Chapter 3

" Casuarina suberosa . This is an erect species, growing 15 feet high. . . It is well known as the `He-oak,' in contradistinction to the C. quadrivalvis , or `She-oak,' a name, I believe, adapted from the North American `Sheack' though more nearly allied botanically to the Northern Oaks than any Tasmanian genus except Fagus , they have nothing to do with that genus in habit or appearance, nor with the Canadian `Sheack.'"

1864. J. McDouall Stuart, `Explorations in Australia,' p. 150:

"Within the last mile or two we have passed a few patches of Shea-oak, growing large, having a very rough and thick bark, nearly black. They have a dismal appearance."

1868. J. Bonwick, `John Batman, Founder of Victoria,' p.103:

"Even Batman's hill, the memorial of his ancient encampment, has been levelled; and the she-oaks upon that grassy mound no longer sigh in the breeze a dirge for the hero of exploration."

1869. `The Argus,' May 25, p. 5, col. 2:

"The she-oak trees, of which there are large quantities in the sandy soil of the salt-bush country, proved very serviceable during the late drought. Some of the settlers caused thousands of she-oaks to be stripped of their boughs, and it was a sight to see some of the famishing cattle rushing after the men who were employed in thus supplying the poor animals with the means of sustaining life. The cattle ate the boughs and the bark with the greatest avidity, and the bushman's axe as it felled the she-oak was music to their ears."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 258:

"She-oaks are scraggy-looking poles of trees, rather like fir-trees."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 203:

"The rough bark of the she-oak and its soft sappy wood . . ."

1890. `The Argus,' June 14, p. 4, col. 2:

"I came to a little clump of sheoaks, moaning like living things."

1895. `Notes and Queries,' Aug. 3, p. 87:

"The process followed by the Australian colonists when they converted a native word for the Casuarina trees into `she-oak.'"

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 204:

"The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she-oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh."

(2) Slang name for colonial beer.

1888. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii. p. 83:

"Their drivers had completed their regulation half-score of `long-sleevers' of `she-oak.'"

1890. Rolf Boldrewood,' Miner's Right,' c. vi. p. 59:

"Then have a glass of beer--it's only she-oak, but there's nothing wrong about it."

She-Oak nets , nets placed on each side of a gangway from a ship to the pier, to prevent sailors who have been indulging in she-oak (beer) falling into the water.

Shepherd , v . (1) to guard a mining claim and do a little work on it, so as to preserve legal rights.

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 135:

"Few of their claims however are actually `bottomed,' for the owners merely watch their more active contemporaries."

(Footnote): "This is termed `shepherding' a claim."

1890. `Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 11:

"All the ground . . . is held in blocks which are being merely shepherded."

(2) By transference from (1). To follow or hang about a person in the hopes of getting something out of him. Compare similar use of shadow .

1896. Modern:

"The robbers knowing he had so much coin about him, determined to shepherd him till an opportunity occurred of robbery with impunity."

Shepherd , n . a miner who holds a claim but does not work it.

188-. `Argus' (date lost):

"The term `jumper,' being one of reproach, brought quite a yell from the supporters of the motion. Dr. Quick retorted with a declaration that the Grand Junction Company were all `shepherds,' and that `shepherds' are the worse of the two classes. The `jumpers' sat in one gallery and certain representatives or deputy `shepherds' in the other. Names are deceitful. . . . The Maldon jumpers were headed by quite a venerable gentleman, whom no one could suspect of violent exercise nor of regrettable designs upon the properties of his neighbours. And the shepherds in the other gallery, instead of being light-hearted beings with pipes and crooks-- a la Watteau and Pope--looked unutterable things at the individuals who had cast sheep's eyes on their holding."

Shicer , n . (1) An unproductive claim or mine: a duffer . From the German scheissen .

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 135:

"A claim without gold is termed a `shicer.'"

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' c. ix. p. 256:

"It's a long sight better nor bottoming a shicer."

1863. `Victorian Hansard,' May 10, vol. ix. p. 571:

"Mr. Howard asked whether the member for Collingwood knew the meaning of the word `shicer.' Mr. Don replied in the affirmative. He was not an exquisite, like the hon. member (laughter), and he had worked on the goldfields, and he had always understood a shicer to be a hole with no gold."

1870. S. Lemaitre, `Songs of Goldfields,' p. 15:

"Remember when you first came up Like shicers, innocent of gold."

1894. `The Argus,' March 10, p. 4, col. 7:

"There are plenty of creeks in this country that have only so far been scratched--a hole sunk here and there and abandoned. No luck, no perseverance; and so the place has been set down as a duffer, or, as the old diggers' more expressive term had it, a `shicer.'"

(2) Slang. By transference from (1). A man who does not pay his debts of honour.

1896. Modern:

"Don't take his bet, he's a regular shicer."

Shingle-splitting , vb. n . obsolete Tasmanian slang.

1830. `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 89:

"When a man gets behindhand with his creditors in Hobart Town, and rusticates in the country in order to avoid the unseasonable calls of the Sheriff's little gentleman, that delights to stand at a corner where four streets meet, so as the better to watch the motions of his prey, he is said to be shingle-splitting."

Shirallee , n . slang term for a swag or bundle of blankets.

Shout , v. to stand treat. (1) Of drink. (2) By transference, of other things. The successful digger used to call passers-by to drink at his expense. The origin may also be from noisy bar-rooms, or crowded bar-parlours, where the man who was to pay for the liquor or refreshment called or shouted for the waiter or barman. When many men drink together the waiter of course looks for payment from the man who first calls or shouts out for him to give him the order. Or is "pay the shout" a variant of "pay the shot," or tavern reckoning? In its first sense the word has reached the United States, and is freely employed there.

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 335:

"And so I shouted for him and he shouted for me."

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 80:

"Gentlemen required a great deal of attendance, did not `shout' (the slang term for ordering grog) every quarter of an hour, and therefore spent comparatively nothing."

1867. A. L. Gordon, `Sea-Spray' (Credat Judaeus), p. 139:

"You may shout some cheroots, if you like; no champagne For this child.'

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 268:

"This `shouting,' as `treating' is termed in the colonies, is the curse of the Northern goldfields. If you buy a horse you must shout, the vendor must shout, and the bystanders who have been shouted to [more usual, for] must shout in their turn."

1885. D. Sladen, `In Cornwall, etc.,' p. 156 [Title, `The Sigh of the Shouter']:

"Give me the wealth I have squandered in `shouting.'"

1887. J. F. Hogan, `The Irish in Australia, p. 149:.

"Drinking is quite a common practice, and what is familiarly known as `shouting' was at one time almost universal, though of late years this peculiarly dangerous evil has been considerably diminished in extent. To `shout' in a public-house means to insist on everybody present, friends and strangers alike, drinking at the shouter's expense, and as no member of the party will allow himself to be outdone in this reckless sort of hospitality, each one `shouts' in succession, with the result that before long they are all overcome by intoxication."

1891. W. Tilley, `Wild West of Tasmania,' p. 30:

"Some heavy drinking is indulged in through the `shouting' system, which is the rule."

1893. E. W. Hornung, `Tiny Luttrell,' vol. ii. c. xv. p. 98:

"To insist on `shouting' Ruth a penny chair overlooking the ornamental water in St. James's Park."

(p.99): "You shall not be late, because I'll shout a hansom too."

Shout , n . a free drink.

1864. H. Simcox, `Outward Bound,' p. 81:

"The arms are left and off they go, And many a shout they're treated to."

1874. Garnet Walch, Head over Heels,' p. 83:

"I . . . gave the boys round a spread an' a shout."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 78:

"Two lucky diggers laid a wager which of them should treat the assembled company with the largest shout.'"

Shoveller , n . the English name for the duck Spatula clypeata , Linn., a species also present in Australia. The other Australian species is Spatula rhynchotis , Lath., also called Blue-wing .

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vii. pl. 12:

" Spatula Rhynchotis , Australian Shoveller."

Shovel-nose , n . a New South Wales species of Ray-fish, Rhinobatus bougainvillei , Cuv.; called also the Blind Shark , and Sand Shark . In the Northern Hemisphere, the name is given to three different sharks and a sturgeon.

Shrike , n . a bird-name, generally used in Australia in composition. See Crow-Shrike , Cuckoo-Shrike , Shrike-Robin , Shrike-Thrush , and Shrike-Tit .

Shrike-Robin , n . a genus of Australasian Shrikes, Eopsaltria (q.v.). The species are--

Grey-breasted Shrike-Robin-- Eopsaltria gularis , Quoy and Gaim.

Large-headed S.-R.-- E. capito , Gould.

Little S.-R.-- E. nana , Mull.

White-breasted S.-R.-- E. georgiana , Quoy and Gaim.

Yellow-breasted S.-R.-- E. australis , Lath.

1895. W. O. Legge, `Australasian 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."

Shrike-Thrush , n . a genus of Australasian Shrikes, Collyriocincla (q.v.). The species are--

Bower's Shrike-Thrush-- Collyriocincla boweri , Ramsay.

Brown S.-T.-- C. brunnea , Gould.

Buff-bellied S.-T.-- C. rufiventris , Gould.

Grey S.-T.-- C. harmonica , Lath.; called also Port Jackson Thrush (q.v.).

Little Shrike-Thrush-- Collyriocincla parvula , Gould.

Pale-bellied S.-T.-- C. pallidirostris , Sharpe.

Rufous-breasted S.-T.-- C. rufigaster , Gould.

Whistling S.-T.-- C. rectirostris , Jard. and Selb.; see Duke Willy .

1896. `The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 54:

"With gathering shadows the spotted thrush of England gives forth from the top-most pine branch his full and varied notes; notes which no Australian bird can challenge, not even the shrike-thrush on the hill side, piping hard to rival his song every bright spring morning."

Shrike-Tit , n . a genus of Australian Shrikes, Falcunculus (q.v.). The species are-- Falcunculus frontatus , Lath.; White-bellied S.-T., F. leucogaster , Gould.

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

"Shrike-tit. [Close season.] From the 1st day of August to the 10th day of December next following in each year."

Shrimp , n . The only true shrimp ( Crangon ) which Australian waters are known to possess is found in the Gulf of St. Vincent, South Australia. (Tenison-Woods.) In Tasmania, the Prawn ( Penoeus spp .) is called a Shrimp .

1883. `Royal Commission, Report on Fisheries of Tasmania,' p. 9:

"The prawn ( Penoeus sp.), locally known among fishermen as the shrimp, abounds all around our coasts."

Sida-weed , n . i.q. Queensland Hemp. See Hemp .

Signed Servant , n . obsolete contraction for Assigned Servant (q.v.).

Silky-Oak , n . a tree, often tall, Grevillea robusta , Cunn., N.O. Proteaceae , producing a useful timber in demand for various purposes. See Grevillea , Maple , and Oak .

Silver , or Silver-fish , n . a Tasmanian name for Caranx georgianus , Cuv. and Val., family Carangidae , the White or Silver Trevally . See Trevally .

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

"Common fish such as . . . garfish, strangers, silvers, and others."

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 252 [Footnote]:

"To convey anything like a correct idea of this extremely beautiful fish, it should be `laid in' with a ground of burnished silver, and the delicate tints added. The skin is scaleless, and like satin, embossed all over in little raised freckles, and with symmetrical dark lines, resembling the veining of a leaf. In quality they are a good deal like mullet."

Silver-Belly , n . name given (1) in New South Wales, to the fish Silver-Bream (q.v.); (2) in Tasmania, to various species of Atherinidae .

Silver-Bream , or White-Bream , n . a New South Wales fish, Gerres ovatus , Gunth., family Percidae ; also called Silver-Belly (q.v.). For another use, see Trevally .

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 43:

"Mr. Hill, in the series of essays already referred to, speaks of a silver-bream or white-bream. It is probable he refers to Gerres ovatus , a common fish of very compressed form, and very protractile mouth. They probably never enter fresh-water. . . . It is necessary to cook the silver-belly, as it is often called, perfectly fresh."

Silver-Eye , n . a bird-name. Same as Wax-eye , White-eye , or Blight-bird (q.v.).

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 77:

" Zosterops caerulescens , Lath. I have myself arrived at the conclusion that the Silver-eye, although identical with the Australian bird, is in reality an indigenous species."

1888. James Thomas, `To a Silver Eye:' `Australian Poets 1788-1888' (edition Sladen), p. 550:

"Thou merry little silver-eye, In yonder trailing vine, I, passing by this morning, spied That ivy-built nest of thine."

Silver Jew-fish , n . a New South Wales name for the young of the fish called Teraglin , or of the true Jew-fish (q.v.); it is uncertain which.

Silver-leaf Boree , n . i.q. Boree (q.v.).

Silver-Perch , n . a fresh-water fish, i.q. Bidyan Ruffe (q.v.).

Silver-tail , n . a bush term for a "swell": a man who goes to the manager's house, not to the men's hut. See Hut .

1890. A. J. Vogan, `The Black Police,' p. 116:

"A select circle of long-limbed members of those upper circles who belong to the genus termed in Australian parlance `silver-tailed,' in distinction to the `copper-tailed' democratic classes."

Silver-Trevally , n . See Trevally .

Sittella , n . an Australian genus of small creeping-birds, called also Tree-Runners (q.v.). Sittella is the Latin diminutive of sitta , which is from the Greek sittae , a woodpecker, whose habits the Tree-runners or Sittellae have. Gould's enumeration of the species is given in quotation.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv.:

" Sittella chrysoptera , Orange-winged Sittella; S. leucocephala , Gould, White-headed S.; S. leucoptera ,Gould, White-winged S.; S. pileata , Gould, Black-capped S.; S. tenuirostris , Gould, Slender-billed S.

1869. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia' (Supplement):

" Sittella Striata , Gould, Striated Sittella."

1875. Gould and Sharpe, `Birds of New Guinea,' vol. iii. pl. 28:

" Sittella albata , Pied Sittella."

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

"Sittellas. [Close season.] From the first day of August to the 10th day of December next following in each year."

1896. F. G. Aflalo, `Natural History of Australia,' p. 136:

"Four species of Sitilla [sic] which, except that they do not lay their eggs in hollow trees, bear some resemblance to our nuthatch."

Skate , n . The New Zealand fish called a Skate is Raja nasuta , a different species of the same genus as the European Skate.

Skipjack , or Skipjack-Pike , n . This fish, Temnodon saltator , Cuv. and Val., is the same as the British and American fish of that name. It is called Tailor (q.v.) in Sydney. The name Skipjack used also to be given by the whalers to the Australian fish Trevally (q.v.).

1872. Hutton and Hector, `Fishes of New Zealand,' p. 111:

"It is quoted by Richardson that this fish [trevally], which he says is the Skipjack of the sealers, used to be a staple article of food with the natives."

Skipper , i.q. Hopping fish (q.v.).

Skirr , n . imitative.

1884. Marcus Clarke, `Memorial Volume,' p. 127:

"How many nights have I listened to the skirr of the wild cats."

Skirting , n . generally used in the plural. In sheep-shearing, the inferior parts of the wool taken from the extremities.

1890. `The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, col. 7:

"At the `skirting-table' we will stand for a little while, and watch while the fleece just brought in is opened out by the `roller,' and the inferior portions removed."

Skullbanker , or Scowbanker , n . a slang name in Australia for a loafer, a tramp.

1866. A. Michie, `Retrospects and Prospects of the Colony,' p. 9:

"A skull-banker is a species of the genus loafer--half highwayman, half beggar. He is a haunter of stations, and lives on the squatters, amongst whom he makes a circuit, affecting to seek work and determining not to find it."

Slab , n . In English, the word slab, as applied to timber, means "an outside piece taken from a log in sawing it into boards, planks, etc." (`Webster.') In Australia, the word is very common, and denotes a piece of timber, two or three inches thick a coarse plank, axe-hewn, not sawn. Used for the walls of rough houses.

1844. `Port Phillip Patriot,' July 25, p. 3 col. 5:

A substantial slab building with verandah."

1845. `Voyage to Port Phillip,' p. 52:

"His slab-built hut, with roof of bark."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i. c. ix. p. 266:

"The house in which this modern Robinson Crusoe dwelt was what is called a Slab Hut, formed of rough boards and thatched with grass."

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' c. iv. p. 130:

"A bare, rough, barn-like edifice built of slabs."

1869. J. Townend, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 155:

"We passed through Studley Park, with here and there a slab house or tent."

1874. G. Walch, `Head over Heels,' p. 81:

"The moonlight . . . poured on the hut, slabs an' roof."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 8:

"The hut was built of logs and slabs."

[p. 73]: "The usual bush-hut of slabs and bark."

[p.144]:"The neighbours congregated in the rough hut of unplaned slabs."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `The Miner's Right,' c. vi. p. 61:

"Slab huts of split heavy boards, Australian fashion, placed vertically."

Slab , v. tr . mining term: to keep up the sides of a shaft with timber slabs.

1871. J. J. Simpson, `Recitations,' p. 24:

"So dig away, drive away, slab and bail."

Sleepy Lizard , i.q. Blue-tongued Lizard (q.v.).

Slip-panel . Same as Slip-rail (q.v.). See also Panel .

1893. `The Australasian,' Aug.12, p. 302, col. 1:

"Take him round by the water-hole and wait for me at the slip-panels."

Slip-rail , n . part of a fence so fitted that it can be removed so as to serve as a gate. Used also for the gateway thus formed. Generally in the plural. Same as Slip- panel .

1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads From the Wreck,' p. 24:

"Down with the slip-rails; stand back."

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 43:

"He [a horse] would let down the slip-rails when shut into the stockyard, even if they were pegged, drawing the pegs out with his teeth."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 79:

"Many men rode through the sliprails and turned out their horses."

1891. Canon Goodman, `Church in Victoria during Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' p. 98:

"Some careless person had neglected to replace the slip-rails of the paddock into which his horses had been turned the previous evening."

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 104:

"Then loudly she screamed: it was only to drown The treacherous clatter of slip-rails let down."

Sloth, Native , i.q. Native Bear . See Bear , and Koala .

Slusher , or Slushy , n . cook's assistant at shearing-time on a station.

1890. `The Argus,' Sept.20, p.13, col. 6:

"`Sundays are the most trying days of all,' say the cuisiniers , `for then they have nothing to do but to growl.' This man's assistant is called `the slusher.'

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 162:

"The tarboy, the cook, and the slushy, the sweeper that swept the board, The picker-up, and the penner, with the rest of the shearing horde."

1896. `The Field,' Jan. 18, p. 83, col. 1:

"He employs as many `slushies' as he thinks necessary, paying them generally L1 per week."

Slush-lamp , n . a lamp made by filling an old tin with fat and putting a rag in for wick. The word, though not exclusively Australian, is more common in the Australian bush than elsewhere. Compare English slush-horn , horn for holding grease; slush-pot , pot for holding grease, etc.

1883. J. Keighley, `Who are You?' p. 45:

"The slush-lamp shone with a smoky light."

1890. `The Argus,' Sept.20, p.13, col. 6:

"Occasionally the men will give Christy Minstrel concerts, when they illuminate the wool-shed with slush-lamps, and invite all on the station."

Smelt , n . name given, in Melbourne, to the fish Clupea vittata , Castln., family Clupeidae , or Herrings (q.v.); in New Zealand and Tasmania, to Retropinna richardsonii , Gill, family Salmonidae . Its young are called Whitebait (q.v.). The Derwent Smelt is a Tasmanian fish, H aplochiton sealii , family Haplochitonidae , fishes with an adipose fin which represent the salmonoids in the Southern Hemisphere; Prototroctes is the only other genus of the family known (see Grayling). Haplochiton is also found in the cold latitudes of South America.

Sminthopsis , n . the scientific name for the genus of Narrow-footed Pouched Mice , which, like the English field-mice, are entirely terrestrial in their habits. See Pouched Mouse . In Homer's' Iliad,' Bk. I. ver. 39, Smintheus is an epithet of Apollo. It is explained as "mouse-killer," from sminthos , a field-mouse, said to be a Cretan word.

Smoke , v. (slang). See quotation.

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' June 26, p. 8, col. 8:

"He said to the larrikins, `You have done for him now; you have killed him.' `What!' said one of them, `do not say we were here. Let us smoke.' `Smoke,' it may be explained, is the slang for the `push' to get away as fast as possible."

Smooth Holly , n . See Holly .

Snailey , n . bullock with horn slightly curled.

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. ix. p. 68:

"Snaileys and poleys, old and young, coarse and fine, they were a mixed herd in every sense."

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 133:

"There's a snaily Wallanbah bullock I haven't seen this two years."

Snake , n . The Australian land snakes belong principally to the four families, Typhlopidae, Boidae , Colubridae , and Elapidae . The proportion of venomous to non-venomous species increases from north to south, the five species known in Tasmania being all venomous. The smallest forms, such as the "blind" or "worm" snakes, are only a few inches in length, while the largest Python may reach a length of perhaps eighteen feet.

Various popular names have been given to different species in different colonies, the same name being unfortunately not infrequently applied to quite distinct species. The more common forms are as follows:--

Black Snake .

Name applied in Australia to Pseudechis porphyriacus , Shaw, which is more common in the warmer parts, and comparatively rare in the south of Victoria, and not found in Tasmania. In the latter the name is sometimes given to dark-coloured varieties of Hoplocephalus curtus , and in Victoria to those of H. superbus . The characteristic colour is black or black-brown above and reddish beneath, but it can be at once distinguished from specimens of H. superbus, which not infrequently have this colour, by the presence of a double series of plates at the hinder end, and a single series at the anterior end of the tail, whereas in the other species named there is only a single row along the whole length of the tail underneath.

1799. D. Collins, `Account of New South Wales' (edition 1802), vol. ii. p. 189 [Bass Diary at the Derwent, Tasmania]:

"The most formidable among the reptiles was the black snake with venomous fangs."

[This refers to some species of Hoplocephalus, and not to the Australian Black Snake, which does not occur in Tasmania.]

Black and white ringed Snake .

Name applied to Vermicella annulata , Gray, the characteristic colouration of which consists of a series of alternating dark and light rings. It is found especially in the dry, warmer parts of the interior.

Brown Snake .

Name given to three species of the genus Diemenia -- (1) the Common Brown Snake, D. superciliosa , Fischer; (2) the small-scaled Brown Snake, D. microlepidota , McCoy; and (3) the shield-fronted Brown Snake, D. aspidorhyncha , McCoy. All are venomous, and the commonest is the first, which is usually known as the Brown Snake.

1890. A. H. S. Lucas, `Handbook of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science,' Melbourne, p. 71:

"The most abundant of these are the tiger snake, Hoplocephalus curtus , the most widespread, active, and dangerous of them all: the brown snake, Diemenia superciliosa , pretty generally distributed."

Carpet Snake .

Name applied in Australia to Python variegata , Gray, a non-venomous snake reaching a length of ten feet. The name has reference to the carpet-like pattern on the scales. The animal crushes its prey to death, and can hang from branches by means of its prehensile tail. In Tasmania, the name is unfortunately applied to a venomous snake, Hoplocephalus curtus , Schlegel.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' c. i. p. 16:

"Brown brought a carpet snake and a brown snake with yellow belly."

1878. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria,' Decade ii. pl. 13:

"The pattern has some resemblance to some of the commoner sorts of Kidderminster carpets, as suggested by the popular name of Carpet Snake . . . the name . . . is, unfortunately, applied to the poisonous Tiger Snake in Tasmania, producing some confusion."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals, p. 294:

"One of the snakes most common is the Australian python ( Morelia variegata ), the largest snake found in Australia, which here in Northern Queensland may even attain a length of more than twenty feet."

Copper-head Snake .

Name applied in Australia to Hoplocephalus superbus , Gunth., a venomous snake which is very common in Tasmania, where it is often called the Diamond Snake (q.v.). In Victoria, it is often confused with the Black Snake; unlike the latter, it is more common in the south than in the north. It derives its popular name from the colour of the head.

1885. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Natural History of Victoria,' Decade i. pl. 2:

"In Tasmania the name Diamond snake is unfortunately given to this species, for that name properly belongs to a perfectly harmless snake of New South Wales, so that the numerous experiments made in Tasmania to test the value of some pretended antidotes, were supposed in London to have been made with the true Diamond snake, instead of, as was the case, with this very poisonous kind. . . . I have adopted the popular name `copperhead' for this snake from a well-known vendor of a supposed antidote for snake-bites."

1896. `The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 54:

"Those heather lands round Caulfield and Oakleigh where the copperhead snake basks, coiled on the warm silver sand."

Death-adder ; also called Deaf-adder .

An Australian snake, Acanthophis antarctica . It is usually found in hot sandy districts, and is supposed to be the most venomous of the Australian snakes. Large specimens reach a length of upwards of three feet, the body having a diameter of about two inches: at the end of the tail is a short spine popularly known as the animal's "sting."

1878. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria,' Decade ii. pl. 12:

"The popular name seems to be indifferently Death Adder or Deaf Adder. The harmless horny spine at the end of the tail is its most dangerous weapon, in the popular belief."

Diamond-Snake .

Name applied in New South Wales and Queensland to Python spilotes , Lacep., a non-venomous snake reaching a large size. In Tasmania the same name is given to Hoplocephalus superbus , Gray, a venomous snake more properly called the Copperhead Snake .

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 78:

"Charley killed a diamond snake, larger than any he had ever seen before."

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip,' c. iii. p. 43:

"The diamond snake is that most dreaded by the natives."

1869. G. Krefft, `The Snakes of Australia,' p. 29:

"Diamond snakes are found in almost every kind of country that offers them sufficient shelter."

1895. G. Metcalfe, `Australian Zoology,' p. 27:

"As a rule, diamond snakes have almost every scale of the body marked with a yellow spot in the centre. . . . The abdominal plates are yellow, and more or less blotched with black, and many species . . . have a number of diamond-shaped yellow spots upon the body, formed by a few of the lighter scales, and hence their name has probably arisen."

Green Tree-Snake .

Name given, owing to its colour, to the commonest Australian tree-snake, Dendrophis punctulata , Gray. It is a non-venomous form, feeding on frogs, young birds, and eggs, and rarely exceeds the length of six feet.

1869. G. Krefft, `The Snakes of Australia,' p. 24:

"Young and half grown Tree Snakes are olive-green above and light brown below . . . when angry, the body of this serpent expands in a vertical direction, whilst all venomous snakes flatten their necks horizontally. The green Tree snake, in a state of excitement is strongly suggestive of one of the popular toys of childhood."

Little Whip-Snake .

Name applied to a small venomous species of snake, Hoplocephalus flagellum , McCoy. Common in parts of Victoria, but not exceeding a foot in length.

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' vol. ii. c. xxvii. p. 190:

"He wished it had been a whip-snake instead of a magpie."

1887. R. M. Praed, `Longleat of Kooralbyn,' c. xx. p. 199:

"A whip-snake . . . reared itself upon its lithe body, and made a dart at Barrington's arm."

1890. Lyth, `Golden South,' c. iii. p. 24:

"I saw a large `whip-snake' lying on the path."

Tiger-Snake .

Name applied in Australia and Tasmania to Hoplocephalus curtus , Schlegel, but this species is often also known in the latter as the Carpet Snake (q.v.). The popular name is derived from the cross-banded colouring along the body, and also from its activity. It varies much in colour from a dark olive green to a light yellowish brown, the darker cross bands being sometimes almost indistinguishable. It may reach a length of four feet, and is viviparous, producing about thirty young ones in January or February.

1875. `The Spectator' (Melbourne), Aug. 21, p. 190, col. 1:

"On Tuesday a tiger-snake was seen opposite the door of the Sandridge police court."

1885. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria,' Decade i. pl. 3:

"This species, which goes under the colonial name in Victoria of Tiger snake, from its tawny cross banded colouring and ferocity, is well known to frequently inflict bites rapidly fatal to men and dogs. . . . In Tasmania this is popularly called `Carpet snake,' a name which properly belongs to the harmless snake so called on the mainland."

Two-hooded Furina-Snake .

Name applied to a small, venomous snake, Furina bicuculata , McCoy.

1879. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria,' Decade iii. pl. 32:

"Furina bicuculata (McCoy). The Two-hooded Furina-snake. . . . This rare and beautiful little snake is a clear example of the genus Furina."

White-lipped-Snake .

Name given to a small venomous species of whip-snake , Hoplocephalus coronoides , Gunth., found in Tasmania and Victoria, and reaching a length of about eighteen inches.

1890. A. H. S. Lucas, `Handbook of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science,' Melbourne, p. 71:

"Whip snakes, H. flagellum and H. coronoides ."

Worm-Snake .

Name given to various species of the genus Typhlops , comprising small, non-venomous, smooth, round-bodied snakes, which burrow in warm sandy soil, and feed upon insects such as ants. The eyes are covered over by translucent plates, and the tail scarcely tapering at all, and sometimes having two black spots, gives the animal the appearance of having a head at each end. The commoner forms are the Blackish Worm-Snake ( Typhlops nigrescens , Gray), and Schlegel's Worm-Snake ( T. polygrammicus , Schlegel).

1881. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria,' Decade vi. pl. 103:

"The `Blackish Worm snake' is not uncommon in the northern warmer parts of the colony. . . . These worm snakes are perfectly harmless, although, like the Slow-Worms and their allies in other countries, they are popularly supposed to be very poisonous."

Sneeze-weed , Myriogyne minuta , Less., Cotula or Centipeda cunninghamii , De C., and many other botanical synonyms. A valuable specific for Sandy-Blight (q.v.).

1877. F. v. Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 58:

"The Sneeze-weed ( Cotula or Centipeda Cunninghamii ). A dwarf, erect, odorous herb . . . can be converted into snuff."

1886. Dr. Woolls, in `Sydney Morning Herald,' Dec. 25 (quoted by Maiden):

"Dr. Jockel is, I believe, the first medical man in Australia who has proved the value of Myriogyne in a case of ophthalmia. This weed, growing as it does on the banks of rivers and creeks, and in moist places,, is common in all the Australian colonies and Tasmania, and it may be regarded as almost co-extensive with the disease it is designed to relieve."

Snipe , n . The species of Snipe known in Australia are-- Scolopax australis , Lath.; Painted S., Rhynchaea australis , Gould. This bird breeds in Japan and winters in Australia. The name is also used as in the quotation.

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 210:

"Along the shore are flocks of a species of bird which some sportsmen and the game-sellers in the city are pleased to call snipe. They are probably tringa, a branch of the sea-plover family."

Snook , n . The name is applied in the Old World to various fishes, including the Garfish (q.v.). At the Cape of Good Hope, it is applied to Thyrsites atun , Cuv. and Val., and this name for the same fish has extended to New Zealand, where (as in all the other colonies) it is more generally called the Barracouta (q.v.). Under the word Cavally, `O.E.D.' quotes--

1697. Dampier, `Voyage,' vol. i:

"The chiefest fish are bonetas, snooks, cavallys."

Snook is an old name, but it is doubtful whether it is used in the Old World for the same fish. Castelnau says it is the snook of the Cape of Good Hope.

1872. Hutton and Hector, `Fishes of New Zealand,' p. 14, under `Thyrsites Atun, Barracoota':

"This is, I believe, the fish called snoek in Cape Colony."

1880. Guenther, `Study of Fishes,' p. 436:

" Th. atun from the Cape of Good Hope, South Australia, New Zealand, and Chili, is preserved, pickled or smoked. In New Zealand it is called `barracuda' or `snoek,' and exported from the colony into Mauritius and Batavia as a regular article of commerce."

Snowberry , n . a Tasmanian name for the Wax-cluster (q.v.).

Snow-Grass , n . Poa caespitosa , G. Forst., another name for Wiry grass (q.v.). See also Grass .

1875. Wood and Lapham, `Waiting for the Mail,' p. 31:

"Tethering my good old horse to a tussock of snow-grass."

Snow-line , n . In pastoralists' language of New Zealand, "above the snow-line" is land covered by snow in winter, but free in summer.

Soak , or Soakage , n . a Western and Central Australian term. See quotation.

1895. `The Australasian,' Sept. 7, p. 461, col. 1:

"`Inquirer.'--The term soak in Western Australia, as used on maps and plans, signifies a depression holding moisture after rain. It is also given to damp or swampy spots round the base of granite rocks. Wells sunk on soaks yield water for some time after rain. All soaks are of a temporary character."

Soak-hole , n . an enclosed place in a stream in which sheep are washed.

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 82:

"Parallel poles, resting on forks driven into the bed of the water-hole, were run out on the surface of the stream, forming square soak-holes, a long, narrow lane leading to the dry land."

Soldier , or Soldier-Ant , n . "one of that section of a colony of some kinds of ants which does the fighting, takes slaves, etc." (`Century Dict.') In Australia, the large red ants are called Soldier-Ants . Compare Bulldog-Ant .

1854. G. H. Haydon, `The Australian Emigrant,' p. 59:

"It was a red ant, upwards of an inch in length--`that's a soldier, and he prods hard too.'"

1865. W. Howitt, `Discovery in Australia,' vol. ii. p. 308:

"The pain caused by a wound from this grass-seed is exactly like that from the bite of a soldier-ant."

Soldier-bird , or Poor Soldier , or Old-Soldier bird , n . another name for the Friar-bird (q.v.).

1859. D. Bunce, `Australasiatic Reminiscences,' p. 62:

"The notes peculiar to the Ornithorhynchus paradoxus , or platypus , wattle-bird, and leather-head, or old soldier bird, added in no small degree to the novelties. . . . The wattle-bird has been not inaptly termed the `what's o'clock,'--the leather-head the `stop where-you-are.'"

[Mr. Bunce's observations are curiously confused. The `Soldier-bird' is also called `Four o'clock,' but it is difficult to say what `wattle bird' is called `what's o'clock'; the `notes' of the platypus must be indeed `peculiar.']

1896. Mrs. Langloh Parker, `Australian Legendary Tales,' p. 108 [Title of Tale]:

"Deegeenboyah the Soldier-bird."

Sole , n . The name is given to various Australian fishes. In Sydney, to Synaptura nigra , Macl.; in Melbourne, to Rhombosolea bassensis , Castln.; in New Zealand, to Rhombosolea monopus , Gunth., and Peltorhamphus novae-zelandiae , Gunth.; in Tasmania, to Ammotretis rostratus , Gunth., family Pleuronectidae . Rhombosolea monopus is called the Flounder , in Tasmania. See also Lemon-Sole .

Solomon's Seal, n . Not the Old World plant, which is of the genus Polygonatum , but the Tasmanian name for Drymophila cyanocarpa , R. Br., N.O. Liliacea ; also called Turquoise Berry.

Sonny , n . a common nominative of address to any little boy. In Australia, the word is not infrequently pronounced as in the quotation. The form of the word came from America.

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 10:

"But maybe you're only a Johnnie, And don't know a horse from a hoe? Weel, weel, don't get angry, my Sonny, But, really, a young `un should know."

Sool , v . Used colloquially--(1) to excite a dog or set him on; (2) to worry, as of a dog. Common in the phrase "Sool him, boy!" Shakspeare uses "tarre him on" in the first sense.

Shakspeare, `King John,' IV. i. 117:

"And like a dog that is compelled to fight, Snatch at his master that doth tarre him on."

1896. Mrs. Langloh Parker, `Australian Legendary Tales,' p. 90:

"She went quickly towards her camp, calling softly, `Birree gougou,' which meant `Sool 'em, sool 'em,' and was the signal for the dogs to come out."

Sorrel, Queensland . See Queensland Sorrel .

Sour-Gourd , n . Same as Baobab (q.v.).

Sour-Plum , n . the Emu-apple . See Apple .

South Australia , n . the name of a colony, established in 1836, with Adelaide as its capital. It is not a good name, for it is not the most southerly colony, and the "Northern Territory" forms a part of South Australia. Central Australia would be a better name, but not wholly satisfactory, for by Central Australia is now meant the central part of the colony of South Australia. The name Centralia has been proposed as a change.

Southern Cross , n . The constellation of the Southern Cross is of course visible in places farther north than Australia, but it has come to be regarded as the astronomical emblem of Australasia; e.g. the phrase "beneath the Southern Cross " is common for "in Australia or New Zealand."

1863. S. Butler, `First Year in Canterbury Settlement,' p. 13:

"The southern cross is a very great delusion. It isn't a cross. It is a kite, a kite upside down, an irregular kite upside down, with only three respectable stars and one very poor and very much out of place. Near it, however, is a truly mysterious and interesting object called the coal sack: it is a black patch in the sky distinctly darker than all the rest of the heavens. No star shines through it. The proper name for it is the black Magellan cloud."

1868. Mrs. Riddell, `Lay of Far South,' p. 4:

"Yet do I not regret the loss, Thou hast thy gleaming Southern Cross."

1887. R. M. Praed, `Longleat of Kooralbyn,' c. iv. p. 35:

"The Southern Cross rose gem-like above the horizon."

Spade-press , n . a make-shift wool-press in which the fleeces are rammed down with a spade.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xvii. p. 202:

"The spade-press--that friendly adjunct of the pioneer squatter's humble wool-shed."

Spaniard , n . a prickly bushy grass of New Zealand, Aciphylla colensoi .

1857. `Paul's Letters from Canterbury,' p. 108:

"The country through which I have passed has been most savage , one mass of Spaniards ."

1862. J. Von Haast, `Geology of Westland,' p. 25:

"Groves of large specimens of Discaria toumatoo , the Wild Irishman of the settlers, formed with the gigantic Aciphylla Colensoi , the Spaniard or Bayonet-grass, an often impenetrable thicket."

1863. S. Butler, `First Year of Canterbury Settlement,' p. 67:

"The Spaniard (spear-grass or bayonet-grass) `piked us intil the bane,' and I assure you we were hard set to make any headway at all."

1875. Lady Barker, `Station Amusements in New Zealand,' p. 35:

"The least touch of this green bayonet draws blood, and a fall into a Spaniard is a thing to be remembered all one's life."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 287:

"Carefully avoiding contact with the long-armed leaves of Spaniards ( Aciphylla ), which here attain the larger dimensions, carrying flower-spikes up to six feet long."

1890. `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxiii. p. 197:

"Here were rats which lived under the dead leaves of the prickly ` Spaniard ,' and possibly fed on the roots. The Spaniard leaves forked into stiff upright fingers about 1 in. wide, ending in an exceedingly stiff pricking point."

1896. `Otago Witness,' May 7, p. 48 "Prickly as the points of the Spaniard."

Spear-grass , n . name given to several grasses whose spear-like seeds spoil the wool of sheep, but which are yet excellent forage plants. They are--(1) all the species of Stipa ; (2) Heteropogon contortus , Roem. and Schult., and others (see quotations); (3) and in New Zealand, one or two plants of the umbelliferous genus Aciphylla ; also called Spaniard (q.v.).

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 44:

"Very disagreeable, however, was the abundance of burr and of a spear-grass ( Aristida )."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 463 [Note]:

"On the south coast there is a grass seed which has similar properties. The seeds are sharp and covered with fine barbs, and once they penetrate the skin they will work their way onwards. They catch in the wool of sheep, and in a short time reach the intestines. Very often I have been shown the omentum of a dead sheep where the grass seeds were projecting like a pavement of pegs. The settlers call it spear-grass, and it is, I believe, a species of Anthistiria ."

1874. W. H. L. Ranken, `Dominion of Australia,' c. v. p. 86:

"Sheep in paddocks cannot be so well kept clear of spear-grass."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 90:

" Heteropogon contortus , Spear Grass. A splendid grass for a cattle-run, as it produces a great amount of feed, but is dreaded by the sheep-owner on account of its spear-like seeds."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 23:

"A nocuous kind of grass, namely the dreaded spear-grass ( Andropogon contortus ), which grows on the coast, and which rendered sheep-raising impossible."

Spear-Lily , n . See Lily .

