleasant task. 
 
 These suggestions were not carried out. Individuals sent quota- 
 tions to Oxford, but no organisation was established to make the 
 collection systematic or complete, and at the next meeting of the 
 Association the Section had ceased to exist, or at least had doffed its 
 literary character. 
 
 At a somewhat later date, Messrs. Funk and Wagnall of New York 
 invited me to join an "Advisory Committee on disputed spelling and 
 pronunciation." That firm was then preparing its Standard Dictionary , 
 and one part of the scheme was to obtain opinions as to usage from 
 various parts of the English-speaking world, especially from those 
 whose function it is to teach the English Language. Subsequently, at 
 my own suggestion, the firm appointed me to take charge of the Australian 
 terms in their Dictionary, and I forwarded a certain number of words 
 and phrases in use in Australia. But the accident of the letter A, for 
 Australian, coming early in the alphabet gives my name a higher place 
 than it deserves on the published list of those co-operating in the 
 production of this Standard Dictionary ; for with my present knowledge 
 I see that my contribution was lamentably incomplete. Moreover, I 
 joined the Editorial Corps too late to be of real use. Only the final 
 proofs were sent to me, and although my corrections were reported to 
 New York without delay, they arrived too late for any alterations to 
 be effected before the sheets went to press. This took the heart out 
 of my work for that Dictionary. For its modernness, for many of its
 
 INTRODUCTION xi 
 
 lexicographical features, and for its splendid illustrations, I entertain a 
 cordial admiration for the book, and I greatly regret the unworthiness 
 of my share in it. It is quite evident that others had contributed 
 Australasian words, and I must confess I hardly like to be held 
 responsible for some of their statements. For instance 
 
 " Aabec, An Australian medicinal bark said to promote perspiration." 
 
 I have never heard of it, and my ignorance is shared by the greatest 
 Australian botanist, the Baron von Miiller. 
 
 " Beauregarde, The Zebra grass-parrakeet of Australia. From F. beau, regarde. 
 See BEAU n. and REGARD." 
 
 As a matter of fact, the name is altered out of recognition, but 
 really comes from the aboriginal budgery, good, and gar, parrot. 
 
 " Imou-pine. A larg-e New Zealand tree .... called red pine by the colonists 
 and rimu by the natives." 
 
 I can find no trace of the spelling " Imou." In a circular to New 
 Zealand newspapers I asked whether it was a known variant. The 
 New Zealand Herald made answer "He maybe sure that the good 
 American dictionary has made a misprint. It was scarcely worth 
 the Professor's while to take notice of mere examples of pakeha 
 ignorance of Maori." 
 
 " Swagman. [Slang, Austral.] r. A dealer in cheap trinkets, etc. 2. A swagger." 
 
 In twenty-two years of residence in Australia, I have never heard 
 the former sense. 
 
 " Taihoa. [Anglo-Tasmanian.] No hurry ; wait." 
 
 The word is Maori, and Maori is the language of New Zealand, 
 not of Tasmania. 
 
 These examples, I know, are not fair specimens of the accuracy of 
 the Standard Dictionary, but they serve as indications of the necessity 
 for a special book on Australasian English. 
 
 II. TITLE AND SCOPE OF THE BOOK. 
 
 In the present day, when words are more and more abbreviated, a 
 "short title" may be counted necessary to the welfare of a book. 
 For this reason "Austral English" has been selected. In its right 
 place in the dictionary the word Austral will be found with illus- 
 trations to show that its primary meaning, " southern," is being more 
 and more limited, so that the word may now be used as equivalent 
 to Australasian. 
 
 "Austral" or "Australasian English" means all the new words 
 and the new uses of old words that have been added to the English 
 language by reason of the fact that those who speak English have 
 taken up their abode in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. 
 Hasty inference might lead to the remark that such addition is only 
 slang, but the remark is far from being accurate ; probably not one- 
 tenth of the new vocabulary could fairly be so classified. A great
 
 xii INTRODUCTION 
 
 deal of slang is used in Australasia, but very much less is generated 
 here than is usually believed. In 1895 a literary policeman in 
 Melbourne brought out a small Australian Slang Dictionary. In spite 
 of the name, however, the compiler confesses that "very few of the 
 terms it contains have been invented by Australians." My estimate is 
 that not one word in fifty in his little book has an Australian origin, 
 or even a specially Australian use. 
 
 The phrase "Australasian English" includes something much 
 wider than slang. Those who, speaking the tongue of Shakspeare, 
 of Milton, and of Dr. Johnson, came to various parts of 
 Australasia, found a Flora and a Fauna waiting to be named 
 in English. New birds, beasts and fishes, new trees, bushes 
 and flowers, had to receive names for general use. It is probably 
 not too much to say that there never was an instance in history 
 when so many new names were needed, and that there never will be 
 such an occasion again, for never did settlers come, nor can 
 they ever again come, upon Flora and Fauna so completely different 
 from anything seen by them before. When the offshoots of our race 
 first began to settle in America, they found much that was new, but 
 they were still in the same North Temperate zone. Though there is 
 now a considerable divergence between the American and the English 
 vocabulary, especially in technical terms, it is not largely due to 
 great differences in natural history. An oak in America is still a 
 Quercus, not as in Australia a Casuarina. But with the whole tropical 
 region intervening it was to be expected that in the South Temperate 
 Zone many things would be different, and such expectation was amply 
 fulfilled. In early descriptions of Australia it is a sort of common- 
 place to dwell on this complete variety, to harp on the trees that 
 shed bark not leaves, and the cherries with the stones outside. 
 Since the days when " Adam gave names to all cattle and to the fowl 
 of the air and to every beast of the field " never were so many new 
 names called for. Unfortunately, names were not given by the best 
 educated in the community, but often by those least qualified to 
 invent satisfactory names : not by a linguist, a botanist, an ornitholo- 
 gist, an ichthyologist, but by the ordinary settler. Even in countries 
 of old civilisation names are frequently conferred or new words in- 
 vented, at times with good and at times with unsatisfactory results, by 
 the average man, whom it is the modern fashion to call " the man in the 
 street." Much of Australasian nomenclature is due to " the man in the 
 bush " more precise address not recorded. Givers of new names 
 may be benefactors to their language or violators of its purity and 
 simplicity, but in either case they are nearly always, like the burial- 
 place of Moses, unknown. 
 
 III. SOURCES OF NEW WORDS. 
 
 Of Australasian additions to the English language there are two 
 main sources, which correspond to the twofold division of them into 
 new words and new uses of old words. 
 
 i. Altered English. 
 
 The commoner origin of Australasian English words is the turning
 
 INTRODUCTION xiii 
 
 and twisting of an already existing English name. The settler saw a 
 fruit somewhat like a cherry. Though he knew well that it was not 
 a cherry, he christened it the " native cherry." It may here be 
 remarked that the prefix native is not a satisfactory distinguishing 
 adjective. Native bear, native cherry, may teach the young Austra- 
 lian that the bear and the cherry so named are not as the bear of 
 the Arctic Regions or the cherry of Europe. But in the British 
 Museum the label does not help much. The settler heard a bird laugh 
 in what he thought an extremely ridiculous manner, its opening 
 notes suggesting a donkey's bray he called it the "laughing 
 jackass." His descendants have dropped the adjective, and it has come 
 to pass that the word "jackass" denotes to an Australian something 
 quite different from its meaning to other speakers of our English 
 tongue. The settler must have had an imagination. Whip-bird, 
 or Coach-whip, from the sound of the note, Lyre-bird from the 
 appearance of the outspread tail, are admirable names. 
 
 Another class of name brought the Australian word nearer to its 
 English use. " Robin " for instance is applied to birds of various 
 species not known in Europe. Bird-names, fish-names, plant-names, 
 are sometimes transferred to new species, sometimes to a new genus, 
 sometimes to an entirely different Natural Order, bearing a resem- 
 blance to the original, either real or fancied, as for instance "Magpie." 
 It is hardly necessary to dwell longer on this point, for almost every 
 page of the Dictionary bears witness to it. 
 
 2. Words new to the Language. 
 
 (a) Aboriginal Australian. 
 
 Many of the new Australasian words are taken from the languages 
 of the aborigines, often with considerable alteration due to misun- 
 derstanding. Such words are either Australian or Maori. Whilst in 
 New Zealand careful attention has been paid by competent scholars 
 to the musical Maori language, it can hardly be claimed that the 
 Australian family of languages has ever been scientifically studied, 
 though there is a heap of printed material small grammars and lists 
 of words rudis indigestaque moles. There is no doubt that the vocabu- 
 laries used in different parts of Australia and Tasmania varied greatly, 
 and equally little doubt that the languages, in structure and perhaps 
 originally in vocabulary, were more or less connected. About the year 
 1883, Professor Sayce, of Oxford, wrote a letter, which was published 
 in The Argus, pointing out the obligation that lay upon the Austra- 
 lian colonies to make a scientific study of a vanishing speech. The 
 duty would be stronger were it not for the distressing lack of 
 pence that now is vexing public men. Probably a sum of ^300 a 
 year would suffice for an educated inquirer, but his full time for 
 several years would be needed. Such an one should be trained at 
 the University as a linguist and an observer, paying especial attention 
 to logic and to Comparative Philology. Whilst the colonies neglect 
 their opportunities, and Sibylla year by year withdraws her offer, 
 perhaps "the inevitable German" will intervene, and in a well- 
 arranged book bring order out of the chaos of vocabularies and small 
 pamphlets on the subject, all that we have to trust to now.
 
 xiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 The need of scientific accuracy is strong. For the purposes of 
 this Dictionary I have been investigating the origin of words, more 
 or less naturalised as English, that come from aboriginal Australian, 
 in number between seventy and a hundred. I have received a great 
 deal of kind assistance, many people taking much trouble to inform 
 me. But there is a manifest lack of knowledge. Many supplied 
 me with the meanings of the words as used in English, but though 
 my appeal was scattered far and wide over Australia (chiefly through 
 the kindness of the newspapers), few could really give the origin 
 of the words. Two amongst the best informed went so far as to say 
 that Australian words have no derivation. That doctrine is hard to 
 accept. A word of three syllables does not spring complete from the 
 brain of an aboriginal as Athene rose fully armed from the head of 
 Zeus. 
 
 It is beyond all doubt that the vocabularies of the Aborigines 
 differed widely in different parts. Frequently, the English have 
 carried a word known in one district to a district where it was not 
 known, the aboriginals regarding the word as pure English. In 
 several books statements will be found that such and such a word is 
 not Aboriginal, when it really has an aboriginal source but in a 
 different part of the Continent. Mr. Threlkeld, in his Australian 
 Grammar, which is especially concerned with the language of the 
 Hunter River, gives a list of " barbarisms," words that he considers 
 do not belong to the aboriginal tongue. He says with perfect 
 truth " Barbarisms have crept into use, introduced by sailors, 
 stockmen, and others, in the use of which both blacks and whites 
 labour under the mistaken idea, that each one is conversing in the 
 other's language." And yet with him a "barbarism" has to be 
 qualified as meaning " not belonging to the Hunter District." But 
 Mr. Threlkeld is not the only writer who will not acknowledge as 
 aboriginal sundry words with an undoubted Australian pedigree. 
 
 (b) Maori. 
 
 The Maori language, the Italian of the South, has received very 
 different treatment from that meted out by fate and indifference to 
 the aboriginal tongues of Australia. It has been studied by competent 
 scholars, and its grammar has been comprehensively arranged and 
 stated. A Maori Dictionary, compiled more than fifty years ago by 
 a missionary, afterwards a bishop, has been issued in a fourth edition 
 by his son, who is now a bishop. Yet, of Maori also, the same thing is 
 said with respect to etymology. A Maori scholar told me that, when 
 he began the study many years ago, he was warned by a very dis- 
 tinguished scholar not to seek for derivations, as the search was full 
 of pitfalls. It was not maintained that words sprang up without an 
 origin, but that the true origin of most of the words was now lost. In 
 spite of this double warning, it may be maintained that some of the 
 origins both of Maori and of Australian words have been found and 
 are in this book recorded. 
 
 The pronunciation of Maori words differs so widely from that of 
 Australian aboriginal names that it seems advisable to insert a note 
 on the subject.
 
 INTRODUCTION xv 
 
 Australian aboriginal words have been written down on no 
 system, and very much at hap-hazard. English people have 
 attempted to express the native sounds phonetically according to 
 English pronunciation. No definite rule has been observed, different 
 persons giving totally different values to represent the consonant and 
 vowel sounds. In a language with a spelling so unphonetic as the 
 English, in which the vowels especially have such uncertain and vari- 
 able values, the results of this want of system have necessarily been 
 very unsatisfactory and often grotesque. Maori words, on the other 
 hand, have been written down on a simple and consistent system, 
 adopted by the missionaries for the purpose of the translation of the 
 Bible. This system consists in giving the Italian sound to the 
 vowels, every letter vowel and consonant having a fixed and in- 
 variable value. Maori words are often very melodious. In pro- 
 nunciation the best rule is to pronounce each syllable with a nearly 
 equal accent. 
 
 Care has been taken to remember that this is an Australasian 
 English and not a Maori Dictionary ; therefore to exclude words that 
 have not passed into the speech of the settlers. But in New Zealand 
 Maori is much more widely used in the matter of vocabulary than the 
 speech of the aborigines is in Australia, or at any rate in the more 
 settled parts of Australia; and the Maori is in a purer form. Though 
 some words and names have been ridiculously corrupted, the lan- 
 guage of those who dwell in the bush in New Zealand can hardly be 
 called Pigeon English, and that is the right name for the "lingo" 
 used in Queensland and Western Australia, which, only partly repre- 
 sented in this book, is indeed a falling away from the language of 
 Bacon and Shakspeare. 
 
 IV. LAW OF HOBSON-JOBSON. 
 
 In many places in the Dictionary, I find I have used the expression 
 "the law of Hobson-Jobson." The name is an adaptation from the 
 expression used by Col. Yule and Mr. Burnell as a name for their 
 interesting Dictionary of Anglo-Indian words. The law is well 
 recognised, though it has lacked the name, such as I now venture to 
 give it. When a word comes from a foreign language, those who 
 use it, not understanding it properly, give a twist to the word or 
 to some part of it, from the hospitable desire to make the word 
 at home in its new quarters, no regard, however, being paid to the 
 sense. The most familiar instance in English is crayfish from the 
 French ecrevisse, though it is well known that a crayfish is not a fish 
 at all. Amongst the Mohammedans in India there is a festival at 
 which the names of " Hassan " and " Hosein " are frequently called out 
 by devotees. Tommy Atkins, to whom the names were naught, 
 converted them into " Hobson, Jobson." That the practice of so 
 altering words is not limited to the English is shown by two 
 perhaps not very familiar instances in French, where "Aunt Sally" 
 has become ane sale, "a dirty donkey," and "bowsprit" has become 
 beau pre, though quite- unconnected with "a beautiful meadow." 
 The name "Pigeon English" is itself a good example. It has no
 
 xvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 connection with pigeon, the bird, but is an Oriental's attempt to 
 pronounce the word " business." It hardly, however, seems necessary 
 to alter the spelling to " pidjin." 
 
 It may be thought by some precisians that all Australasian English 
 is a corruption of the language. So too is Anglo-Indian, and, pace 
 Mr. Brander Matthews, there are such things as Americanisms, 
 which were not part of the Elizabethan heritage, though it is perfectly 
 true that many of the American phrases most railed at are pure old 
 English, preserved in the States, though obsolete in Modern England ; 
 for the Americans, as Lowell says, " could not take with them any 
 better language than that of Shakspeare." When we hear railing at 
 slang phrases, at Americanisms, some of which are admirably expres- 
 sive, at various flowers of colonial speech, and at words woven into 
 the texture of our speech by those who live far away from London 
 and from Oxford, and who on the outskirts of the British Empire 
 are brought into contact with new natural objects that need new 
 names, we may think for our comfort on the undoubted fact that the 
 noble and dignified language of the poets, authors and preachers, 
 grouped around Lewis XIV., sprang from debased Latin. For it was 
 not the classical Latin that is the origin of French, but the language 
 of the soldiers and the camp-followers who talked slang and picked 
 words up from every quarter. English has certainly a richer 
 vocabulary, a finer variety of words to express delicate distinctions 
 of meaning, than any language that is or that ever was spoken : and 
 this is because it has always been hospitable in the reception of new 
 words. It is too late a day to close the doors against new words. This 
 Austral English Dictionary merely catalogues and records those which 
 at certain doors have already come in. 
 
 V. CLASSIFICATION OF THE WORDS. 
 
 The Dictionary thus includes the following classes of Words, 
 Phrases and Usages ; viz. 
 
 (1) Old English names of Natural Objects Birds, Fishes, 
 Animals, Trees, Plants, etc. applied (in the first instance by the 
 early settlers) either to new Australian species of such objects, or to 
 new objects bearing a real or fancied resemblance to them as Robin, 
 Magpie, Herring, Cod, Cat, Bear, Oak, Beech, Pine, Cedar, Cherry, 
 Spinach, Hops, Pea, Rose. 
 
 (2) English names of objects applied in Australia to others quite 
 different as Wattle, a hurdle, applied as the name of the tree 
 Wattle, from whose twigs the hurdle was most readily made ; Jackass, 
 an animal, used as the name for the bird Jackass ; Cockatoo, a bird- 
 name, applied to a small farmer. 
 
 (3) Aboriginal Australian and Maori words which have been 
 incorporated unchanged in the language, ai\d which still denote the 
 original object as Kangaroo, Wombat, Boomerang, Whare, Pa, Kauri.
 
 INTRODUCTION xvii 
 
 (4) Aboriginal Australian and Maori words which have been 
 similarly adopted, and which have also had their original meaning 
 extended and applied to other things as Bunyip, Corrobbery, Warrigal. 
 
 (5) Anglicised corruptions of such words as Copper-Maori, Go- 
 ashore, Cock-a-bully, Paddy-melon, Pudding-ball, Tooky-took. 
 
 (6) Fanciful, picturesque, or humorous names given to new 
 Australasian Natural Objects as Forty-spot, Lyre-bird, Parson-bird, and 
 Coach-whip (birds); Wait-a-while (a tangled thicket); Thousand-jacket, 
 
 Jimmy Low, Jimmy Donnelly, and Roger Gough (trees) ; Axe-breaker, 
 Cheese-wood, and Raspberry Jam (timbers) ; Trumpeter, Schnapper and 
 Sergeant Baker (fishes) ; Umbrella-grass and Spaniard (native plants), 
 and so on. 
 
 (7) Words and phrases of quite new coinage, or arising from quite 
 new objects or orders of things as Larrikin, Swagman, Billy, Free- 
 selector, Boundary -rider, Black-tracker, Back-blocks, Clear-skin, Dummyism, 
 Bushed. 
 
 (8) Scientific names arising exclusively from Australasian necessi- 
 ties, chiefly to denote or describe new Natural Orders, Genera, or 
 Species confined or chiefly appertaining to Australia as Monotreme, 
 Petrogale, Clianthus, Ephthianura, Dinornis, Eucalypt, Boronia, Orni- 
 thorhynchus, Banksia* 
 
 (9) Slang (of which the element is comparatively small) as Deep- 
 sinker, Duck-shoving, Hoot, Slushy, Boss-cockie, On-the- Wallaby. 
 
 VI. QUOTATIONS. 
 
 With certain exceptions, this Dictionary is built up, as a Dic- 
 tionary should be, on quotations, and these are very copious. It may 
 even be thought that their number is too large. It is certainly larger, 
 and in some places the quotations themselves are much longer, than 
 could ever be expected in a general Dictionary of the English 
 Language. This copiousness is, however, the advantage of a special 
 Dictionary. The intention of the quotations is to furnish evidence 
 that a word is used as an English word ; and many times the quota- 
 tion itself furnishes a satisfactory explanation of the meaning. I 
 hope, however, I shall not be held responsible for all the statements 
 in the quotations, even where attention is not drawn to their in- 
 correctness. Sundry Australasian uses of words are given in other 
 dictionaries, as, for instance, in the parts already issued of the 
 Oxford English Dictionary and in The Century, but the space that 
 can be allotted to them in such works is of necessity too small for 
 full explanation. Efforts have been made to select such quotations 
 as should in themselves be interesting, picturesque, and illustrative. 
 In a few cases they may even be humorous. 
 
 Moreover, the endeavour has been constant to obtain quotations 
 from all parts of the Australasian Colonies from books that describe 
 different parts of Australasia, and from newspapers published far and 
 
 b
 
 xviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 wide. I am conscious that in the latter division Melbourne papers 
 predominate, but this has been due to the accident that living in 
 Melbourne I see more of the Melbourne papers, whilst my friends 
 have sent me more quotations from books and fewer from newspapers. 
 
 The quotations, however, are not all explanatory. Many times 
 a quotation is given merely to mark the use of a word at a particular 
 epoch. Quotations are all carefully dated and arranged in their 
 historical order, and thus the exact chronological development of a 
 word has been indicated. The practice of the 'O.E.D.' has been 
 followed in this respect and in the matter of quotations generally, 
 though as a rule the titles of books quoted have been more fully 
 expressed here than in that Dictionary. Early quotations have been 
 sought with care, and a very respectable antiquity, about a century, 
 has been thus found for some Australasian words. As far as possible, 
 the spelling, the stops, the capitals, and the italics of the original 
 have been preserved. The result is often a rich variety of spelling 
 the same word in consecutive extracts. 
 
 The last decade has been a very active time in Australian science. 
 A great deal of system has been brought into its study, and much 
 rearrangement of classification has followed as the result. Both 
 among birds and plants new species have been distinguished and 
 named : and there has been not a little change in nomenclature. 
 This Dictionary, it must be remembered, is chiefly concerned with 
 vernacular names, but for proper identification, wherever possible, the 
 scientific name is added. In some cases, where there has been a 
 recent change in the latter, both the new and the older names are 
 recorded. 
 
 VII. AUTHORITIES. 
 
 The less-known birds, fishes, plants, and trees are in many 
 cases not illustrated by quotations, but have moved to their places in 
 the Dictionary from lists of repute. Many books have been written 
 on the Natural History of Australia and New Zealand, and these have 
 been placed under contribution. Under the head of Botany no book 
 has been of greater service than Maiden's Useful Native Plants. 
 Unfortunately many scientific men scorn vernacular names, but Mr. 
 Maiden has taken the utmost pains with them, and has thereby 
 largely increased the utility of his volume. For Tasmania there is 
 Mr. Spicer's Handbook of Tasmanian Plants; for New Zealand, Kirk's 
 Forest Flora and Hooker's Botany. 
 
 For Australian animals Lydekker's Marsupials and Monotremes is 
 excellent ; especially his section on the Phalanger or Australian 
 Opossum, an animal which has been curiously neglected by all Dic- 
 tionaries of repute. On New Zealand mammals it is not necessary 
 to quote any book ; for when the English came, it is said, New 
 Zealand contained no mammal larger than a rat. Captain Cook 
 turned two pigs loose ; but it is stated on authority, that these pigs 
 left no descendants. One was ridden to death by Maori boys, and 
 the other was killed for sacrilege : he rooted in a tapu burial-place. 
 Nevertheless, the settlers still call any wild-pig, especially if lean and 
 bony, a "Captain Cook."
 
 INTRODUCTION xix 
 
 For the scientific nomenclature of Australian Botany the Census of 
 Australian Plants by the Baron von Miiller (1889) is indispensable. It 
 has been strictly followed. For fishes reliance has been placed upon 
 Tenison Woods' Fishes and Fisheries of New South Wales (1882), on W. 
 Macleay's Descriptive Catalogue of Australian Fishes (Proceeding's of 
 the Linnaean Society of New South Wales, vols. v. and vi.), and on 
 Dr. Giinther's Study of Fishes. For the scientific nomenclature of 
 Animal Life, the standard of reference has been the Tabular List of 
 all the Australian Birds by E. P. Ramsay of the Australian Museum, 
 Sydney (1888); Catalogue of Australian Mammals by J. O. Ogilby of 
 the Australian Museum, Sydney (1892) ; Catalogue of Marsupials 
 and Monotremes, British Museum (1888) ; Prodromus to the Natural 
 History of Victoria by Sir F. McCoy. Constant reference has also 
 been made to Proceedings of the Linnaean Society of New South 
 Wales, Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal Societies of 
 Victoria and Tasmania, and to the Journal of the Field Naturalist 
 Club of Victoria. 
 
 The birds both in Australia and New Zealand have been hand- 
 somely treated by the scientific illustrators. Gould's Birds of 
 Australia and Buller's Birds of New Zealand are indeed monumental 
 works. Neither Gould nor Sir Walter Buller scorns vernacular 
 names. But since the days of the former the number of named 
 species of Australian birds has largely increased, and in January 
 1895, at the Brisbane Meeting of the Australasian Association for the 
 Advancement of Science, a Committee was appointed to draw up a 
 list of vernacular bird-names. By the kindness of a member of this 
 Committee (Mr. A. J. Campbell of Melbourne) I was allowed the use 
 of a list of such vernacular names drawn up by him and Col. Legge 
 for submission to the Committee. 
 
 VIII. SCIENTIFIC WORDS. 
 
 The example of The Century has been followed in the inclusion of 
 sundry scientific names, especially those of genera or Natural Orders 
 of purely Australasian objects. Although it is quite true that these 
 can hardly be described as Australasian English, it is believed that 
 the course adopted will be for the general convenience of those who 
 consult this Dictionary. 
 
 Some of these " Neo-Latin " and " Neo-Greek " words are extra- 
 ordinary in themselves and obscure in their origin, though not 
 through antiquity. In his Student's Pastime, at p. 293, Dr. Skeat says 
 " Nowhere can more ignorant etymologies be found than in works 
 on Botany and ' scientific ' subjects. Too often, all the science is 
 reserved for the subject, so that there is none to spare for explaining 
 the names." 
 
 A generous latitude has also been taken in including- some words 
 undoubtedly English, but not exclusively Australasian, such as 
 Anabranch, and Antipodes, and some mining and other terms that are 
 also used in the United States. Convenience of readers is the excuse. 
 Anabranch is more frequently used of Australian rivers than of any 
 others, but perhaps a little pride in tracking the origin of the word
 
 xx INTRODUCTION 
 
 has had something to do with its inclusion. Some words have been 
 inserted for purposes of explanation, e.g. Snook, in Australasia called 
 Barracouta, which latter is itself an old name applied in Australasia 
 to a different fish ; and Cavally, which is needed to explain Trevally. 
 
 IX. ASSISTANCE RECEIVED. 
 
 There remains the pleasant duty of acknowledging help. Many 
 persons have given me help, whose names can hardly be listed 
 here. A friend, an acquaintance, or sometimes even a stranger, 
 has often sent a single quotation of value, or an explanation of a 
 single word. The Editors of many newspapers have helped not 
 a little by the insertion of a letter or a circular. To all these 
 helpers, and I reckon their number at nearly 200, I tender my hearty 
 thanks. 
 
 Various officers of the Melbourne Public Library, and my friend 
 Mr. Edward H. Bromby, the Librarian of this University, have 
 rendered me much assistance. I have often been fortunate enough to 
 obtain information from the greatest living authority on a particular 
 subject: from the Baron von Miiller, from Sir Frederick M'Coy, or 
 from Mr. A. W. Howitt. [Alas ! since I penned this sentence, 
 the kind and helpful Baron has been taken from us, and is no longer 
 the greatest living authority on Australian Botany.] My friend and 
 colleague, Professor Baldwin Spencer, a most earnest worker in 
 the field of Australian science, gave .many hours of valuable time to 
 set these pages right in the details of scientific explanations. Mr. 
 J. G. Luehmann of Melbourne has kindly answered various questions 
 about Botany, and Mr. A. J. North, of Sydney, in regard to certain 
 birds. Mr. T. S. Hall, of the Biological Department of this Uni- 
 versity, and Mr. J. J. Fletcher, of Sydney, the Secretary of the 
 Linnaean Society of New South Wales, have rendered me much help. 
 The Rev. John Mathew, of Coburg, near Melbourne, has thrown 
 much light on aboriginal words. The Rev. E. H. Sugden, Master 
 of Queen's College in this University, has furnished a large number 
 of useful quotations. His name is similarly mentioned, honoris causd,, 
 in Dr. Murray's Preface to Part I. of the 'O. E. D.' Mr. R. T. Elliott 
 of Worcester College, Oxford, has given similar help. The Master 
 himself, the Master of all who engage in Dictionary work, Dr. 
 Murray, of Oxford, has kindly forwarded to me a few pithy and 
 valuable comments on my proof-sheets. He also made me a strong 
 appeal never to pass on information from any source without acknow- 
 ledgment. This, the only honest course, I have striven scrupulously 
 to follow ; but it is not always easy to trace the sources whence 
 information has been derived. 
 
 When gaps in the sequence of quotations were especially apparent 
 on the proofs, Mr. W. Ellis Bird, of Richmond, Victoria, found me 
 many illustrative passages. For New Zealand words a goodly 
 supply of quotations was contributed by Miss Mary Colborne-Veel 
 of Christchurch, author of a volume of poetry called The Fairest 
 of the Angels, by her sister, Miss Gertrude Colborne-Veel, and by 
 Mr. W. H. S. Roberts of Oamaru, author of a little book called
 
 INTRODUCTION xxi 
 
 Southland in 1856. In the matter of explanation of the origin and 
 meaning of New Zealand terms, Dr. Hocken of Dunedin, Mr. F. R. 
 Chapman of the same city, and Mr. Edward Tregear of Wellington, 
 author of the Maori Polynesian Dictionary, and Secretary of the Poly- 
 nesian Society, have rendered valuable and material assistance. Dr. 
 Holden of Bellerive, near Hobart, was perhaps my most valued 
 correspondent. After I had failed in one or two quarters to enlist 
 Tasmanian sympathy, he came to the rescue, and gave me much 
 help on Tasmanian words, especially on the Flora and the birds ; 
 also on Queensland Flora and on the whole subject of Fishes. Dr. 
 Holden also enlisted later the help of Mr. J. B. Walker, of Hobart, 
 who contributed much to enrich my proofs. But the friend who has 
 given me most help of all has been Mr. J. Lake of St. John's College, 
 Cambridge. When the Dictionary was being prepared for press, he 
 worked with me for some months, very loyally putting my materials 
 into shape. Birds, Animals, and Botany he sub-edited for me, and 
 much of the value of this part of the Book, which is almost an 
 Encyclopaedia rather than a Dictionary, is due to his ready know- 
 ledge, his varied attainments, and his willingness to undertake 
 research. 
 
 To all who have thus rendered me assistance I tender hearty 
 thanks. It is not their fault if, as is sure to be the case, defects and 
 mistakes are found in this Dictionary. But should the Book be 
 received with public favour, these shall be corrected in a later 
 edition. 
 
 EDWARD E. MORRIS. 
 
 The University, Melbourne, 
 February 23, 1897.
 
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS OF NAMES 
 
 Ait. . . . 
 
 Aiton. Haw. . . . 
 
 Haworth. 
 
 Andr. . . . 
 
 Andrews. 
 
 Hens. . . 
 
 Henslow. 
 
 B. and L. . 
 
 Barere and Leland. 
 
 Herb. . . 
 
 Herbert. 
 
 Bail. . . . 
 
 Baillon. 
 
 Homb. . . 
 
 Hombron. 
 
 Bechst. . . 
 
 Bechstein. 
 
 Hook. . . 
 
 J. Hooker. 
 
 Benth. . . 
 
 Bentham. 
 
 Hook. f. . . 
 
 Hooker fils. 
 
 Bl. ... 
 
 Bleeker. 
 
 Horsf. . . 
 
 Horsfield. 
 
 Bodd. . . . 
 
 Boddaert 
 
 111. . . . 
 
 Illiger. 
 
 Bp- ) 
 Bonap. J 
 
 Bonaparte. 
 
 Jacq. . . . 
 Jard. . . . 
 
 Jacquinot. 
 Jardine. 
 
 R. Br. . . 
 
 Robert Brown. 
 
 L. and S. 
 
 Liddell and Scott. 
 
 Brong. . . 
 Cab. . . . 
 
 Brongniart. 
 Cabanis. 
 
 Lab. \ 
 Labill. / 
 
 Labillardiere. 
 
 Can. . . . 
 
 Carriere. 
 
 Lacep. . . 
 
 Lacepede. 
 
 Castln. . . 
 
 Castelnau. 
 
 Lath. . . . 
 
 Latham. 
 
 Cav. . 
 
 Cavanilles. 
 
 Lehm. . . 
 
 Lehmann. 
 
 Com . 
 
 Correa. 
 
 Less. . . 
 
 Lesson. 
 
 Cunn. 1 
 A. Cunn. / 
 
 A. Cunningham. 
 
 L'herit. . . 
 Licht. . . 
 
 L'Heritier. 
 Lichtenstein. 
 
 Cuv. . 
 
 Cuvier. 
 
 Lindl. . . 
 
 Lindley. 
 
 De C. . . . 
 
 De Candolle. 
 
 Linn. . . . 
 
 Linnaeus. 
 
 Dec. . . . 
 
 Decaisne. 
 
 Macl. . 
 
 Macleay. 
 
 Desf. . . . 
 
 Desfontaines. 
 
 McC. . . . 
 
 McCoy. 
 
 Desm. . . 
 
 Desmarest. 
 
 Meissn. . . 
 
 Meissner. 
 
 Desv. . . 
 
 Desvaux. 
 
 Menz. 
 
 Menzies. 
 
 De Tarrag. . 
 
 De Tarragon. 
 
 Milne-Ed. 
 
 Milne-Edwards, 
 
 Diet. . . . 
 
 Dietrich. 
 
 Miq. . . . 
 
 Miquel. 
 
 Donov. . . 
 
 Donovan. 
 
 Parlat. . . 
 
 Parlatore. 
 
 Drap. . . . 
 
 Drapiez. 
 
 Pers. . . . 
 
 Persoon. 
 
 Dryand. . . 
 EndJ. . . . 
 
 Dryander. 
 Endlicher. 
 
 Plan. 1 
 Planch. / 
 
 Planchol. 
 
 Fab. . . . 
 
 Fabricius. 
 
 Poir. . . . 
 
 Poiret. 
 
 Forsk. . . 
 
 Forskael. 
 
 Q. . . . 
 
 Quoy. 
 
 Forst. . . 
 
 Forster. 
 
 Raffl. . . . 
 
 Raffles. 
 
 F. v. M. . . 
 
 Ferdinand von Mitller. 
 
 Rein. . . . 
 
 Reinwardt. 
 
 G. Forst. 
 
 G. Forster. 
 
 Reiss. . . 
 
 Reisseck. 
 
 Gaertn. 
 Gaim. . . . 
 
 Gaertner. 
 Gaimard. 
 
 Rich. . \ 
 Richards. / 
 
 Richardson. 
 
 Garn. . . . 
 
 Garnot. 
 
 Roxb. . . 
 
 Roxburgh 
 
 Gaud. . . 
 
 Gaudichaud. 
 
 Sal. . . . 
 
 Salvadori. 
 
 Geoff. . . 
 
 Geoffroy. 
 
 Salisb. . . 
 
 Salisbury. 
 
 Germ. . . 
 
 Germar. 
 
 Schau. . . 
 
 Schauer. 
 
 Gmel. . . 
 Guich. . . 
 
 Gmelin. 
 Guichenot. 
 
 Schl. ) 
 Schlecht. j 
 
 Schlechtendal. 
 
 Giinth. 
 
 Giinther. 
 
 Selb. . . . 
 
 Selby. 
 
 Harv. 
 
 Harvey. 
 
 Se>. . . . 
 
 Seringe. 
 
 Hasselq. . . 
 
 Hasselquin. Serv. . . . 
 
 Serville. 
 
 
 xxiii 

 
 XXIV 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Sieb. . . 
 Sm. . . 
 Sol. . . 
 Sow. . . 
 Sparrm. . 
 Steph. 
 Sundev. . 
 Sw. \ 
 Swains. J 
 Temm. 
 Thunb. 
 
 Sieber. 
 
 Smith. 
 
 Solander. 
 
 Sowerby. 
 
 Sparrman. 
 
 Stephan. 
 
 Sundevall. 
 
 Swainson. 
 
 Temminck. 
 Thunberg. 
 
 Tul. . . . Tulasne. 
 
 V. and H. . Vigors and Horsfield. 
 
 Val. . . . Valenciennes. 
 
 Vent. . . . Ventenat. 
 
 Vieill. . . Vieillot. 
 
 Vig. . . . Vigors. 
 
 Wagl. . . Wagler. 
 
 Water. . . Waterhouse. 
 
 Wedd. . . Weddell. 
 
 Willd. . . Willdenow. 
 
 Zimm. , . Zimmermann. 
 
 OTHER ABBREVIATIONS 
 
 q.v. quod vide, which see. 
 
 i.q. idem quod, the same as. 
 
 ibid, ibidem, in the same book. 
 
 i.e. id est, that is. 
 
 sc. scilicet, that is to say. 
 
 s.v. sub voce, under the word. 
 
 cf. confer, compare. 
 
 n. noun. 
 
 adj. adjective. 
 
 v. verb. 
 
 prep, preposition. 
 
 interj. interjection. 
 
 sic, " thus," draws attention to some peculiarity of diction or to what is believed 
 
 to be a mistake. 
 N.O. Natural Order, 
 sp. a species, 
 spp. various species. 
 
 A square bracket [ ] shows an addition to a quotation by way of comment. 
 O.E.D. "Oxford English Dictionary," often formerly quoted as "N.E.D." or 
 "New English Dictionary."
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 Absentee, n. euphemistic term 
 for a convict. The word has dis- 
 appeared with the need for it. 
 
 1837. Jas. Mudie, ' Felonry of New South 
 Wales, ' p. vii. : 
 
 " The ludicrous and affected philan- 
 thropy of the present Governor of the 
 Colony, in advertising runaway con- 
 victs under the soft and gentle name 
 of absentees, is really unaccountable, 
 unless we suppose it possible that his 
 Excellency as a native of Ireland, 
 and as having a well-grounded Hiber- 
 nian antipathy to his absentee country- 
 men, uses the term as one expressive 
 both of the criminality of the absen- 
 tee and of his own abhorrence of the 
 
 Acacia, n. and adj. a genus 
 of shrubs or trees, N. O. Legumi- 
 nosce. The Australian species often 
 form thickets or scrubs, and are 
 much used for hedges. The 
 species are very numerous, and 
 are called provincially by various 
 names, e.g. " Wattle," " Mulga," 
 "Giddea," and " Sally," an Ang- 
 licized form of the aboriginal 
 name Sallee (q.v.). The tree 
 peculiar to Tasmania, Acacia 
 riceana, Hensl., JV.O. Leguminosce, 
 is there called the Drooping Acacia. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales, vol. i. p. 202 : 
 
 " We possess above a hundred and 
 thirty species of the acacia.'-* 
 
 1839. Dr. J. Shotsky, quoted in 
 'Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 5, p. 5, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 "Yet, Australian sky and nature 
 awaits and merits real artists to 
 portray it. Its gigantic gum and 
 acacia trees, 40 ft. in girth, some of 
 them covered with a most smooth 
 bark, externally as white as chalk. . . ." 
 
 1844. L. Leichhardt, Letter in 'Cooks- 
 land, by J. D. Lang, p. 91 : 
 
 " Rosewood Acacia, the wood of 
 which has a very agreeable violet 
 scent like the Myal A.ca.c\a.(A.fenduIa) 
 in Liverpool^ Plains." 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 149 : 
 
 " The Acacias are innumerable, all 
 yielding a famous bark for tanning, 
 and a clean and excellent gum." 
 
 1869. Mrs. Meredith, ' A Tasmanian 
 Memory,' p. 8 : 
 
 " Acacias fringed with gold." 
 
 1877. F. v. Muller, 'Botanic Teachings,' 
 p. 24: 
 
 " The name Acacia, derived from the 
 Greek, and indicative of a thorny plant, 
 was already bestowed by the ancient 
 naturalist and physician Dioscorides 
 on a Gum-Arabic yielding North- 
 African Acacia not dissimilar to some 
 Australian species. This generic name 
 is so familiarly known, that the appel- 
 lation 'Wattle' might well be dispensed 
 with. Indeed the name Acacia is in 
 full use in works on travels and in 
 many popular writings for the numerous 
 Australian species. . . . Few of any 
 genera of plants contain more species 
 than Acacia, and in Australia it is the
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [ACR-AMB 
 
 richest of all ; about 300 species, as 
 occurring in our continent, have been 
 clearly defined." 
 
 Acrobates, n. the scientific name 
 of the Australian genus of Pigmy 
 Flying-Phalangers, or, as they are 
 locally called, Opossum-Mice. See 
 Opossum-Mouse, Flying-Mouse, Fly- 
 ing- Phalanger, and Phalanger. The 
 genus was founded by Desmarest 
 in 1817. (Grk. cuc/so/tar^?, walk- 
 ing on tiptoe.) 
 
 JEpyprymnus, n. the scientific 
 name of the genus of the Rufous 
 Kangaroo-Rat. It is the tallest 
 and largest of the Kangaroo-Rats 
 (q.v.). (Grk. CUTTUS, high, and 
 o'v, the hinder part.) 
 
 Ailuroedus, n. scientific name 
 for the genus of Australian birds 
 called Cat-birds (q.v). From 
 Grk. aiAovpos, a cat, and eTSo?, 
 species. 
 
 Ake, n. originally Akeake, 
 Maori name for either of two small 
 trees, (i) Dodoncea viscosa, Linn., 
 in New Zealand; (2) Olearia tra- 
 versii, F. v. M., in the Chatham 
 Islands. Ake is originally a 
 Maori adv. meaning "onwards, in 
 time." Archdeacon Williams, in 
 his ' Dictionary of New Zealand 
 Language,' says Ake, Ake, Ake, 
 means "for ever and ever." 
 (Edition 1852.) 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand ' (Church Mis- 
 sionary Society), p. 133 : 
 
 " Akeake, paulo post futurum." 
 
 1835. W. Yate, ' Some Account of New 
 Zealand,' p. 47 : 
 
 "Aki, called the Lignum mice of 
 New Zealand." 
 
 1851. Mrs. Wilson, ' New Zealand,' p. 
 
 43 : 
 
 " The ake and towai . . . are almost 
 equal, in point of colour, to rosewood." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, ' Handbook to New 
 Zealand,' p. 131 : 
 
 "Ake, a small tree, 6 to 12 feet 
 high. Wood very hard, variegated, 
 black and white ; used for Maori 
 
 clubs ; abundant in dry woods and 
 fdrests." 
 
 Alarm-bird, n. a bird-name no 
 longer used in Australia. There 
 is an African Alarm-bird. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. vi. pi. 9 : 
 
 " Lobivanellus lobatus (Lath.), Wat- 
 tled Pewit, Alarm Bird of the Colon- 
 ists." 
 
 Alectryon, n. a New Zealand 
 tree and flower, Alectryon excelsum, 
 De C., Maori name Titoki (q.v.); 
 called also the New Zealand Oak, 
 from the resemblance of its leaves 
 to those of an oak. Named by 
 botanists from Grk. dXe/crpvwv, a 
 cock. 
 
 1872. A. Domett, 'Ranolf,'!. 7, p. 16 : 
 
 "The early season could not yet 
 Have ripened the alectryon's beads 
 
 of jet, 
 Each on its scarlet strawberry set." 
 
 Alexandra Palm, n. a Queens- 
 land tree, Ptychosperma alexandra, 
 F. v. M. A beautifully marked 
 wood much used for making 
 walking sticks. It grows 70 or 
 80 feet high. 
 
 Alluvial, n. the common term 
 in Australia and New Zealand for 
 gold-bearing alluvial soil. The 
 word is also used adjectivally as 
 in England. 
 
 1889. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Robbery under 
 Arms,' p. 403 : 
 
 "The whole of the alluvial will be 
 taken up, and the Terrible Hollow will 
 re-echo with the sound of pick and 
 shovel." 
 
 Ambrite (generally called am- 
 brit), n. Mineral [from amber + 
 ite, mineral formative, 'O.E.D.'], 
 a fossil resin found in masses 
 amidst lignite coals in various 
 parts of New Zealand. Some 
 identify it with the resin of Dam- 
 mara australis, generally called 
 Kauri gum (q.v.). 
 
 1867. F. von Hochstetter, ' New Zea- 
 land,' p. 79 :
 
 ANA-ANG] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 "Although originating probably from 
 a coniferous tree related to the Kauri 
 pine, it nevertheless has been errone- 
 ously taken for Kauri gum." [Foot- 
 note] : " It is sufficiently character- 
 ised to deserve a special name ; but it 
 comes so near to real amber that it 
 deserves the name of Ambrite." 
 
 [This is the earliest use of the 
 word.] 
 
 Anabranch, n. a branch of a 
 river which leaves it and enters 
 it again. The word is not Aus- 
 tralian, though it is generally so 
 reckoned. It is not given in the 
 'Century,' nor in the 'Imperial,' 
 nor in 'Webster,' nor in the 
 ' Standard.' The ' O.E.D.' treats 
 Ana as an independent word, 
 rightly explaining it as anastomos- 
 ing ; but its quotation from the 
 'Athenaeum' (1871), on which it 
 relies, is a misprint. For the 
 origin and coinage of the word, 
 see quotation 1834. See the abo- 
 riginal name Billabong. 
 
 1834. Col. Jackson, 'Journal of Royal 
 Geographical Society,' p. 79 : 
 
 " Such branches of a river as after 
 separation re-unite, I would term ana- 
 stomosing-branches j or, if a word 
 might be coined, ana-branches, and 
 the islands they form, branch-islands. 
 Thus, if we would say, ' the river in 
 this part of its course divides into 
 several ana-branches^ we should im- 
 mediately understand the subsequent 
 re-union of the branches to the main 
 trunk." 
 
 Col. Jackson was for a while 
 Secretary and Editor of the So- 
 ciety's Journal. In Feb. 1847 he 
 resigned that position, and in the 
 Journal of that year there is the 
 following amusing ignorance of 
 his proposed word 
 
 1847. ' Condensed Account of Sturt's 
 Exploration in the Interior of Australia 
 Journal of the Royal Geographical Society,' 
 p. 87: 
 
 " Captain Sturt proposed sending in 
 advance to ascertain the state of the 
 Ana branch of the Darling, discovered 
 
 by Mr. Eyre on a recent expedition to 
 the North." 
 
 No fewer than six times on two 
 pages is the word anabranch print- 
 ed as two separate words, and as 
 if Ana were a proper name. In 
 the Index volume it appears "Ana, 
 a branch of the Darling." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Ex- 
 pedition,' p. 35 : 
 
 " The river itself divided into 
 anabranches which . . . made the 
 whole valley a maze of channels." 
 
 1865. W. Howitt, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 298 : 
 
 "What the Major calls, after the 
 learned nomenclature of Colonel Jack- 
 son, in the ' Journal of the Geographi- 
 cal Society,' anabranches, but which 
 the natives call billibongs, channels 
 coming out of a stream and returning 
 into it again." 
 
 1871. 'The Athenaeum,' May 27, p. 
 660 ('O.E.D.'): 
 
 " The Loddon district is called the 
 County of Gunbower, which means, it 
 is said, an ana branch [sic]." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' p. 48 : 
 
 " A plain bordering an ana-branch 
 sufficient for water." 
 
 Anchorwing, n. a bird-name, 
 Falco melanogenys, Gould. The 
 Black-cheeked Falcon, so called 
 because of the resemblance of the 
 wings outspread in flight to the 
 flukes of an anchor. 
 
 Anguillaria, n. one of the ver- 
 nacular names used for the 
 common Australian wild flower, 
 Anguillaria australiS) R. Br., Wur- 
 mbsea dioica, F. v. M., N.O. 
 Liliacece. The name Anguillaria 
 is from the administrator of the 
 Botanic Gardens of Padua, three 
 centuries ago. There are three 
 Australian forms, distinguished 
 by Robert Brown as species. 
 The flower is very common in the 
 meadows in early spring, and is 
 therefore called the Native Snou<- 
 drop. In Tasmania it is called 
 Nancy.
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [ANT 
 
 1835. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 67: 
 
 " Spotted Anguillaria. Nancy. The 
 little lively white flower with blue spots 
 in the centre, about 2 inches high, that 
 everywhere enlivens our grassy hills 
 in spring, resembling the Star of Beth- 
 lehem." 
 
 1878. W. R. Guilfoyle, 'Australian 
 Botany,' p. 83 : 
 
 " Native Snowdrop. Anguillaria 
 Australis. The earliest of all our in- 
 digenous spring-flowering plants. . . . 
 In early spring our fields are white 
 with the flowers of this pretty little 
 bulbous-rooted plant." 
 
 Ant-eater, n. (i) i.q. Ant-eating 
 Porcupine. See Echidna. (2) 
 The Banded Ant-eater (q.v.). 
 
 Ant-eater, Banded. See Band- 
 ed Ant-eater. 
 
 Antechinomys, n. scientific 
 name for the genus with the one 
 species of Long-legged Pouched- 
 Mouse (q.v.). (Grk. avn, opposed 
 to, c^tvos, hedgehog, and /AVS, 
 mouse, sc. a mouse different to 
 the hedgehog.) It is a jumping 
 animal exclusively insectivorous. 
 
 Antipodes, n. properly a Greek 
 word, the plural of avTiVous, lit. 
 "having feet opposed." The an- 
 cients, however, had no know- 
 ledge of the southern hemisphere. 
 Under the word Trc/oiWos, Liddell 
 and Scott explain that avrtTroScs 
 meant "those who were in op- 
 posite parallels and meridians." 
 The word Antipodes was adopted 
 into the Latin language, and 
 occurs in two of the Fathers, 
 Lactantius and Augustine. By 
 the mediaeval church to believe 
 in the antipodes was regarded as 
 heresy. ' O.E.D.' quotes two 
 examples of the early use of the 
 word in English. 
 
 1398. 'Trevisa Earth. De P. R.,' xv. Hi. 
 (1495), P- 506: 
 
 " Yonde in Ethiopia ben the Anti- 
 podes, men that have theyr fete 
 ayenst our fete." 
 
 1556. ' Recorde Cast. Knowl.,' 93 : 
 "People . . . called of the Greeks 
 and Latines also dvrtTro&c, Antipodes, 
 as you might say Counterfooted, or 
 Counterpasers." 
 
 Shakspeare uses the word in 
 five places, but, though he knew 
 that this "pendent world" was 
 spherical, his Antipodes were 
 not Australasian. In three places 
 he means only the fact that it is 
 day in the Eastern hemisphere 
 when it is night in England. 
 
 ' Midsummer Night's Dream,' III. ii. 55 : 
 
 " I'll believe as soon 
 
 This whole earth may be bored, and 
 
 that the moon 
 May thro' the centre creep and so 
 
 displease 
 
 His brother's noontide with the Anti- 
 podes." 
 
 ' Merchant of Venice,' V. 127 : 
 " We should hold day with the Anti- 
 podes 
 
 If you would walk in absence of the 
 sun." 
 
 'Richard II.,' III. ii. 49 : 
 "Who all this while hath revell'd in 
 the night, 
 
 Whilst we were wandering with the 
 Antipodes." 
 
 In 'Henry VI.,' part 3, I. iv. 
 135, the word more clearly de- 
 signates the East : 
 
 " Thou art as opposite to every good 
 As the Antipodes are unto us, 
 Or as the South to the Septentrion." 
 [sc. the North.] 
 
 But more precise geographical in- 
 dications are given in ' Much Ado,' 
 II. i. 273, where Benedick is so 
 anxious to avoid Beatrice that he 
 says 
 
 " I will go on the slightest errand 
 now to the Antipodes that you can 
 devise to send me on. I will fetch 
 you a tooth-picker now from the 
 farthest inch of Asia ; bring you the 
 length of Prester John's foot ; fetch 
 you a hair of the great Kam's beard ; 
 do you any embassage to the Pygmies 
 rather than hold three words con- 
 ference with this harpy."
 
 ANT-APP] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 5 
 
 Now the Pygmies lived on the 
 Upper Nile, near Khartoum, 
 Prester John in India, and the 
 great Kam (Khan) in Tartary. 
 
 The word Antipodes in modern 
 use is applied rather to places 
 than to people. Geographically, 
 the word means a place exactly 
 opposite on the surface of the 
 globe, as Antipodes Island (East- 
 ward of New Zealand), which is 
 very near the opposite end of the 
 diameter of the globe passing 
 through London. But the word 
 is often used in a wider sense, 
 and the whole of Australasia is 
 regarded as the Antipodes of 
 Great Britain. 
 
 The question is often asked 
 whether there is any singular 
 to the word Antipodes, and 
 'O.E.D.' shows that antipode is 
 still used in the sense of the 
 exact opposite of a person. 
 Antipod is also used, especially 
 playfully. The adjectives used 
 are Antipodal and Antipodean. 
 
 1640. Richard Brome [Title] : 
 
 " The Antipodes ; comedy in verse." 
 [Acted in 1638, first printed 410. 
 1640.] 
 
 Ant-orchis, n. an Australian 
 and Tasmanian orchid, Chihglottis 
 gunnii, Lind. 
 
 Apple and Apple-tree, n. and 
 adj. The names are applied to 
 various indigenous trees, in some 
 cases from a supposed resem- 
 blance to the English fruit, in 
 others to the foliage of the 
 English tree. The varieties are 
 Black or Brush Apple 
 
 Achrcis an s tralis, R. Br. 
 Emu A. 
 
 Owenia acidula, F. v. M.; called 
 also Native Nectarine and 
 Native Quince. 
 
 Petalostigma quadriloculare, F. v. 
 M.; called also Crab-tree, 
 Native Quince, Quinine-tree 
 (q.V.). 
 
 Kangaroo A. 
 
 See Kangaroo Apple. 
 Mooley A.(WestN.S.W. name) - 
 
 Owenia acidula, F. v. M. 
 Mulga A. 
 
 The Galls of Acacia aneura, 
 
 F. v. M. 
 Oak A. 
 
 Cones of Casuarina stricta, Ait. 
 Rose A. 
 
 Owenia cerasifera, F. v. M. 
 
 1820. John Oxley, 'Journal of Two 
 Expeditions into the Interior of New South 
 Wales, 'p. 187: 
 
 " The blue gum trees in the neigh- 
 bourhood were extremely fine, whilst 
 that species of Eucalyptus, which is 
 vulgarly called the apple-tree . . . 
 again made its appearance. . . ." 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, 'Transac- 
 tions of Linnsean Society,' vol. xv. p. 260: 
 
 " It builds its nest of sticks lined 
 with grass in Iron-bark and Apple-trees 
 (a species of Angophord)? 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 200 : 
 
 " The apple - trees resemble the 
 English apple only in leaf." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia/ p. 195 : 
 
 " In looking down upon the rich 
 flats below, adjoining the stream, I 
 was perpetually reminded of a thriving 
 and rich apple-orchard. The resem- 
 blance of what are called apple-trees 
 in Australia to those of the same name 
 at home is so striking at a distance in 
 these situations, that the comparison 
 could not be avoided, although the 
 former bear no fruit, and do not even 
 belong to the same species." 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 52 : 
 
 " I have heard of men employed in 
 felling whole apple-trees (Angophera 
 lanccolata] for the sheep." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in 
 Australia,' vol. ii. c. iv. p. 132 : 
 
 " Red Apple, Quonui, affects salt 
 grounds." 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, 'Phillipsland, 1 p. 256: 
 " The plains, or radier downs, around 
 
 it (Yass) are thinly but most pictur- 
 esquely covered with ' apple-trees,' as 
 they are called by the colonists, merely 
 from their resemblance to the European
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [APP-ASH 
 
 apple-tree in their size and outline, for 
 they do not resemble it in producing 
 an edible fruit." 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, 'Port Phillip 
 in 1849,' p. 32 : 
 
 "The musk-plant, hyacinth, grass- 
 tree, and kangaroo apple-tree are in- 
 digenous." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes' 
 (edition 1855), p. 219: 
 
 " Pomona would indignantly disown 
 the apple-tree, for there is not the 
 semblance of a pippin on its tufted 
 branches." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 113: 
 
 "Sandy apple-tree flats, and iron- 
 bark ridges, lined the creek here on 
 either side." 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World 
 was Wide,' p. 158 : 
 
 "The desolate flats where gaunt 
 apple-trees rot." 
 
 Apple-berry, n. the fruit of an 
 Australian shrub, Billardiera 
 scandens, Smith, N. 0. Pittosporece, 
 called by children " dumplings." 
 
 1793. J. E. Smith, ' Specimen of Botany 
 of New Holland,' pp. I, 3 : 
 
 " Billardiera scandens. Climbing 
 Apple Berry. . . . The name Billardi- 
 era is given it in honour of James 
 Julian la Billardiere, M.D., F.M.L.S., 
 now engaged as botanist on board the 
 French ships sent in search of M. de 
 la Peyrouse." 
 
 Apple- gum, n. See Gum. 
 
 Apple-scented gum, n. See 
 Gum. 
 
 Apteryx, n. [Grk. d privative 
 and 7rrc'pv, a wing.] A New 
 Zealand bird about the size of a 
 domestic fowl, with merely rudi- 
 mentary wings. See Kiwi. 
 
 1813. G. Shaw, ' Naturalist's Miscel- 
 lany,' c. xxiv. p. 1058 (' O.E.D.') : 
 
 " The Southern Apteryx." 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, ' Australia Felix,' 
 P- 137 = 
 
 "The present Apterix or wingless 
 bird of that country (New Zealand)." 
 
 1851. ' Papers and Proceedings of the 
 Royal Society of Van Diem en's Land, 'vol. 
 i. p. 300 [Letter from Rev. W. Colenso, 
 Waitangi, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, 
 Sept. 4, 1850] : 
 
 "You enquire after an Apteryx. 
 How delighted should I be to succeed 
 in getting you one. Three years ago 
 Owen expressed a similar wish, and I 
 have repeatedly tried, but failed. Yet 
 here they still are in the mountain 
 forests, though, doubtless, fast hasten- 
 ing towards extinction. I saw one in 
 its wild state two years ago in the 
 dense woods of the interior ; I saw it 
 clearly. . . . Two living specimens 
 were lately taken by the Acheron, 
 steamer, to Sydney, where they died ; 
 these were obtained at the Bay of 
 Islands, where also I once got three at 
 one time. Since then I have not been 
 able to obtain another, although I have 
 offered a great price for one. The 
 fact is, the younger natives do not 
 know how to take them, and the elder 
 ones having but few wants, and those 
 fully supplied, do not care to do so. 
 Further, they can only be captured by 
 night, and the dog must be well trained 
 to be of service." 
 
 1874. F - p - Cobbe, in ' Littell's Age,' 
 Nov. 7, p. 355 (' Standard') : 
 
 "We have clipped the wings of 
 Fancy as close as if she were an 
 Apteryx. ' 
 
 Arbutus, Native, n. See Wax- 
 Cluster. 
 
 Ardoo, n. See Nardoo. 
 
 Artichoke, n. name given to 
 the plant Astelia alpina, R. Br. r 
 N.O. Liliacea. 
 
 Ash, n. The name, with various 
 epithets, isapplied to the following 
 different Australasian trees- 
 Black Ash 
 
 Nephelium semiglaucum, F. v. M. , 
 N. O. Sapindacetz ; called also 
 Wild Quince. 
 Black Mountain A. 
 
 Eucalyptus leucoxylon^ F. v. M., 
 
 N.O. Myrtacea. 
 Blue A. 
 
 Elfeodendron australe, Vent., 
 
 N.O. Celastrina. 
 Blueberry A. 
 
 Elceocarpus holopetaluSy F. v. M., 
 N.O. Tiliacece.
 
 ASS-AST] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 Brush Apple 
 
 Acronychia baueri, Schott. (of 
 
 Illawarra, N.S.W.). 
 Crow's A. 
 
 Flindersia australis, R. Br. , IV. O. 
 
 Meliacece. 
 
 Elderberry A. (of Victoria) 
 Panax sambucifolius, Sieb., N.O. 
 
 Araliacecs. 
 Illawarra A. 
 
 Elceocarpus kirtonia, F. v. M., 
 
 N.O. Tiliacece. 
 Moreton Bay A. 
 
 Eucalyptus tessellaris, Hook., 
 
 N.O. Myrtacece. 
 
 Mountain A. (see Mountain AsJi). 
 New Zealand A. (see Titoki}. 
 Pigeonberry A. 
 
 Elceocarpus obovatus, G. Don., 
 
 N.O. Tiliacece. 
 Red A. 
 
 Alphitonia excelsa, Reiss, N.O. 
 Rhamnacece. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 75 : 
 
 " The Moreton Bay Ash (a species 
 of Eucalyptus) . . . was here also very 
 plentiful." 
 
 Assigned, past part, of verb 
 to assign, to allot. Used as adj. 
 of a convict allotted to a settler 
 as a servant. Colloquially often 
 reduced to " signed." 
 
 1827. ' Captain Robinson's Report,' Dec. 
 23: 
 
 "It was a subject of complaint among 
 the settlers, that their assigned serv- 
 ants could not be known from soldiers, 
 owing to their dress ; which very much 
 assisted the crime of ' bush-ranging.' " 
 
 1837. J- D - Lang, 'New South Wales,' 
 vol. ii. p. 31 : 
 
 " The assigned servant of a respect- 
 able Scotch family residing near 
 Sydney." 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 75 : 
 
 " Of the first five persons we saw in 
 Van Diemen's Land, four were con- 
 victs, and perhaps the fifth. These 
 were the assigned servants of the 
 pilot." 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 P- 324 : 
 
 "Under the old practice, the con- 
 victs, as soon as they arrived from 
 Britain, were assigned among the 
 various applicants. The servant thus 
 assigned was bound to perform dili- 
 gently, from sunrise till sunset, all 
 usual and reasonable labour." 
 
 Assignee, n. a convict assigned 
 as a servant. The word is also 
 used in its ordinary English 
 sense. 
 
 1843. ' Penny Cyclopaedia,' vol. xxv. p. 
 139, col. 2 : 
 
 " It is comparatively difficult to ob- 
 tain another assignee, easy to obtain 
 a hired servant." 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, ' Australia Felix,' 
 P- 324 : 
 
 "Any instance of gross treatment 
 disqualified him for the future as an 
 assignee of convict labour." 
 
 Assignment, n. service as 
 above. 
 
 1836. C. Darwin, 'Journal of Re- 
 searches' (1890), c. xix. p. 324 : 
 
 " I believe the years of assignment 
 are passed away with discontent and 
 unhappiness." 
 
 1852. John West, 'History of Tas- 
 mania,' vol. ii. p. 126 : 
 
 " That form of service, known as as- 
 signment, was established by Governor 
 King in 1804." 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 117 : 
 
 "The assignment system was then 
 in operation, and such as obtained free 
 grants of land were allowed a certain 
 proportion of convicts to bring it into 
 cultivation." 
 
 Asthma Herb, Queensland, n. 
 Euphorbia pilulifera, Linn. As the 
 name implies, a remedy for asth- 
 ma. The herb is collected when 
 in flower and carefully dried. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 183 : 
 
 " This plant, having obtained some 
 reputation in Australasia in certain 
 pulmonary complaints, has acquired 
 the appellation in the Colonies of 
 ' Queensland Asthma Herb.' Never- 
 theless, it is by no means endemic in 
 Australasia, for it is a common tropical 
 weed."
 
 8 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [AUA-AUS 
 
 Aua, n. Maori name for a New 
 Zealand fish, Agonostoma forsteri, 
 Bleek. Another Maori name is 
 Makawhiti; also called Sea-Mullet 
 and sometimes Herring (q.v.). It 
 is abundant also in Tasmanian 
 estuaries, and is one of the fishes 
 which when dried is called Picton 
 Herring (q.v.). See also Maray 
 and Mullet. Agonostoma is a genus 
 of the family Mugilidce or Grey- 
 Mullets. 
 
 Aurora australis, n. the 
 Southern equivalent for Aurora 
 borealis. 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales,' p. 214 : 
 
 "Sept. 5, 1788. About half after six 
 in the evening, we saw an Aurora 
 Australis, a phenomenon uncommon 
 in the southern hemisphere." 
 
 Austral, adj. " Belonging to 
 the South, Southern. Lat. Aus- 
 tralis, from auster, south-wind." 
 (' O.E.D.') The word is rarely 
 used in Australasia in its primary 
 sense, but now as equivalent to 
 Australian or Australasian. 
 
 1823. Wentworth's Cambridge poem on 
 ' Australasia ' : 
 
 " And grant that yet an Austral Mil- 
 ton's song, 
 
 Pactolus-like, flow deep and rich 
 along, 
 
 An Austral Shakespeare rise, whose 
 living page 
 
 To Nature true may charm in every 
 age; 
 
 And that an Austral Pindar daring 
 soar, 
 
 Where not the Theban Eagle reach'd 
 before." 
 
 1825. Barron Field, 'First Fruits of 
 Australian Poetry,' Motto in Geographical 
 Memoir of New South Wales, p. 485 : 
 
 " I first adventure. Follow me who 
 
 list; 
 
 And be the second Austral har- 
 monist." 
 
 Adapted from Bishop Hall. 
 1845. R. Howitt, 'Australia/ p. 184: 
 
 " For this, midst Austral wilds I waken 
 Our British harp, feel whence I 
 
 come, 
 
 Queen of the sea, too long forsaken, 
 Queen of the soul, my spirit's 
 home." Alien Song. 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, 'Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 43 : 
 
 " Every servant in this Austral Uto- 
 pia thinks himself a gentleman." 
 
 1868. C. Harpur, 'Poems' (ed. 1883), 
 p. 215 : 
 
 " How oft, in Austral woods, the parting 
 
 day 
 
 Has gone through western golden 
 gates away." 
 
 1879. J. B. O'Hara, 'Songs of the 
 South,' p. 127 : 
 
 " What though no weird and legendary 
 lore 
 
 Invests our young, our golden Aus- 
 tral shore 
 
 With that romance the poet loves too 
 well, 
 
 When Inspiration breathes her magic 
 spell." 
 
 1894. Ernest Favenc [Title] : 
 " Tales of the Austral Tropics." 
 1896. [Title]: 
 
 "The Austral Wheel A Monthly 
 Cycling Magazine, No. i, Jan." 
 
 1896. 'The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 
 53 = 
 
 " Our Austral Spring." [Title of an 
 article describing Spring in Australia.] 
 
 Australasia, n. (and its adjec- 
 tives), name "given originally 
 by De Brosses to one of his three 
 divisions of the alleged Terra 
 australis:' ('O.E.D.') Now used 
 as a larger term than Australian, 
 to include the continent of Aus- 
 tralia, New Zealand, Tasmania, 
 Fiji and islands. For peculiar 
 use of the name for the Continent 
 in 1793, see Australia. 
 
 1756. Charles de Brosses, ' Histoire des 
 Navigations aux Terres Australes,' torn. i. 
 p. 80: 
 
 " On peut de meme diviser le monde 
 austral inconnu en trois portions. . . . 
 L'une dans 1'ocean des Indes au sud 
 de 1'Asie que j'appellerai par cette rai- 
 son australasie."
 
 AUS] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 1766. Callander, ' Terra Australis,' i. p. 
 49 (Translation of deBrosses)('O.E.D.'); 
 
 "The first [division] in the Indian 
 Ocean, south of Asia, which for this 
 reason we shall call Australasia" 
 
 1802. G. Shaw, ' Zoology,' iii. p. 506 
 ('O.E.D.'}: 
 
 " Other Australasian snakes." 
 
 1823. Subject for English poem at Cam- 
 bridge University : 
 
 ' Australasia.' 
 
 [The prize (Chancellor's Medal) was won 
 by Winthrop Mackworth Praed. William 
 Charles Wentworth stood second.] The 
 concluding lines of his poem are : 
 
 "And Australasia float, with flag un- 
 
 furl'd, 
 A new Britannia in another world." 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 77 : 
 
 " How far had these ideas been 
 acted upon by the Colonists of Austral 
 Asia?" [sic.] 
 
 1852. J. West, ' History of Tasmania,' 
 vol. i. p. 109 : 
 
 " ! The Austral-Asiatic Review,' by 
 Murray, also made its appearance [in 
 Hobart] in February, 1828." 
 
 1855. Tennyson, 'The Brook,' p. 194: 
 
 "Katie walks 
 
 By the long wash of Australasian seas 
 Far off, and holds her head to other 
 
 stars, 
 And breathes in converse seasons." 
 
 [Altered in Edition of 1894 to 
 " breathes in April-autumns."] 
 
 1857. Daniel Bunce [Title] : 
 " Australasiatic reminiscences." 
 1864. 'The Australasian,' Oct. I, First 
 Number [Title] : 
 
 "The Australasian." 
 
 1880. Alfred R. Wallace [Title] : 
 
 " Australasia." [In Stanford's ' Com- 
 pendium of Geography and Travel.'] 
 
 1881. David Blair [Title] : 
 
 " Cyclopaedia of Australasia." 
 
 1890. E. W. Ilornung, 'Bride from the 
 Bush,' p. 29 : 
 
 " It was neither Cockney nor Yan- 
 kee, but a nasal blend of both : it was 
 a lingo that declined to let the vowels 
 run alone, but trotted them out in ill- 
 matched couples, with discordant and 
 awful consequences ; in a word, it was 
 Australasiatic of the worst descripron." 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Consolidated Statutes,' 
 
 Administration and Probate Act, Section 
 39: 
 
 " ' Australasian Colonies,' shall mean 
 all colonies for the time being on the 
 main land of Australia . . . and shall 
 also include the colonies of New Zea- 
 land, Tasmania and Fiji and any 
 other British Colonies or possessions 
 in Australasia now existing or here- 
 after to be created which the Governor 
 in Council may from time to time 
 declare to be Australasian Colonies 
 within the meaning of this Act. " 
 
 1895. Edward Jenks [Title] : 
 
 " History of the Australasian Col- 
 onies." 
 
 1896. J. S. Laurie [Title] : 
 
 " The Story of Australasia." 
 
 Australia, n., and Australian, 
 adj. As early as the i6th century 
 there was a belief in a Terra aus- 
 tralis (to which was often added 
 the epithet incognita], literally 
 "southern land," which was be- 
 lieved to be land lying round and 
 stretching- outwards from the 
 South Pole. 
 
 In ' Proceedings of the Royal 
 Geographical Society of Austra- 
 lasia, 'Sydney, Jan. 1892, is printed 
 a paper read at the Geographical 
 Congress at Berne, by E. Delmar 
 Morgan, on the ' Early Discovery 
 of Australia.' This paper is illus- 
 trated by maps taken from ' Nor- 
 denskiold's Atlas.' In a map by 
 Orontius Finceus, a French cos- 
 mographer of Provence, dated 
 1531, the Terra anstralis is shown 
 as "Terra Australis recenter in- 
 venta, sed nondum plene cognita." 
 In Ortelius' Map, 1570, it appears 
 as "Terra Australis nondum 
 cognita." In Gerard Mercator's 
 Map, 1587, as "Terra Australis" 
 simply. 
 
 In 1606 the Spaniard Fernandez 
 de Quiros gave the name of Terra 
 Australis del Espiritu Santo to land 
 which he thought formed part of 
 the Great Southland. It is in 
 fact one of the New Hebrides.
 
 10 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [AUS 
 
 The word " Australian " is older 
 than "Australia" (see quotations, 
 1693 and 1766). The name Aus- 
 tralia was adapted from the Latin 
 name Terra Australis. The earliest 
 suggestion of the word is credited 
 to Flinders, who certainly thought 
 that he was inventing the name. 
 (See quotation, 1814.) Twenty- 
 one years earlier, however, the 
 word is found (see quotation, 
 1793) ; and the passage contain- 
 ing it is the first known use of 
 the word in print. Shaw may 
 thus be regarded as its inventor. 
 According to its title-page, the 
 book quoted is by two authors, 
 the Zoology by Shaw and the 
 Botany by Smith. The Botany, 
 however, was not published. Of 
 the two names Australia and 
 Australasia suggested in the 
 opening of the quotation, to take 
 the place of New Holland, Shaw 
 evidently favoured Australia, while 
 Smith, in the ' Transactions of the 
 Linnaean Society,' vol. iv. p. 213 
 (1798), uses Australasia for the 
 continent several times. Neither 
 name, however, passed then into 
 general use. In 1814, Robert 
 Brown the Botanist speaks of 
 " Terra Australis'' not of " Aus- 
 tralia." " Australia " was re- 
 invented by Flinders. 
 Quotations for " Terra Australis " 
 
 1621. R. Burton, ' Anatomy of Melan- 
 choly' (edition 1854), p. 56: 
 
 "For the site, if you will needs urge 
 me to it, I am not fully resolved, it 
 may be in Terra Australis incognita, 
 there is room enough (for of my know- 
 ledge, neither that hungry Spaniard 
 nor Mercurius Britannicus have yet 
 discovered half of it)." 
 
 Ibid. p. 314: 
 
 " Terra Australis incognita . . . 
 and yet in likelihood it may be so, for 
 without all question, it being extended 
 from the tropic of Capricorn to the 
 circle Antarctic, and lying as it doth in 
 the temperate zone, cannot choose but 
 yield in time some flourishing king- 
 
 doms to succeeding ages, as America 
 did unto the Spaniards." 
 
 Ibid. p. 619 : 
 
 " But these are hard-hearted, un- 
 natural, monsters of men, shallow 
 politicians, they do not consider that a 
 great part of the world is not yet 
 inhabited as it ought, how many 
 colonies into America, Terra Australis 
 incognita, Africa may be sent ? " 
 
 Early quotations for "Australian " 
 1693. ' Nouveau Voyage de la Terre 
 Australe, contenant les Coutumes et les 
 Mceurs des Australians, etc.' Par Jaques 
 Sadeur [Gabriel de Foigny]. 
 
 [This is a work of fiction, but inter- 
 esting as being the first book in which 
 the word Australiens is used. The 
 next quotation is from the English 
 translation.] 
 
 1693. : New Discovery, Terra Incognita 
 Australis,' p. 163 (' O.E.D.') : 
 
 " It is easy to judge of the incom- 
 parability of the Australians with the 
 people of Europe." 
 
 1766. Callander, 'Terra Australis' 
 (Translation of De Brasses ), c. ii. p. 280 : 
 
 " One of the Australians, or natives 
 of the Southern World, whom Gonne- 
 ville had brought into France." 
 
 Quotations for " Australia " 
 1793. G. Shaw and J. E. Smith, 
 ' Zoology and Botany of New Holland,' 
 p. 2: 
 
 "The vast Island or rather Con- 
 tinent of Australia, Australasia, or New 
 Holland, which has so lately attracted 
 the particular attention of European 
 navigators and naturalists, seems to 
 abound in scenes of peculiar wildness 
 and sterility ; while the wretched 
 natives of many of those dreary dis- 
 tricts seem less elevated above the 
 inferior animals than in any other part 
 of the known world ; Caffraria itself 
 not excepted ; as well as less indued 
 with the power of promoting a com- 
 fortable existence by an approach 
 towards useful arts and industry. It 
 is in these savage regions however 
 that Nature seems to have poured 
 forth many of her most highly orna- 
 mented products with unusual liber- 
 ality." 
 
 1814. M. Flinders, 'Voyage to Terra 
 Australis,' Introduction, p. iii. and foot- 
 note:
 
 AUS] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 II 
 
 " I have . . . ventured upon the re- 
 adoption of the original Terra Austra- 
 tis, and of this term I shall hereafter 
 make use, when speaking of New 
 Holland \sc. the West] and New 
 South Wales, in a collective sense ; 
 and when using it in the most exten- 
 sive signification, the adjacent isles, 
 including that of Van Diemen, must 
 be understood to be comprehended." 
 [Footnote] : " Had I permitted myself 
 any innovation upon the original term, 
 it would have been to convert it into 
 Australia ; as being more agreeable to 
 the ear, and an assimilation to the 
 names of the other great portions of 
 the earth." 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 9 : 
 
 " New South Wales (or Australia, as 
 we colonials say)." 
 
 1839. C. Darwin, ' Naturalist's Voyage ' 
 (ed. 1890), p. 328 : 
 
 " Farewell, Australia ! You are a 
 rising child, and doubtless some day 
 will reign a great princess in the 
 South ; but you are too great and 
 ambitious for affection, yet not great 
 enough for respect. I leave your shores 
 without sorrow or regret." 
 
 1852. A Liverpool Merchant [Title] : 
 "A Guide to Australia and the 
 Gold Regions." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' c. viii. (new ed.) p. 152 : 
 
 " The colonies are determined to be 
 separate. Australia is a term that 
 finds no response in the patriotic feel- 
 ing of any Australian. . . . But this 
 will come to an end sooner or later. 
 The name of Australia will be dearer, 
 if not greater, to Australian ears than 
 the name of Great Britain." 
 
 [Mr. Trollope's prophecy has come 
 true, and the name of Australia is now 
 dearer to an Australian than the name 
 of his own separate colony. The word 
 " Colonial " as indicating Australian 
 nationality is going out of fashion. 
 The word "Australian" is much pre- 
 ferred.] 
 
 1878. F. P. Labilliere, ' Early History 
 of the Colony of Victoria,' vol. i. p. 184 : 
 
 " In a despatch to Lord Bathurst, of 
 April 4th, 1817, Governor Macquarie 
 acknowledges the receipt of Captain 
 Flinders's charts of ' Australia.' This 
 is the first time that the name of Aus- 
 
 tralia appears to have been officially 
 employed. The Governor underlines 
 the word. ... In a private letter to 
 Mr. Secretary Goulbourn, M.P., of 
 December 2 1 st, 1817, [he] says . . . 'the 
 Continent of Australia, which, I hope, 
 will be the name given to this country 
 in future, instead of the very erroneous 
 and misapplied name hitherto given 
 it of New Holland, which, properly 
 speaking, only applies to a part of this 
 immense Continent.'" 
 
 1883. G. W. Rusden, ' History of Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 64: 
 
 " It is pleasant to reflect that the 
 name Australia was selected by the 
 gallant Flinders ; though, with his 
 customary modesty, he suggested 
 rather than adopted it." 
 
 1895. H. M. Goode, 'The Argus,' Oct. 
 15, p. 7, col. 4: 
 
 " Condemning the absurd practice 
 of using the word ' Colonial ' in con- 
 nection with our wines, instead of the 
 broader and more federal one, 'Aus- 
 tralian.' In England our artists, 
 cricketers, scullers, and globe-trotters 
 are all spoken of and acknowledged 
 as Australians, and our produce, with 
 the exception of wine, is classed as 
 follows : Australian gold and copper, 
 Australian beef and mutton, Australian 
 butter, Australian fruits, &c." 
 
 Ibid. p. 14 : 
 
 " Merops or Bee-Eater. A tribe [of 
 birds] which appears to be peculiarly 
 prevalent in the extensive regions of 
 Australia." 
 
 Australian flag, n. Hot climate 
 and courktry work have brought 
 in a fashion among bushmen of 
 wearing a belt or leather strap 
 round the top of trousers instead 
 of braces. This often causes a 
 fold in the shirt protruding all 
 round from under the waistcoat, 
 which is playfully known as " the 
 Australian flag." Slang. 
 
 Australioid and Australoid, 
 adj. like Australian, sc. abori- 
 ginal a term used by ethnolo- 
 gists. See quotations. 
 
 1869. J. Lub.bock, 'Prehistoric Times/ 
 vol. xii. p. 378 : 
 
 " The Australoid type contains all
 
 12 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [AUS-AXE 
 
 the inhabitants of Australia and the 
 native races of the Deccan." 
 
 1878. E. B. Tylor, ' Encyclopaedia 
 Britannica,' vol. ii. p. 112 : 
 
 " He [Professor Huxley] distin- 
 guishes four principal types of man- 
 kind, the Australioid, Negroid, Mon- 
 goloid, and Xanthochroic, adding a 
 fifth variety, the Melanochroic. The 
 special points of the Australioid are a 
 chocolate-brown skin, dark brown or 
 black eyes, black hair (usually wavy), 
 narrow (dolichocephalic) skull, brow- 
 ridges strongly developed, projecting 
 jaw, coarse lips and broad nose. This 
 type is best represented by the natives 
 of Australia, and next to them by the 
 indigenous tribes of Southern India, 
 the so-called coolies." 
 
 Austral Thrush, n. See Port- 
 Jackson Thrush. 
 
 Avocet, 11. a well-known 
 European bird-name. The Aus- 
 tralian species is the Red-necked 
 A., Recurvirostra norce-hollandice, 
 Vieill. 
 
 Aweto, //. Maori name for a 
 vegetable-caterpillar of New Zea- 
 land. See quotation. 
 
 1889. E. Wakefield, ' New Zealand after 
 Fifty Years,' p. 81 : 
 
 "... the aiueto, or vegetable-cater- 
 pillar, called by the naturalists Hipialis 
 virescens. It is a perfect caterpillar in 
 every respect, and a remarkably fine 
 one too, growing to a length in the 
 largest specimens of three and a half 
 inches and the thickness of a finger, 
 
 but more commonly to about a half or 
 two-thirds of that size. . . . When full- 
 grown, it undergoes a miraculous 
 change. For some inexplicable reason, 
 the spore of a vegetable fungus 
 Sphccria Robertsii, fixes itself on its 
 neck, or between the head and the 
 first ring of the caterpillar, takes root 
 and grows vigorously . . . exactly like 
 a diminutive bulrush from 6 to 10 
 inches high without leaves, and con- 
 sisting solely of a single stem with a 
 dark-brown felt-like head, so familiar 
 in the bulrushes . . . always at the 
 foot of the rat a" 
 
 1896. A. Bence Jones, in ' Pearson's 
 Magazine,' Sept., p. 290: 
 
 " The dye in question was a solution 
 of burnt or powdered resin, or wood, 
 or the aweto, the latter a caterpillar, 
 which, burrowing in the vegetable soil, 
 gets a spore of a fungus between the 
 folds of its neck, and unable to free 
 itself, the insect's body nourishes the 
 fungus, which vegetates and occasions 
 the death of the caterpillar by exactly 
 filling the interior of the body with its 
 roots, always preserving its perfect 
 form. When properly charred this 
 material yielded a fine dark dye, much 
 prized for purposes of moko." [See 
 
 Axe-breaker, n. name of a 
 tree, Notel&a longifolia, Vent., 
 JV. O. Jasminece. 
 
 1889. J. II. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 579 : 
 
 "Axe-breaker. Wood hard, close- 
 grained and firm. Its vernacular 
 name emphasizes its hardness."
 
 BAA-BAC] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 Baal, or Bail, interj. and adv. 
 "An aboriginal expression of 
 disapproval." (Gilbert Parker, 
 Glossary to ' Round the Compass 
 in Australia,' 1888.) It was the 
 negative in the Sydney dialect. 
 
 1893. J. F. Hogan, ' Robert Lowe,' p. 
 271, quoting from 'The Atlas' (circa 
 1845): 
 
 " Traces, however, of the Egyptian 
 language are discoverable among the 
 present inhabitants, with whom, for 
 instance, the word ' Bale ' or ' Baal ' is 
 in continual use. . . ." [Evidently a 
 joke.] 
 
 Babbler, n. a bird-name. In 
 Europe, " name given, on account 
 of their harsh chattering note, 
 to the long-legged thrushes." 
 ('O.E.D.') The group " contains 
 a great number of birds not satis- 
 factorily located elsewhere, and 
 has been called the ornithological 
 waste-basket." ('Century.') The 
 species are 
 
 The Babbler 
 
 Pomatostomus temporalis, V. and 
 
 H. 
 Chestnut-crowned B. 
 
 P, ruficeps, Hart. 
 Red-breasted B. 
 
 P. rubeculus, Gould. 
 White-browed B. 
 
 P. superciliosus, V. and H. 
 
 Back-blocks, n. (i) The far in- 
 terior of Australia, and away 
 from settled country. Land in 
 Australia is divided on the survey 
 maps into blocks, a word con- 
 fined, in England and the United 
 States, to town lands. 
 
 (2) The parts of a station dis- 
 tant from the frontage (q.v.). 
 
 1872. Anon. ' Glimpses of Life in Vic- 
 toria," p. 31 : 
 
 "... we were doomed to see the 
 whole of our river-frontage purchased. 
 . . . The back blocks which were left 
 to us were insufficient for the support 
 of our flocks, and deficient in perman- 
 ent water-supply. ..." 
 
 1880. J. Mathew, Song 'The Bush- 
 man ' : 
 
 " Far, far on the plains of the arid 
 back-blocks 
 
 A warm-hearted bushman is tending 
 his flocks. 
 
 There's little to cheer in that vast 
 grassy sea : 
 
 But oh ! he finds pleasure in think- 
 ing of me. 
 
 How weary, how dreary the stillness 
 must be ! 
 
 But oh ! the lone bushman is dream- 
 ing of me." 
 
 1890. E. W. Hornung, ' A Bride from 
 the Bush,' p. 298 : 
 
 " ' Down in Vic ' you can carry as 
 many sheep to the acre as acres to 
 the sheep up here in the 'back- 
 blocks.'" 
 
 .1893. M. Gaunt, 'English Illustrated,' 
 Feb. , p. 294 : 
 
 " The back-blocks are very effectual 
 levellers." 
 
 1893. Haddon Chambers, 'Thumbnail 
 Sketches of Australian Life,' p. 33 : 
 
 "In the back-blocks of New South 
 Wales he had known both hunger 
 and thirst, and had suffered from sun- 
 stroke." 
 
 1893. 'The Australasian,' Aug. 12, p. 
 302, col. I : 
 
 "Although Kara is in the back- 
 blocks of New South Wales, the 
 clothes and boots my brother wears 
 come from Bond Street." 
 
 Back-block, adj. from the 
 interior. 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Sydneyside 
 Saxon,' vol. xii. p. 215 :
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BAC-BAI 
 
 "'What a nice mare that is of 
 yours ! ' said one of the back-block 
 youngsters." 
 
 Back-blocker, ;/. a resident in 
 the back-blocks. 
 
 1870. 'The Argus,' March 22, p. 7, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 " I am a bushman, a back blocker, 
 to whom it happens about once in two 
 years to visit Melbourne." 
 
 1892. E. W. I-Iornung, 'Under Two 
 Skies,' p. 21 : 
 
 "As for Jim, he made himself very 
 busy indeed, sitting on his heels over 
 the fire in an attitude peculiar to back- 
 blockers." 
 
 Back-slanging, verbal n. In the 
 back-blocks (q.v.) of Australia, 
 where hotels are naturally scarce 
 and inferior, the traveller asks 
 for hospitality at the stations (q.v.) 
 on his route, where he is always 
 made welcome. There is no idea 
 of anything underhand on the 
 part of the traveller, yet the 
 custom is called back-slanging. 
 
 Badger, n. This English name 
 has been incorrectly applied f in 
 Australia, sometimes to the Band- 
 icoot, sometimes to the Rock- 
 Wallaby, and sometimes to the 
 Wombat. In Tasmania, it is the 
 usual bush-name for the last. 
 
 1829. 'The Picture of Australia,' p. 
 
 173: 
 
 "The Paramelcs, to which the col- 
 onists sometimes give the name of 
 badger. . . ." 
 
 1831. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 265 : 
 
 " That delicious animal, the wombat 
 (commonly known at that place [Mac- 
 quarie Harbour] by the name of bad- 
 ger, hence the little island of that name 
 in the map was so called, from the cir- 
 cumstance of numbers of that animal 
 being at first found upon it)." 
 
 1850. James Bennett Clutterbuck, M.D., 
 ' Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 37 : 
 
 "The rock Wallaby, or Badger, also 
 belongs to the family of the Kangaroo ; 
 its length from the nose to the end of 
 the tail is three feet ; the colour of the 
 fur being grey-brown." 
 
 1875. Rev. J. G. Wood, 'Natural 
 History,' vol. i. p. 481 : 
 
 " The Wombat or Australian Badger 
 as it is popularly called by the colon- 
 ists. . . ." 
 
 1891. W. Tilley, ' Wild West of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 8 : 
 
 " With the exception of wombats or 
 ' badgers,' and an occasional kangaroo 
 . . . the intruder had to rely on the 
 stores he carried with him." 
 
 Ibid. p. 44 : 
 
 " Badgers also abound, or did until 
 thinned out by hungry prospectors." 
 
 Badger-box, n. slang name for 
 a roughly-constructed dwelling. 
 
 1875. ' Proceedings of the Royal Society 
 of Tasmania,' September, p. 99 [' Port 
 Davey in 1875,' by the Hon. James Reid 
 Scott, M.L.C.j: 
 
 "The dwellings occupied by the 
 piners when up the river are of the 
 style known as ' Badger-boxes,' in dis- 
 tinction from huts, which have per- 
 pendicular walls, while the Badger-box 
 is like an inverted V in section. They 
 are covered with bark, with a thatch 
 of grass along the ridge, and are on 
 an average about 14 x 10 feet at the 
 ground, and 9 or 10 feet high." 
 
 Bail, n. "A framework for 
 securing the head of a cow while 
 she is milked." ('O.E.D.') 
 
 This word, marked in ' O.E.D.' 
 and other Dictionaries as Austra- 
 lian, is provincial English. In the 
 ' English Dialect Dictionary,' 
 edited by Joseph Wright, Part I., 
 the word is given as used in 
 " Ireland, Northamptonshire, 
 Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampshire and 
 New Zealand." It is also used 
 in Essex. 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 83 : 
 
 " In every milking yard is an ap- 
 paratus for confining a cow's head 
 called a 'bail.' This consists of an 
 upright standiron, five feet in height, 
 let into a framework, and about six 
 inches from it another fixed at the 
 heel, the upper part working freely in 
 a slit, in which are holes for a peg, so 
 that when the peg is out and the mov- 
 able standiron is thrown back, there
 
 BAl] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 is abundance of room for a cow's head 
 and horns, but when closed, at which 
 time the two standirons are parallel 
 to each other and six inches apart, 
 though her neck can work freely up 
 and down, it is impossible for her to 
 withdraw her head . . ." 
 
 1874. W. M. B., ' Narrative of Edward 
 Crewe,' p. 225 : 
 
 "The former bovine female was a 
 brute to manage, whom it would have 
 been impossible to milk without a 
 'bail.' To what man or country the 
 honour of this invention belongs, who 
 can tell ? It is in very general use in 
 the Australian colonies ; and my ad- 
 vice to any one troubled with a naughty 
 cow, who kicks like fury during the 
 process of milking, is to have a bail 
 constructed in their cow-house." 
 
 Bail up, v. (i) To secure the 
 head of a cow in a bail for milking. 
 
 (2) By transference, to stop 
 travellers in the bush, used of 
 bushrangers. The quotation, 
 1888, shows the method of trans- 
 ference. It then means gener- 
 ally, to stop. 
 
 Like the similar verb, to stick 
 up (q.v.), it is often used humor- 
 ously of a demand for subscrip- 
 tions, etc. 
 
 1844. Mrs. Chas. Meredith, ' Notes 
 and Sketches of New South Wales,' p. 
 132: 
 
 " The bushrangers . . . walk quickly 
 in, and 'bail up,' i.e. bind with cords, 
 or otherwise secure, the male portion." 
 
 1847. Alex. Marjoribanks, ' Travels in 
 New South Wales,' p. 72 : 
 
 "... there were eight or ten bul- 
 lock-teams baled up by three mounted 
 bushrangers. Being baled up is the 
 colonial phrase for those who are at- 
 tacked, who are afterwards all put to- 
 gether, and guarded by one of the 
 party of the bushrangers when the 
 others are plundering." 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, 'Two Years in 
 Victoria,' vol. ii. p. 309 : 
 
 " So long as that is wrong, the whole 
 community will be wrong, in colonial 
 phrase, ' bailed up ' at the mercy of its 
 own tenants." 
 
 1862. G. T. Lloyd, ' Thirty-three Years 
 in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 192 : 
 
 " ' Come, sir, immediately,' rejoined 
 Murphy, rudely and insultingly push- 
 ing the master ; ' bail up in that corner, 
 and prepare to meet the death you 
 have so long deserved.' " 
 
 1879. W. J. Barry, 'Up and Down,' 
 p. 112 : 
 
 " She bailed me up and asked me if 
 I was going to keep my promise and 
 marry her." 
 
 1880. W. Senior, 'Travel and Trout,' 
 p. 36: 
 
 " His troutship, having neglected to 
 secure a line of retreat, was, in colonial 
 parlance, ' bailed up.' " 
 
 1880. G. Walch, 'Victoria in 1880,' p. 
 
 133: 
 
 "The Kelly gang . . . bailed up 
 some forty residents in the local public 
 house." 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, 'Old Colonials,' p. 
 7 6: 
 
 " Did I ever get stuck-up ? Never 
 by white men, though I have been 
 bailed up by the niggers." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 105 : 
 
 " A little further on the boar ' bailed 
 up' on the top of a ridge." 
 
 1888. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Robbery under 
 Arms,' p. 368 : 
 
 " One of the young cows was a bit 
 strange with me, so I had to shake a 
 stick at her and sing out ' Bail up ' 
 pretty rough before she'd put her head 
 in. Aileen smiled something like her 
 old self for a minute, and said, ' That 
 comes natural to you now, Dick, doesn't 
 it ? ' I stared for a bit and then burst 
 out laughing. It was a rum go, wasn't 
 it ? The same talk for cows and 
 Christians. That's how things get 
 stuck into the talk in a new country. 
 Some old hand like father, as had been 
 assigned to a dairy settler, and spent 
 all his mornings in the cow-yard, had 
 taken to the bush and tried his hand 
 at sticking up people. When they 
 came near enough of course he'd pop 
 out from behind a tree, with his old 
 musket or pair of pistols, and when he 
 wanted 'em to stop, ' Bail up, d yer,' 
 would come a deal quicker and more 
 natural - like to his tongue than 
 ' Stand.' So ' bail up ' it was from that 
 day to this, and there'll have to be a 
 deal of change in the ways of the 
 colonies, and them as come from 'em
 
 1 6 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BAI-BAN 
 
 before anything else takes its place, 
 between the man that's got the arms 
 and the man that's got the money." 
 
 Bailing-up Pen, n. place for 
 fastening up cattle. 
 
 1889. R. M. Praed, 'Romance of Sta- 
 tion,' vol. i. c. ii. [' Eng. Dial. Diet.'] : 
 
 " Alec was proud of the stockyard, 
 and pointed out . . . the superior con- 
 struction of the ' crush,' or branding 
 lane, and the bailing-up pen." 
 
 Bald-Coot, n. a. bird - name, 
 Porphyrio melanotus, Temm.; Blue, 
 P. bellus, Gould. The European 
 bald-coot is Fulica atra. 
 
 Ballahoo, n. a name applied to 
 the Garfish (q.v.) by Sydney 
 fishermen. The word is West 
 .Indian, and is applied there to a 
 fast-sailing- schooner ; also spelled 
 Bullahoo and Ballahou, 
 
 Balloon - Vine, n. Australian 
 name for the common tropical 
 weed, Cardiospermum halicacabum, 
 Linn., N.O. Sapindacece ; called 
 also Heart-seed, Heart-pea, and 
 Winter-cherry. It is a climbing 
 plant, and has a heart-shaped scar 
 on the seed. 
 
 Balsam of Copaiba Tree, n. 
 The name is applied to the 
 Australian tree, Geijera salicifolia, 
 Schott, N.O. Rutacece, because the 
 bark has the odour of the drug 
 of that name. 
 
 Bamboo-grass, n. an Austra- 
 lian cane-like grass, Glyceria 
 ramigera, F. v. M. ; also called 
 Cane Grass. Largely used for 
 thatching purposes. Stock eat 
 the young shoots freely. 
 
 Banana, n. There are three 
 species native to Queensland, of 
 which the fruit is said to be 
 worthless 
 
 Musa Banksii, F. v. M. 
 
 M. Hillii, F. v. M. 
 
 M. Fitzalani, F. v. M., N.O. 
 
 Scitamtnece. 
 The Bananas which are culti- 
 
 vated and form a staple export of 
 Queensland are acclimatized va- 
 rieties. 
 
 Banana-land, n. slang name 
 for Queensland, where bananas 
 grow in abundance. 
 
 Banana-lander, n. slang for 
 a Queenslander (see above). 
 
 Banded Ant-eater, n. name 
 given to a small terrestrial and 
 ant-eating marsupial, Myrmecobius 
 fasciatus, Waterh, found in West 
 and South Australia. It is the 
 only species of the genus, and is 
 regarded as the most closely allied 
 of all living marsupials to the ex- 
 tinct marsupials of the Mesozoic 
 Age in Europe. It receives its 
 name banded from the presence 
 along the back of a well-marked 
 series of dark transverse bands. 
 1871. G. Krefft, 'Mammals of Australia': 
 "The Myrmecobius is common on 
 the West Coast and in the interior of 
 New South Wales and South Australia : 
 the Murumbidgee River may be taken 
 as its most eastern boundary." 
 
 1893. A. R. Wallace, 'Australasia,' p. 
 34: 
 
 " Thus we have here [W. Aus- 
 tralia] alone the curious little banded 
 ant - eater {Myrmecobius fasciatus), 
 which presents the nearest approach 
 in its dentition to the most ancient 
 known mammals whose remains are 
 found in the oolite and Trias of the 
 Mesozoic epoch." 
 
 Banded-Kangaroo, i.q. Banded- 
 Wallaby. See Lagostrophus and 
 Wallaby. 
 
 Banded- Wallaby, n. sometimes 
 called Banded - Kangaroo. See 
 Lagostrophus and Wallaby. 
 
 Bandicoot, n. an insect-eating 
 marsupial animal ; family, Pe- 
 ramelidce ; genus, Perameles. 
 "The animals of this genus, com- 
 monly called Bandicoots in Aus- 
 tralia, are all small, and live en 
 tirely on the ground, making nest
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 composed of dried leaves, grass 
 and stick','in hollow places. They 
 are rather mixed feeders ; but 
 insects, worms, roots and bulbs, 
 constitute their ordinary diet." 
 ('Encyclopaedia Britannica,' gth 
 edit., vol. xv. p. 381.) The name 
 comes from India, being" a cor- 
 ruption of Telugu pandi-kokkuy 
 literally "pig-dog," used of a 
 large rat called by naturalists 
 Mus malabaricus, Shaw ; Mu- 
 giganteus, Hardwicke ; Mus bandis 
 coota, Bechstein. The name has 
 spread all over India. The Indian 
 animal is very different from the 
 Australian, and no record is pre- 
 served to show how the Anglo- 
 Indian word came to be used 
 in Australia. The Bandicoots 
 are divided into three genera 
 the True Bandicoots (genus Pera- 
 meles, q.v.), the Rabbit Bandicoots 
 (genus Peragale, q.v.), and the 
 Pig-footed Bandicoots (q.v.) (genus 
 Chceropus, q.v.). The species are 
 Broadbent's Bandicoot 
 
 Perameles broadbenti, Ramsay. 
 Cockerell's B. 
 
 P. cockerelli, Ramsay. 
 Common Rabbit B. 
 
 Peragale lagotis, Reid. 
 Desert B. 
 
 P. eremiana, Spencer. 
 Doria's B. 
 
 Perameles doreyana, Quoy & 
 
 Gaim. 
 Golden B. 
 
 P. aurata, Ramsay. 
 Gunn's B. 
 
 P. gunni, Gray. 
 Less Rabbit B. 
 
 Peragale minor, Spencer. 
 Long-nosed B. 
 
 Perameles nasuta, Geoffr. 
 Long-tailed B. 
 
 P. longicauda, Peters & Doria. 
 North-Australian B. 
 
 P. macrura, Gould. 
 Port Moresby B. 
 
 P. moresbyensis, Ramsay. 
 
 Raffray's B. 
 
 P. raffrayana, Milne-Edw. 
 Short-nosed B. 
 
 P. obesula, Shaw. 
 Striped B. 
 
 P. bougainvillii, Quoy & Gaim. 
 White-tailed Rabbit B. 
 
 P. leucura, Thomas. 
 Pig-footed B. 
 
 Chceropus castanotis, Gray. 
 
 1802. D. Collins, ' Account of New 
 South Wales', vol. ii. p. 188 (Bass's Diary 
 at the Derwent, January 1799) : 
 
 " The bones of small animals, such 
 as opossums, squirrels, kangooroo 
 rats, and bandicoots, were numerous 
 round their deserted fire-places." 
 
 1820. W. C. Wentworth, 'Description 
 of New South Wales,' p. 3 : 
 
 " The animals are, the kangaroo, 
 native dog (which is a smaller species 
 of the wolf), the wombat, bandicoot, 
 kangaroo-rat, opossum, flying squirrel, 
 flying fox, etc. etc." 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 316 : 
 
 " The bandicoot is about four times 
 the size of a rat, without a tail, and 
 burrows in the ground or in hollow 
 trees." 
 
 1832. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 vol. ii. p. 28 : 
 
 " The bandicoot is as large as a 
 rabbit. There are two kinds, the rat 
 and the rabbit bandicoot." 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 233 : 
 
 " The common people are not desti- 
 tute of what Wordsworth calls 'the 
 poetry of common speech,' many of 
 their similes being very forcibly and 
 naturally drawn from objects familiarly 
 in sight and quite Australian. ' Poor 
 as a bandicoot,' 'miserable as a shag 
 on a rock.'" 
 
 Ibid. p. 330 : 
 
 " There is also a rat-like animal with 
 a swinish face, covered with ruddy 
 coarse hair, that burrows in the ground 
 the bandicoot. It is said to be very 
 fine eating." 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 26 : 
 
 " The bandicoot is the size of a large 
 rat, of a dark brown colour ; it feeds 
 upon roots, and its flesh is good eating. 
 This animal burrows in the ground, 
 and it is from this habit, I suppose,
 
 i8 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BAN 
 
 that when hungry, cold, or unhappy, 
 the Australian black says that he is as 
 miserable as the bandicoot." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 92: 
 
 " The bandicoots are good eating 
 even for Europeans, and in my opinion 
 are the only Australian mammals fit 
 to eat. They resemble pigs, and the 
 flesh tastes somewhat like pork." 
 
 Bangalay, n. a Sydney work- 
 men's name for the timber of 
 Eucalyptus botrioides, Smith. (See 
 Gum.} The name is aboriginal, 
 and by workmen is always pro- 
 nounced Bang Alley, 
 
 Bangalow, n. an ornamental 
 feathery-leaved palm, Ptychosperma 
 elegans, Blume, N. O. Palmece. 
 
 1851. J. Henderson, ' Excursions in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 229 : 
 
 " The Bangalo, which is a palm . . . 
 The germ, or roll of young leaves in 
 the centre, and near the top, is eaten 
 by the natives, and occasionally by 
 white men, either raw or boiled. It is 
 of a white colour, sweet and pleasant 
 to the taste." 
 
 1884. W. R. Guilfoyle, ' Australian 
 Botany,' p. 23 : 
 
 "The aborigines of New South 
 Wales and Queensland, and occasion- 
 ally the settlers, eat the young leaves 
 of the cabbage and bangalo palms." 
 
 1886. H. C. Kendall, 'Poems,' p. 193: 
 " You see he was bred in a bangalow 
 
 wood, 
 And bangalow pith was the principal 
 
 food 
 His mother served out in her shanty." 
 
 1889. J- H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 592 : 
 
 " Bangalow. . . . The small stems 
 sometimes go under the name of 
 ' Moreton Bay Canes.' It is a, very 
 ornamental, feathery-leaved palm." 
 
 Bang-tail muster. See quota- 
 tion. 
 
 1887. W. S. S. Tyrwhitt, ' The New 
 Chum in the Queensland Bush,' p. 61 : 
 
 "Every third or fourth year on a 
 cattle station, they have what is called 
 a ' bang tail muster ' ; that is to say, all 
 the cattle are brought into the yards, 
 and have the long hairs at the end of 
 
 the tail cut off square, with knives or 
 sheep-shears . . . The object of it is 
 . . . to find out the actual number of 
 cattle on the run, to compare with 
 the number entered on the station 
 books." 
 
 Banker, n. a river full up to 
 the top of the banks. Compare 
 Shakspeare: " Like a proud river, 
 peering- o'er his bounds." (' King 
 John,' III. i. 23.) 
 
 1888. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iii. p. 175 : 
 
 " The Murrumbidgee was running a 
 ' banker' water right up to the banks." 
 
 1890. Lyth, 'Golden South,' c. vii. 
 
 P- 5 2 : 
 
 " The driver stated that he had heard 
 the river was 'a banker.'" 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World 
 was Wide,' p. 45 : 
 "The creeks were bankers, and the 
 
 flood 
 Was forty miles round Bourke." 
 
 Ibid. p. ico : 
 
 " Till the river runs a banker, 
 All stained with yellow mud/' 
 
 Banksia, n. "A genus of 
 Australian shrubs with umbellate 
 flowers, now cultivated as orna- 
 mental shrubs in Europe." 
 ('O.E.D.') Called after Mr. Banks, 
 naturalist of the Endeavour, after- 
 wards Sir Joseph Banks. The 
 so-called Australian Honeysuckle 
 (q.v.). See also Bottle-brush. 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales,' p. 221 : 
 
 "The different species of banksia. 
 The finest new genus hitherto found 
 in New Holland has been destined by 
 Linnaeus, with great propriety, to 
 transmit to posterity the name of Sir 
 Joseph Banks, who first discovered it 
 in his celebrated voyage round the 
 world." 
 
 1798. D. Collins, 'Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' p. 557: 
 
 " A few berries, the yam and fern 
 root, the flowers of the different 
 banksia, and at times some honey, 
 make up the whole vegetable cata- 
 logue." 
 
 1829. Vigors and Horsfield, 'Trans-
 
 BAG-BAR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 actions of the Linnasan Society,' vol. xv. 
 p. 312: 
 
 " Scrubs where the different species 
 of banksia are found, the flowers of 
 which I (Mr. Caley) have reason to 
 think afford it sustenance during 
 winter." 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, 'South Australia,' vol. 
 ii. c. ii. p. 30 : 
 
 " Some sandhills . . . crowned by 
 banksias." 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 39: 
 
 " Many different species of banksia 
 grow in great plenty in the neighbour- 
 hood of Sydney, and from the density 
 of their foliage are very ornamental." 
 
 1846. L. Leichhardt, quoted by J. D. 
 Lang, 'Cooksland,' p. 331: 
 
 " The table-land is covered by forests 
 of stringy-bark, of melaleuca-gum, and 
 banksia." 
 
 1851. 'Quarterly Review,' Dec., p. 40: 
 
 " In this they will find an extremely 
 rich collection of bottle-brush-flowered, 
 zigzag-leaved, grey-tinted, odd-looking 
 things, to most eyes rather strange 
 than beautiful, notwithstanding that 
 one of them is named Banksia speciosa. 
 They are the ' Botany Bays ' of old- 
 fashioned gardeners, but are more in 
 the shrub and tree line than that of 
 flowering pots. Banksia Solandri will 
 remind them to turn to their ' Cook's 
 Voyages ' when they get home, to read 
 how poor Dr. Solander got up a 
 mountain and was heartily glad to get 
 down again." 
 
 1877. F. v. Miiller, 'Botanic Teachings,' 
 p. 46: 
 
 "The banksias are of historic in- 
 terest, inasmuch as the genus was 
 dedicated already by the younger 
 Linne* in 1781 to Sir Joseph Banks, 
 from whom the Swedish naturalist 
 received branchlets of those species, 
 which in Captain Cook's first voyage 
 more than 100 years ago (1770) were 
 gathered by Banks at Botany- Bay and 
 a few other places of the east coast of 
 Australia." 
 
 1887. J. Bonwick, ' Romance of the 
 Wool Trade, 'p. 228: 
 
 "A banksia plain, with its collection 
 of bottle-brush-like-flowers, may have 
 its charms for a botanist, but its well- 
 known sandy ground forbids the hope 
 of good grasses." 
 
 Baobab, n. a tree, native of 
 Africa, Adansonia digitata. The 
 name is Ethiopian. It has been 
 introduced into many tropical 
 countries. The Australian species 
 of the genus is A. gregorii, F. v. M., 
 called also Cream of Tartar or 
 Sour Gourd-tree, Gouty -stem (q.v.), 
 and Bottle-tree (q.v.). 
 
 Barber, or Tasmanian Barber, 
 n. a name for the fish Anthias rasor, 
 Richards., family Percida ; also 
 called Red-Perch. See Perch. It 
 occurs in Tasmania, New Zea- 
 land, and Port Jackson. It is 
 called Barber from the shape of 
 the prceoperculum, one of the bones 
 of the head. See quotation. 
 
 1841. John Richardson, ' Description of 
 Australian Fish,' p. 73 : 
 
 " Serranus Rasor. Tasmanian 
 Barber. . . . The serrature of the pre- 
 operculum is the most obvious and 
 general character by which the very 
 numerous Serrani are connected with 
 each other . . . The Van Diemen's 
 Land fish, which is described below, 
 is one of the ' Barbers,' a fact which 
 the specific appellation rasor is in- 
 tended to indicate ; the more classical 
 word having been previously appropri- 
 ated to another species . . . Mr. 
 Lempriere states that it is known 
 locally as the ' red perch or shad.' " 
 
 [Richardson also says that Cuvier 
 founded a subdivision of the Serrani 
 on the characters of the scales of the 
 jaws, under the name of ' les Barbiers,' 
 which had been previously grouped by 
 Block under the title Anthias.} 
 
 Barcoo-grass, n. an Australian 
 grass, Anthistiria membranacca, 
 Lindl. One of the best pasture 
 grasses in Queensland, but grow- 
 ing in other colonies also. 
 
 Barcoo Rot, n. a disease affect- 
 ing inhabitants of various parts 
 of the interior of Australia, but 
 chiefly bushmen. It consists of 
 persistent ulceration of the skin, 
 chiefly on the back of the hands, 
 and often originating in abrasions.
 
 20 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BAR 
 
 It is attributed to monotony 
 of diet and to the cloudless 
 climate, with its alternations of 
 extreme cold at night and burn- 
 ing heat by day. It is said to be 
 maintained and aggravated by 
 the irritation of small flies. 
 
 1870. E. B. Kennedy, * Four Years in 
 Queensland,' p. 46 : 
 
 " Land scurvy is better known in 
 Queensland by local names, which do 
 not sound very pleasant, such as 
 ' Barcoo rot,' ' Kennedy rot,' according 
 to the district it appears in. There is 
 nothing dangerous about it ; it is 
 simply the festering of any cut or 
 scratch on one's legs, arms or hands. 
 . . . They take months to heal. . . . 
 Want of vegetables is assigned as the 
 cause." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 58: 
 
 " In Western Queensland people are 
 also subject to bad sores on the hand, 
 called Barcoo-rot." 
 
 Barcoo Vomit, n. a sickness 
 occurring in inhabitants of vari- 
 ous parts of the high land of the 
 interior of Australia. It is char- 
 acterized by painless attacks of 
 vomiting, occurring immediately 
 after food is taken, followed by 
 hunger, and recurring as soon as 
 hunger is satisfied. 
 
 The name Barcoo is derived 
 from the district traversed by the 
 river Barcoo, or Cooper, in which 
 this complaint and the Barcoo Rot 
 are common. See Dr. E. C. 
 Stirling's ' Notes from Central 
 Australia,' in 'Intercolonial Quar- 
 terly Journal of Medicine and 
 Surgery,' vol. i. p. 218. 
 
 Bargan, . a name of the 
 Come-back Boomerang (q-v.). 
 (Spelt also barragan.} 
 
 1892. J. Fraser, 'Aborigines of New 
 South Wales,' p. 70: 
 
 " The ' come-back ' variety (of boom- 
 erang) is not a fighting weapon. A 
 dialect name for it is bargan, which 
 word may be explained in our language 
 to mean ' bent like a sickle or crescent 
 moon.' " 
 
 Barking Owl, n. a bird not 
 identified, and not in Gould (who 
 accompanied Leichhardt). 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion," p. 47: 
 
 "The glucking-bird and the barking- 
 owl were heard throughout the moon- 
 light night." 
 
 Barrack, v. to jeer at oppo- 
 nents, to interrupt noisily, to 
 make a disturbance ; with the pre- 
 position "for," to support as a 
 partisan, generally with clamour. 
 An Australian football term 
 dating from about 1880. The 
 verb has been ruled unparlia- 
 mentary by the Speaker in the 
 Victorian Legislative Assembly. 
 It is, however, in very common 
 colloquial use. It is from the 
 aboriginal word borak (q.v.), and 
 the sense of jeering is earlier than 
 that of supporting, but jeering at 
 one side is akin to cheering for 
 the other. Another suggested 
 derivation is from the Irish pro- 
 nunciation of " Bark," as (accord- 
 ing to the usually accepted view) 
 "Larrikin" from' "larking." But 
 the former explanation is the more 
 probable. There is no connection 
 with soldiers' " barracks ; " nor is 
 it likely that there is any, as has 
 been ingeniously suggested, with 
 the French word baragouin, gib- 
 berish. 
 
 1890. ' Melbourne Punch,' Aug. 14, p. 
 106, col. 3: 
 
 " To use a football phrase, they all 
 to a man 'barrack' for the British 
 Lion." 
 
 1893. 'The Age,' June 17, p. 15, col. 4 : 
 
 " [The boy] goes much to football 
 matches, where he barracks, and in a 
 general way makes himself intoler- 
 able." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' July 5, p. 9, col. 4, 
 Legislative Assembly: 
 
 "Mr. Isaacs: . . . He hoped this 
 ' barracking ' would not be continued." 
 [Members had been interrupting him.] 
 
 1893. ' The Herald' (Melbourne), Sept. 
 9, p. i, col. 6 :
 
 BAR-BAS] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 " He noticed with pleasure the 
 decrease of disagreeable barracking 
 by spectators at matches during last 
 season. Good-humoured badinage had 
 prevailed, but the spectators had been 
 very well conducted." 
 
 Barracker, ;/. one who bar- 
 racks (q.v.). 
 
 1893. 'The Age,' June 27, p. 6, col. 6: 
 "His worship remarked that the 
 
 ' barracking ' that was carried on at 
 football matches was a mean and con- 
 temptible system, and was getting 
 worse and worse every day. Actually 
 people were afraid to go to them on 
 account of the conduct of the crowd of 
 'barrackers.' It took all the interest 
 out of the game to see young men 
 acting like a gang of larrikins/' 
 
 1894. 'The Argus,' Nov. 29, p. 4, 
 col. 9 : 
 
 " The ' most unkindest cut of all ' 
 was that the Premier, who was Mr. 
 Rogers's principal barracker during 
 the elections, turned his back upon the 
 prophet and did not deign to discuss 
 his plan." 
 
 Barracks, n. a building on a 
 station with rooms for bachelors. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Colonial 
 Reformer,' p. 100 : 
 
 "A roomy, roughly-finished building 
 known as the 'barracks.' . . . Three 
 of the numerous bedrooms were ten- 
 anted by young men, . . . neophytes, 
 who were gradually assimilating the 
 love of Bush-land." 
 
 Barracouta, or Barracoota, n. 
 The name, under its original 
 spelling of Barracuda, was coined 
 in the Spanish West Indies, and 
 first applied there to a large vora- 
 cious fish, Sphyncna pecuda, family 
 Sphynenidce,. In Australia and New 
 Zealand it is applied to a smaller 
 edible fish, Thyrsites atun, Cuv. 
 and Val., family THchiurid<z t called 
 Snook (Q.V.) at the Cape of Good 
 Hope. It is found from the Cape 
 of Good Hope to New Zealand. 
 
 1845. ' Voyage to Port Philip,' p. 40 : 
 " We hook the barracuda fish." 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 'Fishes 
 of New South Wales,' p. 69 : 
 
 " Sphyrenidce. The first family is 
 the barracudas, or sea-pike." [Foot- 
 note] : " This name is no doubt the 
 same as Barracouta and is of Spanish 
 origin. The application of it to Thyr- 
 sites atun in the Southern seas was 
 founded on some fancied resemblance 
 to the West Indian fish, which origin- 
 ally bore the name, though of course 
 they are entirely different." 
 
 (2) The word is used as a nick- 
 name for an inhabitant of Hobart ; 
 compare Cornstalk. 
 
 Barramunda, n. a fish, i.q. 
 Burramundi (q.v.). 
 
 Basket-Fence, n. Local name 
 for a stake-hedge. See quotation. 
 
 1872. G. S. Baden-Powell, 'New 
 Homes for the Old Country,' p. 208 : 
 
 " For sheep, too, is made the 
 ' basket fence.' Stakes are driven in,' 
 and their pliant 'stuff' interwoven, as 
 in a stake hedge in England." 
 
 Bastard Dory and John Dory 
 (q.v.), spelt also Dorey, n. an 
 Australian fish, Cyttus australis, 
 family Cyttidce ; the Australian 
 representative of Zeus faber, the 
 European "John Dory," and its 
 close relative, is called Bastard 
 Dorey in New Zealand, and also 
 Boar-fish (q.v.). 
 
 1880. Giinther, 'Study of Fishes, 'p. 387: 
 " Histiopterus. . . . The species 
 figured attains to a length of twenty 
 inches, and is esteemed as food. It is 
 known at Melbourne by the names of 
 ' Boar-fish ' or ' Bastard Dorey ' (fig.), 
 Histiopterus recurvirostris." 
 
 Bastard Trumpeter, n. a fish. 
 See Morwong, Paper-fish, and 
 Trumpeter. In Sydney it is Latris 
 ciliaris, Forst, which is called 
 Moki in New Zealand ; in Victoria 
 and Tasmania, L.forsteri, Casteln. 
 
 1883. ' Royal Commission on the Fish- 
 eries of Tasmania,' p. 35 : 
 
 "The bastard trumpeter (Latris 
 Forsteri). . . . Scarcely inferior to the 
 real trumpeter, and superior to it in 
 abundance all the year round, comes 
 the bastard trumpeter. . . . This fish 
 has hitherto been confounded with
 
 22 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BAT-BEA 
 
 Latris ciliaris (Forst.) ; but, although 
 the latter species has been reported as 
 existing in Tasmanian waters, it is 
 most probably a mistake : for the two 
 varieties (the red and the white), found 
 in such abundance here, have the 
 general characters as shown above. 
 . . . They must be referred to the 
 Latris Forsteri of Count Castelnau, 
 which appears to be the bastard 
 trumpeter of Victorian waters." 
 
 Bat-fish, n. The name in Eng- 
 land is given to a fish of the family 
 Maltheida. It is also applied to 
 the Flying Gurnard of the Atlantic 
 and to the Californian Sting-ray. 
 In Australia, and chiefly in New 
 South Wales, it is applied to 
 Psettus argenteus, Linn., family 
 Carangidce, or Horse Mackerels. 
 Gunther says that the " Sea Bats," 
 which belong to the closely allied 
 genus Platax, are called so from 
 the extraordinary length of some 
 portion of their dorsal and anal 
 fins and of their ventrals. 
 
 Bathurst Bur, . Explained in 
 quotation. 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, 'Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 261 : 
 
 "The Bathurst bur (Xanthium 
 spinosuni), a plant with long triple 
 spines like the barbary, and burs 
 which are ruinous to the wool of the 
 sheep otherwise, itself very like a 
 chenopodium, or good-fat-hen." 
 
 Batswing-coral, n. the Austra- 
 lian wood Erythrina vespertilio, 
 Bentham, N.O. Leguminosa. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 426 : 
 
 " Batswing Coral. . . . The wood is 
 soft, and used by the aborigines for 
 making their 'heilamans,' or shields. 
 It is exceedingly light and spongy, 
 and of the greatest difficulty to work 
 up to get anything like a surface for 
 polishing." 
 
 Bauera, n. a shrub, Bauera 
 rubioides, Andr., N.O. Saxifrages, 
 the Scrub Vine, or Native Rose; 
 commonly called in Tasmania 
 "Bauera," and celebrated for 
 
 forming impenetrable thickets in 
 conjunction with "cutting grass," 
 Cladium psittacorum, Labill. 
 
 1835. Ross ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 P- 7o: 
 
 " Bauera rubiaefolia. Madder 
 leaved Bauera. A pretty little plant 
 with pink flowers. This genus is 
 named after the celebrated German 
 draughtsman, whose splendid works are 
 yet unrivalled in the art, especially of 
 the Australian plants which he depicted 
 in his voyage round New Holland 
 with Capt. Flinders in the Investigator." 
 
 1888. R. M. Johnston, 'Geology of 
 Tasmania,' Intro, p. vi. : 
 
 "The Bauera scrub ... is a tiny, 
 beautiful shrub . . . Although the 
 branches are thin and wiry, they are too 
 tough and too much entangled in mass 
 to cut, and the only mode of progress 
 often is to throw one's self high upon 
 the soft branching mass and roll over 
 to the other side. The progress in 
 this way is slow, monotonous, and 
 exhausting." 
 
 1891. 'The Australasian,' April 4, p. 
 670, col. 2 : 
 
 " Cutting-grass swamps and the bauera, 
 
 where a dog can't hardly go, 
 Stringy-bark country, and blackwood 
 beds, and lots of it broken by 
 snow." 
 
 1891. W. Tilley, 'Wild West of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 7 : 
 
 " Interposing the even more trouble- 
 some Bauera shrub ; whose gnarled 
 branches have earned for it the local 
 and expressive name of ' tangle-foot ' or 
 'leg ropes.' [It] has been named by 
 Spicer the ' Native Rose.'" 
 
 Beal, Bool, or Bull, n. a sweet 
 aboriginal drink. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. : 
 
 " A good jorum of bull (washings of 
 a sugar bag) " [given to aborigines who 
 have been working]. 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. ii. p. 288 : 
 
 " The flowers are gathered, and by 
 steeping them a night in water the 
 natives made a sweet beverage called 
 'bool.'" 
 
 1878. R. Brough Smyth, ' Aborigines of 
 Victoria,' vol. i. p. 210 : 
 
 " In the flowers of a dwarf species of
 
 HE A] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 banksia (B. ornatci) there is a good 
 deal of honey, and this was got out of 
 the flowers by immersing them in 
 water. The water thus sweetened was 
 greedily swallowed by the natives. 
 The drink was named beat by the 
 natives of the west of Victoria, and was 
 much esteemed." 
 
 Beal (2), n. i.q. Belar (q.v.). 
 
 Bean, Queensland, or Leich- 
 hardt, or Match-box, n. Entada 
 scandens, Benth., N.O. Leguminosa. 
 Though this bean has two Aus- 
 tralian names, it is really widely 
 distributed throughout the tro- 
 pics. A tall climbing plant ; the 
 seeds are used for match-boxes. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 425 : 
 
 "The seeds are about two inches 
 across, by half-an-inch thick, and have 
 a hard woody and beautifully polished 
 shell, of a dark brown or purplish 
 colour. These seeds are converted 
 into snuff-boxes, scent-bottles, spoons, 
 etc., and in the Indian bazaars they 
 are used as weights. ('Treasury of 
 Botany.') In the colonies we usually 
 see the beans of this plant mounted 
 with silver, as match-boxes. The wood 
 itself is soft, fibrous, and spongy." 
 
 Bean-Tree, n. called also More- 
 ton Bay Chestnut, Castanospermum 
 australe, Cunn. and Eraser, N.O. 
 Leguminosa ; a tall tree with red 
 flowers and large seed-pods. The 
 timber of young specimens has 
 beautiful dark clouding. 
 
 Bear, Native, n. the colonists' 
 name for an animal called by the 
 aborigines Koala, Koolah,Kool-la, 
 and Carbora (Phascolarctus cine- 
 reus]. It is a tree-climbing mar- 
 supial, about two feet in length, 
 like a small bear in its heavy build. 
 Its food is the young leaves of the 
 Eucalyptus, and it is said that the 
 Native Bear cannot be taken to 
 England because it would die on 
 board ship, owing to there being 
 no fresh gum leaves. The writers 
 are incorrect who call the animal 
 a sloth. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 317 : 
 
 " Our coola (sloth or native bear) is 
 about the size of an ordinary poodle 
 dog, with shaggy, dirty-coloured fur, 
 no tail, and claws and feet like a bear, 
 of which it forms a tolerable miniature. 
 It climbs trees readily and feeds upon 
 their leaves." 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, 'Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 57 : 
 
 " The bear (phascolomys) of the 
 colonists is in reality a species of sloth, 
 and partakes of all the characteristics 
 of that animal ; it is of the marsupial 
 order, and is found chiefly in the neigh- 
 bourhood of thickly timbered high 
 land ; its flesh is used by the aborigines 
 for food, but is tough and unpalatable ; 
 its usual weight is from eight to twelve 
 pounds." [Note : Phascolomys is the 
 name of the Wombat, not the Bear.] 
 
 1854. G. H. Haydon, 'The Australian 
 Emigrant,' p. 126 : 
 
 " The luckless carbora fell crashing 
 through the branches." [Footnote] : 
 " The native name of an animal of the 
 sloth species, but incorrectly called by 
 the colonists a bear." 
 
 1855. W. Blandowski, ' Transactions of 
 Philosophical Society of Victoria,' vol. i. 
 p. 68: 
 
 " The koala or karbor (Phascolarctus 
 cinereus) frequents very high trees, and 
 sits in places where it is most sheltered 
 by the branches. ... its fur is of the 
 same colour as the bark . . . like the 
 cat has the power of contracting and 
 expanding the pupil of the eye. . . . 
 Its skin is remarkably thick . . . dense 
 woolly fur . . . The natives aver that 
 the koala never drinks water." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 
 ' History of the Discovery and Exploration 
 of Australia,' vol. i. p. 448 : 
 
 " They were soon entirely out of 
 provisions, but found a sort of substi- 
 tute by living on the native bear 
 (Phascolarctus cinereus), which was 
 plentiful even in the forests." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 214: 
 
 " Look, high up in the branches of 
 that tall tree is a native bear ! It sits 
 motionless. It has something the 
 appearance of a solemn old man. How 
 funny his great ears and Roman nose 
 look ! He sits on the branch as if it
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BEA-BEE 
 
 was a chair, holding with hand-like 
 claws the surrounding twigs." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 9: 
 
 " We learned that a koala or native 
 bear (Phascolarctus cinereus) was sit- 
 ting on a tree near the hut of a shep- 
 herd . . . not a dangerous animal. It 
 is called ' native bear,' but is in no wise 
 related to the bear family. It is an 
 innocent and peaceful marsupial, which 
 is active only at night, and sluggishly 
 climbs the trees, eating leaves and 
 sleeping during the whole day. As 
 soon as the young has left the pouch, 
 the mother carries it with her on her 
 back. The Australian bear is found in 
 considerable numbers throughout the 
 eastern part of the continent, even 
 within the tropical circle." 
 
 Bearded Lizard, n. See Jew 
 Lizard. 
 
 Beardie, or Beardy, n. a fish. 
 In Scotland the name is applied 
 to the Bearded Loach, Nemachilus 
 barbatus, of Europe; in New South 
 Wales the name is given to the 
 fish Lotella marginata, Macl., of 
 the family Gadidce, or Cod-fishes, 
 which is also called Ling (q.v.). 
 
 Beaver-rat, n. an aquatic rodent, 
 something like the English water- 
 rat, genus Hydromys. 
 
 1864. ' Proceedings of the Royal Society 
 of Van Diemen's Land' [paper by Morton 
 Allport], p. 62 : 
 
 " Common to both fresh and brackish 
 water is the yellow bellied beaver-rat 
 or musk-rat (Hydromys chrysogaster}? 
 
 Beech, n. There is only one 
 true Beech in Australia, Fagus 
 cunninghamii, Hook, N.O. Cupu- 
 liferce ; but the name is applied 
 to many other kinds of Australian 
 trees, viz. 
 
 (i) Simply to 
 
 Cryptocarya glaucescens, R. Br., 
 N.O. Laurinea, called also 
 Black Sassafras, White Laurel, 
 She Beech, and Black Beech. 
 
 Flindersia australis, R. Br., N.O. 
 Meliacece, called also Flindosa, 
 
 Ash, Crow's Ash, and Rasp- 
 pod, and invariably Myrtle in 
 Tasmania. 
 
 Gmelina leichhardtii, F. v. M., 
 N. O. Verbenacece. 
 
 Monotoca elliptica, R. Br., N.O. 
 Epacridece. 
 
 Phyllanthus ferdinandi, Muell. 
 and Arg., N.O. Euphorbiacece, 
 called also Pencil Cedar in 
 Southern New South Wales. 
 
 Schizomeria ovata, D. Don, N.O. 
 Saxifrages, called also Cork- 
 wood, Light-wood, Coach- 
 wood, and White Cherry. 
 
 Trochocarpa laurina, R. Br., N.O. 
 Epacridece, called also Brush 
 Cherry, and Brush Myrtle. 
 
 (2) With various epithets the 
 name is also used as follows 
 
 Evergreen Beech 
 
 Fagus cunninghamii, Hook, 
 N.O. Cupulifera, called also 
 Myrtle and Negro-head 
 Beech. 
 
 Flindosy B. 
 
 Flindersia schottiana, F. v. M., 
 N.O. Meliacea, called also 
 Ash and Stave-wood. 
 
 Indian B. 
 
 Pongamia glabra, Vent. , ^V. O. 
 Legttminosce, B. Fl. 
 
 Mountain B. 
 
 Lomatia longifolia, R. Br., N.O. 
 Proteacece. 
 
 Native B. 
 
 Callicoma serratifolia, Andr. , 
 N.O. Saxifragece, "one of 
 the trees called by the early 
 colonists ' Black Wattle,' 
 from the fancied resemblance 
 of the flowers to those of 
 some of the wattles." (Mai- 
 den, p. 389.) 
 
 Negro-head B., i.q. Evergreen B. 
 (q.v. supra). 
 
 Queensland B. 
 
 Gmelina leichhardtii, F. v. M., 
 N.O. Verbenacece, a tall valu- 
 able timber-tree.
 
 BEE] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 Red B. 
 
 Tarrietia trifoliata, F. v. M., 
 
 N.O. Stercidiacece. 
 She B. 
 
 Cryptocarya obovata, R. Br., 
 
 N.O. Laurinecz, B. Fl., called 
 
 also Bastard Sycamore. 
 White B.- 
 
 El<zocarpHS kirtoni, F. v. M., 
 
 IV. O. TiliacecE, called also 
 
 Mountain Ash. 
 
 (3) In New Zealand, there are 
 six species of true beeches, which 
 according to Kirk are as follows 
 
 Blair's B. 
 
 Fagus blairii, T. Kirk. 
 Entire-leaved B. 
 
 F. solandri, Hook. f. 
 Mountain B. 
 
 F. cliffortioides, Hook. f. 
 Pointed-leaved B. 
 
 F. apiculata, Colenso. 
 Silver B. 
 
 F. menziesii, Hook. f. 
 Tooth-leaved B. 
 
 F.fusca, Hook. f. 
 
 All these, however, are com- 
 monly called Birches. 
 
 See also the words As/i, Myrtle, 
 Sassafras. 
 
 Bee-eater, n. a bird-name. 
 The European Bee-eater is Merops 
 ctpiaster ; the Australian species is 
 Merops ornatus, Lath. The bird 
 was called " M. p/irygins, the 
 Embroidered Merops," by Shaw. 
 
 1793. G. Shaw, ' Zoology [and Botany] 
 of New Holland,' p. 14 : 
 
 " Specific character. Black Merops 
 varied with yellow. The bird figured 
 in its natural size on the present plate 
 is a species of Merops or Bee-eater ; a 
 tribe which appears to be peculiarly 
 prevalent in the extensive regions of 
 Australia, since more birds of this 
 genus have been discovered than of 
 any other, except the very numerous 
 one of Psittacus." 
 
 [The birds, however, have been since 
 this date further differentiated, and 
 are now all classed in other genera, 
 except the present species.] 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales,' p. 144 : 
 
 ' The wattled bee-eater, of which a 
 plate is annexed, fell in our way 
 during the course of the day . . . 
 Under the eye, on each side, is a kind 
 of wattle of an orange colour . . . 
 This bird seems to be peculiar to New 
 Holland." 
 
 Ibid. p. 190 : 
 
 "We this day shot a knob-fronted 
 bee-eater (see plate annexed). This 
 is about the size of a black-bird." [De- 
 scription follows.] 
 
 Beef-wood, n. the timber of 
 various Australian trees, espe- 
 cially of the genus Casuarina, and 
 some of the Banksias ; often used 
 as a synonym of She-oak (q.v.). 
 The name is taken from the 
 redness of the wood. 
 
 1826. J. Atkinson, ' Agriculture and 
 Grazing in New South Wales,' p. 31 : 
 
 "The wood is well known in England 
 by the names of Botany Bay wood, or 
 beef wood. The grain is very peculiar, 
 but the wood is thought very little of 
 in the colony ; it makes good shingles, 
 splits, in the colonial phrase, from 
 heart to bark ..." 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, 'Southern Australia, 'vol. 
 i. c. i. p. 22 : 
 
 "They seemed to be covered with 
 cypresses and beef-wood." 
 
 1846. C. Holtzapffel, 'Turning,' vol. 
 i. p. 74 : 
 
 " Beef wood. Red-coloured woods 
 are sometimes thus named, but it is 
 generally applied to the Botany-Bay 
 oak." 
 
 1852. G. C. Munday, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (edition 1855), p. 219 : 
 
 "A shingle of the beef-wood looks 
 precisely like a raw beef-steak." 
 
 1856. Capt. H. Butler Stoney, 'A 
 Residence in Tasmania,' p. 265 : 
 
 " We now turn our attention to some 
 trees of a very different nature, Casua- 
 rina strict a and quadrivalvis, com- 
 monly called He and She oak, and 
 sometimes known by the name of beef- 
 wood, from the wood, which is very 
 hard and takes a high polish, exhibit- 
 ing peculiar maculae spots and veins 
 scattered throughout a finely striated 
 tint . . "
 
 26 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BEL 
 
 1868. Paxton's ' Botanical Dictionary,' 
 p. 116 : 
 
 " Casuarinaceae, or Beefwoods. 
 Curious branching, leafless trees or 
 shrubs, with timber of a high order, 
 which is both hard and heavy, and of 
 the colour of raw beef, whence the 
 vulgar name." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants.' (See 'Index of vernacular names.') 
 
 Belar, n. (various spellings, 
 Belah, billa, bee/a, beal), an aborigi- 
 nal name for the tree Casuarina 
 glauca. The colonists call the 
 tree Bull-oak, probably from this 
 native name. 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 18 : 
 " A voice in the beela grows wild in 
 its wail." 
 
 1868. J. A. B., 'Meta,'p. 19: 
 
 "With heartfelt glee we hail the 
 
 camp, 
 And blazing fire of beal." 
 
 [Footnote] : " Aboriginal name of 
 the gum-tree wood." 
 
 1874. W. H. L. Ranken, 'Dominion 
 of Australia,' c. vi. p. 1 10 : 
 
 " These scrubs . . . sometimes crown 
 the watersheds as 'belar.'" 
 
 Bell-bird, n. name given to 
 several birds, from their note, like 
 the tinkling of a bell. In Aus- 
 tralia, a Honey-eater, Myzantha 
 melanophrys, Gould (' Birds of 
 Australia,' vol. iv. pi. 80), the 
 'Australian Bell-bird' (the same 
 bird as Myzantha flavirostris, V. 
 and H.), chiefly found in New 
 South Wales ; also Oreoica guttu- 
 rails, Gould (vol. ii. pi. 81), the 
 ' Bell-bird ' of Western Australia ; 
 and Oreoica cristata, Lewin. In 
 New Zealand, Anthornis melanura, 
 Sparrm., chief Maori names, Kori- 
 mdko (q.v.) in North, and Mako- 
 mako in South. Buller gives ten 
 Maori names. The settlers call 
 it Moko (q.v.). There is also a 
 Bell-bird in Brazil. 
 
 I 774- J- Hawkesworth, ' Voyages,' 
 vol. ii. p. 390 [Journal of Jan. 17, 1770] : 
 
 "In the morning we were awakened 
 by the singing of the birds ; the num- 
 
 ber was incredible, and they seemed 
 to strain their throats in emulation of 
 each other. This wild melody was in- 
 finitely superior to any that we had ever 
 heard of the same kind ; it seemed to 
 be like small bells most exquisitely 
 tuned, and perhaps the distance, and 
 the water between, might be no small 
 advantage to the sound. Upon en- 
 quiry we were informed that the birds 
 here always began to sing about two 
 hours after midnight, and continuing 
 their music till sunrise were, like our 
 nightingales, silent the rest of the day." 
 [This celebrated descriptive passage 
 by Dr. Hawkesworth is based upon 
 the following original from ' Banks's 
 Journal,' which now, after an interval 
 of 122 years, has just been published 
 in London, edited by Sir J. D. Hooker.] 
 
 1770. J. Banks, 'Journal, 'Jan. 17 (edition 
 1896) : 
 
 " I was awakened by the singing of 
 the birds ashore, from whence we are 
 distant not a quarter of a mile. Their 
 numbers were certainly very great. 
 They seemed to strain their throats 
 with emulation, and made, perhaps, 
 the most melodious wild music I have 
 ever heard, almost imitating small 
 bells, but with the most tunable silver 
 sound imaginable, to which, maybe, 
 the distance was no small addition. On 
 inquiring of our people, I was told 
 that they had observed them ever 
 since we had been here, and that they 
 began to sing about one or two in the 
 morning, and continue till sunrise, 
 after which they are silent all day, 
 like our nightingales." 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. viii. p. 84 : 
 
 " The cry of the bell-bird seems to 
 be unknown here." 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Trans- 
 actions of Linnsean Society,' vol. xv. p. 
 
 319: 
 
 " Mr. Caley thus observes on this 
 bird : ' Dell-bird or Bell-bird. So 
 called by the colonists. It is an in- 
 habitant of bushes, where its disagree- 
 able noise (disagreeable at least to me) 
 [but not to the poets] may be con- 
 tinually heard ; but nowhere more so 
 than on going up the harbour to Para- 
 matta, when a little above the Flats.' " 
 
 1835. T. B. Wilson, ' Voyage Round the 
 World,' p. 259 :
 
 BEL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 " During the night, the bell bird 
 supplied, to us, the place of the wake- 
 ful nightingale ... a pleasing surprise, 
 as we had hitherto supposed that the 
 birds in New Holland were not formed 
 for song." 
 
 1839. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' p. 23 : 
 
 " Every bough seemed to throng 
 with feathered musicians : the melo- 
 dious chimes of the bell-bird were 
 specially distinct." 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 102 : 
 " Look at the bell-bird's nest, admire 
 
 the two spotted salmon coloured eggs." 
 Ibid. ('Verses written whilst we lived 
 in tents'), p. 171 : 
 
 " Through the Eucalyptus shade, 
 Pleased could watch the bell-bird's 
 
 flutter, 
 
 Blending with soft voice of waters 
 The delicious tones they utter." 
 
 1846. Lady Martin, ' Bush Journey, 
 1846, Our Maoris,' p. 93 : 
 
 " We did hear the birds next morn- 
 ing as Captain Cook had described 
 first the bell-bird gave its clear, full 
 note, and then came such a jargoning 
 as made one's heart glad." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. ii. pi. 81 : 
 
 " Oreoica gutturalis, Gould. Crested 
 Oreoica. Bell-bird, Colonists of Swan 
 River [Western Australia] ... I find 
 the following remarks in my note-book 
 ' Note, a very peculiar piping whistle, 
 sounding like vueet-'weet-'weet-weet-oo, 
 the last syllable fully drawn out and 
 very melodious. . . . In Western Aus- 
 tralia, where the real Bell-bird is never 
 found, this species has had that appel- 
 lation given to it, a term which must 
 appear ill-applied to those who have 
 heard the note of the true Bell-bird of 
 the brushes of New South Wales, 
 whose tinkling sound so nearly resem- 
 bles that of a distant sheep-bell as 
 occasionally to deceive the ears of a 
 practised shepherd." 
 
 1866. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 93 : 
 
 " Every now and then we stood, by 
 common consent, silent and almost 
 breathless, to listen to the bell-bird, a 
 dingy little fellow, nearly as large as a 
 thrush with the plumage of a chaffinch, 
 but with such a note ! How can I 
 make you hear its wild, sweet, plaintive 
 
 tone, as a little girl of the party said 
 'just as if it had a bell in its throat ;* 
 but indeed it would require a whole 
 peal of silver bells to ring such an 
 exquisite chime." 
 
 1868. F. Napier Broome, ' Canterbury 
 Rhymes,' second edition, p. 108 : 
 " Where the bell-bird sets solitudes 
 
 ringing, 
 Many times I have heard and 
 
 thrown down 
 
 My lyre in despair of all singing." 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 21 : 
 
 " Listen to the bell-bird. Ping, ping,, 
 sounds through the vast hushed 
 temple of nature." 
 
 1883. G. \V. Rusden, ' History of Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 81 : 
 
 "The bell-bird, with metallic but 
 mellow pipe, warns the wanderer that 
 he is near water in some sequestered 
 nook." 
 
 1886. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems/ p. 8 : 
 " And softer than slumber and sweeter 
 
 than singing, 
 
 The notes of the bell-bird are running 
 and ringing." 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 85 : 
 
 " Anthornis melannra. Chatham 
 Island Bell-bird (A. melanocephald), 
 the Bell-bird so-called from the fan- 
 ciful resemblance of one of its notes 
 to the distant tolling of a bell." 
 
 1889. Prof. Parker, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 119: 
 
 " Bell-bird, Korimako, or Mako- 
 mako {Anthornis melanura), is still 
 common in many parts of the South 
 Island e.g. in the neighbourhood of 
 Dunedin ; but has almost disappeared 
 from the North Island. Its song is 
 remarkably fine." 
 
 1893. W. P. Reeves, 'The Passing 
 of the Forest,' 'Review of Reviews,' Feb. 
 1893, p. 45 : 
 " Gone are the forest birds, arboreal 
 
 things, 
 Eaters of honey, honey-sweet in 
 
 song; 
 The tui, and the bell-bird he who 
 
 sings 
 That brief rich music one would 
 
 fain prolong.' 
 
 1896. G. A. Keartland, ' Home Expedi- 
 tion in Central Australia,' Part II., Zoo- 
 logy, Aves, p. 74 :
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BEL-BID 
 
 "In the north they \0rcoua\ are 
 frequently called ' Bell-birds,' but bear 
 no resemblance to Manorhina inelano- 
 phrys in plumage, shape, or note. The 
 Oreoica is such an accomplished ven- 
 triloquist that it is difficult to find." 
 
 Bell-bottomed, adj. a particular 
 fashion of trouser affected by the 
 larrikin (q.v.). 
 
 1891. ' The Argus,' Dec. 5, p. 13, col. 2 : 
 "Can it be that the pernicious in- 
 fluence of the House is gradually 
 tingeing the high priests of the bell- 
 bottomed ballottee with conserva- 
 tism ! " 
 
 Bell-Frog, Golden, n. See 
 Golden Bell-Frog. 
 
 Bell-topper, n. The ordinary 
 Australian name for the tall silk- 
 hat. 
 
 i860. W. Kelly, ' Life in Victoria,' p. 268 
 [Footnote] : 
 
 " Bell-topper was the derisive name 
 given by diggers to old style hat, 
 supposed to indicate the dandy swell." 
 
 Benjamin, n. a husband, in 
 Australian pigeon-English. 
 
 1870. Chas. H. Allen, ' A Visit to 
 Queensland and her Goldfields,' p. 182 : 
 
 " There are certain native terms 
 that are used by the whites also as a 
 kind of colonial slang, such as ' yab- 
 ber,' to talk ; ' budgeree,' good ; ' bale,' 
 no ; ' yan, J to go ; ' cabon,' much ; and 
 so on. 
 
 " With the black people a husband 
 is now" called a ' benjamin,' probably 
 because they have no word in their 
 own language to express this relation- 
 ship." 
 
 Benjamin-Tree, n. also called 
 Weeping Fig in Queensland, Ficus 
 benjaminea, Linn., N.O. Urticacece. 
 
 Bent-grass, n. See Grass. 
 
 1835. Rss, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 65: 
 
 " Agrostis virginica. Virginian 
 Agrostis, or Bent-grass. . . . Many 
 species of this genus go under the 
 general name of Bent-grass. Their 
 roots spread along among light and 
 sandy soil in which they generally grow 
 with joints like the Squitch or Couch 
 grass of England." 
 
 L 
 
 Berigora, n. aboriginal name 
 for a bird of genus Falco, from 
 beri, claw, and gora, long. See 
 Hawk. 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Transac- 
 tions of Linnrean Society,' vol. xv. p. 185 : 
 
 " The native name of this bird which 
 we have adopted as its specific name, 
 is Berigora. It is called by the settlers 
 Orange-speckled Hawk." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. i. pi. II : 
 
 "Hieracidea berigora. Brown Hawk. 
 Berigora, Aborigines of New South 
 Wales. Orange-speckled Hawk of the 
 Colonists." 
 
 Berley, n. term used by Aus- 
 tralian fishermen for ground bait. 
 It is probably of aboriginal origin. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' Fish 
 and Fisheries of New South Wales,' p. 75 : 
 
 " With hook and line along the 
 rocks of our sea-coast these fishes are 
 caught, but the bait should be crabs. 
 It is usual to wrench legs and shell off 
 the back, and cast them out for Berley." 
 
 1896. ' Badminton Magazine,' August, 
 p. 201 : 
 
 " I would signal to the sharks by 
 opening and washing out a few of the 
 largest fish at the boat's head, some- 
 times adding bait chopped small to 
 serve for what Australian fishermen 
 call Berley." 
 
 Betcherrygah, n. bird-name, 
 Melopsittacus undulatus, Shaw. See 
 Budgerigar. 
 
 Bettongia, n. the scientific 
 name of the genus of Prehensile- 
 tailed Kangaroo-Rats, whose ab- 
 original name is Bettong. They 
 are the only ground -dwelling 
 marsupials with prehensile tails, 
 which they use for carrying 
 bunches of grasses and sticks. 
 See Kangaroo-Rat. 
 
 Biddy-biddy, or Biddy bid, n. a 
 corruption of Maori name piripiri. 
 It is a kind of bur. 
 
 1880. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open,' 
 ' New Zealand Country Journal,' vol. xii. 
 
 P- 195 : 
 
 " Piri-pjri (acaena savguisorbe} by 
 the settlers has been converted or cor-
 
 BID-BIL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 rupted into biddy-biddy ; a verb has 
 been formed on it, which is in very 
 constant use for a good part of the 
 year at least. To biddy, is to rid 
 one of burrs, as ' I'll just biddy my 
 clothes before I come in.' Small birds 
 are occasionally found in a wretched 
 state of discomfort in which they 
 appear a moving mass of burrs. Par- 
 roquets, pipets, and the little white- 
 eyes, have been found victims suffering 
 from these tenacious burrs of the piri- 
 piri, just moving little brown balls 
 unable to fly till picked up and re- 
 leased from their bonds." 
 
 1896. ' Otago Witness/ Jan. 23, vol. ii. 
 p. 36: 
 
 " Yes, biddybids detract very materi- 
 ally from the value of the wool, and 
 the plant should not be allowed to 
 seed where sheep are depastured. 
 They are not quite so bad as the 
 Bathurst burr, but they are certainly in 
 the same category." 
 
 Biddy, v. See Biddy-biddy, n. 
 
 Bidgee Widgee, n. name 
 given to a Tasmanian Bur (q.v.). 
 
 Bidyan Ruffe, n. a fresh-water 
 fish of New South Wales, Therapon 
 richardsonii, Castln., family Perridce. 
 Mr. J. Douglas Ogilby, Assistant 
 Zoologist at the Australian Mu- 
 seum, Sydney, says in a letter : 
 ' ' The Bidyan Ruffe of Sir Thomas 
 Mitchell is our Therapon ellipticus, 
 Richards (T. richardsonii, Castln.). 
 Found in all the rivers of the 
 Murray system, and called Koo- 
 berry by the natives." It is also 
 called the Silver Perch and some- 
 times Bream. 
 
 1838. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. i. p. 95 [Note] : 
 
 " Bidyan is the aboriginal name." 
 
 Ibid. vol. i. p. 135 : 
 
 " Abundance of that which the men 
 commonly called bream (Ccrnua bid- 
 yana], a very coarse but firm fish, 
 which makes a groaning noise when 
 taken out of the water." 
 
 Big-head, ;/. a fish. The name 
 is used locally for various fishes ; 
 in Australia it is Eleotris nndiceps, 
 Castln., family Gobiidcr, "a river 
 
 fish. Of the genus Eleotris, 
 Giinther says that as regards 
 form they repeat almost all the 
 modifications observed among 
 the Gobies, from which they differ 
 only in having the ventral fins 
 non-coalescent. See Bull-head (2). 
 
 Billabong, n. an effluent from 
 a river, returning to it, or often 
 ending in the sand, in some cases 
 running only in flood time. 
 
 In the Wiradhuri dialect of 
 the centre of New South Wales, 
 East coast, billa means a river 
 and bung dead. See Bung. Billa 
 is also a river in some Queens- 
 land dialects, and thus forms 
 part of the name of the river 
 Belyando. In the Moreton Bay 
 dialect it occurs in the form 
 pilly, and in the sense of ' tidal 
 creek.' In the 'Western Aus- 
 tralian Almanack' for 1842, quoted 
 in J. Eraser's ' Australian Lan- 
 guage,' 1892, Appendix, p. 50, 
 Bilo is given for River. 
 
 Billabong is often regarded as 
 a synonym for Anabranch (q.v.) ; 
 but there is a distinction. From 
 the original idea, the Anabranch 
 implies rejoining the river ; whilst 
 the Billabong implies continued 
 separation from it ; though what 
 are called Billabongs ofteji do 
 rejoin. 
 
 1862. W. Landsborough, ' Exploration 
 of Australia,' p. 30 : 
 
 "A dried-up tributary of the Gregory, 
 which I named the Macadam." [Foot- 
 note]: "In the south, such a creek as the 
 Macadam is termed a billy-bonn [sic], 
 from the circumstance of the water 
 carrier returning from it with his 
 pitcher (billy) empty (bong, literally 
 dead)? 
 
 1865. W. Ilowitt, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 298 : 
 
 " What the Major calls, after- the 
 learned nomenclature of Colonel Jack- 
 son, in the 'Journal of the Geographi- 
 cal-Society,' anabranches, but which 
 the natives call billibongs, channels
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BIL-BIN 
 
 coming out of a stream and returning 
 into it again." 
 
 1880. P. J. Holdsworth, ' Station Hunt- 
 ing on the Warrego : ' 
 
 "In yon great range may huddle 
 billabongs." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 P- 25: 
 
 " What a number of swallows skim 
 about the 'billabongs 'along the rivers 
 in this semi-tropical region." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' April 8, p. 4, col. i : 
 
 " Let's make a start at once, d'ye 
 hear ; I want to get over to the billa- 
 bong by sunrise." 
 
 Billet, 11. an appointment, a 
 position ; a very common expres- 
 sion in Australia, but not confined 
 to Australia ; adapted from the 
 meaning, " an official order re- 
 quiring" the person to whom it is 
 addressed to provide board and 
 lodging- for the soldier bearing 
 it." ('O.E.D.') 
 
 1890. E. W. Hornung, 'A Bride from 
 the Bush,' p. 267 : 
 
 " If ever she went back to Australia, 
 she'd remember my young man, and 
 get him a good billet." 
 
 Billy, n. a tin pot used as a 
 bushman's kettle. The word 
 comes' from the proper name, 
 used as abbreviation for William. 
 Compare the common uses of 
 'Jack,' 'Long Tom,' 'Spinning 
 Jenny.' It came into use about 
 1850. It is not used in the fol- 
 lowing. 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 48 : 
 
 " He then strikes a light and makes 
 a fire to boil his kettle and fry his 
 bacon." 
 
 About 1850, the billy superseded 
 the quart-pot (q.v '.), chiefly because 
 of its top-handle and its lid. An- 
 other suggested derivation is that 
 billy is shortened from billycan, 
 which is said to be bully-can (sc. . 
 Fr. bouilli). In the early days 
 " bceuf bouilli" was a common 
 label on tins of preserved meat 
 in ship's stores. These tins, 
 
 called "bully-tins," were used by 
 diggers and others as the modern 
 billy is (see quotation 1835). A 
 third explanation gives as the 
 origin the aboriginal word billa 
 (river or water). 
 
 1835. T. B. Wilson, ' Voyage Round the 
 World,' p. 238 : 
 
 " An empty preserved meat-canister 
 serving the double purpose of tea-kettle 
 and tea-pot." 
 
 [The word billy is not used, but its 
 origin is described.] 
 
 1857. W. Howitt, 'Tallangetta,' vol. i. 
 p. 202: 
 
 " A tin pan bearing the familiar name 
 of a billy." 
 
 1871. J. J. Simpson, ' Recitations,' p. 5 : 
 
 " He can't get a billy full for many a 
 mile round." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 41: 
 
 " A billy (that is a round tin pitcher 
 with a lid) in his hand." 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iv. p. 69 : 
 
 " A tin can, which the connoisseurs 
 call for some reason or other a ' billy.' " 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' p. 24 : 
 
 " A very black camp-kettle, or billy, 
 of hot tea." 
 
 1892. ' The Australasian,' April 9, p. 
 707, col. 4 : 
 " How we praised the simple supper 
 
 (we prepared it each in turn), 
 And the tea ! Ye gods ! 'twas nectar. 
 Yonder billy was our urn." 
 
 Billy-can, n. a variation of the 
 above, more used by townsmen 
 than bushmen. 
 
 1892. 'The Australasian,' April 9, p. 
 707, col. 4 : 
 " But I said, ' Dear friend and brother, 
 
 yonder billy-can is mine ; 
 You may confiscate the washing that 
 
 is hanging on the line, 
 You may depredate the larder, take 
 
 your choice of pot and pan ; 
 But, I pray thee, kind sundowner, 
 
 spare, oh spare, my billy-can.' " 
 
 Bingy [g soft], n. stomach or 
 belly. Aboriginal. The form at 
 Botany Bay was bindi ; at Jervis 
 Bay, binji.
 
 BIR-BLA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 1851. Rev. David Mackenzie, 'Ten 
 Years in Australia,' p. 140 : 
 
 " They lay rolling themselves on the 
 ground, heavily groaning in pain, and 
 with their hands rubbing their bellies, 
 exclaiming, ' Cabonn buggel along 
 bingee ' (that is, I am very sick in the 
 stomach)." 
 
 Birch, n. In New Zealand, the 
 trees called birches are really 
 beeches (q.v.), but the term birch is 
 used very vaguely ; see quotation 
 1889. In Tasmania, the name 
 is applied to Dodoncca ericifolia, 
 Don., N.O. Sapindacece. 
 
 J- Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 125 : 
 
 "White-birch of Nelson and Otago 
 (from colour of bark), Black-heart 
 Birch of Wellington, Fagus solmidri, 
 Hook, a lofty, beautiful ever-green 
 tree, 100 feet high. Black-birch (Taw- 
 hai) of Auckland and Otago (from 
 colour of bark), Red-birch of Welling- 
 ton and Nelson (from colour of timber), 
 Fag. us f n sea, N.O. Ctipulifcrtz, a noble 
 tree 60 to 90 feet high." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 91 : 
 
 " Like all small-leaved forest trees it 
 \Fagus solandri, Hook, f.] is termed 
 ' birch ' by the bushman. ... It is not 
 too much to say that the blundering 
 use of common names in connection 
 with the New Zealand beeches, when 
 the timber has been employed in 
 bridges and constructive works, has 
 caused waste and loss to the value of 
 many thousands of pounds." 
 
 Bird-catching Plant, n. a 
 New Zealand shrub or tree, Piso- 
 nia brunoniana, Endl., N.O. Nycta- 
 ginece ; Maori name, Parapara. 
 
 1883. R. H. Govett, 'Transactions of 
 the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xvi. Art. 
 xxviii. p. 364 : . 
 
 "A Bird-killing Tree. ... In a 
 shrub growing in my father's garden 
 at New Plymouth, two Silver-eyes 
 (Zosterops] and an English Sparrow 
 had been found with their wings so 
 glued by the sticky seed-vessels that 
 they were unable to move, and could 
 only fly away after having been care- 
 fully washed." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 293 : 
 
 " It is sometimes termed the 'bird- 
 catching plant ' by settlers and bush- 
 men. ... It will always be a plant of 
 special interest, as small birds are often 
 found captured by' its viscid fruits, to 
 which their feathers become attached 
 as effectively as if they were glued." 
 
 Bird's-nest fungus, n. a small 
 fungus of the genus Cyathus, four 
 species of which occur in Queens- 
 land. 
 
 Bitter-Bark, n. an Australian 
 tree, Petalostigma quadriloMlare, 
 F. v. M., N. O. Euphorbiacea. 
 Called also Crab-tree, Native Quince, 
 Emu apple, and Quinine-tree. The 
 bark contains a powerful bitter 
 essence, which is used medicin- 
 ally. The name is also applied 
 to Taberncemontana orientalis, R. 
 Br. , N. O. Apocynecz, and to Alstonia 
 constricta, F. v. M., N.O. Apocy- 
 nacecc, which is also called Fever- 
 bark. 
 
 1889. J. II. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 204 : 
 
 " Bitter Bark. This small tree has 
 an intensely bitter bark, and a de- 
 coction of it is sometimes sold as 
 'bitters/" 
 
 Bitter-Leaf, n. a Tasmanian 
 name for the Native Hop. See 
 Hops and Hopbush. 
 
 Bittern, n. bird-name well 
 known in England. The Aus- 
 tralian species are 
 
 The Bittern 
 
 Botaurus potciloptilus, Wagl. 
 Black B. 
 
 Butoroid.es flavicollis. Lath. 
 Green B. 
 
 B.javanica, Horsfield. 
 Little B. 
 
 Ardetta pusilla, Vieill. 
 
 Blackberry, Native, or Bram- 
 ble, n. called also Raspberry. Three 
 species of the genus Rubus occur 
 in Queensland Rubus moluccanus, 
 Linn., R. tarvifolius, Linn., R.
 
 32 
 
 rosifolius, Smith, N. 0. Rosacece. 
 See also Lawyer. 
 
 Blackbird, n. " A cant name for 
 a captive negro, or Polynesian, on 
 board a slave or pirate ship." 
 ('O.E.D.') But no instance is 
 given of its use for a negro. 
 
 1871. ' Narrative of the Voyage of the 
 Brig Carl ' [pamphlet] : 
 
 " They were going to take a cruise 
 round the islands ' black-bird ' catch- 
 ing." 
 
 1872. ' The Argus,' Dec. 21, Supple- 
 ment, p. 2, col. i [Chief Justice's charge in 
 the case of the ' Carl Outrage '] : 
 
 " They were not going pearl-fishing, 
 but blackbird-hunting. It is said you 
 should have evidence as to what black- 
 bird-hunting meant. I think it is a 
 grievous mistake to pretend to ignor- 
 ance of things passing before our eyes 
 every day. We may know the mean- 
 ing of slang words, though we do not 
 use them. Is there not a wide dis- 
 tinction between blackbird-hunting 
 and a legitimate labour-trade, if 
 such a thing is to be carried on? 
 What did he allude to? To get 
 labourers honestly if they could, but, if 
 not, any way?" 
 
 1881. 'Chequered Career,' p. 180 
 ('O.E.D.'): 
 
 "The white men on board know 
 that if once the ' blackbirds ' burst the 
 hatches . . . they would soon master 
 the ship." 
 
 Black-birding, n. kidnapping 
 natives of South Sea islands for 
 service in Queensland planta- 
 tions. 
 
 1871. ' Narrative of the Voyage of the 
 Brig Carl ' [pamphlet] : 
 
 " All the three methods, however, of 
 obtaining labour in the South Seas that 
 which was just and useful, that which 
 was of suspicious character, and that 
 which was nothing, more or less, than 
 robbery and murder were in use the 
 same time, and all three went by the 
 same general slang term of ' black- 
 birding,' or 'blackbird catching.'" 
 
 1872. Rev. H. S. Fagan, 'The Dark 
 Blue ' (Magazine), June, p. 437 : 
 
 "Well, you see how it is that C is 
 not safe, even though he is a missionary 
 bishop, after A has made the name of 
 
 [BLA 
 
 missionary an offence by his ingenious 
 mode of ' black-birding.'" 
 
 1892. Gilbert Parker, 'Round the Com- 
 pass in Australia,' p. 78 : 
 
 " In the early days of sugar-planting 
 there may have been black-birding, 
 but it was confined to a very few, and 
 it is done away with altogether now." 
 
 Black-birding, adj. 
 
 1883. 'The Academy,' Sept. 8, p. 158 
 ('O.E.D.'): 
 
 "[He] slays Bishop Patteson by 
 way of reprisal for the atrocities of 
 some black-birding crew." 
 
 Blackboy, n. a grass-tree. 
 Name applied to all species of 
 the genus Xanthorrhaa, but 
 especially to X. preissii, Endl., 
 N.O. Liliacea. Compare Maori- 
 head. 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' ii. 4, 132 : 
 
 " Black Boy . . . gum on the spear, 
 resin on the trunk." 
 
 Ibid. ii. 12, 280 [Note] : 
 
 "These trees, called blackboys by 
 the colonists, from the resemblance 
 they bear in the distance to natives." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 92 : 
 
 " Gas admirably fitted for domestic 
 purposes had been extracted from the 
 shrub called the ' blackboy.' I regret 
 to state that the gas ... is not . . . 
 at present known in the colony." 
 
 1886. R. Henty, ' Australiana,' p. 15: 
 
 "The common grass-tree or 'black- 
 boy,' so called from its long dark stem 
 and dark seed head (when dry)." 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' Feb. 15, 
 P- 3*3 (with an Illustration) : 
 
 " The Blackboy trees are a species 
 of grass-tree or Xanthorrhcea, exuding 
 a gummy substance used by the blacks 
 for fastening glass and quartz-barbs to 
 their spears. Many years ago, when 
 coal was scarce in Western Australia, 
 an enterprising firm . . . erected a gas- 
 making plant, and successfully lit their 
 premises with gas made from the 
 blackboy." 
 
 1896. Modern : 
 
 A story is told of a young lady say- 
 ing to a naval officer : " I was this 
 morning watching your ship coming 
 into harbour, and so intently that \
 
 BLA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 33 
 
 rode over a young blackboy." The 
 officer was shocked at her callousness 
 in expressing no contrition. 
 
 Black-Bream, n. an Australian 
 fish, Chrysophrys australis, Gunth., 
 family Sparida, or Sea-Breams ; 
 called in Tasmania Silver-Bream, 
 the fish there called Black-Bream 
 being another of the Sparidie, 
 G ire I la tricuspidata, Cuv. and Val. 
 See Tarwhine and Black-fish. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 42 : 
 
 " Chrysophrys comprises the tar- 
 whine and black-bream of the Sydney 
 fishermen. . . . We have two species 
 in Australia. . . . The black-bream, 
 C. australis, Gunth., and the tarwhine, 
 C. sarba, Forsk. . . . The Australian 
 bream is as common on the south as 
 on the east coast. It affords excellent 
 sport to anglers in Victoria." 
 
 Blackbutt, n. Eucalyptus pilu- 
 laris, Smith, Victoria ; E. regnans, 
 F. v. M., New South Wales ; a 
 timber tree, a gum. Another 
 name is Flintwood. The lower 
 part of the trunk is black. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhartlt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 49 : 
 
 "The range . . . having with the 
 exception of the Blackbutt all the 
 trees ... of Moreton Bay." 
 
 1863. M. K. Beveridge, ' Gatherings 
 among Gum-trees,' p. 86 : 
 
 "'Tis there the 'blackbut' rears its 
 head." 
 
 1894. 'Melbourne Museum Catalogue, 
 Economic Woods,' p. 30 : 
 
 "A tree of considerable size. . . . 
 The bark smooth and falling off in 
 flakes upward, and on the branches.'' 
 
 1897. ' The Age,' Feb. 22, p. 5, col. 3 : 
 
 " Mr. Richards stated that the New 
 South Wales black butt and tallow 
 wood were the most durable and noise- 
 less woods for street-paving, as well as 
 the best from a sanitary point of view." 
 
 Black-Cod, n. a New Zealand 
 fish, Notothenia angustata. 
 
 Blackfellow, . an aboriginal 
 Australian. 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' i. 4, 74: 
 
 "The native Miago . . . appeared 
 delighted that these ' black fellows,' as 
 he calls them, have no throwing sticks." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 9 : 
 
 "The well-known tracks of black- 
 fellows are everywhere visible." 
 
 1871. Dingo, 'Australian Rhymes,' p. 
 14: 
 
 " Wurragaroo loved Wangaraday 
 In a blackfellow's own peculiar 
 way." 
 
 Black-Fern, n. The Tasmanian 
 species so called is Athyrium aus- 
 trale, Presl., N.O. Polypodea. 
 
 Black-fish, n. The name is 
 given, especially in Sydney, to 
 the sea-fishes Girella simplex, 
 Richards (see Ludrick], and Gi- 
 rella tricuspidata, Cuv. and Val. ; 
 also to a fresh-water fish all over 
 Australia, Gadopsis marmoratus, 
 Richards. G. marmoratus is very 
 common in New South Wales, 
 Victoria, South Australia, and 
 parts of Tasmania. There are 
 local varieties. It is much es- 
 teemed as a food fish, but is, like 
 all mud fishes, rich and oily. 
 Girella belongs to the family 
 Sparidce, or Sea-Breams, and 
 Gadopsis to the Gadopsidtz, a family 
 allied to that containing the Cod- 
 fishes. The name was also form- 
 erly applied to a whale. 
 
 1853. C. St. Julian and E. K. Silvester, 
 ' Productions, Industry, and Resources of 
 New South Wales,' p. 115 : 
 
 " There is a species of whale called 
 by those engaged in the south sea 
 fishing the Black-fish or Black-ivhale, 
 but known to the naturalist as the 
 Southern Rorqual, which the whale- 
 men usually avoid." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 100 : 
 
 " Nothing is better eating than a 
 properly cooked black-fish. The Eng- 
 lish trout are annihilating them, how- 
 ever." 
 
 Black-Line. See Black- War. 
 
 Black-Perch, n. a river fish 
 of New South Wales. Therapon
 
 34 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BLA 
 
 niger, Castln., family Percidce. A 
 different fish from those to which 
 the name is applied elsewhere. 
 See Perch. 
 
 Black - and - white Ringed 
 Snake. See under Snake. 
 
 Black Rock-Cod, n. an Austra- 
 lian fish, chiefly of New South 
 Wales, Serranus d<zmeli, Giinth.; a 
 different fish from the .Rock-Cod of 
 the northern hemisphere. The 
 Serrani belong to the family 
 Percida, and are commonly called 
 " Sea-perches." 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 33 : 
 
 " The genus Serranus comprises 
 most of the fishes known as ' rock 
 cod.' . . One only is sufficiently 
 useful as an article of food to merit 
 notice, and that is the 'black rock 
 cod ' {Serranus damelii, Giinther), 
 without exception the very best of all 
 our fishes." 
 
 Black-Snake. See under Snake. 
 Black-Swan. See Swan. 
 
 Black Thursday, the day of a 
 Victorian conflagration, which 
 occurred on Feb. 6, 1851. The 
 thermometer was 112 in the 
 shade. Ashes from the fire at 
 Macedon, 46 miles away, fell in 
 Melbourne. The scene forms 
 the subject of the celebrated pic- 
 ture entitled "Black Thursday," 
 by William Strutt, R.B.A. 
 
 1859. Rev. J. D. Mereweather, ' Diary 
 of a Working Clergyman in Australia,' 
 p. 81 : 
 
 "Feb. 21 ... Dreadful details are 
 reaching us of the great bush fires 
 which took place at Port Phillip 
 on the 6th of this month . . . Already 
 it would seem that the appellation of 
 ' Black Thursday ' has been given to 
 the 6th February, 1851, for it was on 
 that day that the fires raged with the 
 greatest fury." 
 
 1889. Rev. J. H. Zillman, ' Australian 
 Life,' p. 39 : 
 
 "The old colonists still repeat the 
 most terrjble stories of Black Thursday, 
 when the whole country seemed to be 
 
 on fire. The flames leaped from tree 
 to tree, across creeks, hills, and gullies, 
 and swept everything away. Teams 
 of bullocks in the yoke, mobs of cattle 
 and horses, and even whole families 
 of human beings, in their bush-huts, 
 were completely destroyed, and the 
 charred bones alone found after the 
 wind and fire had subsided." 
 
 Black-Tracker, n. an aboriginal 
 employed in tracking criminals. 
 
 1867. ' Australia as it is,' pp. 88-9 : 
 "The native police, or 'black 
 trackers,' as they are sometimes called, 
 are a body of aborigines trained to act 
 as policemen, serving under a white 
 commandant a very clever expedient 
 for coping with the difficulty ... of 
 hunting down and discovering murder- 
 ous blacks, and others guilty of spear- 
 ing cattle and breaking into huts . . ." 
 
 1870. 'The Argus,' March 26, p. 5, 
 col. 4 : 
 
 "The troopers, with the assistance 
 of two black trackers, pursued the bush- 
 rangers ..." 
 
 1870. Ibid. April 13, p. 6, col. 7 : 
 
 ". . . two members of the police 
 force and a black tracker . . . called 
 at Lima station . . ." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's 
 Right,' c. xvii. p. 165 : 
 
 " Get the black-trackers on the 
 trail." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' April 8, p. 4, col. 
 
 3: 
 
 " Only three weeks before he had 
 waddied his gin to death for answer- 
 ing questions put to her by a black- 
 tracker, and now he advanced to 
 Charlie . . . and said, . . . ' What for 
 you come alonga black fella camp ? ' " 
 
 1896. 'The Argus,' March 30, p. 6, 
 col. 9 : 
 
 " About one hundred and fifty horse- 
 men have been out to-day in addition 
 to the local police. The black-trackers 
 arrived by the train last night, and 
 commenced work this morning." 
 
 Black-Trevally. See Trevally. 
 
 Black- War, or Black-Line, a 
 military operation planned in 
 1830 by Governor Arthur for the 
 capture of the Tasrnanian abori- 
 gines. A levy en masse of the
 
 BLA-BLE] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 35 
 
 colonists was ordered. About 
 5000 men formed the " black 
 line," which advanced across the 
 island from north to south-east, 
 with the object of driving the 
 tribes into Tasman's Peninsula. 
 The operation proved a complete 
 failure, two blacks only being 
 captured at a cost to the Govern- 
 ment of ^"30,000. 
 
 1835. H. Melville, 'History of Van 
 Diemen's Land,' p. 103 : 
 
 " The parties forming the ' black 
 line,' composed, as they were, of a 
 curious melange of masters and serv- 
 ants, took their respective stations at 
 the appointed time. As the several 
 parties advanced, the individuals along 
 the line came closer and closer together 
 the plan was to keep on advancing 
 slowly towards a certain peninsula, and 
 thus frighten the Aborigines before 
 them, and hem them in." 
 
 1852. J. West, 'History of Tasmania,' 
 vol. ii. p. 54 : 
 
 " Thus closed the Black War. This 
 campaign of a month supplied many 
 adventures and many an amusing tale, 
 and, notwithstanding the gravity of 
 his Excellency, much fun and folly. . . 
 Five thousand men had taken the 
 field. Nearly .30,000 had been ex- 
 pended, and probably not much less 
 in time and outlay by the settlers, and 
 two persons only were captured." 
 
 Black Wednesday, n. a politi- 
 cal phrase for a day in Victoria 
 (Jan. 9, 1878), when the Govern- 
 ment without notice dismissed 
 many Civil Servants, including 
 heads of departments, County 
 Court judges and police magi- 
 strates, on the ground that the 
 Legislative Council had not voted 
 the money for their salaries. 
 
 1878. ' Melbourne Punch,' May 1 6, vol. 
 xlvi. p. 195 [Title of Cartoon] : 
 
 " In Memoriam. Black Wednes- 
 day, 9th January 1878." 
 
 1896. 'The Argus,' [Sydney telegram] 
 Aug. 1 8, p. 6, col. 4 : 
 
 "The times in the public service at 
 present reminded him of Black Wed- 
 nesday in Victoria, which he went 
 through. That caused about a dozen 
 
 suicides among public servants. Here 
 it had not done so yet, but there was- 
 not a head of a department who did 
 not now shake in his shoes." 
 
 Black-wood, n. an Australian 
 timber, Acacia melanoxylon, R. Br, ; 
 often called Lightwood ; it is dark 
 in colour but light in weight. 
 
 1828. ' Report of Van Diemen's Land 
 Company,' Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land, 
 1832,' p. 118 : 
 
 " Without a tree except a few stumps 
 of blackwood." 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' p. 21 : 
 
 "Grassy slopes thickly timbered 
 with handsome blackwood trees." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 359 : 
 
 " Called ' blackwood ' on account 
 of the very dark colour of the mature 
 wood." 
 
 1894. ' Melbourne Museum Catalogue, 
 Economic Woods,' p. 4 : 
 
 " Blackwood, Lightwood rather 
 frequent on many rich river-flats. . . . 
 It is very clqse-grained and heavy, 
 and is useful for all purposes where 
 strength and flexibility are required." 
 
 Bladder Saltbush, n. a Queens- 
 land shrub, Atriplex vesicarium, 
 Heward, N.O. Salsolacecz. The 
 Latin and vernacular names both 
 refer to "the bladdery appendage 
 to fruiting perianth." (Bailey.) 
 See Saltbush. 
 
 Blandfordia, n. the scientific 
 name of the Gordon-Lily (see 
 under Lily}. The plant was 
 named after George, Marquis of 
 Blandford, son of the second 
 Duke of Marlborough. The 
 Tasmanian aboriginals called the 
 plant Reinine, which name has 
 been given to a small port where 
 it grows in profusion on the west 
 coast. 
 
 Bleeding - Heart, n. another 
 name for the Kennedya (q.v.). 
 1896. 'The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 
 53 ' 
 
 "The trailing scarlet kennedyas, 
 aptly called the 'bleeding-heart' or
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BLI-BLO 
 
 'coral- pea,' brighten the greyness of 
 the sandy peaty wastes." 
 
 Blight. See Sandy-blight. 
 
 Blight-bird, . a bird-name in 
 New Zealand for the Zosterops 
 (q.v.). Called also Silver-eye (q.v.), 
 Wax-eye, and White-eye (q.v.). It 
 is called Blight-bird because it eats 
 the blight on trees. 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open,' 
 p. 13: 
 
 " The white-eye or blight-bird, with 
 cheerful note, in crowded flocks, 
 sweeps over the face of the country, 
 and in its progress clears away multi- 
 tudes of small insect pests." 
 
 1885. A. Hamilton, ' Native Birds of 
 Petane, Hawke's Bay,' ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xviii. p. 125 : 
 
 " Zosterops lateralis, white-eye, 
 blight-bird. One of our best friends, 
 and abundant in all parts of the 
 district." 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' (and ed.) vol. i. p. 82 : 
 
 " By the settlers it has been variously 
 designated as Ring-eye, Wax-eye, 
 White-eye, or Silver-eye, in allusion to 
 the beautiful circlet of satiny-white 
 feathers which surrounds the eyes ; 
 and quite as commonly the ' Blight- 
 bird ' or ' Winter-migrant.' ... It 
 feeds on that disgusting little aphis 
 known as American blight, which so 
 rapidly covers with a fatal cloak of 
 white the stems and branches of our 
 best apple-trees ; it clears our early 
 cabbages of a pestilent little insect, 
 that left unchecked would utterly 
 destroy the crop ; it visits our gardens 
 and devours another swarming parasite 
 that covers our roses." 
 
 Blind Shark, or Sand Shark, 
 n. i.q. Shovel-nose (q.v.). 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 and Fisheries of New South Wales,' p. 97 : 
 
 "Rhinobatus granulatus or shovel- 
 nose, which is properly speaking a 
 Ray, is called here the blind or sand 
 shark, though, as Mr. Hill remarks, it 
 is not blind. He says ' that it attains 
 the length of from 6 to 7 feet, and 
 is also harmless, armed only with 
 teeth resembling small white beads 
 secured closely upon a cord ; it how- 
 ever can see tolerably well, and 
 
 searches on sandy patches for crus- 
 tacean and small shell fish.'" 
 
 1886. J. Douglas-Ogilby, ' Catalogue of 
 the Fishes of New South Wales,' p. 5 : 
 
 " Rhinobatus Granulatus ... I have 
 not seen a New South Wales example 
 of this fish, which appears to have 
 been confounded with the following 
 by writers on the Australian fauna. 
 Rhinobatus Bongainvillei, Mull and 
 Heule, Habitat Port Jackson. Shovel- 
 nosed Ray of Sydney fishermen." 
 
 Blind-your-Eyes, n. another 
 name for the Milky Mangrove. 
 See Mangrove. 
 
 Block, doing the, v. lounging 
 in the fashionable promenade. In 
 Melbourne, it is Collins Street, be- 
 tween Elizabeth and Swanston 
 Streets. In Sydney, "The Block " 
 is that portion of the city bounded 
 by King, George, Hunter, and 
 Pitt Streets. It is now really two 
 blocks, but was all in one till the 
 Government purchased the land 
 for the present Post Office, and 
 then opened a new street from 
 George to Pitt Street. Since then 
 the Government, having pur- 
 chased more land, has made the 
 street much wider, and it is now 
 called Martin's Place. 
 
 1869. Marcus Clarke, ' Peripatetic Phi- 
 losopher,' (in an Essay on 'Doing the 
 Block ') (reprint), p. 13 : 
 
 "If our Victorian youth showed 
 their appreciation for domestic virtues, 
 Victorian womanhood would 'do the 
 Block' less frequently." 
 
 1872. ' Glimpses of Life in Victoria by 
 a Resident,' p. 349 : 
 
 " A certain portion of Collins street, 
 lined by the best drapers' and jewellers' 
 shops, with here and there a bank or 
 private office intervening, is known as 
 ' the Block,' and is the daily resort of 
 the belles and beaux. . . ." 
 
 1875. R. and F. Hill, ' What We Saw 
 in Australia,' p. 267 : 
 
 " To ' do the block ' corresponds in 
 Melbourne to driving in Hyde Park." 
 
 1876. Wm. Brackley Wildey, 'Aus- 
 tralasia and the Oceanic Region,' p. 234 : 
 
 " The streets are thronged with
 
 BLO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 37 
 
 handsome women, veritable denizens 
 of the soil, fashionably and. really 
 tastefully attired, ' doing the block,' 
 patrolling Collins-street, or gracefully 
 reclining in carriages. . . ." 
 
 1890. Tasma, 'In her Earliest Youth,' 
 p. 126 : 
 
 " You just do as I tell you, and we'll 
 go straight off to town and 'do the 
 block.'" 
 
 1894. 'The Herald' (Melbourne), Oct. 
 6, p. 6, col. i : 
 
 " But the people doing the block 
 this morning look very nice." 
 
 Block, on the. (i) On the pro- 
 menade above referred to. 
 
 1896. 'The Argus,' July 17, p. 4, 
 col. 7 : 
 
 " We may slacken pace a little now 
 and again, just as the busy man, who 
 generally walks quickly, has to go 
 slowly in the crowd on the Block." 
 
 (2) Term in mining, fully ex- 
 plained in ' The Miner's Right,' 
 chapters vii. and viii. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'The Miner's 
 Right,' p. 86 : 
 
 " I declare the Liberator Lead to be 
 'on the block.'" 
 
 ' Extract from Mining Regulation 22 ' 
 (Ibid. p. 77): 
 
 "The ground shall be open for 
 taking up claims in the block form." 
 
 Blood-bird, n. name given to 
 the Sanguineous Honey-eater. See 
 Honey-eater. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iv. pi. 63 : 
 
 " Myzomela sanguinolenta, Sanguin- 
 eous Honey-eater. Blood-bird of the 
 Colonists of New South Wales." 
 
 Blood-sucker, n. popular name 
 for certain species of Lizards 
 belonging to the genus Amphi- 
 bolurus (Grammatophora). Espe- 
 cially applied to A. muricata, 
 Shaw. 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, ' My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 37 : 
 
 "Another description of lizard is 
 here vulgarly called the ' blood- 
 sucker.' " 
 
 1890. F. McCoy, ' Prodromus of the 
 Natural History of Victoria,' Dec. 12, pi. 
 
 " Why the popular name of ' Blood- 
 sucker ' should be so universally given 
 to this harmless creature by the 
 Colonists (except on the lucus a non 
 lucendo principle) I cannot conceive." 
 
 1890. A. H. S. Lucas, ' Handbook of 
 the Australasian Association for the Ad- 
 vancement of Science,' Melbourne, p. 70 : 
 
 "Two species of ' blood sucker ' so 
 absurdly designated." 
 
 Bloodwood, or Blood-tree, n. 
 a name applied, with various 
 epithets, to many of the Gum- 
 trees((\.\.}, especially to (i) Euca- 
 lyptus corymbosa, Smith, sometimes 
 called Rough-barked bloodwood ; 
 (2) E. eximia, Schauer, Mountain 
 or Yellow bloodwood ; (3) Balo- 
 ghia lutida, Endl., N.O. Euphor- 
 biacece, called Brush Bloodwood. 
 The sap is blood-red, running 
 copiously when cut across with a 
 knife. 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Transac- 
 tions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 271 : 
 
 " The natives tell me it breeds in 
 the winter in Mun'ning-trees or Blood- 
 trees of the colonists (a species of 
 Eucalyptus)." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Ex- 
 pedition,' p. 292 : 
 
 "The bergue was covered with 
 fine bloodwood trees, stringy-bark, 
 and box." 
 
 1892. A. T- North, 'Proceedings of 
 Linnsean Society,' New South Wales, 
 vol. vii. series 2, p. 396 : 
 
 " I traced her to a termite nest in 
 a bloodwood tree (Eucalyptus corym- 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 448 : 
 
 "It [E. eximia\ is called 'blood- 
 wood,' partly because kino exudes in 
 the concentric circles of the wood . . . 
 partly because its fruits are in shape 
 very similar to those of E. corymbosa? 
 
 Blow, n. stroke of the shears 
 in sheep-shearing. 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' September 20, p. 
 13, col. 7 : 
 
 " The shearers must make their clip 
 clean and thorough. If it be done 
 so incompetently that a 'second blow' 
 is needed, the fleece is hacked."
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BLO-BLU 
 
 Blow, 2 n. braggadocio, boast- 
 ing. 
 
 1890. Lyth, 'Golden South,' viii. p. 71 : 
 "Is there not very much that the 
 
 Australian may well be proud of, and 
 may we not commend him for a spice 
 of blow?" 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Sydney- Side 
 Saxon,' p. 77 : 
 
 " He can walk as fast as some horses 
 can trot, cut out any beast that ever 
 stood on a camp, and canter round a 
 cheese-plate. This was a bit of blow." 
 
 1893. ' The Australasian,' Aug. 12, p. 
 1 02, col. I : 
 
 " Now Digby Holland will think it 
 was mere Australian blow." 
 
 Blow, v. to boast ; abbreviated 
 from the phrase "to blow your 
 own trumpet." The word is not 
 Australian though often so re- 
 garded. It is common in Scot- 
 land and in the United States. 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 387 : 
 
 " The blast of the trumpet as heard 
 in Victoria is louder than all the blasts 
 and the Melbourne blast beats all 
 the other blowing of that proud colony. 
 My "first, my constant, my parting 
 advice to my Australian cousins is 
 contained in two words, ' don't blow.' " 
 
 Blower, n. a boaster. (See 
 Blow, v.) 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'A Colonial 
 Reformer,' p. 41 1 : 
 
 "A regular Sydney man thinks all 
 Victorians are blowers and specu- 
 lators." 
 
 Blowing, verbal n. boasting. 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 387 : 
 
 "A fine art much cultivated in the 
 colonies, for which the colonial phrase 
 of ' blowing ' has been created." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 9 : 
 
 " Blowing (that is, talking loudly 
 and boastingly on any and every sub- 
 ject)." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' 
 
 P- 45 = 
 
 "He was famous for 'blowing' in 
 Australian parlance ... of his ex- 
 ploits." 
 
 Bluebell, n. The name is 
 given .in Tasmania to the flower 
 Wahlenbergia grarilis, De C., N.O. 
 Campanulacea. 
 
 Blueberry, n. i.q. Native Cur- 
 rant (q.v.). The name is also 
 given to Dianella longifolia, R. Br., 
 N.O. Liliacea. 
 
 Blueberry Ash, n. a Victorian 
 tree, Elaocarpus holope talus, F.v.M. 
 
 1894. ' Melbourne Museum Catalogue, 
 Economic Woods,' p. 15 : 
 
 "Blueberry Ash or Prickly Fig. 
 A noble tree, attaining a height of 
 1 20 feet. Wood pale, fine-grained ; 
 exquisite for cabinet work.'' 
 
 Blue-bush, n. an Australian 
 forage plant, a kind of Salt-bush, 
 Kochia pyramidata, Benth, N.O. 
 Chenopodiacece. 
 
 1876. W. Harcus. ' South Australia,' p. 
 124: 
 
 " [The country] would do splendidly 
 for sheep, being thickly grassed with 
 short fine grass, salt and blue bush, 
 and geranium and other herbs.'' 
 
 Blue-Cod, n. name given to a 
 New Zealand fish, Percis colias, 
 family Trachinida. Called also in 
 New Zealand Rock-Cod (q.v.). 
 The fish is of a different family 
 from the Cod of the northern 
 hemisphere. 
 
 Blue-creeper, n. name given to 
 the creeper, Comesperma volubile, 
 Lab., N.O. Campanulacea. 
 
 Blue-eye, n. a bird name. The 
 Blue-faced Honey-eater (q.v.). 
 
 1848. J.Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' vol. 
 iv. pi. 68 : 
 
 " Entomyza cyanotis, Swains. Blue- 
 faced Entomyza. Blue-eye of the 
 colonists." 
 
 Blue-fish, n. name given in Syd- 
 ney to Girella cyanea, of the family 
 Sparida, or Sea-Breams. It is 
 different from the Blue-fish of the 
 American coasts, which is of the 
 family Carangidce. 
 
 Blue-Groper, n. a fish of New
 
 ELU] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 39 
 
 South Wales and Tasmania, Cos- 
 syphus gouldii, one of the Labrida 
 or Wrasses, often called Parrot- 
 Fish, in Australia. Called also 
 Blue-head in Tasmania. Distinct 
 from the fish called the Groper 
 <q.v.). 
 
 Blue-gum, n. See under Gum. 
 It is an increasing practice to j 
 make a single word of this com- j 
 pound, and to pronounce it with i 
 accent on the first syllable, as 
 " wiseman,' 'goodman.' 
 
 Blue-head, n. Tasmanian name 
 for the fish called the Bhie-Groper 
 (q.v.)- 
 
 Blue Lobelia, n. The indigen- 
 ous species in Tasmania which 
 receives this name is Lobelia gib- 
 bosa, Lab., N.O. Campanulacece. 
 
 Blue-Pointer, //. a name given 
 in New South Wales to a species 
 of Shark, Lamnaglauca, Mull, and 
 Heule, family Lamnidce, which is 
 not confined to Australasia. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 95 : 
 
 " On the appearance of a ' blue 
 pointer' among boats fishing for 
 schnapper outside, the general cry is 
 raised, ' Look out for the blue pointer.' 
 . . . These are high swimming fishes, 
 and may be readily seen when about 
 pushing their pursuits ; the beautiful 
 azure tint of their back and sides, and 
 independent manner they have of 
 swimming rapidly and high among the 
 boats in search of prey, are means of 
 easy recognition, and they often drive 
 the fishermen away." 
 
 Bluestone, n. a kind of dark 
 stone of which many houses and 
 public buildings are built. 
 
 1850. ' The Australasian ' (Quarterly), 
 Oct. [Footnote], p. 138: 
 
 " The ancient Roman ways were 
 paved with polygonal blocks of a stone 
 not unlike the trap or bluestone around 
 Melbourne." 
 
 1855. R. Brough Smyth, ' Transactions 
 of Philosophical Society, Victoria,' vol. i. 
 1>- 2 5 : 
 
 "The basalt or 'bluestone,' which 
 is well adapted to structural purposes, 
 and generally obtains where durability 
 is desired." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook to New 
 Zealand,' p. 62 : 
 
 " Basalts, locally called ' bluestones,' 
 occur of a quality useful for road- 
 metal, house-blocks, and ordinary rub- 
 ble masonry." 
 
 1890. ' Proceedings of the Royal Society 
 of Tasmania,' p. xx. [Letter from Mr. 
 S. H. Wintle] : 
 
 "The newer basalts, which in Vic- 
 toria have filled up so extensively 
 Miocene and Pliocene valleys, and 
 river channels, are chiefly vesicular 
 Zeolitic dolerites and ancemesites, the 
 former being well represented by the 
 light-coloured Malmsbury 'bluestone ' 
 so extensively employed in buildings 
 in Melbourne." 
 
 Blue-tongued Lizard, n. name 
 given to Tiliqua nigroluteus, Gray, 
 a common Australian and Tas- 
 manian lizard belonging to the 
 family Scinddce. The name is 
 derived from its blue-coloured 
 tongue, and on account of its 
 sluggish habits it is also often 
 called the Sleepy lizard. 
 
 1887. F. McCoy, ' Prodromus of the 
 Zoology of Victoria,' Dec. 14, pi. 131 : 
 
 " Not uncommon about Melbourne, 
 where it is generally called the ' Blue- 
 tongued Lizard,' or ' Sleepy Lizard.' " 
 
 Blue-wing, n. a sportsman's 
 name (as in England) for the 
 bird called the Shoveller (q.v.). 
 
 Bluey, n. (i) A blue blanket, 
 commonly used by swagrnen in 
 Australia. He wraps his bundle 
 in it, and the whole is called a 
 Swag (q.v.). To hump bluey means 
 to go on the tramp, carrying a 
 swag on the back. 
 
 (2) In the wet wildernesses of 
 Western Tasmania a rough shirt 
 or blouse is made of this material, 
 and is worn over the coat like an 
 English smock-frock. Sailors 
 and fishermen in England call it 
 a " Baltic shirt."
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BOA-BON 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' Aug. 16, p. 13, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 "We shall have to hump bluey 
 again." 
 
 1891. R. Wallace, ' Rural Economy and 
 Agriculture of Australia and New Zealand,' 
 
 P- 73 = 
 
 " Humping bluey' is for a work- 
 man to walk in search of work." 
 
 1891. W. Tilley, 'The Wild West of 
 Tasmania,' p. 29 : 
 
 "Leehan presents an animated 
 scene. . . . Heavily laden drays, pack- 
 horses and mules, form constant pro- 
 cessions journeying from Dundas or 
 Trial ; miners with their swags, sur- 
 veyors in their ' bluey s ' ... all aid 
 effectively in the panorama." 
 
 Board, n. term used by shearers. 
 See quotation. 
 
 1893. 'The Herald '(Melbourne), Dec. 
 23, p. 6, col. I : 
 
 " ' The board ' is the technical name 
 for the floor on which the sheep are 
 shorn." 
 
 With a full board, with a full 
 complement of shearers. 
 
 1894. ' The Herald,' Oct. 6, p. I, col. 2: 
 " The secretary of the Pastoralists' 
 
 Association . . . reports that the fol- 
 lowing stations have started shearing 
 with full boards." 
 
 Boar-fish, . a name applied in 
 England to various dissimilar 
 fishes which have projecting 
 snouts. ('Century.') In New 
 Zealand it is given to Cyttus 
 australis, family Cyttid<z> which is 
 related to the John Dory (q.v.). 
 This name is sometimes applied 
 to it, and it is also called Bastard 
 Dory (q.v.). In Melbourne the 
 Boar-fish is Histiopterus recurvi- 
 rostris, family Percidce, and Penta- 
 ceropsis recurvirostris, family Penta- 
 cerotidce. Mrs. Meredith, in ' Tas- 
 manian Friends and Foes,' 1880 
 (pi. vi.), figures Histiopterus re- 
 curvirostris with the vernacular 
 name of Pig-faced Lady. It is a 
 choice edible fish. 
 
 Boil down, v. to reduce a state- 
 ment to its simplest form ; a con- 
 
 stant term amongst pressmen. 
 Over the reporters' table in the 
 old ' Daily Telegraph ' office (Mel- 
 bourne) there was a big placard 
 with the words " Boil it down." 
 The phrase is in use in England. 
 'O.E.D.' quotes 'Saturday Re- 
 view,' 1880. The metaphor is 
 from the numerous boiling-down 
 establishments for rendering fat 
 sheep into tallow. See quotation, 
 1878. 
 
 1878. F. P. Labilliere, 'Early History 
 of the Colony of Victoria,' vol. ii. p. 330: 
 
 " The first step which turned the 
 tide of ill-fortune was the introduction 
 of the system of boiling down sheep. 
 When stock became almost worthless, 
 it occurred to many people that, when 
 a fleece of wool was worth from half- 
 a-crown to three shillings in England, 
 and a sheep's tallow three or four 
 more, the value of the animal in Aus- 
 tralia ought to exceed eighteenpence 
 or two shillings. Accordingly thou- 
 sands of sheep were annually boiled 
 down after shearing . . . until . . . 
 the gold discovery ; and then ' boiling 
 down,' which had saved the country,, 
 had to be given up. . . . The Messrs. 
 Learmonth at Buninyong . . . found 
 it answered their purpose to have a 
 place of their own, instead of sending 
 their fat stock, as was generally done, 
 to a public ' boiling down ' establish- 
 ment." 
 
 1895. ' The Argus,' Aug. 17, p. 8, col. 2 r 
 
 " Boiled down, the matter comes to- 
 this." 
 
 Bonduc Nuts, ;;. a name in Aus- 
 tralia for the fruit of the widely 
 distributed plant Cczsalpina bon- 
 ducella, Flem., N. O. Leguminosce. 
 Called Molucca Beans in Scotland 
 and Nicker Nuts elsewhere. 
 
 Bonito, n. Sir Frederick Me 
 Coy says that the Tunny, the 
 same fish as the European species- 
 Thynnus thynnus, family Scombrida, 
 or Mackerels, is caJled Bonito, 
 erroneously, by the colonists and 
 fishermen. The true Bonilo is 
 Thynnus pelamys, Linn., though
 
 BON-BOO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 the name is also applied to various 
 other fishes in Europe, the United 
 States, and the West Indies. 
 
 Bony - Bream, i.q. Sardine 
 (q.V.). 
 
 Boobook, n. an owl. Ninox 
 boobook (see Owl} ; Athene boo- 
 book (Gould's ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. i. pi. 32). "From cry or 
 note of bird. In the Mukthang 
 language of Central Gippsland, 
 BawBaw, the mountain in Gipps- 
 land, is this word as heard by the 
 English ear." (A. W. Howitt.) 
 In South Australia the word is 
 used for a mopoke. 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Transac- 
 tions of Linmean Society,' vol. xv. p. 188: 
 
 " The native name of this bird, as 
 Mr. Caley informs us, is Buck'buck. 
 It may be heard nearly every night 
 during winter, uttering a cry corre- 
 sponding with that word. . . . The 
 lower order of the settlers in New 
 South Wales are led away by the idea 
 that everything is the reverse in that 
 country to what it is in England : and 
 the cuckoo, as they call this bird, sing- 
 ing by night, is one of the instances 
 which they point out." 
 
 1894. 'The Argus,' June 23, p. n, 
 col. 4 : 
 
 " In most cases it may not be in 
 all the familiar call, which is sup- 
 posed to sound like ' More-pork,' is 
 not the mopoke (or podargus) at all, 
 but the hooting of a little rusty red 
 feather-legged owl, known as the Boo- 
 book. Its double note is the opposite 
 of the curlew, since the first syllable is 
 dwelt upon and the second sharp. 
 An Englishman hearing it for the first 
 time, and not being told that the bird 
 was a 'more-pork,' would call it a 
 night cuckoo." 
 
 Booby, n. English bird-name. 
 Used in Australia for the Brown- 
 Gannet. See Gannet. 
 
 Booby alia, or Boobialla, n. 
 the aboriginal name for the tree 
 Acacia longifolia, Willd., N.O. Legu- 
 minosce, also called Native Willow. 
 A river in Tasmania bears the 
 
 name of Boobyalla, the tree being 
 plentiful on the coast. 
 
 1835. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 63: 
 
 "Acacia sophora. Sophora podded 
 Acacia or Booby-aloe. This species 
 forms a large shrub on the sand-hills 
 of the coast." 
 
 1843. J. Backhouse, ' Narrative of a 
 Visit to the Australian Colonies,' p. 59 : 
 
 "The sandbanks at the mouth of 
 Macquarie Harbour are covered with 
 Boobialla, a species of Acacia, the 
 roots of which run far in the sand." 
 
 1855. J. Milligan, 'Vocabulary of Dia- 
 lects of the Aboriginal Tribes of Tasmania,' 
 ' Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tas- 
 mania,' vol. iii. p. 238 : 
 
 " Wattle tree seaside. {Acacia 
 Maritima) Booby allah." 
 
 1861. Mrs. Meredith, 'Over the 
 Straits,' vol. ii. p. 62 : 
 
 " Boobyalla bushes lay within the 
 dash of the ceaseless spray." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 359 : 
 
 " Boobyalla ... an excellent tree 
 for binding coast-sands." 
 
 1894. 'Melbourne Museum Catalogue, 
 Economic Woods,' p. 4 : 
 
 " On the coast it is known by the 
 native name, Boobyalla." 
 
 Boomah, or Boomer, . name 
 of a very large kangaroo, Macro- 
 pus giganteus, Shaw. The spelling 
 "boomah" seems due to a sup- 
 posed native origin. See quota- 
 tion, 1872, the explanation in 
 which is probably erroneous. It 
 is really from the verb to boom, 
 to rush with violence. 
 
 1830. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. no : 
 
 " Snapped the boomah's haunches,, 
 and he turned round to offer battle." 
 
 1833. Lieut. Breton, ' Excursions in 
 New South Wales, Western Australia, and' 
 Van Diemen's Land,' p. 251 : 
 
 "Boomah. Implies a large kan- 
 garoo." 
 
 Ibid. p. 254 : 
 
 "The flying gin (gin is the native 
 word for woman or female) is a boo- 
 mah, and will leave behind every de- 
 scription of dog."
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BOO 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, 'My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 244 : 
 
 "The Great or Forest Kangaroo 
 (Macropus giganteus), the ' Forester ' 
 of the Colonists. . . . The oldest and 
 heaviest male of the herd was called a 
 * Boomer,' probably a native term." 
 
 1853- J- West, ' History of Tasmania,' 
 vol. i. p. 325 : 
 
 "The forester (Macropus major, 
 .Shaw), the male being known by the 
 name of 'boomer,' and the young 
 female by that of ' flying doe,' is the 
 largest and only truly gregarious 
 species." 
 
 1854. G. H. Haydon, 'The Australian 
 Emigrant,' p. 124 : 
 
 " It was of an old man kangaroo, 
 .a regular boomer." 
 
 1855. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes,' 
 p. 169: 
 
 "An officer from Van Diemen's 
 Land told me that he had once killed 
 in that colony a kangaroo of such 
 magnitude, that, being a long way 
 from home, he was unable, although 
 on horseback, to carry away any por- 
 tion except the .tail, which alone 
 weighed thirty pounds. This species 
 is called the boomah, and stands about 
 ;seven feet high." 
 
 1857. W. Howitt, ' Tallangetta,' vol. i. 
 P- 47: 
 
 " Sometimes starting a grand boo- 
 mah, or great red kangaroo." 
 - 1862. F. J. Jobson, 'Australia,' c. v. 
 p. 124 : 
 
 " Some of the male kangaroos, called 
 'boomers,' were described as being 
 four or five feet high." 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, 'New Rush,' p. 55 : 
 
 " The Boomer starts, and ponders 
 What kind of beasts we be." 
 
 1867. W. Richardson, ' Tasmanian 
 Poems,' p. 26 : 
 
 " The dogs gather round a ' boomer' 
 they've got." 
 
 1872. Mrs. E. Millett, 'An Australian 
 Parsonage,' p. 195 : 
 
 "A tall old Booma, as the natives 
 call the male kangaroo, can bring his 
 head on a level with the face of a man 
 on horseback. ... A kangaroo's feet 
 are, in fact, his weapons of defence 
 with which, when he is brought to bay, 
 he tears his antagonists the dogs most 
 dreadfully, and instances are not 
 
 wanting of even men having been 
 killed by a large old male. No doubt 
 this peculiar method of disposing of 
 his enemies has earned him the name 
 ofjBooma, which in the native language 
 signifies to strike." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 16: 
 
 "As he plunged into the yellow 
 waters, the dogs were once more by 
 his side, and again the 'boomer' 
 wheeled, and backed against one of 
 the big trees that stud these hollows." 
 
 Applied generally to something 
 very large. 
 
 1885. 'Australasian Printers' Keepsake,' 
 p. 76: 
 
 " When the shades of evening come, 
 I choose a boomer of a gum." 
 
 Boomerang, n. a weapon of 
 the Australian aborigines, de- 
 scribed in the quotations. The 
 origin of the word is by no 
 means certain. One explanation 
 is that of Mr. Eraser in quota- 
 tion, 1892. There may perhaps 
 be an etymological connection 
 with the name woomera (q.v.), 
 which is a different weapon, being 
 a throwing stick, that is, an in- 
 strument with which to throw 
 spears, whilst the boomerang is 
 itself thrown ; but the idea of 
 throwing is common to both. In 
 many parts the word is pro- 
 nounced by the blacks bum- 
 merang. Others connect it with 
 the aboriginal word for "wind," 
 which at Hunter River was burra- 
 maronga, also boomori. In New 
 South Wales and South Queens- 
 land there is a close correspond- 
 ence between the terms for wind 
 and boomerang. 
 
 1827. Captain P. P. King, 'Survey of 
 Intertropical and West Coasts of Australia,' 
 vol. i. p. 355 : 
 
 " Boomerang is the Port Jackson 
 term for this weapon, and may be 
 retained for want of a more descriptive 
 name." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 1 08 :
 
 BOO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 43 
 
 "We gambolled all the way up, 
 throwing small pieces of bark at each 
 other, after the manner of the native 
 youths, who practise this with a view 
 of strengthening their arms, and fitting 
 them for hurling a curious weapon of 
 war called a 'bomering,' which is 
 shaped thus : " 
 
 Ibid. p. 280: 
 
 "Around their loins was the opos- 
 sum belt, in one side of which they 
 had placed their waddies, with which 
 they meant to break the heads of their 
 opponents, and on the other was the 
 bomering, or stick, with which they 
 threw their spears." 
 
 [This is a confusion between 
 boomerang and woomera (q.v.). 
 Perhaps Mr. Dawson wrote the 
 second word, and this is a mis- 
 print.] 
 
 1839. Major T. L. Mitchell, 'Three 
 Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern 
 Australia,' vol. ii. p. 348 : 
 
 " The bommereng, or their usual 
 missile, can be thrown by a skilful 
 hand, so as to rise upon the air, and 
 thus to deviate from the usual path of 
 projectiles, its crooked course being, 
 nevertheless, equally under control/'' 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 186: 
 " The admirable dexterity with which 
 they fling the bomerangs. To our 
 thinking the thrower was only sending 
 the instrument along the ground, when 
 suddenly, after spinning along it a 
 little way, it sprung up into the air, 
 performing a circle, its crescent shape 
 spinning into a ring, constantly spin- 
 ning round and round, until it came 
 and fell at his feet." 
 
 1845. O. Wendell Holmes, 'Modest 
 Request' (in Poems): 
 
 " Like the strange missile which the 
 
 Australian throws, 
 Your verbal boomerang slaps you 
 on the nose." 
 
 1849. J. P. Townsend, ' Rambles in 
 New South Wales,' p. 39 : 
 
 " This instrument, called a bommer- 
 eng, is made of wood, and is much 
 like the blade of a scimitar. I believe 
 
 it has been introduced into England 
 as a plaything for children." 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, 'Port Phillip 
 in 1849,' p. 57 : 
 
 "The boomerang is an extraordinary 
 missile, formed in the shape of a 
 crescent, and when propelled at an 
 object, apparently point blank, it turns 
 in any direction intended by the 
 thrower, so that it can actually be 
 directed in this manner against a 
 person standing by his side. The 
 consummate art visible in its unnatural- 
 looking progression greatly depends 
 upon the manner in which it is made 
 to rebound from the ground when 
 thrown." 
 
 1865. W. Howitt, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. p. 107 ; 
 
 " He [Sir Thomas Mitchell] applied 
 to the screw propeller the revolving 
 principle of the boomerang of the 
 Australian natives." 
 
 1867. G. G. McCrae, ' Balladeadro,' p. 
 25 = 
 
 " While circling thro' the air there 
 
 sang 
 The swift careering boomerang." 
 
 1888. A. Seth, ' Encyclopaedia Britan- 
 nica,' vol. xxiv. p. 530, col. 2 : 
 
 "He [Archbishop Whately] was an 
 adept in various savage sports, more 
 especially in throwing the boomerang." 
 
 1889. P. Beveridge, ' Aborigines of 
 Victoria and Riverina," p. 49 : 
 
 " Boomerang : a thin piece of wood, 
 having the shape of a parabola, about 
 eighteen inches or two feet long from 
 point to point, the curve being on the 
 thin side. Of the broad sides of the 
 missile one is slightly convex, the 
 other is flat. The thin sides are 
 worked down finely to blunt edges. 
 The peculiar curve of the missile gives 
 it the property of returning to the feet 
 of the thrower. It is a dangerous 
 instrument in a mle"e. Of course the 
 wood from which it is made is highly 
 seasoned by fire. It is therefore nearly 
 as hard as flint." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz," Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 49: 
 
 [A full description of the use of the 
 boomerang is given, with illustrations.] 
 
 " The boomerang is a curved, some- 
 what flat, and slender weapon, made 
 from a hard and heavy wood, Brigalow 
 (Acacia excel so), or Myall (Acacia
 
 44 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BOO-BOR 
 
 pendula\ but the best one I found was 
 made of a lighter kind of wood. The 
 curving of the boomerang, which often 
 approaches a right angle, must be 
 natural, and in the wood itself. One 
 side is perfectly flat, and the other 
 slightly rounded. The ends are 
 pointed." 
 
 1890. G. W. Rusden, ' Proceedings, 
 Royal Colonial Institute,' vol. xxii. p. 62 : 
 
 " You hardly ever see an allusion in 
 the English Press to the boomerang 
 which does not refer to it as a weapon 
 of war which returns to the thrower, 
 whereas the returning boomerang is 
 not a weapon of war, and the boomer- 
 ang which is a weapon of war does not 
 return to the thrower. There are 
 many kinds of boomerang some for 
 deadly strife, some for throwing at 
 game, and the returning boomerang, 
 which is framed only for amusement. 
 If a native had no other missile at 
 hand, he would dispatch it at a flight 
 of ducks. Its circular course, how- 
 ever, makes it unfit for such a purpose, 
 and there is a special boomerang 
 made for throwing at birds. The 
 latter keeps a straight course, and a 
 native could throw it more than two 
 hundred yards." 
 
 1892. J. Fraser, 'The Aborigines of 
 New South Wales,' p. 69 : 
 
 "The name bumarang has always 
 hitherto been written boomerang ; but, 
 considered etymologically, that is 
 wrong, for the root of it is buma 
 strike, fight, kill ; and -ara, -arai, -arang, 
 are all of them common formative 
 terminations." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' July I, p. 8, col. 7 : 
 " ' I tell you, sir,' said Mr. Healy at 
 
 an Irish political meeting, 'that there 
 are at the present moment crystallizing 
 in this city precedents which will 
 some day come home to roost like a 
 boomerang.'" 
 
 Boongary, n. the tree-kanga- 
 roo of North Queensland, a mar- 
 supial tree-climber, about the size 
 of a large wallaby, Dendrolagus 
 lumholtzii, Collett. A native name. 
 Bangaray = Red Kangaroo, in 
 Governor Hunter's vocabulary of 
 the Port Jackson dialect (1793). 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 226: 
 
 " The tree-kangaroo is without com- 
 parison a better-proportioned animal 
 than the common kangaroo. The 
 fore -feet, which are nearly as perfectly 
 developed as the hind-feet, have large 
 crooked claws, while the hind-feet are 
 somewhat like those of a kangaroo, 
 though not so powerful. The sole of 
 the foot is somewhat broader and more 
 elastic on account of a thick layer of 
 fat under the skin. In soft ground its 
 footprints are very similar to those of 
 a child. The ears are small and erect, 
 and the tail is as long as the body of 
 the animal. The skin is tough, and 
 the fur is very strong and beautiful. . . . 
 Upon the whole the boongary is the 
 most beautiful mammal I have seen in 
 Australia. It is a marsupial, and goes 
 out only in the night. During the day 
 it sleeps in the trees, and feeds on the 
 leaves." 
 
 Bora, n. a rite amongst the 
 aborigines of eastern Australia ; 
 the ceremony of admitting a 
 young black to the rights of 
 manhood. Aboriginal word. 
 
 The word bur, given by Ridley, 
 means not only girdle but 'circle/ 
 In the man-making ceremonies a 
 large circle is made on the 
 ground, where the ceremonies 
 take place. 
 
 1875. w - Ridley, ' Kamilaroi,' p. 24: 
 " Girdle bor or bur. Hence Bora, 
 the ceremony of initiation into man- 
 hood, where the candidate is invested 
 with the belt of manhood." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life/ 
 p. 24: 
 
 "The great mystery of the Blacks 
 is the Bora a ceremony at which the 
 young men found worthy receive the 
 rank of warriors." 
 
 1892. J. Fraser, 'Aborigines of New 
 South Wales,' p. 6 : 
 
 " These ceremonies are . . . called 
 the Bora." 
 
 Borage, Native, a plant, Polli- 
 chia zeylanica, F. v. M., N.O. Bora- 
 ginea. The so-called Native Borage 
 is not endemic to Australia. In 
 India it is used as a cure for 
 snake bites.
 
 BOR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 45 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 124 : 
 
 "The native borage (Trickodesma 
 zeylanica, R. Br.)." 
 
 Borak, ;;. aboriginal word of 
 New South Wales, meaning- ban- 
 ter, chaff, fun at another's ex- 
 pense. (See quotation, 1845.) 
 Prior to 1870 the word was much 
 in use on the stations in New 
 South Wales. About 1870 Vic- 
 torian farmers' sons took shearing 
 work there, and brpught back the 
 word with them. It was subse- 
 quently altered to barrack (q.v.). 
 
 1845. C. Griffith, ' Present State and 
 Prospects of the Port Phillip District of 
 New South Wales,' p. 162 : 
 
 "The following is a specimen of 
 such eloquence : ' You pilmillally 
 jumbuck, plenty sulky me, plenty 
 boom, borack gammon,' which, being 
 interpreted, means ' If you steal my 
 sheep I shall be very angry, and will 
 shoot you and no mistake.' " 
 
 1856. W. W. Dobie, ' Recollections of 
 a Visit to Port Phillip, Australia, in 
 1852-55,' p. 93: 
 
 ' ... he gravely assured me that 
 it was 'merrijig' (very good), and that 
 ' blackfellow doctor was far better than 
 whitefellow doctor.' In proof of which 
 he would say, ' Borak you ever see 
 black fellow with waddie (wooden) leg. 
 Bungalallee white fellow doctor cut 
 him leg, borak black fellow stupid like 
 it that." 
 
 1885. ' Australasian Printers' Keepsake,' 
 
 P-75' 
 
 " On telling him my adventures, 
 how Bob in my misery had ' poked 
 borack ' at me. . . ." 
 
 1888. Alfred J. Chandler, 'Curley' 
 in 'Australian Poets,' 17881888, ed. 
 Sladen, p. too : 
 
 " Here broke in Super Scotty, ' Stop 
 Your borak, give the bloomin' man 
 a show.'" 
 
 1893. 'The Argus,' Aug. 26, p. 13, 
 col. i : 
 
 "It does not do for a man whose 
 mission it is to wear stuff and a horse- 
 hair wig to ' poke borak ' at that vener- 
 able and eminently respectable insti- 
 tution the law, and still worse is it 
 for a practising barrister to actually 
 
 set to work, even in the most kindly 
 spirit, to criticise the judges, before 
 whom at any moment he may be called 
 upon to plead." 
 
 Borboby, n. i.q. Corrobbery 
 (q.v.), but the word is rare. 
 
 1890. Carl Lumholtz, 'Among Canni- 
 bals' [Title of illustration], p. 122 : 
 
 " A warrior in great excitement just 
 before Borboby commences." 
 
 Boree, n. aboriginal name for 
 the tree Acacia pendula, A. Cunn., 
 JV. O. Leguminosce ; a variety of 
 Myall, probably from Queensland 
 aboriginal word Booreah, fire. It 
 would be preferred by black or 
 white man as firewood over any 
 other timber except giddea (q.v.). 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 363 : 
 
 " Weeping, or true myall. It is 
 sometimes called bastard gidgee in 
 Western New South Wales. Called 
 boree by aboriginals, and often boree, 
 or silver-leaf boree, by the colonists of 
 Western New South Wales. Nilyah 
 is another New South Wales name." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' iii. p. 30 : 
 
 " Myall and boree belts of timbers." 
 1893. ' The Times,' [Reprint] ' Letters 
 from Queensland,' p. 60 : 
 
 " The timber, of course, when seen 
 close at hand is strange. Boree and 
 gidyah, coolibah and whitewood, brig- 
 gelow, mulgah, and myall are the un- 
 familiar names by which you learn to 
 recognise the commonest varieties." 
 
 Borer, n. name applied to an 
 Australian insect. See quotation. 
 
 1876. W. Harcus, ' South Australia,' p. 
 no : 
 
 " There is another destructive insect 
 called the ' borer,' not met with near 
 the sea-coast, but very active and 
 mischievous inland, its attacks being 
 chiefly levelled against timber. This 
 creature is about the size of a large 
 fly." 
 
 Boronia, n. scientific and ver- 
 nacular name of a genus of Aus- 
 tralian plants, certain species of 
 which are noted for their peculiar 
 fragrance. The genus is especi-
 
 4 6 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BOS-BOT 
 
 ally characteristic of West Aus- 
 tralia, to which out of fifty-nine 
 species thirty-three are confined, 
 while only five are known in Tas- 
 mania. Boronia belongs to the 
 N.O. Rittacecc. 
 
 1835. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 P- 72: 
 
 ''Boronia variabilis. A beautiful 
 little heath-like plant growing about 
 the Cascade and other hills round 
 about Hobart Town. . . . This genus 
 is named after Borone, an Italian 
 servant of the late Dr. Sibthorp, who 
 perished at Athens. . . . Another 
 species found in Van Diemen's Land 
 is the Lemon plant of the mountains." 
 
 1896. 'The Melhurnian,' vol. xxii., No. 
 3, August 28, p. 53 : 
 
 " Winter does not last for ever, and 
 now at each street corner the scent of 
 boronia and the odour of wattle- 
 blossom greet us from baskets of the 
 flower-girl." 
 
 Boss-cockie, n. a slang name 
 in the bush for a farmer, larger 
 than a Cockatoo (see Cockatoo, n. 
 2), who employs other labour as 
 well as working himself. 
 
 Botany Bay, n. lying to the 
 south of the entrance to Port 
 Jackson, New South Wales, the 
 destination of the first two ship- 
 loads of convicts from England. 
 As a matter of fact, the settle- 
 ment at Botany Bay never 
 existed. The " First Fleet," 
 consisting of eleven sail under 
 Governor Phillip, arrived at 
 Botany Bay on January 18, 
 1788. The Governor finding the 
 place unsuitable for a settlement 
 did not land his people, but on 
 January 25 removed the fleet to 
 Port Jackson. On the next day 
 (January 26) he landed his people 
 at Sydney Cove, and founded the 
 city of Sydney. The name, how- 
 ever, clung topopular imagination, 
 and was used sometimes as the 
 name of Australia. Seventy years 
 after Governor Phillip, English 
 
 schoolboys used "go to Botany 
 Bay " as an equivalent to " go to 
 Bath." Captain Cook and his 
 naturalists, Banks and Solander, 
 landed at Botany Bay, and the 
 name was given (not at first, 
 when the Bay was marked Sting- 
 ray, but a little later) from the 
 large number of plants collected 
 there. 
 
 1770. ' Captain Cook's Original Jour- 
 nal,' ed. by Wharton, 1893, p. 247 : 
 
 "6 May. . . . The great quantity of 
 plants Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander 
 found in this place occasioned my 
 giving it the Name of Botany Bay." 
 
 1789. [Title] : 
 
 " The Voyage of Governor Phillipto 
 Botany Bay," published in London. 
 
 1789. Captain Watkin Tench [Title]: 
 
 "A Narrative of the Expedition to 
 Botany Bay," published in London. 
 
 1793. G. Harrington [Title] : 
 
 "Voyage to Botany Bay," [published 
 in London.] 
 
 This was the popular book on 
 the new settlement, the others 
 being high priced. As Lowndes 
 says, "A work of no authority, 
 but frequently printed." Barring- 
 ton, the pickpocket, whose name 
 it bears, had nothing to do with 
 it. It was pirated from Phillip, 
 Collins, etc. It went through 
 various editions and enlargements 
 to 1810 or later. After 1795 the 
 name was altered to ' Voyage to 
 New South Wales.' 
 
 1798. D. Collins, ' Account of the Eng- 
 lish Colony in New South Wales,' vol. i. 
 
 p. 5 2 : 
 
 " The word ' Botany Bay ' became a 
 term of reproach that was indiscrimin- 
 ately cast on every one who resided in 
 New South Wales." 
 
 1840. Thos. Hood, 'Tale of a Trum- 
 pet: ' 
 
 " The very next day 
 She heard from her husband at Botany 
 
 Bay." 
 
 1851. Rev. David Mackenzie, ' Ten 
 Years in Australia,' p. 50 : 
 
 "... a pair of artificially black eyes 
 being the Botany Bay coat of arms."
 
 DOT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 1852. J. West, ' History of Tasmania,' 
 vol. ii. p. 91 : " 
 
 " Some gentlemen, on a visit to a 
 London theatre, to draw the attention 
 of their friends in an opposite box, 
 called out cooey ; a voice in the gallery 
 answered ' Botany Bay ! ' " 
 
 1894. 'Pall Mall Budget,' May 17, p. 
 20, col. I : 
 
 " The owner of the ship was an ex- 
 convict in Sydney then called Botany 
 Bay who had waxed wealthy on the 
 profits of rum, and the ' shangai-ing ' 
 of drugged sailors." 
 
 Botany- Bay Greens, n. a vege- 
 table common to all the colo- 
 nies, Atriplex cinereum, Poir, N.O. 
 Salsolacece. 
 
 1810. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' p. 263 : 
 
 " Botany Bay greens are abundant ; 
 they much resemble sage in appear- 
 ance ; and are esteemed a very good 
 dish by the Europeans." 
 
 1834. Ross, 'Van Diemen's Land Annual,' 
 
 P- 134: 
 
 " I do not think it necessary to enter 
 upon any description of the Barilla 
 shrubs (Atriplex halimus, Rhagodia 
 billardieri, and Salicornia arbiiscula], 
 which, with some others, under the 
 promiscuous name of Botany Bay 
 greens, were boiled and eaten along 
 with some species of seaweed, by the 
 earliest settlers, when in a state of 
 starvation." 
 
 1835. Ibid. p. 69 : 
 
 "Atriplex Halimus. Barrilla. Bot- 
 any Bay Greens. This is the plant so 
 common on the shores of Cape Barren 
 and other islands of the Straits, from 
 which the alkaline salt is obtained and 
 brought up in boats to the soap manu- 
 factory at Hobart Town. It has been 
 set down as the same plant that grows 
 on the coast of Spain and other parts 
 of Europe." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 9 : 
 
 " Once used as a pot-herb in New 
 South Wales. Leichhardt used 
 species of Atriplex as a vegetable, and 
 spoke very highly of it." 
 
 Botany-Bay Oak, or Botany- 
 Bay Wood, n. a trade name in 
 
 England for the timber of Casii- 
 arina. See Beef-wood. 
 
 Bottle-brush, n. name given to- 
 various species of Callistemon and 
 Melaleuca, N.O. Myrtacece ; the 
 Purple Bottle-brush is Melaleuca 
 squamea, Lab. The name is also 
 more rarely given to species of 
 Banksia, or Honeysuckle (q.v.). 
 The name bottle-brush is from the 
 resemblance of the large hand- 
 some blossoms to the brush used 
 to clean out wine-bottles. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 389: 
 
 " Red Bottle-brush. The flowers of 
 some species of Callistemon are like 
 bottle-brushes in shape." 
 
 Bottle-Gourd, ;/. an Australian 
 plant, Lagenaria vu/garis, S6r. r 
 JV.O. Cucurbitacece. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 192 : 
 
 " Bottle Gourd. This plant, so 
 plentiful along the tropical coast of 
 Queensland, is said to be a dangerous 
 poison. It is said that some sailors 
 were killed by drinking beer that had 
 been standing for some time in a bottle 
 formed of one of these fruits. (F. M. 
 Bailey.) " 
 
 Bottle-Swallow, n. a popular 
 name for the bird Lagenoplastis 
 ariel, otherwise called the fairy 
 Martin. See Martin. The name 
 refers to the bird's peculiar retort- 
 shaped nest. Lagenoplastis is from 
 the Greek Aayr/vos, a flagon, and 
 TrXavr^s, a modeller. The nests 
 are often constructed in clusters 
 under rocks or the eaves of build- 
 ings. The bird is widely dis- 
 tributed in Australia, and has 
 occurred in Tasmania. 
 
 Bottle-tree, n. an Australian 
 tree, various species of Stercu- 
 tia, i.q. Kurrajong (q.v.). So 
 named from its appearance. See 
 quotations. 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, 'Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 264 : 
 
 "The sterculia, or bottle-tree, is a
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BOX- BOW 
 
 very singular curiosity. It generally 
 varies in shape between a soda-water 
 and port-wine bottle, narrow at the 
 basis, gradually widening at the middle, 
 and tapering towards the neck." 
 
 1848. L. Leichhardt, Letter in 'Cooks- 
 land, by J. D. Lang, p. 91 : 
 
 "The most interesting tree of this 
 Rosewood Brush is the true bottle- 
 tree, a strange-looking unseemly tree, 
 which swells slightly four to five feet 
 high, and then tapers rapidly into a 
 small diameter ; the foliage is thin, 
 the crown scanty and irregular, the 
 leaves lanceolate, of a greyish green ; 
 the height of the whole tree is about 
 forty-five feet." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. i. p. 127 : 
 
 " It was on this range (Lat. 26 42') 
 that Mitchell saw the bottle-tree for 
 the first time. It grew like an enor- 
 mous pear-shaped turnip, with only 
 a small portion of the root in the 
 ground." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 60 : 
 
 " A ' Kurrajong.' The ' Bottle-tree ' 
 of N.E. Australia, and also called 
 ' Gouty-stem,' on account of the extra- 
 ordinary shape of the trunk. It is the 
 ' Binkey ' of the aboriginals. 
 
 " The stem abounds in a mucilagin- 
 ous substance resembling pure traga- 
 canth, which is wholesome and nutri- 
 tious, and is said to be used as an 
 article of food by the aborigines in 
 cases of extreme need. A similar 
 clear jelly is obtainable by pouring 
 boiling water on chips of the wood." 
 
 Bottom, 11. in gold-mining-, the 
 old river-bed upon which the 
 wash-dirt rests, and upon which 
 the richest alluvial gold is found; 
 sometimes called the gutter. 
 
 1887. H. II. Hayter, 'Christmas Ad- 
 venture,' p. 5 : 
 
 " We reached the bottom, but did 
 not find gold." 
 
 Bottom, v. to get to the bed- 
 rock, or clay, below which it was 
 useless to sink (gold-mining). 
 
 1858. T. McCombie, ' History of Vic- 
 toria,' c. xv. p. 219 : 
 
 " In their anxiety to bottom their 
 
 claims, they not seldom threw away 
 the richest stuff." 
 
 Boundary-rider, n. a man who 
 rides round the fences of a station 
 to see that they are in order. 
 
 1890. E. W. Hornung, 'A Bride from 
 the Bush,' p. 279 : 
 
 " A boundary-rider is not a ' boss ' 
 in the Bush, but he is an important 
 personage in his way. He sees that 
 the sheep in his paddock draw to the 
 water, that there is water for them to 
 draw to, and that the fences and gates 
 are in order. He is paid fairly, and 
 has a fine, free, solitary life." 
 
 1892. 'Scribner's Magazine,' Feb., p. 
 147: 
 
 " The manager's lieutenants are the 
 'boundary-riders,' whose duty it is to 
 patrol the estate and keep him informed 
 upon every portion of it." 
 
 Bower-bird, n. an Australian 
 bird. See quotation, 1891. See 
 PtilonorhynchitKz. The following 
 are the varieties 
 
 Fawn-breasted Bower-bird 
 
 Chlamydodera cennniventris, 
 
 Gould. 
 Golden B. 
 
 Prionodura newtoniana, De Vis. 
 Great B. 
 
 Chlamydodera nuchalis, Gould 
 ('Birds of Australia,' vol. iv. 
 pi. 9). 
 Queensland B. 
 
 C. orientalis, Gould. 
 Satin B. 
 
 Ptilonorhynchus violaceus, Vieil- 
 
 lot. 
 Spotted B. 
 
 Chlamydodera maculata, Gould 
 
 (ibid. pi. 8). 
 Yellow-spotted B. 
 
 C. guttata, Gould. 
 
 And the Regent-bird (q.v.). 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, 'Australia,' p. 140: 
 
 " The same person had the last sea- 
 son found, to his surprise, the play- 
 house, or bower, of the Australian 
 satin bower-bird. 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 28: 
 
 " Any shred of glass or metal which
 
 BOX 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 49 
 
 arrests the eye or reflects the rays of 
 the sun is a gem in the bower-bird's 
 collection, which seems in a sense to 
 parody the art decorations of a modern 
 home." 
 
 1891. 'Guide to Zoological Gardens, 
 Melbourne ' : 
 
 " In one is a representation of the 
 playing place of the spotted bower- 
 bird. These bowers are quite inde- 
 pendent of the birds' nests, which are 
 built on neighbouring trees. They 
 first construct a covered passage or 
 bower about three feet long, and near 
 it they place every white or bright 
 object they can find, such as the 
 bleached bones of animals, pieces of 
 white or coloured stone, feathers, 
 shells, etc., etc. ; the feathers they 
 place on end. When these curious 
 playing places were first discovered, 
 they were thought to be made by the 
 native women for the amusement of 
 their children. More than a bushel 
 of small pieces of bleached bones or 
 shells are often found at one of these 
 curious sporting places. Sometimes 
 a dozen or more birds will assemble, 
 and they delight in chasing each other 
 through the bower and playing about 
 it." 
 
 Box, Box-tree, Box-gum, n. 
 The name is applied to many 
 Eucalypts, and to a few trees of 
 the genus Tristania, as given be- 
 low, all of the N.O. Myrtacecc, \ 
 chiefly from the qualities of their 
 timber, which more or less re- 
 sembles "Boxwood." Most of 
 these trees also bear other verna- 
 cular names, and the same tree 
 is further often described verna- 
 cularly as different kinds of Box. 
 China-, Heath-, and Native-Box 
 (q.v. below) are of other Natural 
 Orders and receive their names 
 of Box from other reasons. The 
 following table is compiled from 
 Maiden : 
 
 Bastard Box 
 
 Eucalyptus goniocalyx, F. v. M. ; 
 E. largiflorens, F. v. M. (called 
 
 also Cooburtt)', 
 E. longifolia, Link.; 
 
 E. microtheca, F. v. M.; 
 E. polyanthema, F. v. M.; 
 E.populifolia, Hook, (called also 
 Bembil or Bimbil Box and 
 Red Box); 
 
 Tristania conferta, R. Br. ; 
 T. laurina, R. Br., all of the 
 
 N.O. Myrtacece. 
 Black Box 
 
 Eucalyptus obliqua, L'HeYit. ; 
 E. largiflorens, F. v. M.; 
 E. microtheca, F. v. M. 
 Brisbane Box 
 
 Tristania conferta, R. Br. 
 Broad-leaved Box 
 
 Eucalyptus acmenoides, Schau. 
 Brown Box 
 
 Eucalyptus polyanthema, Schau. 
 Brush Box 
 
 Tristania conferta, R. Br. 
 China Box 
 
 Murraya exotica, Linn., N.O. 
 Rutacecz (not a tree, but a 
 perfume plant, which is found 
 also in India and China). 
 Dwarf, or Flooded Box 
 
 Eucalyptus microtheca, F. v. M. 
 (Also called Swamp Gum, from 
 its habit of growing on land 
 inundated during flood time. 
 An aboriginal name for the 
 same tree is goborro.} 
 Grey Box 
 
 " Eucalyptus goniocalyx, F. v. M.; 
 E. hemiphloia, F. v. M.; 
 E. largiflorens, F. v. M.; 
 E. polyanthema, Schau.; 
 E. saligna, Smith. 
 Gum-topped Box 
 
 Eucalyptus hemiphloia, F. v. M. 
 Heath Box 
 
 Alyxia buxifolia, R. Br., N.O. 
 Afocynetz (called also Tonga- 
 beanwood, owing to its scent). 
 Iron-bark Box 
 
 Eucalyptus obliqua, L'Herit. 
 Narrow-leaved Box 
 
 Eucalyptus microtheca, F. v. M. 
 Native Box 
 
 Bursaria spinosa, Cav., N.O. 
 Pittosporea. (Called also Box-
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BOX 
 
 thorn and Native-Olive. It is 
 not a timber-tree but a forage- 
 plant. See quotation, 1889.) 
 Poplar Box 
 
 Eucalyptus populifolia, Hook. 
 Red Box 
 
 Eucalyptus populifolia, Hook.; 
 
 E. polyanthema, Schau.; 
 
 Tristania confer ta, R. Br. 
 Thozet's Box 
 
 Eucalyptus ravtretiana, F. v. M. 
 White Box 
 
 Eucalyptus hemiphloia, F. v. M.; 
 
 E. odorata, Behr.; 
 
 E. populifolia, Hook.; 
 
 Tristania conferta, R. Br. 
 Yellow Box 
 
 Eucalyptus hemiphloia, F. v. M. 
 
 E. largiflorens, F. v. M. 
 
 E. melliodora, A. Cunn. 
 
 1820. John Oxley, ' Two Expeditions,' 
 p. 1 26 : 
 
 " The country continued open forest 
 land for about three miles, the cypress 
 and the bastard-box being the prevail- 
 ing timber ; of the former many were 
 useful trees." 
 
 1838. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. ii. p. 55 : 
 
 " The small kind of tree . . . which 
 Mr. Oxley, I believe, terms the dwarf- 
 box, grows only on plains subject to 
 inundation. ... It may be observed, 
 however, that all permanent waters 
 are invariably surrounded by the 
 'yarra.' These peculiarities are only 
 ascertained after examining many a 
 hopeless hollow, where grew the l go- 
 borro ' only ; and after I had found 
 my sable guides eagerly scanning the 
 ' yarra ' from afar, when in search of 
 water, and condemning any view of 
 the 'goborro' as hopeless during that 
 dry season." 
 
 [See Yarra, a tree.] 
 
 1865. W. Howitt, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia, vol. ii. p. 6: 
 
 " Belts of open forest land, princi- 
 pally composed of the box-tree of the 
 colonists, a species of eucalyptus (in 
 no respect resembling the box of 
 Europe)." 
 
 1877. F. v. Miiller, 'Botanic Teachings,' 
 p. 15: 
 
 "The Honey-Eucalypt (Eucalyptus 
 
 melliodora}. This tree passes by the 
 very unapt vernacular name Yellow 
 Box-tree, though no portion of it is 
 yellow, not even its wood, and though 
 the latter resembles the real boxwood 
 in no way whatever. Its systematic 
 specific name alludes to the odour of 
 its flowers, like that of honey, and as 
 the blossoms exude much nectar, like* 
 most eucalypts, sought by bees, it is 
 proposed to call it the small-leaved 
 Honey-Eucalypt, but the Latin name 
 might as easily be conveyed to memory, 
 with the advantage of its being a 
 universal one, understood and used by 
 all nations." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 46: 
 
 " Poor country, covered with ti-tree, 
 box, and iron-bark saplings, with here 
 and there heavy timber growing on 
 sour-looking ridges." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs/ 
 p. 7: 
 
 " The clumps of box-gums clinging 
 together for sympathy." 
 
 1888. J. Hewlett Ross, ' Laureate of the 
 Centaurs,' p. 41 : 
 
 " Box shrubs which were not yet 
 clothed with their creamy- white plumes 
 (so like the English meadowsweet)." 
 
 1889. P. Beveridge, 'Aborigines of 
 Victoria and Riverina,' p. 59: 
 
 " These spears are principally made 
 from a tall-growing box (one of the 
 eucalypts) which often attains to an 
 altitude of over 100 feet ; it is indi- 
 genous to the north-western portion of 
 the colony, and to Riverina ; it has a 
 fine wavy grain, consequently easily 
 worked when in a green state. When 
 well seasoned, however, it is nearly as 
 hard as ebony." 
 
 1889. J. II. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 121 : 
 
 " Native box is greedily eaten by 
 sheep, but its thorny character pre- 
 serves it from extinction upon sheep- 
 runs : usually a small scrub, in con- 
 genial localities it developes into a 
 small tree." 
 
 Box, n. See succeeding 1 verb. 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, 'My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 67 : 
 
 " Great care must of course be taken 
 that no two flocks come into collision, 
 for a ' box,' as it is technically called, 
 causes an infinity of trouble, which is
 
 BOX-BRE 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 the reason that the stations are so far 
 apart." 
 
 Box, v. to mix together sheep I 
 that ought to be kept separate: , 
 apparently from " to box" in the | 
 sense of to shut up in narrow : 
 limits ('O.E.D.' v. i. 5) ; then to i 
 shut up together and so confuse 
 the classification ; then the sense 
 of shutting up is lost and that of 
 confusion remains. 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 253: 
 
 "All the mobs of different aged 
 lambs which had been hitherto kept 
 apart were boxed up together." 
 
 1889. RolfBoldrewood, 'Robbery under 
 Arms,' p. 356 : 
 
 " After they'd got out twenty or 
 thirty they'd get boxed, like a new 
 hand counting sheep, and have to 
 begin all over again." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Colonial 
 Reformer, ' p. 84 : 
 
 "At nightfall, the fifteen flocks of 
 sheep were all brought in, and ' boxed,' 
 or mixed together, to Ernest's astonish- 
 ment." 
 
 1890. Tasma, 'In her Earliest Youth,' 
 p. 166: 
 
 " He must keep tally when the sheep 
 are being counted or draughted, I'm 
 not sure which, and swear no, he 
 needn't swear when they get boxed." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from 
 Snowy River,' p. 54: 
 
 " But the travelling sheep and the 
 Wilga sheep were boxed on the 
 Old Man Plain. 
 
 'Twas a full week's work ere they 
 drafted out and hunted them off 
 again." 
 
 Boxer, n. This word means in 
 Australia the stiff, low-crowned, 
 felt hat, called a billy-cock or bowler. 
 The silk-hat is called a bell-topper 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1897. ' The Argus,' Jan. 9, p. 14, col. 2 : 
 " And will you wear a boxer that is in 
 
 a battered state ? 
 
 I wonder, will you now that you're 
 a knight ?" 
 
 Box-wood, . a New Zealand 
 wood, Olea lanceolata, Hook., 7V. O. 
 
 Jasminece (Maori name, Maire). 
 Used by the ' Wellington In- 
 dependent ' (April 19, 1845) for 
 woodcuts, and recommended as 
 superior to box-wood for the pur- 
 pose. See also Box, n. 
 
 Boyla, n. aboriginal word for 
 a sorcerer. 
 
 1865. W. Howitt, 'Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 384: 
 
 " The absolute power of boylas 
 or evil sorcerers ... he chanted 
 gloomily : 
 
 Oh, wherefore would they eat the 
 
 muscles? 
 Now boylas storm and thunder 
 
 make. 
 Oh, wherefore would they eat the 
 
 muscles ?" 
 
 Bramble, Native, n. See 
 Blackberry. 
 
 Bread, Native, ;/. a kind of 
 fungus. " The sclerotium of Poly- 
 porus mylitta, C. et M. Until quite 
 recently the sclerotium was known, 
 but not the fructification. It was 
 thought probable that its fruit 
 would be ascomycetous, and on 
 the authority of Berkeley it was 
 made the type of a genus as 
 Mylitta Australis. It is found 
 throughout Eastern Australia and 
 Tasmania. The aborigines ate 
 it, but to the European palate it 
 is tough and tasteless, and pro- 
 bably as indigestible as leather." 
 (L. Rod way.) 
 
 1843. James Backhouse, ' Narrative of 
 a Visit to the Australian Colonies,' p. 40 : 
 
 " Natural Order. Fungi. . . . My- 
 litta Australis. Native Bread. This 
 species of tuber is often found in the 
 Colony, attaining to the size of a child's 
 head : its taste somewhat resembles 
 boiled rice. Like the heart of the 
 Tree-fern, and the root of the Native 
 Potato, cookery produces little change." 
 
 1848. ' Papers and Proceedings of the 
 Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' 
 vol. i. p. 157 : 
 
 "nth October, 1848. . . Specimens 
 of \htfungus known as ' native bread,' 
 Mylitta Australis, lay upon the table.
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BRE-BRI 
 
 A member observed that this sub- 
 stance, grated and made into a pud- 
 ding with milk alone, had been found 
 by him very palatable. Prepared in 
 the same way, and combined with 
 double its weight of rice or sago, it 
 has produced a very superior dish. 
 It has also been eaten with approval 
 in soup, after the manner of truffle, to 
 which it is nearly allied." 
 
 1857. Dr. Milligan, in Bishop Nixon's 
 ' Cruise of the Beacon,' p. 27 : 
 
 " But that which afforded the largest 
 amount of solid and substantial nutri- 
 tious matter was the native bread, a 
 fungus growing in the ground, after 
 the manner of the truffle, and generally 
 so near the roots of trees as to be 
 reputed parasitical." 
 
 1896. ' Hobart Mercury,' Oct. 30, p. 2, 
 last col. : 
 
 " A large specimen of ' native bread,' 
 weighing I2lb., has been unearthed on 
 Crab Tree farm in the Huon district, 
 by Mr. A. Cooper. It has been 
 brought to town, and is being examined 
 with interest by many at the British 
 Hotel. It is one of the fungi tribe 
 that forms hard masses of stored food 
 for future use." 
 
 Breadfruit-tree, name given 
 by the explorer Leichhardt to the 
 Queensland tree, Gardenia edulis, 
 F. v. M., N. O. Rubiacece. 
 
 Breakaway, n. (i) A bullock 
 that leaves the herd. 
 
 1893. 'The Argus,' April 29, p. 4, 
 col. 4: 
 
 " The smartest stock horse that ever 
 brought his rider up within whip dis- 
 tance of a breakaway or dodged the 
 horns of a sulky beast, took the 
 chance." 
 
 (2) The panic rush of sheep, 
 cattle, or other animals at the 
 sight or smell of water. 
 
 1891: 
 
 " The Breakaway," title of picture by 
 Tom Roberts at Victorian Artists' 
 Exhibition. 
 
 Bream, n. The name is applied 
 in Australia to various species of 
 Chrysophrys, family Sparida, and 
 to other fishes of different 
 
 families. The Black-Bream (q.v.) 
 is C. australis, Giinth. The Bony- 
 Bream is also called the Sardine 
 (q.v.). The Silver-Bream (q.v.) 
 or White-Bream is Gerres ovatus, 
 Giinth., family Percidce. The Red- 
 Bream is a Schnapper (q.v.) one 
 year old. The popular pronunci- 
 ation is Brim, and the fishes are 
 all different from the various fishes 
 called Bream in the northern 
 hemisphere. See also Tanvhine 
 and Blue-fish. 
 
 Brickfielder, n. (i) Originally a 
 Sydney name for a cold wind, 
 blowing from the south and ac- 
 companied by blinding clouds of 
 dust ; identical with the later name 
 for the wind, the Southerly Buster 
 (q.v.). The brickfields lay to the 
 south of Sydney, and when after 
 a hot wind from the west or 
 north-west, the wind went round 
 to the south, it was accompanied 
 by great clouds of dust, brought 
 up from the brickfields. These 
 brickfields have long been a thing 
 of the past, surviving only in 
 "Brickfield Hill," the hilly part 
 of George Street, between the 
 Cathedral and the Railway Sta- 
 tion. The name, as denoting a 
 cold wind, is now almost obsolete, 
 and its meaning has been very 
 curiously changed and extended 
 to other colonies to denote a very 
 hot wind. See below (Nos. 2 and 
 3), and the notes to the quotations. 
 
 1833. Lieut. Breton, R.N., 'Excursions 
 in New South Wales and Van Diemen's 
 Land,' p. 293 : 
 
 "It sometimes happens that a change 
 takes place from a hot wind to a 'brick- 
 fielder,' on which occasions the ther- 
 mometer has been known to fall, 
 within half an hour, upwards of fifty 
 degrees ! That is to say, from above 
 loo degrees to 50 degrees ! A brick- 
 fielder is a southerly wind, and it takes 
 its local name from the circumstances 
 of its blowing over, and bringing into 
 town the flames [sic] of a large brick-
 
 BRl] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 53 
 
 field : it is nearly as detestable as a 
 hot wind." 
 
 [Lieut. Breton must have had a 
 strong imagination. The brickfields, 
 at that date, were a mile away from 
 the town, and the bringing in of their 
 flames was an impossibility. Perhaps, 
 however, the word is a misprint for 
 fumes; yet even then this earliest 
 quotation indicates part of the source 
 of the subsequent confusion of mean- 
 ing. The main characteristic of the 
 true brickfielder was neither flames 
 nor fumes, and certainly not heat, 
 but choking dustJ] 
 
 1839. W. H. Leigh, ' Reconnoitering 
 Voyages, Travels, and Adventures in the 
 new Colony of South Australia,' etc., p. 
 184: 
 
 "Whirlwinds of sand come rushing 
 upon the traveller, half blinding and 
 choking him, a miniature sirocco, and 
 decidedly cousin-german to the delight- 
 ful sandy puffs so frequent at Cape 
 Town. The inhabitants call these 
 miseries ' Brickfielders,' but why they 
 do so I am unable to divine ; probably 
 because they are in their utmost vigour 
 on a certain hill here, where bricks are 
 made." 
 
 [This writer makes no allusion to 
 the temperature of the wind, whether 
 hot or cold, but lays stress on its 
 especial characteristic, the dust. His 
 comparison with the sirocco chiefly 
 suggests the clouds of sand brought 
 by that wind from the Libyan Desert, 
 with its accompanying thick haze and 
 darkness {' half blinding and chok- 
 ing '), rather than its relaxing warmth.] 
 
 1844. John Rae, ' Sydney Illustrated,' 
 p. 26 : 
 
 "The 'brickfielder' is merely a 
 colonial name for a violent gust of 
 wind, which, succeeding a season of 
 great heat, rushes in to supply the 
 vacuum and equalises the temperature 
 of the atmosphere ; and when its 
 baneful progress is marked, sweeping 
 over the city in thick clouds of brick- 
 coloured dust (from the brickfields), it 
 is time for the citizens to close the 
 doors and windows of their dwellings, 
 and for the sailor to take more than 
 half his canvas in, and prepare for a 
 storm." 
 
 [Here the characteristic is again dust 
 from the brickfields, as the origin of 
 
 the name, with cold as an accompani- 
 ment.] 
 
 1844. Mrs. Meredith, ' Notes and 
 Sketches of New South Wales,' p. 44: 
 
 " These dust winds are locally named 
 ' brickfielders,' from the direction in 
 which they come" [i.e. from neigh- 
 bouring sandhills, called the brick- 
 fields]. 
 
 [Here dust is the only characteristic 
 observed, with the direction of the wind 
 as the origin of its name.] 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 4: 
 
 " The greatest peculiarity in the 
 climate is what is called by colonists 
 a brickfielder. This wind has all the 
 characteristics of a sirocco in mini- 
 ature. . . . Returning home, he dis- 
 covers that the house is full of sand ; 
 that the brickfielder has even insinuated 
 itself between the leaves of his books; 
 at dinner he will probably find that his 
 favourite fish has been spoiled by the 
 brickfielder. Nor is this all ; for on 
 retiring to rest he will find that the 
 brickfielder has intruded even within 
 the precincts of his musquito curtains." 
 
 [Here again its dust is noted as the 
 distinguishing feature of the wind, just 
 as sand is the distinguishing feature of 
 the ' sirocco ' in the Libyan Desert, 
 and precipitated sand, ' blood rain ' 
 or 'red snow,' a chief character of 
 the sirocco after it reaches Italy.] 
 
 1847. Alex. Marjoribanks, ' Travels in 
 New South Wales,' p. 61 : 
 
 " The hot winds which resemble the 
 siroccos in Sicily are, however, a draw- 
 back . . . but they are almost invaria- 
 bly succeeded by what is there called 
 a 'brickfielder,' which is a strong 
 southerly wind, which soon cools the 
 air, and greatly reduces the tempera- 
 ture." 
 
 [Here the cold temperature of the 
 brickfielder is described, but not its 
 (fust, and the writer compares the hot 
 wind which precedes the brickfielder 
 with the sirocco. He in fact thinks 
 only of the heat of the sirocco, but the 
 two preceding writers are thinking of 
 its sand, its thick haze, its quality of 
 blackness and its suffocating character, 
 all which applied accurately to the 
 true brickfielder.} 
 
 1853. Rev. II. Berkeley Jones, 'Adven- 
 tures in Australia in 1852 and 1853,' p. 228 :
 
 54 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BRI 
 
 "After the languor, the lassitude, 
 and enervation which some persons 
 experience during these hot blasts, 
 comes the ' Brickfielder,' or southerly 
 burster." 
 
 [Cold temperature noticed, but not 
 dust.} 
 
 1853. ' Eraser's Magazine,' 48, p. 515 : 
 
 "When the wind blows strongly 
 from the southward, it is what the 
 Sydney people call a ' brickfielder ' ; 
 that is, it carries with it dense clouds 
 of red dust or sand, like brick dust, 
 swept from the light soil which adjoins 
 the town on that side, and so thick 
 that the houses and streets are actually 
 hidden ; it is a darkness that may be 
 felt." 
 
 [Here it is the dust, not the temper- 
 ature, which determines the name.] 
 
 (2) The very opposite to the 
 original meaning 1 , a severe hot 
 wind. In this inverted sense 
 the word is now used, but not 
 frequently, in Melbourne and in 
 Adelaide, and sometimes even in 
 Sydney, as the following quota- 
 tions show. It will be noted that 
 one of them (1886) observes the 
 original prime characteristic of 
 the wind, its dust. 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 79: 
 
 " She passed a gang of convicts, 
 toiling in a broiling 'brickfielder.'" 
 
 1862. F. J. Jobson, 'Australia with 
 Notes by the Way,' p. 155 : 
 
 "The ' brickfielders ' are usually 
 followed, before the day closes, with 
 ' south-busters ' [sic.]." 
 
 1886. F. Cowan, 'Australia, a Char- 
 coal Sketch ' : 
 
 " The Buster and Brickfielder : aus- 
 tral red-dust blizzard ; and red-hot 
 Simoom." 
 
 This curious inversion of mean- 
 ing (the change from cold to hot) 
 may be traced to several causes. 
 It may arise 
 
 (a) From the name itself. 
 People in Melbourne and Adelaide, 
 catching at the word brickfielder 
 as a name for a dusty wind, and 
 knowing nothing of the origin of 
 the name, would readily adapt it 
 
 to their own severe hot north 
 winds, which raise clouds of dust 
 all day, and are described accur- 
 ately as being ' like a blast from 
 a furnace,' or ' the breath of a 
 brick-kiln.' Even a younger 
 generation in Sydney, having 
 received the word by colloquial 
 tradition, losing its origin, and 
 knowing nothing of the old brick- 
 fields, might apply the word to a 
 hot blast in the same way. 
 
 (b) From the peculiar phe- 
 nomenon. A certain cyclonic 
 change of temperature is a special 
 feature of the Australian coastal 
 districts. A raging hot wind 
 from the interior desert (north 
 wind in Melbourne and Adelaide, 
 west wind in Sydney) will blow 
 for two or three days, raising 
 clouds of dust; it will be suddenly 
 succeeded by a ' Southerly Buster ' 
 from the ocean, the cloud of dust 
 being greatest at the moment of 
 change, and the thermometer 
 falling sometimes forty or fifty 
 degrees in a few minutes. The 
 Sydney word brickfielder was as- 
 signed originally to the latter part 
 the dusty cold change. Later 
 generations, losing the finer dis- 
 tinction, applied the word to the 
 whole dusty phenomenon, and ulti- 
 mately specialized it to denote 
 not so much the extreme dusti- 
 ness of its later period as the 
 more disagreeable extreme heat 
 of its earlier phase. 
 
 (c] From the apparent, though 
 not real, confusion of terms, by 
 those who have described it as a 
 ' sirocco.' The word sirocco (spelt 
 earlier schirocco, and in Spanish 
 and other languages with the sh 
 sound, not the s) is the Italian 
 equivalent of the Arabic root 
 sharaga, ' it rose.' The name of 
 the wind, sirocco, alludes in its 
 original Arabic form to its rising, 
 with its cloud of sand, in the
 
 BRl] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 55 
 
 desert high-lands of North Africa. 
 True, it is defined by Skeat as 
 4 a hot wind,' but that is only a 
 part of its definition. Its marked 
 characteristic is that it is sand- 
 2aden, densely hazy and black, 
 and therefore 'choking,' like the 
 brickfielder. The not unnatural 
 assumption that writers by com- 
 paring a brickfielder with a sirocco, 
 thereby imply that a brickfielder is 
 a hot wind, is thus disposed of by 
 this characteristic, and by the 
 notes on the passages quoted. 
 They were dwelling only on its 
 choking dust, and its suffocating 
 qualities, ' a miniature sirocco.' 
 See the following quotations on 
 this character of the sirocco : 
 
 1841. 'Penny Magazine,' Dec. 18, p. 494: 
 "The Islands of Italy, especially 
 Sicily and Corfu, are frequently visited 
 by a wind of a remarkable character, 
 .to which the name of sirocco, scirocco, 
 or schirocco, has been applied. The 
 thermometer rises to a great height, 
 "but the air is generally thick and 
 heavy. . . . People confine themselves 
 within doors ; the windows and doors 
 are shut close, to prevent as much as 
 possible the external air from enter- 
 ing ; . . . but a few hours of the 
 tramontane, or north wind which 
 generally succeeds it, soon braces them 
 up again. [Compare this whole phe- 
 nomenon with (b) above.] There are 
 some peculiar circumstances attending 
 the wind. . . . Dr. Benza, an Italian 
 physician, states : 'When the sirocco 
 has been impetuous and violent, 
 and followed by a shower of rain, 
 the rain has carried with it to the 
 .ground an almost impalpable red 
 micaceous sand, which I have collected 
 in large quantities more than once in 
 Sicily. . . . When we direct our atten- 
 tion to the island of Corfu, situated 
 some distance eastward of Sicily, we 
 find the sirocco assuming a somewhat 
 different character. . . . The more 
 eastern sirocco might be called a re- 
 freshing breeze [sic]. . . . The genuine 
 or black sirocco (as it is called) blows 
 from a point between south-east and 
 south-south-east.' " 
 
 1889. W. Ferrell, 'Treatise on Winds,' 
 P- 336 : 
 
 " The dust raised from the Sahara 
 and carried northward by the sirocco 
 often falls over the countries north of 
 the Mediterranean as ' blood rain,' or 
 as ' red snow,' the moisture and the 
 sand falling together. . . . The tem- 
 perature never rises above 95." 
 
 1889. ' The Century Dictionary,' s.v. 
 Sirocco : 
 
 "(2) A hot, dry, dust-laden wind 
 blowing from the highlands of Africa 
 to the coasts of Malta, Sicily and 
 Naples. . . . During its prevalence the 
 sky is covered with a dense haze." 
 
 (3) The illustrative quotations 
 on brickfielder, up to this point, 
 have been in chronological con- 
 secutive order. The final three 
 quotations below show that while 
 the original true definition and 
 meaning, (i), are still not quite 
 lost, yet authoritative writers find 
 it necessary to combat the modern 
 popular inversion, (2). 
 
 1863. Frank Fowler, 'The Athenaeum,' 
 Feb. 21, p. 264, col. i : 
 
 "The 'brickfielder' is not the hot 
 wind at all ; it is but another name for 
 the cold wind, or southerly buster, 
 which follows the hot breeze, and 
 which, blowing over an extensive 
 sweep of sandhills called the Brick- 
 fields, semi-circling Sydney, carries a 
 thick cloud of dust (or 'brickfielder') 
 across the city." 
 
 [The writer is accusing Dr. Jobson 
 (see quotation 1862, above) of plagiar- 
 ism from his book ' Southern Lights 
 and Shadows.'] 
 
 1890. Lyth, 'Golden South,' vol. ii. 
 p. u: 
 
 " A dust which covered and pene- 
 trated everything and everywhere. 
 This is generally known as a 'brick- 
 fielder.' " 
 
 1896. ' Three Essays on Australian 
 Weather,' ' On Southerly Buster,' by H. A. 
 Hunt, p. 17 : 
 
 " In the early days of Australian 
 settlement, when the shores of Port 
 Jackson were occupied by a sparse 
 population, and the region beyond was 
 unknown wilderness and desolation, 
 a great part of the Haymarket was
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BRI-BRO 
 
 occupied by the brickfields from which 
 Brickfield Hill takes its name. When 
 a ' Southerly Burster ' struck the infant 
 city, its approach was always heralded 
 by a cloud of reddish dust from this 
 locality, and in consequence the phe- 
 nomenon gained the local name of 
 ' brickfielder.' The brickfields have 
 long since vanished, and with them 
 the name to which they gave rise, but 
 the wind continues to raise clouds of 
 dust as of old under its modern name 
 of ' Southerly Burster.'" 
 
 Bricklow, n. obsolete form of 
 Brigalow (q.v.). 
 
