Chapter 2

"Where the pelican builds her nest."

Penguin , n . common English bird-name. The species in Australia 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 interesting forms are the following-- the King Penguin, Aptenodytes longirostris ; Rock Hopper P., Pygoscelis taeniatus ; Yellow-Crowned P., Eudyptes antipodum ; Crested P., E. pachyrhynchus ; Little Blue P., E. minor and undina ."

Pennyroyal, Native , n . Mentha gracilis , R. Br., N.O. Labiatae . Much more acrid than the European species of Mentha ; but used widely as a herbal medicine. Very common in all the colonies. See also Mint .

Pepper, Climbing , n . Piper novae-hollandiae , Miq., N.O. Piperaceae . 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 extracted essence. See quotation below from White, 1790. There are many species, and various vernacular names, such as Brown Peppermint , Dandenong P ., 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 essential 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, I 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 Goldfields,' p. 30:

"A woody gully filled with peppermint 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 peppermint bush."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' 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 Novae-Hollandiae , 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--

(1) Schinus molle , which is a native of South America, of the Cashew family, and is largely cultivated for ornament and shade in California, 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 indigenous in Australia and Tasmania; it is Drimys aromatica , F. v. M., formerly called Tasmania aromatica , R. Br., N.O. Magnoliaceae . In New Zealand the name is applied to Drimys /corr./ axillaris , Forst. (Maori, Horopito ; q.v.).

1830. `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 65:

"A thick grove of the pepper-shrub, 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 Expeditions 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. . . . Something 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. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii. p. 138:

"Bright green pepper-trees with their coral berries."

Peragale , n . the scientific name of the genus of Australian marsupial animals called Rabbit- Bandicoots . See Bandicoot . (Grk. paera , a bag or wallet, and galae , a weasel.)

Perameles , n . scientific name for the typical genus of the family of Australian marsupial animals called Bandicoots (q.v.), or Bandicoot-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 Percidae , others of quite different families. These fishes have, moreover, other names attached to them in different 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 , Burramundi , Mado , and Bidyan Ruffe .

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 31:

" Lates 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 Burramundi . L. colonorum is called the Gippsland Perch , in Victoria.]

1882. Ibid. p. 45:

"The other genus ( Chilodactylus ) is also largely represented in Tasmania and Victoria, one species being commonly 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 expression in New Zealand. Under the former Land Acts, the grantee of a perpetual lease took a term of thirty years, with a right of renewal at a revalued rent, subject to conditions as to improvement and cultivation, with a right to purchase the freehold after six years' occupation.

Perriwinkle , n . See quotation. The most popular form in Melbourne is Turbo undulatus , Chemnitz. T. constricta is also called the Native Whelk .

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish and Fisheries of New South Wales,' p. 122:

" Trochocochlea 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. petauristaes , a rope-dancer or tumbler). See Petaurus .

Petauroides , n . a genus closely allied to Petaurus (q.v.), containing 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, petauron was the perch or platform from which a "rope-dancer" stepped on to his rope. `L. & S.' say probably from pedauros , Aeolic for meteowros , high in air.

Pething-pole , n . a harpoon-like weapon used for pething (pithing) cattle; that is, killing them by piercing the spinal cord (pith, or provincial peth).

1886. P. Clarke, `New Chum in Australia,' p. 184 (`Century'):

"So up jumps Tom on the bar overhead with a long pething-pole, like an abnormally long and heavy alpenstock, 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. petra , rock, and galae , a weasel.)

Pezoporus , n . scientific name of a genus of Parrakeets peculiar to Australia, of which one species only is known, P. formosus , the Ground Parrakeet, or Swamp Parrakeet . From Grk. pezoporos , "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. pl. 46:

" Pezoporus Formosus , Ill., Ground-parrakeet; Swamp-parrakeet, Colonists 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 phalanx , one meaning 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 marsupials, 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 Phalanger ( Belideus breviceps ) occupy the next division."

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. cinereus . It is, of course, marsupial.(Grk. phaskowlos , a leather apron, and 'arktos , a bear.) See Bear .

Phascologale , n . contracted often to Phascogale : the scientific name for the genus of little marsupials known as the Kangaroo-Mouse or Pouched-Mouse (q.v.). (Grk. phaskowlos , a leather apron, and galae , 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 completely 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 English, we are compelled to use the colonial designation as the vernacular 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. 166.)

1853. J. West, `History of Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 324:

"The phascogales are small insectivorous animals found on the mountains and in the dense forest-parts of the island, and little is known of their habits."

Phascolome , and Phascolomys , n . The first is the anglicised form of the second, which is the scientific name of the genus called by the aboriginal name of Wombat (q.v.) (Grk. phaskowlos = leathern bag, and mus = mouse.)

Phasmid , n . the name for the insects of the genus Phasma (Grk. phasma = an appearance), of the family Phasmidae , 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 illusion with which they counterfeit the appearance of the twigs, branches, or leaves of the vegetation 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 Lowan (q.v.), and see Turkey .

For Pheasant-fantail, see Fantail .

1877 (before). Australie, `From the Clyde to Braidwood,' quoted in `Australian Ballads and Rhymes' (edition Sladen, p. 10):

". . . Echoing notes Of lyre-tailed pheasants, in their own rich notes, Mocking the song of every forest-bird."

1885. Wanderer, `Beauteous Terrorist, etc., p. 60:

"And have we no visions pleasant Of the playful lyre-tail'd pheasant?"

Pheasant-Cuckoo , n . another name for the Coucal (q.v.), Centropus phasianellus , Gould. See also Swamp-Pheasant .

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' 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 spinicauda ), about which also ornithologists 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). . . Distribution.-- Aru and Kei Islands. This species has an especial interest as being the first member of the Kangaroo-family known to Europeans, specimens having been seen in the year 1711 by [Philander de] Bruyn living in the gardens of the Dutch Governor of Batavia. They were originally described 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. phormion , dim. of phormos , anything plaited of reeds or rushes.)

Pialler , v. used as pigeon-English, 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] " piyaller , 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 children elsewhere, applied it to the children of the aborigines. After a while English people thought the word was aboriginal Australian, 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 Expedition,' p. 520:

"Bilge introduced several old warriors . . . adding always the number of piccaninies that each of them had."

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 negroes of Africa, through white immigrants. 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 `piccaninny 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, `Horne Expedition in Central Australia,' part ii. Zoology, Aves, 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 ordinary meaning of this word, there is a slang Australian use denoting an awkward adventure, an unpleasant experience, a troublesome job. In America the slang use is "an easy or agreeable thing." (`Standard.') The Australasian use is an ironical inversion 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 experience 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 Aua (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 , n . 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 Squatter , 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 scripta , Temm.

Pheasant-tailed P.-- Macropygia phasianella , Temm.

Plumed P.-- Lophophaps plumifera , Gould.

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 , Partridge-Pigeon , Torres Straits Pigeon .

For New Zealand 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 "iceplant," Mesembryanthemum aequilaterale , Haw., N.O. Ficoideae , deriving its generic name from the habit of expanding its flower about noon.

1834. Ross, `Van Diemen's Land Annual,' p. 133:

" Mesembryanthemum aequilaterale , 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 vessel 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 Mesembryanthemum aequilaterale , 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. Schuermann, 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 Agriopus leucopaecilus , Richards., in Dunedin; called also the Leather-jacket (q.v.). In Sydney it is Cossyphus unimaculatus , Gunth., a Wrasse, closely related to the Blue-groper. In Victoria, Heterodontus phillipi , Lacep., the Port Jackson Shark . See Shark .