Spearwood , the wood of three trees so called, because the aborigines made their spears from it-- Acacia doratoxylon , A. Cunn., A. homalophylla , A. Cunn., both N.O. Leguminosae ; and Eucalyptus doratoxylon , F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae .

Speedwell, Native , n . The English Speedwell is a Veronica . There is a Tasmanian species, Veronica formosa , R. Br., N.O. Scrophulariaceae .

Spell , n . In England, a turn at work or duty; in Australasia, always a period of rest from duty. It is quite possible that etymologically Spell is connected with Ger. spielen , in which case the Australasian use is the more correct. See `Skeat's Etymological Dictionary.'

1865. J. O. Tucker, `Australian Story,' c. i. p. 84:

"The only recompense was . . . to light his pipe and have a `spell.'"

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 84:

"Having a spell--what we should call a short holiday."

Spell , v . to rest.

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. ii. p. 42:

"In order to spell the oars, we landed at a point on the east side."

1880. G. n . Oakley, in `Victoria in 1880,' p. 114:

"He `spelled' upon the ground; a hollow gum Bore up his ample back and bade him rest; And creaked no warning when he sat upon A war-ant's nest."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xxiv. p. 328:

"There's a hundred and fifty stock-horses there, spelling for next winter's work."

1896. Baldwin Spencer, `Horne Expedition in Central Australia,' Narrative, p. 48:

"We camped beside a water-pool containing plenty of fish, and here we spelled for a day to allow some of us to go on and photograph Chamber's Pillar."

Sphenura , n . scientific name for a genus of Australian birds called the Bristle-Birds (q.v.). From Grk. sphaen , "a wedge," and 'oura , "a tail." The name was given by Sir Frederick McCoy.

Spider , n . See Katipo .

Spider-Orchis , n . name given in Tasmania to the Orchid Caladenia pulcherrima , F. v. M.

Spiloglaux , n . See Sceloglaux .

Spinach, Australian , n . name applied to species of Chenopodium , N.O. Salsolaceae ; called also Fat-hen . The name is also applied to various wild pot herbs.

Spinach, New Zealand , n . Tetragonia expansa , Murr., N.O. Ficoideae ; called also Iceplant , in Tasmania. It is a trailing Fig-marigold , and was discovered in New Zealand by Captain Cook, though it is also found in Japan and South America. Its top leaves are eaten as spinach, and Cook introduced it to England, where it is also known as Summer Spinach .

Spine-bill , n . an Australian "Honey-eater," but not now so classed. There are two species--

The Slender Spine-bill-- Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris , Gould; inhabiting Australia and Tasmania, and called Cobbler's Awl in the latter colony.

White-eyebrowed S.-- A. superciliosus , Gould; of Western Australia.

Though related to the genus Myzomela , the pattern of their colouration differs widely.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv. pl. 61:

" Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris . Slender-billed Spine-bill. Cobbler's Awl, Colonists of Van Diemen's Land."

Ibid. pl. 62:

" Acanthorhynchus superciliosus , Gould. White-eyebrowed Spine-bill."

Spinetail , n . an Australian bird, Orthonyx spinicauda ; called also Pheasant's Mother (q.v.), Log-runner (q.v.). The name is used elsewhere for different birds. See Orthonyx .

Spinifex , n . a grass known in India, China, and the Pacific, but especially common on Australasian shores. The word means, literally, thorn-making , but it is not classical Latin. "The aggregated flowers form large clusters, and their radiating heads, becoming detached at maturity, are carried by the wind along the sand, propelled by their elastic spines and dropping their seeds as they roll." (Mueller.) This peculiarity gains for the Hairy Spinifex ( Spinifex hirsutus , Labill.) the additional name of Spiny Rolling Grass . See also quotation, 1877. This chief species ( S. hirsutus ) is present on the shores of nearly all Australasia, and has various synonyms-- S. sericeus , Raoul.; S. inermis , Banks and Sol.; Ixalum inerme , Forst.; S. fragilis , R.B., etc. It is a "coarse, rambling, much-branched, rigid, spinous, silky or woolly, perennial grass, with habitats near the sea on sandhills, or saline soils more inland." (Buchanan.)

The Desert Spinifex of the early explorers, and of many subsequent writers, is not a true Spinifex , but a Fescue ; it is properly called Porcupine Grass (q.v.), and is a species of Triodia . The quotations, 1846, 1887, 1890, and 1893, involve this error.

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. ii. c. vi. p. 209:

"In the valley was a little sandy soil, nourishing the Spinifex."

1877. Baron von Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 125:

"The Desert Spinifex of our colonists is a Fescue, but a true Spinifex occupies our sand-shores; . . . the heads are so buoyant as to float lightly on the water, and while their uppermost spiny rays act as sails, they are carried across narrow inlets, to continue the process of embarking."

1887. J. Bonwick, `Romance of Wool Trade,' p. 239:

"Though grasses are sadly conspicuous by their absence, saline plants, so nutritious for stock, occur amidst the real deserts of Spinifex."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 43:

"On the broad sandy heights . . . the so-called spinifex is found in great abundance. This grass ( Triodia irritans ) is the traveller's torment, and makes the plains, which it sometimes covers for hundreds of miles, almost impassable. Its blades, which have points as sharp as needles, often prick the horses' legs till they bleed."

1893. A. F. Calvert, `English Illustrated Magazine,' Feb., p. 325:

"They evidently preferred that kind of watercress to the leaves of the horrid, prickly Spinifex, so omnipresent in the north-western district."

1896. R. Tate, `Horne Expedition in Central Australia,' Botany, p. 119:

"A species of Triodia (`porcupine grass,' or incorrectly `spinifex' of explorers and residents) dominates sandy ground and the sterile slopes and tops of the sandstone table-lands."

Spiny-Lizard , n . i.q. Mountain Devil (q.v.).

Split-stuff , n . timber sawn into lengths and then split.

1852. Mrs. Meredith, `My Home in Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 159:

"`Sawed stuff' and `split stuff,' by which is meant timber which is sawn into regular forms and thicknesses, as flooring boards, joints, battens, &c., and that which is split into `posts and rails,' slabs, or paling. Some of the species of eucalyptus , or gum-trees, are peculiarly adapted for splitting. The peppermint-tree ( Eucalyptus piperita ) and the `Stringy Bark' are remarkable for the perfectly straight grain which they often exhibit, and are split with surprising evenness and regularity into paling and boards for `weather-boarding' houses and other purposes, in lengths of six or eight feet by one foot wide, and half or one-third of an inch thick. . . . Any curve in a tree renders it unfit for splitting, but the crooked- grained wood is best for sawing. . . . All houses in the colony, with few exceptions, are roofed with split shingles."

Splitter , n . a wood-cutter, cutting timber in the bush, and splitting it into posts and rails, palings or shingles. See quotation under Split-stuff .

1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 105:

"There were two splitters located near us . . . they had a licence to split timber on the crown lands."

1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads--Wolf and Hound,' p. 32:

"At the splitter's tent I had seen the track Of horse hoofs, fresh on the sward."

Spoonbill , n . a bird-name widely used. The Australian species are--

Royal Spoonbill-- Platalea regia .

Yellow-billed S.-- P. flavipes .

P. regia has a fine crest in the breeding season; hence the name.

1863. M. K. Beveridge, `Gatherings among Gum-trees,' p. 79:

"The sun is sinking in the western sky, And ibises and spoonbills thither fly.

Spotted-tree . Same as Leopard-tree (q.v.).

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 216:

"Spotted or Leopard Tree. The gum from this tree forms good adhesive mucilage. It reminds one strongly of East-India gum-arabic of good quality. During the summer months large masses, of a clear amber-colour, exude from the stem and branches. It has a very pleasant taste, is eaten by the aboriginals, and forms a very common bushman's remedy in diarrhoea."

Spotted-Orchis , n . Tasmanian name for the Orchid Dipodium punctatum , R. Br.

Spotting , n . New Zealand equivalent for the Australian "picking the eyes out," and "peacocking." Under Free-selection (q.v.), the squatter spotted his run, purchasing choice spots.

Spotty , n . a New Zealand fish, a Wrass, Labrichthys bothryocosmus , Richards.; also called Poddly (q.v.), and Kelp-fish (q.v.).

1878. P. Thomson, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xi. art. lii. p. 384:

"Wrasse, parrot-fish, and spotties are often in the market. There are two kinds of spotties, a big and a little. The wrasse and the parrot-fish are mostly caught outside amongst the kelp, and these, with the spotty, are indiscriminately called kelp-fish by the fishermen."

Sprag , n . In gold-mining. See quotation. The word is used in England, applied to coal-mining.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. iii. p. 23:

"A `sprag,' being a stout piece of hard wood, was inserted between the rope and the iron roller on which the rope ran."

Squat , v. to be a squatter (q.v.) in any of the senses of that word.

1846. Feb. 11, `Speech by Rev. J. D. Lang,' quoted in `Phillipsland,' p. 410:

In whatever direction one moves out of Melbourne, whether north, east, or west, all he sees or hears is merely a repetition of this colonial note--`I squat, thou squattest, he squats; we squat, ye or you squat, they squat.'. . . Exeunt omnes . `They are all gone out a-squatting.'"

1846. T. H. Braim, `History of New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 236:

"The regulations . . . put an end to squatting within the boundaries of location, and reduced it to a system without the boundaries."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 136:

"The Speaker squats equally and alternately on the woolsack of the House and at his wool-stations on the Murrumbidgee. One may squat on a large or small scale, squat directly or indirectly, squat in person or by proxy."

1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' p. 68:

"Some spot, Found here and there, where cotters squat With self-permission."

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 119:

"Squatting, in its first phase, was confined to the region round about Sydney; it was not until the pass through the Blue Mountains was discovered that the flocks and herds of the colonists began to expand."

Squattage , n . a squatter's station. The word can hardly be said to have prevailed.

1864. W. Westgarth, `Colony of Victoria,' p. 272:

"The great Riverine district, which is one vast series of squattages . . . the toil and solitude of a day's journey between the homesteads of adjacent squattages."

Squatter , n . (1) One who squats; that is, settles on land without a title or licence. This is an English use.

1835. T. A. Murray (Evidence before Legislative Council of New South Wales on Police and Gaols):

"There are several parties of squatters in my neighbourhood. I detected, not long since, three men at one of their stations in the act of slaughtering one of my own cattle. I have strong reason to suspect that these people are, in general, illicit sellers of spirits."

1835. W. H. Dutton (Evidence before same Committee):

"These persons (squatters) are almost invariably the instigators and promoters of crime, receivers of stolen property, illegal vendors of spirits, and harbourers of runaways, bushrangers, and vagrants."

1843. Rev. W. Pridden, `Australia Its History and Present Condition,' pp. 332-3:

"The squatters , as they are called, are men who occupy with their cattle, or their habitations, those spots on the confines of a colony or estate which have not yet become any person's private property. By the natural increase of their flocks and herds, many of these squatters have enriched themselves; and having been allowed to enjoy the advantages of as much pasture as they wanted in the bush, without paying any rent for it to the government, they have removed elsewhere when the spot was sold, and have not unfrequently gained enough to purchase that or some other property. Thus . . . the squatter has been converted into a respectable settler. But this is too bright a picture to form an average specimen. . . . Unfortunately, many of these squatters have been persons originally of depraved and lawless habits, and they have made their residence at the very outskirts of civilization a means of carrying on all manner of mischief. Or sometimes they choose spots of waste land near a high road . . . there the squatters knock up what is called a `hut.' In such places stolen goods are easily disposed of, spirits and tobacco are procured in return."

Ibid. p. 334:

"The rich proprietors have a great aversion to the class of squatters, and not unreasonably, yet they are thus, many of them, squatters themselves, only on a much larger scale. . ."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i. c. ix. p. 260:

"This capital of Australia Felix had for a long time been known to some squatters from Tasmania."

1846. T. H. Braim, `History of New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 235:

"A set of men who were to be found upon the borders of every large estate, and who were known by the name of squatters. These were ticket-of-leave holders, or freedmen who erected a but on waste land near a great public road, or on the outskirts of an estate."

1897. Australian Steam Navigation Company, `Guide Book,' p. 29:

"Nowaday squatters may be interested and possibly shocked on learning that in March, 1836, a petition was being largely signed for the prevention of `squatting, through which so much crime was daily occurring,' inasmuch as `squatting' was but another term for sly grog selling, receiving stolen property, and harbouring bushrangers and assigned servants. The term `squatter,' as applied to the class it now designates--without which where would Australia now be?--was not in vogue till 1842."

(2) A pastoral tenant of the Crown, often renting from the Crown vast tracts of land for pasturage at an almost nominal sum. The term is still frequently, but incorrectly, used for a man rearing and running stock on freehold land. Pastoralist is now the more favoured term.

1840. F. P. Labillicre, `Early History of the Colony of Victoria' (edition 1878), vol. ii. p. 189:

"In a memorandum of December 19th, 1840, `on the disposal of Lands in the Australian Provinces,' Sir George Gipps informs the Secretary of State on the subject, and states that,--'A very large proportion of the land which is to form the new district of Port Phillip is already in the licensed occupation of the Squatters of New South Wales, a class of persons whom it would be wrong to confound with those who bear the same name in America, and who are generally persons of mean repute and of small means, who have taken unauthorized possession of patches of land. Among the Squatters of New South Wales are the wealthiest of the land, occupying, with the permission of the Government, thousands and tens of thousands of acres. Young men of good families and connexions in England, officers of the army and navy, graduates of Oxford and Cambridge, are also in no small number amongst them.'"

1844. `Port Phillip Patriot,' July 8, p. 3, col. 3:

"The petitioner has already consigned the whole country to the class squatter in perpetuity."

1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 165:

"The squatters of Australia Felix will meet on horseback, upon Batman's Hill, on the 1st of June, for the purpose of forming a Mutual Protection Society. From the Murray to the sea-beach, from the Snowy Mountains to the Glenelg, let no squatter be absent."

1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 366:

"`Squatters.' A word not to be found in `Johnson's Dictionary'; of Canadian extraction, literally to sit on the haunches: in Australia a term applied to the sheep farmers generally; from their being obliged frequently to adopt that position."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition' (Introd.), p. 15:

"We were received with the greatest kindness by my friends the `squatters,' a class principally composed of young men of good education, gentlemanly habits, and high principles."

1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 168:

"The Port Phillip squatters, as occupants of the territory of New South Wales, were afterwards required to take out an annual depasturing licence in terms of a Colonial Act passed at Sydney."

(p. 246): "The modern squatters, the aristocratic portion of the colonial community."

1851. `Australasian,' p. 298:

"In 1840 the migratory flockmaster had become a settled squatter. A wretched slab but is now his home; for furniture he has a rough bush-made table, and two or three uncouth stools."

1861. T. McCombie, Australian Sketches,' p. 128:

"The term squatter was applied in the first instance to signify, as in America, such as erected huts on unsold land. It thus came to be applied to all who did not live on their own land, to whom the original and more expressive name of settler continued to be applied. When the owners of stock became influential from their education and wealth, it was thought due to them to change this term for one more suitable to their circumstances, as they now included in their order nearly every man of mark or wealth in Australia. The Government suggested the term `tenants of the Crown,' the press hinted at `licensed graziers,' and both terms were in partial use, but such is the prejudice in favour of what is already established, that both were soon disused, and the original term finally adopted."

1862. G. T. Lloyd, `Thirty-three Years in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 478:

"The term `squatter' . . . is thus derived:--A flock-master settling in Australia could drive his stock to, and occupy, any tract of country, which, from its extent and pastoral capabilities, might meet his comprehensive views; always provided, that such lands had not been already appropriated. . . . Early flock-masters were always confirmed in their selection of lands, according to the quantity of stock they possessed. . . . The Victorian Squatter who can number but five or six thousand sheep is held to be a man of no account. . . . Those only, who can command the shearing of from ten to forty thousand fleeces annually, are estimated as worthy of any note."

1866. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 47:

"The squatters (as owners of sheepstations are called)."

1868. J. Bonwick, `John Batman, Founder of Victoria,' p. 94:

"In the language of the times, Messrs. Evans, Lancey, and subsequently J. P. Fawkner, were squatters. That term is somewhat singular as applied to the latter, who asserts that he founded the colony to prevent its getting into the hands of the squatters. The term was then applied to all who placed themselves upon public lands without licence."

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 265:

"It is not too much to say that all the early success of Australia was due to the squatters of New South Wales, who followed the steps of Captain McArthur."

1878. `The Australian,' vol. i. p. 532:

"I have been a super, a small freeholder, and a middling-sized squatter, at different times."

1889. Rev. J. H. Zillmann, `Australian Life,' p. 165:

"The Squatters are the large leaseholders and landed proprietors of the colony, whose cry has always been that the country was unfit for agricultural settlement, and only adapted for the pastoral pursuits in which they were engaged. . . . It is true the old squatter has been well-nigh exterminated."

1893. J. F. Hogan, `Robert Lowe,' p. 36:

"The pastoral enterprise of the adventurous squatters. Originally unrecognized trespassers on Crown lands. . . ."

(3) Applied as a nickname to a kind of Bronze-wing Pigeon (q.v.).

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 122:

"On the plains you find different kinds of pigeons, the squatters being most common--plump, dust-coloured little fellows, crouching down to the ground quite motionless as you pass. I have frequently killed them with my stock-whip."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 114:

"Gentle little squatter-pigeons cooed lovingly in answer to their mates on all sides."

Squatterarchy , n . squatters collectively.

1887. R. M. Praed, `Longleat of Kooralbyn,' c. iii. p. 25:

"The Squatterarchy of the Koorong rose up in a body and named its hero, martyr."

Squatterdom , n . the state of being a squatter, or collective word for squatters; the squatter-party.

1866 (circiter). `Political parody':

"The speaker then apologised, the Members cried, Hear, Hear; And e'en the ranks of squatterdom could scarce forbear to cheer."

1868. J. Bonwick, `John Batman, Founder of Victoria,' p. 94:

"Writes to another at a distance upon the subject of squatterdom."

Squatting , adj.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition' (Introd.), p. 13:

"During my recent excursions through the squatting districts, I had accustomed myself to a comparatively wild life."

1847. J. D. Lang, `Cooksland,' p. 268:

"The large extent of land occupied by each Squatting Station."

1890. `The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 2:

"A gathering of the squatting and bush life of Australia."

Squattocracy , n . squatters collectively.

1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 118:

"Throughout the Colony generally, English are the most numerous, then the Scotch, then the Irish, amongst the Squattocracy."

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 59:

"The howl for the abolition of the squattocracy had not yet been fostered under the malign influence of shortsighted politicians."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Head Station,' p. 35 (`Century'):

"The bloated squattocracy represents Australian conservatism."

1890. E. W. Hornung, `A Bride from the Bush,' p. 243:

"The hearty, hospitable manner of the colonial `squatocracy.'"

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. iv. p. 42:

"He trusted to pass into the ranks of the Squatocracy."

Squattocratic , adj . connected with previous word.

1854. `Melbourne Morning Herald,' Feb. 18, p. 4, col. 5:

"Squattocratic Impudence." [A heading.]

Squeaker , n . a vernacular name applied to various birds from their cries. See quotations.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. ii. pl. 45:

" Strepera Anaphonensis , Grey Crow-shrike; Squeaker of the Colonists."

1855. W. Blandowski, `Transactions of Philosophical Society, Victoria,' vol. i. p. 63:

"The Squeaker ( Strepera anaphonensis ) is a shy and solitary bird, living entirely on the flats, and is remarkable on account of its frequenting only the same locality. He is hence easily distinguished from the Gymnorhina tibicen , whose shrill and piping voice is so well known on all the high lands."

1896. A. J. North, `List of Insectivorous Birds of New South Wales,' part i. p. 1:

"A local name is often more apt to mislead and confuse than to assist one in recognizing the particular species on which it is bestowed. This is chiefly due to the same local name being applied to two or more species.For instance, Corcorax melanorhamphus , Xerophila leucopsis , and Myzantha garrula are all locally known in different parts of the Colony by the name of `Squeaker.'"

Squid , n . a marine animal. The Australian species is Sepioteuthis australis , Quoy and Gaim.

1883. `Report of the Royal Commission on the Fisheries of Tasmania,' p. xi:

"None of the Squid family seems to be sought after, although certain kinds are somewhat abundant in our waters. It is stated by the New South Wales Fisheries Enquiry Commission, 1880, that `the cephalopods might be made a source of a considerable profit for exportation to Japan and China. In both these countries all animal substances of a gelatinous character are in great request, and none more than those of the cuttle-fish tribe; the squid ( Sepioteuthis australis ) is highly appreciated, and in consequence is highly prized. The cuttle-fish ( sepia ) is of rather inferior quality, and the star-fish of the fishermen ( octopus ) not used at all.'"

1892. R L. Stevenson, `The Wrecker,' p. 345:

"You can't fill up all these retainers on tinned salmon for nothing; but whenever I could get it, I would give 'em squid. Squid's good for natives, but I don't care for it, do you?-- or shark either."

Squire , n . name given to the fish called Schnapper at two years old. See Schnapper .

Squirrel , n . See Flying-Squirrel .

Stamper , or Stamphead , n . "A cast-iron weight, or head, fixed on to a shank or lifter, and used for stamping or reducing quartz to a fine sand." (Brough Smyth, `Glossary.') The word is used elsewhere as a term in machinery. In Australia, it signifies the appliance above described. The form stamphead is the earlier one. The shorter word stamper is now the more usual.

1869. J. F. Blanche, `Prince's Visit,' p. 25:

"For steam and stampers now are all the rage."

1880. A. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 76:

"The battery was to have eight stampers."

1890. `Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 11:

"This, with the old battery, brings the number of stampers up to sixty."

Ibid. p. 15:

"A battery of twenty-six stamp heads."

Star of Bethlehem . The Old World plant is Ornithogalum umbellatum ; the name is given in Australia to Chamaescilla corymbosa , and in Tasmania to Burchardia umbellata , R. Br., both of the Liliaceae .

Star-fern , n . name given in Victoria to Gleichenia flabellata , R. Br.; called also Fan-fern . See Fern .

Starling , n . English bird-name. The Australian species is the Shining Starling , Calornis metallica . The common English starling is also acclimatised.

Start , n . The young Australian has a fine contempt for the English word to begin , which he never uses where he can find any substitute. He says commence or start , and he always uses commence followed by the infinitive instead of by the verbal noun, as "The dog commenced to bark."

1896. Modern talk in the train:

"The horse started to stop, and the backers commenced to hoot."

Station , n . originally the house with the necessary buildings and home-premises of a sheep-run, and still used in that sense: but now more generally signifying the run and all that goes with it. Stations are distinguished as Sheep-stations and Cattle-stations .

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. i. (Introd.):

"They . . . will only be occupied as distant stock-stations."

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 120:

"Their [squatters'] huts or houses, gardens, paddocks, etc., form what is termed a station, while the range of country over which their flocks and herds roam is termed a run."

1868. J. Bonwick, `John Batman, Founder of Victoria,' p. 35:

"The lecturer assured his audience that he came here to prevent this country being a squatting station."

1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads,' p. 17:

"The sturdy station-children pull the bush flowers on my grave."

1890. E. D. Cleland, `The White Kangaroo,' p. 4:

"Station--the term applied in the colonies to the homesteads of the sheep-farmers or squatters."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood,'Miner's Right,' c. xviii. p. 171:

"Men who in their youth had been peaceful stockmen and station-labourers."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 125:

"I'm travelen' 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 stationhand along the Castlereagh."

Station-jack , n . a form of bush cookery.

1853. `The Emigrant's Guide to Australia.' (Article on Bush-Cookery, from an unpublished MS. by Mrs. Chisholm], pp. 111-12:

"The great art of bush-cookery consists in giving a variety out of salt beef and flour . . . let the Sunday share be soaked on the Saturday, and beat it well . . . take the . . . flour and work it into a paste; then put the beef into it, boil it, and you will have a very nice pudding, known in the bush as ` Station jack .'"

Stavewood , n . another name for the Flindosy Beech . See Beech .

Stay-a-while , n . a tangled bush; sometimes called Wait-a-while (q.v.).

Steamer , n . obsolete name for a colonial dish. See quotation.

1820. Lieut. C. Jeffreys, R.N., `Geographical and Descriptive Delineations of the Island of Van Dieman's Land,' p. 69:

"Their meal consisted of the hindquarters of a kangaroo cut into mincemeat, stewed in its own gravy, with a few rashers of salt pork; this dish is commonly called a steamer."

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 309:

"Our largest animals are the Kangaroos . . . making most delicious stews and steaks, the favourite dish being what is called a steamer , composed of steaks and chopped tail, (with a few slices of salt pork) stewed with a very small quantity of water for a couple of hours in a close vessel."

Stewart Islander , n . name given to the oyster, Ostrea chiloensis , Sowerby; so called because it is specially abundant on Stewart Island off the south coast of New Zealand. The Stewart Island forms are mud oysters, those of Sydney Cove growing on rock. See Oyster .

Stick-Caterpillar , n . See Phasmid .

Stick-up , v. tr . (1) The regular word for the action of bushrangers stopping passers-by on the highway and robbing them.

(2) In the case of a bank or a station, simply to rob.

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. ii. c. xiii. p. 502:

"It was only the previous night that he had been `stuck up' with a pistol at his head."

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. ii. p. 187:

"Unless the mail came well armed, a very few men could `stick it up,' without any trouble or danger."

1857. `Melbourne Punch,' Feb. 19, p. 26, col. 1:

"I have been stuck up, trampled in the mud."

1869. J. Townend, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 140:

"Five or six bushrangers took up a position about a mile from town, and (to use a colonial phrase) `stuck up' every person that passed."

1869. Mrs. W. M. Howell, `The Diggings and the Bush,' p. 93:

"The escort has been `stuck up,' and the robbers have taken notes to the value of L700, and two thousand ounces of gold."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 253:

"We had a revolver apiece in case of being `stuck up' on the road."

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 168:

"We could make more money in one night by `sticking up' a coach or a bank than in any other way in a year . . . Any one who has been stuck up himself knows that there's not much chance of doing much in the resisting line." [The operation is then explained fully.]

1890. Lyth, `Golden South,' c.viii. p. 68:

"Accounts of bushrangers `sticking up' stations, travellers, and banks were very frequent."

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 26, p. 4. col. 6:

"The game of sticking up hotels used to be in the old days a popular one, and from the necessary openness of the premises the practice was easy to carry out."

(3) Humorously applied to a collector or a beggar. In `Twenty- five Years of St. Andrews' (vol. ii. p. 87), A. K. H. B. tells a story of a church dignitary, who was always collecting money for church building. When a ghost appeared at Glamis Castle, addressing the ghost, the clergyman began--that "he was most anxious to raise money for a church he was erecting; that he had a bad cold and could not well get out of bed; but that his collecting-book was on the dressing-table, and he would be `extremely obliged' for a subscription." An Australian would have said he "stuck up" the ghost for a subscription.

1890. E. W. Hornung, `A Bride from the Bush,' p. 297:

"You never get stuck up for coppers in the streets of the towns."

(4) Bring a kangaroo to bay.

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. iii. p. 24:

"We knew that she had `stuck up' or brought to bay a large forester."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 15:

"The fiercest fighter I ever saw `stuck up' against a red gum-tree."

(5) Simply to stop.

1863. S. Butler, `First Year in Canterbury Settlement,' p. 68:

"This [waterfall] `stuck us up,' as they say here concerning any difficulty."

1890. `The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 2:

"We are stuck up for an hour or more, and can get a good feed over there."

(6) To pose, to puzzle.

1896. Modern:

"I was stuck up for an answer."

"That last riddle stuck him up."

1897. `The Australasian,' Jan. 2, p. 33, col. 1:

"The professor seems to have stuck up any number of candidates with the demand that they should `construct one simple sentence out of all the following.'"

Sticker-up , n . sc. a bushranger.

1879. W. J. Barry, `Up and Down,' p. 197:

"They had only just been liberated from gaol, and were the stickers-up, or highwaymen mentioned."

Sticker-up/2 , n . a term of early bush cookery, the method, explained in first quotation, being borrowed from the aborigines.

1830. `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 112:

"Which he cooked in the mode called in colonial phrase a sticker up. A straight twig being cut as a spit, the slices were strung upon it, and laid across two forked sticks leaning towards the fire."

1852. Mrs. Meredith, `My Home in Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 55:

"Here I was first initiated into the bush art of `sticker-up' cookery . . . the orthodox material here is of course kangaroo, a piece of which is divided nicely into cutlets two or three inches broad and a third of an inch thick. The next requisite is a straight clean stick, about four feet long, sharpened at both ends. On the narrow part of this, for the space of a foot or more, the cutlets are spitted at intervals, and on the end is placed a piece of delicately rosy fat bacon. The strong end of the stick-spit is now stuck fast and erect in the ground, close by the fire, to leeward; care being taken that it does not burn." ". . . to men that are hungry, stuck-up kangaroo and bacon are very good eating." . . . "our `sticker-up' consisted only of ham."

1862. G. T. Lloyd, `Thirty-three Years in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 103:

"Pounds of rosy steaks . . . skilfully rigged after the usual approved fashion (termed in Bush parlance a sticker-up'), before the brilliant wood fire, soon sent forth odours most grateful to the hungered way-worn Bushmen."

Stilt , n . English bird-name. In New Zealand, the species are--

The Black Stilt-- Himantopus novae-zelandiae , Gould; Maori name, Kaki .

Pied S., or Whiteheaded S.-- H. leucocephalus , Gould; Maori name, Tutumata .

White-necked S.-- H. albicollis , Buller.

H. leucocephalus (the White-headed Stilt ) is also present in Australia, and the world-wide species, H. pectoralis , Du Bus. (the Banded Stilt), is found through all Australasia.

Stingareeing , n . the sport of catching Stingrays , or Stingarees .

1872. Hutton and Hector, `Fishes of New Zealand,' p. 121:

"It has been recently discovered by the writer of the animated article in the `Field' on Fishing in New Zealand [London, Nov. 25, 1871], that `stingareeing' can be made to afford sport of a most exciting kind."

Stinging-tree , n . a Queensland name for the Giant Nettle , or Nettle-tree (q.v.)

1890. A. J. Vogan, `The Black Police,' p. 209:

"The stinging-tree, . . . the most terrible of all vegetable growths. This horrible guardian of the Queensland jungle stands from five to fifteen feet in height, and has a general appearance somewhat similar to that of a small mulberry-tree. Their peculiarly soft and inviting aspect is caused by an almost invisible coating of microscopic cillia, and it is to these that the dangerous characteristics of the plant are due. The unhappy wanderer in these wilds, who allows any part of his body to come in contact with those beautiful, inviting tongues of green, soon finds them veritable tongues of fire, and it will be weeks, perhaps months, ere the scorching agony occasioned by their sting is entirely eradicated."

Sting-moth , n . an Australian moth, Doratifera vulnerans . The larva has at each end of the body four tubercles bearing stinging hairs. (`Standard.')

Stinkwood , n . The name is given to various woods in different parts of the world, from their unpleasant smell. In Tasmania, it is applied to the timber of Zieria smithii , Andr., N.O. Rutaceae .

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' p. 175:

"The timber in this district I found to be principally myrtle, sassafras, and stinkwood."

Stint , n . English bird-name. The Australian species are--

Curlew Stint-- Tringa subarquata , Gmel.

Little S.-- T. ruficollis .

Sharp-tailed S.-- T. acuminata , Horsf.

Stitch-bird , n . a bird of New Zealand. See quotation.

1885. Hugh Martin, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xviii. art. xxii. p. 112:

" Pogonornis cincta (Hihi, Matahiore, stitch-bird), North Island."

[From a list of New Zealand birds that ought to be protected.]

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 101:

" Pogonornis cincta , Gray. [A full description.]"

1889. Prof. Parker, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 119:

"Stitch-bird ( Pogonornis cincta ), formerly abundant in the North Island, but now extinct on the main-land, and found only in some of the outlying islets. The rarest and one of the most beautiful of native Passerines."

Stock , n . The word has many meanings. In the one from which the Australian compounds are made, it denotes horses, cattle, or sheep, the farmer's stock in trade. Of course, this use is not peculiar to Australia, but it is unusually common there.

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. ix. p. 320:

"The cattle suffered much, and some of both the public and private stock perished."

Stock-agent , n . more usually in the form Stock and Station-agent. The circumstances of Australian life make this a common profession.

Stock-holder , n . a grazier; owner of large herds of cattle, or flocks of sheep.

1820. Lieut. Chas. Jeffreys, `Delineations of Van Dieman's Land' [sic], p. 25:

"Near this is the residence of D. Rose, Esq., formerly an officer of the 73rd regiment, and now a large land and stockholder."

1824. E. Curr, `Account of Van Diemen's Land,' p. 83:

"The most negligent stock-holders now carefully house their wool, and many take the trouble to wash their sheep."

Stock-horse , n . horse accustomed to go after cattle used in mustering and cutting-out (q.v.).

1874. W. H. L. Ranken, `Dominion of Australia,' c. vi. p. 122:

"The Australian stock-horse is a wonderful animal. . . . He has a wonderful constitution, splendid feet, great endurance, and very good temper."

1890. `The Argus,' June 14, p.4, col. 1:

"A twenty-year-old stock-horse."

Stock-hut , n . the hut of a stock-man.

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. ii. c. ii. p. 21:

"We crossed the Underaliga creek a little below the stock-hut."

Stock-keep , v . a quaint compound verb.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. x. p. 96 (1890):

"`What can you do, young man?' `Well, most things . . . fence, split, milk, drive bullocks, stock-keep, plough."

Stock-keeper , n . equivalent to a shepherd, or herdsman.

1821. Governor Macquarie, `Government Notice,' June 30, 1821, in E. Curr's `Van Diemen's Land' (1824), p. 154:

"To yard the flocks at night . . . for the purpose of keeping the stock-keepers in check, and sufficient shepherds should be kept to ensure constant attention to the flock."

1828. Governor Arthur in J. Bischoff's `Van Diemen's Land,' 1832, p. 185:

"Every kind of injury committed against the defenceless natives by the stock-keepers."

Stock-man , n . used in Australia for a man employed to look after stock.

1821. Governor Macquarie, `Government Notice,' June 30, 1821, in E. Curr's `Van Diemen's Land' (edition 1824), p. 155:

"It is the common practice with owners of flocks to allow their shepherds to acquire and keep sheep . . . it affords to the stock-men a cover frequently for disposing dishonestly of sheep belonging to their master."

1822. G. W. Evans, `Description of Van Diemen's Land,' p. 68:

"At its junction there is a fine space, named by the stockmen Native Hut Valley."

1833. C. Sturt,' Southern Australia,'vol. i. c. i. p. 6:

"He was good enough to send for the stockman (or chief herdsman)."

1846. J L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. ii. c. xii. p. 402:

"An exchange of looks I caught the overseer and stockman indulging in."

1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' p. 96:

"Here and there a stockman's cottage stands."

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 5:

"Would you still exchange your comfortable home and warm fireside . . . for a wet blanket, a fireless camp, and all the other etceteras of the stockman's life?"

1886. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 17:

"One stooped--a stockman from the nearer hills To loose his wallet strings."

Stock-rider , n . a man employed to look after cattle, properly on an unfenced station.

1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads' [Title]:

"The Sick Stock-rider."

1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 33:

"`Thus far into the bowels of the land Have we marched on without impediment,'

said a lithe-limbed stock-rider, bearded like a pard, as he lit his pipe--the bushman's only friend. And this was once a fellow of St. John's, Cambridge."

Stock-riding , n . the occupation of a Stock-rider (q.v.).

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 260 [Footnote]:

"Like other Australian aborigines, the Kurnai have a natural aptitude for stock-riding."

Stock-route , n . When land is first let in surveyed blocks to a Squatter (q.v.), and is, of course, unfenced, the lessee is required by law to leave passages through it from two to four chains wide, at certain intervals, as a right-of-way for travelling sheep and cattle. These are called Stock-routes. He may fence these routes if he chooses--which he very rarely does--but if he fences across the route he must provide gates or s lip-rails (q.v.), or other free passage.

1896. `The Argus,' May 21, p. 5, Col. 1:

"To-day the Land Board dealt with the application for the re-appraisement of the Yantara pastoral holding. The manager said that owing to deterioration of the feed through the rabbits, from 9 to 10 acres were required to carry a sheep. . . . Thirteen trial wells had been put down on the holding, all of which had bottomed on a drift of salt water. Four stock routes passed through the area, one being the main stock route from South-western Queensland. . . . Wild dogs had been troublesome since the February rains. . . . There were Government bores on the run."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 51:

"Now Saltbush Bill was a drover tough, as ever the country knew, He had fought his way on the Great Stock Routes from the sea to the Big Barcoo."

Stock-up , v . complete the number of animals on a station, so that it may carry its full complement.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. vii. p. 68:

"I shall decide to stock up as soon as the fences are finished."

Stock-whip , n . whip for driving cattle. See quotations.

1857. W. Howitt, `Tallangetta,' vol. i. p. 100:

"The stock-whip, with a handle about half a yard long and a thong of three yards long, of plaited bullock-hide, is a terrible instrument in the hands of a practised stockman. Its sound is the note of terror to the cattle; it is like the report of a blunderbuss, and the stockman at full gallop will hit any given spot on the beast that he is within reach of, and cut the piece away through the thickest hide that bull or bison ever wore."

1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads,' p. 14:

"With a running fire of stock-whips and a fiery run of hoofs."

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 76:

"The stock-whip, which bears such a prominent part in all dealings with cattle, is from twelve to fourteen feet in length, with a short light handle of about fourteen inches long, to which it is attached by a leather keeper as on a hunting crop. . . . The whip is made of a carefully selected strip of green hide, great attention having been paid to curing it."

Stocks-man , n . an unusual form for Stock-man (q.v.).

1862. F. J. Jobson, `Australia,' c. vi. p. 145:

"We saw the stocksman seated upon his bony long-limbed steed."

Stone-lifter , n . a Melbourne name for the fish Kathetostoma laeve , Bl., family T rachinidae , one of the genera of the "Stargazers" ( Uranoscopina ), which have eyes on the surface of the head.

Stonewall , v. intr . (1) A Parliamentary term: to make use of the forms of the House so as to delay public business.

(2) To obstruct business at any meeting, chiefly by long-winded speeches.

(3) To play a slow game at cricket, blocking balls rather than making runs.

1876. `Victorian Hansard,' Jan., vol. xxii. p. 1387:

"Mr. G. Paton Smith wished to ask the honourable member for Geelong West whether the six members sitting beside him (Mr. Berry) constituted the `stone wall' that had been spoken of? Did they constitute the stone wall which was to oppose all progress--to prevent the finances being dealt with and the business of the country carried on? It was like bully Bottom's stone wall. It certainly could not be a very high wall, nor a very long wall, if it only consisted of six."

1884. G. W. Rusden, `History of Australia,' vol. iii. p. 405:

"Abusing the heroic words of Stonewall Jackson, the Opposition applied to themselves the epithet made famous by the gallant Confederate General."

1894. `The Argus,' Jan. 26, p. 3, col. 5:

"The Tasmanians [sc. cricketers] do not as a rule stonewall."

Stonewood , n . Callistemon salignus , De C., N.O. Myrtaceae ; called also the River Tea-tree .

1894. `Melbourne Museum Catalogue--Economic Woods,' No. 48:

"Stonewood."

Store , n . a bullock, cow, or sheep bought to be fattened for the market.

1874. W. H. L. Ranken, `Dominion of Australia,' c. xiii. p. 233:

"They then, if `stores,' pass to the rich salt-bush country of Riverina."

Store-cattle , n . lean cattle bought to be fattened for the market; often contracted to stores (q.v.).

1885. R. M. Praed, `Head-Station,' p. 74:

"Oh, we're not fit for anything but store-cattle: we are all blady grass."