 Brigalow, n. and adj. Spellings 
 various. Native name, Buriagalah. 
 In the Namoi dialect in New South 
 Wales, Bri or Buri is the name 
 for Acacia pendula, Cunn. ; Buri- 
 agal, relating- to the buri ; Buria- 
 galah = place of the buri tree. 
 Any one of several species of 
 Acacia, especially A. harpophylla, 
 F. v. M., N.O. Leguminostz. J. H. 
 Maiden (' Useful Native Plants,' 
 p. 356, 1889) gives its uses thus: 
 
 "Wood brown, hard, heavy, and 
 elastic ; used by the natives for spears, 
 boomerangs, and clubs. The wood 
 splits freely, and is used for fancy 
 turnery. Saplings used as stakes in 
 vineyards have lasted twenty years or 
 more. It is used for building pur- 
 poses, and has a strong odour of 
 violets.' 
 
 1846. L. Leichhardt, quoted by J. D. 
 Lang, ' Cooksland, ' p. 312: 
 
 " Almost impassable bricklow scrub, 
 so called from the bricklow (a species 
 of acacia)." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 4: 
 
 " The Bricklow Acacia, which seems 
 to be identical with the Rosewood 
 Acacia of Moreton Bay; the latter, 
 however, is a fine tree, 50 to 60 feet 
 high, whereas the former is either a 
 small tree or a shrub. I could not 
 satisfactorily ascertain the origin of 
 the word Bricklow, but as it is well 
 understood and generally adopted by 
 all the squatters between the Severn 
 River and the Boyne, I shall make 
 use of the name. Its long, slightly 
 
 falcate leaves, being of a silvery green 
 colour, give a peculiar character to the 
 forest, where the tree abounds." [Foot- 
 note] : " Brigaloe, Gould." 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 79: 
 
 " Good-bye to the Barwan and brig- 
 alow scrubs." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 190: 
 
 " Now they pass through a small 
 patch of Brigalow scrub. Some one 
 has split a piece from a trunk of a 
 small tree. What a scent the dark- 
 grained wood has ! " 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia/ 
 vol. iv. p. 69: 
 
 " There exudes from the brigalow a 
 white gum, in outward appearance like 
 gum-arabic, and even clearer, but as 
 a ' sticker ' valueless, and as a ' chew- 
 gum ' disappointing." 
 
 1892. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the Com- 
 pass in Australia," p. 23 : 
 
 "The glare of a hard and pitiless 
 sky overhead, the infinite vista of salt- 
 bush, brigalow, stay-a-while, and mulga r 
 the creeks only stretches of stone, and 
 no shelter from the shadeless gums." 
 
 Brill, n. a small and very bony 
 rhomboidal fish of New Zealand, 
 Pseudorhombus scaphus, family 
 Pleuronectida. The true Brill of 
 Europe is Rhombus levis. 
 
 Brisbane Daisy, n. See Daisy v 
 Brisbane. 
 
 Bristle-bird, ;/. a name given to- 
 certain Australian Reed-warblers. 
 They are Sphenura brachyptera, 
 Latham ; Long-tailed B. S. longi- 
 rostris, Gould ; Rufous-headed 
 B. S. broadbentii, McCoy. See 
 Sphenura. 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Transac- 
 tions of Linnoean Society,' vol. xv. p. 232 : 
 
 " He (Mr. Caley) calls it in his notes 
 'Bristle Bird.'" 
 
 Broad-leaf, n. a settlers' name 
 for Griselinia littoralis, Raoul ;. 
 Maori name, Paukatea. 
 
 1879. W. N. Blair, ' Building Materials 
 ofOtago.'p. 155: 
 
 " There are few trees in the [Otago] 
 bush so conspicuous or so well known 
 as the broad-leaf. ... It grows to a
 
 BRO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 57 
 
 height of fifty or sixty feet, and a dia- 
 meter of from three to six ; the bark 
 is coarse and fibrous, and the leaves a 
 beautiful deep green of great bril- 
 liancy." 
 
 1879. J. B. Armstrong, ' Transactions 
 of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xii. Art. 49, 
 p. 328 : 
 
 "The broadleaf (Gnschma htto- 
 ralis) is abundant in the district [of 
 Banks' Peninsula], and produces a hard 
 red wood of a durable nature." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open,' 
 p. 103 : 
 
 " The rough trunks and limbs of the 
 broadleaf." 
 
 Broker, n. Australian slang 
 for a man completely ruined, 
 stonebroke. 
 
 1891. ' The Australasian,' Nov. 21, p. 
 1014 : 
 
 " We're nearly ' dead brokers,' as 
 they say out here. Let's harness up 
 Eclipse and go over to old Yamnibar." 
 
 Bronze-wing, n. a bird with a 
 lustrous shoulder, Phaps chalcop- 
 tera, Lath. Called also Bronze- 
 wing Pigeon, 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales,' p. 145 : 
 
 " One of the gold-winged pigeons, 
 of which a plate is annexed. [Under 
 plate, Golden-winged Pigeon.] This 
 bird is a curious and singular species 
 remarkable for having most of the 
 feathers of the wing marked with a 
 brilliant spot of golden yellow, chang- 
 ing, in various reflections of light, to 
 green and copper-bronze, and whe'n 
 the wing is closed, forming two bars 
 of the same across it." 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 vol. ii. p. 31 : 
 
 "The pigeons are by far the most 
 beautiful birds in the island ; they are 
 called bronze-winged pigeons." 
 
 1857. W. Howitt, ' Tallangetta.' vol. ii. 
 P- 57 = 
 
 " Mr. Fitzpatrick followed his kan- 
 garoo hounds, and shot his emus, his 
 wild turkeys, and his bronze-wings." 
 
 1865. 'Once a Week.' 'The Bulla- 
 Bulla Bunyip.' 
 
 " Hours ago the bronze-wing 
 pigeons had taken their evening 
 draught from the coffee-coloured 
 
 water-hole beyond the butcher's pad- 
 dock, and then flown back into the 
 bush to roost on ' honeysuckle ' and in 
 heather." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 122 : 
 
 "Another most beautiful pigeon is 
 the ' bronze-wing,' which is nearly the 
 size of the English wood-pigeon, and 
 has a magnificent purply-bronze specu- 
 lum on the wings." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 
 P- 33 = 
 
 " Both the bronze-wing and Wonga- 
 Wonga pigeon are hunted so keenly 
 that in a few years they will have 
 become extinct in Victoria." 
 
 1893. 'The Argus,' March 25, p. 4, 
 col. 6 : 
 
 " Those who care for museum studies 
 must have been interested in tracing 
 the Australian quail and pigeon fam- 
 ilies to a point where they blend their 
 separate identities in the partridge 
 bronze-wing of the Central Australian 
 plains. The eggs mark the converg- 
 ing lines just as clearly as the birds, 
 for the partridge-pigeon lays an egg 
 much more like that of a quail than a 
 pigeon, and lays, quail fashion, on the 
 ground." 
 
 Brook-Lime, n. English name 
 for an aquatic plant, applied in 
 Australia to the plant Gratiola 
 pedunculata, R. Br., N. O. Scrophn- 
 larincc. Also called Heartsease. 
 
 Broom, n. name applied to the 
 plant Calycothrix tetragona, Lab., 
 N.O. Myrtacece. 
 
 Broom, Native, ;/. an Austra- 
 lian timber, Viminaria denudata, 
 Smith, N.O. Leguminoso'. 
 
 1889. T- H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 612 : 
 
 " Native broom. Wood soft and 
 spongy." 
 
 Broom, Purple, n. a Tasmanian 
 name for Comesperma retusutn,. 
 Lab., IV. O. Polygalecc. 
 
 Brown Snake, n. See under 
 Snake. 
 
 Brown-tail, n. bird-name for 
 the Tasmanian Tit. See Tit.
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BRO-BRU 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia, 'vol. 
 iii. pi. 54 : 
 
 " Acanthisa Diemenensis, Gould. 
 Brown-tail, colonists of Van Diemen's 
 Land." 
 
 Brown Tree-Lizard, n, of New 
 Zealand, Naultinus padficus. 
 
 Browny or Brownie, . a kind 
 of currant loaf. 
 
 1890. E. D. Cleland, 'The White 
 Kangaroo,' p. 57 : 
 
 " Cake made of flour, fat and sugar, 
 commonly known as ' Browny.' " 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, 
 col. 57 : 
 
 " Four o'clock. ' Smoke O ! ' again 
 with more bread and brownie (a bread 
 sweetened with sugar and currants)." 
 
 1892. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the Com- 
 pass,' p. 36 : 
 
 " Roast mutton and brownie are 
 .given us to eat." 
 
 Brumby, Broombie (spelling 
 various), n. a wild horse. The 
 origin of this word is very doubt- 
 ful. Some claim for it an abori- 
 ginal, and some an English source. 
 In its present shape it figures in 
 one aboriginal vocabulary, given 
 in Curr's 'Australian Race' (1887), 
 vol. iii. p. 259. At p. 284, boo- 
 rambyis given as meaning "wild" 
 on the river Warrego in Queens- 
 land. The use of the word seems 
 to have spread from the Warrego | 
 .and the Balowne about 1864. 
 Before that date, and in other 
 parts of the bush ere the word 
 came to them, wild horses were 
 called dear-skins or scrubbers, 
 whilst Yarraman (q.v.) is the 
 .aboriginal word for a quiet or 
 broken horse. A different origin 
 was, however, given by an old 
 resident of New South Wales, to 
 a lady of the name of Brumby, 
 viz. " that in the early days of 
 that colony, a Lieutenant Brumby, 
 who was on the staff of one of 
 the Governors, imported some 
 very good horses, and that some 
 of their descendants being allowed 
 
 to run wild became the ancestors 
 of the wild horses of New South 
 Wales and Queensland." Con- 
 firmation of this story is to be 
 desired. 
 
 1880. 'The Australasian,' Dec. 4, p. 
 712, col. 3 : 
 
 " Passing through a belt of mulga, 
 we saw, on reaching its edge, a mob of 
 horses grazing on the plains beyond. 
 These our guide pronounced to be 
 'brumbies,' the bush name here 
 [Queensland] for wild horses." 
 
 1888. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. ii. p. 1 76 : 
 
 " The wild horses of this continent 
 known all over it by the Australian 
 name of ' brumbies.' " 
 
 Ibid. p. 178: 
 
 "The untamed and 'unyardable' 
 scrub brumby." 
 
 1888. R. Kipling, ' Plain Tales from the 
 Hills,' p. 160 : 
 
 "Juggling about the country, with 
 an Australian larrikin ; a ' brumby ' 
 with as much breed as the boy. . . . 
 People who lost money on him called 
 him a 'brumby.'" 
 
 1888. Rolf Boldre wood, ' Robbery under 
 Arms,' p. 67 : 
 
 " The three-cornered weed he rode 
 that had been a 'brumbee.'" 
 
 1895. ' Chambers' Journal,' Nov. 2, 
 Heading 'Australian Brumbie Horses': 
 
 "The brumbie horse of Australia, 
 tho 5 not a distinct equine variety, pos- 
 sesses attributes and qualities peculiar 
 to itself, and, like the wild cattle and 
 wild buffaloes of Australia, is the 
 descendant of runaways of imported 
 stock." 
 
 1896. ' Sydney Morning Herald ,'( Letter 
 from ' J. F. G.,' dated Aug. 24) : 
 
 " Amongst the blacks on the Lower 
 Balonne, Nebine, Warrego, and Bulloo 
 rivers the word used for horse is 'ba- 
 roombie,' the 'a' being cut so short 
 that the word sounds as 'broombie,' 
 and as far as my experience goes refers 
 more to unbroken horses in distinction 
 to quiet or broken ones (' yarraman ')." 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World 
 %vas Wide,' p. 156 : 
 
 "Yet at times we long to gallop 
 where the reckless bushman rides 
 In the wake of startled brumbies 
 that are flying for their hides."
 
 BRU-BUC] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 59 
 
 Brush, n. at first undergrowth, 
 small trees, as in England ; after- 
 wards applied to larger timber 
 growth and forest trees. Its 
 earlier sense survives in the com- 
 pound words ; see below. 
 
 1820. Oxley, ' New South Wales ' 
 <'O.E.D.') : 
 
 " The timber standing at wide inter- 
 vals, without any brush or under- 
 growth." 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, 'Southern Australia/ 
 (2nd ed.) vol. i. p. 62 : 
 
 "We journeyed ... at one time over 
 good plains, at another through 
 brushes." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. i. Introd. p. 77': 
 
 "Jungle, or what in New South 
 Wales would be called brush." 
 
 Ibid. vol. v. pi. 59 : 
 
 "Those vast primaeval forests of 
 New South Wales to which the 
 colonists have applied the name of 
 brushes." 
 
 1853. Chas. St. Julian and Edward K. 
 Silvester, ' The Productions, Industry, and 
 Resources of New South Wales,' p. 20 : 
 
 "What the colonists term 'brush' 
 lands are those covered with tall trees 
 growing so near each other and being 
 so closely matted together by under- 
 wood, parasites, and creepers, as to be 
 wholly impassable." 
 
 1883. G. W. Rusden, ' History of Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 67, note : 
 
 " Brush was allotted to the growth of 
 large timber on alluvial lands, with 
 other trees intermixed, and tangled 
 vines. The soil was rich, and ' brush- 
 land ' was well understood as a descrip- 
 tive te.rm. It may die away, but its 
 meaning deserves to be pointed out." 
 
 Brush- Apple, ;/. See Apple. 
 
 Brush-Bloodwood, n. See 
 
 Bloodwood. 
 
 Brush-Cherry, n. an Australian 
 tree, Trochocarpa /aurina, R. Br., 
 and Eugenia myrtifolia, Simms. 
 Called also Brush-Myrtle. 
 
 Brush-Deal, n. a slender 
 Queensland tree, Cupania anacar- 
 dioides, A. Richard. See Brush, 
 above. 
 
 Brusher, n. a Bushman's name, 
 in certain parts, for a small walla- 
 by which hops about in the bush 
 or scrub with considerable speed. 
 "To give brusher," is a phrase 
 derived from this, and used in 
 many parts, especially of the in- 
 terior of Australia, and implies 
 that a man has left without pay- 
 ing his debts. In reply to the 
 question " Has so-and-so left the 
 tov/nship ? " the answer, " Oh yes, 
 he gave them brusher," would 
 be well understood in the above 
 sense. 
 
 Brush-Kangaroo, n. anothei 
 name for the Wallaby (q.v.). 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. viii. p. 273 : 
 
 " A place . . . thickly inhabited by 
 the small brush-kangaroo." 
 
 1830. ' Proceedings of the Royal Geo- 
 graphical Society,' i. 29 : 
 
 " These dogs . . . are particularly 
 useful in catching the bandicoots, the 
 small brush kangaroo, and the opos- 
 sum." 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 c. ii. p. 28 : 
 
 " The brush-kangaroo . . . frequents 
 the scrubs and rocky hills." 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. iii. p. 24 : 
 
 " Violet was so fast that she could 
 catch the brush-kangaroo (the wallaby) 
 within sight." 
 
 Brush-Myrtle, i.q. Brush- Cherry 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Brush-Turkey, n. See Turkey. 
 
 Brush-Turpentine, n. another 
 name for the tree Syncarpia lepto- 
 petala, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtacea, 
 called also Myrtle (q.v.). 
 
 Bubrush, n. See Wonga and 
 Raupo. 
 
 Buck, v. Used ' ' intransitively of 
 a horse, to leap vertically from the 
 ground, drawing the feet together 
 like a deer, and arching the back. 
 Also transitively to buck off." 
 ('O.E.D.') Some say that this
 
 6o 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BUC 
 
 word is not Australian, but all 
 the early quotations of buck and 
 cognate words are connected with 
 Australia. The word is now used 
 freely in the United States ; see 
 quotation, 1882. 
 
 1870. E. B. Kennedy, ' Four Years in 
 Queensland,' p. 193 : 
 
 " Having gained his seat by a nimble 
 spring, I have seen a man (a Sydney 
 native) so much at his ease, that while 
 the horse has been ' bucking a hurri- 
 cane,' to use a colonial expression, the 
 rider has been cutting up his tobacco 
 and filling his pipe, while several feet 
 in the air, nothing in front of him ex- 
 cepting a small lock of the animal's 
 mane (the head being between its legs), 
 and very little behind him, the stern 
 being down ; the horse either giving a 
 turn in the air, or going forward every 
 buck." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 131 : 
 
 " ' Well,' said one, ' that fellow went 
 to market like a bird.' ' Yes,' echoed 
 another, ' Bucked a blessed hurricane.' 
 ' Buck a town down,' cried a third. 
 ' Never seed a horse strip himself 
 quicker,' cried a fourth." 
 
 1882. Baillie-Grohman, ' Camps in the 
 Rockies,' ch. iv. p. 102 ('Standard ') : 
 
 " There are two ways, I understand, 
 of sitting a bucking horse . . . one is 
 ' to follow the buck,' the other ' to 
 receive the buck.'" 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 55 : 
 
 "The performance is quite peculiar 
 to Australian horses, and no one who 
 has not seen them at it would believe 
 the rapid contortions of which they are 
 capable. In bucking, ahorse tucks his 
 head right between his fore-legs, some- 
 times striking his jaw with his hind 
 feet. The back meantime is arched 
 like a boiled prawn's ; and in this 
 position the animal makes a series 
 of tremendous bounds, sometimes for- 
 wards, sometimes sideways and back- 
 wards, keeping it up for several minutes 
 at intervals of a few seconds." 
 
 Buck, n. See preceding verb. 
 
 1868. Lady Barker, 'Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 224 : 
 
 " I never saw such bucks and jumps 
 
 into the air as she [the mare] pei- 
 formed." 
 
 1886. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 206 : 
 
 " For, mark me, he can sit a buck 
 For hours and hours together ; 
 And never horse has had the luck 
 To pitch him from the leather." 
 
 Bucker, Buck-jumper, n. a 
 horse given to bucking or buck- 
 jumping. 
 
 1853. H. Berkeley Jones, ' Adventures 
 in Australia in 1852 and 1853,' [Footnote] 
 
 P- H3 : 
 
 " A ' bucker ' is a vicious horse, to 
 be found only in Australia." 
 
 1884. ' Harper's Magazine,' July, No. 
 301, p. I ('O.E.D.'): 
 
 "If we should . . . select a ' bucker,* 
 the probabilities are that we will come 
 to grief." 
 
 1893. Haddon Chambers, ' Thumbnail 
 Sketches of Australian Life,' p. 64: 
 
 " No buck-jumper could shake him 
 off." 
 
 1893. Ibid. p. 187 : 
 
 " ' Were you ever on a buck-jumper ? ' 
 I was asked by a friend, shortly after 
 my return from Australia." 
 
 Buck-jumping, Bucking, verbal 
 nouns. 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, 'Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 43 : 
 
 "At length it shook off all its 
 holders, and made one of those ex- 
 traordinary vaults that they call buck- 
 jumping.^ 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, 'Geoffrey Hamlyn/ 
 vol. ii. p. 212 : 
 
 " That same bucking is just what 
 puzzles me utterly." 
 
 1859. Rev. J. D. Mereweather, ' Diary 
 of a Working Clergyman in Australia and 
 Tasmania, kept during the years 1850- 
 
 1853,' P- 177 : 
 
 " I believe that an inveterate buck- 
 jumper can be cured by slinging up 
 one of the four legs, and lunging him 
 about severely in heavy ground on the 
 three legs. The action they must 
 needs make use of on such an occasion 
 somewhat resembles the action of 
 bucking ; and after some severe trials 
 of that sort, they take a dislike to the 
 whole style of thing. An Irishman on 
 the Murrumbidgee is very clever at
 
 BUG- BUD] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 61 
 
 this schooling. It is called here 
 * turning a horse inside out.' " 
 
 1885. Forman (Dakota), item 26, May 
 6, 3('O.E.IV): 
 
 "The majority of the horses there 
 [in Australia] are vicious and given to 
 the trick of buck-jumping." [It may 
 be worth while to add that this is not 
 strictly accurate.] 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'A Colonial 
 Reformer,' p. 94 : 
 
 " ' I should say that buck-jumping 
 -was produced in this country by bad 
 breaking,' said Mr. Neuchamp oracu- 
 larly. ' Don't you believe it, sir. 
 Bucking is like other vices runs in 
 the blood.' 3 ' 
 
 Buck-shot, 11. a settlers' term 
 for a geological formation. See 
 quotation. 
 
 1851. 'The Australasian Quarterly,' p. 
 
 459: 
 
 "The plain under our feet was 
 everywhere furrowed by Dead men's 
 graves, and generally covered with the 
 granulated lava, aptly named by the 
 settlers buck-shot, and found through- 
 out the country on these trappean 
 formations. Buck-shot is always im- 
 bedded in a sandy alluvium, some- 
 times several feet thick." 
 
 Buddawong, n. a variation of 
 Burrawang (q.v.). 
 
 1877. Australie, ' The Buddawong's 
 Crown,' 'Australian Poets,' 1788-1888, ed. 
 Sladen, p. 39 : 
 
 "" A buddawong seed-nut fell to earth, 
 
 In a cool and mossy glade, 
 And in spring it shot up its barbed 
 
 green swords, 
 Secure 'neath the myrtle's shade. 
 
 And the poor, poor palm has died 
 
 indeed. 
 
 But little the strangers care, 
 ' There are zamias in plenty more,' 
 
 they say, 
 But the crown is a beauty rare." 
 
 Budgeree, adj. aboriginal word 
 tor good, which is common collo- 
 quially in the bush. See Budgeri- 
 gar. 
 
 J 793' J- Hunter, ' Port Jackson,' p. 
 195: 
 " They very frequently, at the con- 
 
 clusion of the dance, would apply to 
 us ... for marks of our approbation 
 . . . which we never failed to give 
 by often repeating the word boojery, 
 good ; or boojery caribberie, a good 
 dance." 
 
 Budgerigar, or Betcherrygah, 
 n. aboriginal name for the bird 
 called by Gould the Warbling 
 Grass-parrakeet ; called also Shell- 
 parrot and Zebra-Grass-parrakeet. 
 In the Port Jackson dialect budgeri, 
 or boodgeri, means good, excellent. 
 In 'Collins' Vocabulary' (1798), 
 boodjer-re = good. In New South 
 Wales gar is common as first 
 syllable of the name for the white 
 cockatoo, zsgaraweh. See Galah. 
 In the north of New South Wales 
 kaar = white cockatoo. The spell- 
 ing is very various, but the first 
 of the two above given is the more 
 correct etymologically. In the 
 United States it is spelt beau- 
 regarde, derived by ' Standard ' 
 from French beau and regarde, a 
 manifest instance of the law of 
 Hobson-Jobson . 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 297 : 
 
 " The betshiregah {Melopsittacus 
 Undulatus, Gould) were very numer- 
 ous." 
 
 1848. T- Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. v. pi. 44 : 
 
 . " Melopsittacus Undulatus. Warb- 
 ling Grass-Parrakeet. Canary Parrot 
 colonists. Betcherrygah natives 
 of Liverpool Plains." 
 
 1857. Letter, Nov. 17, in ' Life of Fen- 
 ton J. A. Hort ' (1896), vol. i. p. 388 : 
 
 "There is also a small green creature 
 like a miniature cockatoo, called a 
 Budgeragar, which was brought from 
 Australia. He is quaint and now and 
 then noisy, but not on the whole a 
 demonstrative being." 
 
 1857. W. Howitt, 'Tallangetta,' vol. i. 
 P- 48: 
 
 " Young paroquets, the green leeks, 
 and the lovely speckled budgregores." 
 
 1865. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 7 : 
 
 " I saw several pairs of those pretty
 
 62 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BUG-BUL 
 
 grass or zebra parroquets, which are 
 called here by the very inharmonious 
 name of ' budgereghars.' " 
 
 1890. Lyth, ' Golden South,' c. xiv. p. 
 127: 
 
 "The tiny budgeriegar, sometimes 
 called the shell parrot." 
 
 Bugle, n, name given to the 
 Australian plant Ajuga australis, 
 R. Br., N.O. Labiates. 
 
 Bugler, n. a name given in Tas- 
 mania to the fish Centriscus scolo- 
 pax, family Centriscidce ; called in 
 Europe the Trumpet-fish, Bellows- 
 fish, the latter name being also 
 used for it in Tasmania. The 
 structure of the mouth and snout 
 suggests a musical instrument, 
 or, combined with the outline 
 of the body, a pair of bellows. 
 The fish occurs also in Europe. 
 
 Bugong, or Bogong, or Bou- 
 gong, n. an Australian moth, 
 Danais limniace, or Agrotis spina, 
 eaten by the aborigines. 
 
 1834. Rev. W. B. Clarke, ' Researches 
 in the Southern Gold Fields of New South 
 Wales ' (second edition), p. 228 : 
 
 "These moths have obtained their 
 name from their occurrence on the 
 ' Bogongs ' or granite mountains. 
 They were described by my friend Dr. 
 Bennett in his interesting work on 
 ' New South Wales,' 1832-4, as abund- 
 ant on the Bogong Mountain, Tu- 
 mut River. I found them equally 
 abundant, and in full vigour, in De- 
 cember, coming in clouds from the 
 granite peaks of the Muniong Range. 
 The blacks throw them on the fire and 
 eat them." 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, 'Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 P- 355 : 
 
 " The westward range is called the 
 Bougongs. The blacks during summer 
 are in the habit of coming thus far to 
 collect and feed on the great grey 
 moths (bougongs) which are found on 
 the rocks." 
 
 1871. 'The Athenaeum,' May 27, p. 
 660: 
 
 "The Gibbs Land and Murray 
 districts have been divided into the 
 
 following counties : . . . Bogong 
 (native name of grubs and moths)." 
 
 1878. R. Brough Smyth, 'The Abori- 
 gines of Victoria,' vol. i. p. 207 : 
 
 " The moths the Bugong moths 
 {Agrotis siiffusa) are greedily de- 
 voured by the natives ; and in former 
 times, when they were in season, they 
 assembled in. great numbers to eat 
 them, and they grew fat on this food." 
 [Also a long footnote.] 
 
 1890. Richard Helms, ' Records of the 
 Australian Museum,' vol. i. No. I : 
 
 " My aim was to obtain some ' Boo- 
 gongs,' the native name for the moths 
 which so abundantly occur on this 
 range, and no doubt have given it its 
 name." 
 
 1896. ' Sydney Mail,' April 4, Answers 
 to Correspondents : 
 
 " It cannot be stated positively, but 
 it is thought that the name of the 
 moth ' bogong ' is taken from that of 
 the mountain. The meaning of the 
 word is not known, but probably it is 
 an aboriginal word." 
 
 Bull-a-bull, or Bullybul, n. a 
 child's corruption of the Maori 
 word Poroporo (q.v.), a flowering 
 shrub of New Zealand. It is 
 allied to the Kangaroo-Apple (q.v.), 
 
 1845. ' New Plymouth's National Song,' 
 in Hursthouse's 'New Zealand,' p. 217 : 
 
 "And as for fruit, the place is full 
 Of that delicious bull-a-bull.' 1 
 
 Bullahoo, n. See Ballahoo. 
 
 Bull-ant, n. contracted and com- 
 mon form of the words Bull-dog 
 Ant (q.v.). 
 
 Bull-dog Ant, n. (frequently 
 shortened \.Q Bull-dog o* Bull-ant], 
 an ant of large size with a fierce 
 bite. The name is applied to 
 various species of the genus Myr- 
 mecia, which is common through- 
 out Australia and Tasmania. 
 
 1878. Mrs. H. Jones, ' Long Years in 
 Australia,' p. 93 : 
 
 " Busy colonies of ants (which every- 
 where infest the country). . . . One 
 kind is very warlike the ' bull-dog ' ;. 
 sentinels stand on the watch, outside 
 the nest, and in case of attack dis- 
 appear for a moment and return with
 
 BUL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 a whole army of the red-headed mon- 
 sters, and should they nip you, will 
 give you a remembrance of their sting 
 never to be forgotten." 
 
 1888. Alleged 'Prize Poem,' Jubilee 
 Exhibition : 
 " The aborigine is now nearly extinct, 
 
 But the bull-dog-ant and the kangaroo 
 rat 
 
 Are a little too thick I think." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from 
 Snowy River,' p. 142 : 
 "Where the wily free-selector walks 
 
 in armour-plated pants, 
 And defies the stings of scorpion and 
 the bites of bull-dog ants." 
 
 Bull-dog Shark, i.q. Bull-head 
 
 Bull-head, ;/. The name is 
 applied to many fishes of different 
 families in various parts of the 
 world, none of which are the same 
 as the following two. (i) A shark 
 of Tasmania and South Australia 
 of small size and harmless, with 
 teeth formed for crushing shells, 
 Heterodontus phillipii, Lacep., 
 family Cestraciontida ; also called 
 the Bull-dog Shark, and in Sydney, 
 where it is common, the Port- 
 Jackson Shark ; the aboriginal 
 name was Tabbigan. (2) A fresh- 
 water fish of New Zealand, Eleo- 
 tris gobioides, Cuv. and Val., family 
 Gobi idee. See Bighead. 
 
 Bulln-Bulln, n. an aboriginal 
 name for the Lyre-bird (q.v.)- 
 This native name is imitative. 
 The most southerly county in 
 Victoria is called Buln-Buln ; it 
 is the haunt of the Lyre-bird. 
 
 1857. D. Bunce, 'Travels with Leich- 
 hardt in Australia,' p. 70 : 
 
 "We afterwards learned that this 
 was the work of the Bullen Bullen, or 
 Lyre-bird, in its search for large worms, 
 its favourite food." 
 
 1871. ' The Athenaeum,' May 27, p. 
 660: 
 
 "The Gipps Land and Murray 
 districts have been divided into the 
 following counties : . . . Bum Buln 
 (name of Lyre-bird)." 
 
 BuU-Oak, . See Oak. 
 
 Bullocky, n. and adj. a bullock- 
 driver. " In the bush all the heavy 
 hauling is done with bullock- 
 drays. It is quite a common 
 sight up the country to see teams 
 of a dozen and upwards." (B. 
 and L.) 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xii. p. 121 : 
 
 " ' By George, Jack, you're a regular 
 bullocky boy.' " 
 
 Bull-puncher, or Bullock- 
 puncher, n. slang for a bullock- 
 driver. According to Barrere and 
 Leland's ' Slang Dictionary,' the 
 word has a somewhat different 
 meaning in America, where it 
 means a drover. See Punch. 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My W T ife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 49: 
 
 " The ' bull - puncher,' as bullock- 
 drivers are familiarly called." 
 
 1873. J. Mathew, song ' Hawking,' in 
 ' Queenslander,' Oct. 4 : 
 
 " The stockmen and the bushmen and 
 
 the shepherds leave the station, 
 And the hardy bullock-punchers- 
 throw aside their occupation." 
 1889. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iv. p. 143 : 
 
 " These teams would comprise from 
 five to six pairs of bullocks each, and 
 were driven by a man euphoniously 
 termed a ' bull-puncher.' Armed with 
 a six-foot thong, fastened to a supple 
 stick seven feet long. ..." 
 
 Bull-rout, n. a fish of New South 
 Wales, Centropogon robustus, 
 Giinth., family Scorpanidtz. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 48 : 
 
 " It emits a loud and harsh grunting 
 noise when it is caught. . . . The fisher- 
 man knows what he has got by the 
 noise before he brings his fish to the 
 surface. . . . When out of the water the 
 noise of the bull-rout is loudest, and 
 it spreads its gills and fins a little, 
 so as to appear very formidable. . . . 
 The blacks held it in great dread, and 
 the name of bull-rout may possibly 
 be a corruption of some native word." 
 
 Bull's-eye, n. a fish of New
 
 64 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [13UL-BUN 
 
 South Wales, Priacantlius macra- 
 tanthus, Cuv. and Val. Pria- 
 fanthus, says Giinther, is a percoid 
 fish with short snout, lower jaw 
 and chin prominent, and small 
 rough scales all over them and 
 the body generally. The eye 
 large, and the colour red, pink, 
 or silvery. 
 
 1884. E. P. Ramsay, ' Fisheries Ex- 
 hibition Literature,' vol. v. p. 311 : 
 
 " Another good table-fish is the 
 ' bull's-eye,' a beautiful salmon-red 
 fish with small scales. ... At times 
 it enters the harbours in considerable 
 numbers ; but the supply is irregular." 
 
 Bullswool, n. colloquial name 
 for the inner portion of the cover- 
 ing of the Stringybark-tree (q.v.). 
 This is a dry finely fibrous sub- 
 stance, easily disintegrated by 
 rubbing between the hands. It 
 forms a valuable tinder for kind- 
 ling a fire in the bush, and is 
 largely employed for that purpose. 
 It is not unlike the matted hair of 
 .a bull, and is reddish in colour, 
 hence perhaps this nickname, 
 which is common in the Tas- 
 manian bush. 
 
 Bully, n. a Tasmanian fish, 
 Blennius tasmanianus, Richards., 
 family Blennidce. 
 
 Bulrush, n. See Wonga and 
 Raupo. 
 
 Bung, to go, v. to fail, to 
 become bankrupt. This phrase 
 of English school-boy slang, 
 meaning to go off with an explo- 
 sion, to go to smash (also accord- 
 ing to Barrere and Leland still in 
 use among American thieves), is 
 in very frequent use in Australia. 
 In Melbourne in the times that 
 followed the collapse of the land- 
 boom it was a common expres- 
 sion to say that Mr. So-and-so 
 had "gone bung," sc. filed his 
 schedule or made a composition 
 "with creditors ; or that an insti- 
 
 tution had "gone bung," sc. 
 closed its doors, collapsed. In 
 parts of Australia, in New South 
 Wales and Queensland, the word 
 "bung" is an aboriginal word 
 meaning ' ' dead," and even though 
 the slang word be of English 
 origin, its frequency of use in 
 Australia may be due to the ex- 
 istence of the aboriginal word, 
 which forms the last syllable in 
 Billabong (q.v.), and in the ab- 
 original word milbung blind, liter- 
 ally, eye-dead. 
 
 (a) The aboriginal word. 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, ' Cooksland,' p. 430 : 
 "A place called Umpie Bung, or 
 
 the dead houses." [It is now a suburb 
 
 of Brisbane, Humpy-bong.] 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in Queens- 
 land,' vol. ii. p. 175 [in Blacks' pigeon 
 English] : 
 
 " Missis bail bong, ony cawbawn 
 prighten. (Missis not dead, only 
 dreadfully frightened.)" 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, ' Old Colonials,' p. 
 
 73 = 
 
 " But just before you hands 'im [the 
 horse] over and gets the money, he 
 goes bong on you " (i. e. he dies). 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 142 : 
 
 " Their [the blacks'] ordinary creed 
 is very simple. ' Directly me bung 
 (die) me jump up white feller,' and 
 this seems to be the height of their 
 ambition." 
 
 1895. ' The Age,' Dec. 21, p. 13, col. 6 : 
 
 " ' Then soon go bong, mummy,' 
 said Ning, solemnly. 
 
 'Die,' corrected Clare. 'You 
 mustn't talk blacks' language.' 
 
 ' Suppose you go bong,' pursued 
 Ning reflectively, ' then you go to 
 Heaven.'" 
 
 (b] The slang word. 
 
 1885. 'Australian Printers' Keepsake,' 
 p. 40: 
 
 " He was importuned to desist, as 
 his musical talent had 'gone bung,' 
 probably from over-indulgence in con- 
 fectionery." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' April 15 (by Oriel), 
 p. 13, col. 2 :
 
 BUN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 " Still change is humanity's lot. It is 
 
 but the space of a day 
 Till cold is the damask cheek, 
 and silent the eloquent tongue, 
 All flesh is grass, says the preacher, 
 
 like grass it is withered away, 
 And we gaze on a bank in the 
 evening, and lo, in the morn 'tis 
 bung." 
 
 1893. Professor Gosman, ' The Argus, ' 
 April 24, p. 7, col. 4: 
 
 " Banks might fail, but the treasures 
 of thought could never go ' bung.' " 
 
 1893. ' The Herald ' (Melbourne), April 
 25, p. 2, col. 4 : 
 
 " Perhaps Sydney may supply us 
 with a useful example. One member 
 of the mischief-making brotherhood 
 wrote the words 'gone bung' under 
 a notice on the Government Savings 
 Bank, and he was brought before the 
 Police Court charged with damaging 
 the bank's property to the extent of 
 $d. The offender offered the Bench 
 his views on the bank, but the magis- 
 trates bluntly told him his conduct 
 was disgraceful, and fined him ^3 
 with costs, or two months' imprison- 
 ment." 
 
 Bunga or Bungy, n. a New 
 Zealand settlers' corruption of 
 the Maori wordfltnga (q.v.). 
 
 Bunt, n. a Queensland fungus 
 growing on wheat, fetid when 
 crushed. Tilletia caries, Tul., 
 N.O. Fungi. 
 
 Bunya-Bunya, n. aboriginal 
 word. \Bunyi at heads of Bur- 
 nett, Mary, and Brisbane rivers, 
 Queensland; baanya, on the Darl- 
 ing Downs.] An Australian tree, 
 Araucaria Iridwillii, Hooker, with 
 fruit somewhat like Bertholletia 
 exce/sa, N.O. Conifera. Widgi- 
 Widgi station on the Mary was 
 the head-quarters for the fruit of 
 this tree, and some thousands of 
 blacks used to assemble there in 
 the season to feast on it ; it was 
 at this assembly that they used to 
 indulge in cannibalism ; every 
 third year the trees were said to 
 hear a very abundant crop. 
 
 The Bunya-Bunya mountains in 
 Queensland derive their name 
 from this tree. 
 
 1843. L. Leichhardt, Letter in ' Cooks- 
 land, by J. D. Lang, p. 82 : 
 
 "The bunya-bunya tree is noble 
 and gigantic, and its umbrella-like 
 head overtowers all the trees of the 
 bush." 
 
 1844. Ibid. p. 89 : 
 
 " The kernel of the Bunya fruit has 
 a very fine aroma, and it is certainly 
 delicious eating." 
 
 1844. ' Port Phillip Patriot,' July 25 : 
 "The Bunya-Bunya or Araucaria 
 on the seeds of which numerous tribes 
 of blacks are accustomed to feed." 
 
 1879. \V. R. Guilfoyle, 'First Book of 
 Australian Botany,' p. 58 : 
 
 "A splendid timber tree of South 
 Queensland, where it forms dense 
 forests, one of the finest of the Arau- 
 caria tribe, attaining an approximate 
 height of 200 feet. The Bunya-Bunya 
 withstands drought better than most 
 of the genus, and flourishes luxuriantly 
 in and around Melbourne." 
 
 1887. J. Mathew, in Curr's ' Australian 
 Race,' vol. iii. p. 161 : 
 
 [A full account.] " In laying up a 
 store of bunyas, the blacks exhibited 
 an unusual foresight. When the fruit 
 was in season, they filled netted bags 
 with the seeds, and buried them." 
 
 1889. Hill, quoted by J. H. Maiden, 
 ' Useful Native Plants,' p. 7 : 
 
 " The cones shed their seeds, which 
 are two to two and a half inches long 
 by three-quarters of an inch broad ; 
 they are sweet before being perfectly 
 ripe, and after that resemble roasted 
 chestnuts in taste. They are plentiful 
 once in three years, and when the 
 ripening season arrives, which is gener- 
 ally in the month of January, the ab- 
 originals assemble in large numbers 
 from a great distance around, and 
 feast upon them. Each tribe has its 
 own particular set of trees, and of 
 these each family has a certain number 
 allotted, which are handed down from 
 generation to generation with great 
 exactness. The bunya is remarkable 
 as being the only hereditary property 
 which any of the aborigines are known 
 to possess, and it is therefore protected 
 by law. The food seems to have a
 
 66 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BUN 
 
 fattening effect on the aborigines, and 
 they eat large quantities of it after 
 roasting it at the fire." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 377 : 
 
 " The ' Bunya-bunya ' of the aborigi- 
 nals a name invariably adopted by 
 the colonists." 
 
 1892. J. Fraser, 'Aborigines of New 
 South Wales,' p. 50 : 
 
 "The Bunya-bunya tree, in the 
 proper season, bears a fir cone of great 
 size six to nine inches long and this, 
 when roasted, yields a vegetable pulp, 
 pleasant to eat and nutritious." 
 
 1893. ' Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 
 19, p. 7, col. I : 
 
 "There is a beautiful bunya-bunya 
 in a garden just beyond, its foliage 
 fresh varnished by the rain, and toning 
 from a rich darkness to the very spring 
 tint of tender green." 
 
 Bunyip, n. (i) the aboriginal 
 name of a fabulous animal. See 
 quotations. For the traditions 
 of the natives on this subject see 
 Brough Smyth, ' Aborigines of 
 Victoria,' vol. i. p. 435. 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 
 P- 39 : 
 
 "Certain large fossil bones, found in 
 various parts of Australia Felix, have 
 been referred by the natives, when 
 consulted on the subject by the colon- 
 ists, to a huge animal of extraordinary 
 appearance, called in some districts 
 the Bunyup, in others the Kianpraty, 
 which they assert to be still alive. It 
 is described as of amphibious character, 
 inhabiting deep rivers, and permanent 
 water-holes, having a round head, an 
 elongated neck, with a body and tail 
 resembling an ox. These reports have 
 not been unattended to, and the bun- 
 yup is said to have been actually seen 
 by many parties, colonists as well as 
 aborigines. ... [A skull which the 
 natives said was that of a ' piccinini 
 Kianpraty' was found by Professor 
 Owen to be that of a young calf. The 
 Professor] considers it all but impos- 
 sible that such a large animal as the 
 bunyiip of the natives can be now 
 living in the country. [Mr. Westgarth 
 suspects] it is only a tradition of the 
 alligator or crocodile of the north." 
 
 1849. W. S. Macleay, ' Tasmanian Jour- 
 nal,' vol. iii. p. 275 : 
 
 " On the skull now exhibited at the 
 Colonial Museum of Sydney as that of 
 the Bunyip." 
 
 1855. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes,' 
 p. 214: 
 
 " Did my reader ever hear of the 
 Bunyip (fearful name to the aboriginal 
 native !) a sort of 'half-horse, half- 
 alligator,' haunting the wide rushy 
 swamps and lagoons of the interior ? " 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, ' Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 p. 258 : 
 
 "The river is too deep, child, and 
 the Bunyip lives in the water under 
 the stones." 
 
 1865. 'Once a Week,' Dec. 31, p. 45, 
 'The Bulla Bui la Bunyip' : 
 
 " Beyond a doubt, in ' Lushy Luke's ' 
 belief, a Bunyip had taken temporary 
 lodgings outside the town. This bete 
 noire of the Australian bush Luke as- 
 serted he had often seen in bygone 
 times. He described it as being bigger 
 than an elephant, in shape like a 'poley ' 
 bullock, with eyes like live coals, and 
 with tusks like a walrus's. 
 
 ***** 
 
 " What the Bunyip is, I cannot pre- 
 tend to say, but I think it is highly 
 probable that the stories told by both 
 old bushmen and blackfellows, of some 
 bush beast bigger and fiercer than any 
 commonly known in Australia, are 
 founded on fact. Fear and the love 
 of the marvellous may have introduced 
 a considerable element of exaggeration 
 into these stories, but I cannot help 
 suspecting that the myths have an 
 historical basis." 
 
 1872. C. Gould, ' Papers and Proceed- 
 ings of the Royal Society of Tasmania,' 
 1872, p. 33 : 
 
 " The belief in the Bunyip was just 
 as prevalent among the natives in 
 parts hundreds of miles distant from 
 any stream in which alligators occur. 
 . . . Some other animal must be 
 sought for." . . . [Gould then quotes 
 from ' The Mercury' of April 26, 1872, 
 an extract from the 'Wagga Adver- 
 tiser'] : "There really is a Bunyip or 
 Waa-wee, actually existing not far 
 from us ... in the Midgeon Lagoon, 
 sixteen miles north of Naraudera. . . 
 I saw a creature coming through the 
 water with tremendous rapidity. . . .
 
 BUR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 67 
 
 The animal was about half as long 
 again as an ordinary retriever dog, the 
 hair all over its body was jet black 
 and shining, its coat was very long." 
 (Gould cites other instances, and con- 
 cludes that the Bunyip is probably a 
 seal.] 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 202 : 
 
 " In the south-eastern part of Aus- 
 tralia the evil spirit of the natives is 
 called Bunjup, a monster which is be- 
 lieved to dwell in the lakes. It has of 
 late been supposed that this is a mam- 
 mal of considerable size that has not 
 yet been discovered ... is described 
 as a monster with countless eyes and 
 ears. . . . He has sharp claws, and 
 can run so fast that it is difficult to 
 escape him. He is cruel, and spares 
 no one either young or old." 
 
 1894. 'The Argus,' June 23, p. II, col. 
 
 4: 
 
 " The hollow boom so often heard 
 on the margin of reedy swamps more 
 hollow and louder by night than day 
 is the mythical bunyip, the actual 
 bittern." 
 
 (2) In a secondary sense, a 
 synonym for an impostor. 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (edition 1855), p. 214 : 
 
 " One advantage arose from the 
 aforesaid long-deferred discovery a 
 new and strong word was adopted into 
 the Australian vocabulary : Bunyip 
 became, and remains a Sydney syn- 
 onoyme for impostor, pretender, hum- 
 bug, and the like. The black fellows, 
 however, unaware of the extinction, 
 by superior authority, of their favourite 
 loup-garou, still continue to cherish 
 the fabulous bunyip in their shuddering 
 imagination." 
 
 1853. W. C. Wentworth Speech in 
 August quoted by Sir Henry Parkes in 
 * Fifty Years of Australian History ' (1892), 
 vol. i. p. 41 : 
 
 "They had been twitted with at- 
 tempting to create a mushroom, a 
 Brummagem, a bunyip aristocracy ; 
 but I need scarcely observe that where 
 argument fails ridicule is generally 
 resorted to for aid." 
 
 Burnet, Native, //. The name 
 is given in Australia to the plant 
 Aaena ovina, Cunn., N.O. Rosacecc. 
 
 Burnett Salmon, n. one of the 
 names given to the fish Ceratodus 
 forsteri, Krefft. See Burramundi. 
 
 Burnt-stuflj n. a geological 
 term used by miners. See quota- 
 tion. 
 
 1853. Mrs. Chas. Clancy, ' Lady's Visit 
 to Gold Diggings,' p. 112 : 
 
 " The top, or surface soil, for which 
 a spade or shovel is used, was of clay. 
 This was succeeded by a strata almost 
 as hard as iron technically called 
 ' burnt-stuff' which robbed the pick 
 of its points nearly as soon as the 
 blacksmith had steeled them at a 
 charge of 2s. 6d. a point." 
 
 Bur, n. In Tasmania the name 
 is applied to Accena rosacece, Vahl., 
 N.O. RosacecR. 
 
 Burramundi, or Barramunda, 
 n. a fresh-water fish, Osteoglosswn 
 
 leichhardtii, Gtinth., family Osteo- 
 glossidce, found in the Dawson 
 and Fitzroy Rivers, Queensland. 
 The name is also incorrectly ap- 
 plied by the colonists to the large 
 tidal perch of the Fitzroy River, 
 Queensland, Lates calcarifer, 
 Giinth., a widely distributed fish 
 in the East Indies, and to 
 Ceratodus forsteri, Krefft, family 
 Sirenidce, of the Mary and Burnett 
 Rivers, Queensland. Burramundi 
 is the aboriginal name for O. 
 leichhardtii. The spelling barra- 
 munda is due to the influence of 
 barracouta (q.v.). See Perch. 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 189: 
 
 " There is a fish too at Rockhampton 
 called the burra mundi, I hope I 
 spell the name rightly, which is very 
 commendable." 
 
 1880. Giintlier, ' Study of Fishes,' p. 
 357: 
 
 '* Ceratodus. . . . Two species, C. 
 forsteri and C. miolepis, are known 
 from fresh-waters of Queensland. . . . 
 Locally the settlers call it ' flathead,' 
 ' Burnett or Dawson salmon,' and the 
 aborigines ' barramunda,' a name 
 which they apply also to other large- 
 scaled fresh- water fishes, as the
 
 68 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BUR-BUS 
 
 Osteoglossum leichhardtii. . . . The 
 discovery of Ceratodtis does not date 
 farther back than the year 1870." 
 
 1882. W. Macleay, 'Descriptive Cata- 
 logue of Australian Fishes' (' Proceedings 
 of the Linnsean Society of New South 
 Wales,' vol. vi. p. 256) : 
 
 " Osteoglossum leichhardtii, Giinth. 
 Barramundi of the aborigines of the 
 Dawson River." 
 
 1892. Baldwin Spencer, 'Proceedings 
 of the Royal Society of Victoria,' vol. 
 iv. [Note on the habits of Ceratodus 
 forsteri} : 
 
 " It has two common names, one of 
 which is the ' Burnett Salmon ' and 
 the other the ' Barramunda "... the 
 latter name ... is properly applied to 
 a very different form, a true teleostean 
 fish (Osteoglossum leichhardtii) which 
 is found . . . further north ... in the 
 Dawson and Fitzroy . . . Mr. Saville 
 Kent states that the Ceratodus is much 
 prized as food. This is a mistake, 
 for, as a matter of fact, it is only 
 eaten by Chinese and those who can 
 afford to get nothing better." 
 
 Burrawang, or Burwan, n. 
 an Australian nut-tree, Macro- 
 zamia spiralis, Miq. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 221 : 
 
 " The burwan is a nut much relished 
 by our natives, who prepare it by 
 roasting and immersion in a running 
 stream, to free it from its poisonous 
 qualities." 
 
 1851. J. Henderson, ' Excursions in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 238 : 
 
 "The Burrowan, which grows in a 
 sandy soil, and produces an inedible 
 fruit, resembling the pine-apple in 
 appearance." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 41 : 
 
 " Burrawang nut, so called because 
 they used to be, and are to some extent 
 now, very common about Burrawang, 
 N.S.W. The nuts are relished by the 
 aboriginals. An arrowroot of very 
 good quality is obtained from them." 
 
 Bush, n. Not originally an 
 Australian application. "Recent, 
 and probably a direct adoption 
 of the Dutch Bosch, in colonies 
 originally Dutch " (' O.E.D.'), 
 
 [quoting (1780) Forster, in 'Phil. 
 Trans.' Ixxi. 2, " The common 
 Bush-cat of the Cape ; " and 
 (1828) Scott, 'Tapestr. Cham- 
 ber,' "When I was in the Bush, 
 as the Virginians call it "]. 
 "Woodland, country more or 
 less covered with natural wood : 
 applied to the uncleared or un- 
 tilled districts in the British 
 Colonies which are still in a state 
 of nature, or largely so, even 
 though not wooded ; and by ex- 
 tension to the country as opposed 
 to the towns." (' O.E.D.') 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 48 : 
 
 " I have spent a good deal of my 
 time in the woods, or bush, as it is 
 called here. ' 
 
 1836. Ross, 'Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 85 : 
 
 " With the exception of two or three 
 little farms, comprising about 20 
 or 30 acres of cultivation, all was 
 ' bush ' as it is colonially called. The 
 undergrowth was mostly clear, being 
 covered only with grass or herbs, with 
 here and there some low shrubs." 
 
 1837. J- D - Lang, 'New South Wales,' 
 vol. i. p. 253 : 
 
 " His house was well enough for the 
 bush, as the country is generally 
 termed in the colony." 
 
 1855. From a letter quoted in Wathen's 
 ' The Golden Colony,' p. 117 : 
 
 " ' The Bush,' when the word is used 
 in the towns, means all the uninclosed 
 and uncultivated country . . . when 
 in the country, ' the Bush ' means 
 more especially the forest. The word 
 itself has been borrowed from the 
 Cape, and is of Dutch origin." 
 
 1857. ' The Argus,' Dec. 14, p. 5, col. 7 : 
 
 " ' Give us something to do in or 
 about Melbourne, not away in the 
 bush,' says the deputation of the un- 
 employed." 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian Sketch- 
 es,' p. 123 : 
 
 "At first the eternal silence of the 
 bush is oppressive, but a short sojourn 
 is sufficient to accustom a neophyte to 
 the new scene, and he speedily becomes 
 enamoured of it."
 
 BUS] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 69 
 
 1865. J. F. Mortlock, ' Experiences 
 of a Convict,' p. 83 : 
 
 " The ' bush,' a generic term synony- 
 mous with ' forest' or 'jungle,' applied 
 to all land in its primaeval condition, 
 whether occupied by herds or not." 
 
 1872. A. McFarland, ' Illawarra and 
 Manaro,' p. 113 : 
 
 " All the advantages of civilized life 
 have been surrendered for the bush, its 
 blanket and gunyah." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 250 : 
 
 " The technical meaning of the word 
 ' bush.' The bush is the gum-tree forest, 
 with which so great a part of Australia 
 is covered, that folk who follow a 
 country life are invariably said to live 
 in the bush. Squatters who look after 
 their own runs always live in the bush, 
 even though their sheep are pastured 
 on plains. Instead of a town mouse 
 and a country mouse in Australia, there 
 would be a town mouse and a bush 
 mouse ; but mice living in the small 
 country towns would still be bush 
 mice." 
 
 Ibid. c. xx. p. 299 : 
 
 " Nearly every place beyond the in- 
 fluence of the big towns is called ' bush,' 
 even though there should not be a tree 
 to be seen around." 
 
 1883. G. W. Rusden, 'History of 
 Australia,' vol. i. p. 67, n. : 
 
 " Bush was a general term for the 
 interior. It might be thick bush, open 
 bush, bush forest, or scrubby bush 
 terms which explain themselves." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance 
 
 Australia,' p. 40 : 
 
 "The first thing that strikes me is 
 
 the lifeless solitude of the bush. . . . 
 
 There is a deep fascination about the 
 
 freedom of the bush." 
 
 1890. E. W. Hornung [Title] : 
 
 " A Bride from the Bush."- 
 
 1896. ' Otago Daily Times,' Jan. 27, 
 
 p. 2, col. 5 : 
 
 "Almost the whole of New South 
 
 Wales is covered with bush. It is not 
 
 the bush as known in New Zealand. 
 
 It is rather a park-like expanse, where 
 
 the trees stand widely apart, and where 
 
 there is grass on the soil between 
 
 them." 
 
 Bush, adj. or in composition, not 
 always easy to distinguish, the 
 
 hyphen depending on the fancy of 
 the writer. 
 
 1836. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack, ' 
 
 P- 75 = 
 
 " The round trundling of our cart 
 wheels, it is well known, does not 
 always improve the labours of Mac- 
 adam, much less a bush road." 
 
 1848. Letter by Mrs. Perry, given in 
 Canon Goodman's ' Church in Victoria, 
 during Episcopate of Bishop Perry, 'p. 75 : 
 
 " A hard bush sofa, without back or 
 ends." 
 
 1849. J. Sidney, ' Emigrants' Journal, 
 and Travellers' Magazine,' p. 40 (Letter 
 from Caroline Chisholm) : 
 
 " What I would particularly recom- 
 mend to new settlers is 'Bush Partner- 
 ship ' Let two friends or neighbours 
 agree to work together, until three 
 acres are cropped, dividing the work, 
 the expense, and the produce this 
 partnership will grow apace ; I have 
 made numerous bush agreements of 
 this kind. ... I never knew any 
 quarrel or bad feeling result from these 
 partnerships, on the contrary, I believe 
 them calculated to promote much 
 neighbourly good will ; but in the 
 association of a large number of 
 strangers, for an indefinite period, I 
 have no confidence." 
 
 1857. W. Westgarth, ' Victoria," c. xi. 
 p. 250 : 
 
 " The gloomy antithesis of good 
 bushranging and bad bush-roads." 
 
 [Bush-road, however, does not 
 usually mean a made-road through 
 the bush, but a road which has not 
 been formed, and is in a state of nature 
 except for the wear of vehicles upon 
 it, and perhaps the clearing of trees 
 and scrub.] 
 
 1864. ' The Reader,' April 2, p. 40, col. 
 i ('O.E.D.'): 
 
 " The roads from the nascent metro- 
 polis still partook mainly of the ran- 
 dom character of ' bush tracks.' " 
 
 1865. W. Howitt, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. p. 211 : 
 
 " Dr. Wills offered to go himself in 
 the absence of any more youthful 
 and, through bush seasoning, qualified 
 person." 
 
 1880. ' Blackwood's Magazine,' Feb., 
 p. 169 [Title]: 
 
 " Bush-Life in Queensland."
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BUS 
 
 1881. R. M. Praed, ' Policy and Passion,' 
 c. i. p. 59 : 
 
 " The driver paused before a bush 
 inn." 
 
 [In Australia the word " inn " is now 
 rare. The word " hotel " has sup- 
 planted it.] 
 
 1889. CassellY' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iv. p. 3 : 
 
 " Not as bush roads go. The Aus- 
 tralian habit is here followed of using 
 'bush' for country, though no word 
 could be more ludicrously inapplicable, 
 for there is hardly anything on the way 
 that can really be called a bush." 
 
 1894. ' Sydney Morning Herald ' (exact 
 date lost) : 
 
 "Canada, Cape Colony, and Aus- 
 tralia have preserved the old signifi- 
 cance of Bush Chaucer has it so as 
 a territory on which there are trees ; 
 it is a simple but, after all, a kindly 
 development that when a territory is 
 so unlucky as to have no trees, some- 
 times, indeed, to be bald of any growth 
 whatever, it should still be spoken of 
 as if it had them." 
 
 1896. Rolf Boldrevvood, in preface to 
 ' The Man from Snowy River ' : 
 
 " It is not easy to write ballads de- 
 scriptive of the bushland of Australia, 
 as on light consideration would 
 appear." 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'While the Billy 
 boils,' p. 104 : 
 
 "About Byrock we met the bush 
 liar in all his glory. He was dressed 
 like like a bush larrikin. His name 
 was Jim." 
 
 Bush-faller, n. one who cuts 
 down timber in the bush. 
 
 1882. 'Pall Mall Gazette,' June 29, p. 
 2, col. I : 
 
 "A broken-down, deserted shanty, 
 inhabited once, perhaps, by rail- 
 splitters or bush-fallers." ['O.E.D.,' 
 from which this quotation is taken, puts 
 (?) before the meaning ; but " To fall " 
 is not uncommon in Australia for " to 
 fell."] 
 
 Bush-fire, n. forests and grass 
 on fire in hot summers. 
 
 1868. C. Dilke, ' Greater Britain,' vol. 
 ii. part iii. c. iii. p. 32 : 
 
 " The smoke from these bush-fires 
 extends for hundreds of miles to sea." 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. xxii. p. 156: 
 
 " A reserve in case of bush-fires and 
 bad seasons." 
 
 Bush-lawyer, n. (i)A Bramble. 
 See Lawyer. 
 
 (2) Name often used for a lay- 
 man who fancies he knows all 
 about the law without consulting 
 a solicitor. He talks a great 
 deal, and 'lays down the law.' 
 
 1896. H. G. Turner, 'Lecture on J. P. 
 Fawkner ' : 
 
 " For some years he cultivated and 
 developed his capacity for rhetorical 
 argument by practising in the minor 
 courts of law in Tasmania as a paid 
 advocate, a position which in those 
 days, and under the exceptional cir- 
 cumstances of the Colony, was not 
 restricted to members of the legal pro- 
 fession, and the term Bush Lawyer 
 probably takes its origin from the 
 practice of this period." 
 
 Bush-magpie, n. an Aus- 
 tralian bird, more commonly 
 called a Magpie (q.v.). 
 
 1888. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. ii. p. 235: 
 
 "... the omnipresent bush-mag- 
 pie. Here he may warble all the day 
 long on the liquid, mellifluous notes of 
 his Doric flute, fit pipe indeed for 
 academic groves . . . sweetest and 
 brightest, most cheery and sociable of 
 all Australian birds." 
 
 Bushman, n. (i) Settler in the 
 bush. Used to distinguish country 
 residents from townsfolk. 
 
 1852. ' Black wood's Magazine,' p. 522 
 ('O.E.D.'): 
 
 " Where the wild bushman eats his 
 loathly fare." 
 
 1880. J. Mathew, song, 'The Bush- 
 man' : 
 " How weary, how dreary the stillness 
 
 must be ! 
 
 But oh ! the lone bushman is dream- 
 ing of me." 
 
 1886. Frank Cowan : ' Australia ; a 
 Charcoal Sketch ' : 
 
 "The Bushman . . . Gunyah, his 
 bark hovel ; Damper, his unleavened 
 bread baked in the ashes ; Billy , his 
 tea-kettle, universal pot and pan and
 
 i;us] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 bucket ; Sugar-bag, his source of sac- 
 charine, a bee-tree ; Pheasant, his face- 
 tious metaphoric euphism for Liar, 
 quasi Lyre-bird ; Fit for Woogooroo, 
 for Daft or Idiotic ; rum2>y,his pecu- 
 liar term for wild horse ; Scrubber, 
 wild ox ; Nuggeting, calf-stealing ; 
 Juinbuck, sheep, in general ; an Old- 
 man, grizzled wallaroo or kangaroo ; 
 Station, Run, a sheep- or cattle-ranch ; 
 and Kabonboodgery an echo of the 
 sound diablery for ever in his ears, 
 from dawn to dusk of Laughing Jack- 
 ass and from dusk to dawn of Dingo 
 his half-bird-and-beast-like vocal sub- 
 stitute for Very Good. . . ." 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'While the Billy 
 boils,' p. 71 : 
 
 " He was a typical bushman, . . . 
 and of the old bush school ; one of 
 those slight active little fellows, whom 
 we used to see in cabbage-tree hats, 
 Crimean shirts, strapped trousers, and 
 elastic-side boots." 
 
 (2) One who has knowledge of 
 the bush, and is skilled in its 
 ways. A "good bushman" is 
 especially used of a man who can 
 find his way where there are no 
 tracks. 
 
 1868. J. Bonwick, 'John Batman, 
 Founder of Victoria,' pp. 78, 79: 
 
 " It is hardly likely that so splendid 
 a bushman as Mr. Batman would 
 venture upon such an expedition had 
 he not been well. In fact a better 
 bushman at this time could not be met 
 with." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 3 : 
 
 " The worst bushman had to under- 
 take the charge of the camp, cook the 
 provisions, and look after the horses, 
 during the absence of the rest on flying 
 excursions." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia," p. 40: 
 
 "Very slight landmarks will serve 
 to guide a good bushman, for no two 
 places are really exactly alike." 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. 78: 
 
 "One of the best bushmen in that 
 part of the country : the men said he 
 could find his way over it blindfold, or 
 on the darkest night that ever was." 
 
 (3) Special sense. See quota- 
 tion. 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 80: 
 
 "Some were what is termed, par 
 excellence, bushmen that is, men who 
 split rails, get posts, shingles, take 
 contracts for building houses, stock- 
 yards, etc. men, in fact, who work 
 among timber continually, sometimes 
 felling and splitting, sometimes saw- 
 ing." 
 
 Bushmanship , n. knowledge 
 of the ways of the bush. 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, 'Old Colonials,' p. 
 261 : 
 
 " A good laugh at the bushmanship 
 displayed." 
 
 Bushranger, n. one who ranges 
 or traverses the bush, far and 
 wide ; an Australian highway- 
 man ; in the early days usually 
 an escaped convict. Shakspeare 
 uses the verb ' to range ' in this 
 connection. 
 "Then thieves and robbers range 
 
 abroad unseen 
 
 In murders and in outrage, boldly 
 here." 
 
 ('Richard 1 1.,' III. ii. 39.) 
 
 "Ranger" is used in modern 
 English for one who protects and 
 not for one who robs ; as ' the 
 Ranger ' of a Park. 
 
 1806. May 4, 'Sydney Gazette' or ' New 
 South Wales Advertiser,' given in 'History 
 of New South Wales,' p. 265: 
 
 "Yesterday afternoon, William Page, 
 the bushranger repeatedly advertised, 
 was apprehended by three constables." 
 
 1820. W. C. Wentworth, 'Description 
 of New South Wales,' p. 166: 
 
 [The settlements in Van Diemen's 
 Land have] "been infested for many 
 years past by a banditti of runaway 
 convicts, who have endangered the 
 person and property of every one. . . . 
 These wretches, who are known in the 
 colony by the name of bushrangers. . . " 
 
 1820. Lieut. Chas. Jeffreys, 'Van Die- 
 man's [sic] Land,' p. 15 : 
 
 "The supposition . . . rests solely 
 on the authority of the Bush Rangers, 
 a species of wandering brigands, who 
 will be elsewhere described."
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 1838. T. L. Mitchell, ' Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. i. p. 9: 
 
 " Bushrangers, a sub-genus in the 
 order banditti, which happily can now 
 only exist there in places inaccessible 
 to the mounted police." 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 81 : 
 
 " This country [Van Diemen's Land] 
 is as much infested as New South 
 Wales with robbers, runaway convicts, 
 or, as they are termed, Bush-rangers." 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian Sketch- 
 es,' p. 77: 
 
 " The whole region was infested by 
 marauding bands of bush-rangers, 
 terrible after nightfall." 
 
 1887. J. F. Hogan, ' The Irish in Aus- 
 tralia, p. 252 : 
 
 " Whilst he was engaged in this duty 
 in Victoria, a band of outlaws ' bush- 
 rangers ' as they are colonially termed 
 who had long defied capture, and 
 had carried on a career of murder and 
 robbery, descended from their haunts 
 in the mountain ranges." 
 
 Bush-ranging, n. the practice 
 of the Bushranger (q.v.). 
 
 1827. ' Captain Robinson's Report,' Dec. 
 23: 
 
 " It was a subject of complaint among 
 the settlers, that their assigned serv- 
 ants could not be known from soldiers, 
 owing to their dress ; which very much 
 assisted the crime of ' bush-ranging.' " 
 
 Bush-scrubber, . a bushman's 
 word for a boor, bumpkin, or 
 slatternly person. See Scrubber. 
 
 1896. Modern. Up-country manservant 
 on seeing his new mistress : 
 
 " My word ! a real lady ! she's no 
 bush-scrubber ! " 
 
 Bush-telegraph, n. Confeder- 
 ates of bushrangers who supply 
 them with secret information of 
 the movements of the police. 
 
 1878. ' The Australian,' vol. i. p. 507 : 
 
 " The police are baffled by the false 
 reports of the confederates and the 
 number and activity of the bush tele- 
 graphs." 
 
 1893. Kenneth Mackay, 'Out Back,' 
 P- 74: 
 
 "A hint dropped in this town set 
 the bush telegraphs riding in all 
 directions." 
 
 [BUS 
 See quota- 
 
 Bushwoman, . 
 tion. 
 
 1892. ' The Australasian,' April 9, p. 
 707, col. i : 
 
 " But who has championed the cause 
 of the woman of the bush or, would 
 it be more correct to say bushwoman, 
 as well as bushman? and allowed her 
 also a claim to participate in the 
 founding of a nation ? " 
 
 Bush-wren, n. See Wren. 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 108 : 
 
 [A full description.] 
 
 Bushed, adj. , quasi past parti- 
 ciple, lost in the bush ; then, lost 
 or at a loss. 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian Sketch- 
 es,' p. 115: 
 
 " I left my seat to reach a shelter, 
 which was so many miles off, that I 
 narrowly escaped being ' bushed.' " 
 
 1865. \V. Howitt, 'Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 283 : 
 
 " The poor youth, new to the wilds, 
 had, in the expressive phrase of the 
 colonials, got bushed, that is, utterly 
 bewildered, and thus lost all idea of the 
 direction that he ought to pursue." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' 
 P- 29: 
 
 " I get quite bushed in these streets." 
 1896. ' The Argus,' Jan. I, p. 4, col. 9 : 
 " The Ministry did not assume its 
 duty of leading the House, and Mr. 
 Higgins graphically described the posi- 
 tion of affairs by stating that the House 
 was 'bushed ;' while Mr. Shiels com- 
 pared the situation to a rudderless 
 ship drifting hither and thither." 
 
 Bustard, n. "There are about 
 twenty species, mostly of Africa, 
 several of India, one of Australia, 
 and three properly European." 
 (' Century.') The Australian 
 variety is Eupodotis australis, 
 Gray, called also Wild Turkey, 
 Native Turkey, and Plain Turkey. 
 See Turkey. 
 
 Buster, Southerly, n. The word 
 is a corruption of ' burster,' that 
 which bursts. A sudden and 
 violent squall from the south.
 
 BUT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 73 
 
 The name, used first in Sydney, 
 has been adopted also in other 
 Australian cities. See Brick- 
 fielder. 
 
 1863. F. Fowler, in ' Athenaeum,' Feb. 
 21, p. 264, col. i : 
 
 " The cold wind or southerly buster 
 which . . . carries a thick cloud of 
 dust . . . across the city." 
 
 1878. ' The Australian,' vol. i. p. 587 : 
 '''Southerly Busters by ' Ironbark.'" 
 
 1886. F. Cowan, ' Australia, a Charcoal 
 Sketch ' : 
 
 " The Buster and Brickfielder : aus- 
 tral red-dust blizzard ; and red-hot 
 Simoom." 
 
 1889. Rev. J. H. Zillmann, ' Australian 
 Life,' p. 40 : 
 
 " Generally these winds end in what 
 is commonly called a ' southerly buster.' 
 This is preceded by a lull in the hot 
 wind ; then suddenly (as it has been 
 put) it is as though a bladder of cool 
 air were exploded, and the strong cool 
 southerly air drives up with tremendous 
 force. However pleasant the change 
 of temperature may be it is no mere 
 pastime to be caught in a ' southerly 
 buster,' but the drifting rain which 
 always follows soon sets matters right, 
 allays the dust, and then follows the 
 calm fresh bracing wind which is the 
 more delightful by contrast with the 
 misery through which one has passed 
 for three long dreary days and nights." 
 
 1893. 'The Australasian,' Aug. 12, p. 
 302, col. i : 
 
 " You should see him with Commo- 
 dore Jack out in the teeth of the ' hard 
 glad weather,' when a southerly buster 
 sweeps up the harbour." 
 
 1896. H. A. Hunt, in ' Three Essays on 
 Australian Weather' (Sydney), p. 16 : 
 
 "An Essay on Southerly Bursters, 
 . . . with Four Photographs and Five 
 Diagrams." 
 
 [Title of an essay which was awarded 
 the prize of ,25 offered by the Hon. 
 Ralph Abercrombie.] 
 
 Butcher, n. South Australian 
 slang for a long drink of beer, 
 so-called (it is said) because the 
 men of a certain butchery in 
 Adelaide used this refreshment 
 regularly; cf. "porter" in Eng- 
 
 land, after the drink of the old 
 London porters. 
 
 Butcher-bird, n. The name is 
 in use elsewhere, but in Australia 
 it is applied to the genus Cracticus. 
 The varieties are 
 
 The Butcher-bird 
 
 Cracticus torquatus, Lath.; for- 
 merly C. destructor, Gould. 
 Black B. 
 
 C. quoyi) Less. 
 Black-throated B. 
 
 C. nigrigularis, Gould. 
 Grey B. (Derwent Jackass) 
 
 C. dnereus, Gould (see Jackass). 
 Pied B. 
 
 C.picatus, Gould. 
 Rufous B. 
 
 C. rufescens, De Vis. 
 Silver-backed B. 
 
 C. argenteus, Gould. 
 Spalding's B. 
 
 C. spaldingi, Masters. 
 White-winged B. 
 
 C. leucopteruS) Cav. 
 
 The bird is sometimes called a 
 Crow-shrike. 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Transac- 
 tions of Linnsean Society,' vol. xv. p. 213 : 
 
 " Mr. Caley observes Butcher-bird. 
 This bird used frequently to come 
 into some green wattle-trees near my 
 house; and in wet weather was very 
 noisy ; from which circumstance it 
 obtained the name of ' Rain-bird.' " 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. ii. pi. 52 : 
 
 " Cracticus Destructor. Butcher 
 Bird, name given by colonists of Swan 
 River, a permanent resident in New 
 South Wales and South Australia. I 
 scarcely know of any Australian bird 
 so generally dispersed." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Aus- 
 tralia, p. 50 : 
 
 " Close to the station one or two 
 butcher-birds were piping their morn- 
 ing song, a strange little melody with 
 not many notes, which no one who has 
 heard it will ever forget." 
 
 Buttercup, n. The familiar 
 English flower is represented in 
 Australia and Tasmania by
 
 74 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [BUT-BUZ 
 
 various species of Ranunculus, 
 such as R. lappaceus, Sm., N.O. 
 Ranunculacea. 
 
 Butter-fish, n. a name given in 
 Australia to Oligorus mitchellii, 
 Castln. (see Murray Perch] ; in 
 Victoria, to Chilodactylus nigricans, 
 Richards, (see Morwong) ; in New 
 Zealand, to Coridodaxpullus, Forst., 
 called also Kelp-fish. The name 
 is in allusion to their slippery 
 coating of mucus. See Kelp-fish. 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, ' Port Phillip,' 
 vol. iii. p. 44 : 
 
 " In the bay are large quantities of 
 . . . butter-fish. :) 
 
 1880. Gunther, ' Study of Fishes,' p. 
 533: 
 
 " The ' butter-fish,' or 'kelp-fish ' of 
 the colonists of New Zealand (C. 
 pullus\ is prized as food, and attains 
 to a weight of four or five pounds." 
 
 Butterfly-conch, n. Tasmanian 
 name for a marine univalve mol- 
 lusc, Valuta papillosa, Swainson. 
 
 Butterfly-fish, n. a New Zealand 
 sea-fish, Gasterochisma melampus, 
 Richards., one of the Nomeidce. The 
 ventral fins are exceedingly broad 
 and long, and can be completely 
 concealed in a fold of the abdo- 
 men. The New Zealand fish is so 
 named from these fins ; the Euro- 
 pean Butterfly-fish, Blennius ocel- 
 
 laris, derives its name from the 
 spots on its dorsal fin, like the 
 eyes in a peacock's tail or butter- 
 fly's wing. 
 
 Butterfly-Lobster, n. a marine 
 crustacean, so called from the 
 leaf-like expansion of the anten- 
 nae. It is " the highly specialized 
 macrourous decapod Ibacus Pe- 
 ronii." (W. A. Haswell.) 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, 'Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 248 : 
 
 "Those curious crustaceans that I 
 have heard called ' butterfly lobsters ' 
 . . . the shell of the head and body (pro- 
 perly known as the carapace) expands 
 into something like wing-forms, en- 
 tirely hiding the legs beneath them." 
 
 Butterfly-Plant, n. a small 
 flowering plant, Utricularia dicho- 
 toma, Lab., N.O. Lentibularince. 
 
 Button-grass, n. Schcenus sphce- 
 rocephalus, Poiret, N.O. Cyperacece. 
 The grass is found covering 
 barren boggy land in Tasmania, 
 but is not peculiar to Tasmania. 
 So called from the round shaped 
 flower (capitate inflorescence), on 
 a thin stalk four or five feet long, 
 like a button on the end of a foil. 
 
 Buzzard, n. an English bird- 
 name applied in Australia to 
 Gypoictinia melanosternon, Gould, 
 the Black-breasted Buzzard.
 
 CAI;] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 7S 
 
 C 
 
 Cabbage Garden, a name 
 applied to the colony of Victoria 
 by Sir John Robertson, the 
 Premier of New South Wales, 
 in contempt for its size. 
 
 1889. Rev. J. H. Zillmann, ' Australian 
 Life,' p. 30 : 
 
 " ' The cabbage garden, old cynical 
 Sir John Robertson, of New South 
 Wales, once called Victoria, but a 
 garden notwithstanding. Better at 
 any rate 'the cabbage garden' than 
 the mere sheep run or cattle paddock." 
 
 Cabbage - Palm, n. same as 
 Cabbage-tree (i) (q.v.). 
 
 Cabbage-tree, n. (i)Name given 
 to various palm trees of which 
 the heart of the young leaves is 
 eaten like the head of a cabbage. 
 In Australia the name is applied 
 to the fan palm, Livistona inermis, 
 R. Br., and more commonly to 
 Livistona australis, Martius. In 
 New Zealand the name is given 
 to various species of Cordyline, 
 especially to Cordyline indivisa. 
 See also Flame-tree (2). 
 
 1769. ' Capt. Cook's Journal,' ed. 
 Wharton (1893), p. 144 : 
 
 "We likewise found one Cabage 
 Tree which we cut down for the sake 
 of the cabage." 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' p. 60 : 
 
 " Even the ships' crews helped, 
 except those who brought the cabbage 
 trees." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. c. iv. p. 132 : 
 
 " Cabbage-tree . . . grew in abund- 
 ance." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Ex- 
 pedition,' p. 72 : 
 
 " Several of my companions suffered 
 by eating too much of the cabbage- 
 palm." 
 
 1865. W. Howitt, 'Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 414: 
 
 " Clumps of what the people of 
 King George's Sound call cabbage- 
 trees." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, ' New Zealand, ' 
 p. 240 : 
 
 " There stands an isolated ' cabbage- 
 tree ' (Ti of the natives ; Cordyline 
 Australis) nearly thirty feet high, with 
 ramified branches and a crown of 
 luxuriant growth." 
 
 (2) A large, low-crowned, 
 broad-brimmed hat, made out of 
 the leaves of the Cabbage-tree 
 {Livistond). 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' 335 : 
 
 " This hat, made of white filaments 
 of the cabbage-tree, seemed to excite 
 the attention of the whole party." 
 
 1852. G. F. P., 'Gold Pen and Pencil 
 Sketches,' xv. : 
 
 " With scowl indignant flashing from 
 
 his eye, 
 As though to wither each unshaven 
 
 wretch, 
 Jack jogs along, nor condescends 
 
 reply, 
 
 As to the price his cabbage-tree 
 might fetch." 
 
 1864. ' Once a Week,' Dec. 31, p. 45, 
 ' The Bulla Bulla Bunyip ' : 
 
 " Lushy Luke endeavoured to sober 
 himself by dipping his head in the 
 hollowed tree-trunk which serves for 
 the water-trough of an up-country 
 Australian inn. He forgot, however, 
 to take off his ' cabbage-tree ' before 
 he ducked, and angry at having made 
 a fool of himself, he gave fierce orders, 
 in a thick voice, for his men to fall in, 
 shoulder arms, and mark time." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. i. pp. 160, 161 : 
 
 "The cabbage-palm was also a new 
 species, called by Mr. Bro\vn the
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [CAB-CAM 
 
 Livistonia inermis. It was abundant ; 
 but the cabbage (the heart of the young 
 budding leaves) too small to be useful 
 as an article of food, at least to a ship's 
 company. But the leaves were found 
 useful. These dried and drawn into 
 strips were plaited into hats for the 
 men, and to this day the cabbage-tree 
 hat is very highly esteemed by the 
 Australians, as a protection from the 
 sun, and allowing free ventilation." 
 [Note]: "A good cabbage-tree hat, 
 though it very much resembles a com- 
 mon straw hat, will fetch as much as 
 /3-" 
 
 1878. 'The Australian,' vol. i. p. 527 : 
 
 "... trousers, peg-top shaped, and 
 wore a new cabbage-tree hat." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 33 : 
 
 "A brand-new cabbage-tree hat 
 protected his head." 
 
 Cabbage-tree Mob, and Cab- 
 bagites, obsolete Australian slang 
 for modern Larrikins (q.v)., be- 
 cause wearing cabbage-tree hats. 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (edition 1855), p. 17 : 
 
 "There are to be found round the 
 doors of the Sydney Theatre a sort of 
 ' loafers ' known as the Cabbage-tree 
 mob, a class who, in the spirit of the 
 ancient tyrant, one might excusably 
 wish had but one nose in order to 
 make it a bloody one. . . . Unaware of 
 the propensities of the cabbagites he 
 was by them furiously assailed." 
 
 Cad, ;/. name in Queensland 
 for the Cicada (q.v.). 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian/ Jan. n, p. 
 76, col. i : 
 
 "From the trees sounds the shrill 
 chirp of large green cicada (native 
 cads as the bushmen call them)." 
 
 Caddie, n. a bush name for the 
 slouch-hat or wide-awake. In 
 the Australian bush the brim is 
 generally turned down at the back 
 and sometimes all round. 
 
 Cadet, n. term used in New 
 Zealand, answering to the Aus- 
 tralian Colonial Experience, or 
 fackaroo (q.v.). 
 
 1866. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 68 : 
 
 " A cadet, as they are called he is 
 a clergyman's son learning sheep- 
 farming under our auspices." 
 
 1871. C. L. Money, 'Knocking About 
 in New Zealand,' p. 6 : 
 
 " The military designation of cadet 
 was applied to any young fellow who 
 was attached to a sheep or cattle 
 station in the same capacity as myself. 
 He was ' neither flesh nor fowl nor 
 good red herring,' neither master nor 
 man. He was sent to work with the 
 men, but not paid." 
 
 Caloprymnus, n. the scientific 
 name of the genus called the 
 Plain Kangaroo-Rat. (Grk. KoAos, 
 beautiful, and irpv/xvov, hinder 
 part.) It has bright flanks. See 
 Kangaroo-Rat, 
 
 Camp, n. (i) A place to live in, 
 generally temporary ; a rest. 
 
 l88c H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia, pp. 46, 47 : 
 
 " I was shown my camp, which was 
 a slab hut about a hundred yards away 
 from the big house. ... I was rather 
 tired, and not sorry for the prospect 
 of a camp." 
 
 (2) A place for mustering 
 cattle. 
 
 188^. II. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Aus- 
 tralia, p. 64 : 
 
 "All about the run, at intervals of 
 five or six miles, are cattle-camps, and 
 the cattle that belong to the surround- 
 ing districts are mustered on their 
 respective camps." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from 
 Snowy River,' p. 26 : 
 
 " There was never his like in the 
 
 open bush, 
 
 And never his match on the cattle- 
 camps." 
 
 (3) In Australia, frequently 
 used for a camping-out expedi- 
 tion. Often in composition with 
 "out," a camp-out. 
 
 1869. 'Colonial Monthly,' vol. iv. p. 
 289: 
 
 "A young fellow with even a mod- 
 erate degree of sensibility must be 
 excited by the novelty of his first 
 'camp-out' in the Australian bush."
 
 CAM-CAN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 77 
 
 1880. R. H. Inglis, 'Australian Cousins,' 
 p. 233 : 
 
 "We're going to have a regular 
 camp ; we intend going to Port Hock- 
 ing to have some shooting, fishing, 
 and general diversion.' 
 
 (4) A name for Sydney and for 
 Hobart, now long obsolete, 
 originating- when British military 
 forces were stationed there. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 70 : 
 
 " It is the old resident he who still 
 calls Sydney, with its population of 
 twelve thousand inhabitants, the camp, 
 that can appreciate these things : he 
 who still recollects the few earth-huts 
 and solitary tents scattered through 
 the forest brush surrounding Sydney 
 Cove (known properly then indeed by 
 the name of 'The Camp')." 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, ' My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 193 : 
 
 " Living during the winter in Hobar- 
 ton, usually called ' the camp,' in those 
 days." 
 
 Camp, v. (i) Generally in com- 
 position with "out," to sleep in 
 the open air, usually without any 
 covering. Camping out is exceed- 
 ingly common in Australia owing 
 to the warmth of the climate and 
 the rarity of rain. 
 
 1867. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 125 : 
 
 " I like to hear of benighted or be- 
 lated travellers when they have had to 
 ' camp out,' as it is technically called." 
 
 1875. R. and F. Hill, ' What we saw 
 in Australia,' p. 208 : 
 
 "So the Bishop determined to 
 ' camp-out ' at once where a good fire 
 could be made." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, ' Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 43 : 
 
 " There is room here for fifty, rolled 
 up on the floor ; and should that fail 
 them, there is no end of other places ; 
 or the bush, as a fall back, where, in- 
 deed, some of them prefer camping as 
 it is." 
 
 1891. ' The Australasian,' Nov. 14, p. 
 
 963, col. i : ' A Lady in the Kermadecs : 
 
 " For three months I ' camped out ' 
 
 there alone, shepherding a flock of 
 
 Angoras." 
 
 (2) By extension, to sleep in 
 any unusual place, or at an un- 
 usual time. 
 
 1893. ' Review of Reviews ' (Australasian 
 ed.), March, p. 51 : 
 
 " The campaign came to an abrupt 
 and somewhat inglorious close, Sir 
 George Dibbs having to 'camp' in a 
 railway carriage, and Sir Henry Parkes 
 being flood-bound at Quirindi." 
 
 1896. Modern : 
 
 " Visitor,' Where's your Mother ? ' 
 ' Oh, she's camping.' " [The lady was 
 enjoying an afternoon nap indoors.] 
 
 (3) To stop for a rest in the 
 middle of the day. 
 
 1891. Mrs. Cross (Ada Cambridge), 
 'The Three Miss Kings,' p. 180 : 
 
 "We'll have lunch first before we 
 investigate the caves if it's agreeable 
 to you. I will take the horses out, and 
 we'll find a nice place to camp before 
 they come." 
 
 (4) To floor or prove superior 
 to. Slang. 
 
 1886. C. H. Kendall, 'Poems,' p. 207 : 
 
 " At punching oxen you may guess 
 There's nothing out can camp 
 
 him. 
 He has, in fact, the slouch and 
 
 dress, 
 
 Which bullock-driver stamp 
 him." 
 
 Camphor- wood, n. an Austra- 
 lian timber ; the wood of Callitri: 
 (frenea) robusta, Cunn., N.O. Con- 
 ifers. Called also Light, Black, 
 White, Dark, and Common Pine, 
 as the wood varies much in its 
 colouring. See Pine. 
 
 Canajong, n. Tasmanian abori- 
 ginal name for the plants called 
 Pig-faces (q.v.). 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 44 : 
 
 " Pig-faces. It was the canajong of 
 the Tasmanian aboriginal. The fleshy 
 fruit is eaten raw by the aborigines : 
 the leaves are eaten baked." 
 
 Canary, . (i) A bird-name 
 used in New Zealand for Clitonyx 
 ochrocephala, called also the Yellou 1 - 
 head. Dwellers in the back-
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [CAN-CAP 
 
 blocks of Australia apply the 
 name to the Orange-fronted Ephthi- 
 anura (E. aurtfrons, Gould), and 
 sometimes to the White-throated 
 Gerygone (Gerygone albigularis). 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 56 : 
 
 " Clitonyx Ochrocephala. Yellow- 
 head. ' Canary ' of the colonists." 
 
 (2) Slang for a convict. See 
 quotations. As early as 1673, 
 * canary-bird ' was thieves' Eng- 
 lish for a gaol-bird. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 117 : 
 
 " Convicts of but recent migration 
 are facetiously known by the name of 
 canaries, by reason of the yellow 
 plumage in which they are fledged 
 at the period of landing." 
 
 1870. T. H. Braim, 'New Homes,' 
 c. ii. p. 72 : 
 
 " The prisoners were dressed in 
 yellow hence called ' canary birds.' " 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. vi. p. 49 : 
 
 " Can't you get your canaries off the 
 track here for about a quarter of an 
 hour, and let my mob of cattle pass ? " 
 
 Candle-nut, n. The name is 
 given in Queensland to the fruit 
 of Aleurites moluccana, Willd., 
 N.O. Euphorbiacea '. The nuts are 
 two or more inches diameter. 
 The name is often given to the 
 tree itself, which grows wild in 
 Queensland and is cultivated in 
 gardens there under the name 
 of A. triloba, Forst. It is not 
 endemic in Australia, but the ver- 
 nacular name of Candle-nut is 
 confined to Australia and the 
 Polynesian Islands. 
 
 1883. F. M. Bailey, 'Synopsis of Queens- 
 land Flora,' p. 472 : 
 
 " Candle-nut. The kernels when 
 dried and stuck on a reed are used by 
 the Polynesian Islanders as a substitute 
 for candles, and as an article of food in 
 New Georgia. These nuts resemble 
 walnuts somewhat in size and taste. 
 When pressed they yield a large pro- 
 portion of pure palatable oil, used as a 
 
 drying-oil for paint, and known as 
 country walnut-oil and artists' oil." 
 
 Cane-grass, n. i.q. Bamboo- 
 grass (q.v.). 
 
 Cape -Barren Goose, n. See 
 Goose, 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, ' My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 114 [Footnote]: 
 
 " The 'Cape Barren Goose' frequents 
 the island from which it takes its name, 
 and others in the Straits. It is about 
 the same size as a common goose, the 
 plumage a handsome mottled brown 
 and gray, somewhat owl-like in char- 
 acter." 
 
 [Cape Barren Island is in Bass Strait, 
 between Flinders Island and Tasmania. 
 Banks Strait flows between Cape 
 Barren Island and Tasmania. The 
 easternmost point on the island is 
 called Cape Barren.] 
 
 Cape-Barren Tea, n, a shrub or 
 tree, Correa alba, Andr., N.O. 
 jRutacece. 
 
 1834. Ross, ' Van Diemen's Land An- 
 nual,' p. 134: 
 
 " Lcptospernium lanigerum, hoary 
 tea- tree ; Acacia decurrens, black 
 wattle ; Corrcea alba, Cape Barren tea. 
 The leaves of these have been used as 
 substitutes for tea in the colony." 
 
 Cape Lilac, n. See Lilac. 
 
 Cape "Weed, n. In Europe, 
 Roccella tinctoria, a lichen from 
 the Cape de Verde Islands, from 
 which a dye is produced. In New 
 Zealand, name given to the Euro- 
 pean cats-ear, Hypachoris radicata. 
 In Australia it is as in quotation 
 below. See 'Globe Encyclopaedia,' 
 1877 (s.v.). 
 
 1878. W. R. Guilfoyle, 'First Book of 
 Australian Botany,' p. 60 : 
 
 " Cape Weed. Cryptostcmma Ca- 
 lendulacciiiii. (Natural Order, Com- 
 posita:.) This weed, which has proved 
 such a pest in many parts of Victoria, 
 was introduced from the Cape of Good 
 Hope, as a fodder plant. It is an 
 annual, flowering in the spring, and 
 giving a bright golden hue to the 
 fields. It proves destructive to other 
 herbs and grasses, and though it 
 affords a nutritious food for stock in
 
 CAP-CAR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 79 
 
 the spring, it dies off in the middle of 
 summer, after ripening its seeds, leav- 
 ing the fields quite bare." 
 
 Caper-tree, n. The Australian 
 tree of this name is Capparis no- 
 bilis, F. v. M., N.O. Capparidece. 
 The Karum of the Queensland 
 aboriginals. The fruit is one to 
 two inches in diameter. Called 
 also Grey Plum or Native Pome- 
 granate, The name is also given 
 to Capparis Mitchelli, Lindl. The 
 European caper is Capparis spinosa, 
 Linn. 
 
 1894. ' Melbourne Museum Catalogue, 
 Economic Woods,' p. 10 : 
 
 " Native Caper Tree or Wild Pome- 
 granate. Natural Order, Capparidece. 
 Found in the Mallee Scrub. A small 
 tree. The wood is whitish, hard, 
 close-grained, and suitable for engrav- 
 ing, carving, and similar purposes. 
 Strongly resembles lancewood." 
 
 Captain Cook, or Cooker, n. 
 New Zealand colonists' slang. 
 First applied to the wild pigs of 
 New Zealand, supposed to be 
 descended from those first intro- 
 duced by Captain Cook ; after- 
 wards used as term of reproach 
 for any pig which, like the wild 
 variety, obstinately refused to 
 fatten. See Introduction, p. xv. 
 
 1879. w - Q uin ' New Zealand Country 
 Journal,' vol. iii. p. 55 : 
 
 " Many a rare old tusker finds a 
 home in the mountain gorges. The 
 immense tusks at Brooksdale attest 
 the size of the wild boars or Captain 
 Cooks, as the patriarchs are generally 
 named." 
 
 1894. E. Wakefield, ' New Zealand after 
 Fifty Years,' p. 85 : 
 
 "The leanness and roughness of 
 the wild pig gives it quite a different 
 appearance from the domesticated 
 variety ; and hence a gaunt, ill-shaped, 
 or sorry-looking pig is everywhere 
 called in derision a ' Captain Cook.' " 
 
 Carbora, n. aboriginal name 
 for (i) the Native Bear. See 
 Bear. 
 
 (2) A kind of water worm that 
 
 eats into timber between high 
 and low water on a tidal river. 
 
 Cardamom, n. For the Austra- 
 lian tree of this name, see quota- 
 tion. 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 96: 
 
 "The Australian cardamom tree." 
 [Footnote] : " This is a fictitious name, 
 as are the names of many Australian 
 plants and animals. The tree belongs 
 to the nutmeg family, and its real 
 name is Myristica insipida. The name 
 owes its existence to the similarity of 
 the fruit to the real cardamom. But 
 the fruit of the Myristica has not so 
 strong and pleasant an odour as the 
 real cardamom, and hence the tree is 
 called insipida." 
 
 Carp, n. The English fish is of 
 the family Cyprinidce. The name 
 is given to different fishes in Ire- 
 land and elsewhere. In Sydney 
 it is Chilodactylus fuscus, Castln., 
 and Chilodactylus macropterus, 
 Richards. ; called also Monvong 
 (q.v.). The Murray Carp is Mur- 
 rayia cyprinoides, Castln., a percoid 
 fish. Chilodactylus belongs to the 
 family Cirrhitidce, in no way allied 
 to Cyprinidce, which contains the 
 European carps. Cirrhitidce, says 
 Gunther, may be readily recog- 
 nized by their thickened undivided 
 lower pectoral rays, which in 
 some are evidently auxiliary 
 organs of locomotion, in others, 
 probably, organs of touch. 
 
 Carpet-Shark, n. i.q. Wobbegong 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Carpet-Snake, n. a large Aus- 
 tralian snake with a variegated 
 skin, Python variegata, Gray. In 
 Whitworth's ' Anglo-Indian Dic- 
 tionary,' 1885 (s.v.), we are told 
 that the name is loosely applied 
 (sc. in India) to any kind of snake 
 found in a dwelling-house other 
 than a cobra or a dhaman. In 
 Tasmania, a venomous snake,
 
 So 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [CAR-CAS 
 
 Hoplocephalus airtus, Schlegel. See 
 under Snake. 
 
 Carrier, n. a local name for a 
 water-bag". 
 
 1893. A. F. Calvert, 'English Illus- 
 trated,' Feb., p. 321 : 
 
 " For the water-holders or ' carriers ' 
 (made to fit the bodies of the horses 
 carrying them, or to ' ride easily ' on 
 pack-saddles)." 
 
 Carrot, Native, (i) Daucus 
 brachiatus, Sieb., N.O. Umbelli- 
 ferce. Not endemic in Australia. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 64 : 
 
 "The native carrot . . . was here 
 withered and in seed." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. J24 : 
 
 " Native carrot. Stock are very 
 fond of this plant when young. 
 Sheep thrive wonderfully on it where 
 it is plentiful. It is a small annual her- 
 baceous plant, growing plentifully on 
 sandhills and rich soil ; the seeds, 
 locally termed ' carrot burrs,' are very 
 injurious to wool, the hooked spines 
 with which the seeds are armed attach- 
 ing themselves to the fleece, rendering 
 portions of it quite stiff and rigid. The 
 common carrot belongs, of course, to 
 this genus, and the fact that it is 
 descended from an apparently worth- 
 less, weedy plant, indicates that the 
 present species is capable of much 
 improvement by cultivation." 
 
 (2) In Tasmania Geranium dis- 
 sectitm, Linn., is also called " native 
 carrot." 
 
 Cascarilla, Native, n. an Aus- 
 tralian timber, Croton verreauxii, 
 Baill., N.O. Euphorbiacece. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 408 : 
 
 " Native cascarilla. A small tree ; 
 wood of a yellowish colour, close- 
 grained and firm." 
 
 Cassowary, //. The word is 
 Malay, the genus being found in 
 "the Islands in the Indian Archi- 
 pelago." ('O.E.D.') The Aus- 
 tralian variety is Casuarius austra- 
 lis, Waller. The name is often 
 erroneously applied (as in the 
 
 first two quotations), to the Emu 
 (q.v.), which is not a Cassowary. 
 
 1789. Governor Phillip, 'Voyage,' c. 
 xxii. p. 271 : 
 
 " New Holland Cassowary. [De- 
 scription given.] This bird is not un- 
 common in New Holland, as several 
 of them have been seen about Botany 
 Bay, and other parts. . . . Although 
 this bird cannot fly, it runs so swiftly 
 that a greyhound can scarcely overtake 
 it. The flesh is said to be in taste not 
 unlike beef." 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales, ' c. xi. p. 438 : 
 
 "The cassowary of New South 
 Wales is larger in all respects than 
 the well-known bird called the cas- 
 sowary." 
 
 1869. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia' 
 (Supplement) : 
 
 " Casuarius Aitstralis, Wall., Aus- 
 tralian Cassowary, sometimes called 
 Black Emu." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 
 P- 73: 
 
 " One day an egg of a cassowary 
 was brought to me ; this bird, although 
 it is nearly akin to the ostrich and 
 emu, does not, like the latter, frequent 
 the open plains, but the thick brush- 
 wood. The Australian cassowary is 
 found in Northern Queensland from 
 Herbert river northwards, in all the 
 large vine-scrubs on the banks of the 
 rivers, and on the high mountains of 
 the coasts." 
 
 Ibid. p. 97. 
 
 " The proud cassowary, the stateliest 
 bird of Australia . . . this beautiful 
 and comparatively rare creature." 
 
 1891. ' Guide to Zoological Gardens, 
 Melbourne ' : 
 
 "The Australian cassowary. . . . 
 They are somewhat shorter and stouter 
 in build than the emu." 
 
 Casuarina, ;/. the scientific 
 name of a large group of trees 
 common to India, and other parts 
 lying between India and Austra- 
 lasia, but more numerous in Aus- 
 tralia than elsewhere, and often 
 forming a characteristic feature of 
 the vegetation. They are the 
 so-called She-oaks (q.v.). The 
 word is not, however, Australian,.
 
 CAT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 81 
 
 and is much older than the dis- 
 covery of Australia. Its etymo- 
 logy is contained in the quota- 
 tion, 1877. 
 
 1806. ' Naval Chronicles,' c. xv. p. 460 : 
 
 " Clubs made of the wood of the 
 casuarina." 
 
 1814. R. Brown, 'Botany of Terra Aus- 
 tralis,' in M. Flinders' ' Voyage to Terra 
 Australis,' vol. ii. p. 571 : 
 
 " Casuarinae. The genus Casuarina 
 is certainly not referable to any order 
 of plants at present established . . it 
 may be considered a separate order 
 , . . The maximum of Casuarina 
 appears to exist in Terra Australis, 
 Avhere -it-forms one of the character- 
 istic features of the vegetation." 
 
 1855. G. C. Muncly, 'Our Antipodes/ 
 p. 160: 
 
 "The dark selvage of casuarinas 
 fringing its bank." 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian Sketch- 
 es,' p. 10 : 
 
 "The vegetation assumed a new 
 character, the eucalyptus and casuarina 
 alternating with the wild cherry and 
 honeysuckle." 
 
 1877- F. v. Miiller, ' Botanic Teachings,' 
 P- 34: 
 
 " The scientific name of these well- 
 known plants is as appropriate as their 
 vernacular appellation is odd and un- 
 suited. The former alludes to the 
 cassowary (Casuarius], the plumage of 
 which is comparatively as much re- 
 duced among birds, as the foliage of 
 the casuarinas is stringy among trees. 
 Hence more than two centuries ago 
 Rumph already bestowed the name 
 Casuarina on a Java species, led by 
 the Dutch colonists, who call it there 
 the Casuaris-Boom. The Australian 
 vernacular name seems to have arisen 
 from some fancied resemblance of the 
 wood of some casuarinas to that of 
 oaks, notwithstanding the extreme 
 difference of the foliage and fruit ; 
 unless, as Dr. Hooker supposes, the 
 popular name of these trees and shrubs 
 arose from the Canadian ' Sheack.' " 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 397 : 
 
 " From a fancied resemblance of 
 the wood of casuarinas to that of 
 oak, these trees are called ' oaks,' and 
 the same and different species have 
 various appellations in various parts." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' 
 I>- 33 = 
 
 " Along its banks (the Comet's) my 
 attention was drawn to a number of 
 casuarinas those leafless, dark trees, 
 which always make a sad impression 
 on the traveller ; even a casual ob- 
 server will notice the dull, depressing 
 sigh which comes from a grove of these 
 trees when there is the least breeze." 
 
 Cat-bird, . In America the 
 name is given to Mimus carolinen- 
 sis, a mocking thrush, which like 
 the Australian bird has a cry re- 
 sembling the mewing of a cat. 
 The Australian species are 
 
 The Cat-bird 
 
 Ailurcedus viridis, Lath. 
 Spotted C. 
 
 Ailurczdus maculosus, Ramsay. 
 
 Pomatostomus rubeculus, Gould. 
 Tooth-billed C. 
 
 Scenopceus dentirostris, Ramsay. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iv. pi. ii : 
 
 " Its loud, harsh and extraordinary 
 note is heard ; a note which differs so 
 much from that of all other birds, that 
 having been once heard it can never 
 be mistaken. In comparing it to the 
 nightly concert of the domestic cat, I 
 conceive that I am conveying to my 
 readers a more perfect idea of the note 
 of this species than could be given by 
 pages of description. This concert, 
 like that of the animal whose name it 
 bears, is performed either by a pair or 
 several individuals, and nothing more 
 is required than for the hearer to shut 
 his eyes from the neighbouring foliage 
 to fancy himself surrounded by London 
 grimalkins of house-top celebrity." 
 
 1888. U. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 36: 
 
 " One of the most peculiar of birds' 
 eggs found about the Murray is that 
 of the locally-termed 'cat-bird,' the 
 shell of which is veined thickly with 
 dark thin threads as though covered 
 with a sj '-ler's web." 
 
 1890. C. -Aimholtz,' Among Cannibals.' 
 p. 96 : 
 
 "The cat-bird (/Elurcedies macitlo- 
 sits), which makes its appearance to- 
 wards evening, and has a voice strik- 
 ingly like the mewing of a cat."
 
 82 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [CAT 
 
 1893. 'The Argus.' March 25 : 
 
 " Another quaint caller of the bush 
 is the cat-bird, and its eggs are of 
 exactly the colour of old ivory." 
 
 1896. G. A. Keartlancl, ' Home Expedi- 
 tion in Central Australia,' pt. ii. Zoology, 
 p. 92: 
 
 " Their habit of mewing like a cat 
 has gained for them the local cogno- 
 men of cat-birds." 
 
 Cat-fish, n. The name is ap- 
 plied in the Old World to various 
 fishes of the family Siluridce, and 
 also to the Wolf-fish of Europe 
 and North America. It arises 
 from the resemblance of the teeth 
 in some cases or the projecting 
 " whiskers " in others, to those of 
 a cat. In Victoria and New South 
 Wales it is a fresh-water fish, 
 Copidoglanis tandanus, Mitchell, 
 brought abundantly to Melbourne 
 by railway. It inhabits the rivers 
 of the Murray system, but not of 
 the centre of the continent. 
 Called also Eel-fish and Tandan 
 (q.v.). In Sydney the same name 
 is applied also to Cnidoglanis 
 megastoma, Rich., and in New 
 Zealand Kathetostoma monoptery- 
 gium. Copidoglanis and Cnidoglanis 
 are Siluroids, and Kathetostoma 
 is a " stargazer," i. e. a fish 
 having eyes on the upper surface 
 of the head, belonging- to the 
 family Trachinidce, 
 
 1851. J. Henderson, ' Excursions in New 
 South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 207 : 
 
 " The Cat-fish, which I have fre- 
 quently caught in the McLeay, is a 
 large and very ugly animal. Its head 
 is provided with several large tentac- 
 atae, and it has altogether a disagree- 
 able appearance. I have eat its flesh, 
 but did not like it." 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, ' Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 213 [Footnote] : 
 
 " Mr. Frank Buckland . . . writing 
 of a species of rock-fish, says ' I found 
 that it had a beautiful contrivance in 
 the conformation of its mouth. It has 
 the power of prolongating both its 
 jaws to nearly the extent of half-an- 
 inch from their natural position. This 
 
 is done by a most beautiful bit of 
 mechanism, somewhat on the principle 
 of what are called ' lazy tongs.' 
 The cat-fish possesses a like feature, 
 but on a much larger scale, the front 
 part of the mouth being capable of 
 being protruded between two and three 
 inches when seizing prey.' " 
 
 Cat, Native, n. a small carniv- 
 orous marsupial, of the genus 
 Dasyurus. The so-called native 
 cat is not a cat at all, but a 
 marsupial which resembles a 
 very large rat or weasel, with 
 rather a bushy tail. It is fawn- 
 coloured or mouse-coloured, or 
 black and covered with little white 
 spots ; a very pretty little animal. 
 It only appears at night, when it 
 climbs fences and trees and forms 
 sport for moonlight shooting. Its 
 skin is made into fancy rugs and 
 cloaks or mantles. 
 
 The animal is more correctly 
 called a Dasyure (q.v.). The 
 species are 
 
 Black-tailed Native Cat 
 
 Dasyurus geoffroyi, Gould. 
 Common N.C. (called also Tiger 
 Cat, q.v.) 
 
 D. viverrimus, Shaw. 
 North Australian N.C. 
 
 D. hallucatus, Gould. 
 Papuan N.C. 
 
 D. albopunctatus, Schl. 
 Slender N.C. 
 
 D. gracilis, Ramsay. 
 Spotted-tailed N.C. (called also 
 Tiger Cat) 
 
 D. maculatus, Kerr. 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, ' Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 67 : 
 
 " The native cat is similar [to the 
 Tiger Cat ; q.v.] but smaller, and its 
 fur is an ashy-grey with white spots. 
 We have seen two or three skins quite 
 black, spotted with white, but these 
 are very rare." 
 
 1885. H. H. Hayter, 'Carboona,' p. 
 
 35: 
 
 "A blanket made of the fur-covered 
 skins of the native cat."
 
 CAT-CAU] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 1894. 'The Argus,' June 23, p. n, 
 col. 4 : 
 
 "The voices of most of our night 
 animals are guttural and unpleasing. 
 The 'possum has a throaty half-stifled 
 squeak, the native cat a deep chest- 
 note ending with a hiss and easily 
 imitated." [See Skirr.] 
 
 Catholic Frog, n. name applied 
 to a frog living in the inland parts 
 of New South Wales, Notaden 
 bennettii, Giinth., which tides over 
 times of drought in burrows, and 
 feeds on ants. Called also "Holy 
 Cross Toad." The names are 
 given in consequence of a large 
 cross-shaped blackish marking on 
 the back. 
 
 1891. J. J. Fletcher, ' Proceedings of 
 the Linnaean Society, New South Wales,' 
 vol. vi. (and series), p. 265 : 
 
 " Notaden bennettii, the Catholic 
 frog, or as I have heard it called the 
 Holy Cross Toad, I first noticed in 
 January 1885, after a heavy fall of rain 
 lasting ten days, off and on, and suc- 
 ceeding a severe drought." 
 
 Cat's Eyes, n. Not the true 
 Cafs-eye, but the name given in 
 Australia to the opercula of Turbo 
 smaragdus, Martyn, a marine mol- 
 lusc. The operculum is the horny 
 or shelly lid which closes the 
 aperture of most spiral shell fish. 
 
 Cat's-head Fern, n. Aspidium 
 aculeatum, Sw. 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, ' Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 220 : 
 
 " The cat's-head fern ; though why 
 that name was given to it I have not 
 the remotest idea. ... It is full of 
 beauty the pinnules so exquisitely 
 formed and indented, and gemmed 
 beneath with absolute constellations 
 of Sport Polystichum vestitum!' 
 
 Catspaw, . a Tasmanian plant, 
 Trichiniumspathulatum, Poir., N. O. 
 Amarantacetz. 
 
 Cat's Tail, n. See Wonga. 
 
 Cattle-bush, . a tree, Ata- 
 laya hemiglauca, F. v. M., N.O. 
 Sapindacece. It is found in South 
 
 Australia, New South Wales, and 
 Queensland, and is sometimes 
 called White-wood. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 117 : 
 
 " Cattle-bush. . . The leaves of this 
 tree are eaten by stock, the tree being 
 frequently felled for their use during 
 seasons of drought." 
 
 Cattle-duffer, n. a man who 
 steals cattle (usually by altering 
 their brands). See also Duffer. 
 
 1886. ' Melbourne Punch,' July 15, 
 Cartoon Verses : 
 
 " Cattle-duffers on a jury may be 
 
 honest men enough, 
 But they're bound to visit lightly 
 sins in those who cattle duff." 
 
 Cattle-racket, n. Explained in 
 quotation. 
 
 1852. ' Settlers and Convicts ; or Recol- 
 lections of Sixteen Years' Labour in the 
 Australian Backwoods,' p. 294 : 
 
 " A Cattle-racket. The term at the 
 head of this chapter was originally 
 applied in New South Wales to the 
 agitation of society which took place 
 when some wholesale system of plunder 
 in cattle was brought to light. It is 
 now commonly applied to any circum- 
 stance of this sort, whether greater or 
 less, and whether springing from a 
 felonious intent or accidental." 
 
 Caustic-Creeper, n. name given 
 to Euphorbia drummondii, Boiss., 
 N. O. Euphorbiacea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 127 : 
 
 "Called 'caustic-creeper' in Queens- 
 land. Called 'milk-plant' and 'pox- 
 plant' about Bourke. This weed is 
 unquestionably poisonous to sheep, 
 and has recently (Oct. 1887) been 
 reported as having been fatal to a 
 flock near Bourke, New South Wales. 
 . . . When eaten by sheep in the 
 early morning, before the heat of the 
 sun has dried it up, it is almost certain 
 to be fatal. Its effect on sheep is 
 curious. The head swells to an 
 enormous extent, becoming so heavy 
 that the animal cannot support it, and 
 therefore drags it along the ground ; 
 the ears suppurate. (Bailey and 
 Gordon.)"
 
 8 4 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [CAU-CEL 
 
 Caustic-Plant, or Caustic- 
 Vine, n. Sarcostemma australis, R. 
 Br., N.O. Asclepiadece. Cattle and 
 sheep are poisoned by eating it. 
 
 Cavally, n. the original form of 
 the Australian fish-name Trevally 
 (q.v.). The form Cavally is used 
 in Europe, but is almost extinct 
 in Australia ; the form Trevally is 
 confined to Australia. 
 
 Cedar, n. The true Cedar is a 
 Conifer (N.O. Conifers) of the 
 genus Cedrus, but the name is 
 given locally to many other trees 
 resembling it in appearance, or 
 in the colour or scent of their 
 wood. The New Zealand Cedar 
 is the nearest approach to the 
 true Cedar, and none of the so- 
 called Australian Cedars are of 
 the order Coniferce. The follow- 
 ing are the trees to which the 
 name is applied in Australia : 
 
 Bastard Pencil Cedar 
 
 Dysoxylon rufum, Benth., N.O. 
 
 Meliacece. 
 Brown C. 
 
 Ehretia acuminata, R. Br., N. O. 
 
 Asperifolice. 
 Ordinary or Red C. 
 
 Cedrela aus traits, F. v. M. 
 Cedrela toona, R. Br., N.O. 
 Meliacece. [C. toona is the 
 "Toon" tree of India: its 
 timber is known in the 
 English market as Moulmein 
 Cedar ; but the Baron von 
 Miiller doubts the identity 
 of the Australian Cedar with 
 the "Toon " tree ; hence his 
 name austral is. ] 
 Pencil C. 
 
 Dysoxylon Fraserianum, Benth., 
 
 N.O. Meliacece. 
 Scrub White C. 
 
 Pentaceras australis, Hook, and 
 
 Don., N.O. Rutacece. 
 White C.- 
 
 Melia composita, Willd., N.O. 
 Meliacece. 
 
 Yellow C. 
 
 Rhus rhodanthema, F. v. M., 
 
 N.O. Anacardiacece. 
 In Tasmania, three species of 
 the genus Arthrotaxis are called 
 Cedars or Pencil Cedars ; namely, 
 A. cupressoides, Don., known as 
 the King William Pine ; A. laxi- 
 folia, Hook., the Mountain Pine ; 
 and A. selaginoides, Don., the Red 
 Pine. All these are peculiar to 
 the island. 
 
 In New Zealand, the name of 
 Cedar is applied to Libocedrus 
 bidwillii, Hook., N.O. Coniferce ; 
 Maori name, Pahautea. 
 
 1838. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. i. p. 328: 
 
 "The cedar of the colony (Cedrela 
 toona, R. Br.), which is to be found 
 only in some rocky gullies of the coast 
 range." 
 
 1883. F. M. Bailey, ' Synopsis of 
 Queensland Flora,' p. 63 : 
 
 "Besides being valuable as a timber- 
 producing tree, this red cedar has 
 many medicinal properties. The bark 
 is spoken of as a powerful astringent, 
 and, though not bitter, said to be a 
 good substitute for Peruvian bark in 
 the cure of remitting and intermitting 
 fevers." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 123: 
 
 " Pahautea, Cedar. A handsome 
 conical tree sixty to eighty feet high, 
 two to three feet in diameter. In 
 Otago it produces a dark-red, free- 
 working timber, rather brittle . . . 
 frequently mistaken for totara." 
 
 Celery, Australian, or Native, 
 n. Apium australe, Thon. Not en- 
 demic in Australia. In Tasmania, 
 A. prostratum, Lab., N.O. Umbel- 
 liferce. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p". 7 : 
 
 " Australian Celery. This plant may 
 be utilised as a culinary vegetable. 
 (Mueller.) It is not endemic in 
 Australia." 
 
 Celery- topped Pine. n. See 
 Pine. The tree is so called from 
 the appearance of the upper part
 
 CEN-CHE] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 of the branchlets, which resemble 
 in shape the leaf of the garden 
 celery. 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 9 : 
 
 " The tanekaha is one of the remark- 
 able ' celery-topped pines,' and was dis- 
 covered by Banks and Solander during 
 Cook's first voyage." 
 
 Centaury, Native, n. a plant, 
 Erythrcea australis, R. Br., N.O. 
 Gentianea. In New South Wales 
 this Australian Centaury has been 
 found useful in dysentery by Dr. 
 Woolls. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 175 : 
 
 " Native centaury ... is useful as a 
 tonic medicine, especially in diarrhoea 
 and dysentery. The whole plant is 
 used and is pleasantly bitter. It is 
 common enough in grass-land, and 
 appears to be increasing in popularity 
 as a domestic remedy." 
 
 Centralia, n. a proposed name 
 for the colonv South Australia 
 (q.V.). 
 
 1896. J. S. Laurie, ' Story of Austra- 
 lasia, ' p. 299 : 
 
 "For telegraphic, postal, and general 
 purposes one word is desirable for a 
 name e.g. why not Centralia; for 
 West Australia, Weslralia; for New 
 South Wales, Eastralia ? " ' 
 
 Cereopsis, n. scientific name of 
 the genus of the bird peculiar to 
 Australia, called the Cape Barren 
 Goose. See Goose. The word is 
 from Grk. o/po'f, wax, and o^c, 
 face, and was given from the 
 peculiarities of the bird's beak. 
 The genus is confined to Aus- 
 tralia, and Cereopsis novce-hollandice 
 is the only species known. The 
 bird was noticed by the early 
 voyagers to Australia, and was 
 extraordinarily tame when first 
 discovered. 
 
 Channel-Bill, n. name given 
 to a bird resembling a large 
 cuckoo, Scythrops nova-hollandia, 
 Lath. See Scythrops. 
 
 Cheesewood, n. a tree, so- 
 called in Victoria (it is also 
 called Whitewood and Waddywood 
 in Tasmania), Pittosporum bicolor, 
 Hook., N.O. Pittosporece. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 588: 
 
 " Cheesewood is yellowish - white, 
 very hard, and of uniform texture and 
 colour. It was once used for clubs by 
 the aboriginals of Tasmania. It turns 
 well, and should be tested for wood- 
 engraving. ('Jurors' Reports, London 
 International Exhibition of 1862.') It 
 is much esteemed for axe-handles, 
 billiard-cues, etc." 
 
 Cherry, Herbert River, n. a 
 Queensland tree, Antidesma dalla- 
 chyanum, Baill., N.O. Euphorbi- 
 acece. The fruit is equal to a 
 large cherry in size, and has a 
 sharp acid flavour. 
 
 Cherry, Native, n. an Aus- 
 tralian tree, Exocarpus cupressi- 
 formis, R. Br., N.O. Santalacece. 
 
 1801. ' History of New South Wales ' 
 (1818), p. 242: 
 
 " Of native fruits, a cherry, insipid 
 in comparison of the European sorts, 
 was found true to the singularity which 
 characterizes every New South Wales 
 production, the stone being on the 
 outside of the fruit." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 411 : 
 
 "The shrub which is called the 
 native cherry-tree appears like a 
 species of Cyprus, producing its fruit 
 with the stone united to it on the out- 
 side, the fruit and the stone being each 
 about the size of a small pea. The 
 fruit, when ripe, is similar in colour to 
 the Mayduke cherry, but of a sweet 
 and somewhat better quality, and 
 slightly astringent to the palate, pos- 
 sessing, upon the whole, an agreeable 
 flavour." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (edition 1851), p. 219: 
 
 "The cherry-tree resembles a 
 cypress but is of a tenderer green, 
 bearing a worthless little berry, having 
 its stone or seed outside, whence its 
 scientific name of exocarpus."
 
 86 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [CHE-CHCE 
 
 I 8S5- W. Howitt, 'Two Years in 
 Victoria,' vol. i. p. 33: 
 
 " We also ate the Australian cherry, 
 which has its stone, not on the outside, 
 enclosing the fruit, as the usual phrase 
 would indicate, but on the end with 
 the fruit behind it. The stone is only 
 about the size of a sweet-pea, and the 
 fruit only about twice that size, alto- 
 gether not unlike a yew-berry, but of 
 a very pale red. It grows on a tree 
 just like an arbor vitae, and is well 
 tasted, though not at all like a cherry 
 in flavour." 
 
 1877. F. v. Miiller, ' Botanic Teachings,' 
 p. 40: 
 
 " The principal of these kinds of 
 trees received its generic name first 
 from the French naturalist La Bil- 
 lardtere, during D'Entrecasteaux's Ex- 
 pedition. It was our common Exocarpus 
 cupressiformis, which he described, and 
 which has been mentioned so often in 
 popular works as a cherry-tree, bearing 
 its stone outside of the pulp. That 
 this crude notion of the structure of 
 the fruit is erroneous, must be apparent 
 on thoughtful contemplation, for it is 
 evident at the first glance, that the red 
 edible part of our ordinary exocarpus 
 constitutes merely an enlarged and 
 succulent fruit-stalklet (pedicel), and 
 that the hard dry and greenish por- 
 tion, strangely compared to a cherry- 
 stone, forms the real fruit, containing 
 the seed." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 30: 
 
 "The fruit is edible. The nut is 
 seated on the enlarged succulent 
 pedicel. This is the poor little fruit 
 of which so much has been written in 
 English descriptions of the peculiarities 
 of the Australian flora. It has been 
 likened to a cherry with the stone out- 
 side (hence the vernacular name) by 
 some imaginative person." 
 
 1893. 'Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 
 19, p. 7, col. I : 
 
 " Grass-trees and the brown brake- 
 fern, whips of native cherry, and all 
 the threads and tangle of the earth's 
 green russet vestment hide the feet of 
 trees which lean and lounge between 
 us and the water, their leaf heads 
 tinselled by the light." 
 
 Cherry-picker, n. bird-name. 
 See quotation. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' vol. 
 iv. p. 70: 
 
 " Melithreptus Validirostris, Gould. 
 Strong -billed Honey -eater [q.v.]. 
 Cherry -picker, colonists of Van 
 Diemen's Land." 
 
 Chestnut Pine, n. See Pine. 
 
 Chewgah-bag, n. Queensland 
 aboriginal pigeon - English for 
 Sugar-bag (q.v.). 
 
 Chinkie, n. slang for a China- 
 man. "John," short for John 
 Chinaman, is commoner. 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, ' Old Colonials,' p. 
 
 233- 
 
 " The pleasant traits of character in 
 our colonialised 'Chinkie,' as he is 
 vulgarly termed (with the single varia- 
 tion ' Chow ')." 
 
 Chock-and-log, n. and adj. a 
 particular kind of fence much 
 used on Australian stations. 
 The Chock is a thick short piece 
 of wood laid flat, at right-angles 
 to the line of the fence, with 
 notches in it to receive the Logs, 
 which are laid lengthwise from 
 Chock to Chock, and the fence is 
 raised in four or five layers of this 
 chock-and-log to form, as it were, 
 a wooden wall. Both chocks and 
 logs are rough-hewn or split, not 
 sawn. 
 
 1872. G. S. Baden - Powell, 'New 
 Homes for the Old Country,' p. 207 : 
 
 "Another fence, known as 'chock 
 and log,' is composed of long logs, 
 resting on piles of chocks, or short 
 blocks of wood." 
 
 1890. 'The Argus.' Sept. 20, p. 13, 
 col. 5 : 
 
 " And to finish the Riverine picture, 
 there comes a herd of kangaroos dis- 
 turbed from their feeding-ground, leap- 
 ing through the air, bounding over the 
 wire and ' chock-and-log ' fences like so 
 many india-rubber automatons." 
 
 Chceropus, n. the scientific 
 name for the genus of Australian 
 marsupial animals with only one 
 known species, called the Pig- 
 footed-Bandicoot (q.v.), and see
 
 CHR-CHU] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 Bandicoot. (Grk. xip 0<s > a P l * 
 TTOVS, foot.) The animal is about 
 the size of a rabbit, and is confined 
 to the inland parts of Australia. 
 
 Christmas, n. and adj. As 
 Christmas falls in Australasia at 
 Midsummer, it has different cha- 
 racteristics from those in England, 
 and the word has therefore a dif- 
 ferent connotation. 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, 'My Home in 
 Tasmania,' p. 184 : 
 
 " Sheep-shearing in November, hot 
 midsummer weather at Christmas, the 
 bed of a river the driest walk, and corn 
 harvest in February, were things 
 strangely at variance with my Old- 
 World notions." 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World 
 was Wide,' p. 164 : 
 
 " One Christmas time when months of 
 
 drought 
 
 Had parched the western creeks, 
 The bush-fires started in the north 
 And travelled south for weeks." 
 
 Christmas-bush, n. an Austra- 
 lian tree, Ceratopetalum gummi- 
 ferum, Smith, N.O. Saxifrages. 
 Called also .Christmas-tree (q. v.), 
 and Officer-bush. 
 
 1888. Mrs. McCann, ' Poetical Works,' 
 p. 226 : 
 
 " Gorgeous tints adorn the Christ- 
 mas bush with a crimson blush." 
 
 Christmas-tree, n. In Austra- 
 lia, it is the same as Christmas- 
 bush (q.v.). In New Zealand, it 
 is Metrosideros tomentosa, Banks, 
 N.O. Myrtacece ; Maori name, 
 Pohutukawa (q.v.). 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 p. 240 : 
 
 " Some few scattered Pohutukaua 
 trees (Metrosideros tomentosa), the 
 last remains of the beautiful vegetation 
 . . . About Christmas these trees are 
 full of charming purple blossoms ; 
 the settler decorates his church and 
 dwelling with its lovely branches, and 
 calls the tree ' Christmas-tree ' ! " 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, ' Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 186 : 
 
 " The Christmas-tree is in a sense 
 
 the counterpart of the holly of the 
 home countries. As the scarlet berry 
 gives its ruddy colour to Christmas 
 decorations in 'the old country,' so 
 here the creamy blossoms of the 
 Christmas-tree are the only shrub 
 flowers that survive the blaze of mid- 
 summer." 
 
 1889. E. H. and S. Featon, 'New 
 Zealand Flora,' p. 163 : 
 
 " The Pohutukawa blossoms in 
 December, when its profusion of 
 elegant crimson-tasselled flowers im- 
 parts a beauty to the rugged coast-line 
 and sheltered bays which may fairly 
 be called enchanting. To the settlers 
 it is known as the ' Christmas-tree,' 
 and sprays of its foliage and flowers 
 are used to decorate churches and 
 dwellings during the festive Christmas- 
 tide. To the Maoris this tree must 
 possess a weird significance, since it is 
 related in their traditions that at the 
 extreme end of New Zealand there 
 grows a Pohutukawa from which a 
 root descends to the beach below. 
 The spirits of the dead are supposed 
 to descend by this to an opening, 
 which is said to be the entrance to 
 'Te Reinga.'" 
 
 Chucky-chucky, n. aboriginal 
 Australian name for a berry ; in 
 Australia and New Zealand, the 
 fruit of species of Gaultheria. See 
 Wax Cluster. 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' 
 p. 146 : 
 
 " To gather chucky-chuckies as the 
 blacks name that most delicious of 
 native berries." 
 
 1891. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 'New Zealand Country Journal,' vol. xv. 
 p. 198 : 
 
 "When out of breath, hot and 
 thirsty, how one longed for a handful 
 of chuckie-chucks. In their season 
 how good we used to think these fruits 
 of the gaultheria, or rather its thick- 
 ened calyx. A few handfuls were 
 excellent in quenching one's thirst, 
 and so plentifully did the plant abound 
 that quantities could soon be gathered. 
 In these rude and simple days, when 
 housekeepers in the hills tried to con- 
 vert carrots and beet-root into apricot 
 and damson preserves, these notable 
 women sometimes encouraged children
 
 88 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [CHU-CLA 
 
 to collect sufficient chuckie-chucks to 
 make preserve. The result was a jam 
 of a sweet mawkish flavour that gave 
 some idea of a whiff caught in passing 
 a hair-dresser's shop." 
 
 Chum, n. See New Chum. 
 
 Chy-ack, v. simply a variation 
 of the English slang verb, to 
 cheek. 
 
 1874. Garnet Walch, ' Adamanta,' Act 
 ii. sc. ii. p. 27 : 
 
 " I've learnt to chi-ike peelers." 
 [Here the Australian pronun- 
 ciation is also caught. Barbre 
 and Leland give " chi-iked 
 (tailors), chaffed unmercifully," 
 but without explanation.] 
 
 1878. ' The Australian,' vol. i. p. 742 : 
 
 " The circle of frivolous youths who 
 
 were yelping at and chy-acking him." 
 
 1894. E. W. Hornung, ' Boss of Tar- 
 oomba,' p. 5 : 
 
 " It's our way up here, you know, to 
 chi-ak each other and our visitors too." 
 
 Cicada, . an insect. See 
 Locust. 
 
 1895. G. Metcalfe, 'Australian Zoology,' 
 p. 62 : 
 
 " The Cicada is often erroneously 
 called a locust. . . It is remarkable 
 for the loud song, or chirruping whirr, 
 of the males in the heat of summer ; 
 numbers of them on the hottest days 
 produce an almost deafening sound." 
 
 Cider-Tree, or Cider-Gum, n. 
 name given in Tasmania to 
 Eucalyptus gunnii, Hook., N. O. 
 Myrtacecz. See Gum. 
 
 1830. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 119: 
 
 " Specimens of that species of 
 eucalyptus called the cider-tree, from 
 its exuding a quantity of saccharine 
 liquid resembling molasses. . . . When 
 allowed to remain some time and to 
 ferment, it settles into a coarse sort of 
 wine or cider, rather intoxicating if 
 drank to any excess." 
 
 City, n. In Great Britain and 
 Ireland the word City denotes " a 
 considerable town that has been, 
 (a) an episcopal seat, (If) a royal 
 burgh, or (c) created to the dig- 
 
 nity, like Birmingham, Dundee, 
 and Belfast, by a royal patent. 
 In the United States and Canada, 
 a municipality of the first class, 
 governed by a mayor and alder- 
 men, and created by charter." 
 (' Standard.') In Victoria, by 
 section ix. of the Local Govern- 
 ment Act, 1890, 54 Victoria, No. 
 1 1 12, the Governor-in-Council 
 may make orders, 12 : 
 
 " To declare any borough, including 
 the city of Melbourne and the town of 
 Geelong, having in the year preceding 
 such declaration a gross revenue of 
 not less than twenty thousand pounds, 
 a city." 
 
 Claim, n. in mining, a piece 
 of land appropriated for mining 
 purposes : then the mine itself. 
 The word is also used in the 
 United States. See also Reward- 
 claim and Prospecting-claim. 
 
 1858. T. McCombie, ' History of Vic- 
 toria,' c. xiv. p. 213 : 
 
 "A family named Cavanagh . . 
 entered a half-worked claim." 
 
 1863. H. Fawcett, 'Political Economy/ 
 pt. iii. c. vi. p. 359('O.E.D.') : 
 
 "The claim upon which he pur- 
 chases permission to dig." 
 
 1887. H. H. Hayter, 'Christmas Ad- 
 venture,' p. 3 : 
 
 " I decided ... a claim to take up." 
 
 Clay-pan, n. name given, espe- 
 cially in the dry interior of Aus- 
 tralia, to a slight depression of 
 the ground varying in size from 
 a few yards to a mile in length, 
 where the deposit of fine silt 
 prevents the water from sinking 
 into the ground as rapidly as it 
 does elsewhere. 
 
 1875. John Forrest, ' Explorations in> 
 Australia,' p. 260 : 
 
 "We travelled down the road for 
 about thirty-three miles over stony 
 plains ; many clay-pans with water 
 but no feed." 
 
 1896. Baldwin Spencer, ' Home Expe- 
 dition in Central Australia,' Narrative, vol. 
 i. p. 17: 
 
 " One of the most striking features
 
 CLE-CLO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 of the central area and especially 
 amongst the loamy plains and sand- 
 hills, is the number of clay-pans. 
 These are shallow depressions, with 
 no outlet, varying in length from a 
 few yards to half a mile, where the 
 surface is covered with a thin clayey 
 material, which seems to prevent the 
 water from sinking as rapidly as it 
 does in other parts." 
 
 Clean-skins, or Clear-skins, 
 n. unbranded cattle or horses. 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 206 : 
 
 " These clean-skins, as they are 
 often called, to distinguish them from 
 the branded cattle." 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. xv. p. 109 : 
 
 " Strangers and pilgrims, calves and 
 clear-skins, are separated at the same 
 time." 
 
 1889. Rev. J. H. Zillmann, ' Australian 
 Life,' p. 82: 
 
 " ' Clear-skins,' as unbranded cattle 
 were commonly called, were taken 
 charge of at once." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' April 29, p. 4, col. 4 : 
 
 " As they fed slowly homeward bel- 
 lowing for their calves, and lowing for 
 their mates, the wondering clean-skins 
 would come up in a compact body, 
 tearing, ripping, kicking, and moaning, 
 working round and round them in 
 awkward, loblolly canter." 
 
 Clearing lease, n. Explained 
 in quotation. 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. c. x. p. 321 : 
 
 " [They] held a small piece of land on 
 what is called a clearing lease that is 
 to say, they were allowed to retain 
 possession of it for so many years for 
 the labour of clearing the land." 
 
 Clematis, n. the scientific and 
 vernacular name of a genus of 
 plants belonging to the N.O. 
 Ranunculacece. The common 
 species in Australia is C. aristata, 
 R. Br. 
 
 1834. Ross, ' Van Diemen's Land An- 
 nual,' p. 124 : 
 
 "The beautiful species of clematis 
 called arista/a, which may be seen 
 in the months of November and 
 
 December, spreading forth its milk- 
 white blossoms over the shrubs . . . 
 in other places rising up to the top of 
 the highest gum-trees." 
 
 Clianthus, n. scientific name 
 for an Australasian genus of 
 plants, N.O. Leguminosa, contain- 
 ing only two species in Austra- 
 lia, Sturfs Desert Pea (q.v.), C. 
 dampieri ; and in New Zealand, 
 the Kaka-bill (q.v.), C. puniceus.. 
 Both species are also called! 
 Glory-Pea, from Grk. k-Xe'oc, glory, 
 and avOoc, a flower. 
 
 1892. ' Otago Witness,' Nov. 24,' Native 
 Trees': 
 
 " Hooker says the genus Clianthus 
 consists of the Australian and New 
 Zealand species only, the latter is there- 
 fore clearly indigenous. ' One of the 
 most beautiful plants known ' (Hooker). 
 Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander 
 found it during Cook's first voyage." 
 
 Climbing-fish, n. i.q. Hopping- 
 fish (q.v.). 
 
 Climbing-Pepper, n. See/V/- 
 per. 
 
 Clitonyx, n. the scientific name 
 of a genus of New Zealand birds, 
 including the Yellow-head (q.v.)' 
 and the White-head (q.v.) ; from 
 Greek /cXivciv, root K\IT, to lean, 
 slant, and ow, claw. The genus 
 was so named by Reichenbach in 
 1851, to distinguish the New 
 Zealand birds from the Australian 
 birds of the genus Orthonyx (q.v.),. 
 which formerly included them both.. 
 
 Clock-bird, n. another name for 
 the Laughing Jackass. See Jackass. 
 
 Clock, Settlers', n. i.q. Clock- 
 bird ', q.v. 
 
 Cloudy-Bay Cod, . a New 
 Zealand name for the Ling (q.v.). 
 See also Cod. 
 
 Clover-Fern, . another name 
 for the plant called Nardoo (q.v.). 
 
 Clover, Menindie, n. an Aus- 
 tralian fodder plant, Trigonella:
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [CLO-COA 
 
 suavissima, Lind., N.O. Legumi- 
 .nosecR. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 143 : 
 
 " From its abundance in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Menindie, it is often called 
 * Menindie-clover.' It is the ' Aus- 
 tralian shamrock ' of Mitchell. This 
 perennial, fragrant, clover-like plant 
 is a good pasture herb." 
 
 Clover-Tree, n. a Tasmanian 
 tree, called also Native Laburnum. 
 :See under Laburnum. 
 
 Coach, .n. a bullock used as a 
 decoy to catch wild cattle. This 
 ^eems to be from the use of coach 
 as the University term for a 
 private tutor. 
 
 1874. W. H. L. Ranken, ' Dominion of 
 Australia,' c. vi. p. no: 
 
 " To get them [sc. wild cattle] a 
 party of stockmen take a small herd of 
 quiet cattle, ' coaches.' " 
 
 Coach, v. to decoy wild cattle 
 or horses with tame ones. 
 
 1874. W. H. L. Ranken, ' Dominion of 
 Australia,' c. vi. p. 121 : 
 
 " Here he [the wild horse] may be 
 got by ' coaching ' like wild cattle." 
 
 Coach-whip Bird, n. Psophodes 
 trepitans, V. and H. (see Gould's 
 
 ' Birds of Australia,' vol. iii. pi. 
 
 15) ; Black-throated C.B., P. 
 mgrogularis, Gould. Called also 
 
 Whipbird and Coachman. 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, 'Transac- 
 tions of Linnsean Society,' vol. xv. p. 330 : 
 " This bird is more often heard than 
 seen. It inhabits bushes. The loud 
 cracking whip-like noise it makes (from 
 whence the colonists give it the name 
 -of coachwhip), may be heard from a 
 .great distance. 1 ' 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 -New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 158: 
 
 " If you should hear a coachwhip 
 <rack behind, you may instinctively 
 start aside to let the mail pass ; but 
 quickly find it is only our native coach- 
 man with his spread-out fantail and 
 perked-up crest, whistling and crack- 
 ing out his whip-like notes as he hops 
 .sprucely from branch to branch." 
 
 1844. Mrs. Meredith, ' Notes and 
 Sketches of New South Wales,' p. 137 : 
 
 " Another equally singular voice 
 among our feathered friends was that 
 of the 'coachman,' than which no title 
 could be more appropriate, his chief 
 note being a long clear whistle, with a 
 smart crack of the whip to finish with." 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, 'Australia,' p. 177: 
 " The bell-bird, by the river heard ; 
 
 The whip-bird, which surprised 
 
 I hear, 
 In me have powerful memories 
 
 stirred 
 Of other scenes and strains more 
 
 dear; 
 
 Of sweeter songs than these afford, 
 The thrush and blackbird warb- 
 ling clear." Old Impressions. 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, ' Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 71 : 
 
 " The coach-whip is a small bird 
 about the size of a sparrow, found near 
 rivers. It derives its name from its 
 note, a slow, clear whistle, concluded 
 by a sharp jerking noise like the crack 
 of a whip." 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, ' Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. ii. p. 76 : 
 
 "The whip-bird, whose sharp wiry 
 notes, even, are far more agreeable 
 than the barking of dogs and the 
 swearing of diggers." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, ' Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 24: 
 
 " That is the coach-whip bird. There 
 again. Whew-ew-ew-ew-Tf^z'/. How 
 sharply the last note sounds." 
 
 1887. R. M. Praed, ' Longleat of Koo- 
 ralbyn,' c. vi. p. 54 : 
 
 " The sharp st wt of the whip-bird 
 . . . echoed through the gorge." 
 
 1888. James Thomas, ' May o' the 
 South,' 'Australian Poets 17881888' 
 (ed. Sladen), p. 552 : 
 
 " Merrily the wagtail now 
 Chatters on the ti-tree bough, 
 While the crested coachman bird 
 'Midst the underwood is heard." 
 
 Coast, v. to loaf about from 
 station to station. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' xxv. 295 : 
 
 " I ain't like you, Towney, able to 
 coast about without a job of work from 
 shearin' to shearin'."
 
 COA-COC] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 9 1 
 
 Coaster, n. a loafer, a Sun- 
 downer (q.v.). 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' viii. 75 : 
 
 " A voluble, good-for-nothing, loafing 
 impostor, a regular 'coaster.'" 
 
 Cobb, n. sometimes used as 
 equivalent to a coach. " I am 
 going by Cobb. " The word is still 
 used, though no Mr. Cobb has 
 been connected with Australian 
 coaches for many years. See 
 quotation. 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian Sketch- 
 es,' p. 184 : 
 
 " Mr. Cobb was an American, and 
 has returned long ago to his native 
 country. He started a line of convey- 
 ances from Melbourne to Castlemaine 
 Borne time after the gold discoveries. 
 Mr. Cobb had spirit to buy good horses, 
 to get first-class American coaches, to 
 employ good Yankee whips, and in a 
 couple of years or so he had been so 
 extensively patronised that he sold out, 
 and retired with a moderate fortune." 
 {But the Coaching Company retained 
 the style of Cobb & Co.] 
 
 1879 (about). ' Queensland Bush Song ': 
 
 " Hurrah for the Roma Railway ! 
 
 Hurrah for Cobb and Co. ! 
 Hurrah, hurrah for a good fat horse 
 To carry me Westward Ho ! " 
 
 Cobbler, n. (i) The last sheep, 
 an Australian shearing term. (2) 
 Another name for the fish called 
 the Fortescue (q.v.). 
 
 1893. ' The Herald ' (Melbourne), Dec. 
 23, p. 6, col. I : 
 
 " Every one might not know what a 
 'cobbler' is. It is the last sheep in a 
 catching pen, and consequently a bad 
 one to shear, as the easy ones are 
 picked first. The cobbler must be 
 taken out before ' Sheep-ho ' will fill 
 up again. In the harvest field English 
 rustics used to say, when picking up 
 the last sheaf, 'This is what the cob- 
 bler threw at his wife.' 'What?' 'The 
 last,' with that lusty laugh, which, 
 though it might betray ' a vacant mind,' 
 comes from a very healthy organism." 
 
 Cobblers-Awl, n. bird-name. 
 The word is a provincial English 
 
 name for the Avocet. In Tasmania, 
 the name is applied to a Spine- 
 Bill (q.v.) from the shape of its 
 beak. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iv. pi. 6 1 : 
 
 " Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris, 
 Lath., Slender-billed Spine-bill. Cobb- 
 ler's Awl, Colonists of Van Diemen's 
 Land. Spine-bill, Colonists of New 
 South Wales." 
 
 Cobbler's Pegs, name given 
 to a tall erect annual weed, 
 Erigeron linifolitts, Willd., N.O. 
 Composite and to Bidens pilosus, 
 Linn., N.O. Composite. 
 
 Cobbra, n. aboriginal word for 
 head, skull. \Kabura or Kabbera, 
 with such variations as Kobra, 
 Kobbera, Kappara, Kopul, from 
 Malay Kapala, head : one of the 
 words on the East Coast mani- 
 festly of Malay origin. J. 
 Mathew. Much used in pigeon- 
 converse with blacks. ' Good- 
 way cobra tree' = 'Tree very tall.'] 
 Collins, ' Port Jackson Vocabu- 
 lary,' 1798 (p. 611), gives ' Ka- 
 bura, ca-ber-ra.' Mount Cobberas 
 in East Gippsland has its name 
 from huge head-like masses of 
 rock which rise from the summit. 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 31 : 
 
 " The black fellow who lives in the 
 bush bestows but small attention on 
 his cobra, as the head is usually called 
 in the pigeon-English which they 
 employ." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xiii. p. 134 : 
 
 " I should be cock-sure that having 
 an empty cobbra, as the blacks say, 
 was on the main track that led to the 
 grog-camp." 
 
 Cock-a-bully, n. a popular 
 name for the New Zealand fish 
 Galaxiasfasciatus, Gray, a corrup- 
 tion of its Maori name Kokopu 
 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 407, col. 3 : 
 
 "During my stay in New Zealand
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [coc 
 
 my little girl caught a fish rather 
 larger than an English minnow. Her 
 young companions called it a ' cock-a- 
 bully.' It was pretty obvious to scent 
 a corruption of a Maori word, for, 
 mark you, cock-a-bully has no mean- 
 ing. It looks as if it were English 
 and full of meaning. Reflect an in- 
 stant and it has none. The Maori 
 name for the fish is ' kokopu.' " 
 
 Cockatiel, -eel, ;/. an arbitrary 
 diminutive of the word Cockatoo, 
 and used as another name for the 
 Cockatoo - Parrakeet, Calopsitta 
 novce-hollandice, and generally for 
 any Parrakeet of the genus 
 Calopsitta. ('O.E.D.') 
 
 Cockatoo, n. (i) Bird-name. The 
 word is Malay, Kakatua. ('O.E.D.') 
 The varieties are 
 
 Banksian Cockatoo 
 
 Calyptorhynchus banksii, Lath. 
 Bare-eyed C. 
 
 Cacatua gymnopis, Sclater. 
 Black C. 
 
 Calyptorhynchus funereus, Shaw. 
 Blood-stained C. 
 
 Cacatua sanguinea, Gould. 
 Dampier's C. 
 
 Licmetis pastinator, Gould. 
 Gang-gang C. 
 
 Callocephalon galeatum, Lath. 
 
 [See Gang-gang.] 
 Glossy C. 
 
 Calyptorhynchus viridis, Vieill. 
 Long-billed C. 
 
 Licmetis nasicus, Temm. [See 
 
 Corella.] 
 Palm C. 
 
 Microglossus aterrimus, Gmel. 
 Pink C. 
 
 Cacatua leadbeateri, V. & H. 
 
 (Leadbeater, q.v.). 
 Red-tailed C. 
 
 Calyptorhynchus stellatus, Wagl. 
 Rose-breasted C. 
 
 Cacatua roseicapilla, Vieill. [See 
 Galah. Gould calls it Coca- 
 tua eos.] 
 White C. 
 
 Cacatua galerita, Lath. 
 
 White-tailed C. 
 
 Calyptorhynchus baudinii, Vig. 
 See also Parrakeet. 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. ii. p. 62 : 
 
 "We saw to-day for the first time 
 on the Kaldre, the redtop cockatoo 
 (Plyctolophus Leadbeateri). 
 
 1847. L. Leichbardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' c. viii. p. 272 : 
 
 "The rose-breasted cockatoo (Co- 
 catua eos, Gould) visited the patches 
 of fresh burnt grass." 
 
 Ibid. p. 275 : 
 
 "The black cockatoo (Calyptorhyn- 
 cus Banksif) has been much more fre- 
 quently observed of late." 
 
 1857. Daniel Bunce, ' Australasiatic 
 Reminiscences,' p. 175 : 
 
 " Dr. Leichhardt caught sight of a 
 number of cockatoos ; and, by tracking 
 the course of their flight, we, in a 
 short time, reached a creek well sup- 
 plied with water." 
 
 1862. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. ix. p. 331 : 
 
 "White cockatoos and parroquets 
 were now seen." 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes, Game Act, 
 Third Schedule ' : 
 
 " Black Cockatoos. Gang - gang 
 Cockatoos. [Close season.] From the 
 ist day of August to the 2oth day of 
 December next following in each year." 
 
 1893. 'The Argus,' March 25, p. 4, 
 col. 6 : 
 
 " The egg of the blood-stained cock- 
 atoo has not yet been scientifically de- 
 scribed, and the specimen in this col- 
 lection has an interest chiefly in that 
 it was taken [by Mr. A. J. Campbell] 
 from a tree at Innamincka waterholes, 
 not far from the spot where Burke the 
 explorer died." 
 
 (2) A small farmer, called earlier 
 in Tasmania a Cockatooer (q.v.). 
 The name was originally given in 
 contempt (see quotations), but it is 
 now used by farmers themselves. 
 Cocky is a common abbreviation. 
 Some people distinguish between 
 a cockatoo and a ground -parrot, 
 the latter being the farmer on a 
 very small scale. Trollop'e's 
 etymology (see quotation, 1873)
 
 coc] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 93 
 
 will not hold, for it is not true 
 that the cockatoo -scratches the 
 ground. After the gold fever, circa 
 1860, the selectors swarmed over 
 the country and ate up the sub- 
 stance of the squatters ; hence 
 they were called Cockatoos. The 
 word is also used adjectivally. 
 
 1863. M. K. Beveridge, ' Gatherings 
 .among the Gum-trees,' p. 154 : 
 
 " Oi J m going to be married 
 To what is termed a Cockatoo 
 Which manes a farmer." 
 
 1867. Lady Barker, 'Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. no : 
 
 "These small farmers are called 
 cockatoos in Australia by the squatters 
 or sheep-farmers, who dislike them for 
 buying up the best bits on their runs ; 
 and say that, like a cockatoo, the small 
 freeholder alights on good ground, ex- 
 tracts all he can from it, and then flies 
 away to 'fresh fields and pastures 
 new.' . . . However, whether the name 
 is just or not, it is a recognised one 
 here ; and I have heard a man say in 
 answer to a question about his usual 
 occupation, ' I'm a cockatoo.'" 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 135 : 
 
 "The word cockatoo in the farina- 
 ceous colony has become so common 
 as almost to cease to carry with it the 
 intended sarcasm ... It signifies that 
 the man does not really till his land, 
 but only scratches it as the bird does." 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, 'Old Colonials,' 
 P- 32: 
 
 " It may possibly have been a term 
 of reproach applied to the industrious 
 farmer, who settled or perched on the 
 resumed portions of a squatter's run, 
 so much to the latter's rage and disgust 
 that he contemptuously likened the 
 farmer to the white-coated, yellow- 
 crested screamer that settles or perches 
 on the trees at the edge of his name- 
 sake's clearing." 
 
 1889. ' Cornhill Magazine,' Jan., p. 33 : 
 " ' With a cockatoo ' [Title]. Cocka- 
 too is the name given to the small, 
 bush farmer in New Zealand." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' 
 <:. xliii. p. 377 : 
 
 " The governor is a bigoted agricul- 
 
 turist ; he has contracted the cockatoo 
 complaint, I'm afraid." 
 
 1893. 'The Argus,' June 17, p. 13, 
 col. 4 : 
 
 " Hire yourself out to a dairyman, 
 take a contract with a rail-splitter, sign 
 articles with a cockatoo selector ; but 
 don't touch land without knowing 
 something about it." 
 
 Cockatoo, v. intr. (i) To be a 
 farmer. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' c. xx. p. 245 : 
 
 " Fancy three hundred acres in 
 Oxfordshire, with a score or two of 
 bullocks, and twice as many black- faced 
 Down sheep. Regular cockatooing." 
 
 (2) A special sense to sit on a 
 fence as the bird sits. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Colonial 
 Reformer,' c. xviii. p. 224 : 
 
 " The correct thing, on first arriving 
 at a drafting-yard, is to ' cockatoo,' or 
 sit on the rails high above the tossing 
 horn-billows." 
 
 Cockatooer, n. a variant of 
 Cockatoo (q.v.), quite fallen into dis- 
 use, if quotation be not a nonce 
 use. 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, ' My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 137 
 
 "A few wretched-looking huts and 
 hovels, the dwellings of ' cockatooers,' 
 who are not, as it might seem, a species 
 of bird, but human beings : who rent 
 portions of this forest ... on exorbi- 
 tant terms . . . and vainly endeavour 
 to exist on what they can earn besides, 
 their frequent compulsory abstinence 
 from meat, when they cannot afford to 
 buy it, even in their land of cheap and 
 abundant food, giving them some af- 
 finity to the grain-eating white cocka- 
 toos." 
 
 Cockatoo Fence, n. fence 
 erected by small farmers. 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. xxii. p. 155 : 
 
 " There would be roads and cockatoo 
 fences ... in short, all the hostile 
 emblems of agricultural settlement." 
 
 1890. Lyth, ' Golden South,' c. xiv. 
 p. 120 : 
 
 "The fields were divided by open 
 rails or cockatoo fences, i.e. branches
 
 94 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [COC-COL 
 
 and logs of trees laid on the ground 
 one across the other with posts and 
 slip-rails in lieu of gates." 
 
 Cockatoo Bush, n. i.q. Native 
 Currant (q.v). 
 
 Cockatoo Orchis, n. a Tasman- 
 ian name for the Orchid, Caleya 
 major, R. Br. 
 
 Cock-eyed Bob, a local slang 
 term in Western Australia for a 
 thunderstorm. 
 
 1894. ' The Age,' Jan. 20, p. 13, col. 4 : 
 "They [the natives of the north- 
 west of Western Australia] are ex- 
 tremely frightened of them [sc. storms 
 called Willy Willy, q.v.], and in some 
 places even on the approach of an 
 ordinary thunderstorm or ' Cock-eyed 
 Bob,' they clear off to the highest 
 ground about." 
 
 Cockle, n. In England the 
 name is given to a species of the 
 familiar marine bivalve mollusc, 
 Cardium. The commonest Aus- 
 tralian species is Cardium tenui- 
 costatum, Lamarck, present in all 
 extra-tropical Australia. The 
 name is also commonly applied to 
 members of the genus Chione. 
 
 Cock-Schnapper, n. a fish ; the 
 smallest kind of Schnapper (q.v.). 
 See also Count-fish. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales, 'p. 41 : 
 
 "The usual method of estimating 
 quantity for sale by the fisherman is, 
 by the schnapper or count-fish, the 
 school-fish, and squire, among which 
 from its metallic appearance is the 
 copper head or copper colour, and the 
 red bream. Juveniles rank the smallest 
 of the fry, not over an inch or two in 
 length, as the cock-schnapper. The 
 fact, however, is now generally ad- 
 mitted that all these are one and the 
 same genus, merely in different stages 
 of growth." 
 
 Cod, n. This common English 
 name of the Gadus morrhua is 
 applied to many fishes in Aus- 
 tralia of various families, Gadoid 
 and otherwise. In Melbourne it 
 
 is given to Lotella callarias, Giinth., 
 and in New South Wales to several 
 fishes of the genus Serranus. Lotella 
 is a genus of the family Gadidce, 
 to which the European Cod 
 belongs ; Serranus is a Sea-perch 
 (q.v.). See Rock Cod, Black Rock 
 Cod, Red Rock Cod, Black Cod, 
 Blue Cod, Red Cod, Murray Cod, 
 Cloudy Bay Cod, Ling, Groper, 
 Hapuku, and Haddock. 
 
 Coffee-Bush, n, a settlers' name 
 for the New Zealand tree the 
 Karamu (q.v.). Sometimes called 
 also Coffee-plant. 
 
 Coffer-fish, n. i.q. Trunk-fish 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Coffee Plant, or Coffee Berry, 
 n. name given in Tasmania to the 
 Tasmanian Native Holly (q.v.). 
 
 Colonial Experience, n. and 
 used as adj. same as cadet (q.v.) 
 in New Zealand ; a young man 
 learning squatting business, gain- 
 ing his colonial experience. Called 
 also Jackaroo (q.v.). 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'A Colonial 
 Reformer,' p. 95 : 
 
 "You're the first 'colonial experi- 
 ence ' young fellow that it ever occurred 
 to within my knowledge." 
 
 Colonial Goose, n. a boned 
 leg of mutton stuffed with sage 
 and onions. In the early days 
 the sheep was almost the sole 
 animal food. Mutton was then 
 cooked and served in various 
 ways to imitate other dishes. 
 
 Colour, n. sc. of gold. It is 
 sometimes used with ' good,' to 
 mean plenty of gold : more 
 usually, the ' colour ' means just 
 a little gold, enough to show in 
 the dish. 
 
 1860. Kelly, ' Life in Victoria," vol. i. 
 p. 222 : 
 
 "... they had not, to use a current 
 phrase, ' raised the colour.' " 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. xiv. p. 149 :
 
 CON-COO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 9? 
 
 " This is the fifth claim he has been 
 in since he came here, and the first in 
 which he has seen the colour." 
 
 1891. W. Lilley, 'Wild West of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 14 : 
 
 " After spending a little time there, 
 and not finding more than a few 
 colours of gold, he started for Mount 
 Heemskirk." 
 
 Convictism, n, the system of 
 transportation of convicts to 
 Australia and Van Diemen's 
 Land, now many years abolished. 
 
 1852. J. West, ' History of Tasmania,' 
 vol. i. p. 309 : 
 
 " May it remain nailed to the mast 
 until these colonies are emancipated 
 from convictism." 
 
 1864. 'Realm,' Feb. 24, p. 4('O.E.D.') : 
 
 "No one who has' not lived in 
 Australia can appreciate the profound 
 hatred of convictism that obtains there." 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 1 6 : 
 
 " They preferred to let things remain 
 as they were, convictism included." 
 
 Coobah, n. an aboriginal name 
 for the tree Acacia salicina, Lindl., 
 N.O. Leguminosce. See Acacia. 
 The spellings vary, and sometimes 
 begin with a K. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' v. 46 : 
 
 " A deep reach of the river, shaded 
 by couba trees and river-oaks.'"' 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xxviii. p. 400 : 
 
 " The willowy coubah weeps over 
 the dying streamlet." 
 
 Coo-ee, or Gooey, n, and interj. 
 spelt in various ways. See quo- 
 tations. A call borrowed from 
 the aborigines and used in the 
 bush by one wishing to find or 
 to be found by another. In the 
 vocabulary of native words in 
 ' Hunter's Journal,' published in 
 1790, we find " Cow-ee = to come." 
 
 1827. P- Cunningham, ' New South 
 Wales,' vol. ii. p. 23 : 
 
 " In calling to each other at a dis- 
 tance, the natives make use of the word 
 Coo-ee, as we do the word Hollo, pro- 
 longing the sound of the coo, and 
 
 closing that of the ee with a shrill jerk. 
 ... [It has] become of general use 
 throughout the colony ; and a new- 
 comer, in desiring an individual to call 
 another back, soon learns to say 
 ' Coo-ee ' to him, instead of Hollo to 
 him." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 162 : 
 
 " He immediately called ' coo-oo-oo ' 
 to the natives at the fire." 
 
 1836. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack/ 
 p. 84: 
 
 " There yet might be heard the 
 significant l cooy' or 'quhy,' the true 
 import of which was then unknown to 
 our ears." 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' p. 46 : 
 
 "Although Mr. Brown made the 
 woods echo with his ' cooys.' " [See 
 also p. 87, note.] 
 
 1845. Clement Hodgkinson, ' Australia 
 from Port Macquarie to Moreton Bay,' p. 
 28: 
 
 "We suddenly heard the loud shrill 
 couis of the natives." 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 231 : 
 
 " Their coo'ieys are not always what 
 we understand_by the word, viz., a call 
 in which the first note is low and the 
 second high, uttered after sound of the 
 word coo'iey. This is a note which 
 congregates all together and is used 
 only as a simple ' Here.' " 
 
 1852. J. West, 'History of Tasmania/ 
 vol. ii. p. 91 : 
 
 " Like the natives of New South 
 Wales, they called to each other from 
 a great distance by the cooey; a word 
 meaning ' come to me.' The Sydney 
 blacks modulated this cry with succes- 
 sive inflexions ; the Tasmanian uttered 
 it with less art. It is a sound of great 
 compass. The English in the bush 
 adopt it : the first syllable is prolonged ; 
 the second is raised to a higher key, 
 and is sharp and abrupt." 
 
 1862. W. Landsborough, ' Exploration 
 of Australia, '^Footnote] p. 24: 
 
 " Coo-oo-oo-y is a shrill treble cry 
 much used in the bush by persons 
 wishful to find each other. On a still 
 night it will travel a couple of miles,, 
 and it is thus highly serviceable to- 
 lost or benighted travellers."
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [coo 
 
 1869. J. F. Townend, ' Reminiscences of 
 Australia,' p. 155 : 
 
 "The jingling of bells round the 
 necks of oxen, the cooey of the black 
 fellow . . . constituted the music of 
 these desolate districts." 
 
 1873. J. B. Stephens, ' Black Gin,' p. 82 : 
 
 " Hi ! . . . cooey ! you fella . . . 
 open 'im lid." 
 
 1880. Fison and Howitt, ' Kamilaroi 
 .and Kurnai,' p. 283 : 
 
 " A particular ' cooee ' . . . was 
 made known to the young men when 
 they were initiated." 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, ' Tales of the Gold- 
 fields,' p. 40 : 
 
 " From the woods they heard a pro- 
 longed cooee, which evidently pro- 
 ceeded from some one lost in the 
 bush." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' Australian Life,' 
 p. 276 : 
 
 " Two long farewell coo-ees, which 
 died away in the silence of the bush." 
 
 1890. E. W. Hornung, ' A Bride from 
 the Bush,' p. 184: 
 
 " The bride encircled her lips with 
 her two gloved palms, and uttered a 
 cry that few of the hundreds who heard 
 it ever forgot ' coo-ee ! ' That was 
 the startling cry as nearly as it can be 
 written. But no letters can convey the 
 sustained shrillness of the long, pene- 
 trating note represented by the first 
 syllable, nor the weird, die-away .wail 
 of the second. It is the well-known 
 bush call, the 'jodel ' of the black 
 fellow." 
 
 Cooee, within, adv. within easy 
 distance. 
 
 1887. G. L. Apperson, in ' All the Year 
 Round,' July 30, p. 67, col. I ('O.E.D.'): 
 
 " A common mode of expression is 
 to be 'within cooey ' of a place. . . . 
 Now to be ' within cooey ' of Sydney is 
 to be at the distance of an easy journey 
 therefrom." 
 
 1893. ' The Herald ' (Melbourne), June 
 26, p. 2, col. 6 : 
 
 " Witness said that there was a post- 
 office clock ' within coo-ee,' or within 
 less than half-a-mile of the station.'' 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World 
 was Wide,' p. 80 : 
 
 "Just to camp within a cooey of the 
 -Shanty for the night." 
 
 Cooee, v. intr. to utter the call. 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 81 : 
 
 " Our sable guides ' cooed ' and 
 ' cooed ' again, in their usual tone of 
 calling to each other at a distance." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 115 : 
 
 " Brown cooeed to him, and by a 
 sign requested him to wait for us.'' 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, ' Phillipsland,' p. 
 85 [Footnote] : 
 
 " Cooey is the aboriginal mode of 
 calling out to any person at a distance, 
 whether visible or not, in the forest. 
 The sound is made by dwelling on the 
 first syllable, and pronouncing the 
 second with a short, sharp, rising in- 
 flexion. It is much easier made, and 
 is heard to a much greater distance 
 than the English holla! and is con-> 
 sequently in universal use among the 
 colonists. . . . There is a story current 
 in the colony of a party of native-born 
 colonists being in London, one of 
 whom, a young lady, if I recollect 
 aright, was accidentally separated from 
 the rest, in the endless stream of 
 pedestrians and vehicles of all descrip- 
 tions, at the intersection of Fleet Street 
 with the broad avenue leading to 
 Blackfriars Bridge. When they were 
 all in great consternation and per- 
 plexity at the circumstance, it occurred 
 to one of the party to cooey, and the 
 well-known sound, with its ten thousand 
 Australian associations, being at once 
 recognised and responded to, a reunion 
 of the party took place immediately, 
 doubtless to the great wonderment of 
 the surrounding Londoners, who would 
 probably suppose they were all fit for 
 Bedlam." 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 p. 90: 
 
 " They [the aborigines] warily entered 
 scrubs, and called out (cooyed) re- 
 peatedly in approaching water-holes, 
 even when yet at a great distance/' 
 
 1852. J. West, ' History of Tasmania/ 
 vol. ii. p. 91 : 
 
 "A female, born on this division of 
 the globe, once stood at the foot of 
 -London Bridge, and cooyed for her 
 husband, of whom she had lost sight, 
 and stopped the passengers by the 
 novelty of the sound ; which however 
 is not unknown in certain neighbour- 
 hoods of the metropolis. Some gen-
 
 COO-COP] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 97 
 
 tlemen, on a visit to a London theatre, 
 to draw the attention of their friends 
 in an opposite box, called out cooey ; a 
 voice in the gallery answered ' Botany 
 Bay!"' 
 
 1880 (circa), 'Melbourne Punch,' [In 
 the days of long trains] : 
 
 " George, there's somebody treading 
 on my dress ; cooee to the bottom of 
 the stairs." 
 
 Coo - in - new, n. aboriginal 
 name for "a useful verbenace- 
 ous timber -tree of Australia, 
 Gmelina leichhardtii, F. v. M. The 
 wood has a fine silvery grain, and 
 is much prized for flooring and 
 for the decks of vessels, as it is 
 reputed never to shrink after a 
 moderate seasoning." (' Century.') 
 Usually called Mahogany - tree 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Coolaman or Kooliman, n. an 
 aboriginal word, Kamilaroi Dia- 
 lect of New South Wales. [W. 
 Ridley,' Kamilaroi,' p. 25, derives 
 it from Kiilii, seed, but it is just 
 as likely from Kolle, water. J. 
 Mathew.] A hollowed knot of a 
 tree, used as a seed vessel, or 
 for holding water. The word is 
 applied to the excrescence on the 
 tree as well as to the vessel ; a 
 bush hand has been heard to 
 speak of a hump-backed man as 
 * cooliman-backed.' 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 269 : 
 
 " Three koolimans (vessels of stringy 
 bark) were full of honey water, from 
 one of which I took a hearty draught." 
 
 1863. M. K. Beveridge, ' Gatherings 
 among the Gum-trees,' p. 37 : 
 
 "And the beautiful Lubrina 
 
 Fetched a Cooliman of water." 
 
 [In Glossary.] Cooliman, a hollow 
 knot of a tree for holding water. 
 
 l86. W. Howitt, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia, vol. ii. p. 24: 
 
 " Koolimans, water vessels . . . The 
 koolimans were made of the inner layer 
 of the bark of the stringy-bark tree." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 185 : 
 
 " Coolaman, native vessel for holding 
 water." 
 
 1885. Mrs. Praed, 'Australian Life,' p. 
 76: 
 
 " Cooliman, a vessel for carrying 
 water, made out of the bark which 
 covers an excrescence peculiar to a 
 kind of gum-tree." 
 
 Cooper's-flag, n. another name 
 in New Zealand for Raupo (q.v.). 
 
 Coopers-wood, n. the timber 
 of an Australian tree, Alphitonia 
 excelsa, Reiss, N. O. Rhamnea. 
 The wood becomes dark with 
 age, and is used for coopers' 
 staves and various purposes. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 373 : 
 
 " Variously called Mountain-ash, 
 Red-ash, Leather-jacket, and Coopers- 
 wood." 
 
 Coordaitcha. See Kurdaitcha. 
 
 Coot, n. common English bird- 
 name ; the Australian species is 
 Fulica australis, Gould. See also 
 Bald-Coot. 
 
 Copper-head, n. See under 
 Snake. 
 
 Copper Maori. This spelling 
 has been influenced by the Eng- 
 lish word Copper, but it is really 
 a corruption of a Maori word. 
 There is a difference of opinion 
 amongst Maori scholars what 
 this word is. Some say Kapura, 
 a common fire used for cooking, 
 in contradistinction to a ' chiefs 
 fire,' at which he sat, and which 
 would not be allowed to be 
 defiled with food. Others say 
 Kopa. The Maori word Kopa 
 was (i) adj. meaning bent, (2) n. 
 angle or corner, and (3) the native 
 oven, or more strictly the hole 
 scooped out for the oven. 
 
 1888. T. Pine, 'Transactions of New 
 Zealand Institute,' 'A local tradition of 
 Raukawa,' vol. xxi. p. 417 : 
 
 " So they set to work and dug holes 
 on the flat, each hole about 2 ft. across 
 and about i ft. deep, and shaped 
 something like a Kopa Maori."
 
 9 8 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [COP-COR 
 
 1889. H. D. M. Haszard, ibid. ' Notes 
 on some Relics of Cannibalism,' vol. xxii. 
 p. 104 : 
 
 " In two distinct places, about four 
 chains apart, there were a number 
 of Kapura Maori, or native ovens, 
 scattered about within a radius of 
 about forty feet." 
 
 Coprosma, n. scientific and 
 vernacular name for a large genus 
 of trees and shrubs of the order 
 Rubiacece. From the Greek KdVpos, 
 dung, on account of the bad smell 
 of some of the species. See quot- 
 ation. The Maori name is Kara- 
 mu (q.v.). Various species receive 
 special vernacular names, which 
 appear in their places in the 
 Dictionary. 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, 'Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand," p. no: 
 
 " Coprosma comprises about forty 
 species, of which at least thirty are 
 found in New Zealand, all of which 
 are restricted to the colony except C. 
 pumila, which extends to Australia. 
 Five species are found in Australia, 
 one of which is C. pumila mentioned 
 above. A few species occur in the 
 Pacific, Chili, Juan Fernandez, the 
 Sandwich Islands, &c." 
 
 Coral, n. See Bat swing- Coral. 
 
 Coral-Pern, n. name given in 
 Victoria to Gleichenia cirdnata, 
 Swartz, called in Bailey's list 
 Parasol-Fern. See Fern. 
 
 Coral- Flower, n. a plant, Epacris 
 (q.v.), Epacris microphylla, R. Br., 
 N.O. Epacridece. 
 
 Coral-Pea, n. another name for 
 the Kennedy a (q.v.). 
 
 1896. ' The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 53 : 
 
 "The trailing scarlet kennedyas, 
 aptly called the 'bleeding-heart' or 
 ' coral pea,' brighten the greyness of 
 the sandy, peaty wastes." 
 
 Coranderrk, n. the aboriginal 
 name for the Victorian Dogivood 
 (q.v.). An "aboriginal station," 
 or asylum and settlement for the 
 remaining members of the abori- 
 ginal race of Victoria, is called 
 
 after this name because the wood 
 grew plentifully there. 
 
 Cordage-tree, n. name given 
 in Tasmania to a Kurrajong (q.v.). 
 The name Sida pulchella has been 
 superseded by Plagianthus sidoides, 
 Hook. 
 
 1835. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack/ 
 p. 108 : 
 
 " Sida pulchella. Handsome Sida. 
 Currijong or cordage tree of Hobart 
 Town. . . . The bark used to be taken 
 for tying up post and rail fences, the 
 rafters of huts, in the earlier periods of 
 the colony, before nails could be so 
 easily procured." 
 
 Corella, n. any parrot of the 
 genus Nymphicus; the word is dim. 
 of late Lat. cora = Kop-rj, a girl, doll, 
 etc. The Australian Corella js 
 N. novce-hollandice, and the name 
 is also given to Licmetus nasicus y 
 Temm, the Long - billed Cockatoo 
 (q.v.). It is often used indis- 
 criminately by bird-fanciers for 
 any pretty little parrot, parrakeet, 
 or cockatoo. 
 
 Cork-tree, n. 
 Coral. 
 
 See Bafs-wing 
 
 Corkwood, n. a New Zealand 
 tree, Entelea arborescens, R. Br., 
 N.O. Tiliacece. Maori name, Whan. 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, 'Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 45 : 
 
 " The whau ... is termed cork- 
 wood by the settlers on account of its 
 light specific gravity." 
 
 Cormorant, n. common Eng- 
 lish bird-name. In Australia the 
 name is applied to the following 
 birds: 
 
 Black Cormorant 
 
 Graculus novtz-hollandice, Steph- 
 Little C. 
 
 G. melanoleucus, Vieill. 
 Little-black C. 
 
 G. stictocephalus, Bp. 
 Pied C. 
 
 G. varius, Gm.
 
 COR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 99 
 
 White-breasted Cormorant 
 
 G. leucogaster, Gould. 
 White-throated C. 
 
 G. brevirostris, Gould. 
 
 Cornstalk, n. a young man or 
 a girl born and bred in New South 
 Wales, especially if tall and big. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 116 : 
 
 " The colonial-born, bearing also 
 the name of cornstalks (Indian corn), 
 from the way in which they shoot up." 
 
 1834. Geo. Bennett, ' Wanderings in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 341 : 
 
 "The Australian ladies may com- 
 pete for personal beauty and elegance 
 with any European, although satirized 
 as ' Cornstalks,' from the slenderness 
 of their forms." 
 
 1849. J. P. Townsend, ' Rambles in 
 New South Wales,' p. 68 : 
 
 " Our host was surrounded by a 
 little army of 'cornstalks.' . . . The 
 designation 'cornstalk' is given be- 
 cause the young people run up like 
 the stems of the Indian corn." 
 
 1869. W. R. Honey, ' Madeline Clifton,' 
 Act III. sc. v. p. 30 : 
 
 " Look you, there stands young 
 cornstalk." 
 
 1878. ' The Australian,' vol. i. p. 526 : 
 
 " If these are the heroes that my 
 cornstalk friends worship so ardently, 
 they must indeed be hard up for 
 heroes." 
 
 1893. Haddon Chambers, ' Thumbnail 
 Sketches of Australian Life,' p. 217 : 
 
 "While in the capital I fell in with 
 several jolly cornstalks, with whom 
 I spent a pleasant time in boating, 
 fishing, and sometimes camping out 
 down the harbour." 
 
 Correa, n. the scientific name 
 of a genus of Australian plants of 
 the N. O. Rutacea, so named after 
 Correa de Serra, a Portuguese 
 nobleman who wrote on rutaceous 
 plants at the beginning of the 
 century. They bear scarlet or 
 green and sometimes yellowish 
 flowers, and are often called 
 Native Fuchsias (q.v.), especially 
 C. speaosa, Andrews, which bears 
 crimson flowers. 
 
 1827. R. Sweet, 'Flora Australasica,' 
 p. 2: 
 
 " The genus was first named by Sir 
 J. E. Smith in compliment to the late 
 M. Correa de Serra, a celebrated 
 Portuguese botanist." 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, 'Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 P- 384 : 
 
 "The scarlet correa lurked among 
 the broken quartz." 
 
 1877. F. v. Miiller, 'Botanic Teachings,' 
 p. 70: 
 
 "With all wish to maintain ver- 
 nacular names, which are not actually 
 misleading, I cannot call a correa by 
 the common colonial name 'native 
 fuchsia,' as not the slightest structural 
 resemblance and but little habitual 
 similarity exists between these plants ; 
 they indeed belong to widely different 
 orders." 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 "All Correas are geographically 
 restricted to the south-eastern portion 
 of the Australian continent and Tas- 
 mania, the genus containing but few 
 species." 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, 'Tasmanian Friends 
 and Foes, ' p. 23 : 
 
 "I see some pretty red correa and 
 lilac." [Footnote] : " Correa speciosa, 
 native fuchsia of Colonies." 
 
 Corrobbery, n. This spelling 
 is nearest to the accepted pro- 
 nunciation, the accent falling on 
 the second syllable. Various 
 spellings, however, occur, viz. 
 Corobbery, Corrobery, Corroberry^ 
 Corroborree t Corrobbory, Corro- 
 borry, Corrobboree, Coroboree, Cor- 
 roboree, Korroboree, Corroborri, 
 Corrobaree, and Caribberie. To 
 these Mr. Eraser adds Kardbari 
 (see quotation, 1892), but his 
 spelling has never been accepted 
 in English. The word comes 
 from the Botany Bay dialect. 
 
 [The aboriginal verb (see Rid- 
 ley's ' Kamilaroi and other Aus- 
 tralian Languages,' p. 107) is 
 korobra, to dance ; in the same 
 locality boroya or beria means to 
 sing ; probably koro is from a
 
 100 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [COR 
 
 common Australian word for 
 emu. J. Mathew.] 
 
 (i) An aboriginal name for a 
 dance, sacred, festive, or warlike. 
 
 1793. Governor Hunter, ' Port Jack- 
 son,' p. 195 : 
 
 " They very frequently, at the con- 
 clusion of the dance, would apply to 
 us ... for marks of our approbation 
 . . . which we never failed to give 
 by often repeating the word boojery, 
 good ; or boojery caribberie, a good 
 dance." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 280 : 
 
 " Dancing with their corrobery 
 motion." 
 
 Ibid. p. 311 : 
 
 " With several corrobery or harle- 
 quin steps." 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, ' Southern Australia,' vol. 
 ii. c. iii. p. 55 : 
 
 " They hold their corrobories (mid- 
 night ceremonies)." 
 
 1836. C. Darwin, 'Journal of the Voyage 
 of the Beagle' (ed. 1882), c. xix. p. 450: 
 
 " A large tribe of natives, called the 
 white cockatoo men, happened to pay 
 a visit to the settlement while we were 
 there. These men as well as those of 
 the tribe belonging to King George's 
 Sound, being tempted by the offer of 
 some tubs of rice and sugar were 
 persuaded to hold a ' corrobery ' or 
 great dancing party." [Description 
 follows.] 
 
 1838. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. ii. p. 4 : 
 
 " There can be little doubt that the 
 corrobboree is the medium through 
 which the delights of poetry aud the 
 drama are enjoyed in a limited degree, 
 even by these primitive savages of 
 New Holland." 
 
 1844. Mrs. Meredith. ' Notes and 
 Sketches of New South Wales,' p. 91 : 
 
 " Great preparations were made, as 
 for a grand corrobory, or festival, the 
 men divesting themselves of even the 
 portions of clothing commonly worn, 
 and painting their naked black bodies 
 in a hideous manner with pipe-clay. 
 After dark, they lit their fires, which 
 are small, but kept blazing with con- 
 stant additions of dry bark and leaves, 
 and the sable gentry assembled by 
 degrees as they completed their even- 
 
 ing toilette, full dress being painted 
 nudity. A few began dancing in 
 different parties, preparatory to the 
 grand display, and the women, squat- 
 ting on the ground, commenced their 
 strange monotonous chant, each beat- 
 ing accurate time with two boomer- 
 angs. Then began the grand corro- 
 bory, and all the men joined in the 
 dance, leaping, jumping, bounding 
 about in the most violent manner, but 
 always in strict unison with each other, 
 and keeping time with the chorus, 
 accompanying their wild gesticulations 
 with frightful yells, and noises. The 
 whole ' tableau ' is fearfully grand ! 
 The dark wild forest scenery around 
 the bright fire-light gleaming upon 
 the savage and uncouth figures of the 
 men, their natural dark hue being 
 made absolutely horrible by the paint- 
 ings bestowed on them, consisting of 
 lines and other marks done in white 
 and red pipe-clay, which gives them 
 an indescribably ghastly and fiendish 
 aspect their strange attitudes, and 
 violent contortions and movements, 
 and the unearthly sound of their yells, 
 mingled with the wild and monotonous 
 wail-like chant of the women, make 
 altogether a very near approach to the 
 horribly sublime in the estimation of 
 most Europeans who have witnessed 
 an assembly of the kind." 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, ' Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 103 : 
 
 " They have no instrument of music, 
 the corobery's song being accom- 
 panied by the beating of two sticks 
 together, and by the women thumping 
 their opossum rugs." 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, ' Cooksland,' p. 447 
 [Footnote] : 
 
 "These words, which were quite as 
 unintelligible to the natives as the cor- 
 responding words in the vernacular 
 language of the white men would have 
 been, were learned by the natives, and 
 are now commonly used by them in 
 conversing with Europeans, as English 
 words. Thus corrobbory, the Sydney 
 word for a general assembly of natives, 
 is now commonly used in that sense at 
 Moreton Bay ; but the original word 
 there is yanerwille. Gabon, great ; 
 narang, little ; boodgeree, good ; myall, 
 wild native, etc. etc., are all words of 
 this description, supposed by the
 
 COR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 natives [of Queensland] to be English 
 words, and by the Europeans to be 
 aboriginal words of the language of 
 that district." 
 
 [The phrase " general assembly " 
 would rise naturally in the mind of 
 Dr. Lang as a Presbyterian minister ; 
 but there is no evidence of anything 
 parliamentary about a corrobbery.] 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 p. 78: 
 
 "The exact object or meaning of 
 their famous corrobboree or native 
 dance, beyond mere exercise and 
 patience, has not as yet been properly 
 ascertained ; but it seems to be 
 mutually understood and very ex- 
 tensively practised throughout Aus- 
 tralia, and is generally a sign of 
 mutual fellowship and good feeling 
 on the part of the various tribes." 
 
 1849. J. P. Townsend, ' Rambles in 
 New South Wales,' p. loo : 
 
 "When our blacks visited Sydney, 
 and saw the military paraded, and 
 heard the bands, they said that was 
 4 white fellows' corrobbory.' " 
 
 1854. E. Stone Parker, ' Aborigines of 
 Australia,' p. 21 : 
 
 " It is a very great mistake to sup- . 
 pose . . . that there is any kind of 
 religious ceremony connected with 
 the ordinary corrobory ... I may 
 also remark that the term corrobory is 
 not a native word." 
 
 [It is quite certain that it is native, 
 though not known to Mr. E. Stone 
 Parker.] 
 
 1862. G. T. Lloyd, ' Thirty-three Years 
 in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 49 : 
 
 [In Tasmania] "the assembling of 
 the tribes was always celebrated by a 
 grand corroboree, a species of bestial 
 bal masgu/. On such occasions they 
 presented a most grotesque and 
 demon-like appearance, their heads, 
 faces, and bodies, liberally greased 
 were besmeared alternately with clay 
 and red ochre ; large tufts of bushy 
 twigs were entwined around their 
 ankles, wrists, and waists ; and these 
 completed their toilet." 
 
 1879. J- D - Woods, ' Native Tribes of 
 South Australia,' Introduction, pp. xxxii. 
 and xxxiii. : 
 
 "The principal dance is common 
 all over the continent, and 'corrob- 
 boree ' is the name by which it is 
 
 commonly known. It is not quite 
 clear what a corrobboree is intended 
 to signify. Some think it a war-dance 
 others that it is a representation of 
 their hunting expeditions others 
 again, that it is a religious, or pagan, 
 observance ; but on this even the 
 blacks themselves give no inform- 
 ation." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 41 : 
 
 "The good fortune to witness a 
 korroboree, that is a festive dance by 
 the natives in the neighbourhood." 
 
 1892. J. Fraser, ' The Aborigines of 
 New South Wales,' p. 21 : 
 
 " ' Kardbari ' is an aboriginal name 
 for those dances which our natives 
 often have in the forests at night. 
 Hitherto the name has been written 
 corrobboree, but etymologically it 
 should be kardbari, for it comes from 
 the same root as ' karaji,' a wizard or 
 medicine-man, and ' bari ' is a common 
 formative in the native languages. 
 The karabari has been usually re- 
 garded as a form of amusement . . . 
 these dances partake of a semi- 
 religious character." [Mr. Eraser's 
 etymology is regarded as far-fetched.] 
 
 (2) The song that accompanied 
 the dance. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 323 : 
 
 " I feared he might imagine we were 
 afraid of his incantations, for he sang 
 most lamentable corroborris." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, ' Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 68 : 
 
 "... listen to the new corroborree. 
 Great numbers arrive ; the corroborree 
 is danced night after night with the 
 utmost enthusiasm. . . . These corro- 
 borrees travel for many hundreds of 
 miles from the place where they origin- 
 ated. . . . These composers [of song 
 and dance] pretend that the Spirit 
 of Evil originally manufactured their 
 corroborree." 
 
 1889. Rev. J. H. Zillman, ' Australian 
 Life,' p. 132 : 
 
 " The story was a grand joke among 
 the blacks for many a day. It became, 
 no doubt, the theme for a ' corroberee,' 
 and Tommy was always after a hero 
 amongst his countrymen." 
 
 (3) By transference, any large
 
 102 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [COR-COT 
 
 social gathering or public meet- 
 ing. 
 
 1892. 'Saturday Review,' Feb. 13, p. 
 168, col. 2 : 
 
 " A corrobory of gigantic dimensions 
 is being prepared for [General Booth's] 
 reception [in Australia]." (' O.E.D.') 
 
 1895. Modern : 
 
 "There's a big corrobbery on to-night 
 at Government House, and you can't 
 get a cab for love or money." 
 
 (4) By natural transference, a 
 noise, disturbance, fuss or trouble. 
 
 1874. Garnet Walch, ' Adamanta,' Act 
 II. sc. ii. p. 27 : 
 
 " How can I calm this infantile 
 corroboree ? " 
 
 1885. H. O. Forbes, 'Naturalist's 
 Wanderings,' p. 295 : 
 
 " Kingfishers ... in large chatter- 
 ing corrobories in the tops of high 
 trees." 
 
 1888. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Robbery 
 under Arms,' p. 242 : 
 
 "The boy raises the most awful 
 corroboree of screams and howls, 
 enough for a whole gang of bush- 
 rangers, if they went in for that sort 
 of thing." 
 
 1897. 'The Herald,' Feb. 15, p. I, 
 col. I : 
 
 " Latest about the Cretan corroboree 
 in our cable messages this evening. 
 The situation at the capital is decidedly 
 disagreeable. A little while ago the 
 Moslems threw the Christians out and 
 took charge. Now the last report is 
 that/there is a large force of Christians 
 attacking the city and quite ready, we 
 doubt not, to cut every Moslem throat 
 that comes in the way." 
 
 Corrobbery, v. (i) To hold a 
 corrobbery. 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 61 : 
 
 " They began to corrobery or dance, 
 (p. 206) : They ' corroberried,' sang, 
 laughed, and screamed." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' 
 p. 22 : 
 
 " For some time the district where 
 the nut [bunya] abounds is a scene of 
 feasting and corroboreeing." 
 
 (2) By transference to animals, 
 birds, insects, etc. 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, 'Reminiscences 
 of Australia, ' p. 257 : 
 
 " The mosquitoes from the swamps 
 corroboreed with unmitigated ardour." 
 
 1871. C. Darwin, 'Descent of Man' 
 (2nd ed. 1885), p. 406 : 
 
 "The Menura Alberti [see Lyre- 
 bird} scratches for itself shallow holes, 
 or, as they are called by the natives, 
 corroborying places, where it is be- 
 lieved both sexes assemble." 
 
 (3) To boil ; to dance as boil- 
 ing water does. 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 43 : 
 
 " ' Look out there ! ' he continued ; 
 'quart -pot corroborree,' springing up 
 and removing with one hand from the 
 fire one of the quart-pots, which was 
 boiling madly, while with the other he 
 dropped in about as much tea as he 
 could hold between his fingers and 
 thumb." 
 
 Ibid. p. 49 : 
 
 "They had almost finished their 
 meal before the new quart corro- 
 borreed, as the stockman phrased it." 
 
 Corypha-palm, . an obsolete 
 name for Livistona inermis, now 
 called Cabbage-tree (q.v.). 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 49 : 
 
 "The bottle-tree and the corypha- 
 palm were frequent." 
 
 Cottage, n. a house in which 
 all the rooms are on the ground- 
 floor. An auctioneer's advertise- 
 ment often runs " large weather- 
 board cottage, twelve rooms, etc.," 
 or "double-fronted brick cottage." 
 The cheapness of land caused 
 nearly all suburban houses in 
 Australia to be built without 
 upper storeys and detached. 
 
 Cotton-bush, n. name applied 
 to two trees called Salt-bush (q.v.). 
 (i) Hassia bicornis, Lindl. (2) 
 Kochia aphylla, R. Br., N.O. Sal- 
 solaces. S. Dixon (apud Maiden, 
 p. 132) thus describes it 
 
 " All kinds of stock are often largely 
 dependent on it during protracted 
 droughts, and when neither grass nor
 
 COT-CRA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 103 
 
 hay are obtainable I have known the 
 whole bush chopped up and mixed 
 with a little corn, when it proved an 
 excellent fodder for horses." 
 
 1876. W. Harcus, ' South Australia,' p. 
 126 : 
 
 " This is a fine open, hilly district, 
 watered, well grassed, and with plenty 
 of herbage and cotton-bush." 
 
 Cotton-shrub, n. a name given 
 in Tasmania to the shrub Pimelea 
 Mtvea, Lab., N.O. Thymeha. 
 
 Cotton-tree, n. an Australian 
 tree, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Linn., N.O. 
 Malvacea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 624 : 
 
 " The fibre of the bark [cotton-tree] 
 is used for nets and fishing-lines by 
 the aborigines." 
 
 Cotton-wood, n. the timber of 
 an Australian tree, Bedfordia sali- 
 tina, De C.,N.O. Composite. Called 
 Dog-wood (q.v.) in Tasmania. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 386 : 
 
 " The ' dog- wood ' of Tasmania, and 
 the ' cotton-wood ' of Southern New 
 South Wales, on account of the abun- 
 dant down on the leaves. A hard, 
 pale-brown, well-mottled wood, said 
 by some to be good for furniture. It 
 emits a foetid smell when cut. ;> 
 
 Coucal, n. a bird-name, "men- 
 tioned probably for the first time 
 in Le Vaillant's ' Oiseaux d'Af- 
 rique,' beginning about 1796 ; 
 perhaps native African. An 
 African or Indian spear-headed 
 cuckoo : a name first definitely 
 applied by Cuvier in 1817 to the 
 birds of the genus Centropus" 
 {' Century.') The Australian spe- 
 cies is Centropus phasianellus, 
 Gould, or Centropus phasianus, 
 Lath. It is called also Swamp- 
 pheasant (q.v.), and Pheasant-cuckoo. 
 
 Count-fish, n. a large Schnapper 
 (q.v.). See Cock- Schnapper. 
 
 1874. ' Sydney Mail,' ' Fishes and Fish- 
 ing in New South Wales ' : 
 
 " The ordinary schnapper or count- 
 
 fish implies that all of a certain size are 
 to count as twelve to the dozen, the 
 shoal or school-fish eighteen or twenty- 
 four to the dozen, and the squire, thirty 
 or thirty-six to the dozen the latter 
 just according to their size, the fed- 
 bream at per bushel." 
 
 Count-muster, n. a gathering, 
 especially of sheep or cattle in 
 order to count them. 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. i : 
 
 " The old man's having a regular 
 count-muster of his sons and daughters, 
 and their children and off-side rela- 
 tives that is, by marriage." 
 
 Cowdie, n. an early variant 
 of Kauri (q.v.), with other 
 spellings. 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 143 : 
 
 " The native name ' Kauri ' is the 
 only common name in general use. 
 When the timber was first introduced 
 into Britain it was termed ' cowrie-' or 
 ' kowdie-pine ' ; but the name speedily 
 fell into disuse, although it still appears 
 as the common name in some horti- 
 cultural works." 
 
 Cowshorns, n. a Tasmanian 
 orchid, Pterostylis nutans, R. Br. 
 
 Cow-tree, n. a native tree of 
 New Zealand. Maori name, 
 Karaka (q.v.). 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 346 : 
 
 "The karaka-tree of New Zealand 
 ( Corynocarpus Icevigata), also called 
 kopi by the natives, and cow-tree by 
 Europeans (from that animal being 
 partial to its leaves), grows luxuriantly 
 in Sydney." 
 
 Crab, n. Of the various Austra- 
 lian species of this marine crusta- 
 cean, Scylla serrata alone is large 
 enough to be much used as food, 
 and it is seldom caught. In Tas- 
 mania and Victoria, Pseudocardnus 
 gtgas, called the King-Crab, which 
 reaches a weight of 20 Ibs., is 
 occasionally brought to market. 
 There is only one fresh-water
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [CRA. 
 
 crab known in Australia Tel- 
 phusa transversa. 
 
 1896. Spencer and Hall, ' Home Expe- 
 dition in Central Australia,' Zoology, p. 
 228: 
 
 "In the case of Telphtisa transversa, 
 the fresh-water crab, the banks of 
 certain water holes are riddled with 
 its burrows." 
 
 Crab-hole, n. a hole leading 
 into a pit-like burrow, made origin- 
 ally by a burrowing crayfish, and 
 often afterwards increased in size 
 by the draining into it of water. 
 The burrows are made by cray- 
 fish belonging to the genera 
 Eng&us and Astacopsis, which are 
 popularly known as land-crabs. 
 
 1848. Letter by Mrs. Perry, given in 
 Canon Goodman's ' Church in Victoria, 
 during Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' p. 7 2 : 
 
 " Full of crab holes, which are ex- 
 ceedingly dangerous for the horses. 
 There are holes varying in depth from 
 one to three feet, and the smallest of 
 them wide enough to admit the foot 
 of a horse : nothing more likely than 
 that a horse should break its leg in 
 one . . . These holes are formed by 
 a small land-crab and then gradually 
 enlarged by the water draining into 
 them." 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, 'Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 p. 368 : 
 
 " This brute put his foot in a crab- 
 hole, and came down, rolling on my 
 leg." 
 
 1875. Wood and Lapham, 'Waiting 
 for the Mail," p. 49 : 
 
 " Across the creek we went . . . now 
 tripping over tussocks, now falling 
 into crab holes." 
 
 Crab-tree, n. i.q. Bitter-bark 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Cradle, n. common in Australia, 
 but of Californian origin. "A 
 trough on rockers in which auri- 
 ferous earth or sand is shaken 
 in water, in order to separate and 
 collect the gold." ('O.E.D.') 
 
 1849. ' Illustrated London News,' Nov. 
 J 7 P- 3 2 5 pol. i (' O.E.D.') [This applies 
 to California, and is before the Australian 
 diggings began] : 
 
 "Two men can keep each other 
 
 steadily at work, the one digging and 
 carrying the earth in a bucket, and 
 the other washing and rocking the 
 cradle." 
 
 1851. Letter by Mrs. Perry, quoted in 
 Canon Goodman's 'Church in Victoria 
 during Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' p. 
 171 : 
 
 " The streets are full of cradles and 
 drays packed for the journey." 
 
 1858. T. McCombie, ' History of Vic- 
 toria,' c. xv. p. 215 : 
 
 " Cradles and tin dishes to supply 
 the digging parties." 
 
 1865. F. H. Nixon, 'Peter Perfume,' p. 
 56: 
 
 "They had cradles by dozens and 
 picks by the score." 
 
 1884. T. Bracken, 'Lays of Maori,' p. 
 154 = 
 
 " The music of the puddling mill, the 
 cradle, and the tub." 
 
 Cradle, v. tr. to wash auriferous 
 gravel in a miner's cradle. 
 
 1890. RolfBoldrewood, 'Miner's Right/ 
 c. 21, p. 197 : 
 
 " The laborious process of washing 
 and ' cradling ' the ore." 
 
 Crake, n. common English 
 bird-name. The Australian varie^ 
 ties are 
 
 Little Crake 
 
 Porzana palustris, Gould. 
 Spotless C. 
 
 P. tabuensis, Gmel. 
 Spotted C. 
 
 P. fluminea, Gould. 
 White-browed C. 
 
 P. dnereus, Vieill. 
 
 See also Swamp-crake. 
 
 Cranberry, Native, n. called 
 also Ground-berry ; name given 
 to three Australian shrubs, (i) 
 Styphelia (formerly Lissanthe) humi- 
 fusa, Persoon, N.O. Epacridece. 
 
 1834. J. Ross, 'Van Diemen's Land 
 Annual,' p. 133 : 
 
 "Astrolomahumifusum. The native 
 cranberry has a fruit of a green, red- 
 dish, or whitish colour, about the size 
 of a black currant, consisting of a 
 viscid apple-flavoured pulp inclosing 
 a large seed ; this fruit grows singly on 
 the trailing stems of a small shrub
 
 CRA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 105; 
 
 resembling juniper, bearing beautiful 
 scarlet blossoms in autumn." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 8: 
 
 "Commonly called 'ground-berry.' 
 In Tasmania the fruits are often called 
 native cranberries. The fruits of these 
 dwarf shrubs are much appreciated 
 by school-boys and aboriginals. They 
 have a viscid, sweetish pulp, with a 
 relatively large stone. The pulp is 
 described by some as being apple- 
 flavoured, though I have always failed 
 to make out any distinct flavour." 
 
 (2) Styphelia sapida, F.v.M., N.O. 
 Epacridece. 
 
 1866. 'Treasury of Botany,' p. 688 
 ('O.E.D.') : 
 
 " Lissanthe sapida, a native of South- 
 eastern Australia, is called the Aus- 
 tralian Cranberry, on account of its 
 resemblance both in size and colour 
 to our European cranberry, Vaccinium 
 Oxyconos." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 39 : 
 
 " Native cranberry. The fruit is 
 edible. It is something like the cran- 
 berry of Europe both in size and 
 colour, but its flesh is thin, and has 
 been likened to that of the Siberian 
 crab. [Found in] New South Wales." 
 
 (3) Fernet ty a tasmanica, Hook., 
 N.O. Ericece (peculiar to Tas- 
 mania). 
 
 Crane, n. common English 
 bird-name. In Australia used for 
 (i) the Native-Companion (q.v.), 
 Grus australianus, Gould; (2) vari- 
 ous Herons, especially in New 
 Zealand, where the varieties are 
 Blue Crane (Matuku\ Ardea 
 sacra, Gmel. ; White Crane (Ko- 
 tuku), Ardea egretta, Gmel. See 
 Kotuku and Nankeen Crane. The 
 Cranes and the Herons are often 
 popularly confused. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' vol. 
 vi. pi. 53 : 
 
 "Ardea Novcs-ffollandice, Lath., 
 White-fronted Heron, Blue Crane of 
 the colonists. Herodias Jugularis, 
 lilue Reef Heron, Blue Crane, colonists 
 of Port Essington." 
 
 1848. Ibid. pi. 58 : 
 
 " Herodias Immaculata, Gould [later 
 melanopus], Spotless Egret, White 
 Crane of the colonists.' 1 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Consolidated Statutes,. 
 Game Act, ' 3rd Schedule : 
 
 "[Close Season.] All Birds known 
 as Cranes such as Herons, Egrets, &c. 
 From First day of August to Twentieth 
 day of December following in each 
 year." 
 
 Craw-fish, n. a variant of 
 Crayfish (q.v.). 
 
 Crawler, n. that which crawls ; 
 used specially in Australia of 
 cattle. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Colonial 
 Reformer,' p. 217 : 
 
 " Well-bred station crawlers, as the 
 stockmen term them from their peace- 
 able and orderly habits.'' 
 
 Cray -fish, n. The Australasian 
 Cray-fish belong to the family 
 Parastacidce, the members of which 
 are confined to the southern hemi- 
 sphere, whilst those of the family 
 Potamobiid<z are found in the 
 northern hemisphere. The two 
 families are distinguished from 
 one another by, amongst other 
 points of structure, the absence 
 of appendages on the first ab- 
 dominal segment in the Para- 
 stacida. The Australasian cray- 
 fishes are classified in the fol- 
 lowing genera Astacopsis, found 
 in the fresh waters of Tasmania 
 and the whole of Australia ; En- 
 gaeus, a land-burrowing form, 
 found only in Tasmania and 
 Victoria ; Paranephrops ', found in 
 the fresh waters of New Zealand ; 
 and Palinurus, found on the coasts 
 of Australia and New Zealand. 
 The species are as follows : 
 
 (i) The Yabber or Yabbie Cray- 
 fish. Name given to the com- 
 monest fresh -water Australian 
 Cray-fish, Astacopsis bicarinatus, 
 Gray. This is found in water- 
 holes, but not usually in running 
 streams, over the greater part of
 
 io6 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [CRA 
 
 the continent, and often makes 
 itmrrows in the ground away from 
 water, and may also do great 
 damage by burrowing holes 
 through the banks of dams and 
 reservoirs and water-courses, as 
 at Mildura. It was first described 
 .as the Port Essington Crayfish. 
 
 1845. Gray, in E. J. Eyre's ' Expeditions 
 into Central Australia,' vol. i. p. 410 : 
 
 "The Port Essington Cray fish. 
 Astacus btcarinatus." 
 
 1885. F. McCoy, 'Prodromus of the 
 Zoology of Victoria,' Dec. 2, pi. 29: 
 
 " They are commonly known about 
 Melbourne by the native name of 
 Yabber or Yabbie." 
 
 (2) The Murray Lobster or the 
 Spiny Cray-fish. Name given to 
 the largest Australian fresh-water 
 Cray-fish, Astaeopsisserratus, Shaw, 
 "which reaches a length of over 
 twelve inches, and is found in 
 the rivers of the Murray system, 
 and in the southern rivers of 
 ^Victoria such as the Yarra, the 
 latter being distinguished as a 
 variety of the former and called 
 locally the Yarra Spiny Cray-fish. 
 
 1890. F. McCoy, ' Prodromus of the 
 Zoology of Victoria/ Dec. 8, pi. 160: 
 
 " Our plate 160 illustrates a remark- 
 -able variety of the typical A. serratus 
 of the Murray, common in the Yarra 
 and its numerous affluents flowing 
 southwards." 
 
 (3) The Tasmanian Cray-fish. 
 Name given to the large fresh- 
 water Cray-fish found in Tas- 
 mania, Astacopsis franklinii) Gray. 
 
 (4) The Land-crab. Name ap- 
 plied to the burrowing Cray-fish 
 of Tasmania and Victoria, En- 
 gaus fossor, Erich., and other 
 species. This is the smallest of 
 the Australian Cray-fish, and in- 
 habits burrows on land, which it 
 excavates for itself and in which 
 a small store of water is retained. 
 When the burrow, as frequently 
 happens, falls in there is formed 
 Si Crab-hole (q.v.). 
 
 1892. G. M. Thomson, ' Proceedings of 
 the Royal Society of Tasmania,' p. 2 : 
 
 " Only four of the previously de- 
 scribed forms are fresh-water species, 
 namely : Astacopsis franklinii and 
 A. tasmantcus, Engtzus fossor and 
 E. cuniculartus, all fresh-water cray 
 fishes.'' 
 
 (5) New Zealand Fresh - water 
 Cray-fish. Name applied to Para- 
 nephrops zealandicus. White, which 
 is confined to the fresh water of 
 New Zealand. 
 
 1889. T. J. Parker, ' Studies in Biology ' 
 (Colonial Museum and Geological Survey 
 Department, New Zealand), p. 5 : 
 
 " Paranephrops which is small and 
 has to be specially collected in rivers, 
 creeks or lakes." 
 
 (6) Sydney Cray-fish. Name 
 given to the large salt-water 
 Cray-fish, rarely called Craw-fish, 
 or Spiny Lobster, found along 
 the Sydney coast, Palinurus 
 
 ) Heller. 
 
 1890. F. McCoy, 'Prodromus of the 
 Zoology of Victoria,' Dec. 16, pi. 159: 
 
 " This species, which is the common 
 Sydney Craw-fish, is easily distin- 
 guished from the southern one, the 
 P. Lalandi, which is the common 
 Melbourne Craw-fish." 
 
 (7) Southern Rock-Lobster or Mel- 
 bourne Cray-fish. Name given to 
 the large salt-water Cray-fish, 
 sometimes called Craw-fish, found 
 along the southern coast and 
 common in the Melbourne market, 
 Palinurus lalandi, Lam. 
 
 1890. F. McCoy, ' Prodromus of the 
 Zoology of Victoria,' Dec. 15, pi. 150: 
 
 " I suggest the trivial name of 
 Southern Rock Lobster for this species, 
 which abounds in Victoria, Tasmania 
 and New Zealand, as well as the Cape 
 of Good Hope . . . does not appear to 
 have been noticed as far north as 
 Sydney." 
 
 The name Craw-fish is merely 
 an ancient variant of Cray-fish, 
 though it is said by Gasc, in his 
 French Dictionary, that the term 
 was invented by the London fish- 
 mongers to distinguish the small
 
 CRE] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 107 
 
 Spiny Lobster, which has no claws, 
 from the common Lobster, which 
 has claws. The term Lobster, in 
 Australia, is often applied to the 
 Sydney Cray-fish (see 7, above). 
 
 Creadion, n. scientific name 
 given by Vieillot in 1816 to a 
 genus of birds peculiar to New 
 Zealand, from Greek KpeaSiov, a 
 morsel of flesh, dim. of xpt'as, flesh. 
 Buller says, " from the angle 
 of the mouth on each side there 
 hangs a fleshy wattle, or caruncle, 
 shaped like a cucumber seed and 
 of a changeable bright yellow 
 colour." ('Birds of New Zealand,' 
 1886, vol. i. p. 1 8.) The Jack- 
 bird (q.v.) and Saddle-back (q.v.) 
 are the two species. 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 404 : 
 
 " Family Sturnida Tieki (Creadion 
 Carunculattis). This is a beautiful 
 black bird with a chestnut band across 
 the back and wings ; it has also a 
 fleshy lappet on either side of the 
 head. The tieki is considered a bird 
 of omen : if one flies on the right side 
 it is a good sign ; if on the left, a bad 
 one." 
 
 Cream of Tartar tree, n. i.q. 
 Baobab (q.v.). 
 
 Creek, n. a small river, a 
 br-eok, a branch of a river. "An 
 application of the word entirely 
 unknown in Great Britain." 
 {'O.E.D.') The 'Standard Dic- 
 tionary' gives, as a use in the 
 United States, "a tidal or valley 
 stream, between a brook and a 
 river in size." In Australia, the 
 name brook is not used. Often 
 pronounced crick, as in the United 
 States. 
 
 Dr. J. A. H. Murray kindly 
 sends the following note: "Creek 
 goes back to the early days of 
 exploration. Men sailing up the 
 Mississippi or other navigable 
 river saw the mouths of tributary 
 streams, but could not tell with- 
 
 out investigation whether they 
 were confluences or mere inlets, 
 creeks. They called them creeks, 
 but many of them turned out to 
 be running streams, many miles 
 long tributary rivers or rivulets. 
 The name creek stuck to them, 
 however, and thus became syno- 
 nymous with tributary stream, 
 brook." 
 
 1793. Governor Hunter, 'Voyage,' p. 
 516: 
 
 " In the afternoon a creek obliged 
 them to leave the banks of the river, 
 and go round its head, as it was too 
 deep to cross : having rounded the 
 head of this creek . . . '' 
 
 1802. G. Harrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' p. 228 : 
 
 " They met with some narrow rivers 
 or creeks." 
 
 1809. Au g- 6 > ' History of New South 
 Wales' (1818), p. 327: 
 
 " Through Rickerby's grounds upon 
 the riverside and those of the Rev. Mr. 
 Marsden on the creek." 
 
 1826. Goldie, in Bischoifs 'Van Die- 
 men's Land' (1832), p. 162 : 
 
 " There is a very small creek which 
 I understand is never dry." 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 p. 17: 
 
 " The creeks and rivers of Australia 
 have in general a transitory existence, 
 now swollen by the casual shower, and 
 again rapidly subsiding under the 
 general dryness and heat of the 
 climate." 
 
 1854. ' Bendigo Advertiser,' quoted in 
 ' Melbourne Morning Herald,' May 29 : 
 
 " A Londoner reading of the cross- 
 ing of a creek would naturally imagine 
 the scene to be in the immediate 
 neighbourhood of the coast, instead of 
 being perhaps some hundreds of miles 
 in the interior, and would dream of 
 salt water, perriwinkles and sea-weed, 
 when he should be thinking of slimy 
 mud-holes, black snakes and gigantic 
 gum-trees." 
 
 1861. Mrs. Meredith, ' Over the Straits,' 
 c. iv. p. 134 : 
 
 " The little rivulet, called, with that 
 singular pertinacity for error which I 
 have so often noticed here, 'the 
 creek.'"
 
 io8 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [CRE-CRU 
 
 1865. Lady Barker, 'Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 29 : 
 
 " The creek, just like a Scotch burn, 
 hurrying and tumbling down the hill- 
 side to join the broader stream in the 
 valley." 
 
 1870. P. Wentworth, 'Amos Thorne,' 
 i. p. II : 
 
 " A thirsty creek-bed marked a line 
 of green." 
 
 j872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 39 : 
 
 " In the rivers, whether large water- 
 courses, and dignified by the name of 
 'river,' or small tributaries called by 
 the less sounding appellation 'creeks.' " 
 
 1887. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. i. p. 41 : 
 
 " Generally where the English lan- 
 guage is spoken a creek means a small 
 inlet of the sea, but in Australia a 
 creek is literally what it is etymologic- 
 ally, a crack in the ground. In dry 
 weather there is very little water ; 
 perhaps in the height of summer the 
 stream altogether ceases to run, and 
 the creek becomes a string of water- 
 holes ; but when the heavens are 
 opened, and the rain falls, it reappears 
 a river." 
 
 Creeklet, n. diminutive of Creek. 
 1884. T. Bracken, ' Lays of Maori,' p. 
 91: 
 
 " One small creeklet day by day 
 murmurs." 
 
 Creeper, n. The name (sc. Tree- 
 creeper) is given to several New 
 Zealand birds of the genus Certhi- 
 pants, N.O. Passeres. The Maori 
 names are Pipipi, Toitoi^ and 
 Mohona. 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand/ vol. i. p. 51 : 
 
 " Certhiparus NOVCE Zelandicn, 
 Finsch. New Zealand Creeper." [A 
 full description.] 
 
 Cronk, adj. Derived from the 
 German krank sick or ill. (i) 
 A racing term used of a horse 
 which is out of order and not 
 " fit " for the contest ; hence 
 transferred to a horse whose 
 owner is shamming its illness 
 and making it "run crooked" 
 for the purpose of cheating its 
 
 backers. (2) Used more gener- 
 ally as slang, but not recognized 
 in Barere and Leland's ' Slang 
 Dictionary.' 
 
 1893. ' The Herald ' (Melbourne), July 
 4, p. 2, col. 7 : 
 
 " He said he would dispose of the 
 cloth at a moderate figure because 
 it was 'cronk.' The word 'cronk,' 
 Mr. Finlayson explained, meant 'not 
 honestly come by.' " 
 
 Crow, n. common English 
 bird-name. The Australian 
 species is White-eyed, Corwus 
 coronoides V. and H. In New 
 Zealand (Maori name, Kokako] 
 the name is used for the Blue- 
 wattled Crow, Glaucopis wilsont 
 and for the (N. island) Orange- 
 wattled, G. cinerea, Gmel. (S. 
 island). 
 
 Crow-shrike, n. Australian 
 amalgamation of two common 
 English bird-names. The Crow- 
 shrikes are of three genera, Stre- 
 pera, Gymnorrhina, and Cracticus. 
 The varieties of the genus Strepera 
 are 
 
 Black Crow-shrik;e 
 
 Strepera fuliginosa, Gould. 
 Black-winged C. 
 
 S. melanoptera, Gould. 
 Grey C. 
 
 S. cuneicaudata, Vieill. 
 Hill C. 
 
 .S. arguta, Gould. 
 Leaden C. 
 
 S. plumbea, Gould. 
 Pied C.- 
 
 S. graculina, White. 
 
 Birds of the genus Gymnorrhina 
 are called Magpies (q.v.). Those 
 of the genus Cracticus are called 
 Butcher-birds (q.v.). 
 
 Crush, n. a part of a stock- 
 yard. See quotations. 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 69 : 
 
 "A crush, which is an elongated 
 funnel, becoming so narrow at the end
 
 CUC-CUL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 109 
 
 that a beast is wedged in and unable 
 to move." 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. 87 : 
 
 " There were some small yards, and 
 a ' crush,' as they call it, for branding 
 cattle." 
 
 Cuckoo, n. common English 
 bird-name. The Australian birds 
 to which it is applied are 
 
 Black-eared Cuckoo 
 
 Mesocalius osculans, Gould. 
 Bronze C. 
 
 Chalcoccyx plagosus, Lath. 
 Brush C. 
 
 Cacomantis insperatus. [Gould, 
 'Birds of Australia,' vol. iv. 
 pi. 87.] 
 Chestnut-breasted C. 
 
 C. castanei-ventris, Gould. 
 Fantailed C. 
 
 C. flabelliformis , Lath. 
 Little-bronze C. 
 
 Chalcoccyx malayanus, Raffles. 
 Narrow-billed bronze C. 
 
 C. basalts, Hors. 
 Oriental C. 
 
 Cuculus intermedius, Vahl. 
 Pallid C. 
 
 Cacomantis pallidus and C. cano- 
 
 rus, Linn. 
 Square-tailed C. 
 
 C. variolosus, Hors. 
 Whistling-bronze C. 
 
 Chalcoccyx lucidus, Gmel. 
 
 In New Zealand, the name is 
 applied to Eudynamis taitensis (sc. 
 of Tahiti) Sparm., the Long-tailed 
 Cuckoo; and to Chrysococcyx luci- 
 dus, Gmel., the Shining Cuckoo. 
 The name Cuckoo has sometimes 
 been applied to the Mopoke (q.v.) 
 and to the Boobook (q.v.). See 
 also Pheasant-cuckoo. 
 
 1855. G. W. Rusden, ' Moyarra,' Notes, 
 p. 30: 
 
 " The Australian cuckoo is a night- 
 jar, and is heard only by night." 
 
 1868. W. Carleton, ' Australian Nights,' 
 P- 19: 
 
 " The Austral cuckoo spoke 
 His melancholy note, ' Mopoke.'" 
 
 1889. Prof. Parker, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 118 : 
 
 " There are two species of the Long- 
 tailed Cuckoo (Eudynamis taitensis), 
 and the beautiful Bronze or Shining 
 Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx lucidus}. They 
 are both migratory birds. The Long- 
 tailed Cuckoo spends its winter in some 
 of the Pacific islands, the Shining 
 Cuckoo in Australia." 
 
 Cuckoo-shrike, n. This com- 
 bination of two common English 
 bird-names is assigned in Aus- 
 tralia to the following 
 
 Barred Cuckoo-shrike 
 
 Graucalus lineatus, Swains. 
 Black-faced C. 
 
 G. melanops, Lath. 
 Ground C. 
 
 Pteropodocys phdsianella, Gould. 
 Little C. 
 
 Graucalus mentalis, Vig. and 
 
 Hors. 
 Small-billed C. 
 
 G. parvirostriS) Gould. 
 White-bellied C. 
 
 G. hyperleucus, Gould. 
 
 Cucumber-fish, n. i.q. Grayling 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Cucumber-Mullet, n. i.q. Gray- 
 ling (q.v.). 
 
 Cultivation paddock, ;/. a field 
 that has been tilled and not kept 
 for grass. 
 
 1853. Chas. St. Julian and Ed. K. Sil- 
 vester, 'The Productions, Industry, and 
 Resources of New South Wales,' p. 170 : 
 
 "Few stations of any magnitude 
 are without their ' cultivation pad- 
 docks,' where grain and vegetables 
 are raised . . ." 
 
 1860. A Lady, ' My Experiences in 
 Australia,' p. 173 : 
 
 " Besides this large horse paddock, 
 there was a space cleared of trees, 
 some twenty to thirty acres in extent, 
 on the banks of the creek, known as 
 the ' Cultivation Paddock,' where in 
 former days my husband had grown 
 a sufficient supply of wheat for home 
 consumption."
 
 no 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [CUR 
 
 1893. 'The Argus,' June 17, p. 13, 
 col. 4 : 
 
 " How any man could have been 
 such an idiot as to attempt to make a 
 cultivation paddock on a bed of clay 
 passed all my knowledge.' 
 
 Curlew, n. common English 
 bird-name. The Australian 
 species is Numenius cyanopus, 
 Vieill. The name, however, is 
 more generally applied to CEdic- 
 nemus grallarius, Lath. 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 43 : 
 
 "They rend the air like cries of 
 
 despair, 
 The screams of the wild curlew." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 18 : 
 
 "Truly the most depressing cry I 
 ever heard is that of the curlew, which 
 you take no notice of in course of 
 time ; but which to us, wet, weary, 
 hungry, and strange, sounded most 
 eerie." 
 
 1890. 'Victorian Statutes, Game Act, 
 Third Schedule ' : 
 
 " Southern Stone Plover or Curlew." 
 
 1894. 'The Argus,' June 23, p. n, 
 col. 4 : 
 
 "The calling of the stone plover. 
 It might as well be a curlew at once, 
 for it will always be a curlew to country 
 people. Its first call, with the pause 
 between, sounds like ' Curlew ' that 
 is, if you really want it to sound so, 
 though the blacks get much nearer 
 the real note with ' Koo-loo,' the first 
 syllable sharp, the second long drawn 
 out." 
 
 1896. Dr. Holden, of Hobart, ' Private 
 letter,' Jan. : 
 
 "There is a curlew in Australia, 
 closely resembling the English bird, 
 and it calls as that did over the Locks- 
 ley Hall sand-dunes ; but Australians 
 are given to calling CEdicnemus gral- 
 larius Latham (our Stone Plover), 
 the ' curlew,' which is a misnomer. This 
 also drearily wails, and after dark." 
 
 Currajong or Currijong, i.q. 
 Kurrajong (q. v. ) . 
 
 Currant, Native, n. The name 
 is given to various shrubs and 
 trees of the genus Coprosma, espe- 
 cially Coprosina billardieri, Hook., 
 
 N. O. Rubiacece ; also to Leucopogon 
 richei, Lab., N. O. Epacridece, 
 various species of Leptomeria, N. O. 
 Santalacece, and Myoporum serra- 
 tum, R. Br., N. O. Myoporinea. 
 The names used for M. serratum^ 
 chiefly in South Australia, are 
 Blueberry Tree, Native Juniper, 
 Native Myrtle, Palberry, and Cock- 
 atoo Bush. 
 
 See also Native Plum. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 220 : 
 
 " Our native currants are strongly 
 acidulous, like the cranberry, and 
 make an excellent preserve when 
 mixed with the raspberry." 
 
 1834. Ross, 'Van Diemen's Land 
 Annual,' p. 133: 
 
 " Leucopogon lanceolatum. A large 
 bush with numerous harsh leaves, 
 growing along the sea shore, with 
 some other smaller inland shrubs of 
 the same tribe, produces very small 
 white berries of a sweetish and rather 
 herby flavour. These are promiscuously 
 called white or native currants in the 
 colony." 
 
 ["The insignificant and barely edible 
 berries of this shrub are said to have 
 saved the life of the French botanist 
 Riche, who was lost in the bush on the 
 South Australian coast for three days, 
 at the close of the last century." 
 (Maiden.) The plant is now called Z. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 19: 
 
 "Native Currant. . . . This plant 
 bears a small round drupe, about the 
 size of a small pea. Mr. Backhouse 
 states that (over half a century ago) 
 when British fruits were scarce, it 
 was made into puddings by some 
 of the settlers of Tasmania, but the 
 size and number of the seeds were 
 objectionable." 
 
 Currant, Plain, n. See Plain 
 Currant. 
 
 Currency, n. (i) Name given 
 especially to early paper-money 
 in the Colonies, issued by private 
 traders and of various values, and 
 in general to the various coins of
 
 CUS-CUT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 IIP 
 
 foreign countries, which were 
 current and in circulation. Bar- 
 rington, in his ' History of New 
 South Wales ' (1802), gives a 
 table of such specie. 
 
 1824. Edward Curr, 'Account of the 
 Colony of Van Diemen's Land,' p. 5 : 
 
 " Much of this paper-money is of 
 the most trifling description. To this 
 is often added ' payable in dollars at 
 5.y. each.' Some . . . make them pay- 
 able in Colonial currency." 
 
 [p. 69, note] : " 25^. currency is about 
 equal to a sovereign." 
 
 1826. Act of Geo. IV., No. 3 (Van 
 Diemen's Land): 
 
 " All Bills of Exchange, Promissory 
 Notes ... as also all Contracts and 
 Agreements whatsoever which . . . 
 shall be drawn and circulated or issued, 
 or made and entered into, and shall 
 be therein expressed ... to be pay- 
 able in Currency, Current Money, 
 Spanish Dollars . . . shall be ... 
 Null and Void." 
 
 1862. Geo. Thos. Lloyd, ' Thirty-three 
 years in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 9 : 
 
 "Every man in business . . issued 
 promissory notes, varying in value 
 from the sum of fourpence to twenty 
 shillings, payable on demand. These 
 notes received the appellation of paper 
 currency. . . The pound sterling re- 
 presented twenty-five shillings of the 
 paper-money." 
 
 (2) Obsolete name for those 
 colonially-born. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. (Table of 
 Contents) : 
 
 " Letter XXI. Ctirrency or Colonial- 
 born population." 
 
 Ibid. p. 33 : 
 
 " Our colonial-born brethren are best 
 known here by the name of Currency, in 
 contradistinction to Sterling, or those 
 born in the mother-country. The 
 name was originally given by a face- 
 tious paymaster of the 73rd Regiment 
 quartered here the pound currency 
 being at that time inferior to the 
 pound sterling." 
 
 1833. H. W. Parker, 'Rise, Progress, 
 and Present State of Van Diemen's Land,' 
 p. 189: 
 
 " The Currency lads, as the country- 
 
 born colonists in the facetious nomen- 
 clature of the colony are called, in 
 contradistinction to those born in the 
 mother country." 
 
 1840. Martin's 'Colonial Magazine,' 
 vol. hi. p. 35 : 
 
 " Currency lady." 
 
 1849. J. P. Townsend, ' Rambles in 
 New South Wales,' p. 68 : 
 
 " Whites born in the colony, who are 
 also called 'the currency'; and thus 
 the ' Currency Lass ' is a favourite name 
 for colonial vessels." [And, it may be 
 added, also of Hotels.] 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, ' My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 6 : 
 
 "A singular disinclination to finish 
 any work completely, is a striking 
 characteristic of colonial craftsmen, at 
 least of the ' currency ' or native-born 
 portion. Many of them who are clever, 
 ingenious and industrious, will begin a 
 new work, be it ship, house, or other 
 erection, and labour at it most assidu- 
 ously until it be about two-thirds com- 
 pleted, and then their energy seems 
 spent, or they grow weary of the old 
 occupation, and some new affair is set 
 about as busily as the former one." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'A Colonial 
 Reformer,' p. 35 : 
 
 " English girls have such lovely 
 complexions and cut out us poor cur- 
 rency lasses altogether." 
 
 Ibid. p. 342 : 
 
 " You're a regular Currency lass . . . 
 always thinking about horses." 
 
 Cushion-flower, n. i.q. Hakea 
 laurina, R. Br. See Hakea. 
 
 Cut out, v. ( i ) To separate cattle 
 from the rest of the herd in the 
 open. 
 
 1873. Marcus Clarke, 'Holiday Peak, 
 &c.,' p. 70 : 
 
 " The other two . . . could cut out 
 a refractory bullock with the best 
 stockman on the plains." 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. x. p. "J2 : 
 
 " We . . camped for the purpo.se of 
 separating our cattle, either by drafting 
 through the yard, or by ' cutting out ' 
 on horse-back." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia, p. 70 : 
 
 " Drafting on the camp, or 'cutting
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [CUT 
 
 out ' as it is generally called, is a very 
 pretty performance to watch, if it is well 
 done." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' c. ii. p. 13 : 
 
 "Tell him to get 'Mustang,' he's 
 the best cutting-out horse." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' April 29, p. 4. col. 
 4: 
 
 " A Queenslander would have 
 thought it was as simple as going on to 
 .a cutting-out camp up North and run- 
 ning out the fats." 
 
 (2) To finish shearing. 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, 
 col. 6 : 
 
 " When the stations ' cut out,' as the 
 term for finishing is, and the shearers 
 and rouseabout men leave." 
 
 Cutting-grass, n. Cladium psit- 
 lacorum, Labill., N.O. Cyperacece. 
 It grows very long narrow blades 
 
 whose thin rigid edge will readily 
 cut flesh if incautiously handled ; 
 it is often called Sword-grass. 
 
 1858. T. McCombie ' History of Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 8 : 
 
 " Long grass, known as cutting-grass 
 between four and five feet high, the 
 blade an inch and a half broad, the 
 edges exquisitely sharp." 
 
 1891. W. Tilley, ' Wild West of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 42 : 
 
 "Travelling would be almost im- 
 possible but for the button rush and 
 cutting grass, which grow in big tus- 
 socks out of the surrounding bog." 
 
 1894. ' The Age,' Oct. 19, p. 5, col. 8 : 
 " ' Cutting grass ' is the technical 
 term for a hard, tough grass about 
 eight or ten inches high, three-edged 
 like a bayonet, which stock cannot eat 
 because in their efforts to bite it off it 
 cuts their mouths."
 
 DAB-DAM] 
 
 D 
 
 Dabchick, n. common English 
 bird-name. The New Zealand 
 species is Podiceps rufipectus. There 
 is no species in Australia. 
 
 Dacelo, n. Name given by 
 "W. E. Leach, 1816. An ana- 
 gram or transposition of Lat. 
 Alcedo, a Kingfisher." (' Cen- 
 tury.') Scientific name for the 
 Jackass (q.v.). 
 
 Dactylopsila, n. the scientific 
 name of the Australian genus of 
 the Striped Phalanger, called 
 locally the Striped Opossum; see 
 Opossum. It has a long bare toe. 
 (Grk. SaVnAos, a finger, and \f/t\6s, 
 bare.) 
 
 Daisy, Brisbane, n. a Queens- 
 land and New South Wales plant, 
 Brachycome microcarpa, F. v. M., 
 N.O. Composite. 
 
 Daisy, Native, n. a Tasmanian 
 flower, Brachycome decipiens, Hook., 
 N.O. Composite. 
 
 Daisy Tree, n. two Tasmanian 
 trees, Astur stellulatus, Lab., and 
 A. glandulosus, Lab., N.O. Com- 
 posite. The latter is called the 
 Swamp Daisy- Tree. 
 
 Dam, n. In England, the word 
 means a barrier to stop water : 
 in Australia, it also means the 
 water so stopped, as 'O.E.D.' 
 shows it does in Yorkshire. 
 
 1873. Marcus Clarke, 'Holiday Peak, 
 &c.,' p. 76: 
 
 " The dams were brimming at 
 Quartz-borough, St. Roy reservoir was 
 running over." 
 
 1892. ' Scribner's Magazine,' Feb., p. 
 141 : 
 
 " Dams as he calls his reservoirs 
 
 scooped out in the hard soil." 
 1893. ' The Leader,' Jan. 14 : 
 "A boundary rider has been drowned 
 
 in a dam." 
 
 1893. 'The Times,' [Reprint] ' Letters 
 from Queensland,' p. 68 : 
 
 "At present few stations are sub- 
 divided into paddocks smaller than 
 20,000 acres apiece. If in each of 
 these there is but one waterhole or 
 dam that can be relied upon to hold 
 out in drought, sheep and cattle will 
 destroy as much grass in tramping 
 from the far corners of the grazing to 
 the drinking spot as they will eat. 
 Four paddocks of 5,000 acres each, 
 well supplied with water, ought to 
 carry almost double the number of 
 sheep." 
 
 1896. ' The Argus,' March 30, p. 6, 
 coI7~9 : 
 
 " [The murderer] has not since been 
 heard of. Dams and waterholes have 
 been dragged . . . but without result." 
 
 Dammara, n. an old scientific 
 name of the genus, including the 
 Kauri Pine (q.v.). It is from the 
 Hindustani, ddmar, ' resin.' The 
 name was applied to the Kauri 
 Pine by Lambert in 1832, but it 
 was afterwards found that Salis- 
 bury, in 1805, had previously 
 constituted the genus Agathis for 
 the reception of the Kauri Pine 
 and the Dammar Pine of Am- 
 boyna. This priority of claim 
 necessitated the modern restora- 
 tion of Agathis as the name of 
 the genus. 
 
 Damper, n. a large scone of 
 flour and water baked in hot 
 ashes ; the bread of the bush, 
 which is always unleavened. 
 [The addition of water to the
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [DAM-DAP 
 
 flour suggests a more likely origin 
 than that given by Dr. Lang. 
 See quotation, 1847.] 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 190 : 
 
 " The farm-men usually make their 
 flour into flat cakes, which they call 
 damper, and cook these in the ashes. . ." 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, 'Southern Australia,' 
 vol. ii. c. viii. p. 203 : 
 
 " I watched the distorted counten- 
 ances of my humble companions while 
 drinking their tea and eating their 
 damper." 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, ' Sketches of New 
 South Wales,'-p. 103 : 
 
 " Damper (a coarse dark bread)." 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, 'Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 122 : 
 
 " I must here enlighten my readers 
 as to what 'damper' is. It is the 
 bread of the bush, made with flour and 
 water kneaded together and formed 
 into dough, which is baked in the ashes, 
 and after a few months keeping is a 
 good substitute for bread." 
 
 [The last clause contains a most 
 extraordinary statement perhaps a 
 joke. Damper is not kept for months, 
 but is generally made fresh for each 
 meal. See quotation, 1890, Lumholtz.] 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, ' Cooksland,' p. 122 : 
 " A cake baked in the ashes, which 
 
 in Australia is usually styled a damper." 
 [Footnote] : " This appellation is said 
 to have originated somehow with 
 Dampier, the celebrated navigator." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, ' New Zealand,' 
 p. 284 : 
 
 " ' Damper ' is a dough made from 
 wheat-flour and water without yeast, 
 which is simply pressed flat, and baked 
 in the ashes ; according to civilized 
 notions, rather hard of digestion, but 
 quite agreeable to hungry woodmen's 
 stomachs." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 20: 
 
 " At first we had rather a horror of 
 eating damper, imagining it to be 
 somewhat like an uncooked crumpet. 
 Experience, however, showed it to be 
 really very good. Its construction is 
 simple, and is as follows. Plain flour 
 and water is mixed on a sheet of bark, 
 and then kneaded into a disc some 
 two or three inches thick to about one 
 
 or two feet in diameter, great care to 
 avoid cracks being taken in the knead- 
 ing. This is placed in a hole scraped 
 to its size in the hot ashes, covered 
 over, and there left till small cracks 
 caused by the steam appear on the 
 surface of its covering. This is a sign 
 that it is nearly done, and in a few 
 minutes the skilful chef will sound it 
 over with his knife, and if he finds it 
 hard will take it out and stand it on its 
 edge to cool. No disagreeable dust or 
 grit ever adheres, and the smell, espe- 
 cially to a hungry bushman, is most 
 seductive." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 9: 
 
 " Their palates have been ruined by 
 an everlasting diet of mutton and 
 dyspeptic damper." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Colonial 
 Reformer,' p. 85 : 
 
 " Wedges of damper (or bread baked 
 in hot ashes) were cut from time to time 
 from great circular flat loaves of that 
 palatable and wholesome but some- 
 what compressed-looking bread." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz,' Among Cannibals,' 
 
 P- 32 = 
 
 " Damper is the name of a kind of 
 bread made of wheat flour and water. 
 The dough is shaped into a flat round 
 cake, which is baked in red-hot ashes. 
 This bread looks very inviting, and 
 tastes very good as long as it is fresh, 
 but it soon becomes hard and dry." 
 
 Damson, Native, n. called also 
 Native Plum, an Australian shrub, 
 Nageia spinulosa, F. v. M., N.O. 
 Coniferce. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 53 : 
 
 " Native Damson or Native Plum. 
 This shrub possesses edible fruit, 
 something like a plum, hence its ver- 
 nacular names. The Rev. Dr. Woolls 
 tells me that, mixed with jam of the 
 Native Currant (Lepiomeria acida\ it 
 makes a very good pudding." 
 
 Dandelion, Native, n. a flower- 
 ing plant, Podolepis acuminata, R. 
 Br., N.O. Composites. 
 
 Daphne, Native, n. an Austra- 
 lian timber, Myoporum viscorum, R. 
 Br., N.O. Myoporinece; called also 
 Dogwood and Waterbush.
 
 DAR-DEA 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 575 : 
 
 " Native Daphne. . . . Timber soft 
 and moderately light, yet tough. It 
 is used for building purposes. It 
 dresses well, and is straight in the 
 grain." 
 
 Darling Pea, n. an Australian 
 plant, Swainsonia galegifolia, R. 
 Br., N. O. Leguminoscz ; i.q. Indigo 
 Plant (q.v.). See also Poison- 
 tush. The Darling 1 Downs and 
 River were named after General 
 (later Sir Ralph) Darling, who 
 was Governor of New South 
 Wales from Dec. 19, 1825, to 
 Oct. 21, 1831. The "pea" is 
 named from one of these. 
 
 Darling Shower, n. a local 
 name in the interior of Australia, 
 and especially on the River Dar- 
 ling, for a dust storm, caused by 
 cyclonic winds. 
 
 Dart, n. (i) Plan, scheme, idea 
 [slang]. It is an extension of 
 the meaning "sudden motion." 
 1887. J. Farrell, ' How he died,' p. 20: 
 " Whose ' dart ' for the Looard 
 Was to appear the justest steward 
 That ever hiked a plate round." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' Aug. 9, p. 4, col. 2 : 
 
 " When I told them of my ' dart,' 
 :some were contemptuous, others in- 
 credulous." 
 
 1892. Rolf Boldrewoocl, ' Nevermore,' 
 p. 22 : 
 
 " Your only dart is to buy a staunch 
 liorse with a tip-cart." 
 
 (2) Particular fancy or personal 
 taste. 
 
 1895. Modern : 
 
 " ' Fresh strawberries eh ! that's my 
 dart,' says the bushman when he sees 
 the fruit lunch in Collins-street." 
 
 Darter, n. common English 
 name for birds of the genus 
 Plotus. So called from the way 
 It "darts" upon its prey. The 
 Australian species is Plotus novcK- 
 hollatidicR) Gould. 
 
 Dasyure, and Dasyurus, n. the 
 
 scientific name of the genus of 
 Australian animals called Native 
 Cats. See under Cat. The first 
 form is the Anglicized spelling, 
 and is scientifically used in pre- 
 ference to the misleading verna- 
 cular name. From the Greek 
 Sacrvs, thick with hair, hairy, 
 shaggy, and oupa, tail. They 
 range over Australia, Tasmania, 
 New Guinea, and the adjacent 
 islands. Unlike the Thylacine and 
 Tasmanian Devil (q.v.), which are 
 purely terrestrial, the Dasyures 
 are arboreal in their habits, while 
 they are both carnivorous and 
 insectivorous. 
 
 The Thylacine, Tasmanian 
 Devil, Pouched Mice, and Banded 
 Ant-eater have sometimes been 
 incorrectly classed as Dasyures, 
 but the name is now strictly 
 allotted to the genus Dasyurus, 
 or Native Cat. 
 
 Date, Native, n. a Queensland 
 fruit, Capparis canescens, Banks, 
 N.O. Capparidece. The fruit is 
 shaped like a pear, and about 
 half an inch in its largest dia- 
 meter. It is eaten raw by the 
 aborigines. 
 
 Deadbeat, n. In Australia, it 
 means a man "down on his 
 luck," "stone-broke," beaten by 
 fortune. In America, the word 
 means an impostor, a sponge. 
 Between the two uses the con- 
 nection is clear, but the Austra- 
 lian usage is logically the earlier. 
 
 Dead-bird, n. In Australia, a 
 recent slang term, meaning "a 
 certainty." The metaphor is from 
 pigeon-shooting, where the bird 
 being let loose in front of a good 
 shot is as good as dead. 
 
 Dead-finish, n. a rough scrub- 
 tree. ( i ) Albizzia basaltica, Benth. , 
 N.O. Leguminosa. 
 
 (2) Acacia farnesiana, Willd.,
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [DEA-DEF 
 
 N. O. Leguminosce. See quotation, 
 1889. 
 
 i88f>. H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia, p. 272 : 
 
 "On the eastern face of the coast 
 range are pine, red cedar, and beech, 
 and on the western slopes, rose-wood, 
 myall, dead-finish, plum-tree, iron- 
 wood and sandal-wood, all woods with 
 a fine grain suitable for cabinet-making 
 and fancy work." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 355 : 
 
 " Sometimes called by the absurd 
 name of ' Dead Finish.' This name 
 given to some species of Acacia and 
 Albizzia, is on account of the trees 
 or shrubs shooting thickly from the 
 bottom, and forming an impenetrable 
 barrier to the traveller, who is thus 
 brought to a 'dead finish' (stop)." 
 
 1893. 'The Times,' [Reprint] ' Letters 
 from Queensland,' p. 60 : 
 
 " The hawthorn is admirably repre- 
 sented by a brush commonly called 
 ' dead finish.' " [p. 61]: " Little knolls 
 are crowned with ' dead finish ' that 
 sheep are always glad to nibble." 
 
 Dead-wood Fence, n. The 
 Australian fence, so called, is very 
 different from the fence of the 
 same name in England. It is 
 high and big, built of fallen tim- 
 ber, logs and branches. Though 
 still used in Australia for fencing 
 runs, it is now usually superseded 
 by wire fences. 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, 'My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 157 : 
 
 " A ' dead-wood fence,' that is, a 
 mass of timber four or five feet thick, 
 and five or six high, the lower part 
 being formed of the enormous trunks 
 of trees, cut into logs six or eight feet 
 long, laid side by side, and the upper 
 portion consisting of the smaller 
 branches skilfully laid over, or stuck 
 down and twisted." 
 
 1872. G. Baden-Powell, ' New Homes 
 for the Old Country,' p. 207 : 
 
 "A very common fence is built by 
 felling trees round the space to be 
 enclosed, and then with their stems as 
 a foundation, working up with the 
 branches, a fence of a desirable 
 height." 
 
 Deal, Native, n. an Australian 
 timber, Nageia data, F. v. M., 
 N.O. Coniferce. For other ver- 
 nacular names see quotation. 
 
 1869. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 589 : 
 
 " Pine, white pine, called she-pine in 
 Queensland ; native deal, pencil cedar. 
 This tree has an elongated trunk, rarely 
 cylindrical ; wood free from knots, 
 soft, close, easily worked, good for 
 joiners' and cabinet-work ; some trees 
 afford planks of great beauty. (Mac- 
 arthur.) Fine specimens of this 
 timber have a peculiar mottled appear- 
 ance not easily described, and often 
 of surpassing beauty." 
 
 [See also Pine.] 
 
 December, n. a summer month 
 in Australia. See Christmas. 
 
 1885. J. Hood, ' Land of the Fern,' p. 
 34 = 
 
 " Warm December sweeps with burn- 
 ing breath 
 
 Across the bosom of the shrinking 
 earth." 
 
 Deepsinker, . (i) The largest 
 sized tumbler ; (2) the long drink 
 served in it. The idea is taken 
 from deep-sinking in a mining 
 shaft. 
 
 1897. 'The Argus,' Jan. 15, p. 6, col 5: 
 
 "As athletes the cocoons can run 
 
 rings round the beans ; they can jump 
 
 out of a tumbler whether medium, 
 
 small, or deepsinker is not recorded." 
 
 Deep Yellow- Wood, n. Rhus 
 rhodanthema, F. v. M., N.O. Ana- 
 cardiacetz. A tree with spreading 
 head ; timber valuable. See 
 Yellow- Wood. 
 
 Deferred Payment, n. a legal 
 phrase. " Land on deferred pay- 
 ment" ; " Deferred payment 
 settler"; "Pastoral deferred 
 payment." These expressions in 
 New Zealand have reference to 
 the mode of statutory alienation 
 of Crown lands, known in other 
 colonies as conditional sale, etc., 
 i.e. sale on time payment, with 
 conditions binding the settler to
 
 DEL-DEV] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 117 
 
 erect improvements, ending in 
 his acquiring the fee-simple. The 
 system is obsolete, but many 
 titles are still incomplete. 
 
 Dell-bird, n. another name for 
 the Bell-bird (q.v.). 
 
 Dendrolagus, n. the scientific 
 name of the genus of Australian 
 marsupials called Tree-Kangaroos 
 (q.v.). (Grk. 6Vv8pov, a tree, and 
 Aayws, a hare.) Unlike the other 
 kangaroos, their fore limbs are 
 nearly as long as the hinder pair, 
 and thus adapted for arboreal 
 life. There are five species, three 
 belong to New Guinea and two to 
 Queensland; they are the Queens- 
 land Tree-Kangaroo, Dendrolagus 
 lumholtzi ; Bennett's T.-k., D. 
 bennettianus ; Black T.-k., D. ursi- 
 nus ; Brown T.-k., D. inustus ; 
 Doria's T.-k., D. dorianus. See 
 Kangaroo. 
 
 Derry, n. slang. The phrase 
 " to have a down on " (see 
 Down] is often varied to "have 
 a derry on." The connection is 
 probably the comic-song refrain, 
 " Hey derry- down derry." 
 
 1896. 'The Argus,' March 19, p. 5, 
 col. 9 : 
 
 "Mr. Croker: Certainly. We will 
 tender it as evidence. (To the wit- 
 ness.) Have you any particular ' derry ' 
 upon this Wendouree? No; not at 
 all. There are worse vessels knocking 
 about than the Wendouree." 
 
 Dervener, n. 
 and Denuenter. 
 
 See quotation, 
 
 1896. ' The Argus,' Jan. 2, p. 3, col. 4, 
 Letters to the Editor : 
 
 " ' Dervener.' An expression used 
 in continental Australia for a man from 
 the Derwent in Tasmania. Common 
 up till 1850 at least. David Blair." 
 
 Ibid. Jan. 3, p. 6, col. 6 : 
 
 "With respect to 'dervener,' the 
 word was in use while the blue shirt 
 race existed [sc. convicts], and these 
 people did not become extinct until 
 after 1860. Cymro-Victoria." 
 
 Derwenter, n. a released con- 
 vict from Hobart Town, Tas- 
 mania, which is on the River 
 Derwent. 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. xx. p. 140 : 
 
 " An odd pair of sawyers, generally 
 ' Derwenters,' as the Tasmanian ex- 
 pirees were called." 
 
 Desert Lemon, n. called also 
 Native Kumquat, Atalantia glauca, 
 Hook., N.O. Rutacea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 8: 
 
 "The native kumquat or desert 
 lemon. The fruit is globular, and 
 about half an inch in diameter. It 
 produces an agreeable beverage from 
 its acid juice." 
 
 Desert-Oak, n. an Australian 
 tree, Casuarina decaisneana, 
 F. v. M. See Casuarina and Oak. 
 
 1896. Baldwin Spencer, 'Home Expe- 
 dition in Central Australia,' Narrative, 
 p. 49: 
 
 " We had now amongst these sand- 
 hills come into the region of the 
 ' Desert Oak ' (Casuarina Decaisne- 
 ana). Some of the trees reach a height 
 of forty or fifty feet, and growing either 
 singly or in clumps form a striking 
 feature amongst the thin sparse scrub. 
 . . . The younger ones resemble 
 nothing so much as large funeral 
 plumes. Their outlines seen under a 
 blazing sun are indistinct, and they 
 give to the whole scene a curious 
 effect of being ' out of focus.' " 
 
 Devil, Tasmanian,. an animal, 
 Sarcophilus ursinus, Harris. Form- 
 erly, but erroneously, referred to 
 the genus Dasyurus (q.v.), which 
 includes the Native Cat (see under 
 Cat) : described in the quotations. 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 vol. ii. p. 29 : 
 
 "The devil, or as naturalists term 
 it, Dasyurus ursinus, is very properly 
 named." 
 
 1853. J. West, ' History of Tasmania,' 
 vol. i. p. 323 : 
 
 "The devil (Dasyurus ursinus, 
 Geoff.), about the size of a bull terrier, 
 is an exceedingly fierce and disgusting-
 
 iiS 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [DEV-DIG 
 
 looking animal, of a black colour, usu- 
 ally having one white band across the 
 chest, and another across the back, 
 near the ..tail. It is a perfect glutton, 
 and most indiscriminate in its feeding." 
 
 1862. F. J. Jobson, ' Australia,' c. vii. 
 p. 186: 
 
 " Dasyurus ursinus a carnivorous 
 "marsupial. Colonists in Tasmania, 
 where only it exists . . . called it the 
 ' devil,' from the havoc it made among 
 their sheep and poultry." 
 
 1891. ' Guide to Zoological Gardens, 
 Melbourne' : 
 
 " In the next division is a pair of 
 Tasmanian devils (Dasyurus ursinus); 
 these unprepossessing-looking brutes 
 are hated by every one in Tasmania, 
 their habitat, owing to their destruc- 
 tiveness amongst poultry, and even 
 sheep. They are black in colour, 
 having only a white band across the 
 chest, and possess great strength in 
 proportion to their size." 
 
 Devil's Guts, n. The name is 
 given in Australia to the Dodder- 
 Laitrel (see Laurel), Cassytha fili- 
 formis, Linn., N.O. Lauracea. In 
 Tasmania the name is applied to 
 Lyonsia straminea, R. Br., N.O. 
 Apocynea. 
 
 1862. W. Archer, 'Products of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 41 : 
 
 " Lyonsia (Lyonsia straminea, Br.). 
 Fibres of the bark fine and strong. 
 The lyonsia is met with, rather spar- 
 ingly, in dense thickets, with its stems 
 hanging like ropes among the trees." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 14 : 
 
 " This and other species of Cassytha 
 are called 'dodder-laurel.' The em- 
 phatic name of ' devil's guts ' is largely 
 used. It frequently connects bushes 
 and trees by cords, and becomes a 
 nuisance to the traveller." [This plant 
 is used by the Brahmins of Southern 
 India for seasoning their buttermilk. 
 (' Treasury of Botany.')] 
 
 Ibid, p.: 162: 
 
 " It is also used medicinally." 
 
 Devil-on-the-Coals, n. a 
 Bushman's name for a small and 
 quickly-baked damper. 
 
 1862. Rev. A. Polehampton, ' Kangaroo 
 Land,' p. 77 : 
 
 " Instead of damper we~~occasionally 
 made what is colonially known as 
 ' devils on the coals.' . . . They are 
 convenient when there is not time to 
 make damper, as only a minute or_so 
 is required to bake them. They are 
 made about the size of a captain's 
 biscuit, and as thin as possible, thrown 
 on the embers and turned quickly 
 with the hand." 
 
 Diamond Bird, n. a bird-name. 
 In the time of Gould this name 
 was only applied to Pardalotus 
 punctatus, Temm. Since that time 
 it has been extended to all the 
 species of the genus Pardalotus 
 (q.v.). The broken colour of the 
 plumage suggested a sparkling 
 jewel. 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, 'Transac- 
 tions of Linntean Society,' vol. xv. p. 238: 
 
 "We are informed by Mr. Caley 
 that this species is called diamond 
 bird by the settlers, from the spots on 
 its body. By them it is reckoned as 
 valuable on account of its skin." 
 
 Diamond Snake, n. In Queens- 
 land and New South Wales, 
 Python spilotes, Lacp. ; in Tasma- 
 nia, Hoplocephalus superbus, Gray, 
 venomous. See under Snake. 
 
 Digger, n. a gold-miner. The 
 earliest mines were alluvial. Of 
 course the word is used else- 
 where, but in Australia it has 
 this special meaning. 
 
 1852. Title: 
 
 " Murray's Guide to the Gold Dig- 
 gings. The Australian Gold Diggings ; 
 where they are, and how to get at 
 them ; with letters from Settlers and 
 Diggers telling how to work them. 
 London : Stewart & Murray, 1852." 
 
 1853. Valiant, 'Letter to Council, 'given 
 in McCombie's ' History of Victoria' (1858), 
 c. xvi. p. 248 : 
 
 "It caused the diggers, as a body, 
 to pause in their headlong career." 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, ' Land, Labour, and 
 Gold,' vol. ii. p. 148, Letter xxx : 
 
 "Buckland River, January 29th, 1854. 
 The diggers here are a very quiet and 
 civil race, at the same time that they 
 are a most active and laborious one.
 
 DIG] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 119 
 
 . . . The principal part of the diggers 
 here are from the Ovens." 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, 'New Rush,' pt. ii. 
 P. 3i: 
 
 " Drink success to the digger's trade, 
 And break up to the squatter's." 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'While the Billy 
 boils,' p. 148: 
 
 " His Father's Mate had always been 
 a general favourite with the diggers 
 and fossickers, from the days when he 
 used to slip out first thing in the 
 morning and take a run across the 
 frosty flat in his shirt." 
 
 Digger's Delight, n. a flower, 
 Veronica perfoliata, R. Br., N.O. 
 Scrophularinece, described in quo- 
 tations. 
 
 1878. W. R. Guilfoyle, 'First Book of 
 Australian Botany,' p. 64 : 
 
 " Digger's Delight, Veronica perfo- 
 h'a/a, JV. O. Scrophularinecz. A pretty, 
 blue-flowering shrub, with smooth 
 stem-clasping leaves ; found in the 
 mountainous districts of Victoria and 
 New South Wales, and deriving its 
 common name from a supposition 
 that its presence indicated auriferous 
 country. It is plentiful in the elevated 
 cold regions of Australia." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 147 : 
 
 " Such native flowers as the wild 
 violet, the shepherd's purse, or the 
 blue-flowered ' digger's delight.' This 
 latter has come, perhaps, with the 
 seeds from some miner's holding 
 amongst the iron-barks in the gold 
 country, and was once supposed to 
 grow only on auriferous soils. When 
 no one would think of digging for 
 gold in this field, the presence of the 
 flower is, perhaps, as reliable an in- 
 dication of a golconda underneath as 
 the reports and information on the 
 strength of which many mining com- 
 panies are floated." 
 
 Diggerdom, n. collective noun, 
 the diggers. 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, ' Two Years in 
 Victoria,' vol. i. p. 43: 
 
 " Diggerdom is gloriously in the 
 ascendant here." 
 
 Diggeress, n. a digger's wife. 
 
 1855. W. I lowitt, ' Two Years in 
 Victoria,' vol. i. p. 43: 
 
 " The digger marching off, followed 
 by his diggeress, a tall, slim young 
 woman, who strode on like a trooper. 
 . . . Open carriages driving about, 
 crowded with diggers and their dig- 
 geresses." 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, 'New Rush,' pt. ii. p. 
 36: 
 
 " I'm tir"d of being a diggeress, 
 And yearn a farmer's home to 
 grace." 
 
 Diggings, n. a place where 
 gold-mining is carried on. The 
 word is generally regarded as 
 singular. Though common in 
 Australia, it is very old, even 
 in the sense of a place where 
 digging for gold is carried on. 
 
 1769. De Foe's ' Tour of Great Britain,' 
 i. 39 ('O.E.D.'): 
 
 " King Henry VIII. was induced to 
 dig for Gold. He was disappointed, 
 but the Diggings are visible at this 
 Day." 
 
 1852. J. Morgan, ' Life and Adventures 
 of William Buckley '(published at Hobart), 
 p. 183 [quoting from the ' Victoria Com- 
 mercial Review,' published at Melbourne, 
 by Messrs. Westgarth, Ross, & Co., under 
 date September I, 1851] : 
 
 "The existence of a 'goldfield' was 
 not ascertained until May last. . . . 
 Numbers of persons are daily 'pro- 
 specting' throughout this Colony and 
 New South Wales in search of gold. 
 . . . In Victoria, as well as in New 
 South Wales, regular 'diggings J are 
 now established." 
 
 1852. Murray, ' The Australian Gold 
 Diggings : where they are and how to get 
 at them,' p. I : 
 
 "It cannot but be acceptable to the 
 crowds of intending colonists and gold 
 seekers, to present them with a picture 
 of the 'Progress of the Diggins,' 
 [sic] drawn by the diggers." 
 
 1858. T. McCombie, ' History of Vic- 
 toria,' c. xv. p. 234 : 
 
 " Immigrants who had not means 
 to start to the diggings." 
 
 1870. J. O. Tucker, ' The Mute,' p. 48 : 
 
 "Ye glorious diggings 'neath a 
 
 southern clime ! 
 
 I saw thy dawn." ['Ye,' 'thy.' Is 
 this singular or plural ?]
 
 120 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [DIL-DIN 
 
 1887. H. H. Hayter, 'Christmas Ad- 
 yenture,' p. I : 
 
 " Fryer's creek, a diggings more 
 than 90 miles from Melbourne." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' 
 c. vii. p. 71 : 
 
 "It was a goldfield and a diggings 
 in far-away Australia." 
 
 Dilli, later Dilly-bag, n. an 
 aboriginal word, coming from 
 Queensland, for a bag made either 
 of grasses or of fur twisted into 
 cord. Dhilla is the term for 
 hair in Kabi dialect, Mary River, 
 Queensland. Dirrang and jirra 
 are corresponding words in the 
 east of New South Wales. The 
 aboriginal word dilli has been 
 tautologically increased to dilly- 
 bag) and the word is used by 
 bushmen for a little bag for odds- 
 and-ends, even though made of 
 calico or holland. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Ex- 
 pedition,' p. 90 : 
 
 "In their 'dillis' (small baskets) 
 were several roots or tubers." 
 
 Ibid. p. 195 : 
 
 " A basket (dilli) which I examined 
 was made of a species of grass." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' Australian Life, 'p. 
 
 34 : 
 
 " I learned too at the camp to plait 
 dilly-bags." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xvii. p. 210 : 
 
 " Mayboy came forward dangling 
 a small dilly-bag." 
 
 Dingle-bird, n. a poetical name 
 for the Australian Bell-bird '(q.v.). 
 
 1870. F. S. Wilson, ' Australian Songs,' 
 p.- 30 : 
 
 " The bell-like chimings of the dis- 
 tant dingle-bird." 
 
 1883. C. Harpur, ' Poems,' p. 78 : 
 
 "I ... list the tinkling of the dingle- 
 bird." 
 
 1896. A. J. North, ' Report of Austra- 
 lian Museum,' p. 26 : 
 
 " Dilly-bag (partly wool and partly 
 grass)." 
 
 Dingo, n. the native dog of 
 Australia, Canis dingo. "The 
 
 aborigines, before they obtained 
 dogs from Europeans, kept the 
 dingo for hunting, as is still done 
 by coast tribes in Queensland. 
 Name probably not used further 
 south than Shoalhaven, where 
 the wild dog is called Mirigang. " 
 (A. W. Howitt.) 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales,' p. 280 : 
 
 [A dingo or dog of New South 
 Wales. Plate. Description by J. 
 Hunter.] " It is capable of barking, 
 although not so readily as the Euro- 
 pean dogs ; is very ill-natured and 
 vicious, and snarls, howls, and moans, 
 like dogs in common. Whether this 
 is the only dog in New South Wales, 
 and whether they have it in a wild 
 state, is not mentioned ; but I should 
 be inclined to believe they had no 
 other ; in which case it will constitute 
 the wolf of that country ; and that 
 which is domesticated is only the wild 
 dog tamed, without having yet pro- 
 duced a variety, as in some parts of 
 America." 
 
 1798. D. Collins, ' Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' p. 614 
 [Vocab.]: 
 
 "Jungo Beasts, common name. 
 Tein-go D in -go. 
 Wor-re-gal Dog." 
 
 1820. W. C. Wentworth, 'Description 
 of New South Wales,' p. 62 : 
 
 " The native dog also, which is a 
 species of the wolf, was proved to be 
 fully equal in this respect [sport] to the 
 fox ; but as the pack was not sufficiently 
 numerous to kill these animals at once, 
 they always suffered so severely from 
 their bite that at last the members of 
 the hunt were shy in allowing the dogs 
 to follow them." 
 
 1834. L - E - Threlkeld, 'Australian 
 Grammar," p. 55 : 
 
 "Tigko a bitch." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (1855), p. 153: 
 
 " I have heard that the dingo, war- 
 ragal or native dog, does not hunt in 
 packs like the wolf and jackal." 
 
 1860. William Story, ' Victorian Govern- 
 ment Prize Essays,' p. 101 : 
 
 "The English hart is so greatly 
 superior, as an animal of chase, to 
 that cunning poultry thief the fox,
 
 DIN-DIP] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 121 
 
 that I trust Mister Reynard will never 
 be allowed to become an Australian 
 immigrant, and that when the last of 
 the dingoes shall have shared the fate 
 of the last English wolf, Australian 
 Nimrods will resuscitate, at the anti- 
 podes of England, the sterling old 
 national sport of hart hunting, con- 
 jointly with that of African boks, 
 gazelles, and antelopes, and leave the 
 fox to their English cousins, who 
 cannot have Australian choice." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 103 : 
 
 " In the neighbourhood of Brisbane 
 and other large towns where they 
 have packs, they run the dingoes as 
 you do foxes at home." 
 
 1880. Garnet Walch, 'Victoria in 1880,' 
 p. 113: 
 
 " The arms of the Wimmera should 
 be rabbit and dingo, 'rampant,' sup- 
 porting a sun, ' or, inflamed.' " 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 71 : 
 
 " Dingoes, the Australian name for 
 the wild dogs so destructive to sheep. 
 They were . . . neither more nor less 
 than wolves, but more cowardly and 
 not so ferocious, seldom going in large 
 packs. They hunted kangaroos when 
 in numbers, or driven to it by hunger ; 
 but usually preferred smaller and more 
 easily obtained prey, as rats, bandi- 
 coots, and 'possums." 
 
 1800. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' 
 P- 38 : 
 
 " On the large stations a man is 
 kept whose sole work it is to lay out 
 poison for the dingo. The black 
 variety with white breast generally 
 appears in Western Queensland along 
 with the red." 
 
 1891. ' Guide to Zoological Gardens, 
 Melbourne' : 
 
 "The dingo of northern Australia 
 can be distinguished from his brother 
 of the south by his somewhat smaller 
 size and courageous bearing. He 
 always carries his tail curled over his 
 back, and is ever ready to attack any 
 one or anything ; whilst the southern 
 dingo carries his tail low, slinks along 
 like a fox, and is easily frightened. 
 The pure dingo, which is now ex- 
 ceedingly rare in a wild state, partly 
 through the agency of poison, but still 
 more from the admixture of foreign 
 
 breeds, is unable to bark, and can 
 only express its feelings in long-drawn 
 weird howls." 
 
 1894. 'The Argiis,' June 23, p. n, 
 col. 4 : 
 
 "Why is the first call of a dingo 
 always apparently miles away, and 
 the answer to it another quavering 
 note slightly more shrill so close at 
 hand? Is it delusion or distance?" 
 
 Dinornis, n. the scientific 
 name given by Professor Owen 
 to the genus of huge struthious 
 birds of the post-Pliocene period, 
 in New Zealand, which survive 
 in the traditions of the Maoris 
 under the name of Moa (q.v.). 
 From the Greek Setvos, terrible, 
 and opvis, bird. 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand," vol. i. Intro, p. xviii : 
 
 " The specimens [fossil-bones] trans- 
 mitted . . . were confided to the learned 
 Professor [Owen] for determination ; 
 and these materials, scanty as they 
 were, enabled him to define the generic 
 characters of Dinornis, as afforded by 
 the bones of the hind extremity." 
 