Pig-footed Bandicoot , n . name given to Choeropus castanotis , Gray, an animal about the size of a rabbit, belonging to the family Peramelidae , which includes all the bandicoots. It lives in the sandy, dry interior of the continent, 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 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 Choeropus, 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 proportion 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.'"

Piharau , n . 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-- Sphyraena obtusata , Cuv. and Val.; S. novae-hollandiae ; Gunth. See also Sea-pike .

Pilchard , n . The fish which visits the Australian shores periodically, in shoals larger than the Cornish shoals, is Clupea sagax , Jenyns, the same as the Californian 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 `Canterbury 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 Caribbean 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. Thymeleaceae . There are over seventy species, all confined to Australia and New 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 Kurrajong (q.v.); another name is Toughbark . For etymology, see quotation, 1793.

1793. J. E. Smith, `Specimen of Botany of New Holland,' p. 32:

"Gaertner . . . adopted the name of Pimelea from the manuscripts of Dr. Solander. It is derived from pimelae , 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.

18W. `Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 22:

"Sometimes 100 to 200 tons of payable 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 include some of the noblest species. The name, with various epithets, is given to a few other trees besides those of the Natural Order Coniferae ,; the following is a list of the various Pines in Australasia. They belong to the Natural Order Coniferae ,, unless otherwise indicated--

Black Pine-- Frenela endlicheri , Parlat. Irenela 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 Tanekaha .

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. verrucosa ), 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 , Hook.

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 rhomboidea , Endl.

Macquarie P.-- Dacrydium franklinii , Hook.

Mahogany Pine-- Podocarpus totara , 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. Meliaceae ; 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. Pandaneae ; not endemic in Australia.

Scrub P.-- Frenela endlicheri , Parlat.

She P.-- (In Queensland )-- Podocarpus elata , R. Br.

Silver P.-- Dacrydium colensoi , Hook.; i.q. Yellow Pine .

Stringy Bark P.-- Frenela parlatorei , 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 elata , 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 Expeditions,' vol- i. p. 51.

"On the little hill beside the river hung pines ( Callitris pyramidalis ) in great abundance."

Piner , n . In Tasmania, a man employed in cutting Huon Pine.

1891. W. Tilley, `Wild West of Tasmania,' p. 43:

"The King River is only navigable for small craft . . . Piners' boats sometimes get in."

Pinkwood , n . a name for a Tasmanian wood of a pale reddish mahogany colour, Eucryphia billardieri , Sparrm., N.O. Saxifrageae ,, and peculiar to Tasmania; also called Leatherwood ; and for the Wallaby- bush , Beyera viscosa , Miq., N.O. Euphorbiaceae , common to all the colonies of Australasia.

Piopio , n . Maori name for a thrush of New Zealand, Turnagra crassirostris , Gmel. See Thrush .

Pipe , n . 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 repetition 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 fishname. The species present in Australia and New Zealand is Ichthyocampus filum , Gunth., family Syngnathidae , 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' cannibals,' and you will be often informed on Auckland wharf that `pipers is deeth on piper.'"

Pipi , n . Maori name of a shellfish, sometimes (erroneously) called the cockle, Mezodesma novae-zelandiae .

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 193:

"Pipi, s . a cockle."

1881. J. L.Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 107:

"With most deliciously cooked kumeras, potatoes and peppies" [sic].

Ibid. p. 204:

"The dernier ressort --fern-root, flavoured 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--(1) 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 sometimes 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 .

1896. E. C. Stirling, `Home Expedition in Central Australia, Anthropology, pt. iv. p. 99:

"I do not know the origin of the name `Pitchi,' which is in general use by the whites of the parts traversed by the expedition, for the wooden vessels used for carrying 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. pl. 1:

" Pitta strepitans , Temm., Noisy Pitta. There are also Rainbow Pitta, Pitta iris, and Vigor's Pitta, P. Macklotii .

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. pitta , pitch, and sporos , seed.) There are about fifty species, which are found in Africa and Asia, but chiefly in Australasia. They are handsome evergreen shrubs, and some grow to a great height; the white flowers, being very fragrant, have been sometimes likened to orangeblossoms, 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, expressing the excellent qualities of the plant. Compare Budgerigar .

1863. `Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' April, p. 1:

"`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 described its effects as being almost identical with those produced by a large quantity of spirits."

1883. F. M. Bailey,' Synopsis of Queensland 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 Australia,' vol. i. p. 101:

"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."

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 opening 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, 138th 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 replied 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 headaches, and chewed it stopped all craving 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 sustaining properties, Mr. Purcell mentioned 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.

1860. W. Kelly, `Life in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 160 [Footnote]:

"The Pivot City is a sobriquet invented by the citizens to symbolize it as the point on which the fortunes of the colony would culminate and revolve. 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 Maui,' p. 403:

"Piwakawaka, tirakaraka, the fantailed 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 favourite, 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. lvii. p. 482:

"During this extended visit of mine to the woods, I have noticed the piwakawaka, or fly-catcher ( Rhipidura flabellifera ). This interesting little flycatcher, with its monotonous short cry, always seems to prefer making the acquaintance of man in the forest solitudes."

1895. W. S.Roberts, `Southland in 1856,' p. 53:

"The pied fantail, Piwakawaka (Rhipidura flabellifera) is the best flycatcher 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 Australia,' 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 brushwood. 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. Tiliaceae .

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' 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 Australian 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 ca^ches 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 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. Plantagineae .

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 between 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 inner plant, 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 /sic/ itself."

Planter , n . a cattle-thief, so called from hiding the stolen cattle.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' 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, represented by many species. The word is from the shape of the tail. (Grk. platus , broad, and kerkos , 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 , n . a remarkable Monotreme (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 , Paradoxus , Water-mole , etc. (Grk. platus = broad, pous = foot, 'ornithos = of a bird, runchos = beak or bill.) The name Platypus is now the name by which it is always popularly 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 therefore replaced, in scientific nomenclature, by the name Ornithorhynchus , by Blumenbach in 1800. In view of the various names, vernacular and scientific, under which it is mentioned by different 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. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. xi. p. 425:

"This animal, which has obtained the name of Ornithorhynchus paradoxus , is still very little known."

1802. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 35:

[List of Engravings.] " Ornithorhynchus paradoxus ."

[At p. 63]:

"Ornithorhynchus (an amphibious animal of the mole kind)."

1809. G. Shaw, `Zoological Lecturer,' vol. i. p. 78:

"This genus, which at present consists but of a single species and its supposed varieties, is distinguished by the title of Platypus or Ornithorhynchus . . . Its English generic name of duckbill is that by which it is commonly 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 watermole, 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 several of the Ornithorhynchus paradoxus . . . . Certainly it is a most extraordinary 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 Ornithorynchus 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. 42:

"Platypus, water-mole or duckbill."

1860. G.Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 96:

"The Ornithorhynchus is known to the colonists by the nme of the watermole, from some resemblance which it is supposed to bear to the common European mole ( Talpa Europoea , Linn.)"

1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 95:

"When first a preserved skin was sent to England, it excited great distrust, 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.], 4to. 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 Volume,' 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 frequently 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 occasionally either a little earlier or later; generally two or three at a time."