Stranger , n . name given in Victoria and Tasmania to the Rock-Whiting , Odax richardsoni , Gunth., family Labridae . The Stranger , which is a marine fish, is caught occasionally in the fresher water of the upper estuary of the Derwent; hence its name. See Whiting .

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), June 19, 1881, p. 1:

"Common fish such as . . . garfish, strangers, silvers, and others.'

Stringy-bark , n . (1) any one of various Gums , with a tough fibrous bark used for tying, for cordage, for roofs of huts, etc.

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 37:

"The string bark [sic] tree is also useful, and its bark, which is of a fibrous texture, often more than an inch in thickness, parts easily from the wood, and may be obtained ten or twelve feet in length, and seven or eight in breadth."

1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 73:

"The natives appear also to like the fruit of the pandanus, of which large quantities are found in their camps, soaking in water contained in vessels formed of stringy-bark."

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 27:

"In truth, the forests of Australia (consisting principally of woods of iron-bark, stringy-bark, and other species of the Eucalyptus) seen at a distance, just before sunset, are noble objects--perfect pictures."

1862. G. T. Lloyd, `Thirty-three Years in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 29:

"The stringy bark tree is so named from the ropy nature of its bark, which is frequently used for tying on the rods and thatch of sheds, huts, and barns in the country."

1862. W. Archer, `Products of Tasmania,' p. 39:

"Gum-topped String-bark, sometimes called white gum ( Eucalyptus gigantea , var.). A tree resembling the Blue Gum in foliage, with rough bark similar to Stringy Bark towards the stem."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 237:

"Stringy-bark trees were also seen--so called, because the rough bark has a brown tenacious fibre, like that of the cocoanut, which can be split off in sheets to make the roofs of houses, or unravelled into a fibre that will tie like string."

1868. Carleton, `Australian Nights,' p. 2:

"The mia-mia that the native dark Had formed from sheets of stringy bark."

1873. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 204:

"The Stringy-bark tree is of straight growth, and takes its name from the strip-like character of its bark. . . . The wood is of a brown colour, hard, heavy, strong and close in the grain. It works up well . . . in ship-building, for planking, beams, keels and keelsons, and in civil architecture for joists, flooring, etc. Upon the farms it is used for fences and agricultural implements: it is also employed for furniture and for all ordinary purposes."

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 196:

"Down to the waist they are all wound round with frayed stringy-bark in thick folds."

1894. `The Age,' Oct. 19, p. 5, col. 8:

"Granite and stringy-bark are always associated with `hungry' country."

(2) Bush slang for bad whisky.

1890. A. J. Vogan, `The Black Police,' p. 217:

" Stringy-bark , a curious combination of fusil oil and turpentine, labelled `whisky.'"

Stringy-bark , adj . equivalent to "bush."

1833. Oct. `New South Wales Magazine,' vol. 1. p. 173:

". . . the workmanship of which I beg you will not scrutinize, as I am but, to use a colonial expression, `a stringy-bark carpenter.'"

1853. C. Rudston Read, `What I Heard, Saw, and Did at the Australian Gold Fields,' p. 53:

". . . after swimming a small river about 100 yards wide he'd arrive at old Geordy's, a stringy bark settler . . ."

Sturt's Desert Pea , n . a beautiful creeper, Clianthus dampieri , Cunn., N.O. Leguminosae , which will only grow in very dry, sandy soil. It is sometimes called Lobster's Claw , from its clusters of brilliant scarlet flowers with black-purple centres, like a lobster's claw. Called also Glory Pea (q.v.). See Clianthus .

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 29:

"Amongst which appears the beautiful Clianthus, known to the colonists as Sturt's desert pea."

[Footnote]: "Woodward in `Dampier's Voyages,' vol. iii. cap. 4, pl. 2. The plant is there called Colutea Novae-Hollandiae . Its name now is Clianthus Dampieri . R. Brown proposed the name of Eremocharis , from the Greek 'eraemos , desert."

[Dampier's voyage was made in 1699, and the book published in 1703. Mr. Woodward contributed notes on the plants brought home by Dampier.]

Stump-jump Plough , n . a farm implement, invented in Australia, for ploughing the wheat-lands, which are often left with the stumps of the cleared trees not eradicated.

1896. `Waybrook Implement Company' (Advt.):

"It is only a very few years since it came into use, and no one ever thought it was going to turn a trackless scrub into a huge garden. But now from the South Australian border right through to the Murray, farms and comfortable homesteads have taken the place of dense scrub. This last harvest, over three hundred thousand bags of wheat were delivered at Warracknabeal, and this wonderful result must, in the main, be put down to the Stump-jump Plough. It has been one of the best inventions this colony has ever been blessed with."

Stump-tailed Lizard , n . an Australian lizard, Trachydosaurus rugosus , Gray.

Styphelia , n . scientific name of a genus of shrubby plants of New Zealand and Australia, of the N.O. Epacrideae . It contains the Five-Corners (q.v.).

1793. J. E. Smith, `Specimen of the Botany of New Holland,' p. 46:

"We adopt Dr. Solander's original name Styphelia , derived from stuphelos , harsh, hard, or firm, expressive of the habit of the whole genus and indeed of the whole natural order."

Sucker , n . name given in New Zealand to the fish Diplocrepis puniceus , Rich., family Gobiesocidae . This is a family of small, marine, littoral fishes provided with a ventral disc, or adhesive apparatus. Other genera of the family occur in Australasia.

Sugar , n . slang for money. It may be doubted if it is specially Australian.

1887. J. Bonwick, `Romance of Wool Trade,' p. 273 (quoting `Victoria, the El Dorado'):

"I hear him sing out `sold again, and got the sugar' (a colonial slang word for ready money); `half a sheep for a shilling.'"

Sugar-Ant , n . a small ant, known in many parts of Australia by this name because of its fondness for sweet things.

1896. `The Melbournian,' Aug. 28, p. 53:

"The sun reaches a sugar-ant and rouses him from his winter sleep. Out he scurries, glad to greet the warmth, and tracks hurriedly around. He feels the sun, but the cold damp ground tells him the time is not yet come when at evening he will sally forth in long columns over the soft warm dust in search of the morrow's meal; so, dazzled by the unaccustomed glare, he seeks his hiding-place once more."

Sugar-bag , n . nest of honey, and the honey.

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 67:

"The regular sharp chop-chop of the tomahawks could be heard here and there, where some of them had discovered a sugar-bag (nest of honey) or a 'possum on a tree."

Ibid. vol. ii. p. 129:

"The tiny bee which manufactures his adored chewgah-bag."

[Footnote: "Sugar-bag--the native pigeon-English word for honey."]

Sugar-Grass , n . an Australian grass, Erianthus fulvus , Kunth., N.O. Gramineae .

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 106:

"The `Sugar Grass' of colonists, so called on account of its sweetness; it is highly productive, and praised by stockowners. Cattle eat it close down, and therefore it is in danger of extermination, but it is readily raised from seed."

Sugar-Gum , n . an Australian Gum, Eucalyptus corynocalyx of South Australia and North-Western Victoria. The foliage is sweet, and attractive to cattle. See Gum .

Sultana-bird , n . a name for the Swamp-Hen (q.v.), Porphyrio melanonotus , Temm.

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 223:

"Black sultana-birds, blue-breasted as deep ocean."

Summer-bird , n . the Old Colonists' name for the Wood-swallows . See Swallow . In Tasmania it is applied to a species of Shrike, Graucalus melanops , Lath. The name refers to the migratory habits of both birds.

1895. C. French, Government entomologist, letter to `Argus,' Nov. 29:

"The wood-swallows, known to us old colonists as summer birds, are migratory, making their appearance about September and disappearing about the end of January."

Summer Country , n . In New Zealand (South Island), country which can be used in summer only; mountain land in Otago and Canterbury, above a certain level.

Sun-bird , n . a common name of various birds. Applied in Australia to Cinnyris frenata , Mull.

1869. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia' (Supplement), pl. 45:

"`This pretty Sun-bird,' says Mr. MacGillivray, `appears to be distributed along the whole of the northeast coast of Australia, the adjacent islands, and the whole of the islands in Torres Straits.'"

Sundew , n . There are many species of this flower in Australia and Tasmania, most of them peculiar to Australasia; Drosera spp., N.O. Droseraceae .

1888. `Cassell's Picturesque Australasia,' vol. ii. p. 236:

"Smooth, marshy meadows, gleaming with the ruby stars of millions of tiny little sundews."

Sundowner , n . a tramp who takes care to arrive at a station at sundown, so that he shall be provided with ` tucker ' (q.v.) at the squatter's cost: one of those who go about the country seeking work and devoutly hoping they may not find it.

1880. G. n . Oakley, in `Victoria in 1880,' p. 114 [Title of poem of seventeen stanzas]:

" The Sundowner ."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 32:

"When the real `sundowner' haunts these banks for a season, he is content with a black pannikin, a clasp knife, and a platter whittled out of primaeval bark."

1890. `The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, col. 5:

"Sundowners are still the plague of squatocracy, their petition for `rashons' and a bed amounting to a demand."

1891. F. Adams, `John Webb's End,' p. 34:

"`Swagsmen' too, genuine, or only `sundowners,'--men who loaf about till sunset, and then come in with the demand for the unrefusable `rations.'"

1892. `Scribner's Magazine,' Feb., p. 143:

"They swell the noble army of swagmen or sundowners, who are chiefly the fearful human wrecks which the ebbing tide of mining industry has left stranded in Australia."

[This writer does not differentiate between Swagman (q.v.) and Sundowner .]

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 12, p. 8, col. 7:

"Numbers of men who came to be known by the class name of `sundowners,' from their habit of straggling up at fall of evening with the stereotyped appeal for work; and work being at that hour impossible, they were sent to the travellers' hut for shelter and to the storekeeper or cook for the pannikin of flour, the bit of mutton, the sufficiency of tea for a brew, which made up a ration."

1896. `Windsor Magazine,' Dec., p. 132:

"`Here,' he remarked, `is a capital picture of a Queensland sundowner.' The picture represented a solitary figure standing in pathetic isolation on a boundless plain. `A sundowner?' I queried. `Yes; the lowest class of nomad. For days they will tramp across the plains carrying, you see, their supply of water. They approach a station only at sunset, hence the name. At that hour they know they will not be turned away.' `Do they take a day's work?' `Not they! There is an old bush saying, that the sundowner's one request is for work, and his one prayer is that be may not find it.'"

Super , n . short for superintendent, sc. of a station.

1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads,' p. 23:

"What's up with our super to-night? The man's mad."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. ix. p. 83:

"That super's a growlin' ignorant beggar as runs a feller from daylight to dark for nothing at all."

1890. `The Argus,' June 10, p. 4, col. 1:

"He . . . bragged of how he had bested the super who tried to `wing him' in the scrub."

Superb-Dragon , n . an Australian marine fish, Phyllopteryx foliatus , Shaw. See Sea-Dragon .

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' pl. 7:

"`Superb-Dragon--Phyllopteryx Foliatus.' This is one of the `Pipe fishes,' order Lophobranchii . It has been compared to the ghost of a seahorse ( Hippocampus ) with its winding sheet all in ribbons around it; and the tattered cerements are like in shape and colour to the seaweed it frequents, so that it hides and feeds in safety. The long ends of ribs which seem to poke through the skin to excite our compassion are really `protective resemblances,' and serve to allure the prey more effectually within reach of these awful ghouls. Just as the leaf-insect is imitative of a leaf, and the staff insect of a twig, so here is a fish like a bunch of seaweed. (Tenison-Woods.)" [Compare Phasmid .]

Superb-Warbler , n . any Australian bird of the genus Malurus (q.v.), especially M. cyaneus , the Blue Wren .

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 80:

"We also observed the Superb Warbler, Malurus cyaneus , of Sydney."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iii. pl. 18:

" Malurus Cyaneus , Vieill., Blue Wren; Superb Warbler of the Colonists."

1896. F. G. Aflalo, `Natural History of Australia,' p. 136:

"The best known are . . . and the Blue Wren or Superb Warbler ( Malurus cyaneus ), both of which I have repeatedly watched in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. . . . They dart about the pathways like mice, but rarely seem to fly. There are a dozen other Superb Warblers."

Supple-jack , n . The word is English in the sense of a strong cane, and is the name of various climbing shrubs from which the canes are cut; especially in America. In Australia, the name is given to similar creeping plants, viz.-- Ventilago viminalis , Hook., N.O. Rhamnaceae ; Clematis aristata , R. Br., N.O. Ranunculaceae . In New Zealand, to Ripogonum (spp.).

1818. `History of New South Wales,' p. 47:

"The underwood is in general so thick and so bound together by that kind of creeping shrub called supple-jack, interwoven in all directions, as to be absolutely impenetrable."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 218:

"After a tedious march . . . along a track constantly obstructed by webs of the kareau, or supple-jack, we came to the brow of a descent."

1857. C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand, the Britain of the South,' vol. i. p. 135:

"Supple-jack snares, root-traps, and other parasitical impediments."

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 135:

"Two kinds of creepers extremely molesting and troublesome, the so-called `supple-jack' of the colonists ( Ripogonum parviflorum ), in the ropelike creeping vines of which the traveller finds himself every moment entangled."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 11:

"The tangles black Of looped and shining supple jack."

1874. W. M. B., `Narrative of Edward Crewe,' p. 199:

The supple-jack, that stopper to all speedy progression in the New Zealand forest."

1881. J.L. Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 154:

"Forty or fifty feet of supple-jack. This creeper is of the thickness of your finger, and runs along the ground, and goes up the trees and springs across from one tree to the other, spanning great gaps in some mysterious manner of its own--a tough, rascally creeper that won't break, that you can't twist in two, that you must cut, that trips you by the foot or the leg, and sometimes catches you by the neck . . . so useful withal in its proper places."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 71:

"Threading with somewhat painful care intricacies formed by loops and snares of bewildering supple-jacks, that living study of Gordian entanglement, nature-woven, for patient exercise of hand and foot."

1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of British Colonies,' p. 309:

"Laced together by creepers called supple-jacks, which twine and twist for hundreds of yards, with stems as thick as a man's wrist, so as to make the forests impassable except with axes and immense labour."

Surfacing , n . (1) Wash-dirt lying on the surface of the ground.

(2) verbal n . Gold-digging on the surface of the ground.

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 133:

"What is termed `surfacing' consists of simply washing the soil on the surface of the ground, which is occasionally auriferous."

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' c. iv. p. 133:

"I've been surfacing this good while; but quartz-reefin's the payinest game, now."

1866. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches' [Second Series], p. 133:

"What is termed `surfacing' consists of simply washing the soil on the surface of the ground, which is occasionally auriferous."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xv. p. 153:

"They have been mopping up some rich surfacing."

1894. `The Argus,' March 28, p. 5. col. 5:

"`Surfacing' or `loaming.' Small canvas bags are carried by the prospector, and top soil from various likely-looking spots gathered and put into them, the spots being marked to correspond with the bags. The contents are then panned off separately, and if gold is found in any one of the bags the spot is again visited, and the place thoroughly overhauled, even to trenching for the reef."

Swag , n . (1) Used in the early days, and still by the criminal class, in the ordinary sense of Thieves' English, as booty, plunder.

1837. J. Mudie, `Felonry of New South Wales,' p. 181:

"In short, having brought with her a supply of the `swag,' as the convicts call their ill-gotten cash, a wife seldom fails of having her husband assigned to her, in which case the transported felon finds himself his own master."

1879. R. H. Barham, `Ingoldsby Legends' (Misadventures at Margate):

"A landsman said, `I twig the drop,--he's been upon the mill, And `cause he gammons so the flats , ve calls him Veepin' Bill.' He said `he'd done me very brown, and neatly stowed the swag ,' -That's French, I fancy, for a hat,--or else a carpet-bag."

(2) A special Australian use: a tramp's bundle, wrapt up in a blanket, called a Bluey (q.v.). Used also for a passenger's luggage.

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."

1853. S. Sidney, `Three Colonies of Australia,' p. 361:

"His leathern overalls, his fancy stick, and his `swag' done up in mackintosh."

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 384:

"There were others with huge swags suspended from a pole, with which they went on, like the Children of Israel carrying the gigantic bunches of the grapes of Canaan."

1865. J. O. Tucker, `Australian Story,' c. i. p. 86:

"The cumbrous weight of blankets that comprised my swag."

1867. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 127:

"A pair of large double blankets to make the tent of,--that was one swag, and a very unwieldy one it was, strapped knapsack fashion, with straps of flax leaves."

1868. J. Bonwick, `John Batman, Founder of Victoria,' p. 51:

"Three white men, the Sydney natives, and Batman, who carried his swag the same as the rest, all armed."

1871. C. L. Money, `Knocking About in New Zealand,' p. 9:

"With my rug and blankets on my back (such a bundle being called a `swag')."

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 285:

"Swag, which consists of his personal properties rolled up in a blanket."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 33:

"His cumbrous attire and the huge swag which lay across the seat."

1888. A. Reischek, in Buller's `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 93:

"With the hope that there would now be a few fine days, I at once packed up my swag with provisions, ammunition, blanket, &c."

1892. `The Australasian,' May 7, p. 903, col. 1:

"Kenneth, in front, reminded me comically of Alice's White Knight, what with the billies dancing and jingling on his back, and the tomahawk in his belt, and his large swag in front."

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 95:

"I suppose he's tramping somewhere, Where the bushmen carry swags, Cadging round the wretched stations With his empty tucker-bags."

Swag , v . to tramp the bush, carrying a swag.

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 5:

"There was the solitary pedestrian, with the whole of his supplies, consisting of a blanket and other necessary articles, strapped across his shoulders--this load is called the `swag,' and the mode of travelling `swagging it.'"

Swag-like , adv . in the fashion of a swag.

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

"He strapped the whole lot together, swag-like."

Swagger , n . Same as Swagman (q.v.). Specially used in New Zealand. The word has also the modern English slang sense.

1875. Lady Barker, `Station Amusements in New Zealand,' p. 154:

"Describing the real swagger, clad in flannel shirt, moleskin trowsers, and what were once thick boots."

1890. `The Century,' vol. xli. p. 624 (`Century'):

"Under the name of swagger or sundowner the tramp, as he moves from station to station in remote districts, in supposed search for work, is a recognized element of society."

1893. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 21, p. 6, col. 3:

"Once a footsore swagger came along, and having gone to the house to ask for `tucker,' soon returned. He took his swag from his shoulders and leant it against the Tree; then he busied himself gathering the small sticks and dried leaves lying about on every side."

1896. `The Argus,' March 23, p.5, col. 1:

"The minister's house is the sure mark for every stone-broke swagger in search of clothes or victuals."

1896. `Southern Standard' (New Zealand), [page not given]:

"An ardent young lady cyclist of Gore, who goes very long journeys on her machine, was asked by a lady friend if she was not afraid of swaggers on the road. `Afraid of them?' she said, `why, I take tea with them!'"

1896. `The Champion,' Jan. 4, p. 3, col. 3:

"He [Professor Morris] says that `swagger' is a variant of `swagman.' This is equally amusing and wrong."

[Nevertheless, he now says it once again.]

Swaggie , n . a humorous variation on swagman.

1892. E. W. Horning, `Under Two Skies,' p. 109:

"Here's a swaggie stopped to camp, with flour for a damper, and a handful of tea for the quart-pot, as safe as the bank."

Swagman , n . a man travelling through the bush carrying a Swag (q.v.), and seeking employment. There are variants, Swagger (more general in New Zealand), Swaggie , and Swagsman . The Sundowner , Traveller , or New Zealand Tussocker , is not generally a seeker for work.

1890. `The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 2:

"The regular swagman carrying his ration bags, which will sometimes contain nearly twenty days' provender in flour and sugar and tea."

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 156:

"We pulled up a swagman. He was walking very slow; he was a bit lame too. His swag wasn't heavy, for he had only a rag of a blue blanket, a billy of water in his hand, and very little else."

1893. `The Herald' (Melbourne), Jan. 25:

"Under the electric light in the quadrangle of the Exhibition they will give tableaux, representing the murder of a swagman by a native and the shooting of the criminal by a black tracker."

1897. `The Argus,' Jan. 11, p. 7, col. 2:

"The Yarra has claimed many swagman in the end, but not all have died in full travelling costume . . . a typical back-blocks traveller. He was grey and grizzled, but well fed, and he wore a Cardigan jacket, brown moleskin trousers, blucher boots, and socks, all of which were mended with rough patches. His knife and tobacco, his odds and ends, and his purse, containing 14 1/2d., were still intact, while across his shoulder was a swag, and the fingers of his right hand had tightly closed round the handle of his old black billy-can, in which were some scraps of meat wrapped in a newspaper of the 5th inst. He had taken with him his old companions of the roads--his billy and his swag."

Swagsman , n . a variant of Swagman (q.v.).

1879 J. Brunton Stephens, `Drought and Doctrine' (Works, p. 309):

"Rememberin' the needful, I gets up an' quietly slips To the porch to see--a swagsman--with our bottle at his lips."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 89:

"One of these prospecting swagsmen was journeying towards Maryborough."

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 111:

"Idleness being the mainspring of the journeys of the Swagsman (Anglice, `tramp')."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xix. p. 235:

"The able-bodied swagsmen hasten towards Rainbar."

Swallow , n . common English bird-name. The species observed in Australia are--

The Swallow-- Hirundo neoxena , Gould.

Black-and-white S.-- Cheramaeca leucosternum , Gould.

Black-faced Wood S.-- Artamus melanops , Gould.

Eastern S.-- Hirundo javanica , Sparrm.

Grey-breasted Wood S.-- Artamus cinereus , Vieill.

Little Wood S.-- A. minor , Vieill.

Masked Wood S.-- Artamus personatus , Gould.

White-bellied Wood S.-- A. hypoleucus .

White-browed Wood S.-- A. superciliosus , Gould.

White-rumped Wood S.-- A. leucogaster , Valenc.

Wood S.-- A. sordidus , Lath.

Artamus is often wrongly spelt Artemus . The Wood-Swallows are often called Summer-birds (q.v.).

Swamp-Broom , n . a rush-broom, Viminaria denudata , Sm., N.O. Leguminosae . See Swamp-Oak .

Swamp-Daisy-tree , n . See Daisy-tree .

Swamp-Gum , n . See Gum .

Swamp-Hawk , n . another name for the New Zealand Harrier . See Harrier .

Swamp-Hen , n . an Australasian bird, Porphyrio melanonotus , Temm. (often incorrectly shortened to Melanotus ). Called sometimes the Porphyrio (q.v.); Maori name, Pukeko . Called also the Swamp-Turkey , the Purple Coot , and by New Zealand colonists, Sultana-bird , Pukaki , or Bokaka , the last two being corruptions of the Maori name. For a West-Australian variety of the Porphyrio , see quotation (1848).

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' c. i. p. 228:

"The pukeko is of a dark-blue colour, and about as large as a pheasant. The legs, the bill, and a horny continuation of it over the front of the head, are of a bright crimson colour. Its long legs adapt it for its swampy life; its flight is slow and heavy, resembling that of a bittern."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vi. pl. 70:

" Porphyrio Bellus , Gould, Azure breasted Porphyrio ; Swamp-Hen, Colonists of Western Australia."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 79:

[A full description.]

Swamp-Mahogany , n . a timber tree, Eucalyptus botryoides , Sm. See Gum and Mahogany .

1886. T. Heney, `Fortunate Days,' p. 50:

"Swamp mahogany's floor-flowered arms."

Swamp-Oak , n . (1) A broomlike leguminous shrub or small tree, Viminaria denudata , Sm. (also called Swamp-broom ). (2) A tree of the genus Casuarina , especially C. paludosa . See Oak .

1833. C. Sturt, I Southern Australia,'vol. i. c. i. p. 53:

"Light brushes of swamp-oak, cypress, box and acacia pendula."

1847. J. D. Lang, `Phillipsland,' p. 257:

"Its banks (Murrumbidgee) are fringed with the beautiful swamp-oak, a tree of the Casuarina family, with a form and character somewhat intermediate between that of the spruce and that of the Scotch fir, being less formal and Dutch-like than the former, and more graceful than the latter."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 324:

"A stream, whose winding channel could be traced by the particularly dark verdure of the swamp-oak ( Casuarina paludosa ) on its banks."

1866. Miss Parkes, `Poems,' p. 40:

"Your voice came to me, soft and distant seeming, As comes the murmur of the swamp-oak's tone."

1870. F. S. Wilson, `Australian Songs,' p. 100:

"Softly the swamp-oak Muttered its sorrows to her and to me."

1883. C. Harpur, `Poems,' p. 47:

"Befringed with upward tapering feathery swamp-oaks."

Swamp-Pheasant , n . called also Pheasant-cuckoo . Another name for the Coucal (q.v.).

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 60:

"A Centropus phasianellus (the swamp-pheasant of Moreton Bay) was shot."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 116:

"Far down the creek, on one of the river-oaks which grow in its bed, a swamp-pheasant utters its rapid coocoo-coo-coo-coo- coo-cook."

1887. R. M. Praed, `Longleat of Kooralbyn,' c. xvi. p. 102:

"The gurgling note of the swamp-pheasant."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 94:

"The bird Centropus , which is common in all Queensland, is found here in great numbers. Although it really is a cuckoo, the colonists call it the `swamp-pheasant,' because it has a tail like a pheasant. It is a very remarkable bird with stiff feathers, and flies with difficulty on account of its small wings. The swamp-pheasant has not the family weakness of the cuckoo, for it does not lay its eggs in the nests of other birds. It has a peculiar clucking voice which reminds one of the sound produced when water is poured from a bottle."

Swamp-Sparrow , n . a nickname in New Zealand for the Fern-bird (q.v.).

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 60:

"These beds of rushes which form blind water-courses during the winter season, are dry in summer and are then a favourite resort for the Swamp-Sparrow as this bird is sometimes called."

Ibid. vol. ii. p. 255:

"The melancholy cry of the Fern-bird is so general and persistent that its nick-name of Swamp Sparrow is not undeserved."

Swan, Black , n . an Australian bird-- Cycnus niger , Juvenal; Cygnus atratus , Gould; Chenopsis atrata , Wagl., sometimes miscalled Chenopis .

The river upon which Perth, Western Australia, is situated, is called the Swan River, and the colony was long known as the Swan River Settlement. It has expanded into Western Australia, the emblem of which colony is still the Black Swan . Since 1855 the Black Swan has been the device on the postage stamps of Western Australia.

82 A.D. (circiter). `Juvenal, Sat.' vi. 164: "Rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cycno."

1700 (circiter). J. Locke, in `Johnson's Dictionary' (9th edition, 1805), s.v. Swan:

"The idea which an Englishman signifies by the name Swan, is a white colour, long neck, black beak, black legs, and whole feet, and all these of a certain size, with a power of swimming in the water, and making a certain kind of noise."

1789. Governor Phillip, `Voyage,' p. 98:

"A black swan, which species, though proverbially rare in other parts of the world, is here by no means uncommon . . . a very noble bird, larger than the common swan, and equally beautiful in form . . . its wings were edged with white: the bill was tinged with red."

1790. J. White, `Voyage to New South Wales,' p. 137:

"We found nine birds, that, whilst swimming, most perfectly resembled the rara avis of the ancients, a black swan."

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' p. 146:

"Large ponds covered with ducks and black swans."

1847. J. D. Lang, `Phillipsland,' p. 115:

"These extensive sheets of glassy water . . . were absolutely alive with black swans and other water fowl . . . There must have been at least five hundred swans in view at one time on one of the lakes. They were no `rara avis' there."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vii. pl. 6:

" Cygnus Atratus , Black Swan. The first notice on record respecting the existence of the Black Swan occurs in a letter written by Mr. Witsen to Dr. M. Lister about the year 1698, in which he says, `Here is returned a ship, which by our East India Company was sent to the south land called Hollandea Nova '; and adds that Black Swans, Parrots and many Sea-Cows were found there."

1856. J. S. Mill, `Logic' [4th edition], vol. i. bk. iii. c. iii. p. 344:

"Mankind were wrong, it seems, in concluding that all swans were white. . . . As there were black swans, though civilized people had existed for three thousand years on the earth without meeting with them."

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), May 29, p. 45, col. 3:

"The presence of immense flocks of black swans is also regarded as an indication of approaching cold weather."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 22:

"The musical whoop of the black swan is sometimes heard as the wedge-shaped flock passes over."

1895. G. Metcalfe, `Australian Zoology,' p. 64:

"Strzelecki states that the black swan was discovered in 1697 by Vlaming. . . . In 1726 two were brought alive to Batavia, having been procured on the West Coast of Australia, near Dirk Hartog's Bay. Captain Cook observed it on several parts of the coast."

Swan-River Daisy , n . a pretty annual plant, Brachycome iberidifolia , Benth., N.O. Compositae , of Western Australia. The heads are about an inch broad, and have bright blue rays, with paler centre. It is cultivated in flower gardens, and is well suited for massing. (`Century.')

Sweep , n . a marine fish of the Australian coasts, called by this name in Sydney. It is Scorpis aequipinnis , Richards., family Squamipinnes . This family has the soft, and frequently also the spinous, part of their dorsal and anal fins so thickly covered with scales, that the boundary between fins and body is entirely obliterated. S. aequippinnis is possibly the Light-horseman (q.v.) of early Australian writers.

Sweet Tea . See Tea .

Swift , n . In Australia, the species of this common bird are--Spine-tailed Swift, Chaetura caudacuta , Lath.; White-rumped S., Micropus pacificus , Lath.

Swing-gate , n . Used in its ordinary English sense, but specially applied to a patent gate for drafting sheep, invented by Mr. Lockhart Morton.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. ix. p. 91:

"Mr. Stangrove . . . has no more idea of a swing-gate than a shearing-machine."

Sword-grass , n . In New Zealand, Arundo conspicua ; in Australia, Cladium psittacorum , Labill. It is not the same as the English plant of that name, and is often called Cutting Grass (q.v.).

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 172:

"The great plumes far and wide of the sword-grass aspire."

Sword-Sedge , a sedge on Australian coasts, Lepidosperma gladiatum , Labill., N.O. Cyperaceae , useful for binding sea-sand, and yielding a good material for paper.

1877. Baron von Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 124:

"Lepidosperma is nearly endemically Australian. Lepidosperma gladiatum, the great Swords-edge [sic] of our coasts, furnishes an admirable material for writing paper."

[It is curious that Swords-edge makes most ingenious sense, but it is evidently a misprint for Sword-sedge.]

Sycamore Tree . See Laurel . In New South Wales, the name is given to Brachyciton luridus , C. Moore, N.O. Sterculiaceae .

Sycoceric , adj . belonging to a waxy resin obtained from the Port-Jackson Fig ; see under Fig . (From Grk. sukon , "fig," and kaeros , "wax.")

Sycoceryl , n . a supposed element of the sycoceric compounds. See Sycoceric .

T

Taboo , n . See Tapu .

Tagrag-and-Bobtail , n . a species of sea-weed. See quotation.

1866. S. Hannaford, `Wild Flowers of Tasmania,' p. 80:

"It is a wiry-stemmed plant, with small mop-like tufts, which hold water like a sponge. This is Bellotia Eriophorum , the specific name derived from its resemblance to the cotton-grass. Harvey mentions its colonial name as ` Tagrag and Bobtail ,' and if it will enable collectors the more easily to recognise it, let it be retained."

Taiaha , n . a Maori word for a chief's walking-staff, a sign of office, sometimes used in fighting, like a quarterstaff.

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 139:

"The men are placed at equal intervals along either side to paddle, and they keep excellent stroke to the song of two leaders, who stand up and recite short alternate sentences, giving the time with the taiaha, or long wooden spear. The taiaha is rather a long-handled club than a spear. It is generally made of manuka, a very hard, dark, close-grained and heavy wood. The taiaha is about six feet long, etc."

1851. Mrs. Wilson, `New Zealand,' p. 46:

"The taiaha is rather a long-handled club than a spear."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 299:

"A taiaha, or chiefs staff."

1881. J. L. Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 80:

"In his right hand he brandished a taiaha, a six-foot Maori broadsword of hard wood, with its pendulous plume of feathers hanging from the hilt."

1889. Major Wilson and Edward Tregear, `On the Korotangi,' `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxii. art. lxii. p. 505:

"Many famous tribal heirlooms are hidden and lost to posterity. The Rev. Mr. Buller mentions a famous taiaha, of great mana, as having been buried and lost in this way, lest it should fall into the power of opposing tribes, and cause disaster to the original owner."

Taihoa , Maori phrase, meaning "Wait a bit." Much used in some circles in New Zealand. The `Standard' gives it wrongly as "Anglo-Tasmanian," probably because Mr. Wade's book was published in Hobart.

1842. W. R. Wade, `Journey in New Zealand' (Hobart Town), p.66:

"`Taihoa.' This word has been translated, By and by; but in truth, it has all the latitude of directly,--presently, --by and by,--a long time hence,--and nobody knows when . . . the deliberate reply is, `Taihoa'. . . this patience-trying word. . . ."

1881. J. L. Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 87:

"That irritatingly provoking word, `taihoa.'"

[p. 88]: "The drawled-out t-a-i-h-o-a fell upon the ear."

[p. 266] [Title of chapter]: "I learn what Taihoa means."

[p.271]: "Great is the power of taihoa."

[p. 276]: "The imperturbable taihoa, given to us with the ordinary placid good-humour."

Tail , v. tr . to herd and tend sheep or cattle: lit. to follow close behind the tail.

1844. `Port Phillip Patriot,' Aug. 5, p. 3, col. 6:

"I know many boys, from the age of nine to sixteen years, tailing cattle."

1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 153:

"The stockman, as he who tends cattle and horses is called, despises the shepherd as a grovelling, inferior creature, and considers `tailing sheep' as an employment too tardigrade for a man of action and spirit."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xix. p. 239:

"`The cattle,' no longer `tailed,' or followed daily, as a shepherd does sheep."

Tailing , adj . consisting of tailings (q.v.).

1890. `Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 21:

"From recent assays of the tailing-sand, scarcely one quarter of the pyrites has been extracted."

Tailings , n . "The detritus carried off by water from a crushing machine, or any gold-washing apparatus." (Brough Smyth, `Glossary of Mining Terms.') Not limited to Australia.

1891. `The Argus,' June 16, p. 6, col. 2:

"A hundred and fifty tons of tailings are treated at the Sandhurst pyrites works every month."

Tailor , n . name given in New South Wales to the fish Temnodon saltator , Cuv. and Val. It is called Skipjack (q.v.) in Melbourne, a name by which it is also known in America and Britain. Those of large size are called "Sea-tailors." It belongs to the family Carangidae , or Horse-Mackerels (q.v.).

Taipo , n . a New Zealand word for devil, often applied by settlers to a vicious horse or as a name for a dog. There is a dangerous river, the Taipo, on the west coast. There is considerable dispute as to whether the word is true Maori or not. The Rev. T. G. Hammond of Patea says--

"No such Maori word as taipo, meaning devil, exists. It would mean evening-tide--tai-po. Probably the early sailors introduced attached meaning of devil from the Maori saying, `Are you not afraid to travel at night?' referring to the danger of tidal rivers."

On the other hand, Mr. Tregear says, in his `Maori Comparative Dictionary,' s.v.--

"Taepo, a goblin, a spectre. Cf. tae , to arrive; po , night."

The Rev. W. Colenso says, in his pamphlet on `Nomenclature' (1883), p. 5:

"Taepo means to visit or come by night,--a night visitant,--a spectral thing seen in dreams,--a fancied and feared thing, or hobgoblin, of the night or darkness; and this the settlers have construed to mean the Devil!--and of course their own orthodox one."

Taipo or taepo is also a slang term for a surveyor's theodolite among the Maoris, because it is the "land-stealing devil."

1848. Rev. R. Taylor, `Leaf from the Natural History of New Zealand,' p. 43:

"Taipo, female dreamer; a prophetess; an evil spirit."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 49:

"There is the Taringa-here , a being with a face like a cat; and likewise another, called a Taipo , who comes in the night, sits on the tops of houses, and converses with the inmates, but if a woman presumes to open her mouth, it immediately disappears."

1878. B. Wells, `History of Taranaki,' p. 3:

"The similarity in sound and meaning of the Egyptian word typhon with that of the Maori taipo , both being the name of the Spirit of Evil, is also not a little remarkable."

[Ingenious, but worthless.]

1886. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' `New Zealand Country journal,' vol. x. p. 262:

"His wife became seriously affected, declaring that Taipo had entered into her. Reasoning was wholly useless. She declared that Taipo was in the smoke of the wood, which smoke she had inhaled; soon she became prostrated by illness and was expected to die."

1887. J. C. Crawford, `Travels in New Zealand and Australia,' p. 107:

"After dinner Watkins requested the loan of a tomahawk to defend himself on going up to the Pa on the hill above. He said he knew that there was a taipo (devil) about; he felt it in his head."

1888. P. W. Barlow, `Kaipara,' p. 48:

"They were making the noises I heard to drive away the `Taipo,' a sort of devil who devotes his attention exclusively to Maoris, over whom, however, he only possesses power at night."

1891. W. H. Roberts, `Southland in 1856,' p. 72:

"They believed it was the principal rendez-vous of the fallen angel (Taipo) himself."

1896. Modern. Private Letter (May):

" Taipo , for instance, of course one knows its meaning, though it has been adopted chiefly as a name as common as `Dash' or `Nero' for New Zealand dogs; all the same the writers upon Maori superstitions seem to have no knowledge of it. Polach, Dieffenbach, Nicholas, Yates, call their evil spirits whiros or atuas . Tepo, the place of darkness, is the nearest they have come to it. I think myself it is South Island Maori, often differing a little in spelling and use; and so very much the larger proportion of New Zealand literature is the literature of the North."

Tait , n . a Western Australian animal, properly called the Long-snouted Phalanger , Tarsipes rostratus , the only species of its genus. See Phalanger and Opossum . It is about the size of a mouse, and lives almost entirely on honey, which it extracts from flowers.

1894. R. Lydekker, `Marsupialia,' p. 120:

"The Long-snouted Phalanger, which derives its scientific name from a certain resemblance of its hind feet to those of a Malayan Lemur-like animal known as the Tarsier, is one of the most interesting of the phalangers. . . . Known to the natives by the names of Tait and Nulbenger , it is, writes Gould, `generally found in all situations suited to its existence, from Swan River to King George's Sound.'"

Takahe , n . Maori name for an extinct New Zealand Rail, Notornis mantelli , Owen. See Notornis .

1889. Prof. Parker, 'Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 116:

"The Takahe is the rarest of existing native birds, if indeed it is not already extinct."

Takapu , n . Maori name for the bird Dysporus serrator , Banks, a Gannet (q.v.).

Take (a man) down , Australian sporting slang. (1) To induce a man to bet, knowing that he must lose. (2) To advise a man to bet, and then to "arrange" with an accomplice (a jockey, e.g.) for the bet to be lost. (3) To prove superior to a man in a game of skill.

1895. `The Argus,' Dec. 5, p. 5, col. 2:

"It appeared that [the plaintiff] had a particular fancy for a [certain] horse, and in an evil hour induced [the defendant] to lay him a wager about this animal at the long odds of two shillings to threepence. When the horse had romped triumphantly home and [the plaintiff] went to collect his two shillings [the defendant] accused him of having `taken him down,' stigmatised him as a thief and a robber, and further remarked that [the plaintiff] had the telegram announcing the result of the race in his pocket when the wager was made, and in short refused to give [the plaintiff] anything but a black eye."

Talegalla , n . aboriginal name for the Brush-Turkey , and the scientific name for that bird, viz., Talegalla lathami , Gray. See Turkey .

Tallow-wood , n . another name for one of the Stringy-barks (q.v.), Eucalyptus microcorys , F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae . The timber, which is hard, gives forth an oily substance: hence the name. The tree reaches a great height. Also called Turpentine-tree (q.v.). See also Peppermint .

