Austral English

E (continued 3)

Reading edition

1896. W. W. Froggatt, `Horne Expedition in Central Australia,' pt. ii. p. 386:

"Our Australian honey ants belong to the genus Camponotus, members of which are found to all parts of the world, and are known as `sugar-ants,' from their fondness for all kinds of sweets."

<hw>Honey-bird</hw>, n. See next word.

<hw>Honey-eater</hw>, n. an Australian bird, with a tongue specially adapted for being formed into a tube for the absorption of honey from flowers. The name is applied to the following species—

Banded Honey-eater— Myzomela pectoralis, Gould.

Black H.— M. nigra, Gould.

Black-chinned H.— Melithreptus gularis, Gould.

Black-headed H.— M. melanocephalus, Gould.

Blue-faced H.— Entomyza cyanotis, Swain. [See Blue-eye.]

Bridled H.— Ptilotis frenata, Ramsay.

Broadbent H.— Stigmatops alboauricularis, Ramsay.

Brown H.— S. ocularis, Gould.

Brown-backed H.— Glyciphila modesta, Gray.

Brown-headed H.— Melithreptus brevirostrus.

Cockerill H.- Ptilotis cockerelli, Gould.

Crescent H.— Meliornis australasiana, Shaw.

Dusky H.— Myzomela obscura, Gould.

Fasciated H.— Ptilotis fasciogularis, Gould.

Fuscous H.— P. fusca, Gould.

Gay H.— Melithreptus vinitinatus, Gould.

Golden-backed H.— M. latior, Gould.

Helmeted H.— Ptilotis cassidix, Jard.

Least H.— Stigmatops subocularis,

Long-billed H.— Meliornis longirostris, Gould.

Moustached H.— M. mystacalis, Gould.

New Holland H.— M. novae-hollandiae, Lath.

Painted H.— Entomophila picta, Gould.

Pied H.— Certhionyx leucomelas, Cuv.

Red-headed Honey-eater— Myzomela erythrocephala, Gould.

Red-throated H.— Entomophila rufigularis,

Rufous-breasted H.— E. albigularis, Gould.

Sanguineous H.— Myzomela sanguineolenta, Lath. [See Blood-bird.]

Singing H.— Ptilotis vittata, Cuv.

Spiny-cheeked H.— Acanthochaea rufigularis, Gould.

Streak-naped H.— Ptilotis filigera, Gould.

Striped H.— Plectorhyncha lanceolata, Gould.

Strong-billed H.— Melithreptus validirostris, Gould. [See also Cherry picker.]

Tawny-crowned H.— Glyciphila fulvifrons, Lewin.

Varied H.— Ptilotis versicolor, Gould.

Warty-faced H.— Meliphaga phrygia, Lath. (Called also the Mock Regent-bird, q.v.)

Wattle-cheeked H.— Ptilotis cratitia, Gould.

White-breasted H.— Glyciphila fasciata, Gould.

White-cheeked H.— Meliornis sericea, Gould.

White-eared H.— Ptilotis leucotis, Lath.

White-fronted H.— Glyciphila albifrons, Gould.

White-gaped H.— Stomiopora unicolor, Gould.

White-naped H.— Melithreptus lunulatus, Shaw. [See also Golden-Eye.]

White-plumed H.— Ptilotis penicillata, Gould.

White-quilled H.— Entomyza albipennis, Gould.

White-throated H.— Melithreptus albogularis, Gould.

Yellow H.— Ptilotis flavescens, Gould.

Yellow-eared H.— P. lewini, Swains.

Yellow-faced H.— P. chrysops, Lath.

Yellow-fronted H.— P. plumula, Gould.

Yellow-plumed H.— P. ornata, Gould.

Yellow-spotted H.— P. gracilis, Gould.

Yellow-streaked H.— P. macleayana, Ramsay.

Yellow-throated H.— P. flavicollis, Vieill.

Yellow-tinted H.— P. flava, Gould.

Yellow-tufted H.— P. auricomis, Lath.

Gould enumerated the species, nearly fifty years ago, in his `Birds of Australia' (vol. iv.) as follows:—

Plate

Meliphaga Novae-Hollandiae, Vig. and Horsf, New Holland Honey-eater … … … … 23

M. longirostris, Gould, Long-billed H. … 24

M. sericea, Gould, White-cheeked H. … … 25

M. mystacalis, Gould, Moustached H. … … 26

M. Australasiana, Vig. and Horsf, Tasmanian H. 27

Glyciphila fulvifrons, Swains., Fulvous-fronted H. … … 28

G. albifrons, Gould, White-fronted H. … 29

G. fasciata, Gould, Fasciated H. … … 30

G. ocularis, Gould, Brown H. … … 31

Ptilotis chrysotis, Yellow-eared H…. … 32

P. sonorus, Gould, Singing H. … … 33

P. versicolor, Gould, Varied H. … … 34

P. flavigula, Gould, Yellow-throated H. … 35

P. leucotis, White-eared H. … … 36

P. auricomis, Yellow-tufted H. … … 37

P. cratilius, Gould, Wattle-cheeked H. … 38

P. ornatus, Gould, Graceful Ptilotis … 39

P. plumulus, Gould, Plumed P. … … 40

P. flavescens, Gould, Yellow-tinted H. … 41

P. flava, Gould, Yellow H. … … 42

P. penicillatus, Gould, White-plumed H. … 43

P. fuscus, Gould, Fuscous H. … … 44

P. chrysops, Yellow-faced H. … … 45

P. unicolor, Gould, Uniform H. … … 46

Plectorhyncha lanceolata, Gould, Lanceolate H. 47

Zanthomyza Phrygia, Swains., Warty-faced H. .. 48

Melicophila picata, Gould, Pied H. … … 49

Entomophila pitta, Gould, Painted H. … 50

E. albogularis, Gould, White-throated H. … 51

E. rufogularis, Gould, Red-throated H. … 52

Acanthogenys rufogularis, Gould, Spiny-cheeked H. … 53

Anthochaera inauris, Wattled H. … … 54

A. Carunculata, Wattled H. … … 55 [Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 106.]

Myzomela sanguinolenta, Sanguineous H. … 63

M. erythrocephala, Gould, Red-headed H. … 64

M. pectoralis, Gould, Banded H. … … 65

M. nigra, Gould, Black H. … … 66

M. obscura, Gould, Obscure H. … … 67

Entomyza cyanotis, Swains., Blue-faced Entomyza 68

E. albipennis, Gould, White-pinioned H. … 69

Melithreptus validirostris, Gould, Strong-billed H. … … 70

M. gularis, Gould, Black-throated H. … 71

M. lunulatus, Lunulated H. … … 72

M. brevirostris, Gould,

M. chloropsis, Gould, Swan River H. … 73

M. albogularis, Gould, White-throated H. (as well as pl. 51) … … 74

M. melanocephalus, Gould, Black-headed H. … 75

Myzantha garrula, Vig. and Horsf, Garrulous H. 76

M. obscura, Gould, Sombre H. … … 77

M. lutea, Gould, Luteous H. … … 78

In the Supplement of 1869 Gould adds—

Plate

Ptilotis cassidix, Jard., Helmeted H. … 39

P. fasciogularis, Gould, Fasciated H. … 40

P. notata, Gould, Yellow-spotted H. … 41

P. filigera, Gould, Streaked H. … 42

P. Cockerelli, Gould, Cockerell's H. … 43

Tropidorhynchus buceroides, Helmeted H. … 44

[Note.—The Brush Wattle-birds, Friar-birds, Spine-bills, and the Yellow-throated Minah, are known as Honey-eaters, and the whole series are sometimes called Honey-birds.]

1897. A. J. Campbell (in `The Australasian,' Jan. 23), p. 180, col. i:

"The honey-eaters or meliphagous birds are a peculiar and striking feature in Australian ornithology. As Gould points out, they are to the fauna what the eucalypts, banksias, and melaleucas are to the flora of Australia. They are closely adapted to feeding on these trees. That great author asks:— `What can be more plain than that the brushlike tongue is especially formed for gathering the honey from the flower-cups of the eucalypti, or that their diminutive stomachs are especially formed for this kind of food, and the peculiar insects which constitute a portion of it?'"

<hw>Honey-Eucalypt</hw>, n. See Box-tree, Yellow.

<hw>Honey-flower</hw>, n. Lambertia formosa, Smith, N.O. Proteaceae.

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. iv. p. 101:

"They . . . returned . . . dreadfully exhausted, having existed chiefly by sucking the wild honey-flower and shrubs."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 37:

"`Honey-flower' or `honeysuckle,' a plant as well known to small boys about Sydney as to birds and insects. It obtains its vernacular name on account of the large quantity of a clear honey-like liquid the flowers contain. After sucking some quantity the liquid generally produces nausea and headache."

<hw>Honey-plant</hw>, n. name given in Tasmania to Richea scoparia Hook., N.O. Epacris.

<hw>Honeysuckle</hw>, n. name given to the Banksias (q.v.); also called Bottle-brush (q.v.). The species are—

Coast Honeysuckle— Banksia integrifolia, Linn.

Common H.— B. marginata, Cav.

Heath H.— B. serrata, Linn.

New Zealand H.— Knightia excelsa, R.Br.

Silvery H.— Grevillea striata, R.Br.

Tasmanian H.— Banksia margirata, Cav. /sic. Probably marginata/

1834. Ross, `Van Diemen's Land Annual,' p. 125:

"Some scattered honeysuckles, as they, are called, but which, being specimens of a ligneous evergreen shrub (Banksia Australis), my English reader will please not to assimilate in his mind's eye in any respect with the woodbine."