 Ibid. p. xxiv : 
 
 " Professor Owen had well-nigh 
 exhausted the vocabulary of terms 
 expressive of largeness by naming his 
 successive discoveries ingens, gigan- 
 teus, crassus, robustus, and elephanto- 
 pus, when he had to employ the 
 superlative Dinornis maximus to dis- 
 tinguish a species far exceeding in 
 stature even the stately Dinornis 
 giganteus. In this colossal bird . . . 
 some of the cervical vertebras almost 
 equal in size the neck-bones of a 
 horse ! The skeleton in the British 
 Museum . . . measures 1 1 feet in 
 height, and . . . some of these feathered 
 giants attained to a still greater 
 stature." 
 
 Dipper, n. a vessel with a 
 handle at the top of the side like 
 a big tin mug. That with which 
 one dips. The word is not Aus- 
 tralian, but is of long standing in 
 the United States, where it is used 
 as a name for the constellation of 
 the Great Bear.
 
 122 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [DIP-DIV 
 
 1893. ' Australasian Schoolmaster,' 
 Feb. : 
 
 " These answers have not the true 
 colonial ring of the following, which 
 purports to be the remark of the 
 woman of Samaria : ' Sir, the well is 
 very deep, and you haven't got a 
 dipper.' " 
 
 Dips, n. 
 tion. 
 
 Explained in quota- 
 
 1859. G. Bunce, ' Travels with Leich- 
 hardt,' p. 161 : 
 
 ". . . Dr. Leichhardt gave the party 
 a quantity of dough boys, or as we 
 called them, dips . . ." 
 
 [p. 171]: "Inthisdilemma, Dr. Leich- 
 hardt ordered the cook to mix up a lot 
 of flour, and treated us all to a feed of 
 dips. These were made as follows : a 
 quantity of flour was mixed up with 
 water, and stirred with a spoon to a 
 certain consistency, and dropped into 
 a pot of boiling water, a spoonful at a 
 time. Five minutes boiling was suffi- 
 cient, when they were eaten with the 
 water in which they were boiled." 
 
 Dirt, n. In Australia, any allu- 
 vial deposit in which gold is 
 found ; properly Wash-dirt. The 
 word is used in the United States. 
 See quotation, 1857. 
 
 1853. Mrs. Chas. Clancy, ' Lady's Visit 
 to the Gold Diggings,' p. 109 : 
 
 " And after doing this several times, 
 the ' dirt,' of course, gradually dimin- 
 ishing, I was overjoyed to see a few 
 bright specks." 
 
 1857. Borthwick, 'California,' [Bartlett, 
 quoted in ' O.E.D.'] p. I2O: 
 
 " In California, ' dirt ' is the univer- 
 sal word to signify the substance dug ; 
 earth, clay, gravel, or loose slate. The 
 miners talk of rich dirt and poor dirt, 
 and of stripping off so many feet of 
 ' top dirt ' before getting to ' pay-dirt,' 
 the latter meaning dirt with so much 
 gold in it that it will pay to dig it up 
 and wash it." 
 
 1870. J. O. Tucker, 'The Mute,' p. 40: 
 
 " Others to these the precious dirt 
 
 convey, 
 
 Linger a moment till the panning's 
 through." 
 
 1890. RolfBoldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. xiv. p. 142 : 
 
 " We were clean worked out . . . 
 before many of our neighbours at 
 Greenstone Gully were half done with 
 their dirt." 
 
 Ibid. c. xviii. p. 177 : 
 
 " We must trust in the Oxley 'dirt' 
 and a kind Providence." 
 
 Dish, n. and adj. a small and 
 rough vessel in which gold is 
 washed. The word is used in the 
 United States. 
 
 1890. 'Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 17 : 
 " I have obtained good dish prospects 
 after crudely crushing up the quartz." 
 
 Dishwasher, n. an old English 
 bird-name for the Water-wag- 
 tail ; applied in Australia to 
 Seisura inquieta, Lath., the Restless 
 Fly-catcher (q.v.). Seisura i's from 
 Grk. a-fiftv (to shake), and ovpd 
 (a tail), being thus equal in 
 meaning to Wagtail. Also called 
 Dishlick, Grinder, and Razor-grinder 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Transac- 
 tions of the Linnsean Society,' vol. xv. p. 
 250 : 
 
 " This bird is called by the colonists 
 Dishwasher. It is very curious in its 
 actions. In alighting on the stump 
 of a tree it makes several semi-circular 
 motions, spreading out its tail, and 
 making a loud noise somewhat like 
 that caused by a razor-grinder when 
 at work." 
 
 Distcechurus, n. the scientific 
 name of the genus of the New 
 Guinea Pentailed-Phalanger, or 
 so-called Opossum-mouse (q.v.). It 
 has a tail with the long hairs 
 arranged in two opposite rows, 
 like the vanes of a feather. (Grk. 
 SIOTOIXOS, with two rows, and ovpd, 
 a tail.) 
 
 Diver, n. common bird-name 
 used in Australia for a species of 
 Grebe. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. vii. pi. 80 : 
 
 " Podtceps australts, Gould ; Austra-
 
 DOC -DOG] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 123 
 
 lian Tippet Grebe ; Diver of the 
 Colonists." 
 
 Doctor, n. word used in the 
 South Australian bush for "the 
 cook." 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' June 13, p. 
 1133, col. i : 
 
 " 'The doctor's in the kitchen, and the 
 
 boss is in the shed ; 
 The overseer's out mustering on 
 
 the plain ; 
 Sling your bluey down, old boy, for 
 
 the clouds are overhead, 
 You are welcome to a shelter from 
 the rain.' " 
 
 Dodder Laurel, n. i.q. Devil's 
 Guts (q.v.). 
 
 Dog-fish, n. The name be- 
 longs to various fishes of distinct 
 families, chiefly sharks. In Aus- 
 tralia, it is used for the fish 
 Scyllium lima, family Scylliidce. In 
 New South Wales it is Scyllium 
 maculatum, Bl. The Spine Dog-fish 
 of New Zealand is Acanthias 
 maculatus, family Spinacidce. The 
 Spotted Dog-fish of New South 
 Wales is Scyllium anale. The 
 Dusky Dog-fish of New South 
 Wales is Chiloscyllium modestum, 
 Giinth., and there are others in 
 Tasmania and Australia. 
 
 Dogleg, adj. applied to a primi- 
 tive kind of fence made of rough 
 timber. Crossed spars, which 
 are the doglegs, placed at inter- 
 vals, keep in place a low rail 
 resting on short posts, and are 
 themselves fixed by heavy sap- 
 lings resting in the forks above. 
 
 1875. R. and F. Hill, 'What we saw 
 in Australia,' p. 61 : 
 
 " . . we made acquaintance with 
 the ' dog's leg ' fence. This is formed 
 of bare branches of the gum-tree laid 
 obliquely, several side by side, and 
 the ends overlapping, so that they have 
 somewhat the appearance that might 
 be presented by the stretched-out legs 
 of a crowd of dogs running at full 
 speed. An upright stick at intervals, 
 with a fork at the top, on which 
 
 some of the cross-branches rest, adds 
 strength to the structure." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 P- 13 : . 
 
 " While the primaeval ' dog-leg ' fence 
 of the Victorian bush, or the latter-day 
 'chock and log' are no impediments 
 in the path of our foresters." sc. 
 kangaroos ; see Forester.] 
 
 1888. Rolf Bolclrewood, ' Robbery 
 under Arms,' p. 71 : 
 
 " As we rode up we could see a 
 gunyah made out of boughs, and a 
 longish wing of dog leg fence, made 
 light but well put together." 
 
 Dog's Tongue, n. name given to 
 the plant Cynoglossum sitaveolens, 
 R. Br., N.O. Asperifolice. 
 
 Dogwood, n. various trees and 
 their wood ; none of them the 
 same as those called dogivood 
 in the Northern Hemisphere, but 
 their woods are used for similar 
 purposes, e.g. butchers' skewers, 
 fine pegs, and small pointed 
 wooden instruments. In Aus- 
 tralia generally, facksonia scoparia, 
 R. Br., also Myoporum platycarpum, 
 R. Br. In Tasmania, Bedfordia 
 salicina, De C., JV.O. Composite, 
 which is also called Honeywood, 
 and in New South Wales, Cotton- 
 wood (q.v.), and the two trees 
 Pomaderris elliptica, Lab., and P. 
 apetala, Lab., N.O. Rhamnacece, 
 which are called respectively 
 Yellow and Bastard Dogwood. See 
 also Coranderrk. In parts of 
 Tasmania, Pomaderris apetala, 
 Lab., N.O. Rhamnece, is also 
 called Dogwood, or Bastard Dog- 
 wood. 
 
 1836. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 164: 
 
 " There is a secluded hollow of this 
 kind near Kangaroo Bottom, near 
 Hobart Town, where the common 
 dogwood of the colony (pomaderris 
 apetala) has sprung up so thick and 
 tall, that Mr. Babington and myself 
 having got into it unawares one day, 
 had the greatest difficulty imaginable 
 to get out after three or four hours'
 
 124 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [DOG-DOT 
 
 labour. Not one of the plants was 
 more than six inches apart from the 
 others, while they rose from 6 to 
 12 yards in height, with leaves at 
 the top which almost wholly excluded 
 the light of the sun." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. ii : 
 
 " Iron-bark ridges here and there, 
 with spotted gum, with dogwood 
 (Jacksoma) on a sandy soil." (p. 20) : 
 " A second creek, with running water, 
 which from the number of dogwood 
 shrubs (Jacksoma), in the full glory 
 of their golden blossoms, I called 
 * Dogwood Creek.'" 
 
 1894. ' Melbourne Museum Catalogue 
 Economic Woods,' p. 46 : 
 
 "Native dogwood, a hard, pale- 
 brown, well-mottled wood ; good for 
 turnery." 
 
 Dogwood Poison-bush, n. a 
 New South Wales name; the same 
 as Ellangowan Poison-bush (q.v.). 
 
 Dollar, n. See Holy Dollar. 
 
 Dollar-bird, n. name given to 
 the Roller (q.v.). See quotations. 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Trans- 
 actions of Linnsean Society,' vol. xv. p. 202: 
 
 "The settlers call it dollar-bird, 
 from the silver-like spot on the wing." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. ii. pi. 17 : 
 
 " Eurystomns Australis, Swains., 
 Australian Roller. Dollar Bird of the 
 Colonists. During flight the white 
 spot in the centre of each wing, then 
 widely expanded, shows very distinctly, 
 and hence the name of Dollar Bird." 
 
 1851. J. Henderson, ' Excursions in New 
 South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 183 : 
 
 "The Dollar-bird derives its name 
 from a round white spot the size of a 
 dollar, on its wing. It is very hand- 
 some, and flies in rather a peculiar 
 manner. It is the only bird which I 
 have observed to perform regular mi- 
 grations ; and it is strange that in such 
 a climate any one should do so. But 
 it appears that the dollar-bird does not 
 relish even an Australian winter. It 
 is the harbinger of spring and genial 
 weather." 
 
 Dollar-fish n. a name often 
 given formerly to the John Dory 
 
 (q.v.), from the mark on its side. 
 See quotation, 1880,. The name 
 Dollar-fish is given on the Ameri- 
 can coasts to a different fish. 
 1880. Gunther, ' Study of Fishes,' p. 
 
 45i: 
 
 "The fishermen of Roman Catholic 
 countries hold this fish in special 
 respect, as they recognize in a black 
 round spot on its side the mark left by 
 the thumb of St. Peter, when he took 
 the piece of money from its mouth." 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 62 : 
 
 "The dory has been long known, 
 and when the currency of the colony 
 was in Mexican coin it was called a 
 ' dollar-fish.' " 
 
 Dorca-Kangaroo, n. See Dor- 
 copsis and Kangaroo. 
 
 Dorcopsis, n. the scientific name 
 of a genus of little Kangaroos 
 with pretty gazelle-like faces. 
 (Grk. Sop/cas, a gazelle, and 01/^15, 
 appearance.) They are called 
 Dorca-Kangaroos, and are confined 
 to New Guinea, and form in 
 some respects a connecting link 
 between Macropus and the Tree- 
 Kangaroo (q.v.). There are three 
 species the Brown Dorca Kan- 
 garoo, Dorcopsis muelleri ; Grey D., 
 D. luctuosa ; Macleay's D., D. 
 macleayi. See Kangaroo (e). 
 
 Dottrel, n. formerly Dotterel, 
 common English bird-name, 
 applied in Australia to Charadrius 
 australis, Gould. 
 
 Black-fronted Dottrel 
 
 Charadrius nigrifrons, Temm. 
 Double-banded D. 
 
 C. bicincta, Jord. and Selb. 
 Hooded D. 
 
 C. monac/ia, Geoff. 
 Large Sand D. 
 
 C. (JEgialitis) geoffroyi. Wag. 
 Mongolian Sand D. 
 
 C. (/Egialitis) mongolica, Pallas. 
 Oriental D. 
 
 C. veredits, Gould.
 
 DOV-DRA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 I2J 
 
 Red-capped Dottrel 
 
 Charadrius ruficapilla, Temm. ; 
 
 called also Sand-lark. 
 Red-necked D. 
 
 C. (/Egialitis) master si, Ramsay. 
 Ringed D. 
 
 C. hiaticula, Linn. 
 [See also Red-knee^ 
 
 Dove, n. a well-known English 
 bird-name, applied in Australia to 
 the 
 
 Barred-shouldered Dove 
 Geopelia humeralis, Temm. 
 
 Ground D. 
 
 G. tranquilla, Gould. 
 
 Little D. 
 
 G. cuneata, Lath. 
 
 [See also Ground-dove, ,] 
 
 Dove-Petrel, n. a well-known 
 English bird-name. The species 
 in the Southern Seas are 
 
 Prion turtur, Smith. 
 Banks D.-R 
 
 P. banksii, Smith. 
 Broad-billed D.-R 
 
 P. vittata, Forst. 
 Fairy D.-R 
 
 P. ariel, Gould. 
 
 Dover, n. a clasp knife, by a 
 maker of that name, once much 
 used in the colonies. 
 
 1878. ' The Australian,' vol. i. p. 418 : 
 
 " In plates and knives scant is the 
 
 shepherd's store, 
 
 ' Dover ' and pan are all, he wants no 
 more." 
 
 1893. April 15, ' A Traveller's Note ' : 
 " ' So much a week and the use of 
 
 my Dover' men used to say in making 
 a contract of labour." 
 
 1894. ' Bush Song ' [Extract] : 
 
 " Tie up the dog beside the log, 
 And come and flash your Dover." 
 
 Down, n. a prejudice against, 
 hostility to ; a peculiarly Austra- 
 lian noun made out of the adverb. 
 
 1856. W. W. Dobie, Recollections of 
 a Visit to Port Philip,' p. 84 : 
 
 "... the bushranger had been in 
 
 search of another squatter, on whom 
 ' he said he had a down ' . . ." 
 
 1884. J. W. Bull, ' Early Life in South 
 Australia,' p. 179 : 
 
 " It was explained that Foley had a 
 private ' down ' on them, as having 
 stolen from him a favourite kangaroo 
 dog." 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia, 
 vol. iv. p. 1 80 : 
 
 " They [diggers] had a ' dead down r 
 on all made dishes." 
 
 1893. Professor Gosman, ' The Argus/ 
 April 24, p. 7, col. 4 : 
 
 " That old prejudice in the minds of 
 many men to the effect that those who 
 represented the churches or religious 
 people had a regular down upon free- 
 dom of thought." 
 
 1893. ' The Age,' June 24, p. 5, col. I : 
 
 " Mr. M. said it was notorious in 
 the department that one of the com- 
 missioners had had ' a down ' on 
 him." 
 
 1893. R. L. Stevenson, ' Island Nights' 
 Entertainments,' p. 46: 
 
 " ' They have a down on you,' says 
 Case. 'Taboo a man because they 
 have a down on him ! ' I cried. ' I 
 never heard the like.' " 
 
 Down, adv. "To come, or be 
 down," is the phrase used in 
 Australian Universities for to be 
 "plucked," or "ploughed," or 
 " spun," i. e. to fail in an examin- 
 ation. It has been in use for a 
 few years, certainly not earlier 
 than 1886. The metaphor is 
 either taken from a fall from a 
 horse, or perhaps from the prize- 
 ring. The use has no connection 
 with being "sent down, "or "going 
 down," at Oxford or Cambridge. 
 
 Draft, v. to separate and sort 
 cattle. An adaptation of the 
 meaning "to select and draw off 
 for particular service," especially 
 used of soldiers. 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories," c. vi. p. 46: 
 
 " I should like to be drafting there 
 again." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' The Squatter's 
 Dream,' p. 2 : 
 
 "There were those cattle to be
 
 126 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [DRA-DRO 
 
 drafted that had been brought from 
 the Lost Waterhole." 
 
 Draft, n. a body of cattle 
 separated from the rest of the 
 herd. 
 
 1884. Rtf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. ii. p. 22: 
 
 "A draft of out-lying cattle rose 
 and galloped off." 
 
 Drafter, n. a man engaged in 
 drafting cattle. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xviii. p. 227 : 
 
 " They behave better, though all the 
 while keeping the drafters incessantly 
 popping at the fence by truculent 
 charges." 
 
 Drafting-gate, n. gate used in 
 separating cattle and sheep into 
 different classes or herds. 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' Aug. 1 6, p. 4, col. 7 : 
 " But the tent-flap seemed to go up 
 and down quick as a drafting-gate." 
 
 Drafting-stick, n. a stick used 
 in drafting cattle. 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. x. p. 72: 
 
 " We . . . armed ourselves with 
 drafting-sticks and resolutely faced 
 it." 
 
 Drafting-yard, n. a yard for 
 drafting cattle. 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' Aug. 16, p. 13, 
 col. I : 
 
 " There were drafting-yards and a 
 tank a hundred yards off, but no 
 garden." 
 
 Dray, n. an ordinary cart for 
 goods. See quotation, 1872. 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, ' Southern Australia,' 
 vol. i. Intro, p. xlix: 
 
 "They send their produce to the 
 market . . . receiving supplies for 
 home consumption on the return of 
 their drays or carts from thence." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 31 : 
 
 "A horse dray, as known in Aus- 
 tralia, is by no means the enormous 
 thing its name would signify, but 
 simply an ordinary cart on two wheels 
 without springs." [There are also 
 spring-drays.] 
 
 1886. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 41 : 
 
 " One told by camp fires when the 
 
 station drays 
 
 Were housed and hidden, forty 
 years ago." 
 
 Dromicia, n. the scientific 
 name of the Australian Dormouse 
 Phalangers, or little Opossum- or Fly- 
 ing-Mice, as they are locally called. 
 See Opossum, Opossum-mouse, and 
 Phalanger. They are not really 
 the " Flying "-Mice or Flying- 
 phalanger, as they have only an 
 incipient parachute, but they are 
 nearly related to the Pigmy 
 Petaurists (q.v.) or small Flying- 
 Phalangers. (Grk. Spo/iiKos, good 
 at running, or swift.) 
 
 Drongo, n. This bird-name was 
 "given by Le Vaillant in the form 
 drongeur to a South African bird 
 afterwards known as the Musical 
 Drongo, Dicrurus musicus, then 
 extended to numerous . . . fly- 
 catching, crow-like birds." ('Cen- 
 tury.') The name is applied in 
 Australia to Chibia bracteata, 
 Gould, which is called the Spangled 
 Drongo. 
 
 1895. W. O. Legge, ' Australasian Asso- 
 ciation for the Advancement of Science ' 
 (Brisbane), p. 448 : 
 
 "There being but one member of 
 the interesting Asiatic genus Drongo 
 in Australia, it was thought best to 
 characterize it simply as the Drongo 
 without any qualifying term." 
 
 Drop, n. (Slang.) To " have the 
 drop on " is to forestall, gain 
 advantage over, especially by 
 covering with a revolver. 
 
 It is~ curious that while an 
 American magazine calls this 
 phrase Australian (see quotation), 
 the ' Dictionary of Slang ' one 
 editor of which is the distinguished 
 American, Godfrey C. Leland 
 says it is American. It is in 
 common use in Australia. 
 
 189^ 'Atlantic Monthly,' Aug., p. 179: 
 
 " His terrible wife, if we may borrow
 
 DRO-DUC] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 127 
 
 a phrase from Australia, ' had the drop 
 on him ' in every particular." 
 
 Drooping Acacia, n. See Acacia. 
 
 Drove, v. to drive travelling 
 cattle or sheep. 
 
 1890. A. J. Vogan, ' Black Police,' p. 
 334 = 
 
 " I don't know how you'd be able to 
 get on without the 'boys 'to muster, 
 track, and drove." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from Snowy 
 River ' [Poem ' In the Droving Days'], 
 P- 95 : 
 "' For though he scarcely a trot can 
 
 raise, 
 
 He can take me back to the droving 
 days." 
 
 Drum, n. a bundle ; more 
 usually called a swag (q.v.). 
 
 1866. Wm. Stamer, ' Recollections of a 
 Life of Adventure,' vol. i. p. 304 : 
 
 ". . . and 'humping his drum' start 
 off for the diggings to seek more gold." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 17: 
 
 "They all chaffed us about our 
 swags, or donkeys, or drums, as a 
 bundle of things wrapped in a blanket 
 is indifferently called." 
 
 1886. Frank Cowan, 'Australia, Char- 
 coal Sketch,' p. 31 : 
 
 " The Swagman : bed and board 
 upon his back or, having humped his 
 drum and set out on the wallaby . . ." 
 
 Drummer, n. a New South 
 Wales name for the fish Girella 
 elevata, Macl., of the same family 
 as the Black-fish (q.v.). 
 
 Dry-blowing, n. a Western 
 Australian term in gold-mining". 
 
 1894. ' The Ar gus,' March 28, p. 5, 
 col. 5 : 
 
 "When water is not available, as 
 unfortunately is the case at Coolgardie, 
 ' dry blowing ' is resorted to. This is 
 done by placing the pounded stuff in 
 one dish, and pouring it slowly at a 
 certain height into the other. If there 
 is any wind blowing it will carry away 
 the powdered stuff; if there is no wind 
 the breath will have to be used. It is 
 not a pleasant way of saving gold, 
 but it is a case of Hobson's choice. 
 The unhealthiness of the method is 
 apparent." 
 
 Duboisine, n. an alkaloid de- 
 rived from the plant Duboisia myo- 
 posides, N. O. Sofanacea, a native of 
 Queensland and New South 
 Wales. It is used in medicine 
 as an application to the eye for 
 the purpose of causing the pupil 
 to dilate, in the same way as 
 atropine, an alkaloid obtained 
 from the belladonna plant in 
 Europe, has long been employed. 
 Duboisine was discovered and 
 introduced into therapeutics by a 
 Brisbane physician. 
 
 Duck, n. the well-known Eng- 
 lish name of the birds of the 
 Anatince, Fuligu lines, and other 
 series, of which there are about 
 125 species comprised in about 
 40 genera. The Australian genera 
 and species are 
 
 Blue-billed Duck 
 
 Erismatura australis, Gould. 
 Freckled D. 
 
 Stictonetta n&vosa, Gould. 
 Mountain D. (the Shel-drake, 
 
 q.v.). 
 Musk D. (q.v.) 
 
 Biziura lobata, Shaw. 
 Pink-eared D., or Widgeon 
 
 (q.v.)- 
 
 Malacorhynchics membranaceus, 
 
 Lath. 
 Plumed Whistling D. 
 
 Dendrocygna eytoni, Gould. 
 Whistling D. 
 
 D. vagans, Eyton. [Each species 
 of the Dendrocygna is called 
 also by sportsmen Tree- 
 duck.] 
 White-eyed D., or Hard-head 
 
 (q.v.)- 
 
 Nyroca australis, Gould. 
 Wild D. 
 
 Anas superciliosa, Gmel. 
 Wood D. (the Maned Goose ; see 
 Goose). 
 
 The following is a table of the 
 ducks as compiled by Gould 
 nearly fifty years ago.
 
 128 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [DUC-DUF 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. vii: 
 
 Plate 
 Anas superciliosa, Gmel. Aus- 
 
 tralian Wild Duck ......... 9 
 
 Anas ncevosa, Gould, Freckled 
 
 Duck .................. 10 
 
 Anas punctata, Cuv. Chestnut- 
 
 breasted Duck ............ ii 
 
 Spatula Rhyncotis, Australian 
 
 Shoveller ............... 12 
 
 Malacorhynchus membranaceus, 
 
 Membranaceous Duck ...... 13 
 
 Dendrocygna arcttata, Whistling 
 
 Duck (q.v.) ............... 14 
 
 Leptotarsis Eytoni, Gould, Ey- 
 
 ton's Duck ............... 15 
 
 Nyroca Australis, Gould, White- 
 
 eyed Duck ............... 16 
 
 Erismatura A us f rail's, Blue-billed 
 
 Duck .................. 17 
 
 Biziura lobata, Musk Duck ...... 18 
 
 The following is Professor 
 Parker's statement of the New 
 Zealand Ducks. 
 
 1889. Prof. Parker, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 117: 
 
 " There are eleven species of Native 
 Ducks belonging to nine genera, all 
 found elsewhere, except two the little 
 Flightless Duck of the Auckland 
 Islands (genus Nesonetta) and the 
 Blue Mountain Duck (Hymenolcemtis). 
 Among the most interesting of the 
 non-endemic forms, are the Paradise 
 Duck or Sheldrake (Casarca varie- 
 gata\ the Brown Duck (Anas chlorotis], 
 the Shoveller or Spoonbill Duck (Rhyn- 
 chaspis "variegata\ and the Scaup or 
 Black Teal (Fiiligula Novce-Zea- 
 
 Duckbill, . See Platypus. 
 Sometimes also called Duckmole. 
 
 Duckmole, n. See Platypus. 
 
 1825. Barren Field, 'First Fruits of 
 Australian Poetry,' in ' Geographical Me- 
 moirs of New South Wales,' p. 496 : 
 
 "When sooty swans are once more 
 
 rare, 
 And duck-moles the museum's care." 
 
 [Appendix : " Water or duck-mole."] 
 
 1875. Schmidt, 'Descent and Darwin- 
 ism,' p. 237: 
 
 " The Ornithorhyncus or duck-mole 
 of Tasmania." 
 
 Duck-shoving, and Duck- 
 shover, n. a cabman's phrase. 
 
 In Melbourne, before the days 
 of trams, the wagonette-cabs 
 used to run by a time-table from 
 fixed stations at so much (gener- 
 ally 3*/.) a passenger. A cabman 
 who did not wait his turn on the 
 station rank, but touted for pas- 
 sengers up and down the street 
 in the neighbourhood of the 
 rank, was termed a Duck- 
 shover. 
 
 1870. D. Blair, 'Notes and Queries,' 
 Aug. 6, p. in : 
 
 " Duck-shoving is the term used by 
 our Melbourne cabmen to express the 
 unprofessional trick of breaking the 
 rank, in order to push past the cab- 
 man on the stand for the purpose of 
 picking up a stray passenger or so." 
 
 1896. ' Otago Daily Times,' Jan. 25, p. 
 3, col. 6 : 
 
 "The case was one of a series of 
 cases of what was technically known 
 as ' duck shoving,' a process of getting 
 passengers which operated unfairly 
 against the cabmen who stayed on 
 the licensed stand and obeyed the 
 by-law." 
 
 Dudu, n. aboriginal name for 
 a pigeon, fat-breasted, and very 
 good eating. 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (3rd ed. 1855), c. vii. p. 170: 
 
 " In the grassland, a sort of ground 
 pigeon, called the dudu, a very hand- 
 some little bird, got up and went off 
 like a partridge, strong and swift, re- 
 alighting on the ground, and returning 
 to cover." 
 
 Duff, v. to steal cattle by 
 altering the brands. 
 
 1869. E. Carton Booth, ' Another 
 England,' p. 138 : 
 
 " He said there was a ' duffing pad- 
 dock ' somewhere on the Broken 
 River, into which nobody but the 
 owner had ever found an entrance, 
 and out of which no cattle had ever 
 found their way at any rate, not to 
 come into their owner's possession. 
 . . . The man who owned the ' duffing 
 paddock ' was said to have a knack of 
 altering cattle brands . . ."
 
 DUF-DUM] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 129 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' c. xiv. p. 162 : 
 
 " I knew Redcap when he'd think 
 more of duffing a red heifer than all 
 the money in the country." 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Sydney- 
 side Saxon,' p. 95 : 
 
 "As to the calves I'm a few short 
 myself, as I think that half-caste chap 
 of yours must have ' duffed.' " 
 
 Duffer, n. a cattle stealer, i.q. 
 Cattle-duffer (q.v.). 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xxv. p. 352 : 
 
 " What's a little money ... if your 
 children grow up duffers and plant- 
 ers?" 
 
 Duffer 2 , n. a claim on a mine 
 which turns out unproductive, 
 called also shicer (q.v.). [This is 
 only a special application of the 
 slang English, duffer, an in- 
 capable person, or a failure. 
 Old English Daffe, a fool.] 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian Sketch- 
 es,' p. 193 : 
 
 " It was a terrible duffer anyhow, 
 every ounce of gold got from it cost 
 20 I'll swear." 
 
 1864. J Rogers, 'New Rush,' p. 55 : 
 
 " Tho' duffers are so common 
 
 And golden gutters rare, 
 The mining sons of woman 
 Can much ill fortune bear." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 291 : 
 
 "A shaft sunk without any produce 
 from it is a duffer. . . . But of these 
 excavations the majority were duffers. 
 It is the duffering part of the business 
 which makes it all so sad. So much 
 work is done from which there is 
 positively no return." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 266 : 
 
 " The place is then declared to be a 
 'duffer,' and abandoned, except by a 
 few fanatics, who stick there for 
 months and years." 
 
 1891. 'The Australasian,' Nov. 21, p. 
 1014 : 
 
 " Another duffer ! Rank as ever 
 was bottomed ! Seventy-five feet hard 
 delving and not a colour ! " 
 
 Duffer out, v. A mine is said 
 
 to duffer out, when it has ceased 
 to be productive. 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia, p. 279 : 
 
 "He then reported to the share- 
 holders that the lode had 'duffered 
 out,' and that it was useless .to con- 
 tinue working." 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iv. p. 73 : 
 
 " Cloncurry has, to use the mining 
 parlance, duffered out." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. vi. p. 58 : 
 
 " ' So you're duffered out again, 
 Harry,' she said." 
 
 Dugong Oil, n. an oil obtained 
 in Australia, from Halicore dugong, 
 Gmel., by boiling the superficial 
 fat. A substitute for cod-liver 
 oil. The dugongs are a genus of 
 marine mammals in the order 
 Sirenia. H. dugong inhabits the 
 waters of North and North-east 
 Australia, the southern shores of 
 Asia, and the east coast of Africa. 
 The word is Malay. 
 
 Dug-out, n. a name imported 
 into New Zealand from America, 
 but the common name for an 
 ordinary Maori canoe. 
 
 Duke Willy, . See Whistling 
 Dick. 
 
 Dummy, n. (i) In Australia, 
 when land was thrown open for 
 selection (q.v.), the squatters who 
 had previously the use of the land 
 suffered. Each squatter exer- 
 cised his own right of selection. 
 Many a one also induced others 
 to select nominally for them- 
 selves, really for the squatter. 
 Such selector was called a dummy. 
 The law then required the selector 
 to swear that he was selecting 
 the land for his own use and 
 benefit. Some of the dummies 
 did not hesitate to commit per- 
 jury. Dictionaries give " dummy, 
 adj. fictitious or sham." The 
 Australian noun is an extension
 
 I 3 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [DUM 
 
 of this idea. Webster gives 
 " (drama) one who plays a merely 
 nominal part in any action, a 
 sham character." This brings 
 us near to the original dumby, 
 from dumb, which is radically akin 
 to German dumm, stupid. 
 
 1866. D. Rogerson, 'Poetical Works,' 
 P- 23 = 
 
 " The good selectors got most of the 
 
 land, 
 
 The dummies being afraid to 
 stand." 
 
 1866. H. Simcox, 'Rustic Rambles,' 
 p. 21 : 
 
 " See the dummies and the mediums, 
 Bagmen, swagmen, hastening 
 down," 
 
 1872. A. McFarland, ' Illawarra and 
 Manaro,' p. 125 : 
 
 " Since free selection was introduced, 
 a good many of the squatters (they say, 
 in self-defence) have, in turn, availed 
 themselves of it, to secure ' the eyes ' 
 or water-holes of the country, so far 
 as they could by means of ' dummies,' 
 and other blinds." 
 
 1879. R. Niven, ' Eraser's Magazine,' 
 April, p. 516 : 
 
 " This was the, in the colony, well- 
 known ' dummy ' system. Its nature 
 may be explained in a moment. It 
 was simply a swindling transaction 
 between the squatter on the one hand 
 and some wretched fellow on the 
 other, often a labourer in the employ- 
 ment of the squatter, in which the 
 former for a consideration induced the 
 latter to personate the character of a 
 free selector, to acquire from the State, 
 for the purpose of transferring to him- 
 self, the land he most coveted out of 
 that thrown open for selection adjoin- 
 ing his own property." 
 
 1892. ' Scribner's Magazine,' Feb. p. 
 140 : 
 
 "By this device the squatter him- 
 self, all the members of the family, his 
 servants, shepherds, boundary-riders, 
 station-hands and rabbiters, each 
 registered a section, the dummies 
 duly handing their ' selection ' over 
 to the original holder for a slight con- 
 sideration." 
 
 (2) Colloquial name for the 
 grip-car of the Melbourne trams. 
 
 Originally the grip-car was not 
 intended to carry passengers : 
 hence the name. 
 
 1893. 'The Herald' (Melbourne), p. 5, 
 col. 5 : 
 
 " Linked to the car proper is what 
 is termed a dummy." 
 
 1897. 'The Argus,' Jan. 2, p. 7, col. 5 : 
 " But on the tramcar, matters were 
 much worse. The front seat of the 
 dummy was occupied by a young Tas- 
 manian lady and her cousin, and, 
 while one portion of the cart struck 
 her a terrible blow on the body, the 
 shaft pinned her by the neck against 
 the front stanchion of the dummy." 
 
 Dummy, v. to obtain land 
 in the way above described. 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' c. vi. p. 101 : 
 
 " Each partner in the run has pur- 
 chased his ten thousand, and there 
 have been many Mrs. Harrises. The 
 Mrs. Harris system is generally called 
 dummying putting up a non-existent 
 free-selector and is illegal. But I 
 believe no one will deny that it has 
 been carried to a great extent." 
 
 1896. ' The Champion ' (Melbourne), 
 Jan. 1 1 : 
 
 "The verb 'to dummy' and the 
 noun 'dummyism' are purely Austra- 
 lian, quotations to illustrate the use 
 of which can be obtained from ' Han- 
 sard,' the daily papers, and such works 
 as Epps' monograph on the ' Land 
 Tenure Systems of Australasia.' " 
 
 Dummyism, n. obtaining land 
 by misrepresentation. See Dum- 
 my, n. 
 
 1875. 'The Spectator' (Melbourne), 
 June 19, p. 8, col. 2 : 
 
 " ' Larrikinism ' was used as a 
 synonym for ' blackguardism,' and 
 ' dummyism ' for perjury." 
 
 1876. ' The Argus,' Jan. 26, p. 6, col. 6: 
 " Mr. Bent thought that a stop should 
 
 be put to all selection and dummyism 
 till a land law was introduced." 
 
 1887. J. F. Hogan, ' The Irish in Aus- 
 tralia, p. 98 : 
 
 " This baneful and illegal system of 
 land-grabbing is known throughout 
 the colonies by the expressive name of 
 ' dummyism,' the persons professing to
 
 DUM-DUN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 be genuine selectors, desirous of estab- ' 
 lishing themselves on the soil, being 
 actually the agents or the ' dummies ' 
 of the adjoining squatters." 
 
 Dump, n. a small coin formerly 
 used in Australia and Tasmania. 
 Its history is given in the quota- 
 tions. In England the word for- 
 merly meant a heavy leaden 
 counter ; hence the expression, 
 " I don't care a dump." See 
 Holy Dollar. 
 
 1822. ' Hobart Town Gazette,' Decem- 
 ber 14 : 
 
 " Government Public Notice. The 
 Quarter Dollars, or ' Dumps,' struck 
 from the centre of the Spanish Dollar, 
 and issued by His Excellency Governor 
 Macquarie, in the year 1813, at One 
 Shilling and Threepence each, will be 
 exchanged for Treasury Bills at Par, 
 or Sterling money." 
 
 1823. 'Sydney Gazette,' Jan. ['Cen- 
 tury']: 
 
 "The small colonial coin denom- 
 inated dumps have all been called in. 
 If the dollar passes current for five 
 shillings the dump lays claim to fifteen 
 pence value still in silver money.'' 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 44 : 
 
 " He only solicits the loan of a 
 ' dump,' on pretence of treating his sick 
 gin to a cup of tea." 
 
 Ibid. p. 225 : 
 
 " The genuine name of an Australian 
 coin, in value is. 3^.'' 
 
 1852. J. West, ' History of Tasmania,' 
 vol. ii. p. 141 : 
 
 " Tattered promissory notes, of small 
 amount and doubtful parentage, flut- 
 tered about the colony ; dumps, struck 
 out from dollars, were imitated by a 
 coin prepared without requiring much 
 mechanical ingenuity." 
 
 1870. T. H. Braim, 'New Homes,' c. 
 iii. p. 131 : 
 
 " The Spanish dollar was much used. 
 A circular piece was struck out of the 
 centre about the size of a shilling, and 
 it was called a ' dump.' " 
 
 1879. W. J. Barry, ' Up and Down,' p. 
 
 5: 
 
 "The coin current in those days 
 (1829) consisted of ring-dollars and 
 
 dumps, the dump being the centre of 
 the dollar punched out to represent a 
 smaller currency." 
 
 1893. ' The Daily News ' (London), 
 May u, p. 4 : 
 
 "The metallic currency was then 
 [1819-25] chiefly Spanish dollars, at 
 that time and before and afterwards 
 the most widely disseminated coin in 
 the world, and they had the current 
 value of 5-y. But there were too few of 
 them, and therefore the centre of them 
 was cut out and circulated under the 
 name of ' dumps ' at is. -$d. each, the 
 remainder of the coin called by way 
 of a pun, ' holy dollars ' still retaining 
 its currency value of 5-r." 
 
 Dump, v. to press closely ; 
 applied to wool. Bales are often 
 marked "not to be dumped." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland, 'p. 98: 
 
 "The great object of packing so 
 close is to save carriage through the 
 country, for however well you may do 
 it, it is always re-pressed, or ' dumped,' 
 as it is called, by hydraulic pressure on 
 its arrival in port, the force being so 
 great as to crush two bales into one." 
 
 1875. R. and F. Hill, 'What we saw 
 in Australia,' p. 207 : 
 
 " From the sorting-tables the fleeces 
 are carried to the packing-shed ; there, 
 by the help of machinery, they are 
 pressed into sacks, and the sacks are 
 then themselves heavily pressed and 
 bound with iron bands, till they be- 
 come hard cubes. This process is 
 called 'dumping.'" 
 
 Dumplings, n. i.q. Apple-berry 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Dundathee, or Dundathu 
 Pine, n. the Queensland species 
 (Agathis robusta, Sal.) of the Kauri 
 Pine (q.v.) ; and see Pine. 
 
 Dungaree-Settler, n. Now ob- 
 solete. See quotation. 
 
 1852. Anon, ' Settlers and Convicts ; or, 
 Recollections of Sixteen Years' Labour in 
 the Australian Backwoods,' p. 1 1 : 
 
 " The poor Australian settler (or, 
 according to colonist phraseology, the 
 Dungaree-settler ; so called from their
 
 132 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [DUN-DWA. 
 
 frequently clothing themselves, their 
 wives, and children in that blue Indian 
 manufacture of cotton known as Dun- 
 garee) sells his wheat crop." 
 
 Dunite, n. an ore in New Zea- 
 land, so called from Dun moun- 
 tain, near Nelson. 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New Zea- 
 land,' p. 56 : 
 
 " Chrome ore. This ore, which is a 
 mixture of chromic iron and alumina, 
 is chiefly associated with magnesian 
 rock, resembling olivine in composition, 
 named Dunite by Dr. Hochstetter." 
 
 Dust, n. slang for flour. 
 1893. Dec. 12, ' A Traveller's Note ': 
 " A bush cook said to me to-day, we 
 
 gave each sundowner a pannikin of 
 
 dust." 
 
 Dwarf-box, n. Eucalyptus micro- 
 theca, F. v. M. See Box. This tree 
 has also many other names. See 
 Maiden's ' Useful Native Plants,' 
 
 P- 495- 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, 'Southern Australia,' 
 vol. i. c. i. p. 22 : 
 
 " Dwarf-box and the acacia pendula 
 prevailed along the plains."
 
 EAG-EBO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 133 
 
 E 
 
 Eagle, n. There are nine species 
 of the true Eagle, all confined to 
 the Old World, except one. The 
 word is also applied to birds of 
 the genus ffaliaetus, such as the 
 J3 aid headed Eagle (H. leucocephalus\ 
 the national emblem of the United 
 States. (' Century.') In Australia 
 the name is assigned to 
 
 Little Eagle 
 
 Aquila morphnoides, Gould. 
 Wedge-tailed E. (Eagle-hawk) 
 
 A. audax, Lath. 
 Whistling E. 
 
 ffaliaetus sphenurus, Vieill. 
 White-bellied Sea E. 
 
 H. leucogaster, Gmel. 
 White-headed Sea E. 
 
 Haliastur girrenera, Vieill. 
 
 Eaglehawk, n. an Australian 
 name for the bird Uroaetus, or 
 Aquila audax, Lath. The name 
 was applied to the bird by the 
 early colonists of New South 
 Wales, and has persisted. In 
 'O.E.LV it is shown that the name 
 was used in Griffith's translation 
 (1829) of Cuvier's 'Regne Animal ' 
 as a translation of the French 
 aigle-autour, Cuvier's name for a 
 South American bird of prey of 
 the genus Morphnus, called Spizae- 
 tus by Vieillot ; but it is added 
 that the word never came into 
 English use. See Eagle. There 
 is a town in Victoria called Eagle- 
 hawk. The Bendigo cabmen 
 make the name a monosyllable, 
 " Glawk." 
 
 1834. L. E. Threlkeld, 'Australian 
 Grammar,' p. 56 : 
 
 "The large eaglehawk, which de- 
 vours young kangaroos, lambs, etc." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. i. pi. I : 
 
 "Aquila. Fucosa, Cuv., [now A, 
 audax Lath.] Wedge-tailed eagle. 
 Eaglehawk, Colonists of New South 
 Wales." 
 
 1863. B. A. Heywood, 'Vacation Tour 
 at the Antipodes,' p. 106 : 
 
 "We knew it was dying, as two 
 large eaglehawks were hovering about 
 over it." 
 
 1880. Fison and Howitt, ' Kamilaroi 
 and Kurnai,' p. 251 : 
 
 " The hair of a person is tied on the 
 end of the throwing-stick, together 
 with the feathers of the eagle hawk." 
 
 l88c H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia, p. 106 : 
 
 " Since the destruction of native 
 dogs and eagle-hawks by the squatters, 
 who stocked the country with sheep, 
 the kangaroos have not a single natural 
 enemy left." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 
 P. 35: 
 
 " On the New South Wales side of 
 the river the eagle-hawk is sometimes 
 so great a pest amongst the lambs that 
 the settlers periodically burn -him out 
 by climbing close enough to the nest 
 to put a fire-stick in contact with it." 
 
 Eagle-hawking, n. bush slang : 
 plucking wool off" dead sheep. 
 
 Eagle-Ray, n. name belonging 
 to any large Ray of the family 
 Myliobatida ; the New Zealand 
 species is Myliobatis nieuhofii. 
 
 Eastralia, n. recent colloquial 
 name, fashioned on the model of 
 Westralia (q.v.), used in West 
 Australiafor the Eastern Colonies. 
 In Adelaide, its application seems 
 confined to New South Wales. 
 
 Ebony, n. a timber. The name 
 is applied in Australia to two 
 species of Bauhinia, B. carronii,
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [ECH 
 
 F. v. M., and B. hookeri, F. v. M., 
 N. O. Leguminosce. Both are called 
 Queensland or Mountain Ebony. 
 
 Echidna, n. a fossorial Mono- 
 treme, in general appearance re- 
 sembling 1 a Porcupine, and often 
 called Spiny Ant-eater or Porcupine, 
 or Porcupine Ant-eater. The body is 
 covered with thick fur from which 
 stiff spines protrude ; th muzzle 
 is in the form of a long toothless 
 beak ; and the tongue is very long 
 and extensile, and used largely 
 for licking up ants ; the feet are 
 short, with strong claws adapted 
 for burrowing. Like the Marsu- 
 pials, the Echidna is provided 
 with a pouch, but the animal is 
 oviparous, usually laying two 
 eggs at a time, which are carried 
 about in the pouch until the 
 young ones are hatched, when 
 they are fed by a secretion from 
 mammary glands, which do not, 
 however, as in other mammals, 
 open on to a nipple. The five- 
 toed Echidnas (genus Echidna) 
 are found in New Guinea, Aus- 
 tralia, and Tasmania, while the 
 three-toed Echidnas (genus Pro- 
 echidna) are confined to New 
 Guinea. The species are Com- 
 mon E., Echidna aculeata, Shaw ; 
 Bruijn's E., Proechidna bruijni, 
 Peters and Doria ; Black-spined 
 E. , Proechidna nigro-aculeata>R.oths- 
 child. The name is from Grk. 
 e^tSva, an adder or viper, from the 
 shape of the long tongue. 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 c. ii. p. 29 : 
 
 "The native porcupine or echidna 
 is not very common." 
 
 1843. J. Backhouse, ' Narrative of a 
 Visit to the Australian Colonies,' p. 89 : 
 
 "The Porcupine of this land, 
 Echidna hystrix, is a squat species of 
 ant-eater, with short quills among its 
 hair : it conceals itself in the day time 
 among dead timber in the hilry forests." 
 
 1851. ' Papers and Proceedings of the 
 
 Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' 
 vol. i. p. 178 : 
 
 " Mr. Milligan mentioned that one 
 of the Aborigines of Tasmania reports 
 having oitendiscovered the nest of the 
 Echidna Setosa, porcupine or ant eater, 
 of the colony ; that on several occasions 
 one egg had been found in it, and never 
 more : this egg has always been found 
 to contain o. foetus or chick, and is said 
 to be round, considerably less than a 
 tennis ball, and without a shell. The 
 mother is said to sit continuously (for 
 a period not ascertained) in the manner 
 of the common fowl over the eggs ; 
 she does not leave the young for a 
 considerable time after having hatched 
 it ; at length, detaching it from the 
 small teat, she moves out hurriedly 
 and at long intervals in quest of food; 
 the young one becoming, at each suc- 
 cessive return, attached to the nipple. 
 . * ^ The Platypus {Ornithorhyncus 
 paradoxus) is said to lay two eggs, 
 having the same external membranous 
 covering, but of an oblong shape." 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist in Australasia,' p. 147 : 
 
 " The Porcupine Ant-eater of Aus- 
 tralia (Echidna hystrix) (the native 
 Porcupine or Hedgehog of the colon- 
 ists), and the Ornithorhynchus, to 
 which it is allied in internal organiza- 
 tion, form the only two genera of the 
 order Monotremata." 
 
 1888. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. ii. p. 230 : 
 
 " Among the gigantic boulders near 
 the top he may capture the burrowing 
 ant-eating porcupine, though if per- 
 chance he place it for a moment in the 
 stoniest ground, it will tax all his 
 strength to drag it from the instan- 
 taneous burrow in which it will defi- 
 antly embed itself." 
 
 1892. A. Sutherland, ' Elementary Geo- 
 graphy of British Colonies,' p. 273 : 
 
 " The echidna is an animal about a 
 foot or 1 8 inches long, covered with 
 spines like a hedgehog. It lives chiefly 
 upon ants. With its bill, which is like 
 a duck's but narrower, it burrows into 
 an ant's-hill, and then with its long, 
 whip-like, sticky tongue, draws the 
 ants into its mouth by hundreds." 
 
 1894. R- Lydekker, ' Marsupialia and 
 Monotremata,' p. 247 : 
 " In order to enable them to procure
 
 ECH-EGR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 135 
 
 with facility their food of ants and 
 their larvae, echidnas are provided with 
 very large glands, discharging into 
 the mouth the viscid secretion which 
 causes the ants to adhere to the long 
 worm-like tongue when thrust into a 
 mass of these insects, after being ex- 
 posed by the digging powers of the 
 claws of the echidna's limbs. . . . 
 When attacked they roll themselves 
 into a ball similar to the hedgehog." 
 
 Bchu, n. the name of an Aus- 
 tralian bird which has not been 
 identified. The word does not 
 occur in the ornithological lists. 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems Evening 
 Hymn,' p. 53 : 
 
 *' The echu's songs are dying with the 
 flute-bird's mellow tone." 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' Jan. II, p. 
 73, col. I : 
 
 " ' Yeldina ' (Rochester) writes 
 While I was on the Murray, a few 
 days before Christmas last, some miles 
 below Echuca, my attention was at- 
 tracted to the melancholy note, as of 
 a bird which had lost its mate, calling 
 ee-k-o-o, e-e-koo, which was repeated 
 several times, after .which a pause, 
 then ee-koo, ee-ko, coolie, coolie, ee- 
 koo. This happened in the scrub at 
 sunset, and came, I think, from a bird 
 smaller than the Australian minah, and 
 of a greenish yellowish hue, larger, but 
 similar to the members of the feathered 
 tribe known to young city 'knights of 
 the catapult ' as greenies. It was while 
 returning to camp from fishing that I 
 noticed this bird, which appeared of 
 solitary habits." 
 
 "'Crossbolt' (Kew) writes The echu 
 is probably identical with a handsome 
 little bird whose peculiar cry ' e-e- 
 -choo ' is familiar to many bush ramblers. 
 It is the size of a small wood-swallow ; 
 black head, back, wings, and tail more 
 or less blue - black ; white throat ; 
 neck and breast light to rich brown. 
 The female is much plainer, and would 
 scarcely be recognized as the mate of 
 the former. The melodious ' e-e-choo ' 
 is usually answered from a distance, 
 whether by the female or a rival I can- 
 not say, and is followed by a prolonged 
 warbling." 
 
 Eel, n. The kinds present in 
 Australia are 
 
 Common Eel 
 
 Anguilla australis, Richards. 
 Conger E. 
 
 Conger labiatus, Castln., and 
 Gonorhynchus grayi, Richards. 
 Green E. (New South Wales) 
 
 Murcena afra, Bl. 
 Silver E. 
 
 Murcenesox cinereus, Forsk. ; also 
 called the Sea-eel (New South 
 Wales). 
 
 Conger wilsoni, Castlri. (Mel- 
 bourne). 
 
 The New Zealand Eels are 
 Black Eel 
 
 Anguilla australis, Richards. 
 Conger E. 
 
 Conger vulgaris, Cuv. 
 Sand E. 
 
 Gonorhynchus grayi, Richards. 
 Serpent E. 
 
 Ophichthys serpens, Linn. 
 Silver E. 
 
 Congromur&na habenata, Rich- 
 ards. 
 Tuna E. 
 
 Anguilla aucklandii, Richards. 
 
 The Sand Eel does not belong 
 to the Eel family, and is only 
 called an Eel from its habits. 
 
 Eel-fish, n Plotosus tandanus, 
 Mitchell. Called also Catfish 
 (q.v.), and Tandan (q.v.). 
 
 1838. T. . L. Mitchell, ' Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. i. pi. 5, pp. 44 and 95 [Note] : 
 
 '''Plotosus tandanus, tandan or 
 eel-fish. Tandan is the aboriginal 
 name." 
 
 Egret, n. an English bird-name. 
 The following species are present 
 in Australia, some being European 
 and others exclusively Austra- 
 lian 
 
 Lesser Egret 
 
 Herodias melanopus, Wagl. 
 Little E. 
 
 H. garzetta. Linn. 
 Pied E. 
 
 H. picata, Gould,
 
 136 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [ELD-EMU 
 
 Plumed Egret 
 
 Herodias intermedia, v. Hasselq. 
 White E.- 
 
 H, alba, Linn. 
 
 Elder, n. See next word. 
 
 Elderberry, Native, n. The two 
 Australian species of the Elder 
 are Sambucus gaudichaudiana, 
 De C., and S. xanthocarpa, F. v. 
 M., N.O. Caprifoliacecz. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 56: 
 
 " Native elderberry. The fruit of 
 these two native elders is fleshy and 
 sweetish, and is used by the aborigines 
 for food." 
 
 Elephant-fish, n. a fish of New 
 Zealand, South Australian, and 
 Tasmanian waters, Callorhynchus 
 antarcticus, Lace" p., family Chima- 
 ridce. " It has a cartilaginous 
 prominence of the snout, ending 
 in a cutaneous flap" (Giinth.), 
 suggesting a comparison with an 
 elephant's trunk. Called also 
 King of the Herrings (q.v.). 
 
 l8O2. G. Barrington, ' Voyage to New 
 South Wales, 'p. 388: 
 
 "The sea affords a much greater 
 plenty, and at least as great a variety 
 as the land ; of these the elephant fish 
 were very palatable food." 
 
 Ellangowan Poison-bush, n. a 
 Queensland name for Myoporum 
 deserti, Cunn., N. O. Myoporintz ; 
 called "Dogwood Poison-bush" 
 in New South Wales. Ellan- 
 gowan is on the Darling Downs 
 in Queensland. Poisonous to 
 sheep, but only when in fruit. 
 
 Emancipatist, and Emanci- 
 pist, n. (the latter, the commoner), 
 an ex-convict who has served out 
 his sentence. The words are 
 never used nowexcept historically. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 118 : 
 
 " Emigrants who have come out free 
 from England, and emancipists, who 
 have arrived here as convicts, and have 
 
 either been pardoned or completed 
 their term of servitude." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 302 : 
 
 " Men who had formerly been con- 
 victs, but who, after their period of 
 servitude had expired, were called 
 'emancipists.'" 
 
 1837. J as - Mudie. ' Felonry of New 
 South Wales,' p. vii : 
 
 " The author begs leave to record his 
 protest against the abuse of language 
 in the misapplication of the terms 
 emancipists and absentees to two por- 
 tions of the colonial felonry. An eman- 
 cipist could not be understood to mean 
 the emancipated but the emancipator. 
 Mr. Wilberforce may be honoured 
 with the title of emancipist ; but it is 
 as absurd to give the same appellation 
 to the emancipated felons of New 
 South Wales as it would be to bestow 
 it upon the emancipated negroes of the 
 West Indies." 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 69 : 
 
 " The same emancipist will, however, 
 besides private charity, be among the 
 first and greatest contributors to a new 
 church." 
 
 1852. 'Eraser's Magazine,' vol. xlvi. p. 
 
 135: 
 
 " The convict obtained his ticket-of- 
 leave . . . became an emancipist . . . 
 and found transportation no punish- 
 ment." 
 
 Emu, n. an Australian bird,. 
 Dromaius nova-hollandice, Lath. 
 There is a second species, Spotted 
 Emu, Dromaius irroratus, Bartlett. 
 An earlier, but now unusual, spell- 
 ing is Emeu. Emeus is the scien- 
 tific name of a New Zealand 
 genus of extinct struthious birds. 
 The word Emu is not Australian,, 
 but from the Portuguese Ema, 
 the name first of the Crane, 
 afterwards of the Ostrich. Form- 
 erly the word Emu was used in 
 English for the Cassowary, and 
 even for the American Ostrich. 
 Since 1885 an Emu has been the 
 design on the twopenny postage 
 stamp of New South Wales.
 
 EMU] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 137 
 
 1613. ' Purchas Pilgrimmage,' pt. I. 
 vol. v. c. xii. p. 430 ('O.E.D.') : 
 
 "The bird called Emia or Erne is 
 admirable." 
 
 1774. Oliver Goldsmith, 'Natural 
 History,' vol. iii. p. 69, Book III. c. v. 
 [Heading] : 
 
 "The Emu." 
 
 1788. ' History of New South Wales ' 
 (1818), p. 53: 
 
 " A bird of the ostrich genus, but of 
 a species very different from any other 
 in the known world, was killed and 
 brought in. Its length was between 
 seven and eight feet ; its flesh was 
 good and thought to resemble beef. 
 It has obtained the name of the New 
 South Wales Emu." 
 
 1789. Captain W. Tench, 'Expedition 
 to Botany Bay,' p. 123 : 
 
 " The bird which principally claims 
 attention is a species of ostrich, ap- 
 proaching nearer to the emu of South 
 America than any other we know of." 
 
 I 793- Governor Hunter, 'Voyage,' 
 P. 69: 
 
 " Some were of opinion that it was 
 the emew, which I think is particularly 
 described by Dr. Goldsmith from Lin- 
 neus : others imagined it to be the 
 cassowary, but it far exceeds that bird 
 in size . . . two distinct feathers grew 
 out from every quill." 
 
 1802. D. Collins, 'Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' vol. ii. 
 P- 3<>7 : 
 
 " These birds have been pronounced 
 by Sir Joseph Banks, of whose judg- 
 ment none can entertain a doubt, to 
 come nearer to what is known of the 
 American ostrich than to either the 
 emu of India or the ostrich of Africa." 
 
 1804. ' Rev. R. Knopwood's Diary ' (J. 
 J. Shillinglaw ' Historical Records of 
 Port Phillip,' 1879), p. 115: 
 
 [At the Derwent] 26 March, 1804 
 " They caught six young emews [sic], 
 about the size of a turkey, and shot 
 the old mother." 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, 'Van Diemen's Land,' 
 p. 165 : 
 
 "We saw an emu track down the 
 side of a hill." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. c. ix. p. 276 : 
 
 " The face of the emu bears a most 
 remarkable likeness to that of the 
 aborigines of New South Wales." 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 160 : 
 
 "They will pick up anything, 
 thimbles, reels of cotton, nails, bullets 
 indiscriminately : and thus the proverb 
 of 'having the digestion of an emu' has 
 its origin." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. vi. pi. i : 
 
 " Dromaius Novce Hollandice. The 
 Emu. New Holland Cassowary. 
 'Governor Phillips' Voyage, 1789."' 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, ' Port Phillip in 
 1849,' p. 42 : 
 
 " The emu strides with such rapidity 
 over the plains as to render its capture 
 very difficult even by the swiftest grey- 
 hound." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 52 : 
 
 "A couple of grave-looking emus. 
 These wobble away at an ungainly 
 but rapid pace directly they sight us, 
 most probably vainly pursued by the 
 dray dogs which join us farther on, 
 weary and unsuccessful indeed the 
 swiftest dog finds an emu as much as 
 he can manage." 
 
 1878. A. Newton, in ' Encyclopaedia 
 Britannica' (9th edit.), vol. viii. p. 173 : 
 
 " Next to the ostrich the largest of 
 existing birds, the common emeu . . ." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, ' Bush Life in Queens- 
 land,' vol. i. p. 210 : 
 
 "... points out two emus to John. 
 . . . They resemble ostriches, but are 
 not so large, and the tail droops more. 
 . . . John can distinguish every point 
 about them, from their black cast-iron, 
 looking legs, to the bare neck and 
 small head, with its bright eye and 
 strong flat beak." 
 
 1890. 'Victorian StatutesGame Act,. 
 Third Schedule ' : 
 
 "Emu. [Close Season.] From the 
 1 4th day of June to the 2oth day of 
 December following in each year." 
 
 1893. 'The Argus,' March 25, p. 4,. 
 col. 5 : 
 
 " The chief in size is the egg of the 
 cassowary, exactly like that of the emu 
 except that the colour is pale moss 
 green instead of the dark green of the 
 emu." 
 
 Emu-Apple, n. See Apple. 
 Emu-Bush, ;/. an Australian
 
 138 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [EMU-EUC 
 
 shrub, Eremophila longifolia, F. 
 v. M., TV. O. Myoporinece. 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 206 : 
 
 "Emu-tree. A small Tasmanian 
 tree ; found on low marshy ground ; 
 used for turners' work." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 317 : 
 
 " Emu-bush. Owing to emus feed- 
 ing on the seeds of this and other 
 species. Heterodendron olecefolium, 
 Desf." 
 
 Ibid. p. 132 : 
 
 "The seeds, which are dry, are 
 eaten by emus." 
 
 Emu-Wren, n. a bird-name. 
 'See Malurus. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iii. pi. 31 : 
 
 " Stipiturus Malachurus, Less. Emu 
 Wren. The decomposed or loose 
 structure of these [tail] feathers, much 
 resembling those of the emu, has sug- 
 gested the colonial name of Emu-Wren 
 for this species, an appellation singu- 
 larly appropriate, inasmuch as it at 
 once indicates the kind of plumage 
 with which the bird is clothed, and the 
 Wren-like nature of its habits." 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, 'Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 213 : 
 
 " The delicate little emeu wren." 
 
 1865. Lady Barker (letter from Mel- 
 bourne), ' Station Life in New Zealand ' 
 p. 8: 
 
 "Then there is the emu-wren, all 
 sad-coloured, but quaint, with the tail- 
 feathers sticking up on end, and exactly 
 like those of an emu, on the very small- 
 est scale, even to the peculiarity of two 
 feathers growing out of the same little 
 quill." 
 
 Eopsaltria, . scientific name 
 for the genus of Australian birds 
 vcalled Shrike-Robins (q.v.). (Grk. 
 jyws, dawn, and \}/aX-pia, a female 
 .harper.) 
 
 Epacris, n. scientific name of 
 the typical genus of the order 
 Epacridea, a heath-like flower of 
 which there are twenty - five 
 species, mostly Australian. From 
 Greek eVt, upon, and a*pov, top 
 
 (the flowers grow in spikes at 
 the top of the plant). In Aus- 
 tralia they are frequently confused 
 with and called Ericas. 
 
 Ephthianura, n. scientific name 
 of a genus of very small Austra- 
 lian birds, anglicized as Ephthia- 
 nure. For species see quotation, 
 1848. A fourth species has been 
 discovered since Gould's day, E. 
 crocea, Castln. and Ramsay, which 
 inhabits Northern Australia. The 
 name was first given by Gould, 
 in the ' Proceedings of the Zoo- 
 logical Society of 1837,' p. 148, 
 as a genus novum. The origin of 
 the word is not certain, but as 
 the tail is unusually small, it is 
 suggested that the name is from 
 the Greek ovpd, tail, and Homeric 
 imperfect 3rd person sing. 2<0iv, 
 wasted away, from </>0iw ( = <0iW). 
 [The word occurs //. xviii. 446.] 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iii. pi. 64 : 
 
 "Ephthianura Albifrons, White- 
 fronted Ephthianura," pi. 65. "Auri- 
 frons, Gould, Orange-fronted E.," pi. 
 66. " Tricolor, Gould, Tricoloured E." 
 
 1890. 'Victorian Statutes Game Act, 
 Third Schedule' : 
 
 " Close season. Ephthianuras. The 
 whole year." 
 
 Escapee, n. one who has es- 
 caped. Especially used of French 
 convicts who escape from New 
 Caledonia. The word is formed 
 on the model of absentee, refugee, 
 etc., and is manifestly influenced 
 by Fr. echapp'e. Escaper is the his- 
 torical English form. (See Bible, 
 2 Kings ix. 15, margin.) 
 
 1880. ' Melbourne Argus,' July 22, p. 2, 
 col. 3('O.E.D.'): 
 
 " The ten New Caledonia escapees 
 . . . are to be handed over to the 
 French consul." 
 
 Eucalyn, n. a sugar obtained, 
 together with laevulose, by fer- 
 mentation of melitose (q.v.) with 
 yeast, or by boiling it with dilute 
 acids.
 
 EUC] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 139 
 
 Eucalypt, n. shortened English 
 form of Eucalyptus used especially 
 in the plural, Eucalypts. Euca- 
 lypti sounds pedantic. 
 
 1880. T. W. Nutt, ' Palace of Industry,' 
 p. II : 
 
 " Stems of the soaring eucalypts that 
 
 rise 
 
 Four hundred friendly feet to glad 
 the skies." 
 
 1887. J. F. Hogan, ' The Irish in Aus- 
 tralia, p. 126 : 
 
 " There is no unmixed good, it is 
 said, on this mundane sphere, and the 
 evil that has accompanied the exten- 
 sive settlement of Gipps Land during 
 recent years is to be found in the wide- 
 spread destruction of the forests, re- 
 sulting in a disturbance of the atmo- 
 spheric conditions and the banishment 
 of an ever-active agent in the preserv- 
 ation of health, for these eucalypts, or 
 gum-trees, as they are generally called, 
 possess the peculiar property of arrest- 
 ing fever-germs and poisonous exhal- 
 ations. They have been transplanted 
 for this especial purpose to some of 
 the malaria-infested districts of Europe 
 and America, and with pronounced 
 success. Australia, to which they are 
 indigenous, has mercilessly hewn them 
 down in the past, but is now repenting 
 of its folly in that respect, and is re- 
 planting them at every seasonable 
 opportunity." 
 
 1892. A. Sutherland, ' Elementary Geo- 
 graphy of British Colonies,' p. 270 : 
 
 " Throughout the whole of Australia 
 the prevailing trees are eucalypts, 
 known generally as gum-trees on ac- 
 count of the gum which they secrete, 
 and which may be seen standing like 
 big translucent beads on their trunks 
 and branches." 
 
 Eucalyptene, n. the name 
 given by Cloez to a hydrocarbon 
 obtained by subjecting Eucalyptol 
 <(q.v.) to dehydration by phos- 
 phorus pentoxide. The same name 
 has also been given by other 
 chemists to a hydrocarbon be- 
 lieved to occur in eucalyptus oil. 
 
 Bucalyptian, adj. playfully 
 formed ; not in common use. 
 
 1870. A. L. Gordon, 'Bush Ballads,' 
 p. 8: 
 
 " Gnarl'd, knotted trunks Eucalyptian 
 Seemed carved, like weird columns 
 
 Egyptian, 
 
 With curious device quaint inscrip- 
 tion 
 And hieroglyph strange." 
 
 Eucalyptic, adj. full of gum- 
 trees. 
 
 1873. J. Brunton Stephens, ' Black Gin, 
 etc.,' p. 6: 
 
 " This eucalyptic cloisterdom is any- 
 thing but gay." 
 
 Eucalyptol, n. a volatile oil of 
 camphor-like smell, extracted 
 from the oil of Eucalyptus globulus., 
 Labill., E. amygdalina, Labill., 
 etc. Chemically identical with 
 cineol, got from other sources. 
 
 Eucalyptus, n. the gum tree. 
 There are 120 species, as set forth 
 in Baron von Muller's ' Eucalypto- 
 graphia, a Descriptive Atlas of 
 the Eucalypts of Australia.' The 
 name was first given in scientific 
 Latin by the French botanist 
 L'He"ritier, in his Sertum Anglicum, 
 published in 1788. From the 
 Greek cv, well, and KoAvTrreiv, to 
 cover. See quotation, 1848. N. O. 
 Myrtacece. The French now say 
 Eucalyptus; earlier they called it 
 Vacajou de la nouvelle Hollande. 
 The Germans call it Schonmutze. 
 See Gum. 
 
 1823. Sidney Smith, ' Essays,' p. 440 : 
 
 " A London thief, clothed in Kan- 
 garoo's skins, lodged under the bark 
 of the dwarf eucalyptus, and keeping 
 sheep, fourteen thousand miles from 
 Piccadilly, with a crook bent into the 
 shape of a picklock, is not an uninter- 
 esting picture." 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, ' Southern Australia,' vol. 
 i. c. ii. p. 80 : 
 
 " A large basin in which there are 
 stunted pines and eucalyptus scrub." 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 p. 132 : 
 
 " The scientific term Eucalyptus has 
 been derived from the Greek, in allu- 
 sion to a lid or covering over the
 
 140 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [EUR-EXP 
 
 blossom, which falls off when the 
 flower expands, exposing a four-celled 
 capsule or seed-vessel." 
 
 1851. G. W. Rusden, ' Moyarra,' canto 
 i. p. 8 : 
 
 " The eucalyptus on the hill 
 Was silent challenge to his skill." 
 
 1879. 'Temple Bar,' Oct., p. 237 
 ('O.E.D.'): 
 
 " The sombre eucalypti . . . inter- 
 spersed here and there by their dead 
 companions." 
 
 1886. J. A. Froude, 'Oceana,' p. 118: 
 
 "At intervals the bush remained 
 untouched, but the universal eucalyp- 
 tus, which I had expected to find grey 
 and monotonous, was a Proteus in 
 shape and colour, now branching like 
 an oak or a cork tree, now feathered 
 like a birch, or glowing like an arbutus, 
 with an endless variety of hue green, 
 orange, and brown." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. v. p. 46 : 
 
 "A lofty eucalyptus . . . lay with 
 its bared roots sheer athwart a tiny 
 watercourse." 
 
 Euro, n. one of the aboriginal 
 names for a Kangaroo (q.v.) ; 
 spelt also Yuro. 
 
 1885. Mrs. Praed, ' Head Station,' p. 
 192 : 
 
 " Above and below . . . were beetling 
 cliffs, with ledges and crannies that 
 afforded foothold only to yuros and 
 rock-wallabies." 
 
 Exclusionist, n. and adj. See 
 quotation. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. pp. 118-19 : 
 
 ". . . one subdivision of the emi- 
 grant class alluded to, is termed the 
 exclusionist party, from their strict 
 exclusion of the emancipists from their 
 society." 
 
 Exileism, n. a word of same 
 period as Exiles (q.v.). 
 
 1893. A. P. Martin, ' Life of Lord Sher- 
 brooke,' vol. i. p. 381 : 
 
 " A gentleman who was at this time 
 engaged in pastoral pursuits in New 
 South Wales, and was therefore a sup- 
 porter of ' exileism.' " 
 
 Exiles, n. euphemistic name for 
 convicts. It did not last long. 
 
 1847. A. P. Martin, 'Life of Lord Sher- 
 brooke ' (1893), vol. i. p. 378 : 
 
 " The cargoes of criminals were no 
 longer to be known as ' convicts,' but 
 (such is the virtue in a name !) as 
 ' exiles.' It was, as Earl Grey ex- 
 plained in his despatch of Sept 3, 
 1847, 'a scheme of reformatory dis- 
 cipline.' " 
 
 1852. G. B. Earp, 'Gold Colonies of 
 Australia,' p. 100 : 
 
 " The convict system ceased in New 
 South Wales in 1839 ; but 'exiles' as 
 they were termed, i.e. men who had 
 passed their probation at home, were 
 forwarded till 1843." 
 
 Expiree, n. a convict whose 
 term of sentence had expired. 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes * 
 (ed. 1885), p. 107 : 
 
 " A hireling convict emancipist, 
 expiree, or ticket of leave." 
 
 Expiree, adj. See preceding. 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, ' Cooksland,' p. 271 : 
 
 "Very many of their servants, being 
 old hands or expiree convicts from 
 New South Wales and Van Diemen's 
 Land, are thoroughly unprincipled 
 men." 
 
 1883. E. M. Curr, 'Recollections of 
 Squatting in Victoria' (1841 1851), p. 40 : 
 
 "Hiring men in Melbourne in 1841 
 was not by any means an agreeable 
 job, as wages were high, and labourers 
 (almost all old gaol-birds and expiree 
 convicts) exceedingly independent and 
 rowdy."
 
 FAI-FAR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 141 
 
 Fairy Gardens, n. a miner's 
 term, explained in quotation. 
 
 1852. F. Lancelott, 'Australia, as it is,' 
 vol. ii. p. 221 : 
 
 "On the south-eastern portion of 
 this county is the world-famed Burra 
 Burra copper mine. . . . Some of the 
 cuttings are through solid blocks of 
 ore, which brilliantly glitter as you 
 pass with a lighted candle, while others 
 are formed in veins of malachite, and 
 from their rich variegated green 
 appearance are not inaptly called by 
 the miners ' Fairy gardens.' " 
 
 Pake-mucker, . a Tasmanian 
 name for the Dusky Robin (Petroica 
 vittatd). See Robin. 
 
 Falcon, n. English bird-name. 
 The Australian species are 
 
 Black Falcon 
 
 Falco subniger, Gray. 
 Black-cheeked F. 
 
 F. melanogenys, Gould. 
 Grey F. 
 
 F. hypoleucus, Gould. 
 Little F. 
 
 F. lunulatus, Lath. 
 
 See also Nankeen-Hawk. 
 
 Fantail, n. bird-name applied 
 in England to a pigeon ; in Aus- 
 tralia and New Zealand, to the 
 little birds of the genus Rhipidura 
 (q.v.). It is a fly-catcher. The 
 Australian species are 
 
 Rhipidura albiscapa, Gould. 
 Black-and-White Fantail (called 
 also the Wagtail, q.v.) 
 
 R. tricolor, Vieill. 
 Dusky F. 
 
 R. diemenensis, Sharpe. 
 Northern F. 
 
 R. setosa, Quoy and Gaim. 
 
 Pheasant F. 
 
 Rhipidura phasiana, De Vis. 
 Rufous F. 
 
 R. rufifrons, Lath. 
 Western F. 
 
 R. preissi, Cab. 
 White-tailed F. 
 
 R. albicauda. North. 
 Wood F. 
 
 R. dryas, Gould. 
 
 The New Zealand species are 
 
 Black F. 
 
 Rhipidura fuliginosa, Sparrm. 
 
 (Tiwaiwdka). 
 Pied F. 
 
 R. flabellifera, Gmel. (Piwaka- 
 waka). 
 
 In Tasmania, the R. diemenensis 
 is called the Cranky Fantail, be- 
 cause of its antics. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Journal,' vol. ii. 
 p. 80: 
 
 " We also observed the . . fantailed 
 fly-catcher (Rhipidura)? 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 69 : 
 
 " The Red Fantail, ever flitting about 
 with broadly expanded tail, and per- 
 forming all manner of fantastic evolu- 
 tions, in its diligent pursuit of gnats 
 and flies, is one of the most pleasing 
 and attractive objects in the New Zea- 
 land forest. It is very tame and 
 familiar." 
 
 Farinaceous City, or Village, n. 
 a playful name for Adelaide. The 
 allusion is to wheat being the 
 leading export of South Australia. 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 184 : 
 
 " [Adelaide] has also been nick- 
 named the Farinaceous City. A little 
 gentle ridicule is no doubt intended to 
 be conveyed by the word."
 
 142 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [FAT-FER 
 
 Fat-cake, n. ridiculous name 
 sometimes applied to Eucalyptus 
 leucoxylon, F. v. M., according to 
 Maiden (' Useful Native Plants,' 
 p. 471). 
 
 Pat-hen, n. a kind of wild 
 spinach. In England the name is 
 applied to various plants of thick 
 foliage. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 40 : 
 
 " The fat-hen (Atripkx) . . ." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 120 : 
 
 " Another wild vegetable grew in 
 the sandy beds of the rivers and 
 creeks, called ' fat-hen.' It was exactly 
 like spinach, and not only most agree- 
 able but also an excellent anti-scor- 
 butic, a useful property, for scurvy is 
 not an unknown thing in the bush by 
 any means." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 156. 
 
 " Boiled salt junk, with fat-hen (a 
 kind of indigenous spinach)." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 1 6 : 
 
 " Chenopodium murale, Linn., Aus- 
 tralian spinach. Bentham considers 
 this may have been introduced." 
 
 Felonry, n. See quotation. 
 
 1837. Jas. Mudie, ' Felonry of New 
 South Wales,' p. 6 : 
 
 " The author has ventured to coin 
 the -word felonry, as the appellative of 
 an order or class of persons in New 
 South Wales an order which happily 
 exists in no other country in the world. 
 A legitimate member of the tribe of 
 appellatives ... as peasantry, ten- 
 antry, yeomanry, gentry." 
 
 1858. T. McCombie, ' History of Vic- 
 toria,' c. xv. p. 24 : 
 
 " The inundation of the Australian 
 colonies with British Felonry." 
 
 1888. Sir C. Gavan Duffy, 'Contem- 
 porary Review,' vol. liii. p. 14 [' Cen- 
 tury '] : 
 
 " To shut out the felonry of Great 
 Britain and Ireland." 
 
 Ferns. The following list of 
 Australian ferns is taken from 
 'The Fern World of Australia,' 
 
 by F. M. Bailey of Brisbane 
 (1881), omitting from his list all 
 ferns of which the vernacular and 
 scientific names coincide with the 
 names of ferns elsewhere. 
 
 Bat's-wing Fern 
 
 Pteris incisa, Thunb. 
 Black Tree F. of New Zea- 
 land 
 
 Cyathea medullaris, Sw. 
 Blanket F. 
 
 Grammitis rutcefolia, R. Br. 
 Braid F. 
 
 Platyzoma microphyllum, R. Br. 
 Caraway F. 
 
 Athyrium umbrosum, J. Sm. 
 Curly F. 
 
 Cheilanthes tenuifolia, Sw. 
 Deer's-tongue F. 
 
 Acrostichum conforme, Sw. 
 Ear F. 
 
 Pteris falcata, R. Br. 
 Elk's-horn F. 
 
 Platycerium aldcorne, Desv. 
 Fan F. 
 
 Gleicheniaflabellata, R. Br. 
 Golden Swamp F. 
 
 Acrostichum aureum, Linn. 
 Grass-leaved F. (q.v.) 
 
 Vittaria elongata, Sw. 
 
 * Hare's-foot F. 
 
 Davallia pyxidata, Cav. 
 Jersey F. 
 
 Grammitis leptophylla, Sw. 
 
 * Lady F. 
 
 Aspidium aculeatum, Sw. 
 
 * Maiden-hair F. 
 
 Adiantum, spp. 
 Meadow-rue Water F. 
 
 Ceratoptoris thalictroides, Brong. 
 Parasol F. 
 
 Gleichenia circinata, Sw. 
 Pickled-cabbage F. 
 
 Lomaria capensis, Willd. 
 Potato F. (q.v.) 
 
 Marattiafraxinea, Sm. 
 Prickly F. (q.v.) 
 
 Alsophila australis, R. Br. 
 
 * Elsewhere the name is applied to a 
 different species.
 
 FER] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 Prickly-tree Fern 
 
 Alsophila leichhardtiana, F. v. M. 
 Ribbon F. 
 
 Ophioglossum pendulum, Linn. 
 Shiny F. 
 
 Polypodium aspidoides, Bail. 
 Snake's-tongue F. 
 
 Lygodium, spp. 
 
 Tiie following are not in Bailey's 
 
 List: 
 Parsley F. 
 
 Cheilanthes tenuifolia, S w. (Name 
 Parsley applied to a different 
 Fern elsewhere.) 
 Sword F. 
 
 Grammitis australis, R. Br. 
 Umbrella F., Tasmanian name 
 for Fan F. (q.v.). 
 
 Other ferns not in this list 
 appear elsewhere. See also Fern- 
 tree. 
 
 _Fern-bird, n. a New Zealand 
 bird of the genus Sphencecus. 
 Also called Grass-bird, and New 
 Zealand Pipit. There are three 
 species 
 
 The Fern-bird 
 
 Sphenwcus punctatus, Gray. 
 Chatham Island F.-b. 
 
 S. rufescens, Buller. 
 Fulvous F.-b. 
 
 S. fulvus, Gray. 
 
 1885. ' Transactions of the New Zealand 
 Institute,' vol. xviii. p. 125 : 
 
 "The peculiar chirp of the fern 
 bird is yet to be heard among the tall 
 fern." 
 
 1885. A. Hamilton, 'Native Birds of 
 Petane, Hawke's Bay': 
 
 " Fern-bird. The peculiar chirp of 
 this lively little bird is yet to be heard 
 among the tall fern, though it is not so 
 plentiful as in days gone by." 
 
 1888. VV. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 59: 
 
 " Fern Bird . . . This recluse little 
 species is one of our commonest birds, 
 but is oftener heard than seen. It 
 frequents the dense fern of the open 
 country and the beds of Raupo." 
 
 Fern-tree, n. Name applied to 
 various species of ferns which 
 grow to a large size, the stem in 
 the fully grown plant reaching 
 often a height of many feet before 
 the leaves are given off. Such 
 Tree-ferns clothe the sides of deep 
 and shady gullies amongst the 
 hills, and give rise to what are 
 known as Fern-tree gullies, 
 which form a very characteristic 
 feature of the moister coastal 
 Ranges of many parts of Australia. 
 The principal Fern-trees or Tree- 
 ferns, as they are indiscriminately 
 called, of Australia and Tasmania 
 are Dicksoma antarctica, Lab. ; 
 Alsophila au straits, R. Br. ; Todea 
 africana, Willd. ; Cyathea cun- 
 ninghami, J. Hook. ; Alsophila ex- 
 celsa, R. Br. ; the last named, how- 
 ever, not occurring in Tasmania 
 or Victoria. 
 
 1836. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 164: 
 
 " We entered a beautiful fern-tree 
 grove, that also concealed the heavens 
 from view, spreading like a plantation 
 or cocoa-nut tree orchard, but with far 
 more elegance and effect." 
 
 1839. C. Darwin, ' Voyage of Beagle ' 
 (ed. 1890), p. 177 : 
 
 " Tree-ferns thrive luxuriantly in 
 Van Diemen's Land (lat. 45), and I 
 measured one trunk no less than six 
 feet in circumference. An arborescent 
 fern was found by Forster in New 
 Zealand in 46, where orchideous 
 plants are parasitical on the trees. In 
 the Auckland Islands, ferns, according 
 to Dr. Dieffenbach, have trunks so 
 thick and high that they may be 
 almost called tree-ferns." 
 
 1857. F. R. Nixon (Bishop of Tasmania), 
 ' Cruise of the Beacon,' p. 26 : 
 
 " With these they [i.e. the Tasma- 
 nian Aborigines] mingled the core or 
 pith of the fern trees, Cibotium Billar- 
 dieriand Alsophila Australis (of which 
 the former is rather astringent and 
 dry for a European palate, and the 
 latter, though more tolerable, is yet 
 scarcely equal to a Swedish turnip.)"
 
 144 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [FER-FIO 
 
 1870. S. H. Wintle, ' Fragments of 
 Fern Fronds,' p. 39 : 
 
 "Where the feet of the mountains are 
 
 bathed by cool fountains, 
 The green, drooping fern trees are 
 seen." 
 
 1878. William Sharp, 'Australian Bal- 
 lads,' 'Canterbury Poets ' (Scott, 1888), pp. 
 j8o-8i : 
 
 " The feathery fern-trees make a 
 
 screen, 
 Wherethrough the sun-glare cannot 
 
 pass 
 Fern, gum, and lofty sassafras." 
 
 " Under a feathery fern-tree bough 
 A huge iguana lies alow." 
 
 1884. R. L. A. Davies, ' Poems and 
 Literary Remains,' p. 83 : 
 
 " There were mossy fern-trees near 
 
 me, 
 With their graceful feathered 
 
 fronds, 
 Which they slowly waved above me, 
 
 Like hoar magicians' wands." 
 1893. A. R. Wallace, ' Australasia,' vol. 
 
 i- P- 53 = 
 
 " Here are graceful palms rising to 
 70 or even 100 feet ; the Indian fig 
 with its tortuous branches clothed with 
 a drapery of curious parasites ; while 
 graceful tree ferns, 30 feet high, flourish 
 in the damp atmosphere of the sheltered 
 dells." 
 
 Fern-tree Gully. See Fern- 
 tree and Gully. 
 
 Fever-bark, n. another name 
 for Bitter-bark (q.v.). 
 
 Fibrous Grass, n. a Tasmanian 
 grass (see Grass], Stipa semi- 
 barbata, R. Br., N.O. Graminea. 
 
 1862. W. Archer, ' Products of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 41 : 
 
 " Fibrous grass (Stipa semibarbata, 
 Br.). After the seed has ripened the 
 upper part of the stem breaks up into 
 fibre, which curls loosely and hangs 
 down waving in the wind." 
 
 Fiddle-back, n. name given in 
 Australia to the beetle, Schizor- 
 rhina australasia. 
 
 Fiddler, n. a New South Wales 
 and Victorian name for a species 
 
 of Ray, Trygonorhina fasdata, 
 Mull. and Heule, family Rhinoba- 
 tidce. 
 
 Fig-bird, n. a bird-name. Sphe- 
 cotheres maxillaris^ Lath. ; Yellow- 
 bellied, S. flaviventris, Gould. S. 
 maxillaris is also called Mulberry- 
 bird (q.v.). 
 
 Fig-eater, . a bird, i.q. Grape- 
 eater (q.v.). 
 
 Fig-tree, n. The name is applied 
 in Australia to the following 
 species : 
 
 Blue Fig 
 
 Elceocarpus grandis, F. v. M., 
 
 N.O. Tiliacea. 
 Clustered F. 
 
 Ficus glomerata, Willd., N.O. 
 
 Urticacece. 
 Moreton Bay F. 
 
 F. macrophylla, Desf., N.O. Ur- 
 
 ticacice. 
 Prickly F. 
 
 Elceocarpus holopetalus, F. v. M., 
 
 N.O. Tiliacece. 
 
 Purple F., or White F., or Rough- 
 leaved F., or Flooded F. 
 [Clarence River] 
 Ficus scabra, G. Forst., N.O. 
 
 Urticaria. 
 Ribbed F. 
 
 F. pleurocarpa, F. v. M., N.O. 
 
 Urticaria. 
 Rusty F., or Narrow-leaved F. 
 
 [or Port Jackson] 
 F. rubiginosa, Desf., N.O. Urti- 
 caria ; called also Native 
 Banyan. 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, 'Poems,' p. 119: 
 
 "And I forget how lone we sit beneath 
 this old fig-tree." 
 
 1870. F. S. Wilson, ' Australian Songs,' 
 p. 115: 
 
 "The fig-tree casts a pleasant shade 
 On the straggling ferns below." 
 
 1882. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 537: 
 
 " Moreton Bay fig. This noble- 
 looking tree has a wood which is
 
 FIL-FIR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 '45 
 
 sometimes used, though it is very 
 difficult to season." 
 
 [It is a handsome evergreen 
 with dark leaves, larger than 
 those of a horse-chestnut, much 
 used as an ornament in streets 
 and gardens, especially in Sydney 
 and Adelaide. The fig is not 
 edible.] 
 
 1890. RolfBoldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' 
 c. 44, P- 380: 
 
 " The . . . venerable church with 
 its alleys of araucaria and Moreton 
 Bay fig-trees." 
 
 File-fish, n. name given in New 
 Zealand to the fish Monacanthus 
 rudis, Richards, family Schroder- 
 mi; in New South Wales to 
 species of the genus Balistes. The 
 first of the spines of the dorsal 
 fin is roughened in front like a 
 file. Balistes maculatus is the 
 "Spotted File-fish" of Sydney. 
 It is closely allied to the genus 
 Monacanthus, called Leather-jacket 
 (q.v.), which is much more numer- 
 ously represented in Australasia. 
 
 Finch, n. a bird-name, first 
 applied in Australia, in 1848, by 
 Gould, to the genus Poephila 
 (Grass-lover), and since extended 
 to other genera of birds. The 
 species are 
 Banded Finch 
 
 Stictoptera bichenovii, Vig. and 
 
 Hors. 
 Black-ringed F. 
 
 S. annulosa, Gould. 
 Black-rumped F. 
 
 Poephila atropygialis, Diggles. 
 Black-throated F. 
 
 P. cincta, Gould. 
 Chestnut-breasted F. 
 
 Munia castaneothorax, Gould. 
 Chestnut-eared F. 
 
 Taniopygia castanotis, Gould. 
 Crimson F. 
 
 Neochmia phaeton, Homb. and 
 
 Jacq. 
 Fire-tailed F. 
 
 Zonaginthus bellus, Lath. 
 
 Gouldian F. 
 
 Poephila gouldia, Gould. 
 Long-tailed F. 
 
 P. acuticauda, Gould. 
 Masked F. 
 
 P. personata, Gould. 
 Painted F. 
 
 Emblema picta, Gould. 
 Plum-head F. 
 
 Aidemosyne modesta, Gould. 
 Red-browed F. 
 
 ALgintha temporalis, Lath. 
 Red-eared F. 
 
 Zonceginthus oculatus, Quoy and 
 
 Gaim. 
 Red-tailed F. 
 
 Bathilda ruficauda, Gould. 
 Scarlet-headed F. 
 
 Poephila mirabilis, Homb. and 
 
 Jacq. 
 Spotted-sided F. 
 
 Staganopleura guttata, Shaw. 
 White-breasted F. 
 
 Munia pectoralis, Gould. 
 White-eared F. 
 
 Poephila leucotis, Gould. 
 Yellow-rumped F. 
 
 Munia flaviprymna, Gould. 
 
 Fire-stick, n. name given to 
 the lighted stick which the Aus- 
 tralian natives frequently carry 
 about, when moving from camp 
 to camp, so as to be able to light 
 a fire always without the neces- 
 sity of producing it by friction. 
 The fire-stick may be carried in a 
 smouldering condition for long 
 distances, and when traversing 
 open grass country, such as the 
 porcupine-grass covered districts 
 of the interior, the stick is used 
 for setting fire to the grass, partly 
 to destroy this and partly to drive 
 out the game which is hiding 
 amongst it. The fire-stick (see 
 quotations) is also used as em- 
 blematic of the camp-fire in cer- 
 tain ceremonies. 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, 'Cooksland,' p. 
 126, n. : 
 
 "When their fire-stick has been
 
 146 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [FIR-FLA 
 
 extinguished, as is sometimes the case, 
 for their jins or vestal virgins, who 
 have charge of the fire, are not always 
 sufficiently vigilant." 
 
 1896. F. J. Gillen, 'Home Expedition 
 in Central Australia,' Anthropology, pt. 
 iv. p. 170: 
 
 " Carrying fire-sticks, they place 
 rings, woven of fur and vegetable 
 down, round the boy's neck and arms 
 and sometimes over and under the 
 shoulders ; the fire-sticks are then 
 handed to him, the lubras saying : 
 ' Take care of the fire ; keep to your 
 own camp.' " 
 
 Firetail, n. name applied in 
 Victoria to the bird digintha 
 temporalis, Lath. ; and in Tas- 
 mania to Zonaginthus (Estrelda) 
 bellus, Lath. In New South 
 Wales, s. temporalis is known 
 as the Red-head. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iii. pi. 78: 
 
 " Estrelda Bella, Fire-tailed finch. 
 Fire-tail, Colonists of Van Diemen's 
 Land." 
 
 Fire-tree, n. a tree of New 
 Zealand ; another name for Pohu- 
 tukawa (q.v.). For Queensland 
 Fire-tree, see Tulip-tree. 
 
 Fireweed, n. a name given to 
 several weeds, such as Senecio 
 lautus, Sol., N.O. Composite ; so 
 called because they spring up in 
 great luxuriance where the forest 
 has been burned off. 
 
 Fish-hawk, n. English name 
 applied to Pandion leucocephalus, 
 Gould ; called also the Osprey. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. i. pi. 6 : 
 
 " Pandion Leucocephalus, Gould, 
 White-headed osprey. Little fish 
 hawk, Colonists of New South Wales. 
 Fish-hawk, Colonists of Swan River." 
 
 Fist, v. to use the hands. The 
 word is not unknown in English 
 in the sense of to grip. (Shak- 
 speare, 'Cor.' IV. v. 124.) 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 366: 
 
 "'Fist it,' a colonial expression, 
 
 which may convey to the uninitiated 
 the idea that knives, forks, plates, etc., 
 are unknown in the bush ; such -was 
 formerly the case, but the march of 
 improvement has banished this pecu- 
 liar simplicity." 
 
 Five-corners, n. name given 
 to the fruit of an Australian tree 
 and to the tree itself, Styphelia 
 triflora, Andr., N.O. Epacridea. 
 There are many species of Sty- 
 phelia (q.v.), the fruit of several 
 being edible. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 61 : 
 
 " Five-corners. These fruits have a 
 sweetish pulp with a large stone. They 
 form part of the food of the aboriginals, 
 and are much appreciated by school- 
 boys. When from a robust plant they 
 are of the size of a large pea, and not 
 at all bad eating." 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World 
 was Wide,' p. 158: 
 
 " Still I see in my fancy the dark- 
 green and blue 
 
 Of the box-covered hills where the 
 five-corners grew." 
 
 Flame-tree, n. The name is 
 given in India and elsewhere to 
 several trees with bright scarlet, 
 or crimson, flowers. In Australia, 
 two different trees are called 
 Flame-trees 
 
 (1) A tree of Eastern Australia, 
 with profuse bright coral-like 
 flowers, Brachychiton acerifolium, 
 F. v. M., N.O. Sterculiacece. 
 
 (2) A tree of Western Aus- 
 tralia, with brilliant orange-col- 
 oured flowers, Nuytsia floribunda, 
 N.O. Loranthacece ; which is also 
 called Tree Mistletoe, and, locally, 
 a Cabbage-tree. 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' p. 
 96: 
 
 "There are flame-trees showing in 
 spring vivid patches of crimson." 
 
 Flannel Flower, n. an Austra- 
 lian flower, Actinotus helianthi, 
 Labill., N.O. Composite. It ranges 
 from Gippsland to Southern
 
 FLA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 147 
 
 Queensland, but is particularly 
 abundant in New South Wales. 
 Sometimes called the Australian 
 Edelweiss. For the reason of the 
 name see quotation. 
 
 1895. J. H. Maiden, ' Flowering Plants 
 of New South Wales,' p. 9 : 
 
 " We only know one truly local name 
 for this plant, and that is the ' Flannel 
 Flower' a rather unpoetical designa- 
 tion, but a really descriptive one, and 
 one universally accepted. It is, of 
 course, in allusion to the involucre, 
 which looks as if it were snipped out of 
 white flannel. It is also known to a few 
 by the name of Australian Edelweiss." 
 
 Flathead, n. name given to 
 several Australian marine fishes, 
 Platycephalusfuscus, Cuv. and Val., 
 and other species of Platycephalus, 
 family Cottida. The Red Flat- 
 head is P. bassensis, Cuv. and 
 Val., and the Rock F. is P. Iczvi- 
 gatus, Cuv. and Val. See also 
 Tupong and Maori-chief. 
 
 1793. Governor Hunter, ' Voyage,' p. 
 410 (Aboriginal Vocabulary) : 
 
 " Paddewah, a fish called a flat- 
 head." 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 c. ii. p. 32 : 
 
 "The market of Hobart Town is 
 supplied with small rock cod, flat- 
 heads, and a fish called the perch." 
 
 Flat Pea, n. a genus of Aus- 
 tralian flowering plants, Platylo- 
 fa'um, N. O. LeguminoscB. 
 
 1793. ' Transactions of Linncean Society,' 
 vol. ii. p. 350 : 
 
 " Its name I have deduced from 
 n-Xari/f, broad, and \of36s, a pod." 
 
 " P. formosum. Orange flat-pea . . . 
 A figure of this . . . will soon be 
 given in the work I have undertaken 
 on the botany of New Holland." 
 
 [The figure referred to will be found 
 at p. 17 of the 'Specimen of the Botany 
 of New Holland.'] 
 
 Flax, Native, n. The European 
 flax is Linum usitatissimum, JV. O. 
 Linea. There is a species in 
 Australia, Linum marginale, Cunn., 
 JV. O. Linacea, called Native Flax. 
 
 In New Zealand, the Phormium is 
 called Native Flax. See next 
 word. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 626: 
 
 " ' Native flax.' Although a smaller 
 plant than the true flax, this plant 
 yields fibre of excellent quality. It 
 is used by the blacks for making fish- 
 ing-nets and cordage." 
 
 Flax, New Zealand, n. Phorm- 
 ium tenax, N. O. Liliacecz. A plant 
 yielding a strong fibre. Called 
 also, in New Zealand, Native Flax, 
 and Flax Lily. 
 
 1807. J- Savage, ' Some account of New 
 Zealand/ p. 56: 
 
 " Small baskets made of the green 
 native flax." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i, p. 63 : 
 
 "The plant is called Phormium 
 tenax by naturalists. The general 
 native name for the plant, we are told, 
 is ' korari,' but each sort, and there are 
 ten or twelve, has its distinctive name. 
 Any portion of the leaf, when gathered, 
 becomes here 'kie kie,' or literally, 
 ' tying stuff.' The operation of scrap- 
 ing is called 'karo,' the fibre when 
 prepared, 'muka.'" [Mr. Tregear says 
 that Wakefield's statements are mis- 
 taken.] 
 
 1851. Mrs. Wilson, 'New Zealand,' p. 
 23: 
 
 " His robe of glossy flax which loosely 
 flows." 
 
 1861. C. C. Bowen, ' Poems,' p. 57 : 
 
 " And flax and fern and tutu grew 
 In wild luxuriance round." 
 
 1870. T. H. Braim, ' New Homes,' c. 
 viii. p. 375: 
 
 " The native flax (Phormtum tenax) 
 is found in all parts of New Zealand ; 
 it grows to the height of about nine 
 feet." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, 'Ranolf,' v. 3, p. 
 93 = 
 
 " In flowing vest of silky flax, un- 
 dyed." 
 
 1893. ' Murray's Handbook to New 
 Zealand,' p. 29: 
 
 "The so-called native flax (phorm- 
 ium tenax)?
 
 148 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [FLA-FLY 
 
 Flax-blade, n. the leaf of the 
 New Zealand Flax (q.v.). 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' i. 5, p. 
 II: 
 
 " With flax-blades binding to a tree 
 The Maid who strove her limbs to 
 free." 
 
 Flax-bush, n. the bush of the 
 New Zealand Flax. 
 
 1854. W. Colder, ' Pigeons' Parliament,' 
 Intro, p. v : 
 
 " I had ... to pass a night . . . 
 under the shade of a flax-bush." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' x. 4, p. 
 171: 
 
 " And the louder flax-bushes 
 With their crowding and crossing 
 Black stems, darkly studded 
 With blossoms red-blooded." 
 
 Flax-flower, n. the flower of 
 the New Zealand Flax (q.v.). 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' xiv. 3, p. 
 221 : 
 
 " little isles 
 
 Where still the clinging flax-flower 
 smiles." 
 
 Flax-leaf, n. the blade of the 
 New Zealand Flax (q.v.). 
 
 1884. T. Bracken, ' Lays of Maori,' p. 
 69: 
 
 " Zephyrs stirred the flax-leaves into 
 tune." 
 
 Flax-lily, n. (i) An Australian 
 fibre plant, Dianella Icevis, var. 
 aspera, R.Br., N.O. Liliacece. (2) 
 Phormium tenax. See Flax, New 
 Zealand. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 621 : 
 
 " Flax-lily. The fibre is strong, and 
 of a silky texture. The aboriginals 
 formerly used it for making baskets, 
 etc. All the colonies except Western 
 Australia.'' 
 
 Flindosa, and Flindosy, n. two 
 trees called Beech (q.v.). 
 
 Flintwood, . another name 
 for Blackbutt (q.v.), Eucalyptus 
 pillularis. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 502 : 
 
 "From the great hardness of the 
 wood it is often known as flintwood." 
 
 Flounder, n. The Flounders in 
 Australia are In Sydney, Pseu- 
 dorhombus russelii, Gray ; in Mel- 
 bourne, Rhombosolea victoria, 
 Castln. ; in New Zealand and 
 Tasmania, R. monopus, Giinth. 
 Maori name, Pdtiki ; family Pleu- 
 ronectida. They are all excellent 
 eating. 
 
 1876. P. Thomson, ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. ix. art. Ixvii., 
 p. 487 : 
 
 "Patiki (flounder). Flounders are 
 in the market all the year." 
 
 Flower-pecker, n. bird-name 
 used elsewhere, but in Australia 
 assigned to Dicceum hirundin- 
 aceum, Lath. 
 
 Flowering Rush, n. name given 
 to the rush or reed, Xyris opercu- 
 lata, Lab., N.O. Xyridea. 
 
 Flute-bird, n. another name for 
 
 the bird Gymnorrhina tibicen, Lath. 
 
 Called also Magpie (q.v.). 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 53 : 
 " The flute-bird's mellow tone." 
 Fly-catcher, . bird-name used 
 
 elsewhere. The Australian species 
 
 are 
 
 Black-faced Fly-catcher 
 Monarcha melanopsis, Vieill. 
 
 Blue F. 
 
 Myiagra concinna, Gould. 
 
 Broad-billed F. 
 M. latirostris, Gould. 
 
 Brown F. [called also Jacky Winter 
 
 (q.v.)]- 
 
 Micraca fascinans, Lath 
 Leaden F. 
 
 Myiagra rubecula, Lath. 
 Lemon-breasted F. 
 
 Micracaflavigaster, Gould. 
 Lesser Brown F. 
 
 M. assimilis, Gould. 
 Little F. 
 
 Seisura nana, Gould. 
 Pale F. 
 
 Micrcsca pallida. 
 Pearly F. 
 
 Monarcha canescens, Salvad.
 
 FLY] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 149 
 
 Pied Fly-catcher 
 
 Arses kaupi, Gould. 
 Restless F. 
 
 Seisura inquieta, Lath, [called 
 also ~Razor-grinder, q.v., and 
 Dishwasher ; q.v.] 
 Satin F. 
 
 Myiagra nitida, Gould [called 
 Satin -robin, q.v., in Tas- 
 mania]. 
 Shining F. 
 
 Piezorhynchus nitidus, Gould. 
 Spectacled F. 
 
 P. gouldi, Gray. 
 White-bellied F. 
 
 P. albiventris, Gould. 
 White-eared F. 
 
 P. leucotis, Gould. 
 Yellow-breasted F. 
 Macharirhynchus flaviventer, 
 Gould. 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales,' p. 161 : 
 
 " We this day caught a yellow-eared 
 fly-catcher (see annexed plate). This 
 bird is a native of New Holland." 
 [Description follows.] 
 
 Ply-eater, n. the new ver- 
 nacular name for the Australian 
 birds of the genus Gerygone (q.v.), 
 and see Warbler. The species 
 are 
 
 Black-throated Fly-eater 
 
 Gerygone personata t Gould. 
 Brown F. 
 
 G. fusca, Gould. 
 Buff-breasted F. 
 
 G. lavigaster, Gould. 
 Green-backed F. 
 
 G, chloronota, Gould. 
 Large-billed F. 
 
 G. magnirostris, Gould. 
 Southern F. 
 
 G. culitivora, Gould. 
 White-throated F. 
 
 G. albogularis, Gould. 
 Yellow-breasted F. 
 
 G.flavida, Ramsay. 
 
 1895. W. O. Legge, ' Australasian Asso- 
 ciation for the Advancement of Science ' 
 ( Brisbane), p. 447 : 
 
 "[The habits and habitats of the 
 genus as] applied to Gerygone sug- 
 gested the term Fly-eater, as distin- 
 guished from \y-catcher, for this 
 aberrant and peculiarly Australasian 
 form of small Fly-catchers, which not 
 only capture their food somewhat after 
 the manner of Fly-catchers, but also 
 seek for it arboreally." 
 
 Flyer, . a swift kangaroo. 
 
 1866. T. McCombie,' Australian Sketch- 
 es,' second series, p. 172 : 
 
 " I may here state that the settlers 
 designate the old kangaroos as 'old 
 men ' and ' old women,' the full-grown 
 animals are named 'flyers,' and are 
 swifter than the British hare." 
 
 Flying-Fox, n. a gigantic Aus- 
 tralian bat, Pteropus poliocephalus> 
 Temm. It has a fetid odour and 
 does great damage to fruits, and 
 is especially abundant in New 
 South Wales, though often met 
 with in Victoria. Described, not 
 named, in first extract. 
 
 1793. Governor Hunter, 'Voyage,' p. 
 
 507: 
 
 "The head of this bat strongly 
 resembles that of a fox, and the wings 
 of many of them extend three feet ten 
 inches. . . . [Description of one 
 domesticated.] . . . They are very fat, 
 and are reckoned by the natives ex- 
 cellent food . . . It was supposed more 
 lhan twenty thousand of them were 
 seen within the space of one mile." 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 31$ : 
 
 " One flying fox is an immense bat, 
 of such a horrific appearance, that no 
 wonder one of Cook's honest tars 
 should take it for the devil when 
 encountering it in the woods." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 310 : 
 
 "... a flying fox, which one of 
 them held in his hand. It was, in fact, 
 a large kind of bat, with the nose 
 resembling in colour and shape that 
 of a fox, and in scent it was exactly 
 similar to it. The wing was that of a 
 common English bat, and as long as 
 that of a crow, to which it was about 
 equal in the length and circumference 
 of its body."
 
 150 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [FLY 
 
 1849. J. P. Townsend, 'Rambles in 
 New South Wales,' p. 97 : 
 
 " Some of the aborigines" feed on a 
 large bat popularly called ' the flying 
 fox.' . . We found the filthy creatures, 
 hanging by the heels in thousands, 
 from the higher branches of the 
 trees." 
 
 1863. B. A. Heywood, ' Vacation Tour 
 at the Antipodes/ p. 102 : 
 
 " The shrill twitter of the flying fox, 
 or vampire bat, in the bush around 
 us." 
 
 1871. Gerard Krefft, ' Mammals of Aus- 
 tralia ' : 
 
 "The food on which the 'Foxes' 
 principally live when garden fruit is 
 not in season, consists of honey-bear- 
 ing blossoms and the small native 
 figs abounding in the coast-range 
 scrubs. . . . These bats are found on 
 the east coast only, but during very 
 dry seasons they occur as far west as 
 the neighbourhood of Melbourne." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland," vol. ii. p. 20: 
 
 " A little further on they came to a 
 camp of flying foxes. The huge trees 
 on both sides of the river are actually 
 black with them. The great bats 
 hang by their hooked wings to every 
 available branch and twig, squealing 
 and quarrelling. The smell is dread- 
 ful. The camp extends for a length of 
 three miles. There must be millions 
 upon millions of them." 
 
 Flying-Mouse, n. See Opossum- 
 mouse and Flying-Phalanger. 
 
 Flying-Phalanger, n. included 
 in the class of Phalanger (q.v.). 
 The " flying " Phalangers " have 
 developed large parachute-like 
 expansions of skin from the sides 
 of the body, by means of which 
 they are able to take long flying 
 leaps from bough to bough, and 
 thus from tree to tree. . . . 
 While the great majority of the 
 members of the family are purely 
 vegetable feeders, ... a few 
 feed entirely or partly on insects, 
 while others have taken to a diet 
 of flesh." (R. Lydekker.) 
 
 They include the-so-called Fly- 
 
 ing-Squirrel, Flying- Mouse , etc. 
 There are three genera 
 
 Acrobates (q.v.), called the Flying- 
 Mouse , and Opossum - Mouse 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Petaurotdes commonly called the 
 Taguan, or Taguan Flying- 
 Squirrel. 
 Petaurus (q.v.), commonly called 
 
 the Fly ing- Squirrel. 
 The species are 
 Lesser F.-Ph. 
 
 Petaurus breviceps. 
 Papuan Pigmy F.-Ph. 
 
 Acrobates pulchellus (confined to 
 Northern Dutch New Guinea). 
 Pigmy F.-Ph. 
 
 A. pygmceus. 
 Squirrel F.-Ph. 
 
 Petaurus sciureus. 
 Taguan F.-Ph. 
 
 Petauroides volans. 
 Yellow-bellied F.-Ph. 
 P. australis. 
 
 Flying-Squirrel, n. popular 
 name for a Flying-Phalanger, 
 Petaurus sciureus, Shaw, a mar- 
 supial with a parachute-like fold 
 of skin along the sides by which 
 he skims and floats through the 
 air. The name is applied to 
 entirely different animals in 
 Europe and America. 
 
 1789. Governor Phillip, 'Voyage to 
 Botany Bay,' c. xv. p. 151 : 
 
 " Norfolk Island flying squirrel." 
 [With picture.] 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales/ vol. i. : 
 
 "The flying squirrels are of a 
 beautiful slate colour, with a fur so fine 
 that, although a small animal, the 
 hatters here give a quarter dollar for 
 every skin." 
 
 1849. J. P. Townsend, 'Rambles in 
 New South Wales/ p. 37 : 
 
 " The squeal and chirp of the flying 
 squirrel." 
 
 1850. R. C. Gunn, 'Proceedings of the 
 Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land/ vol. 
 
 ' P- 253 ' 
 
 " In the year 1845 I drew the atten-
 
 FLY-FOR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 tion of the Tasmanian Society to the 
 interesting fact that the Petaurus 
 sciureus, or Flying Squirrel, of Port 
 Phillip, was becoming naturalized in 
 Van Diemen's Land. ... No species 
 of Petaurus \s indigenous to Tasmania. 
 ... It does not appear from all that I 
 can learn, that any living specimens 
 of the Petaurus sciureus were im- 
 ported into Van Diemen's Land prior 
 to 1834 ; but immediately after the 
 settlement of Port Phillip, in that year, 
 considerable numbers of the flying 
 squirrel were, from their beauty, 
 brought over as pets by the early 
 visitors." 
 
 1851. J. B. Clutterbuck, 'Port Phillip 
 in 1849,' p. 78 : 
 
 " The flying squirrel, another of the 
 opossum species of the marsupial 
 order, is a beautiful little creature, and 
 disposed over the whole of the interior 
 of New South Wales : its fur is of a 
 finer texture than that of the opossum." 
 
 1855. W. Blandowski, 'Transactions of 
 Philosophical Society of Victoria,' vol. i. 
 p. 70: 
 
 " The common flying squirrel (Pe- 
 taurus sciureus) is very plentiful in 
 the large gum trees near the banks of a 
 creek or river, and appears to entertain 
 a peculiar aversion to the high lands." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 90: 
 
 "Flying squirrel." [Footnote] : 
 "The marsupial flying phalanger is 
 so called by the Australians." 
 
 Fly-Orchis, n, name applied in 
 Tasmania to the orchid, Pra- 
 sophy Hum patens, R. Br. 
 
 Forest, n. See quotation. 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions into the Interior of Eastern Aus- 
 tralia,' vol i. p. 71 [Footnote] : 
 
 " A ' forest ' means in New South 
 Wales an open wood with grass. The 
 common 'bush' or 'scrubb' consists 
 of trees and saplings, where little grass 
 is to be found." 
 
 [It is questionable whether this 
 fine distinction still exists.] 
 
 Forester, n. the largest Kan- 
 garoo, Macropus giganteus, Zimm. 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 vol. ii. p. 27 : 
 
 "There are three or four varieties 
 of kangaroos ; those most common 
 are denominated the forester and brush 
 kangaroo." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Ex- 
 pedition,' p. 423 : 
 
 " I called this river the ' Red Kan- 
 garoo River,' for in approaching it we 
 first saw the red forester of Port 
 Essington." 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 67 : 
 
 " And the forester snuffing the air 
 Will bound from his covert so 
 dark." 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, 'Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 15 : 
 
 "We have never had one of the 
 largest kind the Forester Kangaroo 
 (Macropus giganteus) tame, for they 
 have been so hunted and destroyed 
 that there are very few left in Tas- 
 mania, and those are in private pre- 
 serves, or very remote out-of-the-way 
 places, and rarely seen. . . . The ab- 
 origines called the old father of a flock 
 a Boomer. These were often very 
 large : about five feet high in their 
 usual position, but when standing quite 
 up, they were fully six feet . . . and 
 weighing 1 50 or 200 pounds." 
 
 1890. RolfBoldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' 
 c. xix. p. 181 : 
 
 "The dogs . . . made for them as 
 if they had been a brace of stray 
 foresters from the adjacent ranges." 
 
 Forest-Oak, n. See Oak. 
 
 Forget-me-not, n. The species 
 of this familiar flower is Myosotis 
 australis, R. Br., N.O. Asperifolia. 
 
 Fortescue, or 4O-skewer, n. a 
 fish of New South Wales, -Pen- 
 taroge marmorata, Cuv. and Val., 
 family Scorpcenida ; called also 
 the Scorpion, and the Cobbler. All 
 its names allude to the thorny 
 spines of its fins. The name 
 Fortescue is an adaptation of Forty- 
 skewer by the law of Hobson- 
 Jobson. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, { Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 49 : 
 
 "Of this fish Mr. Hill says: The 
 scorpion or Fortescue, as these fish 
 are popularly termed by fishermen,
 
 I 5 2 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [FOR- FOS 
 
 have been known for a long time, and 
 bear that name no doubt in memory 
 of the pain they have hitherto inflicted ; 
 and for its number and array of prickles 
 it enjoys in this country the alias 
 ' Forty-skewer ' or ' Fortescure.' " 
 
 1896. F. G. Aflalo, ' Natural History of 
 Australia,' p. 228 : 
 
 " Fortescue is a terrible pest, lurking 
 among the debris in the nets and all 
 but invisible, its spines standing erect 
 in readiness for the unwary finger. 
 And so intense is the pain inflicted by 
 a stab, that I have seen a strong man 
 roll on the ground crying out like a 
 madman." 
 
 Forty-legs, n. name given to 
 a millipede, Cermatia smithii. 
 
 Forty-spot, n. name for a bird, 
 a Pardalote (q.v.). Pardalote it- 
 self means spotted "like the 
 pard." See also Diamond-bird. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. ii. pi. 37 : 
 
 " Pardalotu s quadragintus, Gould, 
 Forty-spotted pardalote. Forty-spot, 
 Colonists of Van Diemen's Land." 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 407, col. 5 : 
 
 ' ' Lyre bird ' is obvious ; so, too, is 
 ' forty-spot ' ; only one wonders why 
 the number 40 was pitched upon. 
 Was it a guess ? Or did the namer 
 first shoot the bird and count ? " 
 
 Fossick, v. intrans. to dig, but 
 with special meanings. Derived, 
 like fosse, a ditch, and fossil, 
 through French from Lat. fossus, 
 perfect part, of fodere, to dig. 
 Fossicking as pres. part., or as 
 verbal noun, is commoner than 
 the other parts of the verb. 
 
 (1) To pick out gold. 
 
 1852. W. H. Hall, 'Practical Ex- 
 periences at the Diggings in Victoria,' 
 p. 16 : 
 
 "Or fossicking (picking out the 
 nuggets from the interstices of the 
 slate formation) with knives and 
 trowels." 
 
 (2) To dig for gold on aban- 
 doned claims or in waste-heaps. 
 
 1865. F. H. Nixon, ' Peter Perfume,' p. 
 59 = 
 
 " They'll find it not quite so ' welly 
 
 good ' 
 
 As their fossicking freak at the 
 Buckland." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' c. xix. p. 286 : 
 
 " Here we found about a dozen 
 Chinamen 'fossicking' after gold 
 amidst the dirt of the river, which 
 had already been washed by the first 
 gold-seekers." 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, ' Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 22 : 
 
 " He commenced working along 
 with several companions at surface 
 digging and fossicking." 
 
 1894. 'The Argus,' March 14, p. 4, 
 col. 6 : 
 
 "The easiest and simplest of all 
 methods is ' fossicking.' An old dig- 
 gings is the place for this work, because 
 there you will learn the kind of country, 
 formation, and spots to look for gold 
 when you want to break new ground. 
 ' Fossicking ' means going over old 
 workings, turning up boulders, and 
 taking the clay from beneath them, 
 exploring fissures in the rock, and 
 scraping out the stuff with your table 
 knife, using your pick to help matters. 
 Pulling up of trees, and clearing all 
 soil from the roots, scraping the bot- 
 toms of deserted holes, and generally 
 keeping your eye about for little bits 
 of ground left between workings by 
 earlier miners who were in too great a 
 hurry looking after the big fish to 
 attend much to small fry." 
 
 (3) To search for gold gener- 
 ally, even by stealing. 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian Sketch- 
 es,' p. 60 : 
 
 "A number of idle and disorderly 
 fellows had introduced a practice 
 which was termed ' fossicking.' .... 
 In the dead hours of midnight they 
 issued forth, provided with wax tapers, 
 and, entering upon the ground, stole 
 the auriferous earth." 
 
 (4) To search about for any- 
 thing, to rummage. 
 
 1870. S. Lemaitre, ' Songs of Goldfields,' 
 p. 14: 
 
 "He ran from the flat with an awful 
 
 shout 
 
 Without waiting to fossick the 
 coffin lid out."
 
 FOS-FRE] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 153 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' Aug. 2, p. 4, 
 col. 3 : 
 
 " Half the time was spent in fossick- 
 ing for sticks." 
 
 1891. 'The Argus,' Dec. 19, p. 4, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 " I was ... a boy fossicking for 
 birds' nests in the gullies." 
 
 1893. ' The Australasian,' Jan. 14 : 
 " The dog was fossicking about." 
 
 Fossicker, n. one who fossicks, 
 sc. works among 1 the tailings of 
 old gold-mines for what may be 
 left. 
 
 1853. C. Rudston Read, ' What I heard, 
 saw, and did at the Australian Gold Fields,' 
 p. 150: 
 
 "The man was what they called a 
 night fossicker, who slept, or did nothing 
 during the day, and then went round 
 at night to where he knew the claims 
 to be rich, and stole the stuff by candle- 
 light." 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian Sketch- 
 es,' p. 87 : 
 
 " I can at once recognize the ex- 
 perienced ' fossickers,' who know well 
 how to go to work with every chance 
 in their favour." 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, ' New Rush,' pt. ii. p. 
 32: 
 
 "Steady old fossickers often get 
 
 more 
 
 Than the first who open'd the 
 ground." 
 
 1869. R. Brough Smyth, ' Goldfields 
 of Victoria,' p. 612 : 
 
 "A fossicker is to the miner as is 
 the gleaner to the reaper ; he picks 
 the crevices and pockets of the rocks." 
 
 1891. 'The Australasian,' Nov. 21, p. 
 1015. 
 
 "We had heard that, on this same 
 field, years after its total abandonment, 
 a two hundred ounce nugget had been 
 found by a solitary fossicker in a pillar 
 left in an old claim." 
 
 1891. 'The Argus,' Dec. 19, p. 4, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 " The fossickers sluiced and cradled 
 with wonderful cradles of their own 
 building." 
 
 Four-o'clock, n. another name 
 for the Friar-bird (q.v.). 
 
 Free-select, v. to take up land 
 under the Land Laws. See Free- 
 selector. This composite verb, 
 derived from the noun, is very 
 unusual. The word generally 
 used is to select. 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. xix. p. 134 : 
 
 " Everything which he could have 
 needed had he proceeded to free-select 
 an uninhabited island." 
 
 Free-selection, ;;. (i) The pro- 
 cess of selecting or choosing land 
 under the Land Laws, or the 
 right to choose. Abbreviated 
 often into Selection. See Free- 
 selector. 
 
 1865. 'Ararat Advertiser' [exact date 
 lost] : 
 
 "He was told that the areas open 
 for selection were not on the Geelong 
 side, and one of the obliging officials 
 placed a plan before him, showing the 
 lands on which he was free to choose 
 a future home. The selector looked 
 vacantly at the map, but at length be- 
 came attracted by a bright green allot- 
 ment, which at once won his capricious 
 fancy, indicating as it did such luxurious 
 herbage ; but, much to his disgust, he 
 found that ' the green lot ' had already 
 been selected. At length he fixed on 
 a yellow section, and declared his in- 
 tention of resting satisfied with the 
 choice. The description and area of 
 land chosen were called out, and he 
 was requested to move further over 
 and pay his money. ' Pay ? ' queried 
 the fuddled but startled bond fide, 'I 
 got no money (hie), old 'un, thought it 
 was free selection, you know.' " 
 
 1870. T. H. Braim, 'New Homes,' ii. 87 : 
 " A man can now go and make his 
 free selection before survey of any 
 quantity of land not less than 40 nor 
 more than 320 acres, at twenty shil- 
 lings an acre." 
 
 1878. ' The Australian,' vol. i. p. 743 : 
 " You may go to nine stations out of 
 ten now without hearing any talk but 
 ' bullock and free-selection.' " 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 82 : 
 
 " His intention . . . was to take up
 
 154 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [FRE-FRI 
 
 a small piece of land under the system 
 of ' free-selection.' " 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. xx. p. 162 : 
 
 "This was years before the free- 
 selection discovery." 
 
 (2) Used for the land itself, 
 but generally in the abbreviated 
 form, Selection. 
 
 1887. R. M. Praed, ' Longleat of Koo- 
 ralhyn,' vol. vi. p. 56 : 
 
 " I've only seen three females on my 
 selection since I took it up four years 
 last November." 
 
 Free-selector, n. (abbreviated 
 often to Selector), one who takes 
 up a block of Crown land under 
 the Land Laws and by annual 
 payments acquires the freehold. 
 [320 acres in Victoria, 640 in 
 New South Wales.] 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, ' New Rush,' pt. i. p. 
 21 : 
 
 " Free selectors we shall be 
 When our journey's end we see." 
 
 1866. 'Sydney Morning Herald,' 
 Aug. 9 : 
 
 "The very law which the free 
 selector puts in force against the 
 squatter, the squatter puts in force 
 against him ; he selected upon the 
 squatter's run, and the squatter selects 
 upon his grazing right." 
 
 1873. Ibid. p. 33 : 
 
 " Men who select small portions of 
 the Crown lands by means of land 
 orders or by gradual purchase, and 
 who become freeholders and then per- 
 manently wedded to the colony." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 33 : 
 
 " The condition of the free-selector 
 that of ownership of a piece of land 
 to be tilled by the owner is the one 
 which the best class of immigrants 
 desire." 
 
 1875. 'Melbourne Spectator,' June 12, 
 p. 70, col. 2 : 
 
 " A public meeting of non-resident 
 selectors has been held at Rushworth." 
 
 1884. Marcus Clarke, 'Memorial Vol- 
 ume,' p. 85 : 
 
 " A burly free selector pitched his 
 
 tent in my Home-Station paddock and 
 turned my dam into a wash." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xii. p. 116 : 
 
 " No, no ; I've kept free-selectors 
 out all these years, and as long as I 
 live here I'll do so still." 
 
 Freezer, n. a sheep bred and 
 raised in order that its mutton 
 may be frozen and exported. 
 
 1893. J. Hotson, Lecture in ' Age,' Nov. 
 30, p. 7, col. 2 : 
 
 "In the breeding of what are in New 
 Zealand known as ' freezers ' there lies 
 a ready means of largely increasing 
 the returns from our land." 
 
 Fresh-water Herring, n. In 
 Sydney, the fish is Clupea rich- 
 mondia, Macl. Elsewhere in Aus- 
 tralia, and in Tasmania, it is 
 another name for the Grayling 
 (q.V.). 
 
 Fresh-water Perch, n. name 
 given in Tasmania to the fish 
 Microperca tasmania. 
 
 Friar-bird, n. an Australian 
 bird, of the genus called Philemon, 
 but originally named Tropidorhyn- 
 chus (q.v.). It is a honey-eater, 
 and is also called Poor Soldier 
 and other names ; see quotation, 
 1848. The species are 
 
 Friar-Bird 
 
 Philemon corniculatus, Lath. 
 [Called also Leather-head, q.v.] 
 Helmeted F. 
 
 P. buceroides, Swains. 
 Little F. 
 
 P. sordidus, Gould. 
 Silvery-crowned F. 
 
 P. argenticeps, Gould. 
 Yellow-throated F. 
 
 P. citreogularis, Gould. 
 Western F. 
 
 P. occidentalis, Ramsay. 
 
 1798. D. Collins, ' Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' p. 615 
 (Vocab.): 
 
 "Wirgan, bird named by us the 
 friar."
 
 FRI-FRO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 155 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, 'Transac- 
 tions of Linnsean Society,' vol. xv. p. 324: 
 
 " Friar, a very common bird about 
 Paramatta, called by the natives ' col- 
 ~dong.' It repeats the words 'poor 
 soldier' and 'four o'clock' very dis- 
 tinctly." 
 
 1845. ' Voyage to Port Phillip,' p. 53 : 
 
 "The cheerful sedge-wren and the 
 
 bald-head friar, 
 
 The merry forest-pie with joyous 
 song." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iv. pi. 58 : 
 
 " Tropidorhynchus Corniculatus, Vig. 
 and Hors. 
 
 "From the fancied resemblance of 
 its notes to those words, it has ob- 
 tained from the Colonists the various 
 names of 'Poor Soldier,' ' Pimlico,' 
 ' Four o'clock,' etc. Its bare head and 
 neck have also suggested the names 
 of 'Friar Bird,' 'Monk,' 'Leather 
 Head,' etc." 
 
 1855. W. Blandowski, ' Transactions of 
 the Philosophical Society of Victoria,' vol. 
 i. p. 64 : 
 
 " The Tropidorhynchus comiculatus 
 is well known to the colonists by the 
 names ' poor soldier,' ' leather-headed 
 jackass,' ' friar-bird,' etc. This curious 
 bird, in common with several other 
 varieties of honey-eaters, is remarkable 
 on account of its extreme liveliness and 
 the singular resemblance of its notes 
 to the human voice." 
 
 Frilled-Lizard, n. See quota- 
 tion. 
 
 1875. G. Bennett, ' Proceedings of Royal 
 Society of Tasmania,' p. 56 : 
 
 " Notes on the Chlamydosaurus or 
 frilled-lizard of Queensland (C. Kin- 
 
 Frogsmouth, n. an Australian 
 bird ; genus Podargus, commonly 
 called Mopoke (q.v.). The mouth 
 and expression of the face re- 
 semble the appearance of a frog. 
 The species are 
 
 Freckled Frogsmouth 
 Podargus phalcenoides, Gould. 
 
 Marbled F. 
 
 P. marmoratus, Gould. 
 Plumed F. 
 
 P. papuensis, Quoy and Gaim. 
 Tawney F. 
 
 P. strigoides, Lath. 
 
 1895. W. O. Legge, ' Australasian As- 
 sociation for the Advancement of Science ' 
 (Brisbane), p. 447 : 
 
 " The term ' Frogsmouth ' is used in 
 order to get rid of that very objectionable 
 name Podargus, and as being allied to 
 the other genera Batrackostomus and 
 Otothrix of the family Steatornince in 
 India. It is a name well suited to the 
 singular structure of the mouth, and 
 presumably better than the mythical 
 title of 'Goatsucker.' 'Night-hawk,' 
 sometimes applied to the Caprimul- 
 gince, does not accord with the mode of 
 flight of the genus Podargus? 
 
 Frontage, . land along a 
 river or creek, of great import- 
 ance to a station. A use common 
 in Australia, not peculiar to it. 
 
 1844. ' Port Phillip Patriot,' July 1 8, p. 
 3, col. 7 : 
 
 "... has four miles frontage to the 
 Yarra Yarra." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream ,' c. iii. p. 29 : 
 
 " Jack was piloted by Mr. Hawkes- 
 bury through the 'frontage' and a 
 considerable portion of the ' back ' 
 regions of Gondaree." 
 
 Frost-fish, n. name given in 
 Australia and New Zealand to 
 the European Scabbard-fish, Lepi- 
 dopus caudatus, White. The name 
 is said to be derived from the cir- 
 cumstance that the fish is found 
 alive on New Zealand sea-beaches 
 on frosty nights. It is called the 
 Scabbard-fish in Europe, because 
 it is like the shining white metal 
 sheath of a long sword. Lepi- 
 dopus belongs to the family Tri- 
 chiurida; it reaches a length of 
 five or six feet, but is so thin that 
 it hardly weighs as many pounds. 
 It is considered a delicacy in 
 New Zealand.
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [FRU-FUR 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 51 : 
 
 "The frost-fish ... the most deli- 
 cately flavoured of all New Zealand 
 fishes, is an inhabitant of deep water, 
 and on frosty nights, owing probably 
 to its air-bladders becoming choked, 
 it is cast up by the surf on the ocean- 
 beach." 
 
 Fruit-Pigeon, . The name is 
 given to numerous pigeons of 
 the genera Ptilinopus and Car- 
 pophaga. In Australia it is as- 
 signed to the following birds : 
 
 Allied Fruit-Pigeon 
 
 Ptilinopus assimilis, Gould. 
 Purple-breasted F.-P. 
 
 P. magnified, Temm. 
 Purple-crowned F.-P. 
 
 P. superbus, Temm. 
 Red-crowned F.-P. 
 
 P. swainsonii, Gouil. 
 Rose-crowned F.-P. 
 
 P. ewingit, Gould. 
 White-headed F.-P. 
 
 Columba kucomela, Temm. 
 
 And in New Zealand to Car- 
 pophaga novce-zealandia, Gmel. 
 (Maori name, Kereru Kuku, or 
 Kukupa?) 
 
 Fryingpan-Brand, n. a large 
 brand used by cattle-stealers to 
 cover the owner's brand. See 
 Duffer and Cattle-Duffer. 
 
 1857. Frederic De Brebant Cooper, 
 'Wild Adventures in Australia,' p. 104 : 
 
 "... This person was an ' old 
 hand,' and got into some trouble on 
 the other side (i. e. the Bathurst side) 
 by using a 'frying-pan brand.' He 
 was stock-keeping in that quarter, and 
 was rather given to ' gulley-raking.' 
 One fine day it appears he ran in three 
 bullocks belonging to a neighbouring 
 squatter, and clapt his brand on the 
 top of the other so as to efface it." 
 
 Fuchsia, Native, ;/. The name 
 is applied to several native plants. 
 
 (i) In Australia and Tasmania, 
 to various species of Correa (q.v.), 
 
 especially to Correa speciosa, And. , 
 N.O. Rutacea. 
 
 (2) In Queensland, to Eremo- 
 phila maculata, F. v. M., N.O. 
 Myoporinea. 
 
 (3) In New Zealand, to Fuchsia 
 excorticata, Linn., N.O. Onagraria. 
 (Maori name, Kotukutuku, q.v.) 
 See also Tooky-took and Konini. 
 
 1860. Geo. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist in Australasia,' pp. 371-2: 
 
 "The Correa virens, with its pretty 
 pendulous blossoms (from which it has 
 been named the 'Native Fuchsia'), 
 and the Scarlet Grevillea (G. coccinea) 
 are gay amidst the bush flowers." 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, ' Tasmanian 
 1 riends and Foes,' p. 23 : 
 
 " I see some pretty red correa and 
 lilac." [Footnote]: ''Correa speciosa 
 native fuchsia of Colonies." 
 
 1883. F. M. Bailey, 'Synopsis of 
 Queensland Flora,' p. 374 : 
 
 "E. maculata. A ... shrub called 
 native fuchsia, and by some considered 
 poisonous, by others a good fodder 
 bush." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 126 : 
 
 " E. maculata Called ' Native 
 
 Fuchsia ' in parts of Queensland." 
 
 1892. 'Otago Witness,' Nov. 24, 'Na- 
 tive Trees ' : 
 
 " A species of native fuchsia that is 
 coming greatly into favour is called 
 [Fuchsia] Procumbens. It is a lovely 
 pot plant, with large pink fruit and 
 upright flowers." 
 
 Full up of, adj. (slang), sick 
 and tired of. "Full on," and "full 
 of," are other forms. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. xxiii. p. 213: 
 
 "She was 'full up' of the Oxley, 
 which was a rowdy, disagreeable gold- 
 field as ever she was on." 
 
 Furze, Native, n. a shrub, 
 Hakea ulicina, R. Br. See Hakea. 
 
 Futtah, n. a settlers' corruption 
 of the Maori word Whata (q.v.). 
 
 1895. W. S. Roberts, 'Southland in 
 1856,' p. 28 :
 
 PUT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 157 
 
 "These stores were called by the 
 Europeans flitters^ but the Maori 
 name was Whata." 
 
 1896. ' Southland Daily News,' Feb. 3 : 
 " ' Futtah ' is familiar as ' household 
 words.' There were always rats in 
 New Zealand that is, since any tradi- 
 tions of \tsfauna existed. The original 
 ones were good to eat. They were 
 black and smooth in the hair as the 
 mole of the Old Country, and were 
 esteemed delicacies. They were al- 
 ways mischievous, but the Norway rat 
 that came with the white man was 
 worse. He began by killing and eating 
 
 his aboriginal congener, and then made 
 it more difficult than ever to keep any- 
 thing eatable out of reach of his teeth. 
 Human ingenuity, however, is superior 
 to that of most of the lower animals, 
 and so the 'futtah' came to be a 
 storehouse on four posts, each of them 
 so bevelled as to render it impossible 
 for the cleverest rat to climb them. 
 The same expedient is to-day in use 
 on Stewart Island and the West Coast 
 in fact, wherever properly constructed 
 buildings are not available for the 
 storage of things eatable or destruc- 
 tible by the rodents in question."
 
 I 5 8 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GAL-GAR 
 
 G 
 
 Galah, n. a bird. (The accent 
 is now placed on the second 
 syllable.) Aboriginal name for the 
 Cacatua roseicapilla, Vieill., the 
 Rose-breasted Cockatoo. See Cocka- 
 too. With the first syllable com- 
 pare last syllable of Budgerigar 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, 
 col. 5 : 
 
 " They can afford to screech and be 
 merry, as also the grey, pink-crested 
 galahs, which tint with the colours of 
 the evening sky a spot of ^rass in the 
 distance." 
 
 1890. Lyth, 'Golden South,' c. xiv. 
 p. 127 : 
 
 "The galahs, with their delicate 
 grey and rose-pink plumage, are the 
 prettiest parrots." 
 
 1891. Francis Adams, 'John Webb's 
 End,' p. 191 : 
 
 "A shrieking flock of galahs, on 
 their final flight before they settled to 
 roost, passed over and around him, 
 and lifting up his head, he saw how 
 all their grey feathers were flushed 
 with the sunset light, their coloured 
 breasts deepening into darkest ruby, 
 they seemed like loosed spirits." 
 
 Gallows, n. Explained in quota- 
 tion. Common at all stations, 
 where of course the butchering is 
 done on the premises. 
 
 1866. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 64 : 
 
 " The gallows, a high wooden frame 
 from which the carcases of the 
 butchered sheep dangle." 
 
 Gang-gang, or Gan-gan, n. 
 the aboriginal word for the bird 
 Callocephalon galeatum, Lath., so 
 called from its note ; a kind of 
 cockatoo, grey with a red head, 
 called also Gang-gang Cockatoo. 
 See Cockatoo. 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, ' Southern Australia,' vol. 
 i. Intro, p. xxxviii : 
 
 " Upon the branches the satin-bird, 
 the gangan, and various kinds of 
 pigeons were feeding." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. v. pi. 14 : 
 
 " Callocephalon Galeatum, Gang- 
 gang Cockatoo, Colonists of New South 
 Wales." 
 
 Gannet, n. the English name 
 for the Solan Goose and its tribe. 
 The Australian species are 
 
 The Gannet 
 
 Sula serrator, Banks. 
 Brown G. (called also Booby] 
 
 S. leucogastra, Bodd. 
 Masked G. 
 
 S. cyanops, Sunder. 
 Red-legged G. 
 
 S. piscator, Linn. 
 
 The species in New Zealand- 
 is Dysporus serrator, Grey ; Maori 
 name, Takapu. 
 
 Garfish, n. In England the name 
 is applied to any fish of the family 
 BelonidcK. The name was origin- 
 ally used for the common Euro- 
 pean Belone vulgaris. In Mel- 
 bourne the Garfish'^ a true one,^<?- 
 loneferox, Giinth., called in Sydney 
 "Long Tom." In Sydney, Tas- 
 mania, and New Zealand it is 
 Hemirhamphus intermedius, Can- 
 tor. ; and in New South Wales, 
 generally, it is the river-fish H. 
 regularis, Giinth., family Sombre- 
 socida. Some say that the name 
 was originally "Guard-fish," and 
 it is still sometimes so spelt. 
 But the word is derived from Gar, 
 in Anglo-Saxon, which meant 
 spear, dart, javelin, and the
 
 GAS-GER] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 159 
 
 allusion is to the long spear-like 
 projection of the fish's jaws. 
 Called by the Sydney fishermen 
 BallahoO) and in Auckland the 
 Piper (q.v.). 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 288 : 
 
 " Charley brought me ... the head 
 bones of a large guard-fish." 
 
 1849. Anon., ' New South Wales : its 
 Past, Present, and Future Condition,' p. 99 : 
 
 " The best kinds of fish are guard, 
 mullet, and schnapper." 
 
 1850. Clutterbuck, ' Port Phillip,' c. iii. 
 p. 44: 
 
 "In the bay are large quantities of 
 guard-fish." 
 
 1875. ' Spectator ' (Melbourne), June 19, 
 p. 81, col. I : 
 
 " Common fish, such as trout, ruffles, 
 mullet, garfish." 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 83 : 
 
 "Of the garfishes we have four 
 species known to be found on our 
 coasts. One, Hemirhamphus regularis, 
 is the favourite breakfast fish of the 
 citizens of Sydney. H. melanochir, or 
 ' river garfish,' is a still better fish, but 
 has become very scarce. H. argentcus, 
 the common Brisbane species . . . 
 and H. commersoni. n 
 
 Gastrolobium, n. scientific 
 name of a genus of Australian 
 shrubs, N.O. Leguminosa, com- 
 monly known as Poison Bushes 
 (q.v.). The species are 
 
 Gastrolobium bilobum, R. Br. 
 
 G. callistachys, Meissn. 
 
 G. calyautn, Benth. 
 
 G, obovatum, Benth. 
 
 G. oxylobioides, Benth. 
 
 G. spinosum, Benth. 
 
 G. trilobum, Benth. 
 
 All of which are confined to West- 
 ern Australia. The species Gastro- 
 lobium grandiflorum, F. v. M. (also 
 called Wall-flowed) , is the only 
 species found out of Western Aus- 
 tralia, and extends across Central 
 Australia to Queensland. All the 
 species have pretty yellow and 
 purple flowers. The name is from 
 
 the Greek yao-T^p,ya0T/>os, the belly, 
 and \6f3iov, dim. of Ao/3ds, "the 
 capsule or pod of leguminous 
 plants." ('L. & S.') 
 
 Geebung, or Geebong, n. 
 aboriginal name for the fruit of 
 various species of the tree Per- 
 soonia, and also for the tree itself, 
 N.O. Proteacetz. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 221 : 
 
 "The jibbong is another tasteless 
 fruit, as well as the five corners, much 
 relished by children." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 478 : 
 
 "We gathered and ate a great 
 quantity of gibong (the ripe fruit of 
 Persoonia falcata)." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes,' 
 c. vii. p. 176, 3rd edition 1855 : 
 
 " The geebung, a native plum, very 
 woolly and tasteless." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' p. 
 
 113 = 
 
 " We gathered the wild raspberries, 
 and mingling them with geebongs and 
 scrub berries, set forth a dessert." 
 
 1885. RolfBoldrewood, ' Robbery under 
 Arms, p. 255 : 
 
 " You won't turn a five-corner into a 
 quince, or a geebung into an orange." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 584 : 
 
 " A ' geebung ' (the name given to 
 the fruits of Persoomas, and hence to 
 the trees themselves)." 
 
 Gerygone, n. scientific and 
 vernacular name of a genus of 
 small warblers of Australia and 
 New Zealand ; the new name for 
 them is fly-eater (q.v.). In New 
 Zealand they are called Bush- 
 warblers, Grey-warblers, etc., and 
 they also go there by their Maori 
 name of Riro-riro. For the species, 
 see Fly-eater and Warbler. The 
 name is from the Greek yc/auydn/, 
 " born of sound," a word used by 
 Theocritus. 
 
 1895. W. O. Legge, ' Australasian Asso- 
 ciation for the Advancement of Science ' 
 (Brisbane), p. 447 : 
 
 "[The habits and habitats of the
 
 i6o 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GHI-GID 
 
 genus] Gerygone suggested the term 
 Yly-eater, as distinguished from Fly- 
 catcher, for this aberrant and peculiarly 
 Australasian form of small Fly-catchers, 
 which not only capture their food some- 
 what after the manner of Fly-catchers, 
 but also seek for it arboreally." 
 
 Ghilgai, n. an aboriginal word 
 used by white men in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Bourke, New South 
 Wales, to denote a saucer-shaped 
 depression in the ground which 
 forms a natural reservoir for rain- 
 water. Ghilgais vary from 20 
 to 100 yards in diameter, and 
 are from five to ten feet deep. 
 They differ from Claypans (q.v.), 
 in being more regular in outline 
 and deeper towards the centre, 
 whereas Claypans are generally 
 flat-bottomed. Their formation 
 is probably due to subsidence. 
 
 Giant-Lily, n. See under Lily. 
 
 Giant - Nettle, i.q. Nettle-tree 
 (q.V.). 
 
 Gibber, n. an aboriginal word 
 for a stone. Used both of loose 
 stones and -of rocks. The G is 
 hard. 
 
 1834. L - E - Threlkeld, 'Australian 
 Grammar,' p. x. [In a list of ' barbarisms '] : 
 
 " Gibber, a stone." 
 
 [face Mr. Threlkeld, the word 
 is aboriginal, though not of the 
 dialect of the Hunter District, of 
 which he is speaking.] 
 
 1852. ' Settlers and Convicts ; or Re- 
 collections of Sixteen Years' Labour in the 
 Australian Backwoods,' p. 159 : 
 
 " Of a rainy night like this he did 
 not object to stow himself by the fire- 
 side of any house he might be near, 
 or under the ' gibbers ' (overhanging 
 rocks) of the river. . . ." 
 
 1890. A. J. Vogan, 'Black Police,' p. 
 
 338: 
 
 " He struck right on top of them 
 gibbers (stones). 2 ' 
 
 1894. Baldwin Spencer, in 'The Argus,' 
 Sept. i, p. 4, col. 2: 
 
 " At first and for more than a hun- 
 dred miles [from Oodnadatta north- 
 wards], our track led across what is 
 
 called the gibber country, where the 
 plains are covered with a thin layer of 
 stones the gibbers of various sizes, 
 derived from the breaking down of a 
 hard rock which forms the top of 
 endless low, table-topped hills belong- 
 ing to the desert sandstone formation." 
 
 Gibber-gnnyah, n. an abori- 
 ginal cave-dwelling. See Gibber 
 and Gunyah, also Rock-shelter. 
 
 1852. ' Settlers and Convicts ; or, Re- 
 collections of Sixteen Years' Labour in the 
 Australian Backwoods,' p. 211 : 
 
 " I coincided in his opinion that it 
 would be best for us to camp for the 
 night in one of the ghibber-gunyahs. 
 These are the hollows under over- 
 hanging rocks." 
 
 1863. Rev. R. W. Vanderkiste, ' Lost, 
 but not for Ever,' p. 210 : 
 
 " Our home is the gibber-gunyah, 
 Where hill joins hill on high, 
 Where the turrama and berrambo 
 Like sleeping serpents lie." 
 
 1891. R. Etheridge, jun., 'Records of 
 the Australian Museum,' vol. i. no. viii. 
 P- 171 : 
 
 " Notes on Rock Shelters or Gibba- 
 gunyahs at Deewhy Lagoon." 
 
 Giddea, Gidya, or Gidgee, adj. 
 aboriginal word of New South 
 Wales and Queensland for (i) a 
 species of Acacia^ A. homalophylla, 
 Cunn. The original meaning is 
 probably small, cf. gidju, War- 
 rego, Queensland, and kutyo, 
 Adelaide, both meaning small. 
 
 (2) A long spear made from 
 this wood. 
 
 1878. ' Catalogue of Objects of Ethno- 
 typical Art in National Gallery, Melbourne,' 
 p. 46: 
 
 " Gid-jee. Hardwood spear, with 
 fragments of quartz set in gum on two 
 sides and grass-tree stem. Total length^ 
 7 feet 8 inches." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' 
 P- Si : 
 
 " Gidya scrubs." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 357 : 
 
 " A. homalophylla. A ' Spearwood.' 
 Called ' Myall ' in Victoria. . . . Abori- 
 ginal names are . . . Gidya, Gidia, or 
 Gidgee (with other spellings in New
 
 OIL-GIN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 161 
 
 South Wales and Queensland). This 
 is the commonest colonial name . . . 
 much sought after for turner's work on 
 account of its solidity and fragrance. 
 . . . The smell of the tree when in 
 flower is abominable, and just before 
 rain almost unbearable." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xvii. p. 211 : 
 
 "I sat ... watching the shadows 
 of the gydya trees lengthen, ah ! so 
 slowly." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' 
 
 P- 37 = 
 
 " Kind of scrub, called by the colon- 
 ists gidya-scrub, which manifests itself 
 even at a distance by a very character- 
 istic, but not agreeable odour, being 
 especially pungent after rain." 
 
 1896. Baldwin Spencer, ' Home Expe- 
 dition in Central Australia,' Narrative, 
 p. 22 : 
 
 " We camped beside a water-pool 
 on the Adminga Creek, which is bor- 
 dered for the main part by a belt of the 
 stinking acacia, or giddea (A. homa- 
 lophylld]. When the branches are 
 freshly cut it well deserves the former 
 name, as they have a most objection- 
 able smell." 
 
 Gill-bird, n. an occasional 
 name for the Wattle-bird (q.v.). 
 
 1896. ' Menu ' for October 15 : 
 " Gill-bird on Toast." 
 
 Gin, n. a native word for an 
 aboriginal woman, and used, 
 though rarely, even for a female 
 kangaroo. See quotation 1833. 
 The form gun (see quotation 1865) 
 looks as if it had been altered to 
 meet yvv-rj, and of course generate 
 is not derived from yvvij, though 
 it may be a distant relative. In 
 * Collins's Vocabulary ' occurs 
 "din, a woman." If such a pho- 
 netic spelling as djin had been 
 adopted, as it well might have 
 been, to express the native sound, 
 where would the ywtj theory have 
 been ? 
 
 1798. D. Collins, 'Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' Vocabulary, 
 p. 612 : 
 
 " Din a woman." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 152 : 
 
 " A proposition was made by one of 
 my natives to go and steal a gin 
 (wife)." 
 
 Ibid. p. 153 : 
 
 " She agrees to become his gin." 
 
 1833. Lieut. Breton, R.N., 'Excur- 
 sions in New South Wales,' p. 254 : 
 
 "The flying gin (gin is the native 
 word for woman or female) is a boo- 
 mah, and will leave behind every de- 
 scription of dog." 
 
 1834. L. E. Threlkeld, 'Australian 
 Grammar,' p. x : 
 
 "As a barbarism [sc. not used on 
 the Hunter], jin a wife." 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New 
 South Wales.' p. 8 : 
 
 " A gin (the aboriginal for a married 
 woman)." 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 367 : 
 
 " Gin, the term applied to the native 
 female blacks ; not from any attach- 
 ment to the spirit of that name, but 
 from some (to me) unknown deriva- 
 tion." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. I. c. iv. p. 74 : 
 
 " Though very anxious to ... carry 
 off one of their 'gins,' or wives ... he 
 yet evidently holds these north men in 
 great dread." 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, 'Cooksland,' p. 
 126, n. : 
 
 "When their fire-stick has been 
 extinguished, as is sometimes the case, 
 for their jins or vestal virgins, who 
 have charge of the fire, are not always 
 sufficiently vigilant." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (edition 1855), p. 98 : 
 
 " Gins native women from 
 mulier, evidently ! " 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, ' New Rush,' pt. 2, p. 
 46: 
 
 " The females would be comely looking 
 
 gins, 
 
 Were not their limbs so much like 
 rolling-pins." 
 
 1865. S. Bennett, 'Australian Dis- 
 covery, ' p. 250 : 
 
 " Gin or gun, a woman. Greek 
 ywn and derivative words in English, 
 such as generate, generation, and the 
 like." 
 
 M
 
 1 62 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GIN-GO A 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I jn 
 Queensland,' p. 118 : 
 
 " The gins are captives of their bow 
 and spear, and are brought home before 
 the captor on his saddle. This seems 
 the orthodox way of wooing the coy 
 forest maidens. . . . All blacks are 
 cruel to their gins." 
 
 1880. T. Brunton Stephens, 'Poems' 
 [Title] : 
 
 " To a black gin." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' 
 P- 23: 
 
 " Certain stout young gins or lubras, 
 set apart for the purpose, were sacri- 
 ficed." 
 
 Ginger, Native, n. an Australian 
 tree, Alpinia ccerulea, Benth. , JV. O. 
 Scitaminea. The globular fruit is 
 eaten by the natives. 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 296 : 
 
 "Fresh green leaves, especially of 
 the so-called native ginger {Alpinia 
 cceruled)" 
 
 Give Best, v. Australian slang, 
 meaning to acknowledge superi- 
 ority, or to give up trying at any- 
 thing. 
 
 1883. Keighley, ' Who are You?' p. 87 : 
 " But then the fact had better be con- 
 fessed, 
 
 I went to work and gave the schooling 
 best." 
 
 1887. J. Farrell, ' How he Died,' p. 80 : 
 
 " Charley gave life best and died of 
 grief." 
 
 1890. RolfBoldrevvood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. xviii. p. 174 : 
 
 " It's not like an Englishman to jack 
 up and give these fellows best." 
 
 Globe-fish, n. name given to 
 the fish Tetrodon hamiltoni, Rich- 
 ards., family Gymnodontes. The 
 Spiny Globe-fish is Diodoti. These 
 are also called Toad-fish (q.v.), and 
 Porcupine-fish (q.v.). The name 
 is applied to other fish elsewhere. 
 
 Glory Flower, or Glory Pea, 
 i.q. Clianthus (q.v.). 
 
 Glory Pea, i.q. Clianthus (q.v.). 
 Glucking-bird, n. a bird so 
 
 named by Leichhardt, but not 
 identified Probably the Boobook 
 (q.v.), and see its quotation 1827 ; 
 see also under Mopoke quotation, 
 Owl, 1846. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 23 : 
 
 " The musical note of an unknown 
 bird, sounding like 'gluck gluck' fre- 
 quently repeated, and ending in a 
 shake . . . are heard from the neigh- 
 bourhood of the scrub." 
 
 Ibid. p. 29 : 
 
 " The glucking bird by which name, 
 in consequence of its note, the bird 
 may be distinguished was heard 
 through the night." 
 
 Ibid. p. 47 : 
 
 " The glucking-bird and the barking 
 owl were heard throughout the moon- 
 light nights." 
 
 Ibid. pp. 398, 399 : 
 
 " During the night, we heard the 
 well-known note of what we called the 
 ' Glucking bird,' when we first met with 
 it in the Cypress-pine country at the 
 early part of our expedition. Its re- 
 appearance-with the Cypress-pine cor- 
 roborated my supposition, that the bird 
 lived on the seeds of that tree." 
 
 Glue-pot, n. part of a road so 
 bad that the coach or buggy 
 sticks in it. 
 
 1892. ' Daily News,' London (exact date 
 lost) : 
 
 "The Bishop of Manchester [Dr. 
 Moorhouse, formerly Bishop of Mel- 
 bourne], whose authority on missionary 
 subjects will not be disputed, assures 
 us that no one can possibly under- 
 stand the difficulties and the troubles 
 attendant upon the work of a Colonial 
 bishop or clergyman until he has 
 driven across almost pathless wastes 
 or through almost inaccessible forests, 
 has struggled through what they used 
 to call 'glue-pots,' until he has been 
 shaken to pieces by ' corduroy roads,' 
 and has been in the midst of forests 
 with the branches of trees falling 
 around on all sides, knowing full well 
 that if one fell upon him he would 
 be killed." 
 
 Goai, n. common name in 
 southern island of New Zealand
 
 GOA-GOL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 163 
 
 for Kowhai (q.v.), of which it is a 
 corruption. It is especially used 
 of the timber of this tree, which is 
 valuable for fencing. The change 
 from K to G also took place in 
 the name Otago, formerly spelt 
 Otakou. 
 
 1860. John Blair, ' New Zealand for 
 Me': 
 
 " The land of "Cb&goai tree, mapu, and 
 
 pine, 
 
 The stately totara, and blooming- 
 wild vine." 
 
 1863. S. Butler, ' First Year in Canter- 
 bury Settlement,' p. 104 : 
 
 " I remember nothing but a rather 
 curiously shaped gowai-tree." 
 
 Goanna, Guana, and Guano, n. 
 popular corruptions for Iguana, 
 the large Lace-lizard (q.v.), Var- 
 anus varius", Shaw In New Zea- 
 land, the word Guano is applied to 
 the lizard-like reptile Sphenodon 
 punctatum. See Tuatara. In Tas- 
 mania, the name is given to Tiliqua 
 scincoides, White, and throughout 
 Australia any lizard of a large size 
 is popularly called a Guana, or in 
 the bush, more commonly, a Go- 
 anna, See also Lace-lizard. 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. viii. p. 285 : 
 
 " Among other reptiles were found 
 . . . some brown guanoes." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present state of 
 Australia,' p. 118 : 
 
 " At length an animal called a guana 
 (a very large species of lizard) jumped 
 out of the grass, and with amazing 
 rapidity ran, as they always do when 
 disturbed, up a high tree." 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, ' New Rush,' p. 6 : 
 " The shy guana climbs a tree in fear." 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Sydney-side 
 
 Saxon,' p. 99 : 
 
 " A goanna startled him, and he set 
 
 to and kicked the front of the buggy 
 
 in." 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World 
 
 was Wide,' p. 139 : 
 
 "And the sinister 'gohanna,' and 
 
 the lizard, and the snake." 
 
 Go-ashore, n. an iron pot or 
 
 cauldron, with three iron feet, 
 and two ears, from which it was 
 suspended by a wire handle over 
 the fire. It is a corruption of 
 the Maori word Kohua (q.v.), by 
 the law of Hobson-Jobson. 
 
 1849. W. Tyrone Power, ' Sketches in 
 New Zealand with Pen and Pencil,' p. 160 : 
 
 " Engaged in the superintendence of 
 a Maori oven, or a huge gipsy-looking 
 cauldron, called a ' go-ashore.' " 
 
 1877. An Old Colonist, ' Colonial Ex- 
 periences,' p. 124 : 
 
 " A large go-ashore, or three-legged 
 pot, of the size and shape of the caul- 
 dron usually introduced in the witch 
 scene in Macbeth." 
 
 1879. C. L. Innes, ' Canterbury 
 Sketches,' p. 23 : 
 
 "There was another pot, called by 
 the euphonious name of a ' Go-ashore," 
 which used to hang by a chain over 
 the fire. This was used for boiling." 
 
 Goborro, n. aboriginal name 
 for Eucalyptus microtheca, F. v. M. 
 See Dwarf-box, under Box. 
 
 Goburra, and Gogobera, n. 
 variants of Kookaburra (q.v.). 
 
 Goditcha. See Kurdaitcha. 
 
 Godwit, n. the English name 
 for birds of the genus Limosa. 
 The Australian species are 
 Black-tailed G., Limosa melanu- 
 roides, Gould ; Barred-rumped G., 
 L. uropygialis, Gould. 
 
 Gogobera, and Goburra, n. 
 variants of Kookaburra (q.v.). 
 
 Gold-. The following words and 
 phrases compounded with "gold " 
 are Australian in use, though 
 probably some are used else- 
 where. 
 
 Gold-bearing, verbal adj. auri- 
 ferous. 
 
 1890. ' Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 13 : 
 
 " A new line of gold-bearing quartz." 
 
 Gold-digging, verbal n. mining 
 or digging for gold 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, ' Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 36 : 
 
 " There were over forty miners thus
 
 i6 4 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GOL 
 
 playing at gold-digging in Hiscock's 
 Gully." 
 
 Gold-digger, n. 
 
 1852. J. Bonwick [Title] : 
 " Notes of a Gold-digger." 
 
 Gold-fever, n. the desire to 
 obtain gold by digging. The 
 word is more especially applied 
 to the period between 1851 and 
 1857, the early Australian dis- 
 covery of gold. The term had 
 been previously applied in a simi- 
 lar way to the Californian excite- 
 ment in 1848-49. Called also 
 Yellow-fever. 
 
 1888. A. J. Harbour, ' Clara.' c. ix. p. 
 
 I3 : 
 "The gold fever coursed through 
 
 every vein." 
 
 Gold-field, n. district where 
 mining for gold is carried on. 
 
 1858. T. McCombie, ' History of Vic- 
 toria,' c. xv. p. 215 : 
 
 " All were anxious to get away for 
 the gold fields." 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, [Title] 'Tales of 
 Goldfields,' p. 19 : 
 
 " Edward Hargreaves, the discoverer 
 of the Australian goldfields ... re- 
 ceived ; 1 5,000 as his reward." 
 
 Gold-founded,/0r/. adj. founded 
 as the result of the discovery of 
 gold. 
 
 1890. RolfBoldrewood, ' Miner's Right.' 
 c. ix. p. 91 : 
 
 " I rode up the narrow street, ser- 
 pentine in construction, as in all gold- 
 founded townships." 
 
 Gold-hunter, n. searcher after 
 gold. 
 
 1852. G. S. Rutter [Title] : 
 " Hints to Gold-hunters." 
 
 1890. RolfBoldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' 
 c. v. p. 48 : 
 
 " I was not as one of the reckless 
 gold-hunters with which the camp was 
 thronged." 
 
 Gold-mining, verbal n. 
 
 1852. J. A. Phillips [Title] : 
 " Gold-mining ; a Scientific Guide 
 for Australian Emigrants." 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 23 : 
 
 " He had already had quite enough 
 of gold-mining." 
 
 Gold-seeking, adj. 
 
 1890. RolfBoldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' 
 c. xv. p. 150 : 
 
 " The great gold-seeking multitude 
 had swelled ... to the population of 
 a province." 
 
 Golden Bell-Prog, n. name ap- 
 plied to a large gold and green 
 frog, Hyla aurea, Less., which, 
 unlike the great majority of the 
 family Hylida to which it belongs, 
 is terrestrial and not arboreal in 
 its habits, being found in and 
 about water-holes in many parts 
 of Australia. 
 
 1881. F. McCoy, 'Prodromus of the 
 Zoology of Victoria,' Dec. 6, pi. 53 : 
 
 " So completely alike was the sound 
 of the Bell-frogs in an adjoining pond 
 at night to the noise of the men by 
 day." 
 
 Golden-chain, n. another name 
 for the Laburnum (q.v.). 
 
 Golden-eye, n. the bird Cer- 
 thia lunulatu, Shaw ; now called 
 Melithreptus lunulatus, Shaw, and 
 classed as White-naped Honey- 
 eater (q.v.). 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Transac- 
 tions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 315: 
 
 "'This bird,' Mr. Caley says, 'is 
 called Golden-eye by the settlers. I 
 shot it at Iron Cove, seven miles from 
 Sydney, on the Paramatta road.' " 
 
 Golden-Perch, n. a fresh-water 
 fish of Australia, Ctenolates am- 
 biguus, Richards., family Percida, 
 and C. christyi, Castln. ; also called 
 the Yellow-belly. C. ambiguus is 
 common in the rivers and lagoons 
 of the Murray system. 
 
 Golden-Rosemary, n. See 
 Rosemary. 
 
 Golden- Wattle, n. See Wattle. 
 1896. ' The Argus,' July 20, p. 5, col. 
 8: 
 
 " Many persons who had been lured
 
 GOO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 165 
 
 into gathering armfuls of early wattle 
 had cause to regret their devotion to 
 the Australian national bloom, for the 
 golden wattle blossoms produced un- 
 pleasant associations in the minds of 
 the wearers of the green, and there 
 were blows and curses in plenty. In 
 political botany the wattle and black- 
 thorn cannot grow side by side." 
 1896. 'The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 
 53 = 
 
 " The last two weeks have been alive 
 with signs and tokens, saying ' Spring 
 is coming, Spring is here.' And though 
 this may not be the ' merry month of 
 May,' yet it is the time of glorious 
 Golden Wattle, wattle waving by the 
 river's bank, nodding aloft its soft 
 plumes of yellow and its gleaming 
 golden oriflamme, or bending low to 
 kiss its own image in the brown waters 
 which it loves." 
 
 Goodenia, n. the scientific 
 and popular name of a genus of 
 Australian plants, closely resem- 
 bling the Gentians; there are 
 many species. The name was 
 given by Sir James Smith, presi- 
 dent of the Linnaean Society, in 
 I 793- See quotation. 
 
 I 793- ' Transactions of the Linnsean 
 Society,' vol. ii. p. 346 : 
 
 " I [Smith] have given to this . . . 
 genus the name of Goodenia, in honour 
 of ... Rev. Dr. Goodenough, treasurer 
 of this Society, of whose botanical 
 merits . . . example of Tournefort, 
 who formed Gundelia from Gundel- 
 scheimer . . ." 
 
 [Dr. Goodenough became Bishop of 
 Carlisle ; he was the grandfather of 
 Commodore Goodenough.] 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 1 88 : 
 
 " A species of Goodenia is supposed 
 to be used by the native gins to cause 
 their children to sleep on long journeys, 
 but it is not clear which is used." 
 
 Goodletite, n, scientific name. 
 for a matrix in which rubies are 
 found. So named by Professor 
 Black of Dunedin, in honour of 
 his assistant, William Goodlet, 
 who was the first to discover the 
 
 rubies in the matrix, on the west 
 
 coast. 
 
 1894. ' Grey River Argus,' September: 
 " Several sapphires of good size and 
 
 colour have been found, also rubies in 
 
 the matrix Goodletite.'' 
 
 Goondie, n. a native hut. 
 Gundai = a shelter in the Wirad- 
 huri dialect. It is the same word 
 as Gunyah (q.v.). 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xvii. p. 204 : 
 
 " There were a dozen ' goondies ' 
 to be visited, and the inmates started 
 to their work." 
 
 Goose, n. English bird-name. 
 The Australian species are 
 
 Cape Barren Goose 
 
 Cereopsis nova-hollandice, Lath. 
 [Gould ('Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. vii. pi. i) calls it the 
 Cereopsis Goose, or Cape 
 Barren Goose of the Colon- 
 ists.] 
 Maned G. (or Wood-duck, q.v.) 
 
 Branta jubata. Lath. 
 Pied G. 
 
 Anseranus melanoleuca, Lath. 
 Called also Magpie-Goose and 
 Swan-Goose. 
 
 1843. J. Backhouse, ' Narrative of a 
 Visit to the Australian Colonies,' p. 75 : 
 
 " Five pelicans and some Cape 
 Barren Geese were upon the beach of 
 Preservation Island [Bass Strait]." 
 
 Goose-teal, n. the English 
 name for a very small goose of 
 the genus Nettapus. The Aus- 
 tralian species are Green, Net- 
 tapus pulchellus, Gould ; White- 
 quilled, N. albipenniS) Gould. 
 
 Gooseberry- tree, Little, n. 
 name given to the Australian tree 
 Buchanania mangoides, F. v. M., 
 N,O. Anacardiacece. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 479 : 
 
 " My companions had, for several 
 days past, gathered the unripe fruits of 
 Coniogeton arborescens, R. Br., which, 
 when boiled, imparted an agreeable 
 acidity to the water. . . . When ripe,
 
 i66 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GOR-GRA 
 
 they became sweet and pulpy, like 
 gooseberries. . . . This resemblance 
 induced us to call the tree ' the little 
 gooseberry-tree.' " 
 
 Gordon Lily, n. See under Lily. 
 
 Gouty-stem, n. the Australian 
 Baobab-tree (q.v.), Adansonia 
 gregorii, F. v. M. According to 
 Maiden (p. 60), Sterculia rupestris, 
 Benth., is also called Gouty-stem, 
 on account of the extraordinary 
 shape of the trunk. Other names 
 of this tree are the Sour-gourd, 
 and the Cream-of-tartar tree. 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. II. c. iii. p. 115 : 
 
 " The gouty-stem tree . . . bears a 
 very fragrant white flower, not unlike 
 the jasmine." [Illustration given at p. 
 1 1 6.] 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. i. p. 289 [Note] : 
 
 "This tree is distinguished by the 
 extraordinary swollen appearance of 
 the stem, which looks as though the 
 tree were diseased or the result of a 
 freak of nature. The youngest as 
 well as the oldest trees have the same 
 deformed appearance, and inside the 
 bark is a soft juicy pulp instead of 
 wood, which is said to be serviceable as 
 an article of food. The stem of the 
 largest tree at Careening Bay was 
 twenty-nine feet in girth ; it is named 
 the Adansonia digitata. A species is 
 found in Africa. In Australia it occurs 
 only on the north coast." 
 
 Government, n. a not unusual 
 contraction of " Government ser- 
 vice," used by contractors and 
 working- men. 
 
 Government men, n. an 
 obsolete euphemistic name for 
 convicts, especially for assigned 
 servants (q.v.). 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, ' Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 122 : 
 
 "Three government men or con- 
 victs." 
 
 1852. J. West, ' History of Tasmania,' 
 vol. ii. p. 127 : 
 
 " Government men, as assigned serv- 
 ants were called." 
 
 Government stroke, n. a lazy 
 style of doing work, explained in 
 quotations. The phrase is not 
 dead. 
 
 1856. W. W. Dobie, ' Recollections of 
 a Visit to Port Phillip,' p. 47 : 
 
 " Government labourers, at ten shil- 
 lings a-day, were breaking stones with 
 what is called ' the Government stroke,' 
 which is a slow-going, anti-sweating 
 kind of motion. . . ." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' c. ix. [near end] p. 163 : 
 
 " In colonial parlance the govern- 
 ment stroke is that light and easy 
 mode of labour perhaps that sem- 
 blance of labour which no other 
 master will endure, though govern- 
 ment is forced to put up with it." 
 
 1893. 'Otago Witness,' December 21, 
 p. 9, col. I : 
 
 "The government stroke is good 
 enough for this kind of job." 
 
 1897. ' The Argus,' Feb. 22, p. 4, col. 9 : 
 
 "Like the poor the unemployed are 
 always with us, but they have a pen- 
 chant for public works in Melbourne, 
 with a good daily pay and the 'Govern- 
 ment stroke ' combined." 
 
 Grab-all, n. a kind of net used 
 for marine fishing near the shore. 
 It is moored to a piece of floating 
 wood, and by the Tasmanian 
 Government regulations must 
 have a mesh of z\ inches. 
 
 1883. Edward O. Cotton, 'Evidence 
 before Royal Commission on the Fisheries 
 of Tasmania,' p. 82 : 
 
 " Put a graball down where you will 
 in 'bell-rope' kelp, more silver trum- 
 peter will get in than any other fish." 
 
 1883. Ibid. p. xvii : 
 
 "Between sunrise and sunset, 
 nets, known as 'graballs,' may be 
 used." 
 
 Grammatophore, n. scientific 
 name for "an Australian agamoid 
 lizard, genus Grammatophora" 
 (' Standard.') 
 
 Grape, Gippsland, n. called 
 also Native Grape. An Australian 
 fruit tree, Vitis hypoglauca, F.v.M., 
 N.O. Vinifera ; called Gippsland 
 Grape in Victoria.
 
 ORA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 167 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 66 : 
 
 " Native grape ; Gippsland grape. 
 This evergreen climber yields black 
 edible fruits of the size of cherries. 
 This grape would perhaps be greatly 
 improved by culture. (Mueller.)" 
 
 Grape, Macquarie Harbour, 
 or Macquarie Harbour Vine 
 (q.v.), n. name given to the climb- 
 ing shrub Miihlenbeckia adpressa, 
 Meissn., N.O. Polygonacetz. Called 
 Native Ivy in Australia. See 
 under Ivy. 
 
 Grape-eater, n. a bird, called 
 formerly Fig-eater, now known as 
 the Green-backed White-eye (q.v.), 
 Zoster ops gouldi, Bp. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iv. pi. 82 : 
 
 " Zosterops chloronotus, Gould, 
 Green-backed Z. ; Grape and Fig-eater, 
 Colonists of Swan River." 
 
 Grass, n. In Australia, as else- 
 where, the name Grass is some- 
 times given to plants which are 
 not of the natural order Grami- 
 nece, yet everywhere it is chiefly 
 to this natural order that the 
 name is applied. A fair propor- 
 tion of the true Grasses common 
 to many other countries in the 
 world, or confined, on the one 
 hand to temperate zones, or on 
 the other to tropical or sub-trop- 
 ical regions, are also indigenous 
 to Australia, or Tasmania, or 
 New Zealand, or sometimes to 
 all three countries. In most cases 
 such grasses retain their Old- 
 World names, as, for instance, 
 Barnyard- or Cock-spur Grass 
 (Panicum crus-galli, Linn.) ; in 
 others they receive new Austra- 
 lian names, as Ditch Millet (Pas- 
 palum scrobitulatum, F. v. M.), the 
 ' Koda Millet ' of India ; and still 
 again certain grasses named in 
 Latin by scientific botanists have 
 been distinguished by a vernacular 
 English name for the first time in 
 
 Australia, as Kangaroo Grass 
 (Anthistiria ciliata, Linn.), which 
 was " long known before Aus- 
 tralia became colonized, in South 
 Asia and all Africa " (von Miil- 
 ler),~ but not by the name of the 
 Kangaroo. 
 
 Beyond these considerations, 
 the settlers of Australia, whose 
 wealth depends chiefly on its 
 pastoral occupation, have intro- 
 duced many of the best Old- World 
 pasture grasses (chiefly of the 
 genera Poa and Festucd), and 
 many thousands of acres are said 
 to be " laid down with English 
 grass." Some of these are now 
 so wide-spread in their acclimatiz- 
 ation, that the botanists are at 
 variance as to whether they are 
 indigenous to Australia or not ; 
 the Couch Grass, for instance 
 ( Cynodon dactylon, Pers.), or Indian 
 Doub Grass, is generally con- 
 sidered to be an introduced grass, 
 yet Maiden regards it as indige- 
 nous. 
 
 There remain, "from the vast 
 assemblage of our grasses, even 
 some hundred indigenous to Aus- 
 tralia" (von Miiller), and a like 
 number indigenous to New Zea- 
 land, the greater proportion of 
 which are endemic. Many of 
 these, accurately named in Latin 
 and described by the botanists, 
 have not yet found their vernacu- 
 lar equivalents ; for the bushman 
 and the settler do not draw fine 
 botanical distinctions. Maiden 
 has classified and fully described 
 158 species as " Forage Plants," 
 of which over ninety have never 
 been christened in English. Mr. 
 John Buchanan, the botanist and 
 draughtsman to the Geographical 
 Survey of New Zealand, has 
 prepared for his Government a 
 ' Manual of the Indigenous 
 Grasses of New Zealand,' which 
 enumerates eighty species, many
 
 i68 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GRA 
 
 of them unnamed in English, and 
 many of them common also to Aus- 
 tralia and Tasmania. These two 
 descriptive works, with the assist- 
 ance of Guilfoyle's Botany and 
 Travellers' notes, have been made 
 the basis of the following list of 
 all the common Australian names 
 applied to the true Grasses of the 
 N.O. Graminecz. Some of them 
 of very special Australian charac- 
 ter appear also elsewhere in the 
 Dictionary in their alphabetical 
 places, while a few other plants, 
 which are grasses by name and 
 not by nature, stand in such 
 alphabetical place alone, and not 
 in this list. For facility of com- 
 parison and reference the range 
 and habitat of each species is 
 indicated in brackets after its 
 name ; the more minute limitation 
 of such ranges is not within the 
 scope of this work. The species 
 of Grass present in Australia, 
 Tasmania, and New Zealand are 
 
 1. Alpine Rice Grass 
 Ehrharta colensoi, Cook. (N.Z.) 
 
 2. Alpine Whorl G. 
 Catabrosa antarctica, Hook. f. 
 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 3. Bamboo G. 
 
 Glyceria ramigera, F.v. M. (A.) 
 
 Called also Cane Grass. 
 Stipa verticillata, Nees. (A.) 
 
 4. Barcoo G. (of Queensland) 
 Anthistiria membranacea, Lindl. 
 
 (A.) Called also Lands- 
 borough Grass. 
 
 5. Barnyard G. 
 
 Panicum crus-galli, Linn. (A., 
 not endemic.) Called also 
 Cockspur Grass. 
 
 6. Bayonet G. 
 
 Aciphylla colensoi. (N.Z.) 
 Called also Spear-Grass 
 (see 112), and Spaniard 
 (q.v.). 
 
 7. Bent G. Alpine 
 Agrostis muellerii, Benth. (A., 
 
 N.Z., not endemic.) 
 
 Deyeuxia setifolia, Hook. f. 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 8. Bent G. Australian 
 
 ~ Deyeuxia scabra, Benth. (A., 
 T., N.Z.) 
 
 9. Bent G. Billardiere's 
 
 D. billardierii, R.Br. (A., T., 
 
 N.Z.) 
 10. Bent G. Brown 
 
 Agrostis carina, Linn. (N.Z.) 
 n. Bent G. Campbell Island 
 
 A. antarctica, Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 12. Bent G. Dwarf Mountain 
 A. subululata, Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 13. Bent G. Oat-like 
 Deyeuxia avenoides, Hook. f. 
 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 14. Bent G. Pilose 
 D.pilosa, Rich. (N.Z.) 
 
 15. Bent G. Slender 
 Agrostis scabra, Willd. (A., 
 
 T., N.Z.) 
 
 16. Bent G. Spiked 
 Deyeuxia quadriseta, R.Br. (A. r 
 
 T., N.Z.) Called also ./to?*/ 
 Grass. 
 
 17. Bent G. Toothea 
 
 D. forsteri, Kunth. (A., T., 
 N.Z.) 
 
 18. Bent G. Young's 
 
 D. youngii, Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 19. Blady G. 
 
 Imperata arundinacea, Cyr. 
 (A.) 
 
 20. Blue G. 
 
 Andropogon annulatus, Forst. 
 
 (A.) 
 
 A.pertusus, Willd. (A.) 
 A. sericeus, R.Br. (A.) 
 
 21. Brome G. Seaside 
 Bromus arenarius, Labill. (A., 
 
 N.Z.) Called also Wild 
 Oats. 
 
 22. Canary G. 
 
 Phalaris canariensis. (A. ) 
 
 23. Cane G. 
 
 (i.q. Bamboo Grass. See 3.) 
 
 24. Chilian G. 
 
 (i.q. Rat-tailed Grass. See 97.) 
 
 25. Cockspur G. 
 
 (i.q. Barnyard Grass. See 5.)
 
 GRA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 169 
 
 26. Couch G. 
 
 Cynodon dactylon, Pers. (A., 
 not endemic.) Called also 
 Indian Doub Grass. 
 
 27. Couch G. Native 
 Distichlys maritima, Raffin- 
 
 esque. (A.) 
 
 28. Couch G. Water 
 
 (i.q. Seaside Millet. See 50.) 
 
 29. Feather G. 
 
 (Several species of Stipa. See 
 101.) 
 
 30. Fescue G. Hard 
 
 Festuca duriuscula, Linn. (Aus- 
 tralasia, not endemic.) 
 
 31. Fescue G. Poa-like 
 
 F. scoparia, Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 32. Fescue G. Sandhill 
 
 F. littoralis, R.Br., var. triti- 
 coides, Benth. (A.,T.,N.Z.) 
 
 33. Fescue G. Sheeps' 
 F. ovina, Linn. (A., T.) 
 
 34. Finger G. Cocksfoot 
 Panicum sanguinale, Linn. (A., 
 
 not endemic.) Called also 
 Hairy Finger Grass , and 
 Reddish Panic Grass. 
 
 35. Finger G. Egyptian 
 Eleusine cegyptica, Pers. (A., 
 
 not endemic.) 
 
 36. Finger G. Hairy 
 
 (i.q. Cocksfoot Finger Grass. 
 See 33.) 
 
 37. Foxtail G. 
 
 (i.q. Knee-jointed Foxtail Grass. 
 See 42.) 
 
 38. Hair G. Crested 
 Koeleria cristata, Pers. (A., T., 
 
 N.Z.) 
 
 39. Hair G. Turfy 
 Deschampia ccespitosa, Beavo. 
 
 (N.Z., not endemic.) 
 
 40. Holy G. 
 
 Hierochloe alpina, Roem. & 
 Schult. (Australasia, not 
 endemic.) 
 
 41. Indian Doub G. 
 
 (i.q. Couch Grass. See 26.) 
 
 42. Kangaroo G. (A., T., not 
 
 endemic) 
 Andropogon refract us, R.Br. 
 
 Anthistiria avenacea, F. v. M. 
 (Called also Oat Grass.} 
 
 A. ciliata, Linn. (Common 
 K.G.) 
 
 A. frondosa, R.Br. (Broad- 
 leaved K.G.) 
 
 43. Knee-jointed Fox-tail G. 
 Alopecurus geniculatus, Linn. 
 
 (Australasia, not endemic.) 
 
 44. Landsborough G. 
 
 (i.q. Barcoo Grass. See 4.) 
 
 45. Love G. Australian 
 Eragrostis brownii, Nees. (A.) 
 
 46. Manna G. 
 
 Glyceria fluitans, R.Br. (A.,T.) 
 
 47. Millet Australian 
 Panicum decompositum, R.Br. 
 
 (A., not endemic.) Called 
 also Umbrella Grass. 
 
 48. MilletDitch 
 
 Paspalum scrobitulatum, F. v. M. 
 (A., N.Z., not endemic.) 
 The Koda Millet of India. 
 
 49. Millet Equal-glumed 
 Isachne australis, R.Br. (A.,. 
 
 N.Z., not endemic.) 
 
 50. Millet Seaside 
 Paspalum distichum, Burmann. 
 
 (A., N.Z., not endemic.) 
 Called also Silt Grass, and 
 Water Couch Grass. 
 
 51. Mitchell G. 
 
 Astrebla elymoides, F.v. M. (A.,. 
 
 True Mitchell Grass.) 
 A. pectinata, F. v. M. (A.) 
 A. triticoides, F. v. M. . (A.) 
 
 52. Mouse G. 
 
 (i.q. Long-haired Plume Grass. 
 See 72.) 
 
 53. MulgaG. 
 
 Danthonia racemosa, R.Br. (A.) 
 Neurachnea Mitchelliana, Nees. 
 
 (A.) 
 
 54. New Zealand Wind G. 
 Apera arundinacea, Palisot. 
 
 (N.Z., not endemic.) 
 
 55. Oat G.- 
 
 Anthistiria avenacea, F. v. M. 
 (Called also Kangaroo Grass. 
 See 41.)
 
 170 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GRA 
 
 56. Oat G. Alpine 
 Danthonia semi-annularis, 
 
 R.Br., var. alpina. (N.Z.) 
 
 57. Oat G. Buchanan's 
 
 D. buchanii, Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 58. Oat G. Few-flowered 
 
 D. pautiflora, R.Br. (A., T., 
 N.Z.) 
 
 59. Oat G. Hard 
 
 D. pilosa, R.Br., var. stricta. 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 60. Oat G. Naked 
 
 D. nuda, Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 61. Oat G. New Zealand 
 
 D. semi-annularis, R.Br. (A., 
 T., N.Z.) 
 
 62. Oat G. Purple-awned 
 
 D. pilosa, R.Br. (A., T., N.Z.) 
 
 63. Oat G. Racemed 
 
 D. pilosa, R.Br., var. racemosa. 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 64. Oat G. Shining 
 Trisetum antarcticum, Hook. f. 
 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 65. Oat G. Sheep 
 Danthonia semi-annular is, 
 
 R.Br., var. gracilis. (N.Z.) 
 
 66. Oat G. Spiked 
 Trisetum subspicatum, Beauv. 
 
 (Australasia, not endemic.) 
 
 -67. OatG. Thompson's Naked 
 
 Danthonia thomsonii (new 
 
 species). 
 68. Oat G. Wiry-leaved 
 
 D. raoulii, Steud, var. Aus- 
 tralis, Buchanan. (N.Z.) 
 
 69. Oat G. Young's 
 Trisetum young-it, Hook. f. 
 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 70. Panic G. Reddish 
 
 (i.q. Cocksfoot Finger-Grass, 
 See 34.) 
 
 71. Panic G. Slender 
 Oplismenus satarius, var. Rcem. 
 
 and Schult. (A., N.Z., not 
 endemic.) 
 
 72. Paper G. Native 
 
 Poa ccespitosa, Forst. (A., T., 
 N.Z.) Called also Wiry 
 Grass, Weeping Polly, and 
 
 Tussock Poa Grass ; and, in 
 New Zealand, Snow Grass. 
 
 73. Plume G. Long-haired 
 Dichelachne crinita, Hook. f. 
 
 (A., T., N.Z.) 
 
 74. Plume G. Short-haired 
 D. sciurea, Hook. f. (A., T., 
 
 N.Z.) 
 
 75. Poa G. Auckland Island 
 Poa foliosa, Hook, f., var. a. 
 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 76. Poa G. Brown-flowered 
 P. lindsayi, Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 77. Poa G. Brown Mountain 
 P. mackayi (new species). 
 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 78. Poa G. Colenso's 
 
 P. colensoi, Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 79. Poa G. Common Field 
 
 P. anceps, Forst., var. b, foliosa, 
 Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 80. Poa G. Dense-flowered 
 P. anceps, Forst., var. d, densi- 
 
 flora, Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 81. Poa G. Dwarf 
 P-pigmcea (new species). (N.Z.) 
 
 82. Poa G. Hard short-stemmed 
 P. anceps, Forst., var. c, brevi- 
 
 calmis, Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 83. Poa G. Kirk's 
 
 P. kirkii(nQVf species). (N.Z.) 
 
 84. Poa G. Large-flowered 
 P. foliosa, Hook, f., var. B. 
 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 85. Poa G. Little 
 
 P. exigtta, Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 86. Poa G. Minute 
 
 P. foliosa, Hook, f., var. C. 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 87. Poa G. Minute Creeping 
 P.pusilla, Berggren. (N.Z.) 
 
 88. Poa G. Nodding Plumed 
 P. anceps, Forst., var. A, elata, 
 
 Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 89. Poa G. One-flowered 
 
 P. uniflora (new species). 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 90. Poa G. Short-glumed 
 
 P. breviglumis, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
 
 CRA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 171 
 
 91. Poa G. Slender 
 
 P. anceps, Forst., var. E, 
 debilis, Kirk, Ms. (N.Z.) 
 
 92. Poa G. Small Tussock 
 P. intermedia (new species). 
 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 93. Poa G. Tussock 
 
 P. ccespitosa, Forst. (A., T., 
 N.Z. See 71.) 
 
 94. Poa G. Weak-stemmed 
 Eragrostis imbecilla, Benth. 
 
 (A., N.Z.) 
 
 95. Poa G. White-flowered 
 Poa sclerophylla, Berggren. 
 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 96. Porcupine G. (q.v.) 
 Triodia (various species). 
 
 97. Rat-tailed G. 
 Sporobulus indicus, R.Br. (A., 
 
 N.Z., not endemic.) Called 
 also Chilian Grass. 
 Ischceum laxum, R.Br. (A.) 
 
 98. Reed G. 
 
 Pragmites communis, Trin. 
 
 (N.Z. See 16.) 
 99 Rice G. 
 
 Leersia foxandriaySwartz. (A.) 
 
 100. Rice G. Bush 
 Microtcena avenacea, Hook. f. 
 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 101. Rice G. Knot-jointed 
 M.polynoda, Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 102. Rice G. Meadow 
 
 M. stipoides, R.Br. (A.,T., 
 N.Z.) Called also Weeping 
 Grass. 
 
 103. Roly-Poly G. 
 
 Panicum macractinum, Benth. 
 
 (A.) 
 
 104. Rough-bearded G. 
 Echinopogon ova/us, Palisot. 
 
 (A., T., N.Z.) 
 
 105. Sacred G. 
 
 Hierochloe redo lens, R.Br. 
 (Australasia, notendemic.) 
 Called also Scented Grass, 
 and Sweet-scented Grass. 
 
 106. Scented G. 
 ChrysopogonparvifloruS) Benth. 
 
 (A.) See also 105. 
 
 107. Seaside Brome G. 
 
 (i.q. Brome Grass See 21.) 
 
 108. SiltG. 
 
 (i.q. Seaside Millet. See 50.) 
 
 109. Seaside Glumeless G. 
 Gymnostychum gracile, Hook. 
 
 f. (N.Z.) 
 no. Snow G. (q.v.) 
 
 (i.q. Paper Grass. See 72.) 
 
 (N.Z.) 
 in. Spear G. (q.v.) 
 
 Aciphylla colensoi. (N.Z.) 
 
 Called also Spaniard (q.v.). 
 
 Heteropogon contortus, Rcem. 
 
 and Shult. (N.Z.), and all 
 
 species of Stipa (A., T.). 
 
 112. Spider G. 
 
 Panicum divaricatissimum, R. 
 Br. (A.) 
 
 113. Spinifex G. (q.v.) 
 Spinifex hirsutus, Labill. (A., 
 
 T., N.Z., not endemic.) 
 Called also Spiny Rolling 
 Grass. 
 
 114. Star G. Blue 
 
 Chloris ventricosa, R.Br. (A.) 
 
 115. Star G. Dog's Tooth 
 C. divaricata, R.Br. (A.) 
 
 116. Star G. Lesser 
 
 C. acicularis, Lindl. (A.) 
 
 117. Sugar G. 
 
 Pollinia fulva, Benth. (A.) 
 
 118. Summer G. 
 
 (i.q. HairyFinger Grass. See 
 36.) 
 
 119. Sweet G. 
 
 Glyceria stricta, Hook. f. (A., 
 T., N.Z.) 
 
 1 20. Sweet-scented G. 
 
 (i.q. Sacred Grass. See 105.) 
 
 121. Traveller's G. (N. O. Aroidea). 
 (i.q. Settlers 1 Twine, q.v.) 
 
 122. Tussock G. 
 (See 93 and 72.) 
 
 123. Tussock G. Broad-leaved 
 Oat 
 
 Danthonia flavescens, Hook. f. 
 (N.Z.)
 
 172 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GRA 
 
 124. Tussock G. Erect Plumed 
 Arundo fulvida, Buchanan. 
 
 (N.Z.) Maori name, Toi- 
 toi (q.v.). 
 
 125. Tussock G. Narrow-leaved 
 
 Oat 
 
 Danthonia raoulii, Steud. 
 (N.Z.) 
 
 126. Tussock G. Plumed 
 Arundo conspicua, A. Cunn. 
 
 (N.Z.) Maori name, Toi- 
 toi (q.v.). 
 
 127. Tussock G. Small-flowered 
 
 Oat 
 
 Danthonia cunninghamii, 
 
 Hook. f. (N.Z.) 
 
 128. Petrie's Stipa G. 
 
 Stipa petriei (new species). 
 See 101. (N.Z.) 
 
 129. Umbrella G. 
 
 (i.q. Australian Millet. See 
 
 47-) 
 
 130. Wallaby G. 
 Danthonia penicileata, F. v. M. 
 
 (A., N.Z.) 
 
 131. Weeping G. 
 
 (i.q. Meadow Rice Grass. 
 See 102.) 
 
 132. Weeping Polly G. 
 
 (i.q. Paper Grass. See 72.) 
 
 133. Wheat G. Blue 
 Agropyrum scabrum, Beauv. 
 
 (A., T., N.Z.) 
 
 134. Wheat G. Short-awned 
 Triticum multiflorum, Banks 
 
 and Sol. (N.Z.) 
 
 135. White-topped G. 
 Danthonialongifolia^^Er. (A.) 
 
 136. Windmill G. 
 
 Chloris truncata, R.Br. (A.) 
 
 137. Wire G. 
 
 Ehrharta juncea, Sprengel ; 
 a rush-like grass of hilly 
 country. (A., T., N.Z.) 
 
 Cynodon dactylum, Pers. ; so 
 called from its knotted, 
 creeping, wiry roots, so 
 difficult to eradicate in 
 gardens and other culti- 
 vated land. (Not en- 
 demic.) See 26. 
 
 138. WiryG. 
 
 (i.q. Paper Grass. See 72.) 
 
 139. Wiry Dichelachne G. 
 Stipa teretefolia, Steud. (A., 
 
 T., N.Z.) 
 
 140. Woolly-headed G. 
 Andropogon bombyrinus, R.Br. 
 
 (A.) 
 
 141. Vandyke G. 
 Panicumflavidum, Retz. (A.) 
 
 Grass-bird, n. In New Zea- 
 land, Sphenceacus punctatus, Gray, 
 the same as Fern-bird (q.v.) ; in 
 Australia, Megalurus (S>phen<zacus) 
 gramineus, Gould. 
 
 Grass-leaved Fern, n. Vittaria 
 elongata, Swartz, N.O. Filices. 
 
 1883. F. M. Bailey, ' Synopsis of Queens- 
 land Flora,' p. 693 : 
 
 "Grass-leaved fern. . . . Frond 
 varying in length from a few inches to 
 several feet, and with a breadth of 
 from one to five lines. . . . This 
 curious grass-like fern may be fre- 
 quently seen fringing the stems of 
 the trees in the scrubs of tropical 
 Queensland, in which situation the 
 fronds are usually very long." 
 
 Grass-Parrakeet, n. a bird of 
 the genus Euphema. The Aus- 
 tralian species are 
 
 Blue-winged Parrakeet 
 
 Euphema aurantia, Gould. 
 Bourke's P. 
 
 E. bour-kii, Gould. 
 Grass-P. 
 
 E. elegans, Gould. 
 Orange-bellied P. 
 
 E. chrysogastra, Lath. 
 Orange-throated P. 
 
 E. splendida, Gould. 
 Red-shouldered P. 
 
 E. pulchella, Shaw. 
 Warbling Grass-P. 
 
 Gould's name for Budgerigar 
 (q.v.). 
 
 See also Rock- Parrakeet (Eu- 
 phema petrophila, Gould), which is 
 sometimes classed as a Grass- 
 Parrakeet.
 
 GRA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 173 
 
 Grass-tree, n. (i) The name 
 applied to trees of the genus 
 Xanthorrhcea, N.O. LiliacecE, of 
 which thirteen species are known 
 in Australia. See also Richea. 
 
 (2) In New Zea\su\& Pseudopanax 
 crassifolium, Seemann, N.O. Ara- 
 leacecz. When young, this is the 
 same as Umbrella-tree, so called 
 from its appearance like the ribs 
 of an umbrella. When older, it 
 grows more straight and is called 
 Lancewood (q.v.). 
 
 (3) In Tasmania, besides two 
 species of Xanthorrhcea the Grass- 
 tree of the mainland, the Richea 
 dracophylla, R.Br., N. O. Epacridea, 
 found on Mount Wellington, near 
 Hobart, is also known by that 
 name, whilst the Richea pandani- 
 
 folia, Hook., found in the South- 
 west forests, is called the Giant 
 Grass-tree. Both these are pecu- 
 liar to the island. 
 
 (4) An obsolete name for Cordy- 
 line australis, Hook., IV. O. Lilia- 
 cetz, now more usually called 
 Cabbage-tree (q.v.). 
 
 1802. D. Collins, 'Account of New 
 South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 153 : 
 
 "A grass tree grows here, similar 
 in every respect to that about Port 
 Jackson." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 347 : 
 
 "Yielding frequently a very weak 
 and sour kind of grass, interspersed 
 with a species of bulrush called grass- 
 trees, which are universal signs of 
 poverty." 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, ' Southern Australia,' 
 vol. 11. c. iii. p. 54 : 
 
 " The grass-tree is not found west- 
 ward of the mountains." 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. ii. p. 308: 
 
 " We approached a range of barren 
 hills of clay slate, on which grew the 
 grass-tree (Xanthorhoea) and stunted 
 eucalypti." 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 74 : 
 '"The shimmering sunlight fell and 
 kissed 
 
 The grass-tree's golden sheaves." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 p. 132: 
 
 " Here and there, in moist places, 
 arises isolated the 'grass-tree' or 
 'cabbage-tree' (Ti of the natives; 
 Cor dy line Australis)." 
 
 1874. Garnet Walch, 'Head over Heels,' 
 p. 80: 
 
 "The grass-trees in front, blame my 
 
 eyes, 
 
 Seemed like plumes on the top of a 
 hearse." 
 
 1877. F. v. Miiller, ' Botanic Teachings,' 
 p. 119: 
 
 " How strikingly different the ex- 
 ternal features of plants may be, 
 though floral structure may draw them 
 into congruity, is well demonstrated 
 by our so-called grass-trees, which 
 pertain truly to the liliaceous order. 
 These scientifically defined as Xan- 
 thorhceasfrom the exudation of yellow- 
 ish sap, which indurates into resinous 
 masses, have all the essential notes of 
 the order, so far as structure of flowers 
 and fruits is concerned, but their palm- 
 like habit, together with cylindric spikes 
 on long and simple stalks, is quite 
 peculiar, and impresses on landscapes, 
 when these plants in masses are occur- 
 ing, a singular feature." 
 
 1879. A. R. Wallace, 'Australasia' 
 (ed. 1893), p. 52 : 
 
 " The grass trees (Xanthorrhosa) are 
 a peculiar feature in the Australian 
 landscape. From a rugged stem, vary- 
 ing from two to ten or twelve feet m 
 height, springs a tuft of drooping wiry 
 foliage, from the centre of which rises 
 a spike not unlike a huge bulrush. 
 When it flowers in winter, this spike 
 becomes covered with white stars, and 
 a heath covered with grass trees then 
 has an appearance at once singular 
 and beautiful." 
 
 1882. A. Tolmer, ' Reminiscences,' vol. 
 ii. p. 102: 
 
 "The root of the grass-tree is 
 pleasant enough to eat, and tastes 
 something like the meat of the almond- 
 tree ; but being unaccustomed to the 
 kind of fare, and probably owing to 
 the empty state of our stomachs, we 
 suffered severely from diarrhoea." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Aus- 
 tralia, p. 43 : 
 
 " Grass-trees are most comical-look- 
 ing objects. They have a black bare
 
 174 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GRA-GRE 
 
 stem, from one to eight feet high, sur- 
 mounted by a tuft of half rushes and 
 half grass, out of which, again, grows 
 a long thing exactly like a huge bull- 
 rush. A lot of them always grow 
 together, and a little way off they are 
 not unlike the illustrations of Red- 
 Indian chiefs in Fenimore Cooper's 
 novels." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 59 : 
 
 "It \Pseudopanax crassifoliiim, the 
 Horoeka\ is commonly called lance- 
 wood by the settlers in the North 
 Island, and grass-tree by those in 
 the South. This species was dis- 
 covered during Cook's first voyage, 
 and it need cause no surprise to learn 
 that the remarkable difference between 
 the young and mature states led so 
 able a botanist as Dr. Solander to 
 consider them distinct plants." 
 
 1896. Baldwin Spencer. ' Home Expe- 
 dition in Central Australia,' Narrative, 
 p. 98: 
 
 "As soon as we came upon the 
 Plains we found ourselves in a belt of 
 grass trees belonging to a species not 
 hitherto described (X. Thorntoni). . . . 
 The larger specimens have a stem 
 some five or six feet high, with a crown 
 of long wiry leaves and a flowering 
 stalk, the top of which is fully twelve 
 feet above the ground." 
 
 [Compare Blackboy and Maori- 
 head. ] 
 
 Grayling, n. The Australian fish 
 of that name is Prototroctes marcena, 
 Giinth. It is called also the 
 fresh-water Herring, Yarra Herring 
 (in Melbourne), Cucumber-Fish, 
 and Cucumber-Mullet. The last 
 two names are given to it from 
 its smell. It closely resembles 
 the English Grayling. 
 
 1880. W. Senior, 'Travel and Trout,' 
 
 P- 93: 
 
 " These must be the long-looked-for 
 cucumber mullet, or fresh-water her- 
 ring. . . . ' The cucumber mullet,' I 
 explain, ' I have long suspected to be 
 a grayling.' " 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 109 : 
 
 "Though not a fish of New South 
 Wales, it may be as well to mention 
 
 here the Australian grayling, which 
 in character, habits, and the manner 
 of its capture is almost identical with 
 the English fish of that name. In 
 shape there is some difference between 
 the two fish. ... A newly caught fish 
 smells exactly like a dish of fresh-sliced 
 cucumber. It is widely distributed in 
 Victoria, and very abundant in all the 
 fresh-water streams of Tasmania. . . . 
 In Melbourne it goes by the name of 
 the Yarra herring. There is another 
 species in New Zealand." 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Austral- 
 asia,' vol. iv. p. 206 : 
 
 "The river abounds in delicious 
 grayling or cucumber fish, rather 
 absurdly designated the ' herring ' in 
 this [Deloraine] and some other parts 
 of the colony [Tasmania]." 
 
 Grebe, n. common English 
 bird-name, of the genus Podiceps. 
 The species known in Australia 
 are 
 
 Black-throated Grebe 
 
 Podiceps nov(z-hollandi(Z) Gould. 
 Hoary-headed G. 
 
 P. nestor, Gould. 
 Tippet G. 
 
 P. cristatus, Linn. 
 But Buller sees no reason for sep- 
 arating P. cristatus from the well- 
 known P. cristatus of Europe. 
 Some of the Grebes are sometimes 
 called Dabchicks (q.v.). 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 285 : 
 
 " The Crested Grebe is generally- 
 speaking a rare bird in both islands." 
 
 Greenhide, n. See quotation. 
 Greenhide is an English tannery 
 term for the hide with the hair 
 on before scouring. 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 27: 
 
 " Drivers, who walked beside their 
 teams carrying over their shoulders a 
 long-handled whip with thong of raw 
 salted hide, called in the colony 
 ' greenhide.' " 
 
 Greenie, n. a school-boys' 
 name for Ptilotis penicillata, Gould,, 
 the White-plumed Honey-eater.
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 1896. ' The Australasian,' Jan. u, p. 73, 
 col. i : 
 
 " A bird smaller than the Australian 
 minah, and of a greenish yellowish 
 hue, larger, but similar to the members 
 of the feathered tribe known to young 
 city ' knights of the catapult ' as 
 greenies." 
 
 1897. A. J. Campbell (in ' The Austral- 
 asian,' Jan. 23), p. 180, col. 5 : 
 
 " Every schoolboy about Melbourne 
 knows what the 'greenie' is the white- 
 plumed honey-eater (P. penicillata). 
 The upper-surface is yellowish-grey, 
 and the under-surface brownish in 
 tone. The white-plumed honey-eater 
 is common in Victoria, where it appears 
 to be one of the few native birds that 
 is not driven back by civilisation. In 
 fact, its numbers have increased in the 
 parks and gardens in the vicinity of 
 Melbourne." 
 
 Green-leek, n. an Australian 
 Parrakeet. See quotation. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. v. pi. 15 : 
 
 " Polytelis Barrabandi, Wagl., Bar- 
 raband's Parrakeet ; Green-leek of the 
 colonists of New South Wales." 
 
 1855. R. Howitt, ' Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 123 : 
 
 "We observed in the hollow trees 
 several nests of the little green paro- 
 quet, here, from its colour, called the 
 leek." 
 
 Green Lizard, n. sometimes 
 called the Spotted Green Lizard, 
 a New Zealand reptile, Naultinus 
 elegans, Gray. 
 
 Green Oyster, n. name given in 
 Queensland to the sea-weed Ulva 
 lactuca, Linn., N.O. Algce. From 
 being frequently found attached 
 to oysters, this is sometimes 
 called "Green Oyster." (Bailey.) 
 See Oyster. 
 
 Greenstone, n. popular name 
 of Nephrite (q.v.). Maori name, 
 Pounamu (q.v.). 
 
 1859. A. S. Thomson, ' Story of New 
 Zealand,' p. 140 : 
 
 "The greenstone composing these 
 implements of war is called nephrite 
 by mineralogists, and is found in the 
 
 Middle Island of New Zealand, in the 
 Hartz, Corsica, China and Egypt. The 
 most valuable kind is clear as glass 
 with a slight green tinge." 
 
 1889. Dr. Hocken, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 181 : 
 
 " This valued stone pounamu of 
 the natives nephrite, is found on the 
 west coast of the South Island. In- 
 deed, on Captain Cook's chart this 
 island is called ' T'Avai Poenammoo ' 
 Te wai pounamu, the water of the 
 greenstone." 
 
 1892. F. R. Chapman, 'The Working 
 of Greenstone by the Maoris ' (New Zea- 
 land Institute), p. 4 : 
 
 " In the title of this paper the word 
 ' greenstone ' occurs, and this word is 
 used throughout the text. I am quite 
 conscious that the term is not geo- 
 logically or mineralogically correct ; 
 but the stone of which I am writing is 
 known by that name throughout New 
 Zealand, and, though here as elsewhere 
 the scientific man employs that word' 
 to describe a totally different class of 
 rock, I should run the risk of being 
 misunderstood were I to use any other 
 word for what is under that name an 
 article of commerce and manufacture 
 in New Zealand. It is called 'pounamu' 
 or 'poenamu' by the Maoris, and 'jade,' 
 'jadeite,' or ' nephrite ' by various 
 writers, while old books refer to the 
 'green talc' of the Maoris." 
 
 Green-tops, ?/.Tasmanian name 
 for the Orchid, Pterostylis peduncu- 
 lata, R. Br. 
 
 Green-tree Ant, n. common 
 Queensland Ant. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 294: 
 
 " It was at the lower part of the 
 Lynd that we first saw the green-tree 
 ant ; which seemed to live in small 
 societies in rude nests between the 
 green leaves of shady trees." 
 
 Green Tree-snake, n. See 
 under Snake. 
 
 Grevillea, n. a large genus o 
 trees of Australia and Tasma- 
 nia, N.O. Proteacece, named in 
 honour of the Right Hon. Charles 
 Francis Greville, Vice-President 
 of the Royal Society of London..
 
 176 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GRE-GRO 
 
 The name was given by Robert 
 Brown in 1809. The 'Century' 
 Dictionary gives Professor Gre- 
 ville as the origin of the name ; 
 but "Professor Robert K. Greville 
 of Edinburgh was born on the 
 1 4th Dec., 1794, he was therefore 
 only just fourteen years old when 
 the genus Grevillea was estab- 
 lished." (' Private letter from 
 Baron F. von Miiller.') 
 
 1851. 'Quarterly Review,' Dec., p. 40: 
 " Whether Dryandra, Grevillea, 
 Hakea, or the other ProteacecE, all 
 may take part in the same glee 
 
 " It was a shrub of orders grey 
 Stretched forth to show his leaves." 
 
 1888. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia/ 
 vol. iii. p. 138: 
 
 " Graceful grevilleas, which in the 
 spring are gorgeous with orange- 
 coloured blossoms." 
 
 Grey-jumper, n. name given 
 to an Australian genus of spar- 
 row-like birds, of which the only 
 species is Struthidea cinerea, Gould ; 
 also called BradystonumcA Brachy- 
 jporus. 
 
 Grey Nurse, n. a New South 
 Wales name for a species of 
 Shark, Odontaspis americanus, 
 Mitchell, family Lamnidce, which 
 is not confined to Australasia. 
 
 Gridironing, v. a term used in 
 the province of Canterbury, New 
 Zealand. A man purchased land 
 in the shape of a gridiron, know- 
 ing that nobody would take the 
 intermediate strips, which later 
 he could purchase at his leisure. 
 In other provinces free-selection 
 (q.v.) was only allowed after 
 survey. 
 
 Grinder, n. See Razor-grinder 
 and Dishwasher. 
 
 Groper, n. a fish. In Queens- 
 land, Oligorus terra-regina, Ram- 
 say ; in New Zealand, O. gigas, 
 "called by the Maoris and col- 
 onists 'Hapukuy'" (Giinther) a 
 
 large marine species. Oligorus is 
 a genus of the family Percidtz, and 
 the Murray-Cod (<\.\.) and Murray- 
 Perch (q.v.) belong to it. There 
 is a fish called the Grouper or 
 Groper of warm seas quite distinct 
 from this one. See Cod, Perch, 
 Blue-Groper and Hapuku. 
 
 Ground-berry, i.q. Cranberry 
 (q.V.). 
 
 Ground-bird, n. name given in 
 Australia to any bird of the genus 
 Cinclosoma. The species are 
 
 Chestnut-backed Ground-bird 
 
 Cinclosoma castaneonotum, Gould. 
 Chestnut-breasted G.-b. 
 
 C. castaneothorax , Gould. 
 Cinnamon G.-b. 
 
 C. dnnamomeum, Gould. 
 Northern, or Black-vented G.-b. 
 
 C. marginatum, Sharpe. 
 Spotted G.-b. 
 
 C. punctatum, Lath., called by 
 Gould Ground-Dove (q.v.). 
 
 Ground-Dove, n. (i) Tasmanian 
 name for the Spotted Ground-bird 
 
 (q-v.). 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iv. pi. 4 : 
 
 " Cinclosoma punctatum, Vig. and 
 Horsf., Spotted Ground-thrush. In 
 Hobart Town it is frequently exposed 
 for sale in the markets with bronze- 
 wing pigeons and wattle-birds, where 
 it is known by the name of ground- 
 dove . . . very delicate eating." 
 
 (2) The name is given by Gould 
 to three species of Geopelia. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. v. pis. 72, 73, 74 : 
 " Geopelia humeralis, Barred-shoul- 
 dered Ground-dove " (pi. 72) ; 
 " G. tranquilla " (pi. 73) ; 
 " G. cuneata, Graceful Ground-dove" 
 
 (pi. 74). 
 
 Ground-Lark, n. (i) In New 
 Zealand, a bird also called by the 
 Maori names, Pihoihoi and Hioi. 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 63 : 
 
 " Anthus NovaZelandice, Gray, New
 
 GRO-GUI/1 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 177 
 
 Zealand Pipit ; Ground-Lark of the 
 Colonists." 
 
 (2) In Australia, the Australian 
 Pipit (Anthus australis) is also 
 called a Ground-lark. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iii. pi. 73 : 
 
 " Anthus Australis, Vig. and Horsf., 
 Australian Pipit. The Pipits, like 
 many other of the Australian birds, 
 are exceedingly perplexing." 
 
 Ground-Parrakeet, n. See 
 Parrakeet and Pezoporus. 
 
 Ground- Parrot, n. (i) The 
 bird Psittacus- pulchellus, Shaw. 
 For the Ground-parrot of New 
 Zealand, see Kakapo. 
 
 1793. G. Shaw, ' Zoology [and Botany] 
 of New Holland,' p. 10: 
 
 " Long-tailed green Parrot, spotted 
 with black and yellow, . . . the Ground 
 Parrot." 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Trans- 
 actions of Linnsean Society,' vol. xv. p. 
 278: 
 
 " The settlers call it ground-parrot. 
 It feeds upon the ground." 
 
 Ibid. p. 286 : 
 
 " What is called the ground-parrot 
 at Sydney inhabits the scrub in that 
 neighbourhood." 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, ' Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 p. 298 : 
 
 " The ground-parrot, green, with 
 mottlings of gold and black, rose like 
 a partridge from the heather, and flew 
 low." 
 
 (2) Slang name for a small 
 farmer. See Cockatoo, . (2). 
 
 Ground-Thrush, ;/. name of 
 birds found all over the world. 
 The Australian species are 
 
 Geocincla lunuiata, Lath. 
 Broadbent Ground-Thrush 
 
 G. cuneata. 
 Large-billed G. 
 
 G. macrorhyncha, Gould. 
 Russet-tailed G. 
 
 G. heinii, Cab. 
 
 Grub, v. to clear (ground) of the 
 roots. To grub has long been 
 
 English for to dig up by the roots. 
 It is Australian to apply the word 
 not to the tree but to the land. 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, ' My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 185 : 
 
 "Employed with others in 'grub- 
 bing ' a piece of new land which was 
 heavily timbered." 
 
 1869. Mrs. Meredith, ' Tasmanian Me- 
 mory of 1834,' p. 10 : 
 
 "A bit of land all grubbed and 
 clear 'd too." 
 
 Guana, or Guano, n. i.q. Goanna 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Guard-fish, n. Erroneous spell- 
 ing of Garfish (q.v.). 
 
 Gudgeon, n. The name is given 
 in New South Wales to the fish 
 Eleotris coxii, Krefft, of the family 
 of the Gobies. 
 
 Guitar Plant, a Tasmanian 
 shrub, Lomatia tinctoria, R.Br., 
 N.O. Proteacece. 
 
 Gull, n. common English name 
 for a sea-bird. The Australian spe- 
 cies are 
 
 Long-billed Gull 
 
 Larus longirostris, Masters. 
 Pacific G. 
 
 L. pacificus, Lath. 
 Silver G. 
 
 L. nova-hollandice, Steph. 
 Torres-straits G. 
 
 L. gouldi, Bp. 
 
 Gully, n. a narrow valley. The 
 word is very common in Australia, 
 and is frequently used as a place- 
 name. It is not, however, Austra- 
 lian. Dr. Skeat ('Etymological 
 Dictionary ') says, ' ' a channel worn 
 by water." Curiously enough, 
 his first quotation is from ' Capt. 
 Cook's Third Voyage,' b. iv. c. 4. 
 Skeat adds, ' ' formerly written gul- 
 let : 'It meeteth afterward with 
 another gullet,' i.e. small stream. 
 Holinshed, ' Description of 
 Britain,' c. n : F. goulet, 'a 
 gullet ... a narrow brook or
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GUL-GUM 
 
 deep gutter of water.' (Cotgrave.) 
 Thus the word is the same as 
 gullet." F. goulet is from Latin 
 gula. Gulch is the word used in 
 the Pacific States, especially in 
 California. 
 
 1773. ' Hawkesworth's Voyages,' vol. 
 iii. p. 532 Captain Cook's First Voyage, 
 May 30, 1770 : 
 
 " The deep gullies, which were worn 
 by torrents from the hills." 
 
 1802. D. Collins, 'Account of New 
 South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 214 : 
 
 " A man, in crossing a gully between 
 Sydney and Parramatta, was, in at- 
 tempting to ford it, carried "away by 
 the violence of the torrent, and 
 drowned." 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 17 : 
 " The gums in the gully stand gloomy 
 and stark." 
 
 1867. A. L. Gordon, 'Sea-spray, etc.,' 
 P- 134 : 
 
 " The gullies are deep and the uplands 
 are steep." 
 
 1875. Wood and Lapham, ' Waiting for 
 the Mail,' p. 16 : 
 
 "The terrible blasts that rushed 
 down the narrow gully, as if through a 
 funnel." 
 
 Gully-raker, n. a long whip. 
 
 1881. A C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 40 : 
 
 " The driver appealing occasionally 
 to some bullock or other by name, 
 following up his admonition by a 
 sweeping cut of his ' gully-raker,' and a 
 report like a musket-shot." 
 
 Gum, or Gum-tree, n. the 
 popular name for any tree of the 
 various species of Eucalyptus. 
 The word Gum is also used in its 
 ordinary English sense of exuded 
 sap of certain trees and shrubs, as 
 e.g. Wattle-gum (q.v.) in Australia, 
 and Kauri-gum (q.v.) in New Zea- 
 land. In America, the gum-tree 
 usually means " the Liquidambar 
 styraciflua, favourite haunt of the 
 opossum and the racoon, whence 
 the proverbial possum up a gum- 
 tree."" ('Current Americanisms,' 
 s.v. Gum.) 
 
 The names of the various Aus- 
 tralian Gum-trees are as follows 
 
 Apple Gum, or Apple-scented 
 Gum 
 
 Eucalyptus stuartiana, F. v. M. 
 Bastard G. 
 
 E.gunnii, Hook. 
 Bastard Blue G. 
 
 E. leucoxylon, F. v. M. (South 
 
 Australia). 
 Bastard White G. 
 
 E. gunnii, Hook. (South Aus- 
 tralia) ; 
 
 E. radiata (Tasmania). 
 Black G. 
 
 E. stellulata, Sieb. 
 Black-butted G. 
 
 E. pillularis, Smith (Victoria) ; 
 
 E. regnans, F. v. M. (New South 
 
 Wales). See Blackbutt. 
 Blue G. [see also Blue-Guni\ 
 
 E. botryoides. Smith, (New South 
 Wales) ; 
 
 E. diversicolor y F. v. M. [Karri]; 
 
 E. globulus, Labill. ; 
 
 E. goniocalyx, F. v. M. ; 
 
 E. leucoxylon, F. v. M. (South 
 Australia) [Ironbark] ; 
 
 E. saligna. Smith ; 
 
 E. tereticornis , Smith ; 
 
 E. viminalis, Labill. (West New 
 
 South Wales). 
 Botany Bay G. 
 
 E. resinifera, Smith. 
 Brittle G. 
 
 E. hczmastoma, Smith ; 
 
 E. micrantha, Smith. 
 Brown G. 
 
 E. robusta, Smith. 
 Cabbage G. 
 
 E. sieberiana, F. v. M. (Braid- 
 wood, New South Wales). 
 Cider G. 
 
 E. gunnii, Hook. (Tasmania). 
 Citron-scented G. 
 
 E. maculata, Hook. 
 Creek G. 
 
 E. rostrata, Schlecht (West New 
 South Wales).
 
 GUM] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 179 
 
 Curly White G. 
 
 E. radiata (Tasmania). 
 Dark Red G. 
 
 E. rostrata, Schlecht. 
 Desert G. 
 
 E. eudesmoides, F. v. M. (Cen- 
 tral Australia) ; 
 E. gracilis, F. v. M. 
 Drooping- G. 
 
 E. pauciflora, Sieb. (Drooping 
 Gum in Tasmania is E. ris- 
 doni, Hook., N.O. Myrtacea ; 
 the tree is peculiar to Tas- 
 mania) ; 
 E. viminalis, Labill. (New South 
 
 Wales). 
 Flood, or Flooded G. 
 
 E. gunnii, Hook. (Bombala, 
 
 New South Wales) ; 
 E. microtheca, F. v. M. (Carpen- 
 taria and Central Australia) ; 
 E. rostrata, Schlecht ; 
 E. saligna, Smith ; 
 E. tereticornis, Smith (New 
 
 South Wales). 
 Fluted G. 
 
 E. salubris, F. v. M. 
 Forest G. 
 
 E. rostrata, Schlecht (South 
 
 Australia). 
 Giant G. 
 
 E. amygdalina, Labill. 
 Gimlet G. 
 
 E, salubris, F. v. M. 
 Green G. 
 
 E. stellulata, Sieb. (East Gipps- 
 
 land). 
 Grey G. 
 
 E. crebra, F. v. M. ; 
 E. goniocalyx, F. v. M. (New 
 South Wales, east of Divid- 
 ing range) ; 
 E. punctata, De C. (South Coast 
 
 of New South Wales) ; 
 E. raveretiana, F. v. M ; 
 E. resinifera, Smith ; 
 E. saligna, Smith (New South 
 
 Wales) ; 
 
 E. tereticornis, Smith (New 
 South Wales) ; 
 
 E. viminalis ^ Labill (Sydney) ; 
 Honey-scented G. 
 
 E. melliodora, Cunn. 
 Iron G. 
 
 E. raveretiana, F. v. M. 
 Lemon-scented, or Lemon G. 
 
 E. citriodora, Hook. f. 
 Lead G. 
 
 E. stellulata, Cunn. 
 Mallee G. 
 
 E. dumosa (generally called 
 
 simply Mallee, q.v.). 
 Mountain G. 
 
 E. tereticornis, Smith (South New 
 
 South Wales). 
 Mountain White G. 
 
 E.pauciflora, Sieb. (Blue Moun- 
 tains). 
 Nankeen G. 
 
 E. populifolia, Hook. (Northern 
 
 Australia). 
 Olive Green G. 
 
 E. stellulata, Cunn. (Leichhardt's 
 
 name). 
 Pale Red G. 
 
 E. rostrata, Schlecht. 
 Peppermint G. 
 
 E. viminalis, Labill. 
 Poplar-leaved G. 
 
 E. polyanthema, Schau. 
 Red G. 
 
 E. amygdalina, Labill. (Vic- 
 toria) ; 
 
 E. calophylla, R. Br. ; 
 
 E. gunnii, Hook. (Bombala) ; 
 
 E. melliodora, Cunn. (Victoria) ; 
 
 E. odorata, Behr (South Aus- 
 tralia) ; 
 
 E. punctata, De C. ; 
 
 E. resinifera, Smith ; 
 
 E. rostrata, Schlecht ; 
 
 E. stuartiana, F. v. M. (Tas- 
 mania) ; 
 
 E. tereticornis, Smith (New 
 
 South Wales). 
 Ribbon G. 
 
 E. amygdalina, Labill. 
 Ribbony G. 
 
 E, viminalis, Labill.
 
 i8o 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GUM 
 
 Risdon G. 
 
 E. amygdalina, Labill. 
 River G. 
 
 E. rostrata, Schlecht (New South 
 Wales, Queensland, and Cen- 
 tral Australia). 
 River White G. 
 
 E. radiata. 
 Rough-barked, or Rough G. 
 
 E. botryoides, Smith (Illawarra). 
 Rusty G. 
 
 E. eximia, Schau. 
 Scribbly G. 
 
 E. hamastoma, Smith. 
 Scribbly Blue G. 
 
 E. leucoxylon, F. v. M. (South 
 
 Australia). 
 Scrub G. 
 
 E. cosmophylla, F. v. M. 
 Slaty G. 
 
 E. saligna, Smith (New South 
 Wales) ; 
 
 E. tereticornis, Smith (New South 
 Wales and Queensland) ; 
 
 E. largiflorens, F. v. M. 
 Spotted G. 
 
 E. capitellata, Smith (New Eng- 
 land) ; 
 
 E. goniocalyx, F. v. M. ; 
 
 E. hamastoma, Smith ; 
 
 E. maculata, Hook. 
 Sugar G. 
 
 E. corynocalyx, F. v. M. ; 
 
 E. gunnii, Hook. 
 Swamp G. 
 
 E. gunnii, Hook. ; 
 
 E. microtheca, F. v. M. ; 
 
 E. pauriflora, Sieb. ; 
 
 E. viminalis, Labill. (Tasmania). 
 Weeping G. 
 
 E. pauciflora, Sieb. (Tasmania); 
 
 E. viminalis, Labill. (New South 
 
 Wales). 
 White G. 
 
 E. amygdalina, Labill. ; 
 
 E. gomphocephala, De C. (West- 
 ern Australia) ; 
 
 E. goniocalyx, F. v. M. ; 
 
 E. hamastoma, Smith ; 
 
 E. hemiphloia, F. v. M. (Sydney); 
 
 E. leucoxylon, F. v. M. (South 
 Australia) ; 
 
 E. pauciflora, Sieb. ; 
 
 E. populifolia, Hook. (Queens- 
 land) ; 
 
 E. radiata (New South Wales); 
 
 E. redunca, Schau. (Western 
 Australia) ; 
 
 E. robusta, Schlecht. (South 
 Australia) ; 
 
 E. saligna, Smith (New South 
 Wales) ; 
 
 E. stellulata, Cunn. ; 
 
 E. stuartiana, F.v.M. (Victoria); 
 
 E. "viminalis, Labill. 
 White Swamp G. 
 
 E. gunnii, Hook. (South Aus- 
 tralia). 
 Yellow G. 
 
 E. punctata, De C. 
 York G.- 
 
 E. fcecunda, Schau. (Western 
 Australia). 
 
 This list has been compiled by 
 collating many authorities. But 
 the following note on Eucalyptus 
 amygdalina(from Maiden's ' Useful 
 Native Plants,' p. 429) will illus- 
 trate the difficulty of assigning 
 the vernacular names with abso- 
 lute accuracy to the multitudinous 
 species of Eucalyptus 
 
 " Eucalyptus amygdalina, Labill., 
 Syn. E. fissilis, F. v. M. ; E. radiata, 
 Sieb.; E. data, Dehn. ; E. tenuiramis, 
 Miq.; E. nitida, Hook, f.; E. longi- 
 folia, Lindl. ; E. Lindleyana, DC. ; 
 and perhaps E. Risdoni, Hook, f. ; E. 
 dives, Schauer. This Eucalypt has 
 even more vernacular names than bo- 
 tanical synonyms. It is one of the 
 -Peppermint Trees' (and variously 
 ' Narrow-leaved Peppermint,' ' Brown 
 Peppermint,' 'White Peppermint,' and 
 sometimes ' Dandenong Peppermint '), 
 and ' Mountain Ashes ' of the Dande- 
 nong Ranges of Victoria, and also of 
 Tasmania and Southern New South 
 Wales. It is also called ' Giant Gum ' 
 and ' White Gum.' In Victoria it is 
 one of the ' Red Gums.' It is one of 
 the New South Wales ' Stringybarks,'
 
 CUM] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 181 
 
 and a ' Manna Gum.' Because it is 
 allied to, or associated with, ' Stringy- 
 bark,' it is also known by the name of 
 'Messmate.' . . . A variety of this gum 
 {E. radiata) is called in New South 
 Wales ' White Gum ' or ' River White 
 Gum.' ... A variety of E. amygdalina 
 growing in the south coast district of 
 New South Wales, goes by the name 
 of ' Ribbon Gum,' in allusion to the 
 very thin, easily detachable, smooth 
 bark. This is also E. radiata prob- 
 ably. A further New South Wales 
 variety goes by the name of ' Cut-tail ' 
 in the Braidwood district. The author 
 has been unable to ascertain the mean- 
 ing of this absurd designation. These 
 varieties are, several of them, quite 
 different in leaves, bark, and timber, 
 and there is no species better than the 
 present one to illustrate the danger in 
 attempting to fit botanical names on 
 Eucalypts when only the vernacular 
 names are known." 
 
 Various other trees not of the 
 genus Eucalyptus are also some- 
 times popularly called Gums, such 
 as, for instance 
 
 Broad-leaved Water Gum 
 
 Tristania suavolens, Smith. 
 Orange G. 
 
 Angophora lanceolata, Cave. 
 Water G. 
 
 Callistemon lanceolatus, DeC. 
 
 Tristania laurina, R. Br. 
 
 T. neriifolia, R. Br. 
 And others. 
 
 In addition to this, poets and 
 descriptive writers sometimes 
 apply epithets, chiefly denoting 
 colour or other outward appear- 
 ance, which are not names of dis- 
 tinct species, such as Cinnamon, 
 Morrell, Salmon, Cable, Silver, etc. 
 [See quotation under Silver GumJ\ 
 
 1642. Abel Tasman, 'Journal of the 
 Voyage to the Unknown Southland' 
 {Translation by J. B. Walker in 'Abel J. 
 Tasman : His Life, etc.' 1896) : 
 
 [Under date Dec. 2, 1642, after de- 
 scribing the trees at Fredrik Hendrik's 
 Bay (now Blackman's Bay, Forestier's 
 Peninsula, Tasmania) 2 to 2^ fathoms 
 thick, 60 to 65 feet to the first branch, 
 
 and with steps 5 feet apart cut in them, 
 Tasman says that they found] " a little 
 gum, fine in appearance, which drops 
 out of the trees, and has a resemblance 
 to gum lac (gomma lacca)." 
 
 1770. ' Captain Cook's Journal ' (ed. 
 Wharton, 1893), P- 245 : 
 
 "May ist. We found two sorts of 
 gum, one sort of which is like gum 
 dragon, and is the same, I suppose, 
 Tasman took for gum lac ; it is ex- 
 tracted from the largest tree in the 
 woods. 
 
 "May 6th. The biggest trees are 
 as large or larger than our oaks in 
 England, and grow a good deal like 
 them, and yield a reddish gum ; the 
 wood itself is heavy, hard, and black 
 like Lignum vitoe? 
 
 1788. Governor Phillip (Despatch, May 
 15) in ' Historical Records of New South 
 Wales, vol. i. pt. ii. p. 1 28 : 
 
 " What seeds could be collected are 
 sent to Sir Joseph Banks, as likewise 
 the red gum taken from the large gum- 
 tree by tapping, and the yellow gum 
 which is found on the dwarf palm-tree." 
 
 1789. Captain Watkin Tench, ' Narra- 
 tive of the Expedition to Botany Bay,' p. 
 119: 
 
 " The species of trees are few, and 
 . . . the wood universally of so bad a 
 grain, as almost to preclude the possi- 
 bility of using it. ... These trees 
 yield a profusion of thick red gum (not 
 unlike the Sanguis draconis)" 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales,' p. 231 : 
 
 "The red gum-tree, Eucalyptus 
 resinifera. This is a very large and 
 lofty tree, much exceeding the English 
 oak in size." 
 
 1793. Governor Hunter, ' Voyage,' p. 
 69: 
 
 " I have likewise seen trees bearing 
 three different kinds of leaves, and 
 frequently have found others, bearing 
 the leaf of the gum-tree, with the gum 
 exuding from it, and covered with bark 
 of a very different kind." 
 
 1820. W. C. Wentworth, ' Description 
 of New South Wales,' p. 66 : 
 
 "Full-sized gums and iron barks, 
 alongside of which the loftiest trees in 
 this country would appear as pigmies, 
 with the beefwood tree, or, as it is
 
 182 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GUM 
 
 generally termed, the forest oak, which 
 is of much humbler growth, are the 
 usual timber." 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 200 : 
 
 "The gum-trees are so designated 
 as a body from producing a gummy 
 resinous matter, while the peculiarities 
 of the bark usually fix the particular 
 names of the species thus the blue, 
 spotted, black-butted, and woolly gums 
 are so nominated from the correspond- 
 ing appearance of their respective 
 barks ; the red and white gums, from 
 their wood ; and the flooded gums 
 from growing in flooded land." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. II. c. iii. p. 108 : 
 
 "The silvery stems of the never- 
 failing gum-trees." 
 
 1857. H. Parkes, 'Murmurs of Stream,' 
 p. 56: 
 
 "Where now the hermit gum-tree 
 stands on the plain's heart." 
 
 1864. J. S. Moore, ' Spring Life Lyrics,' 
 P- "4 = 
 
 " Amid grand old gums, dark cedars 
 and pines." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' c. xiii. p. 209 : 
 
 " The eternal gum-tree has become 
 to me an Australian crest, giving evi- 
 dence of Australian ugliness. The 
 gum-tree is ubiquitous, and is not the 
 loveliest, though neither is it by any 
 means the ugliest, of trees." 
 
 1877. F. v. Mtiller, ' Botanic Teachings,' 
 p. 7: 
 
 "The vernacular name of gum-trees 
 for the eucalypts is as unaptly given 
 as that of most others of our native 
 plants, on which popular appellations 
 have been bestowed. Indeed our 
 wattles might far more appropriately 
 be called gum-trees than the eucalypts, 
 because the former exude a real gum 
 (in the chemical meaning of the word); 
 whereas the main exudation from the 
 stems and branches of all eucalypts 
 hardens to a kino-like substance, con- 
 tains a large proportion of a particular 
 tannin (kino-tannic acid), and is to a 
 great extent or entirely soluble in alco- 
 hol, thus very different from genuine 
 gum."~ 
 
 1884. R. L. A. Davies, ' Poems and 
 Literary Remains",' p. 176 : 
 
 u Golden, 'mid a sunlit forest, 
 Stood the grand Titanic forms 
 Of the conquerors of storms ; 
 Stood the gums, as if inspired, 
 Every branch and leaflet fired 
 
 With the glory of the sun, 
 In golden robes attired, 
 A grand priesthood of the sun." 
 
 1889. P. Beveridge, ' Aborigines of Vic- 
 toria and Riverina,' p. 6l : 
 
 " Nearly all the eucalyptus species 
 exude gum, which the natives utilise 
 in the fabrication of their various 
 weapons as Europeans do glue. The 
 myall and mimosa also exude gum; 
 these the natives prefer before all other 
 kinds when obtainable, they being less 
 brittle and more adhesive than any of 
 the others." 
 
 1891. 'Guide to Zoological Gardens, 
 Melbourne ' : 
 
 " This is an exact representation of 
 the camps which were scattered over 
 the country not more than fifty years 
 ago, and inhabited by the original 
 lords of the soil. The beautiful she- 
 oak and red-gum forest that used to 
 clothe the slopes of Royal Park was 
 a very favourite camping-ground of 
 theirs, as the gum-tree was their most 
 regular source of food supply. The 
 hollows of this tree contained the sleek 
 and sleepy opossum, waiting to be 
 dragged forth to the light of day and 
 despatched by a blow on the head. 
 It was to the honey-laden blossoms of 
 this tree that the noisy cockatoos and 
 parrots used to flock. Let the kan- 
 garoo be wary and waterfowl shy, but 
 whilst he had his beloved gum-tree, 
 little cared the light-hearted black." 
 
 1892. 'The Times,' [Reprint] 'Letters 
 from Queensland,' p. 2 : 
 
 " The immense extent of gum-trees 
 stretches indefinitely, blotting out the 
 conception of anything but its own 
 lightly-timbered pasture. It has not 
 even the gloom and impressiveness 
 which we associate in England with 
 the name of forest land, for the trees 
 are thinly scattered, their long leaves 
 hang vertically from the branches, and 
 sunlight filters through with sufficient 
 force to promote the growth of the 
 tussocked grass beneath. The whole
 
 GUM] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 183 
 
 would be indescribably commonplace, 
 but that the vastness becomes at last 
 by its own force impressive." 
 
 The following quotations illus- 
 trate special uses of the word in 
 composition. 
 
 Apple Gum 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 283 : 
 
 "On the small flats the apple-gum 
 grew." 
 
 Ibid. c. viii. p. 264 : 
 
 "Another Eucalyptus with a scaly 
 butt . . . but with smooth upper trunk 
 and cordate ovate leaves, which was 
 also new to me ; we called it the Apple- 
 gum." 
 
 Blue Gum 
 
 1802. D. Collins, 'Account of New 
 South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 235 : 
 
 " The blue gum, she-oak, and cherry- 
 tree of Port Jackson were common 
 here." 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' VanDiemen's Land,' 
 p. 22 : 
 
 " The Blue Gum is found in greater 
 abundance ; it is a loose-grained heavy 
 wood." 
 
 1851. James Mitchell, ' Proceedings of 
 the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' 
 p. 125 : 
 
 " The name blue gum appears to 
 have been derived from the bluish 
 gray colour of the whole plant in the 
 earliest stages of its growth, which is 
 occasioned by a covering of dust or 
 bloom similar to that upon the sloe or 
 damson." 
 
 1884. R. L. A. Davies, 'Poems and 
 Literary Remains,' p. 199 : 
 
 " I love to see the blue gums stand 
 
 Majestically tall ; 
 The giants of our southern woods, 
 The loftiest of all." 
 
 Black-butted Gum 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, ' Southern Australia,' vol. 
 II. c. viii. p. 236 : 
 
 "One species . . . resembling 
 strongly the black-butted gum." 
 
 Cable Gum 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. II. c. iv. p. 132 : 
 
 " Cable-gum . . . like several stems 
 twisted together, abundant in interior." 
 
 Cider Gum (or Cider Tree) 
 
 1830. Ross, 'Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 119: 
 
 " That species of eucalyptus called 
 the cider tree, from its exuding a 
 quantity of saccharine liquid resem- 
 bling molasses. Streaks of it were to 
 be seen dripping down the bark in 
 various parts, which we tasted, and 
 found very palatable. The natives 
 have a method at the proper season of 
 grinding holes in the tree, from which 
 the sweet juice flows plentifully, and is 
 collected in a hole at the root. We 
 saw some of these covered up with a 
 flat stone, doubtless to prevent the 
 wild animals from coming to drink 
 it. When allowed to remain some 
 time, and to ferment, it settles into a 
 coarse sort of wine or cider, rather 
 intoxicating." 
 
 Cinnamon Gum 
 
 1893. ' Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 
 19, p. 7, col. i : 
 
 " A forest only fit for urban gnomes 
 these twisted trunks. Here are no 
 straight and lofty trees, but sprawling 
 cinnamon gums, their skin an unpleas- 
 ing livid red, pock-marked ; saplings 
 in white and chilly grey, bleeding gum 
 in ruddy stains, and fire-black boles 
 and stumps to throw the greenery into 
 bright relief." 
 
 Drooping Gum 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. II. c. xii. p. 387 : 
 
 " The trees, which grew only in the 
 valleys, were small kinds of banksia, 
 wattles and drooping gums." 
 
 Flooded Gum 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 7 : 
 
 " Large flooded gum-trees (but no 
 casuarinas) at the low banks of the 
 lagoons." 
 
 Lemon-scented Gum 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a Na- 
 turalist,' p. 265 : 
 
 " Among the Eucalypti or gum-trees 
 growing in New South Wales, a species 
 named the lemon-scented gum-tree, 
 Eucalyptus citriodora, is peculiar to 
 the Wide Bay district, in the northern 
 part of the colony."
 
 1 84 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GUM 
 
 Mountain Gum 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, ' Southern Australia,' vol. 
 I. c. iii. p. 118 : 
 
 " The cypresses became mixed with 
 casuarina, box and mountain-gum." 
 
 Red Gum [see also Red-gum} 
 
 1802. G. Harrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. xi. p. 461 : 
 
 "The red gum-tree. This is a 
 very large and lofty tree, much exceed- 
 ing the English oak in size." 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, 'Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 33 : 
 
 " Red gum, a wood which has of late 
 years been exported to England in 
 great quantities ; it has all the proper- 
 ties of mahogany." 
 
 1868. W. Carleton, ' Australian Nights,' 
 p. 14: 
 
 " While she, the younger, went to fill 
 Her red-gum pitcher at the rill." 
 
 1870. J. O. Tucker, 'The Mute,' etc., 
 p. 85: 
 
 " Then the dark savage 'neath the red 
 
 gum's shade 
 Told o'er his deeds." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 14, p. 4, col. I : 
 " Those of the leaden hue are red 
 gums." 
 
 Rough_Gum 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, ' Southern Australia,' vol. 
 I. c. iii. p. 118 : 
 
 " The rough-gum abounded near the 
 creek." 
 
 Rusty Gum 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 48 : 
 
 "The range was openly timbered 
 with white gum, spotted gum, Iron- 
 bark, rusty gum and the cypress pine." 
 
 Salmon Gum 
 
 1893. 'The Australasian," Aug. 3, p. 
 252, col. 4 : 
 
 " The chief descriptions are salmon, 
 morrel and white gums, and gimlet- 
 wood. The bark of the salmon gum 
 approaches in colour to a rich golden 
 brown, but the satin-like sheen on it 
 has the effect of making it several 
 shades lighter, and in the full glare of 
 the sun it is sufficiently near a rich 
 salmon tint to justify its name." 
 
 Silver Gum 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs," 
 p. 113: 
 
 "When so many of our Australian 
 trees were named 'gums,' a distin- 
 guishing prefix for each variety was 
 clearly necessary, and so the words red, 
 blue, yellow, white and scarlet, as 
 marking some particular trait in the 
 tree, have come into everyday use. 
 Had the pioneer bush botanist seen at 
 least one of those trees at a certain 
 stage in its growth, the term ' silver 
 gum ' would have found expression." 
 
 Spotted Gum 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. II : 
 
 " Ironbark ridges here and there 
 with spotted gum . . . diversified the 
 sameness." 
 
 Swamp Gum 
 
 1853. ' Papers and Proceedings of the 
 Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' 
 vol. ii. p. 132 [James Mitchell, On the 
 Strength of Timber, etc., read Nov. 12, 
 1851]: 
 
 "The Swamp Gum grows to the 
 largest size of any of this family in Van 
 Diemen's Land. Its growth is nearly 
 twice as rapid as that of the Blue Gum : 
 the annular layers are sometimes very 
 large ; but the bark, and the whole 
 tree indeed, is so like the Blue Gum, 
 as not to be easily distinguished from 
 it in outward appearance. It grows 
 best in moist places, which may prob- 
 ably have given rise to its name. Some 
 extraordinary dimensions have been 
 recorded of trees of this species. I 
 lately measured an apparently sound 
 one, and found it 21 feet in circumfer- 
 ence at 8 feet from the ground, and 
 87 feet to the first branches. Another 
 was 18^ feet in circumference at 10 
 feet from the ground, and 213 feet to 
 the highest branch or extreme top. 
 A third reached the height of 251 feet 
 to the highest branch : but I am told 
 that these are pigmies compared to 
 the giants of even the Blue Gum species 
 found in the southern districts." 
 
 1880. Garnet Walch, ' Victoria in 1880,' 
 p. loo: 
 
 " Groups of native trees, including 
 the black wattle, silver box, messmate,
 
 GUM] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 185 
 
 stringy bark, and the picturesque but 
 less useful swamp gum." 
 
 Water Gum 
 
 1847. L. Leichhhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 387 : 
 
 " Long hollows surrounded with 
 drooping tea-trees and the white water- 
 gums." 
 
 Weeping Gum 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, 'My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 169 : 
 
 "A kind of Eucalyptus, with long 
 drooping leaves, called the ' Weeping 
 Gum,' is the most elegant of the 
 family." 
 
 White Gum 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Transac- 
 tions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 278 : 
 
 " The natives tell me that it [the 
 ground-parrot] chiefly breeds in a 
 stump of a small White Gum-tree." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 48 : 
 
 "The range was openly timbered 
 with white gum." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 471 : 
 
 " E. leucoxylon, F. v. M. The ' blue 
 or white gum ' of South Australia and 
 Victoria is a gum-tree with smooth 
 bark and light-coloured wood (hence 
 the specific name). The flowers and 
 fruit of E. leucoxylon are very similar 
 to those of E. sideroxylon, and in this 
 way two trees have been placed under 
 one name which are really quite dis- 
 tinct. Baron Mueller points out that 
 there are two well-marked varieties 
 of E. leucoxylon in Victoria. That 
 known as ' white-gum ' has the greater 
 portion of the stem pale and smooth 
 through the outer layers of the bark 
 falling off. The variety known chiefly 
 as the ' Victorian Ironbark,' retains 
 the whole bark on the stem, thus 
 becoming deeply fissured and furrowed, 
 and very hard and dark coloured." 
 
 Yellow Gum 
 
 1848. T. L. Mitchell, 'Tropical Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 107 : 
 
 " We this day passed a small group 
 of trees of the yellow gum, a species 
 of eucalyptus growing only on the poor 
 sandy soil near Botany Bay, and other 
 parts of the sea-coast near Sydney." 
 
 York Gum 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. II. c. iv. p. 132 : 
 
 " York gum . . . abundant in York 
 on good soil." 
 
 Gum- (In Composition). See 
 Gum. 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 134 : 
 
 " I said to myself in the gum- 
 shadowed glen." 
 
 1868. W. L. Carleton, 'Australian 
 Nights,' p. I : 
 
 " To see the gum-log flaming bright 
 Its welcome beacon through the 
 
 night." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' August 2,p. 4, col. 3 : 
 " Make a bit of a shelter also. You 
 can always do it with easily-got gum- 
 boughs." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xvii. p. 201 : 
 
 " The edge of the long, black, gum- 
 shrouded lagoon." 
 
 Gummy, n. name given to a 
 shark of Victorian and Tasmanian 
 waters, Mustelus antareticus, 
 Giinth., and called Hound (q.v.) 
 in New South Wales, Victoria, 
 and New Zealand. The word 
 Gummy is said to come from the 
 small numerous teeth, arranged 
 like a pavement, so different from 
 the sharp erect teeth of most 
 other sharks. The word Hound 
 is the Old World name for all 
 the species of the genus Mustelus. 
 This fish, says Hutton, is much 
 eaten by the Maoris. 
 
 Gum-sucker, n. slang for Vic- 
 torian-born, not now much used ; 
 but it is not always limited to 
 Victorians. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 201 : 
 
 "The acacias are the common 
 wattles of this country ; from their 
 trunks and branches clear transparent 
 beads of the purest Arabian gum are 
 seen suspended in the dry spring 
 weather, which our young currency 
 bantlings eagerly search after and re- 
 gale themselves with."
 
 1 86 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GUN 
 
 [The practice of 'gum-sucking' is 
 here noticed, though the word does not 
 occur.] 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, 'Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 24 : 
 
 " If he had not been too 'cute to be 
 bitten twice by the over-'cute 'gum- 
 suckers,' as the native Victorians are 
 called." 
 
 1890. ' Quiz ' (Adelaide), Dec. 26 : 
 
 " Quiz will take good care that the 
 innocent Australians are not fooled 
 without a warning. Really L. and his 
 accomplices must look upon gum- 
 suckers as being pretty soft." 
 
 Gunyah, n. aboriginal name for 
 a black-fellow's hut, roughly con- 
 structed of boughs and bark ; ap- 
 plied also to other forms of shelter. 
 The spelling varies greatly : in 
 Col. Mundy's book (1855) there 
 are no fewer than four forms. 
 See Humpy and Gibber. What 
 Leichhardt saw (see quotation 
 1847) was very remarkable. 
 
 1798. D. Collins, ' Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' in an abori- 
 ginal vocabulary of Port Jackson, p. 610 : 
 
 " Go-nie a hut." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 70 : 
 
 " One of their gunyers (bark huts)." 
 
 Ibid. p. 171 : 
 
 "A native encampment, consisting 
 of eight or ten ' gunyers.' This is the 
 native term for small huts, which are 
 supported by three forked sticks (about 
 three feet long) brought together at the 
 top in a triangular form : the two sides 
 towards the wind are covered by long 
 sheets of bark, the third is always left 
 open to the wind." 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, 'Southern Australia,' 
 vol. I. c. ii. p. 78 : 
 
 " We observed a fresh-made gun- 
 neah (or native hut)." 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions into the Interior of Eastern Australia,' 
 c. ii. p. 35 : 
 
 " Three huts, or gunyahs, consisted 
 of a few green boughs, which had just 
 been put up for shelter from the rain 
 then falling." 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, ' Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 10 : 
 
 "Their only habitation ... is 
 formed by two sheets of bark stripped 
 from the nearest tree, at the first 
 appearance of a storm, and joined 
 together at an angle of 45 degrees. 
 This, which they call a gunnya, is cut 
 up for firewood when the storm has 
 passed." 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 238 : 
 
 " Behind appears a large piece of 
 wood hooded like a ' gunyia ' or 
 ' umpee.' " 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 290 : 
 
 "We saw a very interesting camping 
 place of the natives, containing several 
 two-storied gunyas." 
 
 1852. ' Settlers and Convicts ; or, Re- 
 collections of Sixteen Years' Labour in the 
 Australian Backwoods,' p. 211 : 
 
 " I coincided in his opinion that it 
 would be best for us to camp for the 
 night in one of the ghibber-gunyahs. 
 These are the hollows under over- 
 hanging rocks." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes,' 
 ed. 1855, p. 164 : 
 
 "A sloping sheet of bark turned 
 from the wind in bush lingo, a break- 
 weather or in guneeahs of boughs 
 thatched with grass." [p. 200] : " Gun- 
 eah." [p. 558] : "Gunneah." [p. 606] : 
 "Gunyah." 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 114 [Footnote] : 
 
 " The name given by the natives to 
 the burrow or habitation of any animals 
 is 'guniar,' and the same word is 
 applied to our houses." 
 
 1880. P. J. Holdsworth, ' Station Hunt- 
 ing': 
 
 "hunger clung 
 
 Beneath the bough-piled gunyah." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' p. 
 19: 
 
 " The sleepy blacks came out of 
 their gunyahs." [p. 52]: "A gunya of 
 branches." 
 
 1890. Lyth, ' Golden South,' c. ii. p. 16 : 
 
 " Where this beautiful building now 
 stands, there were only the gunyahs 
 or homes of the poor savages." 
 
 1890. A. J. Vogan, ' Black Police,' p. 
 98: 
 
 " One of the gunyahs on the hill. 
 . . . The hut, which is exactly like all
 
 GUN-GUT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 187 
 
 the others in the group, and for the 
 matter of that all within two or three 
 hundred miles, is built of sticks, 
 which have been stuck into the ground 
 at the radius of a common centre, and 
 then bent over so as to form an egg- 
 shaped cage, which is substantially 
 thatched on top and sides with herb- 
 age and mud." 
 
 Gunyang, n. the aboriginal 
 word for the Kangaroo Apple (q.v.), 
 though the name is more strictly 
 applied not to Solanum aviculare, 
 but to S. vescum. 
 
 1877. F - von Miiller, 'Botanic Teach- 
 ings,' p. 106 : 
 
 " The similarity of both [S. vescum 
 and S. aviculare] to each other forbids 
 to recommend the fruit of the Gunyang 
 as edible." 
 
 1878. W. R. Guilfoyle, 'Australian 
 Botany,' p. 73 : 
 
 " Kangaroo Apple, Solanum avicu- 
 lare . . . The Gunyang {Solanum ves- 
 cum} is another variety found in Vic- 
 toria." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 222 : 
 
 "A couple of tiny streams trickle 
 across the plains to the sea, a dwarfed 
 ti-tree, clinging low about the ground, 
 like the gunyang or kangaroo apple, 
 borders the banks." 
 
 Gurnard, n. i.q. Gurnet (q.v.). 
 
 Gurnet, n. The species of 
 Trigla found in British waters, 
 called Gurnards are of the family 
 of Cottidcz. The word Gurnet is 
 an obsolete or provincial form of 
 Gurnard, revived in Australia, and 
 applied to the fish Centropogon scor- 
 pcenoides, Guich., family Scorpa- 
 nid<z. The original word Gurnard 
 is retained in New Zealand, and 
 applied to the new species Trigla 
 kumu (kumu being the Maori 
 name), family Cottida:, The Flying 
 Gurnet is Trigla polyommata, Rich- 
 ards., found on all the Australian 
 coasts from New South Wales 
 to Western Australia, family 
 Cottidtz. It is a distinct species, 
 
 not included in the British species. 
 They have large pectoral fins, but 
 are not known to possess the 
 power of supporting themselves 
 in the air like the " flying fish " 
 which belong to other genera. 
 Sir Fredk. McCoy says that 
 Sebastes Percoides, Richards., is call- 
 ed Gurnet, or Garnet-perch, by the 
 fishermen and dealers, as well as 
 the more common Neosebastes 
 scorpasnoides, Guich., and Scorpoena 
 panda, Richards. 
 
 Gutter, n. in Australian gold- 
 mining," the lower and auriferous 
 part of the channel of an old 
 river of the Tertiary period " 
 ('Century'). "The lowest portion 
 of a lead. A gutter is filled with 
 auriferous drift or washdirt, which 
 rests on the palaeozoic bed-rock." 
 (Brough Smyth, ' Glossary of 
 Mining Terms.') 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, ' New Rush,' p. 55 : 
 
 "Duffers are so common 
 And golden gutters rare." 
 
 1871. J. J. Simpson, 'Recitations, 'p. 23 : 
 
 " Privations and hardships you all 
 
 have to suffer 
 Ere you can expect to get on to the 
 
 gutter." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. viii. p. 81 : 
 
 " If we happened to drop right down 
 on the ' gutter ' or main course of the 
 lead, we were all right." 
 
 1890. ' GoldfielJs of Victoria,' p. 23 : 
 
 " The Company . . . are putting in 
 a drive to strike the old Shakspeare 
 gutter." 
 
 1891. ' The Australasian,' Nov. 21, p. 
 1015 : 
 
 " Evidently both claims had been 
 driving for a 'gutter.' One of them 
 had got to the end of its tether before 
 reaching it." 
 
 Gutter-flags, n. ' ' Flags fixed on 
 the surface to denote where the 
 course of a gutter or lead under- 
 ground has been discovered."
 
 1 88 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [GWE-GYM 
 
 (Brough Smyth, ' Glossary of 
 Mining Terms.') 
 
 Gweeon, n. a stone tomakawk 
 of the aborigines. Gweh-un, in 
 Mukthang language, Gippsland. 
 Apparently a remnant of a term 
 occurring along the east side of 
 Australia ; Burgoin, New South 
 Wales ; bulgoon and balgon, Burde- 
 kin River, Queensland ; related 
 to balgoungo, to chop. 
 
 Gymnobelideus, n. the scien- 
 tific name of the genus confined 
 to Australia of Squirrel Phalan- 
 gers, or Squirrel Opossums, as they 
 have been called. See Opossum. 
 The name was given by Sir 
 Frederick McCoy in 1867. Only 
 two specimens have been found, 
 
 and they are in the Melbourne 
 Museum of Natural History. 
 There is only one species, G. lead- 
 beateri, M'Coy. In general form 
 they resemble the so-called Aus- 
 tralian Flying-Squirrel (f\.v.), save 
 for the absence of the parachute. 
 They have large naked ears. 
 (Grk. yv/Avo's, naked, and Latin, 
 belideus, the Flying-Phalanger or 
 Squirrel.) 
 
 Gymnorrhina, n. the scientific 
 name of the Australian genus of 
 Piping Crow-Shrikes, called locally 
 by the vernacular name of Mag- 
 pies (q.v.). They have the nostrils 
 and beak unfeathered. (Grk. 
 yvfivo's, naked, and pi's, nose.) For 
 the species see under Magpie.
 
 HAD-HAK] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 189 
 
 Haddock, n. The New Zealand 
 Haddock is Gadus australis, Hutton, 
 Pseudophyds barbatus, Giinth., and 
 Merlucius gayt, Guich., or australis> 
 Hutton, all belonging to the 
 family Gadidce or Cod-fishes. The 
 European species of Merlucius is 
 known as the " Hake." 
 
 Haeremai, inter/. Maori term of 
 welcome, lit. come hither ; haere 
 is the verb. It has been collo- 
 quially adopted. 
 
 1769. J. Hawkesworth, 'Voyages,' vol. 
 iii. p. 229 (ed. 1785) : 
 
 " When they came near enough to 
 be heard, they waved their hands, and 
 called out ' Horomai.' These ceremo- 
 nies we were told were certain signs 
 of their friendly disposition." 
 
 1832. ' Henry Williams' Journal,' in H. 
 Carleton's ' Life of Henry Williams,' p. 
 112 : 
 
 " After breakfast we went to them 
 all ; they were very glad to see us, and 
 gave us the usual welcome, ' Haeremai ! 
 Haeremai ! ' " 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' p. 249 : 
 
 " As I ascended the steep hill with 
 my train, scarcely any greeting was 
 addressed to me, no shouts of haeremai, 
 so universal a welcome to the stranger, 
 were to be heard." 
 
 1863. F. E. Maning (The Pakeha- 
 Maort), ' Old New Zealand,' p. 14 : 
 
 " The boat nears the shore, and now 
 arises from a hundred voices the call 
 of welcome, ' Haere mai ! haere mai ! 
 hoe mai ! ' Mats, hands, and certain 
 ragged petticoats all waving in the air 
 in sign of welcome. Then a pause. 
 Then, as the boat came nearer, another 
 burst of haere mai ! But unaccustomed 
 as I was then to the Maori salute, I 
 disliked the sound. There was a 
 wailing, melancholy cadence that did 
 
 not strike me as being the appropriate 
 note of welcome." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, ' New Zealand,' 
 (English edition) p. 438 : 
 
 " Rev. Mr. Chapman received me 
 at his garden gate with a hearty wel- 
 come, the natives shouted their friendly 
 ' haeremai,' and ere long we were all 
 in comfortable shelter beneath the 
 missionary's roof." 
 
 1883. F. S. Renwick, 'Betrayed,' p. 
 34 = 
 " Haire mai ho ! 'tis the welcome song 
 
 Rings far on the summer air." 
 
 Hair-trigger, n. a Tasmanian 
 name for any plant of genus 
 Stylidium. Called also Trigger- 
 plant, Sin&Jack in a Box (q.v.). 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, ' My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 71. 
 
 " The Stylidium, or as we named it, 
 the ' Hair-trigger,' is common all over 
 the colony." 
 
 Haka, . Maori word for a 
 dance. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' p. 198 : 
 
 " A haka was now performed by 
 about one hundred and fifty men and 
 women. They seated themselves in 
 ranks in one of the courtyards of the 
 pa, stripped to the waist. An old 
 chieftainess, who moved along the 
 ranks with regular steps, brandishing 
 an ornamental spear in time to her 
 movements, now recited the first verse 
 of a song in a monotonous, dirge-like 
 measure. This was joined in by the 
 others, who also kept time by quivering 
 their hands and arms, nodding their 
 heads and bending their bodies in 
 accordance with each emphasis and 
 pause." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes,' 
 c. xvi. p. 409 (3rd ed. 1855) : 
 
 " I witnessed a national spectacle
 
 190 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [HAK-HAN 
 
 which was new -to me a sort of in- 
 cantation performed by women alone 
 the haka, I think it is called." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, 'Ranolf,' XV. c. vi. 
 p. 242 : 
 
 " The M6a-dances, where she shone 
 supreme " 
 
 1873. 'Appendix to Journal of House 
 of Representatives,' G. I, B., p. 8: 
 
 " Thursday was passed by them [the 
 natives] in feasting and hakas." 
 
 1883. F. S. Renwick, ' Betrayed,' p. 34 : 
 " A rushing throng in the furious 
 haka share." 
 
 1896. 'Otago Witness,' Jan. 23, p. 50, 
 col. 5 : 
 
 " He also received a visit from three 
 or four hostile natives, who, with 
 blood-curdling yells, duly performed 
 the indispensable haka." 
 
 Hakea, . the scientific name 
 given, in honour of Baron Hake 
 of Hanover, to "a large Austra- 
 lian genus of plants belonging 
 to the follicular section of the 
 Proteacea, tribe Grevillea, and dis- 
 tinguished from Grevillea by its 
 axillary inflorescence and sama- 
 roid seeds. The species, nearly 
 loo in number [Maiden's index 
 to ' Useful Native Plants ' gives 
 sixteen], are all evergreen shrubs, 
 or small trees, with alternate cori- 
 aceous, variously lobed, often 
 spiny leaves. They are orna- 
 mental in cultivation, and several 
 have acquired special names 
 H. ulicina, Native Furze ; H. lau- 
 rina, Cushion-flower ; H. acicularis 
 (Lissosperma), Native Pear ; H. 
 Jlexilis, Twine-bush." ('Century.') 
 
 1877. F - v - Muller, 'Botanic Teach- 
 ings/ p. 50 : 
 
 " Proteacece are more extensively 
 still represented in Victoria by the 
 well known genera Grevillea and Ha- 
 kea, the former dedicated to the Right 
 Hon. C. F. Greville, of Paddington, 
 the latter genus named in honour of 
 Baron Hake, of Hanover, both having 
 been alike patrons of horticulture at 
 the end of the last century." 
 
 1897. ' The Australasian,' Jan. 30, p. 
 226, col. 3 : 
 
 " Recently, according to ' Nature,' 
 Mr. G. M. Thomson, an eminent au- 
 thority on New Zealand botany, has 
 shown that one of the genera, namely 
 Hakea, though absent at present from 
 the islands [of New Zealand], formerly 
 existed there. Plant remains were 
 found at St. Bathans, in a bed of clay, 
 which have been identified by him as 
 Hakea. The question of the identi- 
 fication of fossil plants is always a 
 difficult one, but as Mr. Thomson 
 announces that he has obtained fruit 
 capsules and leaves there can be but 
 little doubt as to the correctness of his 
 determinations. Hitherto the genus 
 has been regarded as Australian only, 
 and about 100 species are known, of 
 which no less than 65 are West Aus- 
 tralian. It would seem then that the 
 Hakeas had obtained a footing in 
 Eastern Australia before the connec- 
 tion with New Zealand had disap- 
 peared, and that probably the genus is 
 a far older one than had been antici- 
 pated. Why, after finding its way to 
 New Zealand, it should have died out 
 there is a question to which no answer 
 can as yet be supplied." 
 