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 493:

"In Queensland it is known as `Peppermint,' the foliage being remarkably rich in volatile oil. But its almost universal name is Tallow-wood. North of Port Jackson it bears the name of `Turpentine Tree' and `Forest Mahogany.' The aboriginals of the Brisbane River, Queensland, call it `tee.'"

Ibid. p. 494:

"Tallow-wood.--Used . . . for flooring, e.g. in ball-rooms; for this purpose it is selected on account of its greasy nature. This greasiness is most marked when it is fresh cut. (General Report, Sydney International Exhibition, 1879.)"

1897. `The Argus,' Feb. 22, p. 5, col. 4 (Cable message from London):

"Mr. Richards stated that the New South Wales black butt and tallow wood were the most durable and noiseless woods for street-paving."

Tallygalone , n . a fish of New South Wales, Myxus elongatus , Gunth., a genus of the family Mugilidae , or Grey-Mullet . The word is also spelled talleygalann , and tallagallan . Also called Sand-Mullet .

Tamarind-Tree , name given to Diploglottis cunninghamii , Hook., N.O. Sapindaceae ; called also Native Tamarind . "A tall tree. The flesh of the fruit is amber and of delightful acid flavour." (Bailey.)

Tambaroora , n . a Queensland game. More generally known as "A shilling in and the winner shouts." From a town in Queensland.

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 63:

"The exciting game of tambaroora . . . Each man of a party throws a shilling, or whatever sum may be mutually agreed upon, into a hat. Dice are then produced, and each man takes three throws. The Nut who throws highest keeps the whole of the subscribed capital, and out of it pays for the drinks of the rest."

Tamure , n . the Maori name for the New Zealand Schnapper fish (q.v.).

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 206:

"Tamure s . Bream fish."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 93:

"There are many other sorts of fish, including the tamure, or snapper, the manga, or barracouta, the mango, or dog-fish, of which the natives catch large quantities, and the hapuka. This last fish is caught in pretty deep water, near reefs and rocks. It often attains a great size, attaining as much as 112 pounds. It bears a considerable resemblance to the cod in form, but is, however, of far finer flavour."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 413:

"Tamure, kouarea (the snapper), is a large fish like the bream."

1879. W. Colenso, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xii. art. vii. p. 118:

"The tamure is the snapper (Pagrus unicolor), a common fish on all the coasts."

Tandan , n . the aboriginal name for the Catfish (q .v.) or Eel-fish (q.v.), Copidoglanis tandanus , Mitchell (or Plotosus tandanus ). Mitchell, who first discovered and described the Cat-fish, called it the Tandan , or Eel-fish .

1838. T. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' pp. 44, 45, pl. 5:

"In this piece of water we caught some small fish, two of them being of a rather singular kind, resembling an eel in the head and shape of the tail."

[p. 45]: "On my return to the camp in the evening, I made a drawing of the eel fish which we had caught early in the day (fig. 2, pl. 5)."

Tanekaha , n . Maori name of a New Zealand tree; also called Celery-topped Pine , Phyllocladus trichomanoides , Don., N.O. Coniferae .

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 306:

"The Tanakaha Tree ( Podocarpus asplenifolius ) is found scattered over a large portion of the northern island of New Zealand. . . Height, sixty to eighty feet. . . The wood is close and straight in the grain. . . It works up well, is tough and very strong; so much so that the New Zealanders say it is the `strong man' among their forest trees."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 125:

"Tanakaha. A slender, handsome tree, sixty feet high; trunk rarely exceeds three feet in diameter; wood pale, close-grained, and excellent for planks and spars; resists decay in moist positions in a remarkable manner."

Tangi , n . (pronounced Tang-y ) Maori word for a lamentation, a cry, or dirge.

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 207:

"Tangi, s . a cry or lamentation."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 194:

"They wrapped the mutilated corpse in his red blanket, and bore it, lashed to a tree, to the village, where the usual tangi took place."

1873. Lieut.-Colonel St. John, `Pakeha Rambles through Maori Lands,' p. 154:

"Shortly afterwards a `tangi' was held over those of the party whose remains could be identified."

1881. J. L. Campbell, `Poenamo,' p.191:

"Perhaps some old woman did a quiet tangi over his grave."

1883. F. S. Renwick, `Betrayed,' p. 41:

"'Tis the tangi floats on the seaborne breeze, In its echoing notes of wild despair."

Taniwha , n . Maori name for a mythical monster.

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 207:

"Taniwa, s . a sea-monster so called."

1842. W. R. Wade, `Journey in New Zealand' (Hobart Town), p. 34:

"Hearing us use the word tapu , as we looked towards it, one of our boatmen quickly repeated that the place was tapued for the tanewa (a water demon). `And I wonder,' was his irreverent addition, `what this same tanewa may be! An old pot leg, perhaps!'"

1896. `Otago Witness,' Jan. 23, p. 51, col. 2:

"The river at one time is reported as having been infested with taniwhas--gigantic fish that used to swallow the natives--and a Maori pointed out a deep pool under some willows, and told me his grandfather had been seized by one of these monsters at that spot, dragged to the bottom and eaten. This taniwha, which was about forty feet in length and had a long mane, was in the habit of sometimes standing almost erect in the water, and frightening the women and children out of their wits. It had a tremendous-sized head, and its mouth somewhat resembled the beak of a very large bird. Its neck was about six feet in circumference and was covered with scales, as likewise its body down to its tail, which was formed by a series of fin-shaped projections, and somewhat resembled in form the tail of a grey duck. It had two short legs which were as big around as the body of a half-grown pig, and with one kick it could knock a hole through the stoutest canoe."

Tannergrams , n . very recent New Zealand slang. On 1st of June, 1896, the New Zealand Government reduced the price of telegrams to sixpence (slang, a `tanner') for twelve words.

1896. `Oamaru Mail,' June 13:

"Tannergrams is the somewhat apt designation which the new sixpenny telegrams have been christened in commercial vernacular."

Tappa , n . South-sea Island word. A native cloth made from the bark of the Paper-mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera , Benth.

1886. `Art journal: Exhibition Supplement,' p. 24:

"The Tappa, or native cloth [of Fiji], made from the bark of a tree. . . Has been extensively used in the draping of the court."

1888. H. S. Cooper, `The Islands of the Pacific,' p. 9:

"Tappa, a native cloth of spotless white, made from the bark of the mulberry-tree.'

Tapu , adj . a Maori word, but common also to other Polynesian languages. The origin of the English word taboo . It properly means `prohibited.' There was a sacred tapu , and an unclean tapu . What was consecrated to the gods was forbidden to be touched or used by the people.

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 208:

"Tapu, a . sacred, inviolable."

1835. W. Yate, `Some Account of New Zealand,' p. 84:

"This system of consecration--for that is the most frequent meaning of the term `tapu'--has prevailed through all the islands of the South Seas, but nowhere to a greater extent than in New Zealand."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 194:

"They wrapped the mutilated corpse in his red blanket, and bore it, lashed to a tree, to the village, where the usual tangi took place after it had been deposited in the wahi tapu, or sacred ground.'"

1859. A. S. Thomson, M.D., `Story of New Zealand,' p. 100:

"The primary meaning of the Maori word tapu is `sacred'; tabut is a Malay word, and is rendered `the Ark of the Covenant of God'; taboot is a Hindoo word signifying `a bier,' `a coffin,' or `the Ark of the Covenant'; ta is the Sanscrit word `to mark,' and pu `to purify.'"

[There is no authority in this polyglot mixture.]

1879. Clement Bunbury, `Fraser's Magazine,' June, `A Visit to the New Zealand Geysers,' p. 767:

"I had not much time to examine them closely, having a proper fear of the unknown penalties incurred by the violation of anything `tapu' or sacred."

1893. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 21, p. 10, col. 1:

"He seeks treasures which to us are tapu."

Tapu , n . the state of being consecrated or forbidden.

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 25:

"We found no natives, the cove being under tapu, on account of its being the burial-place of a daughter of Te Pehi, the late chief of the Kapiti, or Entry Island, natives."

1847. A. Tennyson, `Princess,' canto iii. l. 261:

". . . Women up till this Cramp'd under worse than South-Sea-Isle taboo, Dwarfs of the gynaeceum."

1851. Mrs. Wilson, `New Zealand,' p. 24:

"But chiefly thou, mysterious Tapu, From thy strange rites a hopeful sign we draw."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 281:

"The tapu, which either temporarily or permanently renders sacred an object animate or inanimate, is the nearest approach to the Hindoo religious exclusive-ism."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 89:

"His sole `tapu' a far securer guard Than lock and key of craftiest notch and ward."

Ibid. p. 100:

"Avenge each minor breach of this taboo."

Tapu , v . originally to mark as sacred, and later to place under a ban. English, taboo .

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 284:

"The tapued resting-place of departed chieftains."

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), May 29, p. 40, col. 2:

"I . . . found the telegraph office itself tabooed."

1893. R. L. Stevenson, `Island Nights' Entertainments,' p. 39:

"By Monday night I got it clearly in my head I must be tabooed."

Tara , n . (1) Maori name for the birds Sterna caspia , Pallas, and S. frontalis , Gray, the Sea-Swallow, or Tern (q.v.).

(2) A Tasmanian aboriginal name for the fern Pteris aquilina , L., N.O. Polypodeae .

1834. Ross, `Van Diemen's Land Annual,' p. 129:

"The most extensively diffused eatable roots of Van Diemen's Land are those of the tara fern . . . greatly resembles Pteris aquilina , the common fern, brake, breckon, or brackin, of England . . . it is known among the aborigines by the name of tara . . . the root of the tara fern possesses much nutritive matter."

Taraire , n . Maori name for a New Zealand tree; formerly Nesodaphne tarairi , Hook., now Beilschmiedia tarairi , Benth. and Hook., N.O. Laurineae .

1873. `Catalogue of Vienna Exhibition':

"Tarairi. Used for most of the purposes for which sycamore is applied in Europe."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 129:

"Tarairi. A lofty forest tree, sixty to eighty feet high, with stout branches. Wood white, splits freely, but not much valued."

Tarakihi , n . the Maori name for the fish Chilodactylus macropterus , Richards.; called in Sydney the Norwong (q.v.).

Tarata , n . Maori name for the New Zealand tree Pittosporum eugenioides , A. Cunn., N.O. Pittosporeae ; called also Mapau , Maple , etc. See Mapau .

1876. W. n . Blair, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. ix., art. x. p. 143:

"A small tree seldom exceeding thirty feet in height, and twelve inches in diameter. It has pale green shining leaves and purple flowers. The wood of a dirty white colour, is tough and fibrous."

1879. J. B. Armstrong, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xii. art. xlix. p. 329:

"The tarata or Lemon-wood, a most beautiful tree, also used for hedges."

1889. E. H. and S. Featon, `New Zealand Flora,' p. 35:

"The Tarata. This elegant tree is found on the east coast of both islands. It attains a height of from twenty to thirty feet, and has a stem from twelve to eighteen inches in diameter. It is known to the settlers in some parts as `Lemon-wood.' When displaying its profuse masses of pale golden flowers, it is very pretty."

Tare, Native , n . name applied in Tasmania to the plant Swainsonia lessertiaefolia , De C., N.O. Leguminosae .

Taro , n . a familiar food plant, Colocasia species, widely cultivated in tropical regions, especially in Polynesia. The word is Polynesian, and much used by the Maoris.

1846. J. Lindley, `Vegetable Kingdom,' p. 128 [Stanford]:

"Whole fields of Colocasia macrorhyza are cultivated in the South Sea Islands under the name tara or kopeh roots."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 374:

"Many a bed, That late in such luxurious neatness spread, Of melons, maize and taro--now a wreck."

1878. Lady Brassey, `Voyage in the Sunbeam,' p. 263:

"A good-looking man was busy broiling beef-steaks, stewing chickens and boiling taro , and we had soon a plentiful repast set before us."

Tarsipes , n . the scientific generic name of the Tait (q.v.).

Tarwhine , n . an Australian fish, Chrysophrys sarba , Forsk. See Black-Bream . It is somewhat difficult to distinguish the fish from its close relation the Black-Bream, Chrysophrys australis , Gunth. Both are excellent food, and frequently abundant in brackish waters.

Tar-wood , n . name given by the Otago bushmen to the tree Darrydium colensoi , Hook.; Maori name, Manoao (q.v.). (Kirk, `Forest Flora,' p. 189.)

Tasmania , n . island and colony, formerly called Van Diemen's Land. The new name, from that of the Dutch navigator, Abel Jansen Tasman, was officially adopted in 1853, when the system of transportation ceased. The first quotations show it was in popular use much earlier.

1820. Lieut. Charles Jeffreys, `Delineation of the Island of Van Dieman's Land,' p. 1:

"Van Dieman's Land, or Tasmania, is an island of considerable extent."

1823. `Godwin's Emigrant's Guide to Van Diemen's Land, more properly called Tasmania':

[Title.]

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 8:

"Over Van Diemen's Land (or Tasmania, as we love to call it here), New South Wales enjoys also many advantages."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 491:

"Tasmania is a more musical alias adopted by the island. It has been given in titular distinction to the first bishop, my excellent and accomplished friend Dr. Nixon, and will doubtless be its exclusive designation when it shall have become a free nation."

1892. A. and G. Sutherland, `History of Australia,' p. 41:

"The wild country around the central lakes of Tasmania."

Tasmanian , adj . belonging or native to Tasmania.

1825. A. Bent, `The Tasmanian Almanack for the Year of our Lord 1825'

[Title.]

Tasmanian , n . an inhabitant of Tasmania, a colonist. The word is also used of the aborigines, the race of whom is now extinct.

Tasmanian Devil , n . the only species of the genus Sarcophilus (q.v.), S. ursinus .

1894. R. Lydekker, `Marsupialia,' p. 156:

"Like many of its kindred, the Tasmanian Devil is a burrowing and nocturnal animal. In size it may be compared to a Badger, and owing to its short limbs, plantigrade feet, and short muzzle, its gait and general appearance are very Badger or Bear-like."

Tasmanian Tiger , n . called also Native Wolf , Marsupial Wolf , Zebra Wolf , and Hyaena ; genus, Thylacinus (q.v.). It is the largest carnivorous marsupial extant, and is so much like a wolf in appearance that it well deserves its vernacular name of Wolf , though now-a-days it is generally called Tiger . There is only one species, Thylacinus cynocephalus , and the settlers have nearly exterminated it, on account of its fierce predatory habits and the damage it inflicts on their flocks. The Tasmanian Government pays L1 for every one destroyed. The Van Diemen's Land Company in the North-West of the Island employs a man on one of its runs who is called the "tiger-catcher."

1813. `History of New South Wales' (1818), p. 430:

"About Port Dalrymple an animal was discovered which bore some resemblance to the hyena both in shape and fierceness; with a wide mouth, strong limbs, sharp claws and a striped skin. Agreeably to the general nature of New South Wales quadrupeds, this animal has a false belly. It may be considered as the most formidable of any which New South Wales has been yet found to produce, and is very destructive; though there is no instance of its attacking the human species."

1832. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 85:

"During our stay a native tiger or hyena bounded from its lair beneath the rocks."

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Friends and Foes,' p. 65:

"There is another charming fellow, which all the people here call the Tiger, but as a tiger is like a great cat, and this beast is much more like a dog, you will see how foolish this name is. I believe naturalists call it the dog-faced opossum, and that is not much better . . . the body is not a bit like that of an opossum."

1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of British Colonies,' p. 273:

"The `Tasmanian tiger' is of the size of a shepherd's dog, a gaunt yellow creature, with black stripes round the upper part of its body, and with an ugly snout. Found nowhere but in Tasmania, and never numerous even there, it is now slowly disappearing."

Tasmanian Whiptail , n . a Tasmanian fish, Coryphaenoides tasmaniae , family Macruridae , or deep-sea Gadoids, an altogether different fish from Myliobatis aquila , the Eagle or Whiptail Ray , which also occurs in Tasmania, but is found all over the world.

Tasmanite , n . a mineral. "A resinous, reddish-brown, translucent, hydrocarbon derivative (C40H6202S), found in certain laminated shales of Tasmania, Resiniferous shale ." (`Standard.')

Tassel-fish , n . a thread-fish of Queensland, of the genus Polynemus , family Polynemidae . Polynemoid fish have free filaments at the humeral arch below the pectoral fins, which Guenther says are organs of touch, and to be regarded as detached portions of the fin; in some the filaments or threads are twice as long as the fish.

Tassy , n . a pet name for Tasmania.

1894. `The Argus,' Jan. 26, p. 3, col. 5:

"To-day Tassy--as most Victorian cricketers and footballers familiarly term our neighbour over the straits--will send a team into the field."

Tattoo , v . and n . to mark the human body with indelible pigments. The word is Polynesian; its first occurrence in English is in Cook's account of Tahiti. The Tahitian word is Tatau , which means tattoo marks on the human skin, from Ta , which means a mark or design. (Littre.) The Maori verb, ta , means to cut, to tattoo, to strike. See Moko .

1773. `Hawkesworth's Voyages' (Cook's First Voyage; at Tahiti, 1769), vol. ii. p. 191:

"They have a custom of staining their bodies . . . which they call Tattowing . They prick the skin, so as just not to fetch blood, with a small instrument, something in the form of a hoe. . . . The edge is cut into sharp teeth or points . . . they dip the teeth into a mixture of a kind of lamp-black . . . The teeth, thus prepared, are placed upon the skin, and the handle to which they are fastened being struck by quick smart blows, they pierce it, and at the same time carry into the puncture the black composition, which leaves an indelible stain."

1777. Horace Walpole, `Letters,' vol. vi. p. 448:

"Since we will give ourselves such torrid airs, I wonder we don't go stark and tattoo ourselves."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 109:

"A very famous artist in tatu came with the party, and was kept in constant and profitable employment. Everybody, from the renowned warrior to the girl of twelve years old, crowded to be ornamented by the skilful chisel. . . . The instruments used were not of bone, as they used formerly to be; but a graduated set of iron tools, fitted with handles like adzes, supplied their place. . . . The staining liquid is made of charcoal."

1847. A. Tennyson, `Princess,' canto ii. l. 105:

". . . Then the monster, then the man; Tattoo'd or woaded, winter-clad in skins, Raw from the prime, and crushing down his mate."

1859. A. S. Thomson, `Story of New Zealand,' vol. i. c. iv. p. 74:

"First among the New Zealand list of disfigurations is tattooing, a Polynesian word signifying a repetition of taps, but which term is unknown in the language of the New Zealanders; moko being the general term for the tattooing on the face, and whakairo for that on the body." [But see Moko.]

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 17:

"Lips no stain of tattoo had turned azure."

Ibid. p. 104:

"A stick knobbed with a carved and tattoo'd wooden head."

1873. J. B. Stephens, `Black Gin,' p. 3:

"Thy rugged skin is hideous with tattooing."

Tawa , n . Maori name for a New Zealand tree, Nesodaphne tawa , Hook., N.O. Laurineae . The newer name is Beilschmiedia tawa , Benth. and Hook. f. Allied to Taraire (q.v.). A handsome forest tree with damson-like fruit.

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 129:

"Tawa. A lofty forest tree, sixty to seventy feet high, with slender branches. The wood is light and soft, and is much used for making butter-kegs."

Tawara , n . Maori name for the flower of the Kie-kie (q.v.), Freycinetia Banksii .

Tawhai , or Tawai , n . Maori name for several species of New Zealand Beech-trees, N.O. Cupuliferae . The settlers call them Birches (q.v.).

1873. `Catalogue of Vienna Exhibition':

"Tawhai. Large and durable timber, used for sleepers."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 125:

"Tawhai, Red-birch (from colour of bark). A handsome tree, eighty to one hundred feet high. Fagus Menziesii , Hook. [also called large-leaved birch]. Tawhai, Tawhairaunui, Black-birch of Auckland and Otago (from colour of bark), Fagus fusca , Hook."

Tawhiri , or Tawiri , n . Maori name for the Black Mapau . A name applied to the tree Pittosporum tenuifolium , N.O. Pittosporeae . It is profusely covered with a fragrant white blossom. See Mapau .

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 108:

"Its floor . . . with faint tawhiri leaves besprent "

1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of Maori,' p. 21:

"The early breeze that . . . stole The rich Tawhiri's sweet perfume."

Tea , n.--

Billy-tea , or Bush-tea . Tea made in a billy (q.v.). There is a belief that in order to bring out the full flavour it should be stirred with a gum-stick.

New Zealand tea . Tea made of the leaves of Manuka (q.v.). See Tea -tree.

Sweet-tea , or Botany-Bay tea , or Australian tea . (Called also Native Sarsaparilla. See Sarsaparilla .) A plant, Smilax glycyphylla , Smith., N.O. Liliaceae .

1788. D. Considen, letter to Sir Joseph Banks, Nov. 18, in `Historical Records of New South Wales,' vol. i. part ii. p. 220:

"I have sent you some of the sweet tea of this country, which I recommend, and is generally used by the marines and convicts. As such it is a good anti-scorbutic, as well as a substitute for that which is more costly."

1790. J. White, `Voyage to New South Wales,' p. 195:

"The sweet-tea, a creeping kind of vine . . . the taste is sweet, exactly like the liquorice-root of the shops. Of this the convicts and soldiers make an infusion which is tolerably pleasant, and serves as no bad succedaneum for tea."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 203:

"`Sweet tea' . . . The decoction made from its leaves . . . is similar in properties, but more pleasant in taste, than that obtained from the roots of S. officinalis , or Jamaica sarsaparilla. The herb is a common article of trade among Sydney herbalists."

Tea-broom , n . a New Zealand name for the Tea-tree (q.v.).

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' [Notes] p. 505:

"Manuka. . . . The settlers often call it `tea-broom.'"

Teak , n . The original Teak is an East Indian timber-tree, Tectina grandis , but the name has been transferred to other trees in different parts of the world, from a similarity in the hardness of their wood. In Australia, it is given to Dissiliaria baloghioides , F. v. M., N.O. Euphorbiaceae ; to Endiandra glauca , R. Br., N.O. Leguminosae ; and to Flindersia Bennettiana , F. v. M., N.O. Meliaceae . In New Zealand, it is Vitex littoralis ; Maori name, Puriri (q.v.).

Teal , n . the common English name given to the small ducks of the genus Querquedula . In Australia, the name is applied to Anas castanea , Eyton; and to the Grey Teal , A. gibberifrons , Mull. See also Goose-teal .

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 291:

"Brown returned with . . . four teals ( Querquedula castanea )." [The old name.]

Tea-tree , n . (Very frequently, but erroneously, spelt Ti-tree , and occasionally, more ridiculously still, Ti-tri , q.v.) A name given in Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania to several species of trees and shrubs whose leaves were used by Captain Cook's sailors, by escaped convicts, and by the early settlers as a ready substitute for the leaves of the Chinese Tea-plant ( Thea chinensis ) for making tea. The trees of the genera Leptospermum and Melaleuca were the earliest used, in Australia and New Zealand, in this way. When in blossom, the branches of many species, with their little white flowers, and the general appearance of their leaves, bear a strong resemblance to those of the true Tea-plant. Their leaves, though exceedingly aromatic, have not, however, the same flavour. Nevertheless, it was probably this superficial likeness which first suggested the experiment of making an infusion from them. Some of the species of Leptospermum and Melaleuca are so closely allied, that their names are by some botanists interchanged and used as synonyms for the same plant.

Although not all of the species of these two genera were used for making tea, yet, as a tree-name, the word Tea-tree is indifferently and loosely used to denote nearly all of them, especially in the form Tea-tree scrub , where they grow, as is their habit, in swamps, flat-land, and coastal districts. Other trees or plants to which the name of Tea-tree was occasionally given, are species of the genera Kunzea and Callistemon .

The spelling Ti-tree is not only erroneous as to the origin of the name, but exceedingly misleading, as it confuses the Australian Tea-tree with another Ti (q.v.) in Polynesia ( Cordyline ti ). This latter genus is represented, in Australia and New Zealand, by the two species Cordyline australis and C. indivisa , the Cabbage-trees (q.v.), or Cabbage palms (q.v.), or Ti-palms (q.v.), or Ti (q.v.), which are a marked feature of the New Zealand landscape, and are of the lily family ( N.O. Liliaceae ), while the genera Leptospermum and Melaleuca are of the myrtle family ( N.O. Myrtaceae ).

As to the species of the Australian Tea-tree , that first used by Cook's sailors was either-- Leptospermum scoparium , R. and G. Forst.,

or L. lanigerum , Smith.

The species most used for infusions was--

L. fravescens , Smith (syn. L. thea , Willd., and Melaleuca thea , Willd.).

The Coast Tea-tree , common on the Victorian shores, and so useful as a sand-binder, is--

L. laevigatum , F. v. M.

The Common Australian Tea-tree (according to Maiden) is Melaleuca leucodendron , Linn.; called also White Tea-tree , Broad-leaved T.-t. , Swamp T.-t ., and Paper-bark T.-t .

The name, however, as noted above, is used for all species of Melaleuca , the Swamp Tea-tree being M. ericifolia , Smith, and the Black , or Prickly-leaved Tea-tree , M. styphelioides , Smith.

Of the other genera to which the name is sometimes applied, Kunzea pedunculata , F. v. M., is called Mountain Tea-tree , and Callistemon salignus , De C., is called--

Broad-leaved , or River Tea-tree .

In New Zealand, the Maori name Manuka (q.v.) is more generally used than Tea-tree , and the tree denoted by it is the original one used by Cook's sailors.

Concerning other plants, used in the early days for making special kinds of infusions and drinking them as tea , see under Tea , and Cape-Barren Tea .

1777. Cook's `Voyage towards the South Pole and Round the World' [2nd Voyage], vol. i. p. 99:

"The beer certainly contributed not a little. As I have already observed, we at first made it of a decoction of the spruce leaves; but finding that this alone made the beer too astringent, we afterwards mixed with it an equal quantity of the tea plant (a name it obtained in my former voyage from our using it as tea then, as we also did now), which partly destroyed the astringency of the other, and made the beer exceedingly palatable, and esteemed by every one on board."

[On page 100, Cook gives a description of the tea-plant, and also figures it. He was then at Dusky Bay, New Zealand.]

1790. J. White, `Voyage to New South Wales,' p. 229:

"Tea Tree of New South Wales, Melaleuca (?) Trinervia . This is a small shrub, very much branched. . . . It most nearly approaches the Leptospermum virgatum of Forster, referred by the younger Linnaeus, perhaps improperly, to Melaleuca ."

1820. C. Jeffreys, R.N., `Geographical and Descriptive Delineations of the Island of Van Dieman's Land,' p. 133:

"Of course they [the Bushrangers] are subject to numerous privations, particularly in the articles of tea, sugar, tobacco, and bread; for this latter article, however, they substitute the wild yam, and for tea they drink a decoction of the sassafras and other shrubs, particularly one which they call the tea-tree bush."

1820. W. C. Wentworth, `Description of New South Wales,' p. 175:

"On Monday the bushrangers were at a house at Tea-tree Brush."

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 200:

"The leaves of the tea-tree furnished the colonists with a substitute for the genuine plant in the early period of the colony, and from their containing a saccharine matter required no sugar."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 78:

"This boy got some bark from a tree called the tea-tree, which makes excellent torches."

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 25:

"The tea-tree grows in wet situations . . . the leaves infused make a pleasant beverage, and with a little sugar form a most excellent substitute for tea."

1834. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 134:

" Leptospermum lanigerum , Hoary tea-tree; Acacia decurrens , Black wattle; Conaea alba , Cape-Barren tea. The leaves of these have been used as substitutes for tea in the colony, as have also the leaves and bark of Cryptocarya glaucescens , the Australian Sa s afras" (sic) [q.v.].

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 39:

"The Australian myrtles, or tea-trees, are to be found in thick clusters, shading rocky springs. . . . Its leaves I have seen made into a beverage called tea. It, however, was loathsome, and had not the slightest resemblance to any known Chinese tea."

1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 85:

"Often we had to take the boat down the river several miles, to cut reeds amongst the tea-tree marshes, to thatch our houses with."

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix;' p. 33:

"A great quantity of the tea-tree ( Leptospermum ) scrubs, which formerly lined both banks of the Yarra."

(p. 84): "It is allied to the myrtle family ( Melaleuca ) . . . A decoction of the leaves is a fair substitute for tea, yielding a beverage of a very aromatic flavour."

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 210:

"Dense with tea-trees and wattles shrouding the courses of the stream."

1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 126:

"Half-hidden in a tea-tree scrub, A flock of dusky sheep were spread."

1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads,' p. 14:

"Through the tea-tree scrub we dashed."

1871. C. L. Money, `Knocking About in New Zealand,' p. 70:

"Chiefly covered with fern and tea-tree (manuka) scrub."

1871. T. Bracken, `Behind the Tomb,' p. 60:

"Sobbing through the tea-tree bushes, Low and tender, loud and wild, Melancholy music gushes."

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 2o6:

Table of Tasmanian woods found in low marshy ground .

Hgt. Dia. Used.

Swamp Tea-tree 12 ft. 6 in. Useless.

Tea-tree 30 " 9 " } Turners' and } Agricultural Musk Tea-tree 12 " small } Implements.

1877. Baron von Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 18:

"We have among them [the Myrtaceae] . . . the native tea-trees, inappropriately so called, as these bushes and trees never yield substitutes for tea, although a New Zealand species was used in Captain Cook's early expedition, to prepare a medicinal infusion against scurvy; these so-called tea-trees comprise within our colony [Victoria], species of Leptospermum, Kunzea, Melaleuca and Callistemon, the last-mentioned genus producing flowers with long stamens, on which the appellation of `Bottle-brushes' has been bestowed."

1880. W. Senior, `Travel and Trout,' p. 78:

"Numerous flowering shrubs, such as the tea-tree, native lilac, and many another that varies the colour and softly scents the atmosphere."

1880. Mrs.Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 221:

"Thickets of tea-tree, white with lovely hawthorn-like flowers."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 19:

"Along the water's edge, noble titrees, whose drooping branches swept the stream, formed a fringe, the dark green of their thick foliage being relieved."

1883. C. Harpur, `Poems,' p. 78:

"Why roar the bull-frogs in the tea-tree marsh?"

1884. R. L. A. Davies, `Poems and Literary Remains,' p. 84:

"Shading a brook the tea-trees grew, Spangled with blossoms of whitish hue, Which fell from the boughs to the ground below, As fall from heaven the flakes of snow."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 112:

"The bottle-brush flowers of the ti-trees."

1888. Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, `Select Extra-Tropical Plants,' p. 221:

"The somewhat aromatic leaves of Liscoparium (Forster) were already in Captain Cook's Expedition used for an antiscorbutic Tea, hence the name tea-tree for this and some allied plants."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 76:

"The intrusive ti-tree. . . . The dark line of ti-tree in the foreground . . ."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' pp. 235, 236:

" Leptospermum scoparium , Forster, the Manuka . . . . It is commonly termed `tea-tree' by the settlers, but must not be confounded with the `ti' or `toi' of the Maories, which is a handsome palm-lily, Cordyline australis , often termed `cabbage-tree' by the bushmen."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 38:

" Leptospermum scoparium , Tea Tree. It is said that this is the shrub the leaves of which were utilized by the crews of Captain Cook's ships for the purpose of making `tea,' and that they were also used with spruce leaves in equal quantity for the purpose of correcting the astringency in brewing a beer from the latter. It is exceedingly common about Sydney, so large quantities would therefore be available to the sailors. Species of this genus are exceedingly abundant not far from the coast, and the leaves would be very readily available, but the taste of the infusion made from them is too aromatic for the European palate."

[In Maiden's admirable book slips are very rare. But he is mistaken here in the matter of the abundance of the tree at Sydney having any reference to the question. Captain Cook had but one ship, the Endeavour ; and it never entered Port Jackson. It is true that L. scoparium was the tree used by Cook, but he was then at Dusky Bay, New Zealand, and it was there that he used it. See quotations 1777 and 1877.]

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 24:

"The well-known Melaleuca Leucadendron , called by the colonists tea-tree, from which is extracted what is known in medicine as cajeput oil."

1893. `The Australasian,' Jan 14:

"The ti-tree on either side of the road was in bloom, its soft, fluffy, creamy bushes gathering in great luxuriance on the tops of the taller trees, almost hiding the green."

1893. `The Argus,' April 29, p. 4, col. 4:

"There was many a shorthorned Hereford hidden in the innermost recesses of that tick and sand-fly infested ti-tree that knew not the cunning of a stockman's hand."

1894. `Melbourne Museum Catalogue--Economic Woods':

"No. 133, Coast tea-tree, Leptospermum laevigatum , F. v. M. No. 142, Swamp tea-tree, Melaleuca ericifolia , Smith."

Teetee . Same as Ti-Ti (q.v.).

Telopea , n . scientific name of the genus containing the flower called the Waratah (q.v.), from the Greek taelowpos , `seen from afar,' in allusion (as the author of the name, Robert Brown, himself says) to the conspicuous crimson flowers. The name has been corrupted popularly into Tulip , and the flower is often called the Native Tulip .

1835. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 110:

"The beautiful crimson flowering shrub, with dark green rhododendron-like leaves, which grows in the upper region of Mount Wellington. . . . The generic name is derived from telopos , seen at a distance. It has been corrupted into tulip tree, to which it bears not the least resemblance."

Tena koe , a Maori salutation used in North Island of New Zealand. Lit. "That is you," and meaning "How do you do?"

Tena and Tera both mean ` that '; but tena implies the idea of nearness, `that near you,' tera the idea of distance, `that (or there) away yonder.' Hence, while Tena koe is a welcome, Tera koe would be an insult.

Tench , n . slang term, used during the days of transportation, for the Hobart Town Penitentiary, or Prisoners' Barracks--a corruption of " 'tentiary ," which is for Penitentiary . It is now obsolete.

1859. Caroline Leakey, `The Broad Arrow,' vol. ii. p. 32:

"Prisoners' barracks, sir--us calls it Tench."

Teraglin , n . a fish of New South Wales, Otolithus atelodus , Gunth. The name Teraglin is stated to be aboriginal. Sometimes called Jew-fish (q.v.).

Thickhead , n . the name applied to the Australian birds of the genus Pachycephala (q.v.). They are often called Thrushes . The species are--

The Banded Thickhead Pachycephala pectoralis , Vig. and Hors.

Black T.-- P. melanura , Gould.

Gilbert's T.-- P. gilbertii , Gould.

Grey-tailed T.-- P. glaucura , Gould (confined to Tasmania).

Lunated T.-- P. falcata , Gould.

Olivaceous T.-- P. olivacea , Vig. and Hors. (confined to Tasmania).

Pale-breasted T.-- P. pallida , Ramsay.

Plain-coloured T.-- P. simplex , Gould.

Red-throated T.-- P. rufigularis , Gould.

Rufous-breasted T.-- P. rufiventris , Lath.

Shrike-like T.-- Pachycephala lanoides , Gould.

Torres-straits T.-- P. fretorum , De Vis.

Western T.-- P. occidentalis , Ramsay.

White-throated T.-- P. gutturalis , Lath.; called also the Thunder-bird (q.v.).

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

"Thick-heads. [Close season.] From the first day of August to the twentieth day of December next following in each year."

Thornback , n . special name for one of the Stingrays, Raia lemprieri , Richards., or Raja rostata , Castln., family Raijdae .

1875. `Melbourne Spectator,' Aug. 28, p. 201, col. 3:

"A thornback skate . . . weighing 109 lbs., has been caught . . . at North Arm, South Australia."

Thousand-Jacket , n . a North Island name for Ribbon-wood (q.v.), a New Zealand tree. Layer after layer of the inner bark can be stripped off.

1888. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii. p. 210:

"Koninny [sic], raupo, toi-toi, supplejack, thousand-jacket, and the like, are names of things known well enough to the inhabitants of Napier and Taranaki, but to the average stay-at-home Englishman they are nouns which only vexatiously illustrate the difference between names and things."

1889. T. Kirk, `Flora of New Zealand,' p. 87:

"Hoheria populnea. The Houhere. Order--Malvaceae. . . In the north of Auckland the typical form is known as `houhere'; but Mr. Colenso informs me the varieties are termed `houi' and `whau-whi' in the south . . . By the settlers all the forms are termed `ribbon-wood,' or less frequently `lace-bark'-- names which are applied to other plants: they are also termed `thousand-jacket.'"

1896. `The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 407, col. 5:

"`Thousand-jacket' is a picturesque name for a many-named New Zealand tree, the bark of which peels, and peels, and peels again, though in the number chosen there is certainly a note of exaggeration."

Throwing-stick , n . native Australian weapon, by means of which the spear is thrown. See Woomera .

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. i. p. 12:

"The principals who perform it come from, Cammer-ray, armed with shields, clubs, and throwing-sticks."

Ibid. c. i. p. 26:

"The throwing-stick is used in discharging the spear. The instrument is from two to three feet in length, with a shell on one end and a hook on the other."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i. p. 72:

"Natives . . . seemingly ignorant of the use of the throwing-stick."

1879. J. D. Woods, `Native Tribes of South Australia,' Introd. p. xviii:

"The spear is propelled by a wommerah or throwing-stick, having at one end a kangaroo's tooth, fixed so as to fit into a notch at the end of the spear. This instrument gives an amount of leverage far beyond what would be excited by unaided muscular strength."

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 251:

"It is supposed that if the hair of a person is tied on the end of the throwing-stick. . . and roasted before the fire with some kangaroo fat, the person to whom it belonged will pine away and die."

1885. H. H. Hayter, `Carboona,' p. 24:

"Warrk Warrk, having a dart on his throwing-stick ready adjusted, hurled it."

Thrush , n . This common English bird-name is applied in Australia and New Zealand to four different genera of birds, viz.--

(1) Collyriocincla , the Shrike-Thrushes (q.v.); the name Collyriocincla is a compound of two Greek bird-names, kolluriown /corr. from kolluriowu in Morris/, `a bird, probably of the thrush kind, Arist. H. A. 9, 23, 2' (`L. & S.' /1869 p.864/), and kigalos , `a kind of wag-tail or water-ousel ' (`L. & S.'). The next two genera are derived in a similar way from gaer , earth, and 'opos , mountain.

(2) Geocincla , the Ground-Thrushes (q.v.).

(3) Oreocincla , the Mountain-Thrush (q.v.).

(4) Pachycephala (q.v.); called Thrushes, but more often Thickheads (q.v.).

(5) Turnagra (the New Zealand Thrushes), viz.--

T. hectori , Buller, North Island Thrush. T. crassirostris , Gmel., South Island Thrush.

The name Thrush was also applied loosely, by the early writers and travellers, to birds of many other genera which have since been more accurately differentiated. The common English thrush has been acclimatised in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.

Thunder-bird , n . an early name for one of the Thickheads (q.v.), or Pachycephalae (q.v.). See also quotation, 1896.

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 239:

"`This species,' Mr. Caley says, `is called Thunder-bird by the colonists. . . . The natives tell me, that when it begins to thunder this bird is very noisy.'"

1848. J. Gould,' Birds of Australia,' vol. ii. pl. 64:

" Pachycephala Gutturalis , Thunder Bird, Colonists of New South Wales."

1896. A. J. North, `List of the Insectivorous Birds of New South Wales,' part i. p. 3:

"Pachycephala gutturalis, Latham . `Yellow-breasted Thick-head.' . . . From its habit of starting to sing immediately after a clap of thunder, the report of a gun, or any other loud and sudden noise, it is known to many residents of New South Wales as the Thunder-bird.'

"Pachycephala rufiventris, Latham . `Rufous-breasted Thickhead.' . . . Also known as the `Thunder-bird.'"