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 84:

"The honeysuckle (Banksia integrifolia) will greatly disappoint those who, from its name, expect to see anything similar to the sweet-scented climbers of English hedges and gardens—this being a tree attaining to thirty or forty feet in height, with spiral yellow flowers. The blossoms at the proper seasons yield a great quantity of honey, which on a dewy morning may be observed dropping from the flowers."

1848. Letter by Mrs. Perry, given in Goodman's `Church in Victoria during Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' p. 83:

"In the course of our journey today we passed through a thin wood of honeysuckle trees, for, I should think, about three miles. They take their name from the quantity of honey contained in the yellow cone-shaped flower, which is much prized and sucked by the natives—the aborigines, I mean."

1852. Mrs. Meredith, 'My Home in Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 164:

"The honeysuckle-tree (Banksia latifolia) is so unreasonably named . . . so very unlike any sort or species of the sweet old flower whose name it so unfittingly bears. . . . The blossoms form cones, which when in full bloom, are much the size and shape of a large English teazel, and are of a greenish yellow. . . . The honeysuckle trees grow to about thirty feet in height."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 10:

"Banksia, spp., N.O. Proteaceae. The name `honeysuckle' was applied to this genus by the early settlers, from the fact that the flowers, when in full bloom, contain, in a greater or lesser quantity, a sweet, honey-like liquid, which is secreted in considerable quantities, especially after a dewy night, and is eagerly sucked out by the aborigines."

1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of British Colonies,' p. 271:

"It [banksia] is called the `honeysuckle' by the people of Australia, though it has no resemblance to an English honeysuckle. Many of the banksias grow into stately trees."

<hw>Honeywood</hw>, n. name given in Tasmania to the tree Bedfordia salicina, DeC., N.O. Compositae; also there called Dogwood (q.v.).

<hw>Hoop-Pine</hw>, n. another name for the tree Araucaria cunninghami or Moreton-Bay Pine. See Pine.

<hw>Hoot</hw>, n. slang term for compensation, payment, money; characteristic corruption of Maori Utu (q.v.)

1896. `Truth' (Sydney), Jan. 12:

"There are several specimens of bush slang transplanted from the Maori language. `Hoot' is a very frequent synonym for money or wage. I have heard a shearer at the Pastoralist Union office in Sydney when he sought to ascertain the scale of remuneration, enquire of the gilt-edged clerk behind the barrier, `What's the hoot, mate?' The Maori equivalent for money is utu, pronounced by the Ngapuhi and other northern tribes with the last syllable clipped, and the word is very largely used by the kauri-gum diggers and station hands in the North Island. The original meaning of utu in Maori is `revenge.' When the missionaries first settled in New Zealand, they found that the savage inhabitants had no conception of any recompense except the grim recompense of blood. Under Christianizing influences the natives were induced to forego the blood-revenge for injuries, on receiving a solatium in goods or land, and so utu came to have the double meaning of revenge and recompense, and eventually became recognized as the Maori word for money."

<hw>Hop-bush</hw>, n. "the name for all species of Dodonaea" (Maiden, p. 417), N.O. Sapindaceae.

1883. F. M. Bailey, `Queensland Flora,' Synopsis, p. 82:

"The capsules of many Dodonaeas are used for hops, and thus the shrubs are known as hop-bushes in Queensland."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 621:

"`Hop-bush,' called `switch-sorrel' in Jamaica, and according to Dr. Bennett, `apiri' in Tahiti. Found in all the colonies."

<hw>Hopping-fish</hw>, or <hw>Climbing-fish</hw>, n. a fish of the north of New South Wales and of Queensland, Periophthalmus australis, Castln., family Gobiidae. Called also Skipper.

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 27:

"On the confines of the northern boundaries of New South Wales may be seen a very remarkable Goby called the `Hopping-fish.' The pectoral fins are developed into regular legs, with which the fish hops or leaps along the mud flats . . . The eyes are on the top of the head, and very prominent, and moreover they can be thrust very far out of their sockets, and moved independently of one another, thus the fish can see long distances around, and overtake the small crabs in spite of the long stalks to their optics. It is a tropical form, yet it is said to be found on the mud-flats of the Richmond River."

<hw>Hops, Native</hw>, or <hw>Wild</hw>, n. In Australia, the fruit of the Hop-bush (see above), Dodonaea spp. In Tasmania, Daviesia latifolia, R.Br., N.O. Leguminosae, and called also there Bitter-Leaf.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 23:

"`Native hops,' on account of the capsules bearing some resemblance to hops, both in appearance and taste. In the early days of settlement the fruits of these trees were extensively used, yeast and beer of excellent quality being prepared from them. They are still so used to a small extent. D. attenuata, A. Cunn., for instance, was largely used in the Western District. In times of drought cattle and sheep eat them."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 7:

"The wild-hop scrub grew thickly, and the hidden ground was full Of wombat-holes, and any slip was death."

<hw>Horizontal</hw>, n. a Tasmanian shrub, Anodopetalum biglandulosum, Cunn., N.O. Saxifrageae. Horizontal Scrub, peculiar to the island, occurs in the western forests; it derives its name from the direction of the growth of its lower stems, and constitutes a tedious obstacle to the progress of the traveller.

1888. R. M. Johnston, `Geology of Tasmania' [Introd. p. vii:

"The Horizontal is a tall shrub or tree. . . . Its peculiar habit—to which it owes its name and fame—is for the main stem to assume a horizontal and drooping position after attaining a considerable height, from which ascend secondary branches which in turn assume the same horizontal habit. From these spring tertiary branchlets, all of which interlock, and form . . . an almost impenetrable mass of vegetation."

1891. `The Australasian,' April 4: "That stuff as they calls horizontal, a mess of branches and root."

<hw>Hornerah</hw>, n. aboriginal name for a throwing-stick; a dialectic variation of Woomera (q.v.). a nonce-use.

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 20:

"I observed, too, that they used a stick, shaped thus __, \ called the hornerah (which assists them in throwing the spear)."

<hw>Horn-Ray</hw>, n. a New Zealand and Australian Ray, the fish Rhinobatus banksii, Mull and Heule. In this genus of Rays the cranial cartilage is produced into a long rostral process (Guenther): hence the name.

<hw>Horopito</hw>, n. Maori name for the New Zealand shrub, Drimys axillaris, Forst., N.O. Magnoliaceae; called also Pepper-tree (q.v.).

1847. G. F. Angas, `Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 17:

A delicious fragrance, like that of hyacinth and jessamine mingled, filled the warm still air with its perfume. It arose from the petals of a straggling shrub, with bright green shining leaves resembling those of the nutmeg-tree; and a profusion of rich and delicate blossoms, looking like waxwork, and hanging in clusters of trumpet-shaped bells: I observed every shade of colour amongst them, from pinkish white to the deepest crimson, and the edges of the petals were irregularly jagged all round. The natives call this plant horopito."

Ibid. p. 75:

"The fuchsia and the horopito were also abundant."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 129:

"Horopito, pepper-tree, winter's bark. A small slender evergreen tree, very handsome. Whole plant aromatic and stimulant; used by the Maoris for various diseases. Wood very ornamental in cabinet-work."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 1:

"The Horopito, or pepper-tree of the settlers, is an ornamental shrub or small tree occurring in woods, on the margin of which it is sometimes found in great abundance."

<hw>Horse-Mackerel</hw>, n. The name is applied in Sydney to the fish Auxis ramsayi, Castln., family Scombridae. In New Zealand it is Caranx (or Trachurus) trachurus, Cuv. and Val., which is the same fish as the Horse-Mackerel of England. This is called Yellow-tail on the Australian coasts. See Trevally.

<hw>Horseradish-tree</hw>, n. name given to Codonocarpus cotinifolius, F. v. M., N.O. Phytolaceae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 164:

"`Quinine-tree,' `medicine-tree' of the interior. Called also `horse-radish tree' owing to the taste of the leaves. The bark contains a peculiar bitter, and no doubt possesses medicinal properties. The taste is, however, quite distinct from quinine."

<hw>Horseshoe-Fern</hw>, n. name given in New Zealand to the fern Marattia fraxinia, Sm., called in Australia the Potato-Fern. See under Fern.

<hw>Hot Wind</hw>, n. an Australian meteorological phenomenon. See quotations, especially 1879, A. R. Wallace. The phrase is of course used elsewhere, but its Australian use is peculiar. The hot wind blows from the North. Mr. H. C. Russell, the Government Astronomer of New South Wales, writes—"The hot wind of Australia is a circulation of wind about the anticyclone in the rear of which, as it moves to the east, there is a strong force of wind from north to north- west, which blowing over the heated plains of the interior gathers up its excessive temperature and carries it to the southern colonies. They seldom last more than two or three days in Sydney, and the great heat by which they are remembered never lasts more than a few hours of one day, and is always a sign of the end, which is an inrush of southerly wind, the circulation forming the front of the new incoming anticyclone."

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' Vol. II. c. iii. p. 66:

"This was the only occasion upon which we felt the hot winds in the interior."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' Vol. II. c. vi. p. 243:

"These squalls generally succeed the hot winds that prevail at this season in South Australia, coming from the interior."

Footnote—"During the hot winds we observed the thermometer, in the direct rays of the sun, to be 135 degrees."

1846. Ibid. c. xii. p. 403:

"A hot wind set in; . . . at one time the thermometer at the public offices [Adelaide] was 158 degrees."