1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography 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 disappears on hearing the least noise."

1894. R. Lydekker, `Marsupialia,' p. 233:

"The duck-bill was originally described 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.-- OEdicnemus grallarius , Lath.

And in New Zealand--Red-breasted Plover, Charadrius obscurus , Gmel. (Maori name, Tututuriwhata ); Crook-billed, Anarhynchus 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 , n . sometimes called Acacia Plum , a timber tree, Eucryphia moorei , F. v. M., N.O. Saxifrageae ; called also Acacia and " White Sally ."

Plum, Black , n . the fruit of the tree Cargillia australis , R. Br., N.O. Ebenaceae .

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. Anacardiaceae . Wood like American walnut.

Plum, Grey , n . (1) A timber-tree. One of the names for Cargillia pentamera , F. v. M., N.O. Ebenaceae . 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 Cenarrhenes nitida , Lab., N.O. Proteaceae .

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, Owenia venosa , F. v. M., N.O. Meliaceae .

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, Buchanania mangoides , F. v. M., N.O. Anacardiaceae .

Podargus , n . scientific name of a genus of Australian birds, called the Frogsmouth (q.v.) and Mopoke . From Grk. podargos , swift or white-footed. (Hector's horse in the `Iliad' was named Podargus.--`Il.' viii. 185.)

1890. `Victorian Statutes-Game Act' (Third Schedule):

[Close Season.] "Podargus or Mopokes, 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.

17]7. 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 wattlebird, 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 snow-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 remarkable 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 Australia,' vol. i. p. 111:

"This bird they called the Wattlebird, 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. Myrtaceae , 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 ellipticus ). 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 substituted 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 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 pohutukawa-tree ( Metrosideros tomentosa ) requires an exposed situation . . . is crooked, misshapen. . . . The natives speak of it (the timber) as very durable."

1886. J. A. Fronde, `Oceana,' p. 308:

"Low down on the shore the graceful native Pokutukawa [sic] was left undisturbed, 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 , n . 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 number 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 . Pittosporum phillyroides , De C., N.O. Pittosporeae .

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 Australia). 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 Central Australia. The name is also given to Swainsonia Greyana , Lindl., N.O. Leguminosae .

The Darling-Pea (q.v.), or Indigo-Plant (q.v.), has similar poisonous effects to the Gastrolobium . These species of Gastrolobium go under the various names of Desert Poison-Bush , York-Road Poison-Bush , Wallflower ; and the names of Ellangowan Poison-Bush (Queensland), and Dogswood Poison-Bush (New South Wales), are given to Myoporum deserti , A. Cunn., N.O. Myoporineae , while another plant, Trema aspera , Blume., N.O. Urticaceae , 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 on 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."

Poison-Tree , or Poisonous Tree , n . another name for the Milky Mangrove . See Mangrove . The Scrub Poison-Tree is Exsaecaria dallachyana , Baill., N.O. Euphorbiaceae .

Pomegranate, Native , n . 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 come 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 populifolium , Reinw., N.O. Euphorbiaceae . 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 Abu was porangi, `a fool.'"

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 435:

"`Twas nothing--he was not to mind her--she Was foolish--was ` 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 inhabiting the Porcupine-Grass (q.v.) of Central Australia; the Striated Grass Wren , Amytis striata , Gould. See Wren .

1886. G. A. Keartland, `Horne Expedition 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-Fish , n . name given to several species of the genus Diodon , family Gymnodontes , poisonous fishes; also to Dicotylichthys punctulatus , Kaup., an allied fish 1n which the spines are not erectile as in Diodon , but are stiff and immovable. Chilomycterus jaculiferus , Cuv., another species, has also stiff spines, and Atopomycterus nycthemerus , Cuv., has erectile spines. See Toad-fish and Globe-fish .

Porcupine-Grass , n . 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 directions, like knitting-needles stuck in a huge pincushion. In the writings of the early Australian 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, `History 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. . . . Unfortunately 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 Traversed,' 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, `Horne Expedition in Central Australia,' Botany, p. 119:

"In the Larapintine Region . . . a species of Triodia (`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 . popular name given to Hypoclinea flavipes , Kirby, an ant making its nest round the root of the Porcupine grass ( Triodia pungens ), and often covering the leaves of the tussock with tunnels of sandgrains fastened together by resinous material derived from the surface of the leaves.

1896. Baldwin Spencer, `Home Expedition 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 Coccidae attached to the leaf of the grass."

Porcupine-Parrot , n . See quotation.

1896. G. A. Keartland, `Report of the Horne Expedition in Central Australia,' Part ii. Zoology, Aves , p. 107:

"Geopsittacus occidentalis. Western Ground Parrakeet. . . . As they frequent 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, Kangaroo Apple . Corrupted into Bullybul (q.v.). /See, rather, Bull-a-bull/

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; 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 Wellington in making jam."

Porphyrio , n . the Sultana-bird, or Sultana. The bird exists elsewhere. In Australia it is generally 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 , Heterodontus phillipii , Lacep., family Cestraciontidae ; called also the Shell-grinder .

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 10:

"The Cestracion or Port Jackson shark ( Heterodontus )."

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 Australian Shrike-thrushes (q.v.), Colluricincla harmonica , Lath.; called also the Austral Thrush , and Harmonic Thrush by Latham. It is also the C. cinerea of Vigors and Horsfield and the Turdus harmonicus of Latham, and it has received various other scientific and vernacular names; Colonel Legge has now assigned to it the name of Grey Shrike-Thrush . Gould called it the "Harmonious Colluricincla."

1790. J. White, `Voyage to New South Wales,' p. 157:

"The Port-Jackson thrush, of which a plate is annexed, inhabits the neighbourhood 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 Harmonic 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. pl. 74:

"The Colluricincla harmonica is one of the oldest known of the Australian birds, having been described in Latham's `Index Ornithologicus,' figured in White's `Voyage' and included in the works of all subsequent writers."

Port-Macquarie 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 resemblance it bore to the Chinese plant."

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. Orchideae .

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 lowermost 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 resemblance 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 vegetarians.

Pouched-Mouse , n . the vernacular name adopted for species of the genera Phascologale (q.v.), Sminthopsis, Dasyuroides and Antechinomys . They are often called Kangaroo-mice (q.v.). The species are--

Brush-tailed Pouched-Mouse-- Phascologale penicillata , Shaw.

Chestnut-necked P.-M.-- P. thorbechiana , 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. doria , Thomas.

Pigmy P.-M.-- P. minutissima , Gould.

Red-tailed P.-M.-- P. wallacii , Grey.

Swainson's P.-M.-- P. swainsoni , Water.

Yellow-footed Pouched-Mouse-- Phascologale 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.-- S. psammophilus , Spencer.

Stripe-faced N.-f. P.-M.-- S. virginiae , De Tarrag.

Thick-tailed N.-f. P.-M.-- S. crassicaudata , Gould.

White-footed N.-f. P.-M. S. leucopus , Grey.

The third genus, Dasyuroides , 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 , n . 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 [afterwards called New Zealand] which might be circumnavigated in a few days, and which he called Tovy Poenammoo; 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 meadows: Lat. pratum and incola ) exists elsewhere, and more often under the familiar name of Chat . The Australian species are-- Glareola grallaria , Temm.; Oriental, G. orientalis , Leach.