Thunder-dirt , n . In New Zealand, a gelatinous covering of a fungus ( Ileodictyon cibarium ) formerly eaten by the Maoris.

Thylacine , and Thylacinus , n . the scientific name of the genus of the animal called variously the Tasmanian Tiger (q.v.), Hyaena , Tasmanian Wolf , Zebra Wolf , and Marsupial Wolf . The first spelling is the Anglicised form of the word. (Grk. thulakos , a pouch, and kuown , a dog.)

1894. R. Lydekker, `Marsupialia,' p. 153:

"The Thylacine appears to be generally found among caverns and rocks and the deep and almost impenetrable glens in the neighbourhood of the highest mountains of Tasmania."

Ti , n . the name of various species of trees of the genus Cordyline , N.O. Liliaceae . It exists in the Pacific Islands as C. Ti , and in New Zealand the species are C. australis and C. indivisa . It is called in New Zealand the Cabbage-tree (q.v.), and the heart used to be eaten by the settlers. The word is Polynesian. In Hawaiian, the form is Ki ; in Maori, Ti . Compare Kanaka (q.v.) and Tangata . By confusion, Tea , in Tea-tree (q.v.), is frequently spelt Ti , and Tea-tree is sometimes spelt Ti-tri (q.v.).

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 58:

"In these natural shrubberies, too, and especially in wet situations, a kind of cabbage-tree, called ti by the natives, flourishes to great abundance."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor,' Te Ika a Maui,' p. 435:

"The ti ( Cordyline australis or Dracoena australis ) is found in great abundance. Though so common, it has a very foreign look . . . the leaf is that of a flag, the flower forms a large droop and is very fragrant."

1866. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 52:

"Ti-ti palms are dotted here and there, and give a foreign and tropical appearance to the whole."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 297:

"An abundance of narrow strips of the tough, fibrous leaves of the ti-palm."

1890. W. Colenso, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xviii. art. lvii. p. 486:

"In these plains stand a number of cabbage-trees ( Cordyline Australis ), the ti-trees of the Maori. These often bear only a single head of long narrow harsh leaves at the top of their tall slender stems, but sometimes they are slightly branched, the branches also only bearing a similar tuft."

1892. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 22, p. 7, col. 2:

"A small grove of ti-palms or cabbage-tree."

Tiaki (spelt also Tieke ), n . Maori name for the Saddle-back or Jack-bird (q.v.).

1835. W. Yate, `Account of New Zealand,' p. 56:

"Tiaki or purourou. This elegant bird is about the size of the sky-lark."

Tieke , n . Same as Tiaki (q.v.).

Tiers , pl. n . used in Tasmania as the usual word for mountains, in the same way as the word Ranges (q.v.) in Australia.

1876. W. B. Wildey, `Australasia and Oceanic Region,' p. 320:

"Two chains of mountains, the eastern and western tiers, run through it nearly north and south."

1891. `The Australasian,' April 4, p. 670, col. 2:

"That stuff as they calls horizontal, a mess of branches and root, The three barren tiers; and the Craycroft, that 'ud settle a bandicoot."

Tiersman , n . Tasmanian word for one who lives in the Tiers (q.v.).

1852. F. Lancelott, `Australia as it is,' vol. ii. p. 115:

"Splatters, or, as they are commonly called tiersmen, reside in the forest of stringy bark . . ."

Tiger-Cat , n . special name applied to the Common and Spotted-tailed Native Cat . See under Cat .

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 52:

"The skins of the . . . opossum, tiger-cat, and platypus . . . are exported."

1852. Ronald C. Gunn, `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. ii. p. 11:

" Dasyurus maculatus , Shaw. . . . The Spotted Martin , Phillip's `Voy. to Botany Bay, p. 276. Martin Cat,' pl. 46. `Tiger Cat' of the Colonists of Tasmania, to which island it is confined. It is distinguished from D. viverrinus , the `Native Cat' of the Colonists, by its superior size and more robust form; also from the tail being spotted as well as the body."

1891. `Guide to the Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':

"After the opossums comes a specimen of the tiger-cat ( Dasyurus maculatus ); this animal, which is so destructive to poultry, is well known throughout the country in Victoria."

Tiger, Tasmanian . See Thylacine and Tasmanian Tiger .

Tiger-Snake , n . See under Snake .

Tihore , n . Maori name for a species of New Zealand flax. Name used specially in the North Island for the best variety of Phormium (q.v.).

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 286:

"The species of Phormium tenax thus cultivated is the tihore, literally the `skinning' flax. This name describes the ease with which it submits to the scraping process."

Tiki , n . Maori name for the Creator of man, and thence taken to represent an ancestor. The Maoris made large wooden images to represent their Tiki , and gave the name of Tiki to these images. Later they were made in miniature in greenstone (q.v.), and used as neck ornaments. See Heitiki .

Tit , n . common English bird name. Applied in Australia to the following species--

Broad-tailed Tit-- Acanthiza apicalis , Gould.

Brown T.-- A. pusilla , Lath.

Buff T.-- Geobasileus reguloides , V. and H.

Chestnut-rumped T.-- Acanthiza uropygialis , Gould.

Little T.-- A. nana , Vig. and Hors.

Plain T.-- A. inornata , Gould.

Red-rumped T.-- A. pyrrhopygia , Gould.

Scaly-breasted T.-- A. squamata , De Vis.

Scrub T.-- Sericornis magna , Gould.

Striated T.-- Acanthiza lineata , Gould.

Tasmanian T.-- A. diemenensis , Gould; called also Brown-tail .

Yellow-rumped T.-- Geobasileus chrysorrhoea , Quoy and Gaim.

See also Tree-tit .

Tit-fish , n . a name given in North Australia to the Sea-slug, or Trepang; because the appearance of its tentacles suggests the teat of a cow.

1880. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Proceedings of the Linnaean Society of New South Wales,' vol. v. pt. ii. p. 128:

"G. F. Jaeger, in 1833, . . . enumerates four [species of Trepang ), viz. Trepang edulis , T. ananas , T. impatiens and T. peruviana . The first of these is certainly found on the reefs, and is called by the fishermen `redfish.' . . . Next to this is the `tit-fish' . . . studded with somewhat distant large tentacles, which project nearly an inch or so."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 22:

"They were engaged in smoking a large haul of `tit' fish, which they had made on a neighbouring reef."

Ti-ti , n . Maori name for the sea-bird Pelecanoides urinatrix , Gmel., the Diving-petrel. Spelt also tee-tee .

1891. `The Australasian,' Nov. 14, p. 963, col. 1 (`A Lady in the Kermadecs'):

"The petrels--there are nine kinds, and we have names of our own for them, the black burrower, the mutton-bird, the white burrower, the short-billed ti-ti, the long-billed ti-ti, the little storm petrel, and three others that we had no names for--abound on the island."

Tititpunamu , n . (spelt also Tititipunamu ), n . Maori name for the bird Acanthidositta chloris , Sparm., the Rifleman (q.v.). It has many other Maori names.

Titoki , n . Maori name for the New Zealand tree, Alectryon excelsum , De C., N.O. Sapindaceae . Also called New Zealand Oak and New Zealand Ash. See Alectryon .

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 317:

"The berry of the titoki tree might be turned to account. The natives extract a very fine oil from it."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 253:

The youth, with hands beneath his head, Against a great titoki's base."

1877. Anon., `Colonial Experiences or Incidents of Thirty-four Years in New Zealand,' p: 16:

"For this purpose, titoki was deemed the most suitable timber, from its hardness and crooked growth resembling English oak."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 131:

"Titoki, a beautiful tree with large panicles of reddish flowers . . . Wood has similar properties to ash. Its toughness makes it valuable for wheels, coachbuilding, etc."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 183:

"It is sometimes termed `the New Zealand ash,' doubtless on account of its resembling that tree in the shape of its foliage and in the toughness of its wood, but it is most generally known as the `titoki.'"

1896. `Otago Witness,' June 23, p. 42, col. 2:

"The saddling-paddock and the scales are surrounded by a fence made of stout titoki saplings, on which are perched the knowing."

Ti-tree , n . erroneous spelling of Tea-tree (q.v.). See also Manuka .

Titri , n . corruption for Tea-tree (q.v.), from the fancy that it is Maori, or aboriginal Australian. On the railway line, between Dunedin and Invercargill, there is a station called " Titri ," evidently the surveyor's joke.

1895. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 19, p. 23, col. 3:

"Our way lay across two or three cultivations into a grove of handsome titri. Traversing this we came to a broad, but shallow and stony creek, and then more titri, merging into light bush."

Toad-fish , n . In New Zealand, a scarce marine fish of the family Psychrolutidae , Neophrynichthys latus . In Australia, the name is applied to Tetrodon hamiltoni , Richards., and various other species of Tetrodon , family Gymnodontes , poisonous fishes.

Toad-fishes are very closely allied to Porcupine-fishes. "Toads" have the upper jaw divided by a median suture, while the latter have undivided dental plates. See Porcupine-fish and Globe-fish ,

1836. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 89:

"The Poisonous or Toad Fish of Van Diemen's Land. ( Communicated by James Scott, Esq. R.N. Colonial Surgeon ). . . . The melancholy and dreadful effect produced by eating it was lately instanced in the neighbourhood of Hobart Town, on the lady of one of the most respectable merchants, and two children, who died in the course of three hours . . . The poison is of a powerful sedative nature, producing stupor, loss of speech, deglutition, vision and the power of the voluntary muscles, and ultimately an entire deprivation of nervous power and death."

1844. J. A. Moore, `Tasmanian Rhymings,' p. 24:

"The toad-fish eaten, soon the body dies."

Toatoa , n . Maori name of New Zealand tree, Phyllocladus glauca , Carr., N.O. Coniferae . The Mountain Toatoa is P. alpinus , Hook.

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 120:

"The toa toa, a small tree which is much prized by the natives for walking-sticks, and only grows, they say, in the neighbourhood of Tonga Riro. The stick underneath the bark is of a bright red colour, which takes a fine polish."

Tobacco, Colonial . See Tobacco, Native .

Tobacco, Native , n . In Australia generally, a true Tobacco, Nicotiana suaveolens , Lehm., N.O. Solanaceae ; readily eaten as a forage plant by stock. In Queensland, the name is also applied to Pituri (q.v.). In Tasmania, the name is given to Cassinia billardieri , De C., N.O. Compositae . Various American tobaccos are also naturalised, and their growing and manufacture is an industry. Tobacco manufactured in the colonies, whether from imported American leaf or from leaf grown in the colonies, is called Colonial Tobacco .

1848. T. L. Mitchell, `Tropical Australia,' p. 64:

"In the rich soil near the river-bed, we saw the yellowish flowers of the native tobacco, Nicotiana suaveolens ."

Toe-ragger , n . In the bush a term of abuse; though curiously in one or two parts of New South Wales the word "toey," which is derived from it, is a term of praise, a "swell." The word has been explained as of convict origin, that the rags were used to soothe the galling of fetters; but the explanation is not satisfactory, for the part galled by the irons would not be the toe, but the ankle. A writer in `Truth' has cleared up the word (see quotation). It is of Maori origin. Away from Maoriland "toe-rigger" had no meaning, and a false meaning and origin were given by the change of vowel.

1896. `Truth' (Sydney), Jan. 12:

"The bushie's favorite term of opprobrium `a toe-ragger' is also probably from the Maori. Amongst whom the nastiest term of contempt was that of tau rika rika , or slave. The old whalers on the Maoriland coast in their anger called each other toe-riggers, and to-day the word in the form of toe-ragger has spread throughout the whole of the South Seas."

Toe-toe , and Toi-toi , Maori name of several species of native grass of the genus Arundo , especially Arundo conspicua , A. Cunn. Toe-toe is the right spelling in Maori, given in Williams' `Maori Dictionary.' In English, however, the word is frequently spelt toi-toi . It is also called Prince of Wales' feather .

1843. `An Ordinance for imposing a tax on Raupo Houses, Session II. No. xvii. of the former Legislative Council of New Zealand':

[From A. Domett's collection of 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]."

1849. C. Hursthouse, `Settlement of New Plymouth,' p. 13:

"A species of tall grass called `toetoe.'"

1861. C. C. Bowen, `Poems,' p. 57:

"High o'er them all the toi waved, To grace that savage ground."

1867. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 110:

"Thatching it with tohi, or swamp-grass."

1892. `The Katipo,' Jan. i. [sic] p. 3 [description of the Title-cut]:

"The toi toi and Phorinium tenax in the corners are New Zealand emblems."

1895. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 19, p. 6, col. 3:

"Where Christmas lilies wave and blow, Where the fan-tails tumbling glance, And plumed toi-toi heads the dance."

Tohora , n . Maori name for a whale.

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 136:

"Fable of the Kauri (pine-tree) and Tohora (whale)."

1878. W. Colenso, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xi. art. iv. pt. 2, p. 90:

"Looking at it as it lay extended, it resembled a very large whale (nui tohora)."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 21:

"In the open sea, and to the south, the most prized whale next to the sperm is the black whale, or tohora ( Eubalaena Australis ), which is like the right whale of the North Sea, but with baleen of less value."

Tohunga , n . Maori word for a wise man. "Perhaps from Maori verb tohu , to think." (Tregear's `Polynesian Dictionary.') Tohu , a sign or omen; hence Tohunga , a dealer in omens, an augur.

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf and Amohia,' p. 102:

"But he whose grief was most sincere The news of that unwonted death to hear, Was Kangapo, the Tohunga--a Priest And fell Magician famous far and near."

1873. `Appendix to Journals of House of Representatives,' G. 1, B. p. 9:

"I am a tohunga who can save the country if you will follow my advice."

1878. F. E. Maning, `Heke's War, told by an Old Chief,' `New Zealand Reader,' p. 153:

"Amongst these soldiers there was not one tohunga--not a man at all experienced in omens--or they must have had some warning that danger and defeat were near."

1893. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 21, p. 10, col. 2:

"She would consult a tohunga. The man she selected-- one of the oldest and most sacred of the Maori priests, prophet, medicine-man, lawyer and judge."

Tolmer's Grass , n . a fibrous plant, Lepidosperma gladiatum , Labill., N.O. Cyperaceae , suitable for manufacture of paper. It is not a true grass, and is classed by Maiden (`Useful Native Plants,' p. 626) under fibres.

1882. A. Tolmer, `Reminiscences,' p. 298:

"The plant that has since by courtesy borne my name (Tolmer's grass)."

Tomahawk , n . a word of North-American Indian origin, applied in English to the similarly shaped short one-handed axe or hatchet. The word is not frequent in England, but in Australia the word hatchet has practically disappeared, and the word Tomahawk to describe it is in every-day use. It is also applied to the stone hatchet of the Aboriginals. A popular corruption of it is Tommy-axe .

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. xii. p. 466:

"A plentiful assortment of . . . knives, shirts, toma-hawkes [sic], axes, jackets, scissars [sic], etc., etc., for the people in general."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 259:

"We . . . observed recent marks of the stone tomahawk of the natives."

1851. G. W. Rusden, `Moyarra,' canto i. 17, p. 25:

"One hand he wreathed in Mytah's hair, Whirled then the tomahawk in air."

1870. E. B. Kennedy, `Fours /sic/ Years in Queensland,' p. 721:

"They [the Aboriginals] cut out opossums from a tree or sugar bag (wild honey) by means of a tomahawk of green stone; the handle is formed of a vine, and fixed in its place with gum. It is astonishing what a quantity of work is got through in the day with these blunt tomahawks."

1873. J. B. Stephens, `Black Gin,' p. 60:

"Lay aside thy spears (I doubt them); Lay aside thy tomahawk."

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 206:

"The aborigines have obtained iron tomahawks."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 73:

"Men had to cleave out a way for themselves with tomahawks."

1888. A. Reischek, in Buller's `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 94:

"The snow had been blown together, and was frozen so hard that I had to take my tomahawk to chop it down so as to get softer snow to refresh myself with a wash."

Tomahawk , v . tr. to cut sheep when shearing them.

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 147:

"Shearers were very scarce, and the poor sheep got fearfully `tomahawked' by the new hands."

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 96:

"Some men never get the better of this habit, but `tomahawk' as badly after years of practice as when they first began."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 162:

"The Shearers sat in the firelight, hearty and hale and strong, After the hard day's shearing, 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."

Tommy-axe , n . a popular corruption of the word Tomahawk (q.v.); it is an instance of the law of Hobson-Jobson.

Tom Russell's Mahogany . See Mahogany .

Tomtit , n . name applied in New Zealand to two New Zealand birds of the genus Myiomoira , the species being M. toitoi , Garnot, in North Island; M. macrocephala , Gmel., in South Island.

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 39:

[A full description.]

Tonquin Bean-Tree , n . a Tasmanian variety of Native Sandalwood ; also called Tonga Beanwood .

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

"`Tonga Bean-wood ( Alyxia buxifolia , Br.). The odour is similar to that of the Tonga Bean ( Dipteryx odorata ). A straggling seaside shrub, three to five inches in diameter."

Tooart , or Tewart , n . a West Australian name for Eucalyptus gomphocephala , or White Gum . See Gum .

1870. T. H. Braim, `New Homes,' c. iv. p. 181:

`Another valuable tree is the tooart, a kind of white gum."

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 187:

"The Tewart Tree ( Eucalyptus ), a variety of the White Gum, found principally in the Swan River and King George's Sound District of Western Australia. . . . Of straight growth and noble dimensions. The wood is of a yellowish or straw colour, hard, heavy, tough, strong and rigid. . . . It is used in ship-building for beams, keelsons, stern-posts, engine-bearers, and for other works below the line of flotation."

Tookytook , n . a corruption of Kotukutuku (q.v.), a Maori name equivalent to Konini , the fruit of the Fuchsia-tree (q.v.).

Toot , n . the anglicised spelling of the Maori word Tutu (q.v.).

Tooted , quasi past participle from Toot . The cattle are tooted , sc. poisoned by the Toot .

1863. G. Butler, `Canterbury Settlement,' p. 98:

"As, then, my bullocks could not get tuted."

1891. T. H. Potts, `New Zealand Country Journal,' p. 201:

"His hearty salutation in its faultiness proved to be about on a par with `rummy-rum,' `triddy' and `toot.' The last word reminds me of a man near by who was even judged to be somewhat vain of his Maori accent and pronunciation. With one word he was indeed very particular, he could not bring himself to use that manifest corruption `toot.' With him it was ever `tutu.' He had to make rather a boggle or dodge of it when he used the colonial made verb formed on his favourite Maori noun."

Tooth-shell , n . The name is applied, in Europe, to any species of Dentalium and allied genera having a tooth-shaped shell. In Australia, it is the shell of Marinula pellucida , Cooper, a small marine mollusc used for necklaces.

Tope , n . an Australasian Shark, Galeus australis , Macl. It differs somewhat from Galeus canis , the Tope of Britain. Called also the School-Shark , in Australia.

Top-knot Pigeon , n . an Australian bird, Lopholaimus antarcticus , Shaw.

1891. Francis Adams, `John Webb's End,' p. 33:

"Flying for a moment beside a lovely, melodious top-knot pigeon ."

Torea , n . Maori name for all the New Zealand species of the Oyster-catchers (q.v.).

Torpedo , n . a fish, well known elsewhere, and also called elsewhere, the Numb-fish and Cramp fish . For the Australian species, see quotation.

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 100:

"Our Torpedo or Electric Ray is Hypnos subnigrum , that of Tasmania is Narcine Tasmaniensis ."

Torres-Straits Pigeon , n . See quotation.

1893. Saville Kent, `Great Barrier Reef,' p. 123:

"Making a bag of the famous Torres Straits pigeons ( Myristicivora spilorrhoa ), a large white variety, highly esteemed for the table, which, arriving from the north [that is New Guinea], is distributed from October until the end of March throughout the tree-bearing islets and mainland coast, as far south as Keppel Bay."

Tortoise-shell Fish . See Hand-fish .

Totara , n . Maori name for a lofty-spreading New Zealand tree, Podocarpus totara , A. Cunn., N.O. Coniferae ,. In Maori, the accent falls on the first syllable; but in English use it is often placed on the second, and from Mr. Polack's spelling it must have been so as early as 1840. Called also Mahogany-pine . There are several other species, e.g. P. vivalis , Hook., the Mountain Totara ; called also Mahogany Pine . See Mahogany , and Pine .

1832. G. Bennett, in Lambert's `Genus Pinus,' vol. ii. p. 190:

"This is an unpublished species of Podocarpus , called Totara by the natives. . . . The value placed on this tree by the natives is sometimes the occasion of quarrels, terminating in bloodshed, if it is cut down by any except the party by whom it is claimed. . . It is not unusual for the trees to descend from father to son."

1840. J. S. Polack, `Manners and Customs of New Zealanders,' vol. i. p. 227:

"The totarra or red-pine."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 221:

"The totara is one of the finest trees in the forest, and is the principal wood used by the natives, whether for canoes, houses, or fencing."

1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' [Notes] p. 80:

"The place received its name from a number of large totara trees."

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 134:

"Totara ( Podocarpus totara ) and Matai ( Podocarpus spicata ) are large and beautiful trees found in every forest."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 107:

"One lone totara-tree that grew Beneath the hill-side."

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 308:

"The Totara Tree ( Taxus or Podocarpus totara ). Height, eighty to ninety feet. The wood is red in colour, close, straight, fine and even in grain . . . a good substitute for mahogany."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 227:

"With the exception of the kauri, the totara affords the most valuable timber in New Zealand, but unlike the kauri it is found almost throughout the colony."

Towai , n . Maori name for New Zealand tree, Weinmannia racemosa , Forst., N.O. Saxifrageae , i.q. Kamahai in south of South Island, and Tawhero in North Island (Wellington).

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 95:

"Its banks . . . are covered almost wholly with the towai. This tree has very small dark leaves.It is used for ship- building, and is called by Englishmen the `black birch.'"

1851. Mrs. Wilson, `New Zealand,' p. 43:

"The ake . . . and towai ( Leiospermum racemosum ) are almost equal, in point of colour, to rosewood."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 132:

"Towhai, Kamahi. A large tree; trunk two to four feet in diameter, and fifty feet high. Wood close-grained and heavy, but rather brittle. . . . The bark is largely used for tanning. The extract of bark is chemically allied to the gum kino of commerce, their value being about equal."

Township , n . a village, a possible future town. In the United States, the word has a definite meaning--a district, subordinate to a county, the inhabitants having power to regulate their local affairs; in Australia, the word has no such definite meaning. It may be large or small, and sometimes consists of little more than the post-office, the public-house, and the general store or shop.

1802. D. Collins, `Account of New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 7:

"The timber of a hundred and twenty acres was cut down . . . a small township marked out, and a few huts built."

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' vol. ii. p. 40:

"It used to seem to me a strange colonial anomaly to call a very small village a `township,' and a much larger one a `town.' But the former is the term applied to the lands reserved in various places for future towns."

1873. J. B. Stephens, `Black Gin,' p. 79:

"There's a certain township and also a town,-- (For, to ears colonial, I need not state That the two do not always homologate)."

1888. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 439:

[Mr. Parker is a Canadian who lived four years in Australia]

"A few words of comparison here. A pub of Australia is a tavern or hotel in Canada; a township is a village; a stock-rider is a cow-boy; a humpy is a shanty; a warrigal or brombie 1s a broncho or cayuse; a sundowner is a tramp; a squatter is a rancher; and so on through an abundant list."

1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of British Colonies,' p. 276:

"Villages, which are always called `townships,' spring up suddenly round a railway-station or beside some country inn."

1894. `Sydney Morning Herald' (date lost):

"A township--the suffix denotes a state of being--seems to be a place which is not in the state of being a town. Does its pride resent the impost of village that it is glad to be called by a name which is no name, or is the word loosely appropriated from America, where it signifies a division of a county? It is never found in England."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 38:

"There stands the town of Dandaloo-- A township where life's total sum Is sleep, diversified with rum."

Traveller , n . used specifically for a Swagman , a Sundowner . See quotation.

1868. Marcus Clarke, `Peripatetic Philosopher' (Reprint), p. 41:

"At the station where I worked for some time (as `knock-about-man') three cooks were kept during the `wallaby' season--one for the house, one for the men, and one for the travellers. Moreover, `travellers' would not unfrequently spend the afternoon at one of the three hotels (which, with a church and a pound, constituted the adjoining township), and having `liquored up' extensively, swagger up to the station, and insist upon lodging and food--which they got. I have no desire to take away the character of these gentlemen travellers, but I may mention as a strange coincidence, that, was the requested hospitality refused by any chance, a bush-fire invariably occurred somewhere on the run within twelve hours."

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 12, p. 8, col. 7:

"Throughout the Western pastoral area the strain of feeding the `travellers,' which is the country euphemism for bush unemployed, has come to be felt as an unwarranted tax upon the industry, and as a mischievous stimulus to nomadism."

1896. `The Australasian,' Aug. 8, p. 249, col. 2:

". . . never refuses to feed travellers; they get a good tea and breakfast, and often 10 to 20 are fed in a day. These travellers lead an aimless life, wandering from station to station, hardly ever asking for and never hoping to get any work, and yet they expect the land-owners to support them. Most of them are old and feeble, and the sooner all stations stop giving them free rations the better it will be for the real working man. One station-owner kept a record, and he found that he fed over 2000 men in twelve months. This alone, at 6d. a meal, would come to L100, but this is not all, as they `bag' as much as they can if their next stage is not a good feeding station."

Travellers' Grass , i.q. Settler's Twine (q.v.).

Tree-creeper , n . popular name applied to members of an old Linnaean genus of birds. The Australian species are enumerated by Gould in quotation.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv.:

Plate

Climacteris scandens , Temm., Brown Tree-creeper . 93

C. rufa , Gould, Rufous T. . . . . . . . . 94

C. erythrops , Gould, Red-eyebrowed T. . . . . 95

C. melanotus , Gould, Black-backed T. . . . . 96

C. melanura , Gould, Black-tailed T. . . . . . 97

C. picumnus , Temm., Whitethroated T. . . . . 98

Tree-fern , n . See Fern-tree .

Tree-Kangaroo , called Boongary (q.v.) by the aboriginals. See Dendrolagus and Kangaroo .

Tree-Runner , n . another name for the Sittella (q.v.). The species are--

Black-capped Tree-Runner-- Sittella pileata , Gould.

Orange-winged T.-- S. chrysoptera , Lath.

Pied T.-- S. albata , Ramsay.

Slender-billed T.-- S. tenuirostris , Gould.

Striated T.-- S. striata , Gould.

White-headed T.-- S. leucocephala , Gould.

White-winged T.-- S. leucoptera , Gould.

But see Gould's earlier (1848), under Sittella .

Tree-Tit , n . The word tit is terminally applied to many little English birds. In Australia, this new compound has been adopted for the two species, Short-billed Tree-tit, Smicrornis brevirostris , Gould, and Yellow-tinted Tit, S. flavescens , Gould.

Tremandra , n . scientific name of a genus of Australian plants, the Purple Heath-flower . Name given by R. Brown in 1814, from the remarkably tremulous anthers. (Lat. tremere , to tremble, and Grk. 'anaer , 'andros a man, taken as equivalent to "anther.")

Trevally , or Trevalli , or Trevalla , or Travale , n . an Australian fish. In various localities the name is applied to several fishes, which are most of them of the family Carangidae , or Horse-Mackerels . An Old-World name for the Horse-Mackerels is Cavalli (Ital. cavallo , a little horse). Trevalli is sometimes called Cavalli ; this was probably its original name in Australia, and Trevalli a later corruption.

The different kinds are--

Black Trevally-- Teuthis nebulosa , Quoy, family Teuthididae (a New South Wales fish).

Mackerel T. (so called in Tasmania)-- Neptonemus dobula , Gunth., family Carangidae .

Silver T.-- Another Tasmanian name for the White Trevally, Caranx georgianus (see below).

Snotgall T.-- Neptonemus travale , Casteln. (in Victoria); N. brama , Gunth. in Tasmania); both of the family of Carangidae .

White T.-- Caranx georgianus , Cuv. and Val., family Carangidae ; (so called in New South Wales, New Zealand, and Tasmania; in Victoria it is called Silver Bream ). Teuthis javus , Linn., family Tuethididae .

The Maori name for the Trevally is Awara , and in Auckland it is sometimes called the Yellow-Tail (q.v.). See also quotation, 1886.

Guenther says, the genus Teuthis is readily recognised by the peculiar structure of the ventral fins, which have an outer and an inner spine and three soft rays between.

1769. `Capt. Cook's Journal' (edition Wharton, 1893), p. 164:

"Several canoes came off to the ship, and two or three of them sold us some fish--cavallys as they are called--which occasioned my giving the Islands the same name."

1886. R. A. Sherrin, `Fishes of New Zealand,' p. 99:

"Dr. Hector says: `The trevalli is the arara of the Maoris, or the trevalli or cavalli of the fishermen . . . In Auckland it is sometimes called the yellow-tail, but this name appears to be also used for the king-fish. The fish known as trevalli in the Dunedin market is a different fish, allied to the warehou.'"

1890. `Victorian Statutes--Fisheries Act' (Second Schedule):

"Travale."

Triantelope , n . a European comic variation of the scientific name Tarantula . It is applied in Australia to a spider belonging to a quite different genus, Voconia , a perfectly harmless spider, though popularly supposed to be poisonous. It has powerful mandibles, but will attack nobody unless itself attacked.

1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 173:

"The tarantulas, or `triantelopes,' as the men call them, are large, ugly spiders, very venomous."

1860. A Lady, `My Experiences in Australia,' p. 151:

"There is no lack of spiders either, of all sorts and sizes, up to the large tarantula, or tri-antelope , as the common people persist in calling it."

Tribonyx , n . There are several species of this bird in Australia and Tasmania, where they go by the name of Native Hen , and sometimes, erroneously, Moor-hen (q.v.). For the species, see Native Hen . No species of Tribonyx has been found wild in New Zealand, though other birds have been mistaken for the genus.

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. (Introd.), p. xiv:

"I ought perhaps here to refer to a species mentioned in the former Introduction as a newly discovered addition to the New Zealand Avifauna , but now omitted from the list . . ."

Ibid. p. liv:

" Tribonyx has never actually occurred in a wild state [in New Zealand]."

Ibid. p. 90:

" Tribonyx , a bird incapable of flight, but admirably adapted for running."

Trichosurus , n . the scientific name of a genus of the Phalangers (q.v.), or Australian Opossums (q.v.). (Grk. trichos , of hair, and 'oura , tail.)

Trickett , n . slang name for a long drink of beer in New South Wales, after Trickett, the New South Wales champion sculler.

Trigger-plant , n . i.q. Hairtrigger (q.v.) plant; called also Jack-in-a-box .

Trigonia , n . a bivalve marine mollusc with a nacreous interior, much admired in Tasmania and used for pendants and necklaces, Trigonia margaritacea , Lamarck, of the order Pectinaceae . It is the largest trigonia occurring in Australasia, and the only one found in Tasmania. Numerous extinct species are characteristic of the Mesozoic rocks. The only living species existing are confined to Australia.

Trooper , n . a mounted policeman. The use is transferred from the name for a private soldier in a cavalry regiment. The Native troopers , or Black police , in Queensland, are a force of aboriginal police, officered by white men.

1858. T. McCombie, `History of Victoria,' c. viii. p. 100:

"A violent effort [was] made by the troopers on duty to disperse an assemblage which occupied the space of ground in front of the hustings."

1864. J. Rogers, `New Rush,' p. 51:

"A trooper spies him snoring in the street."

1868. J. A. B., `Meta,' canto iii. ver. 20, p. 72:

"The felon crew . . . hard pressed by troopers ten."

Tropic-bird , n . The English name is applied because the bird is usually seen in the tropics. The species observed in Australia are--Red-tailed, Phaeton rubricaudus , Bodd.; White-tailed, P. candidus , Briss.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,'vol. vii. pl. 73:

" Phaeton Phoenicurus , Gmel., Red-tailed Tropic Bird; New Holland Tropic Bird, Latham, `General History, vol. x. p. 448."

Tropidorhynchus , n . scientific name of a genus of birds peculiar to Australia and New Guinea. The typical species has a knob on the bill, and the head and neck destitute of feathers. From Grk. tropis , the keel of a ship, and rhunchos , "beak." They are called Friar Birds (q.v.), and the generic name of Tropidorhynchus has been replaced by Philemon (q.v.).

Trout , n . The English Trout has been naturalised in Australia. In Tasmania, the name of Trout , or Mountain-Trout , is also given to species of the genus Galaxias . See Salmon .

Trumpeter , n . (1) A fish of Tasmanian, New Zealand, and Australian waters, but chiefly of Hobart-- Latris hecateia , Richards., family Cirrhitidae , much esteemed as a food-fish, and weighing sometimes 50 or 60 lbs. The name is probably from the noise made by the fish when taken out of the water. The name was formerly given to a different fish in Western Australia. See also Bastard-Trumpeter , Morwong , and Paper-fish .

1834. M. Doyle, `Letters and Journals of G. F. Moore, Swan River Settlement,' p. 191:

"Many persons are trying to salt fish, which are very numerous in the river about and below Perth, as you must have seen by one of my letters, in which I mentioned our having taken 10,000 at one draught of the seine; these are of the kind called herrings, but do not look very like them; they make a noise when out of the water, and on that account are also called trumpeters."

1870. T. H. Braim, `New Homes,' vol. ii. p. 65:

"The finest kinds are the guard-fish of the mainland and the trumpeter of the Derwent in Tasmania."

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 45:

"The first of these [Latris] is the genus of the well-known `Hobart Town trumpeter,' a fish deservedly of high reputation."

(2) An obsolete name in Tasmania for the black Crow-Shrike (q.v.), Strepera fuliginosa , Gould.

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' p. 177:

"We also occasionally heard the trumpeter or black magpie."

Trumpeter-Perch , n . i.q. Mado (q.v.).

Trumpeter-Whiting , n . See Whiting , quotation 1882.

Tuan , n . aboriginal name for the Flying-Squirrel (q.v.). See also Pongo .

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 57:

"The flying-squirrel, or tuan, is much sought after for its fine fur; of these there are two kinds, a large one of a dark colour, only found 1n the mountains; and a smaller description found in all parts of the colony, and better known by the native name, tuan."

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 274:

"The Touan, the little grey flying-squirrel, only begins to fly about at night, and slides down from his bough sudden and sharp."

Tuatara , n . the Maori name of a New Zealand lizard, or reptile, Hatteria punctata , Gray; called also Sphenodon puntatum .

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 218:

"Tua tira, a species of lizard."

1863. `Mahoe Leaves,' p. 47:

"A small boy of a most precocious nature, who was termed `tua tara,' from a horrid sort of lizard that the natives abhor."

1890. `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition':

"The Tuatara is the largest existing New Zealand reptile. It is closely allied to the Lizards; but on account of certain peculiarities of structure, some of which tend to connect it with the Crocodiles, is placed by Dr. Guenther in a separate order ( Rhynchocephalina )."

Tucker , n . Australian slang for food. To tuck in is provincial English for to eat, and tuck is a school-boy word for food, especially what is bought at a pastrycook's. To make tucker means to earn merely enough to pay for food.

1874. Garnet Walch, `Head over Heels,' p. 73:

"For want of more nourishing tucker, I believe they'd have eaten him."

1875. Wood and Lapham, `Waiting for the Mail,' p. 33:

"We heard of big nuggets, but only made tucker."

1890. `The Argus,' June 14, p. 14, col. 1:

"When a travelling man sees a hut ahead, he knows there's water inside, and tucker and tea."

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 83:

"I took my meal in the hut, but we'd both the same kind of tucker."

Tui , n . Maori name for the New Zealand bird, Prosthemadera novae-zelandae , Gray; called the Parson-bird (q.v.), and earlier the Poe (q.v.). Another name is the Koko , and the young bird is distinguished as Pi-tui , or Pikari . It is also called the Mocking bird .

1835. W. Yate, `Some Account of New Zealand,' p. 52:

"Tui. This remarkable bird, from the versatility of its talents for imitation, has by some been called `the Mocking-Bird.'"

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 80:

"The little birds were chiefly the tui, or mocking-bird. It resembles a blackbird in size and plumage, with two graceful bunches of white feathers under the neck. It abounds in the woods, and is remarkably noisy and active . . . it imitates almost every feathered inhabitant of the forest, and, when domesticated, every noise it hears."

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 170:

"I saw several birds named the Tooi; they are black, about the size of a starling, and are sometimes called Parson-birds, as they have two white feathers like clergymen's bands in front of them."

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 166:

"One of the prettiest creatures is the tui, Parson-Bird of the colonists ( Prosthemadera Novae-Zelandae ), which roves about in the lofty, leafy crowns of the forest-trees."

1881. J. L. Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 102:

"The tui, with his grand, rich note, made the wood musical."

1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of Maori,' p. 21:

"Woo the Bell-bird from his nest, to ring The Tui up to sing his morning hymns."

Ibid. p. 101:

"I hear the swell Of Nature's psalms through tree and bush, From tui, blackbird, finch and thrush."

1889. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. facing p. 94.:

[A plate entitled] "Tui, or parson-bird."

Ibid. pp. 94-100:

[A full description.]

1893. D. Frobisher, `Sketches of Gossipton,' p. 61:

As the forest soft echoes brought back their sweet chorus, The tuis seemed silent from envy and spleen."

Tulip, Native , i.q. Waratah (q.v.); and see Telopea .

Tulip-tree , n . The name is given, in Australia, to Stenocarpus cunninghamii , R. Br., N.O. Proteaceae , on account of the brilliancy of its bright-red flowers; called also Queensland Fire-tree .

Tulip-wood , n . The name is given, in Australia, to Aphnanthe philipinensis , Planch., N.O. Urticaceae , and to the timber of Harpullia pendula , Planch., N.O. Sapindaceae . It is, further, a synonym for the Emu-Apple .

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 39:

"The tulip-wood, with its variegated flowers and delightful perfume, grows in abundance."

Tumata-kuru , n . Maori name for plant better known as Wild Irishman (q.v.), Discaria toumatou , Raoul. "A thorny plant, very difficult to handle." (Vincent Pyke.) Tumatagowry , or Matagory (q.v.), is the Southern corruption of contractors, labourers, and others.

1889. Vincent Pyke, `Wild Will Enderby,' p. 16:

"Upon the arid flats, patches of Tumatu-kuru, and of a purple-flowering broom, struggle to maintain a scraggy existence."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 283:

"The tumatakuru merits a place in this work rather on account of its value in the past than of its present usefulness. In the early days of settlement in the South Island this afforded the only available timber in many mountain-valleys, and was frequently converted by hand sawyers for building purposes; being of great durability, it was found very serviceable, notwithstanding its small dimensions: the formation of roads has deprived it of value by facilitating the conveyance of ordinary building timber."

Tuna , n . See Eel .

Tupakihi , n . i.q. Tutu (q.v.).

Tupara , n . Maori corruption of "two-barrel." Compare the aboriginal word Whilpra (q.v.).

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 109:

"He had previously despatched a messenger to me, begging me to bring some tupara, or `two-barrel.'"

1881. J. L.Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 137:

"They were labouring under the `tupera fever' [in 1840]. The percussion-gun had made its appearance, and the natives were not slow to see how much more effectual a weapon it was than the old flint `brown-bess.' And when they saw the tupera, double-barrelled gun, the rage at once set in to possess it."

Tupong , n . aboriginal name for a Southern Australian fish, Aphritis bassii , Castln., family Trachinidae . Mr. J. Bracebridge Wilson says it is called Marble-fish in the Geelong district. It is also known as the Freshwater Flathead .

Tupuna , n . Maori word, meaning ancestor, progenitor, male or female. Often used in the Land Courts in the question: "Who are your tupuna?"

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 113:

"I asked his permission to ascend Tonga Riro . . . But he steadily refused, saying, `I would do anything else to show you my love and friendship, but you must not ascend my tepuna, or ancestor.'"