 Hand-flsh, n. a Tasmanian fish, 
 Brachionichthys hirsutus, Lac6p. , 
 family Pediculati. The name is 
 used in the northern hemisphere 
 for a different fish, which is also 
 called there the Frog-fish and 
 Toad-fish. The name arises from 
 a fancied resemblance of the pro- 
 file of the fish to a human hand. 
 It is also called Frog-fish and 
 Tortoise-shell fish. Mrs. Meredith 
 calls it Tortoise-shell Fish from 
 its colour, when figuring it in 
 ' Tasmanian Friends and Foes ' 
 under its former scientific name 
 of Cheironectes politus. The sur- 
 face of its skin is hirsute with 
 minute spines, and the lobe at the 
 end of the detached filament of 
 the dorsal fin called the fintacle 
 hangs loose. The scientific 
 names of the genus are derived 
 from Grk. ftpa^it^v, "the arm,"
 
 HAN-HAP] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 191 
 
 and x"P> "the hand." The arm- 
 like pectoral fins are used for 
 holding on to stones or seaweed. 
 
 1850. ' Papers and Proceedings of the 
 Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' 
 Jan. 9, vol. i. p. 268 : 
 
 "A little spotted fish belonging to 
 the genus Chironectes . . . Mr. Champ 
 writes thus respecting the frog fish : 
 ' It was found in the sea at Port Arthur 
 by a person who was with me, and 
 when caught had all the appearance 
 of having four legs, from the position 
 and shape of the fins ; the two longest 
 of which, from the sort of elbow in 
 them, and the division into (rays) what 
 resemble fingers, seem to form a con- 
 necting link between fins and legs or 
 arms.'" 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, 'Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 249 : 
 
 " It has fins like feet ; one small 
 pair where pectoral fins usually are, 
 and a larger pair, with absolute elbows 
 to them, and apparently shoulder- 
 blades too, only those do not belong 
 to the fore pair of feet ! A very anti- 
 podean arrangement truly ! The 
 markings on the body and on the 
 delicate pellucid fins are like tortoise- 
 shell." 
 
 Hand, Old, n. one who has been 
 a convict. 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 141 : 
 
 " The men who have been convicts 
 are termed 'old hands' ; they are mostly 
 rude, rough men, with no moral prin- 
 ciple or religious feeling, and who 
 have little sympathy for humanity." 
 
 1865. J. O. Tucker, ' Australian Story,' 
 c. i. p. 85 : 
 
 " Reformed convicts, or, in the lan- 
 guage of their proverbial cant, 'old 
 hands.'" 
 
 1865. F. H. Nixon, 'Peter Perfume,' 
 p. 102 : 
 
 " ' Boshman ' in the old-hand ver- 
 nacular signifies a fiddler." [" Bosh 
 in gypsy means music and also violin." 
 Barrere and Leland.] 
 
 1885. J. Rae, ' Chirps by an Australian 
 Sparrow,' p. 99 : 
 
 " The old hands were quite tidy too 
 With hats of cabbage-tree." 
 
 Hang up, v. to tie up a horse. 
 
 i860. W. Kelly, ' Life in Victoria,' p. 
 49 [Footnote] : 
 
 " In Melbourne there are posts sunk 
 in the ground almost opposite every 
 door. . . . Fastening your horse to 
 one of these posts is called ' hanging 
 him up.'" 
 
 1885. II. Finch -Hatton, 'Advance 
 Australia,' p. 32 : 
 
 " We got off, hung our horses up to 
 a tree." 
 
 1890. E. W. Hornung, ' Bride from the 
 Bush,' p. 296 : 
 
 " The mail-boy is waiting impatiently 
 in the verandah, with his horse ' hung 
 up ' to one of the posts." 
 
 Hapalote, n. Anglicized form of 
 Hapalotis (Grk. aTroAo's, soft, and 
 ous, ems, ear), a peculiar Australian 
 genus of rodents of the mouse 
 family. They are called Jumping 
 Mice, and have soft ears, and en- 
 larged hind limbs like the jerboa, 
 but are not marsupial like the 
 kangaroo. There are many 
 species. 
 
 Hapu, n. Maori word for sub- 
 tribe ; sometimes even, family. 
 
 1857. C. Hursthouse, ' New Zealand, 
 the Britain of the South,' vol. i. p. 162 : 
 
 " The 70,000 semi-civilised natives 
 now in New Zealand are divided into 
 some dozen chief tribes, and into 
 numerous sub-tribes and ' harpu.' " 
 
 1873. ' Appendix to Journals of House 
 of Representatives,' vol. iii. G. 7> P- 87 : 
 
 " Were not all your hapu present 
 when the money was paid ? My hapu, 
 through whom the land was claimed, 
 were present : we filled the room." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open,' 
 p. 171 : 
 
 "An important structure that en- 
 gaged the united labours of the hapu." 
 
 1887. J. White, 'Ancient History of 
 the Maori,' vol. i. p. 290 : 
 
 " Each of which is subdivided again 
 into Hapu, or smaller communities." 
 
 1891. Rev. J. Stacks, ' Report of Aus- 
 tralasian Association for the Advancement 
 of Science,' vol. iii. sect. G. p. 378 : 
 
 " On arriving in New Zealand, or 
 Ao-tea-roa, the crews of the colonizing
 
 I 9 2 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [HAP-HAR 
 
 fleet dispersed themselves over the 
 length and breadth of these islands, and 
 formed independent tribes or nations, 
 each of which was divided into hapus, 
 and the hapus into families." 
 
 Hapuku, n. Maori name for a 
 fish, Oligorus gigas, Giinth., called 
 later Polyprion prognathus (see quo- 
 tation, 1895), pronounced hapu- 
 ka, frequently corrupted into 
 habuka, the Groper (q.v.). It is 
 variously called a Cod, a Perch, 
 and a Sea-Perch. See quotations. 
 
 1845 (about). ' New Plymouth's National 
 Song, Hurstliouse's 'New Zealand,' p. 
 217: 
 
 " Lowing herds on every side, 
 Hapuka in every tide." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, 'Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 411 : 
 
 " Hapuku, or whapiiku, commonly 
 called the cod, but a much richer fish 
 in flavour : externally it more resembles 
 the salmon, and is known in New Hol- 
 land as the dew or jew-fish. It 
 attains a large size and is considered 
 the best fish of New Zealand." 
 
 1862. Anon. , ' From the Black Rocks 
 on Friday,' 'All the Year Round,' May 
 17, 1862, No. 160 : 
 
 " A kind of codfish called by the 
 natives whapuku or hahpuka." 
 
 1878. P. Thomson, 'Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. XI. art. lii. p. 
 
 383: 
 
 " The hapuka, or groper, was in 
 pretty regular supply." 
 
 1880. Giinther, ' Study of Fishes,' p. 
 392: 
 
 "The second (Oligorus gigas) is 
 found in the sea, on the coast of New 
 Zealand, and called by the Maoris and 
 colonists ' Hapuku "... Dr. Hector, 
 who has had opportunities of examin- 
 ing it in a fresh state, has pointed out 
 anatomical differences from the Murray 
 Cod." 
 
 1880. W. Colenso, ' Transactions of the 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. XIII. art. ii. 
 p. 46: 
 
 " A feast of good things prepared 
 eels, and hapuku (codfish), and taro." 
 
 1884. W. D. Hay, in the 'Field,' May 
 10, p. 637, col. i : 
 " The pakirikiri (Percis colias) is 
 
 the fish to which settlers in the north 
 of New Zealand generally give the 
 name of whapuka," 
 
 1895. 'Oxford English Dictionary' (s.v. 
 Cod): 
 
 " In New Zealand, a serranoid fish 
 Polyprion prognathus, called by the 
 Maories hapuku." 
 
 Hardhead, n. the English 
 sportsman's name for the ruddy 
 duck (Erismatura rubidd). Applied 
 by sportsmen in Australia to the 
 White-eyed Duck, Nyroca aus- 
 tralis, Gould. See Duck. 
 
 Hardwood, n. The name is ap- 
 plied to many Australian timbers 
 something like teak, but especially 
 to Backhousia bancroftii, F..v. M. 
 and Bailey, N.O. Myrtacece. In 
 Tasmania, it means any gum- 
 timber (Eucalyptus]. It is in 
 constant and universal use for 
 building and fencing in Australia. 
 
 1888. Candish, ' Whispering Voices,' p. 
 108: 
 
 " Sitting on a block of hardwood 
 ... is the gray-haired forest feller." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's 
 Right,' c. iii. p. 24 : 
 
 "It was a hammer-like piece of hard- 
 wood above a plate of tin." 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. 93 : 
 
 "A hardwood slab-door weighs a 
 goodish deal, as any one may find out 
 that has to hump it a hundred yards." 
 
 Hardyhead, n. name given in 
 Sydney to the fish Atherinapinguis, 
 Lacep., family Atherinidcz. 
 
 Hare-Kangaroo, n. a small 
 Kangaroo, resembling the British 
 hare. Called also Hare-Wallaby. 
 The scientific name is Lagorchestes 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1871. G. Krefft, 'Mammals of Aus- 
 tralia ' : 
 
 "The Hare-kangaroos, so called 
 from their resemblance to that well 
 known rodent, are the fleetest of the 
 whole tribe, and though they do not 
 exceed a common hare in bulk, they
 
 HAR-HAT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 193 
 
 can make clear jumps of eight and ten 
 feet high." 
 
 Hare- Wallaby, n. See Hare- 
 Kangaroo > Wallaby, and Lagor- 
 chestes. 
 
 Harlequin-Pigeon, n. formerly 
 referred to the genus Peristera, 
 but now to the genus Phaps. It 
 is commonly called in the interior 
 the " flock " pigeon. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 296 : 
 
 " Large flocks of Peristera histri- 
 onica (the harlequin - pigeon) were 
 lying on the patches of burnt grass on 
 the plains." 
 
 Harmonic Thrush, n. See Port- 
 Jackson Thrush. 
 
 Harpagornis, n. a scientific 
 name for a partly fossilised, huge 
 raptorial bird of New Zealand. 
 From Greek a/o7ra|, robbing, and 
 opvis, a bird. 
 
 1878. A. Newton, ' Encyclopedia Bri- 
 tannica,' vol. iii. p. 731 : 
 
 "There is a harpagornis, a bird of 
 prey of stature sufficient to have made 
 the largest dinornis its quarry." 
 
 Harrier, n. English bird-name 
 (that which harries), assigned in 
 New Zealand to Circus gouldii, 
 Bonap. (also called Swamp-hawk], 
 and in Australia to C. assimilis, 
 Jard. and Selb., or C.approximans, 
 Bonap., called Spotted Harrier. 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 206 : 
 
 " Circus Gouldi, Bonap., New Zea- 
 land harrier, or Gould's harrier." 
 
 Hat, Black, n. slang for a new 
 immigrant. 
 
 1887. R. M. Praed, ' Longleat of 
 Kooralbyn,' c. xxviii. p. 277 : 
 
 " Lord ! if I were Mr. Dyson Mad- 
 dox, I'd never let it be said that a 
 black hat had cut me out sweet- 
 heartin'." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. iii. p. 21 : 
 
 " A ' black hat ' in Australian par- 
 lance means a new arrival." 
 
 Hat, Old. See Old-hat. 
 
 Hatter, (i) A solitary miner 
 miner who works without a mate 
 partner : sc. one who has every- 
 thing under his own hat. 
 
 1869. Brough Smyth, 'Goldfields of 
 Victoria,' p. 613 ('Glossary of Mining 
 Terms ') : 
 
 " One who works alone. He differs 
 from the fossicker who rifles old work- 
 ings, or spends his time in trying 
 abandoned washdirt. The hatter leads, 
 an independent life, and nearly always 
 holds a claim under the bye-laws." 
 
 1884. R. L. A. Davies, ' Poems and 
 Literary Remains,' p. 267 : 
 
 " Oh, a regular rum old stick ; . . . 
 he mostly works a 'hatter.' He has 
 worked with mates at times, and leaves 
 them when the claim is done, and 
 comes up a 'hatter' again. He's a 
 regular old miser." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'The Miner's 
 Right,' p. 37 : 
 
 " Instead of having to take to fos- 
 sicking like so many ' hatters ' solitary 
 miners." 
 
 (2) By extension to other pro- 
 fessions. 
 
 1893. 'The Herald' (Melbourne), Aug. 
 28, p. i. col. 7 : 
 
 " He had been a burglar of the kind 
 known among the criminal classes as 
 ' a hatter.' That is to say, he burgled 
 'on his own hook,' never in a gang. 
 He had never, he told me, burgled 
 with a companion." 
 
 Hatteria, n. scientific name for 
 a genus of reptiles containing a 
 Lizard peculiar to New Zealand, 
 the only living representative of 
 the order Rhynchocephalina, See 
 Tuatara. 
 
 Hatting, quasi pres. partic., 
 solitary mining. See Hatter. 
 
 1891. ' The Age,' Nov. 25, p. 6, col. 7 : 
 "Two old miners have been . . . 
 
 hatting for gold amongst the old 
 alluvial gullies." 
 
 Hat-tree, n. name given to a 
 species of Sterculia, the Bottle- 
 trees (q.v.).
 
 194 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [HAU-HEA 
 
 Hau-hau, n. a. Maori super- 
 stition. This superstition arose 
 in Taranaki in 1864, through the 
 crazy fancies of the chief Te Ua, 
 who communed with angels and 
 interpreted the Bible. The mean- 
 ing of the word is obscure, but 
 it probably referred to the wind 
 which wafted the angels to the 
 worshippers whilst dancing round 
 an erect pole. Pai Marire was 
 another name for the superstition, 
 and signifies "good and peace- 
 ful." (See Gudgeon's 'War in 
 New Zealand,' p. 23 sq. ; also 
 Colenso's pamphlet on ' Kereopa,' 
 P-4-) 
 
 Hawk, n. This common Eng- 
 lish bird-name is applied in Aus- 
 tralia to many species 
 
 Brown-Hawk 
 
 Hieracidea orientalis, Schl. 
 Crested-H. 
 
 Baza subcristata, Gould. 
 Eagle-H. 
 
 Another name for Wedge-tailed 
 Eagle. (See Eagle and Eagle- 
 hawk. ) 
 Fish-H.- 
 
 Another name for Osprey. (See 
 
 Fish-hawk.} 
 Gos-H. 
 
 Astur approximans, V. and H. 
 Grey Gos-H. 
 
 A. cinereus, Vieill. 
 Lesser Gos-H. 
 
 A. cruentus, Gould. 
 Lesser White Gos-H. 
 
 A. leucosomus, Sharpe. 
 Red Gos-H. 
 
 A. radiatus, Lath. 
 Sparrow-H. 
 
 Acdpiter cirrhocephalus, Vieill. 
 Striped Brown-H. 
 
 Hieracidea berigora, V. and H. 
 
 [See Berigora.] 
 Swamp-H. [See Harrier.] 
 White Gos-H. 
 
 Astur novtf-hollanditf, Gm. 
 
 See also Nankeen-Hawk, and 
 Night-Hawk. 
 
 In New Zealand, the varieties 
 appear in the quotation, 1889. 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, ' Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 206 : 
 
 [A complete description.] 
 
 1889. Prof. Parker, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 117 : 
 
 " Of the three species recognized, 
 two, the quail-hawk (Harpa Nova? 
 Zealandice) and the bush-hawk (H. 
 ferox) [or sparrow-hawk], belong to a 
 genus peculiar to New Zealand." [The 
 third is the New Zealand harrier, 
 Circus Gouldi^ also found in Australia.] 
 
 Hazel, n. name applied in 
 Victoria to the tree Pomaderris 
 apetala, Labill., N.O. Rhamnacea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 590 : 
 
 " Called ' hazel ' in Victoria. A tall 
 shrub, or small tree. The wood is 
 excellent, of a beautiful satiny texture, 
 and adapted for carvers' and turners' 
 work. [Grows in] all the colonies ex- 
 cept Western Australia and Queens- 
 land." 
 
 Head, n. the rammer for crush- 
 ing quartz in gold-mining. 
 
 1890. ' Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 7 : 
 
 " Forty additional heads will be 
 shortly added to the crushing power, 
 bringing the battery up to sixty heads." 
 
 Head-Station, n. the principal 
 buildings, including the owner's 
 or manager's house, the hut, 
 store, etc., of a sheep or cattle 
 run. 
 
 1885. Mrs. Campbell Praed [Title] : 
 
 " The Head Station.'' 
 
 Heart-Pea, n. i.q. Balloon-Vine 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Heartsease, n. i.q. Brooklime, 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Heartseed, n. i.q. Balloon- Vine 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Heartwood. ;/. See Iron-wood. 
 
 Heath, n. In Tasmania, where 
 the Epacris is of very beautiful
 
 HED-HER] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 195 
 
 colour, this name is popularly 
 used for Epacris impressa, Labill., 
 . Epacridetz. See Epacris. 
 
 Hedgehog - Fruit, n. popular 
 name applied to the fruit of 
 Echinocarpus australis, Benth., 
 N. O. Tiliacea. The tree is also 
 called Maiden's Blush (q.v.). 
 
 Hedge-Laurel, n. a name given 
 to the tree Mapau (q.v.), an ever- 
 green shrub of New Zealand, of 
 the genus Pittosporum (q.v.). It 
 has dark glossy foliage and hand- 
 some flowers, and is planted and 
 cultivated in the form of tall 
 garden hedges. See also Laurel. 
 
 Hei-tiki, n. Maori name for a 
 neck ornament made of green- 
 stone (q.v.). 
 
 1835. W. Yate, ' Account of New Zea- 
 land,' p. 151 : 
 
 " The latter idea [that they are re- 
 presentatives of gods] was conceived 
 from the hei-tiki being taken off the 
 neck, laid down . . . and then wept 
 and sung over." 
 
 1889. Dr. Hocken, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 81 : 
 
 " Hei means ornament for the neck. 
 Tiki was the creator of man, and these 
 are the representations of him. By a 
 sort of license, they are occasionally 
 taken to represent some renowned 
 ancestor of the possessor ; but wooden 
 Tikis, some of immense size, usually 
 represented .the ancestors, and were 
 supposed to be visited by their spirits. 
 These might be erected in various 
 parts of a pa, or to mark boundaries, 
 etc. The Maories cling to them as 
 sacred heirlooms of past generations, 
 and with some superstitious rever- 
 ence." 
 
 Helmet-Orchis, n. This Eng- 
 lish name is applied in Australia 
 to the orchid Pterostylis cucullata 
 R. Br. 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, ' My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 168 : 
 
 " I also found three varieties of a 
 singular green orchis, of a helmet 
 
 ;hape, growing singly, on rather tall 
 slender footstalks." 
 
 Hemp, Queensland, n. name 
 iven to the common tropical weed 
 Sida rhombifolia, Linn.,jY. O. Mal- 
 vacece. Called also Paddy Lucerne, 
 and in other colonies Native 
 Lucerne, and Jelly Leaf. It is not 
 endemic in Australia. 
 
 Hemp-bush, n. the plant Plagi- 
 anthus pulchellus, A. Gray, N.O. 
 Malvacetz, native of Australia and 
 New Zealand. Though not true 
 hemp (cannabis), it yields a fibre 
 commercially resembling it. 
 
 He-Oak, n. See Oak and She- 
 Oak. 
 
 Heron, n. common English 
 bird-name. The species present 
 in Australia are 
 
 Ashy Reef H. 
 
 Demiegretta as/ia, Sykes. 
 Great-billed H. 
 
 Ardea sumatrana, Raffl. 
 Grey H. 
 
 A. cinerea, Linn. 
 Night H. 
 
 Nycticorax caledonicus, Lath. 
 Reef H.- 
 
 Demiegretta sacra, Gmel. 
 White-fronted H. 
 
 Ardea novcz-hollandi<z, Lath. 
 White-necked H. 
 
 A. pacifica, Lath. 
 
 The Cranes and the Herons 
 are often popularly confused. 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories,' p. II : 
 
 " There did I shoot . . a blue crane 
 the Australian heron." 
 
 Herring, n. Various species of 
 Clupeidce, to which the European 
 Herring belongs, are known by 
 this name in Australasia, and the 
 word is also applied to an entirely 
 different fish, Prototroctes tnarana, 
 Giinth., the Yarra Herring, Fresh- 
 water Herring, Grayling (q.v.),
 
 196 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [HER-HIC 
 
 or Cucumber- Mullet, found in the 
 rivers of Victoria or Tasmania. 
 The Clupeida are Clupea sagax 
 (called also Maray, q.v., and Pil- 
 chard), C. sundaica, C. hypselosoma, 
 Bleek., C. nova-hollandia, Cuv. 
 and Val., C. vittata, Castln. 
 (called the Smelt, q.v.), and 
 others. In Western Australia 
 Chatoessus erebi, Richards., is 
 called the Perth Herring. See 
 also Picton Herring, Aua, and 
 Sardine. 
 
 Herring-cale, n. name given in 
 New South Wales to the fish 
 Olistherops brunneus, Macl., family 
 Labrida, or Wrasses. 
 
 Hickory, n. The name Hickory 
 is originally American, and is 
 derived from the North-American 
 Indian ; its earliest form was 
 Pohickery. The tree belongs to 
 the genus Carya. The wood 
 is excellent for gig-shafts, 
 carriage-poles, fishing-rods, etc. 
 The name is applied in Australia 
 to various trees whose wood is 
 suitable for similar purposes. In 
 Tasmania, the name Hickory is 
 given to Eriostemon squameus, 
 Labill., N. O. Rutacea. Native 
 Hickory, or Hickory- Acacia, is 
 Acacia leprosa, Sieb., N. O. Legu- 
 minosa, and in the southern part 
 of New South Wales, Acacia 
 melanoxylon. (Maiden, ' Useful 
 Native Plants,' p. 358.) 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. v. p. 35 : 
 
 "The beautiful umbrageous black- 
 wood, or native hickory, one of the 
 handsomest trees in Australia." 
 
 Hickory-Eucalypt, n. one of 
 the names for the tree Eucalyptus 
 punctata, DeC., N.O. Myrtacea. 
 Called also Leather-jacket (q.v.). 
 
 Hickory- Wattle, n. a Queens- 
 land name for Acacia aulacocarpa, 
 Cunn., N.O. Leguminosa ; called 
 Hickory about Brisbane. 
 
 Hielaman, n. a word of Syd- 
 ney and neighbourhood. The 
 initial h, now frequently used by 
 the natives, is not found in the 
 earliest forms. The termination 
 man is also English. Elimang 
 (Hunter), e-lee-mong (Collins), 
 hilaman (Ridley). A narrow 
 shield of an aboriginal, made of 
 bark or wood. Notice Mr. 
 Grant's remarkable plural (1881 
 quotation). 
 
 1798. D. Collins, ' Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' p. 612 : 
 
 "E-lee-mong shield made of bark." 
 
 1834. L. E. Threlkeld, ' Australian 
 Grammar,' p. 5: 
 
 "As an initial, h occurs in only a 
 few words, such as hilaman, a ' shield.' " 
 
 Ibid. p. 10: 
 
 " As a barbarism, ' hillimung a 
 shield.' " 
 
 [A barbarism means with Mr. 
 Threlkeld little more than " not 
 belonging to the Hunter district."] 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, ' Three Expeditions 
 into the Interior of Eastern Australia,' vol. 
 ii. p. 349 : 
 
 " There is much originality in the 
 shield or hieleman of these people. 
 It is merely a piece of wood, of little 
 thickness, and two feet eight inches 
 long, tapering to each end, cut to an 
 edge outwards, and having a handle 
 or hole in the middle, behind the 
 thickest part." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes' 
 (edition 1855), p. 102: 
 
 " The hieleman or shield is a piece 
 of wood, about two and a half feet long, 
 tapering to the ends, with a bevelled 
 face not more than four inches wide at 
 the broadest part, behind which the 
 left hand passing through a hole is 
 perfectly guarded." 
 
 1865. S. Bennett, 'Australian Dis- 
 covery,' p. 251 : 
 
 " Hieleman, a shield. Saxon, heilan ; 
 English, helm or helmet (a little shield 
 for the head)." 
 
 [This is a remarkable contribu- 
 tion to philological lore. In no 
 dictionary is the Saxon " heilan " 
 to be found, and a misprint may
 
 HIE-HOL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 197 
 
 charitably be suspected. There is 
 no doubt that the h is an English 
 Cockney addition to the aboriginal 
 word. It would need an ingeni- 
 ous fancy to connect " e-lee- 
 mong" with " helm."] 
 
 1873. J. B. Stephens, ' Black Gin, etc.,' 
 p. 26: 
 
 " No faint far hearing of the waddies 
 
 banging 
 Of club and heelaman together 
 
 clanging, 
 
 War shouts and universal boom- 
 eranging." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 66 : 
 
 " Nullah - nullahs, paddy -melon 
 sticks, boomerangs, tomahawks, and 
 heelimen or shields lay about in every 
 direction." 
 
 Hielaman-tree, n. another 
 name for the Bats-wing Coral 
 (q.v.), Erythrina vespertilio, Benth., 
 N.O. Leguminosa. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 426 : 
 
 " ' Heilaman [sic] tree.' The wood 
 is soft, and used by the aborigines for 
 making their ' heilamans ' or shields." 
 
 Hinau, n. Maori name for the 
 New Zealand tree, Elaocarpus 
 dentatus, Vahl., N.O. Tiliacece. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 317: 
 
 "Another export was much talked 
 of. This was the bark of the hinau, 
 a large forest tree which abounds all 
 over the country near Cook's Strait. 
 The natives extract from this bark the 
 black dye for their mats." 
 
 1873. 'Catalogue of Vienna Exhibition': 
 
 " Hinau a white wood used for 
 turner's work." 
 
 Ibid.: 
 
 " The natives produce the black dye 
 for their flax-work, for which purpose 
 the bark is first bruised and boiled for 
 a short time. When cold the flax is 
 put into the mixture ... it is then 
 steeped thoroughly for two days in red 
 swamp mud, rich in peroxide of iron." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 130: 
 
 " Hinau, a small tree about fifty feet 
 
 high and eighteen inches thick in stem, 
 with brown bark which yields a per- 
 manent blue-black dye, used far-tan- 
 ning . . . used by Maoris for colouring 
 mats and baskets. Wood a yellowish 
 brown colour and close-grained ; very 
 durable for fencing and piles." 
 
 Hoki, n. a New Zealand fish, 
 Coryphcenoides nova-zelandice. Cory- 
 phanoides belongs to the family 
 Macrurida, which are deep-sea 
 Gadoids. See Tasmanian Whip- 
 tail. 
 
 Holly, Native, n. name given 
 in Australia to the tree Lomatia 
 ilicifolia, R.Br., N.O. Proteacea, 
 and in Tasmania to Coprosma 
 hirtella, Labill., N.O. Rubiacea ; 
 called also Coffee Plant. 
 
 Holly, Smooth, n. name given 
 to the tree Hedycarya angustifolia, 
 A. Cunn., N.O. Monimiacea ; 
 called also Native Mulberry. 
 
 Hollyhock-tree, n. name given 
 to Hibiscus splendens, Eraser, 
 N.O. Malvacece. 
 
 Holy City, n. a nickname for 
 Adelaide. See Farinaceous City. 
 
 1875. R. and F. Hill, ' What we Saw 
 in Australia,' p. 264 : 
 
 "... including so many churches 
 that we are at a loss to understand 
 why Adelaide should, in virtue of her 
 supposed superabundance, be nick- 
 named by her neighbours the Holy 
 City." 
 
 Holy-cross Toad, n. See 
 Catholic Frog. 
 
 Holy-Dollar, n. punning name 
 for a dollar out of which a Dump 
 (q.v.) had been punched. 
 
 1822. ' Hobart Town Gazette,' Aug. 
 IO [Proclamation by Sir Thomas Bris- 
 bane, Governor-in-Chief of New South 
 Wales and its dependencies, then including 
 Van Diemen's Land] : 
 
 " Whereas in the Year of our Lord 
 1813, it was deemed expedient to send 
 a Quantity of Spanish Dollars to the 
 Colony. . . . And whereas His Excel- 
 lency, the then Governor, thought
 
 198 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [HON 
 
 proper to direct, that every such Dollar, 
 with a small circular Piece of Silver, 
 struck out of its Centre, should be 
 current within this Territory, and every 
 part thereof, for the Sum of Five 
 Shillings." 
 
 [These were called holy (holey) 
 dollars, or ring dollars, though 
 the name does not occur in the 
 above quotation.] 
 
 1857. D. Bunce, ' Australasiatic Re- 
 miniscences,' p. 59 : 
 
 " We were more particularly struck 
 with the character and various kinds 
 of currency [in Tasmania in 1833]. 
 Our first change for a pound consisted 
 of two dumps, two holy dollars, one 
 Spanish dollar, one French coin, one 
 half-crown, one shilling, and one six- 
 pence." 
 
 Honey-Ant, n. name given to 
 various species of Ants, in which 
 the body of certain individuals 
 becomes enormously distended 
 by sweet food with which they 
 are fed by the worker ants, for 
 whom this store of ' honey ' 
 serves as a food supply. When 
 the side of the distended abdomen 
 is tapped, the ant passes the 
 4 honey ' out of its mouth, and 
 it is then eaten. Three species 
 are known in Australia, Campo- 
 notus inflatus, Lubbock ; C. cowlei, 
 Froggatt; and C. midas, Froggatt. 
 The aboriginal name of the first 
 is 4 Yarumpa.' 
 
 1896. W. W. Froggatt, ' Home Expe- 
 dition in Central Australia, 1 pt. ii. p. 386 : 
 
 " Our Australian honey ants belong 
 to the genus Camponotus, members 
 of which are found in all parts of the 
 world, and are known as ' sugar-ants,' 
 from their fondness for all kinds of 
 sweets." 
 
 Honey-bird, n. See next word. 
 
 Honey-eater, n. an Australian 
 bird, with a tongue specially 
 adapted for being formed into a 
 tube for the absorption of honey 
 from flowers. The name is ap- 
 plied to the following species 
 
 Banded Honey-eater 
 
 Myzomela pectoralis, Gould. 
 Black H. 
 
 M. nigra, Gould. 
 Black-chinned H. 
 
 Melithreptus gularis, Gould. 
 Black-headed H. 
 
 M. melanocephalus, Gould. 
 Blue-faced H. 
 
 Entomyza cyanotis, Swain. [See 
 
 Bridled H. 
 
 Ptilotis frenata, Ramsay. 
 Broadbent H. 
 
 Stigmatops alboauricularis ; Ram- 
 
 say. 
 Brown H. 
 
 S. ocularis, Gould. 
 Brown-backed H. 
 
 Glyciphila modesta, Gray. 
 Brown-headed H. 
 
 Melithreptus brevirostns. 
 Cockerill H. 
 
 Ptilotis cockerelli, Gould. 
 Crescent H. 
 
 Meliornis australasiana, Shaw. 
 Dusky H. 
 
 Myzomela obscura, Gould. 
 Fasciated H. 
 
 Ptilotis fasciogularis, Gould. 
 Fuscous H. 
 
 P. fusca, Gould. 
 Gay H. 
 
 Melithreptus vinitinatus, Gould. 
 Golden-backed H. 
 
 M. Icetior, Gould. 
 Helmeted H. 
 
 Ptilotis cassidix, Jard. 
 Least H. 
 
 Stigmatops subocularis, Gould. 
 Long-billed H. 
 
 Meliornis longirostris, Gould. 
 Moustached H. 
 
 M. mystacalis, Gould. 
 New Holland H. 
 
 M. novce-hollanditz, Lath. 
 Painted H. 
 
 Entomophila picta, Gould 
 Pied H. 
 
 Certhionyx leucomelas, Cuv.
 
 HON] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 199 
 
 Red-headed Honey-eater 
 
 Myzomela erythrocephala, Gould. 
 Red-throated H. 
 
 Entomophila rufigularis, Gould. 
 Rufous-breasted H. 
 
 R. albigularis, Gould. 
 Sanguineous H. 
 
 Myzomela sanguineolenta, Lath. 
 
 [See Blood-bird.\ 
 Singing H. 
 
 Ptilotis vittata, Cuv. 
 Spiny-cheeked H. 
 
 Acanthochcera rufigulariS) Gould. 
 Streak-naped H. 
 
 Ptilotis filiger a, Gould. 
 Striped H. 
 
 Pledorhyncha lanceolata, Gould. 
 Strong-billed H. 
 
 Melithreptus validirostris, Gould. 
 
 [See also Cherry-picker.] 
 Tawny-crowned H. 
 
 Gfyciphilafulvifrons, Lewin. 
 Varied H. 
 
 Ptilotis versicolor, Gould. 
 Warty-faced H. 
 
 Meliphaga phrygia, Lath. (Called 
 also the Mock Regent-bird, 
 q.v.) 
 Wattle-cheeked H. 
 
 Ptilotis cratitia, Gould. 
 White-breasted H. 
 
 Glyciphila fasdata, Gould. 
 White-cheeked H. 
 
 Meliornis sericea, Gould. 
 White-eared H. 
 
 Ptilotis leucotis, Lath. 
 White-fronted H. 
 
 Glyciphila albifrons, Gould. 
 White-gaped H. 
 
 Stomiopora unicolor, Gould. 
 White-naped H. 
 
 Melithreptus lunulatus, Shaw. 
 
 [See also Golden-Eye.] 
 White-plumed H. 
 
 Ptilotis penidllata , Gould. 
 White-quilled H. 
 
 Entomyza albipennis, Gould. 
 White-throated H. 
 
 Melithreptus albogularis, Gould. 
 
 Yellow H. 
 
 Ptilotis flavescenS) Gould. 
 Yellow-eared H. 
 
 P. lewini, Swains. 
 Yellow-faced H. 
 
 P. chrysops. Lath. 
 Yellow-fronted H. 
 
 P. plumula, Gould. 
 Yellow-plumed H. 
 
 P. ornata, Gould. 
 Yellow-spotted H. 
 
 P. gradlis, Gould. 
 Yellow-streaked H. 
 
 P. macleayana, Ramsay. 
 Yellow-throated H. 
 
 P. flavicollis, Vieill. 
 Yellow-tinted H. 
 
 P. flava, Gould. 
 Yellow-tufted H. 
 
 P. auricomis, Lath. 
 
 Gould enumerated the species, 
 nearly fifty years ago, in his 
 'Birds of Australia' (vol. iv.), 
 as follows : 
 
 Plate 
 
 Meliphaga Novce-Hollandice, Vig. 
 and " Horsf., New Holland 
 
 Honey-eater 23 
 
 M. longirostris, Gould, Long-billed 
 
 H 24 
 
 M. sertcea, Gould, White-cheeked 
 
 H ... 25 
 
 M. mystacalts, Gould, Moustached 
 
 H 26 
 
 M. Australasiana^ Vig. and Horsf., 
 
 Tasmanian H 27 
 
 Glyciphila fulvifrons, Swains., Ful- 
 vous-fronted H 28 
 
 G. albifrons, Gould, White-fronted 
 
 H 29 
 
 G./asa'ata, Gould, Fasciated H 30 
 G. ecu/art's, Gould, Brown H. ... 31 
 Ptilotis chrysotis, Yellow-eared H. 32 
 P. sonorus, Gould, Singing H. ... 33 
 P. versicolor, Gould, Varied H. ... 34 
 P.flavigula, Gould, Yellow-throat- 
 ed H 35 
 
 P. leucotis, White-eared H. ... 36 
 P. auricomis, Yellow-tufted H. ... 37 
 P. cratitius, Gould, Wattle-cheeked 
 
 H 38 
 
 P. ornatus, Gould, Graceful Ptilotis 39 
 P.plumulus, Gould, Plumed P. ... 40
 
 200 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [HON 
 
 Plate 
 
 Ptilotis flavescens, Gould, Yellow- 
 tinted H. 41 
 
 P.flava, Gould, Yellow H. ... 42 
 
 P. penicillatus, Gould, White- 
 plumed H. 43 
 
 P.fuscus, Gould, Fuscous H. ... 44 
 
 P. chrysops, Yellow-faced H. ... 45 
 
 P. unicolor, Gould, Uniform H. ... 46 
 
 Plectorhyncha lanceolatd, Gould, 
 Lanceolate H 47 
 
 Zanthomyza Phrygia, Swains., 
 Warty-faced H. 48 
 
 Melicophila picata, Gould, Pied H. 49 
 
 Entomophila picta, Gould, Painted 
 H. 50 
 
 E. albogularis, Gould, White- 
 throated H 51 
 
 E. rufogularis, Gould, Red-throated 
 H 52 
 
 Acanthogenys rufogularis, Gould, 
 Spiny-cheeked H 53 
 
 Anthochara inauris, Wattled H. 54 
 
 A. Carunculata, Wattled H. ... 55 
 [Buller, ' Birds of New Zealand,' 
 vol. i. p. 106.] 
 
 Myzomeia sanguinolenta, Sanguin- 
 eous H. 63 
 
 M. erythrocephala, Gould, Red- 
 headed H. 64 
 
 M. pectoralis, Gould, Banded H. 65 
 
 M. nigra, Gould, Black H. ... 66 
 
 M. obscura, Gould, Obscure H. ... 67 
 
 Entomyza cyanotis, Swains., Blue- 
 faced Entomyza 68 
 
 E. albipennis, Gould, White- 
 pinioned H 69 
 
 Melithreptus validirostris, Gould, 
 Strong-billed H. 70 
 
 M. gularis, Gould, Black-throated 
 H 71 
 
 M. lunulatus, Lunulated H. ... 72 
 
 M. bre-virostris, Gould, 
 
 M. chloropsis, Gould, Swan River 
 H 73 
 
 M. albogularis, Gould, White- 
 throated H. (as well as pi. 51) 74 
 
 M. melanocephalus, Gould, Black- 
 headed H. 75 
 
 Myzantha garrula, Vig. and Horsf., 
 Garrulous H 76 
 
 M. obscura, Gould, Sombre H. ... 77 
 
 M. lutea, Gould, Luteous H. ... 78 
 In the Supplement of 1869, 
 
 Gould adds PMg 
 
 Ptilotis cassidix, Jard., Helmeted 
 H 39 
 
 Plate 
 
 P.fasdogularis, Gould, Fasciated 
 
 H 40 
 
 P. notata, Gould, Yellow-spotted H. 41 
 P.filigera, Gould, Streaked H. ... 42 
 P. Cockerelli, Gould, CockerelFs H. 43 
 Tropidorhynchus buceroides, Hel- 
 meted H. 44 
 
 [Note. The Brush Wattle- 
 birds, Friar-birds, Spine-bills, 
 and the Yellow-throated Minah, 
 are known as Honey-eaters, and 
 the whole series are sometimes 
 called Honey-birds.] 
 
 1897. A. J. Campbell (in ' The Austral- 
 asian,' Jan. 23), p. 1 80, col. I : 
 
 " The honey-eaters or meliphagous 
 birds are a peculiar and striking feature 
 in Australian ornithology. As Gould 
 points out, they are to the fauna what 
 the eucalypts, banksias, and melaleu- 
 cas are to the flora of Australia. They 
 are closely adapted to feeding on these 
 trees. That great author asks : 'What 
 can be more plain than that the brush- 
 like tongue is especially formed for 
 gathering the honey from the flower- 
 cups of the eucalypti, or that their 
 diminutive stomachs are especially 
 formed for this kind of food, and the 
 peculiar insects which constitute a 
 portion of it ? ' " 
 
 Honey-Eucalypt, . See Box- 
 tree, Yellow. 
 
 Honey-flower, n. Lambertia for- 
 mosa, Smith, N.O. Proteacece. 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. iv. p. IOI : 
 
 " They . . . returned . . . dreadfully 
 exhausted, having existed chiefly by 
 sucking the wild honey-flower and 
 shrubs." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 37 : 
 
 "'Honey-flower' or 'honeysuckle,' 
 a plant as well known to small boys 
 about Sydney as to birds and insects . 
 It obtains its vernacular name on ac- 
 count of the large quantity of a clear 
 honey-like liquid the flowers contain. 
 After sucking some quantity the liquid 
 generally produces nausea and head- 
 ache." 
 
 Honey-plant, n. name given in,
 
 HON-HOO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 201 
 
 Tasmania to Richea scoparia, 
 Hook., N. O. Epacridecz. See 
 Efacris. 
 
 Honeysuckle, n. name given 
 to the Banksias (q.v.) ; also called 
 Bottle-brush (q.v.). The species 
 are 
 
 Coast Honeysuckle 
 
 Banksia integrtfolia, Linn. 
 Common H. 
 
 B. marginata, Cav. 
 Heath H. 
 
 B. serrata, Linn. 
 New Zealand H. 
 
 Knightia excelsa, R. Br. 
 Silvery H. 
 
 Grevillea striata, R. Br. 
 Tasmanian H. 
 
 Banksia margirata, Cav. 
 
 1834. Ross, ' Van Diemen's Land An- 
 nual,' p. 125 : 
 
 " Some scattered honeysuckles, as 
 they are called, but which, being 
 specimens of a ligneous evergreen 
 shrub (Banksia Australis), my Eng- 
 lish reader will please not to assimilate 
 in his mind's eye in any respect with 
 the woodbine." 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, 'Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 84 : 
 
 " The honeysuckle (Banksia integri- 
 folia] will greatly disappoint those who, 
 from its name, expect to see anything 
 similar to the sweet-scented climbers 
 of English hedges and gardens this 
 being a tree attaining to thirty or 
 forty feet in height, with spiral yellow 
 flowers. The blossoms at the proper 
 seasons yield a great quantity of honey, 
 which on a dewy morning may be 
 observed dropping from the flowers." 
 
 1848. Letter by Mrs. Perry, given in 
 Goodman's ' Church in Victoria during 
 Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' p. 83 : 
 
 " In the course of our journey to- 
 day we passed through a thin wood 
 of honeysuckle trees, for, I should 
 think, about three miles. They take 
 their name from the quantity of honey 
 contained in the yellow cone-shaped 
 flower, which is much prized and 
 sucked by the natives the aborigines, 
 I mean." 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, 'My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 164 : 
 
 " The honeysuckle-tree (Banksia 
 latifolia} is so unreasonably named . . . 
 so very unlike any sort or species of 
 the sweet old flower whose name it so 
 unfittingly bears. . . . The blossoms 
 form cones, which when in full bloom, 
 are much the size and shape of a large 
 English teazel, and are of a greenish 
 yellow. . . . The honeysuckle trees 
 grow to about thirty feet in height." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 10 : 
 
 " Banksia, spp., N.O. Proteacea. 
 The name ' honeysuckle ' was applied 
 to this genus by the early settlers, from 
 the fact that the flowers, when in full 
 bloom, contain, in a greater or lesser 
 quantity, a sweet, honey-like liquid, 
 which is secreted in considerable quan- 
 tities, especially after a dewy night, 
 and is eagerly sucked out by the abor- 
 igines." 
 
 1892. A. Sutherland, ' Elementary Geo- 
 graphy of British Colonies,' p. 271 : 
 
 " It [banksia] is called the ' honey- 
 suckle' by the people of Australia, 
 though it has no resemblance to an 
 English honeysuckle. Many of the 
 banksias grow into stately trees." 
 
 Honeywood, n. name given in 
 Tasmania to the tree Bedfordia 
 salicina, DeC., N.O. Composite; 
 also there called Dogwood (q.v.). 
 
 Hoop-Pine, n. another name for 
 the tree Araucaria cunninghamii 
 or Moreton-Bay Pine. See Pine. 
 
 Hoot, n. slang term for com- 
 pensation, payment, money ; 
 characteristic corruption of Maori 
 Utu (q.v.). 
 
 1896. 'Truth' (Sydney), Jan. 12 : 
 " There are several specimens of bush 
 slang transplanted from the Maori 
 language. ' Hoot ' is a very frequent 
 synonym for money or wage. I have 
 heard a shearer at the Pastoralist 
 Union office in Sydney when he sought 
 to ascertain the scale of remuneration, 
 enquire of the gilt-edged clerk behind 
 the barrier, ' What's the hoot, mate ? ' 
 The Maori equivalent for money is 
 u/it, pronounced by the Ngapuhi and
 
 202 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [HOP-HOR 
 
 other northern tribes with the last 
 syllable clipped, and the word is very 
 largely used by the kauri-gum diggers 
 and station hands in the North Island. 
 The original meaning of utu in Maori 
 is 'revenge.' When the missionaries 
 first settled in New Zealand, they found 
 that the savage inhabitants had no 
 conception of any recompense except 
 the grim recompense of blood. Under 
 Christianizing .influences the natives 
 were induced to forego the blood- 
 revenge for injuries, on receiving a 
 solatium in goods or land, and so utu 
 came to have the double meaning of 
 revenge and recompense, and eventu- 
 ally became recognized as the Maori 
 word for money.'"' 
 
 Hop-bush, n. "the name for all 
 species of Dodoncea " (Maiden, p. 
 417), N.O. Sapindacece. 
 
 1883. F. M. Bailey, ' Queensland Flora,' 
 Synopsis, p. 82 : 
 
 "The capsules of many Dodonceas 
 are used for hops, and thus the shrubs 
 are known as hop-bushes in Queens- 
 land." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 621 : 
 
 " ' Hop-bush,' called ' switch-sorrel ' 
 in Jamaica, and according to Dr. Ben- 
 nett, 'apiri' in Tahiti. Found in all 
 the colonies." 
 
 Hopping-fish, or Climbing- 
 fish, n. a fish of the north of New 
 South Wales and of Queensland, 
 Periophthalmus australts, Castln., 
 family Gobiidce. Called also Skip- 
 per. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 27 : 
 
 " On the confines of the northern 
 boundaries of New South Wales may 
 be seen a ve'ry remarkable Goby called 
 the ' Hopping-fish.' The pectoral fins 
 are developed into regular legs, with 
 which the fish hops or leaps along the 
 mud flats . . . The eyes are on the 
 top of the head, and very prominent, 
 and moreover they can be thrust very 
 far out of their sockets, and moved 
 independently of one another, thus the 
 fish can see long distances around, 
 and overtake the small crabs in spite 
 of the long stalks to their optics. It 
 
 is a tropical form, yet it is said to be 
 found on the mud-flats of the Rich- 
 mond River." 
 
 Hops, Native, or Wild, n. In 
 Australia, the fruit of the Hop-bush 
 (see above), Dodoncea spp. In 
 Tasmania, Daviesia latifolia, 
 R. Br. , N,O. Leguminosce, and 
 called also there Bitter-Leaf. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 23 : 
 
 " ' Native hops,' on account of the 
 capsules bearing some resemblance to 
 hops, both in appearance and taste. 
 In the early days of settlement the 
 fruits of these trees were extensively 
 used, yeast and beer of excellent quality 
 being prepared from them. They are 
 still so used to a small extent. D. 
 attenuata, A. Cunn., for instance, was 
 largely used in the Western District. 
 In times of drought cattle and sheep 
 eat them." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, 'Man from 
 Snowy River,' p. 7 : 
 
 " The wild-hop scrub grew thickly, and 
 
 the hidden ground was full 
 Of wombat-holes, and any slip was 
 death." 
 
 Horizontal, n. a Tasmanian 
 shrub, Anodopetalum biglandutosum, 
 Cunn., N.O. Saxifrages. Hori- 
 zontal Scrub, peculiar to the 
 island, occurs in the western 
 forests ; it derives its name from 
 the direction of the growth of its 
 lower stems, and constitutes a 
 tedious obstacle to the progress 
 of the traveller. 
 
 1888. R. M. Johnston, 'Geology of 
 Tasmania ' [Introd. p. vi] : 
 
 " The Horizontal is a tall shrub or 
 tree. ... Its peculiar habit to which 
 it owes its name and fame is for the 
 main stem to assume a horizontal and 
 drooping position after attaining a con- 
 siderable height, from which ascend 
 secondary branches which in turn as- 
 sume the same horizontal habit. From 
 these spring tertiary branchlets, all of 
 which interlock, and form ... an al- 
 most impenetrable mass of vegetation."
 
 HOR-HOT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 203 
 
 1891. ' The Australasian,' April 4 : 
 " That stuff as they calls horizontal, 
 a mess of branches and root." 
 
 Hornerah, . aboriginal name 
 for a- throwing-stick ; a dialectic 
 variation of Woomera (q.v.). A 
 nonce-use. 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 20: 
 
 " I observed, too, that they used a 
 stick, shaped thus <= , called the 
 hornerah (which assists them in throw- 
 ing the spear)." 
 
 Horn-Ray, n. a New Zealand 
 and Australian Ray, the fish Rhino- 
 batus banksit, Mull and Heule. In 
 this genus of Rays the cranial 
 cartilage is produced into a long 
 rostral process (Giinther): hence 
 the name. 
 
 Horopito, n. Maori name for 
 the New Zealand shrub, Drimys 
 axillaris, Forst. , N. O. Magnoliacece; 
 called also Pepper-tree (q.v.). 
 
 1847. G. F. Angas, ' Savage Life and 
 Scenes in Australia and New Zealand,' vol. 
 ii. p. 17: 
 
 " A delicious fragrance, like that of 
 hyacinth and jessamine mingled, filled 
 the warm still air with its perfume. It 
 arose from the petals of a straggling 
 shrub, with bright green shining leaves 
 resembling those of the nutmeg-tree ; 
 and a profusion of rich and delicate 
 blossoms, looking like waxwork, and 
 hanging in clusters of trumpet-shaped 
 bells : I observed every shade of colour 
 amongst them, from pinkish white to 
 the deepest crimson, and the edges of 
 the petals were irregularly jagged all 
 round. The natives call this plant 
 horopito." 
 
 Ibid. p. 75 : 
 
 " The fuchsia and the horopito were 
 also abundant." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand/ p. 129 : 
 
 "Horopito, pepper -tree, winter's 
 bark. A small slender evergreen tree, 
 very handsome. Whole plant aro- 
 matic and stimulant ; used by the 
 Maoris for various diseases. Wood 
 very ornamental in cabinet-work." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. I : 
 
 "The Horopito, or pepper-tree of 
 the settlers, is an ornamental shrub or 
 small tree occurring in woods, on the 
 margin of which it is sometimes found 
 in great abundance." 
 
 Horse-Mackerel, n. The name 
 is applied in Sydney to the fish 
 Auxis ramsayt, Castln., family 
 ScombridcR. In New Zealand it is 
 Caranx (or Trachurus) trachurus, 
 Cuv. and Val., which is the 
 same fish as the Horse-Mackerel 
 of England. This is called 
 Yellow-tail on the Australian 
 coasts. See Trevally. 
 
 Horseradish- tree, n. name given 
 to Codonocarpus cotinifolius, F. v. 
 M., N.O. Phytolacea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 164 : 
 
 " ' Quinine-tree,' ' medicine-tree ' of 
 the interior. Called also ' horse-radish 
 tree ' owing to the taste of the leaves. 
 The bark contains a peculiar bitter, 
 and no doubt possesses medicinal pro- 
 perties. The taste is, however, quite 
 distinct from quinine.'' 
 
 Horseshoe-Pern, n. name given 
 in New Zealand to the fern Ma- 
 rattia fraxinia, Sm., called in 
 Australia the Potato-Fern. See 
 under fern. 
 
 Hot Wind, n. an Australian 
 meteorological phenomenon. See 
 quotations, especially 1879, A. R. 
 Wallace. The phrase is of course 
 used elsewhere, but its Australian 
 use is peculiar. The hot wind 
 blows from the North. Mr. H. C. 
 Russell, the Government Astro- 
 nomer of New South Wales, 
 writes " The hot wind of Austra- 
 lia is a circulation of wind about 
 the anticyclone in the rear of 
 which, as it moves to the east, 
 there is a strong force of wind 
 from north to north-west, which 
 blowing over the heated plains 
 of the interior gathers up its
 
 204 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [HOT-HOU 
 
 excessive temperature and carries 
 it to the southern colonies. They 
 seldom last more than two or three 
 days in Sydney, and the great heat 
 by which they are remembered 
 never lasts more than a few hours 
 of one day, and is always a sign 
 of the end, which is an inrush of 
 southerly wind, the circulation 
 forming the front of the new in- 
 coming anticyclone." 
 
 1833. C.Sturt, 'Southern Australia,' vol. 
 II. c. iii. p. 66 : 
 
 "This was the only occasion upon 
 which we felt the hot winds in the 
 interior." 
 
 1846. T. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in 
 Australia, vol. II. c. vi. p. 243: 
 
 "These squalls generally succeed 
 the hot winds that prevail at this sea- 
 son in South Australia, coming from 
 the interior." Footnote " During the 
 hot winds we observed the thermo- 
 meter, in the direct rays of the sun, to 
 be 135." 
 
 1846. Ibid. c. xii. p. 403 : 
 
 " A hot wind set in ; ... at one 
 time the thermometer at the public 
 offices [Adelaide] was 1 58." 
 
 1849. C. Sturt, ' Expedition into Cen- 
 tral Australia,' vol. ii. p. 90 : 
 
 " I sought shelter behind a large 
 gum tree, but the blasts of heat were 
 so terrific that I wondered the very 
 grass did not take fire. . . . Every- 
 thing, both animate and inanimate, 
 gave way before it : the horses stood 
 with their backs to the wind, and their 
 noses to the ground, without the mus- 
 cular strength to raise their heads ; 
 the birds were mute, and the leaves of 
 the trees, under which we were sitting, 
 fell like a snow shower around us. At 
 noon I took a thermometer, graduated 
 to 127, out of my box, and observed 
 that the mercury was up to 125. 
 Thinking that it had been unduly in- 
 fluenced, I put it in the fork of a tree 
 close to me, sheltered alike from the 
 wind and the sun. In this position I 
 went to examine it about an hour after- 
 wards, when I found that the mercury 
 had risen to the top of the instrument, 
 and that its further expansion had 
 burst the bulb. . . We had reached 
 
 our destination, however, before the 
 worst of the hot wind set in." 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, 'Port Phillip 
 in 1849,' P- 2 5 : 
 
 "The immediate cause of the hot 
 winds has given rise to much specula- 
 tion. . . . The favourite theory is that 
 they are generated in the sandy plains 
 of the interior, which becoming power- 
 fully heated, pour their glowing breath 
 upon the fertile regions of the south." 
 
 1871. Dingo, 'Australian Rhymes, 'p. 7: 
 
 " A hot wind swift envelopes me 
 In dust from foot to head." 
 
 1879. A. R. Wallace, 'Australasia/ 
 (1893) vol. i. p. 39: 
 
 "They are evidently produced by 
 the sinking down to the surface of that 
 north-westerly current of heated air 
 which . . . is always passing overhead. 
 The exact causes which bring it down 
 cannot be determined, though it evi- 
 dently depends on the comparative 
 pressure of the atmosphere on the 
 coast and in the interior. Where from 
 any causes the north-west wind be- 
 comes more extensive and more power- 
 ful, or the sea breezes diminish, the 
 former will displace the latter and 
 produce a hot wind till an equilibrium 
 is restored. It is the same wind passing 
 constantly overhead which prevents 
 the condensation of vapour, and is the 
 cause of the almost uninterrupted 
 sunny skies of the Australian summer." 
 
 1879. R CV - J- H. Zillmann, ' Australian 
 Life,' p. 40 : 
 
 " Scientific men, however, tell us that 
 those hot winds are just what make 
 Australia so healthy a climate that 
 they act as scavengers, and without 
 them the death-rate of the colonies 
 would be alarmingly great.'' 
 
 Hot-windy, adj. See above. 
 
 1871. Dingo, 'Australian Rhymes,' p. 
 18: 
 
 " A spell that still makes me forget 
 The dust and the hot-windy weather." 
 
 Houhere, or Hohere, n. Maori 
 name for a New Zealand tree, 
 Hoheria populnea, A. Cunn., N. O. 
 Malvaceae; called also Lacebark 
 (q.v.) and Ribbonwood (q.v.).
 
 HOU-HUM] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 205 
 
 1883. J. Hector, ' Handbook of New Zea- 
 land,' p. 130 : 
 
 " Houhere, ribbonwood of Dunedin. 
 [The name is now more general.] An 
 ornamental shrub-tree ten to thirty 
 feet high. Bark fibrous and used for 
 cordage, and affords a demulcent drink. 
 Wood splits freely for shingles, but is 
 not durable. . . . Bark used for making 
 a tapa cloth by the Maoris in olden 
 times." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 87 : 
 
 "In one or other of its varied forms 
 the ' houhere ' is found in nearly every 
 district in N.Z. It is everywhere 
 admired for its handsome foliage, and 
 the beauty of its pure white flowers, 
 which are produced in vast profusion 
 during the early winter months. . . . 
 The bark is capable of division into a 
 number of layers. ... By settlers all 
 forms are termed ' ribbonwood,' or less 
 frequently ' lace-bark ' names which 
 are applied to other plants ; they are 
 also termed ' thousand-jacket.' " 
 
 1895. ' Longman's Geography Reader 
 for New Zealand,' p. 231 : 
 
 "The houhere is a small tree with 
 beautiful white flowers, and the bark 
 splits up into thin layers which look 
 like delicate lace ; hence the plant is 
 called lace-bark or ribbon-wood by the 
 colonists." 
 
 Houi, n. Maori name for New 
 Zealand tree, Ribbonwood (q.v.), 
 N. O. MalvacecEy kindred to 
 Jfoheria, Plagianthus Betulinus, 
 sometimes called Howi. In Maori, 
 the verb houwere means to tie, to 
 bind : the outer bark was used for 
 tying. 
 
 Hound n. (sometimes Smooth 
 Hound), the Old World name for 
 all the sharks of the genus 
 Mustelus ("the Hell-hound of 
 the Deep ") ; applied specially in 
 New South Wales and New 
 Zealand to the species Mustelus 
 antarcticus, Giinth., also called 
 Gummy (q.v.). 
 
 Hovea, n. scientific name for a 
 genus of shrubs. "After Anthony 
 
 Pantaleon Hove, a Polish botan- 
 ist. A small genus of highly 
 ornamental leguminous shrubs, 
 from Australia, having blue or 
 purple flowers in axillary clusters, 
 or very short racemes, alternate 
 simple leaves, and short turgid 
 pods." ('Century.') 
 
 Huia, n. Maori name for a New 
 Zealand bird, like a starling, 
 Heteralocha acutirostris, Gould, of 
 limited occurrence, chiefly found 
 in North Island ; having beak 
 straight and short in the male, 
 long and curved in female. The 
 tail feathers are highly prized for 
 ornament by the Maoris. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 91 : 
 
 " The huia is a black bird about as 
 large as a thrush, with long thin legs 
 and a slender semi-circular beak, 
 which he uses in seeking in holes ot 
 trees for the insects on which he feeds. 
 In the tail are four long black feathers 
 tipt with white. These feathers are 
 much valued by the natives as orna- 
 ments for the hair on great occasions. 
 . . . The natives attracted the birds 
 by imitating the peculiar whistle, from 
 which it takes the name of huia." 
 
 1883. F. S. Renwick, 'Betrayed,' p. 36 : 
 
 " One snow-tipped hui feather graced 
 his hair." 
 
 1888. \V. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 7 : 
 [A full description.] 
 
 Hump, to, v. to shoulder, 
 carry on the back; especially, to 
 /tump the swag, or bluey, or drum. 
 See Swag, Bluey, Drum. 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, ' Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 226 : 
 
 " He ' humped his swag,' in digger's 
 phrase, that is, shouldered his pack 
 and disappeared in the woods." 
 
 1857. 'Geelong Advertiser,' quoted in 
 'Argus,' Oct. 23, p. 5, col. 3 : 
 
 " The despised old chum bought his 
 swag, 'humped it,' grumbled of 
 course."
 
 206 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [HUM-HUO 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Sydney-side 
 Saxon, 1 p. 93 : 
 
 " A hardwood slab-door weighs a 
 goodish deal, as any one may find out 
 that has to hump it a hundred yards." 
 
 1893. Haddon Chambers, 'Thumbnail 
 Sketches of Australian Life,' p. 224: 
 
 " I ' humped my swag ' i.e. tied 
 my worldly possessions, consisting of 
 a blanket, a pannikin, and an odd pair 
 of boots, upon my back and ' footed 
 it ' for the capital." 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World 
 was Wide,' p. 134 : 
 
 " But Bill preferred to hump his 
 
 drum 
 A-paddin' of the hoof." 
 
 Hump, n. a long walk with a 
 swag on one's back. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. 3, p. 46 : 
 
 " We get a fair share of exercise 
 without a twenty-mile hump on Sun- 
 days." 
 
 Humpy, n. ( i ) a native hut. The 
 aboriginal word is Oompi ; the 
 initial h is a Cockney addition, 
 and the word has been given an 
 English look, the appearance of 
 the huts suggesting the English 
 word hump. [The forms himbing 
 and yamba occur along the East 
 coast of Australia. Probably it 
 is kindred with kopmbar, bark, in 
 Kabi dialect, Mary River, Queens- 
 land.] The old convict settlement 
 in Moreton Bay, now broken up, 
 was called Humpy Bong (see 
 Hung), sc. Oompi Bong, a dead 
 or deserted settlement. The 
 aboriginal names for hut may be 
 thus tabulated : 
 
 } . ..New South Wales. 
 Goondie J 
 
 Humpy (Oompi)... Queensland. 
 Mia-mia ...... Victoria and West- 
 
 ern Australia. 
 
 Wurley (Oorla) ... South Australia. 
 Whare ......... New Zealand. 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 228 : 
 
 "A 'gunyia' or 'umpee.'" 
 
 1873. ]. Brunton Stephens, 'Black Gin,' 
 p. 16 : 
 
 " Lo, by the ' humpy ' door, a smock- 
 less Venus." 
 
 (2) Applied to a settler's house, 
 very small and primitive. 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 133 : 
 
 " To dwell in the familiar old bark 
 'humpy,' so full of happy memories. 
 The roof was covered with sheets of 
 bark held down by large wooden riders 
 pegged in the form of a square to one 
 another." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' p. 
 57: 
 
 "A lonely hut . . . and a kitchen 
 a smaller humpey at the back." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Squatter's 
 Dream,' p. 247 : 
 
 " He's in bed in the humpy." 
 
 1893. Gilbert Parker, 'Pierre and his 
 People,' p. 135 : 
 
 " Shon McGann was lying on a pile 
 of buffalo robes in a mountain hut, an 
 Australian would call it a humpey." 
 
 Hungry Quartz, n. a miner's 
 term for unpromising Quartz 
 (q.V.). 
 
 Huon-Pine, //. a large Tas- 
 manian evergreen tree, Dacry- 
 dium franklinii, Hook, N.O. 
 ConifercK. The timber is prized 
 in cabinet-work, being repellent 
 to insects, durable, and fairly 
 easy to work ; certain pieces are 
 beautifully marked, and resemble 
 bird's-eye maple. The Huon is a 
 river in the south of Tasmania, 
 called after a French officer. See 
 Pine. 
 
 1800. J. J. Labillardiere, ' Voyage a la 
 Recherche de la Perouse,' torn, i., Introd. 
 p. xi : 
 
 " Ces deux flutes regurent des noms 
 analogues au but de 1'entreprise. Celle 
 que montoit le general, Dentrecasteaux, 
 fut nomme'e la Recherche, et 1'autre, 
 commandee par le major de vaisseau, 
 Huon Kermadec, regut le nom de 
 PEsperance. . . . Bruny Dentrecast- 
 eaux [fut le] commandant de Pex- 
 pedition, [et] Labillardiere [fut le] 
 naturaliste."
 
 HUT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 207 
 
 [Of these gentlemen of France 
 and their voyage the names Bruni 
 Island, D'Entrecasteaux Channel, 
 Recherche Bay, Port Esperance, 
 Kermandie [sic] River, Huon Is- 
 land, Huon River, perpetuate the 
 memory in Southern Tasmania, 
 and the Kermadec Islands in the 
 Southern Ocean.] 
 
 1820. C. Jeffreys, R.N., 'Geographical 
 and Descriptive Delineations of the Island 
 of Van Diemen's Land,' p. 28 : 
 
 " On the banks of these newly dis- 
 covered rivers, and the harbour, grows 
 the Huon Pine (so called from the 
 river of that name, where it was first 
 found)." 
 
 1829. ' The Tasmanian Almanack,' p. 
 8 7 : 
 
 " 1816. Huon pine and coal dis- 
 covered at Port Davey and Macquarie 
 Harbour." 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 vol. ii. p. 23 : 
 
 " Huon-pine is by far the most 
 beautiful wood found in the island." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes,' 
 (edition 1855) p. 515 t 
 
 *' Knots of the beautiful Huon pine, 
 finer than bird's-eye maple for orna- 
 mental furniture." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 
 ' History of the Discovery and Exploration 
 of Australia,' vol. i. p. 71 : 
 
 " The river was named the Huon, 
 and has since become celebrated for 
 the production which yields the pretty 
 cabinet-wood known as Huon pine." 
 
 1890. Lyth, 'Golden South,' c. xii. p. 
 102 : 
 
 "The huon-pine is of immense 
 height and girth." 
 
 Hut, n. the cottage of a shep- 
 herd or a miner. The word is 
 English but is especially common 
 in Australia, and does not there 
 connote squalor or meanness. 
 The "Men's Hut" on a station 
 is the building occupied by the 
 male employees. 
 
 1844. ' Port Phillip Patriot,' July 1 1, pt. 
 I, c. 3: 
 "At the head station are a three- 
 
 roomed hut, large kitchen, wool-shed, 
 etc." 
 
 1862. G. T. Lloyd, ' Thirty-three Years 
 in Tasmania,' p. 21 : 
 
 " If a slab or log hut was required 
 to be erected ... a cart-load of wool 
 was pitchforked from the wasting heap, 
 wherewith to caulk the crevices of the 
 rough-hewn timber walls." 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. vi. p. 42 : 
 
 " ' The hut,' a substantial and com- 
 modious structure, arose in all its 
 grandeur." 
 
 1890. Id. 'Miner's Right,' c. vi. p. 
 62: 
 
 " Entering such a hut, as it is 
 uniformly, but in no sense of con- 
 tempt, termed a hut being simply 
 lower in the scale than a cottage you 
 will find there nothing to shock the 
 eye or displease the taste." 
 
 1891. W. Tilley, ' Wild West of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 29 : 
 
 " Bark and weatherboard huts al- 
 ternating with imposing hotels and 
 stores." 
 
 Hut-keep, v. to act as hut- 
 keeper. 
 
 1865. S. Sidney, 'Three Colonies of 
 Australia,' p. 380 : 
 
 " At this, as well as at every other 
 station I have called at, a woman ' hut- 
 keeps,' while the husband is minding 
 the sheep." 
 
 1890. ' Melbourne Argus,' June I4th, 
 p. 4, col. 2 : 
 
 " ' Did you go hut-keeping then ? ' 
 ' Wrong again. Did I go hut-keeping ? 
 Did you ever know a hut-keeper cook 
 for sixty shearers?'" 
 
 Hut-keeper, n. Explained in 
 quotations. 
 
 1802. D. Collins, ' Account of New 
 South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 285 : 
 
 " Old men, unfit for anything but 
 to be hut-keepers who were to remain 
 at home to prevent robbery, while the 
 other inhabitants of the hut were at 
 labour." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. II. c. iii. p. 458 : 
 
 " My object was to obtain a few of 
 these heads, which the hut-keeper 
 . . . instantly gave."
 
 208 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [HYA-HYP 
 
 1853. G. Butler Earp, ' What we Did 
 in Australia,' p. 17 : 
 
 "The lowest industrial occupation 
 in Australia, viz. a hut-keeper in the 
 bush ... a station from which many 
 of the wealthiest flockmasters in Aus- 
 tralia have risen." 
 
 1883. E. M. Curr, ' Recollections of 
 Squatting in Victoria' (1841-1851), p. 21 : 
 
 "A bush hut-keeper, who baked 
 our damper, fried our chops." 
 
 Hyacinth, Native, n. a Tas- 
 manian flower, Thelymitra longi- 
 fotia, R. and G. Forst., N.O. 
 Orchidece. 
 
 Hyaena, n. See Thylacine, and 
 Tasmanian Tiger. 
 
 Hypsiprymnodon, n. the scien- 
 tific name of the genus of the 
 Australian animal called Musk 
 Kangaroo. (Grk. v\j/iirpvfj.vo<; t with 
 a high stern.) A very small, 
 rat-like, arboreal kangaroo, about 
 ten inches long. The strong 
 musky odour from which it takes 
 its vernacular name is perceptible 
 in both sexes. 
 
 1874. R. Lydekker, 4 Marsupialia,' p. 73 : 
 "The third and last subfamily 
 (Hypsiprymnodontidae) of the Macro- 
 podidae is represented solely by the 
 remarkable creature known, from its 
 strong scent, as the Musk-kangaroo."
 
 IBI-INA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 209 
 
 Ibis, n. There are twenty-four 
 species of this bird distributed 
 over all the warmer parts of the 
 globe. Those present in Austral- 
 asia are 
 
 Glossy (Black, or Bay) Ibis 
 
 Ibis faldnelluS) Linn. 
 Straw-necked I. 
 
 Geronticus spinnicollis, Jameson. 
 White I. 
 
 Threskiornis strictipennis, Gould. 
 
 Of these the last two' are con- 
 fined to Australia, the first is 
 cosmopolitan. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 155 : 
 
 " All they had for supper and break- 
 fast were a straw-coloured ibis, a duck 
 and a crow." 
 
 Ibid. p. 300 : 
 
 " Crows were feasting on the remains 
 of a black Ibis." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. vi. : 
 
 " Geronticus spinicollis, straw-necked 
 ibis (pi. 45). This beautiful ibis has 
 never yet been discovered out of Aus- 
 tralia, over the whole of which immense 
 country it is probably distributed." 
 
 " Threskiornis strictipennis, white 
 ibis " (pi. 46). 
 
 " Ibis falcinellus, Linn., glossy ibis " 
 (pl- 47)- 
 
 1892. 'The Australasian,' April 9, p. 
 707, col. 4 : 
 
 "When the hoarse-voiced jackass 
 mocked us, and the white-winged 
 ibis flew 
 
 Past lagoons and through the rushes, 
 far away into the blue." 
 
 Ice-Plant, n. Tasmanian name 
 for Tetragonia implexicoma, Hook., 
 N.O. Ficoidece, B. Fl. Various 
 
 species of Tetragonia are culti- 
 vated as Spinach (q.v.). 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 63 : 
 
 " Called ' ice-plant ' in Tasmania. 
 Baron Mueller suggests that this plant 
 be cultivated for spinach. [Found in] 
 all the colonies except Queensland." 
 
 Identity, Old, n. phrase denot- 
 ing a person well known in a place. 
 A term invented in Dunedin, New 
 Zealand, in 1862, in a popular 
 topical song, by Mr. R. Thatcher, 
 an improvisator. In the song the 
 " Old Identity," the former resid- 
 ent of Dunedin, was distinguished 
 from the "New Iniquity," as the 
 people were termed who came 
 from Australia. 
 
 1879. W. J. Barry, ' Up and Down,' p. 
 197: 
 
 " The old identities were beginning 
 to be alive to the situation." 
 
 1894. ' Sydney Morning Herald,' Oct. : 
 
 "It is permissible to wonder about 
 the origin of the phrase ' an old iden- 
 tity.' Surely no man, however old, 
 can be an identity ? An entity he is, 
 or a nonentity ; an individual, a centen- 
 arian, or an oldest inhabitant j but 
 identity is a condition of sameness, of 
 being identical with something. One 
 can establish one's identity with that 
 of some one who is being sought or 
 sued, but once established it escapes 
 us." 
 
 Inaka, n. a fish. See Inanga. 
 
 Inanga or Inaka, n. (the ng as 
 in the word singer, not as in 
 finger], a New Zealand fish, Gal- 
 axias attenuates, or Retropinna 
 richardsoni. It is often called 
 the Whitebait and Minnow, and 
 in Tasmania the larger variety
 
 210 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [INC-IND 
 
 is called Jolly-tail. The change 
 from Inanga to Inaka is a dia- 
 lectal Maori variation, answering 
 exactly to the change from North 
 Island Kainga to South Island 
 Kaik (q.v.). 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 100 : 
 
 " This fish is called hinanga [sic.], 
 and resembles Blackwall white-bait in 
 size and flavour. Its colour is a 
 pinkish white, spotted with black." 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 407, col. 3 : 
 
 "About the same size as this fish 
 [the cockabully] is the 'inaka' much 
 used for bait. Indeed, it is called the 
 New Zealand whitebait. A friend 
 from Victoria having used this bait, I 
 asked him to spell the name of the 
 fish, and he wanted to make it like 
 the patriarch who 'walked with God' 
 Enoch-a. The more correct shape 
 of the Maori word is inanga ; but in 
 the South Island 'k' often takes the 
 place of that distinctive Maori letter 
 ' ng,' as ' kainga ' becomes kaik ; ngaio, 
 kaio." 
 
 Inchman, n. aTasmanian name 
 for the Bull-dog Ant (q.v.), from 
 its length, which is sometimes 
 nearly an inch. 
 
 Indians, //. n. early and now 
 obsolete name for the Aboriginals 
 in Australia and even for the 
 Maoris. 
 
 1769. J. Banks, 'Journal,' Oct. 21 (Sir 
 J. D. Hooker edition), p. 191 : 
 
 "We applied to our friends the' 
 Indians for a passage in one of their 
 canoes." 
 
 [These were Maoris.] 
 
 1770. Ibid. April 28 : 
 
 " During this time, a few of the 
 Indians who had not followed the boat 
 remained on the rock opposite the 
 ship, threatening and menacing with 
 their pikes and swords." 
 
 [These were Australian Aboriginals.] 
 
 1825. Barren Field, 'Geographical 
 Memoirs of New South Wales,' p. 437 : 
 
 " Some of the Indians have also 
 seriously applied to be allowed convict- 
 labourers, as the settlers are, although 
 
 they have not patience to remain in 
 the huts which our Government has 
 built for them, till the maize and cab- 
 bage that have been planted to their 
 hands are fit to gather." 
 
 1830. ' The Friend of Australia,' p. 244 : 
 " It is the observation of some 
 writers, that the system pursued in 
 Australia for educating the children of 
 the Indians is not attended with 
 success. The black children will never 
 do any good there, until some other 
 plan is commenced . . ." 
 
 Indigo, Native, . AH the 
 species of Swainsonia, N.O. Le- 
 guminosce, are called " Native 
 Indigos." See Indigo-plant. In 
 Tasmania, the Native Indigo is 
 Indigofera australis, Willd., N.O. 
 LeguminoscK. The plants are also 
 called Indigo-plant and Darling-pea 
 (q.v.). Swainsonia belongs to the 
 same N.O. as Indigofera tinctoria, 
 which furnishes the Indigo of 
 commerce. 
 
 1826. J. Atkinson, 'Agriculture and 
 Grazing in New South Wales,' p. 24 : 
 
 " Indigo brushes are not very com- 
 mon ; the timber in these is generally 
 white or blackbutted gum ; the ground 
 beneath is covered with the native 
 indigo, a very beautiful plant, with a 
 light purple flower." 
 
 . 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 140 : 
 
 "The 'darling-pea' or 'indigo-plant' 
 is a dreaded plant from the great 
 amount of loss it has inflicted on stock- 
 owners. Its effect on sheep is well 
 known ; they separate from the flock, 
 wander about listlessly, and are known 
 to the shepherds as ' pea-eaters,' or 
 'indigo-eaters.' When once a sheep 
 takes to eating this plant it seldom or 
 never fattens, and may be said to be 
 lost to its owner. The late Mr. Charles 
 Thorn, of Queensland, placed a lamb 
 which had become an 'indigo-eater' 
 in a small paddock, where it refused 
 to eat grass. It, however, ate the 
 indigo plant greedily, and followed 
 Mr. Thorn all over the paddock for 
 some indigo he held in his hand."
 
 1ND-IRO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 211 
 
 Indented Servants, n, same as 
 Assigned (q.v.) Servants. 
 
 1810. 'History of New South Wales' 
 (1818), p. 352: 
 
 " Public Notice. Secretary's Office, 
 Sydney, July 21, 1810. A ship being 
 daily expected to arrive here from 
 England with female convicts, whom 
 it is His Excellency the Governor's 
 intention to distribute among the 
 settlers, as indented servants. ..." 
 
 Ink-plant, n. another name for 
 the "toot," a New Zealand shrub, 
 Coriaria thymifolia, N.O. Coria- 
 riecE. Called Ink-plant on account 
 of its juice, which soon turns to 
 black. There is also an European 
 Ink-plant, Coriaria myrtifolia, so 
 that this is only a different species. 
 
 Ironbark, n. Early settlers 
 gave this name to several large 
 Eucalypts, from the hardness of 
 their bark, especially to E. leu- 
 coxy Ion, F. v. M., and E. resinifera, 
 Smith. In Queensland it is ap- 
 plied to E. siderophloia, Benth. 
 See also Leguminous Ironbark^ and 
 Lemon-scented Ironbark, 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. viii. p. 263 : 
 
 " A species of gum-tree, the bark of 
 which on the trunk is that of the iron- 
 bark of Port Jackson." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 183 : 
 
 " It was made out of a piece of bark 
 from a tree called ironbark (nearly as 
 hard when dry as an English elm- 
 board)." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. ii. p. 45 : 
 
 " But this gradually changed to an 
 ironbark (Eucalyptus resinifera) and 
 cypress-pine forest." 
 
 1875. T- Laslett, 'Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 199 : 
 
 " The ironbark-tree (Eticalyptus 
 resinifera) is ... widely spread over 
 a large part of Australia. ... A lofty 
 forest tree of moderate circumference. 
 ... It is believed to have been named 
 as above by some of the earliest Aus- 
 
 tralian settlers on account of the ex- 
 treme hardness of its bark ; but it 
 might with equal reason have been 
 called ironwood. The wood is of a 
 deep red colour, very hard, heavy, 
 strong, extremely rigid, and rather 
 difficult to work . . . used extensively 
 in shipbuilding and engineering works 
 in Australia ; and in this country (Eng- 
 land) it is employed in the mercantile 
 navy for beams, keelsons, and . . . 
 below the line of flotation." 
 
 1883. G. W. Rusden, ' History of Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 77 : 
 
 "The ironbark (Eucalyptus sidero- 
 xylori) became from its durability a 
 synonym for toughness." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood/ Miner's Right,' 
 c. xxvii. p. 248 : 
 
 " The corrugated stems of the great 
 ironbark trees stood black and col- 
 umnar." 
 
 1893. 'The Age,' May u, p. 7, col. 3, 
 (advt.): 
 
 "Monday, I5th May. Supply in 
 one or more contracts of not less than 
 20 beams of 400 ironbark or box beams 
 for cattle pits, delivered at any station. 
 Particulars at the office of the Engineer 
 for Existing Lines." 
 
 With qualifications. Silver- 
 leaved 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 65 : 
 
 " The silver-leaved ironbark (Euca- 
 lyptus pulverulentus) was here coming 
 into blossom." 
 
 Narrow-leaved 
 1847. Ibid. p. 154 : 
 
 " The narrow-leaved ironbark [grew] 
 on a lighter sandy soil." 
 
 Iron hand, a term of Victorian 
 politics. It was a new Standing 
 Order introducing what has since 
 been called the Closure, and was 
 first moved in the Victorian 
 Legislative Assembly on Jan. 27, 
 1876. 
 
 1876. ' Victorian Hansard,' Jan. 20, vol. 
 xxiii. p. 2002 : 
 
 " They [the Government] have dealt 
 with the Opposition with a velvet 
 glove ; but the iron hand is beneath, 
 and they shall feel it."
 
 212 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [IRO-IVY 
 
 1884. G. W. Rusden, ' History of Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. iii. p. 406 : 
 
 " The cloture, or the ' iron hand,' as 
 McCulloch's resolution was called, was 
 adopted in Victoria, for one session." 
 
 Ironheart, n. a New Zealand 
 tree, Metrosideros tomentosa, N.O. 
 Myrtacece; native name, Pohutu- 
 kawa. 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 311 : 
 
 " It was the 'downy ironheart' 
 
 That from the cliffs o'erhanging 
 
 grew, 
 
 And o'er the alcove, every part, 
 Such beauteous leaves and blos- 
 soms threw." 
 
 ''Note. This most lovely tree is 
 common about the northern coasts 
 and cliffs of the North Island and the 
 banks of Lake Tarawera." 
 
 Ironwood, n. The name is 
 used of many hard-wooded trees 
 in various parts of the world. 
 The Australian varieties are 
 
 Ironwood (Queensland) 
 
 Acacia excelsa, Benth., N.O. 
 
 Leguminosce ; 
 Melaleuca genistifolta, Smith, 
 
 N.O. Myrtacece. 
 
 Ironwood (North Queensland) 
 Myrtus gonoclada, F. v. M., N.O. 
 
 Myrtacece. 
 Ironwood (North New South 
 
 Wales) 
 Olea paniculata, R.Br., N.O. 
 
 Jasminece. 
 Ironwood (Tasmania) ; 
 
 Notelcea ligustrina. Vent., N.O. 
 
 Jasminece. 
 Scrub Ironwood 
 Myrtus hillii, Benth., N.O. 
 
 Myrtacece. 
 
 For Ironwood of New Zealand, 
 see Puriri. 
 
 1802. G. Harrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. xii. p. 479 : 
 
 "A club of iron-wood, which the 
 cannibals had left in the boat." 
 
 1823. W. B. Cramp, 'Narrative of a 
 Voyage to India,' p. 17 : 
 
 "... they have a short club made 
 of iron wood, called a waday, and a 
 scimeter made of the same wood." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 579 : 
 
 " ' Ironwood ' and ' Heartwood ' of 
 Tasmania ; ' Spurious Olive,' ' White 
 Plum ' of Gippsland. An exceedingly 
 hard, close-grained wood, used for 
 mallets, sheaves of blocks, turnery, 
 etc. The heartwood yields a very 
 peculiar figure ; it is a very fair sub- 
 stitute for lignum-vitae." 
 
 Irriakura, n. an aboriginal 
 name for the tubers of Cyperus 
 rotundus, Linn., N.O. Cyperacece, 
 adopted by white men in Central 
 Australia. 
 
 1896. E. C. Stirling, 'Home Expe- 
 dition in Central Australia,' Anthropology, 
 p. 60 : 
 
 " Cyperus rotundus. In almost 
 every camp we saw large quantities of 
 the tunicated tubes of this plant, which 
 are generally called ' Erriakura ' or 
 ' Irriakura' by the Arunta natives. . . 
 Even raw they are pleasant to the 
 taste, having an agreeable nutty 
 flavour, which is much improved by 
 the slight roasting." 
 
 Ivory-wood, n. an Australian 
 timber, Siphonodon australe, Benth., 
 N.O. Celastrince. 
 
 Ivy, n. a child's name for the 
 ivy-leaf geraniums, especially the 
 double pink-flowered one called 
 Madame Kruse. In Australia the 
 warm climate makes these all 
 evergreens, and they are trained 
 over fences and walls, sometimes 
 to the height of twenty or thirty 
 feet, supplanting the English ivy 
 in this use, and covered with 
 masses of flowers. 
 
 Ivy, Native, an Australian 
 plant, Muehlenbeckia adpressa, 
 Meissn., N.O. Polygonacece ; called 
 also Macquarie Harbour Vine, or 
 Grape. The name is widely applied 
 also to the acclimatised Cape Ivy, 
 or German Ivy (Senecio scandens}.
 
 IVY] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 213 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 46 : 
 
 " ' Native Ivy,' Macquarie Harbour 
 Vine or Grape of Tasmania. The 
 currant-like fruits are sub-acid, and 
 were, and perhaps still are, used for 
 tarts, puddings, and preserves ; the 
 leaves taste like sorrel." 
 
 Ivy, Wild, n. an Australian 
 creeper, Platylobium triangulare, 
 R.Br., N. O. Leguminosce. 
 
 Ivy- tree, n. New Zealand tree, 
 genus Panax, N. O. Araliaca ; 
 Maori name, Horoeka. It is also 
 called Lancewood (q.v.). 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 127 : 
 
 " Horoeka, ivy-tree. An ornamental, 
 slender, and sparingly-branched tree. 
 Wood close-grained and tough."
 
 214 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [JAB-JAC 
 
 Jabiru, n. The word comes 
 from Brazil, and was first given 
 there to the large stork Mycteria 
 (Xenorhynchus] Americana. The 
 Australian species is M. australis, 
 Lath. It has the back and neck 
 dark grey, changing on the neck 
 to scarlet. There is a black-necked 
 stork in Australia (Xenorhynchus 
 asiaticus), which is also called the 
 Jabiru. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 194 : 
 
 " We saw a Tabiroo [sic] (Mycte- 
 ria)." 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 195 : 
 
 " In October, 1858, I succeeded in 
 purchasing a fine living specimen of 
 the New Holland Jabiru, or Gigantic 
 Crane of the colonists (Mycteria 
 Australis)." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 P- 323 = 
 
 " The splendid Australian jabiru 
 (Mycteria Australis), and I had the 
 good fortune to shoot on the wing a 
 specimen of this beautiful variety of 
 the stork family." 
 
 Jacana, n. a Brazilian word for 
 a bird of the genus Parra (q.v.). 
 The Australian species is the 
 Comb-crested Jacana, Parra gal- 
 linacea, Temm. It is also called 
 the Lotus-bird (q.v.). 
 
 Jack in a Box, i.q. Hair- 
 trigger (q.v.). 
 
 1854. ' The Home Companion,' p. 554 : 
 
 " When previously mentioning the 
 elegant Stylidium graminifolium 
 (grass-leaved Jack-in-a-box), which 
 may be easily known by its numerous 
 grassy-like radical leaves, and pretty 
 pink flowers, on a long naked stem, 
 we omitted to mention a peculiarity 
 
 in it, which is said to afford much 
 amusement to the aborigines, who are, 
 generally speaking, fond of, and have 
 a name for, many of the plants com- 
 mon in their own territories. The 
 stigma lies at the apex of a long 
 column, surrounded and concealed by 
 the anthers. This column is exceed- 
 ingly irritable, and hangs down on one 
 side of the flower, until it is touched, 
 when it suddenly springs up and shifts 
 to the opposite side of the blossom or 
 calyx." 
 
 1859. D. Bunce, ' Australasiatic Remin- 
 iscences,' p. 26 : 
 
 " Stylidium (native Jack in a box). 
 This genus is remarkable for the sin- 
 gular elasticity of the column stylis, 
 which support the anthers, and which 
 being irritable, will spring up if pricked 
 with a pin, or other little substance, 
 below the joint, before the pollen, a 
 small powder, is shed, throwing itself 
 suddenly over, like a reflex arm, to the 
 opposite side of the flower. Hence 
 the colonial designation of Jack in a 
 box." 
 
 Jack the Painter, n. very strong 
 bush-tea, so called from the mark 
 it leaves round the drinker's 
 mouth. 
 
 1855. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes,' 
 p. 163 : 
 
 " Another notorious ration tea of the 
 bush is called Jack the Painter a 
 very green tea indeed, its viridity evi- 
 dently produced by a discreet use of 
 the copper drying-pans in its manu- 
 facture." 
 
 1878. ' The Australian,' vol. i. p. 418 : 
 
 " The billy wins, and ' Jack the 
 Painter' tea 
 
 Steams on the hob, from aught like 
 fragrance free." 
 
 1880. Garnet Walch, ' Victoria in 1880,' 
 p. 113 : 
 
 " Special huts had to be provided for
 
 JAC] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 215 
 
 them [the sundowners], where they 
 
 enjoyed eleemosynary rations of 
 
 mutton, damper, and 'Jack the 
 Painter.' " 
 
 Jackaroo, n. a name for a 
 Colonial Experience (q.v.), a young 
 man fresh from England, learning 
 squatting; called in New Zealand 
 a Cadet (q.v.). Compare the 
 American " tenderfoot." Averse 
 definition runs : 
 
 "To do all sorts and kinds of jobs, 
 Help all the men Jacks, Bills or Bobs, 
 
 As well as he is able. 
 To be neither boss, overseer, nor man, 
 But a little of all as well as he can, 
 
 And eat at the master's table." 
 
 The word is generally supposed 
 to be a corruption (in imitation 
 of the word Kangaroo) of the 
 words "Johnny Raw." Mr. Mes- 
 ton, in the ' Sydney Bulletin,' 
 April 18, 1896, says it comes from 
 theold Brisbaneblacks, who called 
 the pied crow shrike (Strepera 
 graculina) "tchaceroo," a gabbling 
 and garrulous bird. They called 
 the German missionaries of 1838 
 "jackeroo," a gabbler, because 
 they were always talking. After- 
 wards they applied it to all white 
 men. 
 
 1880. W. Senior, 'Travel and Trout,' 
 p. 19: 
 
 "Jackaroos the name given to 
 young gentlemen newly arrived from 
 home to gather colonial experiences." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant ' Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 53 : 
 
 " The young jackaroo woke early next 
 morning." [Footnote]: "The name by 
 which young men who go to the Aus- 
 tralian colonies to pick up colonial 
 experience are designated." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance 
 Australia,' p. 85 : 
 
 " Of course before starting on their 
 own account to work a station they go 
 into the bush to gain colonial expe- 
 rience, during which process they are 
 known in the colony as ' jackaroos.' " 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Sydney- 
 side Saxon,' p. 74 : 
 
 " We went most of the way by rail 
 and coach, and then a jackaroo met us 
 with a fine pair of horses in a wag- 
 gonette. I expected to see a first 
 cousin to a kangaroo, when the coach- 
 driver told us, instead of a young gen- 
 tleman learning squatting." 
 
 1894. ' Sydney Morning Herald ' (date 
 lost) : 
 
 " ' Jack-a-roo ' is of the same class of 
 slang ; but the unlucky fellow often 
 gentle and soft-handed who does the 
 oddwork of a sheep or cattle station, if 
 he finds time and heart for letters to 
 any who love him, probably writes his 
 rue with a difference." 
 
 Jackaroo, v. to lead the life of 
 a Jackaroo. 
 
 1890. Tasma, ' In her Earliest Youth,' 
 p. 152: 
 
 " I've seen such a lot of those new 
 chums, one way and another. They 
 knock down all their money at the 
 first go-off, and then there's nothing 
 for them to do but to go and jackaroo 
 up in Queensland." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' c. xix. p. 239 : 
 
 "A year or two more Jackerooing 
 would only mean the consumption of 
 so many more figs of negro-head, in 
 my case." 
 
 Jackass-fish, n. another Sydney 
 name for the Morwong (q.v.). 
 
 Jackass, Laughing, n. (i)The 
 popular name of an Australian bird, 
 Dacelo gigas, Bodd, the Great 
 Brown Kingfisher of Australia ; 
 see Dacelo. To an Australian 
 who has heard the ludicrous 
 note of the bird and seen its 
 comical, half-stupid appearance, 
 the origin of the name seems 
 obvious. It utters a prolonged 
 rollicking laugh, often preceded 
 by an introductory stave re- 
 sembling the opening passage of 
 a donkey's bray. 
 
 But the name has been errone- 
 ously derived from the French 
 jacasse, as to which Littre gives 
 
 tcrme populaire. Fetnme, fillc.
 
 216 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [JAC 
 
 qui park beaucoup." He adds, 
 that the word jacasse appears 
 to come from jacquot, a name 
 popularly given to parrots and 
 magpies, our " Poll." The verb 
 jacasser means to chatter, said of 
 a magpie. The quotation from 
 Collins (1798) seems to dispose 
 of this suggested French origin, 
 by proving the early use of the 
 name Laughing Jackass. As a 
 matter of fact, the French name 
 had already in 1776 been assigned 
 to the bird, viz. Grand Martin- 
 pecheur de la Nouvelle Guinee. [See 
 Pierre Sonnerat, ' Voyage a la Nou- 
 velle Gutnee'( Paris, 1776), p. 171-] 
 The only possibility of French 
 origin would be from the sailors 
 of La Pe>ouse. But La Perouse 
 arrived in Botany Bay on January 
 26, 1788, and found Captain 
 Phillip's ships leaving for Sydney 
 Cove. The intercourse between 
 them was very slight. The French 
 formed a most unfavourable idea 
 of the country, and sailed away on 
 March 10. If from their short 
 intercourse, the English had ac- 
 cepted the word Jackass, would 
 not mention of the fact have been 
 made by Governor Phillip, or 
 Surgeon White, who mention the 
 bird but by a different name (see 
 quotations 1789, 1790), or by 
 Captain Watkin Tench, or Judge- 
 Advocate Collins, who both men- 
 tion the incident of the French 
 ships ? 
 
 The epithet " laughing " is now 
 often omitted; the bird is gene- 
 rally called only a Jackass, and 
 this is becoming contracted into 
 the simple abbreviation of Jack. 
 A common popular name for it 
 is the Settlers 1 -Clock. (See quota- 
 tions 1827, Cunningham ; 1846, 
 Haydon ; and 1847, Leichhardt.) 
 The aboriginal name of the bird 
 is Kookaburra (q.v.), and by this 
 
 name it is generally called in 
 Sydney ; another spelling is Gogo- 
 bera. 
 
 There is another bird called a 
 Laughing Jackass in New Zealand 
 which is not a Kingfisher, but an 
 Owl, Sceloglaux albifacies, Kaup. 
 (Maori name, Whekau). The New 
 Zealand bird is rare, the Aus- 
 tralian bird very common. The 
 so-called Derwent Jackass of Tas- 
 mania is a Shrike ( Cracticus cinereus, 
 Gould), and is more properly called 
 the Grey Butcher-bird. See ButcJier- 
 bird. 
 
 1789. Governor Phillip, ' Voyage,' p. 
 287: 
 
 Description given with picture, 
 but under name " Great Brown 
 Kingsfisher" [sic], 
 
 Ibid. p. 156: 
 
 Similar bird, with description and 
 picture, under name "Sacred King's 
 Fisher." 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales,' p. 137 : 
 
 "We not long after discovered 
 the Great Brown King's Fisher, of 
 which a plate is annexed. This bird 
 has been described by Mr. Latham in 
 his ' General Synopsis of Birds,' vol. ii. 
 p. 603." 
 
 Ibid. p. 193 : 
 
 "We this day shot the Sacred 
 King's-Fisher (see plate annexed)." 
 
 1798. Collins, ' Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' p. 615, 
 (Vocabulary) : 
 
 " Gi-gan-ne-gine. Bird named by 
 us the Laughing Jackass. Go-con-de 
 inland name for it." 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 232 : 
 
 "The loud and discordant noise of 
 the laughing jackass (or settler's-clock, 
 as he is called), as he takes up his 
 roost on the withered bough of one of 
 our tallest trees, acquaints us that the 
 sun has just dipped behind the hills." 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Transac- 
 tions of Linnsean Society,' vol. xv. p. 204 : 
 
 "The settlers call this bird the Laugh- 
 ing Jackass. I have also heard it called 
 the Hawkesbury-Clock (clocks being
 
 JAC] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 217 
 
 at the period of my residence scarce 
 articles in the colony, there not being 
 one perhaps in the whole Hawkes- 
 bury settlement), for it is among the 
 first of the feathered tribes which 
 announce the approach of day." 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, ' Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 71 : 
 
 " The laughing jackass, or settler's- 
 clock is an uncouth looking creature 
 of an ashen brown colour . . . This 
 bird is the first to indicate by its note 
 the approach of day, and thus it has 
 received its other name, the settler's- 
 clock." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion/ p. 234 : 
 
 " I usually rise when I hear the 
 merry laugh of the laughing-jackass 
 (Dacelo gigantea\ which, from its 
 regularity, has not been unaptly named 
 the settlers'-clock." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. ii. pi. 1 8 : 
 
 11 Dacelo Gigantea, Leach, Great 
 Brown King Fisher; Laughing Jackass 
 of the Colonists." 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, ' Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 58 : 
 
 " You are startled by a loud, sudden 
 cackling, like flocks of geese, followed 
 by an obstreperous hoo ! hoo ! ha ! ha ! 
 of the laughing jackass (Dacelo gigan- 
 tea) a species of jay." 
 
 [Hewitt's comparison with the 
 jay is evidently due to the azure 
 iridescent markings on the upper 
 part of the wings, in colour like 
 the blue feathers on the jay.] 
 
 1862. F. J. Jobson, ' Australia,' c. vi. p. 
 H5: 
 
 " The odd medley of cackling, bray, 
 and chuckle notes from the ' Laughing 
 Jackass."' 
 
 1872. C. II. Eden, 'My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 18 : 
 
 " At daylight came a hideous chorus 
 of fiendish laughter, as if the infernal 
 regions had been broken loose this 
 was the song of another feathered 
 innocent, the laughing jackass not 
 half a bad sort of fellow when you 
 come to know him, for he kills snakes, 
 and is an infallible sign of the vicinity 
 of fresh-water." 
 
 1880. T. W. Nutt, ' Palace of Industry,' 
 P- 15: 
 
 "Where clock-bird laughed and 
 sweet wild flowers throve." [Footnote] : 
 "The familiar laughing jackass." 
 
 1880. Garnet Walch, 'Victoria in iSSo/ 
 P- 13 = 
 
 " Dense forests, where the prolonged 
 cacchinations of that cynic of the 
 woods, as A. P. Martin calls the laugh- 
 ing jackass, seemed to mock us for 
 our pains." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 37: 
 
 " The harsh-voiced, big-headed, 
 laughing jackass." 
 
 1881. D. Blair, 'Cyclopaedia of Aus- 
 tralasia,' p. 202 : 
 
 " The name it vulgarly bears is a 
 corruption of the French word Jacasser, 
 'to chatter,' and the correct form is 
 the ' Laughing Jacasse.' " 
 
 [No. See above.] 
 
 1885. ' Australasian Printers' Keepsake,' 
 p. 76: 
 
 " Magpies chatter, and the jackass 
 Laughs Good-morrow like a Bac- 
 chus." 
 
 1889. Rev. J. H. Zillmann, 'Australian 
 Life,' [telling an old story] p. 155 : 
 
 " The Archbishop inquired the name 
 of a curious bird which had attracted 
 his attention. 'Your grace, we call 
 that the laughing jackass in this 
 country, but I don't know the botanical 
 [sic] name of the bird." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Canni- 
 bals, p. 27 : 
 
 " Few of the birds of Australia have 
 pleased me as much as this curious 
 laughing jackass, though it is both 
 clumsy and unattractive in colour. 
 Far from deserving its name jackass, 
 it is on the contrary very wise and also 
 very courageous. It boldly attacks 
 venomous snakes and large lizards, 
 and is consequently the friend of the 
 colonist." 
 
 1890. Tasma, ' In her Earliest Youth,' 
 p. 265 : 
 
 ' 'There's a jackass a real laughing 
 jackass on that dead branch. They 
 have such a queer note ; like this, you 
 know ' and upon her companion's 
 startled ears there rang forth, all of a 
 sudden, the most curious, inimitable,
 
 218 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [JAC-JAR 
 
 guttural, diabolical tremolo it had ever 
 befallen them to hear." 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes Game Act, 
 Third Schedule' : 
 
 " [Close season.] Great Kingfisher or 
 Laughing Jackass. The whole year. 
 All Kingfishers other than the Laugh- 
 ing Jackass. From the ist day of 
 August to the 2oth day of December 
 next following in each year." 
 
 (2) The next quotations refer 
 to the New Zealand bird. 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open/ 
 p. 122: 
 
 " Athene Albifacies, wekau of the 
 Maoris, is known by some up-country 
 settlers as the big owl or laughing 
 jackass" 
 
 "The cry of the laughing jackass 
 . . . Why it should share with one of 
 our petrels and the great Dacelo of 
 Australia the trivial name of laughing 
 jackass, we know not ; if its cry re- 
 sembles laughter at all, it is the un- 
 controllable outburst, the convulsive 
 shout of insanity ; we have never been 
 able to trace the faintest approach to 
 mirthful sound in the unearthly yells 
 of this once mysterious night-bird." 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 198 : 
 
 " Sceloglaux albifacies, Kaup., 
 Laughing Owl ; Laughing Jackass of 
 the Colonists." 
 
 [The following" quotation refers 
 to the Derwent Jackass .] 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, ' Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. no : 
 
 "You have heard of . . the laugh- 
 ing jackass. We, too, have a 'jackass, 3 
 a smaller bird, and not in any way 
 remarkable, except for its merry gab- 
 bling sort of song, which when several 
 pipe up together, always gives one the 
 idea of a party of very talkative people 
 all chattering against time, and all at 
 once." 
 
 Jack-bird, n, a bird of the 
 South Island of New Zealand, 
 Creadion cinereus, Buller. See also 
 Saddle-back and Creadion. 
 
 1888. W. L. Bnller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 23 : 
 
 " It has become the habit to speak 
 of this bird as the Brown Saddle-back ; 
 
 but this is a misnomer, inasmuch as 
 the absence of the ' saddle ' is its dis- 
 tinguishing feature. I have accord- 
 ingly adopted the name of Jack-bird, 
 by which it is known among the 
 settlers in the South Island. Why 
 it should be so called I cannot say, 
 unless this is an adaptation of the 
 native name Tieke, the same word 
 being the equivalent, in the Maori 
 vernacular, of our Jack." 
 
 Jack Shay, or Jackshea, n. 
 a tin quart-pot. 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 209 : 
 
 "Hobbles and Jack Shays hang 
 from the saddle dees." [Footnote] : "A 
 tin quart-pot, used for boiling water 
 for tea, and contrived so as to hold 
 within it a tin pint-pot." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 14, p. 4, 
 col. i : 
 
 " Some of his clothes, with his 
 saddle, serve for a pillow ; his ration 
 bags are beside his head, and his 
 jackshea (quart-pot) stands by the 
 fire." 
 
 Jacky "Winter, n. the ver- 
 nacular name in New South 
 Wales of the Brown Flycatcher, 
 Micrceca fascinans, a common little 
 bird about Sydney. The name 
 has been ascribed to the fact that 
 it is a resident species, very com- 
 mon, and that it sings all through 
 the winter, when nearly every 
 other species is silent. See Fly- 
 catcher. 
 
 Jade, n. See Greenstone. 
 
 Jarrah, n. Anglicised form of 
 Jerryhl, the native name of a 
 certain species of Eucalyptus, 
 which grows in the south of 
 Western Australia, east and 
 south-east of Perth. In Sir 
 Georg'e Grey's Glossary (1840), 
 Djar-rail ; Mr. G. F. Moore's 
 (1884), Djarryl. (Eucalyptus mar- 
 ginata, Donn.) The name Bastard- 
 Jarrah is given to E. botryoides, 
 Smith, which bears many other 
 names. It is the Blue-Ginn of
 
 JAS-JEM] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 219 
 
 New South Wales coast-districts, 
 the Bastard-Mahogany of Gipps- 
 land and New South Wales, and 
 also Swamp Mahogany in Victoria 
 and New South Wales, and occa- 
 sionally Woolly-Butt. 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 102 : 
 
 "It may be that after all the hopes 
 of the West-Australian Micawbers will 
 be realised in jarrah-wood." 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 189: 
 
 "The Jarrah or Mahogany-tree is 
 also found in Western Australia. _The 
 wood is red in colour, hard, heavy, 
 close in texture, slightly wavy in the 
 grain, and with occasionally enough 
 figure to give it value for ornamental 
 purposes ; it works up quite smoothly 
 and takes a good polish." 
 
 1883. G. W. Rusden, ' History of Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 77 : 
 
 " The jarrah of Western Australia 
 (Eucalyptus marginata} has a peculiar 
 reputation for its power to defy decay 
 when submerged and exposed to the 
 attacks of the dreaded teredo, and has 
 been largely exported to India." 
 
 1888. R. Kipling, Plain Tales from the 
 Hills,' p. 163: 
 
 "... the awful butchery . . of the 
 Maribyrnong Plate. The walls were 
 colonial ramparts logs of jarrah 
 spiked into masonry with wings as 
 strong as Church buttresses.'' 
 
 [Jarrah is not a Victorian, but a 
 West-Australian timber, and imported 
 logs are not used by the V.R.C., 
 but white or red gum. For making 
 "jumps," no logs are "spiked into 
 masonry," and the Maribyrnong Plate 
 is not a "jump-race."] 
 
 1892. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the Com- 
 pass in Australia,' p. 415 : 
 
 " Mr. W. H. Knight, twenty years 
 ago, gave evidence as to the value of 
 the jarrah. ... It is found that piles 
 driven down in the Swan River were, 
 after being exposed to the action of 
 wind, water, and weather for forty 
 years, as sound and firm as when put 
 into the water. ... It completely 
 resists the attacks of the white ants, 
 where stringy-bark, blue-gum, white- 
 gum, and black-wood are eaten 
 
 through, or rendered useless, in from 
 six to twelve years." 
 
 1896. ' The Times ' (weekly edition), 
 Dec. 4, p. 822, col. i : 
 
 " The jarrah, Eucalyptus marginata, 
 stands pre-eminent as the leading 
 timber tree of the Western Australian 
 forests. For constructive work neces- 
 sitating contact with soil and water 
 jarrahwood has no native equal. A 
 jarrah forest is dull, sombre, and un- 
 interesting to the eye. In first-class 
 forests the trees attain a height of from 
 90 ft. to 1 20 ft., with good stems 3ft. to 
 5 ft. in diameter. The tree is practi- 
 cally confined to the south-western 
 division of the colony, where the heavi- 
 est rains of the season fall. As a rule, 
 jarrah is found either intermixed with 
 the karri tree or in close proximity 
 to it." 
 
 Jasmine, Native, n. an Aus- 
 tralian plant, Ricinocarpus pini- 
 folius, Desf., N.O. Euphorbiacece. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 286 : 
 
 " Native Jasmine. This plant yields 
 abundance of seeds, like small castor- 
 oil seeds. They yield an oil." 
 
 Jelly-leaf, n. i.q. Queensland 
 Hemp (q.v.). 
 
 Jelly-plant, a sea-weed, Eu- 
 cheuma spedosum, J. Agardh, IV. O. 
 Alga. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 28 : 
 
 "Jelly-plant of Western Australia. 
 This is a remarkable sea-weed of a very 
 gelatinous character [used by] the 
 people of Western Australia for making 
 jelly, blanc- mange, etc. Size and 
 cement can also be made from it. It 
 is cast ashore from deep water." 
 
 Jemmy Donnelly, n. a ridi- 
 culous name given to three trees, 
 Euroschinus falcatus, Hook, N.O. 
 Anacardiacetz ; Myrsine variabilis, 
 R.Br., N.O. Myrsinacea ; and 
 Eucalyptus resinifera, Sm., N.O. 
 Myrtacea. They are large timber 
 trees, highly valued in Queens- 
 land.
 
 220 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [JER-JIM 
 
 Jerrawicke, n. obsolete name 
 for Colonial beer. 
 
 1857. J. Askew, ' A Voyage to Aus- 
 tralia and New Zealand,' p. 272 : 
 
 "There were always a number of 
 natives roaming about. There might 
 be about 1 50 in all, of the Newcastle 
 tribe. They were more wretched and 
 filthy, and if possible, uglier than those 
 of Adelaide. . . . All the earnings of 
 the tribe were spent in tobacco and jer- 
 rawicke (colonist-made ale)." 
 
 ,1857. Ibid. p. 273 : 
 
 " A more hideous looking spectacle 
 can hardly be imagined than that pre- 
 sented by these savages around the 
 blazing fire, carousing among jerra- 
 wicke and the offal of slaughtered 
 animals.' " 
 
 Jew-fish, n. a name applied in 
 New South Wales to two or 
 more different species, Scicena 
 antarctica, Castln., and Glaucosoma 
 hebraicum, Richards. Scicena an- 
 tarctica, Castln., is the King-fish 
 of the Melbourne market. Scicena 
 is called Dew-fish in Brisbane. 
 It belongs to the family Scitenidce. 
 The Australian species is distinct 
 from S. aquila, the European 
 " Maigre " or "Meagre," but 
 closely resembles it. Glaucosoma 
 belongs to the Percidce. The 
 Silver Jew-fish of New South 
 Wales is thought to be the same 
 as the Teraglin (q.v.), Otolithus 
 atelodus, Giinth., also of the 
 family Scianidtz. Tenison Woods 
 (in ' Fish and Fisheries of 
 New South Wales,' 1882, p. 34) 
 says the Jew-fish of New South 
 Wales is sometimes Glaucosoma 
 scapulare, Ramsay ; and Glauco- 
 soma hebraicum, Richards., is the 
 Jew-fish of Western Australia (a 
 marine fish). Fishes on the 
 American coasts, different from 
 these, are there called Jew-fishes. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 40 : 
 
 "The water-holes abounded with 
 jew-fish and eels." 
 
 Jew-Lizard, n. a large Aus- 
 tralian lizard, Amphibolurus bar- 
 batus, Cuv. ; called also Bearded 
 Lizard. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 89: 
 
 "A small Chlamydophoms (Jew- 
 lizard of the Hunter) was also seen." 
 
 [The Hunter is a river of New South 
 Wales.] 
 
 1890. F. McCoy, ' Prodromus of the 
 Natural History of Victoria,' Decade xiii. 
 pi. 121 : 
 
 "This is commonly called the Jew 
 Lizard by colonists, and is easily dis- 
 tinguished by the beard-like growth 
 of long slender spires round the throat 
 . . . when irritated, it inflates the 
 body to a considerably increased size, 
 and hisses like a snake exciting alarm ; 
 but rarely biting." 
 
 1893. 'The Argus/ July 22, p. 4, 
 col. 5 : 
 
 " The great Jew-lizards that lay and 
 laughed horribly to themselves in the 
 pungent dust on the untrodden floors." 
 
 Jil-crow-a-berry, n. the Angli- 
 cised pronunciation and spelling 
 of the aboriginal name for the 
 indigenous Rat-tail Grass, Sporo- 
 bolus indicus, R.Br. 
 
 Jimmy, n. obsolete name for 
 an immigrant, a word which was 
 jocularly changed into Jimmy 
 Grant. The word ' immigrant ' 
 is as familiar in Australia as 
 'emigrant' in England. 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, ' Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 p. 211 : 
 
 " ' What are these men that we are 
 going to see ? ' ' Why one,' said Lee, 
 is a young Jimmy I beg your pardon, 
 sir, an emigrant, the other two are old 
 prisoners.' " 
 
 1867. ' Cassell's Magazine,' p. 440 : 
 
 " ' I never wanted to leave England,' 
 I have heard an old Vandemonian 
 observe boastfully. ' I wasn't like one 
 of these ' Jemmy Grants' (cant term 
 for ' emigrants ') ; I could always earn 
 a good living ; it was the Government 
 as took and sent me out." 
 
 [The writers probably used the word 
 immigrant, which, not being familiar
 
 JIM-JIR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 221 
 
 to the English compositor, was mis- 
 printed emigrant. The "old Vande- 
 monian " must certainly have said 
 immigrantl\ 
 
 Jimmy Low, n. one of the many 
 names of a Timber-tree, Euca- 
 lyptus resinifera, Smith, N.O. 
 Myrtacea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 208: 
 
 " The ' Red,' or ' Forest Mahogany,' 
 of the neighbourhood of Sydney. 
 These are bad names, as the wood 
 bears no real resemblance to the true 
 mahogany. Because the product of 
 this tree first brought Australian kino 
 into medical notice, it is often in old 
 books called ' Botany Bay Gum-tree.' 
 Other names for it are Red gum, 
 Grey gum, Hickory, and it perpetuates 
 the memory of an individual by being 
 called ' Jimmy Low.' " 
 
 Jingle, n. a two -wheeled 
 vehicle, like an Irish car, once 
 common in Melbourne, still used 
 in Brisbane and some other 
 towns : so called from the rattle 
 made by it when in motion. The 
 word is not Australian, as is 
 generally supposed ; the ' Cen- 
 tury ' gives "a covered two- 
 wheeled car used in the south of 
 Ireland." 
 
 1862. Clara Aspinall, ' Three Years in 
 Melbourne,' p. 122 : 
 
 " An omnibus may be chartered at 
 much less cost (gentlemen who have 
 lived in India will persist in calling 
 this vehicle a. jingle, which perhaps 
 sounds better) ; it is a kind of dos-a- 
 dos conveyance, holding three in front 
 and three behind : it has a water- 
 proof top to it supported by four iron 
 rods, and oilskin curtains to draw all 
 round as a protection from the rain 
 and dust." 
 
 1863. B. A. Heywood, ' Vacation Tour 
 at the Antipodes,' p. 44 : 
 
 " During my stay in Melbourne I 
 took a jingle, or car, and drove to St. 
 Kilda." 
 
 1865. Lady Barker, writing from Mel- 
 bourne, ' Station Life in New Zealand,' 
 p. 12: 
 
 "A vehicle which was quite new to 
 me a sort of light car with a canopy 
 and curtains, holding four, two on 
 each seat, dos-k-dos, and called a 
 jingle of American parentage, I fancy. 
 One drive in this carriage was quite 
 enough, however." 
 
 1869. Marcus Clarke, ' Peripatetic Philo- 
 sopher,' p. 14 : 
 
 " Some folks prefer to travel 
 Over stones and rocks and gravel ; 
 And smile at dust and jolting fit to 
 
 dislocate each bone. 
 To see 'em driving in a jingle, 
 It would make your senses tingle, 
 For you couldn't put a sixpence 'twixt 
 the wheel and the kerb-stone." 
 
 1887. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. i. p. 64 : 
 
 " In former days the Melbourne cab 
 was a kind of Irish car, popularly 
 known as a jingle. . . . The jingle 
 has been ousted by the one-horse 
 waggonette." 
 
 1887. R. M. Praed, ' Longleat of Kooral- 
 byn,' c. iv. p. 30: 
 
 "The Premier hailed a passing 
 jingle." 
 
 [This was in Brisbane.] 
 
 Jinkers, n. a contrivance 
 much used in the bush for moving 
 heavy logs and trunks of trees. 
 It consists of two pairs of wheels, 
 with their axle-trees joined by a 
 long beam, under which the trunks 
 are suspended by chains. Its 
 structure is varied in town for 
 moving wooden houses. Called 
 in England a " whim." 
 
 1894. 'The Argus,' July 7, p. 8, col. 4: 
 
 " A rather novel spectacle was to be 
 seen to-day on the Ballan road in the 
 shape of a five-roomed cottage on 
 jinkers. ... Mr. Scottney, carrier of 
 Fitzroy, on whose jinkers the removal 
 is being made . . ." 
 
 Jirrand, adj. an aboriginal word 
 in the dialect of Botany Bay, signi- 
 fy ing " afraid." Ridley, in his 
 vocabulary, spells it jerron, and 
 there are other spellings. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 59 : 
 
 " The native word jirrand (afraid)
 
 222 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [JO-JOE 
 
 has become in some measure an 
 adopted child, and may probably 
 puzzle our future Johnsons with its 
 unde derivatur? 
 
 1889. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Robbery under 
 Arms,' p. 316 : 
 
 " When I saw the mob there was I 
 didn't see so much to be jerran about, 
 as it was fifty to one in favour of any 
 one that was wanted." 
 
 Jo-Jo, n. name used by Mel- 
 bourne larrikins for a man with 
 a good deal of hair on his face. 
 So called from a hairy-faced 
 Russian " dog-man " exhibited in 
 Melbourne about 1880, who was 
 advertised by that name. 
 
 Job's Tears. The seeds of 
 Coix lachryma, which are used for 
 necklace-making" by the native 
 tribes on the Cape York penin- 
 sula, are there called JoUs tears. 
 
 Joe, Joe-Joe, Joey, interjection, 
 then a verb, now obsolete. Ex- 
 plained in quotations. 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, 'Two Years iu Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 400: 
 
 " The well-known cry of ' Joe ! Joe ! ' 
 a cry which means one of the myr- 
 midons of Charley Joe, as they 
 familiarly style Mr. [Charles Joseph] 
 La Trobe, a cry which on all the 
 diggings resounds on all sides on the 
 appearance of any of the hated 
 officials." 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 135 : 
 
 " The cry of ' Joey ' would rise every- 
 where against them." [Footnote]: "To 
 'Joey' or 'Joe' a person on the dig- 
 gings, or anywhere else in Australia, is 
 to grossly insult and ridicule him." 
 
 1863. B. A. Heywood, ' Vacation Tour 
 at the Antipodes,' p. 165 : 
 
 " In the early days of the Australian 
 diggings 'Joe' was the warning word 
 shouted out when the police or gold 
 commissioners were seen approaching, 
 but is now the chaff for new chums." 
 
 1865. F. H. Nixon, ' Peter Perfume,' p. 
 58: 
 
 " And Joe joed them out, Tom toed 
 them out." 
 
 1891. ' The Argus,' Dec. 5, p. 13, col. 4 : 
 " ' The diggers,' he says, ' were up 
 in arms against the Government 
 officials, and whenever a policeman 
 or any other Government servant was 
 seen they raised the cry of "Joe-Joe." ' 
 The term was familiar to every man in 
 the fifties. In the earliest days of the 
 diggings proclamations were issued on 
 diverse subjects, but mostly in the 
 direction of curtailing the privileges of 
 the miners. These were signed, ' C. 
 Joseph La Trobe,' and became known 
 by the irreverent not to say flippant 
 description of 'Joes.' By an easy 
 transition, the corruption of the second 
 name of the Governor was applied to 
 his officers, between whom and the 
 spirited diggers no love was lost, and 
 accordingly the appearance of a police- 
 man on a lead was signalled to every 
 tent and hole by the cry of 'Joe-Joe.' '" 
 Joey, n. (i) A young kangaroo. 
 1839. W. H. Leigh, ' Reconnoitring 
 Voyages in South Australia ' pp. 93-4 : 
 
 " Here [in Kangaroo Island] is also 
 the wallaba. . . The young of the 
 animal is called by the islanders a joe." 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian Sketch- 
 es,' p. 172 : 
 
 "The young kangaroos are termed 
 joeys. The female carries the latter 
 in her pouch, but when hard pressed 
 by dogs, and likely to be sacrificed, 
 she throws them down, which usually 
 distracts the attention of the pack and 
 affords the mother sufficient time to 
 escape." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, "Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 10 : 
 
 " Sometimes when the flying doe 
 throws her 'joey ' from her pouch the 
 dogs turn upon the little one." 
 
 1896. F. G. Aflalo, ' Natural History of 
 Australia,' p. 29 : 
 
 "At length the actual fact of the 
 Kangaroo's birth, which is much as 
 that of other mammals, was carefully 
 observed at the London Zoo, and the 
 budding fiction joined the myths that 
 were. It was there proved that the 
 little 'joey' is brought into the world 
 in the usual way, and forthwith con- 
 veyed to the comfortable receptacle 
 and affixed to the teat by the dam, 
 which held the lifeless-looking little 
 thing tenderly in her cloven lips."
 
 JOH] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 223 
 
 (2) Also slang used for a baby 
 or little child, or even a young 
 animal, such as a little guinea-pig. 
 Compare " kid." 
 
 (3) A hewer of wood and drawer 
 of water. 
 
 1845. J. A. Moore, 'Tasmanian Rhym- 
 ings,' p. 15 : 
 " He was a 'joey,' which, in truth, 
 
 Means nothing more than that the 
 youth 
 
 Who claims a kangaroo descent 
 
 Is by that nomenclature meant." 
 
 1888. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Robbery un- 
 der Arms,' p. 198 : 
 
 " I'm not going to be wood-and- 
 water joey, I can tell ye." 
 
 John Dory, or Dorey, n. a fish. 
 This name is applied in New 
 South Wales and Tasmania to 
 Cyttus (Zeus) australis, Richards., 
 family Cyttida, which is nearly 
 the same as Zeusfaber, the "John 
 Dory " of Europe. Others call 
 C, australis the Bastard Dorey 
 (q.v.), and it is also called the 
 Boar-fish (q.v.) and Dollar-fish 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1880. Giinther, 'Study of Fishes,' p. 
 
 451 : 
 
 '"John Dorys ' are found in the 
 Mediterranean, on the eastern tem- 
 perate shores of the Atlantic, on the 
 coasts of Japan and Australia. Six 
 species are known, all of which are 
 highly esteemed for the table. The 
 English name given to one of the 
 European species (Zens Faber) seems 
 to be partly a corruption of the Gascon 
 ' Jau,' which signifies cock, ' Dory ' 
 being derived from the French Dorce, 
 so that the entire name means Gilt-cock. 
 Indeed, in some other localities of 
 southern Europe it bears the name of 
 Gallo. The same species occurs also 
 on the coasts of South Australia and 
 New Zealand." 
 
 Johnny-cake, n. The name is 
 of American origin, originally 
 given by the negroes to a cake 
 made of Indian corn (maize). In 
 Australia it is a cake baked on 
 
 the ashes or cooked in a frying- 
 pan. (See quotations.) The name 
 is used in the United States for a 
 slightly different cake, viz. made 
 with Indian meal and toasted 
 before a fire. 
 
 1861. Mrs. Meredith, ' Over the Straits,' 
 P- 154: 
 
 " The dough-cakes fried in fat, called 
 ' Johnny-cakes.' " 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland/ p. 20 : 
 
 " Johnny-cakes, though they are 
 smaller and very thin, and made in a 
 similar way [sc. to dampers : see 
 Damper} ; when eaten hot they are 
 excellent, but if allowed to get cold 
 they become leathery." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance of 
 Australia,' p. 3 : 
 
 "Johnny-cakes are made with no- 
 thing but flour, but there is a great art 
 in mixing them. If it is done pro- 
 perly they are about the lightest and 
 nicest sort of bread that can be made ; 
 but the efforts of an amateur generally 
 result in a wet heavy pulp that sticks 
 round one's teeth like bird-lime." 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' Aug. 16, p. 13, 
 col. I : 
 
 " Here I, a new chum, could, with 
 flour and water and a pinch of baking- 
 powder, make a sweet and wholesome 
 johnny cake." 
 
 1892. Mrs. Russell, 'Too Easily Jealous,' 
 P- 273 = 
 
 " Bread was not, and existed only in 
 the shape of johnny-cakes flat scones 
 of flour and water, baked in the hot 
 ashes." 
 
 1894. ' The Argus,' March 10, p. 4, col. 
 6: 
 
 " It is also useful to make your 
 damper or ' Johnny-cake,' which serves 
 you in place of yeast bread. A Johnny- 
 cake is made thus : Put a couple of 
 handfuls of flour into your dish, with a 
 good pinch of salt and baking soda. 
 Add water till it works to a stiff paste. 
 Divide it into three parts and flatten 
 out into cakes about half an inch thick. 
 Dust a little flour into your frying-pan 
 and put the cake in. Cook it slowly 
 over the fire, taking care it does not 
 burn, and tossing it over again and 
 again. When nearly done stand it
 
 224 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [JOL-JUM 
 
 against a stick in front of the fire, and 
 let it finish baking while you cook the 
 other two. These, with a piece of 
 wallaby and a billy of tea, are a sweet 
 meal enough after a hard day's work." 
 
 Jolly-tail, n. a Tasmanian name 
 for the larger variety of the fish 
 Galaxias attenuates, Jenyns, and 
 other species of Galaxias called 
 Inanga (q.v.) in New Zealand. 
 Galaxias weedoni is called the 
 Mersey Jolly-tail, and Galaxias 
 atkinsoni, the Pieman Jolly-tail. 
 Pieman and Mersey are two Tas- 
 manian rivers. See Mountain- 
 Trout. 
 
 July, n. a winter month in 
 Australia. See Christmas. 
 
 1888. Mrs. M'Cann, 'Poetical Works,' 
 P- 235 = 
 
 " Scarce has July with frigid visage 
 flown." 
 
 Jumbuck, n. aboriginal pigeon- 
 English for sheep. Often used 
 in the bush. The origin of this 
 word was long unknown. It is 
 thus explained by Mr. Meston, in 
 the Sydney Bulletin,' April 18, 
 1896: " The word ' jumbuck 'for 
 sheep appears originally a.sjiwba, 
 jombock, dombock, and dumbog. In 
 each case it meant the white mist 
 preceding a shower, to which a 
 flock of sheep bore a strong re- 
 semblance. It seemed the only 
 thing the aboriginal mind could 
 compare it to." 
 
 1845. C. Griffith, 'Present State and 
 Prospects of the Port Phillip District of 
 New South Wales,' p. 162 : 
 
 " The following is a specimen of such 
 eloquence : ' You pilmillally jumbuck 
 plenty sulky me, plenty boom, borack 
 gammon,' which being interpreted 
 means, ' If you shoot my sheep I 
 shall be very angry, and will shoot you 
 and no mistake.' " 
 
 1855. W. Ridley, 'Transactions of Philo- 
 logical Society,' p. 77 : 
 
 "When they adopt English words 
 ending in mutes, the blacks drop the 
 
 mute or add a vowel : thus, jimbugg, 
 a slang name for sheep, they sound 
 jimbii." \\\. was not English slang but 
 an aboriginal word.] 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' April 8, p. 4, col. I : 
 
 " Mister Charlie, jumbuck go along 
 of grass, blood all there, big dog catch 
 him there, big jumbuck, m'me word, 
 neck torn." 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' June 6, p. 
 1085, col. I : 
 
 "Jumbuck (a sheep) has been in use 
 from the earliest days, but its origin is 
 not known." 
 
 Jump, to, v. to take possession 
 of a claim (mining) on land, on the 
 ground that a former possessor 
 has abandoned it, or has not ful- 
 filled the conditions of the grant. 
 The word is also used in the 
 United States, but it is very com- 
 mon in Australia. Instead of 
 "you have taken my seat," you 
 have jumped it. So even with a 
 pew. A man in England, to 
 whom was said, "you have 
 jumped my pew," would look 
 astonished, as did that other who 
 was informed, " Excuse me, sir, 
 but you are occupewing my py." 
 
 1861. T. McCombie,' Australian Sketch- 
 es,' p. 31 : 
 
 ". . . on condition that he occupies 
 it within twenty-four hours : should this 
 rule not be observed, the right of the 
 original holder is lost, and it may be 
 occupied (or 'jumped' as it is termed) 
 by any other person as a deserted 
 claim." 
 
 1861. ' Victorian Hansard,' vol. vii. p. 
 942 (May 21) : 
 
 " Mr. Wood : Some of the evils 
 spoken of seemed indeed only to exist 
 in the imagination of the hon. and 
 learned gentleman, as, for instance, 
 that of 'jumping,' for which a remedy 
 was already given by the 77th section 
 of the present Act. 
 
 " Mr. Ireland: Yes ; after the claim 
 is 'jumped.'" 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' The Miner's 
 Right,' p. 37 : 
 
 " If such work were not commenced 
 within three days, any other miners
 
 JUM-JUN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 225 
 
 might summarily take possession of or 
 jump the claim." 
 
 Ibid. p. 52 : 
 
 " Let us have the melancholy satis- 
 faction of seeing Gus's pegs, and noting 
 whether they are all en regie. If not, 
 we'll 'jump' him." 
 
 Ibid. p. 76 : 
 
 " In default of such advertisement, 
 for the general benefit, they were liable, 
 according to custom and practice, to 
 have their claim 'jumped,' or taken 
 forcible possession of by any party of 
 miners who could prove that they were 
 concealing the golden reality." 
 
 1875. ' Melbourne Spectator,' August 
 21, p. 189, col. 3 : 
 
 "Jumping selections ... is said to 
 be very common now in the Winmera 
 district." 
 
 Jumpable, adj. open to another 
 to take. $>Q&Jump. 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. xvi. p. 114: 
 
 " The heifer station was what would 
 be called in mining parlance 'an aban- 
 doned claim ' and possibly ' jumpable.' " 
 
 Jumper, n. one who jumps a 
 claim. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' 
 c. xii. p. 127 : 
 
 " Come along, my noble jumper, 
 you've served your injunction." 
 
 Jumping-mouse, n. See Hapa- 
 lote. 
 
 June, n. a winter month in 
 Australia. See Christmas. 
 
 1886. H. C. Kendall, 'Poems,' p. 132: 
 
 " Twenty white-haired Junes have 
 
 left us 
 Grey with frost and bleak with gale." 
 
 Jungle-hen, n. name given 
 to a mound-building bird, Mega- 
 podius tumulus, Gould. See also 
 Megapode. The Indian Jungle- 
 fowl is a different bird. 
 
 1890. Carl Lumholtz, ' Among Can- 
 nibals,' p. 97 : 
 
 " But what especially gives life and 
 character to these woods are the 
 jungle-hens (mound-builders). . . The 
 bird is of a brownish hue, with yellow 
 legs and immensely large feet ; hence 
 its name Megapodius." 
 
 Juniper, Native, n. i.q. Native 
 Currant (q.v.).
 
 226 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KAH-KAI 
 
 Kahawai, n. Maori name for 
 the fish Arripis salar, Richards. ; 
 called in Australia and New Zea- 
 land Salmon (q.v.). 
 
 Kahikatea, n. Maori name for 
 a New Zealand tree, Podocarpus 
 dacrydioides, A. Rich., N. O. Coni- 
 fer<z. Also called White-Pine. See 
 Pine. The settlers' pronunciation 
 is often Kackat'ea. There is a 
 Maori word Kahika, meaning 
 ancient. 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor. ' TelkaaMaui,' 
 P- 439 : 
 
 " White-pine, Podocarpus dacry- 
 dioides Kahikatea, kahika, koroi. 
 This tree is generally called the white- 
 pine, from the colour of its wood. 
 The kahikatea may be considered as 
 nearly the loftiest tree in the New 
 Zealand forest ; it often attains a height 
 of little less than two hundred feet, 
 and in that respect rivals the noble 
 kauri, but the general appearance is 
 not very pleasing." 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Trees,' 
 p. 304: 
 
 "The kahikatea or kakaterra-tree 
 (Dacrydium excelsum or taxifoliuiii). 
 This majestic and noble-looking tree 
 belongs to the natural order of Taxacece, 
 more commonly known by the name 
 of Joint Firs. Height 150 to 180 feet, 
 rising sixty feet and upward without a 
 branch." 
 
 1876. W. Blair, ' Transactions of New 
 Zealand Institute,' vol. ix. art. 10, p. 160: 
 
 "This timber is known in all the 
 provinces, except Otago, by the native 
 name of 'kahikatea.' - I think we 
 should adopt it also, not only on ac- 
 count of being more euphonious, but 
 for the reason that so many timbers 
 in other parts of the world are called 
 white-pine." 
 
 1873. ' Appendix to Journal of House of 
 Representatives,' vol. iii. G. 7, p. n : 
 
 " On the purchased land stands, or 
 lately stood, a small kahikatea bush. 
 . . . The wood appears to have been 
 of no great money value, but the natives 
 living in Tareha's pa depended upon 
 it for their supply of fire-wood." 
 
 1883. T. Heetor, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand, p. 124 : 
 
 [It is Sir James Hector who assigns 
 the tree to Coniferce, not Taxacecz.~\ 
 
 1888. Cassell's ' Picturesque Austral- 
 asia,' vol. iii. p. 210 : 
 
 " The White Pine or kahikatea is a 
 very beautiful tree, and droops its dark 
 feathery foliage in a way which recalls 
 the graceful branches of the English 
 elm-tree." 
 
 Kahikatoa, n. Maori name for 
 New Zealand shrub, but no longer 
 used by the settlers. 
 
 1883. T. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand, p. 126 : 
 
 " Kahikatoa, tea-tree of Cook. 
 Leptoxpermum scoparium, Forst., N. O. 
 
 Myrtacece." 
 
 Kahikomako, n. Maori name 
 [shortened into kaikomako\ for 
 a New Zealand timber, Pen- 
 nantia corymbosa, N.O. Olacinece ; 
 called also Ribbonwood (q.v.). 
 
 1883. T. Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand, p. 130 : 
 
 " Kahikomako, a small, very grace- 
 ful tree, with white sweet-smelling 
 flowers ; height twenty to thirty feet. 
 Wood used by the Maoris for kindling 
 fires by friction." 
 
 Kai, n. Maori word for food ; 
 used also in the South Sea islands. 
 Kai-kai is an English adaptation 
 for feasting. 
 
 1807. J. Savage, ' Some Account of 
 New Zealand,' Vocab. p. 75 : 
 
 " Kiki . . . food." [The / has the 
 English not the Italian sound.] 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of
 
 KAI-KAK] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 227 
 
 Language of New . Zealand ' (Church 
 Missionary Society), p. 157 : 
 
 " Kai, s. victuals, support, etc. ; a. 
 eatable." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 29 : 
 
 " He explained to us that every one 
 would cry very much, and then there 
 would be very much kai-kai or feasting." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 
 P- 95 : 
 
 " Kai, the general word for food, is 
 not used at Rotorua, because it was 
 the name of a great chief, and the word 
 tami has been substituted for it." 
 
 1895. Louis Becke and J. D. Fitzgerald, 
 ' The Maori in Politics,' ' Review of 
 Reviews,' June 20, p. 621 : 
 
 "We saw some thirty men and 
 women coming towards us, singing in 
 chorus and keeping step to the music. 
 In their hands they carried small 
 baskets woven of raupo reeds, con- 
 taining kai, or food. This was the 
 ' kai ' dance." 
 
 Kainga, and Kaika, n. now 
 generally kaik, and pronounced 
 kike, a Maori settlement, village. 
 Kainga is used in the North, and 
 is the original form ; Kaika is the 
 South Island use. It is the village 
 for dwelling ; the/0 is for fighting 
 in. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand ' (Church Mis- 
 sionary Society), p. 157 : 
 
 " Kainga. A place of residence, a 
 home," etc. 
 
 1873. Lt. -Colonel St. John, ' Pakeha 
 Rambles through Maori Lands,' p. 164 
 [Heading of Chapter x.] : 
 
 " How we live in our kainga." 
 
 1896. ' Otago Witness,' Jan. 23, p. 50, 
 col. 5 : 
 
 "A cosy-looking kainga located on 
 the bank of a picturesque bend of the 
 river." 
 
 Ibid. p. 52, col. I : 
 
 " We steamed on slowly towards 
 Tawhitinui, a small kainga or kaik, as 
 it is called in the South island." 
 
 1884. ' Maori land,' p. 84 : 
 " The drive may be continued from 
 Portobello to the Maori kaik." 
 
 Kaio, n. popular corruption in 
 
 he South Island of New Zealand 
 of Ngaio (q.v.). 
 
 Kaitaka, n. Maori word for 
 the best kind of native mat. 
 
 1835. W. Yate, 'Account of New 
 Zealand,' p. 157 : 
 
 " Requiring from three to four 
 months' close sitting to complete one 
 of their kaitakas the finest sort of 
 mat which they make. This garment 
 has a very silky appearance." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 244 : 
 
 " Pukaro ended by flinging over my 
 shoulders a very handsome kaitaka 
 mat, which he had been wearing while 
 he spoke." 
 
 1881. J. L. Campbell, ' Poenamo,' p. 
 205 : 
 
 " Highly prized and beautiful kaitaka 
 mats." 
 
 Kaiwhiria, n. Maori name for 
 New Zealand tree, Hedycarya 
 dentata, Forst., N. O. Monimiacea. 
 Porokaiwhiri is the fuller name 
 of the tree. 
 
 1883. Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 129 : 
 
 " Kaiwhiria, a small evergreen tree, 
 twenty to thirty feet high ; the wood 
 is finely marked and suitable for 
 veneering." 
 
 Kaka, n. the Maori name for 
 a parrot. The word is imitative 
 of a parrot's cry. It is now 
 always used to denote the Brown 
 Parrot of New Zealand, Nestor 
 meridionalis, Gmel. 
 
 1835. W. Yate, ' Account of New 
 Zealand,' p. 54 : 
 
 " Kaka a bird of the parrot kind ; 
 much larger than any other New 
 Zealand parrot." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 259 : 
 
 " The kaka, a large russet parrot, of 
 excellent flavour, and very abundant 
 in many places." 
 
 1851. Mrs. Wilson, ' New Zealand,' p. 
 40: 
 
 " The bright red feathers from under 
 the wing of the kaka or large parrot." 
 
 1854. W. Colder, ' Pigeons' Parliament,' 
 [Notes] p. 79 :
 
 228 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KAK-KAM 
 
 " The kaka is a kind of parrot of a 
 reddish grey colour, and is easily 
 tamed when taken young." 
 
 1866. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 93 : 
 
 " The hoarse croak of the ka-ka, as 
 it alighted almost at our feet, and pre- 
 pared, quite careless of our vicinity, to 
 tear up the loose soil at the root of a 
 tall tree, in search of grubs." 
 
 1869. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 (Supplement) : 
 
 '''Nestor hypopolius, ka-ka parrot." 
 
 1884. T. Bracken, ' Lays of Maori,' p. 
 38: 
 
 " I heard mocking kakas wail and cry 
 above thy corse." 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 150 : 
 
 "Nestor meridionals, kaka. parrot." 
 
 Ibid. p. 158 : 
 
 " Sprightly in its actions, eminently 
 social, and- more noisy than any other 
 inhabitant of the woods, the kaka holds 
 a prominent place among our native 
 birds." 
 
 Kaka-bill, n. a New Zealand 
 plant, the Clianthus (q.v.), so 
 called from the supposed resem- 
 blance of the flower to the bill 
 of the Kaka (q.v.). Called also 
 Parrot-bill, Glory-Pea, and Kou'hai 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1842. W. R. Wade, 'Journey in New 
 Zealand,' [Hobart Town] p. 196 : 
 
 " Kowai ngutukaka [parrot-bill ko- 
 wai] ; the most elegant flowering 
 shrub of the country." 
 
 1892. 'Otago Witness, 'Nov. 24, 'Native 
 Trees': 
 
 "A plantation of a shrub which is 
 in great demand in England and on 
 the Continent, and is greatly neglected 
 here the Clianthus puniceus, or scarlet 
 glory pea of New Zealand, locally 
 known as kaka beak." 
 
 Kakapo, . Maori name for the 
 Night-parrot, Stringops habroptilus, 
 Gray. . Called also Owl-parrot. 
 See Kaka. The syllable po is 
 Maori for night. Compare Katipo 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1869. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia ' 
 (Supplement) : 
 
 " Strigops habroptilus, G. R. Gray, 
 Kakapo, native name." 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 149 : 
 
 " Stringops, owl-parrot ground- 
 parrot of the colonists." 
 
 1889. Prof. Parker, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 117 : 
 
 " Although possessing large wings, 
 it is flightless, its breast-muscles being 
 so small as to be practically useless. 
 Its habits are nocturnal, and it has a 
 ring of feathers arranged round the 
 eye, giving it a curious resemblance 
 to an owl, whence the name owl-parrot 
 is often applied to it." 
 
 1893. A. R. Wallace, 'Australasia,' 
 vol. i. p. 445 : 
 
 " Another remarkable bird is the 
 owl parrot (Stringops habroptilus) of a 
 greenish colour, an'd with a circle of 
 feathers round the eye as in the owl. 
 It is nocturnal in its habits, lives in 
 holes in the ground under tree-roots or 
 rocks." 
 
 1896. ' Otago Witness,' June II, p. 53 : 
 " The Kakapo is one of our most 
 unique birds." 
 
 Kakariki, n. Maori name for a 
 green Parrakeet. There are two 
 species, Platycercus novce zelandia, 
 Sparrm., and P. auriceps, Kuhl. 
 See Parrakeet. The word kaka- 
 riki means literally little parrot, 
 kaka (q.v.) and iki (little), the r is 
 intrusive. It is applied also to a 
 green lizard. In Maori it be- 
 comes later an adjective, meaning 
 'green.' 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te IkaaMaui,' 
 p. 404 : 
 
 "The Kakariki . . . (platycercus 
 novae zeal. )is a pretty light green parrot 
 with a band of red or yellow over the 
 upper beak and under the throat. This 
 elegant little bird is about the size of 
 a small thrush." 
 
 1894. ' Transactions of the New Zealand 
 Institute,' vol. xxvii. p. 95 [Note] : 
 
 " The name Kakarika (indicative of 
 colour) is applied alike to the green 
 lizard and to the green Parrakeet of 
 our woods." 
 
 Kamin, n. aboriginal word,
 
 KAN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 229 
 
 explained in quotation. It is 
 probably local. 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 89: 
 
 " If he [the Australian black] has 
 to climb a high tree, he first goes 
 into the scrub to fetch a piece of the 
 Australian calamus (Calamus austra- 
 lis\ which he partly bites, partly breaks 
 off; he first bites on one side and 
 breaks it down, then on the other 
 side and breaks it upwards one, two, 
 three, and this tough whip is severed. 
 At one end of it he makes a knot, the 
 other he leaves it as it is. This imple- 
 ment, which is usually from sixteen to 
 eighteen feet long, is called a kamin." 
 
 Kanae, n. (trisyll.) Maori name 
 for a fish of New Zealand, the 
 Silver-Mullet, Mugil perusii or 
 argenteus. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand' (C.M.S.), p. 
 158: 
 
 " Kana"e, s. The mullet fish." 
 
 1888. Order in Council, New Zealand, 
 Jan. 10, ' Regulations under the Fisheries 
 Conservation Act ' : 
 
 " The months of December, January, 
 and February in each year are here 
 prescribed a close season for the fish 
 of the species of the mugil known as 
 mullet or kanae." 
 
 Kanaka, n. and adj. a labourer 
 from the South Sea Islands, work- 
 ing in Queensland sugar-planta- 
 tions. The word is Hawaiian 
 (Sandwich Islands). The kindred 
 words are given in the following 
 extract from 
 
 Fornander's Polynesian Race' (1885), 
 vol. iii. p. 154 : 
 
 " Kanaka, s. Hawaiian, man, human, 
 mankind, a common man in distinction 
 from chiefs. Samoan, New Zealand 
 [sc. Maori], Tongan, tangata, man. 
 Tahitian, taata, man." 
 
 In the original word the accent 
 is on the first syllable, which 
 accent Mr. Rudyard Kipling pre- 
 serves (see quotation, 1893), 
 though he has changed the word 
 in his reprint of the poem in 
 
 ' The Seven Seas ' ; but the usual 
 pronunciation in Australia is to 
 accent the second syllable. 
 
 1794. J. J. Jarves, 'History of Ha- 
 waiian Islands,' printed at Honolulu 
 (1872), p. 82 : 
 
 "[On 2 ist Feb. 1794.] A salute was 
 then fired, and the natives shouted, 
 ' Kanaka no Beritane ' we are men 
 of Britain." 
 
 1852. A. Miller, ' Narrative of United 
 States Exploring Expedition,' c. ii. p. 142 : 
 
 "On Monday (Nov. 16, 1840) our 
 gentlemen formed themselves into two 
 parties, and started on horseback for 
 their journey. One party consisted of 
 Messrs. Reade, Rich, and Wall, with 
 eight kanakas and two guides." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' c. viii. p. 133 : 
 
 " Queensland at present is supplying 
 itself with labour from the South Sea 
 Islands, and the men employed are 
 called Polynesians, or canakers, or 
 islanders." 
 
 1885. H. Finch- Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia, p. 162 : 
 
 " The word ' kanaka ' is really a 
 Maori word, signifying a man, but in 
 Australia it has come to be applied 
 exclusively to the inhabitants of the 
 South Sea Islands." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' Head Station," p. 9 : 
 
 " The kanaka reverences women 
 and adores children. He is loyal in 
 heart, affectionate of disposition, and 
 domestic in his habits." 
 
 1888. H. S. Cooper, 'The Islands of 
 the Pacific,' p. 5 : 
 
 " The kanakas, who at present 
 populate Hawaii, are, as a rule, well 
 made and intelligent. That there is a 
 cross of the Malay and Indian blood 
 in them few can doubt." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 64: 
 
 " Natives of the South Sea Islands, 
 who in Australia are called kanakas 
 a capable and intelligent race, es- 
 pecially to this kind of work [on 
 plantations], for they are strong, and 
 endure the tropical heat far better 
 than the whites." 
 
 1892. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the Com- 
 pass in Australia,' p. 298 : 
 
 " Thus, it is maintained by the
 
 230 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KAN 
 
 planters, the kanaka, necessary as 
 he is to the conditions of North 
 Queensland, opens up avenues of 
 skilled labour for the European, and 
 makes population and commerce pos- 
 sible where otherwise there would be 
 complete stagnation." 
 
 1892. ' The Times,' Dec. 28 : 
 
 " The principal open-air labour of 
 the sugar plantations is furnished by 
 kanakas, who are the native inhabit- 
 ants of certain groups of South Sea 
 Islands not at present under the 
 protection of any European flag." 
 
 1893. R. L. Stevenson, ' Island Night's 
 Entertainments,' p. 41 : 
 
 " What we want is a man-of-war 
 a German, if we could they know 
 how to manage kanakas." 
 
 1893. Rudyard Kipling, ' Banjo Song ' : 
 
 " We've shouted on seven-ounce 
 
 nuggets, 
 We've starved on a kanaka's pay." 
 
 1893. C. H. Pearson, 'National Life 
 and Character,' p. 32 : 
 
 " In Australasia . . . the Maori, the 
 Kanaka, and the Papuan are dying 
 out. We cannot close our eyes to the 
 fact that certain weak races even 
 when, like the kanaka, they possess 
 some very high qualities seem to 
 wither away at mere contact with the 
 European. . . . The kanakas (among 
 whom we may include the Maories)." 
 
 Kangaroo, n. (i) an aboriginal 
 word. See Marsupial. 
 
 (a) The Origin of the Name. 
 
 The name was first obtained 
 in 1770, while H.M.S. Endeavour 
 lay beached at the Endeavour 
 River, where Cooktown, Queens- 
 land, now is. The name first 
 appears in print in 1773, in 
 the book brought out by the 
 relatives of Mr. Parkinson, who 
 was draughtsman to Banks the 
 naturalist, and who had died on 
 the voyage. The object of this 
 book was to anticipate the official 
 account of Cook's Voyage by 
 Hawkesworth, which appeared 
 later in the same year. It is now 
 known that Hawkesworth's book 
 
 was like a rope twisted of four 
 strands, viz. Cook's Journal, the 
 diaries of the two naturalists, 
 Banks and Solander, and quartum 
 quid, the Johnsonian pomposity 
 of Dr. Hawkesworth. Cook's 
 Journal was published in 1893, 
 edited by Captain Wharton, 
 hydrographer to the Admiralty ; 
 Banks's Journal, in 1896, edited 
 by Sir J. D. Hooker. Solander's 
 Journal has never been printed. 
 
 When Englishmen next came 
 to Australia in 1788, it was found 
 that the word Kangaroo was not 
 known to the natives round Port 
 Jackson, distant 1500 miles to the 
 South of Cooktown. In fact, it 
 was thought by them to be an 
 English word. (See quotation, 
 Tench, 1789.) It is a question 
 whether the word has belonged 
 to any aboriginal vocabulary 
 since. " Capt. Philip P. King, the 
 explorer, who visited that locality 
 [sc. Endeavour River] forty-nine 
 years after Cook, relates in his 
 ' Narrative of the Survey of the 
 Intertropical and Western Coasts 
 of Australia,' that he found the 
 word kangaroo unknown to the 
 tribe he met there, though in 
 other particulars the vocabulary 
 he compiled agrees very well 
 with Captain Cook's." (Curr's 
 'Australian Race,' vol. i. p. 27.) 
 In the fourth volume of Curr's 
 book a conspectus is given of 
 the words used in different parts 
 of Australia for various objects. 
 In the list of names for this 
 animal there are a few that are 
 not far from Kangaroo, but some 
 inquirers suspect the accuracy of 
 the list, or fancy that the natives 
 obtained the words sounding like 
 Kangaroo from English. It may 
 be assumed that the word is 
 not now in use as an aboriginal 
 word. Has it, then, disappeared ?
 
 KAN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 231 
 
 or was it an original mistake on 
 the part of Banks or Cook ? 
 
 The theory of a mistake has 
 obtained widely. It has figured 
 in print, and finds a place in 
 at least one dictionary. Several 
 correspondents have written that 
 the word Kangaroo meant " I 
 don't understand," and that 
 Banks mistook this for a name. 
 This is quite possible, but at 
 least some proof is needed, as 
 for instance the actual words in 
 the aboriginal language that 
 could be twisted into this mean- 
 ing. To find these words, and to 
 hear their true sound, would test 
 how near the explanation hits the 
 mark. Banks was a very careful 
 observer, and he specially notes 
 the precautions he took to avoid 
 any mistake in accepting native 
 words. Moreover, according to 
 Surgeon Anderson, the aborigines 
 of Van Diemen's Land described 
 the animal by the name of Kanga- 
 roo. (See quotation, 1787.) 
 
 On the other hand, it must be 
 remembered that it is an ascer- 
 tained fact that the aborigines 
 taboo a word on the death of 
 any one bearing that word as a 
 proper name. (See quotation 
 under Nobbier, 1880.) If, there- 
 fore, after Cook's visit, some man 
 called Kangaroo died, the whole 
 tribe would expunge Kangaroo 
 from its vocabulary. There is, 
 however, some evidence that the 
 word was much later in use in 
 Western Australia. (See quota- 
 tion, 1835.) 
 
 It is now asserted that the 
 word is in use again at the 
 very part of Queensland where 
 the Endeavour was beached. 
 Lumholtz, in his ' Amongst Can- 
 nibals ' (p. 311), gives it in his 
 aboriginal vocabulary. Mr. De 
 Vis, of the Brisbane Museum, in 
 
 his paper before the Geographical 
 Society at Brisbane (1894), says 
 that " in point of fact the word 
 ' kangaroo ' is the normal equiva- 
 lent for kangaroo at the En- 
 deavour River ; and not only so, 
 it is almost the type-form of a 
 group of variations in use over 
 a large part of Australia." It is 
 curiously hard to procure satis- 
 factory evidence as to the fact. 
 Mr. De Vis says that his first 
 statement was "made on the 
 authority of a private corre- 
 spondent ; " but another corre- 
 spondent writes from Cooktown, 
 that the blacks there have taken 
 Kangaroo from English. Inquiries 
 inserted in each of the Cooktown 
 newspapers have produced no 
 result. Mr. De Vis' second 
 argument as to the type-form 
 seems much stronger. A spoken 
 language, unwritten, unprinted, 
 must inevitably change, and 
 change rapidly. A word cur- 
 rent in 1770 would change 
 rather than disappear, and the root 
 consonants would remain. The 
 letters ng together, followed by 
 r, occur in the proportion of one in 
 thirteen, of the names for the 
 animal tabulated by Curr. 
 
 It is a difficult matter on which 
 to speak decidedly, but probably 
 no great mistake was made, and 
 the word received was a genuine 
 name of the animal. 
 
 See further the quotations, 
 1896. 
 
 (b} The Plural of the Word. 
 
 There seems to be considerable 
 doubt as to the plural of the 
 word, whether it should take s 
 like most English words, or 
 remain unchanged like sheep, 
 deer. In two consecutive pages 
 of one book the two plurals are 
 used. The general use is the 
 plural in s. See 1793 Hunter,
 
 232 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KAN 
 
 1845 Balfour, and 1880 Senior ; 
 sportsmen frequently use the 
 form Kangaroo. 
 
 [Since 1888 a kangaroo has 
 been the design on the one-shilling 
 postage stamp of New South 
 Wales.] 
 
 1815. ' History of New South Wales,' 
 (1818) pp. 460-461 : 
 
 " Throughout the general course of 
 the journey, kangaroos, emus, ducks, 
 etc. were seen in numbers." " Mr. 
 Evans saw the kangaroo in immense 
 flocks." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 49 : 
 
 " The kangaroos are too subtle and 
 shy for us to get near." 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, 'Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 125 : 
 
 " In the afternoon we saw some 
 kangaroos and wallaby, but did not 
 succeed in killing any." 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. iii. p. 23 : 
 
 " Though kangaroo were plentiful, 
 they were not overwhelming in num- 
 ber." 
 
 (c) Kangaroo in French. 
 
 1777. Buffon, ' Supplement a 1'Histoire 
 Naturelle,' torn. iv. 'Table des Matieres': 
 
 " Kanguros, esp&ce de grosse Ger- 
 boise qui se trouve dans les terres 
 australes de la Nouvelle Hollande." 
 
 1800. J. J. Labillardiere, ' Voyage a la 
 recherche de La Perouse,' torn, i. p. 134: 
 [Under date April 24, 1792.] 
 
 " Un de nos chasseurs trouva un 
 jeune kangourou sur les bords de la 
 mer." 
 
 1880. II. de Charency, ' Recherches sur 
 les Dialectes Tasmaniens,' p. 21 : 
 
 " Kangourou. Ce mot semble d'ori- 
 gine non Australienne, comme on 1'a 
 soutenu, mais bien Tasmanienne." 
 
 1882. Littre, ' Dictionnaire de la Langue 
 
 Fran9aise' (s.v.) : 
 
 " Kanguroo ou kangurou. On cent 
 
 aussi kangarou et kangourou." 
 1882. A. Daudet, 'Jack,' p. 131 : 
 " II regardait les kanguroos dresses 
 
 sur leurs pattes, si longues qu'elles 
 
 ont 1'agilitd et 1'^lan d'une paire d'ailes." 
 1890. Oscar Comettant [Title] : 
 " Au Pays des Kangourous." 
 
 (d} Kangaroo in German Kan- 
 guruh : 
 
 1892. R. v. Lendenfeld, ' Australische 
 Reise.'p. 46 : 
 
 " Die Kanguruh hoben in dem 
 Augenblick, als sie das Geheul horten, 
 die Kopfe hoch und witterten, blickten 
 und loosten in alle Richtungen." 
 
 Notice that both in French 
 and German the u sound of the 
 middle syllable is preserved and 
 not changed as in English to a. 
 
 (e) The species. 
 
 The name Kangaroo is applied 
 to the following larger species of 
 the genus Macropus, the remaining 
 species being called Wallabies 
 
 Antilopine Kangaroo 
 
 Macropus antilopinus, Gould. 
 Great Grey K., or Forester 
 
 M. giganteus, Zimm. 
 Great Red K. 
 
 M. rufus, Desm. 
 Isabelline K. 
 
 M. isabellinus, Gould. 
 Owen's K. 
 
 M. magnus, Owen. 
 Wallaroo, or Euro 
 
 M. robustus, Gould. 
 
 The name Kangaroo is also ap- 
 plied to certain other species of 
 Marsupials belonging to the 
 genus Macropus, but with a qualify- 
 ing adjective, such as Dorca-, Tree-, 
 Rat-, Musk-, etc. ; and it is applied 
 to species of the genera Dorcopsis, 
 Dendrolagus, Bettongia, and Hypsi- 
 prymnodon. The Brush- Kangaroo 
 (q.v.) is another name for the 
 Wallaby (q.v.), and the Rat-Kan- 
 garoo is the stricter scientific 
 appellation of Kangaroo- Rat (<\.\.}. 
 The Banded- Kangaroo is a Banded- 
 Wallaby (see Lagostrophus). See 
 also Dorca- Kan gar oo, Tree-Kan- 
 garoo, Musk- Kangaroo, Dorcopsis, 
 Dendrolagus, Bettongia, Hypsiprym- 
 nodon, Rock- Wallaby, Paddy-melon , 
 Forester, Old Man, Joey, a.ndJ3oomah.
 
 KAN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 233 
 
 (/) The Use of the Word. 
 
 177- ' Capt. Cook's Journal ' (edition 
 Wharton, 1893), p. 244 : 
 
 "May ist. An animal which must 
 feed upon grass, and which, we judge, 
 could not be less than a deer." 
 
 [p. 280]: "June 23rd. One of the 
 men saw an animal something less 
 than a greyhound ; it was of a mouse 
 colour, very slender made, and swift of 
 foot." 
 
 [p. 294]: August 4th. "The animals 
 which I have before mentioned, called 
 by the Natives Kangooroo or Kan- 
 guru." [At Endeavour River, Queens- 
 land.] 
 
 1770. Joseph Banks, ' Journal ' (edition 
 Hooker, 1896), p. 287: 
 
 "July 14. Our second Lieutenant 
 had the good fortune to kill the animal 
 that had so long been the subject of 
 our speculations. To compare it to 
 any European animal would be im- 
 possible, as it has not the least re- 
 semblance to any one that I have seen. 
 Its forelegs are extremely short, and of 
 no use to it in walking ; its hind again 
 as disproportionally long ; with these 
 it hops seven or eight feet at a time, in 
 the same manner as the jerboa, to 
 which animal indeed it bears much re- 
 semblance, except in size, this being in 
 weight 381bs., and the jerboa no larger 
 than a common rat." 
 
 Ibid. p. 301 : 
 
 ''August 26. Quadrupeds we saw 
 but few, and were able to catch but few 
 of those we did see. The largest was 
 called by the natives kangooroo ; it is 
 different from any European, and, 
 indeed, any animal I have heard or 
 read of, except the jerboa of Egypt, 
 which is not larger than a rat, while 
 this is as large as a middling lamb. 
 The largest we shot weighed 84lbs. 
 It may, however, be easily known from 
 all other animals by the singular pro- 
 perty of running, or rather hopping, 
 upon only its hinder legs, carrying its 
 fore-feet close to its breast. In this 
 manner it hops so fast that in the rocky 
 bad ground where it is commonly 
 found, it easily beat my greyhound, 
 who though he was fairly started at 
 several, killed only one, and that quite 
 a young one." 
 
 1773- Sydney Parkinson, ' Journal of a 
 Voyage,' p. 149 : 
 
 " Kangooroo, the leaping quadru- 
 ped." [A description given at p. 145.] 
 
 1773- J- Hawkesworth, ' Voyages,' vol. 
 iii. p. 577 : 
 
 "July 14, 1770. Mr. Gore, who 
 went out this day with his gun, had 
 the good fortune to kill one of the 
 animals which had been so much the 
 subject of our speculation. An idea of 
 it will best be conceived by the cut, 
 plate xx., without which the most ac- 
 curate verbal description would answer 
 very little purpose, as it has not simili- 
 tude enough to any animal already 
 known to admit of illustration by refer- 
 ence. Inform it is most like the gerbua, 
 which it also resembles in its motion, 
 as has been observed already, for it 
 greatly differs in size, the gerbua not 
 being larger than a common rat, and 
 this animal, when full grown, being as 
 big as a sheep : this individual was a 
 young one, much under its full growth, 
 weighing only thirty-eight pounds. 
 The head, neck, and shoulders are 
 very small in proportion to the other 
 parts of the body ; the tail is nearly as 
 long as the body, thick near the rump, 
 and tapering towards the end : the 
 fore-legs of this individual were only 
 eight inches long, and the hind-legs 
 two-and-twenty : its progress is by 
 successive leaps or hops, of a great 
 length, in an erect posture ; the fore- 
 legs are kept bent close to the breast, 
 and seemed to be of use only for 
 digging : the skin is covered with a 
 short fur, of a dark mouse or grey 
 colour, excepting the head and ears, 
 which bear a slight resemblance to 
 those of a hare. In form it is most 
 like the gerbua. This animal is called 
 by the natives 'kanguroo.'" [This 
 account, it will be seen, is based on 
 the notes of Banks.] 
 
 1774. Oliver Goldsmith, ' Animated 
 Nature,' Book VII. c. xvi., 'The Ger- 
 bua,' fin four-vol. ed. , vol. iii. p. 30] : 
 
 " But of all animals of this kind, 
 that which was first discovered and 
 described by Mr. Banks is the most 
 extraordinary. He calls it the kan- 
 guroo ; and though from its general 
 outline and the most striking peculi- 
 arities of its figure it greatly resembles
 
 234 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KAN 
 
 the gerbua, yet it entirely differs, if 
 we consider its size, or those minute 
 distinctions which direct the makers of 
 systems in assorting the general ranks 
 of nature. The largest of the gerbua 
 kind which are to be found in the 
 ancient continent do not exceed the 
 size of a rabbit. The kanguroo of 
 New Holland, where it is only to be 
 found, is often known to weigh above 
 sixty pounds, and must consequently 
 be as large as a sheep. Although the 
 skin of that which was stuffed and 
 brought home by Mr. Banks was not 
 much above the size of a hare, yet it 
 was greatly superior to any of the 
 gerbua kind that have been hitherto 
 known, and very different in many 
 particulars. The snout of the gerbua, 
 as has been said, is short and round, 
 that of the discovered animal long and 
 slender ; the teeth also entirely differ, 
 for as the gerbua has but two 
 cutting teeth in each jaw, making 
 four in all, this animal, besides 
 its cutting teeth, has four canial 
 teeth also ; but what makes a 
 more striking peculiarity, is the form- 
 ation of its lower jaw, which, as the 
 ingenious discoverer supposes, is 
 divided into two parts which open and 
 shut like a pair of scissors, and cut 
 grass, probably this animal's principal 
 food. The head, neck, and shoulders 
 are very small in proportion to the 
 other parts of the body ; the tail is 
 nearly as long as the body ; thick near 
 the rump and tapering towards the 
 head and ears, which bear a slight 
 resemblance to those of the hare. We 
 are not told, however, from the form- 
 ation of its stomach to what class of 
 quadrupeds it belongs : from its eating 
 grass, which it has been seen to do, 
 one would be apt to rank it among the 
 ruminating animals ; but from the 
 canial teeth which it is found to have, 
 we may on the other hand suppose it 
 to bear some relation to the carni- 
 vorous. Upon the whole, however, it 
 can be classed with none more properly 
 than with the animals of the gerbua 
 kind, as its hind-legs are so much 
 longer than the fore ; it moves also 
 precisely in the same manner, taking 
 great bounds of ten or twelve feet at 
 a time, and thus sometimes escaping 
 
 the fleetest greyhound, with which Mr. 
 Banks pursued it. One of them that 
 was killed proved to be good food ; 
 but a second, which weighed eighty- 
 four pounds, and was not yet come to 
 its full growth, was found to be much 
 inferior." 
 
 1787. Surgeon Anderson, quoted by \V. 
 Eden, in ' History of New Holland ' (second 
 edition), p. 71 : 
 
 " However, we must have a far more 
 intimate acquaintance with the langu- 
 ages spoken here [Van Diemen's Land] 
 and in the more northern parts of New 
 Holland, before we can pronounce that 
 they are totally different ; nay, we have 
 good grounds for the opposite opinion ; 
 for we found that the animal called 
 kangaroo at Endeavour River was 
 known under the same name here." 
 
 1781. T. Pennant, 'History of Quad- 
 rupeds,' vol. i. p. 306 : 
 
 No. 184. [A Scientific Description of 
 the Kangaroo.] 
 
 1789. Governor Phillip, ' Voyage ' : 
 
 [p. 1 06] : " The kanguroo." 
 p. 1 68] : "Skeleton of the head of 
 the kanguroo." 
 
 [At each of these places there 
 is a description and a picture. 
 Under each picture the name is 
 spelt " Kangooroo." At p. 289 
 there is a further note on the 
 kanguroo. In the text at p. 149 
 the spelling " Kangooroo " is 
 adopted.] 
 
 Ibid. p. 104 : 
 
 " The kanguroo, though it resembles 
 the jerboa in the peculiarity of using 
 only the hinder legs in progression, 
 does not belong to that genus." 
 
 Ibid, p. 168 : 
 
 "Since stating the dimensions of 
 the kanguroo, in page 106, Lord 
 Sydney has received from Governor 
 Phillip a male of a much larger size. 
 . . . Lieutenant Shortland describes 
 them as feeding in herds of about 
 thirty or forty, and assures us that one 
 is always observed to be apparently 
 upon the watch at a distance from 
 the rest." 
 
 1789. Watkin Tench, 'Account of the 
 Settlement of Port Jackson,' p. 171 : 
 
 " Kangaroo was a name unknown to
 
 KAN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 235 
 
 them [the aborigines of Port Jackson] 
 for any animal, until we introduced it. 
 When I showed Colbee [an aboriginal] 
 the cows brought out in the Gorgon he 
 asked me if they were kangaroos." 
 
 1793. Governor Hunter, ' Voyage,' p. 
 66: 
 
 "The animal described in the 
 voyage of the Endeavour, called the 
 kangaroo (but by the natives pata- 
 gorang), we found in great numbers." 
 
 Ibid. p. 568 : 
 
 " I had a kanguroo on board, 
 which I had directions to carry to 
 Lord Grenville, as a present for his 
 Majesty. Nov. 26, 1791." [There is no 
 statement whether the animal reached 
 England.] 
 
 Ibid. p. 402 : 
 
 " In rowing up this branch, we saw 
 a flock of about thirty kangaroos or 
 paderong, but they were only visible 
 during their leaps, as the very long 
 grass hid them from our view." 
 
 1809. G. Shaw, ' Zoological Lectures,' 
 vol. i. p. 94 : 
 
 " The genus Macropus or kan- 
 garoo . . . one of the most elegant as 
 well as curious animals discovered in 
 modern times." [Under the picture 
 and in list of contents : Kanguroo.] 
 
 1814. M. Flinders, ' Voyage to Terra 
 Australis,' Introd. p. Ixiii : 
 
 " An animal found upon one of the 
 islands is described [by Dampier, 
 'Voyage to New Holland,' vol. iii. p. 
 123] as 'a sort of raccoon, different 
 from that of the West Indies, chiefly 
 as to the legs ; for these have very 
 short fore legs ; but go jumping upon 
 them ' [not upon the short fore, but 
 the long hind legs, it is to be pre- 
 sumed] 'as the others do; and like 
 them are very good meat.' This 
 appears to have been the small kan- 
 garoo, since found upon the islands 
 which form the road ; and if so, this 
 description is probably the first ever 
 made of that singular animal " [though 
 without the name]. 
 
 1820. W. C. Wentworth, ' Description 
 of New South Wales,' p. 57 : 
 
 " Coursing the kangaroo and emu 
 forms the principal amusement of the 
 sporting part of the colonists, (p. 68) : 
 The colonists generally pursue this 
 animal [kangaroo] at full speed on 
 
 horseback, and frequently manage, 
 notwithstanding its extraordinary swift- 
 ness, to be up at the death." 
 
 1833. Charles Lamb, 'Essays of Elia' 
 [edition 1895], p. 151, 'Distant Cor- 
 respondents ' : 
 
 "The kangaroos your Aborigines 
 do they keep their primitive sim- 
 plicity un-Europe-tainted, with those 
 little short fore puds, looking like a 
 lesson framed by nature to the pick- 
 pocket ! Marry, for diving into fobs 
 they are rather lamely provided a 
 priori ; but if the hue and cry were 
 once up, they would show as fair a 
 pair of hind-shifters as the expertest 
 loco motor in the colony." 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, ' Southern Australia,' vol. 
 I. c. iii. p. 106 : 
 
 " Those that were noticed were 
 made of the red kangaroo-skin." 
 
 1834. L - E - Threlkeld, 'Australian 
 Grammar of the Language spoken by the 
 Aborigines, at Hunter's River,' p. 87 : 
 
 " K6ng-go-rong, The Emu, from the 
 noise it makes, and likely the origin of 
 the barbarism, kangaroo, used by the 
 English, as the name of an animal, 
 called Mo-a-ne." 
 
 1835. T. B. Wilson, ' Narrative of a 
 Voyage round the World, etc.' p. 212 : 
 
 "They [natives of the Darling 
 Range, W.A.] distinctly pronounced 
 ' kangaroo ' without having heard any 
 of us utter that sound : they also called 
 it waroo, but whether they distin- 
 guished ' kangaroo' (so called by us, 
 and also by them) from the smaller 
 kind, named ' wallabij and by them 
 ' ivaroo] we could not form any just 
 conclusion." 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 23 : 
 
 " Kangaroos are of six different 
 species, viz. the forester, the flyer, the 
 wallaby, the wallaroo, the kangaroo- 
 rat, and the kangaroo-mouse." [This 
 is of course merely a popular classifi- 
 cation.] 
 
 1845. J. A. Moore, ' Tasmanian Rhym- 
 ings,' p. "15 : 
 
 "A kangaroo, like all his race, 
 Of agile form and placid face." 
 
 1861. W. M. Tiiackeray, ' Roundabout 
 Papers,' p. 83 : 
 
 " The fox has brought his brush, and 
 the cock has brought his comb, and
 
 236 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KAN 
 
 the elephant has brought his trunk 
 and the kangaroo has brought his bag, 
 and the condor his old white wig and 
 black satin hood." 
 
 1880. W. Senior, 'Travel and Trout,' 
 p.*-: 
 
 " To return to the marsupials. I 
 have been assured that the kangaroos 
 come first and eat off the grass ; that 
 the wallabies, following, grub up the 
 roots." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 114 : 
 
 " Sometimes a kangaroo would come 
 down with measured thud, thud, and 
 drink, and then return without noticing 
 the human beings." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, ' Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 118: 
 
 " According to the traditions of the 
 bush not always reliable the name 
 of kangaroo was given under a mis- 
 conception. An aborigine being asked 
 by one of the early discoverers the 
 name of the animal, replied, ' Kan- 
 garoo ' (' I don't know '), and in this 
 confession of ignorance or misappre- 
 hension the name originated. It seems 
 absurd to suppose that any black 
 hunter was really ignorant of the name 
 of an animal which once represented 
 the national wealth of Australians as 
 the merino does to-day." 
 
 [The tradition is not quite so ridicu- 
 lous, if the answer meant " I don't 
 know what you mean, I don't under- 
 stand you." See above.] 
 
 1891. ' Guide to Zoological Gardens, 
 Melbourne': 
 
 " In this enclosure is a wooden 
 model of a kangaroo of ancient times. 
 This is copied from a restoration by 
 Professor McCoy, who was enabled to 
 represent it from fossil remains which 
 have been unearthed at various places 
 in Australia." 
 
 1896. E. Meston, 'Sydney Bulletin,' 
 April 1 8 : 
 
 " The origin of the word ' kangaroo ' 
 was published by me six years ago. 
 Captain Cook got it from the Endeavor 
 River blacks, who pronounce it to-day 
 exactly as it is spelled in the great 
 navigator's journal, but they use it 
 now only for the big toe. Either the 
 blacks in Cook's time called the kan- 
 garoo ' big toe ' for a nick-name, as 
 
 the American Indians speak of the 
 ' big horn,' or the man who asked the 
 name of the animal was holding it by 
 the hind foot, and got the name of the 
 long toe, the black believing that 
 was the part to which the question 
 referred." 
 
 1896. Rev. J. Mathew, Private Letter, 
 Aug. 31 : 
 
 " Most names of animals in the 
 Australian dialects refer to their ap- 
 pearance, and the usual synthesis is 
 noun + adjective ; the word may be 
 worn down at either end, and the 
 meaning lost to the native mind. 
 
 "A number of the distinct names 
 for kangaroo show a relation to words 
 meaning respectively nose, leg, big, 
 long, either with noun and adjective in 
 combination or one or other omitted. 
 
 " The word kangaroo is probably 
 analysable into ka or kang, nose (or 
 head), and goora, long, both words or 
 local equivalents being widely current." 
 
 (2) Wild young cattle (a special 
 use) 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 290 : 
 
 "A stockyard under six feet high 
 will be leaped by some of these kan- 
 garoos (as we term them) with the most 
 perfect ease, and it requires to be as 
 stout as it is high to resist their rushes 
 against it." 
 
 (3) Used playfully, and as a 
 nickname for persons and things 
 Australian. An Australian boy at 
 an English school is frequently 
 called " Kangaroo." It is a Stock 
 Exchange nickname for shares in 
 Western Australian gold-mining 
 companies. 
 
 1896. ' Nineteenth Century ' (Nov.), p. 
 711: 
 
 " To the 80,000,000 Westralian min- 
 ing shares now in existence the Stock 
 Exchange has long since conceded a 
 special 'market'; and it has even con- 
 ferred upon these stocks a nickname 
 the surest indication of importance and 
 popularity. And that ' Kangaroos,' as 
 they were fondly called, could boast 
 of importance and popularity nobody 
 would dare to gainsay."
 
 KAN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 237 
 
 (4) A kind of chair, apparently 
 from the shape. 
 
 1834. Miss Edgeworth, ' Helen,' c. xvi. 
 ('Century'): 
 
 " It was neither a lounger nor a 
 dormeuse, nor a Cooper, nor a Nelson, 
 nor a Kangaroo : a chair without a 
 name would never do ; in all things 
 fashionable a name is more than half. 
 Such a happy name as Kangaroo Lady 
 Cecilia despaired of finding." 
 
 Kangarooade, n. a Kangaroo 
 hunt; nonce word. See quotation. 
 
 1863. M. K. Beveridge, 'Gatherings 
 among the Gum Trees,' p. 86 : 
 
 " The Kangarooade in three Spirts." 
 [Title of a poem.] 
 
 Kangaroo- Apple, . an Austra- 
 lian and Tasmanian fruit, Sola- 
 num avtculare, Forst. , N. O. Sola- 
 nacece. The name is also applied 
 to S. vescum, called the Gunyang 
 (q.v.). In New Zealand, the fruit 
 is called Poroporo (q.v.). 
 
 1834. Ross, ' Van Diemen's Land An- 
 nual,' p. 133 : 
 
 ' Solarium lactmatum, the kangaroo- 
 apple, resembling the apple of a potato ; 
 when so ripe as to split, it has a mealy 
 sub-acid taste." 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, 'Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 85 : 
 
 " The kangaroo-apple (Solatium la- 
 ciniatutn) is a fine shrub found in many 
 parts of the country, bearing a pretty 
 blue flower and a fruit rather unpleas- 
 ant to the taste, although frequently 
 eaten by the natives, and also by 
 Europeans." 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 p. 132 : 
 
 " The kangaroo-apple comes from a 
 bush or small tree bearing blue blos- 
 soms, which are succeeded by apples 
 like those of the potato. They have a 
 sweetish flavour, and when ripe may 
 be boiled and eaten, but are not greatly 
 prized." 
 
 1857. F. R. Nixon (Bishop), ' Cruise of 
 Beacon,' p. 28 : 
 
 " Of berries and fruits of which they 
 partook, the principal were those of 
 Solatium laciniatum, or kangaroo- 
 apple, when dead ripe." 
 
 1877- F. v. Muller, 'Botanic Teachings,' 
 p. 105 : 
 
 " Solatium avtculare, on which our 
 colonists have very inappropriately 
 bestowed the name Kangaroo-apple, 
 while in literal scientific translation it 
 ought to be called Bird's Nightshade, 
 because Captain Cook's companions 
 observed in New Zealand that birds 
 were feeding on the berries of this 
 bush." 
 
 Kangaroo-Dog, n. a large dog, 
 lurcher, deerhound, or greyhound, 
 used for hunting the Kangaroo. 
 
 1806. ' History of New South Wales ' 
 (1818), p. 265 : 
 
 " Shortly before the Estramina left 
 the River Derwent, two men unfortun- 
 ately perished by a whale-boat upset- 
 ting, in which they were transporting 
 four valuable kangaroo-dogs to the 
 opposite side, none of which ever 
 reached the shore." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 141 : 
 
 " The kind of dog used for coursing 
 the kangaroo is generally a cross be- 
 tween the greyhound and the mastiff 
 or sheep-dog ; but in a climate like 
 New South Wales they have, to use 
 the common phrase, too much lumber 
 about them. The true bred greyhound 
 is the most useful dog : he has more 
 wind ; he ascends the hills with more 
 ease ; and will run double the number 
 of courses in a day. He has more 
 bottom in running, and if he has less 
 ferocity when he comes up with an 
 'old man,' so much the better, as he 
 exposes himself the less, and lives to 
 afford sport another day." 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, 'Van Diemen's Land,' 
 
 c. ii. p. 31 : 
 
 "They . . . are sometimes caught 
 
 by the kangaroo-dogs." 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 126 : 
 " A fine kangaroo-dog was pointed 
 
 out to us, so fond of kangarooing that 
 
 it goes out alone, kills the game, and 
 
 then fetches its master to the dead 
 
 animals." 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, ' Cooksland,' p. 422 : 
 "With the gun over his shoulder, 
 
 and the kangaroo-dog in a leash by 
 
 his side."
 
 2 3 8 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KAN 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, 'Port Phillip 
 in 1849,' c. iii. p. 35 : 
 
 " On every station, also, a large kind 
 of greyhound, a cross of the Scotch 
 greyhound and English bulldog, called 
 the kangaroo-dog, which runs by sight, 
 is kept for the purpose of their destruc- 
 tion." 
 
 1888. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. ii. p. 91 : 
 
 " Kangaroo-dogs are a special breed, 
 a kind of strong greyhound." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' April 8, p. 4, col. I : 
 
 " That big, powerful, black kangaroo- 
 dog Marmarah was well worth looking 
 at, with his broad, deep chest, intelli- 
 gent, determined eyes, sinews of a 
 gymnast, and ribs like Damascus steel. 
 On his black skin he bore marks of 
 many honourable fights ; the near side 
 showed a long, whitish line where the 
 big emu he had run down, tackled 
 single-handed, and finally killed, had 
 laid him open. His chest and legs 
 showed numerous grey scars, each 
 with a history of its own of which he 
 might well be proud." 
 
 Kangaroo-Fly, n. a small Aus- 
 tralian fly, Cabarus. See quota- 
 tions. 
 
 1833. C. Sturt. 'Southern Australia,' vol. 
 I. c. ii. p. 71 : 
 
 " Our camp was infested by the 
 kangaroo-fly, which settled upon us in 
 thousands." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. i. p. 313 [Note] : 
 
 " Rather smaller than the house-fly, 
 it acts with such celerity that it has no 
 sooner settled on the face or hands 
 than it inflicts instantaneously a pain- 
 ful wound, which often bleeds subse- 
 quently. It is called by the colonists 
 the kangaroo-fly ; and though not very 
 common, the author can testify that it 
 is one of the most annoying pests of 
 Australia." 
 
 Kangaroo-Grass, n. a name 
 given to several species of grasses 
 of the genera Anthistiria and An- 
 dropogon, chiefly from their height, 
 but also because, when they are 
 young and green in spring, the 
 Kangaroo feeds on them. Andro- 
 
 pogon is more like a rush or 
 sedge, and is sometimes so high 
 as to completely conceal horses. 
 See Grass. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 209 : 
 
 " Of native grasses we possess the 
 oat-grass, rye-grass, florin, kangaroo- 
 grass, and timothy, blady grass grow- 
 ing in wet, flooded, alluvial spots, and 
 wire-grass upon cold, wet, washed 
 clays." 
 
 1838. ' Report of Van Diemen's Land 
 Company,' in J. BischofTs 'Van Diemen's 
 Land' (1832), c. v. p. 119 : 
 
 " The grasses were principally timo- 
 thy, foxtail, and single kangaroo." 
 
 1845. T. L. Mitchell, 'Tropical Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 88 : 
 
 "A new species of Anthistiria oc- 
 curred here, perfectly distinct from the 
 kangaroo grass of the colony." 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 p. 131 : 
 
 " The most conspicuous of the native 
 Grainineiz that so widely cover the 
 surface of Australia Felix." 
 
 1862. G. T. Lloyd, ' Thirty-three Years 
 in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 36 : 
 
 " Where are the genial morning 
 dews of former days that used to glisten 
 upon and bespangle the vernal-leaved 
 kangaroo grass ? " 
 
 1862. G. T. Lloyd, ' Thirty-three Years 
 in Tasmania,' p. 393 : 
 
 " Between the Lake River and 
 Launceston ... I was most agreeably 
 surprised in beholding the novel sight 
 of a spacious enclosure of waving kan- 
 garoo grass, high and thick-standing 
 as a good crop of oats, and evidently 
 preserved for seed." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 8: 
 
 " Not even a withered wisp of kan- 
 garoo-grass." (p. 193): "The long 
 brown kangaroo-grass." 
 
 1891. ' The Argus,' Dec. 19, p. 4, col. 2 : 
 
 " Had they but pulled a tuft of the 
 kangaroo-grass beneath their feet, 
 they would have found gold at its 
 roots." 
 
 Kangaroo-hop, n. a peculiar 
 affected gait. See quotation. 
 
 1875. 'Spectator '(Melbourne), May 22, 
 p. 27, col. 2 :
 
 KAN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 239 
 
 " The young lady that affects water- 
 falls, the Grecian-bend, or the kan- 
 garoo hop." 
 
 Kangaroo-Hound, n. i.q. Kan- 
 garoo-Dog (q.v.). 
 
 1865. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 28 : 
 
 "A large dog, a kangaroo-hound 
 (not unlike a lurcher in appearance)." 
 
 Kangarooing, vb.n. hunting the 
 kangaroo. 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, ' My Home in 
 Tasmania,' p. 257 : 
 
 "In chasing kangaroos, or, as it is 
 technically termed, ' kangarooing,' 
 large powerful dogs are used . . . '' 
 
 1870. E. B. Kennedy, ' Four Years in 
 Queensland,' p. 194: 
 
 " You may be out Kangarooing ; the 
 dogs take after one [a kangaroo], and 
 it promises to be a good course." 
 
 1888. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Robbery under 
 Arms,' p. 15 : 
 
 " We were sick of kangarooing, like 
 the dogs themselves, that as they grew 
 old would run a little way and then 
 pull up if a mob came jump, jump, 
 past them." 
 
 Kangaroo - Mouse, n. more 
 strictly called the Pouched-Mouse 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 256 : 
 
 " It is a long chain from the big 
 forester, down through the different 
 varieties of wallaby to the kangaroo- 
 rat, and finally, to the tiny interesting 
 little creature known on the plains as 
 the ' kangaroo-mouse ' ; but all have 
 the same characteristics." 
 
 Kangaroo-net, n. net made by 
 the natives to catch the kangaroo. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 45 : 
 
 " I found . . . four fine kangaroo- 
 nets, made of the bark of sterculia." 
 
 Kangaroo-Rat, or Rat-Kan- 
 garoo, 11. the name applied to 
 species of Marsupials belonging 
 to the following genera, viz. 
 (i) Potorous, (2) Caloprymnus, (3) 
 Bettongia.) (4) ^.pyprymnus. 
 
 (1) The first genus (Potorous, 
 q.v.) includes animals about the 
 size of a large rat ; according to 
 Gould, although they stand much 
 on their hind-legs they run in a 
 totally different way to the kan- 
 garoo, using fore and hind-legs in 
 a kind of gallop and never at- 
 tempting to kick with the hind- 
 feet. The aboriginal name was 
 Potoroo. The species are three 
 the Broad-faced Kangaroo-Rat, 
 Potorous platyops, Gould ; Gilbert's, 
 P. gilberti, Gould ; Common, P. 
 tridactylus, Kerr. They are con- 
 fined to Australia and Tasmania, 
 and one Tasmanian variety of the 
 last species is bigger than the 
 mainland form. There is also a 
 dwarf Tasmanian variety of the 
 same species. 
 
 (2) A second genus (Cahprym- 
 nus, q.v.) includes the Plain Kan- 
 garoo-Rat ; it has only one species, 
 
 C. campestris, Gould, confined to 
 South Australia. The epithet 
 plain refers to its inhabiting plains. 
 
 (3) A third genus (Bettongia, 
 q.v.) includes the Prehensile- 
 tailed Rat-Kangaroos and has 
 four species, distributed in Aus- 
 tralia and Tasmania 
 
 Brush-tailed Kangaroo-Rat 
 
 Bettongia penicillata , G r ay . 
 Gaimard's K.-R. 
 
 B. gaimardi, Desm. 
 Lesueur's K.-R. 
 
 B. lesueuri, Quoy and Gaim. 
 Tasmanian K.-R. 
 
 B. cuniculus, Ogilby. 
 
 (4) A fourth genus (/Epyprymnus, 
 q.v.) includes the Rufous Kan- 
 garoo-Rat. It has one species, AL. 
 rufescens, Grey. It is the largest 
 of the Kangaroo-Rats and is dis- 
 tinguished by its ruddy colour, 
 black-backed ears, and hairy 
 nose. 
 
 [Mr. Lydekker proposes to call
 
 240 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KAN 
 
 the animal the Rat-Kangaroo (see 
 quotation, 1894), but the name 
 Kangaroo-Rat is now so well- 
 established that it does not seem 
 possible to supersede it by the, 
 perhaps, more correct name of 
 Rat-Kangaroo. The introduction 
 of the word Kangaroo prevents 
 any possibility of confusion be- 
 tween this animal and the true 
 rodent, and it would seem to be 
 a matter of indifference as to 
 which word precedes or follows 
 the other.] 
 
 1788. Governor Phillip (Despatch, May 
 15), in ' Historical Records of New South 
 Wales,' vol. I. pt. ii. p. 135 : 
 
 " Many trees were seen with holes 
 that had been enlarged by the natives 
 to get at the animal, either the squirrel, 
 kangaroo rat, or opossum, for the 
 going in of which perhaps they wait 
 under their temporary huts, and as the 
 enlarging these holes could only be 
 done with the shell they used to sepa- 
 rate the oysters from the rocks, must 
 require great patience." 
 
 1793. Governor Hunter, ' Voyage,' p. 
 6l : 
 
 "As most of the large trees are 
 hollow by being rotten in the heart, 
 the opossum, kangaroo-rat, squirrel, 
 and various other animal^ which in- 
 habit the woods, when they are pur- 
 sued, commonly run into the hollow 
 of a tree." 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. xi. p. 430 : 
 
 " The poto roo, or kangaroo-rat. . . . 
 This curious animal which is indeed a 
 miniature of the Kangaroo." 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 c. ii. p. 28: 
 
 "The kangaroo-rat is a small in- 
 offensive animal and perfectly distinct 
 from the ordinary species of rat." 
 
 1836. C. Darwin, ' Naturalist's Voyage,' 
 c. xix. p. 321 : 
 
 "The greyhounds pursued akangaroo- 
 rat into a hollow tree, out of which we 
 dragged it ; it is an animal as large 
 as a rabbit, but with the figure of a 
 kangaroo." 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, 'Port Phillip 
 in 1 849,' p. 37: 
 
 " The kangaroo-rat is twice the size 
 of a large English water-rat, and of 
 the same colour, measuring nearly two 
 feet in length." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes' 
 (edition 1853), p. 157: 
 
 " Two or three of the smallest kind, 
 called the kangaroo-rat about the 
 size of a hare, and affording pretty 
 good coursing." 
 
 1860. Fison and Howitt, ' Kamilaroi and 
 Kurnai,' p. 195 : 
 
 " One of the skin aprons . . . made 
 from the skin of a kangaroo-rat." 
 
 1879. C. W. Schurmann, 'Native 
 Tribes of Australia Port Lincoln Tribe,' 
 P- 214: 
 
 "The natives use this weapon [the 
 Waddy\ principally for throwing at 
 kangaroo-rats or other small animals." 
 
 1890. A. H. S. Lucas, 'Handbook 
 of the Australasian Association for the Ad- 
 vancement of Science,' Melbourne, p. 63: 
 
 " The Victorian Kangaroo rat is 
 Bettongia cuniculus." 
 
 1894. R. Lydekker,' Marsupialia,' p. 63 : 
 
 " The rat-kangaroos, often incorrectly 
 spoken of as kangaroo-rats." 
 
 Kangaroo-skin, n. either the 
 leather for the tanned hide, or the 
 complete fur for rugs and wraps. 
 
 1806. ' History of New South Wales ' 
 (1818), p. 258: 
 
 "The fitness of the kangaroo-skin 
 for upper leathers will no doubt obtain 
 preference over most of the imported 
 leather, as it is in general lighter and 
 equally durable." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 106 : 
 
 " I used always to strip and preserve 
 the pelt, for it makes good and pretty 
 door-mats, and is most useful for 
 pouches, leggings, light-whips, or any 
 purpose where you require something 
 strong and yet neater than green hide. 
 I have seen saddles covered with it, 
 and kangaroo-skin boots are very last- 
 ing and good." 
 
 Kangaroo-tail Soup, n. soup 
 made from the kangaroo-tail. 
 
 1820. W. C. Wentworth, 'Description 
 of New South Wales,' p. 58 : 
 
 " The tail of the forest kangaroo in 
 particular makes a soup which, both
 
 KAN-KAR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 241 
 
 in richness and flavour, is far superior 
 to any ox-tail soup ever tasted." 
 
 1865. Lady Barker, writing from Mel- 
 bourne, ' Station Life in New Zealand,' 
 p. 14: 
 
 "The soups comprised kangaroo- 
 tail a clear soup not unlike ox-tail, 
 but with a flavour of game." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' 
 c. xxxv. p. 312 : 
 
 " Kangaroo-tail and ox-tail soup 
 disputed pre-eminence." 
 
 Kangaroo-Thorn, n. an indi- 
 genous hedge-plant, Acacia ar- 
 mata, R. Br., N. O. Leguminosce ; 
 called also Kangaroo Acacia. 
 
 Kapai, adj. Maori word for 
 good, used by the English in the 
 North Island of New Zealand : 
 e.g. " That is a kapai pipe." " I 
 have a kapai gun." 
 
 1896. INew Zealand Herald,' Feb. 14 
 (Leading Article) : 
 
 " The Maori word which passed 
 most familiarly into the speech of 
 Europeans was ' kapai,' ' this is good.' " 
 
 Kapu, n. Maori word for a 
 stone adze. The Maori word 
 means the hollow of the hand. 
 The adze is so called from its 
 curved shape. (Williams, ' Maori 
 Diet.') 
 
 1889. ' Catalogue of New Zealand Ex- 
 hibition,' p. 140: 
 " Kapu, or adze." 
 
 Karaka, n. Maori name for a 
 tree, Corynocarpus lavigata, Forst. 
 N. O. AnacardiacecE ; also called 
 Cow-tree (q.v.), forty feet high, 
 with orange-coloured berries, two 
 to three inches long. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 226 : 
 
 " Two or three canoes were hauled 
 up under some karaka trees, which 
 formed a pleasant grove in a sort of 
 recess from the beach." 
 
 Ibid. vol. i. p. 233 : 
 
 "The karaka-tree much resembles 
 the laurel in its growth and foliage. 
 It bears bright orange-coloured berries 
 about the size and shape of damsons, 
 growing in bunches. The fruit is 
 
 sickly and dry ; but the kernel forms 
 an important article of native food." 
 
 1859. A. S. Thomson, ' Story of New 
 Zealand,' p. 157 : 
 
 " The karaka fruit is about the size 
 of an acorn. The pulp is eaten raw ; 
 the kernel is cooked in the oven for 
 ten days, and then steeped for several 
 weeks in a running stream before it 
 is fit for use. Karaka berries for 
 winter use are dried in the sun. The 
 kernel is poisonous uncooked." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 108 : 
 
 "The thick kardkas' varnished 
 green." 
 
 1881. J. L. Campbell, ' Poenamo,' p. 
 102 : 
 
 "The karaka with its brilliantly- 
 polished green leaves and golden 
 yellow fruit." 
 
 1883. F. S. Renwick, 'Betrayed, 'p. 35 : 
 
 " Bring the heavy karaka leaf, 
 Gather flowers of richest hue." 
 
 1892. ' Otago Witness,' Nov. 10. 
 (Native Trees) : 
 
 " Corynocarpus Icevigata (generally 
 known by the name of karaka). The 
 fruit is poisonous, and many deaths of 
 children occur through eating it. Mr. 
 Anderson, a surgeon who accompanied 
 Captain Cook, mentions this tree and 
 its fruit, and says the sailors ate it, 
 but does not say anything about it 
 being poisonous. The poison is in the 
 hard inner part, and it may be that 
 they only ate the outer pulp." 
 
 Karamu, n. Maori name for 
 several species of theNewZealand 
 trees of the genus Coprosma, JV. O. 
 Rubiacecc. Some of the species 
 are called Tree-karamu, and others 
 Bush-karamu ; to the latter (C. 
 lucida, Kirk) the name Coffee-plant, 
 or Coffee-bush, is also applied. 
 
 1874. J- White, ' Te Rou, or the Maori 
 at Home,' p. 221 : 
 
 "Then they tied a few Karamu 
 branches in front of them and went 
 towards the settlement." 
 
 1876. J. C. Crawford, ' Transactions of 
 the New Zealand Institute,' vol. IX. art. 
 Ixxx. p. 545 : 
 
 " I have seen it stated that coffee of 
 fine flavour has been produced from 
 the karamu, coprosma lucida." 
 
 R
 
 242 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KAR-KAT 
 
 1883. J. Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand /p. 132: 
 
 " Karamu. An ornamental shrub- 
 free ; wood close-grained and yellow ; 
 might be used for turnery." 
 
 1887. T. F. Cheeseman, 'Transactions 
 of the New Zealand Institute/ vol. XX. 
 art. xxii. p. 143 : 
 
 "The first plant of interest noted 
 was a new species of coprostna, with 
 the habit of the common karamu." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, 'Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 275 : 
 
 " ' Karamu ' is applied by the Maoris 
 to several species of Coprosma, amongst 
 which, I believe, this [C. arborea] is 
 included, but it is commonly termed 
 ' tree-karamu ' by bushmen and settlers 
 in the North." 
 
 1891. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 'New -Zealand Country Journal,' vol. xv. 
 p. 105 : 
 
 " Of these fruits that of the karamu, 
 (Coprosma lucida), seemed to be 
 amongst the first to be selected." 
 
 Kareau or Kareao, n. Maori 
 name for Supplejack (q.v.). 
 
 Karmai, n. used by settlers in 
 South Island of New Zealand for 
 Towhai (q.v.), a New Zealand 
 tree, Weinmannia racemosa, Forst. 
 N.O. Saxifragece. Kamahi is the 
 Maori, and Karmai, or Kamai, 
 the corruption. 
 
 1876. W. N. Blair, ' Transactions of the 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. ix. p. 148 : 
 
 "As will be seen by the tables of 
 names, kamai is called black birch in 
 the Catlin River District and South- 
 land, which name is given on account 
 of a supposed resemblance to the 
 ' birches,' or more correctly ' beeches,' 
 a number of which occur in that lo- 
 cality. I cannot understand how such 
 an idea could have originated, for 
 except in the case of the bark of one 
 there is not the slightest resemblance 
 between the birches and kamai. What- 
 ever be the reason, the misapplication 
 of names is complete, for the birches 
 are still commonly called kamai in 
 Southland." 
 
 Karoro, n. Maori name for a 
 Black-backed Gull, Larus domini- 
 canus, Licht. 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 47 : 
 
 [Description.] 
 
 Karri or Kari, . aboriginal 
 name (Western Australia) for 
 Eucalyptus diversicolor. F. v. M. 
 
 1870. W. H. Knight, 'Western Aus- 
 tralia : Its History, Progress, Condition, 
 etc.,' p. 38: 
 
 " The Karri (eucalyptus colossea} is 
 another wood very similar in many 
 respects to the tuart, and grows to an 
 enormous size." 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 196 : 
 
 " The kari-tree is found in Western 
 Australia, and is said to be very 
 abundant ... of straight growth and 
 can be obtained of extraordinary size 
 and length. . . . The wood is red in 
 colour, hard, heavy, strong, tough, and 
 slightly wavy or curled in the grain." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiderr, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 4/14 : 
 
 " Commonly known as ' karri,' but 
 in its native habitat as blue-gum. . . . 
 The durability of this timber for 
 lengthened periods under ground yet 
 remains to be proved." 
 
 1896. ' The Inquirer and Commercial 
 News, '.[Perth] July 3, p. 4, col. 5 : 
 
 " Mr. J. Ednie Brown, conservator 
 of forests . . . expresses astonishment 
 at the vastness of the karri forests there 
 . . . they will be in a position to export 
 one thousand loads of karri timber for 
 street-blocking purposes every week." 
 
 1896. ' The Times ' (Weekly Edition), 
 Dec. 4, p. 822, col. I : 
 
 " Karri, Eucalyptus diversicolor, is 
 the giant tree of Western Australia. 
 An average tree has a height of about 
 2ooft., and a diameter of 4ft. at 3ft. or 
 4ft. above the ground. The tree is a 
 rapid grower, and becomes marketable 
 in 30 or 40 years, against 50 years for 
 jarrah. Karri timber is being largely 
 exported for London street-paving, as 
 its surface is not easily rendered 
 slippery." 
 
 Katipo, n. a small venomous 
 spider of New Zealand and Aus- 
 tralia. The name is Maori. The 
 scientific name is Latrodectus scelio, 
 Thorel. In New Zealand, it is
 
 KAU] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 243 
 
 generally found on the beach 
 under old driftwood ; but in Aus- 
 tralia it is found widely scattered 
 over the Continent, and always 
 frequents dark sheltered spots. 
 The derivation may be from Ka- 
 kati, verb, to sting, and /<?, night. 
 Compare Kakapo. It is a dark- 
 coloured spider, with a bright red 
 or yellowish stripe. 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 p. 440 : 
 
 "A small black spider with a red 
 stripe on its back, which they [the 
 natives of New Zealand] call katipo or 
 katepo." 
 
 1870. Sir W. Buller, before Wellington 
 Philosophical Society, quoted in ' The 
 Katipo,' Jan. I, 1892, p. 2: 
 
 " I have satisfied myself that in 
 common with many other venomous 
 creatures it (the katipo) only asserts its 
 dreaded power as a means of defence, 
 or when greatly irritated, for I have 
 observed that on being touched with 
 the finger it instantly folds its legs, 
 rolls over on its back, and simulates 
 death, remaining perfectly motionless 
 till further molested, when it attempts 
 to escape, only using its fangs as the 
 dernier ressort." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Canni- 
 bals,' p. 39: 
 
 " Another spider (Lathrodectus 
 scelio), which is very common here 
 and everywhere in Queensland, is very 
 dangerous even to men. It is a small 
 black animal, of the size of our house- 
 spider, with a brilliant scarlet mark on 
 its back." 
 
 1891. C. Frost, 'Victorian Naturalist,' 
 p. 140: 
 
 k ' I also determined, should oppor- 
 tunity occur, to make some further 
 experiments with the black and red 
 spider Latrodectus scelio ... I found 
 suspended in the web of one of this 
 species a small lizard . . . which 
 doubtless had been killed by its bite." 
 
 1892. Jan. I, 'The Katipo,' a Journal of 
 Events in connection with the New Zealand 
 Post Office and Telegraph Services. On 
 p. 2 of the first number the Editor says : 
 
 " If hard words could break bones, 
 the present lot of the proprietors of 
 'The Katipo' would be a sorry one. 
 
 From certain quarters invectives of 
 the most virulent type have been 
 hurled upon them in connection with 
 the title now bestowed upon the publi- 
 cation the main objections expressed 
 cover contentions that the journal's 
 prototype is a ' repulsive,' ' vindictive,' 
 and 'death-dealing reptile,' 'inimical 
 to man,' etc. ; and so on, ad tnfinttum." 
 
 [The pictorial heading of each 
 number is a katipo's web, sugges- 
 tive of the reticulation of telegraph 
 wires, concerning which page 3 
 of the first number says: "The 
 Katipo spider and web extends its 
 threads as a groundwork for unity 
 of the services."] 
 
 1895. H. R. Hogg, ' Home Expedition 
 in Central Australia,' Zoology, p. 322 : 
 
 "This spider, popularly known as 
 the red streaked spider, is found all 
 over Victoria and New South Wales, 
 and is recorded from Rockhampton 
 and Bowen on the Queensland Coast, 
 and from the North Island of New 
 Zealand, where it is known by the 
 Maoris as the Katipo." 
 
 Kauri, or Cowry, or Kauri- 
 Pine, n. Maori name for the tree 
 Agathis austra/is, Sal. (formerly 
 Dammara A.\ N.O. Coniferce. 
 Variously spelt, and earlier often 
 called Coivdie. In ' Lee's New 
 Zealand Vocabulary,' 1820, the 
 spelling Kaudi appears. Although 
 this tree is usually called by the 
 generic name of Dammara (see 
 quotation, 1832), it is properly 
 referred to the genus Agathis, an 
 earlier name already given to it 
 by Salisbury. There is a Queens- 
 land Kauri (Dammara robusta, F. 
 v. M.). See Pine. 
 
 1823. R. A. Cruise, 'Ten Months in 
 New Zealand,' p. 145 : 
 
 " The banks of the river were found 
 to abound with cowry ; and . . . the 
 carpenter was of opinion that there 
 could be no great difficulty in loading 
 the ship. The timber purveyor of the 
 Coromandel having given cowry a 
 decided preference to kaikaterre, . . .
 
 244 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KAU-KAV 
 
 it was determined to abandon all fur- 
 ther operations." 
 
 1835. W. Yate, ' True Account of New 
 Zealand,' p. 37 : 
 
 " As a shrub, and during its youthful 
 days, the kauri is not very graceful : 
 . . . but when it comes to years of 
 maturity, it stands unrivalled for 
 majesty and beauty." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes' 
 (edition 1855), p. 285 : 
 
 " The kauri (Dammera [sic] Austra- 
 lis) is coniferous, resinous, and has an 
 elongated box-like leaf." 
 
 i860. G. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 349 : 
 
 "When Captain Cook visited New 
 Zealand (nearly a century after the dis- 
 covery of the Dammara of Amboyna), 
 he saw, upon the east coast of the 
 Northern Island, a tree, called by the 
 natives Kowrie ; it was found to be a 
 second species of Dammara, and was 
 named D. Australts." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 p. 140: 
 
 "The Kauri-pine is justly styled the 
 Queen of the New Zealand forest. . . . 
 the celebrated and beautiful Kauri." 
 
 1874. ^" M. B., 'Narrative of Edward 
 Crewe,' p. 169 : 
 
 " The kauri is the only cone-bearing 
 pine in New Zealand. The wood is of 
 a yellow colour, wonderfully free from 
 knots, and harder than the red-pine of 
 the Baltic. Beautifully mottled logs 
 are sometimes met with, and are fre- 
 quently made up into furniture." 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, ' Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 295 : 
 
 " The Kaurie or Cowdie-Pine (Dam- 
 mara Australts) is a native of and is 
 found only in New Zealand. ... A 
 tall and very handsome tree with a 
 slightly tapering stem. . . . For masts, 
 yards, etc., is unrivalled in excellence, 
 as it not only possesses the requisite 
 dimensions, lightness, elasticity, and 
 strength, but is much more durable 
 than any other Pine." [The whole of 
 chap. 37 is devoted to this tree.] 
 
 1883. F. S. Renwick, ' Betrayed,' p. 47 : 
 "As some tall kauri soars in lonely 
 pride, 
 
 So proudly Hira stood." 
 
 1886. J. A. Froude, 'Oceana,' p. 318 : 
 
 " Only the majestic Kauri tolerated 
 
 no approaches to his dignity. Under 
 his branches all was bare and brown." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, 'Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 143 : 
 
 "The Native name 'Kauri' is the 
 only common name in general use. 
 When the timber was first introduced 
 into Britain it was termed ' cowrie ' or 
 ' kowdie-pine ' ; but the name speedily 
 fell into disuse, although it still appears 
 as the common name in some horticul- 
 tural works." 
 
 1890. Brett, 'Early History of New 
 Zealand,' p. 115 : 
 
 '"The Hunter' and 'Fancy' loaded 
 spars for Bengal at the Thames in 
 1798." ..." These two Indian vessels in 
 the Thames were probably the earliest 
 European ships that loaded with New 
 Zealand Timber, and probably mark 
 the commencement of the export Kauri 
 trade." 
 
 Kauri-gum, n. the resin which 
 exudes from theJauri(q.v.), used 
 in making varnish. 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, ' New Zealand,' 
 p. 140: 
 
 " In the year 1859 the amount of 
 timber exportation from the Province 
 of Auckland was /34>376 ; that of 
 kauri-gum exported 20,776." 
 
 1874. G. Walch, 'Head over Heels,' 
 
 P- 15 ' 
 
 " He paid his passage with kauri- 
 gum." 
 
 1893. ' Murray's Handbook to New 
 Zealand,' p. 62 : 
 
 "The industry which will most in- 
 terest the tourist is the Kauri-gum . . 
 The resin or gum which they [the 
 Kauri-trees] contained fell into the 
 ground as the trees died, and (not 
 being soluble in water) has remained 
 there ever since. Men go about with 
 spears which they drive into the 
 ground, and if they find small pieces 
 of gum sticking to the end of the spear, 
 they commence digging, and are often 
 rewarded by coming on large lumps 
 of gum." 
 
 Kava, n. The word is Tongan for 
 (i) An ornamental shrub, Piper 
 methysticum, Miq. ; also Macropiper 
 latifolium, Miq. See Kawa-kawa. 
 (2) A narcotic and stimulant bever-
 
 KAW-KEA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 245 
 
 age, prepared from the root of this 
 plant, which used to be chewed 
 by the natives of Fiji, who ejected 
 the saliva into a Kava bowl, added 
 water and awaited fermentation. 
 The final stage of the manufacture 
 was accompanied by a religious 
 ceremonial of chanting. The 
 manufacture is now conducted in 
 a cleaner way. Kava produces 
 an intoxication, specially affecting 
 the legs. 
 
 1858. Rev. T. Williams, 'Fiji and the 
 Fijians,' vol. i. p. 141 : 
 
 " Like the inhabitants of the groups 
 eastward, the Fijians drink an infusion 
 of the Piper methysticum, generally 
 called Ava or Kava its name in the 
 Tongan and other languages. Some 
 old men assert that the true Fijian 
 mode of preparing the root is by grat- 
 ing, as is still the practice in two or 
 three places ; but in this degenerate 
 age the Tongan custom of chewing is 
 almost universal, the operation nearly 
 always being performed by young men. 
 More form attends the use of this nar- 
 cotic on Somosomo than elsewhere. 
 Early in the morning the king's herald 
 stands in front of the royal abode, and 
 shouts at the top of his voice, ' Ya- 
 gona!' Hereupon all within hearing 
 respond in a sort of scream, ' Mama I ' 
 ' Chew it ! ' At this signal the chiefs, 
 priests, and leading men gather round 
 the well-known bowl, and talk over 
 public affairs, or state the work assign- 
 ed for the day, while their favourite 
 draught is being prepared. When 
 the young men have finished the 
 chewing, each deposits his portion in 
 the form of a round dry ball in the 
 bowl, the inside of which thus becomes 
 studded over with a large number of 
 these separate little masses. The man 
 who has to make the grog takes the 
 bowl by the edge and tilts it towards 
 the king, or, in his absence, to the 
 chief appointed to preside. A herald 
 calls the king's attention to the slant- 
 ing bowl, saying, ' Sir, with respects, the 
 yagona is collected.' If the king thinks 
 it enough, he replies, in a low tone, 
 ' Loba ' ' Wring it ' an order which 
 the herald communicates to the man 
 
 at the bowl in a louder voice. The 
 water is then called for and gradually 
 poured in, a little at first, and then 
 more, until the bowl is full or the master 
 of the ceremonies says, ' Stop ! ' the 
 operator in the meantime gathering up 
 and compressing the chewed root." 
 
 1888. H. S. Cooper, 'The Islands of 
 the Pacific,' p. 102 : 
 
 " Kava is the name given to a liquor 
 produced by chewing the root of a 
 shrub called angona, and the cere- 
 monious part of the preparation con- 
 sists in chewing the root." 
 
 Kawa-kawa, n. Maori name 
 for an ornamental shrub of New 
 Zealand, Macropiper excelsum. In 
 Maori, Kawa =" unpleasant to 
 the taste, bitter, sour." (Williams.) 
 The missionaries used to make 
 small beer out of the Kawa-kawa. 
 
 1850. Major Greenwood, ' Journey from 
 Taupo to Auckland,' p. 30 : 
 
 " The good missionary . . . thrust 
 upon us ... some bottles of a most 
 refreshing light beverage made from 
 the leaves of the kawa-kawa tree, which 
 in taste much resembled ginger-beer." 
 
 1877. Anon., 'Colonial Experiences, or 
 Incidents of Thirty-four Years in New 
 Zealand,' p. 104 : 
 
 " Our tea was made from the dried 
 leaves of a native shrub, of a very 
 spicy flavour, and known as the kawa- 
 kawa, too pungent if used fresh and 
 green." 
 
 1896. ' Otago Witness/ June 4, p. 49 : 
 
 "The tints of kaiva, of birch and 
 broadleaf, of rimu and matai are 
 blended together into one dark indi- 
 visible green." 
 
 Kawau, n. Maori name for a 
 Shag, Phalacrocorax nova - hol- 
 landia, Steph. 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, ' Birds of New Zea- 
 land,' vol. ii. p. 145 : 
 
 [Description given.] 
 
 Kea, n. a parrot of New Zea- 
 land, Nestor notabilis, Gould. For 
 its habits see quotations. 
 
 1862. J. Von Haast, ' Exploration of 
 Head Waters of Waitaki, 1862,' in ' Geo- 
 logy of Westland' (published 1879), p. 36 : 
 
 " What gave still greater interest to
 
 246 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KEL 
 
 the spot was the presence of a number 
 of large green alpine parrots (Nestor 
 notabilis), the kea ofthe natives, which 
 visited continually the small grove of 
 beech-trees near our camp." 
 
 1880. ' Zoologist ' for February, p. 57 : 
 
 " On the 4th of November last the 
 distinguished surgeon, Mr. John Wood, 
 F.R.S., exhibited before the Pathologi- 
 cal Society of London the colon of a 
 sheep, in which the operation known 
 as Colotomy had been performed by a 
 Parrot . . . the species known as the 
 ' Kea ' by the Maoris, the ' Mountain 
 Parrot ' of the colonists, Nestor nota- 
 bilis of Gould. Only five species . . . 
 are known, one of which (Nestor pro- 
 ductus) has lately become extinct ; 
 they only occur in New Zealand and 
 Norfolk Island. They were formerly 
 classed among the Trichoglossince or 
 brush-tongued parrots . . . more 
 nearly allied to true Psittad ... Its 
 ordinary food consists of berries and 
 insects ; but since its Alpine haunts 
 have been reached by the tide of 
 civilization, it has acquired a taste for 
 raw flesh, to obtain which it even 
 attacks living animals." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 p. 176: 
 
 " We have the hoary-headed nestors, 
 amongst which are found the noisy 
 honey-loving kaka, the hardy kea, 
 that famous sheep-killer and flesh- 
 eater, the dread of many an Alpine 
 sheep farmer." 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, ' Birds of New Zea- 
 land,' vol. i. p. 1 66 : 
 
 " Nestor notabilis, Gould, Kea-parrot, 
 Mountain-parrot of the Colonists." 
 
 1888. ' Antipodean Notes,' p. 74 : 
 
 " The Kea picks the fat which sur- 
 rounds the kidneys. . . Various theo- 
 ries have been started to explain how 
 this parrot has become carnivorous." 
 [Two pages are devoted to the ques- 
 tion.] 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iv. p. 19 : 
 
 " The kea-parrot. . . . The kea is 
 pretty to look at, having rich red and 
 green plumage, but it is a cruel bird. 
 It is said that it will fasten on the back 
 of a living sheep and peck its way 
 down to the kidney-fat, for which this 
 parrot has a special fancy. No 
 
 tourist need feel compunction about 
 shooting a kea." 
 
 1893. A. R. Wallace, 'Australasia,' vol. 
 i. p. 445 : 
 
 " Another very interesting group of 
 birds are the large dull colonial parrots 
 of the genus Nestor, called kea or kaka 
 by the natives from their peculiar 
 cries. Their natural food is berries 
 . . . but of late years the kea (Nestor 
 notabilis\ a mountain species found 
 only in the South Island, has developed 
 a curious liking for meat, and now 
 attacks living sheep, settling on their 
 backs and tearing away the skin and 
 flesh to get at the kidney fat." 
 
 1895. ' Otago Witness,' Dec. 26, p. 3, 
 col. I : 
 
 " There is in the Alpine regions of 
 the South Island a plant popularly 
 called the 'vegetable sheep,' botanically 
 named Raoulia. From the distance 
 of even a few yards it looks like a 
 sheep. It grows in great masses, and 
 consists of a woolly vegetation. A 
 large specimen of this singular plant 
 was exhibited in the Colonial and 
 Indian Exhibition. It is said that the 
 kea was in the habit of tearing it up 
 to get at the grubs which harbour 
 within the mass, and that mistaking 
 dead sheep for vegetable sheep it 
 learned the taste of mutton. A more 
 enterprising generation preferred its 
 mutton rather fresher." 
 
 Kelp-fish, n. In New Zealand, 
 also called Butter-fish (q.v.), Cori- 
 dodax pullus, Forst. In Tasmania, 
 Odax baleatus, Cuv. and Val.; 
 called also Ground Mullet by the 
 fishermen. In Victoria, Chironemus 
 marmorafus, Giinth. Coridodax 
 and Odax belong to the family 
 Labrida or Wrasses, which com- 
 prises the Rock- Whitings ; Chiron- 
 emus to the family Cirrhitidce. 
 The name is also given in New 
 Zealand to another fish, the 
 Spotty (q.v.). These fishes are 
 all different from the Californian 
 food-fishes of the same name. 
 
 1841. J. Richardson, ' Description of 
 Australian Fishes,' p. 148 : 
 
 " This fish is known at Port Arthur
 
 KEN-KIL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 247 
 
 by~~the appellation of ' Kelp-fish,' I 
 suppose from its frequenting the 
 thickets of the larger fuci." 
 
 Kennedya, n. the scientific 
 name of a genus of perennial 
 leguminous herbs of the bean 
 family named, in 1804, after Mr. 
 Kennedy, a gardener at Hammer- 
 smith, near London. There are 
 seventeen species, all natives of 
 Australia and Tasmania, many of 
 them cultivated for the sake of 
 their showy flowers and berries. 
 Others lie near the ground like a 
 vetch; K. prostrata is called the 
 Coral Pea (q.v.), or Bleeding Heart, 
 or Native Scarlet Runner, or Run- 
 ning Postman. Another species is 
 called Australian Sarsaparilla. See 
 Sarsaparilla. 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' The Head Station,' 
 p. 294 : 
 
 " Taking off his felt hat, he twisted 
 round it a withe of crimson Kennedia, 
 then put it on again." 
 
 Kestrel, n. the common 
 English name for a falcon. Ac- 
 cording to Gould the Australian 
 species is identical with Cerchneis 
 tinnunculus, a European species, 
 but Vigors and Horsfield differ- 
 entiate it as Tinnunculus cenchroides. 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' March 25, p. 4, col. 5 : 
 
 " The kestrel's nest we always found 
 in the fluted gums that overhung the 
 creek, the red eggs resting on the red 
 mould of the decaying trunk being 
 almost invisible." 
 
 Kia ora, interj. Maori phrase 
 used by English in the North 
 Island of New Zealand, and mean- 
 ing " Health to you ! " A private 
 letter (1896) says "You will hear 
 any day at a Melbourne bar the 
 first man say Keora ta-u, while the 
 other says Keora tatu, so replacing 
 " Here's to you ! " These ex- 
 pressions are corruptions of the 
 Maori, Kia ora taua, " Health to 
 us too ! " and Kia ora tatou, 
 ''Health to all of us ! " 
 
 Kie-kie, n. Maori name for a 
 climbing plant, Freycinetia bankfii, 
 N. O. Pandanacea ; frequently pro- 
 nounced ghi-ghi in the North 
 Island of New Zealand, and gay- 
 gie in the South Island. 
 
 1854. w - Colder, ' Pigeons' Parliament,' 
 p. 77 = 
 
 " The trees were . . . covered with 
 a kind of parasite plant, called a kee- 
 kee, having a thick cabbage-like stock." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf ' (Notes), p. 
 505: 
 
 " Kie-kie (parasite) ... A lofty 
 climber; the bracts and young spikes 
 make a very sweet preserve." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 p. 20 : 
 
 " The unused food ... of our little 
 camp, together with the empty kie-kie 
 baskets." 
 
 [sc. baskets made of kie-kie leaves.] 
 
 Kiley, ;/. aboriginal word in 
 Western Australia for a flat 
 weapon, curved for throwing, 
 made plane on one side and 
 slightly convex on the other. 
 A kind of boomerang. 
 
 1839. Nathaniel Ogle, 'The Colony of 
 Western Australia,' p. 57 : 
 
 " In every part of this great continent 
 they have the koilee, or boomerang . . ." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. I. c. iv. p. 72 : 
 
 " One of them had a kiley or bom- 
 erang." 
 
 1872. Mrs. E. Millett, 'An Australian 
 Parsonage ; or, The Settler and the Savage 
 in Western Australia,' p. 222 : 
 
 "The flat curved wooden weapon, 
 called a kylie, which the natives have 
 invented for the purpose of killing 
 several birds out of a flock at one 
 throw, looks not unlike a bird itself 
 as it whizzes (or walks as natives say) 
 through the air in its circular and as- 
 cending flight . . ." 
 
 1885. Lady Barker, 'Letters to Guy,' 
 p. 177 : 
 
 "More wonderful and interesting, 
 however, is it to see them throw the 
 kylie (what is called the boomerang 
 in other parts of Australia), a curiously 
 curved and flat stick, about a foot 
 long and two or three inches wide . . .
 
 248 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KIN 
 
 There are heavier 'ground kylies,' 
 which skim along the ground, describ- 
 ing marvellous turns and twists, and 
 they would certainly break the leg of 
 any bird or beast they hit ; but their 
 gyrations are nothing compared to 
 those of a good air-kylie in skilful 
 hands." 
 
 Kinaki, n. a Maori word for 
 food eaten with another kind to 
 give it a relish. Compare Grk. 
 o\f/ov. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand ' (Church Mis- 
 sionary Society), p. 164 : 
 
 " Kinaki. Victuals, added for va- 
 riety's sake." 
 
 1873. ' Appendix to Journal of House of 
 Representatives,' vol. iii. G. I, p. 5 : 
 
 " If it be a Maori who is taken by 
 me, he will also be made into a kinaki 
 for my cabbage." 
 
 1878. R. C. Barstow, ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. XI. art. iv. 
 P- 7i : 
 
 " Fifty years ago it would have been 
 a poor hapu that could not afford a 
 slave or two as a kinaki, or relish, on 
 such an occasion." 
 
 King-fish, n. In New Zealand 
 a sea-fish, Seriola lalandii (Maori, 
 Hakii], sometimes called the 
 Yellow-tail; in Victoria, Scitzna 
 antarctica, Castln. Called \Jew-fish 
 (q.v.) in New South Wales. Teni- 
 son Woods says the King- 
 fish of Port Jackson must not be 
 confounded with the King-fish 
 of Victoria or the King-fish of 
 Tasmania (Thyrsites micropus, 
 McCoy). The Port Jackson 
 King-fish belongs to a genus 
 called ''Yellow-tails" in Europe. 
 This is Seriola lalandii^ Cuv. and 
 Val. Seriola belongs to the family 
 CarangidcB, or Horse-Mackerels. 
 Thyrsites belongs to the family 
 Trichiurida. The "Barracouta" 
 of Australasia is another species of 
 Thyrsites, and the "Frost-fish" 
 belongs to the same family. The 
 Kingfish of America is a different 
 
 fish ; the name is also applied to 
 other fishes in Europe. 
 
 1876. P. Thomson, 'Transactions of New 
 Zealand Institute,' vol. XI. art. Iii. p. 381 : 
 
 "The king-fish, Seriola Lalandii^ 
 put in no appearance this year." 
 
 1883. ' Royal Commission on Fisheries 
 of Tasmania,' p. II : 
 
 " Thyrsites Lalandii, the king-fish 
 of Tasmania : migratory. Appear in 
 immense numbers at certain seasons 
 (December to June) in pursuit of the 
 horse-mackerel. Caught with a 
 swivelled barbless hook at night. 
 Voracious in the extreme individuals 
 frequently attacking each other, and 
 also the allied species, the barracouta." 
 
 Kingfisher, n. common English 
 bird-name. Gould mentions thir- 
 teen species in Australia. The 
 Australian species are 
 
 Blue Kingfisher 
 
 Halcyon azurea. Lath. 
 Fawn-breasted K. 
 
 Dacelo cennna, Gould. 
 Forest K. 
 
 Halcyon macleayi, Jard. and Selb. 
 Laughing Jackass (q.v.) 
 
 Dacelo gigas, Bodd. 
 Leach's K. 
 
 D. leachii, Vig. and Hors. 
 Little K. 
 
 Halcyon pusilla, Temm. 
 Mangrove K. 
 
 H. sordidus, Gould. 
 Purple K. 
 
 H. pulchra, Gould. 
 Red-backed K. 
 
 H. pyrropygius, Gould. 
 Sacred K. 
 
 H. sanctus, Vig. and Hors. 
 White-tailed K. 
 
 Tanysiptera sylvta, Gould. 
 Yellow-billed K. 
 
 SymaflavirostriS) Gould. 
 
 There is a Kingfisher in New 
 Zealand (Halcyon vagans, Less.) 
 considered identical by many with 
 H. sanctus of Australia, but con- 
 cluded by Buller to be a distinct 
 species.
 
 KIN-KIT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 249 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 121 : 
 [A full description.] 
 
 King of the Herrings, n. an- 
 other name for the Elephant-fish 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1890. A. H. S. Lucas, ' Handbook of 
 the Australasian Association ' (Melbourne), 
 p. 72: 
 
 "The King of the Herrings, Callo- 
 rhynchus antarcticus, is fairly common 
 with us." 
 
 King-Parrot. See Parrot. 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 
 ' History of the Discovery and Exploration 
 of Australia,' vol. i. p. 317 : 
 
 "This creek [King Parrot Creek] 
 was named after a beautiful parrot 
 which was then seen for the first time. 
 It is a bird of ' magnificent plumage, 
 with crimson feathers on the body, and 
 blue wings, both of gorgeous hue, and 
 no other colour except a little black. 
 The name, King Parrot, is variously 
 applied to several birds in different 
 parts of Australia ; the one described 
 is common." 
 
 King William. Pine, n. a Tas- 
 manian tree. See Cedar. 
 
 Kino, n. a drug ; the dried juice, 
 of astringent character, obtained 
 from incisions in the bark of 
 various trees. In Australia it is 
 got from certain Eucalypts, e.g. 
 E. resinifera, Smith, and E. co- 
 rymbosa, Smith. "It is used in 
 England under the name of Red- 
 gum in astringent lozenges for 
 sore throat." ('Century.') See 
 Red Gum. The drug is Australian, 
 but the word, according to Littr6, 
 is " Mot des Indes orientates" 
 
 Kipper, n. a youth who has 
 been initiated, i.e. been through 
 the Bora (q.v.). It is a Queens- 
 land word. In Kabi, Queens- 
 land, the form is ktvar : on the 
 Brisbane River, it is kippa, where- 
 as in the Kamilaroi of New South 
 Wales the word is kubura. 
 
 1853. H. Berkeley Jones, ' Adventures 
 in Australia in 1852 and 1853,' p. 126 : 
 
 " Around us sat ' Kippers,' i. e. 
 ' hobbledehoy blacks.' " 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' Australian Life,' p. 
 24: 
 
 "The young men receive the rank 
 of warriors, and are henceforth called 
 kippers." 
 
 Kit, n. a flexible Maori basket ; 
 not the English kit used by 
 soldiers, but the Maori word 
 kete, a basket. 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 199: 
 
 ''Kete (Maori), pa-kete (Anglo- 
 Maori), basket, kit (Eng.)." 
 
 1856. E. B. Fitton, 'New Zealand,' 
 p. 68 : 
 
 " The natives generally bring their 
 produce to market in neatly made 
 baskets, plaited from flax and known 
 by the name of ' Maori kits.' " 
 
 1857. C. Hursthouse, ' New Zealand, the 
 Britain of the South,' vol. i. p. 180 : 
 
 "The kit is a large plaited green- 
 flax basket." 
 
 1877. An Old Colonist, 'Colonial Ex- 
 periences,' p. 3 1 : 
 
 " Potatoes were procurable from the 
 Maoris in flax kits, at from one to five 
 shillings the kit." 
 
 1884. Lady Martin, 'Our Maoris,' p. 
 44 : 
 
 "They might have said, as an old 
 Maori woman long afterwards said to 
 me, ' Mother, my heart is like an old 
 kete (i.e. a coarsely woven basket). The 
 words go in, but they fall through.'" 
 
 Kite, n. common English bird- 
 name. The species in Australia 
 are 
 
 Allied Kite 
 
 Milvus affinis, Gould. 
 Black-shouldered K. 
 
 Elanus axiHaris, Lath. 
 Letter-winged K. 
 
 E. scriptus, Gould. 
 Square-tailed K. 
 
 Lophoictinia isura, Gould. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 321 : 
 
 " We had to guard it by turns, whip
 
 250 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KIW-KNO 
 
 in hand, from a host of square-tailed 
 kites (Milvus isiurus)." 
 
 1895. G. A. Keartland, 'Home Expe- 
 dition in Central Australia,' Zoology, p. 
 
 55: 
 
 " At any stockyard or station passed 
 Kites were seen ... at Henbury one 
 female bird was bold enough to come 
 right into camp and pick up the flesh 
 thrown to it from birds I was skin- 
 ning." 
 
 Kiwi, n. Maori name for a 
 wingless struthious bird of New 
 Zealand, the Apteryx (q.v.), so 
 called from the note of the bird. 
 The species are 
 
 Large Grey Kiwi (Roa roa, gener- 
 ally shortened to Roa, q.v.) 
 
 Apteryx haastii, Potts. 
 Little Grey K. 
 
 A. oweni, Gould. 
 North Island K. 
 
 A. bulleri, Sharpe. 
 South Island K. (Tokoeka) 
 
 A. australis, Shaw and Nodder. 
 
 See Duller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand' (1888), vol. ii. p. 308. 
 
 1835. w - Yate, 'Account of New 
 Zealand,' p. 58: 
 
 "Kiwi the most remarkable and 
 curious bird in New Zealand." 
 
 1848. J.Gould, 'Birds of Australia, 'vol. 
 vi. pi. 2 : 
 
 "Apteryx Australis, Shaw, Kiwi 
 kiwi." 
 
 [Australis here equals Southern, 
 not Australian.] 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 p. 181: 
 
 " The Kiwi, however, is only the last 
 and rather insignificant representative 
 of the family of wingless birds that 
 inhabited New Zealand in bygone 
 ages." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 232 : 
 
 "'Twas nothing but that wing-less, 
 
 tail-less bird, 
 The kiwi." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open,' 
 P- 35: 
 
 "The fact that one collector alone 
 had killed and disposed of above 2000 
 specimens of the harmless kiwi." 
 
 1889. Professor Parker, 'Catalogue of 
 New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 1 16 : 
 
 " The Kiwi, although flightless, has 
 a small but well-formed wing, provided 
 with wing quills." 
 
 Knockabout, adj. a species of 
 labourer employed on a station ; 
 applied to a man of all work on a 
 station. Like Rouseabout (q.v.). 
 
 1876. W. Harcus, ' Southern Australia,' 
 P- 275 : 
 
 " Knockabout hands, 1 7 s. to 2cw. per 
 week." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 80 : 
 
 "They were composed chiefly of 
 what is called in the bush 'knock- 
 about men' that is, men who are 
 willing to undertake any work, some- 
 times shepherding, sometimes making 
 yards or driving." 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories,' xvi. p. 118 : 
 
 " I watched his development through 
 various stages of colonial experience 
 into dairyman, knockabout man, 
 bullock-driver, and finally stock-rider." 
 
 Knock-down, v. generally of 
 a cheque. To spend riotously, 
 usually in drink. 
 
 1869. Marcus Clarke, ' Peripatetic Phi- 
 losopher ' (reprint), p. So : 
 
 " Last night ! went knocking round 
 with Swizzleford and Rattlebrain. 
 C'sino, and V'ri'tes. Such a lark ! 
 Stole two Red Boots and a Brass Hat. 
 Knocked down thirteen notes, and 
 went to bed as tight as a fly ! " 
 
 1871. J.J.Simpson, ' Recitations, 'p. 9: 
 
 " Hundreds of diggers daily then 
 
 were walking Melbourne town, 
 
 With their pockets fill'd with gold, 
 which they very soon knock'd 
 down." 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, ' Old Colonials,' p. 6 : 
 " Cashed by the nearest publican, 
 
 who of course never handed over a 
 cent. A man was compelled to stay 
 there and knock his cheque down 
 ' like a man.' " 
 
 1885. H. Finch- Hatton, 'Advance 
 Australia,' p. 222 : 
 
 "A system known as 'knocking 
 down one's cheque' prevails all over 
 the unsettled parts of Australia. That
 
 KOA-KON] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 251 
 
 is to say, a man with a cheque, or a 
 sum of money in his possession, hands 
 it over to the publican, and calls for 
 drinks for himself and his friends, 
 until the publican tells him he has 
 drunk out his cheque." 
 
 1887. R. M. Praed, ' Longleat of Kooral- 
 byn,' c. xviii. p. 182 : 
 
 " The illiterate shearer who knocks 
 down his cheque in a spree." 
 
 Koala, Coola, or Kool-la, n. 
 aboriginal name for Native Bear 
 (q.v.) ; genus, Phascolarctus(c\.v.}. 
 A variant of an aboriginal word 
 meaning a big animal. In parts 
 of South Australia koola means 
 a kangaroo. 
 
 1813. 'History of New South Wales' 
 (1818), p. 432 : 
 
 " The koolah or sloth is likewise an 
 animal of the opossum species, with a 
 false belly. This creature is from a 
 foot and a half to two feet in length, 
 and takes refuge in a tree, where he 
 discovers his haunt by devouring all 
 the leaves before he quits it.'' 
 
 1849. J. Gould, ' Proceedings of the 
 Zoological Society of London,' November : 
 
 " The light-coloured mark on the 
 rump, somewhat resembling that on 
 the same part of the Koala . . . the 
 fur is remarkable for its extreme 
 density and for its resemblance to that 
 of the Koala." 
 
 Kohekohe, n. Maori name for 
 a New Zealand tree, sometimes 
 called Cedar, Dysoxylum spectabile, 
 Hook (N.O. Meliacecz). 
 
 1883. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 127 : 
 
 " Kohekohe. A large forest tree, 
 forty to fifty feet high. Its leaves are 
 bitter, and used to make a stomachic 
 infusion : wood tough, but splits 
 freely." 
 
 Kohua, n. Maori word, for (i) a 
 Maori oven ; (2) a boiler. There 
 is a Maori verb Kohu, to cook or 
 steam in a native oven (from a 
 noun Kohu, steam, mist), and an 
 adj. Kohu, concave. The word 
 is used by the English in New 
 
 Zealand, and is said to be the 
 origin of Goashorc (q.v.). 
 
 Kokako, n. Maori name for the 
 Blue-wattled Crow. See under 
 Crow and Wattle-bird. 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open,' 
 p. 194: 
 
 " The Orange - wattled Crow, or 
 wattled bird, kokako of the Maoris, 
 Glaucopis cinerea, Gml., still seems to 
 be an almost unknown bird as to its 
 nesting habits . . . The kokako loving 
 a moist temperature will probably soon 
 forsake its ancient places of resort." 
 
 Kokopu, n. Maori name for a 
 New Zealand fish ; any species 
 of Galaxias, especially G. fascia- 
 tus ; corrupted into Cock-a-bully 
 (q.v.). See Mountain Trout. 
 
 1820. 'Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand ' (Church Mis- 
 sionary Society), p. 106 : 
 
 " Kokopu. Name of a certain fish." 
 
 1886. R. A. Sherrin, ' Fishes of New 
 Zealand,' p. 138 : 
 
 " ' Kokopu,' Dr. Hector says, ' is 
 the general Maori name for several 
 very common fishes in the New Zea- 
 land streams and lakes, belonging to 
 the family of Galaxiida? " 
 
 Kokowai, n. Maori name for Red 
 Ochre, an oxide of iron deposited 
 in certain rivers, used by the 
 Maoris for painting. It was 
 usually mixed with shark oil, but 
 for very fine work with oil from 
 the berries of the titoki (q.v.). 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 124: 
 
 "His head, with the hair neatly 
 arranged and copiously ornamented 
 with feathers, reclined against a carved 
 post, which was painted with kokowai, 
 or red ochre." 
 
 1878. R. C. Barstow, ' Transactions 
 of New Zealand Institute,' vol. XI. art. iv. 
 p. 75 : 
 
 " Kokowai isakind of pigment, burnt, 
 dried, and mixed with shark-liver oil." 
 
 Konini, n. Maori name for (i) 
 the fruit of the New Zealand 
 fuchsia, Fuchsia excorticata, Linn.
 
 252 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KOO-KOR 
 
 (2) A settlers' name for the tree 
 itself. See Kotukutuku. 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 p. 114: 
 
 "The berries of the konini . . . 
 ripening early furnish some part of its 
 (bell-bird's) food supply." (p. 146) : 
 " Rather late in August, when the 
 brown-skinned konini begins to deck 
 its bare sprays with pendulous flowers." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New- 
 Zealand,' p. 53 : 
 
 " Mr. Colenso informs me that it 
 [Fuchsia excorticatd\ is the Kohutu- 
 hutu and the Kotukutuku of the 
 Maoris, the fruit being known as 
 Konini, especially in the South Island 
 and the southern part of the North 
 Island. The settlers sometimes term 
 it Kotukutuku or Konini, but more 
 generally fuchsia." 
 
 Kooberry, n. aboriginal name 
 for the Bidyan Ruffe (q.v.). 
 
 Kookaburra, n. (also Gogobera 
 and Goburra), the aboriginal 
 name for the bird called the 
 Laughing-Jackass (q.v.). The first 
 spelling is that under which the 
 aboriginal name now survives in 
 English, and is the name by which 
 the bird is generally called in 
 Sydney. 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 123 : 
 " And wild goburras laughed aloud 
 Their merry morning songs." 
 
 1870. F. S. Wilson, ' Australian Songs,' 
 p. 167 : 
 
 " The rude rough rhymes of the wild 
 goburra's song." 
 
 1886. E. M. Curr, 'Australian Race,' 
 p. 29: 
 
 " The notes of this bird are chiefly 
 composed of the sounds ka and koo, 
 and from them it takes its name in 
 most of the languages . . . It is notice- 
 able in some localities that burra is 
 the common equivalent of people or 
 tribe i and that the Pegulloburra . . . 
 the Owanburra, and many other tribes, 
 called the laughing -jackass kako- 
 oburra, kakaburra, kakoburra, and so 
 on ; literally the Kakoo-people." [Mr. 
 Curr's etymology is not generally 
 accepted.] 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' Oct. 25, p. 4, col 5 : 
 "You might hear the last hoot of 
 the kookaburra then." 
 
 1893. ' Sydney 31orning Herald,' Aug. 
 26, p. 5, col. 4: 
 
 " But what board will intervene to 
 protect the disappearing marsupials, 
 and native flora, the lyre-bird, the 
 kookaburra, and other types which are 
 rapidly disappearing despite the laws 
 which have been framed in some in- 
 stances for their protection ? '' 
 
 1894. E - p - Ramsay, 'Catalogue of 
 Australian Birds in the Australian Museum 
 at Sydney, 'p. 2, s.v. Dacelo : 
 
 " Gogobera, aborigines of New South 
 Wales." 
 
 Koradji, or Coradgee, n. ab- 
 original name for a wise man, 
 sorcerer, or doctor. In the south- 
 east of New South Wales, it means 
 one of the tribal wizards, usually 
 called " blackfellow-doctors." 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 14 : 
 
 " The coradgees, who are their wise 
 men, have, they suppose, the power of 
 healing and foretelling. Each tribe 
 possesses one of these learned pundits, 
 and if their wisdom were in proportion 
 to their age, they would indeed be 
 Solons." 
 
 1865. S. Bennett, 'Australian Dis- 
 covery,' p. 250 : 
 
 " Kiradjee, a doctor ; Grk. xfipovpyoc. 
 Persian, khoajih. English, surgeon. 
 Old English (obsolete), chirurgeon." 
 
 [Curious and impossible etymology.] 
 
 1865. W. Howitt, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia, vol. i. p. 287 : 
 
 " One who seemed a coradge, or 
 priest, went through a strange cere- 
 mony of singing, and touching his eye- 
 brows, nose, and breast, crossing him- 
 self, and pointing to the sky like an 
 old Druid." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' 
 P- 23: 
 
 " The korradgees, or medicine men, 
 are the chief repositories (of the secrets 
 of their religion)." 
 
 1892. J. Fraser, ' Aborigines of New 
 South Wales,' p. 63 : 
 
 " For some diseases, the karaji, or 
 native doctor when he is called in,
 
 KOR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 253 
 
 makes passes with his hand over the 
 sick man, much in the same way as a 
 mesmerist will do ... Our Australian 
 karaji is highly esteemed, but not 
 paid." 
 
 Korari, n. often pronounced 
 Koraddy and Koladdy, and spelt 
 variously ; the Maori word for 
 the flowering stem of Phormium 
 tenax, J. and G. Forst. (q.v.), 
 generally used for making a 
 mokihi (q.v.). There is a Maori 
 noun, kora, a small fragment; and 
 a verb korari, to pluck a twig, or 
 tear it off. 
 
 1879. ' Old Identity ' [Title] : 
 
 " The Old Identities of the Province 
 of Otago." [p. 53] : " A kolladie (the 
 flower stalk of the flax, about seven 
 feet long) carried by each, as a balanc- 
 ing pole or staff." 
 
 1893. Daniel Frobisher, ' Sketches of 
 Gbssipton,' p. 75 : 
 
 " But now the faithful brute is gone ; 
 Through bush and fern and flax 
 koladdy, 
 
 Where oft he bunny pounced upon, 
 No more will follow me, poor 
 Paddy." 
 
 Korero, n. Maori for a confer- 
 ence, a conversation. The verb 
 means "to tell, to say, to ad- 
 dress, to speak, to talk." ('Wil- 
 liams' Maori Dictionary,' 4th. ed.) 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand ' (Church Mis- 
 sionary Society), p. 168 : 
 
 " Korero, s. a speaking ; i>. n. 
 speaking." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' c. i. p. 78 : 
 
 " There were about sixty men as- 
 sembled, and they proceeded to hold 
 a ' korero,' or talk on the all-important 
 subject." 
 
 Ibid. p. 81 : 
 
 " With the exception of an occasional 
 exclamation of ' korero, korero,' 'speak, 
 speak,' which was used like our 
 ' hear, hear,' in either an encouraging 
 or an ironical sense, or an earnest but 
 low expression of approval or dissent, 
 no interruption of the orators ever took 
 place." 
 
 1863. T. Moser, ' Mahoe Leaves,' p. 30 : 
 " As he had to pass several pahs on 
 the road, at all of which there would 
 be 'koreros.'" (p. 31): "Had been 
 joined by a score or more of their ac- 
 quaintances, and what between 'ko- 
 reros' and 'ko-mitis,' had not made 
 any further progress on their journey." 
 
 1896. ' Otago Witness,' Jan. 23, p. 42, 
 col. 3 : 
 
 "All this after a very excited 'ko- 
 rero' on the empty dray, with the 
 surging and exciting crowd around." 
 
 Korimako, n. Maori name for 
 the Bell-Bird (<\.\.}. 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 402 : 
 
 "The korimako, or kokorimako 
 (Anthorms melanura). This bird is 
 the sweetest songster of New Zealand, 
 but is not distinguished by its plumage, 
 which is a yellowish olive with a 
 dark bluish shade on each side of the 
 head." 
 
 Ibid. p. 75 : 
 
 " In the first oven [at the Maori 
 child's naming feast] a korimako was 
 cooked ; this is the sweetest singing 
 bird of New Zealand ; it was eaten 
 that the child might have a sweet 
 voice and be an admired orator. 1 ' 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 202 : 
 
 " The korimako, sweetest bird 
 Of all that are in forest heard." 
 
 1888. W. W. Smith, 'Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. XXI. art. 
 xxi. p. 213 : 
 
 " Anthornis tnelanura, korimako or 
 bell-bird. In fine weather the bush 
 along the south shores of Lake Brun- 
 ner re-echoes with the rich notes of 
 the tui and korimako, although both 
 species have disappeared from former 
 haunts east of the Alps." 
 
 Koromiko, n. a white flower- 
 ing arborescent Veronica of New 
 Zealand, Veronica salicifolia, Forst., 
 N. O. Serophularineat. 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor. ' Tc Ika a Maui,' 
 
 P- 454 = 
 
 " Koromiko, a very ornamental 
 plant, but disappearing before the 
 horse. It bears a tapering-shaped 
 flower of a purplish white."
 
 254 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [KOR-KOW 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 2 : 
 
 "Just a ditch, 
 With flowering koromiko rich." 
 
 1884. T. Bracken, ' Lays of Maori,' p. 
 21 : 
 
 " The early breeze 
 That played among the koromiko's 
 
 leaves." 
 
 1889. Vincent Pyke, 'Wild Will 
 Enderby,' p. 16 : 
 
 " Fostered by the cool waters of a 
 mountain rivulet, the koromiko grows 
 by the side of the poisonous tutu 
 bushes." 
 
 Korora, n. Maori name for a 
 Blue Penguin, Spheniscus minor, 
 Gmel. See Penguin. 
 
 Korrumburra, n. aboriginal 
 name for the common blow-fly, 
 which in Australia is a yellow- 
 bottle, not a blue-bottle. 
 
 1896. 'The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 54: 
 
 " Odd ' Korrumburras ' dodge 
 quickly about with cheerful hum. 
 Where they go, these busy buzzy flies, 
 when the cold calls them away for 
 their winter vac. is a mystery. Can 
 they hibernate ? for they show them- 
 selves again at the first glint of the 
 spring sun." 
 
 Kotuku, n. Maori name for the 
 White Crane of the Colonists, 
 which is really a White Heron 
 (Ardea egretta). See Crane. 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 124: 
 [A full description.] 
 
 Kotukutuku, . Maori name 
 for the New Zealand tree, Fuchsia 
 excorticata, Linn., N. O. Onagrariea; 
 written also Kohutuhutu. This 
 name is not much used, but 
 is corrupted into Tookytook (q.v.). 
 See Konini and Fuchsia. 
 
 1883. J. Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 127 : 
 
 " Kotukutuku. The fruit is called 
 konini. A small and ornamental tree, 
 ten to thirty feet high ... a dur- 
 able timber. . . . The wood might 
 be used as dye-stuff. ... Its fruit is 
 
 pleasant and forms principal food of 
 the wood-pigeon." 
 
 Kowhai, n. Maori name given 
 to (i) Locust-tree, Yellow Kowhai 
 (Sophora tetraptera, Aiton, N. O. Le- 
 guminosce). (2) Parrot-bill, Scarlet 
 Kowhai (Clianthus puniceus, N.O. 
 Leguminosce), or Kaka-bill (q.v.). 
 Variously spelt Kowai and Kohai, 
 and corrupted into Goai (q.v.) by 
 the settlers. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 58 : 
 
 " The kohai too, a species of mimo- 
 sa covered with bright yellow blossoms, 
 abounds in such situations where the 
 stunted growth is an almost unvarying 
 sign of constant inundation." 
 
 [Mr. Wakefield was mistaken. 
 The Kohai is not a mimosa.] 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 261 : 
 
 " 'Tis the Kowhai, that spendthrift so 
 
 golden : 
 
 Bat its kinsman to Nature beholden, 
 For raiment its beauty to fold in, 
 Deep-dyed as of trogon or lory, 
 How with parrot-bill fringes 'tis 
 
 burning, 
 One blood-red mound of glory ! " 
 
 1873. ' New Zealand Parliamentary De- 
 bates,' No. 16, p. 863 : 
 
 "Kowai timber, thoroughly seasoned, 
 used for fencing posts, would stand for 
 twelve or fourteen years ; while posts 
 cut out of the same bush and used 
 green would not last half the time." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open,' 
 p. 146: 
 
 " The head of the straight-stemmed 
 kowhai is already crowned with racemes 
 of golden blossoms." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 131 : 
 
 " Kowhai a small or middling-sized 
 tree. . . . Wood red, valuable for fenc- 
 ing, being highly durable . . . used for 
 piles in bridges, wharves, etc." 
 
 1884. T. Bracken, ' Lays of Maori,' 
 p. 21 : 
 
 " The dazzling points of morning's 
 
 lances 
 
 Waked the red kowhai's drops 
 from sleep."
 
 KUK-KUR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 255 
 
 Kuku, or Kukupa, n. Maori 
 name for the New Zealand Fruit- 
 pigeon (q.v.), Carpophaga novcz- 
 zelanditz, Gmel. Called also 
 Kereru. The name is the bird's 
 note. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand ' (Church Mis- 
 sionary Society), p. 170 : 
 
 " Kuku, s. the cry of a pigeon." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 406 : 
 
 " Family Columbtdce kereru, kuku- 
 pa (kuku, Carpophaga Novtz Zealan- 
 dice), the wood-pigeon. This is a very 
 fine large bird, the size of a duck ; the 
 upper part of the breast green and 
 gold, the lower a pure white, legs and 
 bill red. It is a heavy flying bird, 
 and very stupidy which makes it an 
 easy prey to its enemies. The natives 
 preserve large quantities in calabashes, 
 taking out the bones ; these are called 
 kuku." 
 
 Ibid. p. 183 : 
 
 " The pigeon bears two names the 
 kuku and kukupa, which are common 
 to the isles." 
 
 1881. J. L. Campbell, ' Poenamo,' p. 
 115: 
 
 " The kukupa . . . was just the bird 
 created expressly for the true cockney 
 sportsman the one after his heart 
 . . . for if not brought down by the 
 first shot, why he only shakes his 
 feathers and calmly waits to be shot at 
 again ! " 
 
 1883. F. S. Renwick, Betrayed,' p. 45 : 
 " The kuku, plaintive, wakes to mourn 
 her mate." 
 
 Kumara, or Kumera, n. (pro- 
 nounced Koomera), a Maori word 
 for an edible root, the yam or 
 sweet potato, Ipomaa batatas, 
 N.O. Convohwlacece. There are 
 numerous varieties. It should be 
 added that it is doubtful whether 
 it grows wild in New Zealand. 
 
 1773. Sydney Parkinson, 'Journal of a 
 Voyage to the South Seas ' (see extract in 
 ' Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' 
 ' Manibus Parkinsonibus Sacrum,' W. Col- 
 enso, vol. x. art. ix. p. 124) : 
 
 " Several canoes came alongside of 
 the ship, of whom we got some fish, 
 
 kumeras or sweet potatoes, and several 
 other things." 
 
 1828. ' Henry William Diarys ' (in Life 
 by Carleton), p. 69 : 
 
 " Kumara had been planted over the 
 whole plain." 
 
 1830. Ibid. p. 79 : 
 
 " We passed over the hill, and found 
 the assailants feasting on the kumara, 
 or sweet potato, which they just pulled 
 up from the garden at which they had 
 landed." 
 
 1851. Mrs. Wilson, ' New Zealand,' p. 
 49: 
 
 " He saw some fine peaches and 
 kumaras or sweet potatoes." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes,' 
 c. xi. p. 273 (3rd edition, 1855) : 
 
 " The kumara or sweet potato is a 
 most useful root." 
 
 1863. F. E. Maning (Pakeha Maori), 
 ' Old New Zealand,' p. 51 : 
 
 " Behind the pigs was placed by the 
 active exertion of two or three hundred 
 people, a heap of potatoes and kumera, 
 in quantity about ten tons, so there 
 was no lack of the raw material for a 
 feast." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 430 : 
 
 " Now the autumn's fruits 
 Karaka, taro, kumera, berries, 
 
 roots 
 Had all been harvested with merry 
 
 lays 
 And rites of solemn gladness." 
 
 1884. T. Bracken, ' Lays of Maori,' 
 p. 18: 
 
 " Some more dainty toothsome dish 
 Than the kumera and fish." 
 
 Kumquat, Native, n. an Aus- 
 tralian tree, Atalantia glauca, 
 Hook., N. O. Rutaacc, i.q. Desert 
 Lemon (q.v.). 
 
 Kurdaitcha, Coordaitcha, or 
 Goditcha, n. a native term applied 
 by white men to a particular 
 kind of shoe worn by the abori- 
 gines of certain parts of Central 
 Australia, and made of emu 
 feathers matted together. The 
 two ends are of the same shape, 
 so that the direction in which the 
 wearer has travelled cannot be
 
 256 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [K.UR 
 
 detected. The wearer is sup- 
 posed to be intent upon murder, 
 and the blacks really apply the 
 name to the wearer himself. The 
 name seems to have been trans- 
 ferred by white men to the shoes, 
 the native name for which is in- 
 terliiia, or urtathurta. 
 
 1886. E. M. Curr, 'Australian Race,' 
 vol. i. p. 148 : 
 
 " It was discovered in 1882 . . . that 
 the Blacks . . . wear a sort of shoe 
 when they attack their enemies by 
 stealth at night. Some of the tribes 
 call these shoes Kooditcha, their name 
 for an invisible spirit. I have seen a 
 pair of them. The soles were made 
 of the feathers of the emu, stuck to- 
 gether with a little human blood, which 
 the maker is said to take from his arm. 
 They were about an inch and a half 
 thick, soft, and of even breadth. The 
 uppers were nets made of human hair. 
 The object of these shoes is to prevent 
 those who wear them from being 
 tracked and pursued after a night 
 attack." 
 
 1896. P. M. Byrne, ' Proceedings of 
 the Royal Society of Victoria,' p. 66 : 
 
 "The wearing of the Urtathurta 
 and going Kurdaitcha luma appears 
 to have been the medium for a form 
 of vendetta.' 
 
 Kurrajong, n. or Currajong 
 (spelt variously), the aboriginal 
 name for various Australian and 
 Tasmanian fibrous plants ; see 
 quotations, 1825 and 1884. They 
 are the 
 
 Black Kurrajong 
 
 Sterculia diver sifolia, G. Don., 
 and Sterculia quadrifida, R. Br. , 
 JV.O. Sterculiaccce. 
 Brown K. 
 
 Commersonia echinata, R. and G. 
 Forst. ; also, Brachychiton 
 gregorii ; both belonging to 
 JV.O. Sterculiacea. 
 Green K. 
 
 Hibiscus heterophyllus, Vent., 
 N.O. Malvacece. 
 
 Tasmanian K. 
 
 Plagianthus sidoides, Hook., N. O. 
 Malvaceae. 
 
 Others are Trema aspera, Blume, 
 N.O. Urticex ; and Sterculia rupes- 
 tris, Benth., JV.O. Urticea. Some 
 of the varieties are also called 
 Bottle - trees, and, in Tasmania, 
 Cordage-trees (q.v.). 
 
 1823. ' Uniacke's Narrative of Oxley's 
 Expedition,' quoted by J. D. Lang, 
 'Cooksland,' p. 408 : 
 
 " The nets used for fishing [by the 
 natives] are made by the men from the 
 bark of the kurrajong (Hibiscus hete- 
 rophyllus), a shrub which is very 
 common in the swamps." 
 
 1825. Barron Field, Glossary, in ' Geo- 
 graphical Memoirs of New South Wales,' 
 p. 52 : 
 
 " Currijong or Natives' cordage tree 
 (Hibiscus heterophyllus)." 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 vol. ii. p. 25 : 
 
 " The curragong is sometimes found ; 
 its inner bark may be manufactured 
 into ropes." 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 149 : 
 
 "The currajong (S/mr//<2) is used for 
 cordage, and makes strong, close, but 
 not very durable ropes." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' vol. iii. p. 91 : 
 
 " Dillis neatly worked of koorajong 
 bark." 
 
 1849. J. P. Townsend, 'Rambles in 
 New South Wales,' p. 214 : 
 
 " In such a valley in which stands 
 a spreading corrijong (Sterculia diver- 
 sifolid), which has a strong resemblance 
 to the English oak, I constantly found 
 a flock of sheep." 
 
 1862. W. Archer, 'Products of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 41 : 
 
 " Currajong (Plagianthus sidoidcs, 
 Hook). The fibres of the bark are 
 very strong. It is a large shrub, found 
 chiefly on the southern side of the 
 Island, in various and shady places, 
 and grows rapidly." 
 
 1878. Rev. W. W. Spicer, ' Handbook 
 of the Plants of Tasmania,' p. 104 : 
 
 " Plagianthus sidoides , Hooker.
 
 KUR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 257 
 
 Currijong, N.O. Malvacea:. Peculiar 
 to Tasmania." 
 
 1883. G. W. Rusden, 'History of 
 Australia,' vol. i. p. 77 : 
 
 "The currejong of the forest, and 
 the casuarina which lines the rivers, 
 stand with brighter green in cheering 
 contrast to the dulness of surrounding 
 leaves." 
 
 1884. W. R. Guilfoyle, 'Australian 
 Botany' (second edition), p. 162 : 
 
 "The aborigines apply the name 
 Kurrajong, or Currijong, to some 
 [Pimeleas] ; but it would appear that 
 this native name is indiscriminately 
 given to any plant possessing a tough 
 bark." 
 
 1888. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iii. p. 138 : 
 
 " Quaint currajongs . . . very like 
 in form to the stiff wooden trees we 
 have all played with in childish days."
 
 2 5 8 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [LAB--LAM 
 
 Laburnum, Native, n. the Tas- 
 manian Clover-tree Goodenia loti- 
 folia, Sal., N.O. Leguminosce. 
 
 Laburnum, Sea-coast, n. also 
 called Golden Chain, Sophora to- 
 Mentosa,L'mn., N.O. Leguminosa ; 
 a tall, hoary shrub. 
 
 Lace-bark, Lacey-bark, or 
 Lacewood, n. names for Gibbon- 
 wood (q.v.). The inner bark of 
 the tree is like fine lace. 
 
 1876. W. N. Blair, 'Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. IX. art. x. p. 
 175 : 
 
 " Ribbonwood, Plagianthus betuli- 
 nus, botanical name, Hooker ; Whau- 
 whi, Maori name, according to Hector ; 
 lace-bark tree, settlers' name, accord- 
 ing to Buchanan." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open': 
 
 "The soft, bright-foliaged ribbon- 
 wood (lace-bark, Plagianthus) con- 
 trasts with the dusky hue of the 4ark- 
 leaved fagus.' ; 
 
 Lace-Lizard, n. Hydrosaurus 
 ( Varanus) varius. See Goanna. 
 
 1881. F. McCoy, ' Prodomus of the 
 Natural History of Victoria,' Dec. 4 : 
 
 "Although the present Lace Lizard 
 is generally arboreal, climbing the 
 forest trees with ease, and running 
 well on the ground, it can swim nearly 
 as well as a Crocodile." 
 