1849. C. Sturt, `Expedition into Central Australia,' vol. ii. p. 90:

"I sought shelter behind a large gum tree, but the blasts of heat were so terrific that I wondered the very grass did not take fire. . . . Everything, both animate and inanimate, gave way before it: the horses stood with their backs to the wind, and their noses to the ground, without the muscular strength to raise their heads; the birds were mute, and the leaves of the trees, under which we were sitting, fell like a snow shower around us. At noon I took a thermometer, graduated to 127 degrees, out of my box, and observed that the mercury was up to 125 degrees. Thinking that it had been unduly influenced, I put it in the fork of a tree close to me, sheltered alike from the wind and the sun. In this position I went to examine it about an hour afterwards, when I found that the mercury had risen to the top of the instrument, and that its further expansion had burst the bulb. . . . We had reached our destination, however, before the worst of the hot wind set in."

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 25:

"The immediate cause of the hot winds has given rise to much speculation. . . . The favourite theory is that they are generated in the sandy plains of the interior, which becoming powerfully heated, pour their glowing breath upon the fertile regions of the south."

1871. Dingo, `Australian Rhymes,' p. 7:

"A hot wind swift envelopes me In dust from foot to head."

1879. A. R. Wallace, `Australasia,' (1893) vol. i. p. 39:

"They are evidently produced by the sinking down to the surface of that north-westerly current of heated air which . . . is always passing overhead. The exact causes which bring it down cannot be determined, though it evidently depends on the comparative pressure of the atmosphere on the coast and in the interior. Where from any causes the north-west wind becomes more extensive and more powerful, or the sea breezes diminish, the former will displace the latter and produce a hot wind till an equilibrium is restored. It is the same wind passing constantly overhead which prevents the condensation of vapour, and is the cause of the almost uninterrupted sunny skies of the Australian summer."

1879. Rev. J. H. Zillmann, `Australian Life,' p. 40:

"Scientific men, however, tell us that those hot winds are just what make Australia so healthy a climate—that they act as scavengers, and without them the death-rate of the colonies would be alarmingly great."

<hw>Hot-windy</hw>, adj. See above.

1871. Dingo, `Australian Rhymes,' p. 18:

"A spell that still makes me forget The dust and the hot-windy weather."

<hw>Houhere</hw>, or <hw>Hohere</hw>, n. Maori name for a New Zealand tree, Hoheria populnea, A. Cunn., N.O. Malvaceae; called also Lacebark (q.v.) and xeRibbonwood (q.v.).

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 130:

"Houhere, ribbonwood of Dunedin. [The name is now more general.] An ornamental shrub-tree ten to thirty feet high. Bark fibrous and used for cordage, and affords a demulcent drink. Wood splits freely for shingles, but is not durable. . . . Bark used for making a tapa cloth by the Maoris in olden times."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 87:

"In one or other of its varied forms the `houhere' is found in nearly every district in N.Z. It is everywhere admired for its handsome foliage, and the beauty of its pure white flowers, which are produced in vast profusion during the early winter months. . . . The bark is capable of division into a number of layers. . . . By settlers all forms are termed `ribbonwood,' or less frequently `lace-bark'—names which are applied to other plants; they are also termed `thousand-jacket.'"

1895. `Longman's Geography Reader for New Zealand,' p. 231:

"The houhere is a small tree with beautiful white flowers, and the bark splits up into thin layers which look like delicate lace; hence the plant is called lace-bark or ribbon-wood by the colonists."

<hw>Houi</hw>, n. Maori name for New Zealand tree, Ribbonwood (q.v.), N.O. Malvaceae, kindred to Hoheria, Plagianthus Betulinus, sometimes called Howi. In Maori, the verb houwere means to tie, to bind: the outer bark was used for tying.

<hw>Hound</hw>, n. (sometimes <hw>Smooth Hound</hw>), the Old World name for all the sharks of the genus Mustelus ("the Hell-hound of the Deep"); applied specially in New South Wales and New Zealand to the species Mustelus antarcticus, Guenth., also called Gummy (q.v.).

<hw>Hovea</hw>, n. scientific name for a genus of shrubs. "After Anthony Pantaleon Hove, a Polish botanist. A small genus of highly ornamental leguminous shrubs, from Australia, having blue or purple flowers in axillary clusters, or very short racemes, alternate simple leaves, and short turgid pods." (`Century.')

<hw>Huia</hw>, n. Maori name for a New Zealand bird, like a starling, Heteralocha acutirostris, Gould, of limited occurrence, chiefly found in North Island; having beak straight and short in the male, long and curved in female. The tail feathers are highly prized for ornament by the Maoris.

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 91:

"The huia is a black bird about as large as a thrush, with long thin legs and a slender semi-circular beak, which he uses in seeking in holes of trees for the insects on which he feeds. In the tail are four long black feathers tipt with white. These feathers are much valued by the natives as ornaments for the hair on great occasions. . . . The natives attracted the birds by imitating the peculiar whistle, from which it takes the name of huia."

1883. F. S. Renwick, `Betrayed,' p. 36:

"One snow-tipped hui feather graced his hair."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 7:

[A full description.]

<hw>Hump, to</hw>, v. to shoulder, carry on the back; especially, to hump the swag, or bluey, or drum. See Swag, Bluey, Drum.

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 226:

"He `humped his swag,' in digger's phrase, that is, shouldered his pack and disappeared in the woods."

1857. `Geelong Advertiser,' quoted in `Argus,' Oct. 23, p. 5, col. 3:

"The despised old chum bought his swag, `humped it,' grumbled of course."

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 93:

"A hardwood slab-door weighs a goodish deal, as any one may find out that has to hump it a hundred yards."

1893. Haddon Chambers, `Thumbnail Sketches of Australian Life,' p. 224:

"I `humped my swag'—i.e. tied my worldly possessions, consisting of a blanket, a pannikin, and an odd pair of boots, upon my back-and `footed it' for the capital."

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 134:

"But Bill preferred to hump his drum A-paddin' of the hoof."

<hw>Hump</hw>, n. a long walk with a swag on one's back.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. 3, p. 46:

"We get a fair share of exercise without a twenty-mile hump on Sundays."

<hw>Humpy</hw>, n. (1) a native hut. The aboriginal word is Oompi; the initial h is a Cockney addition, and the word has been given an English look, the appearance of the huts suggesting the English word hump. [The forms himbing and yamba occur along the East coast of Australia. Probably it is kindred with koombar, bark, in Kabi dialect, Mary River, Queensland.] The old convict settlement in Moreton Bay, now broken up, was called Humpy Bong (see Bung), sc. Oompi Bong, a dead or deserted settlement. The aboriginal names for hut may be thus tabulated

Gunyah ) . . . New South Wales. Goondie )

Humpy (Oompi) . . . Queensland.

Mia-mia . . . Victoria and Western Australia.

Wurley (Oorla) . . . South Australia.

Whare . . . New Zealand.

1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 228:

"A `gunyia' or `umpee.'"

1873. J. Brunton Stephens, `Black Gin,' p. 16:

"Lo, by the `humpy' door, a smockless Venus."

(2) Applied to a settler's house, very small and primitive.

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 133:

"To dwell in the familiar old bark `humpy,' so full of happy memories. The roof was covered with sheets of bark held down by large wooden riders pegged in the form of a square to one another."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 57:

"A lonely hut . . . and a kitchen—a smaller humpey—at the back."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' p. 247:

"He's to bed in the humpy."

1893. Gilbert Parker, `Pierre and his People,' p. 135:

"Shon McGann was lying on a pile of buffalo robes in a mountain hut,—an Australian would call it a humpey."

<hw>Hungry Quartz</hw>, n. a miner's term for unpromising Quartz (q.v.)

<hw>Huon-Pine</hw>, n. a large Tasmanian evergreen tree, Dacrydium franklinii, Hook, N.O. Coniferae. The timber is prized in cabinet-work, being repellent to insects, durable, and fairly easy to work; certain pieces are beautifully marked, and resemble bird's-eye maple. The Huon is a river in the south of Tasmania, called after a French officer. See Pine.

1800. J. J. Labillardiere, `Voyage a la Recherche de la Perouse,' tom. i., Introd. p. xi:

"Ces deux flutes recurent des noms analogues au but de l'entreprise. Celle que montoit le general, Dentrecasteaux, fut nommee la Recherche, et l'autre, commandee par le major de vaisseau, Huon Kermadec, recut le nom de l'Esperance. . . . Bruny Dentrecasteaux [fut le] commandant de l'expedition, [et] Labillardiere [fut le] naturaliste."

[Of these gentlemen of France and their voyage the names Bruni Island, D'Entrecasteaux Channel, Recherche Bay, Port Esperance, Kermandie [sic] River, Huon Island, Huon River, perpetuate the memory in Southern Tasmania, and the Kermadec Islands in the Southern Ocean.]

1820. C. Jeffreys, R.N., `Geographical and Descriptive Delineations of the Island of Van Diemen's Land,' p. 28:

"On the banks of these newly discovered rivers, and the harbour, grows the Huon Pine (so called from the river of that name, where it was first found)."

1829. `The Tasmanian Almanack,' p. 87:

"1816. Huon pine and coal discovered at Port Davey and Macquarie Harbour."

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' Vol. ii. p. 23:

"Huon-pine is by far the most beautiful wood found in the island."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' (edition 1855) p. 515:

"Knots of the beautiful Huon pine, finer than bird's-eye maple for ornamental furniture."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 71:

"The river was named the Huon, and has since become celebrated for the production which yields the pretty cabinet-wood known as Huon pine."

1890. Lyth, `Golden South,' c. xii. p. 102:

"The huon-pine is of immense height and girth."

<hw>Hut</hw>, n. the cottage of a shepherd or a miner. The word is English but is especially common in Australia, and does not there connote squalor or meanness. The "Men's Hut" on a station is the building occupied by the male employees.