Pre-empt , n . a slang abbreviation for pre-emptive right.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xxiv. p. 322:

"My friend has the run and the stock and the pre-empts all in his own hands."

Pretty-Faces , 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. Umbelliferae .

Prickly Fern , n . Alsophila australis , R. Br., N.O. Filices .

1862. W. Archer, `Products of Tasmania,' p. 41:

"Prickly fern-tree ( Alsophila Australis , Br.). This very handsome ferntree 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 Mimosa and Prickly Moses , under Moses .

1835. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 6:

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 , n . 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 pourboire , in fact. Now-a-days the captain has no concern with the freight arrangements, and the word in this sense has disappeared. 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. Goodeniaceae . There are many species of Goodenia in Australia, and they contain a tonic bitter which has not been examined.

Prion , n . a sea-bird. See Dove-Petrel . (Grk. priown , a saw.) The sides of its bill are like the teeth of a saw.

1885. W. O. Legge, `Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science' (Brisbane), p. 448:

"The name Prion, as almost universally 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 his 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 ineradicable 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 derivatives, 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."

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 prospects 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 Tasmania,' p. 11:

"He incidentally mentioned his gold find to another prospector . . . The last went out to the grounds and prospected, with the result that he discovered 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. pseudo- , false, and cheir , 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. psophowdaes , noisy.)

Ptilonorhynchinae , n . pl. scientific name assigned to the Australian group of birds called the Bower-birds (q.v.). (Grk. ptilon , a feather, rhunchos , a beak.)

Pudding-ball , n . a fish; corruption 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 commonest in the Bay (Moreton) are mullet, bream, puddinba (a native word corrupted by the colonists into pudding-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 pudding, nothing with any of the various meanings of ball. The fish is not specially round. The aboriginal name was `pudden-ba.' Voila tout ."

Pukeko , n . Maori name for the bird Porphyrio melanonotus , the Swamp-Hen (q.v.).

1896. `Otago Witness,' June 11, 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.

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 ( Cyathea medullaris ) 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 vegetable 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. Verbenaceae ; called also New Zealand Oak , New Zealand 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 woodpigeon."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 86:

"A deep ravine, over which grey-stemmed purtris 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 varnished 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. Pittosporeae . See Pittosporum .

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 11 [Note]:

" Billardiera longiflora , the well-known beautiful climber, with pale greenish bell-flowers and purple fruit." [Also pl. i.]

Purple Broom , n . See Broom .

Purple Coot , n . another name for the Swamp-Hen (q.v.).

Purple Fig , n . See under Fig-tree .

Push , n . a gang. The word is of late very common in Australia. 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--(1) 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."

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 disturbance. 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 chaffing drunken men and insulting defenceless women, the company has taken to assault, to daylight robbery."

1893. `The Argus,' July 1, 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, mischievous, 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."

Pyrrholaemus , n . scientific name of the genus of the Australian birds called the Red-throats ; from Grk. purros , "flame-coloured," "red," and laimos , "throat."

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.-- Turnix castanotus , Gould.

Chestnut-bellied Q.-- Excalfatoria australis , Gould.

Little Q.-- Turnix velox , Gould.

Painted Q.-- T. varies , Lath. [ Haemipodius melinatus , Gould.]

Red-backed Q.-- T. maculosa , Gould.

Red-chested Q.-- T. pyrrhothorax , Gould.

Stubble Q.-- Coturnix pectoralis , Gould.

In New Zealand there is a single species, Coturnix novae-zelandiae , Quoy and Gaim.

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. ii. c. vii. p. 259:

"It is known to the colonists as the painted quail; and has been called by Mr. Gould . . . Haemipodius melinatus ."

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 298:

"The painted quail, and the brush quail, the largest of Australian gamebirds, 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 Novae-Zelandiae ), belonging to a widely distributed genus. It was formerly very abundant in New Zealand; but within the last fifteen or twenty years has been completely 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 novae-zelandiae . 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 spellings) aboriginal name for--(1) a tree, Santalum acuminatum , De C., S. persicarium , F. v. M., N.O. Santalaceae . 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, Elaeocarpus grandis , F. v. M., N.O. Tiliaceae . The fruit, which is of a blue colour and is eaten by children, is also called the Native Peach .

1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' p. 135:

"In all these scrubs on the Murray the Fusanus 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, quondongs, 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 Kooralbyn,' 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 necklet of seeds from the quongdong tree.'

1887. R. M. Praed, `Longleat of Kooralbyn,' c. xix. p. 196:

"Miss Longleat was wild after quandongs."

[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 quandong. Something in shape and colour like a small crab-apple, it is fair enough to the eye, but in taste thoroughly insipid."

Quart-pot , n . 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 sidehandles 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 , n . 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 teapots, and Ethel thought it excellent, excepting that the tea-leaves were troublesome."

188. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia, p. 111:

"`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 , n . a mineral; the common 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 presence in Australia, associated with gold, that has made the word of such daily occurrence. In fact, the word Quartz , in Australian 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 neighbourhood."

1890. `The Argus,' June 16, p. 6. col. 1:

"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 31st 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 extracting 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.

1890. `The Argus,' June 16, p. 6, col. 1:

"Our principal quartz-field."

Quartz-lodes , and Quartz-mining . See Quartz .

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' 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 engaged in Quartz-reefing , as distinguished from one digging in alluvial. See above.

Quartz-reefing , n . (1) 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'. I've been surfacing this good while; but quartz-reefin's the payinest game, now."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `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 name for Dundathu Pine . See Kauri and Pine .

Queensland Nut , n . a wild fruit-tree, Macadamia ternifolia , F. v. M., N.O. Proteaceae .

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 Europeans. 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. Myristiceae . 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. Malvaceae , chewed by the aborigines, as boys chew English Sorrel.

Queenwood , n . a timber-tree, Davidsonia pruriens , F. v. M., N.O. Leguminosae .

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-Tree , n . i.q. Horseradish 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-quoll ; 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]:

"Gurka--a rope." /?/

R

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 cotinifolius , F. v. M., N.O. Phytolaceae ; called also Poplar in Central Australia.

1894. `Melbourne Museum Catalogue--Economic Woods,' No. 61:

"Radish-Tree: occurs in the Mallee-scrub very sparingly; attaining a height of thirty feet. The poplar of the Central Australian explorers. Whole tree strong-scented."

Rager , n . an old and fierce bullock or cow, that always begins to rage in the stock-yard.

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. xiv. p. 105:

"Amongst them was a large proportion of bullocks, which declined with fiendish obstinacy to fatten. They were what are known by the stockriders as `ragers,' or `pig-meaters'" [q.v.].

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xvi. p. 196:

"Well, say a hundred off for ragers.'"

Rail , n . common English birdname. 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 Australia; their distribution in this respect is marked below in parentheses. 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 Hard.

Pectoral R. (N.Z. and A.)-- Rallus philippensis , Linn.

Red-necked R. (A.)-- Rallina tricolor , Gray.

Slate-breasted R. (A.)-- Hypotaenidia brachipus , Swains.

Swainson's R. (N.Z. and A.)-- Rallina brachipus , Swains.

Swamp R. (Australasia)-- Ortygometra tabuensis , Finsch. and Hard.

Tabuan R. (Australasia)-- O. tabuensis , Finsch. and Hard.