 Lagorchestes, n. the scientific 
 name for a genus of Australian 
 marsupial mammals, called the 
 Hare- Wallabies or Hare-Kangaroos 
 (q.v.). (Grk. Xayws, a hare, and 
 opxeo-TTjs, a dancer.) They live on 
 plains, and make a " form " in the 
 herbage like the hare, which they 
 resemble. 
 
 Lagostrophus, n. the scientific 
 
 name of the genus containing the 
 animal called the Banded- Wallaby. 
 (Grk. Xayws, a hare, and orpo'</>os, a 
 band or zone.) Its colour is a grey- 
 ish-brown, with black and white 
 bands, its distinguishing charac- 
 teristic. It is sometimes called 
 the Banded - Kangaroo, and is 
 found at Dirk Hartog's Island, 
 and on one or two islands in 
 Shark's Bay, and in West Aus- 
 tralia. For its interesting habits 
 see R. Lyddeker's ' Marsupialia.' 
 
 Lake-Trout, n. a Tasmanian 
 fish, Galaxias auratus, family Gal- 
 axidce. See Mountain-Trout. 
 
 Lamb down, v. tr. (i) To 
 knock down a cheque or a sum 
 of money in a spree. There is an 
 old English verb, of Scandinavian 
 origin, and properly spelt lamm, 
 which means to thrash, beat. 
 
 1873. J. B. Stephens, 'Black Gin,' p. 
 
 51 : 
 
 "It is the Bushman come to town 
 
 Come to spend his cheque in town, 
 Come to do his lambing down." 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 2 : 
 " The lambing down of cheques." 
 1890. Ibid. Aug. 9, p. 4, col. 5 : 
 "The old woman thought that we 
 
 were on gold, and would lamb down 
 
 at the finish in her shanty." 
 
 (2) To make a man get rid of 
 his money to you ; to clean him 
 out." 
 
 1873. Marcus Clarke, ' Holiday Peak, 
 etc.,' p. 21 : 
 
 " The result was always the same 
 a shilling a nobbier. True, that Trow- 
 bridge's did not 'lamb down' so well 
 as the Three Posts, but then the Three 
 Posts put fig tobacco in its brandy
 
 LAM-LAR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 259 
 
 casks, and Trowbridge's did not do 
 that." 
 
 1880. Garnet Walch, 'Victoria in 1880, ' 
 p. 130: 
 
 " The operation combining equal 
 parts of hocussing, overcharging, and 
 direct robbery and facetiously chris- 
 tened by bush landlords 'lambing 
 down.' " 
 
 1890.',' The Argus,' Aug. 16, p. 4, col. ^ : 
 
 "One used to serve drinks in the 
 bar, the other kept the billiard-table. 
 Between them they lambed down more 
 shearers and drovers than all the rest 
 on the river." 
 
 Lamprey, n. The Australian 
 Lampreys are species of the 
 genera Mordacia and Geotria, of 
 the same family as the "Lamp- 
 reys" of the Northern Hemisphere. 
 
 Lancelot, n. The fishes of this 
 name present in Australasia are 
 In Queensland, Epigonichthys cul- 
 tellus, Peters, family Amplingce ; in 
 Victoria and New South Wales, 
 species of Heteropleuron, 
 
 Lancewood, n. There are 
 many lancewoods in various parts 
 of the world. The name, in Aus- 
 tralia, is given to Backhousia myr- 
 tifolia, Hook, and Harv., N.O. 
 Myrtacea; and in New Zealand, to 
 Panax crassifolium, Dec. and Plan., 
 N.O. Araliacece, known as Ivy-tree, 
 and by the Maori name of Horoeka 
 (q.v.)- 
 
 Landsborough Grass, n. a 
 valuable Queensland fodder grass 
 of a reddish colour, Anthistiria 
 membranacea, Lindl., N.O. Gra- 
 minecs. See Grass. 
 
 Lantern, Ballarat, n. a local 
 term. See quotation. 
 
 1875. Wood and Lapham, ' Waiting for 
 the Mail,' p. 21 : 
 
 " I may explain that a ' Ballarat 
 Lantern' is formed by knocking off 
 the bottom of a bottle, and putting a 
 candle in the neck." 
 
 Lark, n. common English bird- 
 
 name. The Australian species 
 are 
 
 Brown Song Lark 
 
 Cindoramphus cruralis, Vig. and 
 
 Hors. 
 Bush L 
 
 Mirafra horsfieldii, Gould. 
 Field L. 
 
 Calamanthus campestris, Gould. 
 Ground L. 
 
 Arithus australis, Vig. and Hors. 
 
 (Australian Pipit), 
 A. novcE-zelandce, Gray (New 
 
 Zealand Pipit). 
 Lesser Bush L. 
 
 Mirafra secunda, Sharpe. 
 Little Field L. 
 
 Cathonicola sagittata, Lath.; see 
 
 Magpie-Lark. 
 Magpie L. 
 
 Grallina picata, Lath. 
 Rufous Song L. 
 
 Cindoramphus rufescens, Vig. and 
 
 Hors. 
 Striated Field L 
 
 Calamanthus fuliginosus, Vig. 
 
 and Hors. 
 
 See Ground-Lark, Sand-Lark, 
 Pipit, and Magpie-Lark. 
 
 Larrikin, . The word has 
 various shades of meaning be- 
 tween a playful youngster and a 
 blackguardly rough. Little street- 
 boys are often in a kindly way 
 called little larrikins. (See quota- 
 tions, 1870 and 1885.) Archibald 
 Forbes described the larrikin as 
 " a cross between the Street Arab 
 and the Hoodlum, with a dash of 
 the Rough thrown in to improve 
 the mixture." ('Century.') The 
 most exalted position yet reached 
 in literature by this word is in 
 Sir Richard Burton's 'Translation 
 of the Arabian Nights' (1886-7), 
 vol. i. p. 4, Story of the Larrikin 
 and the Cook; vol. iv. p. 281, 
 Tale of First Larrikin. The pre- 
 vious translator, Jonathan Scott,
 
 200 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [LAR 
 
 had rendered the Arabic word, 
 Sharper. 
 
 There are three views as to the 
 origin of the word, viz. 
 
 (1) That it is a phonetic spell- 
 ing of the broad Irish pronuncia- 
 tion, with a trilled r of the word 
 larking. The story goes that a 
 certain Sergeant Dalton, about 
 the year 1869, charged a youthful 
 prisoner at the Melbourne Police 
 Court with being " a-larrr-akiri 1 
 about the streets." The Police 
 Magistrate, Mr. Sturt, did not 
 quite catch the word "A what, 
 Sergeant?" "A larrikin', your 
 Worchup." The police court 
 reporter used the word the next 
 day in the paper, and it stuck. 
 (See quotation, ' Argus,' 1896.) 
 
 This story is believed by 99 
 persons .out of 100 ; unfortunately 
 it lacks confirmation ; for the 
 record of the incident cannot be 
 discovered, after long search in 
 files by many people. Mr. Skeat's 
 warning must be remembered 
 "As a rule, derivations which 
 require a story to be told turn out 
 to be false." 
 
 (2) That the word is thieves' 
 English, promoted like swag, plant, 
 lift, etc., into ordinary Australian 
 English. Warders testify that 
 for a number of years before the 
 word appeared in print, it was 
 used among criminals in gaol as 
 two separate words, viz. leary 
 ('cute, fly, knowing), and kinchen 
 (youngster), ' leary kinchen,' - 
 shortened commonly into ' leary 
 kin* and 'leary kid.' Australian 
 warders and constables are Irish, 
 almost to a man. Their pronun- 
 ciation of ' leary kin ' would be 
 very nearly ' lairy kin,' which 
 becomes the single word larrikin. 
 (See quotation, 1871.) It is pos- 
 sible that Sergeant Dalton used 
 
 this expression and was misunder- 
 stood by the reporter. 
 
 (3) The word has been derived 
 from the French larron (a thief), 
 which is from the Latin latronem 
 (a robber). This became in Eng- 
 lish larry, to which the English 
 diminutive, kin, was added ; al- 
 though this etymology is always 
 derided in Melbourne. 
 
 1870. 'The Daily Telegraph' (Mel- 
 bourne), Feb. 7, p. 2, col. 3 : 
 
 " We shall perhaps begin to think of 
 it in earnest, when we have insisted 
 upon having wholesome and properly 
 baked bread, or a better supply of 
 fish, and when we have put down the 
 ' roughs ' and ' larrikins.' " 
 
 1870. ' The Age,' Feb. 8, p. 3, col. I : 
 
 " In sentencing a gang of ' larrikins ' 
 who had been the terror of Little 
 Bourke-street and its neighbourhood 
 for several hours on Saturday night, 
 Mr. Call remarked. ..." 
 
 1870. 'The Herald,' April 4, p. 3, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 "... three larikins who had be- 
 haved in a very disorderly manner in 
 Little Latrobe-street, having broken 
 the door of a house and threatened to 
 knock out the eye of one of the 
 inmates." 
 
 1870. Marcus Clarke, 'Goody Two 
 Shoes,' p. 26 : 
 
 " He's a lively little larrikin lad, and 
 his name is Little Boy Blue." 
 
 1871. 'The Argus,' Sept. 19, p. 5, 
 col. 4 : 
 
 " In San Francisco, the vagabond 
 juveniles who steal, smash windows, 
 and make themselves generally ob- 
 noxious to the respectable inhabitants, 
 instead of being termed 'larrikins,' as 
 in Victoria, are denominated 'hood- 
 leums.' The name is more musical 
 than the one in vogue here, and pro- 
 bably equally as descriptive, as its 
 origin appears to be just as obscure as 
 that of the word ' larrikin.' This word, 
 before it got into print, was confined 
 to the Irish policemen, who generally 
 pronounced it 'lerrikan,' and it has 
 been suggested that the term is of 
 Hibernian origin, and should be spelt 
 'lerrichaun.'"
 
 LAR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 261 
 
 1871. Sir George Stephen, Q.C., 'Lar- 
 rikinism,' a Lecture reported in 'Prahran 
 Telegraph,' Sept. 23, p. 3, col. I : 
 
 " What is Larrikinism ? It is a 
 modern word of which I can only 
 guess the derivation, . . . nor can I 
 find any among the erudite professors 
 of slang who adorn our modern liter- 
 ature who can assist me. Some give 
 our police the credit of coining it from 
 the ' larking ' of our school boys, but I 
 am inclined to think that the word is 
 of Greek origin Lares, a cormorant 
 though immediately derived from the 
 French ' larron ' which signifies a thief 
 or rogue. If I am right, then larrikin 
 is the natural diminutive form in Eng- 
 lish phraseology for a small or juvenile 
 thief. . . . This however is, I must 
 acknowledge, too severe a construction 
 of the term, even if the derivation is 
 correct ; for I was myself, I frankly 
 confess it, an unquestionable larrikin 
 between 60 and 70 years ago. . . . 
 Larrikinism is not thieving, though a 
 road that often leads to it. ... Is it a 
 love of mischief for mischief's sake ? 
 This is the theory of th* papers, and is 
 certainly a nearer approach to the true 
 solution." 
 
 1871. ' Figaro,' in ' Prahran Telegraph,' 
 Sept. 30, p. 7, col. 3 : 
 
 " A local contemporary has . . . 
 done his ' level best ' to h^lp me out 
 of my ' difficulty ' with respect to the 
 word Larrikin. He suggests that ler- 
 richan should read leprichavn, a mis- 
 chievous sprite, according to Irish 
 tradition. . . . We think we may with 
 more safety and less difficulty trace 
 the word to the stereotype [sic] reply 
 of the police to the magisterial ques- 
 tion ' What was he doing when you 
 apprehended him?' 'Oh! larriking 
 (larking) about, yer Wurtchip.' " 
 
 1872. J. S. Elkington, 'Tenth Report 
 of Education, Victoria,' dated Feb. 14: 
 
 " My inquiries into the origin and 
 habits of that troublesome parasite 
 the larrikin (if I may adopt Constable 
 Dalton's term) do not make me 
 sanguine that compulsory primary in- 
 struction can do much for him, unless 
 indirectly." 
 
 1875. 'Spectator '(Melbourne), May 15, 
 p. 21, col. 3 : 
 
 "On Sunday night an unfortunate 
 
 Chinaman was so severely injured by 
 the Richmond larrikins that his life 
 was endangered." 
 
 1875. David Blair, in 'Notes and 
 Queries,' July 24, p. 66 : 
 
 " Bedouins, Street Arabs, Juvenile 
 Roughs in London ; Gamins in Paris ; 
 Bowery Boys in New York ; Hood- 
 lums in San Francisco ; Larrikins in 
 Melbourne. This last phrase is an 
 Irish constable's broad pronunciation 
 of ' larking ' applied to the nightly 
 street performances of these young 
 scamps, here as elsewhere, a real 
 social pestilence." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 338 : 
 
 " There is not a spare piece of 
 ground fit for a pitch anywhere round 
 Melbourne that is not covered with 
 ' larrikins ' from six years old upwards." 
 
 1889. Rev. J. H. Zillmann, ' Australian 
 Life,' p. 159 : 
 
 " It has become the name for that 
 class of roving vicious young men who 
 prowl about public-houses and make 
 night hideous in some of the low parts 
 of our cities. There is now the bush 
 ' larrikin ' as well as the town ' larrikin,' 
 and it would be difficult sometimes to 
 say which is the worse. Bush ' larri- 
 kins ' have gone on to be bush- 
 rangers." 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' May 26, p. 6, col. 7 : 
 " He was set upon by a gang of 
 
 larrikins, who tried to rescue the 
 prisoner." 
 
 1891. ' Harper's Magazine,' July, p. 215, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 "The Melbourne ' larrikin ' has dif- 
 ferentiated himself from the London 
 ' rough,' and in due season a term had 
 to be developed to denote the differ- 
 entiation." 
 
 1893. 'Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 
 12, p. 13, col. 2 : 
 
 "Robert Louis Stevenson, in a 
 recent novel, 'The Wrecker,' makes 
 the unaccountable mistake of con- 
 founding the unemployed Domain 
 loafer with the larrikin. This only 
 shows that Mr. Stevenson during his 
 brief visits to Sydney acquired but a 
 superficial knowledge of the underlying 
 currents of our social life." 
 
 1896. J. St. V. Welch, in 'Australasian
 
 262 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [LAR 
 
 Insurance and Banking Record,' May 19, 
 P- 376 : 
 
 " Whence comes the larrikin ? that 
 pest of these so-called over-educated 
 colonies ; the young loafer of from 
 sixteen to eight-and-twenty. Who 
 does not know him, with his weedy, 
 contracted figure ; his dissipated 
 pimply face ; his greasy forelock 
 brushed flat and low over his fore- 
 head ; his too small jacket ; his tight- 
 cut trousers ; his high-heeled boots ; 
 his arms with out-turned elbows 
 swinging across his stomach as he 
 hurries along to join his 'push,' as 
 he calls the pack in which he hunts 
 the solitary citizen a pack more to 
 be dreaded on a dark night than any 
 pack of wolves and his name in 
 Sydney is legion, and in many cases 
 he is a full-fledged voter. ' ; 
 
 1896. W. H. Whelan, in 'The Argus,' 
 Jan. 7, p. 6, col. 3 : 
 
 " Being clerk of the City Court, I 
 know that the word originated in the 
 very Irish and amusing way in which 
 the then well-known Sergeant Dalton 
 pronounced the word larking in respect 
 to the conduct of ' Tommy the Nut,' 
 a rowdy of the period, and others of 
 both sexes in Stephen (now Exhibition) 
 street. 
 
 " Your representative at the Court, 
 the witty and clever 'Billy' O'Hea, 
 who, alas ! died too early, took ad- 
 vantage of the appropriate sound of 
 the word to apply it to rowdyism in 
 general, and, next time Dalton repeated 
 the phrase, changed the word from 
 verb to noun, where it still remains, 
 anything to the contrary notwithstand- 
 ing. I speak of what I do know, for 
 O'Hea drew my attention to the matter 
 at the time, and, if I mistake not, a 
 reference to your files would show that 
 it was first in the 'Argus' the word 
 appeared in print." 
 
 (" We can fully confirm Mr. Whelan's 
 account of the origin of the word 
 ' larrikin.'" Ed. 'Argus.') 
 
 [But see quotation from 'Argus,' 
 1871.] 
 
 Larrikin, adj. 
 
 1878. 'The Australian,' vol. i. p. 522 : 
 
 " Marks the young criminals as 
 
 heroes in the eyes not only of the 
 
 ostensible larrikin element . 
 
 Larrikinalian, adj. (Not com- 
 mon.) 
 
 1893. ' Evening Standard,' July 5, p. 4, 
 col. 4 (Leading Article) : 
 
 " In the larrikinalian din which pre- 
 vailed from start to finish . . ." 
 
 Larrikiness, n. a female larri- 
 kin. 
 
 1871. ' Collingwood Advertiser and Ob- 
 server,' June 22, p. 3, col. 5 : 
 
 " Evidence was tendered as to the 
 manner of life led by these larikinesses 
 . . . The juvenile larrikin element 
 being strongly represented in court, 
 all the boys were ordered out." 
 
 1871. Sir George Stephen, Q.C., ' Lar- 
 rikinism,' a Lecture reported in ' Prahran 
 Telegraph,' Sept. 23, p. 3, col. I : 
 
 " I know many a larrikiness to whose 
 voice I could listen by the hour with 
 all my heart, without the least fear of 
 her stealing it, even if it were worth 
 the trouble." 
 
 1892. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the Com- 
 pass in Australia,' p. 224 : 
 
 " I have not found the larrikin [in 
 Brisbane]. . . . The slouch-hat, the 
 rakish jib, the drawn features are not 
 to be seen ; nor does the young larri- 
 kiness that hideous outgrowth of 
 Sydney and Melbourne civilization 
 exist as a class." 
 
 Larrikinism, //. the conduct of 
 larrikins (q.v.). 
 
 1870. 'The Australian' (Richmond, 
 Victoria), Sept. 10, p. 3, col. 3 : 
 
 "A slight attempt at ' larrikinism ' 
 was manifested. ..." 
 
 1871. J. J. Simpson, ' Recitations and 
 Rhymes,' p. 17 : 
 
 "Melbourne larrikinism is still very 
 
 bad, 
 By the papers each day we are told." 
 
 1875. 'Spectator' (Melbourne), June 
 19, p. 80, col. 2 : 
 
 " He took as his theme the ' Dialect 
 of Victoria,' which was coarse and 
 vulgar to a degree. ' Larrikinism ' 
 was used as a synonym for 'black- 
 guardism.' " 
 
 1876. A. P. Martin, ' Sweet Girl-Grad- 
 uate,' p. 20 : 
 
 "There is no doubt that its rising 
 generation afforded material for letters 
 in the newspapers, under the headings
 
 LAU-LAW] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 263 
 
 ' Larrikinism,' or, ; What shall we do 
 with our boys ? ' " 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' Feb. 23 : 
 
 " Outbreaks of larrikinism are not 
 always harmless ebullitions of animal 
 spirits. Sometimes they have very 
 serious results." 
 
 Laughing Jackass, n. See 
 Jackass. 
 
 Launce, n. The Australian 
 species of this fish is Congrogradus 
 subducens, Richards., found in 
 North - West Australia. The 
 Launces or Sand-eels of the Nor- 
 thern Hemisphere belong to a 
 different group. 
 
 Laurel, n. The English tree- 
 name is applied in Australia to 
 various trees, viz. 
 
 Alexandrian Laurel 
 
 Calophyllum inophyllum, Linn., 
 N. O. Guttifercc, ; not endemic 
 in Australia. 
 Diamond-leaf L. 
 
 Pittosporum rhombifolium, A. 
 
 Cunn., N.O. Pittosporece. 
 Dodder L. 
 
 Cassytha filiformis, Linn., N.O. 
 Lauracece ; called also Devil's 
 Guts, not endemic in Aus- 
 tralia. 
 Hedge L. (q.v.) 
 
 Pittosporum eugenioides, Cunn. 
 Moreton Bay L. 
 
 Cryptocarya australis, Benth., 
 N.O. Lauracece ; called also 
 Grey Sassafras. 
 Native L. 
 
 Pittosporum undulatum, Andr., 
 N.O. Pittosporecc ; called also 
 Mock Orange (q.v.). 
 Panax elegans, C. Moore and 
 F. v. M., N.O. Araliacecc ; 
 which is also called Light or 
 White Sycamore. 
 White L. 
 
 Cryptocarya glaucescens, R. Br., 
 N. O. Lauracete ; for other 
 names see Beech. 
 
 In Tasmania, the name Native 
 Laurel is applied to Anopterus 
 glandulosus, Lab., N.O. Saxifragece. 
 Peculiar to Tasmania. 
 
 The New Zealand Laurel is 
 Laurelia novce-Zelandice ; called also 
 Sassafras. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 292 : 
 
 " Native Laurel, [also called] ' Mock 
 Orange.' This tree is well worth culti- 
 vating on a commercial scale for the 
 sake of the sweet perfume of its 
 flowers." 
 
 Lavender, Native, n. a Tas- 
 manian tree, Styphelia australis, 
 R. Br., N.O. Epacridea. 
 
 Lawyer, n. One of the Eng- 
 lish provincial uses of this word 
 is for a thorny stem of a briar or 
 bramble. In New Zealand, the 
 name is used in this sense for 
 the Rubus australis, N. O. Rosacece, 
 or Wild Raspberry-Vine (Maori, 
 Tataramoa). The words Bush- 
 Lawyer, Lawyer- Vine, and Lawyer- 
 Palm, are used with the same 
 signification, and are also applied 
 in some colonies to the Calamus 
 australis, Mart. (called also 
 Lawyer-Cane), and to Flagellaria 
 indica, Linn., similar trailing 
 plants. 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. ii. p. 157 : 
 
 " Calamus Australis, a plant which 
 Kennedy now saw for the first time. . . 
 It is a strong climbing palm. From 
 the roots as many as ninety shoots will 
 spring, and they lengthen out as they 
 climb for hundreds of feet, never thicker 
 than a man's finger. The long leaves 
 are covered with sharp spines ; but 
 what makes the plant the terror of the 
 explorers, is the tendrils, which grow 
 out alternately with the leaves. Many 
 of these are twenty feet long, and they 
 are covered with strong spines, curved 
 slightly downwards." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 
 P- 135 = 
 
 " Rubus Australis, the thorny strings
 
 264 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [LAW-LEA 
 
 of which scratch the hands and face, 
 and which the colonists, therefore, very 
 wittily call the ' bush-lawyer.' " 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 
 P- 71 : 
 
 "Torn by the recurved prickles of 
 the bush-lawyer." 
 
 1889. Vincent Pyke, Wild Will Ender- 
 by,' p. 1 6 : 
 
 " Trailing ' bush-lawyers,' interming- 
 led with coarse bracken, cling lovingly 
 to the rude stones." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 103 : 
 
 " In the mountain scrubs there grows 
 a very luxuriant kind of palm (Calamus 
 Australis), whose stem of a ringer's 
 thickness, like the East Indian Rotang- 
 palm, creeps through the woods for 
 hundreds of feet, twining round trees 
 in its path, and at times forming so 
 dense a wattle that it is impossible to 
 get through it. The stem and leaves 
 are studded with the sharpest thorns, 
 which continually cling to you and 
 draw blood, hence its not very polite 
 name of lawyer-palm." 
 
 1891. A. J. North, ' Records of Austra- 
 lian Museum,' vol. i. p. 118: 
 
 " Who, in the brushes of the Tweed 
 River, found a -nest placed on a mass 
 of ' lawyer-vines ' (Calamus A ustralis)" 
 
 1892. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the Com- 
 pass in Australia,' p. 256 : 
 
 " ' Look out,' said my companion, 
 ' don't touch that lawyer-vine ; it will 
 tear you properly, and then not let you 
 go.' Too late ; my fingers touched it, 
 and the vine had the best of it. The 
 thorns upon the vine are like barbed 
 spears, and they would, in the lan- 
 guage of the Yankee, tear the hide off 
 a crocodile." 
 
 1892. 'The Times,' [Reprint] 'Letters 
 from Queensland,' p. 7 : 
 
 "But no obstacle is worse for the 
 clearer to encounter than the lawyer- 
 vines where they are not burnt off. 
 These are a form of palm which 
 grows in feathery tufts along a pliant 
 stalk, and fastens itself as a creeper 
 upon other trees. From beneath its 
 tufts of leaves it throws down trailing 
 suckers of the thickness of stout cord, 
 armed with sets of sharp red barbs. 
 These suckers sometimes throw them- 
 selves from tree to tree across a road 
 
 which has not been lately used, and 
 render it as impassable to horses as so 
 many strains of barbed wire. When 
 they merely escape from the under- 
 growth of wild ginger and tree-fern 
 and stinging-bush, which fringes the 
 scrub, and coil themselves in loose 
 loops upon the ground, they are dan- 
 gerous enough as traps for either man 
 or horse. In the jungle, where they 
 weave themselves in and out of the 
 upright growths, they form a web 
 which at times defies every engine of 
 destruction but fire." 
 
 Lawyer-Cane, Lawyer-Palm, 
 and Lawyer- Vine. See Lawyer. 
 
 Lead, n. (pronounced leed), a 
 mining term. In the Western 
 United States and elsewhere, the 
 term lead in mining' is used as 
 equivalent for lode. In Australia, 
 the word lead is only used in re- 
 ference to alluvial mining, and 
 signifies the old river-bed in which 
 gold is found. 
 
 1875. ' Spectator ' (Melbourne), June 19, 
 p. 75, col. 2 : 
 
 " There was every facility for ab- 
 stracting the gold in the rich lead of a 
 neighbour." 
 
 1880. Fison and Howitt, 'Kamilaroi 
 and Kurnai,' p. 272 [Note] : 
 
 " The expression ' deep lead ' refers 
 to those ancient river-courses which 
 are now only disclosed by deep-mining 
 operations." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. v. p. 55 : 
 
 "Taking the general matter of 
 ' leads ' or dead rivers, it chiefly ob- 
 tained that if gold were found on one 
 portion of them, it extended to all the 
 claims within a considerable distance." 
 
 Lead, to strike the. See 
 above. Used figuratively for to 
 succeed. 
 
 1874. Garnet Walch, ' Head over Heels,' 
 p. 74: 
 
 "We could shy up our caps for a 
 
 feller, 
 As soon as he struck the lead." 
 
 Leadbeater, n. applied to a 
 Cockatoo, Cacatua leadbeateri, Vig.
 
 LEA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 265 
 
 called Leadbeater's Cockatoo by 
 Major Mitchell (q.v.). 
 
 1890. Lyth, ' Golden South,' c. xiv. p. 
 127: 
 
 " The birds are very beautiful the 
 Blue Mountain and Lowrie parrots 
 . . . leadbeater, 'and snow-white 
 cockatoos." 
 
 Leaf-insect, n. See Phasmid. 
 
 Lease, n. a piece of land leased 
 for mining purposes. In England, 
 the word is used for the docu- 
 ment or legal right concerning 
 the land. In Australia, it is used 
 for the land itself. Compare 
 Right-of-way. 
 
 1890. ' Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 15 : 
 " A nice block of stone was crushed 
 from Johnson's lease." 
 
 Lease in perpetuity, a statu- 
 tory expression in the most recent 
 land legislation of New Zealand, 
 indicating a specific mode of 
 alienating Crown lands. It is a 
 lease for 999 years at a perma- 
 nent rental equal to 4% on the 
 capital value, which is not subject 
 to revision. 
 
 Leather-head, n. another name 
 for the Friar-bird (q.v.), Philemon 
 corniculatuS) Lath. See Tropido- 
 rhynchus. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Ex- 
 pedition,' p. 461 : 
 
 "The Leatherhead with its con- 
 stantly changing call and whistling." 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, ' Two Years in 
 Victoria,' vol. i. p. 58 : 
 
 "The leather-heads utter their settled 
 phrase ' Off we go ! off we go ! ' in the 
 woods, or they come to suck honey 
 from the Melianthus major, which 
 stands up like a huge artichoke plant, 
 tipped with dark red plumes of flowers." 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 233 : 
 
 " Among the Honey-suckers is that 
 singular-looking bird, the Leatherhead, 
 or Bald-headed tr\sx(Tropidorhynchus 
 corniculattts) ; it is commonly seen 
 upon the topmost branches of lofty 
 trees, calling ' Poor Soldier,' ' Pimlico,' 
 
 ' Four o'clock,' and uttering screaming 
 sounds. It feeds upon insects, wild 
 fruits, and any sweets it can procure 
 from the flowers of the Banksia and 
 Gum-trees." 
 
 Leather-Jacket, n. (i) A name 
 applied popularly and somewhat 
 confusedly to various trees, on 
 account of the toughness of their 
 bark (a) Eucalyptus punctata, 
 DeC., Hickory Eucalypt (q.v.); 
 (b) Alphitonia excelsa, Reiss., or 
 Cooperswood ; (c) Ceratopetalum, 
 or Coachwood ; (d) Cryptocarya 
 meissnerii, F.v. M.; (e) Weinmannia 
 benthami, F. v. M. 
 
 (2) A fish of the family Sclero- 
 dermi, Monacanthus ayraudi, Quoy. 
 and Gaim., and numerous other 
 species of Monocanthus. Leather- 
 Jackets are wide-spread in Aus- 
 tralian seas. The name is given 
 elsewhere to other fishes. See 
 File-fish and Pig-fish. 
 
 1770. ' Capt. Cook's Journal,' edition 
 Wharton, 1893, P- 2 4^ = 
 
 " They had caught a great number 
 of small fish, which the sailors call 
 leather jackets, on account of their 
 having a very thick skin ; they are 
 known in the West Indies." 
 
 1773. ' Hawkesworth's Voyages,' vol. 
 iii. p. 503 ' Cook's First Voyage,' May 4, 
 1770 (at Botany Bay) : 
 
 " Small fish, which are well known 
 in the West Indies, and which our 
 sailors call Leather jackets, because 
 their skin is remarkably thick." 
 
 1789. W. Tench, ' Expedition to Botany 
 Bay,' p. 129 : 
 
 " To this may be added bass, mul- 
 lets, skaits, soles, leather-jackets, and 
 many other species." 
 
 (3) A kind of pancake. 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, 'Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 151 : 
 
 "A plentiful supply of 'leather- 
 jackets' (dough fried in a pan)."' 
 
 1853. Mossman and Banister, 'Australia 
 Visited and Revisited,' p. 126 : 
 
 " Our party, upon this occasion, in- 
 dulged themselves, in addition to the 
 usual bush fare, with what are called 
 ' Leather jackets,' an Australian bush
 
 266 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [LEA- LEG 
 
 term for a thin cake made of dough, 
 and put into a pan to bake with some 
 fat ... The Americans indulge in this 
 kind of bread, giving them the name 
 of'Puff ballooners,' the only difference 
 being that they place the cake upon 
 the bare coals . . ." 
 
 1855. R. Howitt, 'Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 117 : 
 
 " The leather-jacket is a cake of 
 mere flour and water, raised with 
 tartaric acid and carbonate of soda 
 instead of yeast, and baked in the 
 frying-pan ; and is equal to any muffin 
 you can buy in the London shops." 
 
 Leather-wood, n. i.q. Pinkwood 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Leawill, or Leeangle (with 
 other spellings), n. aboriginal 
 names for a native weapon, a 
 wooden club bent at the striking 
 end. The name is Victorian, 
 especially of the West ; probably 
 derived from lea or leang, or lean- 
 yook, a tooth. The aboriginal 
 forms are langeel, or leanguel, and 
 lea-wil, or le-ow-el. The curve 
 evidently helped the English ter- 
 mination, angle. 
 
 1845. Charles Griffith, 'Present State 
 and Prospects of the Port Phillip District 
 of New South Wales,' p. 155 : 
 
 ' The liangle is, I think, described 
 by Sir Thomas Mitchell. It is of the 
 shape of a pickaxe, with only one pick. 
 Its name is derived from another 
 native word, Hang, signifying a tooth. 
 It is a very formidable weapon, and 
 used only in war." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in 
 Australia,' vol. II. c. xiii. p. 479 : 
 
 " A weapon used by the natives 
 
 called a Liangle, resembling a miner's 
 
 pick." 
 
 1863. M. K. Beveridge, ' Gatherings 
 
 among the Gum-trees,' p. 56 : 
 
 " Let us hand to hand attack him 
 With our Leeawells of Buloite." 
 Ibid. (In Glossary) p. 83 : 
 " Leeawell, a kind of war club." 
 1867. G. Gordon McCrae, 'Mamba,' 
 
 p. 9: 
 
 " The long liangle's nascent form 
 Fore-spoke the distant battle-storm." 
 
 1886. R. Henty, ' Australiana,' p. 21 : 
 "His war-club or leeangle." 
 
 1889. P. Beveridge, ' Aborigines of Yic- 
 toria and Riverina,' p. 67 : 
 
 " Of those [waddies] possessing 
 we might almost say a national 
 character, the shapes of which seem 
 to have come down generation after 
 generation, from the remotest period, 
 the Leawill is the most deadly-looking 
 weapon. It is usually three feet long, 
 and two and a half inches thick, having 
 a pointed head, very similar both in 
 shape and size to a miner's driving 
 pick ; in most cases the oak (Cas- 
 uarind) is used in the manufacture 
 of this weapon ; it is used in close 
 quarters only, and is a most deadly 
 instrument in the hands of a ruthless 
 foe, or in a general melee such as a 
 midnight onslaught." 
 
 Leeangle, n. i.q. Leawill (q.v.). 
 
 Leek, n. a small parrot. See 
 Greenleek. 
 
 Leek, Native, n. a poisonous 
 Australian plant, Bulbine bulbosa, 
 Haw., N.O. Liliacece. Called also 
 Native Onion. Its racemes of 
 bright yellow flowers make the 
 paddocks gay in spring. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 121 : 
 
 "'Native Onion,' 'Native Leek. 
 Mr. W. N. Hutchinson, Sheep In- 
 spector v \Varrego, Queensland, reports 
 of this plant : '.Its effects on cattle 
 . . . are . . . continually lying down, 
 rolling, terribly scoured, mucous dis- 
 charge from the nose.' " 
 
 Leg, n. mining term. A pe- 
 culiar form of quartz-reef, form- 
 ing a nearly vertical prolongation 
 of the saddle. 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' June i6th, p. 6, 
 col. i : 
 
 " It may also be observed that in 
 payable saddle formations a slide 
 intersects the reef above the saddle 
 coming from the west, and turning 
 east with a wall of the east leg, where 
 the leg of reef is observed to go down 
 deeper, and to carry a greater amount 
 of gold than in ordinary cases."
 
 LEG-LER] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 267 
 
 Legitimacy, n. See quotation. 
 [Old and now unused slang.] 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 16 : 
 
 " Legitimacy a colonial term for 
 designating the cause of the emigra- 
 tion of a cr-tain portion of our popu- 
 lation ; i. e. having legal reasons for 
 making the voyage." 
 
 [So also at p. 116, " Legitimates."] 
 
 Leguminous Ironbark, n. a 
 name given by Leichhardt to the 
 Queensland tree Erythrophlczum 
 laboucherii, F. v. M., N.O. Le- 
 guminosce.. See Ironbark. 
 
 Leichhardt, or Leichhardt- 
 Tree, n. an Australian timber-tree, 
 Morinda citrifolia, Linn., N.O. 
 Rubiacea ; called also Canary- 
 wood and Indian Mulberry. In 
 Queensland, the name is applied 
 to Sarcocephalus cordatus, Miq., 
 N. O. Rubiacea, a large timber-tree 
 of North Queensland, much used 
 in building. 
 
 1874. M. K. Beveridge, 'Lost Life,' 
 p. 40: 
 
 " Groaning beneath the friendly 
 
 shade 
 
 That by a Leichhardt-tree was 
 made." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 258 : 
 
 "The Leichhardt is a very sym- 
 metrical tree, that grows to a height 
 of about sixty feet, and has leaves 
 rather like a big laurel." 
 
 Leichhardt-Bean, n. See Bean. 
 
 Leichhardt's Clustered-Fig, 
 n. i.q. Clustered Fig. See Fig. 
 
 Lemon, Desert, n. See Desert 
 Lemon. 
 
 Lemon-scented Gum, n. See 
 Gum. 
 
 Lemon-scented Ironbark, n. a 
 name given to the Queensland 
 tree Eucalyptus staigeriana, F. v. 
 M., N.O. Myrtacea. See Iron- 
 bark. The foliage of this tree 
 
 yields a large quantity of oil, 
 equal in fragrance to that of 
 lemons. 
 
 Lemon-Sole, n. In England, 
 the name is applied to an inferior 
 species of Sole. In New South 
 Wales, it is given to Plagusia uni- 
 color, Macl., of the family Pleu- 
 ronectidce or Flat-fishes. In New 
 Zealand, it is another name for 
 the New Zealand Turbot (q.v.). 
 
 Lemon, Wild, n. a timber tree, 
 Canthium latifolittm, F. v. M., 
 N. O. Rubiacece, ; called also Wild 
 Orange. 
 
 Lemon-Wood, n. one of the 
 names given by settlers to the 
 New Zealand tree called by 
 Maoris Tarata (q.v.), or Mapau 
 (q.v.). It is Pittosporum eugenoides, 
 A. Cunn., N.O. Pitt&sporea. 
 
 Leopard-Tree, n. an Austra- 
 lian tree, Flindersia maculosa (or 
 Strezleckiana), F. v. M., N.O. 
 Meliacecz ; called also Spotted-Tree 
 (q.v.), and sometimes, in Queens- 
 land, Prickly Pine. 
 
 Lerp, n. an aboriginal word 
 belonging to the Mallee District 
 of Victoria (see Mallee]. Some- 
 times spelt letirp, or laap. The 
 aboriginal word means 'sweet.' 
 It is a kind of manna secreted by 
 an insect, Psylla eucalypti, and found 
 on the leaves of the Mallee, Eu- 
 calyptus dumosa. Attention was 
 first dra^vn to it by Mr. Thomas 
 Dobson (see quotations). A 
 chemical substance called Lerpa- 
 mylhtm is derived from it ; see 
 Watts' ' Dictionary of Chemistry,' 
 Second Supplement, 1875, s - v - 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 
 P- 73: 
 
 " The natives of the Wimmera pre- 
 pare a luscious drink from the laap, a 
 sweet exudation from the leaf of the 
 mallee (Eucalyptus dumosa)" 
 
 1850. T. Dobson, ' Papers and Proceed-
 
 268 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [LIF-LIG 
 
 ings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's 
 Land,' vol. i. p. 235 : 
 
 "The white saccharine substance 
 called ' lerp, 3 by the Aborigines in the 
 north-western parts of Australia Felix, 
 and which has attracted the attention 
 of chemists, under the impression that 
 it is a new species of manna, originates 
 with an insect of the tribe of Psyllida:, 
 and order Hemiptera." 
 
 1850. Ibid. p. 292 : 
 
 " Insects which, in the larva state, 
 have the faculty of elaborating from 
 the juices of the gum-leaves on which 
 they live a glutinous and saccharine 
 fluid, whereof they construct for them- 
 selves little conical domiciles." 
 
 1878. R. Brough Smyth, 'The Abori- 
 gines of Victoria,' vol. i. p. 211 : 
 
 "Another variety of manna is the 
 secretion of the pupa of an insect of 
 the Psylla family and obtains the name 
 of lerp among the aborigines. At 
 certain seasons of the year it is very 
 abundant on the leaves of E. dumosa, 
 or mallee scrub . . ." 
 
 Lift, v. tr. to drive to market 
 from the run. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' c. iv. p. 45 : 
 
 " I haven't lifted a finer mob this 
 season." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 14, p. 4, 
 col. 2: 
 
 " We lifted 7000 sheep." 
 
 Light-horseman, /*. obsolete 
 name for a fish ; probably the fish 
 now called a Siveep (q.v.). 
 
 1789. W. Tench, ' Expedition to Botany 
 Bay,' p. 129: 
 
 " The French once caught [in Botany 
 Bay] near two thousand fish in one 
 day, of a species of grouper, to which, 
 from the form of a bone in the head 
 resembling a helmet, we have given 
 the name of light horseman." 
 
 J 793- J- Hunter, 'Voyage,' p. 410 
 [Aboriginal Vocabulary]: 
 
 " Woolamie, a fish called a light- 
 horseman.'' [But see Wollomail\ 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. iv. p. 78 : 
 
 " A boat belonging to the Sirius 
 caught near fifty large fish, which 
 were called light-horsemen from a 
 
 bone that grew out of the head like a 
 helmet.-'' 
 
 Lightwood, n. a name given 
 to various trees. See Blackwood. 
 It is chiefly applied to Acacia 
 melanoxylon, R.Br., N.O. Legumi- 
 nosce. See quotations, 1843 and 
 1889. 
 
 1843. I. Backhouse, ' Narrative of a 
 Visit to the Australian Colonies,' p. 48 : 
 
 " Lightwood Acacia Melanoxylon 
 ... It derives its name from swim- 
 ming in water, while the other woods 
 of V. D. Land, except the pines, 
 generally sink. In some parts of the 
 Colony it is called Blackwood, on 
 account of its dark colour." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (edition 1855), p. 515 : 
 
 "Some immense logs of 'light 
 wood,' a non lucendo, darker than 
 mahogany." 
 
 1864. J. 'Rogers, 'New Rush,' p. 17: 
 " Arms so brown and bare, to look at 
 them 
 
 Recalls to mind the lightwood's 
 rugged stem." 
 
 1866. H. Simcox, 'Rustic Rambles/ 
 p. 54: 
 " The numerous lightwood trees with 
 
 sombre shade 
 
 Tend to enhance the richness of the 
 glade." 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. xv. p. in : 
 
 " The ex-owner of Lyne wished him- 
 self back among the old lightwood 
 trees." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 359 : 
 
 " Called ' Blackwood ' on account of 
 the very dark colour of the mature 
 wood. It is sometimes called ' Light- 
 wood' (chiefly in South Tasmania, 
 while the other name is given in North 
 Tasmania and other places), but this 
 is an inappropriate name. It is in 
 allusion to its weight as compared 
 with Eucalyptus timbers. It is the 
 ' Black Sally ' of Western New South 
 Wales, the 'Hickory' of the southern 
 portion of that colony, and is some- 
 times called ' Silver Wattle.' This is 
 considered by some people to be the 
 most valuable of all Australian timbers.
 
 LIG-LIL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 269 
 
 It is hard and close-grained; much 
 valued for furniture, picture-frames, 
 cabinet-work, fencing, bridges, etc., 
 railway, and other carriages, boat- 
 building, for tool-handles, gun-stocks, 
 naves of wheels, crutches, parts of 
 organs, pianofortes (sound-boards and 
 actions), etc." 
 
 Light Yellow-wood, i.q. Long- 
 Jack r (q.v.). 
 
 Lignum (i), or Lignum- Vitae, 
 n. The name is applied to several 
 trees, as Myrtus acmenioides, 
 F. v. M., called also White 
 Myrtle; Acacia falcata, Willd., 
 N.O. Leguminosa, called also 
 Hickory and Sally ; but chiefly to 
 Eucalyptus polyanthema, Schau., 
 N.O. Myrtacea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 505 : 
 
 " \E. polyanthema.} The ' Red Box ' 
 of South-eastern Australia. Called 
 also 'Brown Box,' 'Grey Box,' and 
 ' Bastard Box.' ' Poplar-leaved Gum ' 
 is another name, but it is most com- 
 monly known as .' Lignum Vitas ' be- 
 cause of its tough and hard wood. 
 Great durability is attributed to this 
 wood, though the stems often become 
 hollow in age, and thus timber of large 
 dimensions is not readily afforded. It 
 is much sought after for cogs, naves 
 and felloes ; it is also much in demand 
 for slabs in mines, while for fuel it is 
 unsurpassed. (Mueller.) Its great 
 hardness is against its general use." 
 
 (2) A bushman's contraction 
 for any species of the wiry plants 
 called polygonum. 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, 'Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' [writing of the Lachlan 
 district, New South Wales] p. 180: 
 
 " The poor emus had got down into 
 the creek amongst the lignum bushes 
 for a little shade ... I do not know 
 what a botanist would call them ; they 
 are something like cane, but with 
 large leaves, which all animals are 
 fond of, and they grow about eight 
 feet high in the creeks and gullies." 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World 
 was Wide,' p. 135 : 
 
 " By mulga scrub and lignum plain." 
 
 Lilac, n. name given in Aus- 
 tralia to the tree Melia composita, 
 Willd., N.O. Meliacece, called Cape 
 Lilac. It is not endemic in Aus- 
 tralia, and is called " Persian 
 Lilac" in India. In Tasmania 
 the name of Native Lilac is given 
 to Prostanthera rotundifolia, R. Br., 
 N.O. Labiate, and by Mrs. Mere- 
 dith to Tetratheca juncea, Smith, 
 of the Linnean Order, Octandria. 
 
 J 793' J- E. Smith, ' Specimen of Botany 
 of New Holland,' p. 5 : 
 
 " Tetratheca juncea, Rushy Tetra- 
 theca [with plate]." 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, ' My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 69 : 
 
 "A little purple flower, which is 
 equally common, so vividly recalls to 
 my mind, both by its scent and colour, 
 an Old-World favorite, that I always 
 know it as the native Lilac (Tetratheca 
 juncea}." 
 
 Lily, Darling, n. a bulbous 
 plant, Crinum flaccidum, Herb., 
 N.O. Amaryllidece ; called also the 
 Murray Lily. (See Lily, Murray.} 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 20 : 
 
 " The ' Darling Lily.' This exceed- 
 ingly handsome white-flowered plant, 
 which grows back from the Darling, 
 has bulbs which yield a fair arrowroot. 
 On one occasion, near the town of 
 Wilcannia, a man earned a handsome 
 sum by making this substance when 
 flour was all but unattainable." 
 
 Lily, Flax, n. See Flax-Lily, 
 and Flax, New Zealand. 
 
 Lily, Giant-, or Spear-, n. a 
 fibre plant, Doryanthes excelsa, 
 Corn, N.O. Amaryllidece. 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 339 : 
 
 " The Doryanthes excelsa, a gigantic 
 Lily of Australia, is a magnificent 
 plant, with a lofty flowering spike. 
 The bunches or clusters of crimson 
 flowers are situated in the summit of 
 the flowering spike . . . The diameter 
 of a cluster of blossoms is about 14 
 inches . . . The flower-buds are of a 
 brilliant crimson, and the anthers of
 
 270 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [LIL-LIM 
 
 the stamens are, in the recently ex- 
 panded flower, of a dark-green colour." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 621 : 
 
 " ' Spear Lily.' ' Giant Lily.' The 
 leaves are a mass of fibre, of great 
 strength, which admits of preparation 
 either by boiling or maceration, no 
 perceptible difference as to quality or 
 colour being apparent after heckling. 
 Suitable for brush making, matting, 
 etc." 
 
 Lily, Gordon, n. a Tasmanian 
 plant and its flower, Blandfordia 
 marginata, Herb., N.O. Liliacea, 
 and other species of Blandfordia 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1835. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 72: 
 
 " Blandfordia nobilis. This splendid 
 plant is common on the west coast 
 and on the shores of the Mersey. It 
 bears a head of pendulous scarlet 
 blossoms tipped with yellow, one inch 
 long, rising out of a stalk of from \\ 
 to 3 feet long, from between two op- 
 posite series of strapshaped leaves. 
 It is named after George [Gordon] 
 Marquis of Blandford, son of the 
 second Duke of Marlborough." 
 
 Lily, Murray, n. i.q. Darling 
 Lily, See above. 
 
 1877. F. v. Miiller, ' Botanic Teachings,' 
 p. 119: 
 
 "This showy genus Crimnn furnishes 
 also Victoria with a beautiful species, 
 the Murray Lily (Crinum flaccidum}, 
 not however to be found away from 
 the Murray-River southward." 
 
 Lilly-Pilly, n. name given to a 
 large timber tree, Eugenia smithit, 
 Poir., N.O. Myrtacece. The bark 
 is rich in tanning. Sometimes 
 called Native Banana. 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 327 : 
 
 "The Lillipilly-trees, as they are 
 named by the colonists, consist of 
 several species of Acmena, and are all 
 of elegant growth and dense and 
 handsome foliage." 
 
 1879. R CV - J- E. Tenison-Woods, 
 ' Proceedings of the Linnaean Society ol 
 New South Wales,' p. 134 : 
 
 " Eugenia Smithii, or Lilli pilli, and 
 Melodorum Leichhardtii are also fair 
 eating. The latter goes by the name 
 of the native banana though it is very 
 different from a banana, and in reality 
 allied to the custard apple.'' 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 29: 
 
 ' ' Lilly Pilly.' The fruits are eaten 
 by aboriginals, small boys, and birds. 
 They are formed in profusion, are 
 acidulous and wholesome. They are 
 white with a purplish tint, and up to 
 one inch in diameter." 
 
 Lily, Rock, n. an orchid, Den- 
 drobium speciosum, Smith, N.O. 
 Orchide<z. Although not a Lily, 
 it is always so called, especially 
 in Sydney, where it is common. 
 
 1879. H. N. Moseley, ' Notes by 
 Naturalist on Challenger,' p. 270: 
 
 "A luxuriant vegetation, with huge 
 masses of Stagshorn Fern (Platyce- 
 riuni) and ' rock-lilies ' (orchids), and a 
 variety of timbers, whilst there are 
 Tree-ferns and small palms in the 
 lateral shady gullies." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 22: 
 
 " ' Rock Lily.' The large pseudo- 
 bulbs have been eaten by the abori- 
 ginals ; they contain little nutritive 
 matter." 
 
 Lily, Water, n. There are 
 several indigenous native varieties 
 of the N. O. Nymphceacea Cabombia 
 peltata, Pursh ; Nymphaa gigantea, 
 Hook. (Blue Water-lily}. 
 
 Lily, Yellow, n. a Tasmanian 
 name for Bulbine bulbosa, Haw., 
 N.O. Liliacece. See Leek, Native. 
 
 Lime, Native, n. an Australian 
 tree, Citrus australasica, F. v. M., 
 N.O. Rutacece ; called also Finger 
 Lime and Orange. But the appel- 
 lation of Native Lime is more 
 generally given to Citrus australis, 
 Planch., N.O. Rutacea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 16: 
 
 " ' Native Lime. Orange.' The fruit, 
 which is an inch and a half in diameter,
 
 LIN-LOG] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 271 
 
 and almost globular, yields an agree- 
 able beverage from its acid juice." 
 
 Ling, n. a fish. The name is 
 given in England to various fishes, 
 from their length. In New Zea- 
 land and Tasmania, it is applied to 
 Genypterus blacodes, Forst. ; also 
 called Cloudy Bay Cod. Lotella mar- 
 ginata, Macl.,is called Ling, in New 
 South Wales, and Beardie. Genyp- 
 terus belongs to the Ophidiida and 
 Lotella to the next family, the 
 Gadidce. 
 
 Lobster, ;/. The name is often 
 carelessly used in Australia for 
 the Crayfish (q.v.). 
 
 Lobster's - Claw, n. another 
 name for Sturfs Desert Pea (q.v.). 
 
 Locust, n. name popularly but 
 quite erroneously applied to in- 
 sects belonging to two distinct 
 orders. 
 
 (1) Insects belonging to the 
 order Hemiptera. The great black 
 Cicada, Cicada mcerens, Germ., 
 and the great green Cicada, Cy- 
 dochila australasice, Donov. 
 
 (2) Insects belonging to the 
 order Orthoptera, such as the 
 great green gum-tree grass- 
 hopper, Locusta vigentissima, Serv., 
 or the Australian yellow-winged 
 locust, Oedipoda musica, Fab. 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. I. c. ix. p. 285 : 
 
 " The trees swarmed with large 
 locusts (the Cicada), quite deafening 
 us with their shrill buzzing noise." 
 
 1862. F. J. Jobson, ' Australia,' c. iv. 
 p. 104 : 
 
 " We heard everywhere on the gum- 
 trees the cricket-like insects usually 
 called locusts by the colonists hissing 
 their reed-like monotonous noise." 
 
 1869. J. Townend, ' Reminiscences of 
 Australia,' p. 155 : 
 
 "The perpetual song of unnumbered 
 locusts." 
 
 1885. II. H. Hayter, ' Carboona,' p. 5 : 
 
 " The deaf ning hum of the locusts." 
 
 1885. F. McCoy, ' Prodromus of the 
 Natural History of Victoria,' Dec. 5, pi. 
 50: 
 
 " Our Cicada mcerens . . . produces 
 an almost deafening sound from the 
 numbers of the individuals in the 
 hottest days and the loudness of their 
 noise." " This species (Cyclochila Aus- 
 tralasice) is much less abundant than 
 the C. mcerens, and seems more con- 
 fined to moist places, such as river 
 banks and deep ravines and gullies." 
 
 1889. F. McCoy, 'Prodromus of the 
 Natural History of Victoria,' Dec. n, pi. 
 no : 
 
 "The great size of the muscular 
 thighs of the posterior pair of feet 
 enables the Locusts to jump much 
 higher, further, and more readily than 
 Grasshoppers, giving an example of 
 muscular power almost unparalleled 
 in the animal kingdom." 
 
 1896. F. A. Skuse, ' Records of Aus- 
 tralian Museum,' vol. ii. No. 7, p. 107 : 
 
 " What are commonly styled 'locusts 
 in this country are really Cicadce, 
 belonging to a totally distinct and 
 widely separated order of insects. And 
 moreover the same kind of Cicada is 
 known by different names in different 
 localities, such as ' Miller,' ' Mealy- 
 back,' etc. The true locusts belong to 
 the grasshoppers, while the Homo- 
 ptcroits Cicadidce have been known as 
 Cicadas from times of remote anti- 
 quity." 
 
 Locust-tree, of New Zealand. 
 See Kowhai. 
 
 Logan-Apple, ;/. a small 
 Queensland tree, with an acid 
 fruit, Acronychia acidia, F. v. M., 
 N.O. Rutacece. 
 
 Log-hut, n. Log-cabin is Ameri- 
 can. Log-hut is Australian. 
 
 1802. G. Harrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' p. 178: 
 
 " Not more than ten settlers had 
 been able to erect dwellings better 
 than log-huts." [This was in Sydney, 
 1796.] 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. I. c. ix. p. 287 : 
 
 "Captain Fyans was living in a log- 
 hut on the banks of the Marabool
 
 272 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [LOG-LON 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's 
 Right,' c. vi. p. 61 : 
 
 " Log-huts, with the walls built 
 American fashion, of horizontal tree- 
 trunks." 
 
 Log-Runner, n. an Australian 
 bird, called also a Spinetail. The 
 species are Black-headed, Ortho- 
 nyx spaldingi, Ramsay ; Spine- 
 tailed, O. spinicauda, Temm., called 
 also Pheasant's Mother. See 
 Orthonyx. 
 
 Logs, n. pi. the Lock-up. 
 Originally, in the early days, a 
 log-hut, and often keeping the 
 name when it was made a more 
 secure place. Sometimes, when 
 there was no lock-up, the prisoners 
 werechained to heavylogsof trees. 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' p. 184 : 
 
 " The governor resolved on building 
 a large log prison both at Sydney and 
 Paramatta, and 'as the affair cried 
 haste,' a quantity of logs were ordered 
 to be sent in by the various settlers, 
 officers and others." [p. 196]: "The 
 Inhabitants of Sydney were assessed to 
 supply thatch for the new gaol, and the 
 building was enclosed with a strong 
 high fence. It was 80 feet long, the 
 sides and ends were of strong logs,, a 
 double row of which formed each par- 
 tition. The prison was divided into 
 22 cells. The floor and the roof were 
 logs, over which was a coat eight inches 
 deep of clay." 
 
 1851. Letter from Mrs. Perry, given in 
 Canon Goodman's ' Church of Victoria 
 during Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' p. 
 164: 
 
 "One [sentry] at the lock-up, a 
 regular American log-hut." [sic. But 
 in America it would have been called 
 a log-cabin.] 
 
 1888. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Robbery under 
 Arms,' p. 193 : 
 
 " Let's put him in the Logs . . . The 
 lock-up, like most bush ones, was 
 built of heavy logs, just roughly 
 squared, with the ceiling the same 
 sort." 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, 'A Sydney- 
 side Saxon,' p. Ill: 
 
 "'He'll land himself in the logs 
 
 about that same calf racket if he 
 doesn't look out, some day.' ' Logs ! ' 
 I says. ' There don't seem to be many 
 about this part. The trees are all too 
 small."' 
 
 Log up, v. to make a log-sup- 
 port for the windlass. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's Right, ' 
 c. v. p. 54 : 
 
 " We . . . had logged up and made 
 a start with another shaft." 
 
 Lolly, .,//. Lollies. The Eng- 
 lish word lollipop is always short- 
 ened in Australia, and is the 
 common word to the exclusion of 
 others, e.g. sweets. Manufac- 
 turers oT sweetmeats are termed 
 Lolly-makers. 
 
 1871. J. J. Simpson, ^Recitations,' p. 
 24: 
 
 " Lollies that the children like." 
 
 1874. Garnet Walch, ' Head over Heels,' 
 p. 18: 
 " Common children fancy lollies, 
 
 Eat them 'gainst their parents' wills." 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, ' Old Colonials,' p. 
 165: 
 
 " I thankfully expended the one in 
 bile-producing cakes and lollies." 
 
 1893. ' Evening Standard' (Melbourne), 
 Oct. 1 8, p. 6, col. 2 : 
 
 " Mr. Patterson (musing over last 
 Saturday's experiences) : You're going 
 to raise the price of lollies. I'm a 
 great buyer of them myself. (Laugh- 
 ter.) If you pay the full duty it 
 will, doubtless, be patriotic for me to 
 buy more when I go amongst the 
 juveniles." 
 
 Long-fin, n. name given to the 
 fish Caprodon schlegelii, Giinth., 
 and in New South Wales to 
 Anthias longimanus, Giinth. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 33 : 
 
 " The long-fin, Anthias longimanus, 
 Giinth., is a good fish that finds its way 
 to the market occasionally . . . may 
 be known by its uniform red colour, and 
 the great length of the pectoral fins." 
 
 Long-Jack, name given to the 
 tree Fllndersia oxleyana, F. v. M.,
 
 LON-LOR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 273 
 
 N.O. Meliacece ; called also Light 
 Yellow-Wood. 
 
 Long-sleever, n. name for a 
 big drink and also for the glass in 
 which it is contained. Perhaps 
 in allusion to its tall, tapering, long 
 shape. 
 
 1888. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iii. p. 83 : 
 
 " Their drivers had completed their 
 regulation half-score of ' long-sleevers ' 
 of ' she-oak.' ;! 
 
 Long-Tom, n. name given in 
 Sydney to Belone ferox, Giinth., a 
 species of Garfish which has both 
 jaws prolonged to form a slender 
 beak. See Garfish. 
 
 Long- Yam. See Yam. 
 
 Look, v. tr. to examine. 
 
 1874. \V. H. K- Ranken, ' Dominion of 
 Australia,' c. vi. p. 105 : 
 
 " Plains are scoured and every piece 
 of timber looked." [sc. looked-over.] 
 
 Lope, n. a slow and steady gal- 
 lop. From Dutch verb loopen, 
 to leap, to run. The word is 
 American rather than Australian. 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, ' Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 35 : 
 
 " Every body gallops here, or at 
 least goes at a canter which they call 
 the Australian lope." 
 
 Loquat, a Chinese word mean- 
 ing "Rush-orange," Photinia 
 japonica. Being highly orna- 
 mental and bearing a pleasant 
 stony juicy fruit of the colour and 
 size of a small orange, it has 
 been introduced into nearly all 
 Australian gardens. The name 
 Native Loquat has been given to 
 an indigenous shrub, Rhodomyrtus 
 macrocarpa, Benth., N.O. Myr- 
 tacece. 
 
 Lorikeet, ;/. a bird-name, a 
 little Lory (q.v.). The species in 
 Australia are 
 Blue-bellied Lorikeet 
 
 Trichoglossus norce-hollanditz, 
 Gmel. 
 
 Blue-faced L. 
 
 Cydopsitta madeayana, Ramsay. 
 Little L. 
 
 Trichoglossus pusillus, Shaw. 
 Musk L. 
 
 T. concinnus, Shaw. 
 Purple-crowned L. 
 
 T. porphyrocephalus, Dietr. 
 Red-collared L. 
 
 T. rubritorqus, Vig. and Hors. 
 Red-faced L. 
 
 Cydopsitta coxenii, Gould. 
 Scaly-breasted L. 
 
 Trichoglossus chlorolepidottis, 
 
 Kuhl. 
 Swift L. 
 
 Lathamus discolor, Shaw. 
 Varied L. 
 
 Trichoglossus versicolor, Vig. 
 
 The following table gives 
 Gould's classification in 1848 : 
 
 1848. J. -Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. v. 
 
 Plate 
 
 Lathamus discolor, Swift Lorikeet 47 
 Trichoglossus Nova; - Hollandia, 
 
 Jard. and Selb., Swainson's L. 48 
 T. rubritorquis, Vig. and Horsf., 
 
 Red-collared L 49 
 
 T. chlorolepidotus, Scaly-breasted 
 
 L 50 
 
 T. -versicolor, Vig., Varied L. ... 51 
 
 T. concinnus, Musky L 52 
 
 T. porphyroccplialus, Diet., Por- 
 phyry-crowned L 53 
 
 T. pttsillus, Little L 54 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' June 7, p. 13, 
 col. 4 : 
 
 " On the hill-sides the converse of 
 the lorikeets as they drain the honey- 
 cups and swing and chatter in low 
 undertones the whole day long." 
 
 Lory, n. a bird-name. The 
 
 J word is Malay. (See 'Encyclopaedia 
 
 | Britannica,' vol. xv.) It is often 
 
 ! spelt Lowrie in Australia. The 
 
 species in Australia are 
 
 Crimson-winged Lory 
 
 Aprosmictus coccineopterus, Gould. 
 King L. 
 
 A. scapulatus, Bechst.
 
 274 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [LOT-LUB 
 
 Red-winged Lory 
 A. erythropterus, Gmel. 
 
 1848. Gould's ' Birds of Australia,' vol. 
 v. : 
 
 " Aprosmictus scapulatus, king 1 lory ; 
 erythropturus, red-winged lory." 
 
 Lotus-bird, n. Parra gallinacea, 
 Temm. ; called also the Jacana 
 (q.v.), and the Parra (q.v.). 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 22 : 
 
 " The most striking bird on the 
 lagoon is doubtless the beautiful Parra 
 gallinacea, which in Australia is called 
 the lotus-bird. It sits on the leaves 
 that float on the water, particularly 
 those of the water-lily." 
 
 Lowan, n. aboriginal bird- 
 name for Leipoa ocellata, Gould. 
 The name is used for the bird in 
 Victoria and in the south-east 
 district of South Australia. In the 
 Mallee district, it is called Mallee- 
 bird, Mallei fowl, Mallee-hen (q.v.) ; 
 in South Australia, Native Pheasant 
 (q.v.) ; and in various parts of 
 Australia, the Scrub-Turkey. The 
 county called Lowan, after the 
 bird, is, in the Mallee country in 
 the west of Victoria. See Turkey. 
 
 1888. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Robbery under 
 Arms,' p. 171 : 
 
 "The lowan (Mallee-hen, they're 
 mostly called). The lowan eggs beau- 
 tiful pink thin-shelled ones they are, 
 first-rate to eat, and one of 'em a 
 man's breakfast." 
 
 1890. A. H. S. Lucas, 'Handbook of 
 the Australasian Association for the Ad- 
 vancement of Science,' Melbourne, p. 68 : 
 
 " To the dry, arid Mallee Scrub of 
 the Western District is a radical 
 change of scene. There the so-called 
 Mallee hen, or Native name, Lowan 
 {Leipoa ocellata}, loves to dwell." 
 
 1896. 'The Argus,' Aug. 4, p. 5, col. 2 : 
 " The postmaster at Nhill had drawn 
 the attention of the Deputy Post- 
 master-General to the large number 
 of letters which are received there 
 addressed to ' Lowan.' It should be 
 understood that this is the name of a 
 county containing several postal dis- 
 
 tricts, and correspondents should be 
 more specific in their addresses." 
 
 Lowrie, ;/. a bird-name. An 
 Australian variant of Lory (q.v.). 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, 'Port Phillip 
 in 1849,' p. 40 : 
 
 " A great many species of the parrot 
 are found ; and of these the King 
 Parrot is the most beautiful, and that 
 called the Lowrie is perhaps the most 
 docile." 
 
 1890. Lyth, 'Golden South, 'p. 127: 
 " The birds are very beautiful the 
 Blue Mountain and Lowrie parrots . . .' 
 
 Lubra, . aboriginal name for 
 a black woman. The name 
 comes from Tasmania, appearing 
 first in the form loubra, in a vo- 
 cabulary given in the ' Voyage 
 de De"couvertes de 1'Astrolabe ' 
 (Paris, 1834), vol. vii. p. 9, and 
 was obtained from a Tasmanian 
 woman, belonging to Port Dal- 
 rymple on the Tamar River. It 
 is probably a compound of the 
 Tasmanian words loa or Iowa, a 
 woman, and proi (with variants), 
 big. In Victoria, the use of the 
 word began at the Hopkins 
 River and the vicinity, having 
 been introduced by settlers from 
 Tasmania, but it was generally 
 adopted south of the Murray. 
 North of the Murray the native 
 women were called Gins (q.v.). 
 Both words are now used indis- 
 criminately. 
 
 1855. W. Blandowski, ' Transactions of 
 Philosophical Society of Victoria,' vol. i. 
 P- 73 = 
 
 " The young man who wishes to 
 marry has first to look out for a wife 
 amongst the girls or leubras of some 
 neighbouring tribe." 
 
 1864. H. Simcox, ' Outward Bound,' 
 p. 87: 
 
 " Many lubras so black with their load 
 on their back." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' Australian Life,' 
 p. 23 : 
 
 " Certain stout young gins or lubras.,
 
 LUC-LYR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 275 
 
 set apart for that purpose, were sacri- 
 ficed." 
 
 1891. ' The Argus,' Nov. 7, p. 13, col. 4 : 
 " A few old lubras sufficiently dirty 
 
 and unprepossessing." 
 
 1892. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the 
 Compass in Australia,' p. 28 : 
 
 " Naked, and not ashamed, the old 
 men grey-bearded and eyes bright, 
 watched the cooking of the fish, and 
 the younger, with the lubras, did the 
 honours of reception." 
 
 Lucerne, Native, or Paddy, n. 
 i.q. Queensland Hemp. See Hemp. 
 1895. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from Snowy 
 River,' p. 95 : 
 
 "And now lies wandering fat and sleek, 
 On the lucerne flats by the Home- 
 stead Creek." 
 
 Luderick, or Ludrick, n. an 
 aboriginal Gippsland name for a 
 local variety of the fish Girella 
 simplex, Richards., the Black-fish 
 (q.V.). 
 
 Lugg, n. a fish not identified. 
 " Lug, a kind of fish." (' Walker,' 
 1827.) 
 
 1802. Flemming, 'Journal of the Ex- 
 ploration of C. Grimes ' (at Port Phillip), 
 ed. by J. J. Shillinglaw, Melbourne, 1897, 
 p. 27: 
 
 " Many swans, ducks and luggs." 
 
 Lyonsia, n. a Tasmanian plant. 
 See Devil 's-guts. 
 
 Lyre-bird, n. an Australian bird, 
 originally called the Bird of Para- 
 dise of New South Wales ; then 
 called a Native Pheasant, or 
 Mountain Pheasant, and still gener- 
 ally called a Pheasant by the 
 Gippsland bushmen. The name 
 Lyre-bird apparently began be- 
 tween 1828 and 1834. It is not 
 used by Cunningham, ' Two 
 Years in New South Wales' 
 (1828), vol. i. p. 303. See Menura, 
 The species are 
 
 The Lyre-bird 
 
 Menura superba, Davies. 
 Albert L.-b. 
 
 M. albcrti, Gould. 
 
 Victoria L.-b. 
 M. victoria, Gould. 
 
 Since 1888 the Lyre-bird has 
 been the design on the eight- 
 penny postage-stamp of New 
 South Wales. 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' p. 435 : 
 
 " The Bird of Paradise of New South 
 Wales [with picture]. This elegant 
 bird, which by some is called the Bird 
 of Paradise, and by others the Mtenura 
 Superba, has a straight bill, with the 
 nostrils in the centre of the beak." 
 
 1802. D. Collins, ' History of English 
 Colony of New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 
 335 = 
 
 " Menura superba." [But not the 
 name lyre-bird.] 
 
 1834. Geo. Bennett, ' Wanderings in 
 New South Wales, etc.,' i. p. 277: 
 
 " The ' Native or Wood-pheasant,' 
 or -'Lyre bird' of the colonists, the 
 ' Menura superba ' of naturalists, and 
 the ' Beleck, beleck,' and ' Balaugara ' 
 of the aboriginal tribes, is abundant 
 about the mountain ranges, in all parts 
 of the colony." 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, ' Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 132: 
 
 " Numerous pheasants (Menura 
 superba). These birds are the mock- 
 ing-birds of Australia, imitating all the 
 sounds that are heard in the bush in 
 great perfection. They are about the 
 size of a barn-door fowl, and are not 
 remarkable for any beauty either in 
 the shape or colour, being of a dirty 
 brown, approaching to black in some 
 parts ; their greatest attraction con- 
 sists in the graceful tail of the cock 
 bird, which assumes something the 
 appearance of a lyre, for which reason 
 some naturalists have called them 
 lyre-birds." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iii. pi. 14 : 
 
 ''Menura superba, Davies, Lyre-bird ; 
 Pheasant of the Colonists. Were I 
 requested to suggest an emblem for 
 Australia amongst its birds, I should 
 without the slightest hesitation select 
 the Menura as the most appropriate, 
 being strictly peculiar to Australia."
 
 276 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [LYR 
 
 1864. J. S. Moore, 'Spring-Life Lyrics,' 
 p. 92: 
 
 " Shy as the lyre-bird, hidden away, 
 A glittering waif in the wild." 
 
 1867. G. G. McCrae, ' Balladeadro,' p. 
 30: 
 
 " There the proud lyre-bird spreads 
 
 his tail, 
 And mocks the notes of hill and 
 
 dale 
 Whether the wild dog's plaintive 
 
 howl 
 Or cry of piping water-fowl." 
 
 1872. A. McFarland, ' Illawarra and 
 Manaro,' p. 54 : 
 
 " The Lyre-bird may yet be seen 
 more frequently heard amongst the 
 gullies and ravines. It has the power 
 of imitating every other bird, and 
 nearly every sound it hears in the 
 bush even that of a cross-cut saw." 
 
 1886. J. A. Froude, ' Oceana,' p. 146 : 
 
 " Here, too, for the first time, we 
 saw a lyre-bird, which some one had 
 just shot, the body being like a coot's, 
 and about the same size, the tail long 
 as the tail of a bird of paradise, beau- 
 tifully marked in bright brown, with 
 the two chief feathers curved into the 
 shape of a Greek lyre, from which it 
 takes its name." 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes ' Game Act, 
 Third Schedule : 
 
 [Close Season.] " Lyre Birds. The 
 whole year." 
 
 1893. ' The Age,' Aug. 7, p. vi, col. 9 : 
 
 " There are more reasons than one 
 why the lyre-bird should be preserved. 
 From a purely utilitarian point of view 
 it is of value, for it is insectivorous and 
 preys upon insects which are apt to 
 prefer orchard fruit to their natural 
 bush food. But the bird has as well a 
 national and sentimental value. Next 
 to the emu it is the most typical 
 
 Australian bird. It is peculiar to 
 Australia, for in no other country is it 
 to be seen. Comparatively speaking 
 it is a rara avis even in Australia 
 itself, for it is only to be found in the 
 most secluded parts of two colonies 
 Victoria and New South Wales. It is 
 the native pheasant. The aborigines 
 call it 'Beleck-Beleck,' and whites call it 
 the ' lyre-bird ' from the shape of its 
 tail ; the ornithologists have named it 
 Menura. There are three species 
 the Victoria of this colony, and the 
 Alberta and superba of New South 
 Wales. The general plumage is glossy 
 brown, shaded with black and silver 
 grey, and the ornate tail of the male 
 bird is brown with black bars. They 
 live in the densest recesses of the fern 
 gullies of the Dividing Range with the 
 yellow-breasted robin, the satin-bird, 
 and the bell-bird as their neighbours. 
 They are the most shy of birds, and 
 are oftener heard than seen. Their 
 notes, too, are heard more frequently 
 than they are recognized, for they are 
 consummate mimics and ventrilo- 
 quists. They imitate to perfection the 
 notes of all other birds, the united 
 voicing of a flock of paraquetts [sic], 
 the barking of dogs, the sawing of 
 timber, and the clink of the woodman's 
 axe. Thus it is that the menura has 
 earned for itself the title of the Aus- 
 tralian mocking-bird. Parrots and 
 magpies are taught to speak ; as a 
 mimic the lyre-bird requires no 
 teacher." 
 
 1893. ' Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 
 9, p. 9, col. i : 
 
 "If the creature was lovely its beauty 
 was marketable and fatal and the 
 lyre-bird was pursued to its last re- 
 treats and inveigled to death, so that 
 its feathers might be peddled in our 
 streets."
 
 MAC-MAGj 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 277 
 
 M 
 
 Mackerel, n. In Australia, 
 Scomber antarcticus, Castln., said to 
 be identical with Scomber pneumato- 
 phorus, De la Roche, the European 
 mackerel ; but rare. In New Zea- 
 land, Scomber australasicus, Cuv. 
 and Val. 
 
 Macquarie Harbour Grape, or 
 Macquarie Harbour Vine, n. 
 the Tasmanian name for Muhlen- 
 beckia adpressa, Meissn., N. O. 
 Po/ygonacece ; called Native Ivy in 
 Australia. See Ivy and Grape. 
 
 1831. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p 265 : 
 
 "That valuable plant called the 
 Macquarie harbour grape. It was so 
 named by Mr. Lempriere, late of the 
 Commissariat at that station, who first 
 brought it into notice as a desirable 
 acquisition in our gardens." 
 
 1834. Ross; ' Van Diemen's Land 
 Annual,' p. 133 : 
 
 " Polygonum adpressum. The Mac- 
 quarie harbour vine, either as an insig- 
 nificant trailing plant, or as a magnifi- 
 cent climber, according to the soil and 
 situation, is found on the coast of 
 various parts of Van Diemen's Land, 
 and also as far inland as within about 
 four miles of New Norfolk. This 
 plant has a small but sweet fruit, formed 
 of the thickened divisions of the calyx 
 of the flower, inclosing a triangular 
 seed of unpleasant flavour." 
 
 Macquarie Pine, n. See Pine. 
 
 Macropus, w.the scientific name 
 for the typical genus of Macro- 
 podidce, established by Shaw in 
 1800. From the Greek /aaKpoVovs, 
 long-footed. It includes the Kan- 
 garoo (q.v.) and Wallaby (q.v.). 
 M. giganteus, Zimm., is the Giant 
 Kangaroo, or Forester (q.v.). 
 
 Mado, n. a Sydney fish, Thera- 
 pon cuvieri, Bleek ; called also 
 Trumpeter- Perch. Atypus strigatus, 
 Giinth., is also called Mado by the 
 Sydney fishermen, who confound 
 it with the first species. The 
 name is probably aboriginal. 
 
 Magpie, n. a black-and-white 
 Crow-Shrike, present all over 
 Australia. He resembles the Eng- 
 lish Magpie in general appear- 
 ance, but has not the long tail of 
 that bird, though he shares with 
 him his kleptomania. He is often 
 called the Bush-magpie (q.v.) by 
 townsfolk, to distinguish him 
 from the tamed specimens kept 
 in many gardens, or in cages, 
 which are easily taught to talk. 
 The species are 
 Black-backed Magpie 
 
 Gymnorhinatibicen, Lath.; called 
 
 also Flute-Bird (q.v.). 
 Long-billed M. 
 
 G. dorsalis, Campbell. 
 White, or Organ M. 
 
 G. organicum, Gould; called also 
 
 Organ-bird (q.v.). 
 White-backed M. 
 
 G. leuconota, Gould. 
 
 In Tasmania, the name Magpie 
 is also applied to the 
 Black Magpie 
 
 Strepera fuliginosa, Gould ; and 
 
 S- arguta, Gould. 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, ' Geoftry Hamlyn,' 
 vol. ii. p. 314 [Footnote] : 
 
 " Magpie, a large, pied crow. Of all 
 the birds I have ever seen, the cleverest, 
 the most grotesque, and the most 
 musical. The splendid melody of his 
 morning and evening song is as un- 
 equalled as it is indescribable. 7 '
 
 2 7 8 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MAG-MAH 
 
 1869. B. Hoare, ' Figures of Fancy,' p. 
 97 = 
 " Gay magpies chant the livelong day." 
 
 1886. T. Heney, ' Fortunate Days,' p. 
 47 = 
 
 "The magpie swells from knoll or 
 
 silent brake 
 His loud sweet tune." 
 
 1887. ' Melbourne Punch,' March 31 : 
 " The magpie maketh mute 
 
 His mellow fluent flute, 
 Nor chaunteth now his leuconotic 
 hymn." 
 
 Magpie-Goose, n. a common 
 name for the Australian Goose, 
 Anseranusmelanoleuca, Lath.; called 
 also Sivan-goose, and Pied-goose. 
 See Goose. 
 
 Magpie-Lark, n. an Australian 
 black-and-white bird (Grallina 
 picata, Lath.), resembling the 
 Magpie in appearance, but smaller; 
 called also Pee-wee, and Mudlark, 
 from its building its nest of mud. 
 
 1888. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. ii. p. 235 : 
 
 "The little magpie-lark. . . . His 
 more elegant and graceful figure re- 
 mains in modest silence by the hedge- 
 row in the outskirts." 
 
 Magpie-Perch, n. a West Aus- 
 tralian, Victorian, and Tasmanian 
 fish, Chilodactyhis gibbosus, Rich- 
 ards. ; not a true Perch, but of 
 family Cirrhitidce. 
 
 Magra, n. aboriginal name for 
 the sling or pouch in which the 
 gins carry their children on their 
 backs. 
 
 1845. R- Howitt, 'Australia,' p. 185 : 
 " Other lesser brats were in magras, 
 ipsy-like, at their mothers' backs." 
 On p. 195, Mr. Howitt uses the form 
 "mogra."] 
 
 Mahoe, n. Maori name for the 
 New Zealand Whitewood-tree, 
 Melicytus ramiflorus, Forst., N. O. 
 Violariea. 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, 'Telkaa Maui,' 
 p. 447: 
 
 " Mahoe (Melicytus ramiflorus}gro\\s 
 
 to the height of about fifty feet, and has 
 
 a fine thin spiral leaf." 
 
 1863. Thomas Moser, 'Mahoe Leaves': 
 [Title of a volume of articles about 
 
 the Maoris.] 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 130 : 
 
 " Mahoe, hinahina. A small tree 
 twenty to thirty feet high ; trunk often 
 angular and seven feet in girth. The 
 word is soft and not in use. . . . Leaves 
 greedily eaten by cattle." 
 
 Mahogany, n. The name, with 
 varying epithets, is applied to 
 several Australian trees, chiefly 
 Eucalypts, on account of the red- 
 ness or hardness of their timber, 
 and its applicability to purposes 
 similar to that of the true Ma- 
 hogany. The following enumer- 
 ation is compiled from Maiden's 
 ' Useful Native Plants '- 
 
 Mahogany, Tristaniaconferta, R. Br., 
 N.O. Myrtacecej called also White 
 Box, Red Box, Brush Box, Bastard 
 Box, Brisbane Box. This bark is 
 occasionally used for tanning. 
 
 Bastard Mahogany, or Gippsland 
 Mahogany, or Swamp Mahogany, 
 Eucalyptus botry aides, Smith, N.O. 
 Myrtacece. The Blue Gum of New 
 South Wales coast districts. Bastard 
 Mahogany of Gippsland and New South 
 Wales ; called also Swamp Mahogany 
 in Victoria and New South Wales. It 
 also bears the names of Bastard Jarrah, 
 and occasionally Woolly Butt. Sydney 
 workmen often give it the name Ban- 
 galay, by which it was formerly known 
 by the aboriginals of Port Jackson. 
 It is one of four colonial timbers 
 recommended by the Victorian Car- 
 riage Timber Board for use in the 
 construction of railway carriages. 
 Specimens from Gippsland (Gippsland 
 Mahogany) are spoken of as " a timber 
 of good colour, as strong as Blue Gum." 
 
 Mahogany, or Bastard Mahogany, 
 Eucalyptus marginata, Smith, N.O. 
 Myrtacea. Universally known as 
 Jarrah. In Western Australia it also 
 bears the name of Mahogany, or Bas- 
 tard Mahogany. 
 
 Forest or Red Mahogany, Eucalyptus
 
 MAI-MAj] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 279 
 
 resinifera, Smith, N.O. Myrtacece; 
 called also _/z';;z7/zy Low (q.v.). 
 
 Forest Mahogany, Eucalyptus mi- 
 crocorys, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtacea. 
 In Queensland it is known as Pepper- 
 mint, the foliage being remarkably rich 
 in volatile oil. But its almost universal 
 name is Tallow Wood (q.v.). North of 
 Port Jackson it bears the name of 
 Turpentine Tree (q.v.), and Forest 
 Mahogany. 
 
 Tom Russell's Mahogany, Lysicarpus 
 ternifolius, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtacece. 
 
 Swamp Mahogany, or White Ma- 
 hogany, Eucalyptus robusta, Smith, 
 N.O. Myrtacecz, B. Fl. This tree 
 is known as White, or Swamp Mahog- 
 any, from the fact that it gener- 
 ally grows in swampy ground. It is 
 also called Brown Gum. This timber 
 is much valued for shingles, wheel- 
 wrights' work, ship-building, and build- 
 ing purposes generally. As a timber 
 for fuel, and where no great strength 
 is required, it is excellent, especially 
 when we consider its adaptability to 
 stagnant, swampy, or marshy places. 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. c. iv. p. 132 : 
 
 " Mahogany, Jarrail, Eucalyptus, 
 grows on white sandy land." 
 
 Ibid. vol. ii. c. iv. p. 231 : 
 
 " Part of our road lay through a 
 thick mahogany scrub." 
 
 Mai, or Matai, n. a New Zea- 
 land tree, now called Podocarpus 
 spicata. 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 440: 
 
 " Matai, mai (Dacrydium mai\ a 
 tree with a fine thick top, and leaf 
 much resembling that of the yew. The 
 wood is of a slightly reddish colour, 
 close-grained, but brittle, and peculiarly 
 fragrant when burnt. . . . Highly 
 prized for fuel, and also much used for 
 furniture, as it works up easily and 
 comes next to the totara for durability." 
 
 1876. W. N. Blair, ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. ix. art. x. 
 P- 157: 
 
 " I have in this paper adhered to 
 the popular name of black-pine for this 
 timber, but the native name matai is 
 always used in the north." 
 
 Maiden's Blush, ;/. name given 
 
 to the Australian tree Echinocarpus 
 australis, Benth., N.O. Tiliacea ; 
 and sometimes applied to Euro- 
 schinus falcatus. Hook., N. O. Ana-' 
 cardiacece. The timber is of a 
 delicate rosy colour when cut. 
 The fruit is called If edge hog-fruit 
 (q.v.). In Tasmania, the name is 
 applied to Convohmlus erubeseens, 
 Sims., order Convolvulacecz. 
 
 Maire, n. a Maori name applied 
 to three kinds of trees ; viz. (i) 
 Santalum cunninghamii, Hook., a 
 sandal-wood ; (2) Oka of various 
 species (formerly Fusanus] ; (3) 
 Eugenia maire, A. Cunn., native 
 box-wood, but now usually con- 
 fined to N.O. Santalacece. 
 
 1835. W. Yate, ' Some Account of New 
 Zealand,' p. 41 : 
 
 " Mairi a tree of the Podocarpus 
 species." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' pp. 132-33 : 
 
 " Maire a small tree ten to fifteen 
 feet high, six to eight inches in dia- 
 meter ; wood hard, close-grained, 
 heavy, used by Maoris in the manu- 
 facture of war implements. Has been 
 used as a substitute for box by wood- 
 engravers. Black maire, N.O. Jas- 
 minea; ; also Maire-rau-nui, Olea 
 Cunninghamii. Hook., fil., Black M., 
 forty to fifty feet high, three to four 
 feet in diameter, timber close-grained, 
 heavy, and very durable." 
 
 Major Buller, n. name given to 
 one of the fruits of the Geebongf 
 tribe. See Geebong. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 82 : 
 
 "The Sergeant Baker in all proba- 
 bility got its local appellation in the 
 early history of the colony (New South 
 Wales), as it was called after a sergeant 
 of that name in one of the first detach- 
 ments of a regiment; so were also two 
 fruits of the Geebong tribe (Pcrsoonia}\ 
 one was called Major Buller, and the 
 other Major Groce, and this latter 
 again further corrupted into Major 
 Grocer." 
 
 Major Groce, or Major Grocer,
 
 280 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MAJ-MAL 
 
 name given to one of the fruits of 
 the Geebung tribe. See Geebung, 
 and quotation under Major Butter. 
 
 Major Mitchell, n. vernacular 
 name of a species of Cockatoo, 
 Cacatua leadbeateri, Vig. It was 
 called after the explorer, Major 
 (afterwards Sir Thomas) Mitchell, 
 who was Surveyor-General of 
 New South Wales. The cry of 
 the bird was fancifully supposed 
 to resemble his name. See Lead- 
 beater. 
 
 Make a light, expressive 
 pigeon-English. An aboriginal's 
 phrase for to look for, to find. 
 "You been make a light yarra- 
 man this morning ? " i. e. Have 
 you found or seen the horses this 
 morning ? 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, 'Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 vol. ii. p. 185 [Footnote]: 
 
 '"Make a light,' in blackfellow's 
 gibberish, means simply ' See.' " 
 
 Mako, n. originally Makomako. 
 Maori name for a New Zealand 
 tree, Aristotelia racemosa, Hook., 
 N.O. Tiliacea, often but incor- 
 rectly called Mokomoko. 
 
 1883. T- Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand/ p. 130: 
 
 " Mako, a small handsome tree, six 
 to twenty feet high, quick-growing, 
 with large racemes of reddish nodding 
 flowers. Wood very light and white 
 in colour." 
 
 Mako 2 , n. Maori name for the 
 Tiger -Shark. See Shark. The 
 teeth of the Mako are used for 
 ornaments by the Maoris. 
 
 Mallee, n. and adj. an ab- 
 original word. Any one of several 
 scrubby species of Eucalyptus in 
 the desert parts of South Aus- 
 tralia and Victoria, especially 
 Eucalyptus dumosa, Cunn., and E. 
 oleosa, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtacea. 
 They are also called Mallee Gums. 
 Accent on the first syllable. The 
 word is much used as an adjective 
 
 to denote the district in which 
 the shrub grows, the ''Mallee 
 District," and this in late times 
 is generally shortened into The 
 Mallee. Compare "The Lakes" 
 for the Lake-district of Cumber- 
 land. It then becomes used as 
 an epithet of Railways, Boards, 
 Farmers, or any matters con- 
 nected with that district. 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, ' Australia Felix,' 
 P- 73: 
 
 " The natives of the Wimmera pre- 
 pare a luscious drink from the laap, a 
 sweet exudation from the leaf of the 
 mallee (Eucalyptus dumosa)? 
 
 1854. E. Stone Parker, ' Aborigines of 
 Australia,' p. 25 : 
 
 " The immense thickets of Eucalyp- 
 tus dumosa, commonly designated the 
 'Malle' scrub." 
 
 1857. W. Howitt, ' Tallangetta,' vol. 
 ii. p. 2 : 
 
 " This mallee scrub, as it is called, 
 consists of a dense wood of a dwarf 
 species of gum-tree, Eucalyptus du- 
 mosa. This tree, not more than a 
 dozen feet in height, stretches its 
 horizontal and rigid branches around 
 it so as to form with its congeners a 
 close, compact mass." 
 
 1865. W. Howitt, 'Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia, vol. i. p. 214 (Oxley's Expedition 
 in 1817) : 
 
 "The country, in dead flats, was over- 
 spread with what is now called mallee 
 scrub, that is, the dwarf spreading 
 eucalyptus, to which Mr. Cunningham 
 gave the specific name of dumosa, a 
 most pestilent scrub to travel through, 
 the openings betwixt the trees being 
 equally infested with the detestable 
 malle-grass." 
 
 1883. ' The Mallee Pastoral Leases Act. 
 1883,' 47 Viet. No. 766, 3 : 
 
 " The lands not alienated from the 
 Crown and situated in the North- 
 Western district of Victoria within the 
 boundaries set forth in the First 
 Schedule hereto, comprising in all 
 some ten millions of acres wholly or 
 partially covered with the mallee plant, 
 and known as the Mallee Country, 
 shall be divided into blocks as herein- 
 after provided."
 
 MAL-MAN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 281 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 13, p. 6, col. 2: 
 " Mallee Selections at Horsham. A 
 
 special Mallee Board, consisting of Mr. 
 
 Hayes, head of the Mallee branch of 
 
 the Lands Department, and Mr. 
 
 Porter." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' April 24, p. 7, col. 5: 
 " In the Mallee country there is 
 
 abundance of work, cutting down 
 
 mallee, picking up dead wood, rabbit 
 
 destruction, etc." 
 
 1893. A. R. Wallace, 'Australasia,' 
 vol. i. p. 46: 
 
 "One of the most common terms 
 used by explorers is 'Mallee' scrub, 
 so called from its being composed of 
 dwarf species of Eucalyptus, called 
 ' Mallee ' by the natives. The species 
 that forms the ' mallee ' scrub of South 
 Australia is the Eucalyptus dumosa, 
 and it is probable that allied species 
 receive the same name in other parts 
 of the country." 
 
 1897. ' The Argus,' March 2, p. 7, col. I : 
 
 " The late Baron von Mueller was 
 firmly convinced that it would pay 
 well in this colony, and especially in 
 the mallee, to manufacture potash." 
 
 Mallee-bird, n. an Australian 
 bird, Leipoa ocellata, Gould. Ab- 
 original name, the Lowan (q.v.) ; 
 see Turkey. 
 
 Mallee-fowl, n. Same as Mallee- 
 bird (q.v.). 
 
 Mallee-hen, n. Same as Mallee- 
 bird (q.v.). 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes Game Act, 
 Third Schedule ' : 
 
 [Close Season.] " Mallee-hen, from 
 ist day of August to the 2oth day of 
 December next following in each year." 
 
 1895. 'The Australasian,' Oct. 5, p. 
 652, col. I : 
 
 "... the economy of the lowan or 
 mallee-hen. ... It does not incubate 
 its eggs after the manner of other 
 birds, but deposits them in a large 
 mound of sand . . . Shy and timid. 
 . . . Inhabits dry arid scrubs. In 
 shape and size resembles a greyish 
 mottled domestic turkey, but is smaller, 
 more compact and stouter in the legs." 
 
 Mallee-scrub, n. the " scrub," 
 
 or thicket, formed by the Mallee 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1893. A. R. Wallace, ' Australasia,' 
 vol. i. p. 22: 
 
 "The flat and, rarely, hilly plains . . . 
 are covered chiefly with thickets and 
 'scrub' of social plants, generally with 
 hard and prickly leaves. This ' scrub,' 
 which is quite a feature of the Aus- 
 tralian interior, is chiefly formed of a 
 bushy Eucalyptus, which grows some- 
 what like our osiers to a height of 
 8 or 10 feet, and often so densely 
 covers the ground as to be quite im- 
 penetrable. This is the ' Mallee scrub ' 
 of the explorers ; while the still more 
 dreaded ' Mulga scrub' consists of 
 species of prickly acacia, which tear 
 the clothes and wound the flesh of the 
 traveller." 
 
 Malurus, n. the scientific name 
 for a genus of Australian warblers. 
 Name reduced from Malacurus, 
 from the Grk. yuoAaKos, soft, and 
 ovpd, a tail. The type-species is 
 Malurus cyaneus of Australia, the 
 Superb Warbler or Blue-Wren. 
 See Superb Warbler, Wren, and 
 Emu- Wren. All the Maluri, of 
 which there are fifteen or sixteen 
 species, are popularly known as 
 Superb Warblers, but are more 
 correctly called Wrens. 
 
 1896. F. G. Aflalo, ' Natural History of 
 Australia,' p. 136 : 
 
 " The Wrens and Warblers chiefly 
 Maluri, with the allied Amy Its and 
 Stipiturus are purely Australian. 
 They are feeble on the wing but swift 
 of foot." 
 
 Mana, n. a Maori word for 
 power, influence, right, authority, 
 prestige. See chapter on Mana y 
 in 'Old New Zealand' (1863), 
 by Judge Maning. 
 
 1843. E. DiefTenbach, ' Travels in New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 371 : 
 
 ''Mana command, authority, 
 power." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, 'Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 279 : 
 
 "The natives feel that with the 
 land their ' mana,' or power, has gone
 
 282 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MAN 
 
 likewise ; few therefore can now be 
 induced to part with land." 
 
 1863. F, E. Maning (Pakeha Maori), 
 ' Old New Zealand,' Intro, p. xiii : 
 
 "The Maoris of my tribe used to 
 come and ask me which had the 
 greatest ' mana ' (i. e. fortune, prestige, 
 power, strength), the Protestant God 
 or the Romanist one." 
 
 1873. ' Appendix to Journal of House 
 of Representatives,' G. I, B. p. 8 : 
 
 " The Government should be asked 
 to recognize his mana over that terri- 
 tory." 
 
 1881. J. L. Campbell, ' Poenamo,' p. 
 166: 
 
 " We should be glad to shelter our- 
 selves under the mana the protection 
 of good old Kanini." 
 
 1892. ' Otago Witness,' Dec 22, p. 7, 
 col. I : 
 
 " A man of great lineage whose per- 
 sonal mana was undisputed." 
 
 1896. 'New Zealand Herald,' Feb. 14 
 [Leading Article] : 
 
 " The word ' mana,' power, or in- 
 fluence, may be said to be classical, 
 as there were learned discussions 
 about its precise meaning in the early 
 dispatches and State papers. It may 
 be said that misunderstanding about 
 what mana meant caused the war at 
 Taranaki." 
 
 Mangaroo, n. aboriginal name 
 for a small flying phalanger with 
 exquisitely fine fur. 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 217: 
 
 " Descending from the branches of 
 an ironbark tree beside him, a beauti- 
 ful little mangaroo floated downwards 
 on out-stretched wings to the foot of 
 a sapling at a little distance away, and 
 nimbly ascending it was followed by 
 his mate." 
 
 Mangi, or Mangeao, n. Maori 
 
 name for a New Zealand tree, 
 
 Litsea calicaris, Benth. and Hook. f. 
 
 1873. ' Catalogue of Vienna Exhibition' : 
 
 " Mangi remarkably tough and 
 
 compact, used for ship-blocks and 
 
 similar purposes." 
 
 Mango, n. Maori name for the 
 Dog-fish (q.v.), a species of shark. 
 
 Mangrove, ;/. The name is 
 applied to trees belonging to 
 different natural orders, common 
 in all tropical regions and chiefly 
 littoral. Species of these, Rhizo- 
 phorea mucronata, Lamb, and Avi- 
 cennia officinalis, Linn., are com- 
 mon in Australia ; the latter is 
 also found in New Zealand. 
 
 Bruguiera rheedii, of the N. O. 
 Rhizophorece, is called in Australia 
 Red Mangrove, and the same 
 vernacular name is applied to 
 Heritiera littoralis, Dryand., N.O. 
 Sterculiaeecc, the Sundri of India 
 and the Looking-glass Tree of 
 English gardeners. 
 
 The name Milky Mangrove is 
 given, in Australia, to Excaecaria 
 agallocha, Linn., N.O. Euphor- 
 biacete, which further goes by the 
 names of River Poisonous Tree and 
 Blind-y our- Eyes names alluding 
 to the poisonous juice of the stem. 
 
 The name River Mangrove is 
 applied to ALgiceras ma/us, Gaertn., 
 N.O. Myrsinetz, which is not en- 
 demic in Australia. 
 
 In Tasmania, Native Mangrove 
 is another name for the Boobiatta 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Mangrove-Myrtle, n. name 
 applied by Leichhardt to the 
 Indian tree Barringtonia acutan- 
 guta, Gaertn. (Stravadium rubrum 
 De C.), N.O. Myrtacece. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 289: 
 
 "As its foliage and the manner of 
 the growth resemble the mangrove, 
 we called it the mangrove-myrtle." 
 
 Manna, n. the dried juice, of 
 sweet taste, obtained from in- 
 cisions in the bark of various 
 trees. The Australian manna is 
 obtained from certain Eucalypts, 
 especially E. viminalis, Labill. 
 It differs chemically from the 
 better known product of the
 
 MAN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 283 
 
 Manna-Ash (Fraxinus ornus]. See 
 Lerp. 
 
 1835. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 99 = 
 
 " Several of the species yield an ex- 
 udation in the spring and summer 
 months, which coagulates and drops 
 from the leaves to the ground in small 
 irregular shaped snow white particles, 
 often as large as an almond [?]. They 
 are sweet and very pleasant to the 
 taste, and are greedily devoured by 
 the birds, ants, and other animals, and 
 used to be carefully picked up and 
 eaten by the aborigines. This is a 
 sort of Manna." 
 
 1878. R. Brough Smyth, 'The Ab- 
 origines of Victoria,' vol. i. p. 211 : 
 
 "Two varieties of a substance called 
 manna are among the natural products 
 . . . one kind . . being secreted by 
 the leaves and slender twigs of the 
 E. viminalis from punctures or injuries 
 done to these parts of the tree. . . . 
 It consists principally of a kind of 
 grape sugar and about 5 % of the sub- 
 stance called mannite. Another variety 
 of manna is the secretion of the pupa 
 of an insect of the Psylla family and 
 obtains the name of lerp among the 
 aborigines. At certain seasons of the 
 year it is very abundant on the leaves 
 of E. dumosa, or mallee scrub . . ." 
 
 1878. W. W. Spicer, 'Handbook of 
 Plants of Tasmania, p. viii : 
 
 "The Hemipters, of which the aphids, 
 or plant-lice, are a familiar example, 
 are furnished with stiff beaks, with 
 which they pierce the bark and leaves 
 of various plants for the purpose of 
 extracting the juices. It is to the 
 punctures of this and some other insects 
 of the same Order, that the sweet white 
 manna is due, which occurs in large 
 quantities during the summer months 
 on many of the gum-trees." 
 
 Manna-Grass. See Grass. 
 
 Manna-Gum. See Manna and 
 Gum. 
 
 Manoao, n. Maori name for a 
 New Zealand tree, Yellow-pine, 
 Dacrydium colensoi, Hook., N. O. 
 Conifera. 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 192 : 
 
 " The wood of the manoao is of a 
 light-brown colour." 
 
 Manucode, n. The word is in 
 English use for the bird-of-para- 
 dise. It is Malay (inanuk-dewata 
 = bird of the gods). The species 
 in Australia is Manucodia gouldu^ 
 Grey. See also Rifle-bird. 
 
 Manuka, n. the Maori name 
 for Tea-tree (q.v.). Properly, the 
 accent is on the first syllable with 
 broad a. Vulgarly, the accent is 
 placed on the second syllable. 
 There are two species in New 
 Zealand, white and red ; the first, 
 a low bush called Scrub-Manuka, 
 L. scoparium, R. and G. Forst., 
 the Tea-tree used by Captain 
 Cook's sailors ; the second, a tree 
 Leptospermum ericoides, A. Richard. 
 
 1840. J. S. Polack, ' Manners and 
 Customs of the New Zealanders,' p. 258 : 
 
 " This wood, called by the southern 
 tribes mameka, is remarkably hard 
 and durable, and throughout the 
 country is an especial favourite with 
 the natives, who make their spears, 
 paddles, fishing rods, etc., of this 
 useful timber." 
 
 1842. W. R. Wade, 'Journey in 
 Northern Island of New Zealand,' p. 75 : 
 
 " The Manuka, or, as it is called in 
 the northern part of the island, 
 Kahikatoa (leptospcrmum scopariuni), 
 is a mysterious plant, known in Van 
 Diemen's Land as the tea tree." 
 
 1843. E. Dieffenbach, ' Travels in New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 28: 
 
 " The manuka supplies the place of 
 the tea-shrub." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 270 : 
 
 " [The house] was protected from the 
 weather by a wooden railing filled in 
 with branches of the manuka. This 
 is a shrub very abundant in some 
 parts. The plant resembles the tea- 
 plant in leaves and flower, and is often 
 used green by the whalers and traders 
 for the same purpose." 
 
 1851. Mrs. Wilson, 'New Zealand,' 
 p. 46: 
 
 " It is generally made of manuka a
 
 284 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MAO 
 
 very hard, dark, close-grained and 
 heavy wood." 
 
 1867. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 121 : 
 
 " The manuka, a sort of scrub, has 
 a pretty blossom like a diminutive 
 Michaelmas daisy, white petals and a 
 brown centre, with a very aromatic 
 odour ; and this little flower is suc- 
 ceeded by a berry with the same strong 
 smell and taste of spice. The shep- 
 herds sometimes make an infusion of 
 these when they are very hard up for 
 tea ; but it must be like drinking a 
 decoction of cloves." 
 
 1871. C. L. Money, ' Knocking about 
 in New Zealand,' p. 70 : 
 
 " Chiefly covered with fern and tea- 
 tree (manuka) scrub." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 149 : 
 " Then to a copse of ma'nuka retreat, 
 
 Where they could safely, secretly 
 commune." 
 
 [Domett has the following note " 'A 
 large shrub or small tree ; leaves used 
 as tea in Tasmania and Australia, 
 where the plant is equally abundant' 
 (Hooker). In the poem it is called 
 indiscriminately manuka, broom, 
 broom-like myrtle, or leptosperm. The 
 settlers often call it ' tea-broom.' "] 
 
 1875. Wood and Lapham, ' Waiting for 
 the Mail,' p. 23 : 
 
 " A tremendous fire of broadleaf and 
 manuka roared in the chimney." 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Austral- 
 asia,' vol. iv. p. 123 : 
 
 " Manuka is a shrub which is ram- 
 pant throughout New Zealand. If it 
 were less common it would be thought 
 more beautiful. In summer it is 
 covered with white blossom : and there 
 are few more charming sights than a 
 plain of flourishing manuka." 
 
 Maomao, ;;. Maori name for a 
 New Zealand sea-fish, Ditrema 
 violacea. 
 
 1886. R. A. Sherrin, ' Fishes of New 
 Zealand,' p. 67 : 
 
 "The delicious little maomao may 
 be caught at the Riverina Rocks in 
 immense quantities." 
 
 Maori, n. (pronounced so as to 
 rhyme with Dowry]. (i) The 
 name used to designate them- 
 
 selves by the Polynesian race 
 occupying -New Zealand when it 
 was discovered by the white man, 
 and which still survives. They 
 are not aboriginal as is commonly 
 supposed, but migrated into New 
 Zealand about 500 years ago from 
 Hawaii, the tradition still sur- 
 viving of the two great canoes 
 (Arawa and Tainui] in which the 
 pioneers arrived. They are com- 
 monly spoken of as the Natives 
 of New Zealand. 
 
 (2) The language of the Maori 
 race. 
 
 (3) a dj' Applied to anything 
 pertaining to the Maoris or their 
 language. See Pakeha. 
 
 There is a discussion on the 
 word in the ' Journal of Polyne- 
 sian Society,' vol. i. no. 3, vol. ii. 
 no. i, and vol. iii. no. i. Bishop 
 Williams (4th ed.) says that the 
 word means, ''of the normal or 
 usual kind." The Pakehas were 
 not men to whom the natives were 
 accustomed. So Maori was used 
 as opposed to the Europeans, the 
 white-skins. Kuri Maori was a 
 name used for a dog after the 
 arrival of other quadrupeds called 
 also kuri. Wai maori was fresh- 
 water, ordinary as opposed to 
 sea-water. Another explanation 
 is that the word meant "indi- 
 genous," and that there are 
 kindred words with that meaning 
 in other Polynesian languages. 
 First, "indigenous," or "of the 
 native race," and then with a 
 secondary meaning, "ours." 
 (See ' Tregear's Maori Com- 
 parative Dictionary,' s.v.) 
 
 The form of the plural varies. 
 The form Maoris is considered the 
 more correct, but the form Maories 
 is frequently used by good writers. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 194 : 
 
 " The Maori language is essentially
 
 MAO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 285 
 
 a poor one, and possesses in particular 
 but few words which express abstract 
 ideas." 
 
 1859. A. S. Thomson, ' Story of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. c. iii. p. 51 : 
 
 " No light is thrown on the origin of 
 the New Zealanders from the name 
 Maori which they call themselves. 
 This word, rendered by linguists 
 ' native,' is used in contradistinction to 
 pakeha, or stranger." 
 
 1864. Crosbie Ward, ' Canterbury 
 Rhymes,' ' The Runaways' (2nd edition), p. 
 79: 
 " One morn they fought, the fight was 
 
 hot, 
 Although the day was show'ry ; 
 
 And many a gallant soldier then 
 Was bid Memento Maori." 
 
 1891. Jessie Mackay, ' The Sitter on 
 the Rail, and other Poems,' p. 6 1 : 
 " Like the night, the fated Maori 
 
 Fights the coming day ; 
 Fights and falls as doth the kauri 
 Hewn by axe away." 
 
 (4) Name given in New South 
 Wales to the fish, Costs lineolatus, 
 one of the Labridce, or Wrasses. 
 
 Maori-Cabbage, n. the wild 
 cabbage of New Zealand, Bras- 
 sica spp., JV.O. Cruet/era, said to 
 be descended from the cabbages 
 planted by Captain Cook. 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 206. 
 
 " Every recollection of Cook is 
 interesting .... But the chief record 
 of his having been on the island is the 
 cabbage and turnip which he sowed in 
 various places : these have spread and 
 become quite naturalized, growing 
 everywhere in the greatest abundance, 
 and affording an inexhaustible supply 
 of excellent vegetables." 
 
 1863. S. Butler, ' First Year in Canter- 
 bury Settlement,' p. 131 : 
 
 " The only plant good to eat is 
 Maori cabbage, and that is swede 
 turnip gone wild, from seed left by 
 Captain Cook." 
 
 1880. W. Colenso, ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xiii. art. i. 
 p. 31 ['On the Vegetable Food of the 
 Ancient New Zealanders'] : 
 
 " The leaves of several smaller plants 
 
 were also used as vegetables ; but the 
 use of these in modern times, or during 
 the last forty or fifty years, was com- 
 monly superseded by that of the ex- 
 tremely useful and favourite plant 
 the Maori cabbage, Brassica oleracea, 
 introduced by Cook (nani of the 
 Maoris at the north, and rearea at the 
 south), of which they carefully sowed 
 the seeds." 
 
 Maori-chief, n. name given to a 
 New Zealand Flathead-fish, Noto- 
 thenia maoriensis, or coriiceps. The 
 name arises from marks on the 
 fish like tattooing. It is a very 
 dark, almost black fish. 
 
 1877. P. Thomson, ' Transactions of the 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. x. art. xliv. 
 p. 330 : 
 
 " Some odd fishes now and then turn 
 up in the market, such as the Maori- 
 chief, cat-fish, etc." 
 
 1878. Ibid. vol. xi. art. Hi. p. 381 : 
 "That very dark-skinned fish, the 
 
 Maori-chief, Notothenia Maoriensis of 
 Dr. Haast, is not uncommon, but is 
 rarely seen more than one at a time." 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 407, col. 5 : 
 
 " Resemblances are strange things. 
 At first it would seem improbable that 
 a fish could be like a man, but in 
 Dunedin a fish was shown to me called 
 Maori Chief, and with the exercise of 
 a little imagination it was not difficult 
 to perceive the likeness. Nay, some 
 years ago, at a fishmonger's in Mel- 
 bourne, a fish used to be labelled with 
 the name of a prominent Victorian 
 politician now no more. There is 
 reason, however, to believe that art 
 was called in to complete the likeness." 
 
 Maori-head, ;/. a swamp tus- 
 sock, so called from a fancied 
 resemblance to the head of a 
 Maori. (Compare Black-boy.} It 
 is not a grass, but a sedge 
 (car ex). 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open,' 
 p. 169 : 
 
 "A boggy creek that oozed slug- 
 gishly through rich black soil, amongst 
 tall raupo, maori-heads, and huge flax- 
 bushes."
 
 286 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MAO-MAP 
 
 1892. W. McHutcheson, ' Camp Life in 
 Fiordland,' p. 34 : 
 
 " Amid the ooze and slime rose a 
 rank growth of ' Maori heads.' " 
 
 Maori-hen, n. Same as Weka 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Maoriland, n. a modern name 
 for New Zealand. It is hardly 
 earlier than 1884. It the word, or 
 anything like it, such as Maoria, 
 was used earlier, it meant "the 
 Maori parts of New Zealand." It 
 is now used for the whole. 
 
 1873. J. H. St. John [Title]: 
 
 " Pakeha Rambles through Maori 
 Lands." 
 
 1874. J. C. Johnstone [Title] : 
 
 " Maoria : a sketch of the Manners 
 and Customs of the Aboriginal In- 
 habitants of New Zealand." 
 1884. Kerry Nicholls [Title] : 
 " The King Country, or Explor- 
 ations in New Zealand. A Narrative of 
 600 Miles of Travel through Maori- 
 land." 
 
 1884. [Title] : 
 
 " Maoriland : an Illustrated Hand- 
 book to New Zealand." 
 
 1886. Annie R. Butler [Title] : 
 " Glimpses of Maori Land." 
 1890. T. Bracken [Title] : 
 " Musings in Maori Land." 
 1896. 'The Argus,' July 22, p. 4, col. 8: 
 "Always something new from Maori- 
 land ! Our New Zealand friends are 
 kindly obliging us with vivid illustra- 
 tions of how far demagogues in office 
 will actually go." 
 
 Maorilander, n. modern name 
 for a white man born in New 
 Zealand. 
 
 1896. 'Melbourne Punch,' April 9, p. 
 233, col. 2: 
 
 " Norman is a pushing young Maori- 
 lander who apparently has the Britisher 
 by the right ear." 
 
 Maori, White, New Zealand 
 miners' name for a stone. See 
 quotation. 
 
 1883. ' A Citizen,' ' Illustrated Guide to 
 Dunedin,' p. 169: 
 
 " Tungstate of lime occurs plenti- 
 fully in the Wakatipu district, where 
 
 from its weight and colour it is called 
 White Maori by the miners." 
 
 Mapau, n, a Maori name for 
 several New Zealand trees ; called 
 also Mapou, and frequently cor- 
 rupted by settlers into Maple, by 
 the law of Hobson-Jobson. The 
 name is applied to the following 
 
 The Mapau 
 
 My r sine urvillei, De C., N.O. 
 
 Myrsinea ; sometimes called 
 
 Red Mapau. 
 Black M. 
 
 Pittosporum tenuifolium, Banks 
 
 and Sol., N.O. Pittosporea ; 
 
 Maori name, Tawhiri. 
 White M. 
 
 Carpodetus serratus, Forst., N. O. 
 
 Saxifragece; 
 Pittosporum eugenoides, A. Cunn.; 
 
 Maori name, Tarata (q.v.) ; 
 
 called also the Hedge-laurel 
 
 (q.v.), Lemon-wood, and New 
 
 Zealand Oak. See Oak. 
 
 The first of these trees (Myrsine 
 urvillei} is, according to Colenso, 
 the only tree to which the Maoris 
 themselves give the name Mapau. 
 The others are only so called by 
 the settlers. 
 
 1868. ' Transactions of the New Zealand 
 Institute,' vol. i., 'Essay on Botany of 
 Otago.'p. 37: 
 
 "White Mapau, or Piripiri-whata 
 (Carpodetus serratus), an ornamental 
 shrub-tree, with mottled-green leaves, 
 and large cymose panicles of white 
 flowers .... Red Mapau (Myrsine 
 Urvillei), a small tree common at 
 Dunedin. Wood dark red, very 
 astringent, used as fence stuff." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 132 : 
 
 "Tawiri, white-mapau, white-birch 
 (of Auckland). A small tree, ten to 
 thirty feet high ; trunk unusually 
 slender ; branches spreading in a fan- 
 shaped manner, which makes it of 
 very ornamental appearance ; flower 
 white, profusely produced. The wood 
 is soft and tough."
 
 MAP-MAR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 75 : 
 
 " By the settlers it is frequently 
 called 'black mapou' on account of 
 the colour of the bark. . . . With still 
 less excuse it is sometimes called 
 'black maple,' an obvious corruption 
 of the preceding." 
 
 Maple, n. In New Zealand, a 
 common settlers' corruption for 
 any tree called Mapau (q.v.) ; in 
 Australia, applied to Villaresia 
 moorei, F. v. M., N.O. Olacinea, 
 called also the Scrub Silky Oak. 
 See Oak. 
 
 Maray, n. New South Wales 
 name for the fish Clupea sagax, 
 Jenyns, family Clupeidoz or Her- 
 rings, almost identical with the 
 English pilchard. The word 
 Maray is thought to be an ab- 
 original name. Bloaters are 
 made of this fish at Pieton in 
 New Zealand, according to the 
 Report of the Royal Commission 
 on Fisheries of New South Wales, 
 1880. But Agonostoma forsteri, a 
 Sea-Mullet, is also when dried 
 called the Pieton Herring (q.v). 
 See Herring and Aua. 
 
 Marble-fish, n. name given to 
 the Tupongfa.v.) in Geelong. 
 
 Marble-wood, n. name applied 
 to a whitish-coloured mottled 
 timber, Olea paniculata, R. Br., 
 N.O. Jasminece ; called also Native 
 Olive and Ironwood. 
 
 Mark, a good, Australian slang. 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 233 : 
 
 " I wondered often what was the 
 meaning of this, amongst many other 
 peculiar colonial phrases, ' Is the man 
 a good mark ? ' I heard it casually 
 from the lips of apparently respectable 
 settlers, as they rode on the highway, 
 ' Such and such a one is a good mark," 
 
 simply a person who pays his men 
 their wages, \vithout delays or draw- 
 backs ; a man to whom you may sell 
 anything safely ; for there are in the 
 colony people \vho are regularly sum- 
 
 moned before the magistrates by every 
 servant they employ for wages. They 
 seem to like to do everything publicly, 
 legally, and so become notoriously not 
 ' good marks.' " 
 
 [So also "bad mark," in the 
 opposite sense.] 
 
 Mariner, n. name given in Tas- 
 mania to a marine univalve mol- 
 lusc, either Elenchus badius, or E. 
 bellulus, Wood. 
 
 The Mariner \s called by the 
 Tasmanian Fishery Commis- 
 sioners the " Pearly Necklace 
 Shell " ; when deprived of its 
 epidermis by acid or other means, 
 it has a blue or green pearly 
 lustre. 
 
 The shells are made into neck- 
 laces, of which the aboriginal 
 name is given as Merrina, and the 
 name of the shell is a corruption 
 of this word, by the law of 
 Hobson-Jobson. Compare War- 
 rener. 
 
 1878. ' Catalogue of the Objects of 
 Ethnotypical Art in the National Gallery ' 
 (Melbourne), p. 52 : 
 
 " Necklace, consisting of 565 shells 
 (Elenchus Bellulus) strung on thin, 
 well-made twine. The native name of 
 a cluster of these shells was, according 
 to one writer, Merrina" 
 
 Marsh, n. a Tasmanian name 
 for a meadow. See quotation. 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, ' My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 163 : 
 
 " Perhaps my use of the common 
 colonial term ' marsh ' may be mis- 
 understood at home, as I remember 
 that I myself associated it at first with 
 the idea of a swamp ; but a 'marsh' 
 here is what would in England be 
 called a meadow, with this difference, 
 that in our marshes, until partially 
 drained, a growth of tea-trees (Lepto 
 spermuHt) and rushes in some measure 
 encumbers them ; but, after a short 
 time, these die off, and are trampled 
 down, and a thick sward of verdant 
 grass covers the whole extent : such is 
 our 'marsh.'"
 
 288 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MAR 
 
 Marsupial, adj. See the Noun. 
 
 Marsupial, n. an animal in 
 which the female has an abdom- 
 inal pouch in which the young, 
 born in a very immature state, 
 .are carried. (Lat. Marsupium = 
 a pouch.) At the present day 
 Marsupials are only found in 
 America and the Australian re- 
 gion, the greater number being 
 confined to the latter. See quo- 
 tation 1894, Lydekker. 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, ' Australia Felix,' 
 p. 129 : 
 
 "The marsupial type exhibits the 
 economy of nature under novel and 
 very interesting arrangements. . . . 
 Australia is the great head-quarters of 
 the marsupial tribe." 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, 'Gatherings of a Natur- 
 alist,' p. 5 : 
 
 " I believe it was Charles Lamb 
 who said, the peculiarity of the small 
 fore-feet of the Kangaroo seemed to be 
 for picking pockets ; but he forgot to 
 mention the singularity characterizing 
 the animal kingdom of Australia, that 
 they have pockets to be picked, being 
 mostly marsupial. We have often 
 amused ourselves by throwing sugar 
 or bread into the pouch of the Kan- 
 garoo, and seen with what delight the 
 animal has picked its own pocket, and 
 devoured the contents, searching its 
 bag, like a Highlander his sporran, for 
 more." [See Kangaroo, quotation 
 
 I833-] 
 
 1885. II. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 106 : 
 
 "An Act known as the Marsupial 
 Act was accordingly passed to encour- 
 age their destruction, a reward of so 
 much a scalp being offered by the 
 Government. . . . Some of the squat- 
 ters have gone to a vast expense in 
 fencing-in their runs with marsupial 
 fencing, but it never pays." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 29 : 
 
 " One of the sheep-owners told me 
 that in the course of eighteen months 
 he had killed 64,000 of these animals 
 (marsupial*), especially wallabies (Ma- 
 cropus dorsalis) and kangaroo-rats 
 (Lagorchestcs conspitillatus), and also 
 
 many thousands of the larger kangaroo 
 (Macropus gigantcus}." 
 
 1893. ' Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 
 5, p. 9, col. I : 
 
 " In South Australia the Legislature 
 has had to appoint a close season for 
 kangaroos, else would extinction of the 
 larger marsupials be at hand. We 
 should have been forced to such action 
 also, if the American market for kan- 
 garoo-hides had continued as brisk as 
 formerly." 
 
 1894. R. Lydekker, ' Marsupialia,' p. I : 
 " The great island-continent of Aus- 
 tralia, together with the South-eastern 
 Austro-Malayan islands, is especially 
 characterized by being the home of 
 the great majority of that group of 
 lowly mammals commonly designated 
 marsupials, or pouched-mammals. In- 
 deed, with the exception of the still 
 more remarkable monotremes [q.v.], 
 or egg-laying mammals, nearly the 
 whole of the mammalian fauna of Aus- 
 tralia consists of these marsupials, the 
 only other indigenous mammals being 
 certain rodents and bats, together with 
 the native dog, or dingo, which may 
 or may not have been introduced by 
 man." 
 
 1896. F. G. Aflalo, ' Natural History of 
 Australia,' p. 30 : 
 
 "The presence of a predominating 
 marsupial order in Australia has, be- 
 sides practically establishing the long 
 isolation of that continent from the 
 rest of the globe, also given rise to a 
 number of ingenious theories profess- 
 ing to account for its survival in this 
 last stronghold." 
 
 Marsupial Mole, n. the only spe- 
 cies of the genus Notoryctes (q.v.), 
 N. typhlops [from the Greek VO'TOS, 
 ' south ' (literally ' south wind '), 
 and pvyx os > a ' snout '] ; first de- 
 scribed by Dr. Stirling of Adelaide 
 (in the ' Transactions of the Royal 
 Society of South Australia,' 1891, 
 p. 154). Aboriginal name, Ur- 
 quainata. It burrows with such 
 extraordinary rapidity in the 
 desert-sands of Central Australia, 
 to which it is confined, that, 
 according to Mr. Lydekker, it
 
 MAR-MEG] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 289 
 
 may be said to swim in the sand 
 as a porpoise does in the water. 
 
 Marsupial "Wolf, n. See Thy- 
 larine and Tasmanian Tiger. 
 
 Martin, n. a bird common in 
 England. The species in Austra- 
 lia are Tree, Petrochelidon nigri- 
 cans, Vieill. ; Fairy, Lagenoplastes 
 fine!, Gould ; called also Bottle- 
 Swallow (q.v.). 
 
 1896. F. G. Aflalo, ' Natural History of 
 Australia,' p. 128 : 
 
 ". . . the elegant little Fairy Martins 
 {Lagenoplastes artel), which construct 
 a remarkable mud nest in shape not 
 unlike a retort." 
 
 Mary, n. used in Queensland 
 of the aborigines, as equivalent to 
 girl or woman. " A black Mary." 
 Compare "Benjamin" used for 
 husband. 
 
 Matai, often abridged to Mai, 
 n. Maori name for a New Zealand 
 tree, Podocarpus spicata, R. Br., 
 N.O. Conifer<z. Black-pine of 
 Otago. 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 124 : 
 
 " Mr. Buchanan has described a log 
 of matai that he found had been ex- 
 posed for at least 200 years in a dense 
 damp bush in North-East Valley, 
 Dunedin, as proved by its being en- 
 folded by the roots of three large trees 
 of Griselinia littoralis." 
 
 Matagory, n. a prickly shrub 
 of New Zealand, Discaria toumatou, 
 Raoul. ; also called Wild Irishman 
 (q.v.). The Maori name is Tuma- 
 takuru, of which Matagory, with 
 various spellings, is a corruption, 
 much used by rabbiters and 
 swagmen. The termination gory 
 evidently arises by the law of 
 Hobson-Jobson from the fact that 
 the spikes draw blood. 
 
 1859. J. T. Thomson, in ' Otago 
 Gazette,' Sept. 22, p. 264: 
 
 " Much over-run with the scrub 
 called ' tomata-guru. 3 ); 
 
 Alex. Garvie, ibid. p. 280 : 
 
 " Much of it is encumbered with 
 matakura scrub." 
 
 1892. W. McHutcheson, ' Camp Life in 
 Fiordland,' p. 8: 
 
 "Trudging moodily along in Indian 
 file through the matagouri scrub and 
 tussock." 
 
 1896. ' Otago Witness,' 7th May, p. 48: 
 
 " The tea generally tastes of birch 
 or Matagouri." 
 
 Match-box Bean, n. another 
 name for the ripe hard seed of the 
 Queensland Bean, Entada scandens, 
 Benth., N.O. Legunrinosa. A tall 
 climbing plant. The seeds are 
 used for match-boxes. See under 
 Bean. 
 
 Matipo, ;/. another Maori name 
 for the New Zealand trees called 
 Mapau (q.v.). 
 
 1866. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand' (ed. 1886), p. 94: 
 
 " The varieties of matapo, a beautiful 
 shrub, each leaf a study, with its delicate 
 tracery of black veins on a yellow- 
 green ground." 
 
 1879. J. B. Armstrong, ' Transactions of 
 the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxi. 
 art. xlix. p. 329: 
 
 " The tipau, or matipo (pittosporum 
 tenuifolium), makes the best orna- 
 mental hedge I know of." 
 
 1879. ' Tourist,' ' New Zealand Country 
 Journal,' vol. iii. p. 93: 
 
 "An undergrowth of beautiful 
 shrubs, conspicuous amongst these 
 were the Pittosporum or Matipo, 
 which are, however, local in their 
 distribution, unlike the veronicas, 
 which abound everywhere." 
 
 Meadow Rice-grass, n. See 
 Grass. 
 
 Mealy-back, n. a local name 
 for the Locust (q.v.). 
 
 Medicine-tree, i.q. Horse-radish 
 Tree (q.v.). 
 
 Megapode, n. scientific name 
 for a genus of Australian birds 
 with large feet the Mound-birds 
 (q.v.). From Greek /u-eyas, large, 
 and TToik, TroSd?, a foot. They are 
 - also called Scrub-fowls.
 
 290 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MEL-MER 
 
 Melitose, n. the name given 
 by Berthelot to the sugar obtained 
 from the manna of Eucalyptus 
 mannifera. Chemically identical 
 with the raffinose extracted from 
 molasses and the gossypose ex- 
 tracted from cotton-seeds. 
 
 1894. 'The Australasian,' April 28, p. 
 732, col. I : 
 
 [Statement as to origin of melitose 
 by the Baron von Mueller.] " Sir 
 Frederick M'Coy has traced the pro- 
 duction of mellitose also to a smaller 
 cicade." 
 
 Melon, n. Besides its botani- 
 cal use, the word is applied in 
 Australia to a small kangaroo, 
 the Paddy-melon (q.v.). 
 
 Melon-hole, n. a kind of honey- 
 combing of the surface in the in- 
 terior plains, dangerous to horse- 
 men, ascribed to the work of the 
 Paddy -melon. See preceding word, 
 and compare the English Rabbit- 
 hole. The name is often given 
 to any similar series of holes, such 
 as are sometimes produced by the 
 growing of certain plants. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 9 : 
 
 " The soil of the Bricklow scrub is a 
 stiff clay, washed out by the rains into 
 shallow holes, well known by the 
 squatters under the name of melon- 
 holes." 
 
 Ibid. p. 77 : 
 
 "A stiff, wiry, leafles's, polyganace- 
 ous plant grows in the shallow de- 
 pressions of the surface of the ground, 
 which are significantly termed by the 
 squatters ' Melon-holes,' and abound 
 in the open Box-tree flats." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' p. 220 : 
 
 "The plain is full of deep melon- 
 holes, and the ground is rotten and 
 undermined with rats." 
 
 Menindie Clover, n. See 
 
 Clover. 
 
 Menura, n. the scientific name 
 of the genus of the Lyre-bird (c\.\.), 
 
 so called from the crescent-shaped 
 form of the spots on the tail ; the 
 tail itself is shaped like a lyre. 
 (Grk. nty, moon, crescent, and 
 oupa, tail.) The name was given 
 by General Davies in 1800. 
 
 1800. T. Davies, 'Description of 
 Menura superba,' in ' Transactions of the 
 Linnaean Society' (1802), vol. vi. p. 208: 
 
 " The general colour of the under 
 sides of these two [tail] feathers is of a 
 pearly hue, elegantly marked on the 
 inner web with bright rufous-coloured 
 crescent-shaped spots, which, from 
 the extraordinary construction of the 
 parts, appear wonderfully transparent." 
 
 Mere, or Meri, n. (pronounced 
 merry), a Maori war-club ; a casse- 
 tete, or a war-axe, from a foot to 
 eighteen inches in length, and 
 made of any suitable hard ma- 
 terial stone, hard wood, whale- 
 bone. To many people out of 
 New Zealand the word is only 
 known as the name of a little 
 trinket of greenstone (q.v.) made 
 in imitation of the New. Zealand 
 weapon in miniature, mounted in 
 gold or silver, and used as a 
 brooch, locket, ear-ring, or other 
 article of jewelry. 
 
 1830. J. D. Lang, ' Poems ' (edition 
 1873), p. 116: 
 
 " Beneath his shaggy flaxen mat 
 The dreadful marree hangs con- 
 cealed." 
 
 1851. Mrs. Wilson, 'New Zealand/ p. 
 48: 
 
 " The old man has broken my head 
 with his meri." 
 
 1859. A. S. Thomson, 'Story of New 
 Zealand,' p. 140 : 
 
 " Of these the greenstone meri was 
 the most esteemed. It weighs six 
 pounds, is thirteen inches long, and in 
 shape resembles a soda-water bottle 
 flattened. In its handle is a hole for 
 a loop of flax, which is twisted round 
 the wrist. Meris are carried occasion- 
 ally in the girdle, like Malay knives. 
 In conflicts the left hand grasped the 
 enemy's hair, and one blow from the 
 meri on the head produced death."
 
 MER-MIA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 291 
 
 1887. J. Bonwick, ' Romance of Wool 
 Trade,' p. 229 : 
 
 " A land of musket and meri-armed 
 warriors, unprovided with a meat sup- 
 ply, even of kangaroo." 
 
 1889. Jessie Mackay, ' The Spirit of the 
 Rangatira,' p. 16: 
 
 " He brandished his greenstone mere 
 
 high, 
 And shouted a Maori battle-cry." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' 
 c. iii. p. 33 : 
 
 ' No, no, my peg ; I thrust it in 
 with this meri,' yells Maori Jack, bran- 
 dishing his war-club." 
 
 Merinoes, Pure, n. a term often 
 used, especially in New South 
 Wales, for the 'very first families,' 
 as the pure merino is the most 
 valuable sheep. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 1 16 : 
 
 " Next we have the legitimates . . . 
 such as have legal reasons for visiting 
 this colony ; and the illegitimates, or 
 such as are free from that stigma. 
 The pure merinos are a variety of the 
 latter species, who pride themselves 
 on being of the purest blood in the 
 colony." 
 
 Mersey Jolly-tail, n. See folly- 
 tail. 
 
 Message-stick, n. The aborigi- 
 nals sometimes carve little blocks 
 of wood with various marks to 
 convey messages. These are 
 called by the whites, message-sticks. 
 
 Messmate, n. name given to 
 one of the Gum-trees, Eucalyptus 
 amygdalina, Labill., and often to 
 other species of Eucalypts, espe- 
 cially E. obliqua, L'Herit. For 
 origin of this curious name, see 
 quotation, 1889. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 429 : 
 
 " It is also known by the name of 
 ' Messmate,' because it is allied to, 
 or associated with, Stringy-bark. 
 This is probably the tallest tree on 
 the globe, individuals having been 
 measured up to 400 ft., 410 ft., and in 
 
 one case 420 ft., with the length of the 
 stem up to the first branch 295 ft. 
 The height of a tree at Mt. Baw Baw 
 (Victoria) is quoted at 471 ft." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 7, p. 13,00!. 4 : 
 " Away to the north-east a wooded 
 range of mountains rolls along the sky- 
 line, ragged rents showing here and 
 there where the dead messmates and 
 white gums rise like gaunt skeletons 
 from the dusky brown-green mass into 
 which distance tones the bracken and 
 the underwood." 
 
 Mia-mia, n. an aboriginal hut. 
 The word is aboriginal, and has 
 been spelt variously. Mia-mia is 
 the most approved spelling, mi-mi 
 the most approved pronunciation. 
 See Humpy. 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, 'Australia,' p. 103: 
 
 " There she stood in a perfect state 
 of nudity, a little way from the road, 
 by her miam, smiling, or rather 
 grimacing." 
 
 1852. Letter from Mrs. Perry, given in 
 Canon Goodman's ' Church in Victoria 
 during Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' p. 167 : 
 
 "We came upon the largest (de- 
 serted) native encampment we had 
 ever seen. One of the mia-mias (you 
 know what that is by this time the a 
 is not sounded) was as large as an 
 ordinary sized circular summer-house, 
 and actually had rude seats all round, 
 which is quite unusual. It had no 
 roof; they never have, being mere 
 break-weathers, not so high as a man's 
 shoulder." 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, 'Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 366 : 
 
 " They constructed a mimi, or bower 
 of boughs on the other, leaving port- 
 holes amongst the boughs towards the 
 road." 
 
 1858. T. McCombie, ' History of Vic- 
 toria,' c. vii. p. 96 : 
 
 " Their thoughts wandered to their 
 hunting-grounds and mia-mias on the 
 Murray." 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 15 : 
 
 [Notice varied spelling in the same 
 author.] " Many of the diggers re- 
 sided under branches of trees made 
 into small ' miams ' or ' wigwams.' "
 
 292 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MIC-MIL 
 
 1871. C. L. Money, ' Knocking About 
 in New Zealand,' p. 42 : 
 
 "The next day I began building a 
 little 'mi-mi,' to serve as a resting- 
 place for the night in going back at 
 any time for supplies." 
 
 1883. E. M. Curr, 'Recollections of 
 Squatting in Victoria' (1841 1851), p. 148: 
 
 " Of the mia-mias, some were stand- 
 ing ; others had, wholly or in part, 
 been thrown down by their late occu- 
 pants." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 P- 32: 
 
 " A few branches thrown up against 
 the prevailing wind, in rude imitation 
 of the native mia-mia." 
 
 1889. Rev. J. H. Zillmann, ' Australian 
 Life,' p. ill: 
 
 "[The blacks] would compel [the 
 missionaries] to carry their burdens 
 while travelling, or build their mia- 
 mias when halting to camp for the 
 night ; in fact, all sorts of menial 
 offices had to be discharged by the 
 missionaries for these noble black men 
 while away on the wilds ! " [Footnote]: 
 " Small huts, made of bark and leafy 
 boughs, built so as to protect them 
 against the side from which the wind 
 blew." 
 
 Micky, n. young wild bull. 
 " Said to have originated in 
 Gippsland, Victoria. Probably 
 from the association of bulls with 
 Mickeys, or Irishmen." (Barere 
 and Leland.) 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xviii. p. 217 : 
 
 "The wary and still more danger- 
 ously sudden ' Micky,' a two-year-old 
 bull." 
 
 Micky 2 , n. In New Zealand, a 
 corruption of Mingi (q.v.). 
 
 Midw^inter, n. The seasons 
 being reversed in Australia, 
 Christmas occurs in the middle 
 of summer. The English word 
 Midsummer has thus dropped out 
 of use, and "Christmas," or 
 Christmas-time, is its Australian 
 substitute, whilst Midwinter is 
 the word used to denote the Aus- 
 
 tralian winter-time of late June 
 and early July. See Christmas. 
 
 Mignonette, Native, n. a Tas- 
 manian flower, Stackhousia linaria- 
 folia, Cunn., N.O. Stackhousece. 
 
 Mihanere, n. a convert to 
 Christianity ; a Maori variant of 
 the English word Missionary. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. ii. pp. II, 12 : 
 
 "The mihanere natives, as a body, 
 were distinctly inferior in point of 
 moral character to the natives, who 
 remained with their ancient customs 
 unchanged. ... A very common 
 answer from a converted native, accused 
 of theft, was, ' How can that be ? I am a 
 mihanere.' . . . They were all mi- 
 hanere, or converts." 
 
 Milk-bush, n. a tall Queens- 
 land shrub, Wrightia saligna, F. 
 v. M., N.O. Apocynea ; it is said 
 to be most valuable as a fodder- 
 bush. 
 
 Milk-fish, n. The name, in Aus- 
 tralia, is given to a marine animal 
 belonging to the class Holothu- 
 rioidea. The Holothurians are 
 called Sea-cucumbers, or Sea-slugs. 
 The Trepang, or beche-de-mer, eaten 
 by the Chinese, belongs to them. 
 Called also Tit-fish (q.v.). 
 
 1880. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Pro- 
 ceedings of the Linnaean Society of New 
 South Wales,' vol. v. pt. ii. p. 128 : 
 
 " Another species [of Trepang\ is 
 the ' milk fish ' or ' cotton fish,' so 
 called from its power of emitting a 
 white viscid fluid from its skin, which 
 clings to an object like shreds of 
 cotton." 
 
 Milk-plant, n. i.q. Caustic 
 Creeper (q.v.). 
 
 Milk-tree, n. a New Zealand 
 
 tree, Epicarpurus microphyllus, 
 
 Raoul. 
 
 1873. ' Catalogue of Vienna Exhibition ': 
 "Milk-tree ... a tall slender tree 
 
 exuding a milky sap : wood white and 
 
 very brittle." 
 
 Milk-wood, n. a Northern
 
 MIL-MIM] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 293 
 
 Territory name for Melaleuca leuca- 
 dendron, Linn.; called also Paper- 
 bark-tree (q.v.). 
 
 Miller, n. a local name for the 
 Cicada. See Locust (quotation, 
 1896). 
 
 Millet, n. The name is given 
 to several Australian grasses. 
 The Koda Millet of India, Paspa- 
 lum scrobiculatum, Linn., is called 
 in Australia Ditch Millet ; Seaside 
 Millet is the name given to Paspa- 
 lum distichum, Linn., both of the 
 N.O. Graminece. But the principal 
 species is called Australian Millet, 
 Native Millet, and Umbrella Grass ; 
 it is Panicum decomposition > R. Br. , 
 N.O. Graminece ; it is not endemic 
 in Australia. 
 
 1896. ' The Australasian,' March 14, p. 
 488, col. 5 : 
 
 " One of the very best of the grasses 
 found in the hot regions of Central 
 Australia is the Australian millet, 
 Panicum decompositum. It is ex- 
 tremely hardy and stands the hot dry 
 summers of the. north very well ; it is 
 nutritious, and cattle and sheep are 
 fond of it. It seeds freely, was used 
 by the aborigines for making a sort of 
 cake, and was the only grain stored by 
 them. This grass thrives in poor soil, 
 and starts into rapid growth with the 
 first autumn rains." 
 
 Mimosa, n. a scientific name 
 applied to upwards of two hundred 
 trees of various genera in the Old 
 World. The genus Mimosa, under 
 which the Australian trees called 
 Wattles were originally classed, 
 formerly included the Acacias. 
 These now constitute a separate 
 genus. Acacia is the scientific 
 name for the Wattle ; though even 
 now an old colonist will call the 
 Wattles "Mimosa." 
 
 1793. J. E. Smith, ' Specimen of Botany 
 of New Holland,' p. 52 : 
 
 '* This shrub is now not uncommon 
 in our greenhouses, having been raised 
 in plenty from seeds brought from Port 
 
 Jackson. It generally bears its fra- 
 grant flowers late in the autumn, and 
 might then at first sight be sooner 
 taken for a Myrtus than a Mimosa? 
 
 1802. Jas. Flemming, 'Journal of Ex- 
 plorations of Charles Grimes, 'in 'Historical 
 Records of Port Phillip' (ed. 1879, J. J. 
 
 C 1 1_ *1 1 i \ * * * J J 
 
 bhilhnglaw), p. 25 : 
 
 " Timber ; gum, Banksia, oak, and 
 mimosa of sorts, but not large except 
 the gum." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 202 : 
 
 " Gum-arabic, which exudes from 
 the mimosa shrubs." 
 
 1844. ' Port Phillip Patriot,' July 18, 
 p. 4, col. 2 : 
 
 " ' Cashmere ' shawls do not grow on 
 the mimosa trees." 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 38 : 
 
 "The mimosa is a very graceful 
 tree ; the foliage is of a light green 
 colour. . . . The yellow flowers with 
 which the mimosa is decked throw out 
 a perfume sweeter than the laburnum ; 
 and the gum ... is said not to be 
 dissimilar to gum-arabic." 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, 'Australia,' p. 175 : 
 
 " But, Yarra, thou art lovelier now, 
 With clouds of bloom on every 
 
 bough ; 
 
 A gladsome sight it is to see, 
 In blossom thy mimosa tree. 
 Like golden-moonlight doth it seem, 
 The moonlight of a heavenly dream ; 
 A sunset lustre, chaste and cold, 
 A pearly splendour blent with gold." 
 " To the River Yarra." 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, ' Australia Felix,' 
 P- 255 : 
 
 " The other exports of Australia 
 Felix consist chiefly of tallow, cured 
 beef and mutton, wheat, mimosa-bark, 
 and gumwood." 
 
 1849. J. P. Townsend, ' Rambles in 
 New South Wales,' p. 34 : 
 
 "The mimosa although it sadly 
 chokes the country when in flower, 
 fills the air with fragrance. Its bark is 
 much used for tanning purposes ; and 
 the gum that exudes from the stem is 
 of some value as an export, and is used 
 by the blacks as food."
 
 294 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MIN 
 
 1870. F. S. Wilson, ' Australian Songs,' 
 p. 29: 
 
 "I have sat, and watched the land- 
 scape, latticed by the golden curls, 
 Showering, like mimosa-blooms, in 
 scented streams about my breast." 
 
 Minah, n. (also Myna, Mina, 
 and Minah-bird, and the charac- 
 teristic Australian change of 
 Miner). From Hindustani maina, a 
 starling. The word is originally 
 applied in India to various birds 
 of the Starling kind, especially to 
 Graculus religiosa, a talking star- 
 ling or grackle. One of these 
 Indian grackles, Acridotheres 
 tristis, was acclimatised in Mel- 
 bourne, and is now common to 
 the house-tops of most Aus- 
 tralian towns. He is not Aus- 
 tralian, but is the bird generally 
 referred to as the Minah,o* Minah- 
 bird. There are Minahs native to 
 Australia, of which the species 
 are 
 
 Bell-Minah 
 
 Manorhina melanophrys, Lath. 
 Bush-M. 
 
 Myzantha garrula, Lath. 
 Dusky-M. 
 
 M. obscura, Gould. 
 Yellow-M. 
 
 M. lutea, Gould. 
 Yellow-throated M. 
 
 M. flavigula, Gould. 
 
 1803. Lord Valentia, ' Voyages,' vol. i. 
 p. 227 [Stanford] : 
 
 " During the whole of our stay two 
 minahs were talking most incessantly." 
 
 1813. J. Forbes, ' Oriental Memoirs,' 
 vol. i- p- 47 [Yule] : 
 
 " The mynah is a very entertaining 
 bird, hopping about the house, and 
 articulating several words in the man- 
 ner of the starling." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iv. pi. 40 : 
 
 "While at other times, like the 
 miners (genus, Myzantha), it soars 
 from tree to tree with the most graceful 
 and easy movement." 
 
 Ibid. vol. iv. pi. 76 : 
 
 "Myzantha garrula, Vig. and 
 Horsf., Garrulous. Honey-eater ; miner, 
 Colonists of Van Diemen's Land, M. 
 flavigula, Gould, Yellow-Throated 
 miner." 
 
 1861. Mrs. Meredith, ' Over the Straits,' 
 vol. i. p. 33 : 
 
 " His common name ... is said to 
 be given from his resemblance to some 
 Indian bird called mina or miner." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 72: 
 
 "The Indian minah is as much at 
 home, and almost as presumptuous, as 
 the sparrow." (p. 146): "Yellow-legged 
 minahs, tamest of all Australian birds." 
 
 1890. Tasma, ' In her Earliest Youth,' 
 p. 265 : 
 
 " The plaintive chirp of the mina." 
 
 Miner's Right, n. the licence 
 to dig for gold. See quotation. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' The Miner's 
 Right,' p. i : 
 
 " A miner's right, a wonderful 
 document, printed and written on 
 parchment, precisely as follows." [A 
 reduced facsimile is given.] 
 
 Ibid. p. 106 : 
 
 " You produce your Miner's Right. 
 . . . The important piece of parch- 
 ment, about the size of a bank-cheque, 
 was handed to the Court." 
 
 Mingi, n. originally mingi mingi, 
 Maori name for a New Zealand 
 shrub or small tree, Cyathodes 
 acerosa, R. Br., N.O. Epacridece. 
 In south New Zealand it is often 
 called Micky. 
 
 Minnow, n. name sometimes 
 given to a very small fish of 
 New Zealand, Galaxias attenuates, 
 Jenyns, family Galaxidce ; called 
 also Whitebait (q.v.). The Maori 
 name is Inanga (q.v.). 
 
 Mint, Australian or Native, .a 
 plant, Mentha australis, R.Br., N. O. 
 Labiates. This herb was largely 
 used by the early colonists of 
 South Australia for tea. Many 
 of the plants of the genus Mentha 
 in Australia yield oil of good
 
 MIN-MIS] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 295 
 
 flavour, among them the common 
 Pennyroyal. 
 
 Mint-tree, n. In Australia, the 
 tree is Prostanthera lasiantha, 
 Labill., N. O. Labiatea. 
 
 Mirnyong, n. aboriginal name 
 for a shell-mound, generally sup- 
 posed to be Victorian, but, by 
 some, Tasmanian. 
 
 1888. R. M. Johnston, 'Geology of 
 Tasmania,' p. 337 : 
 
 "With the exception of their rude 
 inconspicuous flints, and the accumu- 
 lated remains of their feasts in the 
 ' mirnyongs,' or native shell-mounds, 
 along our coasts, which only have 
 significance to the careful observer, we 
 have no other visible evidence of their 
 former existence." 
 
 1893. R. Etheridge, jun., 'Transactions 
 of the Royal Society of South Australia,' 
 p. 21 [Title of Paper]: 
 
 "The Mirrn-yong heaps at the 
 North-West bank of the River Murray." 
 
 Miro, n. (i) Maori name for a 
 Robin (q.v.), and adopted as the 
 scientific name of a genus of 
 New Zealand Robins. The word 
 is shortened form of Miro-miro. 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 403 : 
 
 " Miro-miro (Miro albifrons). A 
 little black-and-white bird with a large 
 head ; it is very tame, and has a short 
 melancholy song. The miro toi-toi 
 (muscicapa toi-toi) is a bird not larger 
 than the tom-dt. Its plumage is black 
 and white, having a white breast and 
 some of the near feathers of each wing 
 tinged with white." 
 
 1879. W. Colenso, ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xii. art. vii. 
 p. 119: 
 
 " Proverb 28 : Ma tc kanohi miro- 
 miro, [signifying] ' To be found by 
 the sharp-eyed little bird.' Lit. ' For 
 the miro-miro's eye.' Used as a 
 stimulus to a person searching for 
 anything lost. The miro-miro is the 
 little petroica toi-toi, which runs up 
 and down trees peering for minute 
 insects in the bark." 
 
 1882. W. L. Buller, 'Manual of the 
 Birds of New Zealand,' p. 23: 
 
 " The Petroeca longipes is confined 
 to the North Island, where it is very 
 common in all the wooded parts of the 
 country ; but it is represented in the 
 South Island by a closely allied and 
 equally common species, the miro 
 albifrons" 
 
 (2) Maori name for a New Zea- 
 land tree, Podocarpus ferruginea, 
 Don., N.O. Conifera ; the Black- 
 pine of Otago. 
 
 1875. T - Laslett, ' Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 308 : 
 
 " The miro-tree (Podocarpus ferru- 
 ginea) is found in slightly elevated 
 situations in many of the forests in New 
 Zealand. Height about sixty feet. The 
 wood varies from light to dark-brown 
 in colour, is close in grain, moder- 
 ately hard and heavy, planes up well, 
 and takes a good polish." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, 'Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 163 : 
 
 " The Miro is a valuable tree, com- 
 mon in all parts of the colony. ... It 
 is usually distinguished by its ordinary 
 native name." 
 
 Mistletoe, n. The name is given 
 to various species of trees of 
 several genera 
 
 (1) In Australia, generally, to 
 various species of Loranthus, 
 N,O. Loranthacetz. There are a 
 great number, they are very 
 common on the Eucalypts, and 
 they have the same viscous 
 qualities as the European Mistle- 
 toes. 
 
 (2) In Western Australia, to 
 Nuytsia floribunda, R.Br., N.O. 
 Loranthacece, a terrestrial species 
 attaining the dimensions of a tree 
 the Flame-tree (q.v.) of Western 
 Australia and also curiously 
 called there a Cabbage-tree. 
 
 (3) In Tasmania, to Cassytha 
 pubescens, R. Br., N.O. Lauracea. 
 
 1877. F. v. Miiller, ' Botanic Teach- 
 ings/ p. 43 : 
 
 " The English mistletoe is the well- 
 known Viscuin album, whereas all the 
 Victorian kinds belong to the genus 
 Loranthus, of which the Mediterranean
 
 296 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MIT-MOB 
 
 L. Eiiropaus is the prototype. The 
 generic name arose in allusion to the 
 strap-like narrowness of the petals." 
 
 [Greek XtDpov, from Lat. lonun, a 
 thong, and dvdos, a. flower.] 
 
 Mitchell-Grass, n. an Austra- 
 lian grass, Astreblo, elymoides, A. 
 triticoideS) F. v. M., N.O. Graminea. 
 Two other species of Astrebla are 
 also called "Mitchell-grasses." 
 See Grass. 
 
 1883. F. M. Bailey, 'Synopsis of 
 Queensland Flora,' p. 660 : 
 
 " Used for food by the natives. The 
 most valuable fodder-grass of the 
 colony. True Mitchell-grass." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 78 : 
 
 " Mitchell-grass. The flowering 
 spikes resemble ears of wheat. ... It 
 is by no means plentiful." 
 
 Moa, n. The word is Maori, 
 and is used by that race as the 
 name of the gigantic struthious 
 bird of New Zealand, scientifically 
 called Dinornis (q.v.). It has 
 passed into popular Australasian 
 and English use for all species of 
 that bird. A full history of the 
 discovery of the Moa, of its 
 nature and habits, and of the 
 progress of the classification of 
 the species by Professor Owen, 
 from the sole evidence of the 
 fossil remains of its bones, is 
 given in the Introduction to W. L. 
 Buller's ' Birds of New Zealand,' 
 vol. i. (pp. xviii xxxv). 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 New Zealand Language ' (Church Mis- 
 sionary Society), p. 181 : 
 
 " Moe [sic], a bird so called." 
 
 1839. ' Proceedings of Zoological So- 
 ciety,' Nov. 12 : 
 
 [Description by Owen of Dinornis 
 without the name of Moa. It con- 
 tained the words " So far as my skill 
 in interpreting an osseous fragment 
 may be credited, I am willing to risk 
 the reputation for it, on the statement 
 that there has existed, if there does 
 not now exist, in New Zealand a 
 
 Struthious bird, nearly, if not quite 
 equal in size to the Ostrich."] 
 
 1844. ' Ibid. vol. iii. pt. iii. p. 237 : 
 
 [Description of Dinornis by Owen, 
 in which he names the Moa, and quotes 
 letter from Rev. W. (afterwards Bishop) 
 Williams, dated Feb. 28, 1842, "to 
 which they gave the name of Moa."] 
 
 1848. W. Westgavth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 P- 137 = 
 
 "The new genus Dinornis, which 
 includes also the celebrated moa, or 
 gigantic bird of New Zealand, and 
 bears some resemblance to the present 
 Apteryx, or wingless bird of that 
 country .... The New Zealanders 
 assert that this extraordinary bird was 
 in existence in the days of their 
 ancestors, and was finally destroyed 
 by their grandfathers." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, ' New Zealand r 
 (English translation), p. 214 : 
 
 " First among them were the gigantic 
 wingless Moas, Dinornis and Palap- 
 teryx, which seem to have been exter- 
 minated already about the middle of 
 the seventeenth century." [Query, 
 eighteenth century ?] 
 
 1867. Ibid. p. 181 : 
 
 " By the term ' Moa ' the natives 
 signify a family of birds, that we know 
 merely from bones and skeletons, a 
 family of real giant-birds compared 
 with the little Apterygides." [Foot- 
 note] : " Moa or Toa, throughout Poly- 
 nesia, is the word applied to domestic 
 fowls, originating perhaps from the 
 Malay word mua, a kind of peasants 
 [sic]. The Maoris have no special 
 term for the domestic fowl." 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, < Birds of New 
 Zealand,' Introduction, p. Ivi. [Footnote] : 
 
 " I have remarked the following 
 similarity between the names employed 
 in the Fijian and Maori languages for 
 the same or corresponding birds : Toa 
 (any fowl-like kind of bird) = Moa 
 {Dinornis)" 
 
 Mob, n. a large number, the 
 Australian noun of multitude, 
 and not implying anything low or 
 noisy. It was not used very early, 
 as the first few of the following 
 quotations show. 
 
 1811. G. Paterson, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' p. 530 :
 
 MOB] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 297 
 
 " Besides herds of kangaroos, four 
 large wolves were seen at Western 
 Port." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia ' : 
 
 Ep. no] : " Herds of kangaroos." 
 p. 139] : "An immense herd of kan- 
 garoos." 
 
 [p. 196]: "Flocks of kangaroos of 
 every size." 
 
 1835. T. B. Wilson, ' Voyage round the 
 World,' p. 243 : 
 
 "We started several flocks of 
 kangaroos." 
 
 1836. Dec. 26, Letter in ' Three Years' 
 Practical Experience of a Settler in New 
 South Wales,' p. 44 : 
 
 " A man buying a flock of sheep, or 
 a herd of cattle . . . While I watched 
 the mop I had collected." [This, thus 
 spelt, seems the earliest instance.] 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 6 : 
 
 " Droves of kangaroos." 
 
 Of Men 
 
 [But with the Australian and 
 not the ordinary English signifi- 
 cation.] 
 
 1874. W. M. B., ' Narrative of Edward 
 Crewe,' p. 223 : 
 
 " A contractor in a large way having 
 a mob of men in his employ." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' Aug. 16, p. 13, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 " It doesn't seem possible to get a 
 mob of steady men for work of that 
 sort now." 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. ix. p. 69 : 
 
 " He, tho' living fifty miles away, 
 was one of the ' Dunmore mob,' and 
 aided generally in the symposia which 
 were there enjoyed." 
 
 Of Blackfellmvs 
 
 1822. J. West, ' History of Tasmania ' 
 (1852), vol. ii. p. 12 : 
 
 "The settlers of 1822 remember a 
 number of natives, who roamed about 
 the district, and were known as the 
 'tame mob'; they were absconders 
 from different tribes." 
 
 1830. Newspaper (Tasmanian), March, 
 (cited J. West, ' History of Tasmania,' 
 vol. ii. p. 42): 
 
 "A mob of natives appeared at 
 Captain Smith's hut, at his run." 
 
 1835. H. Melville, 'History of Van 
 Diemen's Land,' p. 75 : 
 
 " A mob of some score or so of 
 natives, men, women, and children, 
 had been discovered by their fires." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 107 : 
 
 " A whole crowd of men on horse- 
 back get together, with a mob of 
 blacks to assist them." 
 
 1892. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Robbery under 
 Arms,' p. 134 : 
 
 "At the side of the crowd was a 
 small mob of blacks with their dogs, 
 spears, possum rugs, and all complete." 
 
 Of Cattle 
 1860. R.Donaldson, 'Bush Lays, 'p. 14: 
 
 " Now to the stockyard crowds the 
 
 mob ; 
 'Twill soon be milking time." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 70 : 
 
 "A number of cattle collected to- 
 gether is colonially termed a mob." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 105 : 
 
 " A mixed mob of cattle cows, 
 steers, and heifers had to be col- 
 lected." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'A Colonial 
 Reformer,' p. 120 : 
 
 " ' Mobs ' or small sub-divisions of 
 the main herd." 
 
 Of Sheep 
 
 1860. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 169 : 
 
 "It was more horrible to see the 
 drowning, or just drowned, huddled- 
 up ' mob ' (as sheep en masse are 
 technically called) which had made 
 the dusky patch we noticed from the 
 hill." 
 
 1875. ' Spectator ' (Melbourne), May 
 22, p. 34, col. 2 : 
 
 " A mob of sheep has been sold at 
 Belfast at is. lod. per head." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Colonial 
 Reformer,' p. 83 : 
 
 "The army of sheep about thirty 
 thousand in fifteen flocks at length 
 reached the valley before dark, and 
 the overseer, pointing to a flock of two 
 thousand, more or less, said, 'There's 
 your mob.' "
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MOC-MOK 
 
 Of Horses 
 
 1865. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 27 : 
 
 "All the animals to make friends 
 with, mobs of horses to look at." 
 
 1879. W. J. Barry, ' Up and Down,' p. 
 197: 
 
 " I purchased a mob of horses for 
 the Dunstan market." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, ' Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. in : 
 
 "The stockman came suddenly on 
 a mob of nearly thirty horses, feeding 
 .up a pleasant valley." 
 
 Of Kangaroos 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, ' Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 59 : 
 
 "The 'old men' are always the 
 largest and strongest in the flock, or 
 in colonial language ' mob.' " 
 
 1864. 'Once a Week, 'Dec. 31, p. 45, 
 'The Bulla Bulk Bunyip' : 
 
 "About a mile outside the town a 
 four-rail fence skirted the rough track 
 we followed. It enclosed a lucerne 
 paddock. Over the grey rails, as we 
 approached, came bounding a mob 
 of kangaroos, headed by a gigantic 
 perfectly white ' old man,' which 
 glimmered ghostly in the moonlight." 
 
 Of Ducks 
 
 1885. H. Finch- Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia, p. 99 : 
 
 " They [the ducks] all came in twos 
 and threes, and small mobs." 
 
 Of Clothes 
 
 1844. ' Port Phillip Patriot,' July 22, p. 
 2, col. 6 : 
 
 " They buttoned up in front ; the 
 only suit in the mob which did so." 
 
 Of Books 
 
 1892. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the Com- 
 pass in Australia,' p. 72 : 
 
 " If it was in your mob of books, 
 give this copy to somebody that would 
 appreciate it." 
 
 More generally 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, 'My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 20 : 
 
 " A number of cattle together is here 
 usually termed a ' mob,' and truly their 
 riotous and unruly demeanour renders 
 the designation far from inapt ; but I 
 was very much amused at first, to hear 
 
 people gravely talking of ' a mob of 
 sheep,' or ' a mob of lambs j and it was 
 some time ere I became accustomed to 
 the novel use of the word. Now, the 
 common announcements that ' the 
 cuckoo hen has brought out a rare mob 
 of chickens,' or that 'there's a great 
 mob of quail in the big paddock,' are 
 to me fraught with no alarming antici- 
 pations." 
 
 1853. H. Berkeley Jones, ' Adventures 
 in Australia,' p. 114: 
 
 " ' There will be a great mob of 
 things going down to-day,' said one to 
 another, which meant that there would 
 be a heavy cargo in number ; we must 
 remember that the Australians have 
 a patois of their own." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xiii. p. 135 : 
 
 "What a mob of hous'es, people, 
 cabs, teams, men, women and 
 children ! " 
 
 Mocking-bird, n. The name is 
 given in Australia to the Lyre-bird 
 (q.v.), and in New Zealand to the 
 Tui (q.v.). 
 
 Mock-Olive, n. a tree. Called 
 also Axe-breaker (q.v.). 
 
 Mock-Orange, n. an Australian 
 tree, i.q. Native Laurel. See 
 Laurel. 
 
 Mogo, n. the stone hatchet of 
 the aborigines of New South 
 Wales. 
 
 1838. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. i. p. 204 : 
 
 " I heard from the summit the mogo 
 of a native at work on some tree close 
 by." 
 
 1868. W. Carleton, ' Australian Nights,' 
 p. 20 : 
 
 " One mute memorial by his bier, 
 His mogo, boomerang, and spear." 
 
 Moguey, n. English corruption 
 of Mokihi (q.v.). 
 
 1871. C. L. Money, ' Knocking About 
 in New Zealand,' p. 52 : 
 
 " Moguey, a Maori name for a raupo 
 or flax-stick raft." 
 
 Moki, n. the Maori name for 
 the Bastard Trumpeter (q.v.) of
 
 MOK-MOL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 299 
 
 New Zealand, Latris ciliaris^ 
 Forst, family Cirrhitidts. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand" (Church Mis- 
 sionary Society), p. 182 : 
 
 " M6ki, s. A fish so called." 
 
 Mokihi, or Moki, n. Maori name 
 for a raft ; sometimes anglicised 
 as Maguey . 
 
 1840. J. S. Polack, ' Manners and 
 Customs of New Zealanders,' vol. ii. p. 
 226 : 
 
 " In the absence of canoes, a 
 quantity of dried bulrushes are 
 fastened together, on which the native 
 is enabled to cross a stream by sitting 
 astride and paddling with his hands ; 
 these humble conveyances are called 
 moki, and resemble those made use of 
 by the Egyptians in crossing among 
 the islands of the Nile. They are 
 extremely buoyant, and resist satura- 
 tion for a longer period." 
 
 1858. ' Appendix to Journal of House 
 of Representatives,' c. iii. p. 18 : 
 
 " We crossed the river on mokis. 
 ... By means of large mokis, carry- 
 ing upwards of a ton. . . . Moki 
 navigation." 
 
 1889. Vincent Pyke, ' Wild Will En- 
 derby,' p. 82 : 
 
 " For the benefit of the unlearned 
 in such matters, let me here explain 
 that a ' Mokihi ' is constructed of 
 Koradies, Anglice, the flowering stalks 
 of the flax, three faggots of which 
 lashed firmly in a point at the small 
 ends, and expanded by a piece of 
 wood at the stern, constitute the sides 
 and bottom of the frail craft, which, 
 propelled by a paddle, furnishes suffi- 
 cient means of transport for a single 
 individual." 
 
 Moko, . the system of tat- 
 tooing practised by the Maoris. 
 See Tattoo. It is not a fact as 
 popularly supposed that the 
 " moko " was distinctive in 
 different families ; serving, as is 
 sometimes said, the purpose of a 
 coat-of-arms. The "moko" was 
 in fact all made on the same 
 pattern that of all Maori 
 carvings. Some were more 
 
 elaborate than others. The sole 
 difference Was that some were in 
 outline only, some were half 
 filled in, and others were finished 
 in elaborate detail. 
 
 1769. J. Banks, 'Journal,' Nov. 22 
 (SirJ. D. Hooker's edition, 1896), p. 203: 
 
 " They had a much larger quantity 
 of amoca [sic] or black stains upon their 
 bodies and faces. They had almost 
 universally a broad spiral on each 
 buttock, and many had their thighs 
 almost entirely black, small lines only 
 being left untouched, so that they 
 looked like striped breeches. In this 
 particular, I mean the use of amoca, 
 almost every tribe seems to have a 
 different custom." 
 
 1896. 'The Times' (Weekly Edition), 
 July 17, p. 498, col. 3: 
 
 " In this handsome volume, ' Moko 
 or Maori Tattooing,' Major-General 
 Robley treats of an interesting subject 
 with a touch of the horrible about it 
 which, to some readers, will make the 
 book almost fascinating. Nowhere 
 was the system of puncturing the flesh 
 into patterns and devices carried out 
 in such perfection or to such an extent 
 as in New Zealand. Both men and 
 women were operated upon among the 
 Maoris." 
 
 Moko-moko, n. (i) Maori name 
 for the Bell-bird (q.v.), Anthornis 
 melanura, Sparrm. 
 
 1888. A. W. Bathgate, ' Sladen's Aus- 
 tralian Ballads,' p. 22 : 
 
 [Title] : " To the Moko-moko, or 
 Bell-bird." [Footnote] : " Now rapidly 
 dying out of our land," sc. New 
 Zealand. 
 
 (2) Maori name for the lizard, 
 Lygosoma ornatnm, Gray, or Lygo- 
 soma moko, Durn. and Bib. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand ' (Church Mis- 
 sionary Society), p. 182 : 
 
 " Moko-moko, a small lizard." 
 
 Mole, Marsupial. See Mar- 
 supial Mole. 
 
 Moloch, ;/. an Australian lizard, 
 Moloch horridus, Gray ; called also 
 Mountain Devil (q.v.). There is
 
 3 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MON 
 
 no other species in the genus, and 
 the adjective (Lat. horridus, brist- 
 ling) seems to have suggested 
 the noun, the name probably re- 
 calling Milton's line (' Paradise 
 Lost,' i. 392) 
 
 " FirstMoloch, horrid king, besmeared 
 with blood." 
 
 Moloch was the national god of 
 the Ammonites (i Kings xi. 7), 
 and was the personification of fire 
 as a destructive element. 
 
 1896. Baldwin Spencer, 'Home Ex- 
 pedition in Central Australia,' Narrative, 
 p. 41 : 
 
 " Numerous lizards such as the 
 strange Moloch horridus, the bright 
 yellow, orange, red and black of which 
 render it in life very different in appear- 
 ance from the bleached specimens of 
 museum cases." 
 
 Mongan, n. aboriginal name 
 for the animal named in the 
 quotation. 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' 
 
 -P- 173: 
 
 "Jimmy, however, had, to my great 
 delight, found mongan (Psetidochirns 
 herbertensis), a new and very pretty 
 mammal, whose habitat is exclusively 
 the highest tops of the scrubs in the 
 Coast Mountains." 
 
 Monk, n. another name for the 
 Friar Bird (q.v.). 
 
 Monkey-Bear, or Monkey, n. 
 i.q. Native Bear. See Bear. 
 
 1853. C. St. Julian and E. K. Silvester, 
 ' The Productions, Industry, and Resources 
 of New South Wales,' p. 30: 
 
 "The Kola, so called by the abo- 
 rigines, but more commonly known 
 among the settlers as the native bear 
 or monkey, is found in brush and 
 forest lands . . ." 
 
 1891. Mrs. Cross (Ada Cambridge), 
 ' The Three Miss Kings,' p. 9 : 
 
 "A little monkey-bear came cau- 
 tiously down from the only gum-tree 
 that grew on the premises, grunting 
 and whimpering." 
 
 Monkey-shaft, n. "A shaft ris- 
 ing from a lower to a higher level 
 
 (as a rule perpendicularly), and 
 differing from a blind-shaft only 
 in that the latter is sunk from a 
 higher to a lower level. " (Brough 
 Smyth's 'Glossary.') 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 69 : 
 
 "They began to think they might 
 be already too deep for it, and a small 
 ' monkey '-shaft was therefore driven 
 upwards from the end of the tunnel." 
 
 Monkeys, n. bush slang for 
 sheep. 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 88 : 
 
 " No one felt better pleased than he 
 did to see the last lot of ' monkeys,' 
 as the shearers usually denominated 
 sheep, leave the head-station." 
 
 Monotreme, n. the scientific 
 name of an order of Australian 
 mammals {Monotremata). "The 
 Monotremes derive their name 
 from the circumstance that there 
 is, as in birds and reptiles, but a 
 single aperture at the hinder ex- 
 tremity of the body from which 
 are discharged the whole of the 
 waste-products, together with 
 the reproductive elements ; the 
 oviducts opening separately into 
 the end of this passage, which is 
 termed the cloaca. [Grk. /xoVos, 
 sole, and rprj/xa, a passage or 
 hole.] Reproduction is effected 
 by means of eggs, which are 
 laid and hatched by the female 
 parent ; after [being hatched] the 
 young are nourished by milk 
 secreted by special glands situ- 
 ated within a temporary pouch, 
 into which the head of the young 
 animal is inserted and retained. 
 ... It was not until 1884 that 
 it was conclusively proved that 
 the Monotremes did actually lay 
 eggs similar in structure to those 
 of birds and reptiles." (R. 
 Lydekker, ' Marsupialia and 
 Monotremata,' 1894, p. 227.) 
 The Monotremes are strictly
 
 MOO-MOP] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 301 
 
 confined to Australia, Tasmania, 
 and New Guinea. They are the 
 Platypus (q-v.), and the Echidna 
 (q.v. ), or Ant-eating Porcupine. 
 
 Mooley- Apple, n. i.q. Emu- 
 Apple (q.v.). 
 
 Moor-hen, n. common English 
 bird-name (Gallinula). The Aus- 
 tralian species are the Black, 
 Gallinula tenebrosa,Gou\d ; Rufous- 
 tailed, G. ruficrissa, Gould. 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 169: 
 
 " The Rail-like bird, the Black-tailed 
 Tribonyx, or Moor- Hen of the colonists, 
 which, when strutting along the bank 
 of a river, has a grotesque appearance, 
 with the tail quite erect like that of a 
 domestic fowl, and rarely resorts to 
 flight." [The Tribonyx is called 
 Native Hen, not Moorhen.] 
 
 Moon, v. tr. a process in 
 opossum-shooting, explained in 
 quotations. 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, ' Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 182: 
 
 " ' Mooning ' opossums is a speciality 
 with country boys. The juvenile hunter 
 utilises the moon as a cavalry patrol 
 would his field-glass for every suspected 
 point." 
 
 1890. E. Davenport Cleland, 'The 
 White Kangaroo,' p. 66: 
 
 " They had to go through the process 
 known as ' mooning.' Walking back- 
 wards from the tree, each one tried to 
 get the various limbs and branches 
 between him and the moon, and then 
 follow them out to the uttermost bunch 
 of leaves where the 'possum might be 
 feeding." 
 
 Mopoke, n. aboriginal name 
 for an Australian bird, from its 
 note " Mopoke." There is em- 
 phasis on the first syllable, but 
 much more on the second. Settlers 
 very early attempted to give an 
 English shape and sense to this 
 name. The attempt took two 
 forms, "More-pork" and "Mope- 
 hawk " ; both forms are more 
 than fifty years old. The r sound, 
 
 however, is not present in the 
 note of the bird, although the 
 form More-pork is perhaps even 
 more popular than the true form 
 Mopoke. The form Mope-hawk 
 seems to have been adopted 
 through dislike of the perhaps 
 coarser idea attaching to " pork." 
 The quaint spelling Mawpawk 
 seems to have been adopted for a 
 similar reason. 
 
 The bird is heard far more often 
 than seen, hence confusion has 
 arisen as to what is the bird that 
 utters the note. The earlier view 
 was that the bird was Podargus 
 cuvieri, Vig. and Hors., which 
 still popularly retains the name ; 
 whereas it is really the owl, 
 Ninox boobook, that calls "more- 
 pork" or " mopoke " so loudly at 
 night. Curiously, Gould, having 
 already assigned the name More- 
 pork to Podargus, in describing 
 the Owlet Night-jar varies the 
 spelling and writes, "little Mawe- 
 pawk, Colonists of Van Diemen's 
 Land." The New Zealand More- 
 pork is assuredly an owl. The 
 Podargus has received the name 
 of Frogmouth and the Mopoke has 
 sometimes been called a Cuckoo 
 (q.v.). See also Boobook, Frogs- 
 mouth. 
 
 The earliest ascertained use of 
 the word is 
 
 1827. Hellyer (in 1832), ' Bischoff, Van 
 Diemen's Land,' p. 177: 
 
 " One of the men shot a ' more 
 pork.' " 
 
 The Bird's note 
 1868. Carleton, ' Australian Nights,' p. 
 19: 
 
 "The Austral cuckoo spoke 
 His melancholy note 'Mo-poke.'" 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, ' Gum Boughs and 
 Wattle Bloom,' p. 236: 
 
 " Many a still night in the bush I 
 have listened to the weird metallic call 
 of this strange bird, the mopoke of the
 
 302 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MOP 
 
 natives, without hearing it give expres- 
 sion to the pork-shop sentiments." 
 
 Podargus 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' vol. 
 ii. pi. 4: 
 
 "Podargus Cttvieri, Vig. and Horsf., 
 More-pork of the Colonists." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 
 P- 33 = 
 
 "We are lulled to sleep by the 
 melancholy, sleep-inspiring, and not 
 disagreeable voices of the night bird 
 Podargus 'More-pork ! more-pork ! ' " 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes Game Act, 
 Third Schedule.' 
 
 " Podargus or Mopoke. [Close Sea- 
 son.] The whole year." 
 
 Vague name of Cuckoo 
 1854. G. H. Haydon, ' The Australian 
 
 Emigrant,' p. no: 
 
 "The note of the More-pork, not 
 
 unlike that of a cuckoo with a cold." 
 
 1857. W. Howitt, ' Tallangetta,' vol. i. 
 p. 98: 
 
 " The distant monotone of the more- 
 pork the nocturnal cuckoo of the 
 Australian wilds." 
 
 Incorrect 
 
 1858. W. H. Hall, 'Practical Experi- 
 ences at the Diggings in Victoria,' p. 22 : 
 
 " The low, melancholy, but pleasing 
 cry of the Mope-hawk." 
 
 1877. William Sharp, ' Earth's Voices': 
 " On yonder gum a mopoke's throat 
 
 Out-gurgles laughter grim, 
 And far within the fern-tree scrub 
 A lyre-bird sings his hymn." 
 
 [This is confusion worse confounded. 
 It would seem as if the poet confused 
 the Laughing Jackass with \h&Mopoke, 
 q.v.] 
 
 1878. Mrs. H. Jones, ' Long Years in 
 Australia,' p. 145 : 
 
 " How the mope-hawk is screeching." 
 
 Owl 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, ' Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 71 : 
 
 " A bird of the owl species, called 
 by the colonists morepork, and by the 
 natives whuck-whuck, derives both its 
 names from the peculiarity of its note. 
 At some distance it reminds one of the 
 song of the cuckoo ; when nearer it 
 sounds hoarse and discordant." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, -Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. ii. pi. I : 
 
 " ^Egotheles Nov<z-Hollandt<z, Vig. 
 and Horsf., Owlet Nightjar; Little 
 Mawepawk, Colonists of Van Diemen's 
 Land." 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, ' My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 253 : 
 
 "The Mawpawk, More Pork, or 
 Mope Hawk, is common in most parts 
 of the colony, and utters its peculiar 
 two-syllable cry at night very con- 
 stantly. Its habits are those of the 
 owl, and its rather hawkish appearance 
 partakes also of the peculiarities of the 
 goat-sucker tribe. . . . The sound does 
 not really resemble the words ' more 
 pork,' any more than ' cuckoo,' and it 
 is more like the ' tu-whoo ' of the owl 
 than either." 
 
 1859. D. Bunce, ' Australasiatic Remi- 
 niscences,' p. 14 : 
 
 " Just as our sportsman, fresh from 
 the legal precincts of Gray's Inn 
 Square, was taking a probably deadly 
 aim, the solitary and melancholy note 
 of ' More-pork ! more-pork ! ' from the 
 Cyclopean, or Australian owl, inter- 
 fered most opportunely in warding off 
 the shot." 
 
 1864. ' Once a Week,' Dec. 31, p. 45, 
 ' The Bulla Bulk Bunyip': 
 
 "The locusts were silent, but now 
 and then might be heard the greedy 
 cry of the 'morepork,' chasing the 
 huge night-moths through the dim 
 dewy air." 
 
 1892. A. Sutherland, ' Elementary Geo- 
 graphy of British Colonies,' p. 274 : 
 
 " Owls are also numerous, the Mo- 
 poke's note being a familiar sound in 
 the midnight darkness of the forest." 
 By transference to a man. 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 233 : 
 " ' A more-pork kind of a fellow ' is 
 a man of cut-and-dry phrases, a person 
 remarkable for nothing new in common 
 conversation. This by some is thought 
 very expressive, the more-pork being 
 a kind of Australian owl, notorious for 
 its wearying nightly iteration, ' More 
 pork, more pork.'" 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xiii. p. 125 : 
 
 "What a regular more-pork I was 
 to be sure to go and run my neck agin' 
 a roping-pole."
 
 MOR-MOS] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 303 
 
 Morepork, n. (i) The Austra- 
 lian bird, or birds, described 
 under Mopoke (q.v.). 
 
 (2) The New Zealand Owl, 
 formerly Athene novce-zelandice^ 
 Gray ; now Spiloglaux novce-ze- 
 landiai, Kaup. 
 
 1849. W. T. Power, 'Sketches in New 
 Zealand,' p. 74 : 
 
 "This bird gave rise to a rather 
 amusing incident in the Hutt Valley 
 during the time of the fighting. ... A 
 strong piquet was turned out regularly 
 about an hour before daybreak. On one 
 occasion the men had been standing 
 silently under arms for some time, and 
 shivering in the cold morning air, 
 when they were startled by a solemn 
 request for 'more pork.' The officer 
 in command of the piquet, who had 
 only very recently arrived in the 
 country, ordered no talking in the 
 ranks, which was immediately replied 
 to by another demand, distinctly enun- 
 ciated, for ' more pork.' So malaprop 
 a remark produced a titter along the 
 ranks, which roused the irate officer to 
 the necessity of having his commands 
 obeyed, and he accordingly threatened 
 to put the next person under arrest 
 who dared make any allusion to the 
 unclean beast. As if in defiance of 
 the threat, and in contempt of the 
 constituted authorities, 'more pork' 
 was distinctly demanded in two places 
 at once, and was succeeded by an 
 irresistible giggle from one end of the 
 line to the other. There was no put- 
 ting up with such a breach of discipline 
 as this, and the officer, in a fury of 
 indignation, went along the line in 
 search of the mutinous offender, when 
 suddenly a small chorus of ' more 
 pork' was heard on all sides, and it 
 was explained who the real culprits 
 were." 
 
 1866. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 100 : 
 
 " The last cry of a very pretty little 
 owl, called from its distinctly uttered 
 words the ' more-pork.' " 
 
 1884. T. Bracken, ' Lays of Maori,' p. 
 84: 
 
 " Sleeping alone where the more- 
 pork's call 
 At night is heard." 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 192 : 
 
 " Spiloglaux Nov<z-Zelandi(e, Kaup., 
 More-pork of the colonists. Every 
 New Zealand colonist is familiar with 
 this little owl, under the name of 
 ' morepork.' " 
 
 Moreton-Bay, n. the name 
 formerly given to the district of 
 New South Wales which is now 
 the colony of Queensland. The 
 Brisbane river (on which is situ- 
 ated Brisbane, the capital of 
 Queensland) enters it. See below. 
 
 Moreton-Bay Ash, n. See Ash. 
 
 Moreton - Bay Chestnut, . 
 See Bean-tree. 
 
 Moreton-Bay Fig, n. See Fig. 
 
 Moreton-Bay Laurel, n. See 
 Laurel. 
 
 Moreton-Bay Pine, n. See Pine. 
 
 Moriori, ;/. a people akin to r 
 but not identical with, the Maoris. 
 They occupied the Chatham 
 Islands, and were conquered in- 
 1832 by the Maoris. In 1873, M. 
 Quatrefages published a mono- 
 graph, ' Moriori et Maori.' 
 
 Morwong, n. the New South 
 Wales name for the fish Chilo- 
 dactylus macropterus, Richards. ; 
 also called the Carp (q.v.) and 
 Jackass-fish, and in New Zealand 
 by the Maori name of Tara- 
 kihi. The Melbourne fishermen, 
 according to Count Castelnau, 
 call this fish the Bastard Trum- 
 peter (q.v.), but this name is also 
 applied to Latris forsteri, Castln. 
 See also Trumpeter and Paper-fish. 
 The Red Monvong is Chilodactylus 
 fuscus, Castln., also called Carp 
 (q.v.). The Banded Morwong is 
 Chilodactylus vittatus> Garrett. 
 
 Moses, Prickly, n. a bushman's 
 name for Mimosa (q.v.). 
 1887. 'The Australian,' April : 
 " I cannot recommend . . . [for
 
 304 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MOU 
 
 fishing rods] . . . that awful thing 
 which our philosopher called ' prickly 
 moses.' " 
 
 Moulmein Cedar, n. See Cedar. 
 
 Mound-bird, n. the Jungle-hen 
 of Australia. The birds scratch up 
 heaps of soil and vegetable matter, 
 in which they bury their eggs and 
 leave them to be hatched by the 
 heat of decomposition. Scientific- 
 ally called Megapodes (q.v.). 
 
 1893. A. R. Wallace, 'Australasia,' 
 vol. i. p. 76: 
 
 " Next to these, as a special Aus- 
 tralian type .... come the bush- 
 turkeys or mound-makers ... all 
 these birds have the curious reptilian 
 character of never sitting on their 
 eggs, which they bury under mounds 
 of earth or decaying vegetable matter, 
 allowing them to be hatched ~ by the 
 heat of the sun, or that produced by 
 fermentation." 
 
 Mountain- (as epithet) : 
 Mountain-Apple-tree 
 
 Angophora lanceolata, Cav., N.O. 
 
 Myrtacea. 
 M.-Ash 
 
 A name applied to various 
 Eucalypts, and to the tree 
 Alphitonia excelsa, Reiss. 
 M. -Beech 
 
 The tree Lomatia longifolia, R. 
 
 Br., N. O. Proteacecc. 
 M.-Bloodwood 
 
 The tree Eucalyptus eximt'a, 
 
 Schau. 
 M . -Cypress-pine 
 
 The tree Frenela parlatori, F. v. 
 
 M., N.O. Coniferce. 
 M. -Ebony 
 
 See Ebony. 
 M. -Gentian 
 
 The name is applied to the 
 Tasmanian species, Gentiana 
 saxosa, Forst., N.O. Genti- 
 anece. 
 
 M.-Gums 
 See Gum. 
 M.- Oak- 
 See Oak. 
 
 M. -Parrot 
 
 Another name for the Kea (q.v.). 
 M. -Rocket 
 
 The name is applied to the Tas- 
 manian species Bellendena 
 Montana, R. Br., N.O. Pro- 
 teacecc. 
 
 M. -Tea-tree 
 See Tea-tree. 
 
 Mountain-Devil, n. name given 
 to the strange-looking Australian 
 lizard, Moloch horridus, Gray. 
 See Moloch. Also called Spiny 
 Lizard. 
 
 1853. ' Papers and Proceedings of the 
 Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' 
 vol. ii. p. 515 [November 9] : 
 . " A spirit preparation of the Spiny 
 Lizard (Moloch horridus) of Western 
 Australia." 
 
 Mountain Thrush, n. an 
 Australian thrush, Oreodnda lunu- 
 lata, Gould. See Thrush. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iv. pi. 7 : 
 
 " Orcocincla lunulatus, Mountain 
 Thrush, Colonists of Van Diemen's 
 Land. In all localities suitable to its 
 habits and mode of life, this species is 
 tolerably abundant, both in Van Die- 
 men's Land and in New South Wales; 
 it has also been observed in South 
 Australia, where however it is rare." 
 
 Mountain-Trout, n. species 
 of Galaxias, small cylindrical 
 fishes inhabiting the colder rivers 
 of Australasia, Southern Chili, 
 Magellan Straits, and the 
 Falkland Islands. On account of 
 the distribution of these fish and 
 of other forms of animals, it has 
 been suggested that in a remote 
 geological period the area of land 
 above the level of the sea in the 
 antarctic regions must have been 
 sufficiently extended to admit of 
 some kind of continuity across 
 the whole width of the Pacific 
 between the southern extremities 
 of South America and Australia.
 
 MUD-MUL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 305 
 
 Mud-fat, adj. fat as mud, very 
 fat. 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. 142 : 
 
 " There's half this fine body of veal, 
 mud-fat and tender as a chicken, worth 
 a shilling a pound there." 
 
 Mud-fish, n. a fish of Westland, 
 New Zealand, Neochanna apoda, 
 Giinth. Giinther says Neochanna 
 is a ' ' degraded form of Galaxias 
 [see Mountain- Trout], from which 
 it differs by the absence of ventral 
 fins. This fish has hitherto been 
 found only in burrows, which it 
 excavates in clay or consolidated 
 mud, at a distance from water." 
 
 Mud-lark, n. another name for 
 the Magpie-lark, Grallina picata 
 <q.v.). 
 
 Mulberry-bird, n. name given 
 to the Australian bird Sphecotheres 
 maxillaris, Lath. ; called also Fig- 
 bird (q.v.). 
 
 1891. A. J. North, ' Records of the Aus- 
 tralian Museum,' vol. i. no. 6, p. 113 : 
 
 " Southern Sphecotheres. Mr. Grime 
 informs me it is fairly common on the 
 Tweed River, where it is locally known 
 as the 'Mulberry-bird,' from the de- 
 cided preference it evinces for that 
 species of fruit amongst many others 
 attacked by this bird." 
 
 Mulberry, Native, n. name 
 given to three Australian trees, 
 viz. 
 
 Hedycarya cunninghami, lull., 
 N. O. Monimiacea. Called also 
 Smooth Holly. 
 
 Pipturus propinquus, Wedd., N.O. 
 Urticea. Called also Queensland 
 Grassdoth Plant. 
 
 Litscea ferruginea, Mart., N.O. 
 Laurinece. Called also Pigeon- 
 berry-tree. 
 
 The common English garden 
 fruit-tree is also acclimatised, and 
 the Victorian Silk Culture Asso- 
 ciation, assisted by the Govern- 
 
 ment, are planting many thou- 
 sands of the White Mulberry for 
 silk culture. 
 
 Mulga, n. an aboriginal word, 
 (i) Name given to various species 
 of Acacia, but especially A. an- 
 etera, F. v. M., N.O. Leguminosce. 
 See also Red Mulga. 
 
 1864. J. McDouall Stuart, 'Explora- 
 tions in Australia,' p. 154: 
 
 " We arrived at the foot nearly 
 naked, and got into open sandy rises 
 and valleys, with mulga and plenty of 
 grass, amongst which there is some 
 spinifex growing." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. ii. p. 126, Note : 
 
 " Mulga is an Acacia. It grows in 
 thick bushes, with thin twigs and small 
 leaves. Probably it is the most ex- 
 tensively distributed tree in all Aus- 
 tralia. It extends right across the 
 continent." 
 
 1888. Baron F. von Muller, 'Select 
 Extra-tropical Plants ' [7th ed.], p. I : 
 
 "Acacia aneura, F. v. M. Arid 
 desert interior of extra-tropic Australia. 
 A tree never more than 25 feet high. 
 The principal 'Mulga' tree .... 
 Cattle and sheep browse on the twigs 
 of this and some allied species, even 
 in the presence of plentiful grass, and 
 are much sustained by such acacias in 
 seasons of protracted drought." 
 
 1892. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the Com- 
 pass in Australia,' p. 43 : 
 
 " Not a drop of rain ! And for many 
 and many a day the jackaroo will still 
 chop down the limbs of the mulga-tree, 
 that of its tonic leaves the sheep may 
 eat and live." 
 
 1894. 'The Argus,' Sept. I, p. 4, col. 
 2 : 
 
 " The dull green of the mulga-scrub 
 at their base." 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, ' When the World 
 was Wide,' p. 85 : 
 " Flax and tussock and fern, 
 Gum and mulga and sand, 
 
 Reef and palm but my fancies turn 
 Ever away from land." 
 
 (2) A weapon, made of mulga- 
 wood.
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MUL 
 
 (a) A shield. 
 
 1878. ' Catalogue of Ethnotypical Art in 
 the National Gallery ' (Melbourne), p. 19 : 
 
 "Mulga. Victoria. Thirty-six inches 
 in length. This specimen is 37 inches 
 in length and 5 inches in breadth at the 
 broadest part. The form of a section 
 through the middle is nearly triangular. 
 The aperture for the hand (cut in the 
 solid wood) is less than 4 inches in 
 length. Ornamentation : Herring- 
 bone, the incised lines being filled in 
 with white clay. Some figures of an 
 irregular form are probably the distin- 
 guishing marks of the owner's tribe. 
 This shield was obtained from Larne- 
 Gherin in the Western District." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 349 : 
 
 " Mulga is the name of a long nar- 
 row shield of wood, made by the ab- 
 originals out of acacia- wood." 
 
 (b} In one place Sir Thomas 
 Mitchell speaks of it as a club. 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. ii. p. 267 : 
 
 "The malga [sic] . . . with which 
 these natives were provided, some- 
 what resembled a pick-axe with one 
 half broken off." 
 
 Mulga- Apple, n. a gall formed 
 on the Mulga-tree, Acacia aneura, 
 F. v. M. (q.v.). See also Apple. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 3 : 
 
 "In Western New South Wales two 
 kinds of galls are found on these trees. 
 One kind is very astringent, and not 
 used ; but the other is less abundant, 
 larger, succulent and edible. These 
 latter galls are called ' mulga-apples,' 
 and are said to be very welcome to the 
 thirsty traveller." 
 
 1889. E. Giles, 'Australia Twice 
 Traversed,' p. 71 : 
 
 "The mulga bears a small woody 
 fruit called the mulga apple. It 
 somewhat resembles the taste of 
 apples and is sweet." 
 
 Mulga-down, n. hills covered 
 with Mulga. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xvii. p. 201 : 
 
 " Fascinating territories of limitless 
 mulga-downs." 
 
 Mulga-grass, n. an Austra- 
 lian grass, Danthonia penicillata, 
 F. v. M. ; also Neurachne mitchel- 
 liana, Nees. See also Grass. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 82 : 
 
 " Mulga Grass. . . . Peculiar to the 
 back country. It derives its vernacu- 
 lar name from being only found where 
 the mulga-tree (Acacia atteura and 
 other species) grows ; it is a very 
 nutritious and much esteemed grass." 
 
 Mulga-scrub, n. thickets of 
 Mulga-trees. 
 
 1864. J. McDouall Stuart, 'Explora- 
 tions in Australia,' p. 190: 
 
 " For the first three miles our course 
 was through a very thick mulga scrub, 
 with plenty of grass, and occasionally 
 a little spinifex." 
 
 1875. John Forrest, ' Explorations in 
 Australia,' p. 220 : 
 
 "Travelled till after dark through 
 and over spinifex plains, wooded with 
 acacia and mulga scrub, and camped 
 without water and only a little scrub 
 for the horses, having travelled nearly 
 forty miles." 
 
 1876. W. Harcus, ' South Australia,' p. 
 127: 
 
 " The road for the next thirty miles, 
 to Charlotte Waters Telegraph Station, 
 is characterized by mulga-scrub, open 
 plains, sand-hills, and stony rises poorly 
 grassed." 
 
 1893. A. R. Wallace, ' Australasia,' vol. 
 i. p. 47 : 
 
 " Still more dreaded by the explorer 
 is the ' Mulga' scrub, consisting chiefly 
 of dwarf acacias. These grow in 
 spreading irregular bushes armed with 
 strong spines, and where matted with 
 other shrubs form a mass of vegetation 
 through which it is impossible to 
 penetrate." 
 
 Mulga-studded, adj. with 
 Mulga growing here and there. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xvii. p. 201 : 
 
 "The frown on the face of the mulga- 
 studded lowlands deepened." 
 
 Mullet, ;/. Various species of 
 this fish are present in Austral- 
 asia, all belonging to the family
 
 MUL-MUR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 37 
 
 Mugilidce, or Grey-Mullets. They 
 are the 
 
 Flat-tail Mullet 
 
 Mitgil peronii, Cuv. and Val. 
 Hard-gut M. 
 
 M. dobuld) Giinth. 
 Sand-M., or Talleygalanu 
 
 Myxus elongatus, Giinth. (called 
 
 also Poddy in Victoria). 
 Sea-M. 
 
 M. grandis, Castln. 
 
 In New Zealand, the Mullet 
 is Mugil perusii, called the Silver- 
 Mullet (Maori name, Kande) ; and 
 the Sea-Mullet, Agonostomaforsteri 
 (Maori name, Aua, q.v.) ; abundant 
 also in Tasmanian estuaries. 
 
 The Sand-Mullet in Tasmania 
 is Mugil cephalotus, Cuv. and Val. 
 See also Red-Mullet. 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes Fisheries 
 Act, Second Schedule' : 
 
 [Close Season.] " Sand-mullet or 
 poddies." 
 
 Mullock, n. In English, the 
 word is obsolete ; it was used by 
 Chaucer in the sense of refuse, 
 dirt. In Australia, it is confined 
 to "'rubbish, dirt, stuff taken 
 out of a mine the refuse after 
 the vein-stuff is taken away ' 
 (Brough Smyth's 'Glossary')." 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, ' New Rush,' pt. ii. p. 
 26: 
 
 " A man each windlass-handle work- 
 ing slow, 
 
 Raises the mullock from his mate 
 below." 
 
 1874. Garnet Walch, ' Head over 
 Heels,' p. 77 : 
 
 " But still we worked on same old 
 
 tune : 
 For nothin' but mullock come up." 
 
 Mullock over, v. Shearing 
 slang. See quotation. 
 
 1893. ' The Age,' Sept. 23, p. 14, col. 4: 
 
 " I affirm as a practical shearer, that 
 
 no man could shear 321 sheep in eight 
 
 hours, although I will admit he might 
 
 do what we shearers call ' mullock 
 
 over ' that number ; and what is more, 
 no manager or overseer who knows his 
 work would allow a shearer to do that 
 number of sheep or lambs in one day." 
 
 Munyeru, n. name given to 
 the small black seeds of Claytonia 
 balonnensiS) F. v. M., N. O. Portu- 
 lacea, which are ground up and 
 mixed with water so as to form a 
 paste. It forms a staple article 
 of diet amongst the Arunta and 
 other tribes of Central Australia. 
 
 1896. E. C. Stirling, ' Home Expedition 
 in Central Australia,' Anthropology, p. 56 : 
 
 " In these districts ' Munyeru' takes 
 the place of the spore cases of Nardoo' 
 (Marsilea quadrifolia), which is so 
 much used in the Barcoo and other 
 districts to the south and east, these 
 being treated in a similar way." 
 
 Murray-Carp, n. See Carp. 
 
 Murray-Cod, ;/. an important 
 fresh - water food - fish, Oligorus 
 macquariensis, Cuv. and Val. , called 
 Kookoobal by the aborigines of 
 the Murrumbidgee, and Pundy by 
 those of the Lower Murray. A 
 closely allied species is called the 
 Murray-Perch. Has been known 
 to reach a weight of 120 Ibs. 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, ' Three Expedi- 
 tions into the Interior of Eastern Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 95 : 
 
 " We soon found that this river con- 
 tained . . . the fish we first found in 
 the Peel, commonly called by the 
 colonists 'the cod,' although most 
 erroneously, since it has nothing what- 
 ever to do with malacopterygious 
 fishes." 
 
 1880. Giinther, ' Introduction to Study 
 of Fishes,' p. 392 (' O.E.D.') : 
 
 "The first (Oligorus macquariensis) 
 is called by the colonists ' Murray- 
 cod,' being plentiful in the Murray 
 River and other rivers of South Aus- 
 tralia. It attains to a length of more 
 than 3 feet and to a weight of nearly 
 loo Ibs." 
 
 Murray-Lily. ;/. See Lily. 
 
 Murray-Perch, n. a fresh- 
 water fish, Oligorus mite he Hi,
 
 308 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 MUR-MUS] 
 
 Castln., closely allied to Oligorus 
 macquariensis, the Murray-Cod, 
 belonging to the family Pertida. 
 
 1880. Garnet Walch, ' Victoria in 
 1880,' p. 124 : 
 
 "Our noble old i4OO-mile river, the 
 Murray, well christened the Nile of 
 Australia, . . . produces 'snags,' and 
 that finny monster, the Murray cod, 
 together with his less bulky, equally 
 flavourless congener, the Murray 
 perch." 
 
 Murr-nong, n. a plant. The 
 name used by the natives in 
 Southern Australia for Microseris 
 forsteri, Hook., N. O. Composite. 
 
 1878. R. Brough Smyth, ' Aborigines of 
 Victoria,' p. 209: 
 
 " Murr-nong, or Mirr-n'yong, a kind 
 of yam (Microseris Forsteri) was 
 usually very plentiful, and easily found 
 in the spring and early summer, and 
 was dug out of the earth by the women 
 and children." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 45 : 
 
 " Murr-nong, or ' Mirr n'yong ' of 
 the aboriginals of New South Wales 
 and Victoria. The tubers were largely 
 used as food by the aboriginals. They 
 are sweet and milky, and in flavour 
 resemble the cocoa-nut." 
 
 Murrumbidgee Pine, n. See 
 Pine. 
 
 Mushroom, n. The common 
 English mushroom, Agaricus 
 campestris, Linn., N. O. Fungi, 
 abounds in Australia, and there 
 are many other indigenous edible 
 species. 
 
 Musk-Duck, n. the Australian 
 bird, Biziura lobata, Shaw. See 
 Duck. 
 
 1880. Garnet Walch, 'Victoria in 1880,' 
 p. 30: 
 
 "The ungainly musk-duck paddles 
 clumsily away from the passing steamer, 
 but hardly out of gunshot, for he seems 
 to know that his fishy flesh is not es- 
 teemed by man." 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, ' Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 159: 
 
 " That's a musk duck : the plumage 
 
 is very sombre and loose looking not 
 so thick as most other ducks ; the tail, 
 too, is singular, little more than a small 
 fan of short quills. The head of the 
 male has a kind of black leathery ex- 
 crescence under the bill that gives it 
 an odd expression, and the whole bird 
 has a strange odour of musk, rendering 
 it quite uneatable." 
 
 Musk-Kangaroo, n. See Hyp- 
 siprymnodon and Kangaroo. 
 
 Musk-Parrakeet, n. an Aus- 
 tralian parrakeet. See Parrakeet. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. v. pi. 5 : 
 
 " Trichoglossus Concinnus, Vig. and 
 Horsf. (Australis, Wagl.), Musky- 
 Parrakeet ; Musk-Parrakeet, Colon- 
 ists of New South Wales, from the 
 peculiar odour of the bird." 
 
 Musk-tree, n. The name is ap- 
 plied to Marlea vitiense, Benth., 
 N.O. Cornacea, with edible nuts, 
 which is not endemic in Australia, 
 and to two native trees of the 
 N. O. Composite Aster argophyl- 
 tus, Labill., called also Musk-wood, 
 from the scent of the timber ; 
 and Aster viscosus, Labill., called 
 also the Dwarf Musk-tree. 
 
 1848. Letter by Mrs. Perry, given in 
 Canon Goodman's ' Church in Victoria 
 during the Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' 
 p. 71: 
 
 "Also there is some pretty under- 
 wood, a good deal of the musk-tree 
 which is very different from our musk- 
 plant, growing quite into a shrub and 
 having a leaf like the laurel in shape." 
 
 1888. Mrs. M'Cann, 'Poetical Works,' 
 P- M3 = 
 "The musk-tree scents the evening air 
 
 Far down the leafy vale." 
 
 Musk-wood, n. See Musk-tree. 
 
 Mussel, n. Some Australasian 
 species of this mollusc are Myti- 
 lus latus, Lamark., Victoria, Tas- 
 mania, and New Zealand ; M. 
 tasmanicus, Tenison Woods, Tas- 
 mania ; M. rostratus, Dunker, 
 Tasmania and Victoria; M. hir- 
 sutus, Lamark., Tasmania, South
 
 MUT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 309 
 
 Australia, Victoria, New Zea- 
 land ; Af. crassus, Tenison-Woods, 
 Tasmania. Fresh-water Mussels 
 belong to the genus Unto. 
 
 Mutton-bird, n. The word is 
 ordinarily applied to the Antarctic 
 Petrel, Aistrelata lessoni. In Aus- 
 tralasia it is applied to the Puffin 
 or Short-tailed Petrel, Puffinus 
 brevicaudus, Brandt. The collec- 
 tion of the eggs of this Petrel, 
 the preparation of oil from it, 
 the salting of its flesh for food, 
 form the principal means of sub- 
 sistence of the inhabitants, half- 
 caste and other, of the islands in 
 Bass Straits. 
 
 1839. W. Mann, ' Six Years' Residence 
 in the Australian Provinces,' p. 51 : 
 
 "They are commonly called mut- 
 ton birds, from their flavour and 
 fatness ; they are migratory, and 
 arrive in Bass's Straits about the com- 
 mencement of spring, in such numbers 
 that they darken the air." 
 
 1843. J. Backhouse, ' Narrative of a 
 Visit to the Australian Colonies' (1832), 
 
 P- 73 = 
 
 " Mutton birds were in such vast 
 flocks, that, at a distance, they seemed 
 as thick as bees when swarming." 
 
 Ibid. p. 91: 
 
 "The Mutton-birds, or Sooty 
 Petrels, are about the size of the Wood 
 Pigeon of England ; they are of a 
 dark colour, and are called ' Yola ' by 
 the natives." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, 'Discoveries in 
 Australia,' vol. i. p. 264: 
 
 " The principal occupation of these 
 people during this month of the year 
 is taking the Sooty Petrel, called by 
 the Colonists the Mutton Bird, from a 
 fancied resemblance to the taste of 
 that meat." 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, ' Five Years in 
 Australi^ Felix,' p. 47 : 
 
 "The mutton-bird, or sooty petrel 
 ... is about the size of the wood- 
 pigeon of England, and is of a dark 
 colour. These birds are migratory, 
 and are to be seen ranging over the 
 surface of the great southern ocean far 
 from land . . . Many millions of these 
 
 birds are destroyed annually for the 
 sake of their feathers and the oil of 
 the young, which they are made to 
 disgorge by pressing the craws." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, < Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 382 : 
 
 "The titi, or mutton-bird, is a sea- 
 bird which goes inland at night just 
 as the light wanes. The natives light 
 a bright fire, behind which they sit, 
 each armed with a long stick. The 
 titis, attracted by the light, fly by in 
 great numbers, and are knocked down 
 as quickly as possible ; thus in one 
 night several hundreds are often killed, 
 which they preserve in their own fat 
 for future use." 
 
 1857. C. Hursthouse, 'New Zealand 
 the Britain of the South,' vol. i. p. 121 : 
 
 "The young titi (mutton-bird), a 
 species of puffin, is caught by the 
 natives in great quantities, potted in 
 its own fat, and sent as a sort of 
 ''pate defoie gras ' to inland friends." 
 
 1863. B. A. Hey wood, ' Vacation Tour 
 at the Antipodes,' p. 232 : 
 
 "The natives in the South [of 
 Stewart's Island] trade largely with 
 their brethren in the North, in supplies 
 of the mutton-bird, which they boil 
 down, and pack in its own fat in the 
 large air-bags of sea- weed." 
 
 1879. H. N. Moseley, ' Notes by 
 Naturalist on Challenger, p. 207 : 
 
 " Besides the prion, there is the 
 'mutton-bird' of the whalers (^stre- 
 lata lessoni), a large Procellanid, as 
 big as a pigeon, white and brown and 
 grey in colour." 
 
 1880. Garnet Walch, ' Victoria in 1880,' 
 p. 49: 
 
 " The crest of the Cape [Wollomai] 
 is a favourite haunt of those elegant 
 but prosaically-named sea-fowl, the 
 ' mutton-birds.' . . One of the sports 
 of the neighbourhood is ' mutton- 
 birding.' 
 
 1888. A. Reischek, 'Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxi. art. 
 xlix. p. 378 : 
 
 " Passing through Foveaux Strait, 
 clothed with romantic little islands, we 
 disturbed numerous flocks of mutton- 
 birds {Puffinus tristis\ which were 
 playing, feeding, or sleeping on the 
 water."
 
 310 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MUT-MYA 
 
 1891. 'The Australasian,' Nov. 14, p. 
 963, col. I (' A Lady in the Kermadecs') : 
 
 "The mutton-birds and burrowers 
 come to the island in millions in the 
 breeding season, and the nesting-place 
 of the burrowers is very like a rabbit- 
 warren ; while the mutton-bird is con- 
 tent with a few twigs to do duty for a 
 nest." 
 
 1891. Rev. J. Stack, ' Report of Aus- 
 tralasian Association for the Advancement 
 of Science,' vol. iii. p. 379 : 
 
 "Wild pigeons, koko, tui, wekas, 
 and mutton-birds were cooked and 
 preserved in their own fat." 
 
 Mutton-bird Tree, n. a tree, 
 Senedo rotundifolius, Hook. : so 
 called because the mutton-birds, 
 especially in Foveaux Straits, New 
 Zealand, are fond of sitting under 
 it. 
 
 Mutton-fish, n. a marine uni- 
 valve mollusc, Haliotis ncevosa, 
 Martyn : so called from its flavour 
 when cooked. The empty ear- 
 shell of Haliotis, especially in New 
 Zealand, Haliotis iris, Martyn, is 
 known as Venus' Ear; Maori 
 name, Paua (q.v.). A species of 
 the same genus is known and 
 eaten at the Cape and in the 
 Channel Islands. (French name 
 Ormer, sc. Oreille de mer.} 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' Fish 
 and Fisheries of New South Wales,' p. 92 : 
 
 "Then mutton fish were speared. 
 This is the ear-shell fish (Haliotis 
 ncevosa), which was eagerly bought 
 by the Chinese merchants. Only the 
 large muscular sucking disc on foot 
 is used. Before being packed it is 
 boiled and dried. About yd. per Ib. 
 was given." 
 
 Myall, n. and adj. aboriginal 
 word with two different meanings ; 
 whether there is any connection 
 between them is uncertain. 
 
 (i) n. An acacia tree, Acacia 
 
 pendula, A. Cunn., and its timber. 
 
 Various species have special 
 
 epithets : Bastard, Dalby, True, 
 
 Weeping, etc. 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, ' Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 38 : 
 
 "The myall-tree (Acacia pcnduld) is 
 the most picturesque tree of New 
 South Wales. The leaves have the 
 appearance of being frosted, and the 
 branches droop like the weeping wil- 
 low. ... Its perfume is as delightful, 
 and nearly as strong, as sandal-wood." 
 (p. 10) : "They poison the fish by 
 means of a sheet of bark stripped from 
 the Myall-tree (Acacia pendula}." 
 
 1846. T. L. Mitchell, Report quoted by 
 J. D. Lang, ' Cooksland,' p. 495 : 
 
 "The myall-tree and salt-bush, 
 Acacia pendula and salsolce [sic], so 
 essential to a good run, are also there." 
 
 1864. J. S. Moore, ' Spring Life Lyrics,' 
 p. 170 : 
 
 " The guerdon's won ! What may it 
 
 be? 
 A grave beneath a myall-tree." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 
 ' History of the Discovery and Exploration 
 of Australia,' vol. i. p. 193 [Note] : 
 
 "This acacia, which has much the 
 habit of the weeping willow, is found 
 very extensively on the wet, alluvial 
 flats of the west rivers. It sometimes 
 forms scrubs and thickets, which give 
 a characteristic appearance to the 
 interior of this part of Australia, so 
 that, once seen, it can never be again 
 mistaken for scenery of any other 
 country in the world. The myall 
 scrubs are nearly all of Acacia pen- 
 dula." 
 
 1880. Fison and Howitt, ' Kamilaroi 
 and Kurnai,' p. 280 : 
 
 " The myall-wood weapons made at 
 Liverpool Plains were exchanged with 
 the coast natives for others." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 46 : 
 
 " Lignum-vitce and bastard-myall 
 bushes were very common." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 115 : 
 
 "Weeping or true Myall. . . . Stock 
 are very fond of the leaves of this 
 tree [Acacia pendula], especially in 
 seasons of drought, and for this reason, 
 and because they eat down the seed- 
 lings, it has almost become extermin- 
 ated in parts of the colonies." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' p. 27 :
 
 MY A] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 " A strip of the swaying, streaming 
 myall, of a colour more resembling 
 blue than black." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 2 : 
 " The soft and silvery grace of the 
 myalls." 
 
 1890. E. D. Cleland, ' The White Kan- 
 garoo,' p. 50 : 
 
 " Miall, a wood having a scent 
 similar to raspberry-jam, and very 
 hard and well-grained." 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. 130 : 
 
 " Stock-whips with myall handles 
 (the native wood that smells like 
 violets)." 
 
 (2) adj. and n. wild, wild na- 
 tives, used especially in Queens- 
 land. The explanation given by 
 Lumholtz (1890) is not generally 
 accepted. The word mail, or 
 myall, is the aboriginal term for 
 "men," on the Bogan, Du- 
 maresque, and Macintyre Rivers 
 in New South Wales. It is the 
 local equivalent of the more 
 common form murrai. 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 41 : 
 
 " On my arrival I learnt from the 
 natives that one party was still at work 
 a considerable distance up the country, 
 at the source of one of the rivers, called 
 by the natives ' Myall,' meaning, in 
 their language, Stranger, or a place 
 which they seldom or never frequent." 
 
 1839. T - L - Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. i. p. 192 : 
 
 "This tribe gloried in the name of 
 ' Myall,' which the natives nearer to 
 the colony apply in terror and abhor- 
 rence to the 'wild blackfellows,' to 
 whom they usually attribute the most 
 savage propensities." 
 
 1844. ' Port Phillip Patriot,' Aug. I, p. 
 4, col. 4 : 
 
 "Even the wildest of the Myall 
 black fellows as cannibals usually 
 .are learned to appreciate him." 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, 'Cooksland,' p. 447: 
 
 " Words quite as unintelligible to 
 the natives as the corresponding words 
 in the vernacular language of the 
 white men would have been, were 
 learned by the natives, and are now 
 
 commonly used by them in conversing 
 with Europeans, as English words. 
 Thus corrobbory, the Sydney word for 
 a general assembly of natives, is now 
 commonly used in that sense at More- 
 ton Bay ; but the original word there 
 is yancrwillc. Gabon, great ; narang 
 little ; boodgcrce, good ; myall, wild 
 native, etc. etc., are all words of this 
 description, supposed by the natives 
 to be English words, and by the Euro- 
 peans to be aboriginal words of the 
 language of that district." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 171 : 
 
 "A more intimate acquaintance with 
 the ways and customs of the whites 
 had produced a certain amount of 
 contempt for them among the myalls." 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, 'Old Colonials,' p. 
 209: 
 
 " I had many conversations with 
 native police officers on the subject of 
 the amelioration of the wild myalls." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 150 : 
 
 " Suddenly he became aware that 
 half-a-dozen of these ' myalls,' as they 
 are called, were creeping towards him 
 through the long grass. Armed with 
 spears and boomerangs . . ." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Canni- 
 bals,' p. 76 : 
 
 "These so-called civilized blacks 
 look upon their savage brethren with 
 more or less contempt, and call them 
 myall." [Footnote]: " A tree (Acacia 
 pcndula) which grows extensively in 
 the less civilized districts is called by 
 the Europeans myall. This word was 
 soon applied by the whites as a term 
 for the wild blacks who frequented 
 these large remote myall woods. 
 Strange to say, the blacks soon adopted 
 this term themselves, and used it as an 
 epithet of abuse, and hence it soon 
 came to mean a person of no culture." 
 
 1893. M. Gaunt, ' English Illustrated,' 
 March, p. 367 : 
 
 " He himself had no faith in the 
 myall blacks ; they were treacherous, 
 they were cruel." 
 
 (3) By transference, wild cattle. 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' April 29, p. 4, col. 
 4, ' Getting in the Scrubbers' : 
 
 "To secure these myalls we took 
 down sixty or seventy head of quiet
 
 312 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [MYR 
 
 cows, as dead homers as carrier 
 pigeons, some of them milking cows, 
 with their calves penned up in the 
 stockyard." 
 
 Myrmecobius,. scientific name 
 of the Australian genus with only 
 one species, called the Banded 
 Ant-eater (q.v.). (Grk. /u,vp/x^^, an 
 ant, and /3i'os life.) 
 
 Myrtle, n. The true Myrtle, 
 Myrtus communis, is a native of 
 Asia, but has long been natural- 
 ised in Europe, especially on the 
 shores of the Mediterranean. The 
 name is applied to many genera 
 of the family, N. O. Myrtacece, and 
 has been transferred to many 
 other trees not related to that 
 order. In Australia the name, 
 with various epithets, is applied 
 to the following trees 
 
 Backhousia citriodora, F. v. M., 
 N. O. Myrtacecz, called the Scrub 
 Myrtle and Native Myrtle. 
 
 Backhousia myrtifolia, Hook, and 
 Herv., N. O. Myrtacece, called 
 Scrub Myrtle, or Native Myrtle, 
 or Grey Myrtle, and also Lance- 
 wood. 
 
 Diospyrus pentamera, F. v. M., 
 N.O. Ebenacece, the Black Myrtle 
 and Grey Plum of Northern New 
 South Wales. 
 
 Eugenia myrtifolia, Sims, N.O. 
 Myrtacece, known as Native 
 Myrtle, Red Myrtle and Brush 
 Cherry. 
 
 Eugenia ventenatii, Benth., N.O. 
 Myrtacece, the Drooping Myrtle 
 or Large-leaved Water-gum. 
 
 Melaleuca decussata, R.Br., N.O. 
 Myrtacece. 
 
 Melaleuca genistifolia, Smith, N.O. 
 Myrtacece, which is called Ridge 
 
 Myrtle, and in Queensland Iron- 
 wood. 
 
 Myoporum serratum, R.Br., N.O. 
 Myoporinece, which is called 
 Native Myrtle ; and also called 
 Blue-berry Tree, Native Currant, 
 Native Juniper, Cockatoo-Bushy 
 and by the aborigines Palberry. 
 Myrtus acmenioides, F. v. M., N.O. 
 Myrtacece, which is the White 
 Myrtle of the Richmond and 
 Clarence Rivers (New South 
 Wales), and is also called Lig- 
 num-vitce. 
 
 Rhodamnia argentea, Benth., N.O. 
 Myrtacece, called White Myrtle, 
 the Muggle-muggle of the aborigi- 
 nals of Northern New South 
 Wales. 
 
 Syncarpia leptopetala, F. v. M., 
 N.O. Myrtacece, which is called 
 Myrtle and also Brush-Turpen- 
 tine. 
 
 Tristania neriifolia, R.Br., N.O. 
 Myrtacece, called Water Myrtle, 
 and also Water Gum. 
 Trochocarpa laurina, R. Br., N.O. 
 Epacridece, called Brush-Myrtle 
 Beech and Brush Cherry. 
 In Tasmania, all the Beeches are 
 called Myrtles, and there are 
 extensive forests of the Beech 
 Fagus cunninghamii, Hook., which 
 is invariably called " Myrtle " by 
 the colonists of Tasmania. 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, ' Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 206 : 
 
 Table of Tasmanian Woods. 
 
 Hgt. Dia. Where found. Use. 
 
 ft. in. 
 
 Scented Myrtle 15 6 Low, marshy Seldom used 
 Red ,, 40 12 Swampy As pine 
 
 White ,, 20 9 Low, marshy House -car- 
 pen try 
 
 Yellow ,, 20 9 ,, do. 
 
 Brown ,, 20 30 ,, ,, do. and 
 
 joiners' planes
 
 NAI-NAN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 3'3 
 
 N 
 
 Nailrod, n. a coarse dark 
 tobacco smoked by bushmen. 
 The name alludes to the shape of 
 the plug, which looks like a thin 
 flat stick of liquorice. It is pro- 
 perly applied to the imported 
 brand of "Two Seas," but is in- 
 discriminately used by up-country 
 folk for any coarse stick of tobacco. 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'While the Billy 
 boils,' p. 118 : 
 
 " ' You can give me half-a-pound of 
 nailrod,' he said, in a quiet tone." 
 
 Nail-tailed Wallaby, n. See 
 Onychogalc. 
 
 Namma hole, n, a native well. 
 Namma is an aboriginal word for 
 a woman's breast. 
 
 1893. 'The Australasian,' August 5, p. 
 252, col. 4 : 
 
 "The route all the way fro nv York 
 to Coolgardie is amply watered, either 
 'namma holes' (native wells) or 
 Government wells being plentiful on 
 the road." 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' March 28, 
 p. 605, col. i : 
 
 " The blacks about here [far west of 
 N.S.W.] use a word nearly resembling 
 ' namma ' in naming waterholes, viz., 
 ' numma,' pronounced by them ' ngum- 
 ma,' which means a woman's breast. 
 It is used in conjunction with other 
 words in the native names of some 
 waterholes in this district, e.g., ' Tirra- 
 ngumma ' = Gum-tree breast ; and 
 ' ngumma-tunka ' = breast-milk, the 
 water in such case being always milky 
 in appearance. In almost all native 
 words beginning with about here 
 the first n has the ng sound as above." 
 
 Nancy, n. a Tasmanian name 
 for the flower Anguillaria (q.v.). 
 
 Nankeen Crane, or Nankeen 
 
 Bird, or Nankeen Night Heron, 
 . the Australian bird Nycticorax 
 caledonicus, Gmel. Both the Nan- 
 keen Bird and the Nankeen Hawk 
 are so called from their colour. 
 Nankeen is "a Chinese fabric, 
 usually buff, from the natural 
 colour of a cotton grown in the 
 Nanking district " of China. 
 (' Century.') 
 
 1838. James, ' Six Months in South 
 Australia,' p. 202 : 
 
 " After shooting one or two beautiful 
 nankeen birds." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, 'My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 121 : 
 
 "The nankeen crane (Nycticorax 
 caledomcus), a very handsome bright 
 nankeen-coloured bird with three long 
 white feathers at the back of the neck, 
 very good eating." 
 
 Nankeen Gum. See Gum. 
 
 Nankeen Hawk, n. an Aus- 
 tralian bird, Tinnunculus cenchroi- 
 des, Vig. and Hors., which is 
 otherwise called Kestrel (q.v.). 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Transac- 
 tions of the Linncean Society,' <yol. xv. p. 
 184: 
 
 " ' This bird,' as we are informed by 
 Mr. Caley, 'is called Nankeen Hawk 
 by the settlers. It is a migratory 
 species.'" 
 
 Nannygai, n. aboriginal name 
 for an Australian fish, Beryxaffinis y 
 Gunth. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 52 : 
 
 " Amongst the early colonists it used 
 also to be called ' mother nan a di,' pro- 
 bably a corruption of the native name, 
 mura ngin a gai." 
 
 1884. E. P. Ramsay, 'Fisheries Ex- 
 hibition Literature,' vol. v. p. 308 : 
 
 " Known among the fishermen of
 
 314 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [\AR 
 
 Port Jackson as the ' nannagai,' or as 
 it is sometimes spelt 'nannygy.' It 
 is a most delicious fish, always brings 
 a high price, but is seldom found in 
 sufficient numbers." 
 
 Nardoo, or Nardu, n. ab- 
 original word for the sporocarp of 
 a plant, Marsilea quadrifolia^ Linn., 
 used as food by the aboriginals, 
 and sometimes popularly called 
 Clover-fern. The explorers Burke 
 and Wills vainly sought the 
 means of sustaining life by eat- 
 ing flour made from the spore- 
 cases of nardoo. " Properly 
 JVgdrdii in the Cooper's Creek 
 language (Yantruwiinta)." (A. 
 W. Howitt.) Cooper's Creek 
 was the district where Burke and 
 Wills perished. In South Aus- 
 tralia Ardoo is said to be the 
 correct form. 
 
 1861. 'Diary of H. J. Wills, the Ex- 
 plorer,' quoted in Brough Smyth's ' Abori- 
 gines of Victoria,' p. 216 : 
 
 " I cannot understand this nardoo 
 at all ; it certainly will not agree with 
 me in any form. We are now reduced 
 to it alone, and we manage to get from 
 four to five pounds a day between us. 
 . . .It seems to give us no nutriment. 
 . . . Starvation on nardoo is by no 
 means very unpleasant, but for the 
 weakness one feels and the utter in- 
 ability to move oneself, for, as far as 
 appetite is concerned, it gives me the 
 greatest satisfaction." 
 
 1862. Andrew Jackson, ' Burke and the 
 Australian Exploring Expedition of 1860,' 
 p. 186: 
 
 "The [wheaten] flour, fifty pounds 
 of which I gave them, they at once 
 called 'whitefellow nardoo,' and they 
 explained that they understood that 
 these things were given to them for 
 having fed King." 
 
 1865. W. Howitt, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. .p. 247 
 
 " They now began to inquire of the 
 blacks after the nardoo seed, imagining 
 it the produce of a tree ; and received 
 from the natives some of their dried 
 narcotic herbs, which they chew, called 
 pitchery. They soon found the nardoo 
 
 seed in abundance, on a flat, and con- 
 gratulated themselves in the idea that 
 on this they could subsist in the wil- 
 derness, if all other food failed, a hope 
 in which they were doomed to a great 
 disappointment." 
 
 1877. F. von Miiller, 'Botanic Teach- 
 ings,' p. 130: 
 
 " QiMarsiliacece we have well known 
 examples in the nardoo (Marsilea 
 quadrifolia, with many varieties), the 
 foliage resembling that of a clover 
 with four leaflets." 
 
 1878. R. Brough Smyth, 'Aborigines 
 of Victoria,' p. 209 : 
 
 "They seem to have been unac- 
 quainted generally with the use, as a 
 food, of the clover-fern, Nardoo, though 
 the natives of the North Western parts 
 of Victoria must have had intercourse 
 with the tribes who use it, and could 
 have obtained it, sparingly, from the 
 lagoons in their own neighbourhood." 
 
 1879. J. D. Wood, 'Native Tribes of 
 South Australia,' p. 288 : 
 
 " Ardoo, often described by writers 
 as Nardoo. A'very hard seed, a flat 
 oval of about the size of a pea. It is 
 crushed for food." 
 
 1879 (about). ' Queensland Bush Song ': 
 " Hurrah for the Roma Railway ! 
 
 Hurrah for Cobb and Co. ! 
 Hurrah, hurrah for a good fat horse 
 
 To carry me Westward Ho ! 
 To carry me Westward Ho ! my 
 
 boys ; 
 
 That's where the cattle pay, 
 On the far Barcoo, where they eat 
 
 nardoo, 
 A thousand miles away." 
 
 1879. S. Gason, in ' The Native Tribes 
 of South Australia,' p. 288 : 
 
 " Ardoo. Often described in news- 
 papers and by writers as Nardoo. A 
 very hard seed, a flat oval of about the 
 size of a split pea ; it is crushed or 
 pounded, and the husk winnowed. In 
 bad seasons this is the mainstay of the 
 native sustenance, but it is the worst 
 food possible, possessing very little 
 nourishment, and being difficult to 
 digest." 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, 'Pro- 
 ceedings of the Linnsean Society of New 
 South Wales,' p. 82 [Botanical Notes on 
 Queensland] : 
 
 " Sesbania aculeata. The seeds of
 
 NAT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 this plant are eaten by the natives. It 
 grows in all warm or marshy places in 
 Queensland. By many it is thought 
 that this was the Nardoo which Burke 
 and Wills thought came from the spores 
 of a Marsilea. It is hard to suppose 
 that any nourishment would be ob- 
 tained from the spore cases of the 
 latter plant, or that the natives would 
 use it. Besides this the spore-cases 
 are so few in number." 
 
 1890. E. D. Cleland, ' White Kangaroo,' 
 p. 113: 
 
 "The great thing with the blacks 
 was nardoo. This is a plant which 
 sends up slender stems several inches 
 high ; at the tip is a flower-like leaf, 
 divided into four nearly equal parts. 
 It bears a fruit, or seed, and this is the 
 part used for food. It is pounded into 
 meal between two stones, and is made 
 up in the form of cakes, and baked in 
 the ashes. It is said to be nourishing 
 when eaten with animal food, but 
 taken alone to afford no support." 
 
 Native, n. This word, originally 
 applied, as elsewhere, to the 
 aboriginal inhabitants of Aus- 
 tralia, is now used exclusively to 
 designate white people born in 
 Australia. The members of the 
 ' ' Australian Natives' Association " 
 (A.N.A.), founded April 27, 1871, 
 pride themselves on being Aus- 
 tralian-born and not immigrants. 
 Mr. Rudyard Kipling, in the 
 'Times' of Nov. 1895, published 
 a poem called "The Native- 
 Born," sc. born in the British 
 Empire, but outside Great Britain. 
 As applied to Plants, Animals, 
 Names, etc., the word Native 
 bears its original sense, as in 
 "Native Cabbage," "Native 
 Bear," " Native name for," etc., 
 though in the last case it is now 
 considered more correct to say in 
 Australia " Aboriginal name for," 
 and in New Zealand " Maori 
 name for." 
 
 1861. Mrs. Meredith, ' Over the Straits,' 
 c. v. p. 161 : 
 
 " Three Sydney natives (' currency ' 
 
 not aboriginal) were in the coach, 
 bound for Melbourne." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from Snowy 
 River,' p. 43 : 
 
 "They were long and wiry natives 
 from the rugged mountain side." 
 
 Native, or Rock-Native, n. a 
 name given to the fish called 
 Schnapper, after it has ceased to 
 "school." See Schnapper. 
 
 Native Arbutus, n. See Wax- 
 cluster. 
 
 Native Banana, n. another 
 name for Lilly-pilly (q.v.J. 
 
 Native Banyan, n. another 
 name for Ficus rubiginosa. See Fig. 
 
 Native Bear, n. See Sear. 
 Native Beech, n. See Beech. 
 
 Native Blackberry, n. See 
 
 Blackberry. 
 
 Native Borage, n. See Borage. 
 Native Box, n. See Box. 
 Native Bread, n. See Bread. 
 Native Broom, n. See Broom. 
 Native Burnet, ;/. SzzBurnet. 
 
 Native Cabbage, n. The Nas- 
 turtium pal us f re, De C., N.O. Cru- 
 cifertz, is so called, but in spite of 
 its name it is not endemic in Aus- 
 tralia. In New Zealand, the name 
 is sometimes applied to the Maori 
 Cabbage (q.v.). 
 
 Native Carrot, n. See Carrot. 
 
 Native Cascarilla, ;/. See Cas- 
 
 carilla. 
 
 Native Cat, n. See Cat. 
 
 Native Celery, or Australian 
 Celery, n. See Celery. 
 
 Native Centaury, n. See Cen- 
 taury. 
 
 Native Cherry, ;/. See Cherry. 
 
 Native-Companion, . an Aus- 
 tralian bird-name, Gnis aiistral- 
 asianus, Gould. See also Crane.
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [NAT 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, 'Australia,' p. 125 : 
 " Here we saw the native-companion, 
 a large bird of the crane genus . . . 
 five feet high, colour of the body grey, 
 the wings darker, blue or black." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 38 : 
 
 " With native-companions (Ardea 
 antigone) strutting round." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. vi. pi. 48 : 
 
 " Grus Australasianus, Gould, Aus- 
 tralian Crane ; Native-Companion of 
 the Colonists." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 146: 
 
 "A handsome tame 'native-com- 
 panion,' which had been stalking about 
 picking up insects, drew near. Open- 
 ing his large slate-coloured wings, and 
 dancing grotesquely, the interesting 
 bird approached his young mistress, 
 bowing gracefully from side to side as 
 he hopped lightly along ; then running 
 up, he laid his heron-like head lovingly 
 against her breast." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 21 : 
 
 " The most extraordinary of Riverina 
 birds is the native-companion." 
 
 1890. Tasma, ' In her Earliest Youth,' 
 p. 145: 
 
 "A row of native-companions, of 
 course, standing on one leg as is 
 their wont like recruits going to 
 drill." [Query, did the writer mean 
 going " through " drill.] 
 
 1891. ' Guide to Zoological Gardens, 
 Melbourne,' p. 23: 
 
 " In this paddock are some speci- 
 mens of the Native Companion, whose 
 curious habit of assembling in groups 
 on the plains and fantastically dancing, 
 has attracted much attention. This 
 peculiarity is not confined to them 
 alone, however, as some of the other 
 large cranes (notably the crowned 
 cranes of Africa) display the same 
 trait." 
 
 Native Cranberry, n. See 
 Cranberry. 
 
 Native Currant, //. See under 
 Currant. 
 
 Native Daisy, n. See Daisy. 
 
 Native Damson, n. See Dam- 
 son. 
 
 Native Dandelion, . SeeDan- 
 delion. 
 
 Native Daphne, n. See Daphne. 
 Native Date, n. See Date. 
 Native Deal, n. See Deal. 
 
 Native Dog, n. Another name 
 for the Dingo (q.v.). 
 
 Native Elderberry, n. See 
 Elderberry. 
 
 Native Flax, n. See under 
 Flax, Native, and New Zealand. 
 
 Native Fuchsia, n. SezFuchsia. 
 Native Furze, n. See Hakea. 
 Native Ginger, n. See Ginger. 
 
 Native Grape, n. See Grape, 
 Gippsland. 
 
 Native-hen, n. name applied 
 to various species of the genus 
 Tribonyx (q.v.). The Australian 
 species are Tribonyxmortieri, Du 
 Bus., called by Gould the Native 
 Hen of the Colonists ; Black-tailed 
 N.-h., T. ventralis, Gould; and in 
 Tasmania, Tribonyx gouldi, Sclater. 
 See Tribonyx. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' vol. 
 vi. pi. 71 : 
 
 " Tribonyx Mortierii, Du Bus., 
 native-hen of the colonists." 
 
 Native Hickory, n. See Hic- 
 kory. 
 
 Native Holly, n. See Holly. 
 Native Hops, n. See Hops. 
 
 Native Hyacinth, n. See Hya- 
 cinth. 
 
 Native Indigo. ;/. See Indigo. 
 
 Native Ivy, n. See Ivy, and 
 Grape, Macquarie Harbour. 
 
 Native Jasmine, n. See Jas- 
 mine. 
 
 Native Juniper, n. Same as 
 Native Currant. See under Cur- 
 rant.
 
 NAT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 317 
 
 Native Kumquat, n. Same as 
 Desert Lemon (q.v.). 
 
 Native Laburnum, n. See La- 
 burnum. 
 
 Native Laurel, n. See Laurel. 
 
 Native Lavender, n. See La- 
 vender. 
 
 Native Leek, n. See Leek. 
 
 Native Lilac, n. a Tasmanian 
 plant. See Lilac. 
 
 Native Lime, n. See Lime. 
 
 Native Lucerne, n. i.q. Queens- 
 land Hemp. See under Hemp. 
 
 Native Mangrove, n. Tasman- 
 ian name for the Boobialla (q.v.). 
 
 Native Mignonette, n. See 
 Mignonette. 
 
 Native Millet, . See Millet. 
 Native Mint, n. See Mint. 
 
 Native Mistletoe, n. See Mis- 
 tletoe. 
 
 Native Mulberry, n. See Mul- 
 berry. 
 
 Native Myrtle, n. See Myrtle. 
 
 Native Nectarine, n. another 
 name for the Emu-Apple. See 
 under Apple. 
 
 Native Oak, n. See Oak. 
 
 Native Olive, n. See under 
 Olive and Marblewood. 
 
 Native Onion, n. Same as Na- 
 tive Leek, n. See Leek. 
 
 Native Orange, n. See under 
 Orange. 
 
 Native Passion-flower, n. See 
 Passion -flower. 
 
 Native Peach, n. i.q. Quandong 
 {q.v.). 
 
 Native Pear, n. See Hakea and 
 Pear. 
 
 Native Pennyroyal, n. See 
 Pennyroyal. 
 
 Native Pepper, n. See Pepper. 
 
 Native Plantain, n. See Plan- 
 tain. 
 
 Native Plum, n. 
 Wild. 
 
 See Plum, 
 
 Native Pomegranate, n. See 
 Orange, Native. 
 
 Native Potato, n. See Potato. 
 
 Native Quince, n. Another 
 name for Emu-Apple. See Apple. 
 
 Native Raspberry, . See 
 
 Raspberry. 
 
 Native Rocket, n. See Rocket. 
 
 Native Sandalwood, n. See 
 Sandalwood and Raspberry-Jam 
 Tree. 
 
 Native Sarsaparilla, n. See 
 Sarsaparilla. 
 
 Native Sassafras, n. See Sas- 
 safras. 
 
 Native Scarlet-runner, n. See 
 Kennedya. 
 
 Native Shamrock, n. See 
 
 Shamrock. 
 
 Native Sloth, n. i.q. Native 
 Bear. See Bear. 
 
 Native Speedwell, n. See 
 
 Speedwell. 
 
 Native Tamarind, n. See 
 Tamarind-tree. 
 
 Native Tiger, n. See Tasmanian 
 Tiger. 
 
 Native Tobacco, ;/. See To- 
 bacco. 
 
 Native Tulip, n. See Waratah. 
 
 Native Turkey, n. Same as 
 Wild Turkey. A vernacular name 
 given to Eupodotis australis, Gray, 
 which is not a turkey at all, but a 
 true Bustard. See Turkey. 
 
 Native Vetch, n. See Vetch. 
 
 Native Willow, n. See Boobi- 
 alla and Poison-berry Tree. 
 
 Native Yam, n. See Yam.
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 Necho, and Neko. See Nikau. 
 
 Nectarine, Native, n. another 
 name for Emu-Apple. See Apple, 
 
 Needle-bush, n. name applied 
 to two Australian trees, Hakea 
 leucoptera, R.Br., N.O. Proteacea ; 
 called also Pin-bush and Water- 
 tree (q.v.) and Bee/wood; Acacia 
 rigens, Cunn., IV. O. Leguminoscz 
 (called also Nealie\ Both trees 
 have fine sharp spines. 
 
 Negro-head Beech, n. See 
 Beech. 
 
 Neinei, n. Maori name for New 
 Zealand shrub, Dracophyllum lon- 
 gifolium, R. Br., also D. traversii, 
 N.O. Epacridea. 
 
 1865. J. Von Haast, 'A Journey to the 
 West Coast, 1865' (see ' Geology of West- 
 land,' p. 78) : 
 
 "An undescribed superb tree like 
 Dracophyllum, not unlike the D. latifo- 
 lium of the North Island, began to 
 appear here. The natives call it nene. 
 (Named afterwards D. traversii by Dr. 
 Hooker.) It has leaves a foot long 
 running out into a slender point, of a 
 reddish brown colour at the upper 
 part, between which the elegant flower- 
 panicle comes forth." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 128 : 
 
 " Neinei, an ornamental shrub-tree, 
 with long grassy leaves. Wood white, 
 marked with satin-like specks, and 
 adapted for cabinet-work." 
 
 1888. J. Adams, ' Transactions of New 
 Zealand Institute,' vol. xxi. art. ii. p. 40: 
 
 " On the flat and rounded top the 
 tallest plants are stunted neinei." 
 
 Nephrite, n. See Greenstone. 
 
 Nestor, n. scientific name for 
 a genus of New Zealand Parrots. 
 See Kaka and Kea. 
 
 1863. S. Butler, ' First Year in Canter- 
 bury Settlement,' p. 58 : 
 
 " There was a kind of dusky, 
 brownish-green parrot too, which the 
 scientific call a Nestor. What they 
 mean by this name I know not. To 
 the unscientific it is a rather dirty- 
 looking bird, with some bright red 
 
 [NEC-NEV 
 
 feathers under its wings. It is very 
 tame, sits still to be petted, and screams 
 like a parrot." 
 
 Nettle-tree, n. Two species of 
 Laportea, N.O. Urticacetz, large 
 scrub-trees, are called by this 
 name Giant Nettle, L. gigas, 
 Wedd., and Small-leaved Nettle, 
 L. photiniphylla, Wedd.; they have 
 rigid stinging hairs. These are 
 both species of such magnitude 
 as to form timber-trees. A third, 
 L. moroides, Wedd., is a small 
 tree, with the stinging hairs ex- 
 tremely virulent. See also preced- 
 ing words. 
 
 1849. J. P. Townsend, 'Rambles in 
 New South Wales,' p. 34 : 
 
 "In the scrubs is found a tree, com- 
 monly called the nettle-tree (Urtica 
 gigas). It is often thirty feet in height, 
 and has a large, broad, green leaf. It 
 is appropriately named ; and the pain 
 caused by touching the leaf is, I think, 
 worse than that occasioned by the 
 sting of a wasp." 
 
 Never, Never Country, or 
 Never, Never Land. See quot- 
 ations. Mr. Cooper's explanation 
 (1857 quotation) is not generally 
 accepted. 
 
 1857. F. de Brebant Cooper, 'Wild 
 Adventures in Australia,' p. 68 : 
 
 "With the aid of three stock-keepers, 
 soon after my arrival at Illarrawarra, I 
 had the cattle mustered, and the draft 
 destined for the Nievah vahs ready for 
 for the road." [Footnote]: "Nievah 
 vahs, sometimes incorrectly pronounced 
 never nevers, a Comderoi term signi- 
 fying unoccupied land." 
 
 1884. A. W. Stirling, ' The Never Never 
 Land : a Ride in North Queensland,' 
 p. 5: 
 
 " The ' Never Never Land,' as the 
 colonists call all that portion of it 
 [Queensland] which lies north or west 
 of Cape Capricorn." 
 
 1887. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. i. p. 279 : 
 
 " In very sparsely populated country, 
 such as the district of Queensland, 
 known as the Never Never Country 
 presumably because a person, who has
 
 NEW] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 319 
 
 once been there, invariably asseverates 
 that he will never, never, on any con- 
 sideration, go back." 
 
 1890. J. S. O'Halloran, Secretary Royal 
 Colonial Institute, a/wo' Barrere and Leland: 
 
 "The Never, Never Country means 
 in Queensland the occupied pastoral 
 country which is furthest removed 
 from the more settled districts." 
 
 1890. A. J. Vogan, 'The Black Police,' 
 p. 85: 
 
 " The weird ' Never, Never Land,' so 
 called by the earliest pioneers from the 
 small chance they anticipated,on reach- 
 ing it, of ever being able to return to 
 southern civilization." 
 
 Newberyite, n. [Named after 
 J. Cosmo Newbery of Melbourne.] 
 "A hydrous phosphate of magne- 
 sium occurring in orthorhombic 
 crystals in the bat-guano of 
 the Skipton Caves, Victoria." 
 (' Century.') 
 
 New Chum, n. a new arrival, 
 especially from the old country : 
 generally used with more or less 
 contempt ; what in the United 
 States is called a 'tenderfoot.' 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. i. p. 99 : 
 
 " He was also what they termed a 
 ' new chum,' or one newly arrived." 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 366 : 
 
 " ' New Chum,' in opposition to ' Old 
 Chum.' The former ' cognomen ' pecu- 
 liarizing [sic] the newly-arrived Emi- 
 grant ; the latter as a mark of respect 
 attached to the more experienced 
 Colonist." 
 
 1855. 'How to Settle in Victoria,' p. 15 : 
 
 "They appear to suffer from an 
 apprehension of being under-sold, or 
 in some other way implicated by the 
 inexperience of, as they call him, the 
 'new chum.'" 
 
 1865. 'Once a Week,' 'The Bulla Bulla 
 Bunyip': 
 
 " I was, however, comparatively 
 speaking, a 'new chum,' and there- 
 fore my explanation of the mystery 
 met with scant respect." 
 
 1874. W. M. B., 'Narrative of Edward 
 Crewe,' p. 17 : 
 
 "To be a new chum is not agree- 
 able it is something like being a new 
 boy at school you are bored with 
 questions for some time after your 
 arrival as to how you like the place, 
 and what you are going to do ; and 
 people speak to you in a pitying and 
 patronizing manner, smiling at your 
 real or inferred simplicity in colonial 
 life, and altogether ' sitting upon ' you 
 with much frequency and persistence." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Head Station,' p. 
 32: 
 
 "A new chum is no longer a new 
 chum when he can plait a stock-whip." 
 
 1886. P. Clarke [Title] : 
 
 " The New Chum in Australia." 
 
 1887. W. S. S. Tyrwhitt [Title] : 
 
 " The New Chum in the Queensland 
 Bush." 
 
 1890. Tasma, ' In her Earliest Youth,' 
 p. 152: 
 
 " I've seen such a lot of those new 
 chums, one way and another. They 
 knock down all their money at the 
 first go-off, and then there's nothing 
 for them to do but to go and jackaroo 
 up in Queensland." 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, 'A Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. 4 : 
 
 " The buggy horse made a bolt of it 
 when a new-chum Englishman was 
 driving her." 
 
 1892. Mrs. H. E. Russell, 'Too Easily 
 Jealous,' p. 155 : 
 
 " One man coolly told me it was 
 because I was a new chum, just as 
 though it were necessary for a fellow 
 to rusticate for untold ages in these 
 barbarous solitudes, before he is 
 allowed to give an opinion on any 
 subject connected with the colonies." 
 
 New Chumhood, ;/. the period 
 and state of being a New Chum. 
 
 1883. W. Jardine Smith, in ' Nineteenth 
 Century,' November, p. 849: 
 
 "The 'bumptiousness' observable in 
 the early days of new chumhood.'" 
 
 New Holland, n. the name, now 
 extinct, first given to Australia 
 by Dutch explorers. 
 
 1703. Capt. William Dampier,' Voyages,' 
 vol. iii. [Title]: 
 
 " A Voyage to New Holland, &c., in 
 the Year 1699."
 
 320 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [NEW-NIC 
 
 1814. M. Flinders, 'Voyage to Terra 
 Australis,' Intro, p. ii : 
 
 " The vast regions to which this voy- 
 age was principally directed, compre- 
 hend, in the western part, the early 
 discoveries of the Dutch, under the 
 name of New Holland ; and in the 
 east, the coasts explored by British 
 navigators, and named New South 
 Wales." 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 2 : 
 
 "The Spaniards at the commence- 
 ment of the seventeenth century were 
 the discoverers of New Holland ; and 
 from them it received the name of 
 Australia. It subsequently, however, 
 obtained its present name of New 
 Holland from the Dutch navigators, 
 who visited it a few years afterwards." 
 
 [The Spaniards did not call New 
 Holland A ustralia(f\.\^. The Spaniard 
 Quiros gave the name of Australia del 
 Espiritu Santo to one of the New 
 Hebrides (still known as Espiritu 
 Santo), thinking it to be part of the 
 'Great South Land.' See Captain 
 Cook's remarks on this subject in 
 ' Hawkesworth's Voyages,' vol. iii. p. 
 602.] 
 
 1850. J. Bonwick, ' Geography for Aus- 
 tralian Youth,' p. 6: 
 
 "Australasia, or Australia, consists 
 of the continent of New Holland, or 
 Australia, the island of Tasmania, or 
 Van Diemen's Land, and the islands 
 of New Zealand." 
 
 [In the map accompanying the above 
 work 'Australia'' is printed across the 
 whole continent, and in smaller type 
 ''New Holland' 1 stretches along the 
 Western half, and ' New South Wales ' 
 along the whole of the Eastern.] 
 
 New South Wales, n. the name 
 of the oldest and most important 
 colony in Australia. The name 
 "New Wales" was first given by 
 Captain Cook in 1770, from the 
 supposed resemblance of the coast 
 to that of the southern coast of 
 Wales ; but before his arrival in 
 England he changed the name to 
 " New South Wales." It then 
 applied to all the east of the con- 
 tinent. Victoria and Queensland 
 
 have been taken out of the parent 
 colony. It is sometimes called by 
 the slang name of Eastralia, as 
 opposed to Westralia (q.v). 
 
 New Zealand, n. This name 
 was given to the colony by Abel 
 Jansz Tasman, the Dutch navi- 
 gator, who visited it in 1642. 
 He first called it Staaten-land. It 
 is now frequently called Maori- 
 land (q.v.). 
 
 New Zealand Spinach, . See 
 Spinach. 
 
 Ngaio, n. Maori name for a New 
 Zealand tree, Myoporum Icetum, 
 Forst.; generally corrupted into 
 Kaio, in South Island. 
 
 1873. ' Catalogue of Vienna Exhibition ' : 
 
 " Ngaio : wood light, white and 
 tough, used for gun-stocks." 
 
 1876. J. C. Crawford, ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. ix. art. xiv. 
 p. 206 : 
 
 " A common New Zealand shrub, or 
 tree, which may be made useful for 
 shelter, viz. the Ngaio." 
 
 1880. W. Colenso, ' Transactions of New 
 Zealand Institute,' vol. xiii. art. i. p. 33 : 
 
 "The fruits of several species of 
 Rubus, and of the Ngaio {Myoporum 
 lactum\ were also eaten, especially by 
 children." 
 
 1892. ' Otago Witness,' Nov. 3, ' Native 
 Trees ' : 
 
 " Myoporum Lcetum {Ngaio). This 
 is generally called kio by colonists. It 
 is a very rapid-growing tree for the 
 first five or six years after it has been 
 planted. They are very hardy, and 
 like the sea air. I saw these trees 
 growing at St. Kilda, near Melbourne, 
 thirty years ago." 
 
 Nicker Nuts, n. i.q. Bonduc 
 Nuts (q.v.). 
 
 Nigger, n. an Australian black 
 or aboriginal. [Of course an incor- 
 rect use. He is not a negro, any 
 more than the Hindoo is.] 
 
 1874. M. C., 'Explorers,' p. 25 : 
 " I quite thought the niggers had 
 made an attack."
 
 NIG-NOB] 
 
 1891. 'The Argus,' Nov. 7, p. 13, col. 
 
 5 = 
 
 " The natives of Queensland are 
 nearly always spoken of as ' niggers ' by 
 those who are brought most directly 
 in contact with them." 
 
 Nigger-head, n. (i) Name given 
 in New Zealand to hard black- 
 stones found at the Blue Spur 
 and other mining districts. They 
 are prized for their effectiveness 
 in aiding cement-washing. The 
 name is applied in America to a 
 round piece of basic igneous rock. 
 (2) Name used in Queensland for 
 blocks of coral above water. 
 
 1876. Cnpt. J. Moresby, R.N., 'Dis- 
 coveries and Surveys in New Guinea,' pp. 
 2-3: 
 
 "The gigantic Barrier Reef is sub- 
 merged in parts, generally to a shallow 
 depth, and traceable only by the surf 
 that breaks on it, out of which a crowd 
 of ' nigger heads,' black points of coral 
 rock, peep up in places . . ." 
 
 1882. Rev. j. E. Tenison - Woods, 
 'Fish of New South Wales,' p. in : 
 
 "Abundantly on the Queensland 
 coast, especially on the coral reefs, 
 where all the outstanding blocks of 
 coral (nigger-heads) are covered with 
 them." 
 
 Nightjar, n. English bird-name, 
 applied in Australia to the fol- 
 lowing species 
 
 Large-tailed Nightjar 
 
 Caprimulgus macrurus, Hors. 
 Little N. 
 
 j&gothehs nova-hollandi<z, Gould. 
 Spotted N. 
 
 Eurostopodus guttatus, Vig. and 
 
 Hors. 
 White-throated N. 
 
 E. albogularis, Vig. and Hors. 
 
 Nikau, n. Maori name for a 
 New Zealand palm-tree, Areca 
 sapida, N.O. Palmea. Spelt also 
 Necho and Neko. 
 
 1843. ' An Ordinance for imposing a tax 
 on Raupo Houses, Session II. No. xvii. of 
 the "former legislative Council of New 
 Zealand ' : 
 
 321 
 
 [From A. Domett's collection of 
 Ordinances, 1850.] "Section 2. ... 
 there shall be levied in respect of 
 every building constructed wholly or 
 in part of raupo, nikau, toitoi, wiwi, 
 kakaho, straw or thatch of any descrip- 
 tion [ . . . ^20]." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' c. i. p. 270: 
 
 [The house was] "covered with a 
 thick coating of the leaves of the 
 nikau (a kind of palm) and tufts of 
 grass." 
 
 1854. W. Colder, ' Pigeons' Parliament,' 
 [Note] p. 75 : 
 
 " The necho or neko is a large tree- 
 like plant known elsewhere as the 
 mountain cabbage." 
 
 1862. 'All the Year Round,' 'From 
 the Black Rocks on Friday,' May 17, 
 No. 160: 
 
 " I found growing, as I expected, 
 amongst the trees abundance of the 
 wild palm or nikau. The heart of one 
 or two of these I cut out with my knife. 
 The heart of this palm is about the 
 thickness of a man's wrist, is about a 
 foot long, and tastes not unlike an 
 English hazel-nut, when roasted on 
 the ashes of a fire. It is very nutri- 
 tious." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open,' 
 p. 86: 
 
 "The pale green pinnate-leaved 
 nikau." 
 
 1888. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iii. p. 210: 
 
 "With the exception of the kauri 
 and the nekau-palm nearly every tree 
 which belongs to the colony grows in 
 the ' seventy-mile bush ' of Welling- 
 ton." 
 
 Nipper, ;/. local name in Syd- 
 ney for Alphatus socialis, Heller, a 
 species of prawn. 
 
 Nobbier, n. a glass of spirits ; 
 lit. that which nobbles or gets 
 hold of you. Nobble is the fre- 
 quentative form of nab. No doubt 
 there is an allusion to the bad 
 spirits frequently sold at bush 
 public-houses, but if a teetotaler 
 had invented the word he could 
 not have invented one involving 
 stronger condemnation.
 
 322 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [NOB-NOT 
 
 1852. G. F. P., 'Gold Pen and Pencil 
 Sketches,' canto xiv. : 
 "The summit gained, he pulls up 
 
 at the Valley, 
 
 To drain a farewell 'nobbier' to 
 his Sally." 
 
 1859. Frank Fowler, ' Southern Lights 
 and Shadows,' p. 52: 
 
 " To pay for liquor for another is to 
 ' stand,' or to ' shout,' or to ' sacrifice.' 
 The measure is called a ' nobbier,' or 
 a ' break-down.' " 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 201 : 
 
 " A nobbier is the proper colonial 
 phrase for a drink at a public-house." 
 
 1876. J. Brenchley, ' May Bloom,' p. 
 80: 
 
 " And faster yet the torrents flow 
 Of nobblers bolted rapidly." 
 
 1880. Fison and Howitt, ' Kamilaroi and 
 Kurnai,' p. 249 : 
 
 " When cruising about . . . with a 
 crew of Kurnai ... I heard two of 
 my men discussing where we could 
 camp, and one, on mentioning a place, 
 said, speaking his own language, that 
 there was 'le-en (good) nobler.' I said, 
 'there is no nobler there.' He then 
 said in English, ' Oh ! I meant water.' 
 On inquiry I learned that a man named 
 Yan (water) had died shortly before, 
 and that not liking to use that word, 
 they had to invent a new one." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 36 : 
 
 " Only to pull up again at the nearest 
 public-house, to the veranda of which 
 his horse's bridle was hung until he 
 had imbibed a nobbier or two." 
 
 Nobblerise, v. to drink fre- 
 quent nobblers (q.v.). 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, 'The New Rush,' 
 P- 51 = 
 
 "And oft a duffer-dealing digger 
 
 there 
 
 Will nobblerize in jerks of small 
 despair . ." 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, 'Old Colonials,' p. 
 268: 
 
 "The institution of 'nobblerising' 
 is carried out in far different places." 
 
 Noddy, n. common English 
 name for the sea-bird. The species 
 observed in Australia are 
 
 The Noddy 
 
 Anous stolidus, Linn. 
 Black-cheeked N. 
 
 A. melanogenySy Gray. 
 Grey N. 
 
 A. dnereus, Gould. 
 Lesser N. 
 
 A. tenuirostris, Temm. 
 White-capped N. 
 
 A. leucocapillus, Gould. 
 
 Nonda, n. aboriginal name for 
 a tree, Parinarium Nonda> F. v. 
 M., N. O. Rosacece, of Queensland. 
 It has an edible, mealy fruit, 
 rather like a plum. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 315 : 
 
 " We called this tree the ' Nonda,' 
 from its resemblance to a tree so 
 called by the natives in the Moreton 
 Bay district." 
 
 Noogoora Bur, n. a Queensland 
 plant, Xanthiumstrumarium, Linn., 
 N.O. Composite. 
 
 Noon-flower, n. a rare name 
 for the Mesembryanthemum. See 
 Pig-face. 
 
 1891. ' The Argus,' Dec. 19, p. 4, col. 2: 
 
 " The thick-leaved noon-flower that 
 
 swings from chalk cliffs and creek 
 
 banks in the auriferous country is a 
 
 delectable salad." 
 
 Norfolk Island Pine, n. See 
 Pine. 
 
 Note, n. short for Bank-note, 
 and always used for a one-pound 
 note, the common currency. A 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, 'New Rush,' pt. ii. p. 
 28: 
 
 "A note's so very trifling, it's no 
 
 sooner chang'd than gone ; 
 For it is but twenty shillings." 
 1875. Wood and Lapham, ' Waiting 
 for Mail,' p. 39: 
 
 "And even at half fifty notes a 
 
 week 
 
 You ought to have made a pile." 
 1884. Marcus Clarke, ' Memorial Vol- 
 ume, ' p. 92 : 
 
 " I lent poor Dick Snaffle a trotting
 
 NOT-NUL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 323 
 
 pony I had, and he sold him for forty 
 notes." 
 
 Notornis, n. a bird of New 
 Zealand allied to the Porphyrio 
 (q.v.), first described from a fossil 
 skull by Professor Owen (1848), 
 and then thought to be extinct, 
 like the Moa. Professor Owen 
 called the bird Notornis mantelli, 
 and, curiously enough, Mr. Walter 
 Mantell, in whose honour the bird 
 was named, two years afterwards 
 captured a live specimen ; a 
 third specimen was captured in 
 1879. The word is from the 
 Greek VO'TOS, south, and opvis, bird. 
 The Maori names were MoJw and 
 Takahe (q.v.). 
 
 Notoryctes, n. the scientific 
 name of the genus to which be- 
 longs the Marsupial Mole (q.v.). 
 
 Nugget, n. a lump of gold. 
 The noun nugget is not Aus- 
 tralian, though often so supposed. 
 Skeat (' Etymological Diction- 
 ary,' s.v.) gives a quotation from 
 North's ' Plutarch ' with the word 
 in a slightly different shape, viz., 
 niggot. "The word nugget was 
 in use in Australia many years 
 before the goldfields were heard 
 of. A thick-set young beast was 
 called ' a good nugget.' A bit 
 of a fig of tobacco was called ' a 
 nugget of tobacco.' ' (G. W. 
 Rusden.) 
 
 1852. Sir W. T. Denison, ' Proceedings 
 of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's 
 Land,' vol. ii. p. 203 : 
 
 " In many instances it is brought to 
 market in lumps, or ' nuggets ; as they 
 are called, which contain, besides the 
 gold alloyed with some metal, portions 
 of quartz or other extraneous material, 
 forming the matrix in which the gold 
 was originally deposited, or with which 
 it had become combined accidentally." 
 
 1869. Marcus Clarke, ' Peripatetic Phi- 
 losopher' (reprint), p. 51 : 
 
 " They lead a peaceful, happy, pas- 
 toral life dig in a hole all day, and 
 
 get drunk religiously at night. They 
 are respected, admired, and esteemed. 
 Suddenly they find a nugget, and lo ! 
 the whole tenor of their life changes." 
 
 Nugget, v. Queensland slang. 
 See quotation. 
 
 1887. R. M. Praed, ' Longleat of 
 Kooralbyn,' c. iii. p. 25 : 
 
 " To nugget : in Australian slang, 
 to appropriate your neighbours' un- 
 branded calves." 
 
 Ibid. c. xviii. p. 182 : 
 
 "If he does steal a calf now and 
 then, I know several squatters who 
 are given to nuggeting." 
 
 Nuggety, adj. applied to a 
 horse or a man. Short, thick-set 
 and strong. See G. W. Rusden's 
 note under Nugget. 
 
 1896. Private Letter, March 2 : 
 " Nuggety is used in the same sense 
 as Bicllocky (q.v.), but with a slight 
 difference of meaning, what we should 
 say ' compact.' Bullocky has rather a 
 sense of over-strength inducing an 
 awkwardness of movement. Nuggety 
 does not include the last suggestion." 
 
 Nulla-nulla, n. (spellings vari- 
 ous) aboriginal name. A battle 
 club of the aborigines in Australia. 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions into the Interior of Eastern Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 71 : 
 
 " He then threw a club, or nulla- 
 nulla, to the foot of the free." 
 
 1853. C. Harpur, ' Creek of the Four 
 Graves ' : 
 
 " Under the crushing stroke 
 
 Of huge clubbed nulla-nullas." 
 
 1873. J. B. StepheriST 'Black Gin,' p. 
 6l : 
 
 " Lay aside thy nullah-nullahs : 
 Is there war betwixt us two?" 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' Australian Life,' 
 p. 9: 
 
 "The blacks . . . battered in his 
 skull with a nulla-nulla." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. II : 
 
 "They would find fit weapons for 
 ghastly warriors in the long white 
 shank-bones gleaming through the 
 grass appropriate gnulla-gnullas and 
 boomerangs."
 