1844. `Port Phillip Patriot,' July 11, pt. 1, c. 3:

"At the head station are a three-roomed hut, large kitchen, wool-shed, etc."

1862. G. T. Lloyd, `Thirty-three Years in Tasmania,' p. 21:

"If a slab or log hut was required to be erected . . . a cart-load of wool was pitchforked from the wasting heap, wherewith to caulk the crevices of the rough-hewn timber walls."

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. vi. p. 42:

"`The hut,' a substantial and commodious structure, arose in all its grandeur."

1890. Id. `Miner's Right,' c. vi. p. 62:

"Entering such a hut, as it is uniformly, but in no sense of contempt, termed—a hut being simply lower in the scale than a cottage—you will find there nothing to shock the eye or displease the taste."

1891. W. Tilley, `Wild West of Tasmania,' p. 29:

"Bark and weatherboard huts alternating with imposing hotels and stores."

<hw>Hut-keep</hw>, v. to act as hut-keeper.

1865. S. Sidney, `Three Colonies of Australia,' p. 380

"At this, as well as at every other station I have called at, a woman `hutkeeps,' while the husband is minding the sheep."

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

"`Did you go hut-keeping then?' `Wrong again. Did I go hut-keeping? Did you ever know a hut-keeper cook for sixty shearers?'"

<hw>Hut-keeper</hw>, n. Explained in quotations.

1802. D. Collins, `Account of New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 285:

"Old men, unfit for anything but to be hut-keepers who were to remain at home to prevent robbery, while the other inhabitants of the hut were at labour."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. II. c. iii. p. 458

"My object was to obtain these heads, which the . . . hut-keeper instantly gave."

1853. G. Butler Earp, `What we Did in Australia,' p. 17:

"The lowest industrial occupation in Australia, viz. a hut-keeper in the bush . . . a station from which many of the wealthiest flockmasters in Australia have risen."

1883. E. M. Curr, `Recollections of Squatting in Victoria' (1841-1851), p. 21:

"A bush hut-keeper, who baked our damper, fried our chops."

<hw>Hyacinth, Native</hw>, n. a Tasmanian flower, Thelymitra longifolia, R. and G. Forst., N.O. Orchideae.

<hw>Hyaena</hw>, n. See Thylacine, and Tasmanian Tiger.

<hw>Hypsiprymnodon</hw>, n. the scientific name of the genus of the Australian animal called Musk Kangaroo. (Grk. hupsiprumnos, with a high stern.) A very small, rat-like, arboreal kangaroo, about ten inches long. The strong musky odour from which it takes its vernacular name is perceptible in both sexes.

1874. R. Lydekker, `Marsupialia,' p. 73:

"The third and last subfamily (Hypsiprymnodontidae) of the Macropodidae is represented solely by the remarkable creature known, from its strong scent, as the Musk-kangaroo."

I

<hw>Ibis</hw>, n. There are twenty-four species of this bird distributed over all the warmer parts of the globe. Those present in Australasia are—

Glossy (Black, or Bay) Ibis— Ibis falcinellus, Linn.

Straw-necked I.— Geronticus spinnicollis, Jameson.

White I.— Threskiornis strictipennis, Gould.

Of these the last two are confined to Australia, the first is cosmopolitan.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 155:

"All they had for supper and breakfast were a straw-coloured ibis, a duck and a crow."

Ibid. p. 300:

"Crows were feasting on the remains of a black Ibis."

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

"Geronticus spinicollis, straw-necked ibis (pl. 45). This beautiful ibis has never yet been discovered out of Australia, over the whole of which immense country it is probably distributed."

"Threskiornis strictipennis, white ibis" (pl. 46).

"Ibis falcinellus, Linn., glossy ibis" (pl. 47).

1892. `The Australasian,' April 9, p. 707, col. 4:

"When the hoarse-voiced jackass mocked us, and the white-winged ibis flew Past lagoons and through the rushes, far away into the blue."

<hw>Ice-Plant</hw>, n. Tasmanian name for Tetragonia implexicoma, Hook., N.O. Ficoideae, B. Fl. Various species of Tetragonia are cultivated as Spinach (q.v.).

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 63:

"Called `ice-plant' in Tasmania. Baron Mueller suggests that this plant be cultivated for spinach. [Found in] all the colonies except Queensland."

<hw>Identity, Old</hw>, n. phrase denoting a person well known in a place. a term invented in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1862, in a popular topical song, by Mr. R. Thatcher, an improvisator. In the song the "Old Identity," the former resident of Dunedin, was distinguished from the "New Iniquity," as the people were termed who came from Australia.

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

"The old identities were beginning to be alive to the situation."

1894. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Oct.:

"It is permissible to wonder about the origin of the phrase `an old identity.' Surely no man, however old, can be an identity? An entity he is, or a nonentity; an individual, a centenarian, or an oldest inhabitant; but identity is a condition of sameness, of being identical with something. One can establish one's identity with that of some one who is being sought or sued, but once established it escapes us."

<hw>Inaka</hw>, n. a fish. See Inanga.

<hw>Inanga</hw> or <hw>Inaka</hw>, n. (the ng as in the word singer, not as in finger), a New Zealand fish, Galaxias attenuatus, or Retropinna richardsoni. It is often called the Whitebait and Minnow, and in Tasmania the larger variety is called Jolly-tail. The change from Inanga to Inaka is a dialectal Maori variation, answering exactly to the change from North Island Kainga to South Island Kaik (q.v.).

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 100:

"This fish is called hinanga [sic.], and resembles Blackwall white-bait in size and flavour. Its colour is a pinkish white, spotted with black."

1896. `The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 407, col. 3:

"About the same size as this fish [the cockabully] is the `inaka' much used for bait. Indeed, it is called the New Zealand whitebait. A friend from Victoria having used this bait, I asked him to spell the name of the fish, and he wanted to make it like the patriarch who `walked with God' —Enoch-a. The more correct shape of the Maori word is inanga; but in the South Island `k' often takes the place of that distinctive Maori letter `ng,' as `kainga' becomes kaik; ngaio, kaio."

<hw>Inchman</hw>, n. a Tasmanian name for the Bull-dog Ant (q.v.), from its length, which is sometimes nearly an inch.

<hw>Indians</hw>, pl. n. early and now obsolete name for the Aboriginals in Australia and even for the Maoris.

1769. J. Banks, `Journal,' Oct. 21 (Sir J. D. Hooker edition), p. 191:

"We applied to our friends the Indians for a passage in one of their canoes."

[These were Maoris.]

1770. Ibid. April 28:

"During this time, a few of the Indians who had not followed the boat remained on the rock opposite the ship, threatening and menacing with their pikes and swords."

[These were Australian Aboriginals.]

1825. Barron Field, `Geographical Memoirs of New South Wales,' p. 437:

"Some of the Indians have also seriously applied to be allowed convict labourers, as the settlers are, although they have not patience to remain in the huts which our Government has built for them, till the maize and cabbage that have been planted to their hands are fit to gather."

1830. `The Friend of Australia,' p. 244:

"It is the observation of some writers, that the system pursued in Australia for educating the children of the Indians is not attended with success. The black children will never do any good there, until some other plan is commenced . . ."

<hw>Indigo, Native</hw>, n. all the species of Swainsonia, N.O. Leguminosae, are called "Native Indigos." See Indigo-plant. In Tasmania, the Native Indigo is Indigofera australis, Willd., N.O. Leguminosae. The plants are also called Indigo-plant and Darling-pea (q.v.). Swainsonia belongs to the same N.O. as Indigofera tinctoria, which furnishes the Indigo of commerce.

1826. J. Atkinson, `Agriculture and Grazing in New South Wales,' p. 24:

"Indigo brushes are not very common; the timber in these is generally white or blackbutted gum; the ground beneath is covered with the native indigo, a very beautiful plant, with a light purple flower."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 140:

"The `darling-pea' or `indigo-plant' is a dreaded plant from the great amount of loss it has inflicted on stockowners. Its effect on sheep is well known; they separate from the flock, wander about listlessly, and are known to the shepherds as ` pea-eaters,' or `indigo-eaters.' When once a sheep takes to eating this plant it seldom or never fattens, and may be said to be lost to its owner. The late Mr. Charles Thorn, of Queensland, placed a lamb which had become an `indigo-eater' in a small paddock, where it refused to eat grass. It, however, ate the indigo plant greedily, and followed Mr. Thorn all over the paddock for some indigo he held in his hand."

<hw>Indented Servants</hw>, n. same as Assigned (q.v.) Servants.

1810. `History of New South Wales' (1818), p. 352:

"Public Notice. Secretary's Office, Sydney, July 21, 1810. A ship being daily expected to arrive here from England with female convicts, whom it is His Excellency the Governor's intention to distribute among the settlers, as indented servants. . . ."

<hw>Ink-plant</hw>, n. another name for the "toot," a New Zealand shrub, Coriaria thymifolia, N.O. Coriarieae. Called Ink-plant on account of its juice, which soon turns to black. There is also an European Ink-plant, Coriaria myrtifolia, so that this is only a different species.

<hw>Ironbark</hw>, n. Early settlers gave this name to several large Eucalypts, from the hardness of their bark, especially to E. leucoxylon, F. v. M., and E. resinifera, Smith. In Queensland it is applied to E. siderophloia, Benth. See also Leguminous Ironbark, and Lemon-scented Ironbark.

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. viii. p. 263:

"A species of gum-tree, the bark of which on the trunk is that of the ironbark of Port Jackson."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 183:

"It was made out of a piece of bark from a tree called ironbark (nearly as hard when dry as an English elm-board)."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 45:

"But this gradually changed to an ironbark (Eucalyptus resinifera) and cypress-pine forest."

187. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees', p. 199:

"The Ironbark-tree (Eucalyptus resinifera) is . . . widely spread over a large part of Australia. . . . A lofty forest tree of moderate circumference. . . . It is believed to have been named as above by some of the earliest Australian settlers on account of the extreme hardness of its bark; but it might with equal reason have been called ironwood. The wood is of a deep red colour, very hard, heavy, strong, extremely rigid, and rather difficult to work . . . used extensively in shipbuilding and engineering works in Australia; and in this country (England) it is employed in the mercantile navy for beams, keelsons, and . . . below the line of flotation."

1883. G. W. Rusden, `History of Australia,' vol. i. p. 77:

"The ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon) became from its durability a synonym for toughness."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xxvii. p. 248:

"The corrugated stems of the great ironbark trees stood black and columnar."

1893. `The Age,' May 11, p. 7, col. 3, (advt.):

"Monday, 15th May.—Supply in one or more contracts of not less than 20 beams of 400 ironbark or box beams for cattle pits, delivered at any station. Particulars at the office of the Engineer for Existing Lines."

With qualifications. Silver-leaved—

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 65:

"The silver-leaved ironbark (Eucalyptus pulverulentus) was here coming into blossom."

Narrow-leaved—

1847. Ibid. p. 154:

"The narrow-leaved ironbark [grew] on a lighter sandy soil."

<hw>Iron hand</hw>, a term of Victorian politics. It was a new Standing Order introducing what has since been called the Closure, and was first moved in the Victorian Legislative Assembly on Jan. 27, 1876.

1876. `Victorian Hansard,' Jan. 20, vol. xxiii. p. 2002:

"They [the Government] have dealt with the Opposition with a velvet glove; but the iron hand is beneath, and they shall feel it."

1884. G. W. Rusden, `History of Australia,' vol. iii. p. 406:

"The cloture, or the `iron hand,' as McCulloch's resolution was called, was adopted in Victoria, for one session."

<hw>Ironheart</hw>, n. a New Zealand tree, Metrosideros tomentosa, N.O. Myrtaceae; native name, Pohutukawa.

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 311:

"It was the `downy ironheart' That from the cliffs o'erhanging grew, And o'er the alcove, every part, Such beauteous leaves and blossoms threw."

"Note.—This most lovely tree is common about the northern coasts and cliffs of the North Island and the banks of Lake Tarawera."

<hw>Ironwood</hw>, n. The name is used of many hard-wooded trees in various parts of the world. The Australian varieties are—

Ironwood (Queensland)— Acacia excelsa, Benth., N.O. Leguminosae; Melaleuca genistifolia, Smith, N.O. Myrtaceae.

Ironwood (North Queensland)— Myrtus gonoclada, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae.

Ironwood (North New South Wales)— Olea paniculata, R.Br., N.O. Jasmineae.

Ironwood (Tasmania)— Notelaea ligustrina, Vent., N.O. Jasmineae.

Scrub Ironwood— Myrtus hillii, Benth., N.O. Myrtaceae.

For Ironwood of New Zealand, see Puriri.

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. xii. p. 479:

"A club of iron-wood, which the cannibals had left in the boat."

1823. W. B. Cramp, `Narrative of a Voyage to India,' p. 17:

". . . they have a short club made of iron wood, called a waday, and a scimeter made of the same wood."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 579:

"`Ironwood' and `Heartwood' of Tasmania; `Spurious Olive,' `White Plum' of Gippsland. An exceedingly hard, close-grained wood, used for mallets, sheaves of blocks, turnery, etc. The heartwood yields a very peculiar figure ; it is a very fair substitute for lignum-vitae."

<hw>Irriakura</hw>, n. an aboriginal name for the tubers of Cyperus rotundus, Linn., N.O. Cyperaceae, adopted by white men in Central Australia.

1896. E. C. Stirling, `Home Expedition in Central Australia,' Anthropology, p. 60:

"Cyperus rotundus. In almost every camp we saw large quantities of the tunicated tubes of this plant, which are generally called `Erriakura' or `Irriakura' by the Arunta natives. . . Even raw they are pleasant to the taste, having an agreeable nutty flavour, which is much improved by the slight roasting."

<hw>Ivory-wood</hw>, n. an Australian timber, Siphonodon australe, Benth., N.O. Celastrinae.

<hw>Ivy</hw>, n. a child's name for the ivy-leaf geraniums, especially the double pink-flowered one called Madame Kruse. In Australia the warm climate makes these all evergreens, and they are trained over fences and walls, sometimes to the height of twenty or thirty feet, supplanting the English ivy in this use, and covered with masses of flowers.

<hw>Ivy, Native</hw>, an Australian plant, Muehlenbeckia adpressa, Meissn., N.O. Polygonaceae; called also Macquarie Harbour Vine, or Grape. The name is widely applied also to the acclimatised Cape Ivy, or German Ivy (Senecio scandens).

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 46:

"`Native Ivy,' Macquarie Harbour Vine or Grape of Tasmania. The currant-like fruits are sub-acid, and were, and perhaps still are, used for tarts, puddings, and preserves; the leaves taste like sorrel."

<hw>Ivy, Wild</hw>, n. an Australian creeper, Platylobium triangulare, R. Br., N.O. Leguminosae.

<hw>Ivy-tree</hw>, n. New Zealand tree, genus Panax, N.O. Araliacae; Maori name, Horoeka. It is also called Lancewood (q.v.).

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New' Zealand,' p. 127:

"Horoeka, ivy-tree. an ornamental, slender, and sparingly-branched tree. Wood close-grained and tough."

J

<hw>Jabiru</hw>, n. The word comes from Brazil, and was first given there to the large stork Mycteria (Xenorhynchus) Americana. The Australian species is M. australis, Lath. It has the back and neck dark grey, changing on the neck to scarlet. There is a black-necked stork in Australia (Xenorhynchus asiaticus), which is also called the Jabiru.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 194:

"We saw a Tabiroo [sic] (Mycteria)."

1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 195:

"In October, 1858, I succeeded in purchasing a fine living specimen of the New Holland Jabiru, or Gigantic Crane of the colonists (Mycteria Australis)"

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 323:

"The splendid Australian jabiru (Mycteria Australis), and I had the good fortune to shoot on the wing a specimen of this beautiful variety of the stork family."

<hw>Jacana</hw>, n. a Brazilian word for a bird of the genus Parra (q.v.). The Australian species is the Comb-crested Jacana, Parra gallinacea, Temm. It is also called the Lotus-bird (q.v.).

<hw>Jack in a Box</hw>, i.q. Hair-trigger (q.v.).

1854. `The Home Companion,' p. 554:

"When previously mentioning the elegant Stylidium graminifolium (grass-leaved Jack-in-a-box), which may be easily known by its numerous grassy-like radical leaves, and pretty pink flowers, on a long naked stem, we omitted to mention a peculiarity in it, which is said to afford much amusement to the aborigines, who are, generally speaking, fond of, and have a name for, many of the plants common in their own territories. The stigma lies at the apex of a long column, surrounded and concealed by the anthers. This column is exceedingly irritable, and hangs down on one side of the flower, until it is touched, when it suddenly springs up and shifts to the opposite side of the blossom or calyx."

1859. D. Bunce, `Australasiatic Reminiscences,' p. 26:

"Stylidium (native Jack in a box). This genus is remarkable for the singular elasticity of the column stylis, which support the anthers, and which being irritable, will spring up if pricked with a pin, or other little substance, below the joint, before the pollen, a small powder, is shed, throwing itself suddenly over, like a reflex arm, to the opposite side of the flower. Hence the colonial designation of Jack in a box."

<hw>Jack the Painter</hw>, n. very strong bush-tea, so called from the mark it leaves round the drinker's mouth.

1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 163:

"Another notorious ration tea of the bush is called Jack the Painter—a very green tea indeed, its viridity evidently produced by a discreet use of the copper drying-pans in its manufacture."

1878. `The Australian,' vol. i. p. 418:

"The billy wins, and `Jack the Painter' tea Steams on the hob, from aught like fragrance free."

1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 113

"Special huts had to be provided for them [the sundowners], where they enjoyed eleemosynary rations of mutton, damper, and `Jack the Painter.'"

<hw>Jackaroo</hw>, n. a name for a Colonial Experience (q.v.), a young man fresh from England, learning squatting; called in New Zealand a Cadet (q.v.). Compare the American "tenderfoot." A verse definition runs:

"To do all sorts and kinds of jobs, Help all the men Jacks, Bills or Bobs, As well as he is able. To be neither boss, overseer, nor man, But a little of all as well as he can, And eat at the master's table."

The word is generally supposed to be a corruption (in imitation of the word Kangaroo) of the words "Johnny Raw." Mr. Meston, in the `Sydney Bulletin,' April 18, 1896, says it comes from the old Brisbane blacks, who called the pied crow shrike (Strepera graculina) "tchaceroo," a gabbling and garrulous bird. They called the German missionaries of 1838 "jackeroo," a gabbler, because they were always talking. Afterwards they applied it to all white men.

1880. W. Senior, `Travel and Trout,' p. 19:

"Jackaroos—the name given to young gentlemen newly arrived from home to gather colonial experiences."

1881. A. C. Grant `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 53:

"The young jackaroo woke early next morning."

[Footnote]: "The name by which young men who go to the Australian colonies to pick up colonial experience are designated."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 85:

"Of course before starting on their own account to work a station they go into the bush to gain colonial experience, during which process they are known in the colony as `jackaroos.'"

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydneyside Saxon,' p. 74:

"We went most of the way by rail and coach, and then a jackaroo met us with a fine pair of horses in a waggonette. I expected to see a first cousin to a kangaroo, when the coachdriver told us, instead of a young gentleman learning squatting."