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 beautiful Rail was brought from the Chatham Islands by Dr. Dieffenbach in 1842, and named by Mr. Gray in compliment to this enterprising naturalist. The adult specimen in the British Museum, from which my description was taken, is unique, and seems likely to remain so."

1893. Prof Parker, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 116:

"Hutton's rail, the third of the endemic 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 novae-hollandiae , 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 Butcher-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 Zealand fish, Heteroscharus castelnaui , Macl.

Rama-rama , n . Maori name for a New Zealand shrub, Myrtus bullata , 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 Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 200:

"Ranga 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-tango is therefore truly rendered `chieftainship.'"

1893. `Otago Witness, `Dec. 21, p. 11:

"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." Compare the use of " tiers " in Tasmania.

Rangy , adj . mountainous.

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' 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, somewhat scrubby, and destitute of prominent features."

Raspberry, Wild , or Native , n . Rubus gunnianus , Hook., N.O. Rosaceae ; peculiar to Tasmania, and so called there. In Australia, the species is Rubus rosafolius , 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 Australia,' vol. ii. c. iv. p. 132:

"Raspberry-jam . . . acacia sweet-scented, grown on good ground."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 68:

"The other trees besides the palm 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. Meliaceae .

Rat , n . True Rodents are represented in Australia and Tasmania by six genera; viz., Mus , Conilurus (= Hapalotis ), Xeromys, Hydromys, Mastacomys , Uromys , of which the five latter are confined 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. fulvolavatus , 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 Tasmania, and fossil in New South Wales.

Uromys contains two species, the Giant Rat ( U. macropus , Gray), and the Buff-footed Rat ( U. cervinipes , 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 specimens 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 Europeans 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 examination 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-scandent flowering trees, often embracing trunks of forest trees and strangling them: the Northern Rata, Metrosideros robusta , A. Cunn., and the Southern Rata, M. lucida , Menz., both of the N.O. Myrtaceae . The tree called by the Maoris Aka , which is another species of Metrosederos (M. florida ), is also often confused with the Rata by bushmen and settlers.

In Maori, the adj . rata means red-hot, and there may be a reference 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 deposited 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 quotation 1867 (Hochstetter), 1879 (Moseley), and 1889 (Kirk).

1843. E. Dieffenbach, `Travels in New Zealand,' p. 224:

"The venerable rata, often measuring forty feet in circumference and covered with scarlet flowers--while its stem is often girt with a creeper belonging to the same family ( metrosideros 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, becoming a large tree (metrosideros robusta). A hard but not durable wood."

1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' canto 1, 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 measuring forty feet in circumference, is always covered with all sorts of parasitical 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, conjoining 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 robusta ). This magnificent tree. . . . height 80 to 100 feet . . . a clear stem to 30 and even 40 feet . . . very beautiful 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 sufficient 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 climbing, 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 occurrence, but it by no means follows that this species is a climber. This error is simply due to imperfect observation, which has led careless observers to confuse Metrosideros florida [the Akal which is a true climber, with M. robusta."

1892. `Otago Witness,' Nov. 10 [`Native 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-- (1) Ischaemum laxum , R. Br., N.O. Gramineae .

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 indicus , R. Br., N.O. Gramineae .

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 109:

"Rat-tail Grass. A fine, open, pasture 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 angustifolia , 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 , Cat's 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 neighbourhood, and are called raupo."

1833. Henry Williams's Diary, `Carleton's Life,' p. 151:

"The Europeans were near us in a raupo whare [rush-house]."

1835. W. Yate, `Account of New Zealand,' 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, wiwi, kakaho , straw or thatch of any description [ . . . L20]."

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."

1864. F. E. Maning (Pakeha Maori), `The War in the North,' p. 16:

"Before a war or any other important 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 coronoides , 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. pl. 87:

" Seisura Inquieta , Restless Flycatcher; 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. Purees : 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 expression, 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 Percidae .

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, `Transactions 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 have killed above forty at a shot.'"

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iii. pl. 82:

" Estrelda temporalis . Red-eyebrowed 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, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 434:

"M'Leay river, New South Wales, Lat. 30 degrees 40'. This forest was found to contain large quantities of red cedar (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 Tasmania, Coprosma nitida , Hook., N.O. Rubiaceae . See Currant, Native .

Red Gum , n . (1) A tree. See Gum . The two words are frequently made one with the accent on the first syllable; compare Blue-gum .

(2) A medicinal drug. An exudation from the bark of Eucalyptus rostrata , Schlecht, and other trees; see quotation, 1793. Sir Ranald Martin introduced it into European medical practice.

177 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 Eucalyptus resinifera , mentioned in his Voyage, p. 231) which produce the red gum."

[The tree is Ceratopetalum gummiferum , 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, `History 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 astringent, and probably staining, qualities."

Red Gurnet-Perch , n . name given in Victoria to the fish Sebastes percoides , Richards., family Scorpaenidae . 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 Scorpaena cruenta , 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 ruftveniris , formerly Erythrogonys cinctus , Gould. A species of a genus of Australian plovers.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vi. pl. 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 Expedition 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 vlamingii , Cuv. and Val., and Upeneus porosus , Cuv. and Val., family Mullidae . See Mullet .

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 38:

"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 Mugilidae . Another fish to which the term `Red-Mullet' is applied is of the family Cottidae or Gurnards."

Red Perch , n . name given in Tasmania to the fish Anthias rasor , Richards.; also called the Barber. In Australia, it is Anthias longimanus , Gunth.

Red Rock-Cod , n . name given in New South Wales to the fish Scorpaena cardinalis , Richards., family Scorpaenidae , marine fishes resembling the Sea-perches. S. cardinalis is of a beautiful scarlet colour.

Red-streaked Spider , or Black-and-red Spider , an Australasian 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, Pyrrholaemus 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 meanings, viz. the vein , as above, and the bed-rock or true-bottom . (See quotations, 1869 and 1874.) Outside 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 [Victoria]."

1860. W. Kelly, `Life in Victoria,' vol. ii. p. 148:

"If experience completely establishes the fact, at least, under existing 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 tip-turned edges of the palaeozoic rocks. The reef is composed of slate, sandstone, 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 experienced 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 sluicing, or reefing, as the case might be."

[See also Quartz-reefing .]

Regent-bird , n . (1) An Australian Bower-bird, Sericulus melinus , Lath., named out of compliment to the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV. (therefore named before 1820).

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 161:

"Mr. Gilbert observed the female of the Regent-bird."

(2) Mock Regent-bird , now Meliphaga phrygia , Lath.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv. pl. 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 existence 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 tree Knightia excelsa , R. Br., N.O. Proteaceae , 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 handsome flowering tree common on the outskirts of the forests. Wood light and free-working: the grain handsomely 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 rewarewa wood was used for the charring."

1880. W. 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."

1983. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 129:

"Rewarewa, a lofty, slender tree, 100 feet high. Wood handsome, mottled 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 Australian 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 Bayley in 1893, and his reward-claim, sold to a syndicate, was known as "Bayley's Reward." See also Prospecting Claim , and Claim .

1891. W. Tilley, `Wild West of Tasmania,' p. 11:

"Prospected with the result that he discovered the first payable gold on the West Coast, for which he obtained a reward claim."

Rhipidura , n . scientific name for a genus of Australasian birds, called Fantail (q.v.). They are Fly-catchers. The word is from Grk. rhipidos , `of a fan,' and 'oura , `a tail.'

Ribbed Fig , n . See Fig .