 324 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [NUT 
 
 1889. P. Beveridge, 'Aborigines of 
 Victoria and Riverina,' p. 67 : 
 
 " The nulla-nulla is another bludgeon 
 which bears a distinctive character 
 . . . merely a round piece of wood, 
 three feet long and two and a half 
 inches thick, brought to a blunt point 
 at the end. The mallee is the wood 
 from which it is generally made." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 P- 72: 
 
 " I frequently saw another weapon, 
 the 'nolla-nolla' or club, the warlike 
 weapon of the Australian native most 
 commonly in use. It is a piece of 
 hard and heavy wood sharpened to a 
 point at both ends. One end is thick 
 and tapers gradually to the other end, 
 which is made rough in order to give 
 the hand a more secure hold ; in using 
 he weapon the heavy end is thrown 
 back before it is hurled." 
 
 1892. J. Fraser, ' Aborigines of New 
 South Wales,' p. 73 : 
 
 " One of the simplest of Australian 
 clubs, the 'nulla-nulla' resembles the 
 root of a grass-tree in the shape of its 
 head ... in shape something like a 
 child's wicker-rattle." 
 
 Nut, n. (i) Slang. Explained 
 in quotation. 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, ' Old Colonials,' p. 
 60: 
 
 " The peculiar type of the Australian 
 native (I do not mean the aboriginal 
 blackfellow, but the Australian white), 
 which has received the significant 
 sobriquet of 'The Nut,' may be met 
 with in all parts of Australia, but more 
 particularly ... in far-off inland bush 
 townships. . . . What is a Nut ? . . . 
 Imagine a long, lank, lantern -jawed, 
 whiskerless, colonial youth . . . gener- 
 
 ally nineteen years of age, with a 
 smooth face, destitute of all semblance 
 of a crop of 'grass,' as he calls it in 
 his vernacular." 
 
 (2) Dare-devil, etc. "Tommy 
 the Nut" was the alias of the 
 prisoner who, according to the 
 story, was first described as " a- 
 larrikin." by Sergeant Dalton. 
 See Larrikin. 
 
 Nut, Bonduc, n. See B.onduc 
 Nut. 
 
 Nut, Burrawang, n. See Bur- 
 rawang. 
 
 Nut, Candle, n. See Candle-nut. 
 
 Nut, Nicker, n. See Bonduc 
 Nut. 
 
 Nut, Queensland, n. See 
 Queensland Nut. 
 
 Nut, Union, n. See Union Nut. 
 
 Nut-Grass, n. an Australian 
 plant, Cyperus rotundus, Linn., 
 N.O. Cyperacece. The specific and 
 the vernacular name both -refer 
 to the round tubers of the plant ; 
 it is also called Erriakura (q.v.). 
 
 Nutmeg, Queensland, n. See 
 Queensland Nutmeg. 
 
 Nut-Palm, n. a tree, Cycas 
 media, R. Br., N.O. Cycadea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 21 : 
 
 " Nut-Palm. Employed by the abo- 
 rigines as food. An excellent farina 
 is obtained from it."
 
 OAK] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 325 
 
 Oak, . The Oak of the North- 
 ern Hemisphere (Quercus) is not 
 found among the indigenous trees 
 of Australia ; but the name Oak 
 is applied there to the trees of the 
 genus Casuarina (q.v.), and usually 
 in the curious form of She-Oak 
 (q.v.). The species have various 
 appellations in various parts, such 
 as Swamp-Oak, River- Oak, Bull- 
 Oak, Desert-Oak; and even the 
 word He-Oak is applied sometimes 
 to the more imposing species of 
 She-Oak, though it is not recog- 
 nised by Maiden, whilst the word 
 Native Oak is indiscriminately 
 applied to them all. 
 
 The word Oak is further ex- 
 tended to a few trees, not Casua- 
 rintz, given below ; and in New 
 Zealand it is also applied to 
 Matipo (q.v.) and Titoki, or 
 Alectryon (q.v.). 
 
 The following table of the 
 various trees receiving the name 
 of Oak is compiled from J. H. 
 Maiden's 'Useful Native Plants' 
 Bull-Oak 
 
 Casuarina equisetifolia, Forst.; 
 
 C. glauca, Sieb. 
 Forest-O. 
 
 Casuarina equisetifolia, Forst. ; 
 
 C. suberosa, Otto and Diet.; 
 
 C. torulosa, Ait. 
 Mountain-O. 
 
 Queensland name for Casuarina 
 
 torulosa, Ait. 
 River Black-O. 
 
 Casuarina suberosa, Otto and 
 
 Diet. 
 River-O. 
 
 Callistemon salignus, De C., N.O. 
 Myrtacea ; 
 
 Casuarina cunninghamii, Miq. ; 
 C. distyla, Vent.; 
 C. stricta, Ait.; 
 C. torulosa, Ait. 
 Scrub Silky-O. 
 
 Villaresia nioorei, F. v. M., N.O. 
 Olacinece. Called also Maple. 
 She-Oak : 
 Coast S.-O. 
 
 Casuarina stricta, Ait. 
 Desert S.-O. 
 
 C. glauca, Sieb. 
 Erect S.-O. 
 
 C. suberosa, Otto and Diet. 
 River S.-O. 
 
 C. glauca, Sieb. 
 Scrub S.-O. 
 
 C. cunninghamii, Miq. 
 Stunted S.-O. 
 
 C. distyla, Vent. 
 Shingle-O. 
 
 Casuarina stricta, Ait.; 
 C. suberosa, Otto and Diet. 
 Silky-O. 
 
 Stenocarpus salignus, R. Br., N.O. 
 Proteacea ; called also Silvery- 
 Oak. See also Grevillea and 
 Silky-Oak. 
 Swamp-O. 
 
 Casuarina equisetifolia, Forst.; 
 C. glauca, Sieb.; 
 C. suberosa, Otto and Diet.; 
 C. stricta, Ait.; called also Salt- 
 water Swamp- Oak. 
 White-O. 
 
 Lagunaria patersoni, G. Don., 
 
 N.O. Malvacece. 
 
 Botany-Bay Oak, or Botany-Oak, 
 is the name given in the timber 
 trade to the Casuarina. 
 
 The ' Melbourne Museum Cata- 
 logue of Economic Woods ' (1894)
 
 326 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [OAK 
 
 classes the She -Oak in four 
 divisions 
 
 Desert She-Oak 
 
 Casuarina glauca, Sieb. 
 Drooping S.-O. 
 
 C. quadrivalvis, Labill. 
 Shrubby S.-O. 
 
 C. distyla, Vent. 
 Straight S.-O. 
 
 C. suberosa, Otto. 
 
 1770. Captain Cook, 'Journal,' Sunday, 
 May 6 (edition Wharton, 1893, PP- 2 47> 
 248): 
 
 "The great quantity of plants Mr. 
 Banks and Dr. Solander found in this 
 place occasioned my giving it the name 
 of Botany Bay. . . . Although wood is 
 here in great plenty, yet there is very 
 little Variety ; . . . Another sort that 
 grows tall and Strait something like 
 Pines the wood of this is hard and 
 Ponderous, and something of the 
 Nature of America live Oak." 
 
 1770- R- Pickersgill, 'Journal on the 
 Endeavour' (in ' Historical Records of New 
 South Wales'), p. 215 : 
 
 "May 5, 1770. We saw a wood 
 which has a grain like Oak, and would 
 be very durable if used for building ; 
 the leaves are like a pine leaf." 
 
 1802. Jas. Flemming, 'Journal of Ex- 
 plorations of Charles Grimes,' in ' Historical 
 Records of Port Phillip' (edition 1879, 
 J. J. Shillinglaw), p. 22 : 
 
 "The land is a light, black-sand 
 pasture, thin of timber, consisting of 
 gum, oak, Banksia, and thorn." 
 
 [This combination of timbers occurs 
 several times in the ' Journal.' It is 
 impossible to decide what Mr. Flem- 
 ming meant by Oak.] 
 
 1839. T - L- Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. i. p. 38 : 
 
 "We found lofty blue-gum trees 
 (Eucalyptus) growing on the flats near 
 the Peel, whose immediate banks were 
 overhung by the dense, umbrageous 
 foliage of the casuarina, or ' river-oak ' 
 of the colonists." 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 38 : 
 
 " The river-oak grows on the banks 
 and rivers, and having thick foliage, 
 forms a pleasant and useful shade for 
 cattle during the heat of the day ; it is 
 
 very hard and will not split. The 
 timber resembles in its grain the 
 English oak, and is the only wood in 
 the colony well adapted for making 
 felloes -of -wheels, yokes for oxen, and 
 staves for casks." 
 
 1846. C. Holtzapffel, 'Turning,' p. 75: 
 
 " Botany-Bay Oak, sometimes called 
 Beef-wood, is from New South Wales. 
 ... In general colour it resembles a 
 full red mahogany, with darker red 
 veins." 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, 'Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 323 : 
 
 "The Casuarina trees, with their 
 leafless, thin, thread-like, articulated 
 branches, have been compared to the 
 arborescent horse-tails (Equisetacece), 
 but have a much greater resemblance 
 to the Larch-firs ; they have the colonial 
 name of Oaks, which might be changed 
 more appropriately to that of Australian 
 firs. The dark, mournful appearance 
 of this tree caused it to be planted in 
 cemeteries. The flowers are unisexual ; 
 the fruit consists of hardened bracts 
 with winged seeds. The wood of 
 this tree is named Beef-wood by the 
 colonists." 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 56 : 
 " The wail in the native oak." 
 
 1878. W. R. Guilfoyle, 'First Book of 
 Australian Botany,' p. 54 : 
 
 " It may here be remarked that the 
 term ' oak ' has been very inaptly in 
 fact ridiculously applied by the early 
 Australian settlers ; notably in the case 
 of the various species of Casuarina, 
 which are commonly called ' she- 
 oaks.'" 
 
 1880. Fison and Howitt, ' Kamilaroi 
 and Kurnai,' p. 252 : 
 
 " They chose a tall He-oak, lopped 
 it to a point." 
 
 1885. J. Hood, 'Land of the Fern,' p. 
 53 = 
 " The sighing of the native oak, 
 
 Which the light wind whispered 
 through." 
 
 1892. A. Sutherland, ' Elementary Geo- 
 graphy of British Colonies,' p. 27 : 
 
 " A peculiar class of trees, called by 
 the scientific name of Casuarina, is 
 popularly known as oaks, 'swamp- 
 oaks,' ' forest-oaks,' ' she-oaks,' and so 
 forth, although the trees are not the
 
 OAK-OLD] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 327 
 
 least like oaks. They are melancholy 
 looking trees, with no proper leaves, 
 but only green rods, like those of a 
 pine-tree, except that they are much 
 longer, and hang like the branches of 
 a weeping-willow." 
 
 Oak-Apple, n. the Cone of the 
 Casuarina or She-Oak tree. 
 
 1862. G. T. Lloyd, 'Thirty-three Years 
 in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 32 : 
 
 " The small apple of this tree (she- 
 oak) is also dark green . . . both apple 
 and leaf are as acid as the purest 
 vinegar. 
 
 1889. J. II. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 15 : 
 
 " In cases of severe thirst, great re- 
 lief may be obtained from chewing the 
 foliage of this and other species [of 
 Casuarina\ which, being of an acid 
 nature, produces a flow of saliva a 
 fact well-known to bushmen who have 
 traversed waterless portions of the 
 country. This acid is closely allied to 
 citric acid, and may prove identical 
 with it. Children chew the young 
 cones, which they call ' oak-apples.' " 
 
 Oamaru Stone, n. Oamaru is a 
 town on the east coast of the 
 South Island of New Zealand. 
 It produces a fine building stone. 
 
 1883. J. Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 64 : 
 
 "A white, granular limestone, called 
 the Oamaru stone, is worked in exten- 
 sive quarries in the Oamaru district. 
 ... A considerable quantity has been 
 exported to Melbourne." 
 
 Oat-Grass, n. Anthistiria ave- 
 nacea, F. v. M., N. O. Graminece. 
 A species of Kangaroo-Grass (q.v.). 
 See also Grass. 
 
 Oat-shell, n. the shell of vari- 
 ous species of Columbella, a small 
 marine mollusc used for neck- 
 laces. 
 
 Oats, Wild, an- indigenous 
 grass, Bromus arenarius, Labill, 
 N. O. Graminece. Called also Sea- 
 side Brome-Grass. "It makes 
 excellent hay." (Maiden, p. 79.) 
 
 Officer Plant, n. another name 
 
 for Christmas-Bush (q.v.), so called 
 " because of its bright red appear- 
 ance." (Maiden, p. 404.) 
 
 Old Chum, n. Not in common 
 use : the opposite to a new chum. 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 366. 
 
 " ' New chum,' in opposition to 'old 
 chum.' The former ' cognomen ' pecu- 
 liarizing [sic] the newly-arrived emi- 
 grant ; the latter as a mark of respect 
 attached to the more experienced 
 colonist. 1 ' 
 
 Old Hat, a Victorian political 
 catch-word. 
 
 1895. ' The Argus,' May n, p. 8, col. 3 : 
 " Mr. Frank Stephen was the author 
 of the well-known epithet ' Old Hats,' 
 which was applied to the rank and file 
 of Sir James M'Culloch's supporters. 
 The phrase had its origin through Mr. 
 Stephen's declaration at an election 
 meeting that the electors ought to vote 
 even for an old hat if it were put for- 
 ward in support of the M'Culloch 
 policy." 
 
 Old Lady, n. name given to a 
 moth, Erebus pluto. 
 
 Old Man, n. a full-grown male 
 Kangaroo. The aboriginal cor- 
 ruption is Wool-man. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 160: 
 
 " To your great relief, however, the 
 ' old man ' turns out to possess the 
 appendage of a tail, and is in fact no 
 other than one of our old acquaint- 
 ances, the kangaroos." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 141 : 
 
 " If he (greyhound) has less ferocity 
 when he comes up with an 'old man,' 
 so much the better. . . . The strongest 
 and most courageous dog can seldom 
 conquer a wool-man alone, and not 
 one in fifty will face him fairly ; the 
 dog who has the temerity is certain to 
 be disabled, if not killed." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 33 : 
 
 " Mr. Gilbert started a large kanga- 
 roo known by the familiar name of 
 'old man.'"
 
 328 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [OLD-OLI 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian 
 Sketches, 1 p. 172: 
 
 " The settlers designate the old kan- 
 garoos as ' old men ' and ' old women ; ' 
 the full-grown animals are named 
 'flyers,' and are swifter than the 
 British hare." 
 
 1864. W. Westgarth, ' Colony of Vic- 
 toria,' p. 451 : 
 
 " The large kangaroo, the ' old man,' 
 as he is called, timorous of every un- 
 wonted sound that enters his large, 
 erected ears, has been chased far from 
 every busy seat of colonial industry." 
 
 1873. J. B. Stephens, 'Black Gin,' p. 
 39: 
 
 " Where the kangaroo gave hops, 
 The old man fleetest of the fleet." 
 
 1893. 'The Times,' [Reprint] 'Letters 
 from Queensland,' p. 66 : 
 
 "The animals, like the timber, too, 
 are strange. Kangaroo and wallaby 
 are as fond of grass as the sheep, and 
 after a pelican's yawn there are few 
 things funnier to witness than the 
 career of an ' old man ' kangaroo, with 
 his harem after him, when the ap- 
 proach of a buggy disturbs the family 
 at their afternoon meal. Away they 
 go, the little ones cantering briskly, he 
 in a shaggy gallop, with his long tail 
 stuck out for a balance, and a per- 
 petual see-saw maintained between it 
 and his short front paws, while the 
 hind legs act as a mighty spring under 
 the whole construction. The side and 
 the back view remind you of a big St. 
 Bernard dog, the front view of a rat. 
 You begin an internal debate as to 
 which he most resembles, and in the 
 middle of it you find that he is sitting 
 up on his haunches, which gives him a 
 secure height of from five to six feet, 
 and is gravely considering you with 
 the air of the old man he is named 
 from." 
 
 Old-Man, adj. large, or bigger 
 than usual. Compare the next 
 two words. 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 233 : 
 " I stared at a man one day for say- 
 ing that a certain allotment of land 
 was 'an old-man allotment': he meant 
 a large allotment, the old-man kanga- 
 roo being the largest kangaroo." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 
 P- 7: 
 
 "Who that has ridden across the 
 Old-Man Plain . . ." 
 
 Old-Man Fern, a Bush-name 
 in Tasmania for the Tree-fern (q.v.). 
 
 Old-Man Salt-Bush, A trip lex 
 nummnlarium, Lindl. See Salt' 
 Bush. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants, 1 p. 118 : 
 
 " One of the tallest and most fatten- 
 ing and wholesome of Australian pas- 
 toral salt-bushes ; also highly recom- 
 mended for cultivation, as natural 
 plants. By close occupation of the 
 sheep and cattle runs, have largely 
 disappeared, and as this useful bush is 
 not found in many parts of Australia, 
 sheep and cattle depastured on salt- 
 bush country are said to remain free 
 of fluke, and get cured of Distoma- 
 disease, and of other allied ailments 
 (Mueller)." 
 
 Old- Wife, n. a New South Wales 
 fish, Enoplosus armatus, White, 
 family Percidce, The local name 
 Old- Wife in England is given to 
 a quite different fish, one of the 
 Sea-Breams. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 32 : 
 
 " The ' old-wife ' {Enoplosus arma- 
 tus, White) is another fish which from 
 its small size is not esteemed nearly 
 so highly as it ought to be. It is a 
 most exquisite fish." 
 
 Olive, Mock, i.q. Axe-breaker 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Olive, Native, ;/. one of the 
 many names given to four trees 
 Bursaria spinosa, Cav. , N. O. Pitto- 
 sporea ; Elaocarpus cyaneus, Ait. , 
 N. O. Tiliaatz ; Notelcea ovala, R. 
 Br., N. O. Jasminea ; and, in 
 Queensland, to Olea paniculata, 
 R. Br., N.O. Jasminece, a tree of 
 moderate size, with ovoid fruit 
 resembling a small common Olive. 
 
 Olive, Spurious, n. another 
 name for the tree Notelaa ligus- 
 trina, Vent. See Ironwood.
 
 ON-OPO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 329 
 
 On, prep. Used for In, in many 
 cases, especially of towns which 
 sprang from Goldfields, and where 
 the original phrase was, e.g. "on 
 the Ballarat diggings, or gold- 
 field." Thus, an inhabitant still 
 speaks of living On Ballarat, On 
 Bendigo ; On South Melbourne 
 (formerly Emerald Hill). 
 
 1869. J. F. Blanche, 'The Prince's 
 Visit,' p. 21 : 
 
 " When came Victoria's son on 
 Ballarat." 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, ' While the Billy 
 boils, etc.' p. 3 : 
 
 " After tea they would sit on a log 
 of the wood-heap, . . and yarn about 
 Ballarat and Bendigo of the days 
 when we spoke of being ' on ' a place 
 oftener than ' at ' it : on Ballarat, on 
 Gulgong, on Lambing Flat, on Cres- 
 wick." 
 
 Onion, Native, n. i.q. Native 
 Leek. See Leek. 
 
 Onychogale, n. the scientific 
 name of the genus containing the 
 Nail-tailed Wallabies (q.v.). They 
 derive their name from the pre- 
 sence of a peculiar horny append- 
 age to their tails. (Grk. 6W, 
 ovules, a claw, and 70X77, a weasel.) 
 For the species, see Wallaby. 
 
 Opossum, n. The marsupial 
 animal, frequent all over Aus- 
 tralia, which is called an Opossum, 
 is a Phalanger (q.v.). He is not 
 the animal to which the name 
 was originally applied, that being 
 an American animal of the family 
 Didelphyidce. See quotations be- 
 low from 'Encycl. Brit.' (1883). 
 Skeat (' Etym. Diet.') says the 
 word is West Indian, but he 
 quotes Webster (presumably an 
 older edition than that now in 
 use), " Orig. opassom, in the lan- 
 guage of the Indians of Virginia," 
 and he refers to a translation 
 of Buffon's ' Natural History ' 
 (Lond. 1792), vol. i. p. 214. By 
 
 1792 the name was being applied 
 in Australia. The name opossum 
 is applied in Australia to all or 
 any of the species belonging to 
 the following genera, which to- 
 gether form the sub-family Pha- 
 langerince, viz. Phalanger, Tricho- 
 surus, Pseudochirus, Petauroides, 
 Dactylopsila, Petaurus, Gymnobe- 
 lideus, Dromicia, Acrobates. 
 
 The commoner forms are as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 Common Dormouse O. 
 
 Dromicia natia, Desm. 
 Common Opossum 
 
 Trichosunts vulpecula, Kerr. 
 Common Ring-tailed-O. 
 
 Pseudochirus peregrinus, Bodd. 
 Greater Flying-O. 
 
 Petauroides volans, Kerr. 
 Lesser Dormouse O. 
 
 Dromicia lepida, Thomas. 
 Lesser Flying-O. 
 
 Petaurus breviceps, Water. 
 Pigmy Flying-O. 
 
 Acrobates pygmceus. 
 Short-eared-O. 
 
 Trichosnrus caninus, W. Ogilby. 
 Squirrel Flying-O., or Flying- 
 Squirrel 
 
 Petaurus sciureus, Shaw. 
 Striped O. 
 
 Dactylopsila trivirgata, Gray. 
 Tasmanian, or Sooty O. 
 
 Trichosurus vulpecula, var. fuli- 
 
 ginosus, 
 Tasmanian Ring-tailed-O. 
 
 Pseudochirus cooki, Desm. 
 Yellow-bellied Flying-O. 
 
 Petaurus australis, Shaw. 
 
 Of the rare little animal called 
 Leadbeater's Opossum, only one 
 specimen has been found, and 
 that in Victoria ; it is Gymnobelideus 
 leadbeateri, and is the only species 
 of this genus. 
 
 1608. John Smith, 'Travels, Adven- 
 tures, and Observations in Europe, Asia, 
 Africke, and America, beginning about 
 '593. ant * continued to 1629;' 2 vols.,
 
 330 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [OPO 
 
 Richmond, U.S., reprinted 1819; vol. i. 
 p. 124 [On the American animal ; in the 
 part about Virginia, 1608]: 
 
 "An Opassom hath a head like a 
 Swine, a taile like a Rat, and is of the 
 bigness of a Cat. Under the belly she 
 hath a bagge, wherein she lodgeth, 
 carrieth and suckleth her young." 
 
 [This is the American opossum. 
 There are only two known genera of 
 living marsupials outside the Austra- 
 lian region.] 
 
 I770- ' Capt. Cook's Journal ' (edition 
 Wharton, 1893), p. 294 [at Endeavour 
 River, Aug. 4, 1770] : 
 
 " Here are Wolves, Possums, an 
 animal like a ratt, and snakes." 
 
 1770. J. Banks, 'Journal,' July 26, 
 (edition Hooker, 1896, p. 291): 
 
 " While botanising to-day I had the 
 good fortune to take an animal of the 
 opossum (Didelphis) tribe ; it was a 
 female, and with it I took two young 
 ones. It was not unlike that remark- 
 able one which De Buffon has de- 
 scribed by the name of Phalanger as 
 an American animal. It was, however, 
 not the same. M. de Buffon is cer- 
 tainly wrong in asserting that this tribe 
 is peculiar to America, and in all pro- 
 bability, as Pallas has said in his 
 Zoologia, the Phalanger itself is a 
 native of the East Indies, as my 
 animals and that agree in the extra- 
 ordinary conformation of their feet, in - 
 which they differ from all others." 
 
 1789. Governor Phillip, ' Voyage to 
 Botany Bay,' p. 104 : 
 
 " The pouch of the female, in which 
 the young are nursed, is thought to 
 connect it rather with the opossum 
 tribe." 
 
 [p. 147]: "A small animal of the 
 opossum kind." 
 
 [p. 293]: "Black flying-opossum. 
 [Description given.] The fur of it is so 
 beautiful, and of so rare a texture, that 
 should it hereafter be found in plenty, 
 it might probably be thought a very 
 valuable article of commerce." 
 
 1793. J. Hunter, ' Voyage,' p. 68 : 
 
 " The opossum is also very numerous 
 here, but it is not exactly like the 
 American opossum : it partakes a good 
 deal of the kangaroo in the strength of 
 its tail and make of its fore-legs, which 
 are very short in proportion to the hind 
 
 ones ; like that animal it has the pouch, 
 or false belly, for the safety of its 
 young in time of danger." 
 
 1798. D. Collins, ' Account of New 
 South Wales,' fol. i. p. 562 : 
 
 " At an early age the females wear 
 round the waist a small line made of 
 the twisted hair of the opossum, from 
 the centre of which depend a few small 
 uneven lines from two to five inches 
 long. This they call bar-rin." 
 
 1809. G. Shaw, 'Zoological Lectures,' 
 vol. i. p. 93 : 
 
 " A still more elegant kind of New 
 Holland opossum is the petaurine 
 opossum . . . has the general appear- 
 ance of a flying-squirrel, being furnished 
 with a broad furry membrane from the 
 fore to the hind feet, by the help of 
 which it springs from tree to tree. . . . 
 Known in its native regions by the 
 name of hepoona roo." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 67 : 
 
 " Their food consists of fish when 
 near the coasts, but when in the woods, 
 of oppossums [sic], bandicoots, and 
 almost any animal they can catch." 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 143 : 
 
 " The sharp guttural noises of opos- 
 sums." 
 
 Ibid. p. 174 ['The Native Woman's 
 Lament '] : 
 
 " The white man wanders in the dark, 
 We hear his thunder smite the 
 
 bough ; 
 
 The opossum's mark upon the bark 
 We traced, but cannot find it, 
 now." 
 
 1853. J. West, ' History of Tasmania/ 
 vol. i. p. 324 : 
 
 "The opossums usually abound 
 where grass is to be found, lodging by 
 day in the holes and hollows of trees. 
 The most common species is the 
 Phalangista vulpina (Shaw), under 
 which are placed both the black and 
 grey opossums. . . . The ringtail 
 opossum {Phalangista or Hepoona 
 Cookii, Desm.) is smaller, less com- 
 mon, and less sought after, for dogs 
 will not eat the flesh of the ringtail 
 even when roasted." 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, ' Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 200 : 
 
 " Dogs, immediately on coming into
 
 OPO-ORA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 331 
 
 the Australian forest, become perfectly 
 frantic in the pursuit of opossums." 
 
 1883. ' Encyclopaedia Britannica' (ed. 9) 
 [On the Australian animal], vol. xv. p. 
 382: 
 
 " A numerous group, varying in size 
 from that of a mouse to a large cat, ar- 
 boreal in their habits and abundantly 
 distributed throughout the Australian 
 region . . . have the tail more or less 
 prehensile. . . . These are the typical 
 phalangers or ' opossums,' as they are 
 commonly called in Australia. (Genus 
 Phalangistay 
 
 Ibid. p. 380 [On the American animal] : 
 
 " The Didelphida, or true opossums, 
 differ from all other marsupials in their 
 habitat, being peculiar to the American 
 continent. They are mostly carnivor- 
 ous or insectivorous in their diet, and 
 arboreal in habits." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. ii : 
 
 "Among the colonists the younger 
 generation are very zealous opossum 
 hunters. They hunt them for sport, 
 going out by moonlight and watching 
 the animal as it goes among the trees 
 to seek its food." 
 
 1891. ' Guide to Zoological Gardens, 
 Melbourne ' : 
 
 " We see two fine pairs of the Tas- 
 manian sooty opossum (Phalangista 
 fuliginosii) ; this species is unap- 
 proached by any other in regard to 
 size and the beauty of its fur, which is 
 of a rich, fulvous brown colour. This 
 opossum is becoming scarce in Tas- 
 mania on account of the value of its 
 fur, which makes it much sought after. 
 In the next compartment are a pair of 
 short-eared opossums (P. canina], the 
 mountain opossums of Southern Aus- 
 tralia. The next is a pair of vulpine 
 opossums ; these are the common 
 variety, and are found all over the 
 greater part of Australia, the usual 
 colour of this kind being grey." 
 
 1893. ' Melbourne Stock and Station 
 Journal,' May 10 (advertisement) : 
 
 " Kangaroo, wallaby, opossum, and 
 rabbit skins. . . . Opossum skins, 
 ordinary firsts to 7s. 6d. ; seconds to 
 $s. ; thirds to is. 6d. ; silver greys up 
 to gs. per doz. ; do. mountain, to iSs. 
 per doz." 
 
 Opossum-Mouse, n. the small 
 
 Australian marsupial, Acrobates 
 pygmaus, Shaw ; more correctly 
 called the Pigmy Flying-Phalanger. 
 See Flying-Phalanger. This is the 
 animal generally so denoted, and 
 it is also called the Flying-Mouse. 
 But there is an intermediate genus, 
 Dromicia (q.v.), with no parachute 
 expansion on the flanks, not 
 "flying," of which the name of 
 Dormouse-Phalanger is the more 
 proper appellation. The species 
 are the 
 
 Common Dormouse-Phalanger 
 
 Dromicia nana, Desm. 
 Lesser D.-Ph. 
 
 D. lepida, Thomas. 
 Long-tailed D.-Ph. 
 
 D. caudata, M. Edw. 
 Western D.-Ph. 
 
 D. concinna, Gould. 
 
 One genus, with only one 
 species, the Pentailed-Phal anger, 
 DistcRchurus pennatus, Peters, is 
 confined to New Guinea. 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 p. 28 : 
 
 "The opossum-mouse is about the 
 size of our largest barn-mouse." 
 
 1894. R. Lydekker, ' Marsupialia,' p. 
 118: 
 
 "Resembling a common mouse in 
 size, and hence known to the colonists 
 as the flying-mouse or opossum-mouse, 
 this little animal is one of the most 
 elegant of the Australian marsupials." 
 
 Opossum-Tree, n. a timber- 
 tree, Quintinia sieberi, De C., 
 JV. O. Saxifragecc. 
 
 Orange, n. i.q. Native Lime, 
 Citrus australis. See Lime. 
 
 Orange, Mock, ;/. i.q. Native 
 Laurel. See Laurel. 
 
 Orange, Native, n. name given 
 to two Australian trees, (i) 
 Capparis mitchelli, Lindl., N.O. 
 
 Capparideic. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 12 :
 
 332 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [ORA-OVE 
 
 "'Small Native Pomegranate,' 
 'Native Orange.' The fruit is from 
 one to two inches in diameter, and 
 the pulp, which has an agreeable 
 perfume, is eaten by the natives." 
 
 (2) Citriobatus pauciflorus, A. 
 Cunn., N.O. Pittosporece. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 1 6 : 
 
 " ' Native Orange,' ' Orange Thorn.' 
 The fruit is an orange berry with a 
 leathery skin, about one inch and a 
 half in diameter. It is eaten by the 
 aboriginals." 
 
 Orange, Wild, n. i.q. Wild 
 Lemon. See under Lemon. 
 
 Orange-Gum, n. See Gum. 
 
 Orange-spotted Lizard (of 
 New Zealand), Naultinus elegans, 
 Gray. 
 
 Orange-Thorn, n. See Orange, 
 Native (2). 
 
 Orange-Tree, n. The New 
 Zealand Orange-Tree is a name 
 given to the Tarata (q.v.), from 
 the aromatic odour of its leaves 
 when crushed. 
 
 Organ-Bird, or Organ-Magpie, 
 n. other names for one of the 
 
 Magpies (q.v.). 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. ii. pi. 48 : 
 
 " Gymnorrhina organicum, Gould, 
 Tasmanian crow-shrike ; Organ-Bird 
 and White-Magpie of the Colonists. 
 Resembling the sounds of a hand-organ 
 out of tune." 
 
 1848. T. L. Mitchell, 'Tropical Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 176 : 
 
 " The burita, or Gymnorrhina^ the 
 organ-magpie, was here represented 
 by a much smaller bird." 
 
 Ornithorhynchus, n. i.q. Platy- 
 pus (q.v.). 
 
 Orthonyx, n. a scientific name 
 of a remarkable Australian genus 
 of passerine birds, the spine-tails. 
 It long remained of uncertain 
 position . . . and finally it was 
 made the type of a family, Or- 
 
 thonycida. In the type species, O. 
 spinacauda . . . the shafts of the 
 tail-feathers are prolonged beyond 
 the legs. ('Century.') The name 
 is from the Greek 6pOoc t straight, 
 and 6Vu, a claw. See Log-Runner 
 and Pheasant's Mother. 
 
 Osprey, n. another name for 
 the Fish-Hawk (q.v.). 
 
 Ounce, n. used as adj. Yielding 
 an ounce of gold to a certain 
 measure of dirt, as a dish-full, a 
 cradle-full, a tub-full, etc. Also 
 used to signify the number of 
 ounces per ton that quartz will pro- 
 duce, as "ounce-stuff," "three- 
 ounce stuff," etc. 
 
 Out-run, n. a sheep-run at a dis- 
 tance from the Head-station (q.v.). 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. vi. p. 47 (1890) : 
 
 " They'd come off a very far out- 
 run, where they'd been, as one might 
 say, neglected." 
 
 Out-station, n. a sheep or cattle 
 station away from the Head-station 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1844. 'Port Phillip Patriot,' July II, 
 p. I, col. 3 : 
 
 " There are four out-stations with 
 huts, hurdles . . and every con- 
 venience." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. c. 8, p. 231 : 
 
 " The usual fare at that time at the 
 out-stations fried pork and kan- 
 garoo." 
 
 1870. Paul Wentworth, 'Amos Thome,' 
 c. iii. p. 26 : 
 
 " He ... at last on an out-station 
 in the Australian bush worked for. his 
 bread." 
 
 Overland, v. to take stock 
 across the country. 
 
 1874. W. H. L. Ranken, ' Dominion of 
 Australia,' c. xiii. p. 232 : 
 
 " Herds used to be taken from New 
 South Wales to South Australia across 
 what were once considered the deserts 
 of Riverina. That used to be called 
 ' overlanding.' "
 
 OVE-OYS] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 333 
 
 1890. Lyth, 'Golden South,' c. ix. p. 
 
 74 = 
 
 " Several gentlemen were away from 
 the two nearest stations, ' overlanding,' 
 i. e. taking sheep, cattle, and flour to 
 Melbourne." 
 
 Overlander, n. (i) In the days 
 before railways, and when much 
 of the intervening" country was 
 not taken up, to travel between 
 Sydney and Melbourne, or Mel- 
 bourne and Adelaide, was difficult 
 if not dangerous. Those who 
 made either journey were called 
 Overlanders. In this sense the 
 word is now only used historically, 
 but it retains the meaning in 
 the general case of a man taking 
 cattle a long distance, as from one 
 colony to another. (2) A slang 
 name for a Sundowner (q.v.). 
 
 1843. Rev. W. Pridden, 'Australia: Its 
 History and Present Condition,' p. 335 : 
 
 " Among the beings which, although 
 not natives of the bush, appear to be 
 peculiar to the wilds of Australia, the 
 class of men called Overlanders must 
 not be omitted. Their occupation is 
 to convey stock from market to market, 
 and from one colony to another." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. c. vi. p. 237 : 
 
 " The Eastern extent of the country 
 of South Australia was determined by 
 the Overlanders, as they call the gentle- 
 men who bring stock from New South 
 Wales." 
 
 1880. Garnet Walch, 'Victoria in 1880,' 
 p. II: 
 
 "Overlanders from Sydney and Mel- 
 bourne to Adelaide were making great 
 sums of money." 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. ix. p. 69: 
 
 " He gave us the advice of an ex- 
 perienced overlander." 
 
 1890. A. J. Vogan, 'Black Police,' p. 
 262 : 
 
 "An 'overlander,' for, as you havn't 
 any of the breed in New Zealand, I'll 
 explain what that is, is Queensland- 
 English for a long-distance drover ; 
 and a rough, hard life it generally is. 
 . . . Cattle have to be taken long dis- 
 
 tances to market sometimes from these 
 ' up-country ' runs." 
 
 1890. 'Melbourne Argus,' June 7, p. 4, 
 col. i : 
 
 " Then came Overlanders of another 
 sort practical men who went out to 
 develop and not to explore." 
 
 Owl, n. an English bird-name. 
 The species in Australia are 
 Boobook Owl 
 
 Ninox boobook. Lath. 
 Chestnut-faced O. 
 
 Strix castanops, Gould. 
 Grass O. 
 
 S. Candida, Tickell. 
 Lesser Masked O. 
 
 S. delicatula, Lath. 
 Masked O. 
 
 S. noT(B-holIandicc, Steph. 
 Powerful O. 
 
 Ninox strenua, Gould. 
 Sooty O. 
 
 Strix tenebricosa, Gould. 
 Spotted O. 
 
 Ninox maculata, Vig. and Hors. 
 Winking O. 
 
 N. connivens, Lath. 
 
 In New Zealand, the species 
 are Laughing Jackass, or L. 
 Owl, Sceloglaux a/bifacies, Kaup 
 (Maori name, Whekau, q.v.), and 
 the Morepork, formerly Athene 
 nova-zelandia, Gray, now Spilo- 
 glaux nov<z-zelandi(E, Kaup. (See 
 Morepork.} 
 
 See also Barking Owl. 
 
 Owl-Parrot, n. a bird of New 
 Zealand. See Kakapo, 
 
 Oyster, n. The Australian varie- 
 ties are Mud-Oyster, Ostrca an- 
 gasi, Sow. (sometimes considered 
 only a variety of O. edit/is. Linn., 
 the European species): New South 
 Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South 
 Australia. O. rutupina, Jeffreys, 
 " the native " of Colchester, Eng- 
 land, is a variety and occurs in 
 Tasmania. Drift-O., O. subtri- 
 gona, Sow., called so because its
 
 334 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [OVS 
 
 beds are thought to be shifted by 
 storms and tides : New South 
 Wales and Queensland. Rock-O., 
 O. glomerata, Gould, probably the 
 same species as the preceding, but 
 under different conditions : all 
 Eastern Australia. And other 
 species more or less rare. See 
 also Stewart Islander. Australian 
 oysters, especially the Sydney 
 Rock-Oyster, are very plenti- 
 ful, and of excellent body and 
 flavour, considered by many to 
 be equal if not superior to the 
 Colchester native. They cost 
 is. a dozen ; unopened in bags, 
 they are 6d. a dozen a contrast 
 to English prices. 
 
 Oyster-Bay Pine, n. See Pine. 
 
 1857. ' Papers and Proceedings of the 
 
 Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land, 'vol. 
 
 i- P- 155 : 
 
 " 1 6 August, 1848 ... A sample of 
 the white resin of the Oyster Bay Pine 
 (Callitris Aitstralis, Brown) lay on the 
 table. The Secretary stated that this 
 tree has only been met with along 
 a comparatively limited and narrow 
 strip of land bordering the sea on the 
 eastern coast of Tasmania, and upon 
 Flinders and Cape Barren Islands in 
 Bass's Straits ; that about Swanport 
 and the shores of Oyster Bay it forms 
 
 a tree, always handsome and pictur- 
 esque, and sometimes 1 20 feet in height, 
 affording useful but not large timber, 
 fit for all the ordinary purposes of the 
 house carpenter and joiner in a country 
 district." 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, ' Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 222 : 
 
 " Those most picturesque trees, the 
 Oyster Bay pines, which, vividly green 
 in foliage, tapering to a height of eighty 
 or one hundred feet, and by turns sym- 
 metrical or eccentric in form, harmo- 
 nise and combine with rugged moun- 
 tain scenery as no other of our trees 
 here seem to do." 
 
 Oyster-catcher, n. common 
 English bird-name. The Abstral- 
 asian species are Pied, Hcema- 
 topus longirostris, Vieill.; Black, H. 
 unicolor, Wagler ; and two other 
 species H. picatus, Vigors, and 
 If. australasianus, Gould, with no 
 vernacular name. 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. c. vii. p. 174: 
 
 " Our game-bag was thinly lined 
 with small curlews, oyster-catchers, 
 and sanderlings." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, 'Ranolf,' p. 274: 
 
 " Slim oyster-catcher, avocet, 
 And tripping beach-birds, seldom met 
 Elsewhere."
 
 PA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 33S 
 
 Pa, or Pah, n. The former is 
 now considered the more correct 
 spelling. A Maori word to sig- 
 nify a native settlement, sur- 
 rounded by a stockade ; a fort ; 
 a fighting village. In Maori, the 
 verb/<z means, to touch, to block 
 up. Pa = a collection of houses 
 to which access is blocked by 
 means of stockades and ditches. 
 
 1769. ' Captain Cook's Journal ' (edition 
 Wharton, 1893), p. 147 : 
 
 " I rather think they are places of 
 retreat or stronghold, where they defend 
 themselves against the attack of an 
 enemy, as some of them seemed not ill- 
 design'd for that purpose." 
 
 Ibid. p. 156 : 
 
 " Have since learnt that they have 
 strongholds or hippas, as they call 
 them which they retire to in time of 
 danger." [Hawkesworth spelt it, Hep- 
 pahs ; he = Maori definite article.] 
 
 1794. ' History of New South Wales ' 
 (1818), p. 175: 
 
 "[On the coast of New Zealand] 
 they passed many huts and a consider- 
 able hippah) or fortified place, on a 
 high round hill, from the neighbour- 
 hood of which six large canoes were 
 seen coming towards the ship." 
 
 1842. W. R. Wade, 'Journey in New 
 Zealand' (Hobart Town), p. 27 : 
 
 " A native pa, or enclosed village, is 
 usually surrounded by a high stockade, 
 or irregular wooden fence, the posts of 
 which are often of great height and 
 thickness, and sometimes headed by 
 the frightful carving of an uncouth or 
 indecent image." 
 
 1858. ' Appendix to Journal of House of 
 Representatives,' -4, p. 4 : 
 
 " They seem, generally speaking, at 
 present inveterate in their adherence 
 to their dirty native habits, and to their 
 residence in pas." 
 
 1859. A. S. Thomson, M.D., 'Story of 
 New Zealand,' p. 132 : 
 
 " The construction of the war pas 
 . . . exhibits the inventive faculty of 
 the New Zealanders better than any 
 other of their works. . . . Their shape 
 and size depended much on the nature 
 of the ground and the strength of the 
 tribe. They had double rows of fences 
 on all unprotected sides ; the inner 
 fence, twenty to thirty feet high, was 
 formed of poles stuck in the ground, 
 slightly bound together with supple- 
 jacks, withes, and torotoro creepers. 
 The outer fence, from six to eight feet 
 high, was constructed of lighter mate- 
 rials. Between the two there was a 
 dry ditch. The only openings in the 
 outer fence were small holes ; in the 
 inner fence there were sliding bars. 
 Stuck in the fences were exaggerated 
 wooden figures of men with gaping 
 mouths and out-hanging tongues. At 
 every corner were stages for sentinels, 
 and in the centre scaffolds, twenty feet 
 high, forty feet long, and six broad, 
 from which men discharged darts at 
 the enemy. Suspended by cords from 
 an elevated stage hung a wooden gong 
 twelve feet long, not unlike a canoe 
 in shape, which, when struck with a 
 wooden mallet, emitted a sound heard 
 in still weather twenty miles off. Pre- 
 viously to a siege the women and 
 children were sent away to places of 
 safety." 
 
 1863. T. Moser, 'Mahoe Leaves,' p. 14: 
 
 "A pah is strictly a fortified village, 
 but it has ceased to be applied to a 
 fortified one only, and a collection of 
 huts forming a native settlement is 
 generally called a pah now-a-days." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 p. 224 : 
 
 " They found the pah well fortified, 
 and were not able to take it." 
 
 1879. Clement Bunbury, ' Fraser's Mag- 
 azine, June, p. 761 :
 
 336 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PAC-PAD 
 
 "The celebrated Gate Pah, where 
 English soldiers in a panic ran away 
 from the Maories, and left their officers 
 to be killed." 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol . iv. p. 46 : 
 
 "A sally was made from the pah, 
 but it was easily repulsed. Within the_ 
 pah the enemy were secure." 
 
 Pachycephala, n. the scientific 
 name for the typical genus of 
 Pachycephalincz, founded in 1826 
 by Vigors and Horsfield. It is an 
 extensive group of thick-headed 
 shrikes, containing about fifty 
 species, ranging in the Indian and 
 Australian region, but not in New 
 Zealand. The type is P. gutturalis, 
 Lath., of Australia. ('Century.') 
 They are singing-birds, and are 
 called Thickheads (q.v.), and often 
 Thrushes (q.v.). The name is from 
 the Greek Trap's, thick, and Ke^aX?/, 
 the head. 
 
 Packer, n. used for a pack- 
 horse. 
 
 1875. Wood and Lapham, ' Waiting for 
 Mail,' p. 59 : 
 
 "The boys took notice of a horse, 
 some old packer he looked like." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. I : 
 " The Darling drover with his saddle- 
 horses and packers." 
 
 Paddock, (i) In England, a 
 small field ; in Australia, the 
 general word for any field, or for 
 any block of land enclosed by a 
 fence. The ' Home-paddock ' 
 is the paddock near the Home- 
 station, and usually very large. 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' VanDiemen's Land,' 
 c. vi. p. 148 : 
 
 " There is one paddock of 100 acres, 
 fenced on four sides." 
 
 1844. ' Port Phillip Patriot,' July 25, p. 
 3, col. 6 : 
 
 " A 3oo-acre grass paddock, enclosed 
 by a two-rail fence." 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 42 : 
 
 "The paddocks are so arranged that 
 hills may afford shelter, and plains or 
 
 light-timbered flats an escape from 
 the enormous flies and other persecut- 
 ing enemies." 
 
 1892. ' Scribner's Magazine,' Feb., p. 
 141: 
 
 " ' Paddocks,' as the various fields 
 are called (some of these ' paddocks ' 
 contain 12,000 acres)." 
 
 (2) An excavation made for 
 procuring wash-dirt in shallow- 
 ground. A place built near the 
 mouth of a shaft where quartz or 
 wash-dirt is stored. (Brough 
 Smyth, ' Glossary of Mining 
 Terms,' 1869.) 
 
 1895. ' Otago Witness,' Nov. 21, p. 22, 
 col. 5 : 
 
 " A paddock was opened at the top 
 of the beach, but rock-bottom was 
 found." 
 
 Paddock, v. to divide into 
 paddocks. 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' c. xx. p. 302 : 
 
 "When a run is paddocked shep- 
 herds are not required ; but boundary 
 riders are required." 
 
 Paddy Lucerne, n. i.q. Queens- 
 land Hemp. See under Hemp. 
 
 Paddymelon, n. the name of 
 a small Wallaby (q.v.), Macropus 
 thetidis, Less. It is certainly a 
 corruption of an aboriginal name, 
 and is spelt variously pademelon, 
 padmelon, and melon simply. (See 
 Melon-holes.') This word is perhaps 
 the best instance in Australia of the 
 law of Hobson-Jobson, by which 
 a strange word is fitted into a 
 language, assuming a likeness 
 to existing words without any 
 regard to the sense. The Sydney 
 name for kangaroo was patago- 
 rang. See early quotations. This 
 word seems to give the first half 
 of the modern word. Pa fa, or 
 pada, was the generic name : mella 
 an adjective denoting the species. 
 Paddymalla (1827) marks an in- 
 termediate stage, when one-half 
 of the word had been anglicised.
 
 PAD-PAK] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 337 
 
 At Jervis Bay, New South Wales, 
 the word potalemon was used for 
 a kangaroo. 
 
 1793. J. Hunter, ' Voyage,' p. 547 : 
 
 " The pattagorang and baggaray 
 frequently supplied our colonists with 
 fresh meals, and Governor Phillip had 
 three young ones, which were likely to 
 live : he has not the least doubt but 
 these animals are formed in the false 
 belly." 
 
 1798. D. Collins, ' Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 
 548: 
 
 "The pat-ta-go-rang or kangooroo 
 was (bood-yer-re) good, and they ate 
 it whenever they were fortunate enough 
 to kill one." 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 310 : 
 
 " The wallabee and paddymalla 
 grow to about sixty pounds each." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 212 : 
 
 " Had hunted down a paddymelon 
 (a very small species of kangaroo, 
 which is found in the long grass and 
 thick brushes)." 
 
 1845. Clement Hodgkinson, 'Australia, 
 from Port Macquarie to Moreton Bay,' p. 
 
 45 = 
 
 " The brush-kangaroos or pademel- 
 las were thus gradually enclosed." 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, ' Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 47 : 
 
 " A small species of the kangaroo 
 tribe, called by the sealers paddy- 
 melon, is found on Philip Island, 
 while none have been seen on French 
 Island." 
 
 1851. J. Henderson, ' Excursions in New 
 South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 129 : 
 
 " The small kind of kangaroo, how- 
 ever, called by the natives ' Paddy 
 Mellon,' and which inhabits the dense 
 brushes or jungles, forms a more fre- 
 quent, and more easily obtained article 
 of food." 
 
 1863. M. K. Beveridge, ' Gatherings,' 
 p. 41 : 
 
 " An apron made from skin of 
 Paddie-Melon." 
 
 1863. B. A. Heywood, ' Vacation Tour 
 at the Antipodes,' p. 107 : 
 
 "In the scrub beyond, numbers of 
 a small kind of kangaroo called 
 
 ' Paddy-Mellans,' resort." [Footnote] : 
 " I cannot guarantee the spelling." 
 
 1888. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia," 
 vol. ii. p. 90 : 
 
 "The kangaroo and his relatives, 
 the wallaby and the paddymelon." 
 
 1890. A. H. S. Lucas, 'Handbook of 
 the Australasian Association for the Ad- 
 vancement of Science,' p. 62 : 
 
 " Onychogale frcenatus and its ally 
 O. lunatus. Mr. Le Souef reports that 
 the former are fairly numerous in the 
 Mallee country to the north-west of 
 the Colony, and are there known as 
 Pademelon." [This seems to be only 
 a local use.] 
 
 1893. J. L. Purves, Q.C., in 'The 
 Argus,' Dec. 14, p. 9, col. 7 : 
 
 " On either side is a forest, the 
 haunt of wombats and tree-bears, and 
 a few paddymelons." 
 
 Paddymelon-Stick, . a stick 
 used by the aborigines for knock- 
 \v\gpaddymelons (q.v.) on the head. 
 
 1851. J. Henderson, ' Excursions in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 129 : 
 
 "These are hunted in the brushes 
 and killed with paddy mellun sticks 
 with which they are knocked down. 
 These sticks are about 2 feet long and 
 an inch or less in diameter." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 56 : 
 
 " Nulla - mullahs, paddy - melon 
 sticks, boomerangs, tomahawks, and 
 heelimen or shields lay about in every 
 direction." 
 
 Pah, n. i.q. Pa (q.v.). 
 
 Pake, n. Maori name for a 
 coarse mat used against rain. 
 A sack thrown over the shoulders 
 is called by the settlers a Pake. 
 
 Pakeha, . Maori word for a 
 white man. The word is three 
 syllables, with even accent on all. 
 A Pakeha Maori is an English- 
 man who lives as a Maori with 
 the Maoris. Mr. Tregear, in his 
 ' Maori Comparative Dictionary,' 
 s.v. Pakefake/ia, says: " Mr. John 
 White [author of ' Ancient His- 
 tory of the Maoris'] considers that 
 pakeha> a foreigner, an European,
 
 338 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PAL-PAN 
 
 originally meant 'fairy, 'and states 
 that on the white men first land- 
 ing" sugar was called ' fairy-sand,' 
 etc." Williams' ' Maori Diction- 
 ary ' (4th edit.) gives, "a for- 
 eigner: probably from pakepakeha, 
 imaginary beings of evil influ- 
 ence, more commonly known as 
 fatupaiarehe, said to be like men 
 with fair skins." Some express 
 this idea by " fairy." Another 
 explanation is that the word is a 
 corruption of the coarse English 
 word, said to have been described 
 by Dr. Johnson (though not in his 
 dictionary), as " a term of endear- 
 ment amongst sailors-" The first 
 a in Pakeha had something of the 
 u sound. The sailors' word would 
 have been introduced to New 
 Zealand by whalers in the early 
 part of the nineteenth century. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand ' (Church 
 Missionary Society), p. 187 : 
 
 " Pakdha, s. an European ; a white 
 man." 
 
 1832. A. Earle, ' Narrative of Nine 
 Months' Residence in New Zealand,' p. 
 146 : 
 
 "The white taboo'd day, when the 
 packeahs (or white men) put on clean 
 clothes and leave off work" [sc. 
 Sunday]. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' c. i. p. 73 : 
 
 " We do not want the missionaries 
 from the Bay of Islands, they are 
 pakeha maori, or whites who have 
 become natives." 
 
 1854. W. Colder, ' Pigeons' Parliament,' 
 canto iii. p. 44 : 
 
 "Aiding some vile pakehas 
 
 In deeds subversive of the laws." 
 1876. F. E. Maning [Title] : 
 "Old New Zealand, by a Pakeha 
 Maori." 
 
 1884. T. Bracken, ' Lays of the Maori,' 
 P-'S: 
 
 " Long ere the pale pakeha came to 
 the shrine." 
 
 Palberry, n. a South Aus- 
 tralian name for the Native 
 
 Currant. See Currant. The word 
 is a corruption of the aborigi- 
 nal name Palbri, by the law of 
 Hobson-Jobson. 
 
 Palm, Alexandra, n. a Queens- 
 land timber-tree, Ptychosperma 
 alexandrce, F. v. M., N.O. Palmece. 
 
 Palm, Black, n. a Queensland 
 timber - tree, Ptychosperma nor- 
 manbyi, F. v. M., N.O. Palmeiz. 
 
 Palm, Cabbage, n. i.q. Cabbage- 
 tree (q.v.). 
 
 Palm Nut, n. See under Nut. 
 Palm, "Walking-Stick, n. a 
 Queensland plant, Bandana mono- 
 stachya, F. v. M., N.O. Palmea. 
 So called because the stem is 
 much used for making walking- 
 sticks. 
 
 Panel, n. the part between two 
 posts in a post-and-rail fence. 
 See also Slip-panel. 
 
 1876. A. L. Gordon, 'Sea-spray,' p. 148 : 
 
 " In the jar of the panel rebounding, 
 
 In the crash of the splintering 
 
 wood, 
 In the ears to the earth-shock 
 
 resounding, 
 In the eyes flashing fire and 
 
 blood." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xviii. p. 226 : 
 
 "A panel of fencing is not quite 
 nine feet in length." 
 
 Pan, or Pan-wash, Pan-out, 
 Pan-off, verbs, to wash the dirt 
 in the pan for gold. Some of 
 the forms, certainly pan-out, are 
 used in the United States. 
 
 1870. J. O. Tucker, ' The Mute,' p. 40 : 
 " Others to these the precious dirt 
 
 convey, 
 Linger a moment till the panning's 
 
 through." 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 4 : 
 
 " On the very day of their arrival 
 they got a lesson in pan-washing." 
 Ibid. p. 36 : 
 
 " All the diggers merely panned out 
 the earth."
 
 PAN-PAP] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 339 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. vii. p. 79 : 
 
 " These returned gnomes having 
 been brought to light, at once com- 
 menced to pan off according to the 
 recognized rule and practice." 
 
 Pannikin, n. a small tin cup 
 for drinking-. The word is not 
 Australian. Webster refers to 
 Marryat and Thackeray. The 
 ' Century ' quotes Blackmore. 
 This diminutive of pan is ex- 
 ceedingly common in Australia, 
 though not confined to it. 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 200 : 
 
 " He went to the spring and brought 
 me a pannican full." (p. 101): "Several 
 tin pannicans." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Ex- 
 pedition,' p. 87 : 
 
 " We caught the rain in our panni- 
 kins as it dropt from our extended 
 blankets." 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 p. 190: 
 
 " There is a well-known story of 
 two bullock-drivers, who, at a country 
 public-house on their way to the town, 
 called for a dozen of champagne, which 
 they first emptied from the bottles into 
 a bucket, and then deliberately drank 
 off from their tin pannikins." 
 
 1871. C. L. Money, ' Knocking About 
 in New Zealand,' p. 6 : 
 
 " He was considered sufficiently 
 rewarded in having the 'honour' to 
 drink his ' pannikin ' of tea at the 
 boss's deal table." 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 44 : 
 
 "A small pannikin full of gold 
 dust." 
 
 Pannikin-boss, or Pannikin- 
 overseer, n. The term is applied 
 colloquially to a man on a station, 
 whose position is above that of 
 the ordinary station-hand, but 
 who has no definite position of 
 authority, or is only a ' boss ' or 
 overseer in a small way. 
 
 Papa, n. Maori word for a 
 
 bluish clay found along the east 
 coast of the North Island. 
 
 Paper-bark Tree, or Paper- 
 barked Tea-tree, . Called also 
 Milk-wood '(q.v.). Name given to 
 the species Melaleuca leucodendron, 
 Linn. Its bark is impervious to 
 water. 
 
 1842. ' Western Australia,' p. 81 : 
 
 " There is no doubt, from the partial 
 trial which has been made of it, that 
 the wood of the Melaleuca, or tea-tree, 
 could be rendered very serviceable. 
 It is sometimes known by the name of 
 the paper-bark tree from the multitu- 
 dinous layers (some hundreds) of 
 which the bark is composed. These 
 layers are very thin, and are loosely 
 attached to each other, peeling off like 
 the bark of the English birch. The 
 whole mass of the bark is readily 
 stripped from the tree. It is used by 
 the natives as a covering for their 
 huts." 
 
 [Compare the New Zealand Thou- 
 sand-Jacket^ 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries of Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. c. v. p. 106: 
 
 " The face of the country was well 
 but not too closely covered with speci- 
 mens of the red and white gum, and 
 paper-bark tree." 
 
 1847. E. W. Landor, ' The Bushman ; 
 or, Life in a New Country,' p. 212 : 
 
 " Fish and other things are fre- 
 quently baked in the bark of the paper- 
 tree." ' 
 
 1857. J. Askew, ' Voyage to Australia 
 and New Zealand,' p. 433 : 
 
 " The dead bodies are burnt or 
 buried, though some in North Aus- 
 tralia place the corpse in the paper 
 bark of the tea-tree, and deposit it in 
 a hollow tree." 
 
 Paper-fish, . a Tasmanian 
 name. See Bastard Trumpeter and 
 Morwong. 
 
 1883. ' Royal Commission on Fisheries 
 of Tasmania,' p. xxxvi : 
 
 "The young [of the bastard trum- 
 peter] are always coloured, more or 
 less, like the red, and are known by 
 some as 'paper-fish.' The mature 
 form of the silver bastard is alone
 
 340 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PAR 
 
 caught. This is conclusive as favour- 
 ing the opinion that the silver is 
 simply the mature form of the red." 
 
 Paradise, Bird of, n. English 
 bird-name, originally applied in 
 Australia to the Lyre-bird (q.v.), 
 now given to Manucoda gouldii, 
 Gray. Called also the Manucode 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1802. D. Collins, ' Account of New 
 South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 300 : 
 
 " By him [Wilson, a convict] the first 
 bird of paradise ever seen in this 
 country had been shot." [This was 
 the Lyre-bird^\ 
 
 Paradise-Duck, n. bird-name 
 applied to the New Zealand duck, 
 Casarca variegata, Gmel. See Duck 
 quotation, 1889, Parker. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' c. 1. p. 57 : 
 
 "These (wild ducks of different 
 sorts) are principally the black, the 
 grey, the blue-winged, and the para- 
 dise-duck, or ' pu tangi tangi,' as it is 
 called by the natives. The last is 
 nearly as large as a goose, and of 
 beautiful plumage." 
 
 Paradoxus, n. a shortened 
 form of the former scientific name 
 of the Platypus, Paradoxus orni- 
 thorrhynchus. Sometimes further 
 abbreviated to Paradox. The 
 word is from the Greek irapaSo^os, 
 ' Contrary to opinion, strange, in- 
 credible.' CL. & s.') 
 
 1817. O'Hara, ' The History of New 
 South Wales,' p. 452 : 
 
 " In the reaches or pools of the 
 Campbell River, the very curious 
 animal called the paradox, or water- 
 mole, is seen in great numbers." 
 
 Paramatta, ;/. "A fabric like 
 merino, of worsted and cotton. 
 So named from Paramatta, a 
 town near Sydney, New South 
 Wales." (Skeat, 'Etymological 
 Dictionary,' s.v.) According to 
 some, the place named Parramatta 
 means, in the local Aboriginal 
 dialect, " eels abound," or " plenty 
 
 of eels." Others rather put it 
 that para = fish, and matta = water. 
 There is a river in Queensland 
 called the Paroo, which means 
 " fish-river." NOTE. The town 
 Parramatta, though formerly often 
 spelt with one r, is now always 
 spelt with two. 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 367 
 
 "A peculiar tweed, made in the 
 colony, and chiefly at Paramatta, hence 
 the name." 
 
 1883. T. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand, p. 19: 
 
 " Paramattas, fine cloths originally 
 made from the Paramatta wool, with 
 silk warps, though now woollen." 
 
 Pardalote, n. anglicised form 
 of the scientific bird-name Parda- 
 lotus (q.v.), generally called Dia- 
 mond birds (q.v.); a genus of small 
 short-tailed birds like the Fly- 
 catchers. The species are 
 
 Black-headed Pardalote 
 
 Pardalotus melanocephalus, Gould. 
 Chestnut-rumped P. 
 
 P. uropygialis, Gould. 
 Forty-spotted P. 
 
 P. quadragintus, Gould ; called 
 
 also Forty-Spot (q.v.). 
 Orange-tipped P. 
 
 P. assimilis, Ramsay. 
 Red-browed P. 
 
 P. rubricatus, Gould. 
 Red-tipped P. 
 
 P. ornatus, Temm. 
 Spotted P. 
 
 P. punctatus, Temm. ; the bird 
 originally called the Diamond 
 
 Yellow-rumped P. 
 P. xanthopygius, McCoy. 
 
 Yellow-tipped P. 
 P. affinis, Gould. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. ii. pi. 35 : 
 
 " No species of the genus to which 
 this bird belongs is more widely and 
 generally distributed than the spotted 
 pardalote, Pardalotus punctatus"
 
 PAR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 341 
 
 Pardalotus, ;/. scientific name 
 for a genus of Australian birds, 
 called Diamond birds (q.v.), and 
 also Pardalotes (q.v.), - from Grk. 
 irapSoAwTos, spotted like the pard. 
 
 ParSra, n. Maori name for the 
 genus Duck (q.v.). 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, 'Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 407 : 
 
 "Family, Anatida Parera, turuki 
 (Anas supertiliosa), the duck ; very 
 similar to the wild duck of England." 
 
 Parra, n. a popular use for the 
 fuller scientific name Parra galli- 
 nacea. Called also the Jacana 
 (q.v.), and the Lotus-bird (q.v.). 
 
 1893. 'The Argus,' March 25, p. 4, 
 col. 6 : 
 
 " The egg of the comb-crested parra 
 shines amongst its neighbours so 
 vividly that it at once catches the eye, 
 and suggests a polished agate rather 
 than an egg. The bird itself is some- 
 thing of a gem, too, when seen skip- 
 ping with its long water-walking claws 
 over the floating leaves of pink and 
 blue water-lilies." 
 
 Parrakeet, n. (various spell- 
 ings). From French. Origin- 
 ally from Spanish periquito, dim. 
 of sp. perico, a little parrot. 
 Hence used generally in English 
 to signify any small parrot. The 
 Australian species are 
 
 Alexandra Parrakeet 
 
 Spathopterus (Polytelis] alexandra 1 , 
 
 Gould. 
 Beautiful P. 
 
 Psephotus pulcherrimus, Gould. 
 Black-tailed P. 
 
 Polytelis melamtra, Vig. and 
 Hors. ; called also Rock-peb- 
 bler. 
 Blue-cheeked P. 
 
 Platycercus amathusice, Bp. 
 Cockatoo P. 
 
 Calopsittactis novce - hollandicz, 
 
 Gmel. 
 Crimson-bellied P. 
 
 Psephotus hcematogaster, Gould. 
 
 Golden-shouldered P. 
 
 Psephotus chrysopterygius, Gould. 
 Green P. 
 
 Platycercus flaviventris, Temm. 
 Ground P. 
 
 Pezoporus formosus, Lath. 
 Mallee P. 
 
 Platycercus barnardi, Vig. and 
 
 Hors. 
 Many-coloured P. 
 
 Psephotus multicolor, Temm. 
 Night P.- 
 
 Pezoporus occidentalis, Gould. 
 Pale-headed P. 
 
 Platycercus pallidiceps, Vig. 
 Pheasant P. 
 
 P. adelaidensis, Gould. 
 Red-backed P. 
 
 Psephotus hccmatonotus, Gould. 
 Red-capped P. 
 
 P. spurius, Kuhl. 
 Rock P. 
 
 Euphema petrophila, Gould. 
 Smutty P. 
 
 Platycercus browni, Temm. 
 Yellow P. 
 
 P. flaveolus, Gould. 
 Yellow-banded P. 
 
 P. zonarius, Shaw. 
 Yellow-cheeked P. 
 
 P. tcterotis, Temm. 
 Yellow-collared P. 
 
 P. semitorquatus, Quoy and 
 Gaim. ; called also Twenty- 
 eight (q.v.). 
 Yellow-mantled P. 
 
 P. splendidus, Gould. 
 Yellow-vented P. 
 
 Psephotus xanthorrhoiiSi Gould. 
 
 See also Grass-Parrakeet, Musk- 
 Par rakeet, Rose I/a, and Rosehill. 
 The New Zealand Green Parra- 
 keet (called also Kakariki, q.v.) 
 has the following species 
 Antipodes Island P. 
 
 Platycercus unicolor, Vig. 
 Orange-fronted P. 
 
 P. alpinus, Buller. 
 Red-fronted P. 
 
 P. noTcc-zelandicc, Sparrm.
 
 342 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PAR 
 
 R owley'sParrakeet 
 Platycercus rowleyi, Buller. 
 
 Yellow-fronted P. 
 P. auriceps, Kuhl. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Journal,' p. 80: 
 "The cockatoo-parrakeet of the 
 Gwyder River (Nymphicus Nova-Hol- 
 landi(?, Gould)." 
 
 1867. A. G. Middleton, ' Earnest,' p. 
 93: 
 " The bright parroquet, and the crow, 
 
 black jet, 
 For covert, wing far to the shade." 
 
 1889. Prof. Parker, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 118: 
 
 "There are three species of parra- 
 keet, the red -fronted (Platycercus 
 Novcc-Zelandia), the yellow-fronted 
 (P. auriceps\ and the orange-fronted 
 (P. alpinus). The genus Platycercus 
 is found in New Zealand, New Guinea, 
 and Polynesia." 
 
 Parrot-bill, n. See Kaka-bilL 
 
 Parrot-fish, n. name given in 
 Australia to Pseudoscarus pseudo- 
 labrus ; called in the Australian 
 tropics Parrot-perch. In Victoria 
 and Tasmania, there are also 
 several species of Labricthys. In 
 New Zealand, it is L. psittacula, 
 Rich. 
 
 Parrot-Perch, n. See Parrot- 
 fish. 
 
 Parrot's-food, n. name given 
 in Tasmania to the plant Goodenia 
 ovata, Sm., N. O. Goodeniacea. 
 
 Parsley, Wild, n. Apium lepto- 
 phyllum, F. v. M., N.O. Umbelli- 
 fera. Parsley grows wild in 
 many parts of the world, especi- 
 ally on the shores of the Mediter- 
 ranean, and this species is not 
 endemic in Australia. 
 
 Parsnip, Wild, n. a poisonous 
 \vezd >Trachymene australis, Benth., 
 N.O. UmbellifercE. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 142 : 
 
 "Recently (Dec. 1887) the sudden 
 death of numbers of cattle in the 
 
 vicinity of Dandenong, Victoria, was 
 attributed to their having eaten a plant 
 known as the wild parsnip. . . . Its 
 action is so powerful that no remedial 
 measures seem to be of any avail." 
 
 Parson-bird, n. the New Zea- 
 land bird Prosthemadera nova- 
 zelandice, Gmel.; Maori name, Tui 
 (q.v.). See also Poe. 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 401 : 
 
 " Cook named this beautiful and 
 lively bird the parson and mocking- 
 bird. It acquired the first name from 
 its having two remarkable white 
 feathers on the neck like a pair of 
 clergyman's bands." 
 
 [Mr. Taylor is not correct. Cook 
 called it the Poe-bird (q.v.). The 
 name ' Parson-bird ' is later.] 
 
 1857. C. Hursthouse, ' New Zealand the 
 Britain of the South,' vol. i. p. 118 : 
 
 " The most common, and certainly 
 the most facetious, individual of the 
 ornithology is the tui (parson-bird). 
 Joyous Punchinello of the bush, he is 
 perpetual fun in motion." 
 
 1858. C. W., ' Song of the Squatters,' 
 ' Canterbury Rhymes ' (2nd edit.), p. 47 : 
 
 " So the parson-bird, the tui, 
 The white-banded songster tui, 
 In the morning wakes the woodlands 
 With his customary music. 
 Then the other tuis round him 
 Clear their throats and sing in 
 
 concert, 
 All the parson-birds together." 
 
 1866. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 93 : 
 
 "The tui, or parson-bird, most re- 
 spectable and clerical-looking in its 
 glossy black suit, with a singularly 
 trim and dapper air, and white wattles 
 of very slender feathers indeed they 
 are as fine as hair curled coquettishly 
 at each side of his throat, exactly like 
 bands." 
 
 1888. Dr. Thomson, apud Buller, 
 1 Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 95 : 
 
 " Sitting on the branch of a tree, as 
 a pro tempore pulpit, he shakes his 
 head, bending to one side and then to 
 another, as if he remarked to this one 
 and to that one ; and once and again, 
 with pent-up vehemence, contracting
 
 PAR-PAT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 343 
 
 his muscles and drawing himself toge- 
 ther, his voice waxes loud, in a manner 
 to awaken sleepers to their senses." 
 
 1890. W. Colenso, 'Bush Notes,' ' Trans- 
 actions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. 
 xxxiii. art. Ivii. p. 482 : 
 
 " It is very pleasing to hear the deep 
 rich notes of the parson-bird to see a 
 pair of them together diligently occu- 
 pied in extracting honey from the tree- 
 flowers, the sun shining on their glossy 
 sub-metallic dark plumage." 
 
 Partridge-Pigeon, n. an Aus- 
 tralian pigeon. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 8 : 
 
 "The partridge-pigeon (Geophaps 
 scripta) abounded in the Acacia 
 groves." 
 
 Partridge-wood, n. another 
 name for the Cabbage-Palm (q.v.). 
 
 Passion - flower, Native, n. 
 Several species of the genus Pas- 
 siflora are so called in Australia ; 
 some are indigenous, some natur- 
 alised. 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, ' Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 P- 398 : 
 
 " The native passion-flower, scarlet 
 and orange, was tangled up with the 
 common purple sarsaparilla and the 
 English honeysuckle and jessamine." 
 
 Pastoralist, n. The squatters 
 are dropping their old name for 
 this new one. A Pastoralist is a 
 sheep or cattle-farmer, the dis- 
 tinction between him and an Agri- 
 culturist being, that cultivation, 
 if he undertakes it at all, is a 
 minor consideration with him. 
 
 1891. March 15 [Title] : 
 
 " The Pastoralists' Review," No. i. 
 
 1892. ' Scribner's Magazine,' Feb., p. 
 147: 
 
 " A combination has been formed 
 by the squatters under the name of 
 the Pastoralists' Union." 
 
 Patagorang, . one of the ab- 
 original names for the Kangaroo 
 (q.v.), and see Paddy-melon. 
 
 Pataka, n. Maori word for 
 
 storehouse, supported on a post 
 to keep off rats. See Whata. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' c. i. p. 283 : 
 
 " We landed at the pataka, or stage." 
 
 Patiki, n. the Maori name for 
 the Flounder (q.v.). The accent 
 is on the first syllable of the 
 word. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of the 
 Language of New Zealand ' (Church Mis- 
 sionary Society), p. 190: 
 
 " Patiki, s. a fish so called." 
 
 1844. F. Tuckett, ' Diary,' May 31 : 
 
 "A fine place for spearing soles or 
 patike (the best of fish)." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, 'Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 412: 
 
 " Patiki, common name for the sole 
 and flat-fish ; the latter is found in 
 rivers, but decreases in size as it retires 
 from the sea." 
 
 1879. Captain Mair, ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xii. art. 
 xlvi. p. 316: 
 
 " Large patiki, flat-fish, are occasion- 
 ally speared up the river." 
 
 Patriot, n. Humorously applied 
 to convicts. 
 
 1796. In ' History of Australia,' by G. 
 W. Rusden (1894), p. 49 [Footnote]: 
 
 "In 1 796 the Prologue (erroneously 
 imputed to a convict Harrington, but 
 believed to have been written by an 
 officer) declared 
 
 ' True patriots we, for be it under- 
 stood 
 
 We~teft our country for our country's 
 good.' " 
 
 Patter, v. to eat. Aboriginal 
 word, and used in pigeon-English, 
 given by Collins in his vocab- 
 ulary of the Port Jackson dialect. 
 Threlkeld says, ta is the root of 
 the verb, meaning " to eat." 
 
 1833. C. Sturt,' Southern Australia,' vol. 
 ii. c. vii. p. 223 : 
 
 " He himself did not patter (eat) any 
 of it." 
 
 Patu, n. Maori generic term 
 for all hand-striking weapons. 
 The mere (q.v.) is one kind.
 
 344 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PAU-PEA 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 p. 82 : 
 
 " It (fern-root) was soaked, roasted, 
 and repeatedly beaten with a small 
 club (patu) on a large smooth stone 
 till it was supple." 
 
 Paua, n. the Maori name for 
 the Mutton-fish (q.v.). Also used 
 as the name for Maori fish- 
 hooks, 'made of the paua shell ; 
 the same word being adopted for 
 fish, shell, and hook. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand ' (Church Mis- 
 sionary Society), p. 191 : 
 
 " Pdua, s. a shell-fish so called." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 416: 
 
 " Pawa (Haliotis iris), or mutton-fish. 
 This beautiful shell is found of con- 
 siderable size ; it is used for the manu- 
 facture of fish-hooks." 
 
 1855. Ibid. p. 397: 
 
 " The natives always tie a feather or 
 two to their paua, or fish-hooks." 
 
 1877. W. L. Buller, 'Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. x. art. xix. 
 p. 192: 
 
 " Elaborately carved, and illumin- 
 ated with paua shell." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 p. 162 : 
 
 " Immense piles of paua shells 
 {Haliotis iris}, heaped up just above 
 the shore, show how largely these sub- 
 stantial molluscs were consumed." 
 
 Payable, adj. In Australia, 
 able to be worked at a profit : 
 that which is likely to pay ; not 
 only, as in England, due for pay- 
 ment. 
 
 1884. R. L. A. Davies, 'Poems and 
 Literary Remains,' p. 38 : 
 
 " We . . . expect to strike a payable 
 lead on a hill near ... A shaft is 
 bottomed there, and driving is com- 
 menced to find the bottom of the dip.'' 
 
 1890. ' Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 15: 
 
 " Good payable stone has been 
 struck." 
 
 1894. 'The Argus,' March 28, p. 5, 
 col. 5 : 
 
 " Good payable reefs have been 
 found and abandoned through ignor- 
 
 ance of the methods necessary to 
 obtain proper results." 
 
 Pea, Coral, n. See Coral Pea. 
 
 Pea, Darling, n. See Darling 
 Pea. 
 
 Pea, Desert, n. See Sturfs 
 Desert Pea. 
 
 Pea, Flat, n. See Flat Pea. 
 
 Pea, Glory, n . another name 
 for the Clianthus (q.v.). 
 
 Pea, Heart, n. i.q. Balloon-Vine 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Pea-plant, n. The term is ap- 
 plied sometimes to any one of 
 various Australian plants of the 
 N. O. Leguminosce. 
 
 Peach-berry, n. a Tasmanian 
 berry, Lissanthe strigosa, Smith, 
 N.O. Epacridea. 
 
 Peach, Native, n. another name 
 for the Quandong (q.v.), and for 
 Emu-Apple (q.v.). 
 
 1877. F. v. Miiller, 'Botanic Teach- 
 ings,' p. 42 : 
 
 " The so-called native Peach-tree of 
 our desert tracts is a true Santqlum, S. 
 acuminatum" 
 
 Peacocking, vb. n. Australian 
 slang. To peacock a piece of coun- 
 try means to pick out the eyes of 
 the land by selecting or buying 
 up the choice pieces and water- 
 frontages, so that the adjoining 
 territory is practically useless to 
 any one else. 
 
 1894. \V. Epps, ' Land Systems of 
 Australasia,' p. 28 : 
 
 "When the immediate advent of 
 selectors to a run became probable, the 
 lessees endeavoured to circumvent 
 them by dummying all the positions 
 which offered the best means of block- 
 ing the selectors from getting to water. 
 This system, commonly known as 
 ' peacocking ' . . ." 
 
 Pear, Native, name given to a 
 timber-tree, Xylomelum pyriforme, 
 Sm., N.O. Proteacece (called also
 
 PEA-PEP] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 345 
 
 Wooden Pear), and to Hakea acicu- 
 laris. See Hakea. 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (edition 1855), p. 219 : 
 
 "The pear-tree is, I believe, an euca- 
 lyptus, and bears a pear of solid wood, 
 hard as heart of oak." [It is not a 
 eiicalypt.] 
 
 Pear, "Wooden, i.q. Native Pear. 
 See above. 
 
 Pearl-Perch, n. a rare marine 
 fish of New South Wales, excel- 
 lent for food, Glaucosoma scapulare, 
 Ramsay, family Perddce. 
 
 Pedgery, n. i.q. Pituri (q.v.). 
 
 Pee-wee, n. a New South 
 Wales name for the Magpie Lark 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Peg-out, v. tr. to mark out a 
 gold-claim under the Mining Act, 
 or a Free- Selection (q.v.) under 
 the Land Act, by placing pegs at 
 the corners of the land selected. 
 Used also metaphorically. 
 
 1858. W. H. Hall, ' Practical Expe- 
 riences at the Diggings in Victoria,' p. 23 : 
 
 " I selected an unoccupied spot 
 between two holes . . . pegged out 
 eight square feet, paid the licence fee." 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 58 : 
 
 "He was in high hopes that he 
 might be one of the first to peg out 
 ground on the goldfield." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'The Miner's 
 Right,' c. iii. p. 32 : 
 
 "The pegging out, that is, the 
 placing of four stout sticks, one at 
 each corner, was easy enough." 
 
 1891. W. Tilley, ' Wild West of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 8: 
 
 " Making their way to Heemskirk, 
 where they were the first to peg out 
 land for ten." 
 
 Ibid. Preface : 
 
 "The writer . . . should be called 
 on to defend his conduct in pegging 
 out an additional section on the out- 
 skirts of the field of literature." 
 
 Pelican, n. English bird-name. 
 The pelicans occur in nearly all 
 temperate or tropical regions. 
 
 The Australian species is Pelecanus 
 conspiciilatuS) Temm. 
 
 1885. R- M. Praed, ' Head Station,' p. 
 256 [Title of chapter 39] : 
 
 "Where the pelican builds her 
 nest." 
 
 Penguin, n. common English 
 bird-name. The species in Aus- 
 tralia are 
 
 Crested Penguin 
 
 Catarractes chrysocome> Lath. 
 Fairy P. 
 
 Eudyptula undina, Gould. 
 Little P.- 
 
 E. minor, Forst. 
 
 For the New Zealand species, 
 see the quotation, and also 
 Korora. 
 
 1889. Professor Parker, 'Catalogue of 
 New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 119: 
 
 "The Penguins are characteristic 
 Southern Hemisphere sea-birds, being 
 represented in the Northern by the 
 Puffins. They are flightless, but their 
 wings are modified into powerful fins 
 or flappers. Among the most interest- 
 ing forms are the following the King 
 Penguin, Aptenodytes longirostris ; 
 Rock Hopper P., Pygoscelis tceniatus ; 
 Yellow-Crowned P., Eudyptes antipo- 
 diim; Crested P., E. pachyrhynchus ; 
 Little Blue P., E. minor and undina." 
 
 Pennyroyal, Native, n. Mentha 
 gracilis, R.Br., N.O. Labiata. 
 Much more acrid than the Euro- 
 pean species of Mentha ; but used 
 widely as a herbal medicine. 
 Very common in all the colonies. 
 See also Mint. 
 
 Pepper, Climbing, n. Piper 
 nova-hoi landia, Miq., N.O. Piper- 
 acece. Called also Native Pepper, 
 and Native Pepper-vine. A tall 
 plant climbing against trees in 
 dense forests. 
 
 Peppermint, or Peppermint- 
 tree, n. a name given to various 
 Eucalypts, from the aromatic 
 nature of their leaves or ex- 
 tracted essence. See quotation
 
 346 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PEP 
 
 below from White, 1790. There 
 are many species, and various 
 vernacular names, such as Brown 
 Peppermint, DandenongP., Narrow- 
 leaved P., White P., etc., are 
 given in various parts to the 
 same species. See Maiden's 
 note on Eucalyptus amygdalina, 
 under Gum. Other vernacular 
 names of different species are 
 Bastard-Peppermint, Peppermint- 
 Box, Peppermint- Gum. 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales ' (Appendix by Dr. Smith or John 
 Hunter), pp. 226-27 : 
 
 " The Peppermint Tree, Eucalyptus 
 piperita. . . . The name of peppermint- 
 tree has been given to this plant by 
 Mr. White on account of the very 
 great resemblance between the essen- 
 tial oil drawn from its leaves and that 
 obtained from the Peppermint (Mentha 
 piperita) which grows in England. 
 This oil was found by Mr. White to 
 be much more efficacious in removing 
 all cholicky complaints than that of 
 the English Peppermint, which he 
 attributes to its being less pungent and 
 more aromatic." 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 c. ii. p. 23 : 
 
 " The peppermint, so called from the 
 leaves imparting to the taste that 
 flavour, grows everywhere throughout 
 the island." 
 
 1874. Garnet Walch, ' Head over Heels,' 
 P- 75 : 
 "Well, mate, it's snug here by the 
 
 logs 
 
 That's peppermint burns like a 
 match." 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 30 : 
 
 " A woody gully filled with pepper- 
 mint and stringy-bark trees." 
 
 1884. R. L. A. Davies, ' Poems and 
 Literary Remains,' p. 231 : 
 
 "The peppermints rose like pillars, 
 with funereal branches hung, 
 
 Where the dirge for the dead is 
 chanted, 
 
 And the mourning hymn is sung." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, ' Gum Boughs,' p. 
 116: 
 
 " Down among the roots of a pepper- 
 mint bush." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 439 : 
 
 " It [Eucalyptus capitella, Smith] is 
 one of the numerous ' peppermints ' of 
 New South Wales and Victoria, and is 
 noteworthy as being the first eucalypt 
 so called, at any rate in print." 
 
 Pepper, Native, i.q. Climbing 
 Pepper (see above), Piper Nowz- 
 Hollanditf) Miq. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 198 : 
 
 "'Native Pepper.' An excellent tonic 
 to the mucous membrane. . . . One of 
 the largest native creepers, the root 
 being at times from six inches to a foot 
 in diameter. The plant climbs like 
 ivy to the tops of the tallest trees, and 
 when full-grown weighs many tons, so 
 that a good supply of the drug is 
 readily obtainable." 
 
 Pepper-tree, n. The name is 
 given to two trees, neither of 
 which are the true pepper of 
 commerce (Piper). They are (i) 
 Schinus molle, which is a native of 
 South America, of the Cashew 
 family, and is largely cultivated 
 for ornament and shade in Cali- 
 fornia, and in the suburbs and 
 public parks and gardens of all 
 Australian towns where it has 
 been naturalised. It is a very 
 fast growing evergreen, with 
 feathery leaves like a small palm 
 or fern, drooping like a weeping- 
 willow. It flowers continuously, 
 irrespective of season, and bears 
 a cluster of red-berries or drupes, 
 strongly pungent, whence its 
 name. (2) The other tree is in- 
 digenous in Australia and Tas- 
 mania ; it is Drimys aromatica, F. 
 v. M., formerly called Tasmania 
 aromatica, R. Br. , J!V. O. Magnoliaceiz. 
 In New Zealand the name is ap- 
 plied to Drvmis axillaris, Forst. 
 (Maori, Horopito; q.v.). 
 
 1830. ' Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 65 : 
 " A thick grove of the pepper-shrub,
 
 PER] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 347 
 
 Tasmania fragrans of Smith. It grows 
 in a close thicket to the height of from 
 six to ten feet. When in blossom, in 
 the spring months of November or 
 December, the farina of the flower is 
 so pungent, especially if shaken about 
 by the feet of horses or cattle, that it 
 is necessary to hold a handkerchief to 
 the nose in order to avoid continual 
 sneezing." 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, ' Three Expedi- 
 tions into the Interior of Eastern Australia,' 
 vol. ii. p. 280 : 
 
 " We also found the aromatic tree, 
 Tasmania aromatica. . . . The leaves 
 and bark of this tree have a hot, biting, 
 cinnamon-like taste, on which account 
 it is vulgarly called the pepper-tree." 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, 'Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 231 : 
 
 " The handsome red-stemmed shrub 
 known as native pepper. . . . Some- 
 thing like cayenne and allspice mixed, 
 . . . the aromatic flavour is very 
 pleasant. I have known people who, 
 having first adopted its use for want 
 of other condiments, continue it from 
 preference." 
 
 1888. CasselPs ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iii. p. 138 : 
 
 " Bright green pepper-trees with 
 their coral berries." 
 
 Peragale, n. the scientific name 
 of the-genus of Australian mar- 
 supial animals called Rabbit- 
 Bandicoots. See Bandicoot. (Grk. 
 Trrjpa, a bag or wallet, and yaA?}, 
 a weasel.) 
 
 Perameles, n. scientific name 
 for the typical genus of the family 
 of Australian marsupial animals 
 called Bandicoots (q.v.), or Bandi- 
 coot-Rats. The word is from 
 Latin pera (word borrowed from 
 the Greek), a bag or wallet, and 
 meles (a word used by Varro and 
 Pliny), a badger. 
 
 Perch, n. This English fish-name 
 is applied with various epithets to 
 many fishes in Australia, some of 
 the true family Percida, others of 
 quite different families. These 
 fishes have, moreover, other 
 
 names attached to them in differ- 
 ent localities. See Black Perch, 
 Fresh-water P., Golden P., Magpie 
 P., Murray P., Pearl P., Red 
 P., Red Gurnet P., Rock P., Sea 
 P., Parrot Fish, Poddly, Burra- 
 mundi, Mado, and Bidyan Ruffe. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 31 : 
 
 " Latcs colonorum, the perch of the 
 colonists . . . really a fresh-water fish, 
 but . . . often brought to the Sydney 
 market from Broken Bay and other 
 salt-water estuaries. . . . The perch of 
 the Ganges and other East Indian 
 rivers (L. calcarifer) enters freely into 
 brackish water, and extends to the 
 rivers of Queensland." [See Burra- 
 mundi. L. colonorum is called the 
 Gtppsland Perch, in Victoria.] 
 
 1882. Ibid. p. 45 : 
 
 "The other genus (Chilodactylus) is 
 also largely represented in Tasmania 
 and Victoria, one species being com- 
 monly imported from Hobart Town in 
 a smoked and dried state under the 
 name of perch.'" 
 
 Perish, doing a, modern slang 
 from Western Australia. See 
 quotation. 
 
 1894. ' The Argus,' March 28, p. 5, 
 col. 4: 
 
 " When a man (or party) has nearly 
 died through want of water he is said 
 to have ' done a perish.' " 
 
 Perpetual Lease, though a 
 misnomer, is a statutory expres- 
 sion in New Zealand. Under the 
 former Land Acts, the grantee of 
 a perpetual lease took a term of 
 thirty years, with a right of re- 
 newal at a revalued rent, subject 
 to conditions as to improvement 
 and cultivation, with a right to 
 purchase the freehold after six 
 years' occupation. 
 
 Perriwinkle, ;/. See quotation. 
 The most popular form in Mel- 
 bourne is Turbo undulatus, Chem- 
 nitz. T. constricta is also called 
 the Native Whelk. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish
 
 343 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PER-PHA 
 
 and Fisheries of New South Wales,' p. 
 122: 
 
 " Trochocochlca constricta, Lam., is 
 used as a substitute for the British 
 perriwinkle, but it is only consumed 
 to a very small extent." 
 
 Perth Herring, i. q. Sardine 
 (q.v.), and see Herring. 
 
 Petaurist, n. the general name 
 for a Flying-Phalanger (q.v.), 
 Flying-Opossum (q.v.), Australian 
 Flying-Squirrel (q.v.). (Grk. rrcTau- 
 pto-TTjs, a rope-dancer or tumbler). 
 See Petaurus. 
 
 Petauroides, n. a genus closely 
 allied to Petaurus (q.v.), contain- 
 ing only one species, the Taguan 
 Flying-Phalanger. 
 
 Petaurus, n. the scientific name 
 given by Shaw in 1793 to the 
 Australian genus of Petaurists 
 (q.v.), or so-called Flying-Squirrels 
 (q.v.), or Flying-Phalangers (q.v.), 
 or Flying-Opossums. The name 
 was invented by zoologists out of 
 Petaurist. In Greek, irtravpov was 
 the perch or platform from which 
 a "rope-dancer" stepped on to 
 his rope. ' L. & S.' say probably 
 from Tre'Savpos, Aeolic for //.erEaipos, 
 high in air. 
 
 Pething-pole, n. a harpoon-like 
 weapon used for pething (pith- 
 ing) cattle ; that is, killing them 
 by piercing the spinal cord (pith, 
 or provincial peth). 
 
 1886. P. Clarke, ' New Chum in Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 184 (' Century'): 
 
 " So up jumps Tom on the bar over- 
 head with a long pething-pole, like an 
 abnormally long and heavy alpen- 
 stock, in his hand ; he selects the 
 beast to be killed, stands over it in 
 breathless . . . silence, adjusts his 
 point over the centre of the vertebra, 
 and with one plunge sends the cruel 
 point with unerring aim into the spinal 
 cord." 
 
 Petrogale, n. the scientific 
 name for a Rock-Wallaby (q.v.). 
 
 The name was given by J. E. 
 Gray, in the ' Magazine of 
 Natural History ' (vol. i. p. 583), 
 1837. (Grk. TreVpa, rock, and 
 a weasel.) 
 
 Pezoporus, n. scientific name 
 of a genus of Parrakeets peculiar 
 to Australia, of which one species 
 only is known, P. formosus, the 
 G round Parrakeet, or Swamp Parra- 
 keet. From Grk. 7reo7ropo?, "going 
 on foot." It differs from all the 
 other psittaci in having a long 
 hind toe like that of a lark, and is 
 purely terrestrial in its habits. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. i. pi. 46 : 
 
 " Pezoporus Formostts, 111., Ground- 
 parrakeet ; Swamp-parrakeet, Colon- 
 ists of Van Diemen's Land ; Ground- 
 parrakeet, New South Wales and 
 Western Australia." 
 
 Phalanger, n. the scientific 
 name for the animal called an 
 Opossum (q.v.) in Australia, and 
 including also the Flying-squirrel 
 (q.v.), and other Marsupials. See 
 also Flying-Phalanger. The word 
 is sometimes used instead of 
 Opossum, where precise accuracy 
 is desired, but its popular use in 
 Australia is rare. The Phalangers 
 are chiefly Australian, but range 
 as far as the Celebes. The word is 
 from the Greek <aAayf, one mean- 
 ing of which is the bone between 
 the joints of the fingers or toes. 
 (The toes are more or less highly 
 webbed in the Phalanger.} 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' The Miner's 
 Right,' p. 249 : 
 
 " The cry of the night-bird, the rustle 
 of the phalangers and the smaller mar- 
 supials, as they glided through the wiry 
 frozen grass or climbed the clear stems 
 of the eucalypti." 
 
 1891. ' Guide to Zoological Gardens, 
 Melbourne': 
 
 "A pair of the Short -headed Pha- 
 langer (Belideus breviceps) occupy the 
 next division."
 
 PHA-PHE] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 349 
 
 1894. R. Lydekker, ' Marsupialia,' p. 
 
 75: 
 
 "The second great family of the 
 herbivorous Diprotodont Marsupials 
 is typically represented by the creatures 
 properly known as phalangers, which 
 the colonists of Australia persist in 
 misnaming opossums. It includes 
 however several other forms, such as 
 the Flying-Phalangers [q.v.] and the 
 Koala [q.v.]." 
 
 Phascolarctus, n. the scientific 
 name of the genus of the Koala 
 (q.v.) or Native Bear, of which 
 there is only one species, P. 
 cimreus. It is, of course, mar- 
 supial. (Grk. </>ao-KO)\os, a leather 
 apron, and apxros, a bear.) See 
 Bear. 
 
 Phascologale, n. contracted 
 often to Phascogale : the scientific 
 name for the genus of little mar- 
 supials known as the Kangaroo- 
 Mouse or Pouched-Mouse (q.v.). 
 (Grk. <a'crKcoAo?, a leather apron, 
 and 701X77, a weasel.) "The pretty 
 little animals belonging to the 
 genus thus designated, range 
 over the whole of Australia and 
 New Guinea, together with the 
 adjacent islands, and are com- 
 pletely arboreal and insectivorous 
 in their habits. The [popular] 
 name of Pouched-Mouse is far from 
 being free from objection, yet, 
 since the scientific names of 
 neither this genus nor the genus 
 Sminthopsis lend themselves 
 readily for conversion into Eng- 
 lish, we are compelled to use the 
 colonial designation as the ver- 
 nacular names of both genera. 
 . . . The largest of the thirteen 
 known species does not exceed 
 a Common Rat in size, while the 
 majority are considerably smaller." 
 (R. Lydekker, ' Marsupialia,' p. 
 1 66.) 
 
 l8 53- J- West, ' History of Tasmania,' 
 vol. i. p. 324: 
 
 "The phascogales are small insec- 
 
 tivorous animals found on the moun- 
 tains and in the dense forest-parts of 
 the island, and little is known of their 
 habits." 
 
 Phascolome, and Phascolo- 
 mys, n. The first is the angli- 
 cised form of the second, which 
 is the scientific name of the genus 
 called by the aboriginal name 
 of Wombat (q.v.) (Grk. ^ao-KwXos 
 = leathern bag, and /AVS = 
 mouse.) 
 
 Phasmid, n. the name for 
 the insects of the genus Phasma 
 (Grk. </>aoy/,a = an appearance), 
 of the family Phasmida, curious 
 insects not confined to Australia, 
 but very common there. The 
 various species are known as 
 Leaf-insects, Walking-leaves, Stick- 
 caterpillars, Walking-sticks, Spectres, 
 etc., from the extraordinary illu- 
 sion with which they counterfeit 
 the appearance of the twigs, 
 branches, or leaves of the vege- 
 tation on which they settle. 
 Some have legs only, which they 
 can hold crooked in the air to 
 imitate twigs ; others have wings 
 like delicate leaves, or they are 
 brilliant green and covered with 
 thorns. They imitate not only 
 the colour and form of the plant, 
 but its action or motion when 
 swayed slightly by the wind. 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 209: 
 "A span-long Phasmid then he knew, 
 Stretching its fore-limbs like a 
 branching twig." 
 
 Pheasant, n. This common 
 English bird-name is applied in 
 Australia to two birds, viz. 
 
 (1) The Lyre-bird (q.v.). 
 
 (2) The Lmvan (q.v.), and see 
 Turkey. 
 
 For Pheasant-fantail, see Fan- 
 tail. 
 
 1877 (before). Australie, ' From the 
 Clyde to Braidwood,' quoted in ' Australian
 
 350 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PHE-PIC 
 
 Ballads and Rhymes' (edition Sladen, p. 
 
 10): 
 
 "... Echoing notes 
 
 Of lyre-tailed pheasants, in their own 
 rich notes, 
 
 Mocking the song of ever)' forest- 
 bird." 
 
 1885. Wanderer, ' Beauteous Terrorist,' 
 etc. , p. 60 : 
 "And have we no visions pleasant 
 
 Of the playful lyre-tail'd pheasant ? " 
 
 Pheasant-Cuckoo, ;/. another 
 name for the Coucal (q.v.), Cent- 
 ropits phasianellus, Gould. See 
 also Swauip-Pheasant. 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. c. vi. p. 125 : 
 
 " I shot over the island and enjoyed 
 some very fair sport, especially with 
 the pheasant-cuckoo." 
 
 Pheasant's Mother, n. an old 
 name of an Australian bird. See 
 Orthonyx. 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 180 : 
 
 " That remarkable little bird, the 
 'Pheasant's Mother' of the colonists, 
 or. Spine-tailed Orthonyx (Orthonyx 
 spinicattda\ about which also ornith- 
 ologists have some difference of 
 opinion respecting its situation in the 
 natural system." 
 
 Philander, n. an old scientific 
 name, now abandoned, for certain 
 species of the Kangaroo family. 
 The word was taken from the 
 name of the explorer, Philander 
 de Bruyn. See quotation. 
 
 1894. R- Lydekker, ' Marsupialia,' p. 36 : 
 "Aru Island Wallaby. Macropus 
 brunnii, Cuvier (1817). Didelphys 
 brunnii, Schreber (1778) . . . Distri- 
 bution. Aru and Kei Islands. This 
 species has an especial interest as 
 being the first member of the Kanga- 
 roo-family known to Europeans, speci- 
 mens having been seen in the year 
 1711 by [Philander de] Bruyn living in 
 the gardens of the Dutch Governor of 
 Batavia. They were originally de- 
 scribed under the name of Philander 
 or Filander." 
 
 Phormium, n. scientific name 
 
 of the genus to which New Zealand 
 Flax (P. tenax] belongs. See 
 flax. (Grk. fapfuov, dim. of 
 <op/u.os, anything plaited of reeds 
 or rushes.) 
 
 Pialler, v. used as pigeon-Eng- 
 lish, especially in Queensland and 
 New South Wales, in the sense 
 of yabber, to speak. 
 
 1834. L - E - Threlkeld, 'Australian 
 Grammar,' p. 10 : 
 
 [As a barbarism]"/zy//^r, to speak." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' Head Station,' p. 
 314: 
 
 " Hester seized the shrinking black 
 and led him forward, wildly crying that 
 she would ' pialla ; the Great Spirit, so 
 that no evil should befall him." 
 
 Piccaninny, and Pickaninny, 
 n. a little child. The word is 
 certainly not Australian. It 
 comes from the West Indies 
 (Cuban piquinini, little, which is 
 from the Spanish pequeno, small, 
 and nino, child). The English who 
 came to Australia, having heard 
 the word applied to negro chil- 
 dren elsewhere, applied it to the 
 children of the aborigines. After 
 a while English people thought 
 the word was aboriginal Aus- 
 tralian, while the aborigines 
 thought it was correct English. 
 It is pigeon-English. 
 
 1696. D'Urfey's ' Don Quixote,' pt. iii. 
 c. v. p. 41 (Stanford) : 
 
 " Dear pinkaninny [sic], 
 If half a guiny 
 To Love wilt win ye." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 12 : 
 
 " ' I tumble down pickaninny here,' 
 he said, meaning that he was born 
 there." 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 103 : 
 
 " Two women, one with a piccaninny 
 at her back." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 520 : 
 
 " Bilge introduced several old war- 
 riors . . . adding always the number 
 of piccaninies that each of them had.' 1
 
 PIC-PIG] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 351 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 
 P- 305 = 
 
 " We can even trace words which 
 the Europeans have imported from the 
 natives of other countries for example 
 picaninny, a child. This word is said 
 to have come originally from the ne- 
 groes of Africa, through white immi- 
 grants. In America the children of 
 negroes are called picaninny. When 
 the white men came to Australia, they 
 applied this name to the children of 
 the natives of this continent." 
 
 Piccaninny, used as adj. and 
 figuratively, to mean little. 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, ' Australia Felix,' 
 p. 104: 
 
 " The hut would be attacked before 
 'piccininni sun.'" [Footnote]: "About 
 daylight in the morning." 
 
 1884. J. W. Bull, ' Early Life in South 
 Australia,' p. 69 : 
 
 [An Englishman, speaking to 
 blacks] "would produce from his 
 pocket one of his pistols, and say, 
 ' Picaninny gun, plenty more.' " 
 
 Pick-it-up, n. a boys' name 
 for the Diamond bird (q.v.). 
 
 1896. G. A. Keartland, ' Home Expe- 
 dition in Central Australia, 'part ii. Zoology, 
 Avcs, p. 69 : 
 
 " Pardalotus ornatus and Pardalotus 
 affinis give forth a treble note which 
 has secured for them the name of 
 ' Pick-it-up ' from our country boys." 
 
 Picnic, n. Besides the ordi- 
 nary meaning 1 of this word, there 
 is a slang Australian use denoting 
 an awkward adventure, an un- 
 pleasant experience, a trouble- 
 some job. In America the slang 
 use is " an easy or agreeable 
 thing." ( ' Standard.') The Aus- 
 tralasian use is an ironical in- 
 version of this. 
 
 1896. Modern : 
 
 "If a man's horse is awkward and 
 gives him trouble, he will say, ' I had 
 a picnic with that horse,' and so of 
 any misadventure or disagreeable ex- 
 perience in travelling. So also of a 
 troublesome business or other affair ; 
 a nursemaid, for instance, will say, ' I 
 
 had a nice picnic with Miss Nora's 
 hair.' " 
 
 Picton Herring, n. a name 
 for several fishes when dried (like 
 "kipper"), especially for the Sea- 
 Mullet, or Makawhiti or Ana (q.v.) 
 (Maori names) ; and for the New 
 South Wales fish called Maray 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Pieman Jolly-tail, n. See Jolly- 
 tail. 
 
 Pig-Dog, n. a dog used in 
 hunting wild pigs. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' c. ii. p. 6 : 
 
 " The pig-dogs are of rather a 
 mongrel breed, partaking largely of the 
 bull-dog, but mixed with the cross of 
 mastiff and greyhound, which forms 
 the New South Wales kangaroo-dog " 
 [q.v.]. 
 
 1877. R- Gillies, ' Transactions of New 
 Zealand Institute,' vol. x. art. xliii. p. 
 321 : 
 
 "A pig-dog of the bull-terrier 
 breed." 
 
 Pigeon, ;/. The Australian 
 species are 
 
 Bronze-wing Pigeon (q.v.) 
 
 Phaps chalcoptera, Lath. 
 Brush Bronze-wing P. 
 
 P. elegans, Temm. 
 Crested P. 
 
 Ocyphaps lophotes, Temm. 
 Flock or Harlequin Bronze-wing 
 (called also Syuatfer, q.v.) 
 
 Phaps histrionica, Gould. 
 Little-Green P. 
 
 Chalcophaps chrysochlora , Wagl . 
 Naked-eye Partridge-P. 
 
 Geophaps smithii, Jard. and Selb. 
 Nutmeg P. 
 
 Carpophaga spilorrhoa, G. R. 
 
 Gray. 
 Partridge-P. 
 
 Geophaps script a ^ Temm. 
 Pheasant-tailed P. 
 
 Macropygia phasiancUa , Temm. 
 Plumed P. 
 
 Lophophaps plumifcra, Gould.
 
 352 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PIG 
 
 Red-plumed Pigeon 
 
 Lophophaps ferruginea, Gould. 
 [He gives vernacular "Rust- 
 coloured."] 
 Rock P. 
 
 Petrophassa albipennis, Gould. 
 Top-knot P. 
 
 Lopholaimus antarcticus, Shaw. 
 White-bellied Plumed P. 
 
 Lophophaps leucogaster, Gould. 
 Wonga-wonga P. (q.v.) 
 
 Leucosarcia picata, Lath. 
 
 See also Fruit-Pigeon, Harlequin 
 Pigeon, Par fridge- Pigeon, Torres 
 Straits Pigeon. For New Zea- 
 land Pigeon, see Kuku. 
 
 Pigeon-berry Tree, n. i.q. 
 Native Mulberry. See Mulberry. 
 
 Pig-face, Pig-faces, and Pig's- 
 face, or Pig's-faces. Names 
 given to an indigenous "ice- 
 plant," Mesembryanthemum aqui- 
 laterale, Haw., N.O. Ficoidea, 
 deriving its generic name from 
 the habit of expanding its flower 
 about noon. 
 
 1834. Ross, ' Van Diemen's Land An- 
 nual,' p. 133: 
 
 " Mesembryanthemtim (equilaterale, 
 pig faces ; called by the aborigines by 
 the more elegant name of canagong. 
 The pulp of the almost shapeless, but 
 somewhat ob-conical, fleshy seed ves- 
 sel of this plant, is sweetish and 
 saline ; it is about an inch and a half 
 long, of a yellowish, reddish, or green 
 colour." 
 
 1844. Mrs. Meredith, 'Notes and 
 Sketches of New South Wales,' p. 45 : 
 
 " Great green mat-like plants of the 
 pretty Mesembryantheinitni aqui- 
 laterale, or fig-marigold, adorned the 
 hot sandy banks by the road-side. It 
 bears a bright purple flower, and a 
 five-sided fruit, called by the children 
 'pig-faces.'" 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 p. 132: 
 
 "The pig's face is an extremely 
 common production of the Australian 
 soil, growing like a thick and "fleshy 
 grass, with its three-sided leaf and 
 
 star-shaped pink or purple flower, 
 occupying usually a rocky or dry light 
 soil." 
 
 1879. C. W. Schiirmann, in ' The Native 
 Tribes of South Australia,' p. 217 : 
 
 "Though this country is almost 
 entirely destitute of indigenous fruits 
 of any value to an European, yet there 
 are various kinds which form very 
 valuable and extensive articles of food 
 for the aborigines ; the most abundant 
 and important of these is the fruit of a 
 species of cactus, very elegantly styled 
 pig's-faces by the white people, but by 
 the natives called karkalla. The size 
 of the fruit is rather less than that of 
 a walnut, and it has a thick skin of a 
 pale reddish colour, by compressing 
 which, the glutinous sweet substance 
 inside slips into the mouth." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 44 : 
 
 " Pig-faces. It was the canajong of 
 the Tasmanian aboriginal. The fleshy 
 fruit is eaten raw by the aborigines : 
 the leaves are eaten baked." 
 
 Pig-faced Lady, n. an old name 
 in Tasmania for the Boar-fish 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Pig-fish, n. name given to the 
 fish Agriopusleucoparilus, Richards., 
 inDunedin; called also the Leather- 
 jacket (q.v.). In Sydney it is Cos- 
 syphus unimaculatus, Gunth., a 
 Wrasse, closely related to the 
 Blue-groper. In Victoria, Heter- 
 odontus phillipi, Lace" p., the Port 
 Jackson Shark. See Shark. 
 
 Pig-footed Bandicoot, n. name 
 given to Chozropus castanotis, Gray, 
 an animal about the size of a 
 rabbit, belonging to the family 
 Peramelidcc, which includes all 
 the bandicoots. It lives in the 
 sandy, dry interior of the con- 
 tinent, making a small nest for 
 itself on the surface of the ground 
 out of grass and twigs. The 
 popular name is derived from the 
 fact that in the fore-feet the 
 second and third toes are alone 
 well developed, the first and fifth
 
 PIG-PIM] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 353 
 
 being absent, and the fourth very 
 rudimentary, so that the foot has 
 a striking resemblance to that of 
 a pig. See also Bandicoot. 
 
 1838. T. L. Mitchell, ' Expeditions into 
 Eastern Australia,' p. 131 : 
 
 " The feet, and especially the fore 
 feet, were singularly formed, the latter 
 resembling those of a hog." 
 
 1893. A. R. Wallace, ' Australasia,' 
 p. 68: 
 
 "Another peculiar form, the Choe- 
 ropus, or pig-footed bandicoot." 
 
 Pigmeater, n. a beast only fit 
 for pigs to eat : one that will not 
 fatten. 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. xiv. p. 105 : 
 
 " Among them was a large propor- 
 tion of bullocks, which declined with 
 fiendish obstinacy to fatten. They were 
 what are known by the stock-riders as 
 ' ragers ' [q.v.] or ' pig-meaters.' " 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Colonial 
 Reformer,' p. 218 : 
 
 " ' Pig-meaters ! ' exclaimed Ernest ; 
 ' what kind of cattle do you call those ? 
 Do bullocks eat pigs in this country?' 
 ' No, but pigs eat them, and horses 
 too, and a very good way of getting 
 rid of rubbish. 3 " 
 
 Piharau, . Maori name for 
 Geotria chilensis, Gray, a New 
 Zealand Lamprey (q.v.). 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 15 : 
 
 " We procured an abundant supply 
 of piarau, a 'lamprey,' which is taken 
 in large numbers in this river, and 
 some others in the neighbourhood, 
 when the waters are swollen." 
 
 Pihoihoi, n. Maori name for a 
 New Zealand bird, the Ground- 
 lark (q.v.). The word has five 
 syllables. 
 
 Pike, n. name applied in 
 Australia and Tasmania to two 
 species of marine fish Sphyrana 
 obtusata, Cuv. and Val. ; 6". novce- 
 hdllanditZ) Giinth. See also Sea- 
 pike. 
 
 Pilchard, n. The fish which 
 
 visits the Australian shores period- 
 ically, in shoals larger than the 
 Cornish shoals, is Clupea sagax, 
 Jenyns, the same as theCalifornian 
 Pilchard, and closely related to the 
 English Pilchard, which is Clupea 
 pilchardus. 
 
 Pilgrims, Canterbury, n. The 
 first settlers in Canterbury, New 
 Zealand, were so called in allusion 
 to the pilgrims to the shrine of St. 
 Thomas Becket. Chaucer's 'Can- 
 terbury Tales ' were told by such 
 pilgrims. The name was given 
 probably by Mr. William Lyon, 
 who in 1851 wrote the ' Dream.' 
 See quotation, 1877. 
 
 1865. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 20 : 
 
 "The 'Pilgrims,' as the first comers 
 are always called. I like the name ; 
 it is so pretty and suggestive." 
 
 1877. W. Pratt, ' Colonial Experiences 
 or Incidents of Thirty-four Years in New 
 Zealand,' p. 234 : 
 
 "In the 'Dream of a Shagroon,' 
 which bore the date Ko Matinau, April 
 1851, and which first appeared in the 
 ' Wellington Spectator ' of May 7, the 
 term ' Pilgrim ' was first applied to the 
 settlers ; it was also predicted in it 
 that the 'Pilgrims 'would be 'smashed,' 
 and the Shagroons left in undisputed 
 possession of the country for their 
 flocks and herds." 
 
 Pilot-bird, n. This name is 
 given to a sea-bird of the Carib- 
 bean Islands. In Australia it is 
 applied to Pycnoptilus floccosus, 
 Gould. 
 
 1893. 'The Argus,' March 25, p. 4, 
 col. 6 : 
 
 " Here, close together, are eggs of 
 the lyre-bird and the pilot-bird the 
 last very rare, and only found quite 
 lately in the Dandenong Ranges, 
 where the lyre-bird, too, has its home." 
 
 Pimelea, n. scientific name for 
 a large genus of shrubs or herbs, 
 N. O. Thymeleacece. There are 
 over seventy species, all con- 
 fined to Australia and New 
 
 A A
 
 354 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PIM-PIN 
 
 Zealand. They bear terminal or 
 axillary clusters of white, rose, 
 or yellow flowers, and being very 
 beautiful plants, are frequently 
 cultivated in conservatories. A 
 gardener's name for some of the 
 species is Rice-flower. Several of 
 the species, especially P. axiflora, 
 F. v. M., yield excellent fibre, and 
 are among the plants called Kur- 
 rajong (q.v.) ; another name is 
 Toughbark. For etymology, see 
 quotation, 1793. 
 
 1793. J. E. Smith, '.Specimen of Botany 
 of New Holland,' p. 32 : 
 
 " Gasrtner . . . adopted the. name 
 of Pimelea from the manuscripts of 
 Dr. Solander. It is derived from 
 n-iptXrj, fat, but is rather a pleasantly 
 sounding than a very apt denomination, 
 unless there may be anything oily in 
 the recent fruit." 
 
 Pimlico, n. another name for 
 the Friar-bird (q.v.). 
 
 Pin-bush, n. i.q. Needle-bush 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Pinch-out, v. to thin out and 
 disappear (of gold-bearing). This 
 use is given in the ' Standard,' 
 but without quotations ; it may 
 be American. 
 
 1890. ' Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 22 : 
 
 " Sometimes 100 to 200 tons of pay- 
 able quartz would be raised from one 
 of these so-called reefs, when they 
 would pinch out, and it would be found 
 that they were unconnected with other 
 leaders or veins." 
 
 Pine, n. The Pines are widely 
 distributed in Australasia, and in- 
 clude some of the noblest species. 
 The name, with various epithets, 
 is given to a few other trees be- 
 sides those of the Natural Order 
 Conifera ; the following is a list 
 of the various Pines in Australasia. 
 They belong to the Natural Order 
 Conifera, unless otherwise indi- 
 cated 
 Black Pine 
 
 Frenela endlicheri, _Parlat. 
 
 Frenela robusta , A. Cunn. 
 
 (Of Otago) 
 Podocarpus ferruginea, Don. ; 
 
 Maori name, Miro (q.v.).; 
 P. spicata, R. Br. ; Maori name, 
 
 Mai, or Matai (q.v.). 
 Celery-topped P. (q.v.) 
 
 (In Australia) 
 Phyllocladus rhomboidalis, Rich. 
 
 (In New Zealand) 
 P. trichomanoides, Don. ; Maori 
 
 name, Tanekaha (q.v.) ; 
 P. glauca, and 
 
 P. alpinus; Maori name, Toatoa, 
 and often also called Tane- 
 kaha. 
 Colonial P. 
 
 Araucaria cunninghamii, Ait. 
 Common P. 
 
 Frenela robusta, A. Cunn. 
 Cypress P. 
 
 Frenela endlicheri, Parlat. 
 
 F. rhomboidea, Endl. 
 
 F. robusta (var. microcarpa), A. 
 
 Cunn. 
 F. robusta (var. vemteasa), A. 
 
 Cunn. 
 Dark P. 
 
 (In Western New South 
 
 Wales) 
 
 Frenela robusta, A. Cunn. 
 Dundathu P. 
 
 Dammara robusta, F. v. M. 
 Hoop P. 
 
 Araucaria cunninghamii, Ait. 
 Huon P. (q.v.) 
 
 Dacrydium franklinii, H ook. 
 Illawarra Mountain P. 
 
 Frenela rhomboidea, Endl. 
 Kauri P. (q.v.) 
 
 Agathis australis, Salis. 
 Lachlan P. 
 
 Frenela robusta, A. Cunn. 
 Light P. 
 
 (Of Western New South 
 
 Wales) 
 
 Frenela rhomboidca, Endl. 
 Macquarie P. 
 Dacrydium franklinii, Hook.
 
 PIN-PIO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 355 
 
 Mahogany Pine 
 
 Podocarpus to tar a, A. Cunn. ; 
 
 Maori name, Totara, (q.v.). 
 Moreton Bay P. 
 
 Araucaria cunninghamii, Ait. 
 Mountain Cypress P. 
 
 Frenela parlatorii, F. v. M. 
 Murray P. 
 
 Frenela endlicheri, Parlat. 
 Murrumbidgee P. 
 
 Frenela robusta, A. Cunn. 
 New Caledonian P. 
 
 (Of New Caledonia and the 
 
 New Hebrides) 
 Araucaria cookii, Cook. 
 Norfolk Island P. 
 
 Araucaria excelsa, Hook. 
 Oyster Bay P. (q.v.) 
 
 (In Tasmania) 
 Frenela rhomboidea, Endl. 
 Port Macquarie P. 
 
 Frenela macleayana, Parlat. 
 Prickly P. 
 
 (In Queensland) 
 Flindersia maculosa, F. v. M., 
 N.O. Meliacece ; called also 
 Leopard Tree (q.v.). 
 Queensland Kauri P. 
 
 Dammara robusta, F. v. M. 
 Red P. 
 
 (In Australia) 
 Frenela endlicheri, Parlat. 
 
 (In New Zealand) 
 Dacrydium cupressinum, Soland ; 
 
 called also Rimu (q.v.). 
 Rock P. 
 
 (In Western New South 
 
 Wales) 
 Frenela robusta (var. verrucosa], 
 
 A. Cunn. 
 Screw P. 
 
 Pandanus odoratissimus, Linn., 
 N.O. Pandanece; not endemic 
 in Australia. 
 Scrub P. 
 
 Frenela endlicheri, Parlat. 
 She P. 
 
 (In Queensland) 
 Podocarpus data, R.Br. 
 
 Silver P. 
 
 Dacrydium colensoi. Hook. ; i.q. 
 
 Yellow Pine. 
 Stringy Bark P. 
 
 Frenela par latorei, F. v. M. 
 Toatoa P. 
 
 Phyllocladus alpinus, Hook. ; 
 
 Maori name, Toatoa (q.v.). 
 White P. 
 
 (In Australia) 
 Frenela robusta, A. Cunn. 
 F. robusta (var. microcarpa}, A. 
 
 Cunn. 
 
 Podocarpus eldta, R. Br. 
 (In New Zealand) 
 P. dacryoides, A. Rich. ; Maori 
 
 name, Kahikatea (q.v.). 
 Yellow P. 
 
 Dacrydium colensoi, Hook. ; 
 Maori name, Manoao (q.v.). 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 p. 180 : 
 
 " The Green Forest . . . comprises 
 myrtle, sassafras, celery-top pine, with 
 a little stringy-bark." 
 
 1838. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. i. p. 51. 
 
 " On the little hill beside the river 
 hung pines (Callitris pyramidalis) in 
 great abundance." 
 
 Finer, n. In Tasmania, a man 
 employed in cutting Huon Pine. 
 
 1891. W. Tilley, ' Wild West of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 43 : 
 
 "The King River is only navigable 
 for small craft . . Piners' boats some- 
 times get in." 
 
 Pinkwood, n. a name for a 
 Tasmanian wood of a pale 
 reddish mahogany colour, Eu- 
 cryphia billardieri, Sparrm., N.O. 
 Saxifrages, and peculiar to Tas- 
 mania ; also called Leatherwood ; 
 and for the Wallaby-bush, Beyera 
 viscosa, Miq., N.O. Euphorbiacece, 
 common to all the colonies of 
 Australasia. 
 
 Piopio, n. Maori name for a 
 thrush of New Zealand, Turnagra 
 crassirostris, Gmel. See Thrush.
 
 356 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PIP-PIT 
 
 Pipe, . an obsolete word, 
 explained in quotations. 
 
 1836. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 105 : 
 
 " These were the days of ' pipes.' 
 Certain supposed home truths . . . 
 were indited in clear and legible letters 
 on a piece of paper which was then 
 rolled up in the form of a pipe, and 
 being held together by twisting at 
 one end was found at the door of the 
 person intended to be instructed on its 
 first opening in the morning." 
 
 1852. J. West, ' History of Tasmania,' 
 vol. i. p. 107 : 
 
 " Malice or humour in the early days 
 expressed itself in what were called 
 pipes a ditty either taught by repeti- 
 tion or circulated on scraps of paper : 
 the offences of official men were thus 
 hitched into rhyme. These pipes were 
 a substitute for the newspaper, and the 
 fear of satire checked the haughtiness 
 of power." 
 
 Pipe-fish, n. common fish- 
 name. The species present in 
 Australia and New Zealand is 
 Ichthyocampus filum, Giinth., family 
 Syngnathida, or Pipe-fishes. 
 
 Piper, n. an Auckland name for 
 the Garfish (q.v.). The name is 
 applied to other fishes in the 
 Northern Hemisphere. 
 
 1872. Hutton and Hector, ' Fishes of 
 New Zealand,' p. 118: 
 
 " Angling for garfish in Auckland 
 Harbour, where it is known as the 
 piper, is graphically described in 
 'The Field,' London, Nov. 25, 1871. 
 . . . the pipers are 'just awfu' can- 
 nibals,' and you will be often informed 
 on Auckland wharf that 'pipers is 
 deeth on piper.' " 
 
 Pipi, n. Maori name of a shell- 
 fish, sometimes (erroneously) 
 called the cockle, Mezodesma 
 novtz-zelandia, 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand ' (Church Mis- 
 sionary Society), p. 193 : 
 
 " Pipi, s. a cockle." 
 
 1881. J. L. Campbell, ' Poenamo,' p. 
 107: 
 
 " With most deliciously cooked ku- 
 meras, potatoes and peppies " [sic]. 
 
 Ibid. p. 204 : 
 
 " The dernier ressort fern-root, fla- 
 voured with fish and pippies." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 P-25: 
 
 "Each female is busily employed in 
 scraping the potatoes thoroughly with 
 pipi-shells." 
 
 Piping-Crow, n. name applied 
 sometimes to the Magpie (q.v.). 
 
 1845. 'Voyage to Port Phillip,' etc., p. 
 53 = 
 
 " The warbling melops and the 
 
 piping crow, 
 
 The merry forest fill with joyous 
 song." 
 
 Pipit, n. another name for 
 Ground-Lark (q.v.). 
 
 Pitau, n. Maori name for the 
 Tree-fern. In Maori, the word 
 means (i) Soft, tender, young- 
 shoots. The verb pihi means 
 " begin to grow " ; " pi means 
 "young of birds," also "the 
 flow of the tide." (2) Centre- 
 fronds of a fern. (3) Name of a 
 large fern. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' c. i. p. 57 : 
 
 "The pitau, or tree-ferns, growing 
 like a palm-tree, form a distinguishing 
 ornament of the New Zealand forest." 
 
 Pitchi, n. name given to a 
 wooden receptacle hollowed out 
 of a solid block of some tree, such 
 as the Batswing Coral (Erythrina 
 vespertio), or Mulga (Acacia aneura), 
 and carried by native women in 
 various parts of Australia for the 
 purpose of collecting' food in, such 
 as grass seed or bulbs, and some- 
 times for carrying infants. The 
 shape and size varies much, and 
 the more concave ones are used 
 for carrying water in. The origin 
 of the word is obscure ; some 
 think it aboriginal, others think 
 it a corruption of the English 
 word pitcher.
 
 PIT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 357 
 
 1896. E. C. Stirling, ' Home Expedition 
 in Central Australia,' Anthropology, pt. 
 iv. p. 99 : 
 
 " I do not know the origin of the 
 name ' Pitch!,' which is in general use 
 by the whites of the parts traversed by 
 the expedition, for the wooden vessels 
 used for carrrying food and water and, 
 occasionally, infants." 
 
 Pitta, n. The name is Telugu 
 for the Indian Ant-thrush ; a few 
 species, are confined to Australia ; 
 they are 
 Blue-breasted Pitta 
 
 Pitta macklotii, Mull, and Schleg. 
 Noisy P. 
 
 P. strepitans, Temm. 
 Rainbow P. 
 
 P. iris, Gould. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' vol. 
 iv. pi. I : 
 
 "Pitta strepitans, Temm., Noisy 
 Pitta. There are also Rainbow Pitta, 
 Pitta iris, and Vigor's Pitta, P. Mack- 
 lotii. 
 
 1869. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia ' 
 (Supplement): 
 
 "Pitta Macklotii, Mull, and Schleg." 
 
 Pittosporum, n. a genus of 
 plants so called from the viscous 
 pulp which envelops the seeds. 
 (Grk. TrtTTa, pitch, and cnropos, 
 seed.) There are about fifty 
 species, which are found in Africa 
 and Asia, but chiefly in Austral- 
 asia. They are handsome ever- 
 green shrubs, and some grow to 
 a great height; the white flowers, 
 being very fragrant, have been 
 sometimes likened to orange- 
 blossoms, and the rich evergreen 
 leaves obtain for some of them 
 the name of Laurels. They are 
 widely cultivated in the suburbs 
 of cities as ornamental hedges. 
 See Mock-Orange, Hedge-Laurel, 
 Native Laurel, etc. 
 
 Pituri, or Pitchery, n. Native 
 name for Duboisia hopwoodii, F. 
 v. M., a shrub growing in the 
 sand-hills of certain districts of 
 
 Queensland, New South Wales, 
 and Central Australia. The leaves 
 are chewed as a narcotic by the 
 natives of many parts, and form 
 a valuable commodity of barter. 
 In some parts of Central Australia 
 the leaf is not chewed, but is only 
 used for the purpose of making a 
 decoction which has the power of 
 stupefying emus, which under its 
 influence are easily captured by 
 the natives. Other spellings are 
 Pitchiri, Pedgery, and Bedgery. 
 Perhaps from betcheri, another 
 form of boodjerrie, good, express- 
 ing the excellent qualities of the 
 plant. Compare Budgeri-gar. 
 
 1863. ' Proceedings of the Royal Society 
 of Van Diemen's Land,' April, p. I : 
 
 "' Pitcherry,'a narcotic plant brought 
 by King, the explorer, from the interior 
 of Australia, where it is used by the 
 natives to produce intoxication. . . . 
 In appearance it resembled the stem 
 and leaves of a small plant partly 
 rubbed into a coarse powder. . . . On 
 one occasion Mr. King swallowed a 
 small pinch of the powder, and de- 
 scribed its effects as being almost 
 identical with those produced by a 
 large quantity of spirits." 
 
 1883. F. M. Bailey, ' Synopsis of Queens- 
 land Flora,' p. 350 : 
 
 " Pitury of the natives. The leaves 
 are used by the natives of Central 
 Australia to poison emus, and is 
 chewed by the natives as the white 
 man does the tobacco." 
 
 1883. G. W. Rusden, ' History of Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. IOI: 
 
 " In one part of Central Australia 
 the leaves and twigs of a shrub called 
 pidgery by the natives are dried and 
 preserved in closely woven bags. . . . 
 A small quantity has an exhilarating 
 effect, and pidgery was highly prized." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 49: 
 
 "The leaves contain a stimulant, 
 which possesses qualities similar to 
 those of tobacco and opium, and are 
 chewed by several tribes in the interior 
 of Australia. Pituri is highly valued 
 as a stimulant, and is taken for barter 
 far and wide."
 
 358 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PIV-PIW 
 
 1890. A. S. Vogan, ' Black Police,' 
 p. 94 : 
 
 " One of the virtues that the native 
 drug Pitchurie is supposed to possess 
 when used by the old men is the open- 
 ing up of this past life, giving them 
 the power and perquisites of seers." 
 
 1893. Mr. Purcell, ' Lecture before 
 Geographical Society, Sydney,' Jan. : 
 
 " Mr. Purcell had travelled over 
 nearly the whole of Queensland, and 
 had only seen the plant growing in a 
 very limited area west of the Mullyan 
 River, I38th meridian of east long., 
 and on the ranges between the 23rd 
 and 24th parallel of south latitude. 
 He had often questioned the Darling 
 blacks about it, and they always re- 
 plied by pointing towards the north- 
 west. The blacks never, if they could 
 possibly help it, allowed white men to 
 see the plant. He himself had not 
 been allowed to see it until he had 
 been initiated into some of the peculiar 
 rites of the aborigines. Mr. Purcell 
 showed what he called the pitchery 
 letter, which consisted of a piece of 
 wood covered with cabalistic marks. 
 This letter was given to a pitchery 
 ambassador, and was to signify that 
 he was going to the pitchery country, 
 and must bring back the amount of 
 pitchery indicated on the stick. The 
 talisman was a sure passport, and 
 wherever he went no man molested 
 the bearer. This pitchery was by no 
 means plentiful. It grew in small 
 clumps on the top of sandy ridges, 
 and would not grow on the richer soil 
 beneath. This convinced him that it 
 never grew in any other country than 
 Australia. The plant was cooked by 
 being placed in an excavation in which 
 a fire had been burning. It then 
 became light and ready for transport. 
 As to its use in the form of snuff, it 
 was an excellent remedy for head- 
 aches, and chewed it stopped all crav- 
 ing for food. It had been used with 
 success in violent cases of neuralgia, 
 and in asthma also it had proved very 
 successful. With regard to its sus- 
 taining properties, Mr. Purcell men- 
 tioned the case of a blackboy who 
 had travelled 120 miles in two days, 
 with no other sustenance than a chew 
 of pitchery." 
 
 Pivot City, The, a nickname 
 for Geelong. 
 
 i860. W. Kelly, ' Life in Victoria,' vol. 
 i. p. 160 [Footnote] : 
 
 "The Pivot City is a sobriquet in- 
 vented by the citizens to symbolize it 
 as the point on which the fortunes of 
 the colony would culminate and re- 
 volve. They also invented several 
 other original terms a phraseology 
 christened by the Melbourne press as 
 the Geelongese dialect." 
 
 Piwakawaka, n. Maori name 
 for the Pied Fantail (Rhipidura 
 flabellifera, Gray). 
 
 1835. W. Yate, 'Account of New 
 Zealand,' p. 57 : 
 
 " Piwakawaka, or tirakaraka. This 
 restless little bird is continually on the 
 wing, or hopping from twig to twig." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, 'Te Ika a Main,' 
 P- 403 : 
 
 "Piwakawaka, tirakaraka, the fan- 
 tailed fly-catcher, a pretty, restless, 
 lively bird ; very sociable, and fond of 
 displaying its beautiful little fan-tail. 
 It has a head like the bullfinch, with 
 one black-and-white streak under the 
 neck coming to a point in the centre 
 of the throat. Wings very sharp and 
 pointed. It is very quick and expert 
 in catching flies, and is a great favour- 
 ite, as it usually follows the steps of 
 man. It was sacred to Maui." 
 
 1885. A. Reischek, ' Transactions of the 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xviii. art. 
 xviii. p. 102 : 
 
 " Rhipidura fantail (Piwakawaka). 
 Every one admires the two species of 
 these fly-catchers, and their graceful 
 evolutions in catching their prey." 
 
 1890. C. Colenso, ' Transactions of the 
 New Zealand Institute : Bush Notes,' vol. 
 xxiii. art. Ivii. p. 482 : 
 
 " During this extended visit of mine 
 to the woods, I have noticed the piwa- 
 kawaka, or fly-catcher {Rhipidura fla- 
 bellifera). This interesting little fly- 
 catcher, with its monotonous short cry, 
 always seems to prefer making the 
 acquaintance of man in the forest 
 solitudes." 
 
 1895. W. S. Roberts, 'Southland in 
 1 856, 'p. 53: 
 
 " The pied fantail, piwakawaka (Rhi- 
 pidura flabellifera) is the best fly-
 
 PL A] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 359 
 
 catcher New Zealand possesses, but it 
 will not live in confinement. It is always 
 flitting about with broadly expanded 
 tail in pursuit of flies. It frequently 
 enters a house and soon clears a room 
 of flies, but if shut in all night it frets 
 itself to death before morning." 
 
 Plain, n. In Australian use, the 
 word not only implies flatness, 
 but treelessness. 
 
 1824. Edward Curr, 'Account of the 
 Colony of Van Diemen's Land,' p. 55 : 
 
 "The district called Macquarie 
 Plains, the greater part of which rises 
 into hills of moderate height, with open 
 and fertile valleys interspersed, while 
 the plains bear a strong resemblance 
 to what are called sheep downs in 
 England." 
 
 1848. T. L. Mitchell, 'Tropical Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 136 : 
 
 "The country was grassy, and so 
 open as almost to deserve the colonial 
 name of 'plain.'" 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 250 : 
 
 " Squatters who look after their own 
 runs always live in the bush, even 
 though their sheep are pastured on 
 plains." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' 
 
 P- 73 = 
 
 "One day an egg of a cassowary 
 was brought to me ; this bird, although 
 it is nearly akin to the ostrich and 
 emu, does not, like the latter, frequent 
 the open plains, but the thick brush- 
 wood. The Australian cassowary is 
 found in Northern Queensland from 
 Herbert river northwards, in all the 
 large vine-scrubs on the banks of the 
 rivers, and on the high mountains of 
 the coasts." 
 
 Plain Currant, n. a wild fruit, 
 Grewia polygama, Roxb., N.O. 
 Tiliacece. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 295 : 
 
 " I found a great quantity of ripe 
 Grewia seeds, and on eating many of 
 them, it struck me that their slightly 
 acidulous taste, if imparted to water, 
 would make a very good drink ; I 
 therefore . . . boiled them for about 
 an hour ; the beverage , . . was the 
 best we had tasted on our expedition." 
 
 Plain - -Wanderer, n. an Aus- 
 tralian bird, Pedionomus torquatus, 
 Gould. 
 
 Plant, v. tr. and n. common in 
 Australia for to hide, and for the 
 thing hidden away. As remarked 
 in the quotations, the word is 
 thieves' English. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 59 : 
 
 "A number of the slang phrases 
 current in St. Giles's Greek bid fair to 
 become legitimatized in the dictionary 
 of this colony : plant, swag, pulling 
 up, and other epithets of the Tom and 
 Jerry school, are established the dross 
 passing here as genuine, even among 
 all ranks." 
 
 1848. Letter by Mrs. Perry, given in 
 ' Canon Goodman's Church in Victoria 
 during the Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' p. 
 78: 
 
 "... Shady Creek, where he 
 ' planted ' some tea and sugar for his 
 brother on his return. Do you know 
 what 'planting' is? It is hiding the 
 tea, or whatever it may be, in the 
 hollow of a tree, or branch, or stone, 
 where no one is likely to find it, but 
 the one for whom it is meant." 
 
 1855. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes,' 
 p. 22 : 
 
 " Some refreshments planted there 
 for us by the Major for that is the 
 colonial phrase, borrowed from the 
 slang of London burglars and thieves, 
 for any article sent forward or left 
 behind for consumption in spots only 
 indicated to those concerned after 
 the manner of the caches of the French 
 Canadian trappers on the American 
 prairies. To 'spring' a plant is to 
 discover and pillage it." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 36 : 
 
 "The way he could hide, or, as it is 
 called in the bush, ' plant ' himself, was 
 something wonderful." 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iv. p. 178 : 
 
 "The gold had not been handed 
 over to the Commissioner at all, but 
 was planted somewhere in the tent." 
 
 1893. ' The Age,' May 9, p. 5, col. 4 : 
 "A panic-smitten lady plants her
 
 3 6o 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PLA. 
 
 money." [Title of short article giving 
 an account of an old lady during the 
 bank panic concealing her money in 
 the ground and being unable to find 
 it.] 
 
 Plantain, Native, an Australian 
 fodder plant, Plantago varia, R. 
 Br., N. O. Plantaginea. 
 
 Plant-Caterpillar, n. name 
 given in Australasia to species of 
 caterpillars which are attacked by 
 spores of certain fungi ; when 
 chrysalating in the earth the 
 fungus grows inside the body of 
 the caterpillar, kills the latter, 
 and then forces its way out be- 
 tween the head joints, and sends 
 an upgrowth which projects 
 beyond the surface of the ground 
 and gives rise to fresh spores. 
 Many examples are known, of 
 which the more common are 
 Cordyceps robertsii, Hook., in New 
 Zealand ; Cordyceps gunnii, Berk, 
 in Tasmania ; Cordyceps taylori, 
 Berk, in Australia. See Aweto. 
 
 1892. M. C. Cooke, ' Vegetable Wasps 
 and Plant Worms,' p. 139 : 
 
 "The New Zealanders' name for this 
 plant-caterpillar is 'Hotete,' 'Aweto,' 
 ' Weri,'-and ' Anuhe.' . . The interior 
 of the insect becomes completely filled 
 by the innerplant,orthallus (mycelium): 
 after which the growing head of the 
 outer plant or fungus, passing to a 
 state of maturity, usually forces its 
 way out through the tissue of the joint 
 between the head and the first segment 
 of the thorax ... it is stated that this 
 caterpillar settles head upward to 
 undergo its change, when the vegetable 
 developes itself." 
 
 Planter, n. a cattle -thief, so 
 called from hiding the stolen 
 cattle. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xxv. p. 352 : 
 
 " What's a little money ... if your 
 children grow up duffers [sc. cattle- 
 duffers, q.v.] and planters?" 
 
 Platycercus, n. scientific name 
 of a genus of Parrakeets, repre- 
 
 sented by many species. The 
 word is from the shape of the 
 tail. (Grk. TrXaru's, broad, and KC'PKOS, 
 tail.) The genus is distributed 
 from the Malay Archipelago to 
 the Islands of the Pacific. The 
 name was first given by Vigors 
 and Horsfield in 1825. 
 
 See Parrakeet and Rosella. 
 
 Platypus,;/, a remarkable Mono- 
 treme (q.v.), in shape like a Mole, 
 with a bill like a Duck. Hence its 
 other names of Duck-bill or Duck- 
 Mole, It has received various 
 names Platypus anatinus, Duck- 
 billed Platypus, Ornithorhynchus, 
 Ornithorhynchus paradoxus, Para- 
 doxus, Water-mole, etc. (Grk. 
 TrAarvs = broad, ?rovs = foot, opviOos 
 = of a bird, pvyx os beak or bill.) 
 The name Platypus is now the 
 name by which it is always popu- 
 larly known in Australia, but see 
 quotation from Lydekker below 
 (1894). From the British Museum 
 Catalogue of Marsupials and 
 Monotremes (1888), it will be 
 found that the name Platypus, 
 given by Shaw in 1799, had been 
 preoccupied as applied to a beetle 
 by Herbst in 1793. It was there- 
 fore replaced, in scientific nomen- 
 clature, by the name Ornitho- 
 rhynchus, by Blumenbach in 1800. 
 In view of the various names, 
 vernacular and scientific, under 
 which it is mentioned by dif- 
 ferent writers, all quotations 
 referring to it are placed under 
 this word, Platypus. The habits 
 and description of the animal 
 appear in those quotations. From 
 1882 to 1891 the Platypus figured 
 on five of the postage stamps of 
 Tasmania. 
 
 1802. G. Harrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. xi. p. 425 : 
 
 "This animal, which has obtained 
 the name of Ornithorhynchus para- 
 doxus, is still very little known."
 
 PLA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 361 
 
 1802. D. Collins, ' Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' vol. ii. 
 
 P- 335 ' 
 
 [List of Engravings.] " Ornitho- 
 rhynchus paradoxus. [At p. 63] : Orni- 
 thorhynchus (an amphibious animal of 
 the mole kind)." 
 
 1809. G. Shaw, 'Zoological Lecturer,' 
 vol. i. p. 78 : 
 
 " This genus, which at present con- 
 sists but of a single species and its 
 supposed varieties, is distinguished by 
 the title of Platypus or Ornitho- 
 rhynchus. . . Its English generic name 
 of duckbill is that by which it is com- 
 monly known." 
 
 1815. 'History of New South Wales' 
 (1818), p. 447: 
 
 " In the reaches or pools of the 
 Campbell River, the very curious 
 animal called the paradox, or water- 
 mole, is seen in great numbers." 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 325 : 
 
 " I cannot omit to mention likewise 
 the Ornithorynchus, that remarkable 
 animal which forms a link between the 
 bird and beast, having a bill like a 
 duck and paws webbed similar to that 
 bird, but legs and body like those of a 
 quadruped, covered with thick coarse 
 hair, with a broad tail to steer by." 
 
 1836. C. Darwin, ' Naturalist's Voyage,' 
 c. xix. p. 321 : 
 
 " Had the good fortune to see sever- 
 al of the Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. 
 . . . Certainly it is a most extra- 
 ordinary animal ; a stuffed specimen 
 does not at all give a good idea of the 
 appearance of the head and beak 
 when fresh, the latter becoming hard 
 and contracted." 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 p. 131 : 
 
 " The specimen which has excited 
 the greatest astonishment is the Orni- 
 thorynchus paradoxus, which, fitted by 
 a series of contrivances to live equally 
 well in both elements, unites in itself 
 the habits and appearance of a bird, a 
 quadruped, and a reptile." 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, 'Port Phillip 
 in 1849,' P- 4 2 ' 
 
 " Platypus, water-mole or duckbill." 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, 'Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 96 : 
 
 "The Ornithorhynchus is known to 
 
 the colonists by the name of the water- 
 mole, from some resemblance which it 
 is supposed to bear to the common 
 European mole (Talpa Europcea, 
 Linn.). 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, 'Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 95 : 
 
 "When first a preserved skin was 
 sent to England, it excited great dis- 
 trust, being considered a fraud upon 
 the naturalist. . . It was first described 
 and figured by Shaw in the year 1799, 
 in the ' Naturalist's Miscellany,' vol. x., 
 by the name of Platypus anatinus, or 
 Duck-billed Platypus, and it was 
 noticed in Collins's ' New South Wales,' 
 2nd ed. [should be vol. ii. not 2nd 
 ed.], 410. p. 62, 1802, where it is 
 named Ornithorhyncus paradoxus, 
 Blum. . . There is a rude figure given 
 of this animal in Collins's work." 
 
 1884. Marcus Clarke, ' Memorial Vol- 
 ume,' p. 177 : 
 
 " The Platypus Club is in Camomile 
 Street, and the Platypi are very haughty 
 persons." 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes the Game 
 Act ' (Third Schedule) : 
 
 [Close Season.] "Platypus. The 
 whole year." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 30: 
 
 "In the Dee river ... I observed 
 several times the remarkable platypus 
 {Ornithorhynchus anatinus') swimming 
 rapidly about after the small water- 
 insects and vegetable particles which 
 constitute its food. It shows only a 
 part of its back above water, and is 
 so quick in its movements that it fre- 
 quently dives under water before the 
 shot can reach it." 
 
 1891. 'Guide to Zoological Gardens, 
 Melbourne ' : 
 
 "In the next division the platypus 
 and its burrows are shown. These 
 curious oviparous animals commence 
 their long burrows under water, and 
 work upwards into dry ground. The 
 nest is constructed in a little chamber 
 made of dry leaves and grass, and is 
 very warm and comfortable ; there is 
 a second entrance on dry ground. 
 The young are found in the months of 
 September and October, but occasion- 
 ally either a little earlier or later ^ 
 generally two or three at a time/'
 
 362 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PLO-PLU 
 
 1892. A. Sutherland, ' Elementary Geo- 
 graphy of British Colonies,' p. 273 : 
 
 "The platypus is covered with fur 
 like an otter, and has four webbed feet, 
 like those of a duck, and a black duck- 
 like bill. It makes a burrow in a river 
 bank, but with an opening below the 
 level of the water. It swims and dives 
 in quiet shady river-bends, and dis- 
 appears on hearing the least noise." 
 
 1894. R. Lydekker, ' Marsupialia,' p. 
 233: 
 
 "The duck-bill was originally de- 
 scribed under the name of Platypus 
 anatinus, which was Anglicised into 
 duck-billed platypus, but since the 
 generic name \Platypus\ had been 
 previously employed for another group 
 of animals, it had, by the rules of 
 zoological nomenclature, to give place 
 to the later Ornithorhynchus, although 
 Shaw's specific name of anatina still 
 holds good. On these grounds it is 
 likewise preferable to discard the 
 Anglicised term Duck-billed Platypus 
 in favour of the simpler Duck-bill or 
 Duck-Mole." 
 
 [Mr. Lydekker is a scientific 
 Englishman, who has not lived in 
 Australia, and although the names 
 of Duck-bill and Duck-mole are 
 perhaps preferable for more exact 
 scientific use, yet by long usage 
 the name Platypus has become the 
 ordinary vernacular name, and is 
 the one by which the animal will 
 always be known in Australian 
 popular language.] 
 
 Plover, n. The bird called the 
 Plover exists all over the world. 
 The species present in Australia 
 are 
 
 Black-breasted Plover 
 
 Sarciophorus pectoralis, Cuv. 
 Golden P. 
 
 Charadrius fulvus, Gmel. 
 Grey P. 
 
 C. helveticus, Linn. 
 Long-billed Stone P. 
 
 Esacus magnirostris, Geoff. 
 Masked P. 
 
 Lobivanellus personatus, Gould. 
 
 Spur- winged P. 
 
 Lobivanellus lobatus, Lath. 
 Stone P. 
 
 CEdicnemus grallarius, Lath. 
 
 And in New Zealand Red- 
 breasted Plover, Charadrius ob- 
 scurus, Gmel. (Maori name, Tutu- 
 turiwhatd] ; Crook-billed, Ana- 
 rhynchus frontalis, Quoy and 
 Gaim. The authorities vary in 
 the vernacular names and in the 
 scientific classification. See also 
 Sand-Plover and Wry-billed-Plover. 
 
 Plum, 72. sometimes called Acacia 
 Plum, a timber tree, Eucryphia 
 moorei, F. v. M., N.O. Saxifrages ; 
 called also Acacia and " White 
 Sally." 
 
 Plum, Black, n. the fruit of the 
 tree Cargillia australis, R. Br., 
 N.O. Ebenacea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 14 : 
 
 " The fruits are of the size of a large 
 plum and of a dark purple colour. 
 They are eaten by the aboriginals." 
 
 Plum, Burdekin, or Sweet 
 Plum, n. a timber tree, Spondias 
 pleiogyna, F. v. M., N.O. Anacar- 
 diacea. Wood like American 
 walnut. 
 
 Plum, Grey, n. ( i ) A timber-tree. 
 One of the names for Cargillia 
 pentamera, F. v. M., N.O. Ebenacece. 
 Wood used for tool-handles. (2) 
 Provincial name for the Caper- 
 Tree (q.v.). 
 
 Plum, Native, or Wild Plum, n. 
 another name for the Brush-Apple. 
 See Apple. The Native Plum, 
 peculiar to Tasmania, and called 
 also Port-Arthur Plum, is Cenar- 
 rhenes nitida, Lab. , N. O. Proteacecc. 
 
 Plum, Queensland, n. i.q. Sweet 
 Plum (q.v. infra). 
 
 Plum, Sour, n. another name 
 for Emu- Apple (q.v.). 
 
 Plum, Sweet, n. a wild fruit,
 
 PLU-POH] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 363 
 
 Owenia vetwsa, F. v. M., N.O. 
 Meliacea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 49 : 
 
 "Queensland Plum, Sweet Plum. 
 This plant bears a fine juicy red fruit 
 with a large stone. ... It is both 
 palatable and refreshing." 
 
 Plum, White, n. local name 
 for Acacia (q.v.). 
 
 Plum, Wild, n. i.q. Native Plum 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Plum-tree, n. the tree, Buchan- 
 ania mangoides, F. v. M., N.O. 
 A nacardiacece. 
 
 Podargus, n. scientific name of 
 a genus of Australian birds, called 
 the Frogsmouth (q.v.) and Mopoke. 
 From Grk.7roSa/ryos, swift or white- 
 footed. (Hector's horse in the 
 ' Iliad ' was named Podargus. 
 ' II.' viii. 185.) 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes Game Act ' 
 (Third Schedule) : 
 
 [Close Season.] " Podargus or Mo- 
 pokes, the whole year." 
 
 Poddly, n. a New Zealand and 
 Australian fish, Sebastes percoides, 
 Richards.; called in Victoria Red- 
 Gurnet Perch. The name is applied 
 in England to a -different fish. 
 
 1872. Hutton and Hector, ' Fishes of 
 New Zealand,' p. 108 : 
 
 " The pohuia-karou is the proper 
 sea-perch of these waters, that name 
 having been applied by mistake to a 
 small wrasse, which is generally called 
 the spotty or poddly." 
 
 Poddy, n. a Victorian name for 
 the Sand-Mullet. See Mullet. 
 
 Poe, n. same as Tui (q.v.) and 
 Parson-bird (q.v.). The name, 
 which was not the Maori name, 
 did not endure. 
 
 I777- Cook's ' Voyage towards the South 
 Pole and round the World ' [2nd Voyage], 
 vol. i. pp. 97, 98: 
 
 "Amongst the small birds I must 
 not omit to particularise the wattle- 
 bird, poy-bird. . . . The poy-bird is 
 
 less than the wattle-bird ; the feathers 
 of a fine mazarine blue, except those of 
 its neck, which are of a most beautiful 
 silver-grey. . . . Under its throat hang 
 two little tufts of curled show-white 
 feathers, called its poies, which being 
 the Otaheitean word for ear-rings 
 occasioned our giving that name to 
 the bird, which is" not more remark- 
 able for the beauty of its plumage than 
 for the sweetness of its note." [In the 
 illustration given it is spelt poe-bird, 
 and in the list of plates it is spelt poi\ 
 
 1865. W. Howitt, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. ill : 
 
 " This bird they called the Wattle- 
 bird, and also the Poy-bird, from its 
 having little tufts of curled hair under 
 its throat, which they called poies, 
 from the Otaheitan word for ear-rings. 
 The sweetness of this bird's note they 
 described as extraordinary, and that 
 its flesh was delicious, but that it was a 
 shame to kill it." 
 
 Pohutukawa, n. Maori name 
 for a magnificent New Zealand 
 tree, Metrosideros tomentosa, A. 
 Cunn., N.O. Myrtacece, called 
 Christmas-tree and Fire-tree by 
 the settlers. There is a Maori 
 verb, pohutu, to splash. Kawa 
 (n.) is a sprig of any kind used in 
 religious ceremonies ; the name 
 would thus mean Splashed sprig. 
 The wood of the tree is very 
 durable, and a concoction of the 
 inner bark is useful in dysentery. 
 
 1835. W. Yate, ' Some Account of New 
 Zealand,' p. 46 : 
 
 " Pohutukawa (Callistemon ellipti- 
 cus}. This is a tree of remarkably 
 robust habits and diffuse irregular 
 growth." 
 
 1855. G. Grey, ' Polynesian Mythology,' 
 p. 142: 
 
 " On arrival of Arawa canoe, the red 
 flowers of the pohutakawa were sub- 
 stituted for the red ornaments in the 
 hair." 
 
 1862. 'All the Year Round,' 'From 
 the Black Rocks on Friday,' May 17, 
 1862, No. 160 : 
 
 "In the clefts of the rocks were 
 growing shrubs, with here and there 
 the larger growth of a pohutukawa, a
 
 364 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [POI 
 
 large crooked-limbed evergreen tree 
 found in New Zealand, and bearing, 
 about Christmas, a most beautiful 
 crimson bloom. The boat-builders in 
 New Zealand use the crooked limbs of 
 this tree for the knees and elbows of 
 their boats." 
 
 1873. ' Catalogue of Vienna Exhibition ' : 
 
 " Pohutukawa for knees, ribs, and 
 
 bent-pieces, invaluable to ship-builder. 
 
 It surpasses English oak. Confined to 
 
 Province of Auckland." 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 310 : 
 
 " The pohutuk.a.wa.-tree(Metroszder0s 
 tomentosa) requires an exposed situa- 
 tion ... is crooked, misshapen. . . . 
 The natives speak of it (the timber) as 
 very durable." 
 
 1886. J. A. Froude, ' Oceana,' p. 308 : 
 
 " Low down on the shore the graceful 
 native Pokutukawa [sic] was left un- 
 disturbed, the finest of the Rata tribe 
 at a distance like an ilex, only larger 
 than any ilex I ever saw, the branches 
 twisted into the most fantastic shapes, 
 stretching out till their weight bears 
 them to the ground or to the water. 
 Pokutukawa, in Maori language, means 
 'dipped in the sea-spray.' In spring 
 and summer it bears a brilliant crimson 
 flower." 
 
 Pointers, ;/. two of the bullocks 
 in a team. See quotation. 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 36 : 
 
 " Twelve bullocks is the usual num- 
 ber in a team, the two polers and the 
 leaders being steady old stagers ; the 
 pair next to the pole are called the 
 'pointers,' and are also required to be 
 pretty steady, the remainder being 
 called the 'body bullocks,' and it is 
 not necessary to be so particular about 
 their being thoroughly broken in." 
 
 Poison-berry Tree, n. Pitto- 
 sporum phillyroides, De C., 'N.O. 
 Pittosporea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 588 : 
 
 "Butter-Bush of Northern Australia ; 
 Willow-Tree of York Peninsula ; Native 
 Willow, Poison-berry Tree (South Aus- 
 tralia). The berries are not poisonous 
 only bitter." 
 
 Poison-Bush, n. name given to 
 a genus of poisonous Australian 
 shrubs, Gastrolobium (q.v.). 
 
 Out of the thirty-three described 
 species of the genus Gastrolobium, 
 only one is found out of Western 
 Australia ; G. grandiflorum, F. v. 
 M., is the poison-bush of the 
 Queensland interior and of Cen- 
 tral Australia. The name is also 
 given to Swainsonia Greyana, 
 Lindl., N.O. Leguminosa. 
 
 The Darling- Pea (q.v.), or 
 Indigo - Plant (q.v.), has similar 
 poisonous effects to the Gastro- 
 lobium. These species of Gas- 
 trolobium go under the various 
 names of Desert Poison-Bush, 
 York - Road Poison - Bush, Wall- 
 flower ; and the names of Ellan- 
 gowan Poison-Bush (Queensland), 
 and Dogswood Poison-Bush (New 
 South Wares), are given to 
 Myoporum deserti, A. Cunn., N.O. 
 MyoporinecR, while another plant, 
 Trema aspera, Blume., N.O. Ur- 
 ticacece, is called Peach-leaved 
 Poison-Bush. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 129 : 
 
 "These plants are dangerous to 
 stock, and are hence called ' Poison- 
 Bushes.' Large numbers of cattle are 
 lost annually in Western Australia 
 through eating them. The finest and 
 strongest animals are the first victims ; 
 a difficulty of breathing is perceptible 
 for a few minutes, when they stagger, 
 drop down, and all is over with them. 
 ... It appears to be that the poison 
 enters the circulation, and altogether 
 stops the action of the lungs and 
 heart." 
 
 Ibid. p. 141 : 
 
 "This plant \S. greyana} is reported 
 to cause madness, if not death itself, 
 to horses. The poison seems to act 
 Qn the brain, for animals affected by 
 it refuse to cross even a small twig 
 lying in their path, probably imagining 
 it to be a great log. Sometimes the 
 poor creatures attempt to climb trees,, 
 or commit other eccentricities."
 
 POI-POR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 365 
 
 Poison - Tree, or Poisonous 
 Tree, n. another name for the 
 Milky Mangrove. See Mangrove. 
 The Scrub Poison-Tree is Exsa- 
 caria dallachyana, Baill., N.O. 
 Euphorbiacece. 
 
 Pomegranate, Native, . 
 another name for the Caper-tree 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Pomegranate, Small Native, 
 n. another name for the Native 
 Orange. See Orange. 
 
 Pongo, n. aboriginal name for 
 the Flying-Squirrel (q.v.). 
 
 1888. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Robbery under 
 Arms,' p. 149 : 
 
 "Then an old 'possum would sing 
 out, or a black-furred flying-squirrel 
 pongos, the blacks call 'em would 
 <:ome sailing down from the top of an 
 ironbark tree, with all his stern sails 
 spread, as the sailors say, and into the 
 branches of another, looking as big as 
 an eagle-hawk." 
 
 Poor-Soldier, or Soldier-Bird 
 (q.v.), n. another name for the 
 Friar-bird (q.v.), and so named 
 from its cry. 
 
 Poplar, n. In Queensland, a 
 timber-tree, Carumbium populi- 
 folium, Reinw. , N.O. Euphorbiacece. 
 In Central Australia, the Radish- 
 tree (q.v.). 
 
 Poplar-Box, n. See Box. 
 
 Poplar-leaved Gum, n. See 
 Gum. 
 
 Porangi, adj. Maori word for 
 sad, sorry, or sick ; cranky. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 137 : 
 
 " The combatants . . . took especial 
 pains to tell us that it was no fault of 
 ours, but the porangi or ' foolishness ' 
 of the Maori." 
 
 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 238 : 
 
 " Watanui said E Ahu was porangi, 
 'a fool.'" 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 435 : 
 " 'Twas nothing he was not to mind 
 her she 
 
 Was foolish was l porangi ' and 
 
 would be 
 Better directly and her tears she 
 
 dried." 
 
 1882. R. C. Barstow, 'Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xv. art. liii. 
 P- 423 : 
 
 " A man who told such marvellous 
 stories that he was deemed to be 
 porangi or insane." 
 
 Porcupine, Ant-eating, i.q. 
 Echidna (q.v.). 
 
 Porcupine-Bird, n. a bird in- 
 habiting the Porcupine-Grass (q.v.) 
 of Central Australia ; the Striated 
 Grass Wren, Amytis striata, Gould. 
 See Wren. 
 
 1896. G. A. Keartland, ' Home Ex- 
 pedition in Central Australia,' Part ii. 
 Zoology, Aves, p. 79 : 
 
 " Amytis Striata, Gould. Striated 
 Wren. . . . They are found almost 
 throughout Central Australia wherever 
 the porcupine grass abounds, so much 
 so, that they are generally known as 
 the ' Porcupine bird.' " 
 
 Porcupine-Pish, n. name given 
 to several species of the genus 
 Diodon, family Gymnodontes, poi- 
 sonous fishes ; also to Dicotylich- 
 thys punctulatus, Kaup., an allied 
 fish in which the spines are not 
 erectile as in Diodon, but are stiff 
 and immovable. Chilomycterusjacu- 
 liferus, Cuv., another species, has 
 also stiff spines, and Atopomycterus 
 nycthemerus, Cuv., has erectile 
 spines. See Toad-fish and Globe- 
 fish. 
 
 Porcupine-Grass, . the name 
 given to certain species of Triodia, 
 of which the more important are 
 T. mitchelli, Benth. , T.pungens, R. Br. , 
 and T. irritans, R. Br. This grass 
 forms rounded tussocks, growing 
 especially on the sand-hills of the 
 desert parts of Australia, which 
 may reach the size of nine or ten 
 feet in diameter. The leaves 
 when dry form stiff, sharp-pointed 
 structures, which radiate in all
 
 366 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [FOR 
 
 directions, like knitting-needles 
 stuck in a huge pincushion. In 
 the writing's of the early Aus- 
 tralian explorers it is usually, but 
 erroneously, called Spinifex (q.v.). 
 The aborigines collect the 
 resinous material on the leaves 
 of T. pungens, and use it for 
 various purposes, such as that 
 of attaching pieces of flint to the 
 ends of their yam-sticks and spear- 
 throwers. 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. i. p. 284: 
 
 "It \Triodia\ grows in tufts like 
 large beehives, or piles of thrift grass, 
 and the leaves project out rigidly in all 
 directions, just like chevaux-de-frise. 
 Merely brushing by will cause the 
 points to strike into the limbs, and a 
 very short walk in such country soon 
 covers the legs with blood. . . . Un- 
 fortunately two or three species of it 
 extend throughout the whole continent, 
 and form a part of the descriptions in 
 the journal of every explorer." 
 
 1880 (before). P. J. Holdsworth, 
 ' Station-hunting on the Warrego,' quoted 
 in 'Australian Ballads and Rhymes' (ed. 
 Sladen), p. 115 : 
 
 " Throughout that night, 
 Cool dews came sallying on that rain- 
 starved land, 
 And drenched the thick rough tufts of 
 
 bristly grass, 
 Which, stemmed like quills (and thence 
 
 termed porcupine), 
 Thrust hardily their shoots amid the 
 
 flints 
 And sharp-edged stones." 
 
 1889. E. Giles, ' Australia Twice Tra- 
 versed,' vol. i. p. 76 : 
 
 " No porcupine, but real green 
 grass made up a really pretty picture, 
 to the explorer at least." 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iv. p. 148 : 
 
 " These were covered with spinifex, 
 or porcupine-grass, the leaves of which 
 are needle-pointed." 
 
 1896. R. Tate, ' Home Expedition in 
 Central Australia,' Botany, p. 119: 
 
 " In the Larapintine Region ... a 
 species of Triodia ( r porcupine grass' 
 
 or, incorrectly, ' spinifex' of explorers 
 and residents) dominates sand ground 
 and the sterile slopes and tops of the 
 sandstone table-lands." 
 
 Porcupine-grass Ant, n. popu- 
 lar name given to Hypoclinea fla- 
 vipesy Kirby, an ant making its 
 nest round the root of the Por- 
 cupine grass (Triodia pungens), 
 and often covering the leaves of 
 the tussock with tunnels of sand- 
 grains fastened together by re- 
 sinous material derived from the 
 surface of the leaves. 
 
 11896. Baldwin Spencer, ' Home Ex- 
 pedition in Central Australia.' 
 
 " Watching the Porcupine-grass 
 ants, which are very small and black 
 bodies with yellowish feet, I saw them 
 constantly running in and out of 
 these chambers, and on opening the 
 latter found that they were always 
 built over two or more Coccidaa 
 attached to the leaf of the grass." 
 
 Porcupine - Parrot, n. See 
 quotation. 
 
 1896. G. A. Keartland, ' Report of the 
 Home Expedition in Central Australia,' 
 Part ii. Zoology, Aves, p. 107 : 
 
 " Geopsittacus occidentalis. Western 
 Ground Parrakeet. . . . As they fre- 
 quent the dense porcupine grass, in 
 which they hide during the day, a good 
 dog is necessary to find them. They 
 are locally known as the ' Porcupine 
 Parrot.'" 
 
 Poroporo, n. Maori name for the 
 flowering shrub Solanum aviculare, 
 Forst.; called in Australia, Kanga- 
 roo Apple. Corrupted into Bully- 
 bul (q.v.). 
 
 1857. C. Hursthouse, ' New Zealand, 
 the Britain of the South,' p. 136 : 
 
 " The poroporo, the nicest or least 
 nasty of the wild fruits, is a sodden 
 strawberry flavoured with apple-peel ; 
 but if rashly tasted an hour before it 
 is ripe, the poroporo is an alum pill 
 flavoured with strychnine." 
 
 1880. W. Colenso, 'Transactions New 
 Zealand Institute,' vol. xiii. art. i. p. 32 : 
 
 " The large berry of the poro-poro 
 (Solanum aviculare) was also eaten ;
 
 POR-POS] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 367 
 
 it is about the size of a small plum, and 
 when ripe it is not unpleasant eating, 
 before it is ripe it is very acrid. This 
 fruit was commonly used by the early 
 colonists in the neighbourhood of Wel- 
 lington in making jam." 
 
 Porphyrio, n. the Sultana-bird, 
 or Sultana. The bird exists else- 
 where. In Australia it is gener- 
 ally called the Swamp-Hen (q.v.). 
 
 1875. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 213 : 
 "The crimson-billed porphyrio, that 
 
 jerking struts 
 Among the cool thick rushes." 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes the Game 
 Act' (Third Schedule): 
 
 [Close Season.] "... Land-rail, all 
 other members of the Rail family, 
 Porphyrio, Coots, &c. From the First 
 day of August to the Twentieth day of 
 December following." 
 
 Port- Arthur Plum. See Plum, 
 
 Native. 
 
 Port-Jackson Fig, n. See Fig. 
 
 Port-Jackson Shark, Hetero- 
 dontus phillipii, Lac6p., family Ces- 
 traciontidcc ; called also the Shell- 
 grinder. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 10 : 
 
 " The Ccst radon or Port Jackson 
 shark (Hcfcrodontus)." 
 
 Ibid. p. 97 : 
 
 " It was supposed that Port Jackson 
 alone had this shark ... It has since 
 been found in many of the coast bays 
 of Australia." 
 
 Port-Jackson Thrush, n. the 
 best known bird among the Aus- 
 tralian Shrike-thrushes (q.v.), Colhi- 
 ricinda harmonica, Lath.; called 
 also the Aiistral Thrush, and Har- 
 monic Thrush by Latham. It is 
 also the C. cinerea of Vigors and 
 Horsfield and the Turdus harmoni- 
 cus of Latham, and it has received 
 various other scientific and ver- 
 nacular names ; Colonel Legge 
 has now assigned to it the name 
 of Grey Shrike-Thrush. Gould 
 
 called it the " Harmonious Col- 
 luricincla." 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales,' p. 157 : 
 
 " The Port-Jackson thrush, of which 
 a plate is annexed, inhabits the neigh- 
 bourhood of Port Jackson. The top 
 of head blueish-grey ; back is a fine 
 chocolate brown ; wings and tail lead- 
 colour ; under part dusky white. . . . 
 The bill, dull yellow ; legs brown." 
 
 1822. John Latham, ' General History 
 of Birds,' vol. v. p. 124 : 
 
 " Austral Thrush. [A full description.] 
 Inhabits New South Wales." 
 
 [Latham describes two other birds, 
 the Port Jackson Thrush and the Har- 
 monic Thrush, and he uses different 
 scientific names for them. But Gould, 
 regarding Latham's specimens as all 
 of the same species, takes all Latham's 
 scientific and vernacular names as 
 synonyms for the same bird.] 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. ii. pi. 74 : 
 
 "The Colluricincla harmonica is one 
 of the oldest known of the Australian 
 birds, having been described in La- 
 tham's ' Index Ornithologicus,' figured 
 in White's 'Voyage' and included in 
 the works of all subsequent writers." 
 
 Port-Maequarie Pine. See 
 Pine. 
 
 Post - and - Rail Tea, slang 
 name for strong bush-tea : so 
 called because large bits of the 
 tea, or supposed tea, float about 
 in the billy, which are compared 
 by a strong imagination to the 
 posts and rails of the wooden 
 fence so frequent in Australia. 
 
 1851. 'The Australasian' (a Quarterly), 
 p. 298 : 
 
 " Hyson-skin and post-and-rail tea 
 have been superseded by Mocha, 
 claret, and cognac." 
 
 1855. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes,' 
 p. 163 : 
 
 "A hot beverage in a tin pot, which 
 richly deserved the colonial epithet of 
 ' post-and-rail ' tea, for it might well 
 have been a decoction of ' split stuff,' 
 or ' ironbark shingles,' for any resem- 
 blance it bore to the Chinese plant."
 
 368 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [POT-POU 
 
 1870. T. H. Braim, ' New Homes,' c. i. 
 p. 28: 
 
 "The shepherd's wife kindly gave 
 us the invariable mutton-chop and 
 damper and some post-and-rail tea." 
 
 1883. Keighley, ' Who are you ? ' p. 36 : 
 "Then took a drink of tea. . . . 
 Such as the swagmen in our goodly 
 
 land 
 
 Have with some humour named the 
 ' post-and-rail.' " 
 
 Potato-Fern, n. a fern (Marattia 
 fraxinea, Smith) with a large part 
 edible, sc. the basal scales of the 
 frond. Called also the Horseshoe- 
 fern. 
 
 Potato, Native, n. a sort of 
 Yam, Gastrodia sesamoides, R. Br. , 
 N.O. Orchidea. 
 
 1834. Ross, ' Van Diemen's Land 
 Annual,' p. 131 : 
 
 " Produces bulb-tubers growing one 
 out of another, of the size, and nearly 
 the form, of kidney potatoes ; the lower- 
 most is attached by a bundle of thick 
 fleshy fibres to the root of the tree 
 from which it derives its nourishment. 
 These roots are roasted and eaten by 
 the aborigines ; in taste they resemble 
 beet-root, and are sometimes called in 
 the colony native potatoes." 
 
 1857. F. R. Nixon, 'Cruise of the 
 Beacon,' p. 27: 
 
 " And the tubers of several plants of 
 this tribe were largely consumed by 
 them, particularly those of Gastrodi 
 sessamoides [sic], the native potato, so 
 called by the colonists, though never 
 tasted by them, and having not the 
 most remote relation to the plant of 
 that name, except in a little resem- 
 blance of the tubers, in shape and 
 appearance, to the kidney potato." 
 
 Potoroo, n. aboriginal name 
 for a Kangaroo-Rat (q.v.). See 
 also Potorous and Roo. 
 
 1790. John White, ' Journal of a Voyage 
 to New South Wales,' p. 286 : 
 
 " The Poto Roo, or Kangaroo Rat." 
 [Figure and description.] " It is of a 
 brownish grey colour, something like 
 the brown or grey rabbit, with a tinge 
 of a greenish yellow. It has a pouch 
 on the lower part of its belly." 
 
 Potorous, n. the scientific name 
 of the genus of the Kangaroo-Rats 
 (q.v.). The aboriginal name was 
 Potoroo ; see Roo. They are also 
 called Rat-Kangaroos. 
 
 Pouched-Lion, or Marsupial 
 Lion, n. a large extinct Phalanger 
 (q.v.), Thylacoleo carnifex, Owen. 
 The popular name was given 
 under the idea, derived from the 
 presence of an enormous cutting- 
 tooth, that the animal was of 
 fierce carnivorous habits. But it 
 is more generally regarded as 
 closely allied to the phalangers, 
 who are almost entirely vege- 
 tarians. 
 
 Pouched-Mouse, n. the ver- 
 nacular name adopted for species 
 of the genera Phascologale (q.v.), 
 Sminthopsis, Dasyuroides and Ante- 
 chinomys. They are often called 
 Kangaroo-mice (q.v.). The species 
 are 
 
 Brush r tailed Pouched-Mouse 
 
 Phascologale penicillata, Shaw. 
 Chestnut-necked P.-M. 
 
 P. thorbeckiana, Schl. 
 Crest-tailed P.-M. 
 
 P. cristicauda, Krefft. 
 Fat-tailed P.-M. 
 
 P. macdonnellensis, Spencer. 
 Freckled P.-M. 
 
 P. apicalis, Gray. 
 Lesser-tailed P.-M. 
 
 P. calura, Gould. 
 Little P.-M. 
 
 P. minima, Geoff. 
 Long-tailed P.-M. 
 
 P. longicaudata, Schleg. 
 Orange-bellied P.-M. 
 
 P. dories, Thomas. 
 Pigmy P.-M. 
 
 P. miriiitissima, Gould. 
 Red-tailed P.-M. 
 
 P. wallacii, Grey. 
 Swainson's P.-M. 
 
 P. swainsoni, Water.
 
 POU-PRl] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 369 
 
 Yellow-footed Pouched-Mouse 
 PhascologaU flavipeS) Water. 
 
 The Narrow-footed Pouched-Mice 
 belong to the genus Sminthopsis, 
 and differ from the Phascologales 
 in being entirely terrestrial in their 
 habits, whereas the latter are 
 usually arboreal ; the species are 
 
 Common Narrow-footed Pouched- 
 Mouse 
 
 Sminthopsis murina, Water. 
 Finke N.-f. P.-M. 
 
 S. larapinta, Spencer. 
 Sandhill N.-f. P.-M. 
 
 6". psammophiluS) Spencer. 
 Stripe-faced N.-f. P.-M. 
 
 .S. Virginia, De Tarrag. 
 Thick-tailed N.-f. P.-M. 
 
 S. crassicaudata, Gould. 
 White-footed N.-f. P.-M. 
 
 S. leucopus, Grey. 
 
 The third genus, Dasyuroi- 
 des, has only one species 
 Byrne's Pouched-Mouse, D. 
 byrnei, Spencer. 
 
 The fourth genus, Antechinomys, 
 has only one known species the 
 Long-legged Jumping Pouched-Mouse, 
 A. laniger, Gould. 
 
 Pounamu, or Poenamu, . the 
 Maori name for Nephrite, Jade, or 
 Greenstone (q.v.). In the second 
 spelling the e is hardly sounded. 
 
 1773- Hawkesworth, ' Cook's Voyages,' 
 vol. ii. p. 400 : 
 
 " Two Whennuas or islands [after- 
 wards called New Zealand] which 
 might be circumnavigated in a few 
 days, and which he called Tovy Poe- 
 nammoo ; the literal translation of this 
 word is ' the water of green talc,' and 
 probably if we had understood him 
 better we should have found that Tovy 
 Poenammoo was the name of some 
 particular place where they got the 
 green talc or stone of which they make 
 their ornaments and tools, and not a 
 general name for the whole southern 
 district." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, ' New Zealand,' 
 p. 362 : 
 
 "A magnificent Mere punamu, a 
 battle-axe, fifteen inches long, and cut 
 out of the most beautiful, transparent 
 nephrite, an heirloom of his illustrious 
 ancestors, which he kept as a sacred 
 relic." 
 
 1881. J. L. Campbell [Title of book 
 describing early days of New Zealand] : 
 
 " Poenamo." 
 
 Pratincole, n. The bird called 
 a Pratincole (inhabitant of mea- 
 dows: \*3A..pratum&w3iincola) exists 
 elsewhere, and more often under 
 the familiar name of Chat. The 
 Australian species are Glareola 
 grallaria, Temm. ; Oriental, G. 
 orientals, Leach. 
 
 Pre-empt, n. a slang abbrevia- 
 tion for pre-emptive right. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xxiv. p. 322 : 
 
 "My friend has the run and the 
 stock and the pre-empts all in his own 
 hands." 
 
 Pretty- Paces, n. a fancy name 
 for a small kangaroo. Not very 
 common. 
 
 1887. W. S. S. Tyrwhitt, ' The New 
 Chum in the Queensland Bush,' p. 145 : 
 
 " Kangaroos are of several different 
 kinds. First, the large brown variety, 
 known as kangaroo proper ; next the 
 smaller kind, known as pretty faces 
 or whip tails, which are rather smaller 
 and of a grey colour, with black and 
 white on the face." 
 
 Prickfoot, n. a Tasmanian 
 plant, Eryngium vesiculosum, Lab., 
 N. O. UmbellifercR, 
 
 Prickly Fern, n. Ahophila aus- 
 tralis, R. Br., N.O. Filices. 
 
 1862. W. Archer,' Productsof Tasmania,' 
 p. 41: 
 
 "Prickly fern-tree (Ahophila Aus- 
 tralis, Br.). This very handsome fern- 
 tree occasionally attains a height of 
 thirty feet. It is not, by any means, 
 so common a fern-tree as Dicksonia 
 antarctica (Lab.)." 
 
 Prickly Mimosa, n. See Mi- 
 mosa and Prickly Moses, under 
 Moses. 
 
 B B
 
 370 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 PRI-PRO] 
 
 1835. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 63 : 
 
 " Acacia verticillata. Whorl leaved 
 Acacia, or Prickly Mimosa, so called 
 from its sharp pointed leaves standing 
 out in whorls round the stem like the 
 spokes of a wheel." 
 
 Prickly Pine, n. See Pine. 
 Prickly Wattle, . See Wattle. 
 
 Primage, n. The word is of 
 old commercial use, for a small 
 sum of money formerly paid to 
 the captain or master of the ship, 
 as his personal perquisite, over 
 and above the freight charges 
 paid to the owners or agents, by 
 persons sending goods in a ship. 
 It was called by the French pot- 
 de-vin du maitre, a sort of pour- 
 boire, in fact. Now-a-days" the 
 captain has no concern with the 
 freight arrangements, and the 
 word in this sense has dis- 
 appeared. It has re-appeared in 
 Australia under a new form. In 
 1893 the Victorian Parliament 
 imposed a duty of one per cent, 
 on the Prime, as the Customs 
 laws call the first entry of goods. 
 This tax was called Primage^ and 
 raised such an outcry among 
 commercial men that in 1895 it 
 was repealed. 
 
 Primrose, Native, n. The name 
 is given in Tasmania to Goodenia 
 geniculata, R. Br., N.O. Goodeniacecz. 
 There are many species of Good- 
 enia in Australia, and they contain 
 a tonic bitter which has not been 
 examined. 
 
 Prion, n. a sea-bird. See Dove- 
 Petrel. (Grk. irpiW, a saw.) The 
 sides of its bill are like the teeth 
 of a saw. 
 
 1885. W. O. Legge, ' Australasian Asso- 
 ciation for the Advancement of Science ' 
 (Brisbane), p. 448 : 
 
 "The name Prion, as almost, uni- 
 versally applied elsewhere to the Blue 
 
 Petrels, has been kept [in Australia] 
 as an English name." 
 
 Prop, v. of a horse : to stop 
 suddenly. 
 
 1870. E. B. Kennedy, ' Four Years in 
 Queensland,' p. 194 : 
 
 " Another man used to teach his 
 horse (which was free from vice) to 
 gallop full speed up to the verandah of 
 a house, and when almost against it, 
 the animal would stop in liis stride (or 
 prop), when the rider vaulted lightly 
 over his head on to the verandah." 
 
 1880. W. Senior, 'Travel and Trout,' 
 p. 52 : 
 
 " How on a sudden emergency the 
 sensible animal will instantaneously 
 check his impetuosity, ' prop,' and 
 swing round at a tangent." 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. xxi. p. 152 : 
 
 "Traveller's dam had an ineradic- 
 able taste for propping." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance 
 Australia,' p. 153 : 
 
 " His horse propped short, and sent 
 him flying over its head." 
 
 Prop, n. a sudden stop. 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. xvi. p. 115 : 
 
 " The ' touchy ' mare gave so sudden 
 a ' prop,' accompanied by a desperate 
 plunge, that he was thrown." 
 
 Prospect, v. to search for gold. 
 In the word, and in all its deri- 
 vatives, the accent is thrown back 
 on to the first syllable. This 
 word, in such frequent use in 
 Australia, is generally supposed 
 to be of Australian origin, but 
 it is in equal use in the mining 
 districts of the United States of 
 America. 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 10 : 
 
 "The forest seemed alive with 
 scouts ' prospecting.' " 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, ' New Rush,' pt. i. p. 
 18: 
 
 " Behold him, along with his partner 
 set out, 
 
 To prospect the unexplor'd ranges 
 about."
 
 PRO-PUNj 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'The Miner's 
 Right,' p. 46 : 
 
 " A promising place for prospecting. 
 Yet nowhere did I see the shafts and 
 heaps of rock or gravel which tell in a 
 gold country of the hasty search for 
 the precious metal." 
 
 1894. ' The Argus,' March 10, p. 4, 
 col. 6 : 
 
 " The uses of the tin dish require 
 explanation. It is for prospecting. 
 That is to- say, to wash the soil in 
 which you think there is gold." 
 
 Prospect, n. the result of the 
 first or test-dish full of wash-dirt. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' The Miner's 
 Right,' c. v. p. 54 : 
 
 " The first prospect, the first pan of 
 alluvial gold drift, was sent up to be 
 tested." 
 
 1890. ' Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 17 : 
 
 " I have obtained good dish pro- 
 spects after crudely crushing up the 
 quartz." 
 
 Prospecting, verbal n. and adj. 
 See Prospect, v. 
 
 1890. ' Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 16 : 
 
 " Prospecting in my division is on 
 the increase." 
 
 Ibid. p. 13 : 
 
 " The Egerton Company are doing 
 a large amount of prospecting work." 
 
 Prospecting Claim = the first 
 claim marked in a gold-lead. See 
 Reward Claim. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' The Miner's 
 Right,' c. v. p. 53 : 
 
 " This, however, would be but half 
 the size of the premier or prospecting 
 claim." 
 
 Prospector, n. one who 
 searches for gold on a new field. 
 See Prospect, v. 
 
 1890. ' Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 19: 
 
 " The Government prospectors have 
 also been very successful." 
 
 1891. W. Tilley, ' Wild West of Tas- 
 mania,' p. II : 
 
 " He incidentally mentioned his gold 
 find to another prospector . . The last 
 went out to the grounds and pro- 
 spected, with the result that he dis- 
 covered the first payable gold on the 
 
 West Coast, for which he obtained a 
 reward claim." 
 
 Pseudochirus, n. the scientific 
 name of the genus of Ring-tailed 
 Phalangers. (See Opossum?) They 
 have prehensile tails, by which 
 they hold in climbing, as with 
 a hand. (Grk. ij/fvSo-, false, and 
 X'p> hand.) 
 
 Psophodes, n. scientific name 
 of a genus of birds peculiar to 
 Australia, and represented there 
 by two species. See Coach-whip 
 Bird. The name comes from the 
 bird's peculiar note. (Grk. i/w^wS^s, 
 noisy.) 
 
 Ptilonorhynchinse, n. pi. scien- 
 tific name assigned to the Aus- 
 tralian group of birds called the 
 Bower-birds (q.v.). (Grk. TrrtXov, 
 a feather, puy^os, a beak.) 
 
 Pudding-ball, n. a fish ; cor- 
 ruption of the aboriginal name of 
 it, puddinba (q.v.), by the law of 
 Hobson-Jobson. 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, 'Cooksland,' p. 96 : 
 
 " The species of fish that are com- 
 monest in the Bay (Moreton) are 
 mullet, bream, puddinba (a native word 
 corrupted by the colonists into pud- 
 ding-ball) . . . The puddinba is like a 
 mullet in shape, but larger, and very 
 fat ; it is esteemed a great delicacy." 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 407, col. 4 : 
 
 "'Pudding-ball' is the name of a 
 fish. It has nothing to do with pud- 
 ding, nothing with any of the various 
 meanings of ball. The fish is not 
 specially round. The aboriginal name 
 was ' pudden-ba.' Voila tout." 
 
 Pukeko, ;/. Maori name for the 
 bird Porphyrio melanonotus, the 
 Swamp-Hen (q.v.). 
 
 1896. ' Otago Witness,' June n, p. 51 : 
 " Two pukaki [sic] flew across their 
 path." 
 
 Punga, n. the trunk of the tree- 
 fern that is known as Cyathea 
 medullaris, the " black fern " of the 
 settlers. It has an edible pith.
 
 372 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [PUN-PUS 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 115: 
 
 " Some of the trees were so alarmed 
 that they held down their heads, and 
 have never been able to hold them up 
 since ; amongst these were the ponga 
 (a fern-tree) and the kareao (supple- 
 jack), whose tender shoots are always 
 bent." 
 
 1888. J. White, 'Ancient History of 
 Maori,' vol. iv. p. 191 : 
 
 " When Tara-ao left his pa and fled 
 from the vengeance of Karewa, he and 
 his people were hungry and cut down 
 ponga, and cooked and ate them." 
 
 1888. J. Adams, ' Transactions of New 
 Zealand Institute,' vol. xxi. art. ii. p. 36 : 
 
 " The size and beauty of the puriri, 
 nikau, and ponga (Cyatheamedullaris) 
 are worthy of notice." 
 
 1892. E. S. Brookes, 'Frontier Life,' 
 
 P- 139 : 
 
 " The Survey Department graded a 
 zigzag track up the side to the top, 
 fixing in punga steps, so that horses 
 could climb up." 
 
 Punga-punga, n. Maori name 
 for the pollen of the raupo (q.v.). 
 
 1880. W. Colenso, ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xiii. art. i. 
 p. 28 : 
 
 " Another curious article of vege- 
 table food was the punga-punga, the 
 yellow pollen of the raupo flowers. To 
 use it as food it is mixed with water 
 into cakes and baked. It is sweetish 
 and light, and reminds one strongly of 
 London gingerbread." 
 
 Puriri, n. Maori name for the 
 New Zealand tree, Vitex littoralis, 
 A. Cunn., N. O. Verbenacecz; called 
 also New Zealand Oak, New Zea- 
 land Teak, and Ironwood. It is 
 very hard. 
 
 1842. W. R. Wade, 'Journey in New 
 Zealand' (Hobart Town), p. 200 : 
 
 " Puriri, misnamed Vitex littoralis, 
 as it is not found near the sea-coast." 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, ' Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 311 : 
 
 " The Puriri Tree ( Vitex littoralis}. 
 The stems . . . vary from straight to 
 every imaginable form of curved 
 growth. . . The fruit, which is like a 
 cherry, is a favourite food of the wood- 
 pigeon." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 p. 86 : 
 
 "A deep ravine, over which grey- 
 stemmed puriris stretched out afar their 
 gnarled trunks, laden with deep green 
 foliage, speckled with the warm gleam 
 of ruddy blossoms." 
 
 1881. J. L. Campbell, ' Poenamo,' p. 
 102 : 
 
 " The darker, crimped and var- 
 nished leaf of the puriri, with its bright 
 cherry-like berry." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, 'Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 209: 
 
 " The Puriri ... on account of the 
 strength of its timber it is sometimes 
 termed by the settlers ' New Zealand 
 Oak,' but it would be far more correct 
 to name it ' New Zealand Teak.' " 
 
 Purple Berry, n. Tasmanian 
 name for Billardiera longiflora, 
 Lab., N. O. Pittosporea. See Pitto- 
 sporum . 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, 'Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. n [Note] : 
 
 ^Billardiera longiflora, the well- 
 known beautiful climber, with pale 
 greenish bell-flowers and purple fruit." 
 [Also pi. i.] 
 
 Purple Broom, n. See Broom. 
 
 Purple Coot, n. another name 
 for the Swamp-Hen (q.v.). 
 
 Purple Fig, . See under Fig- 
 tree. 
 
 Push, n. a gang. The word 
 is of late very common in Aus- 
 tralia. It was once a prison 
 term. Barrere and Leland quote 
 from M. Davitt's ' Leaves from 
 a Prison Diary,' "the upper ten 
 push." In Thieves' English it 
 is (i) a crowd; (2) an association 
 for a particular robbery. In 
 Australia, its use began with the 
 larrikins (q.v.), and spread, until 
 now it often means clique, set, 
 party, and even jocularly so far 
 as "the Government House Push." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' July 26, p. 4, col. 3 : 
 " ' Doolan's push ' were a party of 
 
 larrikins working ... in a potato 
 paddock near by."
 
 PYR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 373 
 
 1892. A topical song by E. J. Lonnen 
 began : 
 
 " I've chucked up my Push for my 
 Donah." 
 
 1893. 'The Australasian,' June 24, p. 
 1165, col. 4 : 
 
 " He [the young clergyman] is 
 actually a member of every ' push ' in 
 his neighbourhood, and the effect has 
 been not to degrade the pastor, but to 
 sweeten and elevate the ' push.' " 
 
 1893. 'Sydney Morning Herald,' June 
 26, p. 8, col. 7 : 
 
 " For a long time past the ' push ' at 
 Miller's Point, which consists of young 
 fellows for the most part under twenty- 
 one years of age, have been a terrible 
 source of annoyance, and, indeed, of 
 actual danger. A few years ago the 
 police by resolute dealings with the 
 larrikin pest almost put it down in the 
 neighbourhood, the part of it which 
 was left being thoroughly cowed, and 
 consequently afraid to make any dis- 
 turbance. Within the past eighteen 
 months or two years the old 'push' 
 has been strengthened by the addition 
 of youths just entering on manhood, 
 who, gradually increasing in numbers, 
 have elbowed their predecessors out 
 of the field. Day by day the new 
 
 ' push ' has become more daring. 
 From charring drunken men and in- 
 sulting defenceless women, the com- 
 pany has taken to assault, to daylight 
 robbery." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' July i, p. 10, col. 7 : 
 " The Premier, in consultation with 
 
 the inspector-general of the police, 
 has made arrangements to protect life 
 and property against the misconduct 
 of the lawless larrikin 'pushes' now 
 terrorising Sydney." 
 
 1894. ' Sydney Morning Herald ' (date 
 lost) : 
 
 "The word larrikin is excellently 
 descriptive of the irresponsible, mis- 
 chievous, anti-social creature whose 
 eccentric action is the outcome of too 
 much mutton. This immoral will-o'- 
 the-wisp, seized with a desire to jostle, 
 or thump, or smash, combines for the 
 occasion with others like himself, and 
 the shouldering, shoving gang is well 
 called a push." 
 
 Pyrrholsemus, n. scientific 
 name of the genus of the Austra- 
 lian birds called the Red-throats ; 
 from Grk. Truppos, ' ' flame- 
 coloured," "red," and Acu/xos, 
 "throat."
 
 374 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [QUA 
 
 Q 
 
 Quail, n. a bird which exists 
 under some form all over the 
 world. The Australian species 
 are 
 
 Black-breasted Quail 
 
 Turnix melanogaster, Gould. 
 Brown Q. 
 
 Synoicus australis, Lath. [Called 
 
 also Swamp-Quail '.] 
 Chestnut-backed Q. 
 
 Ttirnix castanotus, Gould. 
 Chestnut-bellied Q. 
 
 Excalfatoria australis, Gould. 
 Little Q. 
 
 Turnix velox, Gould. 
 Painted Q. 
 
 T. varius. Lath. \HcRinipodiits 
 
 melinatus, Gould.] 
 Red-backed Q. 
 
 T. maculosa, Gould. 
 Red-chested Q. 
 
 T. pyrrhothorax, Gould. 
 Stubble Q. 
 
 Co turnix pectoralis, Gould. 
 
 In New Zealand there is a 
 single species, Coturnix nova- 
 zelandice, Quoy and Gaim. 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. c. vii. p. 259 : 
 
 "It is known to the colonists as the 
 painted quail ; and has been called by 
 Mr. Gould . . . H(cmipodius melinatus" 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, ' Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 p. 298 : 
 
 " The painted quail, and the brush 
 quail, the largest of Australian game- 
 birds, I believe, whirred away from 
 beneath their horses' feet." 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 67 : 
 
 " The swamp fowl and timorous 
 
 quail . . . 
 Will start from their nests." 
 
 1889. Prof. Parker, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 117 : 
 
 "This group also is represented by 
 a single species, the New Zealand 
 quail (Coturnix Novce - Zelandicc), 
 belonging to a widely distributed 
 genus. It was formerly very abundant 
 in New Zealand ; but within the last 
 fifteen or twenty years has been com- 
 pletely exterminated, and is now only 
 known to exist on the Three Kings 
 Island, north of Cape Maria Van 
 Diemen." 
 
 Quail-Hawk, n. name given to 
 the bird Falco, or Harpa novaz- 
 zelandice. See Hawk. 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 
 P- 37: 
 
 " In New Zealand the courageous 
 family of the Raptores is very feebly 
 represented ; the honourable post of 
 head of the family in all fairness must 
 be assigned to the falcon, which is 
 commonly known by the name of the 
 quail- or sparrow-hawk, not that it is 
 identical with, or that it even bears 
 much resemblance to, the bold robber 
 of the woods of Great Britain 'the 
 hardy sperhauke eke the quales foe,' 
 as Chaucer has it." 
 
 Quandong, n. (various spell- 
 ings) aboriginal name for (i) a 
 tree, Santalum acuminatum, De C., 
 S. persicarium, F. v. M., N. O. 
 Santalacece. In the Southern 
 Colonies it is often called the 
 Southern Quandong, and the tree 
 is called the Native Peach-Tree 
 (q.v.). The name is given to 
 another large scrub-tree, Elao- 
 carpus grandis, F. v. M. , N. O. 
 Tiliacece. The fruit, which is of 
 a blue colour and is eaten by 
 children, is also called the Native 
 Peach.
 
 QUA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 375 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expe- 
 ditions,' p. 135 : 
 
 " In all these scrubs on the Murray 
 the Fusamis acuminatus is common, 
 and produces the quandang nut (or 
 kernel)." 
 
 1857. W. Howitt, ' Tallangetta,' vol. i. 
 p. 41 : 
 
 " Abundance of fig, and medlar and 
 quince trees, cherries, loquots, quon- 
 dongs, gooseberry, strawberry, and 
 raspberry trees." 
 
 1867. G. G. McCrae, ' Balladeadro,' p. 
 10 : 
 " Speed thee, Ganook, with these 
 
 swift spears 
 
 This firebrand weeping fiery tears ; 
 And take this quandang's double 
 
 plum, 
 'Twill speak alliance tho' 'tis dumb." 
 
 1887. R. M. Praed, ' Longleat of Koo- 
 ralbyn,' c. xx. p. 199 : 
 
 " They came upon a quantong-tree, 
 and pausing beneath it, began to pick 
 up the fallen fruit. . . . There were 
 so many berries, each containing a 
 shapely nut, that Honoria might string 
 a dozen necklaces." 
 
 1890. Lyth, ' Golden South,' c. ix. p. 
 
 79 = 
 
 " I have forgotten to mention the 
 quandong, a shrub bearing a fruit the 
 size and colour of cherries." 
 
 (2) The fruit of this tree, and 
 also its kernel. 
 
 1885. J. Hood, 'Land of the Fern,' 
 
 P- 53: 
 
 " She had gone to string on a neck- 
 let of seeds from the quongdong tree.' 
 
 1887. R. M. Praed, ' Longleat of Koo- 
 ralbyn,' c. xix. p. 196 : 
 
 " Miss Longleat was wild after 
 quantongs." [Footnote] : "A berry 
 growing in the scrub, the kernels of 
 which are strung into necklaces." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, ' Gum Boughs,' 
 P- 9: 
 
 "Another fruit of fraudulent type 
 growing on the plains is the quan- 
 dong. Something in shape and colour 
 like a small crab-apple, it is fair 
 enough to the eye, but in taste 
 thoroughly insipid. :) 
 
 Quart-pot, . a tin vessel 
 
 originally imported as a measure, 
 and containing an exact imperial 
 quart. It had no lid, but a side 
 handle. Before 1850 the word 
 Quart-pot, for a kettle, was as 
 universal in the bush as "Billy" 
 (q.v.) is now. The billy, having 
 a lid and a wire handle by which 
 to suspend it over the fire, 
 superseded the quart-pot about 
 1851. In addition to the Billy, 
 there is a Quart-pot still in use, 
 especially in South Australia and 
 the back-blocks. It has two side- 
 handles working in sockets, so as 
 to fold down flat when travelling. 
 The lid is an inverted pannikin 
 fitted into it, and is used as a 
 drinking-cup. 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 43 : 
 
 " ' Look out there ! ' he continued ; 
 'quart-pot corroborree,' springing up 
 and removing with one hand from the 
 fire one of the quart-pots, which was 
 boiling madly." 
 
 Quart-pot Tea, ;/. Explained 
 in quotations. Cf. Billy-tea. 
 
 1878. Mrs. H. Jones, ' Long Years in 
 Australia,' p. 87 : 
 
 " Ralph, taking a long draught of 
 the quart-pot tea, pronounced that 
 nothing was ever like it made in tea- 
 pots, and Ethel thought it excellent, 
 excepting that the tea-leaves were 
 troublesome." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. in : 
 
 "'Quart-pot' tea, as tea made in the 
 bush is always called, is really the 
 proper way to make it. ... The tea 
 is really made with boiling water, 
 which brings out its full flavour, and 
 it is drunk before it has time to draw 
 too much." 
 
 Quartz, ;/. a mineral ; the com- 
 mon form of native silica. It is 
 abundantly diffused throughout 
 the world, and forms the common 
 sand of the sea-shore. It occurs 
 as veins or lodes in metamorphic 
 rocks, and it is this form of its
 
 376 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 presence in Australia, associated 
 with gold, that has made the 
 word of such daily occurrence. 
 In fact, the word Quartz, in Aus- 
 tralian mining parlance, is usually 
 associated with the idea of. Gold- 
 bearing Stone, unless the contrary 
 be stated. Although some of the 
 following compound words may 
 be used elsewhere, they are chiefly 
 confined to Australia. 
 
 1871. C. L. Money, 'Knocking About in 
 New Zealand,' p. 21 : 
 
 " Quartz is the mother of gold, and 
 wherever there is an abundance of it, 
 gold may reasonably be expected to 
 exist somewhere in the neighbour- 
 hood." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 16, p. 6. col. I : 
 
 " Two runaway apprentices from a 
 ship are said to have first crushed 
 quartz." 
 
 1890. R. A. F. Murray, ' Reports and 
 Statistics of the Mining Department [of 
 Victoria] for the Quarter ending 3ist 
 December ' : 
 
 " The quartz here is very white and 
 crystalline, with ferruginous, clayey 
 joints, and from a miner's point of 
 view of most unpromising or ' hungry' 
 appearance." 
 
 Quartz-battery, n. a machine 
 for crushing quartz, and so ex- 
 tracting gold. 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' July 26, p. 4, col. 4: 
 "There was a row [noise] like a 
 
 quartz-battery." 
 
 Quartz-blade, n. blade of a 
 miner's knife used for picking 
 lumps of gold out of the stone. 
 
 1891. ' The Argus,' Dec. 19, p. 4, col. 2 : 
 " They had slashed open his loins 
 
 with a quartz-blade knife." 
 
 Quartz-crushing, adj. See 
 Quartz. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' 
 c. xxxix. p. 341 : 
 
 "The dull reverberating clash of 
 the quartz-crushing batteries." 
 
 Quartz-field, n. a non-alluvial 
 goldfield. 
 
 [QUA-QUE 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 16, p. 6, col. i : 
 " Our principal quartz-field." 
 
 Quartz-lodes, and Quartz- 
 minirig. See Quartz. 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 32: 
 
 " He chose the piece which the New 
 North Clunes now occupy for quartz- 
 mining ; but the quartz-lodes were 
 very difficult to follow." 
 
 Quartz-reefer, n. a miner en- 
 gaged in Quartz-reefing, as dis- 
 tinguished from one digging in 
 alluvial. See above. 
 
 Quartz-reefing, n. (i) The 
 operation of mining. See Reef, 
 verb. (2) A place where there is 
 gold mixed with quartz. 
 
 1861. Mrs. Meredith, ' Over the Straits,' 
 c. iv. p. 133: 
 
 "You'd best go to a quartz-reefin 1 . 
 I've been surfacing this good while ; 
 but quartz-reefin's the payinest game, 
 now." 
 
 1890. RolfBoldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. xxix. p. 263 : 
 
 "[He] had located himself in a 
 quartz-reefing district." 
 
 Queensland, n. a colony named 
 after the Queen, on the occasion of 
 its separation from New South 
 Wales, in 1859. Dr. J. D. Lang 
 wanted to call it " Cooksland," 
 and published a book under that 
 title in 1847. Before separation 
 it was known as "the Moreton 
 Bay District." 
 
 Queensland Asthma-Herb, n. 
 See Asthma-Herb. 
 
 Queensland Bean, n. See 
 Bean. 
 
 Queensland Beech, n. See 
 Beech. 
 
 Queensland Ebony,, n. See 
 Ebony. 
 
 Queensland Hemp, n. See 
 Hemp. 
 
 Queensland Kauri, n. another
 
 QUE-QUO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 name for Dundathu Pine. See 
 Kauri and Pine. 
 
 Queensland Nut, n. a wild 
 fruit-tree, Macadamia ternifolia, 
 F. v. M., N. O. Proteacece. 
 
 1889. J. H. -Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 40: 
 
 "-' Queensland Nut.' This tree bears 
 an edible nut of excellent flavour, 
 relished both by Aborigines and Euro- 
 peans. As it forms a nutritious article 
 of food to the former, timber-getters 
 are not permitted to fell the trees. It 
 is well worth extensive cultivation, for 
 the nuts are always eagerly bought." 
 
 Queensland Nutmeg, n. a 
 timber - tree, Myristica insipida, 
 R. Br., N.O. Myristicece. Not so 
 strongly aromatic as the true 
 nutmeg. 
 
 Queensland Plum, n. See 
 Plum, Sweet. 
 
 Queensland Poplar, n. See 
 under Poplar. 
 
 Queensland Sorrel, n. a plant, 
 Hibiscus heterophyllus, Vent. , N. O. 
 Malvacea, chewed by the ab- 
 origines, as boys chew English 
 Sorrel. 
 
 Queenwood, . a timber-tree, 
 Davidsonia pruriens, F. v. M., N. O. 
 Leguminosce. 
 
 Quince, Native, n. i.q. Bitter- 
 bark, Emu-Apple, and Quinine- 
 tree, all which see. 
 
 Quince, Wild, n. another name 
 for the Black Ash-tree. See Ash. 
 
 Quinine-Tfee7~ n. i.q. Horse- 
 radish Tree (q.v.), and used also 
 for the Bitter-bark or Emu-Apple 
 Tree (q.v.). 
 
 Quoll, n. the aboriginal name 
 for the Native Cat (q.v.), but not 
 now in use. 
 
 1770. J. Banks, 'Journal,' Aug. 26 
 (edition Hooker, 1896), p. 301 : 
 
 " Another animal was called by the 
 natives je-quollj it is about the size of, 
 and something like, a pole-cat, of a 
 light brown, spotted with white on the 
 back, and white under the belly. . . . 
 I took only one individual." 
 
 Ibid. p. 323 : 
 
 " They very often use the article ge, 
 which seems to answer to our English 
 a, as ge gurka a rope." 
 
 [In Glossary] : 
 
 " Gurkd a rope."
 
 378 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [RAB-RAI 
 
 E 
 
 Rabbiter, n. a man who lives 
 by trapping rabbits, or who is 
 employed to clear stations from 
 them. 
 
 1892. E. W. Hornung, 'Under Two 
 Skies,' p. 114 : 
 
 " He would give him a billet. He 
 would take him on as a rabbiter, and 
 rig him out with a tent, camp fixings, 
 traps, and perhaps even a dog or two." 
 
 Rabbit-rat, n. name sometimes 
 given to a hapalote (q.v.), in New 
 South Wales. 
 
 Radish-Tree, n. an Australian 
 timber-tree, Codonocarpus cotini- 
 folius, F. v. M., N.O. Phyto- 
 lacece ; called also Poplar in 
 Central Australia. 
 
 1894. ' Melbourne Museum Catalogue 
 Economic Woods,' No. 61 : 
 
 " Raddish-Tree : occurs in the 
 Mallee-scrub very sparingly ; attain- 
 ing a height of thirty feet. The 
 poplar of the Central Australian ex- 
 plorers. Whole tree strong-scented." 
 
 Rager, . an old and fierce 
 bullock or cow, that always be- 
 gins to rage in the stock-yard. 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. xiv. p. 105 : 
 
 "Amongst them was a large pro- 
 portion of bullocks, which declined 
 with fiendish obstinacy to fatten. They 
 were what are known by the stock- 
 riders as 'ragers,' or ' pig-meaters '" 
 [q.v.]. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xvi. p. 196 : 
 
 "Well, say a hundred off for 
 ' ragers.' " 
 
 Rail, . common English bird- 
 name. There are many varieties 
 in New Zealand and Australia, 
 especially in the former colony, 
 
 and the authorities differ as to 
 whether some should be classed 
 as distinct species. Some are 
 common to Australasia, others 
 endemic in New Zealand or Aus- 
 tralia ; their distribution in this 
 respect is marked below in paren- 
 theses. Several species receive 
 more than one vernacular name, 
 as the following list shows 
 
 Banded Rail (N.Z. and A.) 
 
 Rallus philippensis, Linn. 
 Chestnut-bellied R. (A.) 
 
 Eulabeornis castaneiventris, Gould. 
 Dieffenbach's R. (see quotation 
 below) 
 
 Rallus dieffenbachii, Gray. 
 Hutton's R. (N.Z.) 
 
 Cabalus modestus, Hutton. 
 Land R. (N.Z. and A.) 
 
 Rallus philippensis, Linn. 
 Marsh R. (Australasia) 
 
 Ortygometra tabuensis, Finsch. 
 
 and Hartl. 
 Pectoral R. (N.Z. and A.) 
 
 Rallus philippensis, Linn . 
 Red-necked R. (A.) 
 
 Rallina tricolor, Gray. 
 Slate-breasted R. (A.) 
 
 Hypottznidia brachipus, Swains. 
 Swainson's R. (N.Z. and A.) 
 
 Rallina brachipus, Swains. 
 Swamp R. (Australasia) 
 
 Ortygometra tabuensis, Finsch. 
 
 and Hartl. 
 Tabuan R. (Australasia) 
 
 O. tabuensis, Finsch. and Hartl. 
 Weka R. (N.Z. See Weka.} 
 
 See also Takahe and Notornis. 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' p. 121 : 
 
 "Dieffenbach's Rail. . This
 
 RAI-RAS] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 379 
 
 beautiful Rail was brought from the 
 Chatham Islands by Dr. Dieffenbach 
 in 1842, and named by Mr. Gray in 
 compliment to this enterprising natur- 
 alist. The adult specimen in the 
 British Museum, from which my de- 
 scription was taken, is unique, and 
 seems likely to remain so." 
 
 1893. Prof. Parker, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 116 : 
 
 " Mutton's rail, the third of the en- 
 demic rails ... is confined to the 
 Chatham Islands." 
 
 Rain-bird, n. The name is 
 popularly given in many parts of 
 the world to various birds. The 
 Rain-bird of Queensland and the 
 interior is the Great Cuckoo or 
 Channel-bill (Scythrops novcc-hol- 
 landife, Lath., q.v.). 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, 'Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 283 : 
 
 " We discovered a nest of full-fledged 
 birds of the Australian Shrike or But- 
 cher-bird, also called Rain-bird by the 
 colonists ( Vanga destructor']. They 
 were regarded by our companions as 
 a prize, and were taken accordingly to 
 be caged, and instructed in the art of 
 whistling tunes, in which they are great 
 adepts." 
 
 Rainbow-fish, n. a New Zea- 
 land fish, Heteroscharus castehtaiii, 
 Macl. 
 
 Rama-rama, n. Maori name for 
 a New Zealand shrub, Myrtus bull- 
 ata y Banks and Sol. The name 
 is used in the North Island. It 
 is often corrupted into Grama. 
 
 Rangatira, n. Maori word for a 
 chief, male or female ; a master 
 or mistress (Williams) ; therefore 
 an aristocrat, a person of the 
 gentle class, distinguished from a 
 tau-rikarika, a nobody, a slave. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of Lan- 
 guage of New Zealand ' (Church Mission- 
 ary Society), p. 200 : 
 
 " Rdnga tira, a gentleman or lady." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' c. i. p. 173 : 
 
 " I took care to tell them that the 
 
 ~rangatira, or 'chief missionaries, would 
 come out with the settlers." 
 
 Ibid. c. ii. p. 461 : 
 
 " Rangatira is Maori for ' chief,' and 
 Rangatira-tanga is therefore truly ren- 
 dered 'chieftainship.'" 
 
 1893. ' Otago Witness,' Dec. 21, p. n : 
 
 " Te Kooti is at Puketapu with many 
 Rangatiras ; he is a great warrior, a 
 fighting chief. They say he has beaten 
 the pakehas " (q.v.). 
 
 Ranges, n. the usual word in 
 Australia for "mountains." Com- 
 pare the use of " tiers " in Tas- 
 mania. 
 
 Rangy, adj. mountainous. 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 89 : 
 
 " He tramps over the most rangy and 
 inaccessible regions of the colonies." 
 
 1883. E. M. Curr, ' Recollections of 
 Squatting in Victoria' (1841 1851), p. 
 46: 
 
 "The country being rangy, some- 
 what scrubby, and destitute of promi- 
 nent features." 
 
 Raspberry, "Wild, or Native, ;/. 
 Rubiis gunnianus, Hook., N.O. 
 Rosacea ; peculiar to Tasmania, 
 and so called there. In Aus- 
 tralia, the species is Rubus rosa- 
 folius, Smith. See also Lawyer 
 and Blackberry. 
 
 Raspberry-jam Tree, n. name 
 given to Acacia acuminata, Benth., 
 especially of Western Australia. 
 Though Maiden does not give 
 the name, he says (' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 349), "the scent of 
 the wood is comparable to that of 
 raspberries." 
 
 1846. L. Leichhardt, quoted by J. D. 
 Lang, 'Cooksland,' p. 328: 
 
 " Plains with groves or thickets of 
 the raspberry-jam-tree." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. c. iv. p. 132 : 
 
 " Raspberry-jam . . . acacia . . . 
 sweet-scented, grown on good ground." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. ii. p. 68 : 
 
 " The other trees besides the palm
 
 380 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [RAS-RAT 
 
 were known to the men by colonial 
 appellations, such as the bloodwood 
 and the raspberry-jam. The origin 
 of the latter name, let me inform my 
 readers, has no connection whatever 
 with any produce from the tree." 
 
 1896. ' The Australasian,' Feb. 15, p. 
 313: 
 
 " The raspberry-jam-tree is so called 
 on account of the strong aroma of 
 raspberries given out when a portion 
 is broken." 
 
 [On the same page is an illustration 
 of these trees growing near Perth, 
 Western Australia.] 
 
 Rasp-pod, n. name given to a 
 large Australian tree, Flindersia 
 australis, R. Br., N. O. Meliacea. 
 
 Rat, n. True Rodents are re- 
 presented in Australia and Tas- 
 mania by six genera ; viz., Mus, 
 Conilurus ( = Hapalotis], Xeromys, 
 Hydromys, Mastacomys, Uromys, 
 of which the five latter are" con- 
 fined to the Australian Region. 
 
 The genus Hydromys contains 
 the Eastern Water Rat, sometimes 
 called the Beaver Rat (Hydromys 
 chrysogaster, Geoffroy), and the 
 Western Water Rat (H. fulvola- 
 vatus, Gould). 
 
 Conilurus contains the Jerboa 
 Rats (q.v.). 
 
 Xeromys contains a single 
 species, confined to Queensland, 
 and called Thomas' Rat (Xeromys 
 myoides, Thomas). 
 
 Mastacomys contains one species, 
 the Broad-toothed Rat (M. fuscus, 
 Thomas), found alive only in Tas- 
 mania, and fossil in New South 
 Wales. 
 
 Uromys contains two species, 
 the Giant Rat ( U. macropus, Gray), 
 and the Buff-footed Rat (U. cervi- 
 nipes, Gould). 
 
 Mus contains twenty - seven 
 species, widely distributed over 
 the Continent and Tasmania. 
 
 1851. ' Papers and Proceedings of the 
 
 Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' 
 vol. i. p. 301 : 
 
 "The Secretary read the following 
 extracts from a letter of the Rev. W. 
 Colenso to Ronald C. Gunn, Esq., of 
 Launceston, dated Waitangi, Hawke's 
 Bay, New Zealand, 4th September, 
 1850 : ' I have procured two speci- 
 mens of the ancient, and all but quite 
 extinct, New Zealand Rat, which until 
 just now (and notwithstanding all my 
 endeavours, backed, too, by large 
 rewards) I never saw. It is without 
 doubt a true Mus, smaller than our 
 English black rat (Mus Rattus), and 
 not unlike it. This little animal once 
 inhabited the plains and Fagus forests 
 of New Zealand in countless thousands, 
 and was both the common food and 
 great delicacy of the natives and 
 already it is all but quite classed 
 among the things which were." 
 
 1880. A. R. Wallace, ' Island Life,' 
 
 P- 445 : 
 
 " The Maoris say that before Euro- 
 peans came to their country a forest 
 rat abounded, and was largely used 
 for food . . . Several specimens have 
 been caught . . . which have been 
 declared by the natives to be the true 
 Kiore Maori as they term it ; but 
 these have usually proved on examina- 
 tion to be either the European black 
 rat or some of the native Australian 
 rats . . . but within the last few years 
 many skulls of a rat have been obtained 
 from the old Maori cooking-places and 
 from a cave associated with moa bones, 
 and Captain Hutton, who has examined 
 them, states that they belong to a true 
 Mus, but differ from the Mus rattus? 
 
 Rata, n. Maori name for two 
 New Zealand erect or sub-scand- 
 ent flowering trees, often embrac- 
 ing trunks of forest trees and 
 strangling them : the Northern 
 ^aH^Metrosideros robusta, A. Cunn., 
 and the Southern Rata, M. lucida, 
 Menz., both of the N.O. Myrtacea. 
 The tree called by the Maoris Aka, 
 which is another species of Metro- 
 sederos (M. florida}, is also often 
 confused with the Rata by bush- 
 men and settlers. 
 
 In Maori, the adj. rata means
 
 RAT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 red-hot, and there may be a refer- 
 ence to the scarlet appearance of 
 the flower in full bloom. The 
 timber of the Rata is often known 
 as Ironwood, or Ironbark. The 
 trees rise to sixty feet in height ; 
 they generally begin by trailing 
 downwards from the seed de- 
 posited on the bark of some 
 other tree near its top. When 
 the trailing branches reach the 
 ground they take root there and 
 sprout erect. For full account of 
 the habit of the trees, see quota- 
 tion 1867 (Hochstetter), 1879 
 (Moseley), and 1889 (Kirk). 
 
 1843. E. Dieffenbach, ' Travels in New 
 Zealand,' p. 224 : 
 
 " The venerable rata, often measur- 
 ing forty feet in circumference and 
 covered with scarlet flowers while its 
 stem is often girt with a creeper be- 
 longing to the same family (metro- 
 sideros hypericifolia .?)." 
 
 1848. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Leaf from the 
 Natural History of New Zealand,' p. 21 : 
 
 " Rata, a tree ; at first a climber ; it 
 throws out aerial roots ; clasps the tree 
 it clings to and finally kills it, becom- 
 ing a large tree (metrosideros robusta). 
 A hard but not durable wood." 
 
 1854. w - Colder, ' Pigeons' Parliament,' 
 canto I, p. 14 : 
 
 " Unlike the neighbouring rata cast, 
 And tossing high its heels in air." 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 P- 135 : 
 
 "The Rata (Metrosideros robusta), 
 the trunk of which, frequently measur- 
 ing forty feet in circumference, is al- 
 ways covered with all sorts of parasiti- 
 cal plants, and the crown of which 
 bears bunches of scarlet blossoms.' 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 264 : 
 " Nay, not the Rata ! howsoe'er it 
 
 bloomed, 
 Paling the crimson sunset ; for you 
 
 know. 
 Its twining arms and shoots together 
 
 grow 
 
 Around the trunk it clasps, conjoin- 
 ing slow 
 
 Till they become consolidate, and 
 show 
 
 An ever-thickening sheath that kills 
 at last 
 
 The helpless tree round which it 
 clings so fast." 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 310 : 
 
 "The Rata-Tree (Metrosideros ro- 
 busta}. This magnificent tree . . . 
 height 80 to i oo feet ... a clear stem 
 to 30 and even 40 feet . . . very beau- 
 tiful crimson polyandrous flowers . . . 
 wood red, hard, heavy, close-grained, 
 strong, and not difficult to work." 
 
 1879. H. N. Moseley, 'Notes of a 
 Naturalist on Challenger,' p. 278 : 
 
 " One of the most remarkable trees 
 ... is the Rata. . . . This, though a 
 Myrtaceous plant, has all the habits of 
 the Indian figs, reproducing them in 
 the closest manner. It starts from a 
 seed dropped in the fork of a tree, and 
 grows downward to reach the ground ; 
 then taking root there, and gaining 
 strength, chokes the supporting tree 
 and entirely destroys it, forming a 
 large trunk by fusion of its many stems. 
 Nevertheless, it occasionally grows 
 directly from the soil, and then forms 
 a trunk more regular in form." 
 
 1883. F. S. Renwick, ' Betrayed,' p. 39 : 
 " That bark shall speed where crimson 
 ratas gleam." 
 
 1888. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iii. p. 210 : 
 
 " The foliage of many of the large 
 trees is quite destroyed by the crimson 
 flowering rata, the king of parasites, 
 which having raised itself into the 
 upper air by the aid of some unhappy 
 pine, insinuates its fatal coils about its 
 patron, until it has absorbed trunk and 
 branch into itself, and so gathered suf- 
 ficient strength to stand unaided like 
 the chief of forest trees, flaunting in 
 crimson splendour." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 263 : 
 
 " It is invariably erect, never climb- 
 ing, although bushmen and settlers 
 frequently state that it climbs the 
 loftiest trees, and sooner or later 
 squeezes them to death in its iron 
 clasp. In proof of this they assert 
 that, when felling huge ratas, they 
 often find a dead tree in the centre of 
 the rata : this is a common occur- 
 rence, but it by no means follows that
 
 382 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [RAT-RAU 
 
 this species is a climber. This error 
 is simply due to imperfect observation, 
 which has led careless observers to 
 confuse Metrosideros florida [the Aka], 
 which is a true climber, with M. 
 robusta? 
 
 1892. ' Otago Witness,' Nov. 10 [' Na- 
 tive Trees '] : 
 
 " Rata, or Ironwood. It would be 
 supposed that almost every colonist 
 who has seen the rata in bloom would 
 desire to possess a plant." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' Feb. 4 [Leading 
 Article] : 
 
 " The critic becomes to the original 
 author what the New Zealand rata is 
 to the kauri. That insidious vine 
 winds itself round the supporting trunk 
 and thrives on its strength and at its 
 expense, till finally it buries it wholly 
 from sight and flaunts itself aloft, a 
 showy and apparently independent 
 tree." 
 
 Rat-tail Grass, n. name given 
 to (i) Ischczmum laxum, R. Br., 
 N.O. Graminece. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 92 : 
 
 " Rat-tail Grass. An upright, slender 
 growing grass ; found throughout the 
 colony, rather coarse, but yielding a 
 fair amount of feed, which is readily 
 eaten by cattle." 
 
 (2) Sporobolus indiats, R. Br., 
 N.O. Graminece. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 109: 
 
 " Rat-tail Grass. A fine, open, pas- 
 ture grass, found throughout the 
 colonies. Its numerous penetrating 
 roots enable it to resist severe drought. 
 It yields a fair amount of fodder, much 
 relished by stock, but is too coarse for 
 sheep. The seeds form the principal 
 food of many small birds. It has been 
 suggested as a paper-making material." 
 
 [See Grass.] 
 
 Raupo, n. Maori name for a 
 New Zealand bulrush, Typha an- 
 gustifolia, Linn. The leaves are 
 used for building native houses. 
 The pollen, called Punga-Punga 
 (q.v.), was collected and made 
 into bread called pua. The root 
 
 was also eaten. It is not endemic 
 in New Zealand, but is known in 
 many parts, and was called by the 
 aborigines of Australia, Wonga, 
 and in Europe " Asparagus of the 
 Cossacks." Other names for it 
 are Bulrush, Cafs Tail, Reed Mace, 
 and Cooper's Flag. 
 
 1827. Augustus Earle, ' Narrative of 
 Nine Months' Residence in New Zealand,' 
 ' New Zealand Reader,' p. 67 : 
 
 "Another party was collecting rushes, 
 which grow plentifully in the neigh- 
 bourhood, and are called raupo." 
 
 1833. Henry Williams's Diary, 'Carle- 
 ton's Life,' p. 151 : 
 
 " The Europeans were near us in a 
 raupo whare [rush-house]." 
 
 1835. w - Yate > ' Account of New Zea- 
 land,' p. 205 : 
 
 "To engage the natives to build 
 raupo, that is, rush-houses." 
 
 1842. W. R. Wade, ' A Journey in the 
 North Island of New Zealand,' ' New 
 Zealand Reader,' p. 122: 
 
 " The raupo, the reed-mace of New 
 Zealand, always grows in swampy 
 ground. The leaves or blades when 
 full grown are cut and laid out to dry, 
 forming the common building material 
 with which most native houses are 
 constructed." 
 
 1843. ' An Ordinance for imposing a tax 
 on Raupo Houses, Session II. No. xvii. of 
 the former Legislative Council of New 
 Zealand ' : 
 
 [From A. Domett's collection of 
 Ordinances, 1850.] "Section 2. ... 
 there shall be levied in respect of 
 every building constructed wholly or 
 in part of raupo, nikau, toitoi, iviwt, 
 kakaho, straw or thatch of any descrip- 
 tion [ . . . 20]." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' c. i. p. 380: 
 
 "These [the walls], nine feet high 
 and six inches thick, were composed 
 of neatly packed bunches of raupo, or 
 bulrushes, lined inside with the glazed 
 reeds of the tohe-tohe, and outside 
 with the wiwi or fine grass." 
 
 1860. R. Donaldson, ' Bush Lays,' p. 5 : 
 
 " Entangled in a foul morass, 
 A raupo swamp, one name we 
 know."
 
 RAV-RED] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 381 
 
 1864. F. E. Maning (Pakeha Maori), 
 'The War in the North,' p. 16 : 
 
 " Before a war or any other im- 
 portant matter, the natives used to 
 have recourse to divination by means 
 of little miniature darts made of rushes 
 or reeds, or often of the leaf of the 
 cooper's flag (raupo)." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 p. 308 : 
 
 "The favourite material of the 
 Maoris for building purposes is Raupo 
 (Typha), a kind of flag or bulrush, 
 which grows in great abundance in 
 swampy places." 
 
 1877. Anon., 'Colonial Experiences, or 
 Incidents of Thirty- Four Years in New 
 Zealand,' p. 10 : 
 
 "It was thatched with raupo or 
 native bulrush, and had sides and 
 interior partitions of the same 
 material." 
 
 Raven, n. English bird-name. 
 The Australian species is Corvus 
 eoronoides, Vig. and Hors. 
 
 Razor-grinder, n. a bird-name, 
 Seisura inquieta, Lath. Called also 
 Dishwasher and Restless Fly-catcher. 
 See Fly-catcher. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 159: 
 
 " Neither must you be astonished 
 on hearing the razor-grinder ply his 
 vocation in the very depths of our 
 solitudes ; for here he is a flying 
 instead of a walking animal." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. ii. pi. 87 : 
 
 "Seisura Inquieta, Restless Fly- 
 catcher ; the Grinder of the Colonists 
 of Swan River and New South 
 Wales." 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 332: 
 
 "The razor-grinder, fitly so called 
 from making a grinding noise as it 
 wavers in one position a foot or two 
 from the ground." 
 
 Ready up, v. See quotation. 
 
 1893. ' The Age,' Nov. 25, p. 13, col. 2: 
 
 "Mr. Purvcs: A statement has 
 
 been made that is very serious. It 
 
 has been said that a great deal has 
 
 been 'readied up' for the jury by the 
 
 present commissioners. That is a 
 
 charge which, if true, amounts to 
 embracery. 
 
 " His Honor : I do not know what 
 ' readying up ' means. 
 
 "Mr. Purves: It is a colonial ex- 
 pression, meaning that something is 
 prepared with an object. If you 'ready 
 up ' a racehorse, you are preparing to 
 lose, or if you 'ready up' a pack of 
 cards, you prepare it for dealing certain 
 suits." 
 
 Red Bass, n. a fish of Moreton 
 Bay (q.v.), Mesoprion superbus, 
 Castln., family Percidce. 
 
 Redberry, n. name given to 
 Australian plants of the genus 
 Rhagodia, bearing spikes or 
 panicles of red berries. Called 
 also Seaberry. See also Saloop- 
 bush. 
 
 Red-bill, n. bird-name given to 
 Estrelda temporalis, Lath. It is 
 also applied to the Oyster-catchers 
 (q.v.) ; and sometimes to the 
 Swamp-Hen (q.v.). 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' p. 345 : 
 
 " Lieut. Flinders taking up his gun 
 to fire at two red-bills . . . the natives, 
 alarmed, ran to the woods." 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, 'Trans- 
 actions of the Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. 
 P- 259 : 
 
 ' ' This bird,' says Mr. Caley, ' which 
 the settlers call Red-bill, is gregarious, 
 and appears at times in very large 
 flocks. I haye killed above forty at a 
 shot.' " 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iii. pi. 82: 
 
 " Estrelda temporalis. Red-eye- 
 browed Finch. Red - Bill of the 
 Colonists." 
 
 Red Bream, n. name given to 
 the Schnapper when one year old. 
 See Schnapper. 
 
 Red Cedar, n. See Cedar. 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. i. p. 434: 
 
 " M'Leay river, New South Wales, 
 Lat. 30 40'. This forest was found to 
 contain large quantities of red cedar
 
 384 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [RED 
 
 (Cedrela toona) and white cedar (Melia 
 azederach\ which, though very different 
 from what is known as cedar at home, 
 is a valuable wood, and in much 
 request by the colonists." 
 
 Red Currant, n. another name 
 for the Native Currant of Tas- 
 mania, Coprosma nitida, Hook., 
 N.O. JRubiacea. See Currant, 
 Native. 
 
 Red Gum, n. (i) A tree. See 
 Gum. The two words are fre- 
 quently made one with the accent 
 on the first syllable ; compare 
 Blue-gum. 
 
 (2) A medicinal drug. An exuda- 
 tion from the bark of Eucalyptus 
 rostrata, Schlecht, and other trees ; 
 see quotation, 1793. Sir Ranald 
 Martin introduced it into Euro- 
 pean medical practice. 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales,' p. 178: 
 
 "At the heart they [the trees] are 
 full of veins, through which an amazing 
 quantity of an astringent red gum 
 issues. This gum I have found very 
 serviceable in an obstinate dysentery." 
 
 Ibid. p. 233 : 
 
 " A very powerfully astringent gum- 
 resin, of a red colour, much resembling 
 that known in the shops as Kino, and, 
 for all medical purposes, fully as 
 efficacious." 
 
 1793. J. E. Smith, ' Specimen of Botany 
 of New Holland,' p. 10: 
 
 " This, Mr. White informs us, is one 
 of the trees (for there are several, it 
 seems, besides the Ettcalyptus resini- 
 fera, mentioned in his Voyage, p. 231) 
 which produce the red gum." 
 
 [The tree is Ceratopetalum gummi- 
 ferum, Smith, called by him Three- 
 leaved Red-gum Tree. It is now called 
 Officer Plant or Christmas-bush (q.v.).] 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. i. p. 42: 
 
 "The usual red gum was observed 
 oozing out from the bark, and this 
 attracted their notice, as it did that of 
 every explorer who had landed upon 
 the continent. This gum is a species 
 
 of kino, and possesses powerful astrin- 
 gent, and probably staining, qualities." 
 
 Red Gurnet-Perch, n. name 
 given in Victoria to the fish Se- 
 bastes percoides, Richards., family 
 Sf&rpamda. It is also called 
 Poddly ; Red Gurnard ', or Gurnet; 
 and in New Zealand, Pohuikaroa. 
 See Perch and Gurnet. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 48 : 
 
 " Sebastes percoides, a fish of a 
 closely allied genus of the same family 
 [as Scorpczna crtienta, the red rock- 
 cod]. It is caught at times in Port 
 Jackson, but has no local name. In 
 Victoria it is called the Red Gurnet- 
 perch." 
 
 Redhead, n. See Firetail. 
 
 Red-knee, n. sometimes called 
 the Red-kneed Dottrel, Charadrius 
 rufiventris, formerly Erythrogonys 
 tinctus, Gould. A species of a 
 genus of Australian plovers. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. vi. pi. 21: 
 
 " Erythrogonys Cinctus, Gould ; 
 Banded Red-knee." 
 
 Red Mulga, n. name given to 
 a species of Acacia, A. cyperophylla, 
 F. v. M., owing to the red colour 
 of the flakes of bark which peel 
 off the stem. See Mulga. 
 
 1896. Baldwin Spencer, ' Home Expedi- 
 tion in Central Australia,' Narrative, pt. 
 i. p. 16: 
 
 " We crossed a narrow belt of 
 country characterized by the growth 
 along the creek sides of red mulga. 
 This is an Acacia (A. cyperophylla) 
 reaching perhaps a height of twenty 
 feet, the bark of which, alone amongst 
 Acacias, is deciduous and peels off, 
 forming little deep - red coloured 
 flakes." 
 
 Red Mullet, n. New South 
 Wales, Upeneoides vlarningii, Cuv. 
 and Val., and Upeneus porosus, 
 Cuv. and Val., family Mullidfe. 
 See Mullet. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 38 :
 
 RED-REE] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 385 
 
 " The name of this family is a source 
 of much confusion. It is derived from 
 the Latin word mullus, which in the 
 form of ' Mullet ' we apply to the well- 
 known fishes of quite a different 
 family, the Mugilidce. Another fish 
 to which the term ' Red- Mullet' is 
 applied is of the family Cottida or 
 Gurnards." 
 
 Red Perch, n. name given in 
 Tasmania to the fish Anthias 
 rasor, Richards. ; also called the 
 Barber. In Australia, it is Anthias 
 longimanuSy Giinth. 
 
 Bed Rock-Cod, n. name given 
 in New South Wales to the fish 
 ScorpKna cardinalis, Richards. , 
 family Scorpanidte, marine fishes 
 resembling the Sea-perches. S. 
 cardinalis is of a beautiful scarlet 
 colour. 
 
 Red - streaked Spider, or 
 Black-and-red Spider, an Aus- 
 tralasian spider (Latrodectus scelio, 
 Thorel.), called in New Zealand 
 the Katipo (q.v.). 
 
 Red-throat, n. a small brown 
 Australian singing-bird, with a 
 red throat, Pyrrholcemus brunneus, 
 Gould. 
 
 Reed-mace, n. See Wonga and 
 Raupo. 
 
 Reef, n. term in gold-mining ; 
 a vein of auriferous quartz. 
 Called by the Californian miners 
 a vein, or lode, or ledge. In 
 Bendigo, the American usage 
 remains, the words reef, dyke, and 
 vein being used as synonymous, 
 though reef is the most common. 
 (See quotation, 1866.) In Ballarat, 
 the word has two distinct mean- 
 ings, viz. the vein, as above, and 
 the bed-rock or trite-bottom. (See 
 quotations, 1869 and 1874.) Out- 
 side Australia, a reef means " a 
 chain or range of rocks lying at 
 or near the surface of the water." 
 ('Webster.') 
 
 1858. T. McCombie, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. xiv. p. 213 : 
 
 "A party . . . discovered gold in 
 the quartz-reefs of the Pyrenees [Vic- 
 toria]." 
 
 i860. W. Kelly, 'Life in Victoria,' 
 vol. ii. p. 148 : 
 
 "If experience completely estab- 
 lishes the fact, at least, under exist- 
 ing systems, that the best-paying reefs 
 are those that are largely intersected 
 with fissures more inclined to come 
 out in pebbles than in blocks or, if I 
 might coin a designation, 'rubble 
 reefs,' as contradistinguished from 
 ' boulder reefs,' showing at the same 
 time a certain degree of ignigenous 
 discoloration . . . still, where there 
 are evidences of excessive volcanic 
 effect . . . the reef may be set down 
 as poor ..." 
 
 1866. A. R. Selwyn, 'Exhibition Essays,' 
 Notes on the Physical Geography, Geology, 
 and Mineralogy of Victoria : 
 
 " Quartz occurs throughout the 
 lower palaeozoic rocks in veins, ' dykes ' 
 or 'reefs,' from the thickness of a 
 thread to 130 feet." 
 
 1869. R. Brough Smyth, ' Goldfields : 
 Glossary,' p. 619 : 
 
 " Reef. The term is applied to the 
 up-turned edges of the palaeozoic rocks. 
 The reef is composed of slate, sand- 
 stone, or mudstone. The bed-rock 
 anywhere is usually called the reef. A 
 quartz-vein ; a lode." 
 
 1874. Reginald A. F. Murray, ' Progress 
 Report, Geological Survey, Victoria,' vol. 
 i. p. 65 [Report on the Mineral Resources 
 of Ballarat] : 
 
 " This formation is the ' true bottom,' 
 ' bed rock ' or ' reef,' of the miners." 
 
 1894. 'The Argus,' March 28, p. 5, 
 col. 5 : 
 
 "In looking for reefs the experi- 
 enced miner commences on the top of 
 the range and the spurs, for the reason 
 that storm-waters have carried the soil 
 into the gullies and left the bed-rock 
 exposed." 
 
 Reef, v. to work at a reef. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. iii. p. 30: 
 
 " The University graduate . . . was 
 to be seen patiently sinking, driving, 
 
 c c
 
 386 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [REG-RIB 
 
 sluicing, or reefing, as the case might 
 be." 
 
 [See also Quartz-reefing.] 
 
 Regent-bird, n. (i) An Austra- 
 lian Bower-bird, Sericulus melinus, 
 Lath., named out of compli- 
 ment to the Prince Regent, after- 
 wards George IV. (therefore 
 named before 1820). 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 161: 
 
 " Mr. Gilbert observed the female of 
 the Regent-bird." 
 
 (2) Mock Regent-bird, now Meli- 
 phaga phrygia, Lath. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iv. pi. 48 : 
 
 " Zanthomyza Phrygia, Swains., 
 Warty-faced Honey-eater [q.v.] ; Mock 
 Regent-Bird, Colonists of New South 
 Wales." 
 
 Remittance-man, n. one who 
 derives the means of an inglorious 
 and frequently dissolute exist- 
 ence from the periodical receipt 
 of money sent out to him from 
 Europe. 
 
 1892. R. L. Stevenson, ' The Wrecker,' 
 P- 336 : 
 
 " Remittance men, as we call them 
 here, are not so rare in my experience ; 
 and in such cases I act upon a 
 system." 
 
 Rewa-rewa, n. pronounced 
 raywa, Maori name for the New 
 Zealand \.ro.o,Knightia excelsa, R.Br., 
 N. O. Proteacea, the Honey-suckle 
 of the New Zealand settlers. 
 Maori verb, rewa, to float. The 
 seed-vessel is just like a Maori 
 canoe. 
 
 1857. C. Hursthouse, 'New Zealand, 
 the Britain of the South,' vol. i. p. 143 : 
 
 " Rewarewa (honeysuckle), a hand- 
 some flowering tree common on the 
 outskirts of the forests. Wood light 
 and free-working : the grain hand- 
 somely flowered like the Baltic oak." 
 
 1878. R. C. Barstow, 'On the Maori 
 Canoe,' ' Transactions of the New Zealand 
 Institute,' vol. xi. art. iv. p. 73 : 
 
 " Dry rewareiua wood was used for 
 the charring." 
 
 1880. \V. Colenso, 'Traditions of the 
 Maoris,' ' Transactions of New Zealand 
 Institute,' vol. xiii. p. 53 : 
 
 " The boy went into the forest, and 
 brought back with him a seed-pod of 
 the rewarewa tree (Knightia excelsa). 
 . . . He made his way to his canoe, 
 which was made like the pod of the 
 rewarewa tree." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 129 : 
 
 " Rewarewa, a lofty, slender tree, 
 100 feet high. Wood handsome, mot- 
 tled red and brown, used for furniture 
 and shingles, and for fencing, as it 
 splits easily. It is a most valuable 
 veneering wood." 
 
 Reward-Claim, n. the Aus- 
 tralian legal term for the large 
 area granted as a "reward" to 
 the miner who first discovers 
 valuable gold in a new district, 
 and reports it to the Warden of 
 the Goldfields. The first great 
 discovery of gold in Coolgardie 
 was made by Bay ley in 1893, and 
 his reward-claim, sold to a syndi- 
 cate, was known as " Bayley's 
 Reward." See also Prospecting 
 Claim, and Claim. 
 
 1891. W. Tilley, 'Wild West of Tas- 
 mania,' p. II : 
 
 " Prospected with the result that he 
 discovered the first payable gold on 
 the West Coast, for which he obtained 
 a reward claim." 
 
 Rhipidufa, n. scientific name 
 for a genus of Australasian birds, 
 called Fantail (q.v.). They are 
 Fly-catchers. The word is from 
 Grk. piTTiSo'?, 'of a fan,' and ovpd, 
 ' a tail.' 
 
 Ribbed Pig, n. See Fig. 
 
 Ribbonwood, n. All species of 
 Plagianthus and Hoheria are to the 
 colonists Ribbonwood, especially 
 PlagiantJnts betulinus, A. Cunn., 
 and Hoheria populnea, A. Cunn., 
 the bark of which is used for 
 cordage, and was once used for 
 making a demulcent drink. Alpine 
 Ribbon-wood, Plagianthus lyal!i\
 
 RID-RIF] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 387 
 
 Hook. Other popular names are 
 Houhere, Houi (Maori), Lace-bark 
 (q.v.), and Thousand-Jacket (q.v.). 
 
 Bibgrass, n. a Tasmanian name 
 for the Native Plantain. See 
 Plantain. 
 
 Bice-flower, n. a gardeners' 
 name for the cultivated species of 
 Pimalea (q.v.). The Rice-flowers 
 are beautiful evergreens about 
 three feet high, and bear rose- 
 coloured, white, and yellow 
 blooms. 
 
 Bice-shell, n. The name is ap- 
 plied elsewhere to various shells ; 
 in Australia it denotes the shell 
 of various species of Truncatella, 
 a small marine mollusc, so called 
 from a supposed resemblance to 
 grains of rice, and used for neck- 
 laces. 
 
 Bichea, n. a Tasmanian Grass- 
 tree (q.v.), Richea pandanifolia, 
 Hook., N.O. Liliacece. 
 
 1850. ' Papers and Proceedings of the 
 Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' 
 May 8, vol. i. p. 278 : 
 
 "A section ... of the stem of the 
 graceful palm-like Richea (Richea pan- 
 danifolia\ found in the dense forests 
 between Lake St. Clair and Macquarie 
 Harbour, where it attains the height of 
 40 to 50 feet in sheltered positions, 
 the venation, markings, and rich 
 yellow colouring of which were much 
 admired." 
 
 1878. Rev. W. W. Spicer, ' Handbook 
 of the Plants of Tasmania,' p. 125 : 
 
 " Richea pandanifolia, H. Giant 
 Grass Tree. Peculiar to Tasmania. 
 Dense forests in the interior and 
 SW." 
 
 Bidge-Myrtle, n. See Myrtle. 
 
 Bifle-bird, n. sometimes called 
 also Rifleman (q.v.) ; a bird of 
 paradise. The male is of a 
 general velvety black, something 
 like the uniform of the Rifle Bri- 
 gade. This peculiarity, no doubt, 
 gave the bird its name, but, on 
 
 the other hand, settlers and local 
 naturalists sometimes ascribe the 
 name to the resemblance they 
 hear in the bird's cry to the noise 
 of a rifle being fired and its bullet 
 striking the target. The Rifle- 
 bird is more famed for beauty of 
 plumage than any other Aus- 
 tralian bird. There are three 
 species, and they are of the genus 
 Ptilorhis, nearly related to the 
 Birds of Paradise of New Guinea, 
 where also is found the only other 
 known species of Ptilorhis. The 
 chief species is Ptilorhis paradisea, 
 Lath., the other two species were 
 named respectively, after the 
 Queen and the late Prince Con- 
 sort, Victories, and Alberti, but 
 some naturalists have given them 
 other generic names. 
 
 As to the name, see also quota- 
 tion, 1886. See Manucode. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 194 : 
 
 "We saw . . . a rifle-bird." 
 1886. ' Encyclopaedia Britannica,' vol. 
 xx. p. 553 : 
 
 " Rifleman - Bird, or Rifle - Bird, 
 names given . . . probably because in 
 coloration it resembled the well-known 
 uniform of the rifle-regiments of the 
 British army, while in its long and 
 projecting hypochondriac plumes and 
 short tail a further likeness might be 
 traced to the hanging pelisse and the 
 jacket formerly worn by the members 
 of those corps." [Footnote] : " Curi- 
 ously enough its English name seems 
 to be first mentioned in ornithological 
 literature by Frenchmen Lesson and 
 Garnot in 1828, who say (Voy. 
 ' Coquille] Zoologie, p. 669) that it 
 was applied ' pour rappeler que ce fut 
 un soldat de la garnison [of New 
 South Wales] qui le tua le premier,' 
 which seems to be an insufficient 
 reason, though the statement as to the 
 bird's first murderer may be true." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 171: 
 
 "It was an Australian bird of para- 
 dise, the celebrated Rifle-bird (Ptilorhis 
 victoria:), which, according to Gould,
 
 388 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [RIF-RIN 
 
 has the most brilliant plumage of all 
 Australian birds." 
 
 Rifleman, n. a bird of New 
 Zealand, Acanthidositta Moris, 
 Buller; Maori name, Titipounamu. 
 See quotation. The name is some- 
 times applied also to the Rifle-bird 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 113: 
 
 " Acanthidositta chloris, Buller. 
 The rifleman is the smallest of our 
 New Zealand birds. It is very gener- 
 ally distributed." 
 
 [Footnote] : "This has hitherto been 
 written Acanthisitta ; but Professor 
 Newton has drawn my attention to the 
 fact of its being erroneous. I have 
 therefore adopted the more classic 
 form of Acanthidositta, the etymology 
 of which is aicavBrf, crude form of 
 lis, and 
 
 1888. W. Smith, ' Transactions of the 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxi. art. xxi. 
 p. 214: 
 
 '''Acanthisitta chloris (Rifleman). 
 The feeble note of this diminutive 
 bird is oftener heard in the bush than 
 the bird is seen." 
 
 Right-of-Way, n. a lane. In 
 England the word indicates a 
 legal right to use a particular 
 passage. In Australia it is used 
 for the passage or lane itself. 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' Feb. 3 : 
 
 "The main body of the men was 
 located in the right-of-way, which is 
 overlooked by the side windows of the 
 bureau." 
 
 Rimu, n. Maori name for a 
 New Zealand tree, Dacrydium 
 cupressinum, N.O. Coniferce; also 
 called Red-pine. Rimu is generally 
 used in North Island; Red-pine 
 more generally in the South. 
 See Pine. 
 
 1835. W. Yate, 'Account of New 
 Zealand,' p. 40 : 
 
 " Rimu. This elegant tree comes to 
 its greatest perfection in shaded woods, 
 and in moist, rich soil." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, 'Ranolf.'p. 117: 
 
 " He lay 
 Couched in a rimu-tree one day." 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, ' Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 306 : 
 
 " The Rimu Tree. Height, eighty to 
 100 feet, fully forty to fifty feet clear of 
 branches . . . moderately hard . . . 
 planes up smoothly, takes a good 
 polish, would be useful to the cabinet- 
 maker." 
 
 1879. Clement Bunbury, ' Eraser's 
 Magazine,' June, p. 761: 
 
 " Some of the trees, especially the 
 rimu, a species of yew, here called a 
 pine, were of immense size and age." 
 
 Ring, v. tr. (i) To cut the 
 bark of a tree round the trunk 
 so as to kill it. The word is 
 common in the same sense in 
 English forestry and horticulture, 
 and only seems Australasian from 
 its more frequent use, owing to 
 the widespread practice of clear- 
 ing the primeval forests and 
 generally destroying trees. 
 "Ringed" is the correct past 
 participle, but "rung" is now 
 commonly used. 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. c. x. p. 315 : 
 
 " What they call ringing the trees ; 
 that is to say, they cut off a large cir- 
 cular band of bark, which, destroying 
 the trees, renders them easier to be 
 felled." 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 56 : 
 
 " The gum-trees, ringed and ragged, 
 from the mazy margins rise." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' c. xx. p. 312 : 
 
 " Trees to be ' rung.' The ringing 
 of trees consists of cutting the bark 
 through all round, so that the tree 
 cease to suck up the strength of the 
 earth for its nutrition, and shall die." 
 
 1883. E. M. Curr, ' Recollections of 
 Squatting in Victoria' (1841 1851), p. 81: 
 
 " Altogether, fences and tree-ringing 
 have not improved the scene." 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iv. p. 58 : 
 
 "The trees are 'rung,' that there
 
 RIN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 389 
 
 may be more pasture for the sheep 
 and cattle." 
 
 (2) To make cattle move in a 
 circle. [Though specifically used 
 of cattle in Australia, the word has 
 a similar use in England as in 
 Tennyson's ' Geraint and Enid ' 
 
 ..." My followers ring him round: 
 He sits unarmed." Line 336.] 
 
 1874. W. H. Ranken, 'Dominion of Aus- 
 tralia,' c. vi. p. in: 
 
 " They are generally ' ringed,' that 
 is, their galop is directed into a circular 
 course by the men surrounding them." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 126 : 
 
 " I'll tell you what, you'll have to 
 ring them. Pass the word round for 
 all hands to follow one another in a 
 circle, at a little distance apart." 
 
 (3) To move round in a circle. 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 
 Memories,' p. 20 : 
 
 "The cattle were uneasy and 
 ' ringed ' all night." 
 
 (4) To make the top score at a 
 shearing-shed." See Ringer. 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, 'Man from 
 Snowy River,' p. 136 : 
 
 " The man that ' rung ' the Tubbo 
 shed is not the ringer here." 
 
 Eing-bark, v. tr. Same meaning 
 as Ring (i). 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 204 : 
 
 " The selector in a timbered country, 
 without troubling himself about cause 
 and effect, is aware that if he destroys 
 the tree the grass will grow, and 
 therefore he ' ring-barks ' his timber." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' 
 P- 9: 
 
 " Our way led us through a large 
 but not dense wood of leafless gum- 
 trees. My companion told me that 
 the forest was dead as a result of 
 ' ring-barking.' To get the grass to 
 grow better, the settler removes a 
 band of bark near the root of the 
 tree. In a country where cattle-raising 
 is carried on to so great an extent, 
 this may be very practical, but it 
 certainly does not beautify the land- 
 
 scape. The trees die at once after this 
 treatment, and it is a sad and repulsive 
 sight to see these withered giants, as if 
 in despair, stretching their white bark- 
 less branches towards the sky." 
 
 1893. ' Thumbnail Sketches of Australian 
 Life,' p. 232 : 
 
 "We were going through ring- 
 barked country. You don't know what 
 that is ? Well, those giant gum- 
 trees absorb all the moisture and keep 
 the grass very poor, so the squatters 
 kill them by ring-barking that is, 
 they have a ring described round the 
 trunk of each tree by cutting off a 
 couple of feet of bark. Presently the 
 leaves fall off; then the rest of the 
 bark follows, and eventually the tree 
 becomes nothing but a strange lofty 
 monument of dry timber." 
 
 Ring-dollar, n. See quotation ; 
 and see Dump and Holy Dollar. 
 
 1870. T. H. Braim, ' New Homes,' c. 
 iii. p. 131 : 
 
 " The Spanish dollar was much 
 used. A circular piece was struck 
 out of the centre about the size of a 
 shilling . . . and the rest of the dollar, 
 called from the circular piece taken 
 out a ' ring-dollar,' was valued at four 
 shillings." 
 
 Ring-eye, n. one of the many 
 names for the birds of the genus 
 Zosterops (q.v.). 
 
 Ringer, n. a sheep - shearing 
 term. See quotations. Mr. Hor- 
 nung's explanation of the origin 
 (quotation, 1894) is probably right. 
 See Rings. 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, 
 col. 6 : 
 
 " A ' ringer ' being the man who by 
 his superior skill and expertness ' tops 
 the score ' that is, shears the highest 
 number of sheep per day." 
 
 1893. ' The Herald ' (Melbourne), Dec. 
 23, p. 6, col. I : 
 
 "Whence came the term 'ringer,' 
 as applied to the quickest shearer, I 
 don't know. It might possibly have 
 some association with a man who can 
 get quoits on to the peg, and again, it 
 might not, as was remarked just now 
 by my mate, who is camped with me."
 
 390 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [RIN-ROB 
 
 1894. E. W. Hornung, ' Boss of Tar- 
 oomba,' p. 101 : 
 
 " They call him the ringer of the 
 shed. That means the fastest shearer 
 the man who runs rings round the 
 rest, eh?" 
 
 1894. ' Geelong Grammar School Quar- 
 terly,' April, p. 26 : 
 
 " Another favourite [school]f>hrase is 
 a ' regular ringer.' Great excellence is 
 implied by this expression." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from 
 Snowy River,' p. 162 : 
 
 " The Shearers sat in the firelight, 
 hearty and hale and strong, 
 
 After the hard day's shearing, pass- 
 ing the joke along : 
 
 The 'ringer' that shore a hundred, as 
 they never were shorn before, 
 
 And the novice who toiling bravely 
 had tommyhawked half a score." 
 
 Ring-neck, n. the equivalent 
 of Jackaroo (q.v.). A term used 
 in the back blocks in reference to 
 the white collar not infrequently 
 worn by a. Jackaroo on his first ap- 
 pearance and when unaccustomed 
 to the life of the bush. The term 
 is derived from the supposed re- 
 semblance of the collar to the 
 light-coloured band round the 
 neck of the Ring-neck Parrakeet. 
 
 Rings, to run round : to beat 
 out and out. A picturesque bit 
 of Australian slang. One runner 
 runs straight to the goal, the 
 other is so much better that he 
 can run round and round his com- 
 petitor, and yet reach the goal 
 first. 
 
 1891. ' The Argus,' Oct. 10, p. 13, 
 col. 3 : 
 
 " Considine could run rings round 
 the lot of them." 
 
 1897. 'The Argus,' Jan. 15, p. 6, col. 5: 
 
 "As athletes the cocoons can run 
 rings round the beans ; they can jump 
 out of a tumbler." 
 
 Ring-tail, or Ring-tailed 
 Opossum, n. See Pseudochirus and 
 Opossum. 
 
 Rinka-sporum, . a mis-spelt 
 
 name for the Australian varieties 
 of the tribe of Rhyncosporea:, N.O. 
 Cyperacea. This tribe includes 
 twenty-one genera, of which 
 Rhynchospora (the type), Sch&nuSy 
 Cladium, and Remirea are widely 
 distributed, and the others are 
 chiefly small genera of the 
 Southern Hemisphere, especially 
 Australia. (' Century.') 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' 
 P- 93 :. 
 
 " Rinka-sporum, a mass of white 
 bloom." 
 
 Riro-riro, n. a bird. Maori 
 name for the Grey-Warbler of 
 New Zealand, Gerygoneflaviventris, 
 Gray. See Gerygone. 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 44 : 
 
 [A full description.] 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iv. p. 163 : 
 
 " A little wren managed to squeeze 
 itself through, and it flew off to Kur- 
 angai-tuku, and cried, ' Kurangai- 
 tuku, the man is riro, riro, riro !' that 
 is, gone, gone, gone. And to this day 
 the bird is known as the riro-riro." 
 
 River-Oak. See Oak. 
 
 Roa, n. another Maori name 
 for the largest or Brown Kiwi 
 (q.v.). In Maori the word roa 
 means long or big. 
 
 Roaring Horsetails, n. a slang 
 name for the Aurora Australis. 
 
 Robin, n. The name, in con- 
 sequence of their external resem- 
 blance to the familiar English 
 bird, is applied, in Australia, to 
 species of the various genera as 
 follows : 
 
 Ashy-fronted Fly-Robin 
 
 Heteromyias cinereifrons, Ramsay. 
 
 Buff-sided R. 
 
 Pcecilodryas cerviniventris, Gould. 
 
 Dusky R. 
 
 Amaurodryas vittata, Quoy and 
 Gaim.
 
 ROB] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 391 
 
 Flame-breasted Robin 
 
 Petroica phcenicea, Gould. 
 Hooded R. 
 
 Melanodryas bicolor, Vig. and 
 
 Hors. 
 Pied R. 
 
 M. picata, Gould. 
 Pink-breasted R. 
 
 Erythrodryas rhodinogaster, Drap. 
 Red-capped R. 
 
 Petroica goodenovii, Vig. and 
 
 Hors. 
 Red-throated R. 
 
 P. ramsayi, Sharp. 
 Rose-breasted R. 
 
 Erythrodryas rose a, Gould. 
 Scarlet-breasted R. 
 
 Petroica leggii, Sharp. 
 Scrub R. 
 
 Drymodes brunneopygia, Gould. 
 White-browed R. 
 
 Pcecilodryas superciliosa, Gould. 
 White-faced Scrub-R. 
 
 Drymodes superciliaris, Gould. 
 
 The New Zealand species are 
 
 Chatham Island Robin 
 
 Miro traversi, Buller. 
 North Island R. 
 
 M. australis, Sparrm. 
 South Island R. 
 
 M. albifrons, Gmel. 
 
 Gould's enumeration of the 
 species is given below. [See quo- 
 tations, 1848, 1869.] 
 
 See also Shrike-Robin, Scrub- 
 Robin^ and Satin-Robin. 
 
 1827. Vigors and Ilorsfield, ' Trans- 
 actions of the Linntean Society,' vol. xv. 
 p, 242 : 
 
 'This bird,' Mr. Caley says, 'is 
 called yellow-robin by the colonists. 
 It is an inhabitant of bushes.'" 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' vol. 
 iii : 
 
 Plate 
 Petroica supcrciliosa, Gould,White- 
 
 eyebrowed Robin 9 
 
 Drymodes brunneopygia, Gould, 
 
 Scrub Robin 10 
 
 Eopsaltria leucogastcr, Gould, 
 
 White-bellied Robin 13 
 
 1864. R. L. A. Davies, 'Poems and 
 Literary Remains,' p. 263 : 
 
 " Very soon comes a robin. ... In 
 the bush no matter where you pitch, 
 the robin always comes about, and 
 when any other of his tribe comes 
 about, he bristles up his feathers, and 
 fights for his crumbs. ... He is not 
 at all pretty, like the Australian or 
 European robin, but a little sober 
 black and grey bird, with long legs, 
 and a heavy paunch and big head ; 
 like a Quaker, grave, but cheerful and 
 spry withal." [This is the Robin of 
 New Zealand.] 
 
 1866. Lady Barker, 'Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 93 : 
 
 " The New Zealand robin was an- 
 nounced, and I could see only a fat 
 little ball of a bird, with a yellowish- 
 white breast." 
 
 1869. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia' 
 [Supplement] : 
 
 Drymodes superciliaris, Gould, East- 
 ern Scrub Robin. 
 
 Petroica ccrvini-ventris, Gould, Buff- 
 sided Robin. 
 
 Eopsaltria capita, Gould, Large-head- 
 ed Robin. 
 E. leucura, Gould, White-tailed Robin. 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 239 : 
 "The large red-breasted robin, kins- 
 man true 
 
 Of England's delicate high-bred bird 
 of home." 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, ' Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 123 : 
 
 " The Robin is certainly more bril- 
 liantly beautiful than his English 
 namesake. . . . Black, red and white 
 are the colours of his dress, worn with 
 perfect taste. The black is shining 
 jet, the red, fire, and the white, snow. 
 There is a little white spot on his tiny 
 black-velvet cap, a white bar across 
 his pretty white wings, and his breast 
 is a living flame of rosy, vivid scarlet." 
 
 1888. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. ii. p. 235 : 
 
 "Here, too, the 'careful robin eyes 
 the delver's toil,' and as he snatches 
 the worm from the gardener's furrow, 
 he turns to us a crimson-scarlet breast 
 that gleams in the sun beside the 
 golden buttercups like a living coal. 
 The hues of his English cousin would 
 pale beside him ineffectual."
 
 392 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [ROC 
 
 1896. 'The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 
 54 = 
 
 " The flame-breasted robin no longer 
 lingers showing us his brilliant breast 
 while he sings out the cold grey after- 
 noons in his tiny treble. He has gone 
 with departing winter." 
 
 Rock-Cod, n. called also Red- 
 Cod in New Zealand, Pseudophytis 
 barbatus, Giinth., family Gadidce. 
 In New Zealand the Blue- Cod '(q.v.) 
 is also called Rock-Cod. Species 
 of the allied genus Lotella are also 
 called Rock -Cod in New South 
 Wales. See Beardy and Ling. 
 
 1883. ' Royal Commission on the 
 Fisheries of Tasmania,' p. 40 : 
 
 "A variety known to fishermen as 
 the deep-water, or Cape-cod. ... It 
 would appear that the latter is simply 
 the mature form of the 'rock-cod,' 
 which enters the upper waters of estu- 
 aries in vast numbers during the 
 month of May. . . The rock-cod 
 rarely exceeds 2^ Ibs. weight." 
 
 Rocket, Native, a Tasmanian 
 name for Epacris lanuginosa, Lab., 
 N.O. Epacridece. See Epacris. 
 
 Rock Lily, n. See under Lily. 
 
 Rock-Ling, n. a marine fish. 
 The Australian ^.\% Genypterus aus- 
 tralis, Castln., family Ophidiidce. 
 The European R. belongs to the 
 genera Onos and Rhinonemus, 
 formerly Motella. Of the genus 
 Genypterus, Giinther says they 
 have an excellent flesh, like cod, 
 well adapted for curing. At 
 the Cape they are known by the 
 name of " Klipvisch," and in New 
 Zealand as Ling, or Cloudy-Say 
 Cod. 
 
 Rock-Native, or Native, n. a 
 name given to the fish called a 
 Schnapper when it has ceased to 
 "school." See Schnapper. 
 
 Rock-Parrakeet, n. an Austral- 
 ian Grass-Parrakeet(<\. v. ), Euphema 
 petrophila, Gould. It gets its name 
 from its habitat, the rocks and 
 crags. 
 