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 202:

"Tupuna, to stand, to spring; an ancestor; hence Tu-pu, to grow."

1863. F. Maning (Pakeha Maori), `Old New Zealand,' p. 196:

"One evening a smart, handsome lad came to tell me his tupuna was dying . . . The tribe were ke poto or assembled to the last man about the dying chief."

Turbot , n . The name is given to a New Zealand fish, called also Lemon-Sole (q.v.) or Yellow-belly (q.v.), Ammotretis guntheri .

1876. `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. viii. p. 215:

"Turbot--a fish not uncommon in the Dunedin market, where it goes by the name of `lemon-sole.'"

Turkey , n . This common English bird-name is applied in Australia to three birds, viz.--

(1) To the bird Eupodotis australis , Gray, which is a true Bustard , but which is variously called the Native Turkey , Plain Turkey (from its frequenting the plains), and Wild Turkey .

(2) To the bird Talegalla lathami , Gould, called the Brush Turkey (from its frequenting the brushes), Wattled Turkey and Wattled Talegalla (from its fleshy wattles), and sometimes, simply, Talegalla . By Latham it was mistaken for a Vulture, and classed by him as the New Holland Vulture . (`General History of Birds,' 1821, vol. i. p. 32.)

(3) To the bird Leipoa ocellata , Gould, called the Scrub-Turkey (from its frequenting the Scrubs, the Lowan (its aboriginal name), the Native Pheasant (of South Australia); in the Mallee district it is called Mallee-bird , Mallee-fowl , Mallee-hen .

In the following quotations the number of the bird referred to is placed in square brackets at the end.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 14:

"We passed several nests of the Brush-Turkey ( Talegalla Lathami , Gould)." [2.]

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 260:

"Several native bustards ( Otis Novae Hollandiae , Gould) were shot." [1.]

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vi. pl. 4:

" Otis Australasianus , Gould, Australian Bustard; Turkey, Colonists of New South Wales; Native Turkey, Swan River." [1.]

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. v. pl. 77:

" Talegalla Lathami , Wattled Talegalla; Brush-Turkey of the Colonists." [2.]

1872. C. H. Eden, `My wife and I in Queensland,' p. 122:

"The bird that repaid the sportsman best was the plain turkey or bustard ( Otis Australasianus ), a noble fellow, the male weighing from eighteen to twenty pounds. They differ from the European birds in being good flyers. . . . The length of the wings is very great, and they look like monsters in the air." [1.]

1872. Ibid. p. 124:

"The scrub-turkey ( Talegalla Lathami ) is a most curious bird; its habitat is in the thickest scrubs. In appearance it much resembles the English hen turkey, though but little larger than a fowl." [2.]

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 214:

"Look at this immense mound. It is a scrub-turkey's nest. Thirty or forty lay their eggs in it. One could hardly imagine they could gather such a huge pile of sticks and earth and leaves. They bury their eggs, and heap up the nest until the laying time ceases. The moist heap heats and incubates the eggs. The young turkeys spring out of the shell, covered with a thick warm coat, and scratch their way into daylight, strong and able to provide food for themselves." [3.]

1891. `Guide to Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':

"The bustard ( Eupodotis Australis ) is known by the colonists as the native turkey. It is excellent eating and is much sought after on that account. The hen bird lays only one egg, depositing it on the bare ground. Formerly they were numerous in the neighbourhood of Melbourne, but they have now been driven further inland; they are still abundant on the western plains and on the open Saltbush country of the Lower Murray. They are difficult to approach on foot, but it is easy to get within gunshot of them on horseback or driving. The natives used formerly to capture them in an ingenious manner by means of a snare; they approached their intended victim against the wind under cover of a large bush grasped in the left hand, while in the right was held a long slender stick, to the end of which was fastened a large fluttering moth, and immediately below a running noose. While the bird, unconscious of danger, was eyeing and pecking at the moth, the noose was dexterously slipped over its head by the cunning black, and the astonished bird at once paid the penalty of its curiosity with its life." [1.]

1891. Ibid.:

"In the first division are several specimens of the Brush-Turkey ( Talegalla Lathami ) of Australia. These birds have excited world-wide interest in scientific circles, by their ingenious mode of incubating. They construct a large mound of vegetable mould and sand; mixed in such proportions that a gentle heat will be maintained, which hatches the buried eggs. The young chicks can look after themselves shortly after bursting the egg-shell." [2.]

1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of British Colonies,' p. 274:

"The brush-turkeys, which are not really turkeys but birds of that size, build big mounds of decaying vegetable matter, lay their eggs on the top, cover them over with leaves, and leave the whole to rot, when the heat of the sun above and of the fermentation below, hatches the eggs, and the young creep out to forage for themselves without ever knowing their parents." [2.]

1893. Professor H. A. Strong, in `Liverpool Mercury,' Feb. 13:

"The well-known `wild turkey' of Australian colonists is a bustard, and he has the good sense to give a wide berth to the two-legged immigrants indeed the most common method of endeavouring to secure an approach to him is to drive up to him in a buggy, and then to let fly. The approach is generally made by a series of concentric circles, of which the victim is the centre. His flesh is excellent, the meat being of a rich dark colour, with a flavour resembling that of no other game bird with which I am acquainted." [1.]

1893. `The Argus,' March 25, p. 3, col. 5:

"The brush-turkey ( Talegalla ), another of the sand-builders, lays a white egg very much like that of a swan, while the third of that wonderful family, the scrub-hen or Megapode , has an egg very long in proportion to its width." [2.]

Turmeric , i.q. Stinkwood (q.v.); also applied occasionally to Hakea dactyloides , Cav., N.O. Proteaceae . See Hakea.

Turnip-wood , n . the timbers of the trees Akania hillii , J. Hook., N.O. Sapindaceae , and Dysoxylon Muelleri , Benth., N.O. Meliaceae, from their white and red colours respectively.

Turpentine, Brush , name given to two trees-- Metrosideros leptopetala , F. v. M., also called Myrtle ; and Rhodamnia trinervia , Blume, both N.O. Myrtaceae .

Turpentine-Tree , n . The name is applied to many trees in Australia yielding a resin, but especially to the tree called Tallow-Wood (q.v.), Eucalyptus microcorys , F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae ; to Eucalyptus punctata , De C., N.O. Myrtaceae , called also Leather- Jacket , Hickory , Red -, and Yellow-Gun , and Bastard-Box ; and to E. stuartiana , F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae . In New Zealand, it is also applied to the Tarata . See Mapau .

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 523:

"[ E. Stuartiana is] frequently called Turpentine Tree, or Peppermint Tree. In Victoria it is known as Apple Tree, Apple-scented Gum, White Gum, and Mountain Ash. It is the Woolly Butt of the county of Camden (New South Wales). Occasionally it is known as Stringybark. It is called Box about Stanthorpe (Queensland), Tea Tree at Frazer's Island (Queensland), and Red Gum in Tasmania."

Turquoise-Berry , n . i.q. Solomon's Seal (q.v.).

Tussock-grass , n . Tussock is an English word for a tuft of grass. From this a plant of the lily family, Lomandra longifolia , R. Br., N.O. Lilaceae , is named Tussock-grass ; it is "considered the best native substitute for esparto." (`Century.')

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. v. p. 38:

"The roof was neatly thatched with the tall, strong tussock-grass."

Tussocker , n . a New Zealand name for a Sundowner (q.v.).

1889. Vincent Pyke, `Wild Will Enderby':

"Now, a `sun-downer,' or `tussocker'--for the terms are synonymous--is a pastoral loafer; one who loiters about till dusk, and then makes for the nearest station or hut, to beg for shelter and food."

Tutu , or Toot , n . Maori name for a shrub or small tree, Coriaria ruscifolia , Linn., or C. sarmentosa , Forst., of New Zealand, widely distributed. It bears greenish flowers, and shiny pulpy black berries. From these the Maoris make a wine resembling light claret, taking care to strain out and not to crush the seeds, which are poisonous, with an action similar to that of strychnine. It goes also by the name of Wineberry-bush , and the Maori name is Anglicised into Toot . In Maori, the final u is swallowed rather than pronounced. In English names derived from the Maori, a vowel after a mute letter is not sounded. It is called in the North Island Tupakihi . In Maori, the verb tutu means to be hit, wounded, or vehemently wild, and the name of the plant thus seems to be connected with the effects produced by its poison. To "eat your toot": used as a slang phrase; to become acclimatised, to settle down into colonial ways.

1857. R. Wilkin, in a Letter printed by C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand,' p. 372:

"The plant called `tutu' or `toot' appears to be universal over New Zealand. If eaten by sheep or cattle with empty stomachs, it acts in a similar manner to green clover, and sometimes causes death; but if partaken of sparingly, and with grass, it is said to possess highly fattening qualities. None of the graziers, however, except one, with whom I conversed on the subject, seemed to consider toot worth notice; . . . it is rapidly disappearing in the older settled districts and will doubtless soon disappear here."

1857. C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand,' p. 395:

"The wild shrub Tutu ( Coriaria ruscifolia ), greedily devoured by sheep and cattle, produces a sort of `hoven' effect, something like that of rich clover pastures when stock break in and over feed. . . . Bleeding and a dose of spirits is the common cure. . . Horses and pigs are not affected by it."

1861. C. C. Bowen, `Poems,' p. 57:

"And flax and fern and tutu grew In wild luxuriance round."

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 139:

"The toot-plant, tutu or tupakihi of the Maoris ( Coriaria sarmentosa , Forst. = C. ruscifolia , L.), is a small bush, one of the most common and widely distributed shrubs of the islands. [New Zealand.] It produces a sort of `hoven' or narcotic effect on sheep and cattle, when too greedily eaten. It bears a fruit, which is produced in clusters, not unlike a bunch of currants, with the seed external, of a purple colour. The poisonous portion of the plant to man are the seeds and seedstalks, while their dark purple pulp is utterly innoxious and edible. The natives express from the berries an agreeable violet juice (carefully avoiding the seed), called native wine."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 103:

"The tutu-tree, Whose luscious purple clusters hang so free And tempting, though with hidden seeds replete That numb with deadly poison all who eat."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 131:

"Tupakihi, tree tutu. A perennial shrub ten to eighteen feet high; trunk six to eight inches in diameter. The so-called berries (fleshy petals) vary very much in succulence. . . . The juice is purple, and affords a grateful beverage to the Maoris; and a wine, like elderberry wine, has been made from them. The seeds and leaves contain a poisonous alkaloid, and produce convulsions, delirium and death, and are sometimes fatal to cattle and sheep."

1884. Alfred Cox, `Recollections,' p. 258:

"When footpaths about Christchurch were fringed with tutu bushes, little boys were foolish enough to pluck the beautiful berries and eat them. A little fellow whose name was `Richard' ate of the fruit, grew sick, but recovered. When the punster heard of it, he said, `Ah! well, if the little chap had died, there was an epitaph all ready for him, Decus et tutamen . Dick has ate toot, amen.'"

1889. G. P. Williams and W. P. Reeves, `Colonial Couplets,' p. 20:

"You will gather from this that I'm not `broken in,' And the troublesome process has yet to begin Which old settlers are wont to call `eating your tutu;' (This they always pronounce as if rhyming with boot)."

1889. Vincent Pyke, `Wild Will Enderby, p. 16 [Footnote]:

"The poisonous tutu bushes. A berry-bearing, glossy-leaved plant, deadly to man and to all animals, except goats."

1891. T. H. Potts, `New Zealand Country Journal,' vol. xv. p. 103:

"The Cockney new chum soon learnt to `eat his toot,' and he quickly acquired a good position in the district."

Twenty-eight , n . another name for the Yellow-collared Parrakeet . Named from its note. See Parrakeet .

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. v. pl. 19:

" Platycercus Semitorquatus , Quoy and Gaim., Yellow-collared Parrakeet; Twenty-eight Parrakeet, Colonists of Swan River. It often utters a note which, from its resemblance to those words, has procured for it the appellation of `twenty-eight' Parrakeet from the Colonists; the last word or note being sometimes repeated five or six times in succession."

Twine Bush , n . i.q. Hakea flexilis . See Hakea .

Twine, Settler's , n . See Settler's Twine .

Two-hooded Furina-Snake . See under Snake .

U

Umbrella-bush , Acacia osswaldi , F. v. M., N.O. Leguminosae .

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 363:

"Often called `Umbrella-Bush,' as it is a capital shade tree. A small bushy tree."

1894. `Melbourne Museum Catalogue--Economic Woods,' No. 17:

"The plant is exquisitely adapted for tall hedges. It is often called the `umbrella tree,' as it gives a capital shade. The heart-wood is dark, hard, heavy and close-grained."

Umbrella-grass , i.q. Native Millet , Panicum decompositum , R. Br., N.O. Gramineae . See Millet . It is called Umbrella-grass , from the shape of the branches at the top of the stem representing the ribs of an open umbrella.

Umbrella-tree , n . name given to Brassaia actinophylla , Endl., N.O. Araliaceae , from the large leaves being set, like umbrella-ribs, at the top of numerous stems.

Umu , n . Maori word, signifying a native oven.

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 75:

"The tangi had terminated; the umu or `cooking holes' were smoking away for the feast."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika, a Maui,' p. 389:

"The native oven (umu hangi) is a circular hole of about two feet in diameter and from six to twelve inches deep."

1872. `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. v. p. 96:

". . . being all in and around the umus (or native ovens) in which they had been cooked."

1882. S. Locke, `Traditions of Taupo,' `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xv. art. liv. p. 440:

"They killed Kurimanga the priest and cooked him in an oven, from which circumstance the place is called Umu-Kuri."

1889. S. P. Smith, `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxii. p. 98:

"An oven of stones, exactly like a Maori umu or hangi."

1893. `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxvi. p. 432:

"The oumu or haangi, in which food was cooked, was only a hole scooped in the ground, of a size proportioned to that which was to be cooked."

Union Nut , n . a fine cabinet timber, Bosistoa sapindiformis , F. v. M., N.O. Rutaceae .

"Unlock the lands." A political cry in Victoria, meaning open up for Free-selection (q.v.) the lands held by squatters on lease.

1887. J. F. Hogan, `The Irish in Australia,' p. 290:

"The democratic party, that had for its watchword the expressive phrase, `Unlock the lands.'"

Unpayable , adj . not likely to pay for working; not capable of yielding a profit over working expenses. (A very rare use.)

1896. `The Argus,' Dec. 26, p. 5, col. 3:

"Unpayable Lines.--The Commissioner of Railways has had a return prepared showing the results of the working of 48 lines for the year ending 30th June, 1896. Of these, 33, covering 515 miles, do not pay working expenses, and are reckoned to be the worst lines in the colony."

Utu , n . a Maori word for "Return, price paid, reward, ransom, satisfaction for injuries received, reply." (Williams.) Sometimes corrupted by Englishmen into Hoot (q.v.).

1840. J. S. Polack, `Manners and Customs of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 63:

"Utu or payment is invariably expected for any injustice committed, and is exacted in some shape, the sufferer feeling debased in his own opinion until he obtains satisfaction. The Utu , similar to the tapu , enters into everything connected with this people."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 29:

"He asserted that we should pay for the tapu; but suggested as an amendment that the utu or `payment' should be handed to him."

1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 252:

"Utu, which may be freely translated `blood for blood,' is with him [the Maori] a sacred necessity. It is the lex talionis carried out to the letter. The exact interpretation of the formidable little word `Utu' is, I believe, `payment.'"

1857. C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 61:

"The learned commissioner's court was instantly besieged by bands of natives vociferating for more `utu' (payment), and threatening the settlers with the tomahawk if more `utu' were not instantly accorded."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 470:

"Besides that, for such shining service done, A splendid claim, he reckoned, would arise For ` utu '--compensation or reward."

1873. H. Carleton, `Life of Henry Williams,' p. 79:

"Blood for blood, or at least blood money, is Maori law. Better the blood of the innocent than none at all, is a recognised maxim of the Maori law of utu."

V

Vandemonian , n . and adj . belonging to Van Diemen's land, the old name of Tasmania; generally used of the convicts of the early days; and the demon in the word is a popular application of the law of Hobson-Jobson. Now obsolete.

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' (edition 1855), p. 533:

"The Van Diemonians, as they unpleasingly call themselves, or permit themselves to be called, are justly proud of their horse-flesh."

1853. S. Sidney, `Three Colonies of Australia' (2nd edit.), p. 171:

"One of the first acts of the Legislative Assemblies created by the Australian Reform Bill of 1850 was to pass . . . acts levelled against Van Diemonian expirees."

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i, p. 367:

"Unquestionably some of the Van Diemenian convicts."

1867. `Cassell's Magazine,' p. 440:

"`I never wanted to leave England,' I have heard an old Vandemonian observe boastfully. `I wasn't like one of these `Jemmy Grants' (cant term for `emigrants'); I could always earn a good living; it was the Government as took and sent me out."

Vandemonianism , n . rowdy conduct like that of an escaped convict; the term is now obsolete.

1863. `Victorian Hansard,' April 22, vol. ix. p. 701:

"Mr. Houston looked upon the conduct of hon. gentlemen opposite as ranging from the extreme of vandemonianism to the extreme of nambypambyism."

Van Diemen's Land , the name given to the colony now called Tasmania, by Abel Jansz Tasman, the Dutch navigator, in 1642, after Anthony Van Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. The name was changed to Tasmania (q.v.) in 1853, on the granting of Responsible Government.

Vedalia , n . a genus of greedily predatory ladybirds. The V. cardinalis of Australia was imported by the United States Government from Australia and New Zealand into California in 1888-89, in order to kill the fluted scale ( Icerya purchasi ), a fruit-pest. It destroyed the scale in nine months.

Velvet-fish , n . name given in Tasmania to the fish Holoxenus cutaneus , Gunth., family Cirrhitidae . The skin is covered with minute appendages, so soft to the touch as to suggest velvet; the colour is deep purplish red.

Verandah , n . In Australia, the heat of the sun makes verandahs much commoner than in England. They are an architectural feature of all dwelling-houses in suburb or in bush, and of most City shops, where they render the broad side-walks an almost continuous arcade. "Under the Verandah " has acquired the meaning, "where city men most do congregate."

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' c. xxvii. p. 418:

"In Melbourne there is the `verandah'; in Sandhurst there is a `verandah'; in Ballaarat there is a `verandah.' The verandah is a kind of open exchange--some place on the street pavement, apparently selected by chance, on which the dealers in mining shares do congregate."

1895. Modern. Private Letter of an Australian on Tour:

"What I miss most in London is the Verandahs . With this everlasting rain there is no place to get out of a shower, as in Melbourne. But I suppose it pays the umbrella-makers."

V-hut , a term used in the province of Canterbury, New Zealand. See quotations.

1857. R. B. Paul, `Letters from Canterbury,' p. 57:

"The form is that of a V hut , the extremities of the rafters being left bare, so as to form buttresses to the walls" (of the church).

1863. S. Butler, `First Year in Canterbury,' p. 73:

"I am now going to put up a V-hut on the country that I took up on the Rangitata. . . . It consists of a small roof set up on the ground; it is a hut all roof and no walls."

1879. C. L.Innes, `Canterbury Sketches,' p. 20:

"In case my readers may not know what a `V' hut is like, I will describe one:--It is exactly as if you took the roof off a house and stood it on the ground, you can only stand upright in the middle."

1896. Jan. A Traveller's note:

"Not long ago a Canterbury lady said--`I was born in a V-hut, and christened in a pie-dish.'"

Victoria , n . the name of the smallest of all the Australian colonies. It was separated from New South Wales in 1851, when it was named after Queen Victoria. Sir Thomas Mitchell had before given it the name of "Australia Felix," and Dr. J. D. Lang wanted the name "Phillipsland." He published a book with that title in 1847. Previous to separation, the name used was "the Port Phillip District of New South Wales."

Village Settlement , the system, first adopted in New Zealand, whence it spread to the other colonies, of settling families on the land in combination. The Government usually helps at first with a grant of money as well as granting the land.

Vine , n . In Australia, the word is loosely applied to many trailing or creeping plants, which help to form scrubs and thickets. In the more marked cases specific adjectives are used with the word. See following words.

1849. J. P. Townsend, `Rambles in New South Wales,' p. 22:

"With thick creepers, commonly called `vines.'"

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 21:

"Impenetrable vine-scrubs line the river-banks at intervals."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 25:

"Vitis in great abundance and of many varieties are found especially in the scrubs, hence the colonists call this sort of brush, vine-scrub."

Vine, Balloon . See Balloon Vine .

Vine, Burdekin . Called also Round Yam , Vitis opaca , F. v. M., N.O. Ampelideae .

Vine, Caustic , i.q. Caustic-Plant (q.v.).

Vine, Lawyer . See Lawyer .

Vine, Macquarie Harbour , or Macquarie Harbour Grape (q.v.). Same as Native Ivy . See Ivy .

1891. `Chambers' Encyclopaedia,' s.v. Polygonaeae :

" Muhlenbeckia adpressa is the Macquarie Harbour Vine of Tasmania, an evergreen climbing or trailing shrub of most rapid growth, sometimes 60 feet in length. It produces racemes of fruit somewhat resembling grapes or currants, the nut being invested with the large and fleshy segments of the calyx. The fruit is sweetish and subacid, and is used for tarts."

1884. R. L. A. Davies, `Poems and Literary Remains,' p. 99:

"How we saw the spreading myrtles, Saw the cypress and the pine, Saw the green festoons and bowers Of the dark Macquarie vine, Saw the blackwoods and the box-trees, And the spiral sassafrases, Saw the fairy fern-trees mantled With their mossy cloak of grasses."

Vine, Native Pepper . See Climbing Pepper , under Pepper .

Vine, Wonga Wonga . See Wonga Wonga Vine .

W

Waddy . (1) An aboriginal's war club. But the word is used for wood generally, even for firewood. In a kangaroo hunt, a man will call out, "Get off and kill it with a waddy," i.e. any stick casually picked up. In pigeon-English, "little fellow waddy" means a small piece of wood.

In various dictionaries, e.g. Stanford, the word is entered as of aboriginal origin, but many now hold that it is the English word wood mispronounced by aboriginal lips. L. E. Threlkeld, in his `Australian Grammar,' at p. 10, enters it as a "barbarism "--" waddy , a cudgel." A `barbarism,' with Threlkeld, often means no more than `not in use on the Hunter River'; but in this case his remark may be more appropriate.

On the other hand, the word is given as an aboriginal word in Hunter's `Vocabulary of the Sydney Dialect' (1793), and in Ridley's `Kamilaroi' (1875), as used at George's River. The Rev. J. Mathew writes:

"The aboriginal words for fire and wood are very often, in fact nearly always, interchangeable, or interchanged, at different places. The old Tasmanian and therefore original Australian term for wood and fire, or one or the other according to dialect, is wi (wee) sometimes win . These two forms occur in many parts of Australia with numerous variants, wi being obviously the radical form. Hence there were such variants as wiin, waanap , weenth in Victoria, and at Sydney gweyong , and at Botany Bay we , all equivalent to fire. Wi sometimes took on what was evidently an affixed adjective or modifying particle, giving such forms as wibra, wygum, wyber , wurnaway . The modifying part sometimes began with the sound of d or j (into which of course d enters as an element). Thus modified, wi became wadjano on Murchison River, Western Australia; wachernee at Burke River, Gulf of Carp.; wichun on the Barcoo; watta on the Hunter River, New South Wales; wudda at Queanbeyan, New South Wales. These last two are obviously identical with the Sydney waddy = `wood.' The argument might be lengthened, but I think what I have advanced shows conclusively that Waddy is the Tasmanian word wi + a modifying word or particle."

1814. Flinders, `Voyage,' vol. ii. p. 189:

"Some resembling the whaddie, or wooden sword of the natives of Port Jackson."

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 20:

"It is amusing to see the consequential swagger of some of these dingy dandies, as they pass lordly up our streets, with a waddie twirling in their black paws."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 66:

"Such a weapon as their waddy is: it is formed like a large kitchen poker, and nearly as heavy, only much shorter in the handle. The iron-bark wood, of which it is made, is very hard, and nearly as heavy as iron."

1844. Mrs. Meredith, `Notes and Sketches of New South Wales,' p. 106:

"The word `waddie,' though commonly applied to the weapons of the New South Wales aborigines, does not with them mean any particular implement, but is the term used to express wood of any kind, or trees. `You maan waddie 'long of fire,' means `Go and fetch firewood.'"

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 17:

"The Lachlan black, who, with his right hand full of spears, his whaddie and heleman in his left, was skipping in the air, shouting his war cry."

185o. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 54:

"A waddy, a most formidable bludgeon."

1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 101:

"The waddy is a heavy, knobbed club about two feet long, and is used for active service, foreign or domestic. It brains the enemy in the battle, or strikes senseless the poor gin in cases of disobedience or neglect."

1864. `Once a Week,' Dec. 31, p. 45, `The Bulla Bulla Bunyip':

"The landlord swore to the apparition of a huge blackfellow flourishing a phantasmal `waddy.'"

1879. C. W. Schuermann, `Native Tribes of Australia--Port Lincoln Tribe,' p. 214:

"The wirris, by the whites incorrectly named waddies, are also made of gum saplings; they are eighteen inches in length, and barely one inch in diameter, the thin end notched in order to afford a firm hold for the hand, while towards the other end there is a slight gradual bend like that of a sword; they are, however, without knobs, and every way inferior to the wirris of the Adelaide tribes. The natives use this weapon principally for throwing at kangaroo-rats or other small animals."

1886. R. Henty, `Australiana,' p. 18:

"The `waddy' is a powerful weapon in the hands of the native. With unerring aim he brings down many a bird, and so materially assists in replenishing the family larder."

1892. J. Fraser, `Aborigines of New South Wales,' p. 74:

"A general name for all Australian clubs is `waddy,' and, although they are really clubs, they are often used as missiles in battle."

(2) The word is sometimes used for a walking-stick.

Waddy , v. trans . to strike with a waddy.

1855. Robert Lowe (Viscount Sherbrooke), `Songs of the Squatters,' canto ii. st. 7:

"When the white thieves had left me, the black thieves appeared, My shepherds they waddied, my cattle they speared."

1869. `Victorian Hansard,' Nov. 18, vol. ix. p. 2310, col. 2:

"They were tomahawking them, and waddying them, and breaking their backs."

1882. A. Tolmer, `Reminiscences,' p. 291:

"In the scuffle the native attempted to waddy him."

1893. `The Argus,' April 8, p. 4, col. 3:

"Only three weeks before he had waddied his gin to death for answering questions asked her by a blacktracker."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 45:

"For they waddied one another, till the plain was strewn with dead, While the score was kept so even that they neither got ahead."

Waddy Wood , or White Wood , n . name given in Tasmania to the tree Pittosporum bicolor , Hook., N.O. Pittosporeae ; from which the aboriginals there chiefly made their Waddies.

1851. `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. i. p. 156:

"11th October, 1848. . . a sample of a very fine close-grained white timber, considered by him suitable for wood-engraving purposes, obtained in a defile of Mount Wellington. It seems to be the young wood of Pittosporum bicolor , formerly in high estimation amongst the Aborigines of Tasmania, on account of its combined qualities of density, hardness, and tenacity, as the most suitable material of which to make their warlike implement the waddie."

Wagtail , or Wagtail Fly-catcher , n . an Australian bird, Rhipidura tricolor , the Black-and-white Fantail , with black-and-white plumage like a pied wagtail. See also quotation, 1896. The name is applied sometimes in Gippsland, and was first used in Western Australia as a name for the Black-and-white Fantail . See Fantail .

1885. R. M. Praed, `Head-Station,' p. 24:

"He pointed to a Willy-wagtail which was hopping cheerfully from stone to stone."

1896. A. J. North, `List of the Insectivorous Birds of New South Wales,' pt i. p. 13:

"Salltoprocta motacilloides, Vig. and Horsf . `Black and White Fantail.' `Water Wagtail.'. . . From this bird's habit of constantly swaying its lengthened tail feathers from side to side it is locally known in many districts as the `Willy Wagtail.'"

Wahine , n . Maori word for a woman. The i is long.

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 29:

"Having enquired how many (wives) the Kings of England had, he laughed heartily at finding they were not so well provided, and repeatedly counted `four wahine' (women) on his fingers."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 289:

"A group of whyenees and piccaninnies."

1893. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 21, p. 11, col. 5:

"It is not fit that a daughter of the great tribe should be the slave-wife of the pakeha and the slave of the white wahine."

Waipiro , n . Maori name for spirits,-- literally, stinking water, from piro , stinking, and wai , water. In New Zealand geography, the word Wai is very common as the first part of many names of harbours, lakes, etc. Compare North-American Indian Fire-water .

1845. W. Brown, `New Zealand and its Inhabitants,' p. 132:

"Another native keeps a grog-shop, and sells his waipero , as he says, to Hourangi drunken pakehas."

1863. F. Maning (Pakeha Maori), `Old New Zealand,' p. 169:

"He would go on shore, in spite of every warning, to get some water to mix with his waipiro , and was not his canoe found next day floating about with his paddle and two empty case bottles in it?"

1873. Lt.-col. St. John, `Pakeha Rambles through Maori Lands,' p. 167:

"When we see a chance of getting at waipiro, we don't stick at trifles."

1887. The Warrigal, `Picturesque New Zealand,' `Canterbury Weekly Press,' March 11:

"The priest was more than epigrammatic when he said that the Maoris' love for `waipiro' (strong waters) was stronger than their morals."

Wairepo , n . Maori name for the fish called Stingray .

Wait-a-while , n . also called Stay-a-while : a thicket tree.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 306:

" Acacia colletioides , A. Cunn., N.O. Leguminosae , `Wait-a-while' (a delicate allusion to the predicament of a traveller desirous of penetrating a belt of it)."

Waka , n . Maori word for canoe. Waka huia is a box for keeping feathers, originally the feathers of the huia (q.v.).

1874. W. M. Baynes, `Narrative of Edward Crewe,' p. 81:

"`Whaka' is the native name, or rather the native genetic term, for all canoes, of which there are many different kinds, as tete, pekatu, kopapa, and others answering in variety to our several descriptions of boats, as a `gig,' a `whaleboat,' a `skiff,' a `dingy,' etc."

1878. R. C. Barstow, `On the Maori Canoe,' `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xi. art. iv. p. 72:

"Canoes may be divided into four classes; Waka-taua or Waka-hitau were canoes, fully carved; the Waka-tetee , which, generally smaller, had a plain figure-head and stern; Waka-tiwai , an ordinary canoe of one piece, and the kopapa or small canoe, usually used for fishing, travelling to cultivation, etc."

Wakiki , n . shell money of the South Sea Islands.

Waler , n . Anglo-Indian name for an Australian horse imported from New South Wales into India, especially for the cavalry. Afterwards used for any horse brought from Australia.

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 134:

"Horses are exported largely from Australia to India even. I have heard men from Bengal talk of the `Walers,' meaning horses from New South Wales."

1866. G. 0. Trevelyan, `Dawk Bungalow,' p. 223 [Yule's `Hobson Jobson']:

"Well, young Shaver, have you seen the horses? How is the Waler's off fore-leg?"

1873. `Madras Mail,' June 25 [Yule's `Hobson Jobson']:

"For sale. A brown Waler gelding."

1888. R. Kipling, `Plain Tales from the Hills,' p. 224:

"The soul of the Regiment lives in the Drum-Horse who carries the silver kettle-drums. He is nearly always a big piebald Waler."

1896. `The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 62:

"C. R. Gaunt is Senior Subaltern of the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, at present stationed at Rawul Pindi in India. He won the Regimental Cup Steeplechase this year on an Australian mare of his own. Australian horses are called `Walers' in India, from the circumstance of their being generally imported from New South Wales."

Walking-Leaf , n . See Phasmid .

Walking-stick , n . See Phasmid .

Walking-stick Palm , n . See under Palm .

Wallaby , n . a name used for the smaller kinds of Kangaroos of the genus Macropus (q.v.), formerly classed as Halmaturus . An aboriginal word. See Collins, 1798, below. ( Wolbai , in the Kabi dialect of South Queensland, means a young creature.) Also spelt Walloby, Wallabee , and Wallobi . As in the case of Kangaroo (q.v.), the plural is a little uncertain, Wallaby or Wallabies . Some of them are sometimes called Brush-Kangaroos (q.v.). The following are the species--

Agile Wallaby-- Macropus agilis , Gould.

Aru Island W.-- M. brunnii , Schraeber.

Black-gloved W.-- M. irma , Jourd.

Black-striped W.-- M. dorsalis , Gray.

Black-tailed W.-- M. ualabatus , Less. and Garm.

Branded W.-- M. stigmaticus , Gould.

Cape York W.-- M. coxeni , Gray.

Dama W.-- M. eugenii , Desm.

Pademelon-- M. thetidis , Less.

Parma W.-- M. parma , Waterh.

Parry's W.-- M. parryi , Bennett.

Red-legged W.-- M. wilcoxi , McCoy.

Red-necked W., Grey's W.-- M. ruficollis , Desm.

Rufous-bellied W.-- M. billardieri , Desm.

Short-tailed W.-- M. brachyurus , Quoy and Gaim.

Sombre W.-- M. brownii , Ramsay.

In addition, there are six species of Rock-Wallaby (q.v.), genus Petrogale (q.v.). See also Paddymelon .

Three species of Nail-tailed Wallabies , genus Onychogale (q.v.), are confined to Australia. They are the Nail-tailed Wallaby, Onychogale unguifera , Gould; Bridled W., O. frenata , Gould; Crescent W., O. lunata , Gould.

Three species of Hare-Wallabies (genus Lagorchestes , q.v.), confined to Australia, are the Spectacled Hare-Wallaby, Lagorchestes conspiculatus , Gould; Common H. W., L. leporoides , Gould; Rufous H. W., L. hirsutus , Gould.

One species, called the Banded-Wallaby (genus, Lagostrophus , q.v.), confined to Western Australia, is L. fasciatus , Peron and Less.

For etymology, see Wallaroo .

1798. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South Wales,' p. 614 [Vocabulary]:

"Wal-li-bah--a black kangaroo."

1830. R. Dawson' `Present State of Australia,' p. 111:

"In the long coarse grass with which these flats are always covered, a species of small kangaroo is usually found, which the natives call the `wallaby.' Their colour is darker than that of the forest kangaroo, approaching almost to that of a fox, and they seat themselves in the grass like a hare or a rabbit."

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 28:

"The wallabee is not very common."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i. c. ix. p. 267:

"The Wallaby are numerous on this part of the island."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 49:

"Rock wallabies were very numerous."

Ibid. c. xii. p. 418:

"They returned with only a red wallabi ( Halmaturus agilis )."

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 37:

"The rock Wallaby, or Badger, also belongs to the family of the kangaroo; its length from the nose to the end of the tail is three feet; the colour of the fur being grey-brown."

1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 12:

"Sipping doubtfully, but soon swallowing with relish, a plate of wallabi-tail soup."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 18:

"Eyre succeeded in shooting a fine wallaby."

[Note]: "A small kind of kangaroo, inhabiting the scrub."

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' c. vii. p. 117:

"I have also been frowned upon by bright eyes because I could not eat stewed wallabi. Now the wallabi is a little kangaroo, and to my taste it is not nice to eat even when stewed to the utmost with wine and spices."

1880. Garnet Watch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 7:

"To hear . . . that wallabies are `the women of the native race' cannot but be disconcerting to the well-regulated colonial mind." [He adds a footnote]: "It is on record that a journalistically fostered impression once prevailed, to high English circles, to the effect that a certain colonial Governor exhibited immoral tendencies by living on an island in the midst of a number of favourite wallabies, whom he was known frequently to caress."

188x. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 213:

"Now one hears the pat-pat-pat of a wallaby."

1885. J. B. Stephens, `To a Black Gin,' p. 5:

"Of tons of 'baccy, and tons more to follow,-- Of wallaby as much as thou could'st swallow,-- Of hollow trees, with 'possums in the hollow."

1886. J. A. Froude, `Oceana,' p. 309:

"My two companions . . . went off with the keeper [sic] to shoot wallaby. Sir George (Grey) has a paternal affection for all his creatures, and hates to have them killed. But the wallaby multiply so fast that the sheep cannot live for them, and several thousands have to be destroyed annually."

1888. Sir C. Gavan Duffy, in the `Contemporary Review,' vol. liii. p. 3:

"`Morality!' exclaimed the colonist. `What does your lordship suppose a wallaby to be?' `Why, a half-caste, of course.' `A wallaby, my lord, is a dwarf kangaroo!'"

Wallaby-Bush , n . a tall shrub or tree, Beyeria viscosa , Miq., N.O. Euphorbiaceae . Same as the Pinkwood of Tasmania.

Wallaby-Grass , n . an Australian grass, Danthonia penicillata , F. v. M., N.O. Gramineae .

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 82:

"`Wallaby Grass.' This perennial artificial grass is useful for mixed pasture."

Wallaby-skin , the skin, with the hair on it, of the wallaby, prized as a warm and ornamental fur for rugs.

1890. `The Argus,' June13, p.6, col. 2:

"A quantity of hair, a wallaby-skin rug.

Wallaby track, On the , or On the Wallaby , or Out on the Wallaby , or simply Wallaby , as adj . [slang]. Tramping the country on foot, looking for work. Often in the bush the only perceptible tracks, and sometimes the only tracks by which the scrub can be penetrated, are the tracks worn down by the Wallaby , as a hare tramples its "form." These tracks may lead to water or they may be aimless and rambling. Thus the man " on the wallaby " may be looking for food or for work, or aimlessly wandering by day and getting food and shelter as a Sundowner (q.v.) at night.

1869. Marcus Clarke, `Peripatetic Philosopher' (Reprint), p. 41:

"The Wimmera district is noted for the hordes of vagabond `loafers' that it supports, and has earned for itself the name of `The Feeding Track.' I remember an old bush ditty, which I have heard sung when I was on the `Wallaby.' . . . At the station where I worked for some time (as `knockabout man') three cooks were kept during the `wallaby' season--one for the house, one for the men, and one for the travellers."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Colonial Reformer,' p. 82:

"`What is the meaning of `out on the wallaby'?' asked Ernest. `Well, it's bush slang, sir, for men just as you or I might be now, looking for work or something to eat; if we can't get work, living on the country, till things turn round a little.'"

Ibid. p. 388:

"Our friends who pursue the ever-lengthening but not arduous track of the wallaby in Australia."

1893. Gilbert Parker, `Pierre and his People,' p. 242:

"The wallaby track? That's the name in Australia for trampin' west, through the plains of the Never Never Country, lookin' for the luck o' the world."

1894. Longmans' `Notes on Books' (May 31), p. 206:

"`On the Wallaby: a Book of Travel and Adventure.' `On the Wallaby' is an Australianism for `on the march,' and it is usually applied to persons tramping the bush in search of employment."

1894. Jennings Carmichael, in `Australasian,' Dec. 22, p. 1127, col. 5:

"A `wallaby' Christmas, Jack, old man!-- Well, a worse fate might befall us! The bush must do for our church to-day, And birds be the bells to call us. The breeze that comes from the shore beyond, Thro' the old gum-branches swinging, Will do for our solemn organ chords, And the sound of children singing."

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 134:

"Though joys of which the poet rhymes Was not for Bill an' me I think we had some good old times Out on the Wallaby."

Wallaroo , n . native name for a large species of Kangaroo, the mountain kangaroo, Macropus robustus , Gould. The black variety of Queensland and New South Wales is called locally the Wallaroo , the name Euro being given in South and Central Australia to the more rufous- coloured variety of the same species.

In the aboriginal language, the word walla meant `to jump,' and walla-walla `to jump quickly.'

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

"The wallaroo, of a blackish colour, with coarse shaggy fur, inhabiting the hills."