Ribbonwood , n . All species of Plagianthus and Hoheria are to the colonists Ribbonwood , especially Plagianthus 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 lyalli , Hook. Other popular names are Houhere , Houi (Maori), Lace-bark (q.v.), and Thousand-Jacket (q.v.).

Ribgrass , n . a Tasmanian name for the Native Plantain . See Plantain .

Rice-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.

Rice-shell , n . The name is applied 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 necklaces.

Richea , n . a Tasmanian Grasstree (q.v.), Richea pandanifolia , Hook., N.O. Liliaceae .

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 pandanifolia ), 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."

Ridge-Myrtle , n . See Myrtle .

Rifle-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 Brigade. 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 Australian 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 Consort, Victoriae and Alberti , but some naturalists have given them other generic names.

As to the name, see also quotation, 1886. See Manucode .

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' 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]: "Curiously 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 paradise, the celebrated Rifle-bird ( Ptilorhis victoriae ), which, according to Gould, has the most brilliant plumage of all Australian birds."

Rifleman , n . a bird of New Zealand, Acanthidositta chloris , Buller; Maori name, Titipounamu . See quotation. The name is sometimes 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 generally 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 'akanthid ,--crude form of 'akanthis = Carduelis, and sitta = sitta."

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. Coniferae ; 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 cabinetmaker."

1879. Clement Bunbury, `Fraser'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 . (1) 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 clearing 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 Australia,' vol. i. c. x. p. 315:

"What they call ringing the trees; that is to say, they cut off a large circular 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 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 Australia,' c. vi. p. 111:

"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."

Ring-bark , v. tr . Same meaning as Ring (1).

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 gumtrees. 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 landscape. 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 barkless 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. Hornung'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. 1:

"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."

1894. E. W. Hornung, `Boss of Taroomba,' 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 Quarterly,' April, p. 26:

"Another favourite [school] phrase 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, passing 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 appearance and when unaccustomed to the life of the bush. The term is derived from the supposed resemblance 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 competitor, 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 , n . a mis-spelt name for the Australian varieties of the tribe of Rhyncosporeae , N.O. Cyperaceae . This tribe includes twenty-one genera, of which Rhynchospora (the type), Schaenus , 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, Gerygone flaviventris , 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 Kurangai-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 consequence of their external resemblance 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.-- Poecilodryas cerviniventris , Gould.

Dusky R.-- Amaurodryas vittata , Quoy and Gaim.

Flame-breasted Robin-- Petroica phoenicea , 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 rosea , Gould.

Scarlet-breasted R.-- Petroica leggii , Sharp.

Scrub R.-- Drymodes brunneopygia , Gould.

White-browed R. Poecilodryas 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 quotations, 1848, 1869.]

See also Shrike-Robin , Scrub-Robin , and Satin-Robin .

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of the Linnaean 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 superciliosa , Gould, White-eyebrowed Robin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Drymodes brunneopygia , Gould, Scrub Robin. . 10

Eopsaltria leucogaster , 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 announced, 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, Eastern Scrub Robin.

Petroica cerviniventris , Gould, Buff-sided Robin.

Eopsaltria capito , Gould, Large-headed Robin.

E. leucura , Gould, White-tailed Robin.

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 239:

"The large red-breasted robin, kinsman true Of England's delicate high-bred bird of home."

1880. Mrs.Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 123:

"The Robin is certainly more brilliantly 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."

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 afternoons in his tiny treble. He has gone with departing winter."

Rock-Cod , n . called also Red-Cod in New Zealand, Pseudophycis barbatus , Gunth., family Gadidae . 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 estuaries in vast numbers during the month of May. . . The rock-cod rarely exceeds 2 1/2 lbs. weight."

Rocket, Native , a Tasmanian name for Epacris lanuginosa , Lab., N.O. Epacrideae . See Epacris .

Rock Lily , n . See under Lily .

Rock-Ling , n . a marine fish. The Australian R. is Genypterus australis , Castln., family Ophidiidae . The European R. belongs to the genera Onos and Rhinonemus , formerly Motella . Of the genus Genypterus , Guenther 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-Bay 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 Australian Grass-Parrakeet (q.v.), Euphema petrophila , Gould. It gets its name from its habitat, the rocks and crags.

Rock-Pebbler , n . another name for the Black-tailed Parrakeet . See Parrakeet .

Rock-Perch , n . the name given in Melbourne to the fish Glyphidodon victoriae , Gunth., family Pomacentridae , or Coral-fishes . It is not a true Perch.

Rock-shelter , n . a natural cave-dwelling of the aborigines. See Gibber-Gunyah .

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 Jackson district, recesses in the escarpment, 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 Aborigines."

Rock-Wallaby , n . the popular name for any animal of the genus Petrogale (q.v.). There are six species--

Brush-tailed Rock-Wallaby-- Petrogale penicillata , 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 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. Euphorbiaceae .

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 Donnelly, 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 Minnesota lawyer who holds strange views about a great cryptogram in Shakespeare'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 probable, were the names mere corruptions of aboriginal words now lost?"

Roll 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. Rolf Boldrewood, `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. Rolf Boldrewood, `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 , n . name given to Panicum macractinium , Benth., N.O. Gramineae ; and also to Salsola Kali , Linn., N.O. Salsolaceae . See Grass .

1859. D. Bunce, `Travels with Dr. Leichhardt in Australia,' pp. 167-8:

"Very common to these plains, was a large-growing salsolaceous plant, belonging 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, `History 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-poly 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, `Horne Expedition 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 earlier 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 Wales' [Observations at the end, by Mr. John Hunter, the celebrated surgeon]:

Plate p. 272--A kangaroo. Description of teeth.

Plate p. 278--Wha Tapoua Roo, about the size of a Racoon [probably an opossum].

Plate p. 286--A Poto Roo or Kangaroo-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 . (1) 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 experiences 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 stockyard.

1880. 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 mollusc 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 serrulata , Sm., N.O. Rutaceae . 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. Anonaceae .

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 confined to the first. `Rose-hill ' was the name of the Governor's residence at Parramatta, near Sydney, in the early days of the settlement of New South Wales, and the name Rosella is a settler's corruption of Rose-hiller , though the erroneous etymology from the 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. pl. 27:

" Platycercus eximius , Vig. & Hors. Rose-hill Parrakeet ; Colonists of New South Wales."

Ibid. vol. v. pl. 29:

" Platycercus icterotis , Wagl. The Earl of Derby's Parrakeet; Rose-hill of the Colonists [of Swan River]."

Rosella , n . (1) A bird, Platycercus eximius , the Rosehill (q.v.).

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' 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., N.0. Labiatae .

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. Leguminosae .

Rosemary, Wild , a slender Australian timber-tree, Cassinia laevis , R. Br., N.O. Compositae .

Rose, Native , n . i.q. Bauera (q.v.).

Rosewood , name given to the timber of three trees. (1) Acacia glaucescens , Willd., N.O. Leguminosae ; called also Brigalow, Mountain Brigalow , and Myall .

(2) Dysoxylon fraserianum , Benth., N.O. Meliaceae ; called also Pencil Cedar .

(3) Eremophila mitchelli , Benth. N.O. Myoporinae ; called also Sandalwood .

1838. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' 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 Expedition' p. 4:

"The Rosewood Acacia of Moreton Bay."