 Rock-Pebbler, n. another name 
 for the Slack-tailed Parrakeet. See 
 Parrakeet. 
 
 Rock-Perch, ;/. the name given 
 in Melbourne to the fish Glyphido- 
 don victoria, Giinth., family Poma- 
 centridce, or Coral- fishes. It is not 
 a true Perch. 
 
 Rock-shelter, n. a natural 
 cave-dwelling of the aborigines. 
 See Gibber- Guny ah. 
 
 1891. R. Etheridge, jun., in 'Records 
 of the Australian Museum,' vol. i. No. 
 viii. p. 171 (' Notes on Rock Shelters or 
 Gibba-gunyahs at Deewhy Lagoon ') : 
 
 "... The Shelters are of the usual 
 type seen throughout the Port Jack- 
 son district, recesses in the escarp- 
 ment, overhung by thick, more or less 
 tabular masses of rock, in some cases 
 dry and habitable, in others wet and 
 apparently never used by the Aborig- 
 ines." 
 
 Rock- Wallaby, ;;. the popular 
 name for any animal of the genus 
 Petrogale (q.v.). There are six 
 species 
 Brush-tailed Rock-Wallaby 
 
 Petrogale penirillata, Gray. 
 Little R.-W. 
 
 P. concinna, Gould. 
 Plain-coloured R.-W. 
 
 P. inornata, Gould. 
 Rock - W., or West - Australian 
 R.-W. 
 
 P. lateralis, Gould. 
 Short-eared R.-W. 
 
 P. brachyotis, Gould. 
 Yellow-footed R.-W. 
 
 P. xanthopus, Gray. 
 
 See Wallaby. 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. viii. p. 58 : 
 
 " A light, active chap, spinning over 
 the stones like a rock wallaby." 
 
 1888. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Robbery under 
 Arms,' p. 119 : 
 
 " They rode and rode, but Warrigal 
 was gone like a rock wallaby." 
 
 1894. R. Lydekker, ' Marsupialia,' p. 
 
 43 = 
 
 " The Rock- Wallabies are confined
 
 ROG-ROO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 393 
 
 to the mainland of Australia, on which 
 they are generally distributed, but are 
 unknown in Tasmania. Although 
 closely allied to the true Wallabies, 
 their habits are markedly distinct, the 
 Rock-Wallabies frequenting rugged, 
 rocky districts, instead of the open 
 plains." 
 
 Roger Gough, n. an absurd 
 name given to the tree Baloghia 
 lucida, Endl., N.O. Euphorbiacea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 382 : 
 
 " Scrub, or brush bloodwood, called 
 also ' Roger Gough.' " 
 
 1896. ' The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 407, col. 5 : 
 
 "Who were Messrs. James Don- 
 nelly, James Low, and Roger Gough 
 that their names should have been 
 bestowed on trees ? Were they growers 
 or buyers of timber? Was the first 
 of the list any relative of the Minne- 
 sota lawyer who holds strange views 
 about a great cryptogram in Shake- 
 speare's plays ? Was the last of the 
 three any relative of the eminent 
 soldier who won the battles of Sobraon 
 and Ferozeshah ? Or, as is more pro- 
 bable, were the names mere corrup- 
 tions of aboriginal words now lost ? " 
 
 Boll up, v. intr. to gather, to 
 
 assemble. 
 
 1887. J. Farrell, ' How he died,' p. 26 : 
 " The miners all rolled up to see the 
 
 fun." 
 
 1890. RolfBoldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. xx. p. 185 : 
 
 " At the Warraluen and other gold 
 towns, time after time the ominous 
 words 'roll up' had sounded forth, 
 generally followed by the gathering of 
 a mighty crowd." 
 
 Roll-up, n. a meeting". See 
 preceding verb. 
 
 1890. RolfBoldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' 
 c. xxxv. p. 308 : 
 
 " Making as much noise as if you'd 
 hired the bell-man for a roll-up ? " 
 
 Roly-poly Grass, or Roley- 
 poley, . name given to Panicum 
 macractiniuniy Benth., N.O. Gra- 
 minece ; and also to Salsola Kali, 
 Linn., N.O. Salsolacecc. See Grass. 
 
 1859. D. Bunce, 'Travels with Dr. Leich- 
 hardt in Australia/ pp. 167-8 : 
 
 " Very common to these plains, was 
 a large-growing salsolaceous plant, be- 
 longing to the Chenopodeaceae, of 
 Jussieu. These weeds grow in the 
 form of a large ball. ... No sooner 
 were a few of these balls (or, as we 
 were in the habit of calling them, 
 ' rolly-poleys ! ) taken up with the 
 current of air, than the mules began 
 to kick and buck. . . ." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. ii. p. 468 : 
 
 "A salsolaceous plant growing in 
 the form of a ball several feet high. In 
 the dry season it withers, and is easily 
 broken off and rolled about by the 
 winds, whence it is called roley-poley 
 by the settlers." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 100 : 
 
 "Roly-Poly Grass. This species 
 produces immense dry and spreading 
 panicles ; it is perennial, and seeds in 
 November and December. It is a 
 somewhat straggling species, growing 
 in detached tufts, on sand-hills and 
 sandy soil, and much relished by 
 stock." 
 
 1896. Baldwin Spencer, ' Home Expedi- 
 tion in Central Australia,' Narrative, p. 13: 
 
 " On the loamy flats, and even gibber 
 plains, the most noticeable plant is 
 Salsola kali, popularly known as the 
 Rolly-polly. It is, when mature, one 
 of the characteristically prickly plants 
 of the Lower Steppes, and forms great 
 spherical masses perhaps a yard or 
 more in diameter." 
 
 Roman - Lamp Shell, name 
 given in Tasmania to a brachiopod 
 mollusc, Waldheimia flavescens, 
 Lamarck. 
 
 Roo, a termination, treated ear- 
 lier as the name of an animal. It 
 is the termination of potoroo, 
 wallaroo, kangaroo. See especially 
 the last. It may be added that 
 it is very rare for aboriginal 
 words to begin with the letter ' r.' 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South
 
 394 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [ROP-ROS 
 
 Wales ' [Observations at the end, by Mr. 
 John Hunter, the celebrated surgeon] : 
 
 Plate p. 272 A kangaroo. Descrip- 
 tion of teeth. 
 
 Plate p. 278 Wha Tapoua Roo, 
 about the size of a Racoon [probably an 
 opossum]. 
 
 Plate p. 286 A Poto Roo or Kan- 
 garoo-Rat. 
 
 Plate p. 288 Hepoona Roo. 
 
 Rope, v. tr. to catch a horse or 
 bullock with a noosed rope. It 
 comes from the Western United 
 States, where it has superseded 
 the original Spanish word lasso, 
 still used in California. 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. xxi. p. 150: 
 
 " You could ' rope ' . . . any Clifton 
 colt or filly, back them in three days, 
 and within a week ride a journey." 
 
 Ropeable, adj. (i) Of cattle ; 
 so wild and intractable as to be 
 capable of subjection only by 
 being roped. See preceding 
 word. 
 
 (2) By transference : intractable, 
 angry, out of temper. 
 
 1891. ' The Argus,' Oct. 10, p. 13, 
 col. 4: 
 
 "The service has shown itself so 
 ' ropeable ' heretofore that one ex- 
 periences now a kind of chastened 
 satisfaction in seeing it roped and 
 dragged captive at Sir Frederick's 
 saddle-bow." 
 
 1896. Modern. In school-boy slang : 
 
 " You must not chaff him, he gets 
 so ropeable." 
 
 Roping-pole, n. a long pole 
 used for casting a rope over 
 an animal's head in the stock- 
 yard. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Squatter's 
 Dream,' c. iv. p. 44: 
 
 " I happened to knock down the 
 superintendent with a roping-pole." 
 
 1895. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from Snowy 
 River,' p. 125 : 
 
 " I'm travelling down the Castlereagh 
 
 and I'm a station-hand, 
 I'm handy with the ropin'-pole, I'm 
 handy with the brand, 
 
 And I can ride a rowdy colt, or 
 swing the axe all day, 
 
 But there's no demand for a station- 
 hand along the Castlereagh." 
 
 Rosary-shell, n. In Europe, 
 the name is applied to any marine 
 gastropod shell of the genus 
 Monodonta. In Australia, it is 
 applied to the shell of Nerita 
 atrata, Lamarck, a marine mol- 
 lusc of small size and black colour 
 used for necklaces, bracelets, and 
 in place of the "beads" of a 
 rosary. 
 
 Rose, n. name given to the 
 Australian .shrub, Boronia serru- 
 lata, Sm., N.O. Rutacece. It has 
 bright green leaves and very 
 fragrant rose-coloured flowers. 
 
 Rose-Apple, n. another name 
 for the Sweet Plum. See under 
 Plum. 
 
 Rose-bush, a timber-tree, 
 Eupomatia laurina, R. Br., N.O. 
 Anonacea. 
 
 Rose-hill, n. The name is 
 given by Gould as applied to two 
 Parrakeets 
 
 (1) Platycercus eximius, Vig. and 
 Hors., called by the Colonists of 
 New South Wales, and by Gould, 
 the Rose-hill Parrakeet. 
 
 (2) Platycercus icterotis, Wagl., 
 called by the Colonists of Swan 
 River, Western Australia, the Rose- 
 hill, and by Gould the Earl of 
 Derby's Parrakeet. 
 
 The modern name for both 
 these birds is Rosella (q.v.), 
 though it is more specifically con- 
 fined to the first. ' Rose-hill' was 
 the name of the Governor's re- 
 sidence at Parramatta, near Syd- 
 ney, in the early days of the set- 
 tlement of New South Wales, and 
 the name Rosella is a settler's 
 corruption of Rose-hiller, though 
 the erroneous etymology from the
 
 ROS-ROU] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 395 
 
 Latin rosella (sc. ' a little rose ') 
 is that generally given. The 
 word Rosella, however, is not a 
 scientific name, and does not 
 appear as the name of any genus 
 or species ; it is vernacular only, 
 and no settler or bushman is likely 
 to have gone to the Latin to form 
 it. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. v. pi. 27 : 
 
 " Platycercus eximius, Vig. & Hors. 
 Rose-hill Parrakeet ; Colonists of New 
 South Wales." 
 
 Ibid. vol. v. pi. 29 : 
 
 "Platycercus icterotis, Wagl. The 
 Earl of Derby's Parrakeet ; Rose-hill 
 of the Colonists [of Swan River]." 
 
 Rosella, n. (i) A bird, Platycer- 
 cus eximius, the Rosehill (q.v.). 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 80 : 
 
 " The common white cockatoo, and 
 the Moreton Bay Rosella parrot, were 
 very numerous." 
 
 1884. R. L. A. Davies, ' Poems and 
 Literary Remains,' p. 99 : 
 
 " Saw the bright rosellas fly, 
 With breasts that glowed like sunsets 
 
 In the fiery western sky." 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' June 7, p. 13, 
 col. 5: 
 
 "The solitudes where the lorikeets 
 and rosellas chatter." 
 
 1896. 'The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 60 : 
 
 " As [the race] sweeps past the 
 Stand every year in a close bright 
 mass the colours, of the different clubs, 
 are as dazzling and gay in the sun as 
 a brilliant flight of galahs and rosellas." 
 
 (2) In Northern Australia, it is 
 a slang name for a European who 
 works bared to the waist, which 
 some, by a gradual process of 
 discarding clothing, acquire the 
 power of doing. The scorching 
 of the skin by the sun produces a 
 colour which probably suggested 
 a comparison with the bright 
 scarlet of the parrakeet so named. 
 
 Rosemary, n. name given to 
 
 the shrub Westringia dampieri, 
 R.Br.,^V.a Labiata. 
 
 1703. W. Dampier, ' Voyage to New 
 Holland,' vol. iii. p. 138 : 
 
 "There grow here 2 or 3 sorts of 
 Shrubs, one just like Rosemary ; and 
 therefore I call'd this Rosemary Island. 
 It grew in great plenty here, but had 
 no smell." [This island is in or near 
 Shark's Bay.] 
 
 Rosemary, Golden, n. name 
 given in Tasmania to the plant 
 Oxylobium ellipticum, R. Br., N.O. 
 Leguminosce. 
 
 Rosemary, "Wild, a slender 
 Australian timber-tree, Cassinia 
 Icevis, R. Br., IV. O. Composites. 
 
 Rose, Native, n. i.q. Bauera 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Rosewood, name given to the 
 timber of three trees, (i) Acacia 
 glaucescens, Willd., N. O. Legtt- 
 minosce ; called also rigalou>, 
 Mountain J3rigalow, and Myall. 
 
 ( 2 ) Dysoxylon fraserianum, 
 Benth., N.O. Meliacece ; called 
 also Pencil Cedar. 
 
 (3) Eremophila mitchelli, Benth. 
 N. O. Myoporincz; called also San- 
 dalwood. 
 
 1838. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. i. p. 203 : 
 
 " One or two trees of a warmer 
 green, of what they call 'rosewood,' 
 I believe gave a fine effect, relieving 
 the sober greyish green of the pendent 
 acacia." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Ex- 
 pedition,' p. 4: 
 
 " The Rosewood Acacia of Moreton 
 Bay." 
 
 Rough, or Roughy, or Rufly, 
 or Ruffle, n. a Victorian fish, Ar- 
 ripis georgianus, Cuv. and Val., 
 family Percidcc. Arripis is the 
 genus of the Australian fish called 
 Salmon, or Salmon-trout, A. 
 salar, Giinth. See Salmon. 
 
 1875. ' Spectator ' (Melbourne), June 
 19, 1881 : 
 
 " Common fish, such as trout, ruffles 
 mullet . . . and others."
 
 396 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [ROU-RUN 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes Fisheries, 
 Second Schedule ' [Close Season] : 
 " Rough, or Roughy." 
 
 Rough Fig, n. 
 tree. 
 
 See under Fig- 
 
 Rough-leaved Fig, n. See 
 under Fig-tree. 
 
 Round, v. trans. , contraction of 
 the verb to round-up, to bring- a 
 scattered herd together ; used in 
 all grazing districts, and com- 
 mon in the Western United 
 States. 
 
 1894. 'The Argus,' June 23, p. n, 
 col. 4: 
 
 "A friend of mine who has spent 
 many a night rounding the mob on 
 lonely Queensland cattle camps where 
 hostile blacks were as thick as dingoes 
 has a peculiar aversion to one plain 
 covered with dead gums, because the 
 curlews always made him feel miser- 
 able when crossing it at night." 
 
 Round Yam, n. i.q. Burdekin 
 Vine. See under Vine. 
 
 Rouseabout, n. a station-hand 
 put on to any work, a Jack of all 
 work, an ' odd man.' The form 
 * roustabout ' is sometimes used, 
 but the latter is rather an Ameri- 
 can word (Western States), in the 
 sense of a labourer on a river 
 boat, a deck-hand who assists in 
 loading and unloading. 
 
 1887. J. Farrell, 'How he died,' p. 19: 
 " It may be the rouseabout swiper 
 who rode for the doctor that 
 night, 
 
 Is in Heaven with the hosts of the 
 Blest, robed and sceptred, and 
 splendid with light." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, 
 col. 6: 
 
 "The 'rouseabouts' are another 
 class of men engaged in shearing 
 time, whose work is to draft the sheep, 
 fill the pens for the shearers, and do 
 the branding. . . . The shearers hold 
 themselves as the aristocrats of the 
 shed ; and never associate with the 
 rouseabouts." 
 
 1892. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the Com- 
 pass in Australia,' p. 58: 
 
 " While we sat there, a rouseabout 
 came to the door. 'Mountain Jim's 
 back,' he said. There was no 'sir' 
 in the remark of this lowest of station- 
 hands to his master." 
 
 1894. ' Sydney Morning Herald ' (date 
 lost): 
 
 " A rougher person perhaps a 
 happier is the rouseabout, who 
 makes himself useful in the shearing- 
 shed. He is clearly a man of action. 
 He is sometimes with less elegance, 
 and one would say less correctly, 
 spoken of as a roustabout." 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World 
 was wide,' p. 98 [Title of poem, ' Middle- 
 ton's Rouseabout '] : 
 
 "Flourishing beard and sandy, 
 Tall and robust and stout ; 
 This is the picture of Andy, 
 Middleton's Rouseabout." 
 
 ^ Rowdy, adj. troublesome. 
 Common slang, but unusual as 
 applied to a bullock or a horse. 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 69 : 
 
 "Branding or securing a trouble- 
 some or, colonially, a 'rowdy' bullock." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, 'Man from Snowy 
 River,' p. 125 : 
 
 " And I can ride a rowdy colt, or 
 swing the axe all day." 
 
 Rua, n. Maori word (used in 
 North Island) for a pit, cave or 
 hole. A place for storing roots, 
 such as potatoes, etc. Formerly 
 some of these rua had carved 
 entrances. 
 
 Rufiy or Ruffle, n. a fish. See 
 Rough or Roughy. 
 
 Run, n. (i) Tract of land over 
 which sheep or cattle may graze. 
 It is curious that what in England 
 is called a sheep-o/a//, in Australia 
 is a sheep-run. In the Western 
 United States it is a sheep-ranch. 
 Originally the squatter, or sheep- 
 farmer, did not own the land. It 
 was unfenced, and he simply had 
 the right of grazing or " running "
 
 RUN-RUS] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 397 
 
 his sheep or cattle on it. Subse- 
 quently, in many cases, he pur- 
 chased the freehold, and the word 
 is now applied to a large station- 
 property, fenced or unfenced. (See 
 quotation, 1883.) 
 
 1826. Goldie, in Bischoff's 'Van Die- 
 men's Land ' (1832), p. 157 : 
 
 "It is generally speaking a good 
 sheep-run." 
 
 1828. Report of Van Diemen's Land 
 Company, in Bischoff's ' Van Diemen's 
 Land' (1832), p. 117: 
 
 "A narrow slip of good sheep-run 
 down the west coast." 
 
 1844. ' Port Phillip Patriot,' July 8, p. 
 4, col. 3 : 
 
 "The thousand runs stated as the 
 number in Port Phillip under the new 
 regulations will cost 12,800,000." 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 367 : 
 
 " ' Runs,' land claimed by the squat- 
 ter as sheep-walks, open, as nature left 
 them, without any improvement from 
 the squatter." 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 78 : 
 " The runs of the Narran wide-dotted 
 with sheep, 
 
 And loud with the lowing of cattle." 
 
 1864. W. Westgarth, ' Colony of Vic- 
 toria,' p. 273 : 
 
 " Here then is a squatting domain of 
 the old unhedged stamp. The station 
 or the 'run,' as these squatting areas 
 are called, borders upon the Darling, 
 along which river it possesses a frontage 
 of thirty-five lineal miles, with a back 
 area of 800 square miles." 
 
 1868. J. Bonwick, 'John Batman, 
 Founder of Victoria,' p. 34 : 
 
 "The desire of some to turn Van 
 Diemen's Land into a large squatter's 
 run, by the passing of the Impounding 
 Act, was the immediate cause, he told 
 us, of his taking up the project of a 
 poor man's country elsewhere." 
 
 1870. ' A,' ' Studies in Rhyme,' p. 26 : 
 "Of squatters' runs we've oft been 
 
 told, 
 The People's Lands impairing." 
 
 1883. G. W. Rusden, ' History of Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 73 [Note] : 
 
 "A run is the general term for the 
 tract of country on which Australians 
 
 keep their stock, or allow them to 
 'run.'" 
 
 (2) The bower of the Bower- 
 bird (q.v.). 
 
 1840. ' Proceedings of the Zoological 
 Society,' p. 94 : 
 
 " They are used by the birds as a 
 playing-house, or 'run, 'as it is termed, 
 and are used by the males to attract 
 the females." 
 
 Run-about, n. and adj. Run- 
 abouts are cattle left to graze at 
 will, and the runabout-yard, is the 
 enclosure for homing them. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xviii. p. 218 : 
 
 " ' Open that gate, Piambook,' said 
 Ernest gravely, pointing to the one 
 which led into the ' run-about ' yard." 
 
 Bun-hunting, exploring for a 
 new run. See Run. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Squatter's 
 Dream,' c. xix. p. 238 : 
 
 " What do you say if I go run-hunting 
 with you ? " 
 
 Running-Postman, n. a Tas- 
 manian plant, i.q. Coral-Pea. See 
 
 Kennedya. 
 
 Ruru, n. Maori name for the 
 New Zealand bird, the More- 
 pork, Athene novcz-zelandia, Gmel. 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1883. F. S. Ren wick, 'Betrayed,' p. 45: 
 "The ruru's voice re-echoes, deso- 
 late." 
 
 Rush, . (i) Of cattle: to 
 charge a man. Contraction for to 
 rush-at. 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 122 : 
 
 "When not instigated by terror, 
 wild cattle will seldom attack the 
 traveller ; even of those which run at 
 him, or ' rush,' as it is termed, few will 
 really toss or gore, or even knock him 
 down." 
 
 (2) To attack sheep ; i.e. to 
 
 cause them to rush about or away. 
 
 1855. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes,' 
 
 P- 'S3: 
 
 " Sometimes at night this animal
 
 398 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [RUS 
 
 [the dingo] will leap into the fold 
 amongst the timid animals [sheep] and 
 so 'rush' them that is, cause them to 
 break out and disperse through the 
 bush." 
 
 (3) To break through a barrier 
 (of men or materials). Contrac- 
 tion for to rush past or through; 
 e.g. to rush a cordon of police- 
 men ; to rush a fence (i.e. to break- 
 down or climb-over it). 
 
 (4) To take possession of, or 
 seize upon, either by force or 
 before the appointed time. Com- 
 pare Jump. 
 
 1896. Modern : 
 
 " Those who had no tickets broke 
 through and rushed all the seats.'' 
 
 " The dancers becoming very hungry 
 did not stand on ceremony, but rushed 
 the supper." 
 
 (5) To flood with gold-seekers. 
 1887. H. H. Hayter, ' Christmas Adven- 
 ture,' p. 3 : 
 
 "The Bald Hill had just been 
 rushed, and therefore I decided to take 
 up a claim." 
 
 Rush, n. (i) The hurrying off 
 of diggers to a new field. 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 86 : 
 
 " We had a long conversation on the 
 ' rush,' as it was termed.' 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, 'New Rush,' pt. i., 
 p. 19: 
 
 " Arouse you, my comrades, for rush is 
 the word, 
 
 Advance to the strife with a pick for 
 a sword." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 13, p. 6, col. 2 : 
 " Fell Timber Creek, where a new 
 rush had set in." 
 
 (2) A place where gold is found, 
 and to which consequently a 
 crowd of diggers "rush." 
 
 1855. William Howitt, ' Land, Labour 
 and Gold ; or Two Years in Victoria,' vol. 
 i. p. 172 : 
 
 " It is a common practice for them 
 to mark out one or more claims in each 
 new rush, so as to make sure if it turn 
 out well. But only one claim at a time 
 is legal and tenable. This practice is 
 called shepherding." 
 
 1875. ' Spectator ' (Melbourne), May 22, 
 p. 34, col. i : 
 
 " The Palmer River rush is a perfect 
 swindle." 
 
 1875. Wood and Lapham, ' Waiting for 
 Mail,' p. 34 : 
 
 " Off we set to the Dunstan rush, 
 just broken out." 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Gold- 
 fields, 'p. 92 : 
 
 " Morinish was a worked-out rush 
 close to Rockhampton, where the first 
 attempt at gold-digging had been made 
 in Queensland." 
 
 (3) A stampede of cattle. 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 102 : 
 
 "A confused whirl of dark forms 
 swept before him, and the camp, so full 
 of life a minute ago, is desolate. It 
 was ' a rush,' a stampede." 
 
 Rush-broom, n. Australian 
 name for the indigenous shrub 
 Viminaria denudata, Sm., N.O. 
 Leguminosce. The flowers are 
 orange-yellow. In England, it is 
 cultivated in greenhouses. 
 
 Rusty Pig, n. See under Fig- 
 tree.
 
 SAD-SAL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 399 
 
 S 
 
 Saddle, Colonial, ;/. 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 53 : 
 
 "The colonial saddle is a shapeless, 
 cumbersome fabric, made of rough 
 leather, with a high pommel and 
 cantle, and huge knee-pads, weighing 
 on an average twenty pounds. The 
 greatest care is necessary to prevent 
 such a diabolical machine from giving 
 a horse a sore back." 
 
 [Mr. Finch-Hatton's epithet is 
 exaggerated. The saddle is well 
 adapted to its peculiar local pur- 
 poses. The projecting knee-pads, 
 especially, save the rider from 
 fractured knee-caps when gallop- 
 ing among closely timbered scrub. 
 The ordinary English saddle is 
 similarly varied by exaggeration 
 of different parts to suit special 
 requirements, as e.g. in the mili- 
 tary saddle, with its enormous 
 pommel ; the diminutive racing 
 saddle, to meet handicappers' 
 " bottom- weights," etc. The 
 mediaeval saddle had its turret- 
 like cantle for the armoured 
 spearman.] 
 
 Saddle-Back, n. a bird of the 
 North Island of New Zealand, 
 Creadion carunculatus, Cab. See 
 also Jack-bird and Creadion. 
 
 1868. ' Transactions of the New Zealand 
 Institute,' Essay on Ornithology, by W. 
 Buller, vol. i. p. 5 : 
 
 " The Saddle-back (Creadion carun- 
 culatus) of the North is represented in 
 the South by C. cinereus, a closely 
 allied species." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 p. 64: 
 
 '' It is the sharp, quick call of the 
 saddle-back. 1 ' 
 
 1886. A. Reischek, 'Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xix. art. 
 xxiii. p. 102 : 
 
 "The bird derives its popular name 
 from a peculiarity in the distribution 
 of its two strongly contrasting colours, 
 uniform black, back and shoulders 
 ferruginous, the shoulders of the wings 
 forming a saddle. In structure it re- 
 sembles the starling (Sturnidce) ; it has 
 also the wedge bill." 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 18 : 
 
 " Creadion Carunculatus. This bird 
 derives its popular name from a pecu- 
 liarity in the distribution of its too 
 strongly contrasted colours, black and 
 ferruginous, the latter of which covers 
 the back, forms a sharply - defined 
 margin across the shoulders, and 
 sweeps over the wings in a manner 
 suggestive of saddle-flaps." 
 
 Sagg, n. the name given in 
 Tasmania to the plant Xerotcs 
 longifolia, R.Br., N.O.Juncea, and 
 also to the White Iris, Diplarhena 
 moraa. 
 
 Saliferous, adj. salt-bearing. 
 See Salt-bush. The word is used 
 in geology in ordinary English, 
 but the botanical application is 
 Australian. 
 
 1890. E. W. Hornung, 'A Bride from 
 the Bush,' p. 277 : 
 
 " You have only to cover the desert 
 with pale-green saliferous bushes, no 
 higher than a man's knee." 
 
 Sallee, n. aboriginal name 
 for many varieties of the Acacia 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Sally, Sallow, n. corruptions 
 of the aboriginal word Sallee 
 (q.v.). There are many varieties? 
 e.g. Black-Sally, White-Sally, etc.
 
 400 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SAL 
 
 Salmon, n. The English Salmon 
 is being acclimatised with diffi- 
 culty in Tasmania and New Zea- 
 land ; the Trout more successfully. 
 But in all Australian, New Zea- 
 land, and Tasmanian waters there 
 is a marine fish which is called 
 Salmon ; it is not the true Salmon 
 of the Old World, but Arripis 
 salar, Giinth., and called in New 
 Zealand by the Maori name 
 Kahawai. The fish is often called 
 also Salmon-Trout. The young is 
 called Samson-fish (q.v.). 
 
 1798. D. Collins, 'Account of the 
 English Colony of New South Wales/ p. 
 136: 
 
 [Sept. 1790.] " Near four thousand 
 of a fish, named by us, from its shape 
 only, the Salmon, being taken at two 
 hauls of the seine. Each fish weighed 
 on an average about five pounds." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 93 : 
 
 " The kawai has somewhat of the 
 habits of the salmon, entering during 
 spring and summer into the bays, 
 rivers, and fresh-water creeks in large 
 shoals." 
 
 1880. Giinther, ' Study of Fishes, 'p. 393: 
 
 "Arripis salar, South Australia. 
 Three species are known, from the 
 coasts of Southern Australia and New 
 Zealand. They are named by the 
 colonists Salmon or Trout, from their 
 elegant form and lively habits, and 
 from the sport they afford to the 
 angler." 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 35 : 
 
 " Arripis salar, Giinth., is in the 
 adult state the salmon of the Austra- 
 lian fishermen, and their salmon 
 trout is the young. . . . The most 
 common of all Victorian fishes . . . 
 does not resemble the true salmon in 
 any important respect ... It is the 
 A. truttaccus of Cuvier and Valen- 
 ciennes." 
 
 Salmon-Trout, n. i.q. Salmon 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Saloop-bush, n. name given to 
 -an erect soft-stemmed bush, Rha- 
 
 godia hastata, R. Br., N.O. Salsol- 
 acece, one of the Australian Red- 
 berries, two to three feet high. 
 See Redberry and Salt-bush. 
 
 Salsolaceous, adj. belongs to 
 the natural order Salsolaceez. The 
 shrubs of the order are not pecu- 
 liar to Australia, but are com- 
 moner there than elsewhere. 
 
 1837. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 906 : 
 
 "Passing tufts of samphire and 
 salsolaceous plants." 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, ' Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 c. xlii. (' Century') : 
 
 " It is getting hopeless now . . . 
 sand and nothing but sand. The sal- 
 solaceous plants, so long the only 
 vegetation we have seen, are gone." 
 
 Salt-bush, n. and adj. the wild 
 alkaline herb or shrub, growing 
 on the interior plains of Australia, 
 on which horses and sheep feed, 
 of the N.O. Salsolacea. The 
 genera are Atriplex, Kochia, and 
 Rhagodia. Of the large growth, 
 A. nummularium, Lindl., and of 
 the dwarf species, A. vestcarium, 
 Heward, and A. halimoides, Lindl., 
 are the commonest. Some species 
 bear the additional names of Cab- 
 bage Salt-bush, Old-Man Salt-bush, 
 Small Salt-bush, Blue-bush, Cotton- 
 bush, Saloop-bush, etc. Some 
 varieties are very rich in salt. 
 Rhagodia parabolica, R.Br., for in- 
 stance, according to Mr. Stephen- 
 son, who accompanied Sir T. 
 Mitchell in one of his expeditions, 
 yields as much as two ounces of 
 salt by boiling two pounds of 
 leaves. 
 
 1870. T. H. Braim, ' New Homes,' c. ii. 
 p. 89: 
 
 " This inland salt-bush country suits 
 the settler's purpose well." 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iv. p. 144 : 
 
 "The ground is covered with the 
 sage-coloured salt-bush all the year 
 round, but in the winter it blooms with 
 flowers."
 
 SAM-SAN] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 401 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' c. xxi. p. 262 : 
 
 " How glorious it will be to see them 
 pitching into that lovely salt-bush by 
 the lake." 
 
 1892. E. W. Hornung, 'Under Two 
 Skies,' p. II : 
 
 " The surrounding miles of salt-bush 
 plains and low monotonous scrub 
 oppressed her when she wandered 
 abroad. There was not one picturesque 
 patch on the whole dreary run." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from 
 Snowy River,' p. 92 : 
 
 * l Over the miles of the salt-bush plain 
 The shining plain that is said to be 
 The dried-up bed of an inland sea. 
 
 For those that love it and under- 
 stand, 
 
 The salt -bush plain is a wonder- 
 land." 
 
 Samson-fish, n. name given in 
 Sydney to Seriola hippos, Giinth., 
 family Carangida ; and in Mel- 
 bourne to the young of Arripis 
 salar, Richards., family Perddce. 
 See Salmon. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 60 : 
 
 " The samson-fish (Seriola hippos, 
 Giinth.) is occasionally caught . . . 
 The great strength of these fishes is 
 remarkable, and which probably is the 
 cause that gave it the name of Samson- 
 fish, as sailors or shipwrights give to 
 the name of a strong post resting on 
 the keelson of a ship, and supporting 
 the upper beam, and bearing all the 
 weight of the deck cargo near the hold, 
 Samson-post? 
 
 Sandalwood, n. The name is 
 given to many Australian trees 
 from the strong scent of their 
 timber. They are 
 
 Of the TV! 6>. Santalacece 
 
 Exocarpos latifolia, R.Br. ; called 
 
 Scrub-Sandahvood. 
 Fusanus spicatus, R.Br. ; called 
 
 Fragrant Sandalwood. 
 Santalum lanceolatum, R.Br. 
 S. obtusifolium, R.Br. 
 
 Santalum persicarium, F. v. M. ; 
 
 called Native Sandalwood. 
 Of the N.O. Myoporince. 
 
 Eremophila mitchelli, Benth. ; 
 called also Rosewood and 
 Bastard- Sandalwood. 
 
 E. sturtii, R.Br. ; called curi- 
 ously the Scentless Sandalwood. 
 
 Myoporum platycarpum, R.Br.; 
 
 called also Dogwood (q.v.). 
 Of the N. O. Apocynetz 
 
 Alyxia buxifolia, R.Br. ; called 
 Native Sandalwood in Tas- 
 mania. 
 
 Sandfly - bush, n. Australian 
 name for the indigenous tree 
 Zieria smithii, Andr. , N.O. Ru- 
 tacecE. Called also Turmeric, and 
 in Tasmania, Stinkwood. 
 
 Sand-Lark, n. name given in 
 Australia to the Red-capped Dot- 
 trel, Charadrius ruficapilla, Temm. 
 
 1867. W. Richardson, ' Tasmanian 
 Poems,' pref. p. xi : 
 
 "The nimble sand -lark learns his 
 pretty note." 
 
 Sandpiper, n. About twenty 
 species of this familiar sea-bird 
 exist. It belongs especially to 
 the Northern Hemisphere, but it 
 performs such extensive migra- 
 tions that in the northern winter 
 it is dispersed all over the world. 
 ('Century.') The species observed 
 in Australia are 
 
 Bartram's Sandpiper 
 
 Tringa bartrami. 
 Common S. 
 
 Actitis hypoleucos, Linn. 
 Great S. 
 
 Tringa crassirostris, Temm. and 
 
 Schleg. 
 Grey-rumped S. 
 
 T. brevisses. 
 
 Sandplover, n. a bird of New 
 
 Zealand. According to Professor 
 
 Parker, only two genera of this 
 
 common bird are to be found in 
 
 D D
 
 402 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SAN-SAR 
 
 New Zealand. There is no bird 
 bearing the name in Australia. 
 See Plover and Wry-billed Plover. 
 
 1889. Prof. Parker, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 116 : 
 
 " But two genera of the group [Wad- 
 ing Birds] are found only in New 
 Zealand, the Sandplover and the 
 curious Wry-billed Plover." 
 
 Sand-stay, n. a characteristic 
 name for the Coast Tea-Tree, Lepto- 
 spermum Icevigatum, F. v. M., N.O. 
 Myrtacea. See Tea-Tree. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 642 : 
 
 " Sandstay. Coast Tea-Tree. This 
 shrub is the most effectual of all 
 for arresting the progress of drift- 
 sand in a warm climate. It is most 
 easily raised by simply scattering in 
 autumn the seeds on the sand, and 
 covering them loosely with boughs, or, 
 better still, by spreading lopped-off 
 branches of the shrub itself, bearing 
 ripe seed, on the sand. (Mueller.)" 
 
 Sandy, n. a Tasmanian fish, 
 Uphritis urvillii, Cuv. and Val., 
 family Trachinidcz ; also called 
 the Fresh-water Flathead. See 
 Flathead. 
 
 Sandy-blight, n. a kind of oph- 
 thalmia common in Australia, in 
 which the eye feels as if full of 
 sand. Called also shortly, Blight. 
 
 Shakspeare has sand-blind (M. 
 of V. II. ii. 31) ; Launcelot says 
 
 " O heavens, this is my true-be- 
 gotten father ! who, being more than 
 sand-blind, high-gravel blind, knows 
 me not." 
 
 On this, the American commen- 
 tator, Mr. Rolfe, notes 
 
 '''Sand-blind. Dim of sight ; as if 
 there were sand in the eye, or perhaps 
 floating before it. It means something 
 more than purblind." 
 
 "As if there were sand in the 
 eye," an admirable description 
 of the Australian Sandy-blight. 
 
 1869. J. F. Blanche, 'The Prince's 
 Visit,' p. 20 : 
 
 "The Prince was suffring from the 
 sandy blight." 
 
 1870. E. B. Kennedy, ' Four Years in 
 Queensland,' p. 46 : 
 
 "Sandy-blight occurs generally in 
 sandy districts in the North Kennedy ; 
 it may be avoided by ordinary care, 
 and washing the eyes after a hot ride 
 through sandy country. It is a species 
 of mild ophthalmia." 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, 'A Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. 78 : 
 
 " He had pretty near lost his eye- 
 sight with the sandy blight, which 
 made him put his head forward when 
 he spoke, as if he took you for some 
 one else, or was looking for what he 
 couldn't find." 
 
 Sarcophile, and Sarcophilus, n. 
 the scientific name of the genus 
 of carnivorous marsupial animals 
 of which the Tasmanian Devil 
 (q.v.) is the only known living 
 species. (Grk. o-ap/cos, flesh, and 
 </>iA.civ, to love.) 
 
 Sardine, n. name given in 
 Australia to a fresh-water fish, 
 Chatoessus erebi, Richards., of the 
 herring tribe, occurring in West 
 and North- West Australia, and 
 in Queensland rivers, and which 
 is called in the Brisbane river the 
 Sardine. It is the Bony Bream of 
 the New South Wales rivers, and 
 the Perth Herring of Western 
 Australia. 
 
 Sarsaparilla, Australian or 
 Native, n. (r) An ornamental 
 climbing shrub, Hardenbergia 
 monophylla, Benth., N.O. Legumi- 
 nos<z. Formerly called Kennedya 
 (q.v.). (2) Smilax glycyphylla, 
 Smith, N.O. Liliacea. 
 
 1883. F. M. Bailey, ' Synopsis of 
 Queensland Flora,' p. 114: 
 
 " Native Sarsaparilla. The roots of 
 this beautiful purple-flowered twiner 
 (Hardenbergia monophylla) are used 
 by bushmen as a substitute for the 
 true sarsaparilla, which is obtained 
 from a widely different plant." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 189 : 
 
 " Commonly, but wrongly, called
 
 SAS-SAT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 403 
 
 c Native Sarsaparilla.' The roots are 
 sometimes used by bushmen as a 
 substitute for the true sarsaparilla 
 (Smilax), but its virtues are purely 
 imaginary. It is a common thing in 
 the streets of Sydney, to see persons 
 with large bundles of the leaves on 
 their shoulders, doubtless under the 
 impression that they have the leaves 
 of the true Sarsaparilla, Smilax glycy- 
 phylla." 
 
 1896. ' The Argus,' Sept. 8, p. 7, col. I : 
 " He will see, too, the purple of the 
 sarsaparilla on the hill-sides, and the 
 golden bloom of the wattle on the flats, 
 forming a beautiful contrast in tint. 
 Old diggers consider the presence of 
 sarsaparilla and the ironbark tree as 
 indicative of the existence of golden 
 wealth below. Whether these can be 
 accepted as indicators in the vegetable 
 kingdom of gold below is questionable, 
 but it is nevertheless a fact that the 
 sarsaparilla and the ironbark tree are 
 common on most of Victoria's gold- 
 fields." 
 
 Sassafras, n. corruption of 
 Saxafras, which is from Saxi- 
 frage. By origin, the word means 
 "stone-breaking"," from its medic- 
 inal qualities. The true Sassafras 
 (S. officinale) is the only species of 
 the genus. It is a North-American 
 tree, about forty feet high, but the 
 name has been given to various 
 trees in many parts of the world, 
 from the similarity, either of their 
 appearance or of the real or sup- 
 posed medicinal properties of 
 their bark. 
 
 In Australia, the name is given 
 to 
 
 Atherosperma moschatum, Labill., 
 N. O. Monimiacecc ; called 
 Native Sassafras, from the 
 odour of its bark, due to an 
 essential oil closely resemb- 
 ling true Sassafras in odour. 
 (Maiden.) 
 Beilschmiedia obtusifolia, Benth., 
 N. O, LauracetE ; called Queens- 
 land Sassafras, a large anc 
 handsome tree. 
 
 Cryptocarya glaucescens, R.Br., 
 N. O. Lauracea ; the Sassafras 
 of the early days of New 
 South Wales, and now called 
 Black Sassafras. 
 
 Daphnandra nricrantha, Benth., 
 N.O. Monimiacea; called also 
 Satinwood, and Light Yellow- 
 wood. 
 
 Doryphora sassafras, Endl., N.O. 
 Monimiacece. 
 
 Grey Sassafras is the Moreton- 
 Bay LaureL See Laurel. 
 
 The New Zealand Sassafras 
 is Lauretta novce-zelandia. 
 
 1834. Ross, 'Van Diemen's Land An- 
 nual,' p. 134 : 
 
 "The leaves of these have been 
 used as substitutes for tea in the 
 colony, as have also the leaves and 
 bark of Cryptocarya glaucescens, the 
 Australian sassafras." 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, 'My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 166 : 
 
 " The beautiful Tasmanian sassa- 
 fras-tree is also a dweller in some 
 parts of our fern-tree valleys. . . . The 
 flowers are white and fragrant, the 
 leaves large and bright green, and the 
 bark has a most aromatic scent, be- 
 sides being, in a decoction, an excel- 
 lent tonic medicine. . . . The sawyers 
 and other bushmen familiar with the 
 tree call it indiscriminately ' saucifax,' 
 ' sarserfrax,' and ' satisfaction.' " 
 
 1875. T - Laslett, ' Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 206 : 
 
 "A Tasmanian timber. Height, 40 
 ft. ; dia., 14 in. Found on low, marshy 
 ground. Used for sashes and door- 
 frames." 
 
 1894. ' Melbourne Museum Catalogue 
 Economic Woods,' No. 36 : 
 
 " Atherosperma uwschatum, Victor- 
 ian sassafras-tree, N.O. Monimiacea" 
 
 Satin-bird, ;/. another name for 
 the Satin Bower-bird. See Bmver- 
 bird. 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Trans- 
 actions of Linnrcan Society,' vol. xv. p. 
 264 : 
 
 " The natives call it Cowry, the 
 colonists Satin-Bird."
 
 404 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SAT-SCH 
 
 Satin-Robin, n. a Tasmanian 
 name for the Satin Fly-catcher, 
 Myiagra nitida, Gould. 
 
 Satin-Sparrow, n. Same as 
 Satin-Robin (q.v.). 
 
 Satinwood, n. a name applied 
 to two Australian trees from the 
 nature of their timber Xantho- 
 xylum brachyacanthum, F. v. M., 
 N.O. Rutacece, called also Thorny 
 Yellow-wood ; Daphnandra mic- 
 rantha, Benth., N.O. Monimiacece, 
 called also Light Yellow-wood and 
 Sassafras (q.v.). 
 
 Saw-fish, n. a species of Ray, 
 Pristis zysron, Bleek, the Australa- 
 sian representative of the PristidcE, 
 family, or Saw-fishes, Rays of a 
 shark-like form, with long, flat 
 snouts, armed along each edge 
 with strong teeth. 
 
 1851. ' Papers and Proceedings of the 
 Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' 
 vol. i. p. 223 Q. E. Bicheno, June 8, 1850, 
 in epist,~\ : 
 
 " Last week an old fisherman brought 
 me a, fine specimen of a Saw-fish, caught 
 in the Derwent. It turned out to be 
 the Pristis cirrhatus, a rare and 
 curious species, confined to the Aus- 
 tralian seas, and first described by Dr. 
 Latham in the year 1793." 
 
 Sawyer, n. (i) Name applied by 
 bushmen in New Zealand to the 
 insect Weta (q.v.). (2) A trunk 
 embedded in the mud so as to 
 move with the current hence 
 the name : a snag is fixed. (An 
 American use of the word.) See 
 also Snag. 
 
 1873. J. B. Stephens, 'Black Gin,' p. 
 22: 
 
 " By Fitzroy's rugged crags, 
 Its ' sawyers ' and its snags, 
 He roamed." 
 
 Sceloglaux, n. the scientific 
 name of the genus containing the 
 New Zealand bird called the 
 Laughing Owl (see under Jackass). 
 The name was given by Kaup in 
 
 1848 ; the bird had been pre- 
 viously classed as Athene by Gray 
 in 1844. It is now nearly extinct. 
 Kaup also gave the name of Spi- 
 loglaux to the New Zealand Owl 
 at the same date. The words are 
 from the Greek yA.au, an owl, 
 o-7rtA.os, a spot, and cr/ce'Aos, a leg. 
 
 Scent -wood, a Tasmanian 
 evergreen shrub, Alyxia buxifolia, 
 R.Br., N.O. Apocynea, of the 
 dogbane family. 
 
 Schnapper, n. or Snapper, a 
 fish abundant in all Australasian 
 waters, Pagrus unicolor, Cuv. and 
 Val. The latter spelling was the 
 original form of the word (one 
 that snaps). It was gradually 
 changed by the fishermen, per- 
 haps of Dutch origin, to Schnap- 
 per, the form now general. The 
 name Snapper is older than the 
 settlement of Australia, but it is 
 not used for the same fish. 
 ' O.E.D.,' s.v. Cavally, quotes : 
 
 1657. R. Ligon, ' Barbadoes,' p. 12 : 
 
 " Fish ... of various kinds . . . 
 Snappers, grey and red ; Cavallos, 
 Carpians, etc." 
 
 The young are called Cock- 
 schnapper (q.v.) ; at a year old they 
 are called Red-Bream; at two 
 years old, Squire; at three, 
 School- Schnapper ; when they cease 
 to "school" and swim solitary 
 they are called Natives and Rock- 
 Natives. Being the standard by 
 which the "catch" is measured, 
 the full-grown Schnappers are also 
 called Count-fish (q.v.). In New 
 Zealand, the Tamure (q.v.) is also 
 called Schnapper, and the name 
 Red-Schnapper is given to Anthias 
 richardsoni, Giinth., or Scorpis 
 hectori, Hutton. See quotation, 
 1882. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 68 : 
 
 " King-fish, mullet, mackarel, rock- 
 cod, whiting, snapper, bream, flat-
 
 SCH-SCR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 405 
 
 heads, and various other descriptions 
 of fishes, are all found plentifully 
 about." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in 
 Australia,' vol. i. p. 261 : 
 
 " The kangaroos are numerous and 
 large, and the finest snappers I have 
 ever heard of are caught off this point, 
 weighing sometimes as much as thirty 
 pounds." 
 
 [The point referred to is that now 
 called Schnapper Point, at Mornington, 
 in Victoria.] 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 39 : 
 
 " The genus Pagrus, or as we term 
 it in the vernacular, ' schnapper,' a 
 word of Dutch origin . . . The schnap- 
 per or snapper. The schnapper 
 (Pagnis unicolor, Cuv. and Val.) is the 
 most valuable of Australian fishes, not 
 for its superior excellence . . . but for 
 the abundant and regular supply . . . 
 At a still greater age the schnapper 
 seems to cease to school and becomes 
 what is known as the 'native' and 
 ' rock-native,' a solitary and sometimes 
 enormously large fish." 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 407, 'col. 5 : 
 
 " The fish, snapper, is so called be- 
 cause it snapped. The spelling with 
 ' ch ' is a curious after-thought, sug- 
 gestive of alcohol. The name cannot 
 come from schnapps." 
 
 School-Schnapper, n. a fish. 
 A name given to the Schnapper 
 when three years old. See 
 Schnapper. 
 
 Scorpion, n. another name for 
 the New South Wales fish Penta- 
 roge marmorata, Cuv. and Val. ; 
 called also the Fortescue (q-v.), 
 and the Cobbler. 
 
 Scotchman, n. a New Zealand 
 name for a smaller kind of the 
 grass called Spaniard (q.v.). 
 
 1895. W. S. Roberts, ' Southland in 
 1856,' p. 39: 
 
 "As we neared the hills speargrass 
 of the smaller kind, known as ' Scotch- 
 men,' abounded, and although not so 
 strong and sharp-pointed as the 
 ' Spaniard,' would not have made a 
 comfortable seat." 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' Aug. 28. p. 
 407. col. 5 : 
 
 ". . . national appellations are not 
 satisfactory. It seems uncivil to a 
 whole nation another injustice to 
 Ireland to call a bramble a wild 
 Irishman, or a pointed grass, with the 
 'edges very sharp and the point like a 
 bayonet, a Spaniard. One could not 
 but be amused to find the name Scotch- 
 man applied to a smaller kind of 
 Spaniard/' 
 
 Scribbly-Gum, n. also called 
 White-Gum, Eucalyptus hamas- 
 toma, Sm., N.O. Myrtacetz. See 
 Gum. 
 
 1883. F. M. Bailey, ' Synopsis of 
 Queensland Flora,' p. 174 : 
 
 "Scribbly or White-Gum. As regards 
 timber this is the most worthless of 
 the Queensland species. A tree, often 
 large, with a white, smooth, deciduous 
 bark, always marked by an insect in a 
 scribbly manner." 
 
 Scrub, 11. country overgrown 
 with thick bushes. Henry Kings- 
 ley's explanation (1859), that the 
 word means shrubbery, is singu- 
 larly misleading, the English 
 word conveying an idea of 
 smallness and order compared 
 with the size and confusion of 
 the Australian use. Yet he is 
 etymologically correct, for Scrobb 
 is Old English (Anglo-Saxon) 
 for shrub ; but the use had dis- 
 appeared in England. 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, 'Southern Australia/ 
 vol. i. c. i. p. 21 : 
 
 " We encamped about noon in some 
 scrub." 
 
 1838. T. L. Mitchell, ' Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. i. p. 213 : 
 
 "A number of gins and children 
 remained on the borders of the scrub, 
 half a mile off." 
 
 1844. J. A. Moore, ' Tasmanian Rhym- 
 ings ' (1860), p. 13 : 
 
 " Here Nature's gifts, with those of 
 
 man combined, 
 
 Hath [sic] from a scrub a Paradise 
 defined."
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SCR 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 p. 24: 
 
 "The colonial term scrub, of fre- 
 quent and convenient use in the 
 description of Australian scenery, is 
 applicable to dense assemblages of 
 harsh wild shrubbery, tea-tree, and 
 other of the smaller and crowded 
 timber of the country, and somewhat 
 analogous to the term jungle." 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, ' Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 Vol. ii. p. 155 [Footnote] : 
 
 " Scrub. I have used, and shall use, 
 this word so often that some explana- 
 tion is due to the English reader. I 
 can give no better definition of it than 
 by saying that it means ' shrubbery.' " 
 
 1864. J. McDouall Stuart, ' Exploration 
 in Australia,' p. 153 : 
 
 "At four miles arrived on the top, 
 through a very thick scrub of mulga." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' c. v. p. 78 : 
 
 "Woods which are open and pass- 
 able passable at any rate for men on 
 horseback are called bush. When 
 the undergrowth becomes thick and 
 matted, so as to be impregnable 
 without an axe, it is scrub." 
 
 [Impregnability is not a necessary 
 point of the definition. There is 
 "light" scrub, and "heavy" or "thick" 
 scrub.] 
 
 1883. G. \V. Rusden, ' History of Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 67 [Note] : 
 
 " Scrub was a colonial term for 
 dense undergrowth, like that of the 
 mallee-scrub." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' 
 
 P- 7: 
 
 "Where ... a belt of scrub lies 
 green, glossy, and impenetrable as 
 Indian jungle." (p. 8) : " The nearest 
 scrub, in the thickets of which the 
 Blacks could always find an impene- 
 trable stronghold." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 36 : 
 
 " A most magnificent forest of trees, 
 called in Australia a ' scrub,' to 
 distinguish it from open timbered 
 country." 
 
 1890. J. McCarthy and R. M. Praed, 
 ' Ladies' Gallery,' p. 252 : 
 
 " Why, I've been alone in the scrub 
 in the desert, I mean; you will 
 understand that better." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' 
 P- 374 : 
 
 " One more prominent feature in 
 Australian vegetation are the large 
 expanses of the so-called 'scrub' of 
 the colonists. This is ar dense covering 
 of low bushes, varying in composition 
 in different districts, and named ac- 
 cording to the predominating element." 
 
 1893. A. R. Wallace, 'Australasia,' 
 vol. i. p. 46 : 
 
 "Just as Tartary is characterised by 
 its steppes, America by its prairies, 
 and Africa by its deserts, so Australia 
 has one feature peculiar to itself, and 
 that is its ' scrubs.' . . . One of the 
 most common terms used by explorers 
 is ' Mallee ' scrub, so called from its 
 being composed of dwarf species of 
 Eucalyptus called the ' Mallee ' by the 
 Natives. . . . Still more dreaded by 
 the explorer is the ' Mulga ' scrub, con- 
 sisting chiefly of dwarf acacias." 
 
 1894. E. Favenc, ' Tales of the Austral 
 Tropics,' p. 3 : 
 
 " Even more desolate than the usual 
 dreary-looking scrub of the interior 
 of Australia." [p. 6] : " The sea of 
 scrub." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from 
 Snowy River,' p. 25 : 
 " Born and bred on the mountain- 
 side, 
 
 He could race through scrub like 
 a kangaroo." 
 
 Scrub, adj. and in composition. 
 The word scrub occurs constantly 
 in composition. See the following 
 words. 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' 
 p. 113: 
 
 " We gathered the wild raspberries, 
 and mingling them with gee-bongs, 
 and scrub-berries, set forth a dessert." 
 
 Scrub-bird, n. name given to 
 two Australian birds, of the genus 
 Atrichia. (Grk. arpi^os = without 
 hair.) They are the Noisy Scrub- 
 bird, Atrichia clamosa, Gould, and 
 the Rufous S.-b., A. rufescens, 
 Ramsay. 
 
 1869. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 ' Supplement,' pi. 26 : 
 
 "The Scrub-bird creeps mouse-like
 
 SCR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 407 
 
 over the bark, or sits on a dripping 
 stem and mocks all surrounding notes." 
 
 Scrub-cattle, n. escaped cattle 
 that run wild in the scrub, used 
 as a collective plural of Scrubber 
 (q.v.). 
 
 i860. A. L. Gordon, 'The Sick Stock- 
 rider' [in 'Bush-Ballads,' 1876], p. 8: 
 
 "'Twas merry 'mid the blackwoods, 
 
 when we spied the station roofs, 
 
 To wheel the wild scrub-cattle at 
 
 the yard, 
 With a running fire of stock-whips 
 
 and a fiery run of hoofs, 
 Oh ! the hardest day was never 
 then too hard." 
 
 Scrub-Crab, n. a Queensland 
 fruit. The large dark purple fruit, 
 two inches in diameter, of Sidero- 
 xylon australe, Benth. and Hook., 
 JV. O. Saponacece ; a tall tree. 
 
 Scrub-dangler, n. a wild bul- 
 lock. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xvi. p. 193 : 
 
 " He is one of those infernal scrub- 
 danglers from the Lachlan, come across 
 to get a feed." 
 
 Scrub-fowl, n. name applied 
 to birds of the genus Megapodius. 
 
 See Megapode. 
 
 Scrub-Gum, . See Gum. 
 Scrub-hen, i.q. Scrub-fowl. 
 
 Scrub-Ironwood, n. See Iron- 
 wood. 
 
 Scrub-Myrtle, n. See Myrtle. 
 Scrub-Oak, n. See Oak. 
 Scrub-Pine, n. See Pine. 
 
 Scrub-Poison-tree, n. See 
 
 Poison-tree. 
 
 Scrub-rider, n. a man who 
 rides through the scrub in search 
 of Scrub-cattle (q.v.). 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant,' Bush Life in Queens- 
 land,' vol. i. p. 278 : 
 
 " A favourite plan among the bold 
 scrub-riders." 
 
 Scrub-Robin, n. the modern 
 
 name for any bird of the genus 
 Drymodes. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia, 'vol. 
 iii. pi. 10 : 
 
 " Drymodes Brunneopygia, Gould, 
 Scrub-Robin. I discovered this singu- 
 lar bird in the great Murray Scrub in 
 South [sc. Southern] Australia, where 
 it was tolerably abundant. I have 
 never seen it from any other part of the 
 country, and it is doubtless confined to 
 such portions of Australia as are 
 clothed with a similar character of 
 vegetation.'' 
 
 1895. W. O. Legge, 'Australasian As- 
 sociation for the Advancement of Science ' 
 (Brisbane), p. 447 : 
 
 "As regards portions of Gould's 
 English nomenclatures, such as his 
 general term ' Robin ' for the genera 
 Petroica, Pcecilodryas, Eopsaltria, it 
 was found that by retaining the term 
 ' Robin ' for the best known member 
 of the group (Petroica), and applying a 
 qualifying noun to the allied genera, 
 such titles as Tree-robin, Scrub-robin, 
 and Shrike-robin were easily evolved." 
 
 Scrub-Sandalwood, n. See 
 Sandalwood. 
 
 Scrub-Tit, . See Tit. 
 
 Scrub-tree, n. any tree that 
 grows in the scrub. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 219 : 
 
 "Almost all the Scrub-trees of the 
 Condamine and Kent's Lagoon were 
 still to be seen at the Burdekin." 
 
 Scrub-Turkey, n. an Australian 
 bird, Leipoa ocellata, Gould ; ab- 
 original name, the Lowan (q.v.). 
 See Turkey. 
 
 Scrub-Vine, n. called also 
 Native Rose. See Bauera (q.v.). 
 
 Scrub-Wren, n. any little bird 
 of the Australian genus Sericornis. 
 The species are 
 Brown Scrub-Wren 
 
 Sericornis humilis, Gould. 
 Buff-breasted S.-W. 
 
 S. Ucvigaster, Gould. 
 Collared S.-W 
 
 S. gutturalis, Gould,
 
 408 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SCR-SCY 
 
 Large-billed Scrub-Wren 
 
 Sericornis magnirostris, Gould. 
 Little S.-W. 
 
 S. minimus, Gould. 
 Spotted S.-W. 
 
 S. maculatus, Gould. 
 Spotted-throated S.-W. 
 
 S. osculans, -Gould. 
 White-browed S.-W. 
 
 S.frontalis, Vig. & Hors. 
 Yellow-throated S.-W. 
 
 S. citreogularis, Gould. 
 
 Scrubber, n. (i) a bullock that 
 has taken to the scrub and so be- 
 come wild. See Scrub-cattle. Also 
 formerly used for a wild horse, 
 now called a Brumby j(q.v.). 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, ' Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 c. xxix : 
 
 "The captain was getting in the 
 scrubbers, cattle which had been left 
 to run wild through in the mountains." 
 
 1874. w - H - L - Ranken, ' Dominion of 
 Australia,' c. vi. p. no: 
 
 " There are few field-sports anywhere 
 . . . equal to ' hunting scrubbers.' " 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant,' Bush Life in Queens- 
 land,' vol. i. p. 93 : 
 
 " Out flew the ancient scrubber, in- 
 stinctively making towards his own 
 wild domain." 
 
 1887. W. S. S. Tyrwhitt, 'The New 
 Chum in the Queensland Bush,' p. 151 : 
 
 " There are also wild cattle, which 
 are either cattle run wild or descend- 
 ants of such. They are commonly 
 called ' scrubbers,' because they live in 
 the larger scrubs." 
 
 1888. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Robbery under 
 Arms,' p. 405 : 
 
 " Here I am boxed up, like a scrub- 
 ber in a pound, year after year." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' April 29, p. 4, col. 
 4 (' Getting in the Scrubbers') : 
 
 "The scrubbers, unseen of men, 
 would stay in their fastnesses all day 
 chewing the cud they had laid up the 
 night before, and when the sun went 
 down and the strident laugh of the 
 giant kingfisher had given place to the 
 insidious air-piercing note of the large- 
 mouthed podargus, the scrub would 
 give up its inhabitants." 
 
 (2) A starved-looking or ill- 
 bred animal. 
 
 (3) The word is sometimes ap- 
 plied to mankind in the slang 
 sense of an " outsider." It is 
 used in University circles as 
 equivalent to the Oxford " smug," 
 a man who will not join in the 
 life of the place. See also Bush- 
 scrubber. 
 
 1868. 'Colonial Monthly,' vol. ii. p. 
 141 [art. ' Peggy's Christening'] : 
 
 " ' I can answer for it, that they are 
 scrubbers to use a bush phrase 
 have never been brought within the 
 pale of any church.' 
 
 " ' Never been christened ? ' asked 
 the priest. 
 
 " ' Have no notion of it scrubbers, 
 sir never been branded.' " 
 
 Scrubby, adj. belonging to, or 
 resembling scrub. 
 
 1802. Jas. Flemming, 'Journal of the 
 Exploration of C. Grimes ' [at Port Phillip, 
 Australia], ed. by J. J. Shillinglaw, 1879, 
 Melbourne, p. 17 : 
 
 "The land appeared barren, a 
 scrubby brush." [p. 22] : " The trees 
 low and scrubby." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 19 : 
 
 "To-day I ... passed a scrubby 
 ironbark forest." 
 
 1849. J. P. Townsend, 'Rambles in 
 New South Wales,' p. 216 : 
 
 " A scrubby country is a stockman's 
 abhorrence, as there he cannot ride, at 
 least at any pace." 
 
 1868. J. A. B., 'Meta,' c. i. p. 9 : 
 "'Twere madness to attempt to chase, 
 
 In such a wild and scrubby place, 
 
 Australia's savage steer." 
 
 Scrubdom, n. the land of scrub. 
 1889. C. A. Sherard, ' Daughter of 
 South,' p. 29: 
 
 " My forefathers reigned in this scrub- 
 dom of old." 
 
 Scythrops, n. scientific name 
 for a genus of birds belonging to 
 the Cuculidce, or Cuckoos (from 
 Grk. a-KvQpuirog = angry-looking). 
 The only species known is 
 peculiar to Australia, where it is
 
 SEA-SET] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 409 
 
 called the Channel-Bill, a name 
 given by Latham ('General His- 
 tory of Birds,' vol. ii.). White 
 (1790) calls it the Anomalous Horn- 
 bill (' Journal 1790,' pi. at p. 
 142). 
 
 Sea-Berry, n. See Red-berry. 
 
 Sea-Dragon, n. any Australian 
 fish of any one of the three species 
 of the genus Phyllopteryx, family 
 Syngnathida. The name of the 
 genus comes from the Greek 
 <vAAov = a leaf, and 7rrepv = a 
 wing. This genus is said by 
 Giinther to be exclusively Aus- 
 tralian. ' ' Protective resemblance 
 attains its highest degree of de- 
 velopment," he says, in this 
 genus. " Not only their colour 
 closely assimilates that of the 
 particular kind of sea-weed which 
 they frequent, but the append- 
 ages of their spines seem to be 
 merely part of the fucus to which 
 they are attached. They attain a 
 length of twelve inches." ('Study 
 of Fishes,' p. 683.) The name, in 
 England, is given to other and 
 different fishes. The species P. 
 foliatus is called the Superb Dragon 
 (q.v.), from the beauty of its 
 colours. 
 
 Sea-Perch, n. a name applied 
 to different fishes in Sydney, to 
 the Morwong (q.v.) and BulVs-eye 
 (q.v.) ; in New Zealand, to Se- 
 bastes percoides, called Pohuiakawa 
 (q.v.); in Melbourne, to Red- 
 Gurnard (q.v.). See Red Gurnet- 
 Perch. 
 
 Sea-Pig, n. a small whale, the 
 Dugong. See under Dugong-oil. 
 
 1853. S. Sidney, 'Three Colonies of 
 Australia,' p. 267 : 
 
 " The aborigines eagerly pursue the 
 dugong, a species of small whale, 
 generally known to the colonists as 
 the sea-pig." 
 
 Sea-Pike, n. a fish of New 
 
 South Wales, Lanioperca mordax, 
 Giinth., of the family Sphyrcentdce. 
 The name belongs to the Sydney 
 fish-market. 
 
 Select, v. i.q. Free-select (q.v.). 
 
 Selection, n. i.q. Free-selection 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Selector, n. i.q. Free-selector 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Sergeant Baker, n. name given 
 to a fish of New South Wales, 
 Aulopus purpurissatus, Richards., 
 family Scopelidce. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 82 : 
 
 " The Sergeant Baker in all proba- 
 bility got its local appellation in the 
 early history of the colony (New South 
 Wales), as it was called after a sergeant 
 of that name in one of the first detach- 
 ments of a regiment ; so were also two 
 fruits of the Geebong tribe (Persoonia) ; 
 one was called Major Buller, and the 
 other Major Groce, and this latter 
 again further corrupted into Major 
 Grocer." 
 
 Settler's Clock (also Hawkes- 
 bury Clock), n. another name for 
 the bird called the Laughing-Jack- 
 ass. See Jackass. 
 
 1896. F. G. Aflalo, ' Natural History of 
 Australia,' p. 114 : 
 
 " From its habit of starting its dis- 
 cordant paean somewhere near sunrise 
 and, after keeping comparatively quiet 
 all through the hotter hours, cackling- 
 a 'requiem to the day's decline,' the 
 bird has been called the Settler's clock. 
 It may be remarked, however, that 
 this by no means takes place with the 
 methodical precision that romancers 
 write of in their letters home." 
 
 Settlers' Matches, n. name 
 occasionally applied to the long 
 pendulous strips of bark which 
 hang from the Eucalypts and 
 other trees, during decortication, 
 and which, becoming exceedingly 
 dry, are readily ignited and used 
 as kindling wood.
 
 4io 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SET-SHA 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World 
 was Wide,' p. 84 : 
 " In the silence of the darkness and 
 
 the playing of the breeze, 
 That we heard the settlers' matches 
 rustle softly in the trees." 
 
 1896. ' The Australasian,' June 13, p. 
 1133, col. I : 
 
 "Re settlers' matches, torches, the 
 blacks in the South-east of South 
 Australia always used the bark of the 
 sheoak to carry from one camp to 
 another ; it would last and keep alight 
 for a long time and show a good light 
 to travel by when they had no fire. A 
 fire could always be lighted with two 
 grass trees, a small fork, and a bit of 
 dry grass. I have often started a fire 
 with them myself." 
 
 Settler's Twine, n. a fibre 
 plant, Gymnostachys ancefis, R.Br., 
 JV.O. Aroidea ; called also Travel- 
 lers' Grass. Much used by farmers 
 as cord or string where strength 
 is required. 
 
 Shag, n. common English bird- 
 name for a Cormorant (q.v.). 
 Gould, fifty years ago, enumer- 
 ates the following as Australian 
 species, in his ' Birds of Australia ' 
 (vol. vii.) 
 
 Plate 
 
 Phalacrocorax Carboides, Gould, 
 Australian Cormorant, Black 
 Shag, Colonists of W. A 66 
 
 P. Hypoleucus, Pied C., Black and 
 White Shag, Colonists of W. A. 68 
 
 P. Melanoleucus, Vieill., Pied C., 
 Little Shag, Colonists of W.A. 70 
 
 P. Punctatus, Spotted C., Crested 
 Shag (Cook), Spotted Shag 
 (Latham) 71 
 
 P. Leucogastcr, Gould, White- 
 breasted C 69 
 
 P. Stictoccphalus, Bp., Little Black 
 C 67 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 185 : 
 
 "Shags started from dead trees 
 lying half immersed." 
 
 Shagroon,. When the province 
 of Canterbury, in New Zealand, 
 was first settled, the men who 
 -came from England were called 
 
 Pilgrims, all others Shagroons, 
 probably a modification of the 
 Irish word Shaughraun. 
 
 1877. W. Pratt, ' Colonial Experiences 
 of Incidents of Thirty-four Years in New 
 Zealand,' p. 234 : 
 
 " In the ' Dream of a Shagroon,' 
 which bore the date Ko Matinau, April 
 1851, and which first appeared in the 
 ' Wellington Spectator' of May 7, the 
 term ' Pilgrim ' was first applied to the 
 settlers; it was also predicted in it 
 that the 'Pilgrims' would be 'smashed' 
 and the Shagroons left in undisputed 
 possession of the country for their 
 flocks and herds." 
 
 Shake, v. tr. to steal. Very 
 common Australian slang, espe- 
 cially amongst school-boys and 
 bushmen. It was originally 
 Thieves' English. 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, 'Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. ii. p. 9 : 
 
 " The tent of a surgeon was ' shook,' 
 as they style it that is, robbed, during 
 his absence in the daytime." 
 
 1878. ' The Australian,' vol. i. p. 418 : 
 " Crimean shirts, blankets, and all 
 
 they ' shake,' 
 
 Which I'm told 's another name 
 for 'take.'" 
 
 Shamrock, Australian, n. a 
 perennial, fragrant, clover-like 
 plant, Trigonella suavissima, Lindl. , 
 N. O. LeguminoscR ; excellent as 
 forage. Called also Menindie 
 Clover (aboriginal name, Calomba). 
 See Clover. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 143 : 
 
 " It is the 'Australian shamrock' of 
 Mitchell." 
 
 Shamrock, Native, n. a forage 
 plant, Lotus australis, Andr., N. O. 
 Leguminosce. Called Native Sham- 
 rock in Tasmania. 
 
 Shanghai, n. a catapult. Some 
 say because used against China- 
 men. The reason seems in- 
 adequate. 
 
 1863. 'The Leader,' Oct. 24, p. 17, 
 col. i:
 
 SHA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 411 
 
 " Turn, turn thy shanghay dread 
 
 aside, 
 Nor touch that little bird." 
 
 1875. 'Spectator' (Melbourne), May 15, 
 p. 22, col. i: 
 
 " The lads had with them a couple 
 of pistols, powder; "shot, bullets, and a 
 shanghai." 
 
 1875. Ibid. July 17, p. 123, col. 3 : 
 
 "The shanghai, which, as a secret 
 instrument of mischief, is only "less 
 dangerous than the air-gun." 
 
 1884. 'Police Offences Act, New Zealand,' 
 sec. 4, subsec. 23 : 
 
 " Rolls any cask, beats any carpet, 
 flies any kite, uses any bows and 
 arrows, or catapult, or shanghai, or 
 plays at any game to the annoyance 
 of any person in any public place." 
 
 1893. 'The Age,' Sept. 15, p. 6, col. 7 : 
 
 "The magistrate who presided on 
 the Carlton bench yesterday, has a 
 decided objection to the use of 
 shanghais, and in dealing with three 
 little boys, the eldest of whom was but 
 eleven or twelve years of age, charged 
 with the use of these weapons in the 
 Prince's Park, denounced their conduct 
 in very strong terms. He said that 
 he looked upon this crime as one of 
 the worst that a lad could be guilty of, 
 and if he had his own way in the 
 matter he would order each of them to 
 be lashed." 
 
 1895. C. French, Letter to ' Argus,' 
 Nov. 29 : 
 
 "Wood swallows are somewhat 
 sluggish and slow in their flight, and 
 thus fall an easy prey to either the 
 gun or the murderous and detestable 
 'shanghai.'" 
 
 Shanghai-shot, n. a short dis- 
 tance, a stone's-throw. 
 
 1874. Garnet Walch, ' Head over Heels ' 
 [Introduction to Tottlepot Poems]: 
 
 " His parents . . . residing little more 
 than a Shanghai-shot from Romeo 
 Lane, Melbourne." 
 
 Shanty, n. (i) a hastily erected 
 wooden house ; (2) a public-house, 
 especially unlicensed : a sly-grog 
 shop. The word is by origin 
 Keltic (Irish). In the first sense, 
 its use is Canadian or American ; 
 
 in the last, Australian. In Barrere 
 and Leland it is said that circus 
 and showmen always call a public- 
 house a shanty. 
 
 1875. ' Spectator ' (Melbourne), June 26, 
 p. 91, col. I: 
 
 " These buildings, little better than 
 shanties, are found in ... numbers." 
 
 1880. Garnet Walch, ' Victoria in 1880,' 
 p. 9: 
 
 "We read of the veriest shanties 
 letting for 2 per week." 
 
 1880. W. Senior, 'Travel and Trout, 
 p. 15: 
 
 " He becomes a land-owner, and 
 puts up a slab-shanty." 
 
 1880. G. N. Oakley, in ' Victoria in 
 1880,' p. 114 : 
 
 " The left-hand track, past shanties 
 
 soaked in grog, 
 Leads to the gaol." 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, ' Old Colonials,' p. 
 103: 
 
 "The faint glimmering light which 
 indicates the proximity of the grog 
 shanty is hailed with delight." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 221: 
 
 " I have seen a sober man driven 
 perfectly mad for the time being, by 
 two glasses of so-called rum, supplied 
 to him at one of these shanties." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. vi. p. 64 : 
 
 "Any attempt to limit the licensing 
 produced ... a crop of shanties, or 
 sly-grog shops." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' Aug. 9, p. 4, col. 2 : 
 
 " The old woman thought that we 
 were on gold, and would lamb down 
 at the finish in her shanty." 
 
 Shanty-Keeper, n. keeper of a 
 sly-grog shop. 
 
 1875. Wood and Lapham, ' Waiting for 
 Mail,' p. 45 : 
 
 " Mrs. Smith was a shanty-keeper's 
 wife." 
 
 1887. J. Farrell, ' How he died,' p. 72 : 
 
 " The shanty-keeper saw the enter- 
 ing strangers." 
 
 Shantywards, adv. 
 1890. 'The Argus,' Aug. 2, p. 13, col. 4: 
 " Looking . . . over the fence shanty- 
 wards."
 
 412 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SHA-SHE 
 
 Shark, n. Some of the Austral- 
 asian species are identical with 
 those of Europe. Varieties and 
 names which differ are 
 
 Blue Shark (New South Wales) 
 Carcharias macloti, Mull, and 
 
 Heule. 
 
 Hammer S. (N. S. W.) 
 Zyg&na malleus, Shaw. 
 One-finned S. (N. S. W.) 
 
 Notidanus indicus, Cuv. 
 Port Jackson S. (q.v.) 
 
 Heterodontus phillipii, Lace"p. ; 
 called also the Shell-grinder. 
 Saw-fish S. 
 
 Pristiophorus cirratus, Lath. 
 School S. (N. S. W.) 
 
 Galeus australis, Macl. ; called 
 
 also Tope (q.v.). 
 Shovel-nosed S. (N. S. W.) 
 Rhinobatiis granulatus, Cuv. ; 
 also called the Blind-Shark, 
 or Sand-Shark. 
 Tiger S. (N. S. W.) 
 
 Galeocerdo rayneri, Macdon. and 
 
 Barr. 
 White S. 
 
 Carcharodon rondeletii, Mull, and 
 Heule; called also the White- 
 Pointer. 
 
 The Sharks of New Zealand 
 are 
 
 Black Shark 
 
 Carcharodon melanopterus (Maori 
 
 name Keremai). 
 Brown S. 
 
 Scymnus lichia. 
 Great S. 
 
 Carcharias maso. 
 Hammer-head S. 
 
 Zygana malleus (Maori name, 
 
 Mangopare). 
 Port-eagle S. 
 
 Lamna cormitica 
 Spinous S. 
 
 Echinorhinus spinosus. 
 Tiger S. 
 
 Scymnus sp. (Maori name, Mako). 
 
 See also Blue-Pointer, Whaler, 
 and Wobbegong. 
 
 Shearer's Joy, n. a name given 
 to colonial beer. 
 
 1892. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the Com- 
 pass in Australia,' p. 22 : 
 
 "It was the habit afterwards among 
 the seven to say that the officers of 
 the Eliza Jane had been indulging in 
 shearer's joy." 
 
 She-Beech, n. See Beech, 
 
 Shed, n. The word generally 
 signifies the Woolshed (q.v.). A 
 large, substantial, and often ex- 
 pensive building. 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World 
 was Wide,' p. 143 : 
 
 " There's 20 hungry beggars wild for 
 any job this year, 
 
 An' 50 might be at the shed while I 
 am lyin' here." 
 
 1896. 'Melbourne Argus,' April 30, p. 
 2, col. 5 : 
 
 " There is a substantial and com- 
 fortable homestead, and ample shed 
 accommodation." 
 
 Sheep-pest, n. a common Aus- 
 tralian weed, Acana ovina, Cunn., 
 N. O. Rosacece, found in all the 
 colonies ; so called because its 
 fruit adheres by hooked spines to 
 the wool of sheep. 
 
 Sheep-run, n. See Run. 
 
 Sheep-sick, n. Used of pastures 
 exhausted for carrying sheep. 
 Compare English screw-sick, 
 paint-sick, nail-sick, wheat-sick, 
 etc. 
 
 1895. ' Leader,' August 3, p. 6, col. i : 
 " It is the opinion of many practical 
 men that certain country in which 
 severe losses have occurred in recent 
 years has been too long carrying 
 sheep, and that the land has become 
 what is termed ' sheep sick,' and from 
 this point of view it certainly appears 
 that a course of better management is 
 most desirable." 
 
 Sheep-wash (used as verb), to 
 wash sheep. The word is also 
 used as a noun, in its ordinary
 
 SHE] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 413 
 
 English senses of (i) a lotion for 
 washing- sheep ; (2) the washing 
 of sheep preparatory to shearing: 
 (3) the place where the sheep are 
 washed, also called the ' sheep- 
 dip.' 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. 184 : 
 
 " He can't dig or sheep-wash or 
 plough there." 
 
 Sheldrake, or Shieldrake, n. 
 the common English name of 
 ducks of the genera Tadorna and 
 Casarca. The Australian species 
 are Casarca tadornoides Jard., 
 commonly called the Mountain 
 Duck ; and the White-headed S., 
 Tadorna radjah, Garnot. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 217 : 
 
 "Charley shot the sheldrake of 
 Port Essington (Tadorna Rajah}." 
 
 Shell-grinder, n. another name 
 for the Port-Jackson Shark (q.v.). 
 
 She-Oak, n. (i) A tree of the 
 genus Casuarina (q.v.). The tim- 
 ber, which is very hard and makes 
 good fuel, was thought to re- 
 semble oak. See Oak, and quot- 
 ation from Captain Cook. The 
 prefix she is used in Australia to 
 indicate an inferiority of timber 
 in respect of texture, colour, or 
 other character ; e. g. She-beech, 
 She-pine. The reason for He-oak 
 is given in quotation 1835. Bull- 
 oak, Marsh-oak, Swamp-oak, were 
 invented to represent variations 
 of the Casuarina. Except in its 
 timber, the She-oak is not in the 
 least like an oak-tree (Quercus). 
 The spelling in quotation 1792 
 makes for this simple explanation, 
 which, like that of Beef-eater in 
 English, and Mopoke in Austral- 
 English, was too simple; and other 
 spellings, e.g. Shea-oak, were intro- 
 duced, to suggest a different ety- 
 mology. Shiak (quotation, 1853) 
 seems to claim an aboriginal 
 
 origin (more directly claimed, 
 quotation, 1895), but no such 
 aboriginal word is found in the 
 vocabularies. In quotations 1835, 
 1859, a different origin is as- 
 signed, and a private correspond- 
 ent, whose father was one of 
 the first to be born of English 
 parents in New South Wales, 
 says that English officers who 
 had served in Canada had named 
 the tree after one that they 
 had known there. A higher 
 authority, Sir Joseph D. Hooker 
 (see quotation, 1860), says, " I 
 believe adapted from the North- 
 American Sheack." This origin, 
 if true, is very interesting ; 
 but Sir Joseph Hooker, in a 
 letter dated Jan. 26, 1897, writes 
 that his authority was Mr. Gunn 
 (see quotation, 1835). That writer, 
 however, it will be seen, only 
 puts "is said to be." To prove 
 the American origin, we must 
 find the American tree. It is 
 not in the 'Century,' nor in the 
 large ' Webster,' nor in ' Funk 
 and Wagnall's Standard,' nor 
 in either of two dictionaries 
 of Americanisms. Dr. Dawson, 
 director of the Geological Survey 
 of Canada, who is thoroughly 
 acquainted with Indian folk-lore 
 and languages, and Mr. Fowler, 
 Professor of Botany in Queen's 
 University, Kingston, say that 
 there is no such Indian word. 
 
 1792. G. Thompson, in ' Historical 
 Records of New South Wales,' vol. ii. 
 (1893), p. 799: 
 
 "There are two kinds of oak, called 
 the he and the she oak, but not to be 
 compared with English oak, and a 
 kind of pine and mahogany, so heavy 
 that scarce either of them will swim." 
 
 1802. D. Collins, 'Account of New 
 South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 166 (Bass' diary 
 at Port Dalrymple, Tasmania, Nov. 1798) : 
 
 " The She oaks were more inclined 
 to spread than grow tall."
 
 414 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SHE 
 
 1834. Ross, ' Van Diemen's Land An- 
 nual,' p. 134: 
 
 " Casuarina torulosa, the she-oak. 
 The young fruit and young shoots 
 afford an agreeable acid by chewing, 
 which allays thirst." 
 
 1835. Ross, ' Hobart-town Almanack,' 
 p. 75 [Article said by Sir Joseph Hooker 
 (Jan. 26, 1897) to be by Mr. Ronald 
 Gunn] : 
 
 " Casuarina torulosa ? She-oak. C. 
 stricta? He-oak. C. tenuissima? 
 Marsh-oak. The name of the first of 
 these is said to be a corruption of 
 Sheac, the name of an American tree, 
 producing the beef wood, like our She- 
 oak. The second species has obtained 
 the name of He-oak in contradistinc- 
 tion of She-oak, as if they constituted 
 one dioecious plant, the one male and 
 the other female, whereas they are 
 perfectly distinct species." 
 
 1842. 'Western Australia,' p. 80 : 
 " The Shea-oak (a corruption of 
 sheak, the native name for this, or a 
 similar tree, in Van Diemen's Land) 
 is used chiefly for shingles." 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 91 : 
 " Then to cut down the timber, 
 gum, box, she-oak, and wattle-trees, 
 was an Herculean task." 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, ' Phillipsland,' p. 95 : 
 "They are generally a variety of 
 Casuarina, commonly called she-oak 
 by the colonists, and the sighing of 
 the wind among the sail-needle-like 
 leaves, that constitute their vegetation, 
 produces a melancholy sound." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (edition 1855), p. 219: 
 
 " Most of the trees of this colony 
 owe their names to the sawyers who 
 first tested their qualities ; and who 
 were guided by the colour and char- 
 acter of the wood, knowing and caring 
 nothing about botanical relations. Thus 
 the swamp-oak and she-oak have rather 
 the exterior of the larch than any quer- 
 cine aspect." 
 
 1853. S. Sidney, ' Three Colonies of 
 Australia,' p. 277 : 
 
 " A dull scene, sprinkled with fune- 
 real shiak or 'she-oak trees.'" 
 
 Ibid. p. 367 : 
 
 "Groves of shea-oaks, eucalyptus 
 and mimosa." 
 
 1857. \V. Howitt, ' Tallangetta,' vol. i. 
 p. 24 :' 
 
 " Trees of a peculiar character the 
 Casuarinas or Shiacks part of which, 
 with their more rigid and outstretched 
 branches, resemble pine-trees, and 
 others, with theirs drooping grace- 
 fully, resembling large trees of bloom." 
 
 1859. D. Bunce, ' Australasiatic Remin- 
 iscences,' p. 33 : 
 
 " The trees forming the most inter- 
 esting groups were the Casuarina 
 torulosa, she-oak, and C. stricta, he- 
 oak. . . . The name of the first is 
 said to have been derived from 
 ' sheeac,' the name of an American 
 tree producing the beef-wood like our 
 she-oak. C. stricta, or he-oak, has 
 been named in contradistinction to 
 the sexes, as if they constituted one 
 dioecious plant, whereas they are two 
 perfectly distinct species." 
 
 1860. J. D. Hooker, 'Botany of the 
 Antarctic Voyage,' part iii. [Flora Tas- 
 mania e], p. 348 : 
 
 " Casuarina suberosa. This is an 
 erect species, growing 1 5 feet high. . . 
 It is well known as the ' He-oak,' in con- 
 tradistinction to the C. quadrivalvis, 
 or ' She-oak,' a name, I believe, adapted 
 from the North American ' Sheack ' : 
 though more nearly allied botanically 
 to the Northern Oaks than any Tas- 
 manian genus except Fagus, they have 
 nothing to do with that genus in habit 
 or appearance, nor with the Canadian 
 ' Sheack.' " 
 
 1864. J. McDouall Stuart, 'Explorations 
 in Australia,' p. 150 : 
 
 " Within the last mile or two we 
 have passed a few patches of Shea- 
 oak, growing large, having a very 
 rough and thick bark, nearly black. 
 They have a dismal appearance." 
 
 1868. J. Bonwick, 'John Batman, 
 Founder of.Victona,' p. 103 : 
 
 " Even Batman's hill, the memorial 
 of his ancient encampment, has been 
 levelled ; and the she-oaks upon that 
 grassy mound no longer sigh in the 
 breeze a dirge for the hero of explora- 
 tion." 
 
 1869. 'The Argus,' May 25, p. 5, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 " The she-oak trees, of which there 
 are large quantities in the sandy soil 
 of the salt-bush country, proved very
 
 SHE-SHI] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 415 
 
 serviceable during the late drought. 
 Some of the settlers caused thousands 
 of she-oaks to be stripped of their 
 boughs, and it was a sight to see some 
 of the famishing cattle rushing after 
 the men who were employed in thus 
 supplying the poor animals with the 
 means of sustaining life. The cattle 
 ate the boughs and the bark with the 
 greatest avidity, and the bushman's 
 axe as it felled the she-oak was music 
 to their ears." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance 
 Australia,' p. 258 : 
 
 " She-oaks are scraggy-looking poles 
 of trees, rather like fir-trees." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, ' Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 203 : 
 
 " The rough bark of the she-oak and 
 its soft sappy wood . . ." 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' June 14, p. 4, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 " I came to a little clump of she- 
 oaks, moaning like living things." 
 
 1895. ' Notes and Queries,' Aug. 3, p. 
 87: 
 
 "The process followed by the Aus- 
 tralian colonists when they converted 
 a native word for the casuarina trees 
 into 'she-oak.'" 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, ' When the World 
 was Wide,' p. 204 : 
 
 " The creek went down with a broken 
 
 song, 
 
 'Neath the she-oaks high ; 
 The waters carried the song along, 
 And the oaks a sigh." 
 
 (2) Slang" name for colonial 
 beer. 
 
 1888. Cassell's ' Picturesque Austral- 
 asia,' vol. iii. p. 83 : 
 
 " Their drivers had completed their 
 regulation half-score of ' long-sleevers ' 
 of ' she-oak.' " 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Miner's 
 Right,' c. vi. p. 59 : 
 
 "Then have a glass of beer it's 
 only she-oak, but there's nothing 
 wrong about it." 
 
 She-Oak nets, nets placed on 
 each side of a gangway from a 
 ship to the pier, to prevent sailors 
 who have been indulging in she- 
 oak (beer) falling into the water. 
 
 Shepherd, v. (i) to guard a 
 mining claim and do a little work 
 on it, so as to preserve legal 
 rights. 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 135 : 
 
 " Few of their claims however are 
 actually 'bottomed,' for the owners 
 merely watch their more active con- 
 temporaries." (Footnote): "This is 
 termed ' shepherding ' a claim. 1 ' 
 
 1890. ' Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 1 1 : 
 
 "All the ground ... is held in 
 blocks which are being merely shep- 
 herded." 
 
 (2) By transference from (i). 
 To follow or hang about a person 
 in the hopes of getting something 
 out of him. Compare similar use 
 of shadow. 
 
 1896. Modern : 
 
 " The robbers knowing he had so 
 much coin about him, determined to 
 shepherd him till an opportunity oc- 
 curred of robbery with impunity." 
 
 Shepherd, n, a miner who 
 holds a claim but does not work 
 it. 
 
 188-. ' Argus ' (date lost) : 
 
 "The term 'jumper,' being one of 
 reproach, brought quite a yell from the 
 supporters of the motion. Dr. Quick 
 retorted with a declaration that the 
 Grand Junction Company were all 
 ' shepherds,' and that ' shepherds ' are 
 the worse of the two classes. The 
 'jumpers' sat in one gallery and 
 certain representatives or deputy 
 ' shepherds ' in the other. Names 
 are deceitful. . . . The Maldon jumpers 
 were headed by quite a venerable 
 gentleman, whom no one could sus- 
 pect of violent exercise nor of regret- 
 table designs upon the properties of 
 his neighbours. And the shepherds 
 in the other gallery, instead of being 
 light-hearted beings with pipes and 
 crooks d la Watteau and Pope 
 looked unutterable things at the indi- 
 viduals who had cast sheep's eyes on 
 their holding." 
 
 Shicer, ;/. (i) An unproductive 
 claim or mine : a duffer. From 
 the German seheissen.
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SHI-SHO 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 135 .- 
 
 " A claim without gold is termed a 
 1 shicer."' 
 
 1861. Mrs. Meredith, ' Over the Straits,' 
 c. ix. p. 256 : 
 
 " It's a long sight better nor bottom- 
 ing a shicer." 
 
 1863. ' Victorian Hansard,' May 10, 
 vol. ix. p. 571 : 
 
 " Mr. Howard asked whether the 
 member for Collingwood knew the 
 meaning of the word 'shicer.' Mr. 
 Don replied in the affirmative. He 
 was not an exquisite, like the hon. 
 member (laughter), and he had worked 
 on the goldfields, and he had always 
 understood a shicer to be a hole with 
 no gold." 
 
 1870. S. Lemaitre, 'Songs of Goldfields,' 
 P- IS-' 
 
 "Remember when you first came 
 
 up 
 Like shicers, innocent of gold." 
 
 1894. ' The Argus,' March 10, p. 4, 
 col. 7: 
 
 " There are plenty of creeks in this 
 country that have only so far been 
 scratched a hole sunk here and there 
 and abandoned. No luck, no per- 
 severance ; and so the place has been 
 set down as a duffer, or, as the old 
 diggers' more expressive term had it, 
 a ' shicerr " 
 
 (2) Slang. By transference 
 from (i). A man who does not 
 pay his debts of honour. 
 
 1896. Modern: 
 
 " Don't take his bet, he's a i-egular 
 shicer." 
 
 Shingle-splitting, vb. n. obsolete 
 Tasmanian slang. 
 
 1830. ' Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 
 89: 
 
 "When a man gets behindhand 
 with his creditors in Hobart Town, and 
 rusticates in the country in order to 
 avoid the unseasonable calls of the 
 Sheriff's little gentleman, that delights 
 to stand at a corner where four streets 
 meet, so as the better to watch the 
 motions of his prey, he is said to be 
 shingle-splitting." 
 
 Shirallee, n. slang term for a 
 swag or bundle of blankets. 
 
 Shout, v. to stand treat, (i) Of 
 drink. (2) By transference, of 
 other things. The successful 
 digger used to call passers-by to 
 drink at his expense. The 
 origin may also be from noisy 
 bar-rooms, or crowded bar- 
 parlours, where the man who 
 was to pay for the liquor or re- 
 freshment called or shouted for 
 the waiter or barman. When 
 many men drink together the 
 waiter of course looks for pay- 
 ment from the man who first 
 calls or shouts out for him to give 
 him the order. Or is " pay the 
 shout" a variant of "pay the 
 shot," or tavern reckoning? In 
 its first sense the word has 
 reached the United States, and is 
 freely employed there. 
 
 1859. H - Kingsley, ' Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 P- 335 : 
 
 " And so I shouted for him and he 
 shouted for me." 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 80 : 
 
 " Gentlemen required a great deal 
 of attendance, did not 'shout' (the 
 slang term for ordering grog) every 
 quarter of an hour, and therefore 
 spent comparatively nothing." 
 
 1867. A. L. Gordon, ' Sea-Spray ' (Cre- 
 dat Judseus), p. 139: 
 
 "You may shout some cheroots, if 
 
 you like ; no champagne 
 For this child." 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, ' Old Colonials,' p. 
 268: 
 
 "This 'shouting,' as 'treating' is 
 termed in the colonies, is the curse 
 of the Northern goldfields,. If you 
 buy a horse you must shout, the 
 vendor must shout, and the bystanders 
 who have been shouted to [more 
 usual, for] must shout in their turn." 
 
 1885. D. Sladen, 'In Cornwall, etc.,' p. 
 156 [Title, ' The Sigh of the Shouter']: 
 
 " Give me the wealth I have squan- 
 dered in 'shouting.'" 
 
 1887. J. F. Hogan, ' The Irish in Aus- 
 tralia, p. 149 : 
 
 " Drinking is quite a common prac-
 
 SHO-SHR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 417 
 
 tice, and what is familiarly known as 
 * shouting ' was at one time almost 
 universal, though of late years this 
 peculiarly dangerous evil has been 
 considerably diminished in extent. To 
 ' shout' in a public-house means to in- 
 sist on everybody present, friends and 
 strangers alike, drinking at the shouter's 
 expense, and as no member of the 
 party will allow himself to be outdone 
 In this reckless sort of hospitality, 
 each one ' shouts ' in succession, with 
 the result that before long they are 
 all overcome by intoxication." 
 
 1891. W. Tilley, 'Wild West of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 30 : 
 
 " Some heavy drinking is indulged 
 in through the 'shouting' system, 
 which is the rule." 
 
 1893. E. W. Hornung, ' Tiny Luttrell,' 
 vol. ii. c. xv. p. 98: 
 
 " To insist on ' shouting ' Ruth a 
 penny chair overlooking the orna- 
 mental water in St. James's Park." 
 (p. 99) : " You shall not be late, be- 
 cause I'll shout a hansom too." 
 
 Shout, n, a free drink. 
 1864. H. Simcox, ' Outward Bound,' p. 
 8l: 
 
 " The arms are left and off they go, 
 And many a shout they're treated 
 to." 
 
 1874. Garnet Walch, ' Head over 
 Heels,' p. 83 : 
 
 "I . . . gave the boys round a 
 spread an' a shout." 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 78: 
 
 " Two lucky diggers laid a wager 
 which of them should treat the as- 
 sembled company with the largest 
 'shout.'" 
 
 Shoveller, n. the English name 
 for the duck Spatula dypeata, 
 Linn., a species also present in 
 Australia. The other Australian 
 species is Spatula rhynchotis, Lath., 
 also called Blue-wing. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. vii. pi. 12 : 
 
 " Spatula Rhynchotis, Australian 
 Shoveller." 
 
 Shovel-nose, . a New South 
 Wales species of Ray-fish, Rhino- 
 
 batus bougainvillei , Cuv. ; called 
 also the Blind Shark, and Sand 
 Shark. In the Northern Hemi- 
 sphere, the name is given to three 
 different sharks and a sturgeon. 
 
 Shrike, n. a bird-name, gener- 
 ally used in Australia in com- 
 position. See Crow-Shrike, Cuckoo- 
 Shrike, Shrike-Robin, Shrike-Thrush, 
 and Shrike-Tit. 
 
 Shrike-Robin, n. a genus of 
 Australasian Shrikes, Eopsaltria 
 (q.v.). The species are 
 
 Grey-breasted Shrike-Robin 
 
 Eopsaltria gularis, Quoy and 
 
 Gaim. 
 Large-headed S.-R. 
 
 E. capito, Gould. 
 Little S.-R. 
 
 E. nana, Mull. 
 White-breasted S.-R. 
 
 E. georgiana, Quoy and Gaim. 
 Yellow-breasted S.-R. 
 
 E. australis, Lath. 
 
 1895. W. O. Legge, 'Australasian As- 
 sociation for the Advancement of Science ' 
 (Brisbane), p. 447 : 
 
 "As regards portions of Gould's 
 English nomenclatures, such as his 
 general term ' Robin ' for the genera 
 Pctroica, Pcerilodryas, Eopsaltria, it 
 was found that by retaining the term 
 ' Robin ' for the best known member 
 of the group (Petroica), and applying a 
 qualifying noun to the allied genera, 
 such titles as Tree-robin, Scrub-robin, 
 and Shrike-robin were easily evolved." 
 
 Shrike-Thrush, n. a, genus of 
 Australasian Shrikes, Collyriodnda 
 (q.v.). The species are 
 
 Bower's Shrike-Thrush 
 
 Collyriodnda boweri, Ramsay. 
 Brown S.-T. 
 
 C. brunnea, Gould. 
 Buff-bellied S.-T. 
 
 C. rufiventris, Gould. 
 Grey S.-T. 
 
 C. harmonica, Lath.; called also 
 Port Jackson Thrush (q.v.). 
 
 E E
 
 418 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SHR-SIL 
 
 Little Shrike-Thrush 
 
 Collyriodnda parvula, Gould. 
 Pale-bellied S.-T. 
 
 C. pallidirostris, Sharpe. 
 Rufous-breasted S.-T. 
 
 C. rufigaster, Gould. 
 Whistling S.-T. 
 
 C. rectirostris, Jard. and Selb.; 
 see Duke Willy. 
 
 1896. 'The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 
 54: 
 
 " With gathering shadows the spot- 
 ted thrush of England gives forth from 
 the top-most pine branch his full and 
 varied notes ; notes which no Aus- 
 tralian bird can challenge, not even 
 the shrike-thrush on the hill side, 
 piping hard to rival his song every 
 bright spring morning." 
 
 Shrike-Tit, n. a genus of Aus- 
 tralian Shrikes, Falcunculus (q.v.). 
 The species are Falctmculus fron- 
 tatus, Lath. ; White-bellied S.-T., 
 F. leueogaster, Gould. 
 
 1890. 'Victorian Statutes Game Act' 
 (Third Schedule): 
 
 "Shrike-tit. [Close season.] From 
 the 1st day of August to the 2Oth day 
 of December next following in each 
 year." 
 
 Shrimp, n. The only true 
 shrimp (Crangott) which Australian 
 waters are known to possess is 
 found in the Gulf of St. Vincent, 
 South Australia.(Tenison-Woods.) 
 In Tasmania, the Prawn (Penaus 
 spp.} is called a Shrimp. 
 
 1883. ' Royal Commission, Report on 
 Fisheries of Tasmania,' p. 9 : 
 
 "The prawn (Penceus sp.), locally 
 known among fishermen as the shrimp, 
 abounds all around our coasts." 
 
 Sida-weed, n. i.q. Queensland 
 Hemp. See Hemp. 
 
 Signed Servant, n. obsolete 
 contraction for Assigned Servant 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Silky-Oak, n. a tree, often tall, 
 Gr evil lea robust a, Cunn., N.O. 
 Proteacea, producing a useful 
 timber in demand for various 
 
 purposes, 
 and Oak. 
 
 See Grevillea, Maple, 
 
 Silver, or Silver-fish, n. a Tas- 
 manian name for Caranx georgia- 
 nus, Cuv. and Val., family Caran- 
 gidce, the White or Silver Trevally. 
 See Trevally. 
 
 1875. ' Spectator' (Melbourne), June 19, 
 1881 : 
 
 " Common fish such as ... garfish, 
 strangers, silvers, and others." 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, ' Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 252 [Footnote] : 
 
 " To convey anything like a correct 
 idea of this extremely beautiful fish, it 
 should be ' laid in ' with a ground of 
 burnished silver, and the delicate tints 
 added. The skin is scaleless, and like 
 satin, embossed all over in little raised 
 freckles, and with symmetrical dark 
 lines, resembling the veining of a leaf. 
 In quality they are a good deal like 
 mullet." 
 
 Silver-Belly, n. name given (i) 
 in New South Wales, to the fish 
 Silver- Bream (q.v.); (2) in Tas- 
 mania/to various species of Atheri- 
 nidce. 
 
 Silver-Bream, or White- 
 Bream, n. a New South Wales 
 fish, Gerres ovatus, Gi'mth., family 
 Percida ; also called Silver-Belly 
 (q.v.). For another use, see 
 Trevally. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 43 : 
 
 "Mr. Hill, in the series of essays 
 already referred to, speaks of a silver- 
 bream or white-bream. It is probable 
 he refers to Gerres ovatus, a common 
 fish of very compressed form, and very 
 protractile mouth. They probably 
 never enter fresh-water. ... It is 
 necessary to cook the silver-belly, as it 
 is often called, perfectly fresh." 
 
 Silver-Eye, n. a bird-name. 
 Same as Wax-eye, White-eye, or 
 Blight-bird (q.v.). 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 77: 
 
 " Zosterops ccerulesccns, Lath. I 
 have myself arrived at the conclusion 
 that the Silver-eye, although identical
 
 SIL-SKl] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 419 
 
 with the Australian bird, is in reality 
 an indigenous species." 
 
 1888. James Thomas, ' To a Silver Eye : ' 
 'Australian Poets 17881888' (edition 
 Sladen), p. 550: 
 
 "Thou merry little silver-eye, 
 
 In yonder trailing vine, 
 I, passing by this morning, spied 
 That ivy-built nest of thine." 
 
 Silver Jew-fish, .a New South 
 Wales name for the young of the 
 fish called Teraglin, or of the 
 true Jew-fish (q.v.) ; it is uncertain 
 which. 
 
 Silver-leaf Boree, n. i.q. Boree 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Silver-Perch, n. a fresh-water 
 fish, i.q. Bidyan Ruffe (q.v.). 
 
 Silver-tail, n. a bush term for a 
 " swell " : a man who goes to the 
 manager's house, not to the men's 
 hut. See Hut. 
 
 1890. A. J. Vogan, ' The Black Police,' 
 p. 116 : 
 
 "A select circle of long -limbed 
 members of those upper circles who 
 belong to the genus termed in Aus- 
 tralian parlance ' silver-tailed,' in dis- 
 tinction to the 'copper-tailed' demo- 
 cratic classes." 
 
 Silver-Trevally, n. See Tre- 
 vally. 
 
 Sittella, n. an Australian genus 
 of small creeping-birds, called 
 also Tree-Runners (q.v.). Sittella 
 is the Latin diminutive of sitta, 
 which is from the Greek o-irr^, a 
 woodpecker, whose habits the 
 Tree-runners or Sittell(e have. 
 Gould's enumeration of the species 
 is given in quotation. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iv. : 
 
 " Sittella chrysoptera, Orange- 
 winged Sittella ; S. leucoccphala, 
 Gould, White-headed S. ; S. leucop- 
 tera, Gould, White-winged S. ; S. 
 pileata, Gould, Black-capped S. ; 
 S.tenuirostris, Gould, Slender-billed S. 
 
 1869. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia ' 
 (Supplement) : 
 
 "Sittella Striata, Gould, Striated 
 Sittella." 
 
 1875. Gould and Sharpe, ' Birds of New 
 Guinea,' vol. iii. pi. 28 : 
 
 " Sittella albata, Pied Sittella." 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes Game Act ' 
 (Third Schedule) : 
 
 "Sittellas. [Close season.] From 
 the first day of August to the aoth day 
 of December next following in each 
 year." 
 
 1896. F. G. Aflalo, ' Natural History of 
 Australia,' p. 136 : 
 
 " Four species of Sitilla [sic] which, 
 except that they do not lay their eggs 
 in hollow trees, bear some resemblance 
 to our nuthatch." 
 
 Skate, n. The New Zealand 
 fish called a Skate is Raja nasuta, 
 a different species of the same 
 genus as the European Skate. 
 
 Skipjack, or Skipjack-Pike, n. 
 This fish, Temnodon saltator, Cuv. 
 and Val., is the same as the 
 British and American fish of that 
 name. It is called Tailor (q.v.) 
 in Sydney. The name Skipjack 
 used also to be given by the 
 whalers to the Australian fish 
 Trevally (q.v.). 
 
 1872. Hutton and Hector, ' Fishes of 
 New Zealand,' p. in : 
 
 " It is quoted by Richardson that 
 this fish [trevally], which he says is the 
 skipjack of the sealers, used to be a 
 staple article of food with the natives." 
 
 Skipper, i.q. Hopping-fish (q.v.). 
 
 Skirr, n. imitative. 
 
 1884. Marcus Clarke, ' Memorial Vol- 
 ume,' p. 127 : 
 
 " How many nights have I listened 
 to the skirr of the wild cats." 
 
 Skirting, n. generally used in 
 the plural. In sheep-shearing, the 
 inferior parts of the wool taken 
 from the extremities. 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, 
 col. 7 : 
 
 "At the 'skirting-table' we will 
 stand for a little while, and watch 
 while the fleece just brought in is 
 opened out by the ' roller,' and the 
 inferior portions removed."
 
 420 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SKU-SLI 
 
 Skullbanker, or Scowbanker, 
 n. a slang name in Australia for 
 a loafer, a tramp. 
 
 1866. A. Michie, ' Retrospects and Pro- 
 spects of the Colony,' p. 9: 
 
 " A skull-banker is a species of the 
 genus loafer half highwayman, half 
 beggar. He is a haunter of stations, 
 and lives on the squatters, amongst 
 whom he makes a circuit, affecting to 
 seek work and determining not to 
 find it." 
 
 Slab, n. In English, the word 
 slab, as applied to timber, means 
 ' ' an outside piece taken from a 
 log in sawing it into boards, 
 planks, etc." (' Webster.') In 
 Australia, the word is very com- 
 mon, and denotes a piece of 
 timber, two or three inches thick : 
 a coarse plank, axe-hewn, not 
 sawn. Used for the walls of 
 rough houses. 
 
 1844. ' Port Phillip Patriot,' July 25, 
 p. 3, col. 5 : 
 
 "A substantial slab building with 
 verandah." 
 
 1845. ' Voyage to Port Phillip,' p. 52 : 
 " His slab-built hut, with roof of 
 
 bark." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. c. ix. p. 266 : 
 
 " The house in which this modern 
 Robinson Crusoe dwelt was what is 
 called a Slab Hut, formed of rough 
 boards and thatched with grass." 
 
 1861. Mrs. Meredith, ' Over the Straits,' 
 c. iv. p. 130 : 
 
 "A bare, rough, barn-like edifice 
 built of slabs." 
 
 1869. J. Townend, ' Reminiscences of 
 Australia,' p. 155 : 
 
 " We passed through Studley Park, 
 with here and there a slab house or 
 tent." 
 
 1874. G. Walch, ' Head over Heels,' 
 p. 81 : 
 
 " The moonlight . . . poured on the 
 hut, slabs an' roof." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' Australian Life,' 
 p. 8: 
 
 "The hut was built of logs and slabs." 
 [p. 73] : " The usual bush-hut of slabs 
 and bark." [p. 144] : " The neigh- 
 
 bours congregated in the rough hut of 
 unplaned slabs." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' The Miner's 
 Right,' c. vi. p. 61 : 
 
 " Slab huts of split heavy boards, 
 Australian fashion, placed vertically." 
 
 Slab, v. tr. mining term : to 
 keep up the sides of a shaft with 
 timber slabs. 
 
 1871. J. J. Simpson, ' Recitations,' p, 
 24: 
 
 " So dig away, drive away, slab and 
 bail." 
 
 Sleepy Lizard, i.q. Blue-tongued 
 Lizard (q.v.). 
 
 Slip-panel. Same as Slip-rail 
 (q.v.). See also Panel. 
 
 1893. 'The Australasian,' Aug. 12, p. 
 302, col. i : 
 
 " Take him round by the water-hole 
 and wait for me at the slip-panels." 
 
 Slip-rail, n. part of a fence so 
 fitted that it can be removed so 
 as to serve as a gate. Used also 
 for the gateway thus formed. 
 Generally in the plural. Same as 
 Slip-panel. 
 
 1870. A. L. Gordon, ' Bush Ballads 
 From the Wreck,' p. 24 : 
 
 " Down with the slip-rails ; stand 
 back." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 43 : 
 
 " He [a horse] would let down the 
 slip-rails when shut into the stock- 
 yard, even if they were pegged, draw- 
 ing the pegs out with his teeth." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' 
 p. 79: 
 
 " Many men rode through the slip- 
 rails and turned out their horses." 
 
 1891. Canon Goodman, ' Church in Vic- 
 toria during Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' 
 p. 9 8 : 
 
 "Some careless person had neglected 
 to replace the slip-rails of the paddock 
 into which his horses had been turned 
 the previous evening." 
 
 1896. H. Lavvson, ' When the World 
 was Wide,' p. 104 : 
 
 " Then loudly she screamed : it was 
 only to drown 
 
 The treacherous clatter of slip-rails 
 let down."
 
 SLO-SNA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 421 
 
 Sloth, Native, i.q. Native Bear. 
 See Bear, and Koala. 
 
 Slusher, or Slushy, n. cook's 
 assistant at shearing-time on a 
 station. 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, 
 col. 6 : 
 
 " ' Sundays are the most trying days 
 of all,' say the cuisiniers, ' for then they 
 have nothing to do but to growl.' This 
 man's assistant is called 'the slusher.' 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from 
 
 Snowy River,' p. 162 : 
 
 " The tarboy, the cook, and the slushy, 
 the sweeper that swept the board, 
 
 The picker-up, and the penner, with 
 
 the rest of the shearing horde." 
 1896. ' The Field,' Jan. 18, p. 83, col. i: 
 "He employs as many 'slushies' 
 
 as he thinks necessary, paying them 
 
 generally ,\ per week." 
 
 Slush-lamp, n. a lamp made 
 by filling an old tin with fat 
 and putting a rag in for wick. 
 The word, though not exclusively 
 Australian, is more common in 
 the Australian bush than else- 
 where. Compare English slush- 
 horn^ horn for holding grease ; 
 slush-pot, pot for holding grease, 
 etc. 
 
 1883. J. Keighley, 'Who are You?' p. 
 45 = 
 
 " The slush-lamp shone with a 
 smoky light." 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, 
 col. 6 : 
 
 " Occasionally the men will give 
 Christy Minstrel concerts, when they 
 illuminate the wool-shed with slush- 
 lamps, and invite all on the station." 
 
 Smelt, n. name given, in Mel- 
 bourne, to the fish Clupea vittata, 
 Castln., family Clupeida, or Her- 
 rings (q.v.) ; in New Zealand and 
 Tasmania, to Retropinna richard- 
 sonii, Gill, family Salmonida. Its 
 young are called Whitebait (q.v.). 
 The Derwent Smelt is a Tasmanian 
 fish, Haplochiton sealii, family Hap- 
 lochitonidce, fishes with an adipose 
 
 fin which represent the salmonoids 
 in the Southern Hemisphere ; 
 Prototroctes is the only other genus 
 of the family known (see Gray- 
 ling}. Haplochiton is also found 
 in the cold latitudes of South 
 America. 
 
 Sminthopsis, n. the scientific 
 name for the genus of Narrow- 
 footed Pouched Mice, which, like the 
 English field-mice, are entirely 
 terrestrial in their habits. See 
 Pouched Mouse. In Homer's ' Iliad/ 
 Bk. I. ver. 39, S/xiv&vs is an 
 epithet of Apollo. It is explained 
 as " mouse-killer," from cr/xi'v0os, a 
 field-mouse, said to be a Cretan 
 word. 
 
 Smoke, v. (slang). See quota- 
 tion. 
 
 1893. ' Sydney Morning Herald,' June 
 26, p. 8, col. 8 : 
 
 " He said to the larrikins, 'You have 
 done for him now ; you have killed 
 him.' ' What ! ' said one of them, 
 'do not say we were here. Let us 
 smoke.' ' Smoke,' it may be explained, 
 is the slang for the ' push ' to get away 
 as fast as possible." 
 
 Smooth Holly, n. See Holly. 
 
 Snailey, n. bullock with horn 
 slightly curled. 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. ix. p. 68 : 
 
 " Snaileys and poleys, old and young, 
 coarse and fine, they were a mixed 
 herd in every sense." 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewocd, ' A Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. 133 : 
 
 " There's a snaily Wallanbah bullock 
 I haven't seen this two years." 
 
 Snake, n. The Australian land 
 snakes belong principally to the 
 four families, Typhlopida, Boida, 
 Colubridce, and Elapida. The 
 proportion of venomous to non- 
 venomous species increases from 
 north to south, the five species 
 known in Tasmania being all 
 venomous. The smallest forms, 
 such as the " blind " or " worm "
 
 422 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SNA 
 
 snakes, are only a few inches in 
 length, while the largest Python 
 may reach a length of perhaps 
 eighteen feet. 
 
 Various popular names have 
 been given to different species in 
 different colonies, the same name 
 being unfortunately not infre- 
 quently applied to quite distinct 
 species. The more common forms 
 are as follows : 
 
 Black Snake. Name applied in 
 Australia to Pseudechis porphyrict- 
 cus, Shaw, which is more common 
 in the warmer parts, and com- 
 paratively rare in the south of 
 Victoria, and not found in Tas- 
 mania. In the latter the name is 
 sometimes given to dark-coloured 
 varieties of Hoplocephalus curtus, 
 and in Victoria to those of If. 
 superbus. The characteristic col- 
 our is black or black-brown above 
 and reddish beneath, but it can 
 be at once distinguished from 
 specimens of H. superbus, which 
 not infrequently have this colour, 
 by the presence of a double series 
 of plates at the hinder end, and a 
 single series at the anterior end 
 of the tail, whereas in the other 
 species named there is only a 
 single row along the whole length 
 of the tail underneath. 
 
 1790. D. Collins, 'Account of New 
 South Wales' (edition 1802), vol. ii. p. 189 
 [Bass Diary at the Derwent, Tasmania] : 
 
 " The most formidable among the 
 reptiles was the black snake with 
 venomous fangs." [This refers to 
 some species of Hoplocephalus, and 
 not to the Australian Black Snake, 
 which does not occur in Tasmania.] 
 
 Black and white ringed Snake. 
 Name applied to Vermicella annu- 
 lata, Gray, the characteristic col- 
 ouration of which consists of a 
 series of alternating dark and 
 light rings. It is found especi- 
 ally in the dry, warmer parts of 
 the interior. 
 
 Brown Snake. Name given to 
 three species of the genus Die- 
 menia (i) the Common Brown 
 Snake, D. superciliosa, Fischer ; 
 (2) the small-scaled Brown Snake, 
 D. microlepidota, McCoy ; and (3) 
 the shield-fronted Brown Snake, 
 D. aspidorhyncha, McCoy. All are 
 venomous, and the commonest is 
 the first, which is usually known 
 as the Brown Snake. 
 
 1890. A. H. S. Lucas, ' Handbook of the 
 Australasian Association for the Advance- 
 ment of Science,' Melbourne, p. 71 : 
 
 "The most abundant of these are 
 the tiger snake, Hoplocephalus curtus, 
 the most widespread, active, and dan- 
 gerous of them all : the brown snake, 
 Diemenia superciliosa, pretty generally 
 distributed." 
 
 Carpet Snake. Name applied in 
 Australia to Python variegata, 
 Gray, a non-venomous snake 
 reaching a length of ten feet. 
 The name has reference to the 
 carpet-like pattern on the scales. 
 The animal crushes its prey to 
 death, and can hang from branches 
 by means of its prehensile tail. 
 In Tasmania, the name is unfor- 
 tunately applied to a venom- 
 ous snake, Hoplocephalus curtus, 
 Schlegel. , 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' c. i. p. 16 : 
 
 " Brown brought a carpet snake and 
 a brown snake with yellow belly." 
 
 1878. F. McCoy, 'Prodromus of the 
 Zoology of Victoria,' Decade ii. pi. 13 : 
 
 " The pattern has some resemblance 
 to some of the commoner sorts of 
 Kidderminster carpets, as suggested by 
 the popular name of Carpet Snake . . . 
 the name ... is, unfortunately, ap- 
 plied to the poisonous Tiger Snake in 
 Tasmania, producing some confusion." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Canni- 
 bals,' p. 294 : 
 
 " One of the snakes most common 
 is the Australian python (Morelia 
 variegatd), the largest snake found in 
 Australia, which here in Northern
 
 SNA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 423 
 
 Queensland may even attain a length 
 of more than twenty feet." 
 
 Copper-head Snake. Name applied 
 in Australia to Hoplocephalus super- 
 bus, Giinth., a venomous snake 
 which is very common in Tas- 
 mania, where it is often called the 
 Diamond Snake (q.v.). In Victoria, 
 it is often confused with the Black 
 Snake ; unlike the latter, it is 
 more common in the south than 
 in the north. It derives its popu- 
 lar name from the colour of the 
 head. 
 
 1885. F. McCoy, ' Prodromus of the 
 Natural History of Victoria,' Decade i. 
 pi. 2 : 
 
 " In Tasmania the name Diamond 
 snake is unfortunately given to this 
 species, for that name properly belongs 
 to a perfectly harmless snake of New 
 South Wales, so that the numerous 
 experiments made in Tasmania to test 
 the value of some pretended antidotes, 
 were supposed in London to have been 
 made with the true Diamond snake, 
 instead off as was the case, with this 
 very poisonous kind. ... I have 
 adopted the popular name 'copper- 
 head ' for this snake from a well-known 
 vendor of a supposed antidote for 
 snake-bites." 
 
 1896. 'The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, 
 
 P- 54 = 
 
 "Those heather lands round Caul- 
 field and Oakleigh where the copper- 
 head snake basks, coiled on the warm 
 silver sand." 
 
 Death-adder ; also called Deaf- 
 adder. An Australian snake, 
 Acanthophis antardica. It is usu- 
 ally found in hot sandy districts, 
 and is supposed to be the most 
 venomous of the Australian 
 snakes. Large specimens reach 
 a length of upwards of three feet, 
 the body having a diameter of 
 about two inches : at the end of 
 the tail is a short spine popularly 
 known as the animal's "sting." 
 
 1878. F. McCoy, ' Prodromus of the 
 Zoology of Victoria,' Decade ii. pi. 12 : 
 "The popular name seems to be 
 
 indifferently Death Adder or Deaf 
 Adder. The harmless horny spine at 
 the end of the tail is its most danger- 
 ous weapon, in the popular belief.' 1 
 
 Diamond-Snake. Name applied 
 in New South Wales and Queens- 
 land to Python spilotes, Lacep., a 
 non-venomous snake reaching _a 
 large size. In Tasmania the same 
 name is given to Hoplocephalus 
 superbus, Gray, a venomous snake 
 more properly called the Copper- 
 head Snake. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 78 : 
 
 " Charley killed a diamond snake, 
 larger than any he had ever seen 
 before." 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, ' Port Phillip,' 
 c. iii. p. 43 : 
 
 " The diamond snake is that most 
 dreaded by the natives." 
 
 1869. G. Krefft, ' The Snakes of Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 29 : 
 
 "Diamond snakes are found in al- 
 most every kind of country that offers 
 them sufficient shelter." 
 
 1895. G. Metcalfe, 'Australian Zoology,' 
 p. 27 : 
 
 "As a rule, diamond snakes have 
 almost every scale of the body marked 
 with a yellow spot in the centre. . . . 
 The abdominal plates are yellow, and 
 more or less blotched with black, and 
 many species . . . have a number of 
 diamond-shaped yellow spots upon 
 the body, formed by a few of the 
 lighter scales, and hence their name 
 has probably arisen." 
 
 Green Tree- Snake. Name given, 
 owing to its colour, to the com- 
 monest Australian tree-snake, 
 Dendrophis punctulata, Gray. It 
 is a non-venomous form, feeding 
 on frogs, young birds, and eggs, 
 and rarely exceeds the length of 
 six feet. 
 
 1869. G. Krefft, ' The Snakes of Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 24 : 
 
 '' Young and half grown Tree Snakes 
 are olive-green above and light brown 
 below . . . when angry, the body of 
 this serpent expands in a vertical 
 direction, whilst all venomous snakes
 
 424 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SNE 
 
 flatten their necks horizontally. The 
 green Tree snake, in a state of excite- 
 ment is strongly suggestive of one of 
 the popular toys of childhood." 
 
 Little Whip-Snake. Name applied 
 to a small venomous species of 
 snake, Hoplocephalus flagelhun, 
 McCoy. Common in parts of 
 Victoria, but not exceeding a foot 
 in length. 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, ' Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 vol. ii. c. xxvii. p. 190 : 
 
 " He wished it had been a whip- 
 snake instead of a magpie." 
 
 1887. R. M. Praed, ' Longleat of Koor- 
 albyn,' c. xx. p. 199 : 
 
 "A whip-snake . . . reared itself 
 upon its lithe body, and made a dart 
 at Barrington's arm." 
 
 1890. Lyth, 'Golden South,' c. iii. p. 
 24: 
 
 " I saw a large ' whip-snake ' lying 
 on the path." 
 
 Tiger-Snake. Name applied in 
 Australia and Tasmania to Hoplo- 
 cephalus curtus, Schlegel, but this 
 species is often also known in the 
 latter as the Carpet Snake (q.v.). 
 The popular name is derived from 
 the cross-banded colouring along 
 the body, and also from its ac- 
 tivity. It varies much in colour 
 from a dark olive green to a light 
 yellowish brown, the darker cross 
 bands being sometimes almost 
 indistinguishable. It may reach 
 a length of four feet, and is 
 viviparous, producing about 
 thirty young ones in January or 
 February. 
 
 1875. 'The Spectator' (Melbourne), 
 Aug. 21, p. 190, col. I : 
 
 "On Tuesday a tiger-snake was 
 seen opposite the door of the Sand- 
 ridge police court." 
 
 1885. F. McCoy, ' Prodromus of the 
 Zoology of Victoria,' Decade i. pi. 3 : 
 
 " This species, which goes under the 
 colonial name in Victoria of Tiger 
 snake, from its tawny cross banded 
 colouring and ferocity, is well known 
 to frequently inflict bites rapidly fatal 
 to men and dogs. ... In Tasmania 
 
 this is popularly called ' Carpet snake,' 
 a name which properly belongs to the 
 harmless snake so called on the main- 
 land." 
 
 Two-hooded Furina-Snake. Name 
 applied to a small, venomous 
 snake, Furina bicuculata, McCoy. 
 
 1879. F. McCoy, ' Prodromus of the 
 Zoology ofVictoria,' Decade iii. pi. 32 : 
 
 "Furina bicuculata (McCoy). The 
 Two-hooded Furina-snake. . . . This 
 rare and beautiful little snake is a 
 clear example of the genus Furina." 
 
 White-lipped-Snake. Name given 
 to a small venomous species of 
 whip-snake, Hoplocephalus coronoides^ 
 Giinth., found in Tasmania and 
 Victoria, and reaching a length 
 of about eighteen inches. 
 
 1890. A. H. S. Lucas, ' Handbook of the 
 Australasian Association for the Advance- 
 ment of Science,' Melbourne, p. 71 : 
 
 " Whip snakes, H.flagellum and H. 
 coronoides." 
 
 Worm-Snake. Name given to 
 various species of the genus Typh- 
 lops, comprisingsmall, non-venom- 
 ous, smooth, round-bodied snakes, 
 which burrow in warm sandy soil, 
 and feed upon insects such as 
 ants. The eyes are covered over 
 by translucent plates, and the tail 
 scarcely tapering at all, and some- 
 times having two black spots, 
 gives the animal the appearance 
 of having a head at each end. 
 The commoner forms are the 
 Blackish Worm-Snake (Typhlops 
 nigrescens. Gray), and Schlegefs 
 Worm-Snake ( T. polygrammicus y 
 Schlegel). 
 
 1881. F. McCoy, ' Prodromus of the 
 Zoology of Victoria,' Decade vi. pi. 103 : 
 
 "The 'Blackish Worm snake' is 
 not uncommon in the northern warmer 
 parts of the colony. . . . These worm 
 snakes are perfectly harmless, although, 
 like the Slow- Worms and their allies 
 in other countries, they are popularly 
 supposed to be very poisonous." 
 
 Sneeze-weed, Myriogyne minu- 
 ta, Less., Cotula or Centipeda.
 
 SNI-SOA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 cunmnghamii, De C., and many 
 other botanical synonyms. A 
 valuable specific for Sandy-Blight 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1877. F. v. Miiller, ' Botanic Teachings,' 
 p. 58 : 
 
 "The Sneeze-weed (Cotula or Centi- 
 peda Cunninghamii). A dwarf, erect, 
 odorous herb . . . can be converted 
 into snuff." 
 
 1886. Dr. Woolls, in ' Sydney Morning 
 Herald,' Dec. 25 (quoted by Maiden) : 
 
 " Dr. Jockel is, I believe, the first 
 medical man in Australia who has 
 proved the value of Myriogyne in a 
 case of ophthalmia. This weed, grow- 
 ing as it does on the banks of rivers 
 and creeks, and in moist places, is 
 common in all the Australian colonies 
 and Tasmania, and it may be regarded 
 as almost co-extensive with the disease 
 it is designed to relieve." 
 
 Snipe, n. The species of Snipe 
 known in Australia are Scolopax 
 australis, Lath.; Painted S., Rhyn- 
 ch<za australis, Gould. This bird 
 breeds in Japan and winters in 
 Australia. The name is also 
 used as in the quotation. 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 210 : 
 
 "Along the shore are flocks of a 
 species of bird which some sportsmen 
 and the game-sellers in the city are 
 pleased to call snipe. They are pro- 
 bably tringa, a branch of the sea- 
 plover family." 
 
 Snook, n. The name is applied 
 in the Old World to various fishes, 
 including the Garfish (q.v.). At 
 the Cape of Good Hope, it is 
 applied to Thyrsites atun, Cuv. 
 and Val., and this name for the 
 same fish has extended to New 
 Zealand, where (as in all the 
 other colonies) it is more gener- 
 ally called the Barracouta (q.v.). 
 Under the word Cavally, 'O.E.D.' 
 quotes 
 
 1697. Dampier, ' Voyage,' vol. i : 
 "The chiefest fish are bonetas, 
 snooks, cavallys." 
 
 Snook is an old name, but it 
 is doubtful whether it is used in 
 the Old World for the same fish. 
 Castelnau says it is the snook 
 of the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 1872. Hutton and Hector, ' Fishes of 
 New Zealand,' p. 14, under ' Thyrsites 
 Atun, Barracoota': 
 
 "This is, I believe, the fish called 
 snoek in Cape Colony." 
 
 1880. Gtinther, ' Study of Fishes, 'p. 436: 
 " Tli. atun from the Cape of Good 
 Hope, South Australia, New Zealand, 
 and Chili, is preserved, pickled or 
 smoked. In New Zealand it is called 
 ' barracuda ' or ' snoek,'' and exported 
 from the colony into Mauritius and 
 Batavia as a regular article of com- 
 merce." 
 
 Snowberry, . a Tasmanian 
 name for the Wax-cluster (q.v.). 
 
 Snow-Grass, n. Poa caspitosa, 
 G. Forst, another name for 
 Wiry-grass (q.v.). See also Grass. 
 
 1875. Wood and Lapham, ' Waiting for 
 the Mail,' p. 31: 
 
 " Tethering my good old horse to a 
 tussock of snow-grass." 
 
 Snow-line, ;;. In pastoralists' 
 language of New Zealand, "above 
 the snow-line" is land covered by 
 snow in winter, but free in 
 summer. 
 
 Soak, or Soakage, n. a West- 
 ern and Central Australian term. 
 See quotation. 
 
 1895. ' The Australasian,' Sept. 7, p. 
 461, col. i: 
 
 "'Inquirer.' The term soak in 
 Western Australia, as used on maps 
 and plans, signifies a depression hold- 
 ing moisture after rain. It is also 
 given to damp or swampy spots round 
 the base of granite rocks. Wells sunk 
 on soaks yield water for some time 
 after rain. All soaks are of a tem- 
 porary character." 
 
 Soak-hole, ;/. an enclosed place 
 in a stream in which sheep are 
 washed.
 
 426 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SOL-SOU 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 82 : 
 
 " Parallel poles, resting on forks 
 driven into the bed of the water-hole, 
 were run out on the surface of the 
 stream, forming square soak-holes, a 
 long, narrow lane leading to the dry 
 land." 
 
 Soldier, or Soldier - Ant, n. 
 "one of that section of a colony 
 of some kinds of ants which does 
 the fighting, takes slaves, etc." 
 ('Century Diet.') In Australia, 
 the large red ants are called 
 Soldier-Ants. Compare Bulldog- 
 Ant. 
 
 1854. G. H. Haydon, ' The Australian 
 Emigrant,' p. 59 : 
 
 "It was a red ant, upwards of an 
 inch in length 'that's a soldier, and 
 he prods hard too.' " 
 
 1865. W. Howitt, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. p. 308 : 
 
 " The pain caused by a wound from 
 this grass-seed is exactly like that from 
 the bite of a soldier-ant." 
 
 Soldier-bird, or Poor Soldier, 
 or Old-Soldier bird, n. another 
 name for the Friar-bird (q.v.). 
 
 1859. D. Bunce, ' Australasiatic Remin- 
 iscences,' p. 62 : 
 
 " The notes peculiar to the Orni- 
 thorhynchus paradoxus, or platypus, 
 wattle-bird, and leather-head, or old 
 soldier bird, added in no small degree 
 to the novelties. . . . The wattle-bird 
 has been not inaptly termed the 'what's 
 o'clock,' the leather-head the 'stop 
 where-you-are.' " 
 
 [Mr. Bunce's observations are curi- 
 ously confused. The ' Soldier-bird ' is 
 also called ' Four o'clock,' but -it is 
 difficult to say what ' wattle bird ' is 
 called 'what's o'clock'; the 'notes' of 
 the platypus must be indeed ' peculiar.'] 
 
 1896. Mrs. Langloh Parker, ' Australian 
 Legendary Tales,' p. 108 [Title of Tale] : 
 " Deegeenboyah the Soldier-bird." 
 
 Sole, n. The name is given to 
 various Australian fishes. In 
 Sydney, to Synaptura nigra, Macl. ; 
 in Melbourne, to Rhombosolea bas- 
 senst's, Castln. ; in New Zealand, 
 
 to Rhombosolea monopus, Gi'mth., 
 and Peltorhamphus novce-ze/anduc, 
 Giinth. ; in Tasmania, to Ammo- 
 tretis rostratus, Giinth., family 
 Pleuronectidce. Rhombosolea mono- 
 pus is called the flounder, in 
 Tasmania. See also Lemon-Sole. 
 
 Solomon's Seal, ;/. Not the 
 Old World plant, which is of the 
 genus Polygonatum, but the Tas- 
 manian name for Drymophila cya- 
 nocarpa, R.Br., N. O. Liliacece ; 
 also called Turquoise Berry. 
 
 Sonny, ;/. a common nomina- 
 tive of address to any little boy. 
 In Australia, the word is not in- 
 frequently pronounced as in the 
 quotation. The form of the word 
 came from America. 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from Snowy 
 River,' p. 10 : 
 
 " But maybe you're only a Johnnie, 
 And don't know a horse from a 
 
 hoe? 
 Weel, weel, don't get angry, my 
 
 Sonny, 
 
 But, really, a young 'un should 
 know." 
 
 Sool, v. Used colloquially (i) 
 to excite a dog or set him on ; (2) 
 to worry, as of a dog. Common 
 in the phrase "Sool him, boy!" 
 Shakspeare uses " tarre him on" 
 in the first sense. 
 
 Shakspeare, ' King John,' IV. i. 117: 
 " And like a dog that is compelled to 
 fight, 
 
 Snatch at his master that doth tarre 
 him on." 
 
 1896. Mrs. Langloh Parker, ' Australian 
 Legendary Tales,' p. 90 : 
 
 " She went quickly towards her 
 camp, calling softly, ' Birree gougou,' 
 which meant ' Sool 'em, sool 'em,' and 
 was the signal for the dogs to come 
 out." 
 
 Sorrel, Queensland. See 
 Queensland Sorrel. 
 
 Sour-Gourd, n. Same as Baobab 
 
 (q-v.)-j
 
 SOU-SPE] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 427 
 
 Sour-Plum, n. the Emu-apple. 
 See Apple. 
 
 South Australia, n. the name 
 of a colony, established in 1836, 
 with Adelaide as its capital. It is 
 not a good name, for it is not the 
 most southerly colony, and the 
 "Northern Territory" forms a 
 part of South Australia. Central 
 Australia would be a better name, 
 but not wholly satisfactory, for 
 by Central Australia is now meant 
 the central part of the colony of 
 South Australia. The name Cen- 
 tralia has been proposed as a 
 change. 
 
 Southern Cross, n. The con- 
 stellation of the Southern Cross is 
 of course visible in places farther 
 north than Australia, but it has 
 come to be regarded as the astro- 
 nomical emblem of Australasia ; 
 e.g. the phrase "beneath the 
 Southern Cross " is common for 
 " in Australia or New Zealand." 
 
 1863. S. Butler, ' First Year in Canter- 
 bury Settlement,' p. 13 : 
 
 " The southern cross is a very great 
 delusion. It isn't a cross. It is a kite, 
 a kite upside down, an irregular kite 
 upside down, with only three respect- 
 able stars and one very poor and very 
 much out of place. Near it, however, 
 is a truly mysterious and interesting 
 object called the coal sack : it is a 
 black patch in the sky distinctly darker 
 than all the rest of the heavens. No 
 star shines through it. The proper 
 name for it is the black Magellan 
 cloud." 
 
 1868. Mrs. Riddell, ' Lay of Far South,' 
 p. 4: 
 " Yet do I not regret the loss, 
 
 Thou hast thy gleaming Southern 
 Cross." 
 
 1887. R. M. Praed, ' Longleat of Koor- 
 albyn,' c. iv. p. 35 : 
 
 " The Southern Cross rose gem-like 
 above the horizon." 
 
 Spade-press, n. a make-shift 
 wool-press in which the fleeces 
 are rammed down with a spade. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xvii. p. 202 : 
 
 " The spade-press that friendly ad- 
 junct of the pioneer squatter's humble 
 wool-shed." 
 
 Spaniard, n. a prickly bushy 
 grass of New Zealand, Aciphylla 
 colensoi. 
 
 1857. ' Paul's Letters from Canterbury, ' 
 p. 108 : 
 
 " The country through which I have 
 passed has been most savage, one mass 
 of Spaniards? 
 
 1862. J. Von Haast, ' Geology of West- 
 land,' p. 25 : 
 
 " Groves of large specimens of Dis- 
 caria toumatoo, the Wild Irishman of 
 the settlers, formed with the gigantic 
 Aciphylla Colensoi, the Spaniard or 
 Bayonet-grass, an often impenetrable 
 thicket." 
 
 1863. S. Butler, ' First Year of Canter- 
 bury Settlement,' p. 67 : 
 
 " The Spaniard (spear-grass or bay- 
 onet-grass) ' piked us intil the bane,' 
 and I assure you we were hard set to 
 make any headway at all." 
 
 1875. Lady Barker, ' Station Amuse- 
 ments in New Zealand,' p. 35 : 
 
 " The least touch of this green bay- 
 onet draws blood, and a fall into a 
 Spaniard is a thing to be remembered 
 all one's life." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 p. 287 : 
 
 " Carefully avoiding contact with the 
 long-armed leaves of Spaniards (Aci- 
 phylla}, which here attain the larger 
 dimensions, carrying flower-spikes up 
 to six feet long." 
 
 1890. ' Transactions of the New Zea- 
 land Institute,' vol. xxiii. p. 197 : 
 
 " Here were rats which lived under 
 the dead leaves of the prickly ' Span- 
 iard] and possibly fed on the roots. 
 The Spaniard leaves forked into stift 
 upright fingers about i in. wide, ending 
 in an exceedingly stiff pricking point." 
 
 1896. ' Otago Witness,' May 7, p. 48 : 
 " Prickly as the points of the Span- 
 iard." 
 
 Spear-grass, n. name given to 
 several grasses whose spear-like 
 seeds spoil the wool of sheep, but 
 which are yet excellent forage
 
 428 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SPE-SPH 
 
 plants. They are (i) all the 
 species of Stipa ; (2) Heteropogon 
 contortus, Rcem. and Schult, and 
 others (see quotations) ; (3) and 
 in New Zealand, one or two plants 
 of the umbelliferous genus Aci- 
 phylla ; also called Spaniard (q. v.). 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 44 : 
 
 "Very disagreeable, however, was 
 the abundance of burr and of a spear- 
 grass (Aristtda)." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. ii. p. 463 [Note] : 
 
 " On the south coast there is a grass 
 seed which has similar properties. 
 The seeds are sharp and covered with 
 fine barbs, and once they penetrate the 
 skin they will work their way onwards. 
 They catch in the wool of sheep, and 
 in a short time reach the intestines. 
 Very often I have been shown the 
 omentum of a dead sheep where the 
 grass seeds were projecting like a pave- 
 ment of pegs. The settlers call it 
 spear-grass, and it is, I believe, a 
 species of Anthisttria." 
 
 1874. W. H. L. Ranken, ' Dominion of 
 Australia,' c. v. p. 86 : 
 
 " Sheep in paddocks cannot be so 
 well kept clear of spear-grass." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 90 : 
 
 "Heteropogon contort us, Spear- 
 Grass. A splendid grass for a cattle- 
 run, as it produces a great amount of 
 feed, but is dreaded by the sheep- 
 owner on account of its spear-like 
 seeds." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 P- 23 : 
 
 "A nocuous kind of grass, namely 
 the dreaded spear-grass (Andropogon 
 contortns), which grows on the coast, 
 and which rendered sheep-raising 
 impossible." 
 
 Spear-Lily, n. See Lily. 
 
 Spearwood, the wood of three 
 trees so called, because the ab- 
 origines made their spears from 
 it Acacia doratoxylon, A. Cunn., 
 A. homalophylla, A. Cunn., both 
 N. O. Leguminosa ; and Eucalyptus 
 
 doratoxyloiiy F. v. M., N.O. Myr- 
 tacece. 
 
 Speedwell, Native, n. The 
 English Speedwell is a Veronica. 
 There is a Tasmanian species, 
 Veronica formosa, R.Br., N.O. 
 Scrophulariacece. 
 
 Spell, n. In England, a turn at 
 work or duty ; in Australasia, 
 always a period of rest from duty. 
 It is quite possible that etymo- 
 logically Spell is connected with 
 Ger. spielen, in which case the 
 Australasian use is the more cor- 
 rect. See ' Skeat's Etymological 
 Dictionary.' 
 
 1865. J. O. Tucker, 'Australian Story,' 
 c. i. p. 84 : 
 
 " The only recompense was ... to 
 light his pipe and have a ' spell.' " 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand," vol. i. p. 84 : 
 
 " Having a spell what we should 
 call a short holiday." 
 
 Spell, v. to rest. 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. p. 42 : 
 
 " In order to spell the oars, we landed 
 at a point on the east side." 
 
 1880. G. N. Oakley, in 'Victoria in 
 1880,' p. 114: 
 
 " He ' spelled ' upon the ground ; a 
 
 hollow gum 
 Bore up his ample back and bade 
 
 him rest ; 
 And creaked no warning when he 
 
 sat upon 
 A war-ant's nest." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xxiv. p. 328: 
 
 " There's a hundred and fifty stock- 
 horses there, spelling for next winter's 
 work." 
 
 1896. Baldwin Spencer, ' Home Ex- 
 pedition in Central Australia,' Narrative, 
 p. 48: 
 
 "We camped beside a water-pool 
 containing plenty of fish, and here we 
 spelled for a day to allow some of us 
 to go on and photograph Chamber's 
 Pillar." 
 
 Sphenura, n. scientific name
 
 SPl] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 429 
 
 for a genus of Australian birds 
 called the Bristle-Birds (q.v.). From 
 Grk. <T(f>yv, "a wedge," and ovpd, 
 "a tail." The name was given 
 by Sir Frederick McCoy. 
 
 Spider, n. See Katipo. 
 
 Spider-Orchis, n. name given in 
 Tasmania to the Orchid Caladenia 
 pulcherrima, F. v. M. 
 
 Spiloglaux, n. See Sceloglaux, 
 
 Spinach, Australian, n. name 
 applied to species of Chenopodium, 
 N.O. Salsolacece ; called also Fat- 
 hen. The name is also applied to 
 various wild pot herbs. 
 
 Spinach, New Zealand, n. 
 Tetragonia expansa, Murr., N.O. 
 Ficoidea ; called also Iceplant, in 
 Tasmania. It is a trailing Fig- 
 marigold, and was discovered in 
 New Zealand by Captain Cook, 
 though it is also found in Japan 
 and South America. Its top 
 leaves are eaten as spinach, and 
 Cook introduced it to England, 
 where it is also known as Summer 
 Spinach. 
 
 Spine-bill, n. an Australian 
 " Honey-eater," but not now so 
 classed. There are two species 
 
 The Slender Spine-bill 
 
 Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris, 
 Gould ; inhabiting Australia 
 and Tasmania, and called 
 Cobbler's Awl in the latter 
 colony. 
 White-eyebrowed S. 
 
 A. supertiliosus, Gould ; of 
 Western Australia. 
 
 Though related to the genus 
 Myzomela, the pattern of their 
 colouration differs widely. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iv. pi. 6 1 : 
 
 " Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris. 
 Slender-billed Spine-bill. Cobbler 's Awl ', 
 Colonists of Van Diemen's Land." 
 
 Ibid. pi. 62 : 
 
 ''Acanthorhynchus superciliosus, 
 Gould. White-eyebrowed Spine-bill." 
 
 Spinetail, n. an Australian bird, 
 Orthonyx spinicauda ; called also 
 Pheasants Mother (q.v.), Log-runner 
 (q.v.). The name is used else- 
 where for different birds. See 
 Orthonyx. 
 
 Spinifex, n. a grass known 
 in India, China, and the Pacific, 
 but especially common on Austra- 
 lasian shores. The word means, 
 literally, thorn-making, but it is 
 not classical Latin. " The aggre- 
 gated flowers form large clusters, 
 and their radiating heads, be- 
 coming detached at maturity, are 
 carried by the wind along the 
 sand, propelled by their elastic 
 spines and dropping their seeds 
 as they roll." (Mueller.) This 
 peculiarity gains for the Hairy 
 Spinifex (Spinifex hirsutus, Labill.) 
 the additional name of Spiny 
 Rolling Grass. See also quota- 
 tion, 1877. This chief species 
 (S. hirsutus) is present on the 
 shores of nearly all Australasia, 
 and has various synonyms S. 
 sericeus, Raoul. ; S. inermis, Banks 
 and Sol. ; Ixalum inerme, Forst.; S. 
 fragilis, R. B. , etc. It is a " coarse, 
 rambling, much-branched, rigid, 
 spinous, silky or woolly, peren- 
 nial grass, with habitats near the 
 sea on sandhills, or saline soils 
 more inland." (Buchanan.) 
 
 The Desert Spinifex of the early 
 explorers, and of many subse- 
 quent writers, is not a true 
 Spinifex, but a Fescue; it is pro- 
 perly called Porcupine Grass (q.v.), 
 and is a species of Triodia. The 
 quotations, 1846, 1887, 1890, and 
 1893, involve this error. 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. c. vi. p. 209 : 
 
 " In the valley was a little sandy 
 soil, nourishing the Spinifex."
 
 43<> 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SPI-SPO 
 
 1877. Baron von Mueller, ' Botanic 
 Teachings,' p. 125 : 
 
 "The Desert Spinifex of our colonists 
 is a Fescue, but a true Spinifex occu- 
 pies our sand-shores ; . . . the heads 
 are so buoyant as to float lightly on 
 the water, and while their uppermost 
 spiny rays act as sails, they are carried 
 across narrow inlets, to continue the 
 process of embarking." 
 
 1887. J. Bon wick, ' Romance of Wool 
 Trade,' p. 239 : 
 
 " Though grasses are sadly conspicu- 
 ous by their absence, saline plants, so 
 nutritious for stock, occur amidst the 
 real deserts of Spinifex." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 
 P- 43: 
 
 "On the broad sandy heights . . . 
 the so-called spinifex is found in great 
 abundance. This grass ( Triodia irri- 
 tans} is the traveller's torment, and 
 makes the plains, which it sometimes 
 covers for hundreds of miles, almost 
 impassable. Its blades, which have 
 points as sharp as needles, often prick 
 the horses' legs till they bleed." 
 
 1893. A. F. Calvert, ' English Illus- 
 trated Magazine,' Feb., p. 325 : 
 
 " They evidently preferred that kind 
 of watercress to the leaves of the hor- 
 rid, prickly Spinifex, so omnipresent in 
 the north-western district." 
 
 1896. R. Tate, ' Home Expedition in 
 Central Australia,' Botany, p. 119 : 
 
 "A species of Triodia ('porcupine 
 grass,' or incorrectly 'spinifex' of ex- 
 plorers and residents) dominates sandy 
 ground and the sterile slopes and tops 
 of the sandstone table-lands." 
 
 Spiny-Lizard, n. i.q. Mountain 
 Devil (q.v.). 
 
 Split-stuff, n. timber sawn into 
 lengths and then split. 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, 'My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 159 : 
 
 " ' Sawed stuff' and ' split stuff,' by 
 which is meant timber which is sawn 
 into regular forms and thicknesses, as 
 flooring boards, joints, battens, &c., 
 and that which is split into ' posts and 
 rails,' slabs, or paling. Some of the 
 species of eucalyptus, or gum-trees, 
 are peculiarly adapted for splitting. 
 The peppermint-tree (Eucalyptus pipe- 
 rita) and the ' Stringy Bark ' are re- 
 
 markable for the perfectly straight 
 grain which they often exhibit, and 
 are split with surprising evenness and 
 regularity into paling and boards for 
 'weather-boarding' houses and other 
 purposes, in lengths of six or eight 
 feet by one foot wide, and half or one- 
 third of an inch thick. . . . Any curve 
 in a tree renders it unfit for splitting, 
 but the crooked-grained wood is best 
 for sawing. . . . All houses in the 
 colony, with few exceptions, are roofed 
 with split shingles." 
 
 Splitter, n. a wood-cutter, cut- 
 ting timber in the bush, and 
 splitting it into posts and rails, 
 palings or shingles. See quota- 
 tion under Split-stuff. 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 105 : 
 
 " There were two splitters located 
 near us . . . they had a licence to split 
 timber on the crown lands." 
 
 1870. A. L. Gordon, 'Bush Ballads- 
 Wolf and Hound,' p. 32 : 
 
 "At the splitter's tent I had seen the 
 
 track 
 Of horse hoofs, fresh on the sward." 
 
 Spoonbill, n. a bird-name 
 widely used. The Australian 
 species are 
 Royal Spoonbill 
 
 Platalea regia. 
 Yellow-billed S. 
 
 P. flavipes. 
 
 P. regia has a fine crest in the 
 breeding season ; hence the name. 
 
 1863. M. K. Beveridge, ' Gatherings 
 among Gum-trees,' p. 79 : 
 " The sun is sinking in the western 
 
 sky, 
 
 And ibises and spoonbills thither 
 fly." 
 
 Spotted-tree. Same as Leopard- 
 tree (q.v.). 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 216 : 
 
 " Spotted or Leopard Tree. The 
 gum from this tree forms good adhesive 
 mucilage. It reminds one strongly 
 of East- India gum-arabic of good 
 quality. During the summer months 
 large masses, of a clear amber- 
 colour, exude from the stem and
 
 SPO-SQU] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 branches. It has a very pleasant 
 taste, is eaten by the aboriginals, and 
 forms a very common bushman's 
 remedy in diarrhoea." 
 
 Spotted-Orchis, n. Tasmanian 
 name for the Orchid Dipodium 
 pimctatuni) R.Br. 
 
 Spotting, n. New Zealand 
 equivalent for the Australian 
 "picking the eyes out," and " pea- 
 cocking." Under Free-selection 
 (q.v.), the squatter spotted his 
 run, purchasing choice spots. 
 
 Spotty, n. a New Zealand fish, 
 a Wrass, Labrichthys bothryocosmus, 
 Richards. ; also called Poddly 
 (q.v.), and Kelp-fish (q.v.). 
 
 1878. P. Thomson, ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xi. art. lii. p. 
 384: 
 
 "Wrasse, parrot-fish, and spotties 
 are often in the market. There are 
 two kinds of spotties, a big and a little. 
 The wrasse and the parrot-fish are 
 mostly caught outside amongst the 
 kelp, and these, with the spotty, are 
 indiscriminately called kelp-fish by 
 the fishermen." 
 
 Sprag, ;/. In gold-mining. See 
 quotation. The word is used in 
 England, applied to coal-mining. 
 
 1890. RolfBoldrewood, < Miner's Right,' 
 c. iii. p. 23 : 
 
 "A 'sprag,' being a stout piece of 
 hard wood, was inserted between the 
 rope and the iron roller on which the 
 rope ran." 
 
 Squat, v. to be a squat fer (q.v.) 
 in any of the senses of that word. 
 
 1846. Feb. u, 'Speech by Rev. J. D. 
 Lang,' quoted in ' Phillipsland,' p. 410 : 
 
 "In whatever direction one moves 
 out of Melbourne, whether north, east, 
 or west, all he sees or hears is merely 
 a repetition of this colonial note ' I 
 squat, thou squattest, he squats ; we 
 squat, ye or you squat, they squat.' . . . 
 Exeunt oinncs. ' They are all gone 
 out a-squatting.' " 
 
 1846. T. II. Brami, 'History of New 
 South Wales,' vol. i. p. 236 : 
 
 "The regulations . . . put an end 
 to squatting within the boundaries of 
 
 location, and reduced it to a system 
 without the boundaries." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (edition 1855), p. 136 : 
 
 "The Speaker squats equally and 
 alternately on the woolsack of the 
 House and at his wool-stations on the 
 Murrumbidgee. One may squat on 
 a large or small scale, squat directly 
 or indirectly, squat in person or by 
 proxy." 
 
 1854. W. Colder, ' Pigeons' Parliament,' 
 p. 68: 
 
 " Some spot, 
 Found here and there, where cotters 
 
 squat 
 With self-permission." 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 119 : 
 
 " Squatting, in its first phase, was 
 confined to the region round about 
 Sydney ; it was not until the pass 
 through the Blue Mountains was dis- 
 covered that the flocks and herds of 
 the colonists began to expand." 
 
 Squattage, n. a squatter's 
 station. The word can hardly be 
 said to have prevailed. 
 
 1864. W. Westgarth, ' Colony of Vic- 
 toria,' p. 272 : 
 
 " The great Riverine district, which 
 is one vast series of squattages . . . 
 the toil and solitude of a day's journey 
 between the homesteads of adjacent 
 squattages." 
 
 Squatter,;/, (i) One who squats; 
 "that is, settles on land without a 
 title or licence. This is an Eng- 
 lish use. 
 
 1835. T. A. Murray (Evidence before 
 Legislative Council of New South Wales 
 on Police and Gaols) : 
 
 " There are several parties of 
 squatters in my neighbourhood. I 
 detected, not long since, three men 
 at one of their stations in the act of 
 slaughtering one of my own cattle. I 
 have strong reason to suspect that 
 these people are, in general, illicit 
 sellers of spirits." 
 
 1835. W. H. Button (Evidence before 
 same Committee) : 
 
 "These persons (squatters) are al- 
 most invariably the instigators and 
 promoters of crime, receivers of stolen
 
 432 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SQU 
 
 property, illegal vendors of spirits, 
 and harbourers of runaways, bush- 
 rangers, and vagrants." 
 
 1843. Rev. W. Pridden, 'Australia: 
 Its History and Present Condition,' pp. 
 
 332-3 : 
 
 " The squat ters, as they are called, 
 are men who occupy with their cattle, 
 or their habitations, those spots on the 
 confines of a colony or estate which 
 have not yet become any person's 
 private property. By the natural in- 
 crease of their flocks and herds, many 
 of these squatters have enriched them- 
 selves ; and having been allowed to 
 enjoy the advantages of as much pas- 
 ture as they wanted in the bush, with- 
 out paying any rent for it to the govern- 
 ment, they have removed elsewhere 
 when the spot was sold, and have not 
 unfrequently gained enough to pur- 
 chase that or some other property. 
 Thus . . . the squatter has been con- 
 verted into a respectable settler. But 
 this is too bright a picture to form an 
 average specimen. . . . Unfortunately, 
 many of these squatters have been 
 persons originally of depraved and 
 lawless habits, and they have made 
 their residence at the very outskirts of 
 civilization a means of carrying on all 
 manner of mischief. Or sometimes 
 they choose spots of waste land near 
 a high road . . . there the squatters 
 knock up what is called a 'hut.' In 
 such places stolen goods are easily 
 disposed of, spirits and tobacco are 
 procured in return." 
 
 Ibid. p. 334: 
 
 " The rich proprietors have a great 
 aversion to the class of squatters, and 
 not unreasonably, yet they are thus, 
 many of them, squatters themselves, 
 only on a much larger scale. . . ." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. c. ix. p. 260 : 
 
 " This capital of Australia Felix had 
 for a long time been known to some 
 squatters from Tasmania." 
 
 1846. T. H. Braim, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' vol. i. p. 235 : 
 
 "A set of men who were to be 
 found upon the borders of every large 
 estate, and who were known by the 
 name of squatters. These were ticket- 
 of-leave holders, or freedmen who 
 erected a hut on waste land near a 
 
 great public road, or on the outskirts 
 of an estate." 
 
 1897. Australian Steam Navigation 
 Company, 'Guide Book,' p. 29: 
 
 " Nowaday squatters may be inter- 
 ested and possibly shocked on learning 
 that in March, 1836, a petition was 
 being largely signed for the prevention 
 of ' squatting, through which so much 
 crime was daily occurring,' inasmuch 
 as 'squatting' was but another term 
 for sly grog selling, receiving stolen 
 property, and harbouring bushrangers 
 and assigned servants. The term 
 ' squatter,'' as applied to the class it 
 now designates without which where 
 would Australia now be ? was not in 
 vogue till 1842." 
 
 (2) A pastoral tenant of the 
 Crown, often renting- from the 
 Crown vast tracts of land for 
 pasturage at an almost nominal 
 sum. The term is still frequently, 
 but incorrectly, used for a man 
 rearing and running stock on 
 freehold land. Pastoralist is now 
 the more favoured term. 
 
 1840. F. P. Labilliere, ' Early History 
 of the Colony of Victoria' (edition 1878), 
 vol. ii. p. 189 : 
 
 " In a memorandum of December 
 1 9th, 1840, 'on the disposal of Lands in 
 the Australian Provinces,' Sir George 
 Gipps informs the Secretary of State 
 on the subject, and states that,' A 
 very large proportion of the land 
 which is to form the new district of 
 Port Phillip is already in the licensed 
 occupation of the Squatters of New 
 South Wales, a class of persons whom 
 it would be wrong to confound with 
 those who bear the same name in 
 America, and who are generally per- 
 sons of mean repute and of small 
 means, who have taken unauthorized 
 possession of patches of land. Among 
 the Squatters of New South Wales are 
 the wealthiest of the land, occupying, 
 with the permission of the Govern- 
 ment, thousands and tens of thousands 
 of acres. Young men of good families 
 and connexions in England, officers of 
 the army and navy, graduates of Ox- 
 ford and Cambridge, are also in no 
 small number amongst them.' "
 
 SQU] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 1844. ' Port Phillip Patriot,' July 8, p. 
 3, col. 3 : 
 
 " The petitioner has already con- 
 signed the whole country to the class 
 squatter in perpetuity." 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, 'Australia,' p. 165 : 
 "The squatters of Australia Felix 
 
 will meet on horseback, upon Bat- 
 man's Hill, on the ist of June, for 
 the purpose of forming a Mutual 
 Protection Society. From the Murray 
 to the sea-beach, from the Snowy 
 Mountains to the Glenelg, let no 
 squatter be absent." 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 366 : 
 
 " ' Squatters.' A word not to be 
 found in 'Johnson's Dictionary'; of 
 Canadian extraction, literally to sit 
 on the haunches : in Australia a term 
 applied to the sheep farmers generally ; 
 from their being obliged frequently to 
 adopt that position." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Ex- 
 pedition ' (Introd.), p. 15 : 
 
 " We were received with the greatest 
 kindness by my friends the ' squatters,' 
 a class principally composed of young 
 men of good education, gentlemanly 
 habits, and high principles." 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, ' Australia Felix,' 
 p. 168: 
 
 " The Port Phillip squatters, as 
 occupants of the territory of New 
 South Wales, were afterwards required 
 to take out an annual depasturing 
 licence in terms of a Colonial Act 
 passed at Sydney." (p. 246) : " The 
 modern squatters, the aristocratic 
 portion of the colonial community." 
 
 1851. 'Australasian,' p. 298 : 
 
 "In 1840 the migratory flockmaster 
 had become a settled squatter. A 
 wretched slab hut is now his home ; 
 for furniture he has a rough bush- 
 made table, and two or three uncouth 
 stools." 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 128 : 
 
 " The term squatter was applied in 
 the first instance to signify, as in 
 America, such as erected huts on 
 unsold land. It thus came to be 
 applied to all who did not live on 
 their own land, to whom the original 
 and more expressive name of settler 
 continued to be applied. When the 
 
 owners of stock became influential 
 from their education and wealth, it 
 was thought due to them to change 
 this term for one more suitable to 
 their circumstances, as they now in- 
 cluded in their order nearly every 
 man of mark or wealth in Australia. 
 The Government suggested the term 
 'tenants of the Crown,' the press 
 hinted at ' licensed graziers,' and both 
 terms were in partial use, but such is 
 the prejudice in favour of what is 
 already established, that both were 
 soon disused, and the original term 
 finally adopted." 
 
 1862. G. T. Lloyd, ' Thirty-three Years 
 in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 478 : 
 
 "The term 'squatter' ... is thus 
 derived : A flock-master settling in 
 Australia could drive his stock to, and 
 occupy, any tract of country, which, 
 from its extent and pastoral capabili- 
 ties, might meet his comprehensive 
 views ; always provided, that such 
 lands had not been already appropri- 
 ated. . . . Early flock -masters were 
 always confirmed in their selection of 
 lands, according to the quantity of 
 stock they possessed. . . . The Vic- 
 torian Squatter who can number but 
 five or six thousand sheep is held to 
 be a man of no account. . . . Those 
 only, who can command the shearing 
 of from ten to forty thousand fleeces 
 annually, are estimated as worthy of 
 any note." 
 
 1866. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 47 : 
 
 " The squatters (as owners of sheep- 
 stations are called)." 
 
 1868. J. Bonwick, ' John Batman, 
 Founder of Victoria,' p. 94 : 
 
 " In the language of the times, 
 Messrs. Evans, Lancey, and subse- 
 quently J. P. Fawkner, were squatters. 
 That term is somewhat singular as 
 applied to the latter, who asserts that 
 he founded the colony to prevent its 
 getting into the hands of the squatters. 
 The term was then applied to all who 
 placed themselves upon public lands 
 without licence." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 265 : 
 
 " It is not too much to say that all 
 the early success of Australia was due 
 to the squatters of New South Wales, 
 
 F F
 
 434 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SQU 
 
 who followed the steps of Captain 
 McArthur." 
 
 1878. ' The Australian,' vol. i. p. 532 : 
 
 " I have been a super, a small free- 
 holder, and a middling-sized squatter, 
 at different times." 
 
 1889. Rev. J. H. Zillmann, ' Australian 
 Life,' p. 165 : 
 
 " The Squatters are the large lease- 
 holders and landed proprietors of the 
 colony, whose cry has always been 
 that the country was unfit for agricul- 
 tural settlement, and only adapted for 
 the pastoral pursuits in which they 
 were engaged. ... It is true the old 
 squatter has been well-nigh exter- 
 minated." 
 
 1893. J. F. Hogan, ' Robert Lowe,' p. 
 36: 
 
 " The pastoral enterprise of the 
 adventurous squatters. Originally 
 unrecognized trespassers on Crown 
 lands. . . ." 
 
 (3) Applied as a nickname to a 
 kind of Bronze-wing Pigeon (q.v.). 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 122 : 
 
 " On the plains you find different 
 kinds of pigeons, the squatters being 
 most common plump, dust-coloured 
 little fellows, crouching down to the 
 ground quite motionless as you pass. 
 I have frequently killed them with my 
 stock-whip." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 114 : 
 
 " Gentle little squatter-pigeons cooed 
 lovingly in answer to their mates on 
 all sides." 
 
 Squatterarchy, n. squatters 
 collectively. 
 
 1887. R. M. Praed, < Longleat of Koo- 
 ralbyn,' c. iii. p. 25 : 
 
 "The squatterarchy of the Koorong 
 rose up in a body and named its 
 hero, martyr." 
 
 Squatterdom, n. the state of 
 being a squatter, or collective 
 word for squatters ; the squatter- 
 party. 
 
 1866 (circiter). ' Political parody ' : 
 
 " The speaker then apologised, the 
 
 Members cried, Hear, Hear ; 
 
 And e'en the ranks of squatterdom 
 
 could scarce forbear to cheer." 
 
 1868. J. Bonwick, 'John Batman, 
 Founder of Victoria,' p. 94 : 
 
 "Writes to another at a distance 
 upon the subject of squatterdom." 
 
 Squatting, adj. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Ex- 
 pedition ' (Introd.), p. 13 : 
 
 " During my recent excursions 
 through the squatting districts, I had 
 accustomed myself to a comparatively 
 wild life." 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, ' Cooksland,' p. 268 : 
 " The large extent of land occupied 
 
 by each Squatting Station." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 2 : 
 " A gathering of the squatting and 
 
 bush life of Australia." 
 
 Squattocracy, n. squatters 
 collectively. 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 -of Australia,' p. 118: 
 
 " Throughout the Colony generally, 
 English are the most numerous, then 
 the Scotch, then the Irish, amongst 
 the squattocracy." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 59 : 
 
 " The howl for the abolition of the 
 squattocracy had not yet been fostered 
 under the malign influence of short- 
 sighted politicians." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' Head Station,' p. 
 35 ('Century') : 
 
 " The bloated squattocracy re- 
 presents Australian conservatism." 
 
 1890. E. W. Hornung, ' A Bride from 
 -the Bush,' p. 243 : 
 
 "The hearty, hospitable manner of 
 the colonial ' squatocracy.' " 
 
 1890. Rolf Bolclrewood, ' Squatters 
 Dream,' c. iv. p. 42 : 
 
 " He trusted to pass into the ranks 
 of the Squatocracy." 
 
 Squattocratic, adj. connected 
 with previous word. 
 
 1854. ' Melbourne Morning Herald,' 
 Feb. 18, p. 4, col. 5 : 
 
 "Squattocratic Impudence." [A 
 heading.] 
 
 Squeaker, n. a vernacular name 
 applied to various birds from their 
 cries. See quotations. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. ii. pi. 45 :
 
 SQU-STA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 435 
 
 " Strcpera Anaphonensis, Grey 
 Crow-shrike ; Squeaker of the Colon- 
 ists." 
 
 1855. W. Blandowski, ' Transactions of 
 Philosophical Society, Victoria,' vol. i. p. 
 
 63: 
 
 "The Squeaker (Strepera anapho- 
 
 nensis) is a shy and solitary bird, 
 living entirely on the flats, and is re- 
 markable on account of its frequenting 
 only the same locality. He is hence 
 easily distinguished from the Gymnor- 
 hina tibicen, whose shrill and piping 
 voice is so well known on all the high 
 lands." 
 
 1896. A. J. North, ' List of Insectivor- 
 ous Birds of New South Wales,' part i. 
 p. i : 
 
 " A local name is often more apt to 
 mislead and confuse than to assist one 
 in recognizing the particular species on 
 which it is bestowed. This is chiefly 
 due to the same local name being 
 applied to two or more species. For 
 instance, Corcorax mclanorhainphus, 
 Xerophila leucopsis, and Myzantha 
 garrula are all locally known in differ- 
 ent parts of the Colony by the name of 
 ' Squeaker.' " 
 
 Squid, n. a marine animal. The 
 Australian species is Sepioteuthis 
 australis, Quoy and Gaim. 
 
 1883. ' Report of the Royal Commission 
 on the Fisheries of Tasmania,' p. xi : 
 
 " None of the Squid family seems to 
 be sought after, although certain kinds 
 are somewhat abundant in our waters. 
 It is stated by the New South Wales 
 Fisheries Enquiry Commission, 1880, 
 that ' the cephalopods might be made 
 a source of a considerable profit 
 for exportation to Japan and China. 
 In both these countries all animal 
 substances of a gelatinous character 
 are in great request, and none more 
 than those of the cuttle-fish tribe ; the 
 squid (Sepioteuthis australis) is highly 
 appreciated, and in consequence is 
 highly prized. The cuttle-fish (sepia) 
 is of rather inferior quality, and the 
 star-fish of the fishermen (octopus) not 
 used at all.'" 
 
 1892. R. L. Stevenson, ' The Wrecker, 
 
 P- 345 : 
 
 "You can't fill up all these retainers 
 on tinned salmon for nothing ; bu 
 whenever I could get it, I would give 
 
 em squid. Squid's good for natives, 
 jut I don't care for it, do you ? or 
 hark either." 
 
 Squire, n. name given to the 
 ish called Schnapper at two years 
 old. See Schnapper. 
 
 Squirrel, n. See Flying- 
 Squirrel. 
 
 Stamper, or Stamphead, n. " A 
 cast-iron weight, or head, fixed on 
 to a shank or lifter, and used for 
 stamping or reducing quartz to a 
 fine sand." (Brough Smyth, 
 'Glossary.') The word is used 
 elsewhere as a term in machinery. 
 In Australia, it signifies the ap- 
 pliance above described. The 
 form stamp/lead is the earlier one. 
 The shorter word stamper is now 
 the more usual. 
 
 1869. J. F. Blanche, ' Prince's Visit,' p. 
 
 25: 
 
 " For steam and stampers now are 
 all the rage." 
 
 1880. A. Sutherland, ' Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 76 : 
 
 "The battery was to have eight 
 stampers." 
 
 1890. ' Goldfields of Victoria,' p. u : 
 
 "This, with the old battery, brings 
 the number of stampers up to sixty." 
 
 Ibid. p. 15 : 
 
 " A battery of twenty - six stamp- 
 heads." 
 
 Star of Bethlehem. The Old 
 World plant is Ornithogalum um- 
 bellatum ; the name is given in 
 Australia to Chamcescilla corymbosa, 
 and in Tasmania to Burchardia 
 umbellata, R. Br., both of the 
 Liliacece. 
 
 Star-fern, n. name given in 
 Victoria to Gleichenia flabellata, 
 R. Br. ; called also Fan-fern. See 
 Fern. 
 
 Starling, n. English bird-name. 
 The Australian species is the 
 Shining Starling, Calornis metal- 
 lica. The common English star- 
 ling is also acclimatised.
 
 436 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [STA-STE 
 
 Start, n. The young Australian 
 has a fine contempt for the English 
 word to begin, which he never uses 
 where he can find any substitute. 
 He says commence or start, and he 
 always uses commence followed by 
 the infinitive instead of by the 
 verbal noun, as "The dog com- 
 menced to bark." 
 
 1896. Modern talk in the train : 
 " The horse started to stop, and the 
 backers commenced to hoot." 
 
 Station, n. originally the house 
 with the necessary buildings and 
 home-premises of a sheep-run, 
 and still used in that sense ; but 
 now more generally signifying 
 the run and all that goes with it. 
 Stations are distinguished as 
 Sheep-stations and Cattle-stations. 
 
 1833. C. Sturt,' Southern Australia,' vol. 
 i. (Introd.): 
 
 "They . . . will only be occupied as 
 distant stock-stations." 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 120 : 
 
 "Their [squatters'] huts or houses, 
 gardens, paddocks, etc., form what is 
 termed a station, while the range of 
 country over which their flocks and 
 herds roam is termed a run." 
 
 1868. J. Bonvvick, 'John Batman, 
 Founder of Victoria,' p. 35 : 
 
 *' The lecturer assured his audience 
 that he came here to prevent this 
 country being a squatting station." 
 
 1870. A. L. Gordon, 'Bush Ballads,' 
 P- 17: 
 
 " The sturdy station-children pull the 
 bush flowers on my grave." 
 
 1890. E. D. Cleland, 'The White 
 Kangaroo,' p. 4 : 
 
 " Station the term applied in the 
 colonies to the homesteads of the 
 sheep-farmers or squatters." 
 
 1890. RolfBoldrewood, ' Miner's Right,' 
 c. xviii. p. 171 : 
 
 " Men who in their youth had been 
 peaceful stockmen and station- 
 labourers." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from Snowy 
 River,' p. 125 : 
 
 " I'm travellin' down the Castlereagh 
 and I'm a station-hand, 
 
 I'm handy with the ropin' pole, I'm 
 handy with the brand, 
 
 And I can ride a rowdy colt, or 
 swing the axe all day, 
 
 But there's no demand for a station- 
 hand along the Castlereagh." 
 
 Station-jack, n. a form of bush 
 cookery. 
 
 1853. ' The Emigrant's Guide to Aus- 
 tralia.' [Article on Bush-Cookery, from 
 an unpublished MS. by Mrs. Chisholm], 
 pp. IH-I2 : 
 
 " The great art of bush-cookery con- 
 sists in giving a variety out of salt beef 
 and flour ... let the Sunday share 
 be soaked on the Saturday, and beat 
 it well . . . take the . . . flour and 
 work it into a paste ; then put the beef 
 into it, boil it, and you will have a very 
 nice pudding, known in the bush as 
 ' Station-jack.'" 
 
 Stavewood, n. another name 
 for the Flindosy Beech. See 
 Beech. 
 
 Stay-a-while, ;/. a tangled 
 bush ; sometimes called Wait-a- 
 while (q.v.). 
 
 Steamer, n. obsolete name for 
 a colonial dish. See quotation. 
 
 1820. Lieut. C. Jeffreys, R.N., 'Geo- 
 graphical and Descriptive Delineations of 
 the Island of Van Dieman's Land,' p. 69 : 
 
 " Their meal consisted of the hind- 
 quarters of a kangaroo cut into mince- 
 meat, stewed in its own gravy, with a 
 few rashers of salt pork ; this dish is 
 commonly called a steamer." 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 309 : 
 
 " Our largest animals are the Kan- 
 garoos . . . making most delicious 
 stews and steaks, the favourite dish 
 being what is called a steamer, com- 
 posed of steaks and chopped tail, (with 
 a few slices of salt pork,) stewed with 
 a very small quantity of water for a 
 couple of hours in a close vessel." 
 
 Stewart Islander, n. name given 
 to the oyster, Ostrea chiloensis, 
 Sowerby ; so called because it is 
 specially abundant on Stewart 
 Island off the south coast of New 
 Zealand. The Stewart Island
 
 STl] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 437 
 
 forms are mud oysters, those of 
 Sydney Cove growing on rock. 
 See Oyster. 
 
 Stick-Caterpillar, n. See Phas- 
 mid. 
 
 Stick-up, v. tr. (i) The regular 
 word for the action of bush- 
 rangers stopping passers-by on 
 the highway and robbing them. 
 
 (2) In the case of a bank or a 
 station, simply to rob. 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. c. xiii. p. 502 : 
 
 " It was only the previous night that 
 he had been ' stuck up ' with a pistol 
 at his head." 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, 'Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. ii. p. 187 : 
 
 " Unless the mail came well armed, 
 a very few men could ' stick it up,' 
 without any trouble or danger." 
 
 1857. 'Melbourne Punch,' Feb. 19, p. 
 26, col. I : 
 
 " I have been stuck up, trampled in 
 the mud." 
 
 1869. J. Townend, 'Reminiscences of 
 Australia,' p. 140 : 
 
 " Five or six bushrangers took up a 
 position about a mile from town, and 
 (to use a colonial phrase) 'stuck up' 
 every person that passed." 
 
 1869. Mrs. W. M. Howell, ' The Dig- 
 gings and the Bush,' p. 93 : 
 
 "The escort has been 'stuck up,' 
 and the robbers have taken notes to 
 the value of ,700, and two thousand 
 ounces of gold." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 253 : 
 
 " We had a revolver apiece in case 
 of being ' stuck up ' on the road." 
 
 1888. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Robbery 
 under Arms,' p. 168 : 
 
 "We could make more money in 
 one night by ' sticking up ' a coach or 
 a bank than in any other way in a 
 year . . . Any one who has been 
 stuck up himself knows that there's 
 not much chance of doing much in the 
 resisting line." [The operation is then 
 explained fully.] 
 
 1890. Lyth, ' Golden South,' c. viii. 
 p. 68 : 
 
 " Accounts of bushrangers ' sticking 
 
 up' stations, travellers, and banks 
 were very frequent." 
 
 1893. ' Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 
 26, p. 4. col. 6 : 
 
 "The game of sticking up hotels 
 used to be in the old days a popular 
 one, and from the necessary openness 
 of the premises the practice was easy 
 to carry out." 
 
 (3) Humorously applied to a 
 collector or a beggar. In 
 ' Twenty - five Years of St. An- 
 drews ' (vol. ii. p. 87), A. K. H. B. 
 tells a story of a church dignitary, 
 who was always collecting money 
 for church building. When a 
 ghost appeared at Glamis Castle, 
 addressing the ghost, the clergy- 
 man began that "he was most 
 anxious to raise money for a 
 church he was erecting ; that he 
 had a bad cold and could not 
 well get out of bed ; but that his 
 collecting-book was on the dress- 
 ing-table, and he would be ' ex- 
 tremely obliged' for a subscrip- 
 tion." An Australian would have 
 said he " stuck up" the ghost for 
 a subscription. 
 
 1890. E. W. Hornung, 'A Bride from 
 the Bush,' p. 297 : 
 
 "You never get stuck up for cop- 
 pers in the streets of the towns." 
 
 (4) Bring a kangaroo to bay. 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 
 Memories,' c. iii. p. 24 : 
 
 " We knew that she had ' stuck up ' 
 or brought to bay a large forester." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 
 P- 15 = 
 
 "The fiercest fighter I ever saw 
 ' stuck up ' against a red gum-tree." 
 
 (5) Simply to stop. 
 
 1863. S. Butler, ' First Year in Canter- 
 bury Settlement,' p. 68 : 
 
 " This [waterfall] ' stuck us up,' as 
 they say here concerning any diffi- 
 culty." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 2 : 
 
 " We are stuck up for an hour or 
 more, and can get a good feed over 
 there."
 
 438 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [STI 
 
 (6) To pose, to puzzle. 
 
 1896. Modern : 
 
 " I was stuck up for an answer." 
 " That last riddle stuck him up." 
 
 1897. ' The Australasian,' Jan. 2, p. 33, 
 col. i : 
 
 " The professor seems to have stuck 
 up any number of candidates with the 
 demand that they should 'construct 
 one simple sentence out of all the 
 following.'" 
 
 Sticker-up, n. sc. a bushranger. 
 
 1879. w - J- Barry > ' Up and Down,' 
 p. 197: 
 
 " They had only just been liberated 
 from gaol, and were the stickers-up, 
 or highwaymen mentioned." 
 
 Sticker-up -, n. a term of early 
 bush cookery, the method, ex- 
 plained in first quotation, being 
 borrowed from the aborigines. 
 
 1830. ' Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 
 112 : 
 
 "Which he cooked in the mode 
 called in colonial phrase a sticker up. 
 A straight twig being cut as a spit, the 
 slices were strung upon it, and laid 
 across two forked sticks leaning to- 
 wards the fire." 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, 'My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 55 : 
 
 " Here I was first initiated into the 
 bush art of ' sticker-up ' cookery . . . 
 the orthodox material here is of course 
 kangaroo, a piece of which is divided 
 nicely into cutlets two or three inches 
 broad and a third of an inch thick. 
 The next requisite is a straight clean 
 stick, about four feet long, sharpened 
 at both ends. On the narrow part of 
 this, for the space of a foot or more, 
 the cutlets are spitted at intervals, and 
 on the end is placed a piece of deli- 
 cately rosy fat bacon. The strong end 
 of the stick-spit is now stuck fast and 
 erect in the ground, close by the fire, 
 to leeward ; care being taken that it 
 does not burn." "... to men that 
 are hungry, stuck-up kangaroo and 
 bacon are very good eating." ". . . 
 our 'sticker-up' consisted only of 
 ham." 
 
 1862. G. T. Lloyd, ' Thirty-three Years 
 in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 103 : 
 
 "Pounds of rosy steaks . . . skil- 
 
 fully rigged after the usual approved 
 fashion (termed in Bush parlance a 
 ' sticker-up'), before the brilliant wood 
 fire, soon sent forth odours most grate- 
 ful to the hungered way-worn Bush- 
 men." 
 
 Stilt, n, English bird-name. In 
 New Zealand, the species are 
 The Black Stilt 
 
 Himantopus nova - zelanditz, 
 
 Gould ; Maori name, Kaki. 
 Pied S., or Whiteheaded S. 
 H. leucocephalus, Gould ; Maori 
 
 name, Tutiunata. 
 White-necked S. 
 H. albicollis, Buller. 
 H. leucocephalus (the White-headed 
 Stilt} is also present in Aus- 
 tralia, and the world-wide 
 species, H. pectoralis, Du Bus. 
 (the a tided Stilt], is found 
 through all Australasia. 
 
 Stingareeing, //. the sport of 
 catching Stingrays, or Stingarees. 
 
 1872. Hutton and Hector, ' Fishes of 
 New Zealand,' p. 121 : 
 
 " It has been recently discovered 
 by the writer of the animated article 
 in the 'Field' on Fishing in New 
 Zealand [London, Nov. 25, 1871], that 
 ' Stingareeing ' can be made to afford 
 sport of a most exciting kind." 
 
 Stinging-tree, ?/. a Queensland 
 name for the Giant Nettle, or Nettle- 
 tree (q.v.). 
 
 1890. A. J. Vogan, ' The Black Police,' 
 p. 209 : 
 
 " The stinging-tree, . . . the most 
 terrible of all vegetable growths. This 
 horrible guardian of the Queensland 
 jungle stands from five to fifteen feet 
 in height, and has a general appear- 
 ance somewhat similar to that of a 
 small mulberry-tree. Their peculiarly 
 soft and inviting aspect is caused by 
 an almost invisible coating of micro- 
 scopic cillia, and it is to these that the 
 dangerous characteristics of the plant 
 are due. The unhappy wanderer in 
 these wilds, who allows any part of his 
 body to come in contact with those 
 beautiful, inviting tongues of green, 
 soon finds them veritable tongues of
 
 STI-STO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 439 
 
 fire, and it will be weeks, perhaps 
 months, ere the scorching agony 
 occasioned by their sting is entirely 
 eradicated." 
 
 Sting-moth, n. an Australian 
 moth, Doratifera vulnerans. The 
 larva has at each end of the body 
 four tubercles bearing stinging 
 hairs. ('Standard.') 
 
 Stinkwood, ;/. The name is 
 given to various woods in differ- 
 ent parts of the world, from their 
 unpleasant smell. In Tasmania, 
 it is applied to the timber of Zieria 
 smithii, Andr., N.O. Rutacecc. 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 
 P- !75 : 
 
 "The timber in this district I found 
 to be principally myrtle, sassafras, and 
 stinkwood." 
 
 Stint, n. English bird-name. 
 The Australian species are 
 
 Curlew Stint 
 
 Trifi^a subarquata, Gmel. 
 Little S. 
 
 T. ruficollis. 
 Sharp-tailed S. 
 
 T. acuminata, Horsf. 
 
 Stitch-bird, n. a bird of New 
 Zealand. See quotation. 
 
 1885. Hugh Martin, ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xviii. art. 
 xxii. p. 112 : 
 
 "Pogonornis cincta (Hihi, Mata- 
 hiore, stitch-bird), North Island." 
 [From a list of New Zealand birds 
 that ought to be protected.] 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 101 : 
 
 " Pogonornis cincta, Gray. [A full 
 description.]" 
 
 1889. Prof. Parker, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 119: 
 
 " Stitch-bird (Pogonornis cincta), 
 formerly abundant in the North Island, 
 but now extinct on the main-land, and 
 found only in some of the outlying 
 islets. The rarest and one of the 
 most beautiful of native Passerines." 
 
 Stock, n. The word has many 
 meanings, In the one from which 
 
 the Australian compounds are 
 made, it denotes horses, cattle, or 
 sheep, the farmer's stock in trade. 
 Of course, this use is not peculiar 
 to Australia, but it is unusually 
 common there. 
 
 1802. G. Barrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. ix. p. 320: 
 
 "The cattle suffered much, and 
 some of both the public and private 
 stock perished." 
 
 Stock-agent, n. more usually 
 in the form Stock and Station- 
 agent. The circumstances of Aus- 
 tralian life make this a common 
 profession. 
 
 Stock-holder, ;/. a grazier ; 
 owner of large herds of cattle, or 
 flocks of sheep. 
 
 1820. Lieut. Chas. Jeffreys, ' Delinea- 
 tions of Van Dieman's Land ' [sic], p. 25 : 
 
 " Near this is the residence of D. 
 Rose, Esq., formerly an officer of the 
 73rd regiment, and now a large land 
 and stockholder." 
 
 1824. E. Curr, ' Account of Van Die- 
 men's Land,' p. 83 : 
 
 " The most negligent stock-holders 
 now carefully house their wool, and 
 many take the trouble to wash their 
 sheep." 
 
 Stock-horse, n. horse accus- 
 tomed to go after cattle used in 
 mustering and cutting-out (q.v.). 
 
 1874. W. II. L. Ranken, ' Dominion of 
 Australia,' c. vi. p. 122: 
 
 "The Australian stock-horse is a 
 wonderful animal. . . . He has a 
 wonderful constitution, splendid feet, 
 great endurance, and very good tem- 
 per." 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' June 14, p. 4, 
 col. i : 
 
 "A twenty-year-old stock-horse." 
 
 Stock-hut, n. the hut of a 
 stock-man. 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, ' Southern Australia,' vol. 
 ii. c. ii. p. 21 : 
 
 "We crossed the Underaliga creek 
 a little below the stock-hut." 
 
 Stock-keep, v. a quaint com- 
 pound verb.
 
 440 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [STO 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. x. p. 96 (1890): 
 
 "~* What can you do, young man ? ' 
 'Well, most things . . . fence, split, 
 milk, drive bullocks, stock - keep, 
 plough." 
 
 Stock-keeper, n. equivalent to 
 a shepherd, or herdsman. 
 
 1821. Governor Macquarie, ' Govern- 
 ment Notice,' June 30, 1821, in E. Curr's 
 1 Van Diemen's Land' (1824), p. 154 : 
 
 " To yard the flocks at night . . . 
 for the purpose of keeping the stock- 
 keepers in check, and sufficient shep- 
 herds should be kept to ensure constant 
 attention to the flock." 
 
 1828. Governor Arthur in J. BischofFs 
 ' Van Diemen's Land,' 1832, p. 185: 
 
 " Every kind of injury .committed 
 against the defenceless natives by the 
 stock-keepers." 
 
 Stock-man, n. used in Aus- 
 tralia for a man employed to look 
 after stock. 
 
 1821. Governor Macquarie, ' Govern- 
 ment Notice,' June 30, 1821, in E. Curr's 
 ' Van Diemen's Land ' (edition 1824), p. 
 
 155: 
 
 " It is the common practice with 
 owners of flocks to allow their shep- 
 herds to acquire and keep sheep . . . 
 it affords to the stock-men a cover 
 frequently for disposing dishonestly of 
 sheep belonging to their master." 
 
 1822. G. W. Evans, 'Description of 
 Van Diemen's Land,' p. 68 : 
 
 " At its junction there is a fine space, 
 named by the stockmen Native Hut 
 Valley." 
 
 1833. C. Sturt,' Southern Australia,' vol. 
 i. c. i. p. 6 : 
 
 "He was good enough to send for 
 the stockman (or chief herdsman)." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. c. xii. p. 402 : 
 
 " An exchange of looks I caught the 
 overseer and stockman indulging in." 
 
 1854. w - Colder, ' Pigeons' Parliament,' 
 p. 96: 
 
 " Here and there a stockman's cottage 
 stands." 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, 'Old Colonials,' p. $: 
 
 "Would you still exchange your 
 comfortable home and warm fireside 
 ... for a wet blanket, a fireless camp, 
 
 and all the other etceteras of the stock- 
 man's life ? " 
 
 1886. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 17 : 
 " One stooped a stockman from the 
 
 nearer hills 
 
 To loose his wallet strings." 
 Stock-rider, ;/. a man employed 
 to look after cattle, properly on 
 an unfenced station. 
 
 1870. A. L. Gordon, ' Bush Ballads ' 
 [Title] : 
 
 "The Sick Stock-rider." 
 
 1892. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the Com- 
 pass in Australia,' p. 33 ; 
 
 '"Thus far into the bowels of the 
 
 land 
 
 Have we marched on without im- 
 pediment,' 
 
 said a lithe-limbed stock-rider, bearded 
 like a pard, as he lit his pipe the 
 bushman's only friend. And this was 
 once a fellow of St. John's, Cambridge." 
 
 Stock-riding, n. the occupa- 
 tion of a Stock-rider (q.v.). 
 
 1880. Fison and Howitt, ' Kamilaroi 
 and Kurnai,' p. 260 [Footnote] : 
 
 "Like other Australian aborigines, 
 the Kurnai have a natural aptitude for 
 stock-riding." 
 
 Stock-route, n. When land is 
 first let in surveyed blocks to a 
 Squatter (q.v.), and is, of course, 
 unfenced, the lessee is required 
 by law to leave passages through 
 it from two to four chains wide, 
 at certain intervals, as a right-of- 
 way for travelling sheep and 
 cattle. These are called Stock- 
 routes. He may fence these 
 routes if he chooses which he 
 very rarely does but if he fences 
 across the route he must provide 
 gates or slip-rails (q.v.), or other 
 free passage. 
 
 1896. ' The Argus,' May 21, p. 5, col. i: 
 
 " To-day the Land Board dealt with 
 the application for the re-appraisement 
 of the Yantara pastoral holding. The 
 manager said that owing to deterioration 
 of the feed through the rabbits, from 
 9 to 10 acres were required to carry 
 a sheep. . . . Thirteen trial wells had 
 been put down on the holding, all
 
 STO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 44 r 
 
 of which had bottomed on a drift of 
 salt water. Four stock routes passed 
 through the area, one being the 
 main stock route from South-western 
 Queensland. . . . Wild dogs had been 
 troublesome since the February rains. 
 . . . There were Government bores on 
 the run." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, 'Man from Snowy 
 River,' p. 51 : 
 " Now Saltbush Bill was a drover 
 
 tough, as ever the country knew, 
 He had fought his way on the Great 
 Stock Routes from the sea to the 
 Big Barcoo." 
 
 Stock-up, v. complete the 
 number of animals on a station, 
 so that it may carry its full com- 
 plement. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' c. vii. p. 68: 
 
 " I shall decide to stock up as soon 
 as the fences are finished." 
 
 Stock-whip, n. whip for driv- 
 ing cattle. See quotations. 
 
 1857. W. Howitt, 'Tallangetta,' vol. i. 
 p. IOO: 
 
 " The stock-whip, with a handle about 
 half a yard long and a thong of three 
 yards long, of plaited bullock-hide, is 
 a terrible instrument in the hands of 
 a practised stockman. Its sound is 
 the note of terror to the cattle ; it is 
 like the report of a blunderbuss, and 
 the stockman at full gallop will hit any 
 given spot on the beast that he is 
 within reach of, and cut the piece 
 away through the thickest hide that 
 bull or bison ever wore." 
 
 1870. A. L. Gordon, 'Bush Ballads,' 
 p. 14 : 
 
 " With a running fire of stock-whips 
 and a fiery run of hoofs." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 76: 
 
 " The stock-whip, which bears such 
 a prominent part in all dealings with 
 cattle, is from twelve to fourteen feet 
 in length, with a short light handle 
 of about fourteen inches long, to which 
 it is attached by a leather keeper as 
 on a hunting crop. . . . The whip is 
 made of a carefully selected strip of 
 green hide, great attention having been 
 paid to curing it." 
 
 Stocks-man, n. an unusual 
 form for Stock-man (q.v.). 
 
 1862. F. J. Jobson, ' Australia,' c. vi. p. 
 MS: 
 
 "We saw the stocksman seated 
 upon his bony long-limbed steed." 
 
 Stone-lifter, n. a Melbourne 
 name for the fish Kathetostoma 
 l<zve, Bl., family Trachinidce^ one of 
 the genera of the " Stargazers " 
 (Uranoscopina], which have eyes 
 on the surface of the head. 
 
 Stonewall, v. intr. (i) A Par- 
 liamentary term : to make use 
 of the forms of the House so as 
 to delay public business. 
 
 (2) To obstruct business at 
 any meeting, chiefly by long- 
 winded speeches. 
 
 (3) To play a slow game at 
 cricket, blocking balls rather 
 than making runs. 
 
 1876. ' Victorian Hansard,' Jan., vol. 
 xxii. p. 1387 : 
 
 " Mr. G. Paton Smith wished to ask 
 the honourable member for Geelong 
 West whether the six members sitting 
 beside him (Mr. Berry) constituted the 
 ' stone wall ' that had been spoken of ? 
 Did they constitute the stonewall which 
 was to oppose all progress to prevent 
 the finances being dealt with and the 
 business of the country carried on ? 
 It was like bully Bottom's stone wall. 
 It certainly could not be a very high 
 wall, nor a very long wall, if it only 
 consisted of six." 
 
 1884. G. W. Rusden, ' History of Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. iii. p. 405 : 
 
 " Abusing the heroic words of Stone- 
 wall Jackson, the Opposition applied 
 to themselves the epithet made famous 
 by the gallant Confederate General." 
 
 1894. ' The Argus,' Jan. 26, p. 3, col. 
 
 "The Tasmanians [sc. cricketers] 
 do not as a rule stonewall." 
 
 Stonewood, n. Callistemon 
 salignus, De C., N.O. Myrtacece ; 
 called also the River Tea-tree. 
 
 1894. ' Melbourne Museum Catalogue 
 Economic Woods,' No. 48 : 
 
 " Stonewood."
 
 442 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [STO-STR 
 
 Store, n. a bullock, cow, or 
 sheep bought to be fattened for 
 the market. 
 
 1874. W. H. L. Ranken, 'Dominion of 
 Australia," c. xiii. p. 233 : 
 
 " They then, if ' stores,' pass to the 
 rich salt-bush country of Riverina." 
 
 Store-cattle, n. lean cattle 
 bought to be fattened for the 
 market ; often contracted to stores 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1885. R - -^ r - Praed, ' Head-Station,' p. 
 74: 
 
 " Oh, we're not fit for anything but 
 store-cattle : we are all blady grass." 
 
 Stranger, ;/. name given in Vic- 
 toria and Tasmania to the Rock- 
 Whiting, Odax richardsoni, Giinth., 
 family Labridce. The Stranger, 
 which is a marine fish, is caught 
 occasionally in the fresher water of 
 the upper estuary of the Derwent ; 
 hence its name. See Whiting. 
 
 1875. ' Spectator ' (Melbourne), June 
 19, 1881, p. i : 
 
 " Common fish such as ... garfish, 
 strangers, silvers, and others.' 
 
 Stringy-bark, n. (i) any one 
 of various Gums, with a tough 
 fibrous bark used for tying, for 
 cordage, for roofs of huts, etc. 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 37 : 
 
 "The string bark [sic] tree is also 
 useful, and its bark, which is of a 
 fibrous texture, often more than an 
 inch in thickness, parts easily from 
 the wood, and may be obtained ten 
 or twelve feet in length, and seven or 
 eight in breadth." 
 
 1848. \V. Westgarth, ' Australia Felix,' 
 
 P- 73: 
 
 " The natives appear also to like the 
 fruit of the pandanus, of which large 
 quantities are found in their camps, 
 soaking in water contained in vessels 
 formed of stringy-bark." 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, ' Port Phillip 
 in 1849,' P- 2 7 : 
 
 " In truth, the forests of Australia 
 (consisting principally of woods of 
 iron-bark, stringy-bark, and other 
 species of the Eucalyptus) seen at a 
 
 distance, just before sunset, are noble 
 objects perfect pictures." 
 
 1862. G. T. Lloyd, ' Thirty-three Years 
 in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 29 : 
 
 " The stringy bark tree is so named 
 from the ropy nature of its bark, which 
 is frequently used for tying on the rods 
 and thatch of sheds, huts, and barns in 
 the country." 
 
 1862. W. Archer, 'Products of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 39 : 
 
 " Gum-topped String-bark, some- 
 times called white gum (Eucalyptus 
 gigantea, var.). A tree resembling the 
 Blue Gum in foliage, with rough bark 
 similar to Stringy Bark towards the 
 stem." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. i. p. 237 : 
 
 " Stringy-bark trees were also seen 
 so called, because the rough bark 
 has a brown tenacious fibre, like that 
 of the cocoanut, which can be split off 
 in sheets to make the roofs of houses, 
 or unravelled into a fibre that will tie 
 like string." 
 
 1868. Carleton, 'Australian Nights,' 
 p. 2: 
 
 " The mia-mia that the native dark 
 Had formed from sheets of stringy 
 bark." 
 
 1873. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 204: 
 
 " The Stringy-bark tree is of straight 
 growth, and takes its name from the 
 strip-like character of its bark. . . . 
 The wood is of a brown colour, hard, 
 heavy, strong and close in the grain. 
 It works up well ... in ship-building, 
 for planking, beams, keels and keel- 
 sons, and in civil architecture for joists, 
 flooring, etc. Upon the farms it is 
 used for fences and agricultural imple- 
 ments : it is also employed for furniture 
 and for all ordinary purposes." 
 
 1880. Fison and Howitt, ' Kamilaroi and 
 Kurnai,' p. 196: 
 
 " Down to the waist they are all 
 wound round with frayed stringy-bark 
 in thick folds." 
 
 1894. 'The Age,' Oct. 19, p. 5, col. 8: 
 
 "Granite and stringy-bark are always 
 associated with ' hungry ' country." 
 
 (2) Bush slang for bad whisky.
 
 STR-SUG] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 443 
 
 1890. A. J. Vogan, ' The Black Police,' 
 p. 217: 
 
 " Stringy-bark, _a curious combina- 
 tion of fusil oil and turpentine, labelled 
 1 whisky.' " 
 
 Stringy-bark, adj. equivalent 
 to "bush." 
 
 1833. Oct. ' New South Wales Magazine,' 
 vol. I. p. 173: 
 
 "... the workmanship of which I 
 beg you will not scrutinize, as I am but, 
 to use a colonial expression, 'a stringy- 
 bark carpenter.' " 
 
 1853. C. RudstonRead, 'What I Heard, 
 Saw, and Did at the Australian Gold 
 Fields,' p. 53 : 
 
 ". . . after swimming a small river 
 about loo yards wide he'd arrive at 
 old Geordy's, a stringy bark settler . . ." 
 
 Sturt's Desert Pea, n. a 
 beautiful creeper, Clianthus dam- 
 pieri, Cunn., N. O. Leguminosce, 
 which will only grow in very dry, 
 sandy soil. It is sometimes called 
 Lobster's Claw, from its clusters of 
 brilliant scarlet flowers with black- 
 purple centres, like a lobster's 
 claw. Called also Glory Pea 
 (q.v.). See Clianthus. 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. i. p. 29 : 
 
 " Amongst which appears the beau- 
 tiful clianthus, known to the colonists 
 as Sturt's desert pea." [Footnote] : 
 " Woodward in ' Dampier's Voyages,' 
 vol. iii. cap. 4, pi. 2. The plant is there 
 called Colutca Novcc-Hollandicc. Its 
 name now is Clianthus Dampicri. R. 
 Brown proposed the name of Ercmo- 
 charis, from the Greek tprjuos, desert." 
 [Dampier's voyage was made in 1699, 
 and the book published in 1703. Mr. 
 Woodward contributed notes on the 
 plants brought home by Dampier.] 
 
 Stump-jump Plough, n. a farm 
 implement, invented in Australia, 
 for ploughing the wheat-lands, 
 which are often left with the 
 stumps of the cleared trees not 
 eradicated. 
 
 1896. ' Waybrook Implement Company ' 
 (Advt.): 
 
 " It is only a very few years since it 
 
 came into use, and no one ever thought 
 it was going to turn a trackless scrub 
 into a huge garden. But now from 
 the South Australian border right 
 through to the Murray, farms and 
 comfortable homesteads have taken 
 the place of dense scrub. . . . This 
 last harvest, over three hundred thou- 
 sand bags of wheat were delivered at 
 Warracknabeal, and this wonderful 
 result must, in the main, be put down 
 to the Stump-jump Plough. It has 
 been one of the best inventions this 
 colony has ever been blessed with." 
 
 Stump-tailed Lizard, n. an 
 Australian lizard, Trachydosaunes 
 rugosus, Gray. 
 
 Styphelia, n. scientific name 
 of a g-enus of shrubby plants of 
 New Zealand and Australia, of 
 the N. O. Epacridecc. It contains 
 the Five-Corners (q.v.). 
 
 1793. J- E. Smith, ' Specimen of the 
 Botany of New Holland,' p. 46: 
 
 " We adopt Dr. Solander's original 
 name Styphelia, derived from arvtyiXos, 
 harsh, hard, or firm, expressive of the 
 habit of the whole genus and indeed 
 of the whole natural order." 
 
 Sucker, n. name given in New 
 Zealand to the fish Diplocrepis 
 puniceus, Rich., family Gobiesocida. 
 This is a family of small, marine, 
 littoral fishes provided with a 
 ventral disc, or adhesive appar- 
 atus. Other genera of the family 
 occur in Australasia. 
 
 Sugar, n. slang for money. 
 It may be doubted if it is specially 
 Australian. 
 
 1887. J. Bonwick, ' Romance of Wool 
 Trade,' p. 273 (quoting 'Victoria, the El 
 Dorado'): 
 
 " I hear him sing out ' sold again, 
 and got the sugar' (a colonial slang 
 word for ready money) ; ' half a sheep 
 for a shilling.' ;> 
 
 Sugar- Ant, n. a small ant, 
 known in many parts of Australia 
 by this name because of its fond- 
 ness for sweet things.
 
 444 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SUG-SUN 
 
 1896. 'The Melbournian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 
 53 = 
 
 " The sun reaches a sugar-ant and 
 rouses him from his winter sleep. Out 
 he scurries, glad to greet the warmth, 
 and tracks hurriedly around. He feels 
 the sun, but the cold damp ground tells 
 him the time is not yet come when at 
 evening he will sally forth in long 
 columns over the soft warm dust in 
 search of the morrow's meal ; so, daz- 
 zled by the unaccustomed glare, he 
 seeks his hiding-place once more." 
 
 Sugar-bag, n. nest of honey, 
 and the honey. 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 67: 
 
 " The regular sharp chop-chop of 
 the tomahawks could be heard here 
 and there, where some of them had 
 discovered a sugar-bag (nest of honey) 
 or a 'possum on a tree." 
 
 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 129 : 
 
 " The tiny bee which manufactures 
 his adored chewgah-bag." [Footnote : 
 " Sugar-bag the native pigeon-Eng- 
 lish word for honey."] 
 
 Sugar-Grass, n. an Australian 
 grass, Erianthus fulvus, Kunth., 
 N.O. Gramineiz. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 106 : 
 
 "The 'Sugar Grass' of colonists, so 
 called on account of its sweetness ; it 
 is highly productive, and praised by 
 stockowners. Cattle eat it close down, 
 and therefore it is in danger of exter- 
 mination, but it is readily raised from 
 seed." 
 
 Sugar-Gum, n. an Australian 
 Gum, Eucalyptus corynocalyx of 
 South Australia and North- 
 Western Victoria. The foliage 
 is sweet, and attractive to cattle. 
 See Gum. 
 
 Sultana-bird, n. a name for 
 the Swamp-Hen (q.v.), Porphyrio 
 melanonotus , Temm. 
 
 1872. A. Domett, 'Ranolf,' p. 223: 
 
 "Black sultana-birds, blue-breasted 
 as deep ocean." 
 
 Summer-bird, n. the Old- 
 Colonists' name for the Wood- 
 
 swallows. See Swallow. In Tas- 
 mania it is applied to a species of 
 Shrike, Graucalus melanops, Lath. 
 The name refers to the migratory 
 habits of both birds. 
 
 1895. C. French, Government entomo- 
 logist, letter to 'Argus,' Nov. 29: 
 
 "The wood-swallows, known to us 
 old colonists as summer birds, are 
 migratory, making their appearance 
 about September and disappearing 
 about the end of January." 
 
 Summer Country, n. In New 
 Zealand (South Island), country 
 which can be used in summer 
 only ; mountain land in Otago 
 and Canterbury, above a certain 
 level. 
 
 Sun-bird, n. a common name 
 of various birds. Applied in Aus- 
 tralia to Cinnyris frenata, Mull. 
 
 1869. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia' 
 (Supplement), pi. 45 : 
 
 '"This pretty Sun-bird,' says Mr. 
 MacGillivray, ' appears to be distri- 
 buted along the whole of the north- 
 east coast of Australia, the adjacent 
 islands, and the whole of the islands 
 in Torres Straits.' " 
 
 Sundew, n. There are many 
 species of this flower in Australia 
 and Tasmania, most of them 
 peculiar to Australasia ; Drosera 
 spp., N.O. Droseracea. 
 
 1888. ' Cassell's Picturesque Australasia/ 
 vol. ii. p. 236 : 
 
 " Smooth, marshy meadows, gleam- 
 ing with the ruby stars of millions of 
 tiny little sundews." 
 
 Sundowner, n. a tramp who 
 takes care to arrive at a station 
 at sundown, so that he shall be 
 provided with 'tucker' (q.v.) at 
 the squatter's cost : one of those 
 who go about the country seeking- 
 work and devoutly hoping they 
 may not find it. 
 
 1880. G. N. Oakley, in 'Victoria in 
 1880,' p. 114 [Title of poem of seventeen 
 stanzas] : 
 
 " The Sundowner."
 
 SUP] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 445 
 
 1888. D. Macclonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 P- 32: 
 
 " When the real ' sundowner ' haunts 
 these banks for a season, he is content 
 with a black pannikin, a clasp knife,, 
 and a platter whittled out of primaeval 
 bark." 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, 
 col. 5: 
 
 " Sundowners are still the plague of 
 squatocracy, their petition for 'rashons ' 
 and a bed amounting to a demand." 
 
 1891. F. Adams, 'John Webb's End,' 
 
 P- 34 = 
 
 '"Swagsmen' too, genuine, or only 
 * sundowners,' men who loaf about 
 till sunset, and then come in with the 
 demand for the unrefusable ' rations.' " 
 
 1892. ' Scribner's Magazine," Feb., p. 
 
 143: 
 
 " They swell the noble army of swag- 
 men or sundowners, who are chiefly 
 the fearful human wrecks which the 
 ebbing tide of mining industry has left 
 stranded in Australia." [This writer 
 does not differentiate between Swag- 
 man (q.v.) and Sundowner.] 
 
 1893. ' Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 
 12, p. 8, col. 7: 
 
 " Numbers of men who came to be 
 known by the class name of ' sun- 
 downers,' from their habit of straggling 
 up at fall of evening with the stereo- 
 typed appeal for work ; and work 
 being at that hour impossible, they 
 were sent to the travellers' hut for 
 shelter and to the storekeeper or cook 
 for the pannikin of flour, the bit of 
 mutton, the sufficiency of tea for a 
 brew, which made up a ration." 
 
 1896. 'Windsor Magazine,' Dec., p. 132: 
 " ' Here,' he remarked, ' is a capital 
 picture of a Queensland sundowner.' 
 The picture represented a solitary 
 figure standing in pathetic isolation on 
 a boundless plain. ' A sundowner?' I 
 queried. ' Yes ; the lowest class of 
 nomad. For days they will tramp 
 across the plains carrying, you see, 
 their supply of water. They approach a 
 station only at sunset, hence the name. 
 At that hour they know they will not 
 be turned away.' ' Do they take a 
 day's work ? ' ' Not they ! There is 
 an old bush saying that the sun- 
 downer's one request is for work, and 
 
 his one prayer is that he may not find 
 
 it.'" 
 
 Super, n. short for super- 
 intendent, sc. of a station. 
 
 1870. A. L. Gordon, 'Bush Ballads,' 
 P- 23: 
 
 "What's up with our super to-night? 
 The man's mad." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. ix. p. 83: 
 
 "That super's a growlin' ignorant 
 beggar as runs a feller from daylight 
 to dark for nothing at all." 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' June 10, p. 4, 
 col. i : 
 
 " He . . . bragged of how he had 
 bested the super who tried to ' wing 
 him ' in the scrub." 
 
 Superb-Dragon, n. an Austra- 
 lian marine fish, Phyllopteryx folia- 
 tus, Shaw. See Sea-Dragon. 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, ' Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' pi. 7 : 
 
 " ' Superb Dragon Phyllopteryx 
 Foliatus.' This is one of the ' Pipe- 
 fishes,' order Lophobranchii. It has 
 been compared to the ghost of a sea- 
 horse {Hippocampus) with its winding 
 sheet all in ribbons around it ; and 
 the tattered cerements are like in 
 shape and colour to the seaweed it 
 frequents, so that it hides and feeds in 
 safety. The long ends of ribs which 
 seem to poke through the skin to 
 excite our compassion are really ' pro- 
 tective resemblances,' and serve to 
 allure the prey more effectually within 
 reach of these awful ghouls. Just as 
 the leaf- insect is imitative of a leaf, 
 and the staff-insect of a twig, so here 
 is a fish like a bunch of seaweed. 
 (Tenison-Woods.)" [Compare Phas- 
 intdJ] 
 
 Superb- Warbler, n. any Aus- 
 tralian bird of the genus Malurus 
 (q.v.), especially M. cyaneus, the 
 Blue Wren, 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 80 : 
 
 " We also observed the Superb 
 Warbler, Malurus cyaneus, of Sydney/' 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iii. ph 18: 
 
 ''Malurus Cyaneus, Vieill., Blue
 
 446 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SUP-SUR 
 
 Wren ; Superb Warbler of the Colo- 
 nists." 
 
 1896. F. G. Aflalo, ' Natural History of 
 Australia,' p. 136 : 
 
 " The best known are . . . and the 
 Blue Wren or Superb Warbler (Malu- 
 rns cyaneus), both of which I have 
 repeatedly watched in the Sydney 
 Botanic Gardens. . . . They dart about 
 the pathways like mice, but rarely 
 seem to fly. There are a dozen other 
 Superb Warblers." 
 
 Supple-jack, n. The word is 
 English in the sense of a strong 
 cane, and is the name of various 
 climbing shrubs from which the 
 canes are cut ; especially in Ame- 
 rica. In Australia, the name is 
 given to similar creeping plants, 
 viz. Ventilago viminalis, Hook., 
 N.O. Rhamnacece ; Clematis aris- 
 tata, R. Br., JV.O. Ranunculacece. 
 In New Zealand, to Ripogonum 
 (spp.). 
 
 1818. ' History of New South Wales,' 
 P- 47 : 
 
 "The underwood is in general so 
 thick and so bound together by that 
 kind of creeping shrub called supple- 
 jack, interwoven in all directions, as to 
 be absolutely impenetrable." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 218 : 
 
 "After a tedious inarch . . . along 
 a track constantly obstructed by webs 
 of the kareau, or supple-jack, we came 
 to the brow of a descent." 
 
 1857. C. Hursthouse, 'New Zealand, 
 the Britain of the South,' vol. i. p. 135 : 
 
 " Supple-jack snares, root-traps, and 
 other parasitical impediments." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 
 P- 1.35 = 
 
 "Two kinds of creepers extremely 
 molesting and troublesome, the so- 
 called 'supple-jack' of the colonists 
 (Ripogonum patvtflorum\ in the rope- 
 like creeping vines of which the travel- 
 ler finds himself every moment en- 
 tangled." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 1 1 : 
 
 " The tangles black 
 Of looped and shining supple-jack." 
 
 1874. W. M. B., ' Narrative of Edward 
 Crewe,' p. 199 : 
 
 "The supple-jack, that stopper to 
 all speedy progression in the New 
 Zealand forest." 
 
 1881. J. L. Campbell, ' Poenamo,' p. 
 154: 
 
 " Forty or fifty feet of supple-jack. 
 This creeper is of the thickness of your 
 finger, and runs along the ground, and 
 goes up the trees and springs across 
 from one tree to the other, spanning 
 great gaps in some mysterious manner 
 of its own a tough, rascally creeper 
 that won't break, that you can't twist 
 in two, that you must cut, that trips 
 you by the foot or the leg, and some- 
 times catches you by the neck ... so 
 useful withal in its proper places." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 p. 71 : 
 
 " Threading with somewhat painful 
 care intricacies formed by loops and 
 snares of bewildering supple-jacks, 
 that living study of Gordian entangle- 
 ment, nature-woven, for patient exer- 
 cise of hand and foot." 
 
 1892. A. Sutherland, ' Elementary Geo- 
 graphy of British Colonies,' p. 309 : 
 
 " Laced together by creepers called 
 supple-jacks, which twine and twist for 
 hundreds of yards, with stems as thick 
 as a man's wrist, so as to make the 
 forests impassable except with axes 
 and immense labour." 
 
 Surfacing, n. (i) Wash-dirt 
 lying on the surface of the ground. 
 
 (2) verbal n. Gold-digging on 
 the surface of the ground. 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 133 : 
 
 " What is termed ' surfacing ' con- 
 sists of simply washing the soil on the 
 surface of the ground, which is occa- 
 sionally auriferous." 
 
 1861. Mrs. Meredith, ' Over the Straits,' 
 c. iv. p. 133: 
 
 " I've been surfacing this good while ; 
 but quartz-reefin's the payinest game, 
 now." 
 
 1866. T. McCombie, 'Australian 
 Sketches' [Second Series], p. 133 : 
 
 "What is termed 'surfacing' con- 
 sists of simply washing the soil on the 
 surface of the ground, which is occa- 
 sionally auriferous."
 
 SWA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 447 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood,' Miner's Right,' 
 c. xv. p. 153 : 
 
 " They have been mopping up some 
 rich surfacing." 
 
 1894. ' I* 16 Argus,' March 28, p. 5. 
 col. 5 : 
 
 "'Surfacing' or 'learning.' Small 
 canvas bags are carried by the pros- 
 pector, and top soil from various likely- 
 looking spots gathered and put into 
 them, the spots being marked to cor- 
 respond with the bags. The contents 
 are then panned off separately, and if 
 gold is found in any one of the bags 
 the spot is again visited, and the place 
 thoroughly overhauled, even to trench- 
 ing for the reef." 
 
 Swag, 11. (i) Used in the early 
 days, and still by the criminal 
 class, in the ordinary sense of 
 Thieves' English, as booty, plunder. 
 
 1837. J. Mudie, ' Felonry of New South 
 Wales,' p. 181 : 
 
 " In short, having brought with her 
 a supply of the ' swag,' as the convicts 
 call their ill-gotten cash, a wife seldom 
 fails of having her husband assigned 
 to her, in which case the transported 
 felon finds himself his own master." 
 
 1879. R. H. Barham, ' Ingoldsby Le- 
 gends ' (Misadventures at Margate) : 
 
 "A landsman said, ' I twig the drop, 
 
 he's been upon the mill, 
 And 'cause he gammons so the_/frt/j, 
 
 ve calls him Veepin' Bill.' 
 He said ' he ; d done me wery brown, 
 
 and neatly stowed the swag] 
 That's French, I fancy, for a hat, 
 
 or else a carpet-bag." 
 
 (2) A special Australian use : a 
 tramp's bundle, wrapt up in a 
 blanket, called a Bluey (q.v.). 
 Used also for a passenger's lug- 
 gage. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 59 : 
 
 " A number of the slang phrases 
 current in St. Giles's Greek bid fair to 
 become legitimatized in the dictionary 
 of this colony : plant, siuag, pulling 
 up, and-other epithets of the Tom and 
 Jerry school, are established the dross 
 passing here as genuine, even among 
 all ranks." 
 
 1853. S. Sidney, 'Three Colonies of 
 Australia,' p. 361 : 
 
 " His leathern overalls, his fancy 
 stick, and his ' swag ' done up in mack- 
 intosh." 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, 'Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 384 : 
 
 " There were others with huge swags 
 suspended from a pole, with which 
 they went on, like the Children of 
 Israel carrying the gigantic bunches 
 of the grapes of Canaan." 
 
 1865. J. O. Tucker, ' Australian Story,' 
 c. i. p. 86 : 
 
 " The cumbrous weight of blankets 
 that comprised my swag." 
 
 1867. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 127 : 
 
 " A pair of large double blankets to 
 make the tent of, that was one swag, 
 and a very unwieldy one it was, strapped 
 knapsack fashion, with straps of flax- 
 leaves." 
 
 1868. J. Bonwick, 'John Batman, 
 Founder of Victoria,' p. 51 : 
 
 " Three white men, the Sydney 
 natives, and Batman, who carried his 
 swag the same as the rest, all armed." 
 
 1871. C. L. Money, 'Knocking About 
 in New Zealand,' p. 9 : 
 
 " With my rug and blankets on my 
 back (such a bundle being called a 
 ' swag ')." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 285 : 
 
 " Swag, which consists of his per- 
 sonal properties rolled up in a blanket." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant,' Bush Life in Queens- 
 land,' vol. i. p. 33 : 
 
 " His cumbrous attire and the huge 
 swag which lay across the seat." 
 
 1888. A. Reischek, in Buller's ' Birds of 
 New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 93: 
 
 " With the hope that there would 
 now be a few fine days, I at once 
 packed up my swag with provisions, 
 ammunition, blanket, c." 
 
 1892. ' The Australasian,' May 7, p. 
 903, col. i : 
 
 " Kenneth, in front, reminded me 
 comically of Alice's White Knight, 
 what with the billies dancing and jing- 
 ling on his back, and the tomahawk in 
 his belt, and his large swag in front."
 
 448 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SWA 
 
 'When the World 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 
 was Wide,' p. 95 : 
 
 " I suppose he's tramping somewhere, 
 Where the bushmen carry swags, 
 Cadging round the wretched stations 
 With his empty tucker-bags." 
 
 Swag, z'. to tramp the bush, 
 carrying a swag. 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 5 : 
 
 " There was the solitary pedestrian, 
 with the whole of his supplies, consist- 
 ing of a blanket and other necessary 
 articles, strapped across his shoulders 
 this load is called the 'swag,' and 
 the mode of travelling ' swagging it.' " 
 
 Swag-like, adv. in the fashion 
 
 of a swag. 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' Aug. 2, p. 4, col. 2 : 
 " He strapped the whole lot together, 
 
 swag-like." 
 
 Swagger, n. Same as Swagman 
 (q.v.). Specially used in New 
 Zealand. The word has also the 
 modern English slang sense. 
 
 1875. Lady Barker, ' Station Amuse- 
 ments in New Zealand,' p. 154 : 
 
 " Describing the real swagger, clad 
 in flannel shirt, moleskin trowsers, and 
 what were once thick boots." 
 
 1890. 'The Century,' vol. xli. p. 624 
 {'Century'): 
 
 " Under the name of swagger or 
 sundowner the tramp, as he moves 
 from station to station in remote dis- 
 tricts, in supposed search for work, is 
 a recognized element of society." 
 
 1893. ' Otago Witness,' Dec. 21, p. 6, 
 col. 3 : 
 
 " Once a footsore swagger came 
 along, and having gone to the house 
 to ask for 'tucker,' soon returned. He 
 took his swag from his shoulders and 
 leant it against the Tree ; then he 
 busied himself gathering the small 
 sticks and dried leaves lying about on 
 every side." 
 
 1896. 'The Argus,' March 23, p. 5, 
 col. i : 
 
 " The minister's house is the sure 
 mark for every stone-broke swagger in 
 search of clothes or victuals." 
 
 1896. ' Southern Standard ' (New Zea- 
 Jand), [page not given] : 
 
 "An ardent young lady cyclist of 
 
 Gore, who goes very long journeys on 
 her machine, was asked by a lady 
 friend if she was not afraid of swaggers 
 on the road. ' Afraid of them ? ' she 
 said, ' why, I take tea with them ! ' ; ' 
 
 1896. ' The Champion,' Jan. 4, p. 3, 
 col. 3 : 
 
 " He [Professor Morris] says thai 
 'swagger' is a variant of 'swagman/ 
 This is equally amusing and wrong." 
 [Nevertheless, he now says it onc<- 
 again.] 
 
 Swaggie, n. a humorous varia- 
 tion on swagman. 
 
 1892. E. W. Hornurig, 'Under Two 
 Skies,' p. 109 : 
 
 "Here's a swaggie stopped to camp, 
 with flour for a damper, and a handful 
 of tea for the quart-pot, as safe as the 
 bank." 
 
 Swagman, n. a man travelling 
 through the bush carrying a Swag 
 (q.v.), and seeking employment. 
 There are variants, Swagger (more 
 general in New Zealand), Swaggie, 
 and Swagsman. The Sundowner, 
 Traveller, or New Zealand Tus- 
 socker, is not generally a seeker 
 for work. 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 2 : 
 "The regular swagman carrying 
 
 his ration bags, which will sometimes 
 contain nearly twenty days' provender 
 in flour and sugar and tea." 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. 156 : 
 
 "We pulled up a swagman. He 
 was walking very slow ; he was a bit 
 lame too. His swag wasn't heavy, for 
 he had only a rag of a blue blanket, a 
 billy of water in his hand, and very 
 little else." 
 
 1893. 'The Herald' (Melbourne), Jan. 
 
 25 = 
 
 "Under the electric light in the 
 quadrangle of the Exhibition they will 
 give tableaux, representing the murder 
 of a swagman by a native and the 
 shooting of the criminal by a black 
 tracker." 
 
 1897. ' The Argus,' Jan. II, p. 7, col. 2 : 
 " The Yarra has claimed many 
 
 swagmen in the end, but not all have 
 died in full travelling costume ... a 
 typical back-blocks traveller. He was
 
 SWA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 449 
 
 grey and grizzled, but well fed, and he 
 wore a Cardigan jacket, brown mole- 
 skin trousers, blucher boots, and socks, 
 all of which were mended with rough 
 patches. His knife and tobacco, his 
 odds and ends, and his purse, contain- 
 ing 1 4 Jd., were still intact, while across 
 his shoulder was a swag, and the 
 fingers of his right hand had tightly 
 closed round the handle of his old 
 black billy-can, in which were some 
 scraps of meat wrapped in a newspaper 
 of the 5th inst. He had taken with 
 him his old companions of the roads 
 his billy and his swag." 
 
 Swagsman, n. a variant of 
 Swagman (q.v.). 
 
 1879. J. Brunton Stephens, ' Drought 
 and Doctrine' (Works, p. 309) : 
 
 " Rememberin' the needful, I gets up 
 
 an' quietly slips 
 
 To the porch to see a swagsman 
 with our bottle at his lips." 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, ' Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 89 : 
 
 " One of these prospecting swags- 
 men was journeying towards Mary- 
 borough." 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, 'Old Colonials,' p. 
 in : 
 
 " Idleness being the mainspring of 
 the journeys of the swagsman (An- 
 glice, 'tramp')." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xix. p. 235 : 
 
 "The able-bodied swagsmen hasten 
 towards Rainbar." 
 
 Swallow, n. common English 
 bird-name. The species observed 
 in Australia are 
 
 The Swallow 
 
 Hirundo neoxena, Gould. 
 Black-and-white S. 
 
 Cheramceca leucosternum, Gould. 
 Black-faced Wood S. 
 
 Artamus melanops, Gould. 
 Eastern S. 
 
 Hirundo javanica, Sparrm. 
 Grey-breasted Wood S. 
 
 Artamus rinereus^ Vieill. 
 Little Wood S. 
 
 A. minor, Vieill. 
 
 Masked Wood S. 
 
 Artamus personatus, Gould. 
 White-bellied Wood S. 
 
 A. hypoleucus. 
 White-browed Wood S. 
 
 A, super ciliosus, Gould. 
 White-rumped Wood S. 
 
 A. leucogaster. Valenc. 
 Wood S. 
 
 A, sordidus, Lath. 
 
 Artamus is often wrongly spelt 
 Artemus. The Wood-Swallows are 
 often called Summer-birds (q.v.). 
 
 Swamp-Broom, n. a rush- 
 broom, Viminaria denudata, Sm., 
 JV. O. Leguminosa. See Swamp- 
 Oak. 
 
 Swamp-Daisy-tree, n. See 
 
 Daisy-tree. 
 
 Swamp-Gum, n. See Gum. 
 
 Swamp - Hawk, n. another 
 name for the New Zealand Har- 
 rier. See Harrier. 
 
 Swamp-Hen, rt.an Australasian 
 bird, Porphyrio melanonotus, Temm. 
 (often incorrectly shortened to Me- 
 lanotus\ Called sometimes the 
 Porphyrio (q.v.) ; Maori name, 
 Pukeko. Called also the Swamp- 
 Turkey^ the Purple Coot, and by 
 New Zealand colonists, Sultana- 
 bird, Pukdki, or Bokdka, the last 
 two being corruptions of the 
 Maori name. For a West-Aus- 
 tralian variety of the Porphyrio, 
 see quotation (1848). 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' c. i. p. 228 : 
 
 "The pukeko is of a dark-blue 
 colour, and about as large as a pheas- 
 ant. The legs, the bill, and a horny 
 continuation of it over the front of the 
 head, are of a bright crimson colour. 
 Its long legs adapt it for its swampy 
 life ; its flight is slow and heavy, 
 resembling that of a bittern." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. vi. pi. 70 : 
 
 " Porphyrio Bellus, Gould, Azure- 
 
 G G
 
 450 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SWA 
 
 breasted Porphyrio; Swamp-Hen, Col- 
 onists of Western Australia." 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 79 : 
 
 [A full description.] 
 
 Swamp-Mahogany, n. a tim- 
 ber tree, Eucalyptus botryoides, Sm. 
 See Gum and Mahogany. 
 
 1886. T. Heney, ' Fortunate Days,' p. 
 So: 
 
 " Swamp mahogany's floor-flowered 
 arms." 
 
 Swamp-Oak, n. (i) A broom- 
 like leguminous shrub or small 
 tree, Viminaria denudata, Sm. (also 
 called Swamp-broom}. (2) A tree 
 of the genus Casuarina, especially 
 C. paludosa. See Oak. 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, ' Southern Australia,' vol. 
 i. c. i. p. 53 : 
 
 " Light brushes of swamp-oak, cy- 
 press, box and acacia pendula." 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, ' Phillipsland,' p. 
 
 257 = 
 
 " Its banks (Murrumbidgee) are 
 fringed with the beautiful swamp-oak, 
 a tree of the Casuarina family, with a 
 form and character somewhat inter- 
 mediate between that of the spruce 
 and that of the Scotch fir, being less 
 formal and Dutch-like than the former, 
 and more graceful than the latter." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison - Woods, 
 ' History of the Discovery and Exploration 
 of Australia,' vol. i. p. 324 : 
 
 " A stream, whose winding channel 
 could be traced by the particularly 
 dark verdure of the swamp-oak (Cas- 
 uartna paludosa) on its banks." 
 
 1866. Miss Parkes, ' Poems,' p. 40 : 
 
 " Your voice came to me, soft and 
 
 distant seeming, 
 
 As comes the murmur of the swamp- 
 oak's tone." 
 
 1870. F. S. Wilson, ' Australian Songs,' 
 p. loo : 
 " Softly the swamp-oak 
 
 Muttered its sorrows to her and to 
 me." 
 
 1883. C. Harpur, ' Poems,' p. 47 : 
 " Befringed with upward tapering 
 feathery swamp-oaks." 
 
 Swamp-Pheasant, n. called 
 
 also Pheasant - cuckoo. Another 
 name for the Coucal (q.v.). 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 60 : 
 
 "A Centropus phasianellus (the 
 swamp-pheasant of Moreton Bay) was 
 shot." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 116 : 
 
 " Far down the creek, on one of the 
 river-oaks which grow in its bed, a 
 swamp-pheasant utters its rapid coo- 
 coo-coo-coo-coo-coo-cook." 
 
 1887. R. M. Praed, ' Longleat of Koor- 
 albyn,' c. xvi. p. 102 : 
 
 "The gurgling note of the swamp- 
 pheasant." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Canni- 
 bals,' p. 94 : 
 
 " The bird Centropus, which is com- 
 mon in all Queensland, is found here 
 in great numbers. Although it really 
 is a cuckoo, the colonists call it the 
 'swamp-pheasant,' because it has a 
 tail like a pheasant. It is a very 
 remarkable bird with stiff feathers, 
 and flies with difficulty on account of 
 its small wings. The swamp-pheasant 
 has not the family weakness of the 
 cuckoo, for it does not lay its eggs in 
 the nests of other birds. It has a 
 peculiar clucking voice which reminds 
 one of the sound produced when water 
 is poured from a bottle." 
 
 Swamp-Sparrow, n. a nick- 
 name in New Zealand for the 
 Fern-bird (q.v.). 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 60 : 
 
 " These beds of rushes which form 
 blind water-courses during the winter 
 season, are dry in summer and are 
 then a favourite resort for the Swamp- 
 Sparrow as this bird is sometimes 
 called." 
 
 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 255 : 
 
 " The melancholy cry of the Fern- 
 bird is so general and persistent that 
 its nick-name of Swamp Sparrow is 
 not undeserved." 
 
 Swan, Black, ;/. an Australian 
 bird Cycnus niger, Juvenal ; 
 Cygnus atratus, Gould ; Chenopsis
 
 SWA-SWE] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 atrata, Wagl., sometimes mis- 
 called Chenopis. 
 
 The river upon which Perth, 
 Western Australia, is situated, is 
 called the Swan River, and the 
 colony was long" known as the 
 Swan River Settlement. It has 
 expanded into Western Australia, 
 the emblem of which colony is 
 still the Black Swan. Since 1855 
 the Black Swan has been the 
 device on the postage stamps of 
 Western Australia. 
 
 82 A.D. (circiter). 'Juvenal, Sat.' vi. 164 : 
 " Rara avis in terris nigroque simil- 
 lima cycno.'' 
 
 1700 (circiter). J. Locke, in ' Johnson's 
 Dictionary' (gth edition, 1805), s.v. Swan: 
 
 "The idea which an Englishman 
 signifies by the name Swan, is a white 
 colour, long neck, black beak, black 
 legs, and whole feet, and all these of a 
 certain size, with a power of swimming 
 in the water, and making a certain 
 kind of noise." 
 
 1789. Governor Phillip, ' Voyage,' p. 
 98: 
 
 "A black swan, which species, 
 though proverbially rare in other parts 
 of the world, is here by no means 
 uncommon ... a very noble bird, 
 larger than the common swan, and 
 equally beautiful in form ... its 
 wings were edged with white : the bill 
 was tinged with red." 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales,' p. 137 : 
 
 " We found nine birds, that, whilst 
 swimming, most perfectly resembled 
 the rara avis of the ancients, a black 
 swan." 
 
 1802. G. Harrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' p. 146 : 
 
 " Large ponds covered with ducks 
 and black swans." 
 
 1847. J. D. Lang, ' Phillipsland,' p. 
 115: 
 
 " These extensive sheets of glassy 
 water . . . were absolutely alive with 
 black swans and other water fowl . . . 
 There must have been at least five 
 hundred swans in view at one time on 
 one of the lakes. They were no ' rara 
 avis ' there." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. vii. pi. 6 : 
 
 " Cygnus Atrattis, Black Swan. The 
 first notice on record respecting the 
 existence of the Black Swan occurs in 
 a letter written by Mr. Witsen to Dr. 
 M. Lister about the year 1698, in which 
 he says, 'Here is returned a ship, 
 which by our East India Company 
 was sent to the south land called 
 HollandeaNova '_/ and adds that Black 
 Swans, Parrots and many Sea-Cows 
 were found there." 
 
 1856. J. S. Mill, < Logic ' [4th edition], 
 vol. i. bk. iii. c. iii. p. 344 : 
 
 " Mankind were wrong, it seems, in 
 concluding that all swans were white. 
 ... As there were black swans, though 
 civilized people had existed for three 
 thousand years on the earth without 
 meeting with them." 
 
 1875. ' Spectator' (Melbourne), May 29, 
 p. 45, col. 3 : 
 
 " The presence of immense flocks of 
 black swans is also regarded as an in- 
 dication of approaching cold weather." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, < Out in the Open,' 
 p. 223 : 
 
 "The musical whoop of the black 
 swan is sometimes heard as the wedge- 
 shaped flock passes over." 
 
 1895. G. Metcalfe, ' Australian Zoology,' 
 p. 64: 
 
 " Strzelecki states that the black 
 swan was discovered in 1697 by 
 Vlaming. ... In 17 26 two were brought 
 alive to Batavia, having been procured 
 on the West Coast of Australia, near 
 Dirk Hartog's Bay. Captain Cook 
 observed it on several parts of the 
 coast." 
 
 Swan-River Daisy, n. a pretty 
 annual plant, Brachycome iberidi- 
 folia, Benth., N. O. Composite, of 
 Western Australia. The heads 
 are about an inch broad, and have 
 bright blue rays, with paler centre. 
 It is cultivated in flower gardens, 
 and is well suited for massing. 
 (' Century.') 
 
 Sweep, n. a marine fish of the 
 Australian coasts, called by this 
 name in Sydney. It is Scorpis 
 aquipinnis, Richards., family 
 Squamipinnes. This family has
 
 452 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [SWE-SYC 
 
 the soft, and frequently also the 
 spinous, part of their dorsal and 
 anal fins so thickly covered 
 with scales, that the boundary 
 between fins and body is entirely 
 obliterated. S. aquipinnis is pos- 
 sibly the Light-horseman (q.v.) of 
 early Australian writers. 
 
 Sweet Tea. See Tea. 
 
 Swift, n. In Australia, the 
 species of this common bird are 
 Spine-tailed Swift, Chtztura cauda- 
 cuta, Lath. ; White-rumped S., 
 Micropus pacificus, Lath. 
 
 Swing-gate, n. Used in its 
 ordinary English sense, but speci- 
 ally applied to a patent gate for 
 drafting sheep, invented by Mr. 
 Lockhart Morton. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' c. ix. p. 91: 
 
 " Mr. Stangrove . . . has no more 
 idea of a swing-gate than a shearing- 
 machine." 
 
 Sword-grass, n. In New Zea- 
 land, Arundo conspicua ; in Aus- 
 tralia, Cladium psittacorum, Labill. 
 It is not the same as the English 
 plant of that name, and is often 
 called Cutting Grass (q.v.). 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 172: 
 
 "The great plumes far and wide of 
 the sword-grass aspire." 
 
 Sword-Sedge, a sedge on Aus- 
 tralian coasts, Lepidosperma gladi- 
 atum, Labill., N.O. Cyperacece, use- 
 ful for binding sea-sand, and 
 yielding a good material for paper. 
 
 1877. Baron von Mueller, ' Botanic 
 Teachings,' p. 124 : 
 
 "Lepidosperma is nearly endemic- 
 ally Australian. Lepidosperma gladia- 
 tum, the great Swords-edge [sic] of our 
 coasts, furnishes an admirable material 
 for writing paper." [It is curious that 
 Swords-edge makes most ingenious 
 sense, but it is evidently a misprint for 
 Sword-sedge.] 
 
 Sycamore Tree. See Laurel. 
 In New South Wales, the name is 
 given to Brachydton luridits, C. 
 Moore, N.O. Sterculiacece. 
 
 Sycoceric, adj. belonging to 
 a waxy resin obtained from the 
 Port-Jackson Fig ; see under Fig. 
 (From Grk.crvKov, "fig," and Kripo-s, 
 " wax.") 
 
 Sycoceryl, n. a supposed ele- 
 ment of the sycoceric compounds. 
 See Sycoceric.
 
 TAB-TAl] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 453 
 
 Taboo, n. See Tapu. 
 
 Tagrag - and - Bobtail, n. a 
 species of sea-weed. See quota- 
 tion. 
 
 1866. S. Hannaford, ' Wild Flowers of 
 Tasmania,' p. 80 : 
 
 " It is a wiry-stemmed plant, with 
 small mop-like tufts, which hold water 
 like a sponge. This is Bellotia Erio- 
 phorum, the specific name derived from 
 its resemblance to the cotton-grass. 
 Harvey mentions its colonial name as 
 ' Tagrag and Bobtail,' and if it will 
 enable collectors the more easily to 
 recognise it, let it be retained." 
 
 Taiaha, n. a Maori word for a 
 chiefs walking-staff, a sign of 
 office, sometimes used in fighting, 
 like a quarterstaff. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, -' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 139 : 
 
 " The men are placed at equal inter- 
 vals along either side to paddle, and 
 they keep excellent stroke to the song 
 of two leaders, who stand up and 
 recite short alternate sentences, giving 
 the time with the taiaha, or long 
 wooden spear. The taiaha is rather a 
 long-handled club than a spear. It is 
 generally made of manuka, a very 
 hard, dark, close-grained and heavy 
 wood. The taiaha is about six feet 
 long, etc." 
 
 1851. Mrs. Wilson, 'New Zealand,' p. 
 46: 
 
 " The taiaha is rather a long-handled 
 club than a spear." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 299 : 
 
 " A taiaha, or chiefs staff." 
 
 1881. J. L. Campbell, ' Poenamo,' p. 80 : 
 
 " In his right hand he brandished a 
 taiaha, a six-foot Maori broadsword of 
 hard wood, with its pendulous plume 
 of feathers hanging from the hilt." 
 
 1889. Major Wilson and Edward Treg- 
 
 ear, ' On the Korotangi,' ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxii. art. 
 Ixii. p. 505 : 
 
 " Many famous tribal heirlooms are 
 hidden and lost to posterity. The 
 Rev. Mr. Buller mentions a famous 
 taiaha, of great mana, as having been 
 buried and lost in this way, lest it 
 should fall into the power of opposing 
 tribes, and cause disaster to the 
 original owner." 
 
 Taihoa, Maori phrase, meaning 
 "Wait a bit." Much used in some 
 circles in New Zealand. The 
 ' Standard ' gives it wrongly as 
 " Anglo-Tasmanian," probably 
 because Mr. Wade's book was 
 published in Hobart. 
 
 1842. W. R. Wade, 'Journey in New 
 Zealand ' (Hobart Town), p. 66 : 
 
 "' Taihoa.' This word has been 
 translated, By and by ; but in truth, it 
 has all the latitude of directly, pre- 
 sently, by and by, a long time hence, 
 and nobody knows when . . . the 
 deliberate reply is, ' Taihoa ' . . . this 
 patience-trying word. . . ." 
 
 1881. J. L. Campbell, ' Poenamo,' p. 87 : 
 
 "That irritatingly provoking word, 
 'taihoa.'" [p. 88] : " The drawled-out 
 t-a-i-h-o-a fell upon the ear." [p. 266] : 
 [Title of chapter] : " I learn what Tai- 
 hoa means." [p. 271]: "Great is the 
 power of taihoa." [p. 276] : " The im- 
 perturbable taihoa, given to us with 
 the ordinary placid good-humour." 
 
 Tail, v. tr. to herd and tend 
 sheep or cattle : lit. to follow 
 close behind the tail. 
 
 1844. 'Port Phillip Patriot,' Aug. 5, 
 p. 3, col. 6 : 
 
 " I know many boys, from the age 
 of nine to sixteen years, tailing cattle." 
 
 1855. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes,' p. 
 153 : 
 
 "The stockman, as he who tends
 
 454 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TAI 
 
 cattle and horses is called, despises 
 the shepherd as a grovelling, inferior 
 creature, and considers 'tailing sheep' 
 as an employment too tardigrade for a 
 man of action and spirit." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. xix. p. 239 : 
 
 " ' The cattle,' no longer ' tailed,' or 
 followed daily, as a shepherd does 
 sheep." 
 
 Tailing, adj. consisting of tail- 
 ings (q.v.). 
 
 1890. ' Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 21 : 
 
 " From recent assays of the tailing- 
 sand, scarcely one quarter of the 
 pyrites has been extracted." 
 
 Tailings, n. ' 'The detritus carried 
 off by water from a crushing 
 machine, or any gold-washing 
 apparatus." (Brough Smyth, 
 'Glossary of Mining Terms.') 
 Not limited to Australia. 
 
 1891. ' The Argus,' June 16, p. 6, col. 2 : 
 " A hundred and fifty tons of tailings 
 
 are treated at the Sandhurst pyrites 
 works every month." 
 
 Tailor, n. name given in New 
 South Wales to the fish Temnodon 
 saltator, Cuv. and Val. It is called 
 Skipjack (q.v.) in Melbourne, a 
 name by which it is also known 
 in America and Britain. Those 
 of large size are called " Sea- 
 tailors." It belongs to the family 
 Carangidce, or Horse - Mackerels 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Taipo, n. a New Zealand word 
 for devil, often applied by settlers 
 to a vicious horse or as a name 
 for a dog. There is a dangerous 
 river, the Taipo, on the west 
 coast. There is considerable dis- 
 pute as to whether the word is 
 true Maori or not. The Rev. T. 
 G. Hammond of Patea says 
 
 " No such Maori word as taipo, 
 meaning devil, exists. It would mean 
 evening-tide tai-po. Probably the 
 early sailors introduced attached 
 meaning of devil from the Maori say- 
 ing, ' Are you not afraid to travel at 
 
 night ? ' referring to the danger of tidal 
 rivers." 
 
 On the other hand, Mr. Tregear 
 says, in his ' Maori Comparative 
 Dictionary,' s.v. 
 
 " Taepo, a goblin, a spectre. Cf. foe, 
 to arrive ; po, night." 
 
 The Rev. W. Colenso says, in 
 his pamphlet on ' Nomenclature ' 
 (1883), p. 5- 
 
 " Taepo means to visit or come by 
 night, a night visitant, a spectral 
 thing seen in dreams, a fancied and 
 feared thing, or hobgoblin, of the 
 night or darkness ; and this the set- 
 tlers have construed to mean the 
 Devil ! and of course their own 
 orthodox one." 
 
 Taipo or taepo is also a slang 
 term for a surveyor's theodolite 
 among the Maoris, because it is 
 the " land-stealing devil." 
 
 1848. Rev. R. Taylor, 'Leaf from 
 the Natural History of New Zealand,' p. 
 43 = 
 
 " Taipo, female dreamer ; a pro- 
 phetess ; an evil spirit." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 49: 
 
 " There is the Taringa-here, a being 
 with a face like a cat ; and likewise 
 another, called a Taipo, who comes in 
 the night, sits on the tops of houses, 
 and converses with the inmates, but if 
 a woman presumes to open her mouth, 
 it immediately disappears." 
 
 1878. B. Wells, ' History of Taranaki,' 
 P- 3: 
 
 " The similarity in sound and mean- 
 ing of the Egyptian word typhon with 
 that of the Maori taipo, both being the 
 name of the Spirit of Evil, is also not 
 a little remarkable." [Ingenious, but 
 worthless.] 
 
 1886. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 ' New Zealand Country Journal,' vol. x. 
 p. 262 : 
 
 " His wife became seriously affected, 
 declaring that Taipo had entered into 
 her. Reasoning was wholly useless. 
 She declared that Taipo was in the 
 smoke of the wood, which smoke she 
 had inhaled ; soon she became pros-
 
 TAI-TAL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 455 
 
 trated by illness and was expected to 
 die." 
 
 1887. J. C. Crawford, ' Travels in New 
 Zealand and Australia,' p. 107 : 
 
 "After dinner Watkins requested 
 the loan of a tomahawk to defend him- 
 self on going up to the Pa on the hill 
 above. He said he knew that there 
 was a taipo (devil) about ; he felt it in 
 his head." 
 
 1888. P. W. Barlow, ' Kaipara,' p. 48 : 
 "They were making the noises I 
 
 heard to drive away the ' Taipo,' a sort 
 of devil. who devotes his attention ex- 
 clusively to Maoris, over whom, how- 
 ever, he only possesses power at night." 
 
 1891. W. H. Roberts, ' Southland in 
 1856,' p. 72 : 
 
 " They believed it was the principal 
 rendez-vous of the fallen angel (Taipo) 
 himself." 
 
 1896. Modern. Private Letter (May): 
 
 " Taipo, for instance, of course one 
 knows its meaning, though it has been 
 adopted chiefly as a name as common 
 as ' Dash ' or ' Nero ' for New Zealand 
 dogs ; all the same the writers upon 
 Maori superstitions seem to have no 
 knowledge of it. Polach, Dieffenbach, 
 Nicholas, Yates, call their evil spirits 
 ivhiros or atuas. Tepo, the place of 
 darkness, is the nearest they have 
 come to it. I think myself it is South 
 Island Maori, often differing a little in 
 spelling and use ; and so very much 
 the larger proportion of New Zealand 
 literature is the literature of the North." 
 
 Tait, n. a Western Australian 
 animal, properly called the Long- 
 snouted Phalanger, Tarsipes rostra- 
 tus, the only species of its genus. 
 See Phalanger and Opossicm. It 
 is about the size of a mouse, and 
 lives almost entirely on honey, 
 which it extracts from flowers. 
 
 1894. R. Lydekker, ' Marsupialia,' p. 
 120 : 
 
 " The Long-snouted Phalanger, which 
 derives its scientific name from a cer- 
 tain resemblance of its hind feet to 
 those of a Malayan Lemur-like animal 
 known as the Tarsier, is one of the 
 most interesting of the phalangers. . . . 
 Known to the natives by the names 
 of Tait and Nulbengcr, it is, writes 
 
 Gould, 'generally found in all situa- 
 tions suited to its existence, from Swan 
 River to King George's Sound.' " 
 
 Takahe, n. Maori name for an 
 extinct New Zealand Rail, Notor- 
 nis mantelli, Owen. See Notornis. 
 
 1889. Prof. Parker, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 116 : 
 
 " The Takahe is the rarest of existing 
 native birds, if indeed it is not already 
 extinct." 
 
 Takapu, n. Maori name for the 
 bird Dysporus serrator, Banks, a 
 Gannet (q.v.). 
 
 Take (a man) down, Austra- 
 lian sporting- slang, (i) To induce 
 a man to bet, knowing that he 
 must lose. (2) To advise a man to 
 bet, and then to "arrange" with an 
 accomplice (a jockey, e.g.) for the 
 bet to be lost. (3) To prove supe- 
 rior to a man in a game of skill. 
 1895. ' The Argus,' Dec. 5, p. 5, col. 2 : 
 " It appeared that [the plaintiff] had 
 a particular fancy for a [certain] horse, 
 and in an evil hour induced [the 
 defendant] to lay him a wager about 
 this animal at the long odds of two 
 shillings to threepence. When the 
 horse had romped triumphantly home 
 and [the plaintiff] went to collect his 
 two shillings [the defendant] accused 
 him of having ' taken him down,' stig- 
 matised him as a thief and a robber, 
 and further remarked that [the plaintiff] 
 had the telegram announcing the 
 result of the race in his pocket when 
 the wager was made, and in short 
 refused to give [the plaintiff] anything 
 but a black eye." 
 
 Talegalla, n. aboriginal name 
 for the Brush-Turkey, and the 
 scientific name for that bird, viz., 
 Talegalla lathami, Gray. See 
 Turkey. 
 
 Tallow-wood, n. another name 
 for one of the Stringy-barks (q.v.), 
 Eucalyptus microcorys, F. v. M., N.O. 
 Myrtacea. The timber, which is 
 hard, gives forth an oily substance: 
 hence the name. The tree reaches
 
 456 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TAL-TAN 
 
 a great height. Also called Tur- 
 pentine-tree (q.v.). See also Pepper- 
 mint. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 493 : 
 
 " In Queensland it is known as 
 ' Peppermint,' the foliage being remark- 
 ably rich in volatile oil. But its almost 
 universal name is Tallow-wood. North 
 of Port Jackson it bears the name of 
 ' Turpentine Tree ' and ' Forest Maho- 
 gany.' The aboriginals of the Bris- 
 bane River, Queensland, call it ' tee.' " 
 
 Ibid. p. 494 : 
 
 " Tallow-wood. Used ... for floor- 
 ing, e.g. in ball-rooms ; for this pur- 
 pose it is selected on account of its 
 greasy nature. This greasiness is most 
 marked when it is fresh cut. (General 
 Report, Sydney International Exhibi- 
 tion, 1879.)" 
 
 1897. ' The Argus,' Feb. 22, p. 5, col. 
 4 (Cable message from London) : 
 
 " Mr. Richards stated that the New 
 South Wales black butt and tallow 
 wood were the most durable and noise- 
 less woods for street-paving." 
 
 Tallygalone, n. a fish of New 
 South Wales, Myxus elongatus, 
 Giinth., a genus of the family 
 Mugilida, or Grey-Mullet. The 
 word is also spelled talleygalann, 
 and tallagallan. Also called Sand- 
 Mullet. 
 
 Tamarind-Tree, name given to 
 Diploglottis cunninghamii, Hook., 
 N.O. Sapindacea ; called also 
 Native Tamarind. "A tall tree. 
 The flesh of the fruit is amber 
 and of delightful acid flavour." 
 (Bailey.) 
 
 Tambaroora, n. a Queensland 
 game. More generally known as 
 " A shilling in and the winner 
 shouts." From a town in Queens- 
 land. 
 
 1882. A. J. Boyd, 'Old Colonials,' p. 
 
 63: 
 
 " The exciting game of tambaroora. 
 . . . Each man of a party throws a 
 shilling, or whatever sum may be 
 mutually agreed upon, into a hat. Dice 
 are then produced, and each man 
 
 takes three throws. The Nut who 
 throws highest keeps the whole of the 
 subscribed capital, and out of it pays 
 for the drinks of the rest." 
 
 Tamure, n. the Maori name for 
 the New Zealand Schnapper fish 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand' (Church 
 Missionary Society), p. 206 : 
 
 "Tcimure s. Bream fish." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand, ' vol. i. p. 93 : 
 
 "There are many other sorts of 
 fish, including the tamure, or snapper, 
 the manga, or barracouta, the mango, 
 or dog-fish, of which the natives catch 
 large quantities, and the hapuka. This 
 last fish is caught in pretty deep water, 
 near reefs and rocks. It often attains 
 a great size, attaining as much as 112 
 pounds. It bears a considerable re- 
 semblance to the cod in form, but is, 
 however, of far finer flavour." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, 'Te Ika a Maui,' 
 
 P- 413 = 
 
 "Tamure, kouarea (the snapper), is 
 a large fish like the bream." 
 
 1879. W. Colenso, ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xii. art. vii. 
 p. 118: 
 
 " The tamure is the snapper (Pagrus 
 unicolor\ a common fish on all the 
 coasts." 
 
 Tandan, n. the aboriginal 
 name for the Cat-fish (q.v.) or 
 Eel-fish (q.v.), Copidoglanis tan- 
 danus, Mitchell (or Plotosus tan- 
 danus]. Mitchell, who first discov- 
 ered and described the Cat-fish, 
 called it the Tandan, or Eel-fish. 
 
 1838. T. Mitchell, 'Three Expeditions,' 
 PP. 44, 45. pl- 5 : 
 
 " In this piece of water we caught 
 some -small fish, two of them being of 
 a rather singular kind, resembling an 
 eel in the head and shape of the tail." 
 ... [p. 45] " On my return to the camp 
 in the evening, I made a drawing of 
 the eel fish which we had caught early 
 in the day (fig. 2, pl. 5)." 
 
 Tanekaha, n. Maori name of a 
 New Zealand tree ; also called 
 Celery-topped Pine, Phyllocladus 
 trichomanoides, Don., N.O. Coniferce*
 
 TAN-TAP] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 457 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, ' Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 306 : 
 
 "The Tanakaha Tree (Podocarpus 
 asplenifolius) is found scattered over 
 a large portion of the northern island 
 of New Zealand. . . Height, sixty to 
 eighty feet. . . The wood is close and 
 straight in the grain. . . It works up 
 well, is tough and very strong ; so 
 much so that the New Zealanders say 
 it is the ' strong man ' among their 
 forest trees." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand, p. 125 : 
 
 "Tanekaha. A slender, handsome 
 tree, sixty feet high ; trunk rarely ex- 
 ceeds three feet in diameter ; wood 
 pale, close-grained, and excellent for 
 planks and spars ; resists decay in 
 moist positions in a remarkable man- 
 ner." 
 
 Tangi, n. (pronounced Tang-y) 
 Maori word for a lamentation, a 
 cry, or dirge. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand' (Church 
 Missionary Society), p. 207 : 
 
 " Tangi, s. a cry or lamentation." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 194 : 
 
 " They wrapped the mutilated corpse 
 in his red blanket, and bore it, lashed 
 to a tree, to the village, where the 
 usual tangi took place." 
 
 1873. Lieut. -Colonel St. John, ' Pakeha 
 Rambles through Maori Lands,' p. 154 : 
 
 " Shortly afterwards a ' tangi ' was 
 held over those of the party whose 
 remains could be identified." 
 
 1881. J. L. Campbell, ' Poenamo,' p. 191 : 
 
 " Perhaps some old woman did a 
 quiet tangi over his grave." 
 
 1883. F. S. Renwick, ' Betrayed,' p. 41 : 
 "'Tis the tangi floats on the sea- 
 borne breeze, 
 
 In its echoing notes of wild despair." 
 
 Taniwha, n. Maori name for 
 a mythical monster. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand' (Church 
 Missionary Society), p. 207 : 
 
 " Tdniwa, s. a sea-monster so called." 
 
 1842. W. R. Wade, ' Journey in New 
 Zealand ' (Hobart Town), p. 34 : 
 
 " Hearing us use the word tapu, as 
 
 we looked towards it, one of our boat- 
 men quickly repeated that the place 
 was tapued for the tanewa (a water 
 demon). ' And I wonder,' was his 
 irreverent addition, 'what this same 
 tanewa may be ! An old pot leg, per- 
 haps ! ' " 
 
 1896. ' Otago Witness,' Jan. 23, p. 51, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 "The river at one time is reported 
 as having been infested with taniwhas 
 gigantic fish that used to swallow 
 the natives and a Maori pointed out 
 a deep pool under some willows, and 
 told me his grandfather had been 
 seized by one of these monsters at 
 that spot, dragged to the bottom and 
 eaten. This taniwha, which was about 
 fortyfeet in length and had a long mane, 
 was in the habit of sometimes stand- 
 ing almost erect in the water, and 
 frightening the women and children 
 out of their wits. It had a tremendous- 
 sized head, and its mouth somewhat 
 resembled the beak of a very large 
 bird. Its neck was about six feet in 
 circumference and was covered with 
 scales, as likewise its body down to its 
 tail, which was formed by a series of 
 fin-shaped projections, and somewhat 
 resembled in form the tail of a grey 
 duck. It had two short legs which 
 were as big around as the body of a 
 half-grown pig, and with one kick 
 it could knock a hole through the 
 stoutest canoe." 
 
 Tannergrams, n, very recent 
 New Zealand slang. On ist of 
 June, 1896, the New Zealand 
 Government reduced the price of 
 telegrams to sixpence (slang, a 
 ' tanner ') for twelve words. 
 
 1896. ' Oamaru Mail,' June 13 : 
 " Tannergrams is the somewhat apt 
 designation which the new sixpenny 
 telegrams have been christened in 
 commercial vernacular." 
 
 Tappa, n. South-sea Island 
 word. A native cloth made from 
 the bark of the Paper-mulberry, 
 Broussonetia papyri/era, Benth. 
 
 1886. ' Art Journal : Exhibition Supple- 
 ment,' p. 24 : 
 
 "The Tappa, or native cloth [of
 
 458 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TAP-TAR 
 
 Fiji], made from the bark of a tree. . . 
 Has been extensively used in the 
 draping of the court." 
 
 1888. H. S. Cooper, ' The Islands of 
 the Pacific,' p. 9 : 
 
 " Tappa, a native cloth of spotless 
 white, made from the bark of the 
 mulberry-tree." 
 
 Tapu, adj. a Maori word, but 
 common also to other Polynesian 
 languages. The origin of the 
 English word taboo. It properly 
 means ' prohibited.' There was a 
 sacred tapu, and an unclean tapu. 
 What was consecrated to the gods 
 was forbidden to be touched or 
 used by the people. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of Lan- 
 guage of New Zealand ' (Church Missionary 
 Society), p. 208 : 
 
 " Tapu, a. sacred, inviolable." 
 
 1835- "W. Yate, ' Some Account of New 
 Zealand,' p. 84 : 
 
 " This system of consecration for 
 that is the most frequent meaning of 
 the term 'tapu' has prevailed through 
 all the islands of the South Seas, but 
 nowhere to a greater extent than in 
 New Zealand." 
 
 1845. E. J.. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 194 : 
 
 " They wrapped the mutilated corpse 
 in his red blanket, and bore it, lashed 
 to a tree, to the village, where the 
 usual tangi took place after it had 
 been deposited in the wahi tapu, or 
 ' sacred ground.' " 
 
 1859. A. S. Thomson, M.D., ' Story of 
 New Zealand,' p. 100 : 
 
 " The primary meaning of the Maori 
 word tapu is ' sacred' ; tabut is a Malay 
 word, and is rendered ' the Ark of the 
 Covenant of God ' ; taboot is a Hindoo 
 word signifying ' a bier,' ' a coffin,' 
 or 'the Ark of the Covenant'; ta is 
 the Sanscrit word ' to mark,' and pu 
 ' to purify.' " [There is no authority in 
 this polyglot mixture.] 
 
 1879. Clement Bunbury, ' Eraser's 
 Magazine,' June, ' A Visit to the New 
 Zealand Geysers,' p. 767 : 
 
 " I had not much time to examine 
 them closely, having a proper fear of 
 the unknown penalties incurred by the 
 violation of anything ' tapu' or sacred." 
 
 1893. 'Otago Witness,' Dec. 21, p. 10, 
 col. I : 
 
 " He seeks treasures which to us 
 are tapu." 
 
 Tapu, n. the state of being 
 consecrated or forbidden. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 25 : 
 
 " We found no natives, the cove 
 being under tapu, on account of its 
 being the burial-place of a daughter of 
 Te Pehi, the late chief of the Kapiti, 
 or Entry Island, natives." 
 
 1847. A. Tennyson, ' Princess,' canto iii. 
 1. 261 : 
 
 "... Women up till this 
 Cramp'd under worse than South- 
 Sea-Isle taboo, 
 Dwarfs of the gynaeceum." 
 
 1851. Mrs. Wilson,' New Zealand,' p. 24: 
 " But chiefly thou, mysterious Tapu, 
 
 From thy strange rites a hopeful 
 sign we draw." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (edition 1855), p. 281 : 
 
 " The tapu, which either temporarily 
 or permanently renders sacred an 
 object animate or inanimate, is the 
 nearest approach to the Hindoo reli- 
 gious exclusive-ism." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 89 : 
 " His sole ' tapu ' a far securer guard 
 Than lock and key of craftiest notch 
 
 and ward." 
 Ibid. p. loo : 
 
 "Avenge each minor breach of this 
 taboo." 
 
 Tapu, v. originally to mark as 
 sacred, and later to place under a 
 ban. English, taboo. 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (edition 1855), p. 284 : 
 
 " The tapued resting-place of de- 
 parted chieftains." 
 