1894. `Sydney Morning Herald' (date lost):

"`Jack-a-roo' is of the same class of slang; but the unlucky fellow—often gentle and soft-handed—who does the oddwork of a sheep or cattle station, if he finds time and heart for letters to any who love him, probably writes his rue with a difference."

<hw>Jackaroo</hw>, v. to lead the life of a Jackaroo.

1890. Tasma, `In her Earliest Youth,' p. 152:

"I've seen such a lot of those new chums, one way and another. They knock down all their money at the first go-off, and then there's nothing for them to do but to go and jackaroo up in Queensland."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. xix. p. 239:

"A year or two more Jackerooing would only mean the consumption of so many more figs of negro-head, in my case."

<hw>Jackass-fish</hw>, n. another Sydney name for the Morwong (q.v.).

<hw>Jackass, Laughing</hw>, n. (1) The popular name of an Australian bird, Dacelo gigas, Bodd, the Great Brown Kingfisher of Australia; see Dacelo. To an Australian who has heard the ludicrous note of the bird and seen its comical, half-stupid appearance, the origin of the name seems obvious. It utters a prolonged rollicking laugh, often preceded by an introductory stave resembling the opening passage of a donkey's bray.

But the name has been erroneously derived from the French jacasse, as to which Littre gives "terme populaire. Femme, fille qui parle beaucoup." He adds, that the word jacasse appears to come from jacquot, a name popularly given to parrots and magpies, our "Poll." The verb jacasser means to chatter, said of a magpie. The quotation from Collins (1798) seems to dispose of this suggested French origin, by proving the early use of the name Laughing Jackass. As a matter of fact, the French name had already in 1776 been assigned to the bird, viz. Grand Martin-pecheur de la Nouvelle Guinee. [See Pierre Sonnerat, `Voyage a la Nouvelle Guinee' (Paris, 1776), p. 171.] The only possibility of French origin would be from the sailors of La Perouse. But La Perouse arrived in Botany Bay on January 26, 1788, and found Captain Phillip's ships leaving for Sydney Cove. The intercourse between them was very slight. The French formed a most unfavourable idea of the country, and sailed away on March 10. If from their short intercourse, the English had accepted the word Jackass, would not mention of the fact have been made by Governor Phillip, or Surgeon White, who mention the bird but by a different name (see quotations 1789, 1790), or by Captain Watkin Tench, or Judge Advocate Collins, who both mention the incident of the French ships?

The epithet "laughing" is now often omitted; the bird is generally called only a Jackass, and this is becoming contracted into the simple abbreviation of Jack. A common popular name for it is the Settlers'-Clock. (See quotations—1827, Cunningham; 1846, Haydon; and 1847, Leichhardt.) The aboriginal name of the bird is Kookaburra (q.v.), and by this name it is generally called in Sydney; another spelling is Gogobera.

There is another bird called a Laughing Jackass in New Zealand which is not a Kingfisher, but an Owl, Sceloglaux albifacies, Kaup. (Maori name, Whekau). The New Zealand bird is rare, the Australian bird very common. The so-called Derwent Jackass of Tasmania is a Shrike (Cracticus cinereus, Gould), and is more properly called the Grey Butcher-bird. See Butcher-bird.

1789. Governor Phillip, `Voyage,' p. 287:

Description given with picture, but under name "Great Brown Kingsfisher" [sic].

Ibid. p. 156:

Similar bird, with description and picture, under name "Sacred King's Fisher."

1790. J. White, `Voyage to New South Wales,' p. 137:

"We not long after discovered the Great Brown King's Fisher, of which a plate is annexed. This bird has been described by Mr. Latham in his `General Synopsis of Birds,' vol. ii. p. 603.

Ibid. p. 193:

"We this day shot the Sacred King's-Fisher (see plate annexed)."

1798. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South Wales,' p. 615, (Vocabulary):

"Gi-gan-ne-gine. Bird named by us the Laughing Jackass. Go-con-de—inland name for it."

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 232:

"The loud and discordant noise of the laughing jackass (or settler's-clock, as he is called), as he takes up his roost on the withered bough of one of our tallest trees, acquaints us that the sun has just dipped behind the hills."

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 204:

"The settlers call this bird the Laughing Jackass. I have also heard it called the Hawkesbury-Clock (clocks being at the period of my residence scarce articles in the colony, there not being one perhaps in the whole Hawkesbury settlement), for it is among the first of the feathered tribes which announce the approach of day."

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 71:

"The laughing jackass, or settler's-clock is an uncouth looking creature of an ashen brown colour . . . This bird is the first to indicate by its note the approach of day, and thus it has received its other name, the settler's clock."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 234:

"I usually rise when I hear the merry laugh of the laughing- jackass (Dacelo gigantea), which, from its regularity, has not been unaptly named the settlers'-clock."

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

"Dacelo Gigantea, Leach, Great Brown King Fisher; Laughing Jackass of the Colonists."

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 58:

"You are startled by a loud, sudden cackling, like flocks of geese, followed by an obstreperous hoo! hoo! ha! ha! of the laughing jackass (Dacelo gigantea) a species of jay."

[Howitt's comparison with the jay is evidently due to the azure iridescent markings on the upper part of the wings, in colour like the blue feathers on the jay.]

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

"The odd medley of cackling, bray, and chuckle notes from the `Laughing Jackass.'"

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 18:

"At daylight came a hideous chorus of fiendish laughter, as if the infernal regions had been broken loose—this was the song of another feathered innocent, the laughing jackass—not half a bad sort of fellow when you come to know him, for he kills snakes, and is an infallible sign of the vicinity of fresh-water."

1880. T. W. Nutt, `Palace of Industry,' p. 15:

"Where clock-bird laughed and sweet wildflowers throve."

[Footnote] "The familiar laughing jackass."

1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 13:

"Dense forests, where the prolonged cacchinations of that cynic of the woods, as A. P. Martin calls the laughing jackass, seemed to mock us for our pains."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 37:

"The harsh-voiced, big-headed, laughing jackass."

1881. D. Blair, `Cyclopaedia of Australasia,' p. 202:

"The name it vulgarly bears is a corruption of the French word Jacasser, `to chatter,' and the correct form is the `Laughing Jacasse.'"

[No. See above.]

1885. `Australasian Printers' Keepsake,' p. 76:

"Magpies chatter, and the jackass Laughs Good-morrow like a Bacchus."

1889. Rev. J. H. Zillmann, `Australian Life,' [telling an old story] p. 155:

"The Archbishop inquired the name of a curious bird which had attracted his attention. `Your grace, we call that the laughing jackass in this country, but I don't know the botanical [sic] name of the bird."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals, p. 27:

"Few of the birds of Australia have pleased me as much as this curious laughing jackass, though it is both clumsy and unattractive in colour. Far from deserving its name jackass, it is on the contrary very wise and also very courageous. It boldly attacks venomous snakes and large lizards, and is consequently the friend of the colonist."

1890. Tasma, `In her Earliest Youth,' p. 265:

"`There's a jackass—a real laughing jackass on that dead branch. They have such a queer note; like this,, you know—' and upon her companion's startled ears there rang forth, all of a sudden, the most curious, inimitable, guttural, diabolical tremolo it had ever befallen them to hear."

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

"[Close season.] Great Kingfisher or Laughing Jackass. The whole year. all Kingfishers other than the Laughing Jackass. From the 1st day of August to the 20th day of December next following in each year."

(2) The next quotations refer to the New Zealand bird.

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 122:

"Athene Albifacies, wekau of the Maoris, is known by some up-country settlers as the big owl or laughing jackass."

"The cry of the laughing jackass . . . Why it should share with one of our petrels and the great Dacelo of Australia the trivial name of laughing jackass, we know not; if its cry resembles laughter at all, it is the uncontrollable outburst, the convulsive shout of insanity; we have never been able to trace the faintest approach to mirthful sound in the unearthly yells of this once mysterious night-bird."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 198:

"Sceloglaux albifacies, Kaup., Laughing Owl; Laughing Jackass of the Colonists."

[The following quotation refers to the Derwent Jackass.]

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 110:

"You have heard of . . . the laughing jackass. We, too, have a `jackass,' a smaller bird, and not in any way remarkable, except for its merry gabbling sort of song, which when several pipe up together, always gives one the idea of a party of very talkative people all chattering against time, and all at once."

<hw>Jack-bird</hw>, n. a bird of the South Island of New Zealand, Creadion cinereus, Buller. See also Saddle-back and Creadion.

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 23:

"It has become the habit to speak of this bird as the Brown Saddle-back; but this is a misnomer, inasmuch as the absence of the `saddle' is its distinguishing feature. I have accordingly adopted the name of Jack-bird, by which it is known among the settlers in the South Island. Why it should be so called I cannot say, unless this is an adaptation of the native name Tieke, the same word being the equivalent, in the Maori vernacular, of our Jack."

<hw>Jack Shay</hw>, or Jackshea, n. a tin quart-pot.

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 209:

"Hobbles and Jack Shays hang from the saddle dees."

[Footnote]: "A tin quart-pot, used for boiling water for tea, and contrived so as to hold within it a tin pint-pot."

1890. `The Argus,' June14, p. 4, col. 1:

"Some of his clothes, with his saddle, serve for a pillow; his ration bags are beside his head, and his jackshea (quart-pot) stands by the fire."

<hw>Jacky Winter</hw>, n. the vernacular name in New South Wales of the Brown Flycatcher, Microeca fascinans, a common little bird about Sydney. The name has been ascribed to the fact that it is a resident species, very common, and that it sings all through the winter, when nearly every other species is silent. See Flycatcher.