Rough , or Roughy , or Ruffy , or Ruffie , n . a Victorian fish, Arripis georgianus , Cuv. and Val., family Percidae . Arripis is the genus of the Australian fish called Salmon, or Salmon-trout, A. salar , Gunth. See Salmon .

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), June 19, 1881:

"Common fish, such as trout, ruffies mullet . . . and others."

1890. `Victorian Statutes--Fisheries, Second Schedule' [Close Season]:

"Rough, or Roughy."

Rough Fig , n . See under Fig-tree .

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 common in the Western United States.

1894. `The Argus,' June 23, p. 11, 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 miserable 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 American 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."

18W. `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 Compass 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 stationhands 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, `Middleton'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 troublesome 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.

Ruffy or Ruffie , n . a fish. See Rough or Roughy .

Run , n . (1) Tract of land over which sheep or cattle may graze. It is curious that what in England is called a sheep-walk, 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" his sheep or cattle on it. Subsequently, in many cases, he purchased 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 Diemen's Land' (1832), p. 157:

"It is generally speaking a good sheep-run."

1828. Report of Van Diemen's band 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 L12,800,000."

1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 367:

"`Runs,' land claimed by the squatter 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 Victoria,' 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. `/Delta/,' `Studies in Rhyme,' p. 26:

"Of squatters' runs we've oft been told, The People's Lands impairing."

1883. G. W. Rusden, `History of Australia,' 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 Bowerbird (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 Reformer,' c. xviii. p. 218:

"`Open that gate, Piambook,' said Ernest gravely, pointing to the one which led into the `run-about' yard."

Run-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 Tasmanian plant, i.q. Coral-Pea . See Kennedya .

Ruru , n . Maori name for the New Zealand bird, the More-pork , Athene novae-zelandiae , Gmel. (q.v.).

1883. F. S. Renwick, `Betrayed,' p. 45:

"The ruru's voice re-echoes, desolate."

Rush , v. (1) 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. 153:

"Sometimes at night this animal [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). Contraction for to rush past or through ; e.g. to rush a cordon of policemen; 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. Compare 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 Adventure,' p. 3:

"The Bald Hill had just been rushed, and therefore I decided to take up a claim."

Rush , n . (1) 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. 1:

"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 Goldfields,' 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. Leguminosae . The flowers are orange-yellow. In England, it is cultivated in greenhouses.

Rusty Fig , n . See under Fig-tree .

S

Saddle, Colonial , n .

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' 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 purposes. The projecting knee-pads, especially, save the rider from fractured knee-caps when galloping 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 military 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 carunculatus) 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."

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 resembles the starling ( Sturnidae ); 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 peculiarity 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 Xerotes longifolia , R. Br., N.O. Junceae , and also to the White Iris, Diplarhena morcaea .

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.

Salmon , n . The English Salmon is being acclimatised with difficulty in Tasmania and New Zealand; the Trout more successfully. But in all Australian, New Zealand, 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 , Gunth., 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. Guenther, `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 , Gunth., is in the adult state the salmon of the Australian 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. truttaceus of Cuvier and Valenciennes."

Salmon-Trout , n . i.q. Salmon (q.v.).

Saloop-bush , n . name given to an erect soft-stemmed bush, Rhagodia hastata , R. Br., N.O. Salsolaceae , one of the Australian Redberries, two to three feet high. See Redberry and Salt-bush .

Salsolaceous , adj . belongs to the natural order Salsolaceae . The shrubs of the order are not peculiar to Australia, but are commoner 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 salsolaceous 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. Salsolaceae . The genera are Atriplex, Kochia , and Rhagodia . Of the large growth, A. nummularium , Lindl., and of the dwarf species, A. vesicarium , Heward, and A. halimoides , Lindl., are the commonest. Some species bear the additional names of Cabbage 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 instance, according to Mr. Stephenson, 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."

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. 11:

"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:

"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 understand, The salt-bush plain is a wonderland."

Samson-fish , n . name given in Sydney to Seriola hippos , Gunth., family Carangidae ; and in Melbourne to the young of Arripis salar , Richards., family Percidae . See Salmon .

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 60:

"The samson-fish (Senola hippos, Gunth.) 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 N.O. Santalaceae --

Exocarpos latifolia , R. Br.; called Scrub-Sandalwood .

Fusanus spicatus , R. Br.; called Fragrant Sandalwood .

Santalum lanceolatum , R. Br.

S. obtusifodum , R. Br.

Santalum persicarium , F. v. M.; called Native Sandalwood .

Of the N.O. Myoporinae --

Eremophila mitchelli , Benth.; called also Rosewood and Bastard-Sandalwood .

E. sturtii , R. Br.; called curiously the Scentless Sandalwood .

Myoporum platycarpum , R. Br.; called also Dogwood (q.v.).

Of the N.O. Apocyneae --

Alyxia buxifolia , R. Br.; called Native Sandalwood in Tasmania.

Sandfly-bush , n . Australian name for the indigenous tree Zieria smithii , Andr., N.O. Rutaceae . Called also Turmeric , and in Tasmania, Stinkwood .

Sand-Lark , n . name given in Australia to the Red-capped Dottrel, 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 migrations 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 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 [Wading 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 , Leptospermum laevigatum , F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae . 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 driftsand 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 Trachinidae ; also called the Fresh-water Flathead . See Flathead .

Sandy-blight , n . a kind of ophthalmia 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--

"0 heavens, this is my true-begotten father! who, being more than sand-blind, high-gravel blind, knows me not."

On this, the American commentator, 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 suff'ring 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 eyesight 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. sarkos , flesh, and philein , 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 . (1) An ornamental climbing shrub, Hardenbergia monophylla , Benth., N.O. Leguminosae . Formerly called Kennedya (q.v.).

(2) Smilax glycyphylla , Smith, N.0. Liliaceae .

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 `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 glycyphylla ."

1896. `The Argus,' Sept. 8, p. 7, col. 1:

"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 goldfields."

Sassafras , n . corruption of Saxafas , which is from Saxifrage . By origin, the word means "stone-breaking," from its medicinal 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 supposed medicinal properties of their bark.

In Australia, the name is given to--

Atherosperma moschatum , Labill., N.0. Monimiaceae ; called Native Sassafras , from the odour of its bark, due to an essential oil closely resembling true Sassafras in odour. (Maiden.)

Beilschmiedia obtusifolia , Benth., N.0. Lauraceae ; called Queensland Sassafras , a large and handsome tree.

Cryptocarya glaucescens , R. Br., N.0. Lauraceae ; the Sassafras of the early days of New South Wales, and now called Black Sassafras .

Daphnandra micrantha , Benth., N.0. Monimiaceae , called also Satinwood , and Light Yellow-wood .

Doryphora sassafras , Endl., N.0. Monimiaceae .

Grey Sassafras is the Moreton-Bay Laurel . See Laurel .

The New Zealand Sassafras is Laurelia novae-zelandiae .

1834. Ross, `Van Diemen's Land Annual,' 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 sassafras-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, besides being, in a decoction, an excellent 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 doorframes."

1894. `Melbourne Museum Catalogue--Economic Woods,' No. 36:

" Atherosperma moschatum , Victorian sassafras-tree, N.O. Monimiaceae ."

Satin-bird , n . another name for the Satin Bower-bird . See Bower-bird .

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 264:

The natives call it Cowry, the colonists Satin-Bird."