1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 157:

"Some very fierce and ready to attack man, such as the large mountain `wolloroo.'"

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 481:

"Charley shot a Wallooroo just as it was leaping, frightened by our footsteps, out of its shady retreat to a pointed rock."

[On p. 458, Leichhardt spells Wallurus , plural]

1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 50:

"The Wallaroos grope through the tufts of the grass."

1868 (before). C. Harpur, `Creek of the Four Graves'(edition 1883), p. 49:

"Up the steep, Between the climbing forest-growths they saw, Perched on the bare abutments of the hills, Where haply yet some lingering gleam fell through, The wallaroo look forth."

[Footnote]: "A kind of large kangaroo, peculiar to the higher and more difficult mountains."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 328:

"A wallaroo, a peculiar kind of kangaroo ( Macropus robustus ), which was kept tame at a station, showed a marked fondness for animal food, particularly for boiled salt beef. A dove had been its companion, and these two animals were the best of friends for half-a-year, when the wallaroo one day killed its companion and partly ate it."

1895. `The Australasian,' June 22, 1181, col. 1 [Answers to Correspondents]:

"Professor Baldwin Spencer kindly deals with the question as follows:--What is the distinction between a wallaroo and a wallaby?--A wallaroo is a special form of kangaroo ( Macropus robustus ) living in the inland parts of Queensland and New South Wales. Wallaby is the name given to several kinds of smaller kangaroos, such as the common scrub wallaby ( Macropus ualabatus ) of Victoria. The wallaroo is stouter and heavier in build, its fur thicker and coarser, and the structure of its skull is different from that of an ordinary wallaby."

Wallflower, Native , n . a Tasmanian name for Pultenaea subumbellata , Hook., N.O. Leguminosae . In Australia, used as another name for one of the Poison- Bushes (q-v.).

Wandoo , n . Western Australian aboriginal word for the White Gum-tree of Western Australia, Eucalyptus redunca , Schauer, N.O. Myrtaceae . It has a trunk sometimes attaining seventeen feet in diameter, and yields a hard durable wood highly prized by wheelwrights.

Waratah , n . an Australian flower. There are three species, belonging to the genus Telopea , N.O. Proteaceae . The New South Wales species, T. speciosissima , R. Br., forms a small shrub growing on hill-sides, as does also the Tasmanian species, T. truncata , R. Br.; the Victorian species, T. oreades , F. v. M., called the Gippsland Waratah , grows to a height of fifty feet. It has a bright crimson flower about three inches in diameter, very regular. Sometimes called the Australian or Native Tulip . As emblematic of Australia, it figures on certain of the New South Wales stamps and postcards. The generic name, Telopea (q.v.), has been corrupted into Tulip (q.v.). Its earliest scientific generic name was Embothrium , Smith.

1793. E. Smith, `Specimen of Botany of New Holland,' p. 19:

"The most magnificent plant which the prolific soil of New Holland affords is, by common consent both of Europeans and Natives, the Waratah."

1801. Governor King, in `Historical Records of New South Wales' (1896), vol, iv. p. 514 (a Letter to Sir Joseph Banks):

"I have also sent in the Albion a box of waratahs, and the earth is secured with the seed."

1802. D. Collins, `Account of New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 66:

"Bennillong assisted, placing the head of the corpse, near which he stuck a beautiful war-ra-taw."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 98:

[Description, but not the name.] "A plant called the gigantic lily also flourishes on the tops of these mountains, in all its glory. Its stems, which are jointy, are sometimes as large as a man's wrist, and ten feet high, with a pink and scarlet flower at the top, which when in full blossom (as it then was) is nearly the size of a small spring cabbage."

1830. `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 66:

"Interspersed with that magnificent shrub called warratah or tulip-tree, and its beautiful scarlet flowers."

1857. D. Bunce, `Australasiatic Reminiscences,' p. 44:

"The most common of them was, however, the Telopia [sic] Tasmaniensis, or waratah, or scarlet tulip tree, as it has been occasionally termed by stock-keepers."

1864. J. S. Moore, `Spring Life Lyrics,' p. 115:

"The lily pale and waratah bright Shall encircle your shining hair."

1883. D. B. W. Sladen, `Poetry of Exiles':

"And waratah, with flame-hued royal crown, Proclaim the beauties round Australia's own."

1885. Wanderer, `Beauteous Terrorist,' etc., p. 62:

"And the waratahs in state, With their queenly heads elate, And their flamy blood-red crowns, And their stiff-frill'd emerald gowns."

1888. D. Macdonald, I Gum Boughs,' p. 188:

"Outside the tropical Queensland forests, the scarlet flowering gum of Western Australia, and the Waratah, of Blue Mountains fame, are its [i.e. the wattle's] only rivals."

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 5, p. 9, col. 1:

"The memory of many residents runs back to the time when the waratah and the Christmas-bush, the native rose and fuchsia, grew where thickly-peopled suburbs now exist. . . . The waratah recedes yearly."

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Sept. 2, p. 5, col. 6:

"The wattles and waratahs are creditable instances of the value of our Australian flowers for art purposes, and the efforts of the artists to win recognition for their adaptability as subjects for the artist's brush are deserving of acknowledgment."

Warbler , n . This English birdname is applied loosely to many birds of different genera in Australia and New Zealand.

The majority of the Australian Warblers have now had other names assigned to them. (See Fly-eater and Gerygone .) The name has been retained in Australia for the following species--

Grass Warbler-- Cisticola exilis , Lath.

Grey W.-- Gerygone flaviventris , Gray.

Long-billed Reed W.-- Calamoherpe longirostris , Gould.

Reed W.-- Acrocephalus australis , Gould.

Rock W.-- Origma rubricata , Lath.

In New Zealand, it is now only specifically applied to the--

Bush Warbler-- Gerygone silvestris , Potts.

Chatham Island W.-- G. albofrontata , Gray.

Grey W.-- G. flaviventris , Gray; Maori name, Riro-riro .

1889. Prof. Parker, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,'. 119:

"Grey Warbler ( Gerygone flaviventris ) also belongs to an Australian genus. It is remarkable for its curious and beautifully formed nest, and as being the foster-parent to the Longtailed Cuckoo, which lays its eggs in the Warbler's nest."

Warden , n . The term is applied specifically to the Government officer, with magisterial and executive powers, in charge of a goldfield.

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' c. iv. p. 141:

"The chief official in a digging settlement, the padra [sic] of the district, is entitled the warden."

Warehou , n . Maori name for the fish Neptonemus brama , Gunth., called Snotgall-Trevally in Tasmania, and called also Sea-Bream . See Trevally .

Warrener , n . a name applied by Tasmanian children to the larger specimens of the shells called Mariners (q.v.). The name is an adaptation, by the law of Hobson-Jobson, from a Tasmanian aboriginal word, Yawarrenah , given by Milligan (`Vocabulary,' 1890), as used by tribes, from Oyster Bay to Pittwater, for the ear-shell ( Haliotis ). The name has thus passed from shell to shell, and in its English application has passed on also to the marine shell, Turbo undulatus .

Warrigal , n . and adj . an aboriginal word, originally meaning a Dog. Afterwards extended as an adjective to mean wild ; then used for a wild horse , wild natives , and in bush-slang for a worthless man. The following five quotations from vocabularies prove the early meaning of the word in the Port Jackson district, and its varying uses at later dates elsewhere.

1793. Governor Hunter, `Port Jackson,' p. 411:

"Warregal--a large dog."

1798. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South Wales,' p. 614 [Vocab.]:

"Wor-re-gal--dog."

1859. D. Bunce, `Language of Aborigines of Victoria,' p. 17:

"Ferocious, savage, wild--warragul." (adj.)

Ibid. p. 46:

"Wild savage--worragal." (noun.) 1879.

Wyatt, `Manners of Adelaide Tribes,' p. 21:

"Warroo=wild."

The quotations which follow are classed under the different meanings borne by the word.

(1) A Wild Dog .

1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 153:

"I have heard that the dingo, warragal or native dog, does not hunt in packs like the wolf and jackal."

1880. J. Holdsworth, `Station Hunting':

"To scoop its grassless grave Past reach of kites and prowling warrigals."

1887. `Illustrated Australian News,' March 5:

[A picture of two dingoes, and beneath them the following quotation from Kendall--]:

"The warrigal's lair is pent in bare Black rocks, at the gorge's mouth."

1888. `Australian Ballads and Rhymes' (edition Sladen),, p. 297:

"The following little poem, entitled `The Warrigal' (Wild Dog) will prove that he (H. Kendall) observed animal life as faithfully as still life and landscape:

`The sad marsh-fowl and the lonely owl Are heard in the fog-wreath's grey, Where the Warrigal wakes, and listens and takes To the woods that shelter the prey.'"

1890. G. A. Sala, in `The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, col. 1:

"But at present warrigal means a wild dog."

1891. J. B. O`Hara, `Songs of the South,' p. 22:

"There, night by night, I heard the call The inharmonious warrigal Made, when the darkness swiftly drew Its curtains o'er the starry blue."

(2) A Horse .

1881. `The Australasian,' May 21, p. 647, col. 4 ["How we ran in `The Black Warragal'": Ernest G. Millard, Bimbowrie, South Australia]:

"You must let me have Topsail today, Boss,. If we're going for that Warrigal mob."

1888. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 44:

"Six wild horses--warrigals or brombies, as they are called--have been driven down, corralled, and caught. They have fed on the leaves of the myall and stray bits of salt-bush. After a time they are got within the traces. They are all young, and they look not so bad."

1890. `The Argus, `June 14, p.4, col. 2:

"Mike will fret himself to death in a stable, and maybe kill the groom. Mike's a warrigal he is."

(3) Applied to Aborigines . [See Bunce quotation, 1859.]

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. xii. p. 249:

"He's a good shot, and these warrigal devils know it."

1896. Private Letter from Station near Palmerville, North Queensland:

"Warrigal. In this Cook district, and I believe in many others, a blackfellow who has broken any of the most stringent tribal laws, which renders him liable to be killed on sight by certain other blacks, is warri , an outlaw."

(4) As adjective meaning wild.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. viii. p. 68:

"Here's a real good wholesome cabbage--warrigal cabbage the shepherds call it."

Warrina , n . See Warrener .

Washdirt , n . any alluvial deposit from which gold is obtained by washing; or "the auriferous gravel, sand, clay, or cement, in which the greatest proportion of gold is found." (Brough Smyth's `Glossary,' 1869.) Often called dirt (q.v.).

1896. `Melbourne Argus,' April 30, p. 7, col. 6:

"In colour the washdirt is of a browner and more iron-stained appearance than the white free wash met across the creek."

Waterbush , n . an Australian tree, i.q. Native Daphne . See Daphne .

Watergrass , n . a Tasmanian name for Manna grass , Poa fluitans , Scop., N.O. Gramineae .

Water-Gum , n . See Gum .

Water-hole , n . The word pond is seldom used in Australia. Any pond, natural or artificial, is called a Water-hole . The word also denotes a depression or cavity in the bed of an intermittent river, which remains full during the summer when the river itself is dry.

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. i. c. ii. p. 80:

"There was no smoke to betray a water-hole."

1853. S. Sidney, `Three Colonies of Australia,' p. 245:

"The deep pools, called colonially `water-holes.'"

1862. F. J. Jobson, `Australia,' c. vii. p. 181:

"`Water-holes' appeared at intervals, but they seemed to have little water in them."

1864. J. McDouall Stuart, `Explorations in Australia,' p. 58:

"About four miles from last night's camp the chain of large water-holes commences, and continues beyond tonight's camp."

1875. Wood and Lapham, `Waiting for the Mail,' p. 15:

"The water-hole was frozen over, so she was obliged to go on farther, where the water ran."

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), June 26, p. 94, col. 1:

"A bottomless water-hole, about 300 feet wide, exists at Maryvale homestead, Gipps Land."

1878. Mrs. H. Jones, `Broad Outlines of Long Years in Australia,' p. 97:

"`That will be another water-hole.' `What an ugly word . . . why don't you call them pools or ponds?' `I can't tell you why they bear such a name, but we never call them anything else, and if you begin to talk of pools or ponds you'll get well laughed at.'"

1896. `The Argus,' March 30, p. 6, col. 9:

[The murderer] has not since been heard of. Dams and waterholes have been dragged . . . but without result."

Water-Lily . See Lily .

Water-Mole , i.q. Platypus (q.v.).

Water-Myrtle , an Australian tree, Tristania neriifolia , R. Br., N.O. Myrtaceae .

Water-Tree , n . a tree from which water is obtained by tapping the roots, Hakea leucoptera , R. Br., N.O. Proteaceae ; called also Needle-bush . The quotation describes the process, but does not name the tree.

1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' p. 199:

"I expressed my thirst and want of water. Looking as if they understood me, they [the aboriginals] hastened to resume their work, and I discovered that they dug up the roots for the sake of drinking the sap . . . They first cut these roots into billets, and then stripped off the bark or rind, which they sometimes chew, after which, holding up the billet, and applying one end to the mouth, they let the juice drop into it."

Wattle , n . The name is given to very many of the various species of Acacia (q.v.), of which there are about 300 in Australia, besides those in Tasmania and New Zealand. There is no English tree of that name, but the English word, which is common, signifies "a twig, a flexible rod, usually a hurdle; . . . the original sense is something twined or woven together; hence it came to mean a hurdle, woven with twigs; Anglo-Saxon, watel , a hurdle." (Skeat.) In England the supple twigs of the osier-willow are used for making such hurdles. The early colonists found the long pliant boughs and shoots of the indigenous Acacias a ready substitute for the purpose, and they used them for constructing the partitions and outer-walls of the early houses, by forming a "wattling" and daubing it with plaster or clay. (See Wattle-and-dab .) The trees thus received the name of Wattle-trees , quickly contracted to Wattle. Owing to its beautiful, golden, sweet-scented clusters of flowers, the Wattle is the favourite tree of the Australian poets and painters. The bark is very rich in tannin. (See Wattle-bark .) The tree was formerly called Mimosa (q.v.). The following list of vernacular names of the various Wattles is compiled from Maiden's `Useful Native Plants'; it will be seen that the same vernacular name is sometimes applied to several different species--

Black Wattle-- Acacia binervata , De C., of Illawarra and South. A. decurrens , Willd., older colonists of New South Wales. A. cunninghamii , Hook. A. nervifolia , Cunn.

Broad-leaved W.-- A. pycnantha , Benth.

Broom W.-- A. calamifolia , Sweet.

Feathery W.-- A. decurrens , Willd.

Golden W. (q.v.)-- A. pycnantha , Benth.; in Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. It is also called Green Wattle , and also, for the sake of distinction between some other tan-bark wattles, the Broad-leaved Wattle . A. longifolia , Willd.; in New South Wales and Queensland.

Green W.-- A. decurrens , Willd., older colonists New South Wales. A. pycnantha , Benth. A. discolor , Willd.; so called in Tasmania, and called also there River Wattle .

Hickory W.-- A. aulacocarpa , Cunn.

Prickly W.-- A. sentis , F. v. M. A. juniperina , Willd.

Silver W.-- A. dealbata , Link. Silver Wattle , owing to the whiteness of the trunk, and the silvery or ashy hue of its young foliage. A. decurrens , Willd. A. melanoxylon , R. Br. (Blackwood). A. podalyriafolia , Cunn.; called Silver Wattle , as it has foliage of a more or less grey, mealy, or silvery appearance.

Weeping W.-- A. saligna , Wendl.

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 201:

"The acacias are the common wattles of this country, their bark affording excellent tan, as well as an extract to export to England; while from their trunks and branches clear transparent beads of the purest Arabian gum are seen suspended in the dry spring weather, which our young currency bantlings eagerly search after and regale themselves with."

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 328:

"One of my specimens . . . I shot in a green wattle-tree close to Government House."

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 23:

"The black and silver Wattle (the Mimosa ), are trees used in housework and furniture."

1834. Ross, `Van Diemen's Land Annual,' p. 134:

" Leptospermum lanigerum , hoary tea-tree, Acacia decurrens , and black wattle; Corraea alba , Cape Barren tea. The leaves of these have been used as substitutes for tea in the colonies."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. ii. c. iv. p. 132:

"Black wattle . . . indication of good soil . . . produce gum."

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849.' p. 32:

"Few, indeed, of the native Australian flowers emit any perfume except the golden and silver wattle (the Mimosae tribe): these charm the senses, and fully realize the description we read of in the `Arabian Nights' Entertainments' of those exotics, the balmy perfume of which is exhaled far and near."

1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 337:

"These trees were termed `Wattles,' from being used, in the early days of the colony, for forming a network or wattling of the supple twigs for the reception of the plaster in the partitions of the houses."

1862. W. Archer, `Products of Tasmania,' p. 40:

"Silver Wattle ( Acacia dealbata , Lindl.), so called from the whiteness of the trunk and the silvery green of the foliage."

1862. G. T. Lloyd, `Twenty-three Years in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 33:

"The mimosa, or wattle, . . . ushers in the Spring with its countless acres of charming and luxuriant yellow and highly scented blossom . . . The tanning properties of its bark are nearly equal in value to those of the English oak."

1867. A. G. Middleton, `Earnest,' p. 132:

"The maidens were with golden wattles crowned."

1877. F. V. Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 24:

"The generic name [Acacia] is so familiarly known, that the appellation `Wattle' might well be dispensed with. Indeed the name Acacia is in full use in works on travels and in many popular writings for the numerous Australian species."

1883. F. M. Bailey, `Synopsis of Queensland Flora,' p. 837:

"Called `Silver Wattle.' The bark, which is used for tanning, is said to give a light colour to leather; value, L3 10s. per ton."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 43:

"A dense clump of wattles, a sort of mimosa--tall, feathery, graceful trees, with leaves like a willow and sweet-scented yellow flowers."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 349:

"The ordinary name for species of the genus Acacia in the colonies is `Wattle.' The name is an old English one, and signifies the interlacing of boughs together to form a kind of wicker-work. The aboriginals used them in the construction of their abodes, and the early colonists used to split the stems of slender species into laths for `wattling' the walls of their rude habitations."

1890. Tasma, `In her Earliest Youth,' p. 122:

"It pleased him yearly to see the fluffy yellow balls bedeck his favourite trees. One would have said in the morning that a shower of golden shot had bespangled them in the night-time. Late in the autumn, too, an adventurous wattle would sometimes put forth some semi-gilded sprays--but sparsely, as if under protest."

1896. J. B. O`Hara, `Songs of the South' (Second Series), p. 22:

"Yet the spring shed blossoms around the ruin, The pale pink hues of the wild briar rose, The wild rose wasted by winds that blew in The wattle bloom that the sun-god knows."

Wattle-and-Dab , a rough mode of architecture, very common in Australia at an early date. The phrase and its meaning are Old English. It was originally Wattle-and-daub . The style, but not the word, is described in the quotation from Governor Phillip, 1789.

1789. Governor Phillip, `Voyage to Botany Bay,' p. 124:

"The huts of the convicts were still more slight, being composed only of upright posts, wattled with slight twigs, and plaistered up with clay."

1836. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 66:

" Wattle and daub . . . . You then bring home from the bush as many sods of the black or green wattle ( acacia decurrens or affinis ) as you think will suffice. These are platted or intertwined with the upright posts in the manner of hurdles, and afterwards daubed with mortar made of sand or loam, and clay mixed up with a due proportion of the strong wiry grass of the bush chopped into convenient lengths and well beaten up with it, as a substitute for hair."

1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 201:

"The hut of the labourer was usually formed of plaited twigs or young branches plastered over with mud, and known by the summary definition of `wattle and dab.'"

1852. Mrs. Meredith, `My Home in Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 179:

"Wattles, so named originally, I conceive, from several of the genus being much used for `wattling' fences or huts. A `wattle and dab' but is formed, in a somewhat Robinson Crusoe style, of stout stakes driven well into the ground, and thickly interlaced with the tough, lithe wattle-branches, so as to make a strong basket-work, which is then dabbed and plastered over on both sides with tenacious clay mortar, and finally thatched."

1879. W. J. Barry, `Up and Down,' p. 21:

"It was built of what is known as `wattle and dab,' or poles and mud, and roofed with the bark of the gum-tree."

1883. E. M. Curr, `Recollections of Squatting,' p. 5:

"Others were of weather boards, wattle and dab, or slabs."

Wattle-bark , n . the bark of the wattle; much used in tanning, and forms a staple export.

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), Aug. 14, p. 178 col. 2:

"A proprietor of land at Mount Gambier has refused L4000 for the wattle-bark on his estate."

1877. [? Exact date lost.] `Melbourne Punch':

"What'll bark? Why, a dog'll."

1883. F. M. Bailey, `Synopsis of Queensland Flora,' p. 140:

"The bark of this species is used in tanning light skins, but the bark is considered weak in tannin, and only worth thirty shillings per ton in Queensland. Called `Black-wattle bark.'"

1893. `Melbourne Stock and Station Journal,' May 10 [advt.]:

"Bark.--There is a moderate inquiry for good descriptions, but faulty are almost unsaleable:--Bundled Black Wattle, superior, L5 to L6 per ton; do. do., average, L3 to L4 10s. per ton; chopped Black Wattle, L5 to L6 5s. per ton; ground, approved brands, up to L8 per ton; do., average, L5 to L6 per ton."

1896. `The Leader,' a weekly column:

"Kennel Gossip. By Wattle Bark."

Wattled Bee-eater . See Bee-eater .

Wattle-bird , n . an Australian bird, so called from the wattles or fleshy appendages hanging to his ear. In the Yellow species they are an inch long. The species are--

Brush Wattle-bird-- Anelobia mellivora , Lath.

Little W.-- A. lunulata , Gould.

Red W.-- Acanthochaera carunculata , Lath.

Yellow W.-- A. inauris , Gould.

The earlier scientific names occur in the quotation, 1848. In New Zealand, the Kokako (q.v.) is also called a Wattle-bird , and the name used to be applied to the Tui (q.v.).

1820. W. C. Wentworth, `Description of New South Wales,' p. 152:

"The wattle-bird, which is about the size of a snipe, and considered a very great delicacy."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv.:

" Anthochaera inauris , Wattled Honey-eater; Wattled Bird of the Colonists of Van Diemen's Land" (pl. 54). " A. Carunculata , Wattled Bird of the Colonists; the Merops Carunculatus of older writers "(pl. 55). " A. Mellivora , Vig. and Horsf., Bush Wattle Bird" (pl. 56). " A. Lunulata , Gould, Little Wattle Bird, Colonists of Swan River" (pl. 57).

1857. W. Howitt, `Tallangetta,' vol. ii. p. 11:

"Kangaroo-steaks frying on the fire, with a piece of cold beef, and a wattle-bird pie also ready on the board."

1859. D. Bunce, `Australasiatic Reminiscences,' p. 62:

"The notes peculiar to the Ornithorhynchus paradoxus , or platypus , wattle-bird, and leather-head, or old soldier bird, added in no small degree to the novelties. . . . The wattle-bird has been not inaptly termed the `what's o'clock,'--the leather-head the `stop-where-you-are.'"

1864. E. F. Hughes, `Portland Bay,' p. 9:

"Tedious whistle of the Wattle-bird."

186. W. Howitt, `Discovery in Australia, vol. i. p. 111:

"This bird they called the Wattle-bird, and also the Poy-bird, from its having little tufts of curled hair under its throat, which they called poies, from the Otaheitan word for ear-rings. The sweetness of this bird's note they described as extraordinary, and that its flesh was delicious, but that it was a shame to kill it."

1885. J. Hood, `Land of Fern,' p. 36:

"The wattle-bird, with joyous scream Bathes her soft plumage in the cooling stream."

1871. T. Bracken, `Behind the Tomb,' p. 79:

"The wattle-bird sings in the leafy plantation."

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 119:

"The pretty, graceful wattle-birds are . . . much esteemed for the table, cooked as snipe and woodcocks are in England . . . Our pretty, elegant wattle-bird wears a pair of long pendant drops, shaded from the deepest amber to white, lovelier than any goldsmith's work. Its greyish plumage, too, is very beautiful; the feathers on the breast are long, pointed, and tinted with golden yellow."

1890. Tasma, `In her Earliest Youth,' p. 265:

"The droll double note of the wattle-bird."

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

"Close season. All Honey-eaters (except Wattle-birds and Leatherheads); from 1st day of August to loth day of December."

Wattle-gold , n . poetic name for the blossom of the Wattle .

1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads, Dedn., p. 9:

"In the spring, when the wattle-gold trembles `Twixt shadow and shine."

1883. Keighley, `Who are You?' p. 54:

"My wealth has gone, like the wattle-gold You bound one day on my childish brow."

Wattle-gum , n . the gum exuding from the Wattles .

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

"Wattle-Gum, the gum of the Silver Wattle ( Acacia dealbata , Lindl.), is exceedingly viscous, and probably quite as useful as Gum-Arabic. The gum of the Black Wattle ( Acacia mollissima , Willd.), which is often mixed with the other, is very often inferior to it, being far less viscous."

Wax-cluster , n . an Australian shrub, Gaultheria hispida , R. Br., N.O. Ericaceae . A congener of the English winter-green, or American checkerberry, with white berries, in taste resembling gooseberries; called also Chucky-chucky (q.v.), and Native Arbutus .

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

" Gaultheria hispida . The wax-cluster, abundant in the middle region of Mount Wellington, and in other elevated and moist situations in the colony. This fruit is formed by the thickened divisions of the calyx, enclosing the small seed vessel; when it is ripe it is of a snowy white. The flavour is difficult to describe, but it is not unpleasant. In tarts the taste is something like that of young gooseberries, with a slight degree of bitterness."

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

" Gaultheria hispida .--The `Snowberry' or `Wax cluster' is also called native Arbutus, from the form of the white flowers which precede the fruit. The latter is of a peculiar brioche-like form, and as the deep clefts open, the crimson seed-cells peep through."

Wax-Eye , i.q. one of the many names for the bird called Silver-Eye , White-Eye , Blight-Bird , etc. See Zosterops .

Waybung , n . aboriginal name for an Australian Chough, Corcorax melanoramphus , Vieill.

Weaver-bird , n . The English name Weaver-bird , in its present broad sense as applied to a wide variety of birds, is modern. It alludes to their dexterity in "weaving" their nests. It is applied in Australia to Callornis metallica , a kind of Starling.

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 96:

"The elegant, metallic-looking, `glossy starlings' (Callornis metallica) greedily swoop, with a horrible shriek, upon the fruit of the Australian cardamom tree. The ingenious nests of this bird were found in the scrubs near Herbert Vale--a great many in the same tree. Although this bird is a starling, the colonists call it `weaver-bird.'"

Wedge-bill , n . an Australian bird. This English name for a species of humming-bird is applied in Australia to Sphenostoma cristata , Gould.

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

"Wedge-bill. [Close season.] From 1st day of August to 10th day of December next following in each year."

Weeping-Gum . See Gum .

Weeping-Myall , n . an Australian tree, Acacia pendula , Cunn., N.O. Leguminosae . See Myall .

Weka , n . the Maori name for the Wood-hen (q.v.) of New Zealand, so called from its note. There are two species--

South-Island Weka, or Wood-hen-- Ocydromus australis , Strick.

North-Island W., or W.-h.-- Ocydromus brachypterus , Buller.

The specimens intergrade to such an extent that precise limitation of species is extremely difficult; but Sir W. L. Buller set them out as these two in 1878, regarding other specimens as varieties. The birds are sometimes called Weka-Rails , and the Maori name of Weka-pango is given to the Black Wood-hen ( 0. fuscus , Du Bus.).

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 95:

"Two young weka, or wood-hens, about as large as sparrows . . . were esteemed a valuable addition to our scanty supper."

1864. R. L. A. Davies, `Poems and Literary Remains' (edition 1884), p. 263:

"Wood-hens, or Waikas, are a great stand-by in the bush. Their cry can be imitated, and a man knowing their language and character can catch them easily. They call each other by name, pronounced `Weeka,' latter syllable being shrill and prolonged, an octave higher than the first note. . . . The wood-hen is about the size of a common barn-door fowl; its character is cunning, yet more fierce than cunning, and more inquisitive than either."

1865. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 28:

"Until the numbers of the wekas are considerably reduced. They are very like a hen pheasant without the long tail-feathers, and until you examine them you cannot tell they have no wings, though there is a sort of small pinion among the feathers, with a claw at the end of it. They run very swiftly, availing themselves cleverly of the least bit of cover."

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 167:

"Another famous bird of chase with the natives is the weka ( Ocydromus Australis ), or the wood-hen, belonging to the class of rails, which have already become quite scarce upon North Island. In the grassy plains and forests of the Southern Alps, however, they are still found in considerable numbers. It is a thievish bird, greedy after everything that glistens; it frequently carries off spoons, forks, and the like, but it also breaks into hen-coops, and picks and sucks the eggs."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 286:

"Fortunately, the weka bears so obnoxious a character as an evil-doer that any qualm of conscience on the score of cruelty is at once stilled when one of these feathered professors of diablerie is laid to rest."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 105:

[A full description.]

1889. Vincent Pyke, `Wild Will Enderby,' p. 82:

"We-ki! we-ki! we-ka! Three times the plaintive cry of the `wood-hen' was heard. It was a preconcerted signal."

Weka, Rail , n . See Weka .

Well-in , adj . answering to `well off,' `well to do,' `wealthy'; and ordinarily used, in Australia, instead of these expressions.

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 1:

"He's a well-in squatter that took up runs or bought them cheap before free-selection, and land-boards, and rabbits, and all the other bothers that turn a chap's hair grey before his time."

Western Australia , the part of the Continent first sighted in 1527 by a Portuguese, and the last to receive responsible government, in 1890. It had been made a Crown colony in 1829.

Westralia , n . a common abbreviation for Western Australia (q.v.). The word was coined to meet the necessities of the submarine cable regulations, which confine messages to words containing not more than ten letters.

1896. `The Studio,' Oct., p. 151:

"The latest example is the El Dorado of Western Australia, or as she is beginning to be more generally called `Westralia,' a name originally invented by the necessity of the electric cable, which limits words to ten letters, or else charges double rate."

1896. `Nineteenth Century,' Nov., p. 711 [Title of article]:

"The Westralian Mining Boom."

Weta , n . Maori name for a New Zealand insect-- a huge, ugly grasshopper, Deinacrula megacephala , called by bushmen the Sawyer .

1857. C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 123:

"The weta, a suspicious-looking, scorpion-like creature, apparently replete with `high concocted venom,' but perfectly harmless."

1863. S. Butler, `First Year in Canterbury Settlement,' p. 141:

"One of the ugliest-looking creatures that I have ever seen. It is called `Weta,' and is of tawny scorpion-like colour, with long antenna and great eyes, and nasty squashy-looking body, with (I think) six legs. It is a kind of animal which no one would wish to touch: if touched, it will bite sharply, some say venomously. It is very common but not often seen, and lives chiefly among dead wood and under stones."

1888. J. Adams, `On the Botany of Te Moehau,' `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxi. art. ii. p. 41:

"Not a sound was heard in that lonely forest, except at long intervals the sharp noise produced by the weta ."

W. F.'s , old Tasmanian term for wild cattle.

1891. James Fenton, `Bush Life in Tasmania Fifty Years Ago,' p. 24:

"Round up a mob of the wildest W.F.'s that ever had their ears slit."

[Note]: "This was the brand on Mr. William Field's wild cattle."

Whalebone-Tree , n . i.q. Mint-Tree (q.v.).

Whaler , n . used specifically as slang for a Sundowner (q.v.); one who cruises about.

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 12, p. 8. col. 8:

"The nomad, the `whaler,' it is who will find the new order hostile to his vested interest of doing nothing."

Whaler/2 , n . name given in Sydney to the Shark, Carcharias brachyurus , Gunth., which is not confined to Australasia.

Whare , n . Maori word for a house; a dissyllable, variously spelt, rhyming with `quarry.' It is often quaintly joined with English words; e.g. a sod-whare , a cottage built with sods. In a Maori vocabulary, the following are given: whare-kingi , a castle; whare-karakia , a church; whare-here , the lock-up.

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 225:

"Ware, s . a house, a covering."

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

"The Europeans who were near us in a raupo whare (rush house)."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 26:

"We were much amused at seeing the ware-puni, or sleeping- houses, of the natives. These are exceedingly low, and covered with earth, on which weeds very often grow. They resemble in shape and size a hot-bed with the glass off."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' c. x. p. 265 (Third Edition, 1855):

"Sitting in the sun at the mouth of his warree, smoking his pipe."

1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' [Notes] p. 76:

"I fell upon what I thought a good place on which to fix my warre, or bush-cottage."

1857. `Paul's Letters from Canterbury,' p. 89:

"Then pitch your tent, or run up a couple of grass warres somewhat bigger than dog-kennels."

1871. C. L. Money, `Knocking About in New Zealand,' p. 33:

"The old slab wharry."

Ibid. p. 132:

"The village was sacked and the wharries one after another set fire to and burnt.'"

1877. Anon., `Colonial Experiences or Incidents of Thirty-Four Years in New Zealand,' p. 87:

"In the roughest colonial whare there is generally one or more places fitted up called bunks."

1882. R. C. Barstow, `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xv. art. liii. p. 428:

"Raupo whares were put up."

1889. `Cornhill Magazine,' Jan., p. 35:

"Ten minutes more brought us to my friend's `whare,'--the Maori name for house."

1886. `Otago Witness,' Jan. 23, p. 42:

"The pas close at hand give up their population,--only the blind, the sick, and the imbecile being left to guard the grimy, smoke-dried whares."

Whata , n . Maori word for a storehouse on posts or other supports, like a Pataka (q.v.). Futtah (q.v.) is a corruption, probably of Irish origin.

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 167:

"In one corner was a ware-puni, occupied by Barrett and his family, and in the middle a wata, or `storehouse,' stuck upon four poles about six feet high, and only approachable by a wooden log with steps cut in it."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 57:

"A chief would not pass under a stage or wata (a food-store)."

Ibid. p. 468:

"Wata, stand or raised platform for food: Fata , Tahaiti."

[Also an illustration, "an ornamental food-store," p. 377.]

1891. Rev. J. Stack, `Report of Australasian Association for Advancement of Science,' #G. vol. iii. p. 378:

"The men gathered the food and stored it in Whatas or store- rooms, which were attached to every chief's compound, and built on tall posts protect the contents from damp and rats."

Whau , n . Maori name for the New Zealand Cork-tree, Entelea arborescens , R. Br., N.O. Tiliaceae .

Whee-Whee , n . a bird not identified.

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 232:

"In the morning the dull monotonous double note of the whee-whee (so named from the sound of its calls), chiming in at regular intervals as the tick of a clock, warns us . . . it is but half an hour to dawn."

Whekau , n . Maori name for the bird Sceloglaux albifacies , Gray, a New Zealand owl, which is there called the Laughing-Jackass . See Jackass .

1869. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia' [Supplement]:

" Sceloglaux Albifacies , Wekau. Another of the strange inhabitants of our antipodal country, New Zealand. An owl it unquestionably is, but how widely does it differ from every other member of its family."

1885. A. Reischek, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xviii. art. xiii. p. 97:

" Athene albifacies , Laughing owl (whekau). Owls are more useful than destructive, but this species I never saw in the north or out-lying islands, and in the south it is extremely rare, and preys mostly on rats."

1885. `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xviii. p. 101:

"Already several species have disappeared from the mainland . . . or are extremely rare, such as . . . Laughing owl (Whekau)."

Whelk , or Native Whelk , n . a marine mollusc, Trochocochlea constricta . See Perriwinkle .

Whilpra , n . See quotation, and compare the Maori word Tupara (q.v.)

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kumai,' p. 211:

"The term whilpra being a corruption of wheelbarrow, which the Lake Torrens natives have acquired from the whites as the name for a cart or waggon."

Whio , n . (originally Whio-Whio ), also Wio , Maori name for the New Zealand Duck, Hymenolaemus malacorhynchus , Gmell., called the Blue-Duck or Mountain Duck of New Zealand. See Duck , Professor Parker's quotation, 1889. The bird has a whistling note. The Maori verb, whio , means to whistle.

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 407:

"Wio ( Hymenolaemus malacorhynchus ), the blue duck, is found abundantly in the mountain-streams of the south part of the North Island, and in the Middle Island. It takes its name from its cry."

1877. W. Buller, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. x. art. xix. p. 199:

"Captain Mair informs me that the wio is plentiful in all the mountain-streams in the Uriwera country. When marching with the native contingent in pursuit of Te Kooti, as many as forty or fifty were sometimes caught in the course of the day, some being taken by hand, or knocked over with sticks or stones, so very tame and stupid were they."

1885. H. Martin, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xviii. art. xxii. p. 113:

" Hymenolaemus malacorhynchus , Whio, Blue Duck. Both Islands." [From a list of New Zealand birds that ought to be protected.]

Whip-bird , n . See Coach-whip .

Whip-snake , n . or Little Whip-Snake . See under Snake .

Whip-stick , n . variety of dwarf Eucalypt ; one of the Mallees; forming thick scrub.

1874. M. C., `Explorers,' p. 123:

"He had lost his way, when he would fain have crost A patch of whip-stick scrub."

Whip-tail , n . (1) A fancy name for a small Kangaroo. See Pretty-Faces , quotation.

(2) A Tasmanian fish; see under Tasmanian Whiptail .

Whistling Dick , n . Tasmanian name for a Shrike-Thrush . Called also Duke- Willy .

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,'vol. ii. pl. 77:

" Colluricincla Selbii , Jard., Whistling Dick of the Colonists of Van Diemen's Land."

Whistling Duck , n . See Duck . The bird named below by Leichhardt appears to be a mistake; vide Gould's list at word Duck .

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 287:

"The Leptotarsis , Gould (whistling duck), which habitually crowd close together on the water."

Whitebait , n . a fish; not, as in England, the fry of the herring and sprat, but in Victoria, Engraulis antarcticus , Castln.; and in New Zealand, the young fry of Galaxias attenuatus , Jenyns ( Inanga , q.v.). The young of the New Zealand Smelt (q.v.), Retropinna richardsonii , Gill, are also called Whitebait , both in New Zealand and in Tasmania.

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 85:

"Anchovies or Engraulis have a compressed body with a very wide lateral mouth, and a projecting upper jaw. Scales large. We have two species-- E. antarcticus , Casteln., and E. nasutus , Casteln. The first-named species is by many erroneously believed to be identical, or at most a variety of E. encrassicholus of Europe. Count Castelnau states that it is very common in the Melbourne market at all seasons, and goes by the name of `whitebait.'"

1883. `Royal Commission on Fisheries of Tasmania, p. iv:

" Retropinna Richardsonii , whitebait or smelt. Captured in great abundance in the river Tamar, in the prawn nets, during the months of February and March, together with a species of Atherina , and Galaxias attenuatus , and are generally termed by fishermen whitebait. Dr. Guenther had formerly supposed that this species was confined to New Zealand; it appears, however, to be common to Australia and Tasmania."

Whitebeard , n . name applied to the plant Styphelia ericoides , N.O. Epacrideae .

White-Eye , n . another name for the bird called variously Silver-Eye , Wax-Eye , Blight-Bird , etc., Zosterops (q.v.).

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv. pl. 81:

" Zosterops Dorsalis , Vig. and Horsf, Grey-backed Zosterops ; White-eye, Colonists of New South Wales."

1896. `The Australasian,' Nov. 14, p. 461:

"The unique migration on the part of the white-eyes has not been satisfactorily accounted for. One authority invents the ingenious theory that the original white-eyes went to New Zealand after the memorable `Black Thursday' of Australia in 1851."

White-face , n . a name applied to the Australian bird, Xerophila leucopsis , Gould. Another species is the Chestnut-breasted White face , X. pectoralis , Gould.