<hw>Jade</hw>, n. See Greenstone.

<hw>Jarrah</hw>, n. anglicised form of Jerryhl, the native name of a certain species of Eucalyptus, which grows in the south of Western Australia, east and south-east of Perth. In Sir George Grey's Glossary (1840), Djar-rail; Mr. G. F. Moore's (1884), Djarryl. (Eucalyptus marginata, Donn.) The name Bastard-Jarrah is given to E. botryoides, Smith, which bears many other names. It is the Blue-Gum of New South Wales coast-districts, the Bastard-Mahogany of Gippsland and New South Wales, and also Swamp Mahogany in Victoria and New South Wales, and occasionally Woolly-Butt.

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 102:

"It may be that after all the hopes of the West-Australian Micawbers will be realised in jarrah-wood."

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 189:

"The Jarrah or Mahogany-tree is also found in Western Australia. The wood is red in colour, hard, heavy, close in texture, slightly wavy in the grain, and with occasionally enough figure to give it value for ornamental purposes; it works up quite smoothly and takes a good polish."

188. G. W. Rusden, `History of Australia, vol. i. p. 77:

"The jarrah of Western Australia (Eucalyptus marginata) has a peculiar reputation for its power to defy decay when submerged and exposed to the attacks of the dreaded teredo, and has been largely exported to India."

1888. R. Kipling, `Plain Tales from the Hills,' p. 163

". . . the awful butchery . . . of the Maribyrnong Plate. The walls were colonial ramparts—logs of jarrah spiked into masonry—with wings as strong as Church buttresses."

[Jarrah is not a Victorian, but a West-Australian timber, and imported logs are not used by the V.R.C., but white or red gum. For making "jumps," no logs are "spiked into masonry," and the Maribyrnong Plate is not a "jump-race."]

1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 415:

"Mr. W. H. Knight, twenty years ago, gave evidence as to the value of the jarrah. . . . It is found that piles driven down in the Swan River were, after being exposed to the action of wind, water, and weather for forty years, as sound and firm as when put into the water. . . . It completely resists the attacks of the white ants, where stringy-bark, blue-gum, white-gum, and black-wood are eaten through, or rendered useless, in from six to twelve years."

1896. `The Times' (weekly edition), Dec. 4, p. 822, col. 1:

"The jarrah, Eucalyptus marginata, stands pre-eminent as the leading timber tree of the Western Australian forests. For constructive work necessitating contact with soil and water jarrahwood has no native equal. A jarrah forest is dull, sombre, and uninteresting to the eye. In first-class forests the trees attain a height of from 90 ft. to 120 ft., with good stems 3 ft. to 5 ft. in diameter. The tree is practically confined to the south-western division of the colony, where the heaviest rains of the season fall. As a rule, jarrah is found either intermixed with the karri tree or in close proximity to it."

<hw>Jasmine, Native</hw>, n. an Australian plant, Ricinocarpus pinifolius, Desf., N.O. Euphorbiaceae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 286:

"Native Jasmine. This plant yields abundance of seeds, like small castor oil seeds. They yield an oil."

<hw>Jelly-leaf</hw>, n. i.q. Queensland Hemp (q.v.).

<hw>Jelly-plant</hw>, a sea-weed, Eucheuma speciosum, J. Agardh, N.O. Algae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 28:

"Jelly-plant of Western Australia. This is a remarkable sea-weed of a very gelatinous character [used by] the people of Western Australia for making jelly, blanc-mange, etc. Size and cement can also be made from it. It is cast ashore from deep water."

<hw>Jemmy Donnelly</hw>, n. a ridiculous name given to three trees, Euroschinus falcatus, Hook, N.O. Anacardiaceae; Myrsine variabilis, R. Br., N.O. Myrsinaceae; and Eucalyptus resinifera, Sm., N.O. Myrtaceae. They are large timber trees, highly valued in Queensland.

<hw>Jerrawicke</hw>, n. obsolete name for Colonial beer.

1857. J. Askew, `A Voyage to Australia and New Zealand,' p. 272:

"There were always a number of natives roaming about. There might be about 150 in all, of the Newcastle tribe. They were more wretched and filthy, and if possible, uglier than those of Adelaide. . . . All the earnings of the tribe were spent in tobacco and jerrawicke (colonist-made ale)."

1857. Ibid. p. 273:

"A more hideous looking spectacle can hardly be imagined than that presented by these savages around the blazing fire, carousing among jerrawicke and the offal of slaughtered animals.'"

<hw>Jew-fish</hw>, n. a name applied in New South Wales to two or more different species, Sciaena antarctica, Castln., and Glaucosoma hebraicum, Richards. Sciaena antarctica, Castln., is the King-fish of the Melbourne market. Sciaena is called Dew-fish in Brisbane. It belongs to the family Sciaenidae. The Australian species is distinct from S. aquila, the European "Maigre" or "Meagre," but closely resembles it. Glaucosoma belongs to the Percidae. The Silver Jew-fish of New South Wales is thought to be the same as the Teraglin (q.v.), Otolithus atelodus, Guenth., also of the family Sciaeidae. Tenison Woods (in `Fish and Fisheries of New South Wales,' 1882, p. 34) says the Jew-fish of New South Wales is sometimes Glaucosoma scapulare, Ramsay; and Glaucosoma hebraicum, Richards., is the Jew-fish of Western Australia (a marine fish). Fishes on the American coasts, different from these, are there called Jew-fishes.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 40:

"The water-holes abounded with jew-fish and eels."

<hw>Jew-Lizard</hw>, n. a large Australian lizard, Amiphibolurus barbatus, Cuv.; called also Bearded Lizard.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 89:

"A small Chlamydophorus (Jew-lizard of the Hunter) was also seen." [The Hunter is a river of New South Wales.]

1890. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Natural History of Victoria,' Decade xiii. pl. 121:

"This is commonly called the Jew Lizard by colonists, and is easily distinguished by the beard-like growth of long slender spires round the throat . . . when irritated, it inflates the body to a considerably increased size, and hisses like a snake exciting alarm; but rarely biting."

1893. `The Argus,' July 22, p. 4, col. 5:

"The great Jew-lizards that lay and laughed horribly to themselves in the pungent dust on the untrodden floors."

<hw>Jil-crow-a-berry</hw>, n. the Anglicised pronunciation and spelling of the aboriginal name for the indigenous Rat-tail Grass, Sporobolus indicus, R. Br.

<hw>Jimmy</hw>, n. obsolete name for an immigrant, a word which was jocularly changed into Jimmy Grant. The word `immigrant' is as familiar in Australia as `emigrant' in England.

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 211:

"`What are these men that we are going to see?' `Why one,' said Lee, is a young Jimmy—I beg your pardon, sir, an emigrant, the other two are old prisoners.'"

1867. `Cassell's Magazine,' p. 440:

"`I never wanted to leave England,' I have heard an old Vandemonian observe boastfully. `I wasn't like one of these `Jemmy Grants' (cant term for `emigrants'); I could always earn a good living; it was the Government as took and sent me out."

[The writers probably used the word immigrant, which, not being familiar to the English compositor, was misprinted emigrant. The "old Vandemonian" must certainly have said immigrant.]

<hw>Jimmy Low</hw>, n. one of the many names of a Timber-tree, Eucalyptus resinifera, Smith, N.O. Myrtaceae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 208:

"The `Red,' or `Forest Mahogany,' of the neighbourhood of Sydney. These are bad names, as the wood bears no real resemblance to the true mahogany. Because the product of this tree first brought Australian kino into medical notice, it is often in old books called `Botany Bay Gum-tree.' Other names for it are Red gum, Grey gum, Hickory, and it perpetuates the memory of an individual by being called `Jimmy Low.'"

<hw>Jingle</hw>, n. a two-wheeled vehicle, like an Irish car, once common in Melbourne, still used in Brisbane and some other towns: so called from the rattle made by it when in motion. The word is not Australian, as is generally supposed; the `Century' gives "a covered two-wheeled car used in the south of Ireland."

1862. Clara Aspinall, `Three Years in Melbourne,' p. 122:

"An omnibus may be chartered at much less cost (gentlemen who have lived in India will persist in calling this vehicle a jingle, which perhaps sounds better); it is a kind of dos-a-dos conveyance, holding three in front and three behind: it has a waterproof top to it supported by four iron rods, and oilskin curtains to draw all round as a protection from the rain and dust."

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 44:

"During my stay in Melbourne I took a jingle, or car, and drove to St. Kilda."

1865. Lady Barker, writing from Melbourne, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 12:

"A vehicle which was quite new to me—a sort of light car with a canopy and curtains, holding four, two on each seat, dos-a-dos, and called a jingle—of American parentage, I fancy. One drive in this carriage was quite enough, however."

1869. Marcus Clarke, `Peripatetic Philosopher,' p. 14:

"Some folks prefer to travel Over stones and rocks and gravel; And smile at dust and jolting fit to dislocate each bone. To see 'em driving in a jingle, It would make your senses tingle, For you couldn't put a sixpence 'twixt the wheel and the kerb-stone."

1887. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia,' vol. i. p. 64:

"In former days the Melbourne cab was a kind of Irish car, popularly known as a jingle. . . . The jingle has been ousted by the one-horse waggonette."

1887. R. M. Praed, `Longleat of Kooralbyn,' c. iv. p. 30:

"The Premier hailed a passing jingle."

[This was in Brisbane.]

<hw>Jinkers</hw>, n. a contrivance much used in the bush for moving heavy logs and trunks of trees. It consists of two pairs of wheels, with their axle-trees joined by a long beam, under which the trunks are suspended by chains. Its structure is varied in town for moving wooden houses. Called in England a "whim."