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-- Xanthoxylum brachyacanthum , F. v. M., N.O. Rutaceae , called also Thorny Yellow-wood ; Daphnandra micrantha , Benth., N.O. Monimiaceae , called also Light Yellow-wood and Sassafras (q.v.).

Saw-fish , n . a species of Ray, Pristis zysron , Bleek, the Australasian representative of the Pristidae 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 [J. 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 Australian seas, and first described by Dr. Latham in the year 1793."

Sawyer , n . (1) 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 previously classed as Athene by Gray in 1844. It is now nearly extinct. Kaup also gave the name of Spiloglaux to the New Zealand Owl at the same date. The words are from the Greek glaux , an owl, spilos , a spot, and skelos , a leg.

Scent-wood , a Tasmanian evergreen shrub, Alyxia buxifolia , R. Br., N.O. Apocyneae , 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, perhaps of Dutch origin, to Schnapper , 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 , Gunth., or Scorpis hectori , Hutton. See quotation, 1882.

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 68:

"King-fish, mullet, mackarel, rockcod, whiting, snapper, bream, flatheads, 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 schnapper or snapper. The schnapper ( Pagrus 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 because it snapped. The spelling with `ch' is a curious after-thought, suggestive 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 Pentaroge 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 Scotchmen,' 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 Scotchman applied to a smaller kind of Spaniard.'

Scribbly-Gum , n . also called White-Gum , Eucalyptus haemastoma , Sm., N.O. Myrtaceae . 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 , n . country overgrown with thick bushes. Henry Kingsley's explanation (1859), that the word means shrubbery, is singularly 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 disappeared 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 Expeditions,' 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 Rhymings' (1860), p. 13:

"Here Nature's gifts, with those of man combined, Hath [sic] from a scrub a Paradise defined."

1848. W. Westgarth, "Australia Felix,' p. 24:

"The colonial term scrub, of frequent 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 explanation 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 passable--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. W. Rusden, `History of Australia,' 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 bungle."

(p. 8): "The nearest scrub, in the thickets of which the Blacks could always find an impenetrable stronghold."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' 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 a dense covering of low bushes varying in composition in different districts, and named according 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, consisting 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, `Manfrom 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. 'atrichos = 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,' pl. 26:

"The Scrub-bird creeps mouse-like 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.).

1860. A. L. Gordon, `The Sick Stockrider' [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 Sideroxylon australe , Benth. and Hook., N.O. Saponaceae ; a tall tree.

Scrub-dangler , n . a wild bullock.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' 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 , n . See Gum .

Scrub-hen , i.q. Scrub fowl .

Scrub-Ironwood , n . See Ironwood .

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. Giant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' 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. pl. 10:

" Drymodes Brunneopygia , Gould, Scrub-Robin. I discovered this singular 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 Association 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, Paecilodryas , 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 , n . See Tit .

Scrub-tree , n . any tree that grows in the scrub.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' 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; aboriginal 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. laevigaster , Gould.

Collared S.-W.-- S. gutturalis , Gould.

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 . (1) a bullock that has taken to the scrub and so become wild. See Scrub-cattle . Also formerly used for a wild horse, now called a Brumby (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. 110:

"There are few field-sports anywhere . . . equal to `hunting scrubbers.'"

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 93:

"Out flew the ancient scrubber, instinctively 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 descendants 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 scrubber 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 applied 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. 221: "The trees low and scrubby."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' 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 scrubdom of old."

Scythrops , n . scientific name for a genus of birds belonging to the Cuculidae , or Cuckoos (from Grk. skuthrowpos = angry-looking). The only species known is peculiar to Australia, where it is called the Channel-Bill , a name given by Latham (`General History of Birds,' vol. ii.). White (1790) calls it the Anomalous Hornbill (`Journal 1790,' pl. 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 Syngnathidae . The name of the genus comes from the Greek phullon = a leaf, and pterux = a wing. This genus is said by Guenther to be exclusively Australian. "Protective resemblance attains its highest degree of development," he says, in this genus. "Not only their colour closely assimilates that of the particular kind of sea-weed which they frequent, but the appendages 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 Bull's -eye (q.v.); in New Zealand, to Sebastes 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 , Gunth., of the family Sphyraenidae . 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 Scopelidae .

1882. Rev. J E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 82:

"The Sergeant Baker in all probability 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 detachments 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 Hawkesbury Clock ), n . another name for the bird called the Laughing-Jackass . See Jackass .

1896. F. G. Aflalo, `Natural History of Australia,' p. 114:

"From its habit of starting its discordant 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, bec oming exceedingly dry, are readily ignited and used as kindling wood.

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. 1:

" Re settlers' matches, torches, the blacks in the South-east of South Australia always used the bark of the she-oak 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 anceps , R. Br., N.O. Aroideae , called also Travellers' Grass . Much used by farmers as cord or string where strength is required.

Shag , n . common English birdname for a Cormorant (q.v.). Gould, fifty years ago, enumerates 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 (Lapham) . . . . . . . . . 71

P. Leucogaster , Gould, White-breasted C. . . 69

P. Stictocephalus , Bp., Little Black C. . . 67

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 185:

"Shags started from dead trees lying half immersed."

Shagroon , n . 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, especially amongst school-boys and bushmen. It was originally Thieves' English.

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' 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. Leguminosae ; 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. Leguminosae . Called Native Shamrock in Tasmania.

Shanghai , n . a catapult. Some say because used against Chinamen. The reason seems inadequate.

1863. `The Leader,' Oct. 24, p. 17, col. 1:

"Turn, turn thy shanghay dread aside, Nor touch that little bird."

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), May 15, p. 22, col. 1:

"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 distance, 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 . (1) 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. 1:

"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 L2 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 Australia,' 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 entering strangers."

Shantywards , adv.

1890. `The Argus,' Aug. 2, p. 13, col. 4:

"Looking . . . over the fence shantywards."

Shark , n . Some of the Australasian 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.)-- Zygaena malleus , Shaw.

One-finned S. (N.S.W.)-- Notidanus indicus , Cuv.

Port Jackson S. (q.v.)-- Heterodontus phillipii , Lacep.; 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.)-- Rhinobatus 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.-- Zygaena malleus (Maori name, Mangopare ).

Port-eagle S.-- Lamna cornutica

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 Compass 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 expensive 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 comfortable homestead, and ample shed accommodation."

Sheep-pest , n . a common Australian weed, Acama ovina , Cunn., N.O. Rosaceae , 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. 1:

"It is the opinion of many practical men that certain country to 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 English senses of (1) 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 Expedition,' 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 . (1) A tree of the genus Casuarina (q.v.). The timber, which is very hard and makes good fuel, was thought to resemble oak. See Oak , and quotation 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 introduced, to suggest a different etymology. 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 assigned, and a private correspondent, 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.

2792. 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."

1834. Ross, `Van Diemen's Land Annual,' 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 Sheoak. The second species has obtained the name of He-oak in contradistinction 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 Casuarinae , 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 character 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 quercine aspect."

1853. S. Sidney, `Three Colonies of Australia,' p. 277:

"A dull scene, sprinkled with funereal shiak or `she-oak trees.'"

Ibid. p. 367:

"Groves of shea-oaks, eucalyptus and mimosa."

1857. W. 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 gracefully, resembling large trees of bloom."

1859. D. Bunce, `Australasiatic Reminiscences,' p. 33:

"The trees forming the most interesting 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,'