 1875. ' Spectator ' (Melbourne), May 
 29, p. 40, col. 2 : 
 
 "I ... found the telegraph office 
 itself tabooed." 
 
 1893. R. L. Stevenson, ' Island Nights' 
 Entertainments,' p. 39 : 
 
 " By Monday night I got it clearly 
 in my head I must be tabooed." 
 
 Tara, n. (i) Maori name for the
 
 TAR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 459 
 
 birds Sterna caspia, Pallas, and S. 
 frontalis, Gray, the Sea-Swallow, 
 or Tern (q.v.). 
 
 (2) A Tasmanian aboriginal 
 name for the fern Pteris aquilina, 
 L., N.O. Polypodecc. 
 
 1834. Ross, ' Van Diemen's Land 
 Annual,' p. 129 : 
 
 " The most extensively diffused eat- 
 able roots of Van Uiemen's Land are 
 those of the tara fern . . . greatly re- 
 sembles Pteris aquilina, the common 
 fern, brake, breckon, or brackin, of 
 England ... it is known among the 
 aborigines by the name of tara . . . 
 the root of the tara fern possesses 
 much nutritive matter." 
 
 Taraire, n. Maori name for a 
 New Zealand tree ; formerly Neso- 
 daphne tarairi, Hook., now Beil- 
 schmiedia tarairi, Benth. and Hook., 
 N.O. Laurinece. 
 
 1873. ' Catalogue of Vienna Exhibition ': 
 
 " Tarairi. Used for most of the 
 purposes for which sycamore is applied 
 in Europe." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 129 : 
 
 " Tarairi. A lofty forest tree, sixty 
 to eighty feet high, with stout branches. 
 Wood white, splits freely, but not 
 much valued." 
 
 Tarakihi, n. the Maori name for 
 the fish Chilodactylus macropterus, 
 Richards.; called in Sydney the 
 Morwong (q.v.). 
 
 Tarata, n. Maori name for the 
 New Zealand tree Pittosporum 
 eugenioideS) A. Cunn., N.O. Pit- 
 tosporece ; called also Mapau, 
 Maple, etc. See Mapau. 
 
 1876. W. N. Blair, ' Transactions cf 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. ix., art. x. 
 
 P- M3 : 
 
 "A small tree seldom exceeding 
 thirty feet in height, and twelve inches 
 in diameter. It has pale green shining 
 leaves and purple flowers. The wood 
 of a dirty white colour, is tough and 
 fibrous." 
 
 1879. J. B. Armstrong, ' Transactions 
 of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xii. art. 
 xlix. p. 329 : 
 
 " The tarata or Lemon-wood, a most 
 beautiful tree, also used for hedges." 
 
 1889. E. H. and S. Featon, 'New 
 Zealand Flora,' p. 35 : 
 
 "The Tarata. This elegant tree is 
 found on the east coast of both islands. 
 It attains a height of from twenty 
 to thirty feet, and has a stem from 
 twelve to eighteen inches in diameter. 
 It is known to the settlers in some 
 parts as ' Lemon-wood.' When dis- 
 playing its profuse masses of pale 
 golden flowers, it is very pretty." 
 
 Tare, Native, n. name applied 
 in Tasmania to the plant Swain- 
 sonia lessertifffolia, De C., N.O. 
 Leguminoscc. 
 
 Taro, n. a familiar food plant, 
 Colocasia species, widely culti- 
 vated in tropical regions, especi- 
 ally in Polynesia. The word is 
 Polynesian, and much used by 
 the Maoris. 
 
 1846.7. Lindley, 'Vegetable Kingdom,' 
 p. 128 [Stanford]: 
 
 "Whole fields of Colocasia macro- 
 rhyza are cultivated in the South Sea 
 Islands under the name tara or kopeh 
 roots." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 374 : 
 " Many a bed, 
 
 That late in such luxurious neatness 
 spread, 
 
 Of melons, maize and taro now a 
 wreck." 
 
 1878. Lady Brassey, ' Voyage in the 
 Sunbeam,' p. 263 : 
 
 " A good-looking man was busy 
 broiling beef-steaks, stewing chickens 
 and boiling taro, and we had soon a 
 plentiful repast set before us." 
 
 Tarsipes, n. the scientific 
 generic name of the Tait (q.v.). 
 
 Tarwhine, n. an Australian fish, 
 Chrysophrys sarba, Forsk. See 
 Black-Bream. It is somewhat 
 difficult to distinguish the fish 
 from its close relation the Black- 
 Bream, Chrysophrys aus trails, 
 Giinth. Both are excellent food, 
 and frequently abundant in 
 brackish waters.
 
 46o 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TAR-TAS 
 
 Tar-wood, n. name given by the 
 Otago bushmen to the treejDarry- 
 dium colensoi, Hook.; Maori name, 
 Manoao (q.v.). (Kirk, ' Forest 
 Flora,' p. 189.) 
 
 Tasmania, n. island and colony, 
 formerly called Van Diemen's 
 Land. The new name, from that 
 of the Dutch navigator, Abel 
 Jarisen Tasman, was officially 
 adopted in 1853, when the system 
 of transportation ceased. The 
 first quotations show it was in 
 popular use much earlier. 
 
 1820. Lieut. Charles Jeffreys, ' Delinea- 
 tion of the Island of Van Dieman's Land,' 
 p. i : 
 
 " Van Dieman's Land, or Tasmania, 
 is an island of considerable extent." 
 
 1823. ' Godwin's Emigrant's Guide to 
 Van Diemen's Land, more properly called 
 Tasmania ' : 
 
 [Title.] 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 8 : 
 
 " Over Van Diemen's Land (or 
 Tasmania, as we love to call it here), 
 New South Wales enjoys also many 
 advantages." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes' 
 (edition 1855), p. 491: 
 
 " Tasmania is a more musical alias 
 adopted by the island. It has been 
 given in titular distinction to the first 
 bishop, my excellent and accomplished 
 friend Dr. Nixon, and will doubtless be 
 its exclusive designation when it shall 
 have become a free nation." 
 
 1892. A. and G. Sutherland, 'History 
 of Australia,' p. 41 : 
 
 " The wild country around the 
 central lakes of Tasmania." 
 
 Tasmanian, adj. belonging or 
 native to Tasmania. 
 
 1825. A. Bent, ' The Tasmanian Alma- 
 nack for the Year of our Lord 1825': 
 
 [Title.] 
 
 Tasmanian, n. an inhabitant 
 of Tasmania, a colonist. The 
 word is also used of the abori- 
 gines, the race of whom is now 
 extinct. 
 
 Tasmanian Devil, n. the only 
 
 species of the genus Sarcophilus 
 (q.v.), S. ursinus. 
 
 1894. R- Lydekker, ' Marsupialia,' p. 
 156: 
 
 " Like many of its kindred, the 
 Tasmanian Devil is a burrowing and 
 nocturnal animal. In size it may be 
 compared to a Badger, and owing to 
 its short limbs, plantigrade feet, and 
 short muzzle, its gait and general 
 appearance are very Badger or Bear- 
 like." 
 
 Tasmanian Tiger, n. called also 
 Native Wolf, Marsupial Wolf, 
 Zebra Wolf, and Hyana ; genus, 
 Thylacinus (q.v.). It is the largest 
 carnivorous marsupial extant, and 
 is so much like a wolf in appear- 
 ance that it well deserves its ver- 
 nacular name of Wolf, though 
 now-a-days it is generally called 
 Tiger. There is only one species, 
 Thylacinus cynocephalus, and the 
 settlers have nearly exterminated 
 it, on account of its fierce pre- 
 datory habits and the damage it 
 inflicts on their flocks. The Tas- 
 manian Government pays ^i for 
 every one destroyed. The Van 
 Diemen's Land Company in the 
 North- West of the Island employs 
 a man on one of its runs who is 
 called the "tiger-catcher." 
 
 1813. 'History of New South Wales' 
 (1818), p. 430 : 
 
 "About Port Dalrymple an animal 
 was discovered which bore some re- 
 semblance to the hyena both in shape 
 and fierceness ; with a wide mouth, 
 strong limbs, sharp claws and a striped 
 skin. Agreeably to the general nature 
 of New South Wales quadrupeds, this 
 animal has a false belly. It may be 
 considered as the most formidable of 
 any which New South Wales has been 
 yet found to produce, and is very de- 
 structive ; though there is no instance 
 of its attacking the human species." 
 
 1832. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 85: 
 
 " During our stay a native tiger or 
 hyena bounded from its lair beneath 
 the rocks."
 
 TAS-TAT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 461 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, 'Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 65 : 
 
 " There is another charming fellow, 
 which all the people here call the 
 Tiger, but as a tiger is like a great cat, 
 and this beast is much more like a 
 dog, you will see how foolish this name 
 is. I believe naturalists call it the 
 dog-faced opossum, and that is not 
 much better . . . the body is not a bit 
 like that of an opossum." 
 
 1892. A. Sutherland, ' Elementary Geo- 
 graphy of British Colonies,' p. 273 : 
 
 " The 'Tasmanian tiger' is of the size 
 of a shepherd's dog, a gaunt yellow 
 creature, with black stripes round the 
 upper part of its body, and with an 
 ugly snout. Found nowhere but in 
 Tasmania, and never numerous even 
 there, it is now slowly disappearing." 
 
 Tasmanian Whiptail, n. a Tas- 
 manian fish, Coryphanoides tas- 
 manice, family Macruridce, or 
 deep-sea Gadoids, an altogether 
 different fish from Myliobatis aqui- 
 la, the Eagle or Whiptail Ray, 
 which also occurs in Tasmania, 
 but is found all over the world. 
 
 Tasmanite, n. a mineral. ' ' A 
 resinous, reddish-brown, trans- 
 lucent, hydrocarbon derivative 
 (C^HeaOjS), found in certain 
 laminated shales of Tasmania, 
 Resiniferous shale." (' Standard.') 
 
 Tassel-fish, n. a thread-fish of 
 Queensland, of the genus Poly- 
 nemus, family Polynemidce. Poly- 
 nemoid fish have free filaments 
 at the humeral arch below the 
 pectoral fins, which Giinther says 
 are organs of touch, and to be 
 regarded as detached portions of 
 the fin ; in some the filaments or 
 threads are twice as long as the 
 fish. 
 
 Tassy, . a pet name for Tas- 
 mania. 
 
 1894. ' The Argus,' Jan. 26, p. 3, col. 5 : 
 
 " To-day Tassy as most Victorian 
 
 cricketers and footballers familiarly 
 
 term our neighbour over the straits 
 
 will send a team into the field." 
 
 Tattoo, v. and . to mark 
 the human body with indelible 
 pigments. The word is Polyne- 
 sian ; its first occurrence in English 
 is in Cook's account of Tahiti. 
 The Tahitian word is Tatdu^ 
 which means tattoo marks on 
 the human skin, from Ta, which 
 means a mark or design. (Littre'.) 
 The Maori verb, /a, means to cut, 
 to tattoo, to strike. See Moko. 
 
 I 773- ' Hawkesworth's Voyages ' (Cook's 
 First Voyage; at Tahiti, 1769), vol. ii. p. 
 191 : 
 
 "They have a custom of staining 
 their bodies . . . which they call Tattoiv- 
 ing. They prick the skin, so as just 
 not to fetch blood, with a small instru- 
 ment, something in the form of a hoe. 
 . . . The edge is cut into sharp teeth 
 or points . . . they dip the teeth into a 
 mixture of a kind of lamp-black . . . 
 The teeth, thus prepared, are placed 
 upon the skin, and the handle to which 
 they are fastened being struck by quick 
 smart blows, they pierce it, and at the 
 same time carry into the puncture the 
 black composition, which leaves an 
 indelible stain." 
 
 1777- Horace Walpole, ' Letters,' vol. 
 vi. p. 448 : 
 
 " Since we will give ourselves such 
 torrid airs, I wonder we don't go stark 
 and tattoo ourselves." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 109 : 
 
 " A very famous artist in tatu came 
 with the party, and was kept in 
 constant and profitable employment. 
 Everybody, from the renowned warrior 
 to the girl of twelve years old, crowded 
 to be ornamented by the skilful chisel. 
 . . . The instruments used were not 
 of bone, as they used formerly to be ; 
 but a graduated set of iron tools, fitted 
 with handles like adzes, supplied their 
 place. . . . The staining liquid is 
 made of charcoal." 
 
 1847. A. Tennyson, ' Princess,' canto 
 ii. 1. 105 : 
 
 "... Then the monster, then the 
 
 man ; 
 Tattoo'd or woaded, winter-clad 
 
 in skins, 
 
 Raw from the prime, and crushing 
 down his mate."
 
 462 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TAW-TEA 
 
 1859. A. S. Thomson, ' Story of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. c. iv. p. 74 : 
 
 " First among the New Zealand list 
 of disfigurations is tattooing, a Poly- 
 nesian word signifying a repetition of 
 taps, but which term is unknown in 
 the language of the New Zealanders ; 
 moko being the general term for the 
 tattooing on the face, and whakairo 
 for that on the body." [But see Moke.] 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 17 : 
 
 " Lips no stain of tattoo had turned 
 azure." 
 
 Ibid. p. 104 : 
 
 "A stick knobbed with a carved 
 and tattoo'd wooden head." 
 
 1873. J. B. Stephens, ' Black Gin,' p. 3 : 
 " Thy rugged skin is hideous with 
 
 tattooing." 
 
 Tawa, n. Maori name for a 
 New Zealand tree, Nesodaphne 
 tawa, Hook., N.O. Laurinea. 
 The newer name is Beihchmiedia 
 tawa, Benth. and Hook. f. Allied 
 to Taraire (q.v.). A handsome 
 forest tree with damson-like fruit. 
 
 1883. J. Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 129 : 
 
 " Tawa. A lofty forest tree, sixty 
 to seventy feet high, with slender 
 branches. The wood is light and 
 soft, and is much used for making 
 butter-kegs." 
 
 Tawara, n. Maori name for the 
 flower of the Kie-kie (q.v.), Frey- 
 rinetia Banksii. 
 
 Tawhai, or Tawai, n. Maori 
 name for several species of New 
 Zealand Beech-trees, N.O. Cupu- 
 HfercB. The settlers call them 
 Birches (q.v.). 
 
 1873. ' Catalogue of Vienna Exhibi- 
 tion ' : 
 
 " Tawhai. Large and durable tim- 
 ber, used for sleepers." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 125 : 
 
 " Tawhai, Red-birch (from colour of 
 bark). A handsome tree, eighty to 
 one hundred feet high. Fagus Men- 
 ziesii, Hook, [also called large-leaved 
 birch]. Tawhai, Tawhairaunui, Black- 
 birch of Auckland and Otago (from 
 colour of bark), Fagus fusca, Hook." 
 
 Tawhiri, or Tawiri, n. Maori 
 nameforthe^/a^J/a/azA A name 
 applied to the tree Pittosporum 
 tenuifolium, N.O. Pittosporecz. It 
 is profusely covered with a fra- 
 grant white blossom. See Mapau. 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 108 : 
 " Its floor . . . with faint tawhiri- 
 leaves besprent." 
 
 1884. T. Bracken, ' Lays of Maori,' 
 p. 21 : 
 
 "The early breeze that . . . stole 
 The rich Tawhiri's sweet per- 
 fume." 
 
 Tea, n. 
 
 Billy-tea, or Bush-tea. Tea 
 made in a billy (q.v.). There is 
 a belief that in order to bring out 
 the full flavour it should be stirred 
 with a gum-stick. 
 
 New Zealand tea. Tea made of 
 the leaves of Manuka (q.v.). See 
 Tea-tree. 
 
 Sweet-tea, or Botany-Bay tea, or 
 Australian tea. (Called also Native 
 Sarsaparilla. See Sarsaparilla.} 
 A plant, Smilax glycyphylla, Smith., 
 N.O. Liliacecz. 
 
 1788. D. Considen, letter to Sir Joseph 
 Banks, Nov. 18, in ' Historical Records of 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. part ii. p. 220 : 
 
 " I have sent you some of the sweet 
 tea of this country, which I recommend, 
 and is generally used by the marines 
 and convicts. As such it is a good 
 anti-scorbutic, as well as a substitute 
 for that which is more costly." 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales,' p. 195 : 
 
 " The sweet-tea, a creeping kind of 
 vine . . . the taste is sweet, exactly 
 like the liquorice-root of the shops. 
 Of this the convicts and soldiers make 
 an infusion which is tolerably pleasant, 
 and serves as no bad succedaneum for 
 tea. v 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 203 : 
 
 '"Sweet tea' . . . The decoction 
 made from its leaves ... is similar 
 in properties, but more pleasant in 
 taste, than that obtained from the roots 
 of S. offitinalis, or Jamaica sarsapariila.
 
 TEA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 463 
 
 The herb is a common article of trade 
 among Sydney herbalists." 
 
 Tea-broom, n. a New Zealand 
 name for the Tea-tree (q.v.). 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' [Notes] p. 
 
 505: 
 
 "Manuka. . . . The settlers often 
 call it 'tea-broom.'" 
 
 Teak, n. The original Teak is 
 an East Indian timber-tree, Tec- 
 tina grandis, but the name has 
 been transferred to other trees 
 in different parts of the world, 
 from a similarity in the hardness 
 of their wood. In Australia, it 
 is given to Dissiliaria baloghioides , 
 F. v. M., N. O. Euphorbiacecc ; to 
 Endiandra glauca, R. Br., N.O. 
 Leguminosce ; and to Flindersia 
 Bennettiana, F. v. M., N.O. Meli- 
 acece. In New Zealand, it is Vitex 
 littoralis ; Maori name, Puriri 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Teal, n. the common English 
 name given to the small ducks 
 of the genus Querquedula. In 
 Australia, the name is applied 
 to Anas castanea, Eyton ; and to 
 the Grey Teal, A. gibberifrons, 
 Mull. See also Goose-teal. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Ex- 
 pedition,' p. 291 : 
 
 " Brown returned with . . . four 
 teals {Querquedula castanea)." [The 
 old name.] 
 
 Tea-tree, n. (Very frequently, 
 but erroneously, spelt Ti-tree, and 
 occasionally, more ridiculously 
 still, Ti-tri, q.v.) A name given 
 in Australia, New Zealand, and 
 Tasmania to several species of 
 trees and shrubs whose leaves 
 were used by Captain Cook's 
 sailors, by escaped convicts, and 
 by the early settlers as a ready 
 substitute for the leaves of the 
 Chinese Tea-plant (T/iea chinensis) 
 for making tea. The trees of the 
 genera Leptospermum and Melaleuca 
 were the earliest used, in Australia 
 
 and New Zealand, in this way. 
 When in blossom, the branches 
 of many species, with their little 
 white flowers, and the general 
 appearance of their leaves, bear 
 a strong resemblance to those of 
 the true Tea-plant. Their leaves, 
 though exceedingly aromatic, 
 have not, however, the same 
 flavour. Nevertheless, it was 
 probably this superficial likeness 
 which first suggested the experi- 
 ment of making an infusion from 
 them. Some of the species of 
 Leptospermum and Melaleuca are so 
 closely allied, that their names are 
 by some botanists interchanged 
 and used as synonyms for the 
 same plant. 
 
 Although not all of the species 
 of these two genera were used for 
 making tea, yet, as a tree-name, the 
 word Tea-tree is indifferently and 
 loosely used to denote nearly all of 
 them, especially in the form Tea- 
 tree scrub, where they grow, as is 
 their habit, in swamps, flat-land, 
 and coastal districts. Other trees 
 or plants to which the name of 
 Tea-tree was occasionally given, 
 are species of the genera Kimzea 
 and Callistemon. 
 
 The spelling Ti-tree is not only 
 erroneous as to the origin of the 
 name, but exceedingly misleading, 
 as it confuses the Australian Tea- 
 tree with another Ti (q.v.) in 
 Polynesia (Cordyline ft). This 
 latter genus is represented, in 
 Australia and New Zealand, by 
 the two species Cordyline australis 
 and ; C. indivisa, the Cabbage-trees 
 (q.v.), or Cabbage-palms (q.v.), or 
 Ti-palms (q.v.), or Ti (q.v.), which 
 are a marked feature of the New 
 Zealand landscape, and are of the 
 lily family (N.O. Liliacea), while 
 the genera Leptospermum and Mela- 
 leuca are of the myrtle family 
 (N. O. Myrtacece).
 
 464 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TEA 
 
 As to the species of the Aus- 
 tralian Tea-tree, that first used by 
 Cook's sailors was either 
 
 Leptospermum scoparium, R. and 
 
 G. Forst., 
 or 
 
 L. lanigerum, Smith. 
 
 The species most used for in- 
 fusions was 
 
 Z. flavescens, Smith (syn. L. thea, 
 
 Willd., and Melaleuca thea, 
 
 Willd.). 
 
 The Coast Tea-tree, common on 
 the Victorian shores, and so use- 
 ful as a sand-binder, is 
 
 L. lavigatum, F. v. M. 
 
 The Common Australian Tea-tree 
 (according to Maiden) is Mela- 
 leuca leucodendron, Linn.; called 
 also White Tea-tree, Broad-leaved 
 T.-t., Swamp T.-t., and Paper-bark 
 T.-t. 
 
 The name, however, as noted 
 above, is used for all species of 
 Melaleuca, the Swamp Tea-tree 
 being M. ericifolia, Smith, and the 
 Black, or Prickly-leaved Tea-tree, 
 M. styphelioides, Smith. 
 
 Of the other genera to which 
 the name is sometimes applied, 
 Kunzea pedunculata, F. v. M., is 
 called Mountain Tea-tree, and Cal- 
 listemon salignus, DeC., is called 
 
 Broad-leaved, or River Tea-tree. 
 
 InNewZealand, theMaori name 
 Manuka (q.v.) is more generally 
 used than Tea-tree, and the tree 
 denoted by it is the original one 
 used by Cook's sailors. 
 
 Concerning other plants, used 
 in the early days for making 
 special kinds of infusions and 
 drinking them as tea, see under 
 Tea, and Cape-Barren Tea. 
 
 I 777- Cook's ' Voyage towards the 
 South Pole and Round the World ' [2nd 
 Voyage], vol. i. p. 99 : 
 
 " The beer certainly contributed not 
 
 a little. As I have already observed, 
 we at first made it of a decoction of 
 the spruce leaves ; but finding that 
 this alone made the beer too astrin- 
 gent, we afterwards mixed with it an 
 equal quantity of the tea plant (a name 
 it obtained in my former voyage from 
 our using it as tea then, as we also 
 did now), which partly destroyed the 
 astringency of the other, and made 
 the beer exceedingly palatable, and 
 esteemed by every one on board." 
 
 [On page 100, Cook gives a descrip- 
 tion of the tea-plant, and also figures 
 it. He was then at Dusky Bay, New 
 Zealand.] 
 
 1790. J. White, ' Voyage to New South 
 Wales,' p. 229 : 
 
 "Tea Tree of New South Wales, 
 Melaleuca (?) Trinervia. This is a 
 small shrub, very much branched. 
 ... It most nearly approaches the 
 Leptospenmini virgatum of Forster, 
 referred by the younger Linnaeus, 
 perhaps improperly, to Melaleuca." 
 
 1820. C. Jeffreys, R.N., 'Geographical 
 and Descriptive Delineations of the Island 
 of Van Dieman's Land,' p. 133 : 
 
 " Of course they [the Bush Rangers] 
 are subject to numerous privations, 
 particularly in the articles of tea, 
 sugar, tobacco, and bread ; for this 
 latter article, however, they substitute 
 the wild yam, and for tea they drink a 
 decoction of the sassafras and other 
 shrubs, particularly one which they 
 call the tea-tree bush.'' 
 
 1820. W. C. Wentworth, ' Description 
 of New South Wales,' p. 175 : 
 
 " On Monday the bushrangers were 
 at a house at Tea-tree Brush." 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 200 : 
 
 " The leaves of the tea-tree furnished 
 the colonists with a substitute for the 
 genuine plant in the early period of 
 the colony, and from their containing 
 a saccharine matter required no sugar." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 78 : 
 
 "This boy got some bark from a 
 tree called the tea-tree, which makes 
 excellent torches." 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 c. ii. p. 25 : 
 
 "The tea-tree grows in wet situa- 
 tions . . the leaves infused make a
 
 TEA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 465 
 
 pleasant beverage, and with a little 
 sugar form a most excellent substitute 
 for tea." 
 
 1834. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 P- I34-- 
 
 " Leptospermum lanigemm, Hoary 
 tea-tree; Acacia decurrens, Black 
 wattle ; Contza alda, Cape- Barren tea. 
 The leaves of these have been used 
 as substitutes for tea in the colony, 
 as have also the leaves and bark of 
 Cryptocaryaglaucescens, the Australian 
 Saj-afras " (sic) [q.v.]. 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, ' Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 39 : 
 
 " The Australian myrtles, or tea- 
 trees, are to be found in thick clusters, 
 shading rocky springs. ... Its leaves 
 I have seen made into a beverage 
 called tea. It, however, was loath- 
 some, and had not the slightest re- 
 semblance to any known Chinese tea." 
 
 1845. R. Howitt, ' Australia,' p. 85 : 
 
 " Often we had to take the boat 
 down the river several miles, to cut 
 reeds amongst the tea-tree marshes, to 
 thatch our houses with." 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, ' Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 33 : 
 
 "A great quantity of the tea-tree 
 (Leptospermimt) scrubs, which formerly 
 lined both banks of the Yarra." (p. 84) : 
 " It is allied to the myrtle family (Mela- 
 Icuca) ... A decoction of the leaves is 
 a fair substitute for tea, yielding a 
 beverage of a very aromatic flavour." 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, ' Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 210: 
 
 "Dense with tea-trees and wattles 
 shrouding the courses of the stream." 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, 'Poems,' p. 126: 
 " Half-hidden in a tea-tree scrub, 
 
 A flock of dusky sheep were spread." 
 
 1870. A. L. Gordon, 'Bush Ballads,' 
 p. 14: 
 
 "Through the tea-tree scrub we 
 dashed." 
 
 1871. C. L. Money, ' Knocking About 
 in New Zealand,' p. 70 : 
 
 " Chiefly covered with fern and tea- 
 tree (manuka) scrub." 
 
 1871. T. Bracken, ' Behind the Tomb,' 
 p. 60 : 
 
 " Sobbing through the tea-tree bushes, 
 Low and tender, loud and wild, 
 Melancholy music gushes." 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, ' Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 206 : 
 
 Table of Tasmanian woods found in 
 low marshy ground. 
 
 Swamp Tea-tree 
 Tea-tree 
 
 Musk Tea-tree 
 
 Hgt. 
 12 ft. 
 
 Dia. 
 6 in. 
 
 9 .. 
 small 
 
 Used. 
 Useless. 
 
 1877. Baron von Mueller, ' Botanic 
 Teachings,' p. 1 8 : 
 
 " We have among them [the Myr- 
 taceae] . . . the native tea-trees, inap- 
 propriately so called, as these bushes 
 and trees never yield substitutes for tea, 
 although a New Zealand species was 
 used in Captain Cook's early expedi- 
 tion, to prepare a medicinal infusion 
 against scurvy ; these so-called tea- 
 trees .comprise within our colony [Vic- 
 toria], species of Leptospermum, Kun- 
 zea, Melaleuca and Callistemon, the 
 last-mentioned genus producing flowers 
 with long stamens, on which the appel- 
 lation of ' Bottle-brushes ' has been 
 bestowed." 
 
 1880. W. Senior, ' Travel and Trout,' 
 p. 78: 
 
 " Numerous flowering shrubs, such 
 as the tea-tree, native lilac, and many 
 another that varies the colour and 
 softly scents the atmosphere." 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, ' Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 221 : 
 
 " Thickets of tea-tree, white with 
 lovely hawthorn-like flowers." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 19 : 
 
 "Along the water's edge, noble ti- 
 trees, whose drooping branches swept 
 the stream, formed a fringe, the dark 
 green of their thick foliage being re- 
 lieved." 
 
 1883. C. Harpur, ' Poems,' p. 78 : 
 
 " Why roar the bull-frogs in the tea- 
 tree marsh ? " 
 
 1884. R. L. A. Davies, ' Poems and 
 Literary Remains,' p. 84 : 
 
 " Shading a brook the tea-trees grew, 
 Spangled with blossoms of whitish 
 
 hue, 
 Which fell from the boughs to the 
 
 ground below, 
 As fall from heaven the flakes of 
 
 snow." 
 
 H H
 
 466 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TEE-TEN 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' 
 p. 112: 
 
 " The bottle-brush flowers of the ti- 
 trees." 
 
 1888. Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, 
 ' Select Extra-Tropical Plants,' p. 221 : 
 
 " The somewhat aromatic leaves of 
 Liscopariiun (Forster) were already in 
 Captain Cook's Expedition used for an 
 antiscorbutic Tea, hence the name tea- 
 tree for this and some allied plants." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, ' Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 76: 
 
 " The intrusive ti-tree. . . . The dark 
 line of ti-tree in the foreground . . ." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' pp. 235, 236 : 
 
 " Leptospermum scoparium, Forster, 
 the Manuka. . . . It is commonly 
 termed ' tea-tree ' by the settlers, but 
 must not be confounded with the ' ti ' 
 or 'toi 3 of the Maories, which is a 
 handsome palm-lily, Cordyline aus- 
 tralis, often termed ' cabbage-tree ' by 
 the bushmen." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 38: 
 
 " Leptospemmm scoparium, Tea 
 Tree. It is said that this is the shrub 
 the leaves of which were utilized by the 
 crews of Captain Cook's ships for the 
 purpose of making ' tea,' and that they 
 were also used with spruce leaves in 
 equal quantity for the purpose of cor- 
 recting the astringency in brewing a 
 beer from the latter. It is exceedingly 
 common about Sydney, so large 
 quantities would therefore be avail- 
 able to the sailors. Species of this 
 genus are exceedingly abundant not 
 far from the coast, and the leaves 
 would be very readily available, but 
 the taste of the infusion made from 
 them is too aromatic for the European 
 palate." 
 
 [In Maiden's admirable book slips 
 are very rare. But he is mistaken 
 here in the matter of the abundance 
 of the tree at Sydney having any refer- 
 ence to the question. Captain Cook 
 had but one ship, the Endeavour', and 
 it never entered Port Jackson. It is 
 true that L. scopariuin was the tree 
 used by Cook, but he was then at 
 Dusky Bay, New Zealand, and it was 
 there that he used it. See quotations 
 J777 and 1877.] 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Canni- 
 bals,' p. 24 : 
 
 " The well-known Melaleuca Lenca- 
 dendron, called by the colonists tea- 
 tree, from which is extracted what is 
 known in medicine as cajeput oil." 
 
 1893. 'The Australasian,' Jan 14: 
 
 "The ti-tree on either side of the 
 road was in bloom, its soft, fluffy, 
 creamy bushes gathering in great 
 luxuriance on the tops of the taller 
 trees, almost hiding the green." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' April 29, p. 4, 
 col. 4 : 
 
 "There was many a shorthorned 
 Hereford hidden in the innermost re- 
 cesses of that tick and sand-fly in- 
 fested ti-tree that knew not the cun- 
 ning of a stockman's hand." 
 
 1894. ' Melbourne Museum Catalogue 
 Economic Woods ' : 
 
 "No. 133, Coast tea-tree, Leptos- 
 permum Icevtgattitn, F. v. M. No. 142, 
 Swamp tea-tree, Melaleuca eritifolia, 
 Smith." 
 
 Teetee. Same as 75-71" (q.v.). 
 
 Telopea, . scientific name of 
 the genus containing- the flower 
 called the Waratah (q.v.), from 
 the Greek T^AWTTO'S, ' seen from 
 afar,' in allusion (as the author 
 of the name, Robert Brown, him- 
 self says) to the conspicuous 
 crimson flowers. The name has 
 been corrupted popularly into 
 Tulip, and the flower is often 
 called the Native Tulip. 
 
 1835. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. no : 
 
 "The beautiful crimson flowering 
 shrub, with dark green rhododendron- 
 like leaves, which grows in the upper 
 region of Mount Wellington. . . . The 
 generic name is derived from telopos^ 
 seen at a distance. It has been cor- 
 rupted into tulip tree, to which it bears 
 not the least resemblance." 
 
 Tena koe, a Maori salutation 
 used in North Island of New 
 Zealand. Lit. "That is you," 
 and meaning " How do you do ? " 
 
 Tena and Tera both mean '////'/ 
 but t'ena implies the idea of near-
 
 TEN-THO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 467 
 
 ness, 'that near you,' tera the idea 
 of distance, ' that (or there) away 
 yonder.' Hence, while Tna koe 
 is a welcome, Te"ra koe would be 
 an insult. 
 
 Tench, n. slang term, used 
 during the days of transportation, 
 for the Hobart Town Penitentiary, 
 or Prisoners' Barracks a corrup- 
 tion of "'tentiary" which is for 
 Penitentiary. It is now obsolete. 
 
 1859. Caroline Leakey, 'The Broad 
 Arrow,' vol. ii. p. 32 : 
 
 " Prisoners' barracks, sir us calls 
 it Tench.'' 
 
 Teraglin, n. a fish of New South 
 Wales, Otolithus atelodus, Giinth. 
 The name Teraglin is stated to 
 be aboriginal. Sometimes called 
 Jew-fish (q.v.). 
 
 Thickhead, n. the name 
 applied to the Australian birds of 
 the genus Pachycephala (q.v.). 
 They are often called Thrushes. 
 The species are 
 
 The Banded Thickhead 
 
 Pachycephala pectoralis, Vig. and 
 
 Hors. 
 Black T. 
 
 P. melanura, Gould. 
 Gilbert's T. 
 
 P. gilbertiii Gould. 
 Grey-tailed T. 
 
 P. glaucura, Gould (confined to 
 
 Tasmania). 
 Lunated T. 
 
 P.falcata, Gould. 
 Olivaceous T. 
 
 P. olivacea, Vig. and Hors. 
 
 (confined to Tasmania). 
 Pale-breasted T. 
 
 P. pallida, Ramsay. 
 Plain-coloured T. 
 
 P. simplex, Gould. 
 Red-throated T. 
 
 P. rufigularis, Gould. 
 Rufous-breasted T. 
 
 P. ruventriS) Lath. 
 
 Shrike-like T. 
 
 Pachycephala lanoides, Gould. 
 Torres-straits T. 
 
 P. fretorum, De Vis. 
 Western T. 
 
 P. occidentalis, Ramsay. 
 White-throated T. 
 
 P. gutturalis, Lath. ; called also 
 the Thunder-bird (q.v.). 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes Game Act ' 
 (Third Schedule) : 
 
 " Thick - heads. [Close season.] 
 From the first day of August to the 
 twentieth day of December next follow- 
 ing in each year." 
 
 Thornback, n. special name for 
 one of the Stingrays, Raia lem- 
 prieri, Richards., or Raja rostata, 
 Castln., family Raijdce. 
 
 1875. 'Melbourne Spectator/ Aug. 28, 
 p. 201, col. 3 : 
 
 " A thornback skate . . . weighing 
 109 Ibs., has been caught ... at North 
 Arm, South Australia." 
 
 Thousand-Jacket, n. a North 
 Island name for Ribbon-wood (q.v.), 
 a New Zealand tree. Layer after 
 layer of the inner bark can be 
 stripped off. 
 
 1888. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iii. p. 210 : 
 
 " Koninny [ sic ], raupo, toi-toi, 
 supplejack, thousand-jacket, and the 
 like, are names of things known well 
 enough to the inhabitants of Napier 
 and Taranaki, but to the average stay- 
 at-home Englishman they are nouns 
 which only vexatiously illustrate the 
 difference between names and things." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, 'Flora of New Zealand,' 
 p. 87: 
 
 " Hoheria populnea. The Houhere. 
 Order Malvaceae. ... In the north 
 of Auckland the typical form is known 
 as ' houhere '; but Mr. Colenso informs 
 me the varieties are termed ' houi ' 
 and ' whau-whi ' in the south . . . 
 By the settlers all the forms are termed 
 ' ribbon-wood,' or less frequently ' lace- 
 bark' names which are applied to 
 other plants : they are also termed 
 ' thousand-jacket.' "
 
 468 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [THR THU 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian/ Aug. 28, p. 
 407, col. 5 : 
 
 "'Thousand-jacket' is a pictur- 
 esque name for a many-named New 
 Zealand tree, the bark of which peels, 
 and peels, and peels again, though in 
 the number chosen there is certainly a 
 note of exaggeration." 
 
 Throwing-stick, n. native Aus- 
 tralian weapon, by means of which 
 the spear is thrown. See Woomera. 
 
 1802. G. Harrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. i. p. 12 : 
 
 " The principals who perform it come 
 from Cammer-ray, armed with shields, 
 clubs, and throwing-sticks." 
 
 Ibid. c. i. p. 26 : 
 
 " The throwing-stick is used in dis- 
 charging the spear. The instrument 
 is from two to three feet in length, 
 with a shell on one end and a hook on 
 the other." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. 72 : 
 
 " Natives . . . seemingly ignorant 
 _of the use of the throwing-stick." 
 
 1879. J. D. Woods, 'Native Tribes of 
 South Australia,' Introd. p. xviii : 
 
 " The spear is propelled by a wom- 
 merah or throwing-stick, having at one 
 end a kangaroo's tooth, fixed so as to 
 fit into a notch at the end of the spear. 
 This instrument gives an amount of 
 leverage far beyond what would be 
 excited by unaided muscular strength." 
 
 1880. Fison and Howitt, ' Kamilaroi 
 and Kurnai,' p. 251 : 
 
 " It is supposed that if the hair of a 
 person is tied on the end of the throw- 
 ing-stick . . . and roasted before the fire 
 with some kangaroo fat, the person to 
 whom it belonged will pine away and 
 die." 
 
 1885. H. H. Hayter, ' Carboona,' p. 24 : 
 "Warrk Warrk, having a dart on 
 his throwing-stick ready adjusted, 
 hurled it." 
 
 Thrush, n. This common 
 English bird-name is applied in 
 Australia and New Zealand to 
 four different genera of birds, 
 viz. 
 
 (i) Collyriodnda, the Shrike- 
 Thrushes (q.v.) ; the name Collyr- 
 iodncla is a compound of two 
 
 Greek bird-names, KoXXvptwu, ' a 
 bird, probably of the thrush kind, 
 Arist. H. A. 9, 23, 2 ' (' L. & S.'), 
 and KtyaXos, ' a kind of wag-tail 
 or water-ouser ('L. & S.'). The 
 next two genera are derived in a 
 similar way from y}, earth, and 
 opos, mountain. 
 
 (2) Geodncla, the Ground- 
 Thrushes (q.v.). 
 
 (3) Oreodnda, the Mountain- 
 Thrush (q.v.). 
 
 (4) Pachycephala (q.v.) ; called 
 Thrushes, but more often Thick- 
 heads (q.v.). 
 
 (5) Turnagra (the New Zealand 
 Thrushes), viz. 
 
 T. hedori, Buller, North Island 
 
 Thrush. 
 T. crassirostris, Gmel., South 
 
 Island Thrush. 
 
 The name Thrush was also 
 applied loosely, by the early 
 writers and travellers, to birds of 
 many other genera which have 
 since been more accurately differ- 
 entiated. The common English 
 thrush has been acclimatised in 
 Australia, Tasmania, and New 
 Zealand. 
 
 Thunder-bird, n. an early name 
 for one of the Thickheads (q.v.), or 
 Pachycephala (q.v.). See also 
 quotation, 1896. 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, 'Transac- 
 tions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 239 : 
 
 " ' This species,' Mr. Caley says, 
 ' is called Thunder-bird by the colon- 
 ists. . . . The natives tell me, that 
 when it begins to thunder this bird is 
 very noisy.'" 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. ii. pi. 64 : 
 
 "Pachycephala Gutturalis, Thunder 
 Bird, Colonists of New South Wales.'' 
 
 1896. A. J. North, ' List of the Insecti- 
 vorous Birds of New South Wales,' part i. 
 
 P. 3 = 
 
 " Pachycephala gutturalis, Latham. 
 'Yellow-breasted Thick-head.' . . . 
 From its habit of starting to sing im-
 
 THU-TIE] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 469 
 
 mediately after a clap of thunder, the 
 report of a gun, or any other loud and 
 sudden noise, it is known to many 
 residents of New South Wales as the 
 < Thunder-bird.' 
 
 " Pachycephala rufiventris, Latham. 
 'Rufous-breasted Thickhead.' . . . Also 
 known as the ' Thunder-bird.' " 
 
 Thunder-dirt, n. In New Zea- 
 land, a gelatinous covering of a 
 fungus (Ileodictycn cibarium) for- 
 merly eaten by the Maoris. 
 
 Thylacine, and Thylacinus, n. 
 the scientific name of the genus 
 of the animal called variously the 
 Tasmanian Tiger (q.v.), Hycena, 
 Tasmanian Wolf, Zebra Wolf, and 
 Marsupial Wolf. The first spelling 
 is the Anglicised form of the 
 word. (Grk. 0u'A.aKos, a pouch, 
 and Kvu)v, a dog.) 
 
 1894. R- Lydekker, ' Marsupialia,' p. 
 153: 
 
 "The Thylacine appears to be 
 generally found among caverns and 
 rocks and the deep and almost im- 
 penetrable glens in the neighbourhood 
 of the highest mountains of Tasmania." 
 
 Ti, n. the name of various 
 species of trees of the genus 
 Cordyline, N.O. Liliacece. It exists 
 in the Pacific Islands as C. Ti, and 
 in New Zealand the species are 
 C. australis and C. indivisa. It 
 is called in New Zealand the 
 Cabbage-tree (q.v.), and the heart 
 used to be eaten by the settlers. 
 The word is Polynesian. In Ha- 
 waiian, the form is Ki ; in Maori, 
 Ti. Compare Kanaka (q.v.) and 
 Tangata. By confusion, Tea, in 
 Tea-tree (q.v.), is frequently spelt 
 Ti, and Tea-tree is sometimes spelt 
 Ti-tri (q.v.). 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 58 : 
 
 " In these natural shrubberies, too, 
 and especially in wet situations, a kind 
 of cabbage-tree, called ti by the natives, 
 flourishes in great abundance." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 P- 435 ' 
 
 "The ti (Cordyline australis or 
 Dracaena australis) is found in great 
 abundance. Though so common, it 
 has a very foreign look . . . the leaf 
 is that of a flag, the flower forms a 
 large droop and is very fragrant." 
 
 1866. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 52 : 
 
 "Ti-ti palms are dotted here and 
 there, and give a foreign and tropical 
 appearance to the whole." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 p. 297 : 
 
 " An abundance of narrow strips of 
 the tough, fibrous leaves of the ti- 
 palm." 
 
 1890. W. Colenso, 'Transactions of New 
 Zealand Institute,' vol. xxiii. art. Ivii. 
 p. 486 : 
 
 " In these plains stand a number of 
 cabbage-trees (Cordyline Australis\ 
 the ti-trees of the Maori. These often 
 bear only a single head of long narrow 
 harsh leaves at the top of their tall 
 slender stems, but sometimes they are 
 slightly branched, the branches also 
 only bearing a similar tuft." 
 
 1892. ' Otago Witness,' Dec. 22, p. 7, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 " A small grove of ti-palms or cab- 
 bage-tree." 
 
 Tiaki (spelt also Tieke), n. 
 Maori name for the Saddle-back or 
 Jack-bird (q.v.). 
 
 1835. W. Yate, ' Account of New 
 Zealand,' p. 56 : 
 
 "Tiaki or purourou. This elegant 
 bird is about the size of the sky-lark." 
 
 Tieke, n. Same as Tiaki (q.v.). 
 
 Tiers,//, n. used in Tasmania 
 as the usual word for mountains, 
 in the same way as the word 
 Ranges (q.v.) in Australia. 
 
 1876. W. B. Wildey, ' Australasia and 
 Oceanic Region,' p. 320 : 
 
 "Two chains of mountains, the 
 eastern and western tiers, run through 
 it nearly north and south." 
 
 1891. 'The Australasian,' April 4, p. 
 670, col 2 : 
 " That stuff as they calls horizontal, a 
 
 mess of branches and root, 
 The three barren tiers ; and the Cray- 
 croft, that 'ud settle a bandicoot.' 5
 
 470 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TIE-TIT 
 
 Tiersman, n. Tasmanian word 
 for one who lives in the Tiers 
 (q.v.). 
 
 1852. F. Lancelott, ' Australia as it is,' 
 vol. ii. p. 115 : 
 
 "Splitters, or, as they are com- 
 monly called tiersmen, reside in the 
 forest of stringy bark . . ." 
 
 Tiger-Cat, n. special name ap- 
 plied to the Common and Spotted- 
 tailed Native Cat, See under Cat. 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 c. ii. p. 52 : 
 
 " The skins of the . . . opossum, 
 tiger-cat, and platypus . . . are ex- 
 ported." 
 
 1852. Ronald C. Gunn, ' Papers and 
 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van 
 Diemen's Land,' vol. ii. p. ii : 
 
 " Dasynrus maculatus, Shaw. . . . 
 The Spotted Martin, Phillip's 'Voy. 
 to Botany Bay, p. 276. Martin Cat,' 
 pi. 46. ' Tiger Cat ' of the Colonists 
 of Tasmania, to which island it is con- 
 fined. It is distinguished from D. 
 viverrinus, the ' Native Cat ' of the 
 Colonists, by its superior size and more 
 robust form ; also from the tail being 
 spotted as well as the body." 
 
 1891. 'Guide to the Zoological 
 Gardens, Melbourne ' : 
 
 "After the opossums comes a speci- 
 men of the tiger-cat (Dasyurus macu- 
 latus) ; this animal, which is so de- 
 structive to poultry, is well known 
 throughout the country in Victoria." 
 
 Tiger, Tasmanian. See Thy- 
 lacine and Tasmanian Tiger. 
 
 Tiger-Snake, ;/. See under 
 Snake. 
 
 Tihore, n. Maori name for a 
 species of New Zealand flax. 
 Name used specially in the North 
 Island for the best variety of 
 Phormium (q.v.). 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 286 : 
 
 "The species of Phormium tenax 
 thus cultivated is the tihore, literally 
 the 'skinning' flax. This name de- 
 scribes the ease with which it submits 
 to the scraping process." 
 
 Tiki, n. Maori name for the 
 
 Creator of man, and thence taken 
 to represent an ancestor. The 
 Maoris made large wooden 
 images to represent their Tiki, 
 and gave the name of Tiki to 
 these images. Later they were 
 made in miniature in greenstone 
 (q.v.), and used as neck orna- 
 ments. See Heitiki. 
 
 Tit, n. common English bird- 
 name. Applied in Australia to 
 the following species 
 
 Broad-tailed Tit 
 
 Acanthiza apicalis, Gould. 
 Brown T. 
 
 A. pusilla, Lath. 
 Buff T. 
 
 Geobasileus reguloides, V. and H. 
 Chestnut-rumped T. 
 
 Acanthiza uropygialis, Gould. 
 Little T. 
 
 A. nana, Vig. and Hors. 
 Plain T. 
 
 A. inornata, Gould. 
 Red-rumped T. 
 
 A. pyrrhopygia, Gould. 
 Scaly-breasted T. 
 
 A. squamata, De Vis. 
 Scrub T. 
 
 Sericornis magnet, Gould. 
 Striated T. 
 
 Acanthiza lineata, Gould. 
 Tasmanian T. 
 
 A. . diemenensis, Gould ; called 
 
 also Brown-tail. 
 Yellow-rumped T. 
 
 Geobasileus chrysorrh&a, Quoy 
 and Gaim. 
 
 See also Tree-tit. 
 
 Tit-fish, n. a name given in 
 North Australia to the Sea-slug, 
 or Trepang ; because the appear- 
 ance of its tentacles suggests the 
 teat of a cow. 
 
 1880. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Pro- 
 ceedings of the Linnrean Society of New 
 South Wales,' vol. v. pt. ii. p. 128: 
 
 " G. F. Jaeger, in 1833, . . . enume- 
 rates four [species of Trepang}, viz.
 
 TI-TOA] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 Trepang cdulis, T. ananas, T. impa- 
 tiens and T. peruviana. The first of 
 these is certainly found on the reefs, 
 and is called by the fishermen ' red- 
 fish.' . . . Next to this is the ' tit-fish,' 
 . . . studded with somewhat distant 
 large tentacles, which project nearly 
 an inch or so." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 22 : 
 
 " They were engaged in smoking a 
 large haul of ' tit ' fish, which they 
 had made on a neighbouring reef." 
 
 Ti-ti, n. Maori name for the 
 sea-bird Pekcanoides urinatrix, 
 Gmel., the Diving-petrel. Spelt 
 also tee-tee. 
 
 1891. ' The Australasian,' Nov. 14, p. 
 963, col. I (' A Lady in the Kermadecs') : 
 
 ''The petrels there are nine kinds, 
 and we have names of our own for 
 them, the black burrower, the mutton- 
 bird, the white burrower, the short- 
 billed ti-ti, the long-billed ti-ti, the 
 little storm petrel, and three others 
 that we had no names for abound on 
 the island." 
 
 Titipounamu, n. (spelt also 
 Tititipunamu), n. Maori name 
 for the bird Acanthidositta chloris, 
 Sparm., the Rifleman (q.v.). It 
 has many other Maori names. 
 
 Titoki, ;/. Maori name for the 
 New Zealand tree, Alectryon ex- 
 celsitm, De C., N.O. SapindacecE. 
 Also called New Zealand Oak 
 and New Zealand Ash. See 
 Alectryon. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 317 : 
 
 " The berry of the titoki tree might 
 be turned to account. The natives 
 extract a very fine oil from it." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 253 : 
 "The youth, with hands beneath his 
 
 head, 
 Against a great titoki's base." 
 
 1877. Anon., ' Colonial Experiences or 
 Incidents of Thirty-four Years in New 
 Zealand,' p. 16 : 
 
 " For this purpose, titoki was deemed 
 the most suitable timber, from its hard- 
 ness and crooked growth resembling 
 English oak." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 131 : 
 
 " Titoki, a beautiful tree with large 
 panicles of reddish flowers . . . Wood 
 has similar properties to ash. Its 
 toughness makes it valuable for wheels, 
 coachbuilding, etc." 
 
 1889. T- Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 183 : 
 
 "It is sometimes termed 'the New 
 Zealand ash,' doubtless on account of 
 its resembling that tree in the shape of 
 its foliage and in the toughness of its 
 wood, but it is most generally known 
 as the 'titoki.'" 
 
 1896. ' Otago Witness,' June 23, p. 42, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 "The saddling-paddock and the 
 scales are surrounded by a fence made 
 of stout titoki saplings, on which are 
 perched the knowing." 
 
 Ti-tree, n. erroneous spelling 
 of Tea-tree (q.v.). See also 
 Manuka. 
 
 Titri, n. corruption for Tea-tree 
 (q.v.), from the fancy that it is 
 Maori, or aboriginal Australian. 
 On the railway line, between 
 Dunedin and Invercargill, there 
 is a station called " Titri" 
 evidently the surveyor's joke. 
 
 1895. ' Otago \Vitness,' Dec. 19, p. 23, 
 col. 3 : 
 
 " Our way lay across two or three 
 cultivations into a grove of handsome 
 titri. Traversing this we came to a 
 broad, but shallow and stony creek, 
 and then more titri, merging into 
 light bush." 
 
 Toad-fish, n. In New Zealand, 
 a scarce marine fish of the family 
 Psychrolutid&t Neophrynichthys la- 
 tus. In Australia, the name is 
 applied to Tetrodon hanriltoni, 
 Richards., and various other 
 species of Tetrodon, family Gym- 
 nodontes, poisonous fishes. 
 
 Toad-fishes are very closely al- 
 lied to Porcupine-fishes. ' ' Toads " 
 have the upper jaw divided by a 
 median suture, while the latter 
 have undivided dental plates. 
 See Porcupine-fish and Globe-fish.
 
 472 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TOE-TOE 
 
 1836. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 89: 
 
 " The Poisonous or Toad Fish of 
 Van Diemen's Land. (Communicated 
 by James Scott, Esq. R.N. Colonial 
 Surgeon}. . . .- The melancholy and 
 dreadful effect produced by eating it 
 was lately instanced in the neighbour- 
 hood of Hobart Town, on the lady of 
 one of the most respectable merchants, 
 and two children, who died in the 
 course of three hours . . . The poison 
 is of a powerful sedative nature, pro- 
 ducing stupor, loss of speech, deglu- 
 tition, vision and the power of the 
 voluntary muscles, and ultimately an 
 entire deprivation of nervous power 
 and death." 
 
 1844. J. A. Moore, ' Tasmanian Rhym- 
 ings,' p. 24 : 
 
 " The toad-fish eaten, soon the body 
 dies." 
 
 Toatoa, n. Maori name of New 
 Zealand tree, Phyllodadus glauca, 
 Carr., N.O. Conifera. The Moun- 
 tain Toatoa is P. alpinus, Hook. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 120 : 
 
 " The toa toa, a small tree which is 
 much prized by the natives for walk- 
 ing-sticks, and only grows, they say, 
 in the neighbourhood of Tonga Riro. 
 The stick underneath the bark is of a 
 bright red colour, which takes a fine 
 polish." 
 
 Tobacco, Colonial. See To- 
 bacco, Native. 
 
 Tobacco, Native, n. In Aus- 
 tralia generally, a true Tobacco, 
 Nicotiana suaveolens, Lehm., N.O. 
 Solanacece; readily eaten as a forage 
 plant by stock. In Queensland, 
 the name is also applied to Pitrtri 
 (q.v.). In Tasmania, the name 
 is given to Cassinia billardieri> 
 De C., N.O. Composite. Various 
 American tobaccos are also 
 naturalised, and their growing 
 and manufacture is an industry. 
 Tobacco manufactured in the 
 colonies, whether from imported 
 American leaf or from leaf grown 
 
 in the colonies, is called Colonial 
 Tobacco. 
 
 1848. T. L. Mitchell, 'Tropical Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 64 : 
 
 " In the rich soil near the river-bed, 
 we saw the yellowish flowers of the 
 native tobacco, Nicotiana suaveolens" 
 
 Toe-ragger, n. In the bush a 
 term of abuse ; though curiously 
 in one or two parts of New South 
 Wales the word "toey," which 
 is derived from it, is a term of 
 praise, a " swell." The word 
 has been explained as of convict 
 origin, that the rags were used to 
 soothe the galling of fetters ; 
 but the explanation is not satis- 
 factory, for the part galled by the 
 irons would not be the toe, but 
 the ankle. A writer in 'Truth/ 
 has cleared up the word (see 
 quotation). It is of Maori origin. 
 Away from Maoriland " toe-rig- 
 ger " had no meaning, and a false 
 meaning and origin were given 
 by the change of vowel. 
 1896. ' Truth ' (Sydney), Jan. 12 : 
 " The bushie's favorite term of op- 
 probrium 'a toe-ragger j is also pro- 
 bably from the Maori. Amongst 
 whom the nastiest term of contempt 
 was that of tan rika rika, or slave. 
 The old whalers on the Maoriland 
 coast in their anger called each other 
 toe-riggers, and to-day the word in the 
 form of toe-ragger has spread through- 
 out the whole of the South Seas." 
 
 Toe-toe, and Toi-toi, Maori 
 name of several species of native 
 grass of the genus Arundo, espe- 
 cially Arundo conspicua, A. Cunn. 
 Toe-toe'is the right spelling in Maori, 
 given in Williams' ' Maori Dic- 
 tionary.' In English, however, 
 the word is frequently' spelt toi-toi. 
 It is also called Prince of Wales' 
 feather. 
 
 1843. ' An Ordinance for imposing a tax 
 on Raupo Houses, Session II. No. xvii. of 
 the former Legislative Council of New 
 Zealand': 
 
 [From A. Domett's collection of
 
 TOH-TOM] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 473 
 
 Ordinances, 1850.] "Section 2. ... 
 there shall be levied in respect of 
 every building constructed wholly or 
 in part of raupo, nikau, toitoi, iviivi 
 kaka/io, straw or thatch of any descrip- 
 tion [ . . . 20].'' 
 
 1849. C. Hursthouse, ' Settlement of 
 New Plymouth,' p. 13 : 
 
 " A species of tall grass called ' toe- 
 toe."' 
 
 1861. C. C. Bowen, ' Poems,' p. 57 : 
 
 " High o'er them all the toi waved, 
 To grace that savage ground." 
 
 1867. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. no : 
 
 " Thatching it with tohi, or swamp- 
 grass." 
 
 1892. ' The Katipo,' Jan. i. p. 3 [de- 
 scription of the Title-cut] : 
 
 " The toi toi and Phormium tenax 
 in the corners are New Zealand 
 emblems." 
 
 1895. 'Otago Witness,' Dec. 19, p. 6, 
 col. 3 : 
 
 "Where Christmas lilies wave and 
 
 blow, 
 
 Where the fan-tails tumbling glance, 
 And plumed toi-toi heads the dance." 
 
 Tohora, n. Maori name for a 
 whale. 
 
 1855. R ev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 136 : 
 
 " Fable of the Kauri (pine-tree) and 
 Tohora (whale)." 
 
 1878. W. Colenso, 'Transactions of New 
 Zealand Institute,' vol. xi. art. iv. pt. 2, 
 p. 90: 
 
 " Looking at it as it lay extended, it 
 resembled a very large whale (nui 
 tohora)." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 21 : 
 
 " In the open sea, and to the south, 
 the most prized whale next to the 
 sperm is the black whale, or tohora 
 (Enbalcena Aiistralis), which is like 
 the right whale of the North Sea, but 
 with baleen of less value." 
 
 Tohunga, n. Maori word for a 
 wise man. " Perhaps from Maori 
 verb tohu, to think." (Tregear's 
 ' Polynesian Dictionary.') Tohu, 
 a sign or omen ; hence Tohunga^ 
 a dealer in omens, an augur. 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf and Amohia,' 
 p. 102 : 
 
 " But he whose grief was most sincere 
 The news of that unwonted death to 
 
 hear, 
 Was Kangapo, the Tohunga a 
 
 Priest 
 And fell Magician famous far and 
 
 near." 
 
 1873. ' Appendix to Journals of House of 
 Representatives,' G. I, B. p. 9 : 
 
 " I am a tohunga who can save the 
 country if you will follow my advice." 
 
 1878. F. E. Maning, ' Heke's War, told 
 by an Old Chief,' ' New Zealand Reader,' 
 P- 153 : 
 
 " Amongst these soldiers there was 
 not one tohunga not a man at ' all 
 experienced in omens or they must 
 have had some warning that danger 
 and defeat were near." 
 
 1893. ' Otago Witness,' Dec. 21, p. 10, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 " She would consult a tohunga. The 
 man she selected one of the oldest 
 and most sacred of the Maori priests, 
 prophet, medicine - man, lawyer and 
 judge." 
 
 Tolmer's Grass, n. a fibrous 
 plant, Lepidosperma gladiatum, 
 Labill., N.O. Cyperacea, suitable 
 for manufacture of paper. It is 
 not a true grass, and is classed by 
 Maiden (' Useful Native Plants/ 
 p. 626) under fibres. 
 
 1882. A. Tolmer, ' Reminiscences,' p. 
 298: 
 
 " The plant that has since by cour- 
 tesy borne my name (Tolmer's grass)." 
 
 Tomahawk, n. a word of 
 North-American Indian origin, 
 applied in English to the similarly 
 shaped short one-handed axe or 
 hatchet. The word is not fre- 
 quent in England, but in Aus- 
 tralia the word hatchet has prac- 
 tically disappeared, and the word 
 Tomahawk to describe it is in 
 every-day use. It is also applied 
 to the stone hatchet of the Abori- 
 ginals. A popular corruption of 
 it is Tommy-axe.
 
 474 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TOM-TOO 
 
 1802. G. Harrington, ' History of New 
 South Wales,' c. xii. p. 466 : 
 
 "A plentiful assortment of ... 
 knives, shirts, toma-hawkes [sic], axes, 
 jackets, scissars [sic], etc., etc., for the 
 people in general." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 259 : 
 
 " We . . . observed recent marks of 
 the stone tomahawk of the natives." 
 
 1851. G. W. Rusden, ' Moyarra,' canto i. 
 17. P. 2 5: 
 " One hand he wreathed in Mytah's 
 
 hair, 
 Whirled then the tomahawk in air." 
 
 1870. E. B. Kennedy, ' Fours Years in 
 Queensland,' p. 78 : 
 
 " They [the Aboriginals] cut out 
 opossums from a tree or sugar bag 
 (wild honey) by means of a tomahawk 
 of green stone ; the handle is formed 
 of a vine, and fixed in its place with 
 gum. It is astonishing what a quan- 
 tity of work is got through in the day 
 with these blunt tomahawks." 
 
 1873. J. B. Stephens, 'Black Gin,' p. 
 60: 
 
 " Lay aside thy spears (I doubt them); 
 Lay aside thy tomahawk." 
 
 1880. Fison and Howitt, ' Kamilaroi 
 and Kurnai,' p. 206: 
 
 "The aborigines have obtained iron 
 tomahawks." 
 
 1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Gold- 
 fields,' p. 73 : 
 
 " Men had to cleave out a way for 
 themselves with tomahawks." 
 
 1888. A. Reischek, in Buller's 'Birds 
 of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 94 : 
 
 "The snow had been blown together, 
 and was frozen so hard that I had to 
 take my tomahawk to chop it down so 
 as to get softer snow to refresh myself 
 with a wash." 
 
 Tomahawk, v. tr. to cut sheep 
 when shearing them. 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, ' Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 p. 147: 
 
 " Shearers were very scarce, and the 
 poor sheep got fearfully ' tomahawked ' 
 by the new hands." 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My Wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 96 : 
 
 " Some men never get the better of 
 this habit, but 'tomahawk' as badly 
 
 after years of practice as when they 
 first began." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from 
 Snowy River,' p. 162 : 
 
 " The Shearers sat in the firelight, 
 hearty and hale and strong, 
 
 After the hard day's shearing, pass- 
 ing the joke along : 
 
 The 'ringer' that shore a hundred, 
 as they never were shorn before, 
 
 And the novice who toiling bravely 
 had tommyhawked half a score." 
 
 Tommy-axe, n. a popular cor- 
 ruption of the word Tomahawk 
 (q.v.) ; it is an instance of the law 
 of Hobson-Jobson. 
 
 Tom Russell's Mahogany. 
 See Mahogany. 
 
 Tomtit, n. name applied in 
 New Zealand to two New Zea- 
 land birds of the genus Myiomoira, 
 the species being M. toitoi, Garnot, 
 in North Island; M. macrocephala, 
 Gmel., in South Island. 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 39 : 
 [A full description.] 
 
 Tonquin Bean-Tree, n. a Tas- 
 manian variety of Native Sandal- 
 wood ; also called Tonga Bean- 
 wood. 
 
 1862. W. Archer, ' Products and Re- 
 sources of Tasmania,' p. 41 : 
 
 "Tonga Bean- wood (Alyxia buxi- 
 folia, Br.). The odour is similar to 
 that of the Tonga Bean (Dipteryx 
 odorat(i). A straggling seaside shrub, 
 three to five inches in diameter." 
 
 Tooart, or Tewart, n. a West 
 Australian name for Eucalyptus 
 gomphocephala, or White Gum. See 
 Gum. 
 
 1870. T. H. Braim, 'New Homes,' c. 
 iv. p. 181 : 
 
 " Another valuable tree is the tooart, 
 a kind of white gum." 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 187: 
 
 " The Tewart Tree (Eucalyptus), a 
 variety of the White Gum, found princi- 
 pally in the Swan River and King 
 George's Sound District of Western
 
 TOO-TOT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 475 
 
 Australia. ... Of straight growth and 
 noble dimensions. The wood is of a 
 yellowish or straw colour, hard, heavy, 
 tough, strong and rigid. . . . It is used 
 in ship-building for beams, keelsons, 
 stern-posts, engine-bearers, and for 
 other works below the line of flotation." 
 
 Tookytook, n. a corruption of 
 Kotukutuku (q.v.), a Maori name 
 equivalent to Konini, the fruit of 
 the Fuchsia-tree (q.v.). 
 
 Toot, n. the anglicised spelling 
 of the Maori word Tutu (q-v.). 
 
 Tooted, quasi past participle 
 from Toot. The cattle are tooted, 
 sc. poisoned by the Toot. 
 
 1863. G. Butler, 'Canterbury Settle- 
 ment,' p. 98 : 
 
 "As, then, my bullocks could not get 
 tuted." 
 
 1891. T. H. Potts, 'New Zealand 
 Country Journal,' p. 201 : 
 
 " His hearty salutation in its faulti- 
 ness proved to be about on a par with 
 ' rummy-rum,' 'triddy' and ' toot.' The 
 last word reminds me of a man near 
 by who was even judged to be some- 
 what vain of his Maori accent and pro- 
 nunciation. With one word he was 
 indeed very particular, he could not 
 bring himself to use that manifest cor- 
 ruption ' toot. J With him it was ever 
 'tutu.' He had to make rather a 
 boggle or dodge of it when he used 
 the colonial made verb formed on his 
 favourite Maori noun." 
 
 Tooth-shell, n. The name is 
 applied, in Europe, to any species 
 of Dentalium and allied genera 
 having a tooth-shaped shell. In 
 Australia, it is the shell otMarinula 
 pellucida, Cooper, a small marine 
 mollusc used for necklaces. 
 
 Tope, n. an Australasian Shark, 
 Galeus australis, Macl. It differs 
 somewhat from Galeus cam's, the 
 Tope of Britain. Called also the 
 School-Shark, in Australia. 
 
 Top-knot Pigeon, n. an Aus- 
 tralian bird, Lopholaimus antarcti- 
 ats, Shaw. 
 
 1891. Francis Adams, 'John Webb's 
 End,' p. 33 : 
 
 "Flying for a moment beside a 
 lovely, melodious top-knot pigeon" 
 
 Torea, n. Maori name for all 
 the New Zealand species of the 
 Oyster-catchers (q.v.). 
 
 Torpedo, n. a fish, well known 
 elsewhere, and also called else- 
 where, the Numb-fish and Cramp- 
 fish. For the Australian species, 
 see quotation. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 100 : 
 
 " Our Torpedo or Electric Ray is 
 Hypnos subnigrum, that of Tasmania 
 is Narcine Tasmamensts." 
 
 Torres-Straits Pigeon, n. See 
 quotation. 
 
 1893. Saville Kent, ' Great Barrier Reef,' 
 p. 123: 
 
 " Making a bag of the famous Torres 
 Straits pigeons (Myristicivora spi- 
 lorrhoa), a large white variety, highly 
 esteemed for the table, which, arriving 
 from the north [that is New Guinea], is 
 distributed from October until the end 
 of March throughout the tree-bearing 
 islets and mainland coast, as far south 
 as Keppel Bay." 
 
 Tortoise - shell Pish. See 
 
 Hand-fifh. 
 
 Totara, n. Maori name for a 
 lofty-spreading New Zealand tree, 
 Podocarpus totara, A. Cunn., N. O. 
 Coniferce. In Maori, the accent falls 
 on the first syllable ; but in Eng- 
 lish use it is often placed on the 
 second, and from Mr. Polack's 
 spelling it must have been so as 
 early as 1840. Called also Mahog- 
 any-pine. There are several other 
 species, e.g. P. viva/is, Hook., the 
 Mountain Totara; called also Ma- 
 hogany Pine. See Mahogany, and 
 Pine. 
 
 1832. G. Bennett, in Lambert's ' Genus 
 Pinus,' vol. ii. p. 190 : 
 
 " This is an unpublished species of 
 Podocarpus, called Totara by the na- 
 tives. . . . The value placed on this 
 tree by the natives is sometimes the
 
 476 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TOW 
 
 occasion of quarrels, terminating in 
 bloodshed, if it is cut down by any 
 except the party by whom it is claimed. 
 ... It is not unusual for the trees to 
 descend from father to son." 
 
 1840. J. S. Polack, ' Manners and Cus- 
 toms of New Zealanders,' vol. i. p. 227 : 
 " The totarra or red-pine." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 221 : 
 
 " The totara is one of the finest trees 
 in the forest, and is the principal wood 
 used by the natives, whether for canoes, 
 houses, or fencing." 
 
 1854. w - Colder, ' Pigeons' Parliament,' 
 [Notes] p. 80 : 
 
 "The place received its name from 
 a number of large totara trees." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 P- 134: 
 
 "Totara (Podocarpus totara) and 
 Matai (Podocarpus spicata) are large 
 and beautiful trees found in every 
 forest." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 107 : 
 " One lone totara-tree that grew 
 Beneath the hill-side." 
 
 1875. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Timber 
 Trees,' p. 308 : 
 
 " The Totara Tree ( Taxus or Podo- 
 carpus totara). Height, eighty to ninety 
 feet. The wood is red in colour, close, 
 straight, fine and even in grain ... a 
 good substitute for mahogany." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 227 : 
 
 " With the exception of the kauri, the 
 totara affords the most valuable timber 
 in New Zealand, but unlike the kauri 
 it is found almost throughout the 
 colony." 
 
 Towai, n. Maori name for 
 New Zealand tree, Weinmannia 
 racemosa, Forst., N.O. Saxifragea, 
 i.q. Kamahi in south of South 
 Island, and Tawhero in North 
 Island (Wellington). 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 95 : 
 
 " Its banks . . . are covered almost 
 wholly with the towai. This tree has 
 very small dark leaves. It is used for 
 ship-building, and is called by English- 
 men the ' black birch.' " 
 
 1851. Mrs. Wilson, New Zealand,' p. 
 43: 
 
 "Theake . . . and towai (Leiosperm- 
 titn racemosuni) are almost equal, in 
 point of colour, to rosewood." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 132 : 
 
 "Towhai, Kamahi. A large tree ; 
 trunk two to four feet in diameter, and 
 fifty feet high. Wood close-grained 
 and heavy, but rather brittle. . . . The 
 bark is largely used for tanning. The 
 extract of bark is chemically allied to 
 the gum kino of commerce, their value 
 being about equal." 
 
 Township, n. a village, a pos- 
 sible future town. In the United 
 States, the word has a definite 
 meaning a district, subordinate 
 to a county, the inhabitants 
 having power to regulate their 
 local affairs ; in Australia, the 
 word has no such definite mean- 
 ing. It may be large or small, 
 and sometimes consists of little 
 more than the post-office, the 
 public-house, and the general store 
 or shop. 
 
 1802. D. Collins, 'Account of New 
 South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 7 : 
 
 " The timber of a hundred and twenty 
 acres was cut down ... a small town- 
 ship marked out, and a few huts built." 
 
 1861. Mrs. Meredith, ' Over the Straits,' 
 vol. ii. p. 40 : 
 
 " It used to seem to me a strange 
 colonial anomaly to call a very small 
 village a ' township,' and a much larger 
 one a 'town.' But the former is the 
 term applied to the lands reserved in 
 various places for future towns." 
 
 1873. J. B. Stephens, ' Black Gin,* 
 p. 79: 
 " There's a certain township and also 
 
 a town, 
 (For, to ears colonial, I need not 
 
 state 
 
 That the two do not always homo- 
 logate)." 
 
 1888. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the Com- 
 pass in Australia,' p. 439 [Mr. Parker is a 
 Canadian who lived four years in Aus- 
 tralia] : 
 
 "A few words of comparison here.
 
 TRA-TRE] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 477 
 
 A pub of Australia is a tavern or hotel 
 in Canada ; a township is a village ; a 
 stock-rider is a cow-boy ; a humpy is 
 a shanty ; a warrigal or brombie is a 
 broncho or cayuse ; a sundowner is a 
 tramp ; a squatter is a rancher ; and 
 so on through an abundant list." 
 
 1892. A. Sutherland, ' Elementary Geo- 
 graphy of British Colonies,' p. 276 : 
 
 "Villages, which are always called 
 ' townships,' spring up suddenly round 
 a railway-station or beside some 
 country inn." 
 
 1894. ' Sydney Morning Herald ' (date 
 lost) : 
 
 "A township the suffix denotes a 
 state of being seems to be a place 
 which is not in the state of being a 
 town. Does its pride resent the im- 
 post of village that it is glad to be 
 called by a name which is no name, or 
 is the word loosely appropriated from 
 America, where it signifies a division 
 of a county? It is never found in 
 England." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from 
 Snowy River,' p. 38 : 
 " There stands the town of Dandaloo 
 A township where life's total sum 
 Is sleep, diversified with rum." 
 
 Traveller, n. used specifically 
 for a Swagman, a Sundowner. See 
 quotation. 
 
 1869. Marcus Clarke,' Peripatetic Philo- 
 sopher ' (Reprint), p. 41 : 
 
 " At the station where I worked for 
 some time (as ' knock-about-man') 
 three cooks were kept during the 
 ' wallaby ' season one for the house, 
 one for the men, and one for the 
 travellers. Moreover, ' travellers ' 
 would not unfrequently spend the 
 afternoon at one of the three hotels 
 (which, with a church and a pound, 
 constituted the adjoining township), 
 and having ' liquored up ' extensively, 
 swagger up to the station, and insist 
 upon lodging and food which they 
 got. I have no desire to take away 
 the character of these gentlemen trav- 
 ellers, but I may mention as a strange 
 coincidence, that, was the requested 
 hospitality refused by any chance, a 
 bush-fire invariably occurred some- 
 where on the run within twelve hours." 
 
 1893. ' Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 
 12, p. 8, col. 7: 
 
 " Throughout the Western pastoral 
 area the strain of feeding the 
 ' travellers,' which is the country 
 euphemism for bush unemployed, has 
 come to be felt as an unwarranted tax 
 upon the industry, and as a mischievous 
 stimulus to nomadism." 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' Aug. 8, p. 
 249, col. 2 : 
 
 "... never refuses to feed travel- 
 lers; they get a good tea and break- 
 fast, and often 10 to 20 are fed in a day. 
 These travellers lead an aimless life, 
 wandering from station to station, 
 hardly ever asking for and never 
 hoping to get any work, and yet they 
 expect the land-owners to support 
 them. Most of them are old and 
 feeble, and the sooner all stations stop 
 giving them free rations the better it 
 will be for the real working man. One 
 station-owner kept a record, and he 
 found that he fed over 2000 men in 
 twelve months. This alone, at 6d. a 
 meal, would come to ^100, but this is 
 not all, as they 'bag' as much as they 
 can if their next stage is not a good 
 feeding station." 
 
 Travellers' Grass, i.q. Settler's 
 Twine (q-v.). 
 
 Tree-creeper, n. popular name 
 applied to members of an old 
 Linneean genus of birds. The 
 Australian species are enumerated 
 by Gould in quotation. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iv. : 
 
 Plate 
 
 Climactcris scandens, Temm., 
 
 Brown Tree-creeper 93 
 
 C. rufa, Gould, Rufous T 94 
 
 C. crythrops, Gould, Red-eyebrowed 
 
 T 95 
 
 C. melanotus, Gould, Black-backed 
 
 T 96 
 
 C. melanura, Gould, Black-tailed T. 97 
 C. piaimmis, Temm., White- 
 throated T 98 
 
 Tree-fern, n. See Fern-tree. 
 
 Tree-Kangaroo, called Boong- 
 ary (q.v.) by the aboriginals. See 
 Dettdrolagus and Kangaroo.
 
 478 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TRE 
 
 Tree-Runner, n. another name 
 for the Sittella (q.v.). The species 
 are 
 
 Black-capped Tree-Runner 
 
 Sittella pileata, Gould. 
 Orange-winged T. 
 
 S. ehrysoptera, Lath. 
 Pied T. 
 
 .S. albata, Ramsay. 
 Slender-billed T. 
 
 S. temiirostris, Gould. 
 Striated T. 
 
 S. striata, Gould. 
 White-headed T. 
 
 6 1 . leucocephala, Gould. 
 White-winged T. 
 
 S. leucoptera, Gould. 
 
 But see Gould's earlier list 
 (1848), under Sittella. 
 
 Tree-Tit, n. The word tit is 
 terminally applied to many little 
 English birds. In Australia, this 
 new compound has been adopted 
 for the two species, Short-billed 
 Tree-tit, Smicrornis brevirostris, 
 Gould, and Yellow-tinted Tit, S. 
 flavescens, Gould. 
 
 Tremandra, n. scientific name 
 of a genus of Australian plants, 
 the Purple Heath-floiver. Name 
 given by R. Brown in 1814, from 
 the remarkably tremulous an- 
 thers. (Lat. tremere, to tremble, 
 and Grk. avrjp, dvSpo's, a man, taken 
 as equivalent to "anther.") 
 
 Trevally, or Trevalli, or Tre- 
 valla, or Travale, n. an Australian 
 fish. In various localities the 
 name is applied to several fishes, 
 which are most of them of the 
 family Car an gi dee, or Horse-Mack- 
 erels. An Old-World name for the 
 Horse-Mackerels is Cavalli (Ital. 
 cavallo, a little horse). Trevalli 
 is sometimes called Cavalli ; this 
 was probably its original name 
 in Australia, and Trevalli a later 
 corruption. 
 
 The different kinds are 
 
 Black Trevally 
 
 Teuthis nebulosa, Quoy, family 
 TeuthididcR (a New South 
 Wales fish). 
 
 Mackerel T. (so called in Tas- 
 mania) 
 Neptonemus dobula, Giinth., 
 
 family Carangidce. 
 Silver T. 
 
 Another Tasmanian name for 
 the White Trevally, Caranx 
 georgianus (see below). 
 Snotgall T. 
 
 Neptonemus travale, Casteln. (in 
 
 Victoria) ; 
 
 N. brama, Gtinth. (in Tasma- 
 nia) ; both of the family 
 Carangidce. 
 White T. 
 
 Caranx georgianus, Cuv. and 
 Val., family Carangidce. (so 
 called in New South Wales, 
 New Zealand, and Tasmania ; 
 in Victoria it is called Silver 
 Bream). 
 
 Teuthis javus, Linn., family Tue- 
 thididce. 
 
 The Maori name for the Trevally 
 is Awara, and in Auckland it is 
 sometimes called the Yellow-Tail 
 (q.v.). See also quotation, 1886. 
 
 Gtinther says, the genus Teuthis 
 is readily recognised by the pecu- 
 liar structure of the ventral fins, 
 which have an outer and an 
 inner spine and three soft rays 
 between. 
 
 1769. ' Capt. Cook's Journal ' (edition 
 Wharton, 1893), p. 164 : 
 
 " Several canoes came off to the 
 ship, and two or three of them sold 
 us some fish cavallys as they are 
 called which occasioned my giving 
 the Islands the same name." 
 
 1886. R. A. Sherrin, 'Fishes of New 
 Zealand,' p. 99 : 
 
 "Dr. Hector says: 'The trevalli is 
 the arara of the Maoris, or the trevalli 
 or cavalli of the fishermen ... In 
 Auckland it is sometimes called the
 
 TRI-TRO] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 479 
 
 yellow-tail, but this name appears to 
 be also used for the king-fish. The 
 fish known as trevalli in the Dunedin 
 market is a different fish, allied to the 
 warehou.'" 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes Fisheries 
 Act ' (Second Schedule) : 
 " Travale." 
 
 Triantelope, n. a European 
 comic variation of the scientific 
 name Tarantula. It is applied in 
 Australia to a spider belonging- to 
 a quite different genus, Voconia, 
 a perfectly harmless spider, 
 though popularly supposed to 
 be poisonous. It has powerful 
 mandibles, but will attack no- 
 body unless itself attacked. 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 173 : 
 
 "The tarantulas, or ' triantelopes,' as 
 the men call them, are large, ugly 
 spiders, very venomous." 
 
 1860. A Lady, ' My Experiences in Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 151 : 
 
 " There is no lack of spiders either, 
 of all sorts and sizes, up to the large 
 tarantula, or tri-antelope, as the com- 
 mon people persist in calling it." 
 
 Tribonyx, n. There are several 
 species of this bird in Australia 
 and Tasmania, where they go by 
 the name of Native Hen, and 
 sometimes, erroneously, Moor-hen 
 (q.v.). For the species, see Native 
 Hen. No species of Tribonyx has 
 been found wild in New Zealand, 
 though other birds have been 
 mistaken for the genus. 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. (Introd.), p. xiv : 
 
 " I ought perhaps here to refer to a 
 species mentioned in the former Intro- 
 duction as a newly discovered addition 
 to the New Zealand Avifauna, but 
 now omitted from the list . . ." 
 
 Ibid. p. liv: 
 
 " Tribonyx has never actually occur- 
 red in a wild state [in New Zealand]." 
 
 Ibid. p. 90 : 
 
 " Trtbonyx, a bird incapable of flight, 
 but admirably adapted for running." 
 
 Trichosurus, n. the scientific 
 name of a genus of the Phalangers 
 (q.v.), or Australian Opossums 
 (q.v.). (Grk. T/H'XOS, of hair, and 
 ovpa, tail.) 
 
 Trickett, n. slang name for a 
 long drink of beer in New South 
 Wales, after Trickett, the New 
 South Wales champion sculler. 
 
 Trigger-plant, ;/. i.q., Hair- 
 trigger (q.v.) plant ; called also 
 Jack-in-a-box. 
 
 Trigonia, n. a bivalve marine 
 mollusc with a nacreous interior, 
 much admired in Tasmania and 
 used for pendants and necklaces, 
 Trigonia margaritacea, Lamarck, 
 of the order Pectinacece. It is the 
 largest trigonia occurring in Aus- 
 tralasia, and the only one found in 
 Tasmania. Numerous extinct 
 species are characteristic of the 
 Mesozoic rocks. The only living 
 species existing are confined to 
 Australia. 
 
 Trooper, n. a mounted police- 
 man. The use is transferred 
 from the name for a private 
 soldier in a cavalry regiment. 
 The Native troopers , or Black police, 
 in Queensland, are a force of 
 aboriginal police, officered by 
 white men. 
 
 1858. T. McCombie, 'History of Vic- 
 toria,' c. viii. p. 100 : 
 
 " A violent effort [was] made by the 
 troopers on duty to disperse an assem- 
 blage which occupied the space of 
 ground in front of the hustings." 
 
 1864. J. Rogers, 'New Rush,' p. 51: 
 
 "A trooper spies him snoring in the 
 street." 
 
 1868. J. A. B., 'Meta,' canto iii. ver. 
 20, p. 72 : 
 
 " The felon crew . . . hard pressed 
 by troopers ten." 
 
 Tropic-bird, n. The English 
 name is applied because the bird 
 is usually seen in the tropics..
 
 480 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TRO-TUA 
 
 The species observed in Australia 
 are Red-tailed, Phaeton rubricau- 
 dus, Bodd. ; White-tailed, P. can- 
 didus, Briss. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' vol. 
 vii. pi. 73 : 
 
 ''Phaeton Phcenicurus, Gmel., Red- 
 tailed Tropic Bird ; New Holland 
 Tropic Bird, Latham, ' General His- 
 tory,' vol. x. p. 448." 
 
 Tropidorhynchus, n. scientific 
 name of a genus of birds pecu- 
 liar to Australia and New Guinea. 
 The typical species has a knob on 
 the bill, and the head and neck 
 destitute of feathers. From Grk. 
 rpoTris, the keel of a ship, and 
 pvyx s > "beak." They are called 
 Friar Birds (q.v.), and the gen- 
 eric name of Tropidorhynchus has 
 been replaced by Philemon (q.v.). 
 
 Trout, n. The English Trout 
 has been naturalised in Australia. 
 In Tasmania, the name of Trout, 
 or Mountain-Trout, is also given 
 to species of the genus Galaxias. 
 See Salmon. 
 
 Trumpeter, n. (i) A fish of Tas- 
 manian, New Zealand, and Aus- 
 tralian waters, but chiefly of 
 Hobart Latris hecateia, Richards., 
 family Cirrhitidcz, much esteemed 
 as a food-fish, and weighing some- 
 times 50 or 60 Ibs. The name 
 is probably from the noise made 
 by the fish when taken out of the 
 water. The name was formerly 
 given to a different fish in West- 
 ern Australia. See also Bastard- 
 Trumpeter, Morwong, and Paper- 
 fish. 
 
 1834. M - Doyle, 'Letters and Journals 
 of G. F. Moore, Swan River Settlement,' 
 p. 191 : 
 
 " Many persons are trying to salt 
 fish, which are very numerous in the 
 river about and below Perth, as you 
 must have seen by one of my letters, 
 in which I mentioned our having taken 
 10,000 at one draught of the seine ; 
 these are of the kind called herrings, 
 
 but do not look very like them ; they 
 make a noise when out of the water, 
 and on that account are also called 
 trumpeters." 
 
 1870. T. H. Braim, 'New Homes,' vol. 
 ii. p. 65 : 
 
 " The finest kinds are the guard-fish 
 of the mainland and the trumpeter of 
 the Derwent in Tasmania." 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 45 : 
 
 " The first of these [Latris] is the 
 genus of the well-known 'Hobart 
 Town trumpeter,' a fish deservedly 
 of high reputation." 
 
 (2) An obsolete name in Tas- 
 mania for the black Crow-Shrike 
 (q.v.), Strepera fuliginosa, Gould. 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 p. 177: 
 
 "We also occasionally heard the 
 trumpeter or black magpie." 
 
 Trumpeter-Perch, n. i.q. Mado 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Trumpeter- Whiting, n. See 
 Whiting, quotation 1882. 
 
 Tuan, n. aboriginal name for 
 the Flying-Squirrel (q.v.). See 
 also Pongo. 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, ' Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 57 : 
 
 "The flying-squirrel, or tuan, is 
 much sought after for its fine fur ; of 
 these there are two kinds, a large one 
 of a dark colour, only found in the 
 mountains ; and a smaller description 
 found in all parts of the colony, and 
 better known by the native name, 
 tuan." 
 
 1859. H. Kingsley, 'Geoffrey Hamlyn,' 
 p.. 274: 
 
 "The Touan, the little grey flying- 
 squirrel, only begins to fly about at 
 night, and slides down from his bough 
 sudden and sharp." 
 
 Tuatara, n. the Maori name of 
 a New Zealand lizard, or rep- 
 tile, Hatteria punctata, Gray ; called 
 also Sphenodon punctatum. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of 
 Language of New Zealand ' (Church Mis- 
 sionary Society), p. 218 : 
 
 " Tua tara, a species of lizard."
 
 TUC-TUl] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 481 
 
 1863. ' Mahoe Leaves,' p. 47 : 
 
 " A small boy of a most precocious 
 nature, who was termed 'tua tara,' 
 from a horrid sort of lizard that the 
 natives abhor." 
 
 1890. ' Catalogue of New Zealand 
 Exhibition': 
 
 "TheTuatara is the largest existing 
 New Zealand reptile. It is closely 
 allied to the Lizards ; but on account 
 of certain peculiarities of structure, 
 some of which tend to connect it with 
 the Crocodiles, is placed by Dr. Giinther 
 in a separate order (Rhynchocepha- 
 /*)." 
 
 Tucker, n. Australian slang for 
 food. To tuck in is provincial 
 English for to eat, and tuck is a 
 school-boy word for food, espe- 
 cially what is bought at a pastry- 
 cook's. To make tucker means to 
 earn merely enough to pay for 
 food. 
 
 1874. Garnet Walch, 'Head over Heels,' 
 P- 73: 
 
 " For want of more nourishing 
 
 tucker, 
 I believe they'd have eaten him." 
 
 1875. Wood and Lapham, ' Waiting for 
 the Mail,' p. 33 : 
 
 "We heard of big nuggets, but only 
 made tucker." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 14, p. 14, 
 col. i: 
 
 " When a travelling man sees a hut 
 ahead, he knows there's water inside, 
 and tucker and tea." 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. 83 : 
 
 " I took my meal in the hut, but 
 we'd both the same kind of tucker." 
 
 Tui, n. Maori name for the 
 New Zealand bird, Prosthema- 
 dera nova-zelandice, Gray; called the 
 Parson-bird (q.v.), and earlier the 
 Poe (q.v.). Another name is the 
 Koko, and the young bird is dis- 
 tinguished as Pi-tui, or Pikari. 
 It is also called the Mocking-bird. 
 
 1835. W. Yate, ' Some Account of New 
 Zealand,' p. 52 : 
 
 "Tui. This remarkable bird, from 
 the versatility of its talents for imita- 
 
 tion, has by some been called 'the 
 Mocking-Bird.'" 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 80 : 
 
 "The little birds were chiefly the 
 tui, or mocking-bird. It resembles a 
 blackbird in size and plumage, with 
 two graceful bunches of white feathers 
 under the neck. It abounds in the 
 woods, and is remarkably noisy and 
 active ... it imitates almost every 
 feathered inhabitant of the forest, and, 
 when domesticated, every noise it 
 hears." 
 
 1863. B. A. Heywood, ' Vacation Tour 
 at the Antipodes,' p. 170 : 
 
 " I saw several birds named the 
 Tooi ; they are black, about the size of 
 a starling, and are sometimes called 
 Parson-birds, as they have two white 
 feathers like clergymen's bands in 
 front of them." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 p. 166 : 
 
 " One of the prettiest creatures is 
 the tui, Parson-Bird of the colon- 
 ists (Prosthemadera Nov(Z-Zelandi<z\ 
 which roves about in the lofty, leafy 
 crowns of the forest-trees." 
 
 1881. J. L. Campbell, ' Poenamo,' p. 
 102 : 
 
 " The tui, with his grand, rich note, 
 made the wood musical." 
 
 1884. T. Bracken, ' Lays of Maori,' p. 
 21 : 
 
 " Woo the Bell-bird from his nest, to 
 ring 
 
 The Tui up to sing his morning 
 hymns." 
 
 Ibid. p. 101 : 
 
 " I hear the swell 
 
 Of Nature's psalms through tree and 
 bush, 
 
 From tui, blackbird, finch and 
 thrush." 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. facing p. 94 : 
 
 [A plate entitled] " Tui, or parson- 
 bird." 
 
 Ibid. pp. 94 loo : 
 
 [A full description.] 
 
 1893. D. Frobisher, ' Sketches of Gos- 
 siplon,' p. 6 1 : 
 
 "As the forest soft echoes brought 
 back their sweet chorus, 
 
 The tuts seemed silent from envy 
 and spleen." 
 
 i i
 
 4 82 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TUL-TUR 
 
 Tulip, Native, i.q. Waratah 
 (q.v.); and see Telopea. 
 
 Tulip-tree, n. The name is given, 
 in Australia, to Stenocarpus cun- 
 ninghamii, R. Br. , W. O. Proteaceaz, 
 on account of the brilliancy of its 
 bright-red flowers ; called also 
 Queensland Fire-tree. 
 
 Tulip-wood, n. The name is 
 given, in Australia, to Aphnanthe 
 philipinensis, Planch., N. O. Urti- 
 cacece, and to the timber of Har- 
 pullia pendula. Planch., N. O. 
 Sapindacece. It is, further, a 
 synonym for the Emu-Apple. 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 39 : 
 
 " The tulip-wood, with its variegated 
 flowers and delightful perfume, grows 
 in abundance." 
 
 Tumata-kuru, n. Maori name 
 for plant better known as Wild 
 Irishman (q.v.), Discaria toumatou, 
 Raoul. " A thorny plant, very 
 difficult to handle." (Vincent 
 Pyke.) Tumatagowry , or Matagory 
 (q.v.), is the Southern corruption 
 of contractors, labourers, and 
 others. 
 
 1889. Vincent Pyke, ' Wild Will Ender- 
 by,' p. 16 : 
 
 " Upon the arid flats, patches of 
 Tumatu-kuru,and of a purple-flowering 
 broom, struggle to maintain a scraggy 
 existence." 
 
 1889. T. Kirk, ' Forest Flora of New 
 Zealand,' p. 283 : 
 
 " The tumatakuru merits a place in 
 this work rather on account of its value 
 in the past than of its present useful- 
 ness. In the early days of settlement 
 in the South Island this afforded the 
 only available timber in many moun- 
 tain-valleys, and was frequently con- 
 verted by hand sawyers for building 
 purposes ; being of great durability, it 
 was found very serviceable, notwith- 
 standing its small dimensions : the 
 formation of roads has deprived it of 
 value by facilitating the conveyance of 
 ordinary building timber." 
 
 Tuna, n. See Eel. 
 
 Tupakihi, ;/. i.q. Tutu (q.v.). 
 
 Tupara, n. Maori corruption of 
 "two -barrel." Compare the 
 aboriginal word Whilpra (q.v.). 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 109 : 
 
 " He had previously despatched a 
 messenger to me, begging me to bring 
 some tupara, or ' two-barrel.' " 
 
 1881. J. L. Campbell, ' Poenamo,' p. 
 137: 
 
 "They were labouring under the 
 ' tupera fever ' [in 1840]. The percus- 
 sion-gun had made its appearance, and 
 the natives were not slow to see how 
 much more effectual a weapon it was 
 than the old flint ' brown-bess.' And 
 when they saw the tupera, double-bar- 
 relled gun, the rage at once set in to 
 possess it." 
 
 Tupong, n. aboriginal name 
 for a Southern Australian fish, 
 Aphritis bassii, Castln., family 
 Trachinidce. Mr. J. Bracebridge 
 Wilson says it is called Marble- 
 fish in the Geelong district. It is 
 also known as the Freshwater 
 Flat/lead. 
 
 Tupuna, n. Maori word, mean- 
 ing ancestor, progenitor, male 
 or female. Often used in the 
 Land Courts in the question : 
 ' ' Who are your tupuna ? " 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 113 : 
 
 " I asked his permission to ascend 
 Tonga Riro . . . But he steadily re- 
 fused, saying, ' I would do anything 
 else to show you my love and friend- 
 ship, but you must not ascend my 
 tepuna, or ancestor.' " 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 202 : 
 
 " Tupuna, to stand, to spring ; an 
 ancestor ; hence Tu-pu, to grow." 
 
 1863. F. Maning (Pakeha Maori), 'Old 
 New Zealand,' p. 196 : 
 
 "One evening a smart, handsome 
 lad came to tell me his tupuna was 
 dying . . . The tribe were ke poto or 
 assembled to the last man about the 
 dying chief." 
 
 Turbot, n. The name is given
 
 TUR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 483 
 
 to a New Zealand fish, called 
 also Lemon- Sole (q.v.) or Yellow- 
 belly (q.v.), Ammotretis guntheri. 
 
 1876. ' Transactions of New Zealand 
 Institute,' vol viii. p. 215 : 
 
 "Turbot a fish not uncommon in 
 the Dunedin market, where it goes by 
 the name of ' lemon-sole.' " 
 
 Turkey, n. This common Eng- 
 lish bird-name is applied in Aus- 
 tralia to three birds, viz. 
 
 1 i ) To the bird Eupodotis austra- 
 lis, Gray, which is a true Bustard, 
 but which is variously called the 
 Native Turkey, Plain Turkey (from 
 its frequenting the plains), and 
 
 Wild Turkey. 
 
 (2) To the bird Talegalla latha- 
 mi, Gould, called the Brush Tur- 
 key (from its frequenting the 
 brushes), Wattled Turkey and Wat- 
 tled Talegalla (from its fleshy 
 wattles), and sometimes, simply, 
 Talegalla. By Latham it was 
 mistaken for a Vulture, and classed 
 by him as the New Holland Vulture. 
 ('General History of Birds,' 1821, 
 vol. i. p. 32.) 
 
 (3) To the bird Leipoa ocellata, 
 Gould, called the Scrub-Turkey 
 (from its frequenting the Scrubs), 
 the Loivan (its aboriginal name), 
 the Native Pheasant (of South 
 Australia) ; in the Mallee district 
 it is called Mallee-bird, Mallee-fowl, 
 Mallee-hen. 
 
 In the following quotations the 
 number of the bird referred to is 
 placed in square brackets at the 
 end. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 14 : 
 
 "We passed several nests of the 
 Brush-Turkey ( Talegalla Lathami, 
 Gould)." [2.] 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 260 : 
 
 "Several native bustards (Otis Nova- 
 Hollandia, Gould) were shot." [i.] 
 
 1848. J. Gould, ' Birds of Australia,' vol 
 vi. pi. 4: 
 
 " Otis Australasianus, Gould, Aus 
 
 ralian Bustard ; Turkey, Colonists of 
 Sfew South Wales ; Native Turkey, 
 Swan River." [i.] 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. v. pi. 77 : 
 
 " Talegalla Lathami, Wattled Tale- 
 jalla ; Brush-Turkey of the Colonists." 
 
 ] 
 
 1872. C. H. Eden, ' My wife and I in 
 Queensland,' p. 122 : 
 
 " The bird that repaid the sportsman 
 best was the plain turkey or bustard 
 (Otis Australasianus), a noble fellow, 
 the male weighing from eighteen to 
 twenty pounds. They differ from the 
 European birds in being good flyers. 
 . . . The length of the wings is very 
 great, and they look like monsters in 
 the air." [i.] 
 
 1872. Ibid. p. 124 : 
 
 "The scrub-turkey (Talegalla La- 
 thami) is a most curious bird ; its habi- 
 tat is in the thickest scrubs. In appear- 
 ance it much resembles the English 
 hen turkey, though but little larger 
 than a fowl." [2.] 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant,' Bush Life in Queens- 
 land,' vol. i. p. 214 : 
 
 " Look at this immense mound. It 
 is a scrub-turkey's nest. Thirty or forty 
 lay their eggs in it. One could hardly 
 imagine they could gather such a huge 
 pile of sticks and earth and leaves. 
 They bury their eggs, and heap up the 
 nest until the laying time ceases. The 
 moist heap heats and incubates the 
 eggs. The young turkeys spring out 
 of the shell, covered with a thick warm 
 coat, and scratch their way into day- 
 light, strong and able to provide food 
 for themselves." [3.] 
 
 1891. ' Guide to Zoological Gardens, 
 Melbourne ' : 
 
 "The bustard (Eupodotis Australis) 
 is known by the colonists as the native 
 turkey. It is excellent eating and is 
 much sought after on that account. 
 The hen bird lays only one egg, 
 depositing it on the bare ground. 
 Formerly they were numerous in the 
 neighbourhood of Melbourne, but they 
 have now been driven further inland ; 
 they are still abundant on the western 
 plains and on the open Saltbush 
 country of the Lower Murray. They 
 are difficult to approach on foot, but it 
 is easy to get within gunshot of them
 
 484 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [TUR 
 
 on horseback or driving. The natives 
 used formerly to capture them in an 
 ingenious manner by means of a snare ; 
 they approached their intended victim 
 against the wind under cover of a large 
 bush grasped in the left hand, while in 
 the right was held a long slender stick, 
 to the end of which was fastened a 
 large fluttering moth, and immediately 
 below a running noose. While the bird, 
 unconscious of danger, was eyeing and 
 pecking at the moth, the noose was 
 dexterously slipped over its head by 
 the cunning black, and the astonished 
 bird at once paid the penalty of its 
 curiosity with its life." [i.] 
 
 1891. Ibid.: 
 
 " In the first division are several 
 specimens of the Brush-Turkey ( Tale- 
 galla Lathamt) of Australia. These 
 birds have excited world-wide interest 
 in scientific circles, by their ingenious 
 mode of incubating. They construct 
 a large mound of vegetable mould and 
 sand ; mixed in such proportions that 
 a gentle heat will be maintained, which 
 hatches the buried eggs. The young 
 chicks can look after themselves shortly 
 after bursting the egg-shell." [2.] 
 
 1892. A. Sutherland, ' Elementary Geo- 
 graphy of British Colonies,' p. 274 : 
 
 " The brush-turkeys, which are not 
 really turkeys but birds of that size, 
 build big mounds of decaying vege- 
 table matter, lay their eggs on the top, 
 cover them over with leaves, and leave 
 the whole to rot, when the heat of the 
 sun above and of the fermentation be- 
 low, hatches the eggs, and the young 
 creep out to forage for themselves 
 without ever knowing their parents." 
 
 [2-] 
 
 1893. Professor H. A. Strong, in 
 ' Liverpool Mercury,' Feb. 13 : 
 
 "The well-known 'wild turkey' of 
 Australian colonists is a bustard, and 
 he has the good sense to give a wide 
 berth to the two-legged immigrants : 
 indeed the most common method of 
 endeavouring to secure an approach to 
 him is to drive up to him in a buggy, 
 and then to let fly. The approach is 
 generally made by a series of con- 
 centric circles, of which the victim is 
 the centre. His flesh is excellent, the 
 meat being of a rich dark colour, with 
 a flavour resembling that of rto other 
 
 game bird with which I am acquaint- 
 ed." [i.] 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' March 25, p. 3, 
 col. 5 : 
 
 " The brush-turkey ( Talegalla\ an- 
 other of the sand-builders, lays a white 
 egg very much like that of a swan, 
 while the third of that wonderful family, 
 the scrub-hen or Megapode, has an egg 
 very long in proportion to its width.'* 
 [2.] 
 
 Turmeric, i.q. Stinkwood (q.v.)j 
 also applied occasionally to Hakea 
 dactyloides, Cav., N.O. Proteacea. 
 See Hakea. 
 
 Turnip-wood, n. the timbers of 
 the trees Akania hillii, J. Hook., 
 N.O. SapindaceK, and Dysoxylon 
 Muelleri, Benth., N.O. Meliacece, 
 from their white and red colours 
 respectively. 
 
 Turpentine, Brush, name given 
 to two trees Metrosideros leptope- 
 tala, F. v. M., also called Myrtle ; 
 and Rhodamnia trinervia, Blume, 
 both N.O. MyrtacecE. 
 
 Turpentine-Tree, n. The name 
 is applied to many trees in Aus- 
 tralia yielding a resin, but espe- 
 cially to the tree called Tallow- 
 Wood (q.v.), Eucalyptus microcorys, 
 F. v. M., N.O. Myrtacea ; to Euca- 
 lyptus punctata, De C., N.O. 
 Myrtacece, called also Leather-Jacket, 
 Hickory, Red-, and Yellow-Gum, 
 and Bastard-Box ; and to E. 
 stuartiana, F. v. M., N.O. Myr- 
 tacecE. In New Zealand, it is also 
 applied to the Tarata. See 
 Mapau. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, ' Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 523 : 
 
 " [. Stuartiana is] frequently called 
 Turpentine Tree, or Peppermint Tree. 
 In Victoria it is known as Apple Tree, 
 Apple-scented Gum, White Gum, and 
 Mountain Ash. It is the Woolly Butt 
 of the county of Camden (New South 
 Wales). Occasionally it is known as 
 Stringybark. It is called Box about 
 Stanthorpe (Queensland), Tea Tree at
 
 TUR-TUT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 485 
 
 Frazer's Island (Queensland), and Red 
 Gum in Tasmania." 
 
 Turquoise-Berry, n. i.q. Solo- 
 mon's Seal (q.v.). 
 
 Tussock-grass, n. Tussock is 
 an English word for a tuft of 
 grass. From this a plant of the 
 lily family, Lomandra longifolia, 
 R. Br., N.O. Liliacece, is named 
 Tussock-grass; it is "considered 
 the best native substitute for 
 esparto." (' Century.') 
 
 1884. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Melbourne 
 Memories,' c. v. p. 38 : 
 
 " The roof was neatly thatched with 
 the tall, strong tussock-grass." 
 
 Tussocker, n. a New Zealand 
 name for a Sundowner (q.v.). 
 
 1889. Vincent Pyke, 'Wild Will En- 
 derby ' : 
 
 " Now, a 'sun-downer,' or 'tussocker' 
 for the terms are synonymous is a 
 pastoral loafer ; one who loiters about 
 till dusk, and then makes for the nearest 
 station or hut, to beg for shelter and 
 food." 
 
 Tutu, or Toot, n. Maori name 
 for a shrub or small tree, Coria- 
 ria ruscifolia, Linn., or C. sar- 
 mentosa, Forst., of New Zealand, 
 widely distributed. It bears green- 
 ish flowers, and shiny pulpy black 
 berries. From these the Maoris 
 make a wine resembling light 
 claret, taking care to strain out and 
 not to crush the seeds, which are 
 poisonous, with an action similar 
 to that of strychnine. It goes 
 also by the name of Wineberry- 
 bush, and the Maori name is An- 
 glicised into Toot. In Maori, the 
 final u is swallowed rather than 
 pronounced. In English names 
 derived from the Maori, a vowel 
 after a mute letter is not sounded. 
 It is called in the North Island 
 Tupakihi. In Maori, the verb 
 tutu means to be hit, wounded, or 
 vehemently wild, and the name 
 of the plant thus seems to be 
 
 connected with the effects pro- 
 duced by its poison. To "eat 
 your toot " : used as a slang 
 phrase ; to become acclimatised, 
 to settle down into colonial ways. 
 
 1857. R. Wilkin, in a Letter printed by 
 C. Hursthouse, ' New Zealand,' p. 372 : 
 
 "The plant called 'tutu' or 'toot' 
 appears to be universal over New Zea- 
 land. If eaten by sheep or cattle with 
 empty stomachs, it acts in a similar 
 manner to green clover, and sometimes 
 causes death ; but if partaken of spar- 
 ingly, and with grass, it is said to 
 possess highly fattening qualities. 
 None of the graziers, however, except 
 one, with whom I conversed on the 
 subject, seemed to consider toot worth 
 notice ; ... it is rapidly disappearing in 
 the older settled districts and will 
 doubtless soon disappear here." 
 
 1857. C. Hursthouse, ' New Zealand,' 
 P- 395 : 
 
 "The wild shrub Tutu (Coriaria 
 ruscifolia), greedily devoured by sheep 
 and cattle, produces a sort of ' hoven ' 
 effect, something like that of rich 
 clover pastures when stock break in 
 and over feed. . . . Bleeding and a 
 dose of spirits is the common cure. 
 
 . . Horses and pigs are not affected 
 by it." 
 
 1861. C. C. Bowen, 'Poems,' p. 57 : 
 " And flax and fern and tutu grew 
 In wild luxuriance round." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 
 P- 139: 
 
 " The toot-plant, tutu or tupakihi of 
 the^ Maoris {Coriaria sarmentosa, 
 Forst. = C. ruscifolia, L.), is a small 
 bush, one of the most common and 
 widely distributed shrubs of the islands. 
 [New Zealand.] It produces a sort of 
 ' hoven ' or narcotic effect on sheep 
 and cattle, when too greedily eaten. 
 It bears a fruit, which is produced in 
 clusters, not unlike a bunch of currants, 
 with the seed external, of a purple 
 colour. The poisonous portion of the 
 plant to man are the seeds and seed- 
 stalks, while their dark purple pulp is 
 utterly innoxious and edible. The 
 natives express from the berries an 
 agreeable violet juice (carefully avoid- 
 ing the seed), called native wine."
 
 486 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN- DICTIONARY 
 
 [TWE-TWO 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 103 : 
 
 "The tutu-tree, 
 Whose luscious purple clusters hang 
 
 so free 
 And tempting, though with hidden 
 
 seeds replete 
 That numb with deadly poison all who 
 
 eat." 
 
 1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 131 : 
 
 " Tupakihi, tree tutu. A perennial 
 shrub ten to eighteen feet high ; trunk 
 six to eight inches in diameter. The 
 so-called berries (fleshy petals) vary 
 very much in succulence. . . . The 
 juice is purple, and affords a grateful 
 beverage to the Maoris ; and a wine, 
 like elderberry wine, has been made 
 from them. The seeds and leaves 
 contain a poisonous alkaloid, and 
 produce convulsions, delirium and 
 death, and are sometimes fatal to cattle 
 and sheep." 
 
 1884. Alfred Cox, ' Recollections,' p. 
 258: 
 
 "When footpaths about Christ- 
 church were fringed with tutu bushes, 
 little boys were foolish enough to pluck 
 the beautiful berries and eat them. A 
 little fellow whose name was ' Richard ' 
 ate of the fruit, grew sick, but reco- 
 vered. When the punster heard of it, 
 he said, ' Ah ! well, if the little chap 
 had died, there was an epitaph all 
 ready for him, Dccus et tutamen. Dick 
 has ate toot, amen.' " 
 
 1889. G. P. Williams and W. P. Reeves, 
 ' Colonial Couplets,' p. 20 : 
 " You will gather from this that I'm 
 
 not ' broken in,' 
 
 And the troublesome process has 
 yet to begin 
 
 Which old settlers are wont to call 
 
 .' eating your tutu ; ' 
 (This they always pronounce as if 
 
 rhyming with boot)." 
 
 1889. Vincent Pyke, ' Wild Will Ender- 
 by,' p. 1 6 [Footnote] : 
 
 "The poisonous tutu bushes. A 
 berry-bearing, glossy-leaved plant, 
 deadly to man and to all animals, 
 except goats." 
 
 1891. T. H. Potts, 'New Zealand 
 Country Journal,' vol. xv. p. 103 : 
 
 "The Cockney new chum soon 
 learnt to ' eat his toot,' and he quickly 
 acquired a good position in the 
 district." 
 
 Twenty-eight, n. another name 
 for the Yellow-collared Parrakeet. 
 Named from its note. See Par- 
 rakeet. 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. v. pi. 19 : 
 
 " Platycercus Semitorquatus, Quoy 
 and Gaim., Yellow-collared Parrakeet ; 
 Twenty-eight Parrakeet, Colonists of 
 Swan River. It often utters a note 
 which, from its resemblance to those 
 words, has procured for it the appel- 
 lation of 'twenty-eight ' Parrakeet from 
 the Colonists ; the last word or note 
 being sometimes repeated five or six 
 times in succession." 
 
 Twine Bush, n. i.q. Hakea 
 flexilis. See Hakea. 
 
 Twine, Settler's, n. See Settler s 
 Twine. 
 
 Two -hooded Furina- Snake. 
 
 See under Snake.
 
 UJVIB-UTU] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 487 
 
 U 
 
 Umbrella - bush, Acacia oss- 
 ivaldi, F. v. M., N.O. Legumi- 
 nosce. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 363 : 
 
 " Often called ' Umbrella- Bush,' as it 
 is a capital shade tree. A small bushy 
 tree." 
 
 1894. ' Melbourne Museum Catalogue 
 Economic Woods,' No. 17 : 
 
 " The plant is exquisitely adapted 
 for tall hedges. It is often called the 
 * umbrella tree,' as it gives a capital 
 shade. The heart-wood is dark, hard, 
 heavy and close-grained." 
 
 Umbrella-grass, i.q. Native 
 Millet, Panicum decomposition, R.Br., 
 N.O. Graminece. See Millet. It 
 is called Umbrella-grass, from the 
 shape of the branches at the 
 top of the stem representing the 
 ribs of an open umbrella. 
 
 Umbrella-tree, n. name given 
 to Brassaia acti/wphylla, Endl., 
 N.O. Araliacece, from the large 
 leaves being set, like umbrella- 
 ribs, at the top of numerous stems. 
 
 Umu, n. Maori word, signi- 
 fying a native oven. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 75 : 
 
 "The tangi had terminated ; the 
 umu or ' cooking holes ' were smoking 
 away for the feast." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a 
 Maui,' p. 389 : 
 
 " The native oven (umu hangi) is a 
 circular hole of about two feet in 
 diameter and from six to twelve inches 
 deep." 
 
 1872. ' Transactions of the New Zealand 
 Institute,' vol. v. p. 96 : 
 
 ". . . being all in and around the 
 umus (or native ovens) in which they 
 had been cooked." 
 
 1882. S. Locke, ' Traditions of Taupo,' 
 ' Transactions of the New Zealand Insti- 
 tute,' vol. xv. art. liv. p. 440 : 
 
 " They killed Kurimanga the priest 
 and cooked him in an oven, from which 
 circumstance the place is called Umu- 
 Kuri." 
 
 1889. S. P. Smith, 'Transactions of the 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxii. p. 98 : 
 
 "An oven of stones, exactly like a 
 Maori umu or hangi." 
 
 1893. ' Transactions of the New Zealand 
 Institute,' vol. xxvi. p. 432 : 
 
 " The oumu or haangi, in which food 
 was cooked, was only a hole scooped 
 in the ground, of a size proportioned 
 to that which was to be cooked." 
 
 Union Nut, n. a fine cabinet 
 timber, Bosistoa sapindiformis, F. 
 v. M., N.O. Rutacecz. 
 
 "Unlock the lands." A 
 
 political cry in Victoria, meaning 
 open up for Free-selection (q.v.) 
 the lands held by squatters on 
 lease. 
 
 1887. J. F. Hogan, ' The Irish in Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 290 : 
 
 " The democratic party, that had for 
 its watchword the expressive phrase, 
 1 Unlock the lands.'" 
 
 Unpayable, adj. not likely to 
 pay for working ; not capable of 
 yielding a profit over working 
 expenses. (A very rare use.) 
 1896. ' The Argus,' Dec. 26, p. 5, col. 3 : 
 " Unpayable Lines. The Commis- 
 sioner of Railways has had a return 
 prepared showing the results of the 
 working of 48 lines for the year ending 
 3oth June, 1896. Of these, 33, covering 
 515 miles, do not pay working ex- 
 penses, and are reckoned to be the 
 worst lines in the colony." 
 
 Utu, n. a Maori word for 
 " Return, price paid, reward,
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [UTU-VAN 
 
 ransom, satisfaction for injuries 
 received, reply." (Williams.) 
 Sometimes corrupted by English- 
 men into Hoot (q.v.). 
 
 1840. J. S. Polack, ' Manners and Cus- 
 toms of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 63 : 
 
 " Utu or payment is invariably ex- 
 pected for any injustice committed, 
 and is exacted in some shape, the 
 sufferer feeling debased in his own 
 opinion until he obtains satisfaction. 
 The (Jtu, similar to the tapu, enters 
 into everything connected with this 
 people." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, < Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 29 : 
 
 " He asserted that we should pay 
 for the tapu ; but suggested as an 
 amendment that the utu or ' payment ' 
 should be handed to him." 
 
 1855. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes,' 
 p. 252 : 
 
 " Utu, which may be freely trans- 
 lated ' blood for blood,' is with him 
 [the Maori] 3 sacred necessity . . . 
 It is the lex talionis carried out to the 
 
 letter. The exact interpretation of the 
 formidable little word ' Utu ' is, I 
 believe, ' payment.' " 
 
 1857. C. Hursthouse r ' New Zealand,' 
 vol. i. p. 6 1 : 
 
 "The learned commissioner's court 
 was instantly besieged by bands of 
 natives vociferating for more 'utu' 
 (payment), and threatening the settlers 
 with the tomahawk if more ' utu ' were 
 not instantly accorded." 
 
 1872. A. Domett, ' Ranolf,' p. 470 : 
 
 " Besides that, for such shining service 
 done, 
 
 A splendid claim, he reckoned, would 
 arise 
 
 For ' utu ' compensation or re- 
 ward." 
 
 1873. H. Carleton, 'Life of Henry 
 Williams,' p. 79 : 
 
 " Blood for blood, or at least blood 
 money, is Maori law. Better the 
 blood of the innocent than none at all, 
 is a recognised maxim of the Maori 
 law of utu." 
 
 Vandemonian, n. and adj. 
 belonging 1 to Van Diemen's land, 
 the old name of Tasmania ; 
 generally used of the convicts of 
 the early days ; and the demon in 
 the word is a popular application 
 of the law of Hobson-Jobson. 
 Now obsolete. 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, Our Antipodes,' 
 (edition 1855), p. 533 : 
 
 " The Van Diemonians, as they un- 
 pleasingly call themselves, or permit 
 themselves to be called, are justly proud 
 of their horse-flesh." 
 
 1853. S. Sidney, 'Three Colonies of 
 Australia' (2nd edit.), p. 171 : 
 
 " One of the first acts of the Legis- 
 lative Assemblies created by the 
 Australian Reform Bill of 1850 was to 
 
 pass . . . acts levelled against Van 
 Diemonian expirees." 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, ' Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 367 : 
 
 " Unquestionably some of the Van 
 Diemenian convicts." 
 
 1867. ' Cassell's Magazine,' p. 440 : 
 
 " ' I never wanted to leave England,' 
 I have heard an old Vandemonian 
 observe boastfully. ' I wasn't like one 
 of these 'Jemmy Grants' (cant term 
 for ' emigrants ') ; I could always earn 
 a good living ; it was the Government 
 as took and sent me out." 
 
 Vandemonianism, n. rowdy 
 conduct like that of an escaped 
 convict ; the term is now obsolete. 
 
 1863. 'Victorian Hansard,' April 22, 
 vol. ix. p. 701 :
 
 VAN- VIC] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 489 
 
 " Mr. Houston looked upon the 
 conduct of hon. gentlemen opposite 
 as ranging from the extreme of vande- 
 monianism to the extreme of namby- 
 pambyism." 
 
 Van Diemen's Land, the name 
 given to the colony now called 
 Tasmania, by Abel Jansz Tas- 
 man, the Dutch navigator, in 
 1642, after Anthony Van Diemen, 
 Governor-General of the Dutch 
 East Indies. The name was 
 changed to Tasmania (q.v.) in 
 1853, on the granting of Respon- 
 sible Government. 
 
 Vedalia, n. a genus of greedily 
 predatory ladybirds. The V, 
 cardinalis of Australia was import- 
 ed by the United States Govern- 
 ment from Australia and New 
 Zealand into California in 1888- 
 89, in order to kill the fluted scale 
 (leery a purchasi), a fruit-pest. It 
 destroyed the scale in nine 
 months. 
 
 Velvet-fish, n. name given in 
 Tasmania to the fish Holoxenus 
 cutaneus, Giinth., family Cirrhitida. 
 The skin is covered with minute 
 appendages, so soft to the touch 
 as to suggest velvet ; the colour 
 is deep purplish red. 
 
 Verandah, n. In Australia, 
 the heat of the sun makes ver- 
 andahs much commoner than in 
 England. They are an archi- 
 tectural feature of all dwelling- 
 houses in suburb or in bush, and 
 of most City shops, where they 
 render the broad side-walks an 
 almost continuous arcade. "Under 
 the Verandah " has acquired the 
 meaning, "where city men most 
 do congregate." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' c. xxvii. p. 418: 
 
 " In Melbourne there is the ' ver- 
 andah ' ; in Sandhurst there is a ' ver- 
 andah'; in Ballaarat there is a 'ver- 
 andah.' The verandah is a kind of 
 
 open exchange some place on the 
 street pavement, apparently selected 
 by chance, on which the dealers in 
 mining shares do congregate." 
 
 1895. Modern. Private LeHer of an Aus- 
 tralian on Tour: 
 
 " What I miss most in London is 
 the Verandahs. With this everlasting 
 rain there is no place to get out of a 
 shower, as in Melbourne. But I sup- 
 pose it pays the umbrella-makers." 
 
 V-hut, a term used in the 
 province of Canterbury, New Zea- 
 land. See quotations. 
 
 1857. R. B. Paul, ' Letters from Can- 
 terbury,' p. 57 : 
 
 "The form is that of a V hut, the 
 extremities of the rafters being left 
 bare, so as to form buttresses to the 
 walls " (of the church). 
 
 1863. S. Butler, ' First Year in Canter- 
 bury,' p. 73 : 
 
 " I am now going to put up a V- 
 hut on the country that I took up on 
 the Rangitata. ... It consists of a 
 small roof set up on the ground ; it is 
 a hut all roof and no walls." 
 
 1879. C. L. Innes,' Canterbury Sketches,' 
 p. 20 : 
 
 "In case my readers may not 
 know what a'V' hut is like, I will 
 describe one : It is exactly as if you 
 took the roof off a house and stood it 
 on the ground, you can only stand 
 upright in the middle." 
 
 1896. Jan. A Traveller's note : 
 
 "Not long ago a Canterbury lady said 
 ' I was born in a V-hut, and chris- 
 tened in a pie-dish.' " 
 
 Victoria, n. the name of the 
 smallest of all the Australian 
 colonies. It was separated from 
 New South Wales in 1851, when 
 it was named after Queen Vic- 
 toria. Sir Thomas Mitchell had 
 before given it the name of ' ' Aus- 
 tralia Felix," and Dr. J. D. Lang 
 wanted the name " Phillipsland." 
 Hepublished a bookwith that title 
 in 1847. Previous to separation, 
 the name used was "the Port 
 Phillip District of New South 
 Wales."
 
 490 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [VIL-VIN 
 
 Village Settlement, the system, 
 first adopted in New Zealand, 
 whence it spread to the other 
 colonies, of settling families on 
 the land in combination. The 
 Government usually helps at first 
 with a grant of money as well as 
 granting the land. 
 
 Vine, n. In Australia, the word 
 is loosely applied to many trailing 
 or creeping plants, which help to 
 form scrubs and thickets. In the 
 more marked cases specific ad- 
 jectives are used with the word. 
 See following words. 
 
 1849. J. P. Townsend, ' Rambles in 
 New South Wales,' p. 22 : 
 
 "With thick creepers, commonly 
 called 'vines.'" 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in Queens- 
 land,' vol. ii. p. 21 : 
 
 "Impenetrable vine-scrubs line the 
 river-banks at intervals." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 25 : 
 
 " Vitis in great abundance and of 
 many varieties are found especially 
 in the scrubs, hence the colonists call 
 this sort of brush, vine-scrub." 
 
 Vine, Balloon. See Balloon 
 Vine. 
 
 Vine, Burdekin. Called also 
 Round Yam, Vitis opaca, F. v. M., 
 N.O. Ampelidea. 
 
 Vine, Caustic, i.q. Caustic- 
 Plant (q.v.). 
 
 Vine, Lawyer. See Lawyer. 
 
 Vine, Macquarie Harbour, or 
 Macquarie Harbour Grape (q.v.). 
 Same as Native Ivy. See Ivy. 
 
 1891. ' Chambers' Encyclopaedia,' s.v. 
 Polygonaecs : 
 
 " Muhlenbeckia adpressa is the Mac- 
 quarie Harbour Vine of Tasmania, an 
 evergreen climbing or trailing shrub 
 of most rapid growth, sometimes 60 
 feet in length. It produces racemes 
 of fruit somewhat resembling grapes 
 or currants, the nut being invested 
 with the large and fleshy segments of 
 the calyx. The fruit is sweetish and 
 subacid, and is used for tarts." 
 
 1884. R. L. A. Davies, ' Poems and 
 Literary Remains,' p. 99 : 
 
 " How we saw the spreading myrtles, 
 
 Saw the cypress and the pine, 
 Saw the green festoons and bowers 
 
 Of the dark Macquarie vine, 
 Saw the blackwoods and the box- 
 trees, 
 
 And the spiral sassafrases, 
 Saw the fairy fern-trees mantled 
 With their mossy cloak of grasses." 
 
 Vine, Native Pepper. See 
 Climbing Pepper, under Pepper. 
 
 Vine, Wonga Wonga. See 
 Wonga Wonga Vine.
 
 WAD] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 491 
 
 W 
 
 "Waddy. (i) An aboriginal's 
 war club. But the word is used 
 for wood generally, even for fire- 
 wood. In a kangaroo hunt, a 
 man will call out, "Get off and 
 kill it with a waddy," i.e. any 
 stick casually picked up. In 
 pigeon-English, " little fellow 
 waddy" means a small piece of 
 wood. 
 
 In various dictionaries, e.g. 
 Stanford, the word is entered as 
 of aboriginal origin, but many 
 now hold that it is the English 
 word wood mispronounced by 
 aboriginal lips. L. E. Threlkeld, 
 in his ' Australian Grammar,' at p. 
 10, enters it as a " barbarism "- 
 "waddy, a cudgel." A 'barbar- 
 ism,' with Threlkeld, often means 
 no more than ' not in use on 
 the Hunter River ' ; but in this 
 case his remark may be more 
 appropriate. 
 
 On the other hand, the word 
 is given as an aboriginal word in 
 Hunter's ' Vocabulary of the 
 Sydney Dialect' (1793), and in 
 Ridley's ' Kamilaroi ' (1875), as 
 used at George's River. The 
 Rev. J. Mathew writes : 
 
 " The aboriginal words for fire and 
 wood are very often, in fact nearly 
 always, interchangeable, or inter- 
 changed, at different places. The old 
 Tasmanian and therefore original Aus- 
 tralian term for wood and fire, or one 
 or the other according to dialect, is 
 tut (wee) sometimes win. These two 
 forms occur in many parts of Australia 
 with numerous variants, wl being 
 obviously the radical form. Hence 
 there were such variants as 
 
 waanap, luecntk in Victoria, and at 
 Sydney gzucyong, and at Botany Bay 
 we, all equivalent to fire. Wl some- 
 times took on what was evidently an 
 affixed adjective or modifying particle, 
 giving such forms as wibra,-wygum, 
 wyber, wurnaway. The modifying 
 part sometimes began with the sound 
 of d or j (into which of course d 
 enters as an element). Thus modified, 
 wi became ivadjano on Murchison 
 River, Western Australia ; wachernee 
 at Burke River, Gulf of Carp. ; ivichun 
 on the Barcoo ; watta on the Hunter 
 River, New South Wales ; wudda at 
 Queanbeyan, New South Wales. 
 These last two are obviously identical 
 with the Sydney waddy ^^ wood.' The 
 argument might be lengthened, but I 
 think what I have advanced shows 
 conclusively that Waddy is the Tas- 
 manian word wi + a modifying word 
 or particle." 
 
 1814. Flinders, ' Voyage,' vol. ii. p. 
 189: 
 
 " Some resembling the whaddie, or 
 wooden sword of the natives of Port 
 Jackson." 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 20 : 
 
 " It is amusing to see the conse- 
 quential swagger of some of these 
 dingy dandies, as they pass lordly up 
 our streets, with a waddie twirling in 
 their black paws." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 66 : 
 
 "Such a weapon as their waddy is : 
 it is formed like a large kitchen poker, 
 and nearly as heavy, only much shorter 
 in the handle. The iron-bark wood, 
 of which it is made, is very hard, and 
 nearly as heavy as iron." 
 
 1844. Mrs. Meredith, 'Notes and 
 Sketches of New South Wales,' p. 106: 
 
 " The word ' waddie,' though com- 
 monly applied to the weapons of the 
 New South Wales aborigines, does
 
 4Q2 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [WAD-WAG 
 
 not with them mean any particular 
 implement, but is the term used to 
 express wood of any kind, or trees. 
 ' You maan waddie 'long of fire,' means 
 ' Go and fetch firewood.'" 
 
 1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New 
 South Wales,' p. 17 : 
 
 "The Lachlan black, who, with his 
 right hand full of spears, his whaddie 
 and heleman in his left, was skipping 
 in the air, shouting his war cry." 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, 'Port Phillip 
 in 1849,' P- 54 : 
 
 "A waddy, a most formidable 
 bludgeon." 
 
 1855. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes,' 
 p. 101 : 
 
 "The waddy is a heavy, knobbed 
 club about two feet long, and is used 
 for active service, foreign or domestic. 
 It brains the enemy in the battle, or 
 strikes senseless the poor gin in cases 
 of disobedience or neglect." 
 
 1864. ' Once a Week,' Dec. 31, p. 45, 
 ' The Bulla Bulla Bunyip ' : 
 
 " The landlord swore to the appari- 
 tion of a huge blackfellow flourishing 
 a phantasmal ' waddy.' " 
 
 1879. C. W. Schiirmann, 'Native Tribes 
 of Australia Port Lincoln Tribe,' p. 214: 
 
 "The wirris, by the whites incor- 
 rectly named waddies, are also made 
 of gum saplings ; they are eighteen 
 inches in length, and barely one inch 
 in diameter, the thin end notched in 
 order to afford a firm hold for the 
 hand, while towards the other end 
 there is a slight gradual bend like 
 that of a sword ; they are, however, 
 without knobs, and every way inferior 
 to the wirris of the Adelaide tribes. 
 The natives use this weapon princi- 
 pally for throwing at kangaroo- rats or 
 other small animals." 
 
 1886. R. Henty, ' Australiana,' p. 18 : 
 
 "The ' waddy' is a powerful weapon 
 in the hands of the native. With un- 
 erring aim he brings down many a 
 bird, and so materially assists in re- 
 plenishing the family larder." 
 
 1892. J. Fraser, ' Aborigines of New 
 South Wales,' p. 74: 
 
 "A general name for all Australian 
 clubs is 'waddy,' and, although they 
 are really clubs, they are often used 
 as missiles in battle." 
 
 (2) The word is sometimes 
 used for a walking-stick. 
 
 Waddy, v. trans, to strike with 
 a waddy. 
 
 1855. Robert Lowe (Viscount Sher- 
 brooke), ' Songs of the Squatters,' canto ii. 
 st. 7 : 
 "When the white thieves had left 
 
 me, the black thieves appeared, 
 My shepherds they waddied, my 
 cattle they speared." 
 
 1869. ' Victorian Hansard,' Nov. 18, 
 vol. ix. p. 2310, col. 2: 
 
 "They were tomahawking them, 
 and waddying them, and breaking 
 their backs." 
 
 1882. A. Tolmer, ' Reminiscences,' p. 
 291 : 
 
 " In the scuffle the native attempted 
 to waddy him." 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' April 8, p. 4, col. 3 : 
 
 "Only three weeks before he had 
 waddied his gin to death for answer- 
 ing questions asked her by a black- 
 tracker." 
 
 1896. A. B. Paterson, ' Man from Snowy 
 River,' p. 45 : 
 
 " For they waddied one another, till 
 the plain was strewn with dead, 
 
 While the score was kept so even 
 that they neither got ahead." 
 
 Waddy Wood, or White 
 Wood, n. name given in Tas- 
 mania to the tree Pittosporum 
 bicolor, Hook., N.O. Pittosporece ; 
 from which the aboriginals there 
 chiefly made their Waddies. 
 
 1851. ' Papers and Proceedings of the 
 Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' 
 vol. i. p. 156 : 
 
 "nth October, 1848. . . a sample of 
 a very fine close-grained white timber, 
 considered by him suitable for wood- 
 engraving purposes, obtained in a 
 defile of Mount Wellington. It seems 
 to be the young wood of Pittosporum 
 bicolor, formerly in high estimation 
 amongst the Aborigines of Tasmania, 
 on account of its combined qualities of 
 density, hardness, and tenacity, as the 
 most suitable material of which to 
 make their warlike implement the 
 waddie." 
 
 Wagtail, or Wagtail Fly-
 
 WAH-WAK] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 493 
 
 catcher, n. an Australian bird, 
 Rhipidura tricolor, the Black-and- 
 white Fantail, with black-and- 
 white plumage like a pied wag- 
 tail. See also quotation, 1896. 
 The name is applied sometimes 
 in Gippsland, and was first used 
 in Western Australia as a name 
 for the Black-and-white Fantail. 
 See Fantail. 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' Head-Station,' p. 
 214: 
 
 "He pointed to a Willy-wagtail 
 which was hopping cheerfully from 
 stone to stone." 
 
 1896. A. J. North, 'List of the In- 
 sectivorous Birds of New South Wales,' 
 pt. i. p. 13 : 
 
 " Salltoprocta motacilloides, Vig. 
 and Horsf. ' Black and White Fantail.' 
 'Water Wagtail.' . . . From this 
 bird's habit of constantly swaying its 
 lengthened tail feathers from side to 
 side it is locally known in many dis- 
 tricts as the ' Willy Wagtail.' " 
 
 "Wahine, n. Maori word for a 
 woman. The / is long. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 29 : 
 
 " Having enquired how many (wives) 
 the Kings of England had, he laughed 
 heartily at finding they were not so 
 well provided, and repeatedly counted 
 * four wahine ' (women) on his fingers." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (edition 1855), p. 289 : 
 
 " A group of whyenees and piccanin- 
 nies." 
 
 1893. ' Otago Witness,' Dec. 21, p. n, 
 col. 5 : 
 
 " It is not fit that a daughter of the 
 great tribe should be the slave-wife of 
 the pakeha and the slave of the white 
 wahine." 
 
 Waipiro, n. Maori name for 
 spirits, literally, stinking water, 
 from piro, stinking, and wai, 
 water. In New Zealand geo- 
 graphy, the word Wai is very 
 common as the first part of many 
 names of harbours, lakes, etc. 
 Compare North-American Indian 
 Fire-water. 
 
 1845. W. Brown, ' New Zealand and 
 its Inhabitants,' p. 132 : 
 
 " Another native keeps a grog-shop, 
 and sells his ivaipero, as he says, to 
 Hourangi drunken pakehas." 
 
 1863. F. Maning (Pakeha Maori), ' Old 
 New Zealand,' p. 169 : 
 
 " He would go on shore, in spite of 
 every warning, to get some water to 
 mix with his waipiro, and was not his 
 canoe found next day floating about 
 with his paddle and two empty case 
 bottles in it ? " 
 
 1873. Lt.-Col. St. John, 'Pakeha Ram- 
 bles through Maori Lands,' p. 167 : 
 
 " When we see a chance of getting 
 at waipiro, we don't stick at trifles." 
 
 1887. The Warrigal, ' Picturesque New 
 Zealand,' 'Canterbury Weekly Press,' 
 March 1 1 : 
 
 " The priest was more than epigram- 
 matic when he said that the Maoris' 
 love for ' waipiro ' (strong waters) was 
 stronger than their morals." 
 
 Wairepo, n. Maori name for the 
 fish called Sting-ray. 
 
 Wait-a-while, n. also called 
 Stay-a- while : a thicket tree. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 306 : 
 
 "Acacia colletioides, A. Cunn., N.O. 
 LeguminoscE, 'Wait-a-while' (a deli- 
 cate allusion to the predicament of a 
 traveller desirous of penetrating a belt 
 of it)." 
 
 Waka, n. Maori word for canoe. 
 Waka huia is a box for keeping 
 feathers, originally the feathers of 
 the huia (q.v.). 
 
 1874. W. M. Baynes, ' Narrative of 
 Edward Crewe,' p. 81 : 
 
 "'Whaka' is the native name, or 
 rather the native generic term, for all 
 canoes, of which there are many differ- 
 ent kinds, as tete, pekatu, kopapa, and 
 others answering in variety to our 
 several descriptions of boats, as a ' gig,' 
 a 'whaleboat,' a 'skiff,' a 'dingy,' etc." 
 
 1878. R. C. Barstow, 'On the Maori 
 Canoe,' ' Transactions of the New Zealand 
 Institute,' vol. xi. art. iv. p. 72 : 
 
 " Canoes may be divided into four 
 classes ; Waka-tatta or Waka-pitau 
 were canoes, fully carved ; the Waka- 
 tetce, which, generally smaller, had a
 
 494 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [WAK-WAL 
 
 plain figure-head and stern ; Waka- 
 tiwai, an ordinary canoe of one piece, 
 and the kopapa or small canoe, usually 
 used for fishing, travelling to cultiva- 
 tion, etc." 
 
 Wakiki, n. shell money of the 
 South Sea Islands. 
 
 "Waler, n. Anglo-Indian name 
 for an Australian horse imported 
 from New South Wales into 
 India, especially for the cavalry. 
 Afterwards used for any horse 
 brought from Australia. 
 
 1863. B. A. Heywood, ' Vacation Tour 
 at the Antipodes,' p. 134 : 
 
 " Horses are exported largely from 
 Australia to India even. I have heard 
 men from Bengal talk of the ' Walers,' 
 meaning horses from New South 
 Wales." 
 
 1866. G. O. Trevelyan, ' Dawk Bunga- 
 low,' p. 223 [Yule's ' Hobson Jobson'] : 
 
 " Well, young Shaver, have you seen 
 the horses ? How is the Waler's off 
 fore-leg?" 
 
 1873. ' Madras Mail,' June 25 [Yule's 
 ' Hobson Jobson '] : 
 
 " For sale. A brown Waler gelding." 
 
 1888. R. Kipling, 'Plain Tales from 
 the Hills,' p. 224: 
 
 " The soul of the Regiment lives in 
 the Drum-Horse who carries the 
 silver kettle-drums. He is nearly 
 always a big piebald Waler." 
 
 1896. ' The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 62 : 
 
 " C. R. Gaunt is Senior Subaltern 
 of the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon 
 Guards, at present stationed at Rawul 
 Pindi in India. He won the Regi- 
 mental Cup Steeplechase this year on 
 an Australian mare of his own. Aus- 
 tralian horses are called ' Walers ' in 
 India, from the circumstance of their 
 being generally imported from New- 
 South Wales." 
 
 "Walking-Leaf, ;/. See Phasmid. 
 "Walking-stick.;?. See Phasmid. 
 
 "Walking-stick Palm, ;/. See 
 under Palm. 
 
 "Wallaby, ;/. a name used for 
 the smaller kinds of Kangaroos 
 of the genus Macropus (q.v.), form- 
 
 erly classed as Halmaturus. An 
 aboriginal word. See Collins, 
 1798, below. ( Wolbai, in the Kabi 
 dialect of South Queensland, 
 means a young creature.) Also 
 spelt Wallaby i Wallabee, and Wal- 
 lobi. As in the case of Kangaroo 
 (q.v.), the plural is a little un- 
 certain, Wallaby or Wallabies. 
 Some of them are sometimes 
 called Brush-Kangaroos (q.v.). 
 The following are the species 
 
 Agile Wallaby 
 
 Macropus agilis, Gould. 
 Aru Island W. 
 
 M. brunnii, Schraeber. 
 Black-gloved W. 
 
 M. irma, Jourd. 
 Black-striped W. 
 
 M. dorsalis, Gray. 
 Black-tailed W. 
 
 M. ualabatus, Less, and Garm. 
 Branded W. 
 
 M. stigmatieus, Gould. 
 Cape York W. 
 
 M. coxeni, Gray. 
 Dama W. 
 
 M. eugenii, Desm. 
 Pademelon 
 
 M. thetidis, Less. 
 Parma W. 
 
 M. parma, Waterh. 
 Parry's W. 
 
 M. parryt, Bennett. 
 Red-legged W. 
 
 M. u'ilcoxi, McCoy. 
 Red-necked W., Grey's W. 
 
 M. ruficollis, Desm. 
 Rufous-bellied W. 
 
 M. billardieri, Desm. 
 Short-tailed W. 
 
 M. brachyurus, Quoy and Gaim. 
 Sombre W. 
 
 M. brownii, Ramsay. 
 
 In addition, there are six species 
 of Rock- Wallaby (q.v.), genus 
 Petrogale (q.v.). See also Paddy- 
 melon. 
 
 Three species of Nail-tailed
 
 \VAL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 495 
 
 Wallabies, genus Onychogale 
 (q.v.), are confined to Australia. 
 They are the Nail-tailed Wallaby, 
 Onychogale unguifera, Gould ; 
 Bridled W., O. frenata, Gould; 
 Crescent W., O. lunata, Gould. 
 
 Three species of Hare- Wallabies 
 (genus Lagorchestes, q.v.), confined 
 to Australia, are the Spectacled 
 Hare- Wallaby, Lagorchestes con- 
 spiculatus, Gould ; Common H. W., 
 L. leporoides, Gould ; Rufous 
 H. W., L. hirsutus, Gould. 
 
 One species, called the Banded- 
 Wallaby '(genus, Lagostrophus, q.v.), 
 confined to Western Australia, 
 is L, fasciatus, Peron and Less. 
 
 For etymology, see Wallaroo. 
 
 1798. D. Collins, ' Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' p. 614 
 [Vocabulary] : 
 
 " Wal-li-bah a black kangaroo." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia,' p. in : 
 
 " In the long coarse grass with 
 which these flats are always covered, a 
 species of small kangaroo is usually 
 found, which the natives call the 
 ' walloby.' Their colour is darker than 
 that of the forest kangaroo, approach- 
 ing almost to that of a fox, and they 
 seat themselves in the grass like a hare 
 or a rabbit." 
 
 1832. J.Bischoff, ' Van Diemen's Land,' 
 c. ii. p. 28 : 
 
 " The wallabee is not very common." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. c. ix. p. 267 : 
 
 " The Wallaby are numerous on this 
 part of the island." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expedi- 
 tion,' p. 49 : 
 
 " Rock wallabies were very numer- 
 ous." 
 
 Ibid. c. xii. p. 418 : 
 
 " They returned with only a red 
 wallabi (Halmatunis agilis}." 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutteibuck, ' Tort Phillip 
 in 1849,' P- 37 = 
 
 "The rock Wallaby, or Badger, also 
 belongs to the family of the kangaroo ; 
 its length from the nose to the end of 
 the tail is three feet ; the colour of the 
 fur being grey-brou n." 
 
 1855. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes,' 
 p. 12 : 
 
 " Sipping doubtfully, but soon swal- 
 lowing with relish, a plate of wallabi- 
 tail soup." 
 
 1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' His- 
 tory of the Discovery and Exploration of 
 Australia,' vol. ii. p. 18: 
 
 " Eyre succeeded in shooting a fine 
 wallaby." [Note] : " A small kind of 
 kangaroo, inhabiting the scrub." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, 'Australia and New 
 Zealand,' c. vii. p. 117 : 
 
 " I have also been frowned upon by 
 bright eyes because I could not eat 
 stewed wallabi. Now the wallabi is a 
 little kangaroo, and to my taste it is 
 not nice to eat even when stewed to 
 the utmost with wine and spices." 
 
 1880. Garnet Walch, 'Victoria in 1880,' 
 p. 7: 
 
 "To hear . . . that wallabies are 
 ' the women of the native race ' cannot 
 but be disconcerting to the well- 
 regulated colonial mind." [He adds 
 a footnote] : " It is on record that a 
 journalistically fostered impression 
 once prevailed, in high English circles, 
 to the effect that a certain colonial 
 Governor exhibited immoral tenden- 
 cies by living on an island in the midst 
 of a number of favourite wallabies, 
 whom he was known frequently to 
 caress." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 213 : 
 
 " Now one hears the pat-pat-pat of 
 a wallaby." 
 
 1885. J. B. Stephens. 'To a Black Gin,' 
 P- 5: 
 
 " Of tons of 'baccy, and tons more to 
 
 follow, 
 Of wallaby as much as thou could'st 
 
 swallow, 
 Of hollow trees, with 'possums in 
 
 the hollow." 
 
 1886. J. A. Froude, ' Oceana,' p. 309 : 
 " My two companions . . . went off 
 
 with the keeper [sic] to shoot wallaby. 
 Sir George (Grey) has a paternal 
 affection for all his creatures, and 
 hates to have them killed. But the 
 wallaby multiply so fast that the sheep 
 cannot live for them, and several 
 thousands have to be destroyed 
 annually."
 
 496 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [WAL 
 
 1888. Sir C. Gavan Duffy, in the ' Con- 
 temporary Review,' vol. liii. p. 3 : 
 
 "'Morality!' exclaimed the colonist. 
 ' What does your lordship suppose a 
 wallaby to be ? ' ' Why, a half-caste, 
 of course.' ' A wallaby, my lord, is a 
 dwarf kangaroo ! ' " 
 
 "Wallaby-Bush, n. a tall shrub 
 or tree, Beyeria vtscosa, Miq., N.O. 
 Euphorbiacece. Same as the Pink- 
 wood of Tasmania. 
 
 Wallaby-Grass, n. an Aus- 
 tralian grass, Danthoniapenidllata, 
 F. v. M., N.O. Graminea. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 82 : 
 
 " ' Wallaby Grass.' This perennial 
 grass is useful for artificial mixed 
 pasture." 
 
 Wallaby-skin, the skin, with 
 the hair on it, of the wallaby, 
 prized as a warm and ornamental 
 fur for rugs. 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' June 13, p. 6, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 " A quantity of hair, a wallaby-skin 
 rug." 
 
 Wallaby track, On the, or 
 On the Wallaby, or Out on the 
 Wallaby, or simply Wallaby, 
 as adj. [slang]. Tramping the 
 country on foot, looking for 
 work. Often in the bush the 
 only perceptible tracks, and some- 
 times the only tracks by which 
 the scrub can be penetrated, are 
 the tracks worn down by the 
 Wallaby, as a hare tramples its 
 "form." These tracks may lead 
 to water or they may be aimless 
 and rambling. Thus the man 
 " on the wallaby' 1 '' may be looking 
 for food or for work, or aimlessly 
 wandering by day and getting 
 food and shelter as a Sundowner 
 (q.v.) at night. 
 
 1869. Marcus Clarke, 'Peripatetic Phi- 
 losopher' (Reprint), p. 41 : 
 
 " The Wimmera district is noted for 
 the hordes of vagabond ' loafers ' that 
 
 it supports, and has earned for itself 
 the name of ' The Feeding Track.' I 
 remember an old bush ditty, which I 
 have heard sung when / was on the 
 'Wallaby.' ... At the station where 
 I worked for some time (as 'knock- 
 about man') three cooks were kept 
 during the ' wallaby ' season one for 
 the house, one for the men, and one 
 for the travellers." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'A Colonial 
 Reformer,' p. 82 : 
 
 " ' What is the meaning of ' out on 
 the wallaby'? asked Ernest. 'Well, 
 it's bush slang, sir, for men just as you 
 or I might be now, looking for work 
 or something to eat ; if we can't get 
 work, living on the country, till things 
 turn round a little." 
 
 Ibid. p. 388 : 
 
 " Our friends who pursue the ever- 
 lengthening but not arduous track of- 
 the wallaby in Australia." 
 
 1893. Gilbert Parker, 'Pierre and his 
 People,' p. 242 : 
 
 "The wallaby track? That's the 
 name in Australia for trampin' west, 
 through the plains of the Never Never 
 Country, lookin' for the luck o' the 
 world." 
 
 1894. Longmans' ' Notes on Books ' 
 (May 31), p. 206 : 
 
 "'On the Wallaby: a Book of 
 Travel and Adventure.' ' On the 
 Wallaby' is an Australianism for 'on 
 the march,' and it is usually applied to 
 persons tramping the bush in search 
 of employment." 
 
 1894. Jennings Carmichael, in ' Aus- 
 tralasian,' Dec. 22, p. 1127, col. 5 : 
 
 " A ' wallaby ' Christmas, Jack, old 
 
 man ! 
 Well, a worse fate might befall 
 
 us ! 
 The bush must do for our church 
 
 to-day, 
 
 And birds be the bells to call us. 
 The breeze that comes from the 
 
 shore beyond, 
 Thro' the old gum - branches 
 
 swinging, 
 
 Will do for our solemn organ- 
 chords, 
 
 And the sound of children sing- 
 ing."
 
 WAL-WAR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 497 
 
 1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World 
 was Wide,' p. 134 : 
 "Though joys of which the poet 
 
 rhymes 
 
 Was not for Bill an' me : 
 I think we had some good old times 
 Out on the Wallaby.'' 
 
 Wallaroo, n. native name for 
 a large species of Kangaroo, the 
 mountain kangaroo, Macropus ro- 
 bustus, Gould. The black variety 
 of Queensland and New South 
 Wales is called locally the Wal- 
 laroo, the name Euro being given 
 in South and Central Australia to 
 the more rufous-coloured variety 
 of the same species. 
 
 In the aboriginal language, the 
 word walla meant ' to jump,' and 
 -walla-walla ' to jump quickly.' 
 
 1827. P- Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. : 
 
 " The wallaroo, of a blackish colour, 
 with coarse shaggy fur, inhabiting the 
 hills." 
 
 1846. C. P. Hodgson, ' Reminiscences 
 of Australia,' p. 157 : 
 
 " Some very fierce and ready to 
 attack man, such as the large mountain 
 ' wolloroo.' " 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Ex- 
 pedition,' p. 481 : 
 
 " Charley shot a Wallooroo just as 
 it was leaping, frightened by our foot- 
 steps, out of its shady retreat to a 
 pointed rock." [On p. 458, Leichhardt 
 spells Wallurus, plural.] 
 
 1862. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 50 : 
 " The Wallaroos grope through the 
 tufts of the grass." 
 
 1868 (before). C. Harpur, 'Creek of 
 the Four Graves ' (edition 1883), p. 49 : 
 
 " Up the steep, 
 Between the climbing forest-growths 
 
 they saw, 
 Perched on the bare abutments of the 
 
 hills, 
 Where haply yet some lingering gleam 
 
 fell through, 
 The wallaroo look forth." 
 
 [Footnote] : " A kind of large kan- 
 garoo, peculiar to the higher and 
 more difficult mountains." 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 328 : 
 
 " A wallaroo, a peculiar kind of 
 kangaroo (Macropus robustus), which 
 was kept tame at a station, showed 
 a marked fondness for animal food, 
 particularly for boiled salt beef. A 
 dove had been its companion, and 
 these two animals were the best of 
 friends for half-a-year, when the wal- 
 laroo one day killed its companion 
 and partly ate it." 
 
 1895. ' The Australasian,' June 22, p. 
 1181, col. I [Answers to Correspondents] : 
 
 " Professor Baldwin Spencer kindly 
 deals with the question as follows : 
 What is the distinction between a 
 wallaroo and a wallaby ? A wallaroo 
 is a special form of kangaroo (Macro- 
 pus robustus) living in the inland parts 
 of Queensland and New South Wales. 
 Wallaby is the name given to several 
 kinds of smaller kangaroos, such as 
 the common scrub wallaby (Macropus 
 tealabatus) of Victoria. The wallaroo 
 is stouter and heavier in build, its fur 
 thicker and coarser, and the structure 
 of its skull is different from that of 
 an ordinary wallaby." 
 
 Wallflower, Native, ;/. a Tas- 
 manian name for Piiltencea subum- 
 bellata, Hook., N.O. Leguminoscc. 
 In Australia, used as another 
 name for one of the Poison-Bushes 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Wandoo, n. Western Aus- 
 tralian aboriginal word for the 
 White Gum-tree of Western Aus- 
 tralia, Eucalyptus redinica, Schauer, 
 N.O. Myrtacea. It has a trunk 
 sometimes attaining seventeen 
 feet in diameter, and yields a 
 hard durable wood highly prized 
 by wheelwrights. 
 
 Waratah, ;/. an Australian 
 flower. There are three species, 
 belonging to the genus Telopea, 
 N.O. Proteacea. The New South 
 Wales species, T. speciosissima> 
 R. Br., forms a small shrub grow- 
 ing on hill-sides, as does also the 
 Tasmanian species, T. truncata, 
 K K
 
 498 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [WAR 
 
 R. Br. ; the Victorian species, T. 
 oreades, F. v. M., called the 
 Gippsland Waratah, grows to a 
 height of fifty feet. It has a 
 bVight crimson flower about three 
 inches in diameter, very regular. 
 Sometimes called the Australian 
 or Native Tulip. As emblematic of 
 Australia, it figures on certain of 
 the New South Wales stamps 
 and postcards. The generic name, 
 Telopea (q.v.), has been corrupted 
 into Tulip (q.v.). Its earliest 
 scientific generic name was Em- 
 bothrium, Smith. 
 
 1793. J. E. Smith, ' Specimen of Botany 
 of New Holland,' p. 19: 
 
 " The most magnificent plant which 
 the prolific soil of New Holland affords 
 is, by common consent both of Euro- 
 peans and Natives, the Waratah." 
 
 1801. Governor King, in ' Historical 
 Records of New South Wales' (1896), 
 vol. iv. p. 514 (a Letter to Sir Joseph 
 Banks) : 
 
 " I have also sent in the Albion a 
 box of waratahs, and the earth is 
 secured with the seed." 
 
 1802. D. Collins, 'Account of New 
 South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 66 : 
 
 " Bennillong assisted, placing the 
 head of the corpse, near which he 
 stuck a beautiful war-ra-taw." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 98 : 
 
 [Description, but not the name.] 
 "A plant called the gigantic lily also 
 flourishes on the tops of these moun- 
 tains, in all its glory. Its stems, 
 which are jointy, are sometimes as 
 large as a man's wrist, and ten feet 
 high, with a pink and scarlet flower at 
 the top, which when in full blossom 
 (as it then was) is nearly the size of a 
 small spring cabbage." 
 
 1830. ' Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 66 : 
 " Interspersed with that magnificent 
 shrub called warratah or tulip-tree, 
 and its beautiful scarlet flowers." 
 
 1857. D. Bunce, ' Australasiatic Remin- 
 iscences,' p. 44 : 
 
 " The most common of them was, 
 however, the Telopia [sic] Tasmani- 
 ensis, or waratah, or scarlet tulip tree, 
 
 as it has been occasionally termed by 
 stock-keepers." 
 
 1864. J. S. Moore, ' Spring Life Lyrics,' 
 p. 115: 
 
 " The lily pale and waratah bright 
 Shall encircle your shining hair." 
 
 1883. D. B. W. Sladen, 'Poetry of 
 Exiles ' : 
 
 "And waratah, with flame-hued royal 
 
 crown, 
 
 Proclaim the beauties round Aus- 
 tralia's own." 
 
 1885. Wanderer, ' Beauteous Terrorist/ 
 etc. , p. 62 : 
 
 "And the waratahs in state, 
 With their queenly heads elate, 
 And their flamy blood-red crowns, 
 And their stiff -frill'd emerald 
 gowns." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 188: 
 
 "Outside the tropical Queensland 
 forests, the scarlet flowering gum of 
 Western Australia, and the Waratah, 
 of Blue Mountains fame, are its [i.e. 
 the wattle's] only rivals." 
 
 1893. 'Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 
 5, p. 9, col. I : 
 
 "The memory of many residents 
 runs back to the time when the wara- 
 tah and the Christmas-bush, the native 
 rose and fuchsia, grew where thickly- 
 peopled suburbs now exist. . . . The 
 waratah recedes yearly." 
 
 1893. 'Sydney Morning Herald,' Sept. 
 2, p. 5, col. 6 : 
 
 " The wattles and waratahs are 
 creditable instances of the value of 
 our Australian flowers for art purposes, 
 and the efforts of the artists to win 
 recognition for their adaptability as 
 subjects for the artist's brush are 
 deserving of acknowledgment." 
 
 Warbler, n. This English bird- 
 name is applied loosely to many 
 birds of different genera in Aus- 
 tralia and New Zealand. 
 
 The majority of the Australian 
 Warblers have now had other 
 names assigned to them. (See 
 J*7y-eater and Gerygone.} The name 
 has been retained in Australia for 
 the following species
 
 WAR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 499 
 
 Grass Warbler 
 
 Cisticola exilis, Lath. 
 Grey W. 
 
 GerygonejftamventriSy Gray. 
 Long-billed Reed W. 
 
 Calamoherpe longirostris, Gould. 
 Reed W. 
 
 Acrocephalus aus trails, Gould. 
 Rock W. 
 
 Origma rubricata, Lath. 
 
 In New Zealand, it is now only 
 specifically applied to the 
 
 Bush Warbler 
 
 Gerygone silvestris, Potts. 
 Chatham Island W. 
 
 G. albofrontata, Gray. 
 Grey W. 
 
 G. fiaviventris, Gray ; Maori 
 name, Riro-riro. 
 
 1889. Prof. Parker, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 119 : 
 
 " Grey Warbler (Gerygone flaviven- 
 tris) also belongs to an Australian 
 genus. It is remarkable for its curious 
 and beautifully formed nest, and as 
 being the foster-parent to the Long- 
 tailed Cuckoo, which lays its eggs in 
 the Warbler's nest." 
 
 Warden, n. The term is ap- 
 plied specifically to the Govern- 
 ment officer, with magisterial and 
 executive powers, in charge of a 
 goldfield. 
 
 1861. Mrs. Meredith, ' Over the Straits,' 
 c. iv. p. 141 : 
 
 "The chief official in a digging 
 settlement, the padra [sic] of the 
 district, is entitled the warden." 
 
 Warehou, n. Maori name for 
 the fish Neptonemus brama, Gi'mth., 
 called Snotgall-Trevally in Tas- 
 mania, and called also Sea-Bream, 
 See Trevally. 
 
 Warrener, n. a name applied 
 by Tasmanian children to the 
 larger specimens of the shells 
 called Mariners (q.v.). The name 
 is an adaptation, by the law of 
 Hobson-Jobson, from a Tas- 
 manian aboriginal word, Yaivar- 
 
 renah, given by Milligan ('Voca- 
 bulary,' 1890), as used by tribes, 
 from Oyster Bay to Pittwater, for 
 the ear-shell (Haliotis). The name 
 has thus passed from shell to 
 shell, and in its English applica- 
 tion has passed on also to the 
 marine shell, Turbo undulatus. 
 
 Warrigal, n. and adj. an abori- 
 ginal word, originally meaning 
 a Dog. Afterwards extended as 
 an adjective to mean wild ; then 
 used for a wild horse, wild natives, 
 and in bush-slang for a worthless 
 man. The following five quota- 
 tions from vocabularies prove the 
 early meaning of the word in the 
 Port Jackson district, and its vary- 
 ing uses at later dates elsewhere. 
 
 I 793 < Governor Hunter, ' Port Jackson,' 
 p. 411 : 
 
 " Warregal a large dog." 
 
 1798. D. Collins, ' Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' p. 614 
 [Vocab.] : 
 
 " Wor- re-gal dog." 
 
 1859. D. Bunce, ' Language of Abori- 
 gines of Victoria,' p. 17: 
 
 " Ferocious, savage, wild warra- 
 gul." (adj.) 
 
 Ibid. p. 46 : 
 
 " Wild savage worragal." (noun.) 
 
 1879. Wyatt, ' Manners of Adelaide 
 Tribes,' p. 21 : 
 
 " \Varroo = wild." 
 
 The quotations which follow 
 are classed under the different 
 meanings borne by the word. 
 
 (i) A Wild Dog. 
 
 1855. G. C. Mundy, ' Oar Antipodes/ 
 
 P- 153: 
 
 " 1 have heard that the dingo, war- 
 ragal or native dog, does not hunt in 
 packs like the wolf and jackal." 
 
 1880. J. Hoklsworth, ' Station Hunting': 
 
 " To scoop its grassless grave 
 Past reach of kites and prowling 
 warrigals." 
 
 1887. ' Illustrated Australian News,' 
 March 5 : 
 
 [A picture of two dingoes, and
 
 500 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [WAR-WAT 
 
 beneath them the following quotation 
 from Kendall ] 
 
 " The warrigal's lair is pent in bare 
 Black rocks, at the gorge's mouth." 
 
 1888. ' Australian Ballads and Rhymes ' 
 (edition Sladen), p. 297 : 
 
 " The following little poem, entitled 
 ' The Warrigal ' (Wild Dog) will prove 
 that he (H. Kendall) observed animal 
 life as faithfully as still life and land- 
 scape : 
 ' The sad marsh-fowl and the lonely 
 
 owl 
 
 Are heard in the fog-wreath's grey, 
 Where the Warrigal wakes, and 
 
 listens and takes 
 To the woods that shelter the prey.' " 
 
 1890. G. A. Sala, in ' The Argus,' Sept. 
 20, p. 13, col. I : 
 
 " But at present warrigal means a 
 wild dog." 
 
 1891. J. B. O'Hara, ' Songs of the 
 South,' p. 22 : 
 
 " There, night by night, I heard the call 
 The inharmonious warrigal 
 Made, when the darkness swiftly drew 
 Its curtains o'er the starry blue." 
 
 (2) A Horse. 
 
 1881. 'The Australasian,' May 21, p. 
 647, col. 4 [" How we ran in ' The Black 
 Warragal ' " : Ernest G. Millard, Bim- 
 bowrie, South Australia] : 
 " You must let me have Topsail to- 
 day, Boss, 
 
 If we're going for that Warrigal 
 mob." 
 
 1888. Gilbert Parker, ' Round the 
 Compass in Australia,' p. 44 : 
 
 " Six wild horses warrigals or 
 brombies, as they are called have 
 been driven down, corralled, and 
 caught. They have fed on the leaves 
 of the myall and stray bits of salt-bush. 
 After a time they are got within the 
 traces. They are all young, and they 
 look not so bad." 
 
 1890. ' The Argus,' June 14, p. 4, 
 col. 2 : 
 
 " Mike will fret himself to death in 
 a stable, and maybe kill the groom. 
 Mike's a warrigal he is." 
 
 (3) Applied to Aborigines. [See 
 Bunce quotation, 1859.] 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Squatter's 
 Dream,' c. xii. p. 249 : 
 
 " He's a good shot, and these war- 
 rigal devils know it." 
 
 1896. Private Letter from Station near 
 Palmerville, North Queensland : 
 
 "Warrigal. In this Cook district, 
 and I believe in many others, a black- 
 fellow who has broken any of the 
 most stringent tribal laws, which 
 renders him liable to be killed on 
 sight by certain other blacks, is warri, 
 an outlaw." 
 
 (4) As adjective meaning wild. 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, ' Colonial Re- 
 former,' c. viii. p. 68 : 
 
 " Here's a real good wholesome 
 cabbage warrigal cabbage the shep- 
 herds call it." 
 
 Warrina, n. See Warrener. 
 
 Washdirt, n. any alluvial de- 
 posit from which gold is obtained 
 by washing; or "the auriferous 
 gravel, sand, clay, or cement, in 
 which the greatest proportion of 
 gold is found." (Brough Smyth's 
 'Glossary,' 1869.) Often called 
 dirt (q.v.). 
 
 1896. ' Melbourne Argus,' April 30, p. 
 7, col. 6 : 
 
 " In colour the washdirt is of a 
 browner and more iron-stained appear- 
 ance than the white free wash met 
 across the creek." 
 
 Waterbush, n. an Australian 
 tree, i.q. Native Daphne. See 
 Daphne. 
 
 Watergrass, n. a Tasmanian 
 name for Manna-grass, Poo. flui- 
 tans, Scop., N.O. Graminete. 
 
 Water-Gum, n. See Gum. 
 
 Water-hole, n. The word 
 pond is seldom used in Australia. 
 Any pond, natural or artificial, is 
 called a Water-hole. The word 
 also denotes a depression or cavity 
 in the bed of an intermittent river, 
 which remains full during the 
 summer when the river itself is 
 dry. 
 
 1833. C. Sturt, ' Southern Australia,' 
 vol. i. c. ii. p. 80 :
 
 WAT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 501 
 
 " There was no smoke to betray 
 a water-hole." 
 
 1853. S. Sidney, 'Three Colonies of 
 Australia,' p. 245 : 
 
 " The deep pools, called colonially 
 ' water-holes.' " 
 
 1862. F. J. Jobson, ' Australia,' c. vii. 
 p. 181: 
 
 " ' Water-holes ' appeared at inter- 
 vals, but they seemed to have little 
 water in them." 
 
 1864. J. McDouall Stuart, 'Explora- 
 tions in Australia,' p. 58 : 
 
 " About four miles from last night's 
 camp the chain of large water-holes 
 commences, and continues beyond to- 
 night's camp." 
 
 1875- Wood and Lapham, ' Waiting for 
 the Mail,' p. 15 : 
 
 " The water-hole was frozen over, so 
 she was obliged to go on farther, 
 where the water ran." 
 
 1875. ' Spectator ' (Melbourne), June 
 26, p. 94, col. I : 
 
 " A bottomless water-hole, about 
 300 feet wide, exists at Maryvale home- 
 stead, Gipps Land." 
 
 1878. Mrs. H. Jones, ' Broad Outlines 
 of Long Years in Australia,' p. 97 : 
 
 " ' That will be another water-hole.' 
 ' What an ugly word . . . why don't 
 you call them pools or ponds ?' ' I can't 
 tell you why they bear such a name, 
 but we never call them anything else, 
 and if you begin to talk of pools or 
 ponds you'll get well laughed at.'" 
 
 1896. ' The Argus,' March 30, p. 6, 
 col. 9 : 
 
 " [The murderer] has not since been 
 heard of. Dams and waterholes have 
 been dragged . . . but without result." 
 
 Water-Lily . See Lily. 
 Water-Mole, i.q. Platypus (q.v.). 
 
 Water-Myrtle, an Australian 
 tree, Tristania neriifolia, R. Br., 
 JV.O. Myrtacex. 
 
 Water-Tree, ;/. a tree from 
 which water is obtained by tap- 
 ping the roots, Hakea leucoptera, 
 R. Br., JV.O. Proteacea ; called 
 also Needle-bush. The quotation 
 describes the process, but does 
 not name the tree. 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' p. 199: 
 
 " I expressed my thirst and want of 
 water. Looking as if they understood 
 me, they [the aboriginals] hastened to 
 resume their work, and I discovered 
 that they dug up the roots for the sake 
 of drinking the sap . . . They first cut 
 these roots into billets, and then 
 stripped off the bark or rind, which 
 they sometimes chew, after which, 
 holding up the billet, and applying one 
 end to the mouth, they let the juice 
 drop into it." 
 
 Wattle, n. The name is given 
 to very many of the various 
 species of Acacia (q.v.), of which 
 there are about 300 in Australia, 
 besides those in Tasmania and 
 New Zealand. There is no 
 English tree of that name, but 
 the English word, which is com- 
 mon, signifies "a twig, a flexible 
 rod, usually a hurdle ; . . . the 
 original sense is something twined 
 or woven together ; hence it came 
 to mean a hurdle, woven with 
 twigs ; Anglo-Saxon, watel, a 
 hurdle." (Skeat.) In England 
 the supple twigs of the osier- 
 willow are used for making such 
 hurdles. The early colonists found 
 the long pliant boughs and shoots 
 of the indigenous Acacias a ready 
 substitute for the purpose, and 
 they used them for constructing 
 the partitions and outer-walls of 
 the early houses, by forming a 
 "wattling" and daubing it with 
 plaster or clay. (See Wattle-and- 
 dab^) The trees thus received 
 the name of Wattle-trees, quickly 
 contracted to Wattle. Owing to 
 its beautiful, golden, sweet-scented 
 clusters of flowers, the Wattle is 
 the favourite tree of the Australian 
 poets and painters. The bark is 
 very rich in tannin. (See Wattle- 
 bark.} The tree was formerly 
 called Mimosa (q.v.). The follow- 
 ing list of vernacular names of the
 
 5 02 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [WAT 
 
 various Wattles is compiled from 
 Maiden's ' Useful Native Plants' ; 
 it will be seen that the same ver- 
 nacular name is sometimes applied 
 to several different species^- 
 
 Black Wattle 
 
 Acacia binervata, De C., of Illa- 
 
 warra and South. 
 A. decurrens, Willd., older col- 
 onists of New South Wales. 
 A. cunninghamii, Hook. 
 A. nervifolia, Cunn. 
 Broad-leaved W. 
 
 A. pycnantha, Benth. 
 Broom W. 
 
 A. calami/olio,) Sweet. 
 Feathery W. 
 
 A, decurrens, Willd. 
 Golden W. (q.v.) 
 
 A. pycnantha, Benth.; in Vic- 
 toria, South Australia, and 
 Tasmania. It is also called 
 Green Wattle, and also, for 
 the sake of distinction be- 
 tween some other tan-bark 
 wattles, the Broad -leaved 
 Wattle. 
 
 A. longifolia, Willd.; in New 
 South Wales and Queens- 
 land. 
 Green W. 
 
 A. decurrens, Willd., older col- 
 onists New South Wales. 
 A. pycnantha, Benth. 
 A. discolor, Willd.; so called in 
 Tasmania, and called also 
 there River Wattle, 
 Hickory W. 
 
 A. aulacocarpa, Cunn. 
 Prickly W. 
 A. sends, F. v. M. 
 A. juniperina, Willd. 
 Silver W. 
 
 A. dealbata, Link. Silver Wattle, 
 owing to the whiteness of 
 the trunk, and the silvery or 
 ashy hue of its young foli- 
 age. 
 A. decurrens, Willd. 
 
 A. melanoxylon, R. Br. (Black- 
 wood). 
 
 A. podalyriafolia, Cunn.; called 
 Silver Wattle, as it has foliage 
 of a more or less grey, mealy, 
 or silvery appearance. 
 Weeping W. 
 
 A. saligna, Wendl. 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 201 : 
 
 " The acacias are the common 
 wattles of this country, their bark 
 affording excellent tan, as well as an 
 extract to export to England ; while 
 from their trunks and branches clear 
 transparent beads of the purest 
 Arabian gum are seen suspended in 
 the dry spring weather, which our 
 young currency bantlings eagerly 
 search after and regale themselves 
 with." 
 
 1827. Vigors and Horsfield, ' Trans- 
 actions of Linnoean Society,' vol. xv. p. 
 328: 
 
 " One of my specimens ... I shot 
 in a green wattle-tree close to Govern- 
 ment House." 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, 'VanDiemen's Land,' 
 c. ii. p. 23 : 
 
 " The black and silver Wattle (the 
 Mimosa) are trees used in housework 
 and furniture." 
 
 1834. Ross, ' Van Diemen's Land 
 Annual,' p. 134 : 
 
 " Leptospermum lanigcrnm, hoary 
 tea-tree, Acacia decurrens, and black 
 wattle ; Corr<za alba, Cape Barren 
 tea. The leaves of these have been 
 used as substitutes for tea in the 
 colonies." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. c. iv. p. 132 : 
 
 " Black wattle . . . indication of 
 good soil . . . produce gum." 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, ' Port Phillip in 
 1 849,' p. 32: 
 
 " Few, indeed, of the native Aus- 
 tralian flowers emit any perfume except 
 the golden and silver wattle (the 
 Mimosa; tribe): these charm the senses, 
 and fully realize the description we read 
 of in the ' Arabian Nights' Entertain- 
 ments' of those exotics, the balmy 
 perfume of which is exhaled far and 
 near."
 
 WAT] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 337 : 
 
 " These trees were termed ' Wattles,' 
 from being used, in the early days of 
 the colony, for forming a network or 
 wattling of the supple twigs for the 
 reception of the plaster in the partitions 
 of the houses." 
 
 1862. W. Archer, ' Products of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 40 : 
 
 " Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata, 
 Lindl.), so called from the whiteness of 
 the trunk and the silvery green of the 
 foliage." 
 
 1862. G. T. Lloyd, ' Twenty-three Years 
 in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 33 : 
 
 " The mimosa, or wattle, . . . ushers 
 in the Spring with its countless acres 
 of charming and luxuriant yellow and 
 highly scented blossom . . . The tan- 
 ning properties of its bark are nearly 
 equal in value to those of the English 
 oak." 
 
 1867. A. G. Middleton, ' Earnest,' p. 
 132: 
 
 " The maidens were with golden wattles 
 crowned." 
 
 1877. F.v. Mueller,' Botanic Teachings,' 
 p. 24: 
 
 " The generic name [Acacia] is so 
 familiarly known, that the appella- 
 tion 'Wattle' might well be dispensed 
 with. Indeed the name Acacia is in 
 full use in works on travels and in 
 many popular writings for the numerous 
 Australian species." 
 
 1883. F. M. Bailey, 'Synopsis of Queens- 
 land Flora,' p. 837 : 
 
 " Called ' Silver Wattle.' The bark, 
 which is used for tanning, is said to 
 give a light colour to leather ; value, 
 ~3 i or. per ton." 
 
 1885. H. Finch-Hatton, ' Advance Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 43 : 
 
 " A dense clump of wattles, a sort of 
 mimosa tall, feathery, graceful trees, 
 with leaves like a willow and sweet- 
 scented yellow flowers." 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 349 : 
 
 " The ordinary name for species of 
 the genus Acacia in the colonies is 
 ' Wattle.' The name is an old English 
 one, and signifies the interlacing of 
 boughs together to form a kind of 
 wicker-work. The aboriginals used 
 .Them in the construction of their 
 
 abodes, and the early colonists used 
 to split the stems of slender species 
 into la'ths for 'wattling' the walls of 
 their rude habitations." 
 
 1890. Tasma, ' In her Earliest Youth,' 
 p. 122: 
 
 " It pleased him yearly to see the 
 fluffy yellow balls bedeck his favourite 
 trees. One would have said in the 
 morning that a shower of golden shot 
 had bespangled them in the night-time. 
 Late in the autumn, too, an adventurous 
 wattle would sometimes put forth some 
 serni-gilded sprays but sparsely, as if 
 under protest." 
 
 1896. J. B. O'Hara, 'Songs of the 
 South' (Second Series), p. 22: 
 " Yet the spring shed blossoms around 
 
 the ruin, 
 The pale pink hues of the wild 
 
 briar rose, 
 The wild rose wasted by winds that 
 
 blew in 
 
 The wattle bloom that the sun-god 
 knows." 
 
 Wattle-and-Dab, a rough 
 mode of architecture, very com- 
 mon in Australia at an early date. 
 The phrase and its meaning" are 
 Old English. It was originally 
 Watfle-and-daub. The style, but 
 not the word, is described in the 
 quotation from Governor Phillip, 
 1789. 
 
 1789. Governor Phillip, ' Voyage to 
 Botany Bay,' p. 124 : 
 
 " The huts of the convicts were still 
 more slight, being composed only of 
 upright posts, wattled with slight 
 twigs, and plaistered up with clay." 
 
 1836. Ross, ' Hobart Town Almanack,' 
 p. 66: 
 
 " Wattle and daub. . . . You then 
 bring home from the bush as many 
 sods of the black or green wattle 
 (acacia dccurrcns or affinis] as you 
 think will suffice. These are platted 
 or intertwined with the upright posts 
 in the manner of hurdles, and after- 
 wards daubed with mortar made of 
 sand or loam, and clay mixed up with 
 a due proportion of the strong wiry 
 grass of the bush chopped into conve- 
 nient lengths and well beaten up with 
 it, as a substitute for hair,"
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [\VAT 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 p. 201 : 
 
 " The hut of the labourer was usually 
 formed of plaited twigs or young 
 branches plastered over with mud, and 
 known by the summary definition of 
 ' wattle and dab.' " 
 
 1852. Mrs. Meredith, ' My Home in 
 Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 179 
 
 "Wattles, so named originally, I 
 conceive, from several of the genus 
 being much used for ' wattling ' fences 
 or huts. A ' wattle and dab ' hut is 
 formed, in a somewhat Robinson 
 Crusoe style, of stout stakes driven 
 well into the ground, and thickly inter- 
 laced with the tough, lithe wattle- 
 branches, so as to make a strong 
 basket-work, which is then dabbed and 
 plastered over on both sides with tena- 
 cious clay mortar, and finally thatched." 
 
 1879. W. J. Barry, ' Up and Down,' p. 
 21 : 
 
 "It was built of what is known as 
 'wattle and dab,' or poles and mud, 
 and roofed with the bark of the gum- 
 tree." 
 
 1883. E. M. Curr, ' Recollections of 
 Squatting,' p. 5 : 
 
 " Others were of weather boards, 
 wattle and dab, or slabs." 
 
 Wattle-bark, n. the bark of 
 the wattle ; much used in tanning, 
 and forms a staple export. 
 
 1875. 'Spectator' (Melbourne), Aug. 
 14, p. 178, col. 2: 
 
 "A proprietor of land at Mount 
 Gambier has refused .4000 for the 
 wattle-bark on his estate." 
 
 1877. [? Exact date lost.] 'Melbourne 
 Punch ' : 
 
 " What '11 bark ? Why, a dog '11." 
 
 1883. F. M. Bailey, ' Synopsis of Queens- 
 land Flora,' p. 140: 
 
 " The bark of this species is used in 
 tanning light skins, but the bark is 
 considered weak in tannin, and only 
 worth thirty shillings per ton in Queens- 
 land. Called ' Black-wattle bark.' " 
 
 1893. ' Melbourne Stock and Station 
 Journal,' May io[advt.]: 
 
 " Bark. There is a moderate inquiry 
 for good descriptions, but faulty are 
 almost unsaleable: Bundled Black 
 Wattle, superior, $ to 6 per ton ; do. 
 do., average, 2 to 4 IQS. per ton ; 
 
 chopped Black Waflle, $ to 6 5^. per 
 ton ; ground, approved brands, up to 
 ^8 per ton ; do., average, $ to 6 
 per ton." 
 
 1896. 'The Leader,' a weekly column : 
 " Kennel Gossip. By Wattle Bark." 
 
 Wattled Bee-eater. See Bee- 
 eater. 
 
 Wattle-bird, n. an Australian 
 bird, so called from the wattles 
 or fleshy appendages hanging to 
 his ear. In the Yellow species 
 they are an inch long. The 
 species are 
 
 Brush Wattle-bird 
 
 Anelobia mellivora. Lath. 
 Little W. 
 
 A. lunulata, Gould. 
 Red W. 
 
 Acanthochara carunatlata^ Lath. 
 Yellow W. 
 
 A. inauris, Gould. 
 
 The earlier scientific names 
 occur in the quotation, 1848. In 
 New Zealand, the Kokako (q.v.) is 
 also called a Wattle-bird, and the 
 name used to be applied to the 
 Tui (q.v.). 
 
 1820. W. C. Wentworth, ' Description 
 of New South Wales,' p. 152 : 
 
 " The wattle-bird, which is about the 
 size of a snipe, and considered a very 
 great delicacy." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. iv. 
 
 " Anthochcera Inauris, Wattled 
 Honey-eater ; Wattled Bird of the 
 Colonists of Van Diemen's Land" (pi. 
 54). "A. Carunculata, Wattled Bird 
 of the Colonists ; the Mcrops Carun- 
 culatus of older writers " (pi. 5 5). " A. 
 Mellivora, Vig. and Horsf., Bush 
 Wattle Bird " (pi. 56). " A. Lunulata, 
 Gould, Little Wattle Bird, Colonists of 
 Swan River "(pi. 57). 
 
 1857. W. Howitt, ' Tallangetta,' vol. ii. 
 p. u: 
 
 " Kangaroo-steaks frying on the fire, 
 with a piece of cold beef, and a wattle- 
 bird pie also ready on the board." 
 
 1859. D. Bunce, ' Australasiatic Remin- 
 iscences,' p. 62 :
 
 WAT-WAX] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 505 
 
 "The notes peculiar to the Qrni- 
 thorhynchus paradoxtis, or platyptis, 
 wattle-bird, and leather-head, or old 
 soldier bird, added in no small degree 
 to the novelties. . . . The wattle-bird 
 has been not inaptly termed the ' what's 
 o'clock,' the leather-head the ' stop- 
 where-you-are.' " 
 
 1864. E. F. Hughes, 'Portland Bay,' 
 p. 9: 
 
 " Tedious whistle of the Wattle-bird." 
 
 1865. W. Howitt, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. p. in : 
 
 " This bird they called the Wattle- 
 bird, and also the Poy-bird, from its 
 having little tufts of curled hair under 
 its throat, which they called poies, 
 from the Otaheitan word for ear-rings. 
 The sweetness of this bird's note they 
 described as extraordinary, and that 
 its flesh was delicious, but that it was a 
 shame to kill it." 
 
 1885. J. Hood, ' Land of Fern,' p. 36 : 
 " The wattle-bird, with joyous scream 
 
 Bathes her soft plumage in the cool- 
 ing stream." 
 
 1871. T. Bracken, ' Behind the Tomb,' 
 p. 79: 
 
 " The wattle-bird sings in the leafy 
 plantation." 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, 'Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. 119: 
 
 " The pretty, graceful wattle-birds 
 are . . . much esteemed for the table, 
 cooked as snipe and woodcocks are in 
 England . . . Our pretty, elegant 
 wattle-bird wears a pair of long pen- 
 dant drops, shaded from the deepest 
 amber to white, lovelier than any gold- 
 smith's work. Its greyish plumage, 
 too, is very beautiful ; the feathers on 
 the breast are long, pointed, and tinted 
 with golden yellow." 
 
 1890. Tasma, ' In her Earliest Youth,' 
 p. 265 : 
 
 " The droll double note of the wattle- 
 bird." 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes Game Act ' 
 (Third Schedule): 
 
 " Close season. All Honey-eaters 
 (except Wattle -birds and Leather- 
 heads) ; from 1st day of August to 
 2oth day of December." 
 
 Wattle-gold, n. poetic name 
 for the blossom of the Wattle, 
 
 1870. A. L. Gordon, 'Bush Ballads, 
 Dedn., p. 9 : 
 "In the spring, when the wattle-gold 
 
 trembles 
 'Twixt shadow and shine." 
 
 1883. Keighley, ' Who are You?' p. 54 : 
 "My wealth has gone, like the wattle- 
 gold 
 
 You bound one day on my childish 
 brow." 
 
 Wattle-gum, n. the gum exud- 
 ing from the Wattles, 
 
 1862. W. Archer, 'Products of Tas- 
 mania,' p. 41: 
 
 "Wattle-Gum, the gum of the Silver 
 Wattle {Acacia dealbata, Lindl.), is ex- 
 ceedingly viscous, and probably quite 
 as useful as Gum-Arabic. The gum of 
 the Black Wattle (Acacia mollissiina, 
 Willd.), which is often mixed with the 
 other, is very often inferior to it, being 
 far less viscous." 
 
 Wax-cluster, n. an Australian 
 shrub, Gaultheria hispida, R. Br., 
 N.O. Ericacece. A congener of the 
 English winter-green, or American 
 checkerberry, with white berries, 
 in taste resembling gooseberries ; 
 called also Chucky-chufky (q.v.), 
 and Native Arbutus, 
 
 1834. Ross, ' Van Diemen's Land 
 Annual,' p. 133 : 
 
 " Gaultheria hispida. The wax- 
 cluster, abundant in the middle region 
 of Mount Wellington, and in other 
 elevated and moist situations in the 
 colony. This fruit is formed by the 
 thickened divisions of the calyx, in- 
 closing the small seed vessel ; when it 
 is ripe it is of a snowy white. The 
 flavour is difficult to describe, but it is 
 not unpleasant. In tarts the taste is 
 something like that of young goose- 
 berries, with a slight degree of bitter- 
 ness." 
 
 1880. Mrs. Meredith, ' Tasmanian 
 Friends and Foes,' p. n [Footnote]: 
 
 " Gaultheria hispida. The ' Snow- 
 berry ' or ' Wax cluster ' is also called 
 native Arbutus, from the form of the 
 white flowers which precede the fruit. 
 The latter is of a peculiar brioche-like 
 form, and as the deep clefts open, the 
 crimson seed-cells peep through.''
 
 5 o6 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [WAX-WEK 
 
 Wax-Eye, i.q. one of the many 
 names for the bird called Silrer- 
 Eye, White-Eye, Blight-Bird, etc. 
 See Zoster ops. 
 
 Waybung, n. aboriginal name 
 for an Australian Chough, Cor- 
 corax melanoramphus, Vieill. 
 
 "Weaver-bird, n. The English 
 name Weaver-bird, in its present 
 broad sense as applied to a wide 
 variety of birds, is modern. It 
 alludes to their dexterity in 
 "weaving" their nests. It is 
 applied in Australia to Callornis 
 metallica, a kind of Starling. 
 
 1890. C. Lumholtz, ' Among Cannibals,' 
 p. 96: 
 
 " The elegant, metallic - looking, 
 'glossy starlings' (Callornis metallica} 
 greedily swoop, with a horrible shriek, 
 upon the fruit of the Australian carda- 
 mom tree. The ingenious nests of 
 this bird were found in the scrubs near 
 Herbert Vale a great many in the 
 same tree. Although this bird is a 
 starling, the colonists call it ' weaver- 
 bird.'" 
 
 "Wedge-bill, n. an Australian 
 bird. This English name for a 
 species of humming-bird is ap- 
 plied in Australia to Sphenostoma 
 cristata, Gould. 
 
 1890. ' Victorian Statutes Game Act ' 
 (Third Schedule): 
 
 " Wedge-bill. [Close season.] From 
 ist day of August to 2oth day of 
 December next following in each 
 year." 
 
 "Weeping-Gum. See Gum. 
 
 Weeping-Myall, n. an Aus- 
 tralian tree, Acacia pendula, Cunn., 
 N. O. Legiirninosce. See Myall. 
 
 "Weka, n. the Maori name for 
 the Wood-hen (q.v.) of New Zea- 
 land, so called from its note. 
 There are two species 
 
 South-Island Weka, or Wood- 
 hen 
 Ocydromus australis, S trick. 
 
 North-Island W., or W.-h. 
 
 Ocydromus brachypterns, Buller. 
 
 The specimens intergrade to 
 such an extent that precise limit- 
 ation of species is extremely diffi- 
 cult ; but Sir W. L. Buller set 
 them out as these two in 1878, 
 regarding other specimens as 
 varieties. The birds are some- 
 times called Weka-Rails, and the 
 Maori name of Weka-pango is 
 given to the Black Wood-hen (O. 
 fuscus, Du Bus.). 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefiekl, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 95 : 
 
 " Two young weka, or wood-hens, 
 about as large as sparrows . . . were 
 esteemed a valuable addition to our 
 scanty supper." 
 
 1864. R. L. A. Davies, ' Poems and 
 Literary Remains' (edition 1884), p. 263 : 
 
 " Wood-hens, or Waikas, are a great 
 stand-by in the bush. Their cry can 
 be imitated, and a man knowing their 
 language and character can catch them 
 easily. They call each other by name, 
 pronounced 'Weeka,' latter syllable 
 being shrill and prolonged, an octave 
 higher than the first note. . . . The 
 wood-hen is about the size of a com- 
 mon barn-door fowl ; its character is 
 cunning, yet more fierce than cunning, 
 and more inquisitive than either." 
 
 1865. Lady Barker, ' Station Life in 
 New Zealand,' p. 28 : 
 
 " Until the numbers of the wekas 
 are considerably reduced. They are 
 very like a hen pheasant without the 
 long tail-feathers, and until you 
 examine them you cannot tell they 
 have no wings, though there is a sort 
 of small pinion among the feathers, 
 with a claw at the end of it. They 
 run very swiftly, availing themselves 
 cleverly of the least bit of cover." 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' 
 p. 167: 
 
 "Another famous bird of chase with 
 the natives is the weka (Ocydromus 
 Anstralis), or the wood-hen, belonging 
 | to the class of rails, which have already 
 become quite scarce upon North 
 Island. In the grassy plains and 
 forests of the Southern Alps, however, 
 they are still found in considerable
 
 WEK-WHA 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 507 
 
 numbers. It is a thievish bird, greedy 
 after everything that glistens ; it fre- 
 quently carries off spoons, forks, and 
 the like, but it also breaks into hen- 
 coops, and picks and sucks the eggs." 
 
 1882. T. H. Potts, ' Out in the Open,' 
 p. 286 : 
 
 " Fortunately, the weka bears so 
 obnoxious a character as an evil-doer 
 that any qualm of conscience on the 
 score of cruelty is at once stilled when 
 one of these feathered professors of 
 diablerie is laid to rest." 
 
 1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New 
 Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 105 : 
 
 [A full description.] 
 
 1889. Vincent Pyke, 'Wild Will 
 Enderby,' p. 82 : 
 
 " We-ka. ! we-ka! we-ka! Three 
 times the plaintive cry of the ' wood- 
 hen' was heard. It was a precon- 
 certed signal." 
 
 Weka-Rail, n. See Weka. 
 
 "Well-in, adj. answering to 
 ' well off,' ' well to do,' 'wealthy'; 
 and ordinarily used, in Australia, 
 instead of these expressions. 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. I : 
 
 " He's a well-in squatter that took 
 up runs or bought them cheap before 
 free-selection, and land-boards, and 
 rabbits, and all the other bothers that 
 turn a chap's hair grey before his 
 time." 
 
 Western Australia, the part 
 of the Continent first sighted in 
 1527 by a Portuguese, and the 
 last to receive responsible govern- 
 ment, in 1890. It had been made 
 a Crown colony in 1829. 
 
 Westralia, n. a common ab- 
 breviation for Western Australia 
 (q.v.). The word was coined to 
 meet the necessities of the sub- 
 marine cable regulations, which 
 confine messages to words con- 
 taining not more than ten letters. 
 1896. 'The Studio,' Oct., p. 151 : 
 " The latest example is the El 
 Dorado of Western Australia, or as 
 she is beginning to be more generally 
 called 'Westralia,' a name originally 
 
 invented by the necessity of the electric 
 cable, which limits words to ten letters, 
 or else charges double rate." 
 
 1896. 'Nineteenth Century,' Nov., p. 
 711 [Title of article] : 
 
 " The Westralian Mining Boom." 
 
 "Weta, n. Maori name for a 
 New Zealand insect a huge, 
 ugly grasshopper, Deinacrida me- 
 gacephala, called by bushmen the 
 
 Sawyer. 
 
 1857. C. Hursthouse, ' New Zealand,' 
 vol. i. p. 123 : 
 
 "The weta, a suspicious-looking, 
 scorpion-like creature, apparently re- 
 plete with 'high concocted venom,' 
 but perfectly harmless." 
 
 1863. S. Butler, ' First Year in Canter- 
 bury Settlement,' p. 141 : 
 
 " One of the ugliest-looking creatures 
 that I have ever seen. It is called 
 ' Weta,' and is of tawny scorpion-like 
 colour, with long antennae and great 
 eyes, and nasty squashy-looking body, 
 with (I think) six legs. It is a kind of 
 animal which no one would wish to 
 touch : if touched, it will bite sharply, 
 some say venomously. It is very 
 common but not often seen, and lives 
 chiefly among dead wood and under 
 stones." 
 
 1888. J. Adams, ' On the Botany of Te 
 Moehau,' ' Transactions of New Zealand 
 Institute,' vol. xxi. art. ii. p. 41: 
 
 " Not a sound was heard in that 
 lonely forest, except at long intervals 
 the sharp noise produced by the 
 weta? 
 
 W. F.'s, old Tasmanian term 
 for wild cattle. 
 
 1891. James Fenton, ' Bush Life in 
 Tasmania Fifty Years Ago,' p. 24 : 
 
 " Round up a mob of the wildest 
 W.F.'s that ever had their ears slit." 
 [Note] : "This was the brand on Mr. 
 William Field's wild cattle." 
 
 "Whalebone-Tree, n. i.q. Mint- 
 Tree (q.v.). 
 
 Whaler, n. used specifically as 
 slang for a Sundoivner (q.v.) ; 
 one who cruises about. 
 
 1893. ' Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 
 12, p. 8. col. 8: 
 
 "The nomad, the 'whaler,' it is
 
 5 o8 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [\VHA-WHE 
 
 who will find the new order hostile to 
 his vested interest of doing nothing." 
 
 Whaler' 2 , n. name given in Syd- 
 ney to the Shark, Carcharias 
 brachyuruS) Giinth., which is not 
 confined to Australasia. 
 
 Whare, n. Maori word for a 
 house ; a dissyllable, variously 
 spelt, rhyming with 'quarry.' It is 
 often quaintly joined with English 
 words ; e.g. a sod-whare, a cottage 
 built with sods. In a Maori 
 vocabulary, the following are 
 given : whare-kingi, a castle ; 
 zvhare-karakia, a church ; ivhare- 
 here, the lock-up. 
 
 1820. ' Grammar and Vocabulary of Lan- 
 guage of New Zealand ' (Church Mission- 
 ary Society), p. 225 : 
 
 " Ware, s. a house, a covering." 
 
 1833. ' Henry Williams' Journal : Carle- 
 ton's Life,' p. 151 : 
 
 " The Europeans who were near us 
 in a raupo whare (rush house)." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 26 : 
 
 " We were much amused at seeing 
 the vvare-puni, or sleeping-houses, of 
 the natives. These are exceedingly 
 low, and covered with earth, on which 
 weeds very often grow. They resemble 
 in shape and size a hot-bed with the 
 glass off." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes,' 
 c. x. p. 265 (Third Edition, 1855) : 
 
 " Sitting in the sun at the mouth of 
 his warree, smoking his pipe." 
 
 1854. w - Colder, ' Pigeons' Parlia- 
 ment,' [Notes] p. 76 : 
 
 " I fell upon what I thought a good 
 place on which to fix my warre", or 
 bush-cottage." 
 
 1857. ' Paul's Letters from Canterbury,' 
 p. 89: 
 
 "Then pitch your tent, or run up 
 a couple of grass warres somewhat 
 bigger than dog-kennels." 
 
 1871. C. L. Money, ' Knocking About 
 in New Zealand/ p. 33 : 
 
 " The old slab wharry." 
 
 Ibid. p. 132 : 
 
 "The village was sacked and the 
 wharries one after another set fire to 
 and burnt/' 
 
 1877. Anon., 'Colonial Experiences or 
 
 Incidents of Thirty-Four Years in New 
 
 Zealand,' p. 87 : 
 
 " In the roughest colonial whare* 
 
 there is generally one or more places 
 
 fitted up called bunks." 
 
 1882. R. C. Barstow, ' Transactions of 
 
 the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xv. art. 
 
 liii. p. 428 : 
 
 " Raupo whares were put up." 
 1889. ' Cornhill Magazine,' Jan., p. 35 : 
 "Ten minutes more brought us to 
 
 my friend's ' whare,' the Maori name 
 
 for house." 
 
 1896. ' Otago Witness,' Jan. 23, p. 42 : 
 " The pas close at hand give up their 
 
 population, only the blind, the sick, 
 
 and the imbecile being left to guard 
 
 the grimy, smoke-dried whares." 
 
 "Whata, n. Maori word for a 
 storehouse on posts or other sup- 
 ports, like a Pataka (q.v.). Futtah 
 (q.v.) is a corruption, probably of 
 Irish origin. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 167 : 
 
 " In one corner was a ware-puni, 
 occupied by Barrett and his family, 
 and in the middle a wata, or ' store- 
 house,' stuck upon four poles about six 
 feet high, and only approachable by a 
 wooden log with steps cut in it." 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 
 P- 57 = 
 
 "A chief would not pass under a 
 stage or wata (a food-store)." 
 
 Ibid. p. 468 : 
 
 " Wata, stand or raised platform for 
 food : Fata, Tahaiti." [Also an illus- 
 tration, " an ornamental food-store," p. 
 377-] 
 
 1891. Rev. J. Stack, ' Report of Aus- 
 tralasian Association for Advancement of 
 Science,' G. vol. iii. p. 378 : 
 
 "The men gathered the food and 
 stored it in Whatas or store-rooms, 
 which were attached to every chiefs 
 compound, and built on tall posts to 
 protect the contents from damp and 
 rats." 
 
 Whau, n. Maori name for the 
 New Zealand Cork-tree, Entelea 
 arborescens, R.Br., N.O. Tiliacea. 
 
 Whee-Whee, ;/. a bird not 
 identified.
 
 WHE-WHl] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 509 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 232 : 
 
 " In the morning the dull monoton- 
 ous double note of the whee-whee (so 
 named from the sound of its calls), 
 chiming in at regular intervals as the 
 tick of a clock, warns us ... it is but 
 half an hour to dawn." 
 
 Whekau, n. Maori name for 
 the bird Sceloglaux albifacies, Gray, 
 a New Zealand owl, which is there 
 called the Laughing - Jackass. 
 See Jackass. 
 
 1869. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia' 
 [Supplement] : 
 
 " Sceloglaux Albifacies, Wekau. 
 Another of the strange inhabitants of 
 our antipodal country, New Zealand. 
 An owl it unquestionably is, but how 
 widely does it differ from every other 
 member of its family." 
 
 1885. A. Reischek, ' Transactions of 
 New Zealand Institute,' vol. xviii. art. xiii. 
 p. 97: 
 
 "Athene albifacics, Laughing owl 
 (whekau). Owls are more useful than 
 destructive, but this species I never 
 saw in the north or out-lying islands, 
 and in the south it is extremely rare, 
 and preys mostly on rats." 
 
 1885. ' Transactions of the New Zealand 
 Institute,' vol. xviii. p. 101 : 
 
 " Already several species have dis- 
 appeared from the mainland ... or 
 are extremely rare, such as ... 
 Laughing owl (Whekau).'' 
 
 Whelk, or Native Whelk, n. 
 a marine mollusc, Trochocochlea 
 constricta. See Perriwinkle. 
 
 Whilpra, ;/. See quotation, 
 and compare the Maori word 
 Tupara (q.v.). 
 
 1880. Fison and Howitt, ' Kamilaroi 
 and Kurnai,' p. 211 : 
 
 " The term whilpra being a corrup- 
 tion of wheelbarrow, which the Lake 
 Torrens natives have acquired from 
 the whites as the name for a cart or 
 waggon." 
 
 Whio, ;/. (originally Whio- 
 Whio), also Wio, Maori name 
 for the New Zealand Duck, Hy- 
 menokcinus malacorhynchus, Gmell., 
 
 called the Blue-Duck or Mountain- 
 Duck of New Zealand. See Duck, 
 Professor Parker's quotation, 
 1889. The bird has a whistling 
 note. The Maori verb, whio, 
 means to whistle. 
 
 1855. Rev. R. Taylor, ' Te Ika a Maui,' 
 p. 407 : 
 
 "Wio (HyinenolcEmus malacorhyn- 
 chus\ the blue duck, is found abund- 
 antly in the mountain-streams of the 
 south part of the North Island, and 4n 
 the Middle Island. It takes its name 
 from its cry." 
 
 1877. W. Buller, ' Transactions of New 
 Zealand Institute,' vol. x. art. xix. p. 199 : 
 
 " Captain Mair informs me that the 
 wio is plentiful in all the mountain- 
 streams in the Uriwera country. When 
 marching with the native contingent 
 in pursuit of Te Kooti, as many as 
 forty or fifty were sometimes caught in 
 the course of the day, some being 
 taken by hand, or knocked over with 
 sticks or stones, so very tame and 
 stupid were they." 
 
 1885. H. Martin, ' Transactions of New 
 Zealand Institute,' vol. xviii. art. xxii. p. 
 113: 
 
 " HymenolcEtnus malacorhynchus. 
 Whio, Blue Duck. Both Islands/' 
 [From a list of New Zealand birds that 
 ought to be protected.] 
 
 Whip-bird, n. See Coach-whip. 
 
 Whip-snake, n. or Little Whip- 
 Snake. See under Snake. 
 
 Whip-stick, n. variety of dwarf 
 Eucalypt . one of the Mallees ; 
 forming thick scrub. 
 
 1874. M. C., ' Explorers,' p. 123: 
 
 " He had lost his way, when he would 
 
 fain have crost 
 A patch of whip-stick scrub." 
 
 Whip-tail, n. (i) A fancy name 
 for a small Kangaroo. See Pretty- 
 Faces, quotation. (2) A Tasma- 
 nian fish ; see under Tasmanian. 
 
 Whistling Dick, ;/. Tasmanian 
 name for a Shrike-Thrush. Called 
 also Duke- Willy.
 
 5io 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [\VHl 
 
 1848. T- GoulJ, ' Birds of Australia,' vol. 
 ii. pi. 77 : 
 
 " Col I uric inc I a Settii, Jard., Whist- 
 ling Dick of the Colonists of Van 
 Diemen's Land." 
 
 "Whistling Duck, ;/. See Duck. 
 The bird named below by Leich- 
 hardt appears to be a mistake ; 
 vide Gould's list at word Duck. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 287 : 
 
 " The Leptof arsis, Gould (whistling 
 duck), which habitually crowd close 
 together on the water." 
 
 Whitebait, ;/. a fish ; not, as in 
 England, the fry of the herring 
 and sprat, but in Victoria, Eng- 
 raulis antarctiais, Castln. ; and in 
 New Zealand, the young fry of 
 Galaxias attenuatus, Jenyns (Inan- 
 ga, q.v.). The young of the New 
 Zealand Smelt (q.v.), Retropinna 
 richardsonii, Gill, are also called 
 Whitebait, both in New Zealand 
 and in Tasmania. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, ' Fish 
 of New SouthWales,' p. 85 : 
 
 " Anchovies or Engraulis have a 
 compressed body with a very wide 
 lateral mouth, and a projecting upper 
 jaw. Scales large. We have two 
 species E. antarcticus, Casteln., and 
 E. nasutus, Casteln. The first-named 
 species is by many erroneously believed 
 to be identical, or at most a variety of 
 E. encrassichohis of Europe. Count 
 Castelnau states that it is very common 
 in the Melbourne market at all seasons, 
 and goes by the name of ' whitebait.' " 
 
 1883. ' Royal Commission on Fisheries 
 of Tasmania,' p. iv : 
 
 " Retropinna Richardsonii-, whitebait 
 or smelt. Captured in great abund- 
 ance in the river Tamar, in the prawn 
 nets, during the months of February 
 and March, together with a species of 
 Atherina, and Galaxias attenuatus, 
 and are generally termed by fishermen 
 whitebait. Dr. GUnther had formerly 
 supposed that this species was confined 
 to New Zealand ; it appears, however, 
 to be common to Australia and Tas- 
 mania." 
 
 Whiteboard, ;/. name applied 
 
 to the plant Styphelia ericoides, 
 N.O. Epacridece. 
 
 White-Eye, n. another name 
 for the bird called variously Silver- 
 Eye, Wax-Eye, Blight-Bird, etc., 
 Zosterops (q.v.). 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' vol. 
 iv. pi. 8 1 : 
 
 " Zosterops Dorsalis,\\g. and Horsf., 
 Grey-backed Zosterops; White-eye, 
 Colonists of New South Wales." 
 
 1896. ' The Australasian,' Nov. 14, p. 
 461 : 
 
 " The unique migration on the part 
 of the white-eyes has not been satis- 
 factorily accounted for. One authority 
 invents the ingenious theory that the 
 original white-eyes went to New 
 Zealand after the memorable ' Black 
 Thursday' of Australia in 1851." 
 
 White-face, ;;. a name applied 
 
 to the Australian bird, Xero- 
 
 phila leucopsis, Gould. Another 
 
 species is the Chestnut-breasted 
 
 White-face, X. pectoralis, Gould. 
 
 White Gallinule, n. one of the 
 birds of the family called Rails. 
 The White Gallinule was recorded 
 from New South Wales in 1890, 
 and also from Lord Howe Island, 
 off the coast, and from Norfolk 
 Island. The modern opinion is 
 that it never existed save in these 
 two islands, and that it is now 
 extinct. It was a bird of limited 
 powers of flight, akin to the New 
 Zealand bird, A T otornis mantelli, 
 which is also approaching extinc- 
 tion. Only two skins of the White 
 Gallinule are known to be in 
 existence. 
 
 1789. Governor Phillip, ' Voyage to 
 Botany Bay,' p. 273 and fig.: 
 
 "White Gallinule. THis beautiful 
 bird greatly resembles the purple 
 Gallinule in shape and make, but is 
 much superior in size, being as large 
 as a dunghill fowl. . . . This species is 
 pretty common on Lord Howe's Island, 
 Norfolk Island, and other places, and 
 is a very tame species." 
 
 1882. E. P. Ramsay, ' Proceedings of
 
 WHI-WIL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 the Linnsean Society of New South Wales,' 
 p. 86 : 
 
 " The attention of some of our early 
 Naturalists was drawn to this Island 
 by finding there, the now extinct 
 ' White Gallinule,' then called (Fulica 
 alba), but which proves to be a species 
 of Notornis." 
 
 White-head, n. a bird of New 
 Zealand, Clitonyx albicapilla, Bul- 
 ler. Found in North Island, but 
 becoming very rare. See Clitonyx. 
 
 "White-lipped Snake, n. See 
 under Snake. 
 
 White-Pointer, n. a New South 
 Wales name for the White-Shark. 
 See Shark. 
 
 White-top, n. another name for 
 
 Flintwood (q.v.). 
 
 White-Trevally, n. an Aus- 
 tralian fish. _See Trevally. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 and Fisheries of New South Wales,' p. 59 : 
 
 " Caranx georgiamts, the ' white 
 trevally.' . . . There are several 
 other species of Caranx in Port 
 Jackson. In Victoria it is called silver 
 bream. Count Castelnau says it is 
 very beautiful when freshly taken from 
 the water, the upper part being a light 
 celestial blue or beautiful purple, the 
 lower parts of a silvery white with 
 bright iridescent tinges . . . There is 
 another fish called by this name which 
 has already been described amongst 
 the Tcuthida:, but this is the White 
 Trevally as generally known by New 
 South Wales fishermen." 
 
 Whitewood, n. another name 
 for Cattle-Bush (q.v.). A Tas- 
 manian name for Pittosporum 
 bicolor, Hook., N. O. Pittosporea. 
 Called Cheesewood in Victoria, and 
 variously applied, as a synonym, 
 to other trees ; it is also called 
 Waddy-wood (q.v.). 
 
 Whiting, ;/. Four species of 
 the fish of the genus Sillago are 
 called Whiting in Australia (see 
 quotation). The New Zealand 
 Whiting is Pseudophycis brevius- 
 
 culus, Richards., and the Rock- 
 Whiting of New South Wales is 
 Odax semifaciatus, Cuv. and Val., 
 and O. richardsonii, Gi'mth.; called 
 also Stranger (q.v.). Pseudophycis 
 is a Gadoid, Sillago belongs to 
 the Trachinidce, and Odax to the 
 family Labridce or Wrasses. 
 
 1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, ' Fish 
 of New South Wales,' p. 65 : 
 
 " The ' whitings ' are not like those 
 of Europe. There are, in all, four 
 Australian species the common sand- 
 whiting (Sillago maculata\ abundant 
 on the New South Wales coast ; the 
 trumpeter-whiting (S. bassensis), also 
 abundant here, and the most common 
 species in Brisbane ; .5. piinctata, the 
 whiting of Melbourne, and rare on this 
 coast ; and 5. ciltata.' 
 
 Widgeon, ;/. the common 
 English name for a Duck of the 
 genus Mareca, extended generally 
 by sportsmen to any wild duck. 
 In Australia, it is used as another 
 name for the Pink-eyed (or Pink- 
 eared] Duck. It is also used, as in 
 England, by sportsmen as a 
 loose term for many species of 
 Wild-Duck generally. 
 
 Wild Dog, n. i.q. Dingo (q.v.). 
 
 Wild Geranium, n. In Aus- 
 tralia, the species is Pelargonium 
 australe, Willd., N.O. Geraniacea. 
 
 Wild Irishman, a spiny New 
 Zealand shrub, Discaria toumatou, 
 Raoul, N. O. Rhamnea. The Maori 
 name is Tumata-Kuru (q.v.). 
 
 1867. F. Hochstetter, ' New Zealand,' 
 
 P- !33 : 
 
 " Certain species of Acyphilla and 
 Discaria, rendering many tracts, where 
 they grow in larger quantities, wholly 
 inaccessible. On account of their 
 slender blades terminating in sharp 
 spines the colonists have named them 
 'spear-grass,' 'wild Irishman,' and 
 ' wild Spaniard.' " 
 
 [This is a little confused. There are 
 two distinct plants in New Zealand 
 
 ( i ) Discaria toumatou, a spiny shrub
 
 512 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [WIL 
 
 ortree ; called Tumatakiiru Matagory, 
 and Wild Irishman. 
 
 (2) Adphylla colensoi, a grass, 
 called Sword-grass, Spear-grass, 
 Spaniard, and Scotchman^ 
 
 1875. Lady Barker, ' Station Amuse- 
 ments in New Zealand,' p. 35 : 
 
 " Interspersed with the Spaniards 
 are generally clumps of ' Wild Irish- 
 man ' a straggling sturdy bramble, 
 ready to receive and scratch you well 
 if you attempt to avoid the Spaniard's 
 weapons.'' 
 
 1883. J. Hector, ' Handbook of New 
 Zealand,' p. 131 : 
 
 "Tumata kuru, Wild Irishman. A 
 bush or small tree with spreading 
 branches ; if properly trained would 
 form a handsome hedge that would be 
 stronger than whitethorn. The species 
 were used by the Maoris for tattooing." 
 
 1892. Malcolm Ross, 'Aorangi,' p. 37: 
 
 " Almost impenetrable scrub, com- 
 posed mainly of wild Irishman (Dis- 
 caria toumatou) and Sword-grass 
 (Aciphylla Colensoi).'-' 
 
 1896. ' The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 
 407, col. 5 : 
 
 "... national appellations are not 
 satisfactory. It seems uncivil to a whole 
 nation another injustice to Ireland 
 to call a bramble a wild Irishman, or 
 a pointed grass, with the edges very 
 sharp and the point like a bayonet, a 
 Spaniard. One could not but be 
 amused to find the name Scotchman 
 applied to a smaller kind of Spaniard." 
 
 Wild Parsnip, n. See Parsnip. 
 
 Wild Rosemary, n. See Rose- 
 mary. 
 
 Wild Turkey, n. See Turkey. 
 
 Wild Yam, n. a parasitic orchid, 
 Gastrodia sesamoides, R. Br., N. O. 
 Orchidecz. 
 
 Wilga, n. a tree. Called also 
 Dogwood and Willoiv, Geijera parvi- 
 flora,tAK&\.,N.O.Rntacea. Adopt- 
 ed by the colonists from the 
 aboriginal name. 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. 123 : 
 
 "We rode out through a wilga 
 scrub." (p. 230) : " She'd like to be 
 
 buried there under a spreading wilga 
 tree." 
 
 Willow Myrtle, n. a tree, Agonis 
 flexuosa, De C. , N. O. Myrtacece, with 
 willow-like leaves and pendent 
 branches, native of West Aus- 
 tralia, and cultivated for orna- 
 ment as a greenhouse shrub. 
 
 Willow, Native, n. i.q. Boobialla 
 (q.v.), and also another name for 
 the Poison-berry Tree (q.v.). 
 
 Willy- Wagtail, n. i.q. Wagtail 
 (q.v.). 
 
 Willy Willy, n. native name 
 for a storm on North-west of 
 Australia. 
 
 1894. ' The Age,' Jan. 20, p. 13, col. 4 
 [Letter by ' Bengalee'] : 
 
 "Seeing in your issue of this morn- 
 ing a telegraphic report of a ' willy 
 willy' in the north-west portion of 
 West Australia, it may be of interest 
 to hear a little about these terrific 
 storms of wind and rain. The portion 
 of the western coast most severely 
 visited by these scourges is said to be 
 between the North-west Cape and 
 Roebuck Bay ; they sometimes reach 
 as far south as Carnarvon, and north 
 as far as Derby. The approach of one 
 of these storms is generally heralded 
 by a day or two of hot, oppressive 
 weather, and a peculiar haze. Those 
 having barometers are warned of 
 atmospheric disturbances ; at other 
 times they come up very suddenly. 
 The immense watercourses to be seen 
 in the north-west country, the bed of 
 the Yule River, near Roebourne, for 
 instance, and many other large creeks 
 and rivers, prove the terrible force and 
 volume of water that falls during the 
 continuance of one of these storms. 
 The bed of the Yule River is fully a 
 mile wide, and the flood marks on 
 some of the trees are sufficient proof 
 of the immense floods that sometimes 
 occur. Even in sheltered creeks and 
 harbours the wind is so violent that 
 luggers and other small craft are 
 blown clean over the mangrove bushes 
 and left high and dry, sometimes a 
 considerable distance inland. The
 
 WIN-WIW] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 513 
 
 willy willy is the name given to 
 these periodical storms by the natives 
 in the north-west." 
 
 1895. C. M. Officer, Private Letter : 
 
 "In the valley of the Murray be- 
 tween Swan Hill and Wentworth, in 
 the summer time during calm weather, 
 there are to be seen numerous whirl- 
 winds, carrying up their columns of 
 dust many yards into the air. These 
 are called by the name willy willy.'' 
 
 Windmill J.P., expression 
 formerly used in New South 
 Wales for any J.P. who was ill- 
 educated and supposed to sign 
 his name with a cross x . 
 
 Wine-berry, n. See Tutu. In 
 Australia, the name is given to 
 Polyosma amninghamii, Benn., 
 N.O. Saxifragece. 
 
 Winery, n. an establishment 
 for making wines. An American 
 word which is being adopted in 
 Australia; 
 
 1893. ' The Argus,' Oct. 6, p. 7, col. 6 
 [Letter headed ' Wineries '] : 
 
 " I would suggest that the idea of 
 small local wineries, each running on 
 its own lines, be abandoned, and one 
 large company formed, having its 
 headquarters in Melbourne with 
 wineries in various centres. The 
 grapes could be brought to these 
 depots by the growers, just as the milk 
 is now brought to the creameries." 
 
 Winter Cherry, n. See Bal- 
 loon Vine. 
 
 Winter Country, in New 
 Zealand (South Island), land so 
 far unaffected by snow that stock 
 is wintered on it. 
 
 Wire-grass, and Wiry-grass. 
 See Grass. 
 
 1883. E. M. Curr, 'Recollections of 
 Squatting in Victoria' (1841 1851), p. 8l : 
 
 " Sparsely-scattered tussocks of the 
 primest descriptions ; the wire-grass, 
 however, largely predominating over 
 the kangaroo-grass." 
 
 Wirrah, n. aboriginal name for 
 a fish of New South Wales, 
 Plectropoma oceUatum^ Giinth. 
 
 1884. E. P. Ramsay. 'Fisheries Exhi- 
 bition Literature,' vol. v. p. 311 : 
 
 "Another of the Percidtz . . . the 
 wirrah of the fishermen, is more plenti- 
 ful. It is when first caught a hand- 
 some fish, of a pale olive-brown or 
 olive-green colour, with numerous 
 bright blue dots on spots of a lighter 
 tint." 
 
 Witchetty, n. native name for 
 the grub-like larva of one or more 
 species of longicorn beetles. The 
 natives dig it out of the roots of 
 shrubs, decaying timber and 
 earth, in which it lives, and eat it 
 with relish. It is sometimes even 
 roasted and eaten by white 
 children. 
 
 1894. R. Lydekker, ' Marsupialia,' p. 
 191: 
 
 " Dr. Stirling writes . . . [The mar- 
 supial mole] was fed on the ' witchetty ' 
 (a kind of grub) . . . two or three 
 small grubs, or a single large one, being 
 given daily." 
 
 Wiwi, n. Maori name for a 
 jointed rush. 
 
 1842. W. R. Wade, 'A Journey in the 
 Northern Island of New Zealand,' ' New 
 Zealand Reader,' p. 122 : 
 
 " The roof is usually completed with 
 a thick coating of wiwi (a small rush), 
 and then the sides receive a second 
 coating of raupo, and sometimes of 
 the wiwi over all." 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 380 : 
 
 "[The walls] were lined outside with 
 the wiwi or fine grass." 
 
 [See also Raupo, 1843 quotation.] 
 
 Wiwi 2 , n. slang name for a 
 Frenchman, from " Oui, Out/" 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, ' Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 94 : 
 
 " If I had sold the land to the white 
 missionaries, might they not have sold 
 it again to the Wiwi (Frenchmen) or 
 Americans." 
 
 1857. C. Hurslhouse, ' New Zealand, 
 the Britain of the South,' vol. i. p. 14 : 
 
 " De Surville's painful mode of re- 
 venge, and the severe chastisement 
 
 L L
 
 514 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [WIW-WOM 
 
 which the retaliatory murder of Marion 
 brought on the natives, rendered the 
 Wee-wees (Oui, oui), or people of the 
 tribe of Marion, hateful to the New 
 Zealanders for the next half-century." 
 
 1859. A. S. Thomson, ' Story of New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 236 : 
 
 " Before the Wewis, as the French 
 are now called, departed." 
 
 1873. H. Carleton, 'Life of Henry 
 Williams,' p. 92 : 
 
 " The arrival of a French man-of- 
 war was a sensational event to the 
 natives, who had always held the 
 Oui-oui's in dislike." 
 
 1881. Anon., ' Percy Porno,' p. 207 : 
 
 " Has [sic] the Weewees puts it." 
 
 WTwi 3 , n. aboriginal name for 
 a native weapon. 
 
 1845. Charles Griffith, < Present State 
 and Prospects of the Port Phillip District 
 of New South Wales,' p. 155 : 
 
 " The wiwi is an instrument not so 
 well known. It is composed of a long 
 straight withy, about two feet long, to 
 which is attached a head, made of a 
 piece of wood four inches long, in the 
 shape of two cones joined together at 
 the base . . . This they strike against 
 the ground, at a little distance to one 
 side of them, whence it rises at right 
 angles to its first direction, and flies 
 with the swiftness of an arrow for 
 about one hundred yards, and at a 
 height of about ten feet from the 
 ground." 
 
 Wobbegong, n. a New South 
 Wales aboriginal jiame for a 
 species of Shark, Crassorhinus bar- 
 batus, Linn., family Scyllidce ; also 
 known as the Carpet-Shark, from 
 the beautifully mottled skin. The 
 fish is not peculiar to Australia, 
 but the name is. 
 
 Wobbles, n. a disease in horses 
 caused by eating palm-trees in 
 Western Australia. 
 
 1896. 'The Australasian,' Feb. 15, p. 
 
 319: 
 
 " The palm-trees for years cost an- 
 noyance and loss to farmers and 
 graziers. Their stock being troubled 
 with a disease called ' wobbles,' which 
 attacked the limbs and ended in death. 
 
 A commission of experts was ap- 
 pointed, who traced the disease to the 
 palms, of which the cattle were very 
 fond." 
 
 Wolf, n. called also Native 
 Wolf, Marsupial Wolf and Zebra 
 Wolf, Tasmanian Tiger &r\d. Hycena ; 
 genus, Thylacinus (q.v.). It is the 
 largest carnivorous marsupial 
 extant, and is so much like a 
 wolf in appearance that it well 
 deserves its vernacular name of 
 Wolf, though now-a-days it is 
 generally called Tiger. See Tas- 
 manian Tiger. 
 
 1891. ' Guide to Zoological Gardens, 
 Melbourne ' : 
 
 "The first occupants we notice in 
 this cage are two marsupial wolves, 
 Thylacinus cynocephalus, or Tasmanian 
 tigers as they are commonly called. 
 These animals are becoming scarce, 
 as, owing to their destructiveness 
 among sheep, they are relentlessly 
 persecuted by run-holders." 
 
 Wollomai, n. the aboriginal 
 name of the fish called Schnapper 
 (q.v.). In 1875 a horse named 
 Wollomai\von the Melbourne Cup. 
 Since then numerous houses and 
 estates have been named Wol- 
 lomai. 
 
 Wombat, n. a marsupial animal 
 of the genus Phascolomys (q.v.). 
 It is a corruption of the aboriginal 
 name. There are various spell- 
 ings ; that nearest to the abor- 
 iginal is ii'omback, but the form 
 wombat is now generally adopted. 
 The species are the Common 
 Wombat, Phascolomys mitchelli, 
 Owen ; Tasmanian W., P. ursinus, 
 Shaw ; Hairy-nosed W., P. 
 latifrons, Owen. 
 
 1798. M. Flinders, ' Voyage to Terra 
 Australis (1814),' Intro, p. cxxviii, 'Jour- 
 nal,' Feb. 16 : 
 
 " Point Womat, a rocky projection 
 of Cape Barren Island, where a num- 
 ber of the new animals called ivomat 
 were seen, and killed."
 
 WOM] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 515 
 
 Ibid. p. cxxxv : 
 
 "This little bear-like quadruped is 
 known in New South Wales, and 
 called by the natives, womat, wombat, 
 or womback, according to the different 
 dialects, or perhaps to the different 
 renderings of the wood rangers who 
 brought the information ... It 
 burrows like the badger." 
 
 1799. D. Collins, ' Account of New 
 South Wales (1802),' vol. ii. p. 153 ['Bass's 
 Journal,' Jan.] : 
 
 "The Worn-bat (or, as it is called 
 by the natives of Port Jackson, the 
 Womback^) is a squat, thick, short- 
 legged, and rather inactive quadruped, 
 with great appearance of stumpy 
 strength, and somewhat bigger than a 
 large turnspit dog." 
 
 1802. D. Collins, 'Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 
 156: 
 
 " In the opinion of Mr. Bass this 
 Wombat seemed to be very cecono- 
 mically made." 
 
 1813. 'History of New South Wales' 
 (1818), p. 431 = 
 
 " An animal named a wombat, about 
 the size of a small turnspit-dog, has 
 been found in abundance in Van 
 Diemen's Land, and also, though less 
 frequently, in other parts of New South 
 Wales. Its flesh has in taste a resem- 
 blance to pork." 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 318 : 
 
 " The wombat, a large animal of the 
 size of a mastiff, burrowing in the 
 ground, feeding on grass and roots 
 and attaining considerable fatness." 
 
 1832. J. Bischoff, 'Van Diemen's Land,' 
 
 P- 175: 
 
 "The dogs had caught . . . two 
 badgers or woombacks." 
 
 1846. G. H. Haydon, ' Five Years in 
 Australia Felix,' p. 58 : 
 
 " The Wombat is a large kind of 
 badger, which burrows in the ground 
 to a considerable depth, and is taken 
 by the blacks for food ; it makes a 
 noise, when attacked in its hole, some- 
 thing similar to the grunting of a pig." 
 
 1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' 
 p. 129 : 
 
 " Mere rudimentary traces (of a 
 pouch) in the pig-like wombat." 
 
 I 853- J- West, ' History of Tasmania,' 
 vol. i. p. 325 : 
 
 " The Wombat, commonly called in 
 the colony Badger (Phascolomys wom- 
 bat, Peron.), is an animal weighing 
 forty to eighty pounds, having a large 
 body with short legs. Notwithstand- 
 ing its burrowing habits, and the ex- 
 cessive thickness and toughness of its 
 skin, it is usually so easily killed that 
 it is becoming less and less common." 
 
 1855. W. Blandowski, ' Transactions of 
 Philosophical Society of Victoria,' vol. i. 
 p. 67: 
 
 " Wombat. This clumsy, but well- 
 known animal (Phascolomys wombat], 
 during the day conceals himself in his 
 gloomy lair in the loneliest recesses of 
 the mountains, and usually on the 
 banks of a creek, and at night roams 
 about in search of food, which it finds 
 by grubbing about the roots of gigantic 
 eucalypti." 
 
 1855. W. Howitt, 'Two Years in Vic- 
 toria,' vol. i. p. 211: 
 
 " The wombat resembles a large 
 badger in the shortness of its legs, but 
 has a little of the pig and the bear in 
 its shape, hair, and movements." 
 
 1862. W. M. Thackeray, ' Roundabout 
 Papers,' p. 82 : 
 
 " Our dear wambat came up and 
 had himself scratched very affably. . . . 
 
 " Then I saw the grey wolf, with 
 
 mutton in his maw ; 
 Then I saw the wambat waddle 
 in the straw." 
 
 1880. Fison and Howitt, ' Kamilaroi 
 and Kurnai,' p. 265 : 
 
 " Wombat is cooked, then opened 
 and skinned." 
 
 1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' 
 p. 81: 
 
 " The wombat is very powerful, and 
 can turn a boulder almost as large as 
 itself out of the way when it bars the 
 road." 
 
 1889. Cassell's ' Picturesque Australasia,' 
 vol. iv. p. 183 : 
 
 " There are large numbers of wom- 
 bats in the district, and these animals, 
 burrowing after the fashion of rabbits, 
 at times reach great depths, and throw 
 up large mounds." 
 
 1894. 'The Argus,' June 23, p. ii, 
 col. 4 : 
 
 "The wombat's grunt is strictly in
 
 5 i6 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [WOM-WOO 
 
 harmony with his piggish appear- 
 ance." 
 
 Wombat-hole, n. hole made by 
 Wombat (q.v.). 
 
 1891. Mrs. Cross (Ada Cambridge), 
 'The Three Miss Kings,' p. 181: 
 
 " He took them but a little way 
 from where they had camped, and dis- 
 closed in the hillside what looked like 
 a good-sized wombat or rabbit-hole." 
 
 Wommera. See Woomera. 
 
 Wonga, n. aboriginal name 
 for the bulrush, Typha angustifolia, 
 Linn. It is the same as the 
 Raupo (q.v.) of New Zealand, and 
 is also known as Bulrush, Cafs 
 Tail and Reed Mace, and in Europe 
 as the ' Asparagus of the Cos- 
 sacks.' For etymology, see next 
 word. 
 
 Wonga-wonga, n. an Austra- 
 lian pigeon, Leucosarcia picata, 
 Lath.; it has very white flesh. 
 The aboriginal word wonga is 
 explained as coming from a root 
 signifying the idea of ' quivering 
 motion,' 'sudden springing up,' 
 and the word is thus applied as a 
 name for the bulrush, the vine, and 
 t\\& pigeon. Some, however, think 
 that the name of the pigeon is 
 from the bird's note. In Gipps- 
 land, it was called by the natives 
 Wauk-wauk-au, sc. ' that which 
 makes wauk-wauk.' 
 
 1827. P. Cunningham, ' Two Years in 
 New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 321: 
 
 "We have a large pigeon named 
 the Wanga-wanga, of the size and 
 appearance of the ringdove, which is 
 exquisite eating also." 
 
 1846. J. L. Stokes, ' Discoveries in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. i. c. x. p. 314: 
 
 "At Captain King's table I tasted 
 the Wonga-wonga pigeon." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. v. pi. 63 : 
 
 " Leucosarcia picata, Wonga-wonga, 
 Aborigines of New South Wales ; 
 White - fleshed and Wonga - wonga 
 Pigeon, Colonists of New South 
 Wales." 
 
 1852. G. C. Mundy, ' Our Antipodes ' 
 (edition 1855), c. i. p. 12 : 
 
 "A delicate wing of the Wonga- 
 wonga pigeon." 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, 'Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 174 : 
 
 " Nothing can surpass in delicacy 
 the white flesh of the Wonga-wonga 
 (Leucosarcia picata}." 
 
 1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in 
 Queensland,' vol. i. p. 213 : 
 
 "Hark! there goes a Wonga-wonga, 
 high up in the topmost branches of 
 the great cedar." 
 
 1891. ' Guide to Zoological Gardens, 
 Melbourne': 
 
 "The Wonga- Wonga (Leucosarcia 
 Picata) is also represented. This 
 Pigeon, though less bright in plumage 
 than the last-named, exceeds it in 
 size ; both are excellent eating." 
 
 Wonga-wonga Vine, n. a 
 name for the hardy, evergreen 
 climber, Tecoma australis, R.Br., 
 N.O. Bignoniacece. There are 
 several varieties, all distinguished 
 by handsome flowers in terminal 
 panicles. They are much culti- 
 vated in gardens and for orna- 
 mental bower-trees. 
 
 W^oodhen, n. a name given to 
 several birds of New Zealand of 
 the Rail family, and of the genus 
 Ocydromus ; some of them are 
 called by the Maori name of Weka 
 (q.v.). The species are 
 
 Black Woodhen 
 
 Ocydronnis fusct(s, Du Bus.; 
 
 Maori name, Weka-pango. 
 Brown W. 
 
 O. earli, Gray. 
 Buff W. 
 
 O. australis, Gray ; called also 
 
 Weka. 
 North-Island W. 
 
 O. brachypterus, Buller ; called 
 
 also Weka, 
 South-Island W. 
 
 Same as Buff W.; see above. 
 
 1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in 
 New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 95: 
 
 " Two young weka, or wood-hens,
 
 woo] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 Si? 
 
 about as large as sparrows . . . were 
 esteemed a valuable addition to our 
 scanty supper." 
 
 1889. Vincent Pyke, ' Wild Will Ender- 
 by,' p. 82 : 
 
 "We"-ka! we"-ka ! we"-ka ! Three 
 times the plaintive cry of the ' wood- 
 hen ' was heard. It was a precon- 
 certed signal." 
 
 Wood-duck, n. a name given 
 by the colonists of New South 
 Wales and "Swan River" to 
 the Maned Goose, Brant a jubata, 
 Latham. 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, ' Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 147 : 
 
 " The wood-duck (Bernicla jubata) 
 abounded on the larger water-holes." 
 
 1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 
 vol. vii. pi. 3 : 
 
 ''Bernicla Jubata, Maned Goose ; 
 Wood-Duck, Colonists of New South 
 Wales and Swan River." 
 
 "Wood Natives, or Wood 
 Savages, obsolete names for the 
 Australian aborigines. 
 
 1817. O'Hara, ' History of New South 
 Wales,' p. 161 : 
 
 "... robbed by a number of the 
 inland or wood natives ..." 
 
 Ibid. p. 201. 
 
 " The combats of the natives near 
 Sydney were sometimes attended by 
 parties of the inland or wood savages." 
 
 Wooden Pear, n. a tree peculiar 
 to New South Wales and Queens- 
 land, Xylomelum pyriforme, Smith, 
 N.O. ProteacecR ; called also Native 
 Pear. 
 
 1860. G. Bennett, ' Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist,' p. 322 : 
 
 " The Wooden Pear-tree of the colo- 
 nists (Xyloieluin pyriforme) is pecu- 
 liar to Australia ; its general appear- 
 ance is very ornamental, especially 
 when the tree is young ; the flowers 
 grow in clusters in long spikes, but are 
 not conspicuous. This tree attains 
 the height of from fifteen to twenty 
 feet, and a circumference of six to 
 eight feet. It is branchy ; the wood is 
 of dark colour, and being prettily 
 marked, would form an ornamental 
 veneering for the cabinet-maker. 
 
 When young, in the Australian bush, 
 this tree bears a close resemblance to 
 the young Warratah, or Tulip-tree 
 (Telopea speciosissinid]^ 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 615 : 
 
 " Native Pear Wooden Pear. This 
 moderate-sized tree produces a dark- 
 coloured, prettily-marked wood. It is 
 occasionally used for making picture- 
 frames, for ornamental cabinet-work, 
 for veneers, and walking-sticks. When 
 cut at right-angles to the medullary 
 rays it has a beautiful, rich, sober 
 marking." 
 
 Woollybutt, a name given to 
 one of the Gum trees, Eucalyptus 
 longifolia, Link. See Gum. 
 
 1843. James Backhouse, ' Narrative of 
 a Visit to the Australian Colonies,' p. 445 : 
 
 (October 1836.) "One called here 
 the Woolly Butted Gum seems iden- 
 tical with the black butted gum of 
 Tasmania." 
 
 1894. ' Melbourne Museum Catalogue 
 Economic Woods,' p. 28 : 
 
 " The Woollybutt grown at Illawarra 
 is in very high repute for wheelwright's 
 work " 
 
 Woolly-headed Grass, n. an 
 indigenous Australian grass, 
 Andropogon bombycinus, R.Br. 
 
 1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native 
 Plants,' p. 72 : 
 
 "Woolly-headed Grass, a valuable 
 pasture-grass, highly spoken of by 
 stock-owners, and said to be very 
 fattening." 
 
 Wool-man, n. aboriginal mis- 
 pronunciation of old man (q.v.). 
 
 1830. Robert Dawson, ' The Present 
 State of Australia,' p. 139: 
 
 "The male kangaroos were called 
 by my natives old men, ' wool-man, ' 
 and the females, young ladies, ' young 
 liddy.' " 
 
 Wool-shed, n. the principal 
 building of a station, at which 
 the shearing and wool-packing is 
 done. Often called the Shed. 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, ' Port Phillip,' 
 vol. ii. p. 23 : 
 
 " In some instances the flood has 
 swept away the wool-sheds."
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [WOO-WRA 
 
 1851. ' Australasian ' [Quarterly], vol. 
 i. p. 298 : 
 
 "... we next visit the ' wool- 
 shed,' and find the original slab-built 
 shed has been swept away, to make 
 room for an imposing erection of broad- 
 paling . . ." 
 
 1873. A. Trollope, ' Australia and New 
 Zealand,' vol. i. p. 126: 
 
 " The wool-shed is a large building 
 open on every side, with a high-pitched 
 roof, all made of wood and very rough. 
 The sheep are driven in either at one 
 end or both, or at three sides, accord- 
 ing to the size of the station and the 
 number of sheep to be shorn. They 
 are then assorted into pens, from 
 which the shearers take them on to 
 the board ; two, three or four shearers 
 selecting their sheep from each pen. 
 The floor, on which the shearers abso- 
 lutely work, is called ' the board.' " 
 
 1890. 'The Argus,' Aug. 9, p. 4, col. i: 
 "You would find them down at 
 Reed's wool-shed now." 
 
 Woomera, n. an aboriginal 
 name for a throwing-stick (q.v.); 
 spelt in various ways (seven in 
 the quotations), according- as dif- 
 ferent writers have tried to express 
 the sound of the aboriginal word. 
 
 1793. Governor Hunter, 'Voyage,' p. 
 407 [in a Vocabulary] : 
 
 " Womar a throwing stick." 
 
 1798. D. Collins, ' Account of English 
 Colony in New South Wales,' p. 613 : 
 " Wo-mer-ra throwing stick." 
 
 1814. L. E. Threlkeld, 'Australian 
 Grammar ' [as spoken on Hunter's River, 
 etc.], p. 10 : 
 
 "As a barbarism wommerru, a 
 weapon." 
 
 1830. R. Dawson, ' Present State of 
 Australia,' p. 240 : 
 
 " Pieces of hard iron-bark to repre- 
 sent their war weapon, the womerah 
 . . . the whirling womerahs." 
 
 1839. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions into the Interior of Eastern Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. p. 342 : 
 
 " The spear is thrown by means of 
 a ivammera, which is a slight rod, 
 about three feet long, having at one 
 end a niche to receive the end of a 
 spear." 
 
 1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expe- 
 dition,' p. 492 : 
 
 " But showed the greatest reluct- 
 ance in parting with their throwing- 
 sticks (wommalas)." 
 
 1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, 'Port Phillip 
 in 1849,' p. 58 : 
 
 "They employ also, as a warlike 
 weapon, a smaller kind of spear or 
 javelin, which is discharged by means 
 of a notched stick called a Woomera ; 
 and with this simple artillery I have 
 seen them strike objects at 150 yards' 
 distance. They also employ this 
 minor spear in capturing the Bustard." 
 
 1863. M. K. Beveridge, ' Gatherings 
 among the Gum-trees,' p, 13 : 
 " Then the Wamba Wamba warriors, 
 
 Sprang unto their feet with Tchgrels 
 
 Ready fitted to their Womrahs." 
 
 Ibid. (In Glossary) pp. 84, 85 : 
 
 " Tchgrel, reed" spear. 
 Womrah, spear heaver." 
 
 1868. J. Bonwick, 'John Batman, the 
 Founder of Victoria,' p. 20 : 
 
 "Taking with him, therefore, on 
 board the Port Phillip, presents of 
 spears, wommeras, boomerangs, and 
 stone tomahawks, he tried to get from 
 the Williamstown waters." 
 
 1889. P. Beveridge, ' Aborigines of Vic- 
 toria and Riverina,' p. 48 : 
 
 " Spears all ready shipped, that is, 
 having the hook of the Womerar 
 (throwing-stick) placed in the small 
 cavity made for that purpose in the 
 end of the spear, with both raised in 
 readiness for launching at the object." 
 
 1892. J. Fraser, ' Aborigines of New- 
 South Wales,' p. 73 : 
 
 " The ' womara ' is an instrument of 
 wood, from twenty-four to thirty inches 
 long, and a little thicker than a spear. 
 Unlike the spear, it is not thrown at 
 the enemy in battle, but remains 
 always in the black man's hand . . . 
 he ornaments it profusely, back and 
 front. . . . The point is turned up, 
 exactly like the point of a lady's 
 crochet needle. . . . The spears have 
 a dimpled hole worked in their butt 
 end, which hole receives the point of 
 the hook end of the 'throw-stick.'" 
 
 "Worm-Snake, n. See under 
 Snake, 
 
 Wrasse, n. This English name
 
 WRE-WUR] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 519 
 
 for many fishes is given, in New 
 Zealand, to Labrichthys bothryocos- 
 mus, Richards. Called also Poddly, 
 Spotty, and Kelp-fish. 
 
 Wreck-fish, n. The Australian 
 species IsPolyprion ceruleum, family 
 Percoidce. Giinther says that the 
 European species has the habit 
 of accompanying floating wood. 
 Hence the name. 
 
 "Wren, n. This common Eng- 
 lish bird-name is assigned in Aus- 
 tralia to birds of several genera, 
 viz. 
 
 Banded Wren 
 
 Malurus splendens, Quoy and 
 
 Gaim. 
 Black-backed W. 
 
 M. melanotus, Gould. 
 Blue W. 
 
 M. cyaneus, Lath. 
 Blue-breasted W. 
 
 M, piilcherrimus, Gould. 
 Bower's W. 
 
 M. cruentattes, Gould. 
 Chestnut-rumped Ground W. 
 
 Hylacola pyrrhopygia, Vig. and 
 
 Hors. 
 Emu-wren (q.v.) 
 
 Stipiturns malachurus, Lath. 
 Goyder's Grass W. 
 
 Amytis goyderi, Gould. 
 Grass W. 
 
 A. textilis, Quoy and Gaim.; 
 called by Gould the Textile 
 Wren. 
 Large-tailed Grass W. 
 
 A. macrura, Gould. 
 Longtailed W. 
 
 Malurus gouldii, Sharpe. 
 Lovely W. 
 
 M. amabilis, Gould. 
 Orange-backed W. 
 
 M. melanocephalus, Vig. and 
 
 Hors. 
 Purple-crowned W. 
 
 M. coronatus, Gould. 
 Red-rumped Ground W. 
 
 Hylacola cauta, Gould. 
 
 Red-winged W. 
 
 Malurus elegans, Gould. 
 Silvery Blue W. 
 
 M. cyanochlamys, Gould. 
 Striated Grass W. 
 
 Amytis striatus, Gould ; called 
 also the Porcupine bird (q.v.). 
 Turquoise W. 
 
 Malurus callainus, Gould. 
 Variegated W. 
 
 M. lamberti, Vig. and Hors. 
 White-backed W. 
 
 M. leuconotus, Gould. 
 White- winged W. 
 
 M. leucopterus, Quoy and Gaim. 
 
 See also Scrub- Wren. 
 
 In New Zealand, the name is 
 applied to the Bush-Wren, Xeni- 
 cus longipes, Gmel., and the Rock 
 (or Mountain) Wren, X. gilviven- 
 trts, von Pelz. 
 
 Wry-billed Plover, n. a very 
 rare bird of New Zealand, 
 Anarhynchus frontalis, Quoy and 
 Gaim. 
 
 1889. Prof. Parker, ' Catalogue of New 
 Zealand Exhibition,' p. 116: 
 
 " The curious wry-billed plover . . . 
 the only bird known in which the bill 
 is turned not up or down, but to one 
 side the right." 
 
 Wurley, n. aboriginal name 
 for an aboriginal's hut. For other 
 words expressing the same thing, 
 see list under Humpy. In the 
 dialect of the South-East of South 
 Australia oorla means a house, or 
 a c,amp, or a bird's nest. 
 
 1862. II. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. no : 
 " Seeking, hoping help to find ; 
 Sleeping in deserted wurleys." 
 
 1865. W. Howitt, ' Discovery in Aus- 
 tralia,' vol. ii. p. 233 : 
 
 " Immediately went across to the 
 blacks' wurleys, where I found King 
 sitting in a hut which the natives had 
 made for him." 
 
 1879. G. Taplin, 'Native Tribes of 
 South Australia,' p. 12, and Note : 
 
 "In case of a man having two wives, 
 the elder is always regarded as the
 
 520 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [XAN 
 
 mistress of the hut or \vurley. The 
 word wurley is from the language of 
 the Adelaide tribe. The Narrinyeri 
 word is mante. I have used ' wurley ' 
 because it is more generally under- 
 stood by the colonists." 
 
 1880. P. J. Holdsworth, ' Station Hunt- 
 ing on the Warrego ' : 
 
 " ' My hand 
 Must weather-fend the wurley.' This 
 
 he did. 
 He bound the thick boughs close with 
 
 bushman's skill, 
 Till not a gap was left where raging 
 
 showers 
 Or gusts might riot. Over all he 
 
 stretched 
 Strong bands of cane-grass, plaited 
 
 cunningly." 
 
 1886. H. C. Kendall, ' Poems,' p. 42 : 
 
 " He took 
 His axe, and shaped with boughs and 
 
 wattle-forks 
 A wurley, fashioned like a bushman's 
 
 roof." 
 
 Xanthorrhcea, n. scientific name 
 for a genus of Australian plants, 
 N.O. Liliacece, having thick palm- 
 like trunks. They exude a yellow 
 resin. (Grk. Eav0o's, yellow, and 
 poia, a flow, sc. of the resin.) 
 They are called Black Boys and 
 Grass-trees (q.v.).
 
 YAB-YAK] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 521 
 
 Yabber, n. Used for the talk 
 of the aborigines. Some think it 
 is the English word jabber, with 
 the first letter pronounced as in 
 German ; but it is pronounced by 
 the aborigines yabba, without a 
 final r. Ya is an aboriginal stem, 
 meaning to speak. In the Kabi 
 dialect, yaman is to speak : in the 
 Wiradhuri, yarra. 
 
 1874. M- K- Beveridge, ' Lost Life,' 
 pt. iii. p. 37 : 
 
 " I marked 
 Much yabber that I did not know." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' Australian Life,' 
 p. 28: 
 
 " Longing to fire a volley of blacks' 
 yabber across a London dinner-table." 
 
 1886. R. Henty, ' Australiana,' p. 23 : 
 
 " The volleys of abuse and ' yabber 
 yabber' they would then utter would 
 have raised the envy of the greatest 
 'Mrs. Moriarty' in the Billingsgate 
 fishmarket." 
 
 1888. RolfBoldrewood, ' Robbery under 
 Arms,' p. 55 : 
 
 " Is it French or Queensland blacks' 
 yabber ? Blest if I understand a word 
 of it." 
 
 Yabber, v. intr. (See nou?i.} 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' Australian Life,' 
 
 p. 19 : 
 
 "They yabbered unsuspiciously to 
 
 each other." 
 
 1887. J. Farrell, ' How he died,' p. 126 : 
 " He's yabbering some sort of stuff 
 
 in his sleep." 
 
 Yabby, n. properly Yappee, 
 aboriginal name for a small cray- 
 fish found in water-holes, in many 
 parts of Australia, Astacopsis bica- 
 rinatus. The Rev. F. A. Hage- 
 nauer gives Yappy, in ' Curr's 
 Australian Race,' vol. iii. p. 554, 
 
 as a Gippsland word. Such 
 variants as the following occur 
 Yappitch, kapich, yabbechi, yaabity. 
 The distinction between the thin 
 and thick consonants is usually 
 uncertain. 
 
 1894. ' The Argus,' Oct. 6, p. II, col. 2 : 
 
 "In the case of small crayfish, called 
 ' yabbies,' . . . these may be found all 
 over Australia, both in large and small 
 lagoons. These creatures, whilst near- 
 ing a drought, and as the supply of 
 water is about to fail, burrow deeply in 
 the beds of the lagoons, water-holes, or 
 swamps, piling up the excavations on 
 the surface over their holes, which I 
 take, amongst other reasons, to be a 
 provision against excessive heat. :> 
 
 1897. 'The Australasian,' Jan. 30, p. 
 224, col. 4 : 
 
 "The bait used is'yabby,'a small 
 crayfish found in the sand on the beach 
 at low tide. The getting of the bait 
 itself is very diverting. The yabbies 
 are most prized by fish and fishermen, 
 and the most difficult to obtain. The 
 game is very shy, and the hunter, 
 when he has found the burrow, has to 
 dig rapidly to overtake it, for the yabby 
 retires with marvellous rapidity, and 
 often half a dozen lifts of wet sand 
 have to be made before he is captured. 
 There is no time to be lost. In quite 
 twenty-five per cent, of the chases the 
 yabbies get away through flooding and 
 collapse of the hole." 
 
 Yakka, v. frequently used in 
 Queensland bush-towns. "You 
 yacka wood ? Mine, give 'im 
 tixpence ; " a sentence often 
 uttered by housewives. It is given 
 by the Rev. W. Ridley, in his 
 ' Kamilar6i, and other Australian 
 Languages, 'p. 86, as the Turrubul 
 (Brisbane) term for work, probably 
 cognate with yugari, make, same
 
 522 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [YAM-YAR 
 
 dialect, and yengga, make, Kabi 
 dialect, Queensland. It is used 
 primarily for doing work of any kind, 
 and only by English modification 
 (due to "hack") for cut. The 
 spelling yacker is to be avoided, 
 as the final r is not heard in the 
 native pronunciation. 
 
 Yam, n. a West Australian 
 tuber, Dioscorea hastifolia, Ness., 
 N.O. Dioscoridece. "One of the 
 hardiest of the Yams. The tubers 
 are largely consumed by the local 
 aborigines for food ; it is the only 
 plant on which they bestow any 
 kind of cultivation." (Mueller, 
 apud Maiden, p. 22.) 
 
 Yam, Long, n. a tuber, Discorea 
 transversa, R. Br., N.O. Dioscoridece. 
 ' ' The small tubers are eaten by 
 the aborigines without any pre- 
 paration." (Thozet, apud Maiden, 
 
 P- 2 3-) 
 
 Yam, Native, ;/. a tuber, Ipomaa 
 spp., N.O. Convolvulacecc. The 
 tubers are sometimes eaten by 
 the aboriginals. 
 
 Yam, Round, n. i.q. Burdekin 
 Vine, under Vine. 
 
 Yam-stick, n. See quotation 
 1882, Tolmer. 
 
 1863. M. K. Beveridge, ' Gatherings,' 
 p. 27: 
 
 " One leg's thin as Lierah's yam- 
 stick." 
 
 1880. Fison and Hovvitt, ' Kamilaroi 
 and Kurnai,' p. 195 : 
 
 "Behind the pair stands the boy's 
 mother holding her 'yam-stick' erect, 
 resting on the ground." 
 
 1882. A. Tolmer, ' Reminiscences,' vol. 
 ii. p. 101 : 
 
 "The natives dig these roots with 
 the yam-stick, an indispensable imple- 
 ment with them made of hard wood, 
 about three feet in length, thick at one 
 end and edged ; it is likewise used 
 amongst the aboriginal tribes of South 
 Australia, like the waddy, as a weapon 
 of offence." 
 
 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Squatter's 
 Dreain,' c. iii. p. 31 : 
 
 " Why, ole Nanny fight you any day 
 with a yam-stick." 
 
 Yama, n. aboriginal name for 
 a tree ; probably a variant of 
 Yarrah (q.v.). 
 
 1838. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expedi- 
 tions,' vol. ii. p. 54 : 
 
 "The 'Yama,' a species of the 
 eucalyptus inhabiting the immediate 
 banks, grew here, as on the Darling, 
 to a gigantic size. . . . The 'yama' is 
 certainly a pleasing object, in various 
 respects ; its shining bark and lofty 
 height inform the traveller at a distance 
 of the presence of water ; or at least 
 the bed of a river or lake." 
 
 Yan Yean, .the reservoir from 
 which Melbourne obtains its 
 water supply : hence commonly 
 used for water from the tap. 
 
 1871. Dogberry Dingo, ' Australian 
 Rhymes an:l Jingles,' p. 8 : 
 
 " O horror ! What is this I find ? 
 The Yan Yean is turned off." 
 
 Yarra-Bend, n. equivalent to 
 the English word Bedlam. The 
 first lunatic asylum of the colony 
 of Victoria stood near Melbourne 
 on a bend of the river Yarra. 
 
 Yarrah, n. aboriginal name 
 for a species of Eucalyptus, E. ros- 
 trata, Schlecht ; often called the 
 River Gum, from its habit of grow- 
 ing along the banks of water- 
 courses, especially in the dry in- 
 terior of the continent. Accord- 
 ing to Dr. Woolls (apud Maiden, 
 p. 511), Yarrah is "a name ap- 
 plied by the aboriginals to almost 
 any tree." The word is not to be 
 confused with Jarrah (q.v.). As 
 to etymology, see Yarraman. 
 
 Yarra-Herring, n. name given 
 in Melbourne to a fresh-water 
 fish, Prototroctes mar&na, Giinth.; 
 called also Grayling (q.v.). 
 
 Yarraman, n. aboriginal name 
 for a horse. Various etymologies
 
 YAR-YEL] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 523 
 
 are suggested ; see quotation, 1875. 
 The river "Yarra Yarra" means 
 ever flowing, sc. fast. [A possible 
 derivation is from Varan, a com- 
 mon word in New South Wales 
 and South Queensland, and with 
 slight variation one of the most 
 common words in Australia, for 
 beard and sometimes hair. The 
 mane would suggest the name. 
 J. Mathew.] 
 
 1848. T. L. Mitchell, 'Tropical Aus- 
 tralia,' p. 270 : 
 
 " It was remarkable that on seeing 
 the horses, they exclaimed ' Yerraman,' 
 the colonial natives' name for a horse, 
 and that of these animals they were 
 not at all afraid, whereas they seemed 
 in much dread of the bullocks." 
 
 1875. W. Ridley, ' Kamilaroi and other 
 Australian Languages,' p. 21 : 
 
 "Horse yaraman. All the Aus- 
 tralians use this name, probably from 
 the neighing of the horse, or as some 
 think from 'yira' or 'yera,' teeth (teeth}, 
 and ' man ' (with)" 
 
 Ibid. p. 104 : 
 
 " Language of George's River. 
 Horse yaraman (from 'yara,' throw 
 fast)." 
 
 1885. R. M. Praed, ' Australian Life,' 
 p. 4: 
 
 "Yarraman being the native word 
 for horse." 
 
 Yarran, n. aboriginal name 
 adopted by the colonists for 
 several Acacias (q.v.) Acacia hom- 
 alophylla, A. Cunn., called also 
 Spearwood; A.linifolia, Willd., call- 
 ed also Sally ; A.pendula, A. Cunn., 
 called also Boree, and Weeping or 
 True Myall (see Myall}. 
 
 1891. Rolf Boldrewood, ' A Sydney-side 
 Saxon,' p. 99 : 
 
 " That infernal horse . . . pretty 
 near broke my leg and chucked me 
 out over a yarran stump." 
 
 Yate, or Yate-tree, n. a large 
 West Australian tree, Eucalyptus 
 cornuta, Labill., yielding a hard 
 
 tough elastic wood considered 
 equal to the best ash. 
 
 Yellow-belly, n. In New South 
 Wales, the name is given to a 
 fresh-water fish, Ctenolates aura- 
 tus ; called also Golden-Perch. See 
 Perch. In Dunedin especially, and 
 New Zealand generally, it is a 
 large flounder, also called Lemon- 
 Sole, or Turbot (q.v.). 
 
 Yellow Fever, sc. the gold- 
 fever. 
 
 1861. T. McCombie, ' Australian 
 Sketches,' p. 47 : 
 
 " Evident symptoms of the return of 
 the 'yellow' fever, and a journey to 
 the new goldfields seemed to be the 
 only cure." 
 
 Yellow-head, n. name given 
 to a bird of New Zealand, Cli- 
 tonyx ochrocephala, or Native 
 Canary (q.v.), common in South 
 Island. See Clitonyx. 
 
 Yellow Jacket, n. a name given 
 to various gum-trees, and espe- 
 cially to Eucalyptus melliodora, 
 Cunn., E. ochrophlora, F. v. M., 
 and E. rostrata, Schlecht, all of 
 the N.O. Myrtacece. They all have 
 a smooth yellowish bark, and 
 many other names are applied to 
 the same trees. 
 
 Yellow Lily, n. a Tasmanian 
 name for the Native Leek. See 
 Leek. 
 
 Yellow-tail, n. The name is 
 given in Victoria to the fish Ca- 
 ranx trachurus, Cuv. and Val. ; the 
 Horse-Mackerel (q.v.) of England. 
 In New South Wales, it is Trach- 
 urus declivis, a slightly different 
 species, also called Scad ; but the 
 two fish are perhaps the same. 
 Seriola grandis, Castln., also of the 
 Carangidce family, is likewise called 
 Yellow-tail 'in Melbourne. In New
 
 524 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 [YEL-YUR 
 
 Zealand, the word is used for the 
 fish Latris lineata, of the family 
 of Scicenidce, and is also a name 
 for the King-fish^ Seriola lalandii, 
 and for the Trevally. 
 
 Yellow Thyme, ;?. a herb, 
 Hibbertia serpyllifolia, R. Br., N.O. 
 Dilleneacetz. 
 
 Yellow-wood, a name applied 
 to several Australian trees with 
 
 the epithets of Dark, Light, Deep, 
 etc., in allusion to the colour 
 of their timber, which is allied 
 to Mahogany. They are Acrony- 
 chia Icevis, Forst., N.O. Rutaceie ; 
 Rhus rhodanthema, F. v. M., N. O. 
 Anacardiacia ; Flindersia oxleyana, 
 F. v. M., N.O. Meliacece. See also 
 Satin-wood. 
 
 Yuro, ;/. i.q. Euro (q.v.).
 
 ZEB-ZOS] 
 
 AUSTRALASIAN DICTIONARY 
 
 525 
 
 Z 
 
 Zebra-fish, n. name given to the 
 fish Neotephr&ops zebra, Richards. 
 
 Zebra-Wolf, n. i.q. Tasmanian 
 Wolf, or Tasmanian Tiger (q.v.). 
 
 Zelanian, a scientific term, 
 meaning 'pertaining to New Zea- 
 land,' from Zelania, a Latinised 
 form of Zealand. 
 
 Zosterops, n. the scientific 
 name of a genus of Australian 
 birds, often called also popularly 
 by that name, and by the names 
 of Wax-eye, White-eye, Silver-eye 
 (q.v.), Ring-eye, Blight-bird (q.v.), 
 etc. From the Greek ^oxm/p, a 
 girdle, ' anything that goes round 
 like a girdle' (< L. & S.'), and oty, 
 the eye ; the birds of the genus 
 have a white circle round their 
 eyes. The bird was not generally 
 known in New Zealand until after 
 Black Thursday (q.v.), in 1851, 
 when it flew to the Chatham Is- 
 lands. Some observers, however, 
 noted small numbers of one species 
 in Milford Sound in 1832. New 
 Zealand birds are rarely gregari- 
 ous, but the Zosterops made a great 
 migration, in large flocks, from 
 the South Island to the North 
 Island in 1856, and the Maori 
 name for the bird is ' The Stranger' 
 (Tan-hoii). Nevertheless, Duller 
 
 thinks that the species Z. carules- 
 cens\s indigenous in New Zealand. 
 (See under Silver-eye, quotation 
 1888.) The species are 
 
 Zosterops ccerulescens , Lath. 
 Green-backed Z. 
 
 Z. gouldi, Bp. ; called also Grape- 
 eater, and Fig-eater (q.v.). 
 Gulliver's Z. 
 
 Z. gulliveri, Castln. and Ramsay. 
 Pale-bellied Z. 
 
 Z. albiventer, Homb. and Jacq. 
 Yellow Z. 
 
 Z. lutea, Gould. 
 Yellow-rumped Z. 
 
 Z. westernensis, Quoy and Gaim. 
 Yellow-throated Z. 
 
 Z. flavogularis, M asters. 
 
 1897. A. J. Campbell (in ' The Austral- 
 asian, 'Jan. 23), p. 180, col. 3: 
 
 " I have a serious charge to prefer 
 against this bird [the Tawny Honey- 
 eater] as well as against some of its 
 near relatives, particularly those that 
 inhabit Western Australia, namely, the 
 long-billed, the spine-billed, and the 
 little white-eye or zosterops. During 
 certain seasons they regale themselves 
 too freely with the seductive nectar of 
 the flaming bottle-brush (Callistemori). 
 They become tipsy, and are easily 
 caught by hand under the bushes. In 
 the annals of ornithology I know of no 
 other instance of birds getting intoxi- 
 cated."
 
 UCLA-ED/PSYCH Library 
 
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 Reference