White Gallinule , n . one of the birds of the family called Rails . The White Gallinule was recorded from New South Wales in 1890, and also from Lord Howe Island, off the coast, and from Norfolk Island. The modern opinion is that it never existed save in these two islands, and that it is now extinct. It was a bird of limited powers of flight, akin to the New Zealand bird, Notornis mantilli which is also approaching extinction. Only two skins of the White Gallinule are known to be in existence.

1789. Governor Phillip,' Voyage to Botany Bay,' p. 273 and fig.:

"White Gallinule. This beautiful bird greatly resembles the purple Gallinule in shape and make, but is much superior in size, being as large as a dunghill fowl. . . . This species is pretty common on Lord Howe's Island, Norfolk Island, and other places, and is a very tame species."

1882. E. P. Ramsay, `Proceedings of the Linnaean Society of New South Wales,' p. 86:

"The attention of some of our early Naturalists was drawn to this Island by finding there, the now extinct `White Gallinule,' then called ( Fulica alba ), but which proves to be a species of Notornis ."

White-head , n . a bird of New Zealand, Clitonyx albicapilla , Buller. Found in North Island, but becoming very rare. See Clitonyx .

White-lipped Snake , n . See under Snake .

White-Pointer , n . a New South Wales name for the White-Shark . See Shark .

White-top , n . another name for Flintwood (q.v.).

White-Trevally , n . an Australian fish. See Trevally .

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish and Fisheries of New South Wales,' p. 59:

" Caranx georgianus , the `white trevally.' . . There are several other species of Caranx in Port Jackson. In Victoria it is called silver bream. Count Castelnau says it is very beautiful when freshly taken from the water, the upper part being a light celestial blue or beautiful purple, the lower parts of a silvery white with bright iridescent tinges . . . There is another fish called by this name which has already been described amongst the Teuthidae , but this is the White Trevally as generally known by New South Wales fishermen."

Whitewood , n . another name for Cattle-Bush (q.v.). A Tasmanian name for Pittosporum bicolor , Hook., N.O. Pittosporeae . Called Cheesewood in Victoria, and variously applied, as a synonym, to other trees; it is also called Waddy-wood (q.v.).

Whiting , n . Four species of the fish of the genus Sillago are called Whiting in Australia (see quotation). The New Zealand Whiting is Pseudophycis breviusculus , Richards., and the Rock-Whiting of New South Wales is Odax semifaciatus , Cuv. and Val., and O. richardsonii , Gunth.; called also Stranger (q.v.). Pseudophycis is a Gadoid, Sillago belongs to the Trachinidae , and Odax to the family Labridae or Wrasses.

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 65:

"The `whitings' are not like those of Europe. There are, in all, four Australian species--the common sand-whiting (Sillago maculata ), abundant on the New South Wales coast; the trumpeter-whiting ( S. bassensis ), also abundant here, and the most common species in Brisbane; S. punctata , the whiting of Melbourne, and rare on this coast; and S. ciliata ."

Widgeon , n . the common English name for a Duck of the genus Mareca , extended generally by sportsmen to any wild duck. In Australia, it is used as another name for the Pink-eyed (or Pink-eared ) Duck . It is also used, as in England, by sportsmen as a loose term for many species of Wild-Duck generally.

Wild Dog , n . i.q. Dingo (q.v.).

Wild Geranium , n . In Australia, the species is Pelargonium australe , Willd., N.O. Geraniaceae .

Wild Irishman , a spiny New Zealand shrub, Discaria toumatou , Raoul, N.O. Rhamneae . The Maori name is Tumata-Kuru (q.v.).

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 133:

"Certain species of Acyphilla and Discaria , rendering many tracts, where they grow in larger quantities, wholly inaccessible. On account of their slender blades terminating in sharp spines the colonists have named them `spear-grass,' `wild Irishman,' and `wild Spaniard.'"

[This is a little confused. There are two distinct plants in New Zealand--

(1) Discaria toumatou , a spiny shrub or tree; called Tumatakuru Matagory , and Wild Irishman .

(2) Aciphylla colensoi , a grass, called Sword-grass , Spear grass , Spaniard , and Scotchman .

1875. Lady Barker, `Station Amusements in New Zealand,' p. 35:

"Interspersed with the Spaniards are generally clumps of ` Wild Irishman '--a straggling sturdy bramble, ready to receive and scratch you well if you attempt to avoid the Spaniard 's weapons."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 131:

"Tumata kuru, Wild Irishman. A bush or small tree with spreading branches; if properly trained would form a handsome hedge that would be stronger than whitethorn. The species were used by the Maoris for tattooing."

1892. Malcolm Ross, `Aorangi,' p. 37:

"Almost impenetrable scrub, composed mainly of wild Irishman (Discaria toumatou) and Sword-grass (Aciphylla Colensoi)."

1896. `The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 407, col. 5:

". . . national appellations are not satisfactory. It seems uncivil to a whole nation--another injustice to Ireland--to call a bramble a wild Irishman, or a pointed grass, with the edges very sharp and the point like a bayonet, a Spaniard. One could not but be amused to find the name Scotchman applied to a smaller kind of Spaniard."

Wild Parsnip , n . See Parsnip .

Wild Rosemary , n . See Rosemary .

Wild Turkey , n . See Turkey .

Wild Yam , n . a parasitic orchid, Gastrodia sesamoides , R. Br., N.O. Orchideae .

Wilga , n . a tree. Called also Dogwood and Willow , Geijera parviflora , Lindl., N.O. Rutaceae . Adopted by the colonists from the aboriginal name.

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 123:

"We rode out through a wilga scrub."

(p. 230): "She'd like to be buried there--under a spreading wilga tree."

Willow Myrtle , n . a tree, Agonis flexuosa , De C., N.O. Myrtaceae , with willow-like leaves and pendent branches, native of West Australia, and cultivated for ornament as a greenhouse shrub.

Willow, Native , n . i.q. Boobialla (q.v.), and also another name for the Poison-berry Tree (q.v.).

Willy-Wagtail , n . i.q. Wagtail (q.v.).

Willy Willy , n . native name for a storm on North-west of Australia.

1894. `The Age,' Jan. 20, p. 13, col. 4 [Letter by `Bengalee']:

"Seeing in your issue of this morning a telegraphic report of a `willy willy' in the north-west portion of West Australia, it may be of interest to hear a little about these terrific storms of wind and rain. The portion of the western coast most severely visited by these scourges is said to be between the North-wet Cape and Roebuck Bay; they sometimes reach as far south as Carnarvon and north as far as Derby. The approach of one of these storms is generally heralded by a day or too of hot, oppressive weather, and a peculiar haze. Those having barometers are warned of atmospheric disturbances; at other times they come up very suddenly. The immense watercourses to be seen in the north-west country, the bed of the Yule River, near Roebourne, for instance, and many other large creeks and rivers, prove the terrible force and volume of water that falls during the continuance of one of these storms. The bed of the Yule River is fully a mile wide, and the flood marks on some of the trees are sufficient proof of the immense floods that sometimes occur. Even in sheltered creeks and harbours the wind is so violent that luggers and other small craft are blown clean over the mangrove bushes and left high and dry, sometimes a considerable distance inland. The willy willy is the name given to these periodical storms by the natives in the north-west."

1895. C. M. Officer, Private Letter:

"In the valley of the Murray between Swan Hill and Wentworth, in the summer time during calm weather, there are to be seen numerous whirlwinds, carrying up their columns of dust many yards into the air. These are called by the name willy willy."

Windmill J.P. , expression formerly used in New South Wales for any J.P. who was ill-educated and supposed to sign his name with a cross x.

Wine-berry , n . See Tutu . In Australia, the name is given to Polyosma cunninghamii , Benn., N.O. Saxifrageae .

Winery , n . an establishment for making wines. An American word which is being adopted in Australia.

1893. `The Argus,' Oct. 6, p. 7, col. 6 [Letter headed `Wineries']:

"I would suggest that the idea of small local wineries, each running on its own lines, be abandoned, and one large company formed, having its headquarters in Melbourne with wineries in various centres. The grapes could be brought to these depots by the growers, just as the milk is now brought to the creameries."

Winter Cherry , n . See Balloon Vine .

Winter Country , in New Zealand (South Island), land so far unaffected by snow that stock is wintered on it.

Wire-grass , and Wiry-grass . See Grass .

1883. E. M. Curr, `Recollections of Squatting in Victoria' (1841-1851), p. 81:

"Sparsely-scattered tussocks of the primest descriptions; the wire-grass, however, largely predominating over the kangaroo-grass."

Wirrah , n . aboriginal name for a fish of New South Wales, Plectropoma ocellatum , Gunth.

1884. E. P. Ramsav. `Fisheries Exhibition Literature,' vol. v. p. 311:

"Another of the Percidae . . . the wirrah of the fishermen, is more plentiful. It is when first caught a handsome fish, of a pale olive-brown or olive-green colour, with numerous bright blue dots on spots of a lighter tint."

Witchetty , n . native name for the grub-like larva of one or more species of longicorn beetles. The natives dig it out of the roots of shrubs, decaying timber and earth, in which it lives, and eat it with relish. It is sometimes even roasted and eaten by white children.

1894. R. Lydekker, `Marsupialia,' p. 191:

"Dr. Stirling writes . . . [The marsupial mole] was fed on the `witchetty' (a kind of grub) . . . two or three small grubs, or a single large one, being given daily."

Wiwi , n . Maori name for a jointed rush.

1842. W. R. Wade, `A Journey in the Northern Island of New Zealand,' `New Zealand Reader,' p. 122:

"The roof is usually completed with a thick coating of wiwi (a small rush), and then the sides receive a second coating of raupo, and sometimes of the wiwi over all."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 380:

"[The walls] were lined outside with the wiwi or fine grass."

[See also Raupo , 1843 quotation.]

Wiwi/2 , n . slang name for a Frenchman, from " Oui, Oui !"

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 94:

"If I had sold the land to the white missionaries, might they not have sold it again to the Wiwi (Frenchmen) or Americans."

1857. C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand, the Britain of the South,' vol. i. p. 14:

"De Surville's painful mode of revenge, and the severe chastisement which the retaliatory murder of Marion brought on the natives, rendered the Wee-wees (Oui, oui), or people of the tribe of Marion, hateful to the New Zealanders for the next half-century."

1859. A. S. Thomson, `Story of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 236:

"Before the Wewis, as the French are now called, departed."

1873. H. Carleton, `Life of Henry Williams,' p. 92:

"The arrival of a French man-of-war was a sensational event to the natives, who had always held the Oui-oui's in dislike."

1881. Anon., `Percy Pomo,' p. 207:

"Has [sic] the Weewees puts it."

Wiwi/3 , n . aboriginal name for a native weapon.

1845. Charles Griffith, `Present State and Prospects of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales,' p. 155:

"The wiwi is an instrument not so well known. It is composed of a long straight withy, about two feet long, to which is attached a head, made of a piece of wood four inches long, in the shape of two cones joined together at the base . . . This they strike against the ground, at a little distance to one side of them, whence it rises at right angles to its first direction, and flies with the swiftness of an arrow for about one hundred yards, and at a height of about ten feet from the ground."

Wobbegong , n . a New South Wales aboriginal name for a species of Shark, Crassorhinus barbatus , Linn., family Scyllidae ; also known as the Carpet-Shark , from the beautifully mottled skin. The fish is not peculiar to Australia, but the name is.

Wobbles , n . a disease in horses caused by eating palm-trees in Western Australia.

1896. `The Australasian,' Feb. 15, p. 319:

"The palm-trees for years cost annoyance and loss to farmers and graziers. Their stock being troubled with a disease called `wobbles,' which attacked the limbs and ended in death. A commission of experts was appointed, who traced the disease to the palms, of which the cattle were very fond."

Wolf , n . called also Native Wolf , Marsupial Wolf and Zebra Wolf , Tasmanian Tiger and Hyaena ; genus, Thylacinus (q.v.). It is the largest carnivorous marsupial extant, and is so much like a wolf in appearance that it well deserves its vernacular name of Wolf , though now-a-days it is generally called Tiger . See Tasmanian Tiger .

1891. `Guide to Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':

"The first occupants we notice in this cage are two marsupial wolves, Thylacinus cynocephalus , or Tasmanian tigers as they are commonly called. These animals are becoming scarce, as, owing to their destructiveness among sheep, they are relentlessly persecuted by run-holders."

Wollomai , n . the aboriginal name of the fish called Schnapper (q.v.). In 1875 a horse named Wollomai won the Melbourne Cup. Since then numerous houses and estates have been named Wollomai .

Wombat , n . a marsupial animal of the genus Phascolomys (q.v.). It is a corruption of the aboriginal name. There are various spellings; that nearest to the aboriginal is womback , but the form wombat is now generally adopted. The species are--the Common Wombat, Phascolomys mitchelli , Owen; Tasmanian W., P. ursinus , Shaw; Hairy-nosed W., P. latifrons , Owen.

1798. M. Flinders, `Voyage to Terra Australis (1814),' Intro. p. cxxviii, `Journal,' Feb. 16:

"Point Womat, a rocky projection of Cape Barren Island, where a number of the new animals called womit were seen, and killed."

Ibid. p. cxxxv:

"This little bear-like quadruped is known in New South Wales, and called by the natives, womat, wombat , or womback , according to the different dialects, or perhaps to the different renderings of the wood rangers who brought the information . . . It burrows like the badger."

1799. D. Collins, `Account of New South Wales (1802),' vol. ii. p. 153 [`Bass's Journal,' Jan.]:

"The Wom-bat (or, as it is called by the natives of Port Jackson, the Womback ,) is a squat, thick, short-legged, and rather inactive quadruped, with great appearance of stumpy strength, and somewhat bigger than a large turnspit dog."

1802. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 156:

"In the opinion of Mr. Bass this Wombat seemed to be very oeconomically made."

18x3. `History of New South Wales' 0818), p. 431:

"An animal named a wombat, about the size of a small turnspit-dog, has been found in abundance in Van Diemen's Land, and also, though less frequently, in other parts of New South Wales. Its flesh has in taste a resemblance to pork."

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 318:

"The wombat, a large animal of the size of a mastiff, burrowing in the ground, feeding on grass and roots and attaining considerable fatness."

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' p. 175:

"The dogs had caught . . . two badgers or woombacks."

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 58:

"The Wombat is a large kind of badger, which burrows in the ground to a considerable depth, and is taken by the blacks for food; it makes a noise, when attacked in its hole, something similar to the grunting of a pig."

1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 129:

"Mere rudimentary traces (of a pouch) in the pig-like wombat."

1853. J. West, `History of Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 325:

"The Wombat, commonly called in the colony Badger ( Phascolomys wombat , Peron.), is an animal weighing forty to eighty pounds, having a large body with short legs. Notwithstanding its burrowing habits, and the excessive thickness and toughness of its skin, it is usually so easily killed that it is becoming less and less common."

1855. W. Blandowski, `Transactions of Philosophical Society of Victoria,' vol. i. p. 67:

"Wombat. This clumsy, but well-known animal ( Phascolomys wombat ), during the day conceals himself in his gloomy lair in the loneliest recesses of the mountains, and usually on the banks of a creek, and at night roams about in search of food, which it finds by grubbing about the roots of gigantic eucalypti."

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Vic. toria,' vol. i. p. 211:

"The wombat resembles a large badger in the shortness of its legs, but has a little of the pig and the bear in its shape, hair, and movements."

1862. W. M. Thackeray, `Roundabout Papers,' p. 82:

"Our dear wambat came up and had himself scratched very affably. . . .

"Then I saw the grey wolf, with mutton in his maw; Then I saw the wambat waddle in the straw."

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kumai,' p. 265:

"Wombat is cooked, then opened and skinned."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 81:

"The wombat is very powerful, and can turn a boulder almost as large as itself out of the way when it bars the road."

1889. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iv. p. 183:

"There are large numbers of wombats in the district, and these animals, burrowing after the fashion of rabbits, at times reach great depths, and throw up large mounds."

1894. `The Argus,' June 23, p. 11, col. 4:

"The wombat's grunt is strictly in harmony with his piggish appearance."

Wombat-hole , n . hole made by Wombat (q.v.).

1891. Mrs. Cross (Ada Cambridge), `The Three Miss Kings,' p. 181:

"He took them but a little way from where they had camped, and disclosed in the hillside what looked like a good-sized wombat or rabbit-hole."

Wommera . See Woomera .

Wonga , n . aboriginal name for the bulrush, Typha angustifolia , Linn. It is the same as the Raupo (q.v.) of New Zealand, and is also known as Bulrush , Cat's Tail and Reed Mace , and in Europe as the `Asparagus of the Cossacks.' For etymology, see next word.

Wonga-wonga , n . an Australian pigeon, Leucosarcia picata , Lath.; it has very white flesh. The aboriginal word wonga is explained as coming from root signifying the idea of `quiver motion,' `sudden springing up' and the word is thus applied as a name for the bulrush , the vine , and the pigeon . Some, however, think that the name of the pigeon is from the bird's note. In Gippsland, it was called by the natives Wauk-wauk-au , sc. `that which makes wauk-wauk .'

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 321:

"We have a large pigeon named the Wanga-wanga, of the size and appearance of the ringdove, which is exquisite eating also."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i. c. x. p. 314:

"At Captain King's table I tasted the Wonga-wonga pigeon."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. v. pl. 63:

" Leucosarcia Picata , Wonga-wonga, Aborigines of New South Wales; White-fleshed and Wonga-wonga Pigeon, Colonists of New South Wales."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), c. i. p. 12:

"A delicate wing of the Wonga-wonga pigeon."

1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 174:

"Nothing can surpass in delicacy the white flesh of the Wonga-wonga ( Leucosarcia picata )."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 213:

"Hark! there goes a Wonga-wonga, high up in the topmost branches of the great cedar."

1891. `Guide to Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':

"The Wonga-Wonga ( Leucosarcia Picata ) is also represented. This Pigeon, though less bright in plumage than the last-named, exceeds it in size; both are excellent eating."

Wonga-wonga Vine , n . a name for the hardy, evergreen climber, Tecoma australis , R. Br., N.O. Bignoniaceae . There are several varieties, all distinguished by handsome flowers in terminal panicles. They are much cultivated in gardens and for ornamental bower-trees.

Woodhen , n . a name given to several birds of New Zealand of the Rail family, and of the genus Ocydromus ; some of them are called by the Maori name of Weka (q.v.). The species are--

Black Woodhen-- Ocydromus fuscus , Du Bus.; Maori name, Weka-pango .

Brown W.-- O. earli , Gray.

Buff W.-- O. australis , Gray; called also Weka .

North-Island W.-- O. brachypterus , Buller; called also Weka .

South-Island W.-- Same as Buff W .; see above.

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 95:

"Two young weka, or wood-hens, about as large as sparrows . . . were esteemed a valuable addition to our scanty supper."

1889. Vincent Pyke, `Wild Will Enderby,' p. 82:

"We-ka! we-ka! we-ka! Three times the plaintive cry of the `wood hen `was heard. It was a preconcerted signal."

Wood-duck , n . a name given by the colonists of New South Wales and "Swan River" to the Maned Goose , Branta jubata , Latham.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 147:

"The wood-duck ( Bernicla jubata ) abounded on the larger water-holes."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vii. pl. 3:

" Bernicla jubata , Maned Goose; Wood-Duck, Colonists of New South Wales and Swan River."

Wood Natives , or Wood Savages , obsolete names for the Australian aborigines.

1817. O'Hara, `History of New South Wales,' p. 161:

". . . robbed by a number of the inland or wood natives . . ."

Ibid. p. 201:

"The combats of the natives near Sydney were sometimes attended by parties of the inland or wood savages."

Wooden Pear , n . a tree peculiar to New South Wales and Queensland, Xylomelum pyriforme , Smith, N.O. Proteaceae ; called also Native Pear .

1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 322:

"The Wooden Pear-tree of the colonists ( Xylomelum pyriforme ) is peculiar to Australia; its general appearance is very ornamental, especially when the tree is young; the flowers grow in clusters in long spikes, but are not conspicuous. This tree attains the height of from fifteen to twenty feet, and a circumference of six to eight feet. It is branchy; the wood is of dark colour, and being prettily marked, would form an ornamental veneering for the cabinet-maker. When young, in the Australian bush, this tree bears a close resemblance to the young Warratah, or Tulip-tree ( Telopea speciosissima )."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 615:

"Native Pear-Wooden Pear. This moderate-sized tree produces a dark-coloured, prettily-marked wood. It is occasionally used for making picture-frames, for ornamental cabinet-work, for veneers, and walking-sticks. When cut at right-angles to the medullary rays it has a beautiful, rich, sober marking."

Woollybutt , a name given to one of the Gum trees, Eucalyptus longifolia , Link. See Gum .

1843. James Backhouse, `Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies,' p. 445 (October 1836.):

"One called here the Woolly Butted Gum seems identical with the black butted gum of Tasmania."

1894. `Melbourne Museum Catalogue Economic Woods,' p. 28:

"The Woollybutt grown at Illawarra is in very high repute for wheelwright's work "

Woolly-headed Grass , n . an indigenous Australian grass, Andropogon bombycinus , R. Br.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 72:

"Woolly-headed Grass, a valuable pasture-grass, highly spoken of by stock-owners, and said to be very fattening."

Wool-man , n . aboriginal mispronunciation of old man (q.v.).

1830. Robert Dawson, `The Present State of Australia,' p. 139:

"The male kangaroos were called by my natives old men, `wool-man,' and the females, young ladies, `young liddy.'"

Wool-shed , n . the principal building of a station, at which the shearing and wool-packing is done. Often called the Shed .

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip,' vol. ii. p. 23:

"In some instances the flood has swept away the wool-sheds."

1851. `Australasian' [Quarterly], vol. i. p. 298:

". . . we next visit the `wool-shed,' and find the original slab-built shed has been swept away, to make room for an imposing erection of broad-paling . . ."

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 126:

"The wool-shed is a large building open on every side, with a high-pitched roof,--all made of wood and very rough. The sheep are driven in either at one end or both, or at three sides, according to the size of the station and the number of sheep to be shorn. They are then assorted into pens, from which the shearers take them on to the board;--two, three or four shearers selecting their sheep from each pen. The floor, on which the shearers absolutely work, is called `the board.'"

1890. `The Argus,' Aug. 9, p. 4, col. 1:

"You would find them down at Reed's wool-shed now."

Woomera , n . an aboriginal name for a throwing-stick (q.v.); spelt in various ways (seven in the quotations), according as different writers have tried to express the sound of the aboriginal word.

1793. Governor Hunter, `Voyage,' p. 407 [in a Vocabulary]:

" Womar --a throwing stick."

1798. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South Wales,' p. 613:

"Wo-mer-ra--throwing stick."

1814. L. E. Threlkeld, `Australian Grammar' [as spoken on Hunter's River, etc.], p. 10:

"As a barbarism--wommerru, a weapon."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 240:

"Pieces of hard iron-bark to represent their war weapon, the womerah . . . the whirling womerahs."

1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia,' vol. ii. p. 342:

"The spear is thrown by means of a wammera , which is a slight rod, about three feet long, having at one end a niche to receive the end of a spear."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 492:

"But showed the greatest reluctance in parting with their throwing-sticks (wommalas)."

185o. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 58:

"They employ also, as a warlike weapon, a smaller kind of spear or javelin, which is discharged by means of a notched stick called a Woomera; and with this simple artillery I have seen them strike objects at 150 yards' distance. They also employ this minor spear in capturing the Bustard."

1863. M. K. Beveridge, `Gatherings among the Gum-trees,' p. 13:

"Then the Wamba Wamba warriors, Sprang unto their feet with Tchgrels Ready fitted to their Womrahs."

Ibid. (In Glossary) pp. 84, 85:

" Tchgrel , reed spear. Womrah , spear heaver."

1868. J. Bonwick, `John Batman, the Founder of Victoria,' p. 20:

"Taking with him, therefore, on board the Port Phillip, presents of spears, wommeras, boomerangs, and stone tomahawks, he tried to get from the Williamstown waters."

1889. P. Beveridge, `Aborigines of Victoria and Riverina,' p. 48:

"Spears all ready shipped, that is, having the hook of the Womerar (throwing-stick) placed in the small cavity made for that purpose in the end of the spear, with both raised in readiness for launching at the object."

1892. J. Fraser, `Aborigines of New South Wales,' p. 73:

"The `womara' is an instrument of wood, from twenty-four to thirty inches long, and a little thicker than a spear. Unlike the spear, it is not thrown at the enemy in battle, but remains always in the black man's hand . . . he ornaments it profusely, back and front. . . . The point is turned up, exactly like the point of a lady's crochet needle. . . . The spears have a dimpled hole worked in their butt end, which hole receives the point of the hook end of the `throw-stick.'"

Worm-Snake , n . See under Snake .

Wrasse , n . This English name for many fishes is given, in New Zealand, to Labrichthys bothryocosmus , Richards. Called also Poddly, Spotty , and Kelp-fish .

Wreck-fish , n . The Australian species is Polyprion ceruleum , family Percoidae. Guenther says that the European species has the habit of accompanying floating wood. Hence the name.

Wren , n . This common English bird-name is assigned in Australia to birds of several genera, viz.--

Banded Wren-- Malurus splendens , Quoy and Gaim.

Black-backed W.-- M. melanotus , Gould.

Blue W.-- M. cyaneus , Lath.

Blue-breasted W.-- M. pulcherrimus , Gould.

Bower's W.-- M. cruentatus , Gould.

Chestnut-rumped Ground W.-- Hylacola pyrrhopygia , Vig. and Hors.

Emu-wren (q.v.)-- Stipiturus malachurus , Lath.

Goyder's Grass W.-- Amytis goyderi , Gould.

Grass W.-- A. textilis , Quoy and Gaim.; called by Gould the Textile Wren .

Large-tailed Grass W.-- A. macrura , Gould.

Longtailed W.-- Malurus gouldii , Sharpe.

Lovely W.-- M. amabilis , Gould.

Orange-backed W.-- M. melanocephalus , Vig. and Hors.

Purple-crowned W.-- M. coronatus , Gould.

Red-rumped Ground W.-- Hylacola cauta , Gould.

Red-winged W.-- Malurus elegans , Gould.

Silvery Blue W.-- M. cyanochlamys , Gould.

Striated Grass W.-- Amytis striatus , Gould; called also the Porcupine bird (q.v.).

Turquoise W.-- Malurus callainus , Gould.

Variegated W.-- M. lamberti , Vig. and Hors.

White-backed W.-- M. leuconotus , Gould.

White-winged W.-- M. leucopterus , Quoy and Gaim.

See also Scrub-Wren .

In New Zealand, the name is applied to the Bush-Wren, Xenicus longipes , Gmel., and the Rock (or Mountain) Wren, X. gilviventris , von Pelz.

Wry-billed Plover , n . a very rare bird of New Zealand, Anarhynchus frontalis , Quoy and Gaim.

1889. Prof. Parker, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 116:

"The curious wry-billed plover . . . the only bird known in which the bill is turned not up or down, but to one side--the right."

Wurley , n . aboriginal name for an aboriginal's hut. For other words expressing the same thing, see list under Humpy . In the dialect of the South-East of South Australia oorla means a house, or a camp, or a bird's nest.

1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 110:

"Seeking, hoping help to find; Sleeping in deserted wurleys."

1865. W. Howitt, `Discovery in Australia,' vol. ii. p. 233:

"Immediately went across to the blacks' wurleys, where I found King sitting in a but which the natives had made for him."

1879. G. Taplin, `Native Tribes of South Australia,' p. 12, and Note:

"In case of a man having two wives, the elder is always regarded as the mistress of the hut or wurley. The word wurley is from the language of the Adelaide tribe. The Narrinyeri word is mante . I have used `wurley' because it is more generally understood by the colonists."

1880. P. J. Holdsworth, `Station Hunting on the Warrego':

"`My hand

Must weather-fend the wurley'. This he did. He bound the thick boughs close with bushman's skill, Till not a gap was left where raging showers Or gusts might riot. Over all he stretched Strong bands of cane-grass, plaited cunningly."

1886. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 42

"He took His axe, and shaped with boughs and wattle-forks A wurley, fashioned like a bushman's roof."

X

Xanthorrhoea , n . scientific name for a genus of Australian plants, N.O. Liliaceae , having thick palm-like trunks. They exude a yellow resin. (Grk. Xanthos , yellow, and rhoia , a flow, sc. of the resin.) They are called Black Boys and Grass-trees (q.v.).

Y

Yabber , n . Used for the talk of the aborigines. Some think it is the English word jabber , with the first letter pronounced as in German; but it is pronounced by the aborigines yabba , without a final r . Ya is an aboriginal stem, meaning to speak. In the Kabi dialect, yaman is to speak: in the Wiradhuri, yarra .

1874. M. K. Beveridge, `Lost Life,' pt. iii. p. 37:

"I marked Much yabber that I did not know."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 28:

"Longing to fire a volley of blacks' yabber across a London dinner-table."

1886. R. Henty, `Australiana,' p. 23:

"The volleys of abuse and `yabber yabber' they would then utter would have raised the envy of the greatest `Mrs. Moriarty' in the Billingsgate fishmarket."

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 55:

"Is it French or Queensland blacks' yabber? Blest if I understand a word of it."

Yabber , v. intr . (See noun.)

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 19:

"They yabbered unsuspiciously to each other."

1887. J. Farrell, `How he died,' p. 126:

"He's yabbering some sort of stuff in his sleep."

Yabby , n . properly Yappee , aboriginal name for a small crayfish found in water-holes in many parts of Australia, Astacopsis bicarinatus . The Rev. F. A. Hagenauer gives Yappy , in `Curr's Australian Race,' vol. iii. p. 554, as a Gippsland word. Such variants as the following occur-- Yappitch, kapich , yabbechi, yaabity . The distinction between the thin and thick consonants is usually uncertain.

1894. `The Argus,' Oct. 6, p. 11, col. 2:

"In the case of small crayfish, called `yabbies,' . . . these may be found all over Australia, both in large and small lagoons. These creatures, whilst nearing a drought, and as the supply of water is about to fail, burrow deeply in the beds of the lagoons, water-holes, or swamps, piling up the excavations on the surface over their holes, which I take, amongst other reasons, to be a provision against excessive heat."

1897. `The Australasian,' Jan. 30, p. 224, col. 4:

"The bait used is `yabby,' a small crayfish found in the sand on the beach at low tide. The getting of the bait itself is very diverting. The yabbies are most prized by fish and fishermen, and the most difficult to obtain. The game is very shy, and the hunter, when he has found the burrow, has to dig rapidly to overtake it, for the yabby retires with marvellous rapidity, and often half a dozen lifts of wet sand have to be made before he is captured. There is no time to be lost. In quite twenty-five per cent. of the chases the yabbies get away through flooding and collapse of the hole."

Yakka , v. frequently used in Queensland bush-towns. "You yacka wood? Mine, give 'im tixpence;"--a sentence often uttered by housewives. It is given by the Rev. W. Ridley, in his `Kamilaroi, and other Australian Languages,' p. 86, as the Turrubul (Brisbane) term for work , probably cognate with yugari, make , same dialect, and yengga, make , Kabi dialect, Queensland. It is used primarily for doing work of any kind , and only by English modification (due to "hack") for cut . The spelling yacker is to be avoided, as the final r is not heard in the native pronunciation.

Yam , n . a West Australian tuber, Dioscorea hastifolia , Ness., N.O. Dioscorideae . "One of the hardiest of the Yams. The tubers are largely consumed by the local aborigines for food; it is the only plant on which they bestow any kind of cultivation." (Mueller, apud Maiden, p. 22.)

Yam, Long , n . a tuber, Discorea transversa , R. Br., N.O. Dioscorideae . "The small tubers are eaten by the aborigines without any preparation." (Thozet, apud Maiden, p. 23.)

Yam, Native , n . a tuber, Ipomaea spp., N.O. Convolvulaceae . The tubers are sometimes eaten by the aboriginals.

Yam, Round , n . i.q. Burdekin Vine , under Vine .

Yam-stick , n . See quotation 1882, Tolmer.

1863. M. K. Beveridge, `Gatherings,' p. 27.

"One leg's thin as Lierah's yamstick."

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 195:

"Behind the pair stands the boy's mother holding her `yam-stick' erect, resting on the ground."

1882. A. Tolmer, `Reminiscences,' vol. ii. p. 101:

"The natives dig these roots with the yam-stick, an indispensable implement with them made of hard wood, about three feet in length, thick at one end and edged; it is likewise used amongst the aboriginal tribes of South Australia, like the waddy, as a weapon of offence."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. iii. p. 31:

"Why, ole Nanny fight you any day with a yam-stick."

Yama , n . aboriginal name for a tree; probably a variant of Yarrah (q.v.).

1838. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' vol. ii. p. 54:

"The `Yama,' a species of the eucalyptus inhabiting the immediate banks, grew here, as on the Darling, to a gigantic size. . . . The `yama' is certainly a pleasing object, in various respects; its shining bark and lofty height inform the traveller at a distance of the presence of water; or at least the bed of a river or lake."

Yan Yean , n . the reservoir from which Melbourne obtains its water supply: hence commonly used for water from the tap.

1871. Dogberry Dingo, `Australian Rhymes and jingles,' p. 8:

"O horror! What is this I find? The Yan Yean is turned off."

Yarra-Bend , n . equivalent to the English word Bedlam . The first lunatic asylum of the colony of Victoria stood near Melbourne on a bend of the river Yarra.

Yarrah , n . aboriginal name for a species of Eucalyptus, E. rostrata , Schlecht; often called the River Gum , from its habit of growing along the banks of watercourses, especially in the dry interior of the continent. According to Dr. Woolls ( apud Maiden, p. 511), Yarrah is "a name applied by the aboriginals to almost any tree." The word is not to be confused with Jarrah (q.v.). As to etymology, see Yarraman .

Yarra-Herring , n . name given in Melbourne to a fresh-water fish, Prototroctes maraena , Gunth.; called also Grayling (q.v.).

Yarraman , n . aboriginal name for a horse. Various etymologies are suggested; see quotation, 1875. The river "Yarra Yarra" means ever flowing, sc. fast.

[A possible derivation is from Yaran , a common word in New South Wales and South Queensland, and with slight variation one of the most common words in Australia, for beard and sometimes hair. The mane would suggest the name. --J. Mathew.]

1848. T. L. Mitchell, `Tropical Australia,' p. 270:

"It was remarkable that on seeing the horses, they exclaimed `Yarraman,' the colonial natives' name for a horse, and that of these animals they were not at all afraid, whereas they seemed in much dread of the bullocks."

1875. W. Ridley, `Kamilaroi and other Australian Languages,' p. 21:

"Horse-yaraman. All the Australians use this name, probably from the neighing of the horse, or as some think from `yira' or `yera,' teeth ( teeth ), and `man' ( with )."

Ibid. p. 104:

"Language of George's River. Horse--yaraman (from `yara,' throw fast)."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 4:

"Yarraman being the native word for horse."

Yarran , n . aboriginal name adopted by the colonists for several Acacias (q.v.)-- Acacia homalophylla , A. Cunn., called also Spearwood ; A. linifolia , Willd., called also Sally ; A. pendula , A. Cunn., called also Boree , and Weeping or True Myall (see Myall ).

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 99:

"That infernal horse . . . pretty near broke my leg and chucked me out over a yarran stump."

Yate , or Yate-tree , n . a large West Australian tree, Eucalyptus cornuta , Labill., yielding a hard tough elastic wood considered equal to the best ash.

Yellow-belly , n . In New South Wales, the name is given to a fresh-water fish, Ctenolates auratus ; called also Golden-Perch . See Perch . In Dunedin especially, and New Zealand generally, it is a large flounder, also called Lemon-Sole , or Turbot (q.v.).

Yellow Fever , sc. the gold-fever.

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 47:

"Evident symptoms of the return of the `yellow' fever, and a journey to the new goldfields seemed to be the only cure."

Yellow-head , n . name given to a bird of New Zealand, Clitonyx ochrocephala , or Native Canary (q.v.), common in South Island. See Clitonyx .

Yellow Jacket , n . a name given to various gum-trees, and especially to Eucalyptus melliodora , Cunn., E. ochrophlora , F. v. M., and E. rostrata , Schlecht, all of the N.O. Myrtaceae . They all have a smooth yellowish bark, and many other names are applied to the same trees.

Yellow Lily , n . a Tasmanian name for the Native Leek . See Leek .

Yellow-tail , n . The name is given in Victoria to the fish Caranx trachurus , Cuv. and Val.; the Horse-Mackerel (q.v.) of England. In New South Wales, it is Trachurus declivis , a slightly different species, also called Scad ; but the two fish are perhaps the same. Seriola grandis , Castln., also of the Carangidae family, is likewise called Yellow-tail in Melbourne. In New Zealand, the word is used for the fish Latris lineata , of the family of Sciaenidae , and is also a name for the King-fish , Seriola lalandii , and for the Trevally .

Yellow Thyme , n . a herb, Hibbertia serpyllifolia , R. Br., N.O. Dilleneaceae .

Yellow-wood , a name applied to several Australian trees with the epithets of Dark, Light, Deep , etc., in allusion to the colour of their timber, which is allied to Mahogany . They are-- Acronychia laevis , Forst., N.O. Rutaceae ; Rhus rhodanthema , F. v. M., N.O. Anacardiaciae ; Flindersia oxleyana , F. v. M., N.O. Meliaceae . See also Satin-wood .

Yuro , n . i.q. Euro (q.v.).

Z

Zebra -fish, n . name given to the fish Neotephraeops zebra , Richards.

Zebra-Wolf , n . i.q. Tasmanian Wolf , or Tasmanian Tiger (q.v.).

Zelanian , a scientific term, meaning `pertaining to New Zealand,' from Zelania , a Latinised form of Zealand .

Zosterops , n . the scientific name of a genus of Australian birds, often called also popularly by that name, and by the names of Wax-eye , White-eye , Silver-eye (q.v.), Ring-eye , Blight-bird (q.v.), etc. From the Greek zowstaer , a girdle, `anything that goes round like a girdle' (`L. & S.'), and 'owps , the eye; the birds of the genus have a white circle round their eyes. The bird was not generally known in New Zealand until after Black Thursday (q.v.), in 1851, when it flew to the Chatham Islands. Some observers, however, noted small numbers of one species in Milford Sound in 1832. New Zealand birds are rarely gregarious, but the Zosterops made a great migration, in large flocks, from the South Island to the North Island in 1856, and the Maori name for the bird is `The Stranger' ( Tau-hou ). Nevertheless, Buller thinks that the species Z. caerulescens is indigenous in New Zealand.

(See under Silver-eye , quotation 1888.) The species are--

Zosterops caerulescens , Lath.

Green-backed Z.-- Z. gouldi , Bp.; called also Grape-eater , and Fig-eater (q.v.).

Gulliver's Z.-- Z. gulliveri , Castln. and Ramsay.

Pale-bellied Z.-- Z. albiventer , Homb. and Jacq.

Yellow Z.-- Z. lutea , Gould.

Yellow-rumped Z.-- Z. westernensis , Quoy and Gaim.

Yellow-throated Z.-- Z. flavogularis , Masters.

1897. A. J. Campbell (in `The Australasian,' Jan. 23), p. 180, col. 3:

"I have a serious charge to prefer against this bird [the Tawny Honeyeater] as well as against some of its near relatives, particularly those that inhabit Western Australia, namely, the long-billed, the spine-billed, and the little white-eye or zosterops. During certain seasons they regale themselves too freely with the seductive nectar of the flaming bottle-brush ( Callistemon ). They become tipsy, and are easily caught by hand under the bushes.In the annals of ornithology I know of no other instance of birds getting intoxicated."

Edward E. Morris

Austral English: A Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages

End of Project Gutenberg's A Dictionary of Austral English, by Edward Morris