1894. `The Argus,' July 7, p. 8, col. 4:

"A rather novel spectacle was to be seen to-day on the Ballan road in the shape of a five-roomed cottage on jinkers. . . . Mr. Scottney, carrier of Fitzroy, on whose jinkers the removal is being made . . ."

Jirrand, adj. an aboriginal word in the dialect of Botany Bay, signifying "afraid." Ridley, in his vocabulary, spells it jerron, and there are other spellings.

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 59:

"The native word jirrand (afraid) has become in some measure an adopted child, and may probably puzzle our future Johnsons with its unde derivatur."

1889. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 316:

"When I saw the mob there was I didn't see so much to be jerran about, as it was fifty to one in favour of any one that was wanted."

<hw>Jo-Jo</hw>, n. name used by Melbourne larrikins for a man with a good deal of hair on his face. So called from a hairy-faced Russian "dog man" exhibited in Melbourne about 1880, who was advertised by that name.

<hw>Job's</hw> Tears. The seeds of Coix lachryma, which are used for necklace-making by the native tribes on the Cape York peninsula, are there called Job's tears.

<hw>Joe, Joe-Joe, Joey</hw>, interjection, then a verb, now obsolete. Explained in quotations.

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 400:

"The well-known cry of `Joe! Joe!'—a cry which means one of the myrmidons of Charley Joe, as they familiarly style Mr. [Charles Joseph] La Trobe,—a cry which on all the diggings resounds on all sides on the appearance of any of the hated officials."

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

"The cry of `Joey' would rise everywhere against them."

[Footnote]: "To `Joey' or `Joe' a person on the diggings, or anywhere else in Australia, is to grossly insult and ridicule him."

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 165:

"In the early days of the Australian diggings `Joe' was the warning word shouted out when the police or gold commissioners were seen approaching, but is now the chaff for new chums."

1865. F. H. Nixon, `Peter Perfume,' p. 58:

"And Joe joed them out, Tom toed them out."

1891. `The Argus,' Dec. 5, p. 13, col. 4:

"`The diggers,' he says, `were up in arms against the Government officials, and whenever a policeman or any other Government servant was seen they raised the cry of "Joe-Joe."' The term was familiar to every man in the fifties. In the earliest days of the diggings proclamations were issued on diverse subjects, but mostly in the direction of curtailing the privileges of the miners. These were signed, `C. Joseph La Trobe,' and became known by the irreverent—not to say flippant —description of `Joes.' By an easy transition, the corruption of the second name of the Governor was applied to his officers, between whom and the spirited diggers no love was lost, and accordingly the appearance of a policeman on a lead was signalled to every tent and hole by the cry of `Joe-Joe.'"

<hw>Joey</hw>, n. (1) A young kangaroo.

1839. W. H. Leigh, `Reconnoitring Voyages in South Australia' pp. 93-4:

"Here [in Kangaroo Island] is also the wallaba . . . The young of the animal is called by the islanders a joe."

1861. T. McCombie, I`Australian Sketches,' p. 172:

"The young kangaroos are termed joeys. The female carries the latter in her pouch, but when hard pressed by dogs, and likely to be sacrificed, she throws them down, which usually distracts the attention of the pack and affords the mother sufficient time to escape."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 10:

"Sometimes when the flying doe throws her `joey' from her pouch the dogs turn upon the little one."

1896. F. G. Aflalo, `Natural History of Australia,' p. 29:

"At length the actual fact of the Kangaroo's birth, which is much as that of other mammals, was carefully observed at the London Zoo, and the budding fiction joined the myths that were. It was there proved that the little `joey' is brought into the world in the usual way, and forthwith conveyed to the comfortable receptacle and affixed to the teat by the dam, which held the lifeless-looking little thing tenderly in her cloven lips."

(2) Also slang used for a baby or little child, or even a young animal, such as a little guinea-pig. Compare "kid."

(3) A hewer of wood and drawer of water.

1845. J. A. Moore, `Tasmanian Rhymings,' p. 15:

"He was a `joey,' which, in truth, Means nothing more than that youth Who claims a kangaroo descent Is by that nomenclature meant."

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 198:

"I'm not going to be wood-and-water Joey, I can tell ye."

<hw>John Dory</hw>, or <hw>Dorey</hw>, n. a fish. This name is applied in New South Wales and Tasmania to Cyttus (Zeus) australis, Richards., family Cyttidae, which is nearly the same as Zeus faber, the "John Dory" of Europe. Others call C. australis the Bastard Dorey (q.v.), and it is also called the Boar-fish (q.v.) and Dollar-fish (q.v.).

1880. Guenther, `Study of Fishes,' p. 451:

"`John Dorys' are found in the Mediterranean, on the eastern temperate shores of the Atlantic, on the coasts of Japan and Australia. Six species are known, all of which are highly esteemed for the table. The English name given to one of the European species (Zeus Faber) seems to be partly a corruption of the Gascon `Jau,' which signifies cock, `Dory' being derived from the French Doree, so that the entire name means Gilt-cock. Indeed, in some other localities of southern Europe it bears the name of Gallo. The same species occurs also on the coasts of South Australia and New Zealand."

<hw>Johnny</hw>-cake. n. The name is of American origin, originally given by the negroes to a cake made of Indian corn (maize). In Australia it is a cake baked on the ashes or cooked in a frying-pan. (See quotations.) The name is used in the United States for a slightly different cake, viz. made with Indian meal and toasted before a fire.

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' p. 154:

"The dough-cakes fried in fat, called `Johnny-cakes.'"

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 20:

"Johnny-cakes, though they are smaller and very thin, and made in a similar way [sc. to dampers: see Damper]; when eaten hot they are excellent, but if allowed to get cold they become leathery."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance of Australia,' p. 3:

"Johnny-cakes are made with nothing but flour, but there is a great art in mixing them. If it is done properly they are about the lightest and nicest sort of bread that can be made; but the efforts of an amateur generally result in a wet heavy pulp that sticks round one's teeth like bird-lime."

1890. `The Argus,' Aug. 16, p. 13, col. 1:

"Here I, a new chum, could, with flour and water and a pinch of baking-powder, make a sweet and wholesome johnny cake."

1892. Mrs. Russell, `Too Easily Jealous,' p. 273 :

"Bread was not, and existed only in the shape of johnny-cakes —flat scones of flour and water, baked in the hot ashes."

1894. `The Argus,' March 10, p. 4, col. 6:

"It is also useful to make your damper or `Johnny-cake,' which serves you in place of yeast bread. A Johnny-cake is made thus:—Put a couple of handfuls of flour into your dish, with a good pinch of salt and baking soda. Add water till it works to a stiff paste. Divide it into three parts and flatten out into cakes about half an inch thick. Dust a little flour into your frying-pan and put the cake in. Cook it slowly over the fire, taking care it does not burn, and tossing it over again and again. When nearly done stand it against a stick in front of the fire, and let it finish baking while you cook the other two. These, with a piece of wallaby and a billy of tea, are a sweet meal enough after a hard day's work."

<hw>Jolly-tail</hw>, n. a Tasmanian name for the larger variety of the fish Galaxias attenuatus, Jenyns, and other species of Galaxias called Inanga (q.v.) in New Zealand. Galaxias weedoni is called the Mersey Jolly-tail, and Galaxias atkinsoni, the Pieman Jolly-tail. Pieman and Mersey are two Tasmanian rivers. See Mountain-Trout.

<hw>July</hw>, n. a winter month in Australia. See Christmas.

1888. Mrs. M'Cann, `Poetical Works,' p. 235:

"Scarce has July with frigid visage flown."

<hw>Jumbuck</hw>, n. aboriginal pigeon-English for sheep. Often used in the bush. The origin of this word was long unknown. It is thus explained by Mr. Meston, in the `Sydney Bulletin,' April 18, 1896: "The word `jumbuck' for sheep appears originally as jimba, jombock, dombock, and dumbog. In each case it meant the white mist preceding a shower, to which a flock of sheep bore a strong resemblance. It seemed the only thing the aboriginal mind could compare it to."

1845. C. Griffith, `Present State and Prospects of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales,' p. 162:

"The following is a specimen of such eloquence: `You pilmillally jumbuck plenty sulky me, plenty boom, borack gammon,' which being interpreted means, `If you shoot my sheep I shall be very angry, and will shoot you and no mistake.'"

1855. W. Ridley, `Transactions of Philological Society,' p. 77:

"When they adopt English words ending in mutes, the blacks drop the mute or add a vowel: thus, jimbugg, a slang name for sheep, they sound jimbu." [It was not English slang but an aboriginal word.]

1893. `The Argus,' April 8, p. 4, col. 1:

"Mister Charlie, jumbuck go along of grass, blood all there, big dog catch him there, big jumbuck, m'me word, neck torn."

1896. `The Australasian,' June 6, p. 1085, col. 1:

"Jumbuck (a sheep) has been in use from the earliest days, but its origin is not known."

<hw>Jump</hw>, to, v. to take possession of a claim (mining) on land, on the ground that a former possessor has abandoned it, or has not fulfilled the conditions of the grant. The word is also used in the United States, but it is very common in Australia. Instead of "you have taken my seat," you have jumped it. So even with a pew. a man in England, to whom was said, "you have jumped my pew," would look astonished, as did that other who was informed, "Excuse me, sir, but you are occupewing my py."

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 31:

". . . on condition that he occupies it within twenty-four hours: should this rule not be observed, the right of the original holder is lost, and it may be occupied (or `jumped' as it is termed) by any other person as a deserted claim."

1861. `Victorian Hansard,' vol. vii. p. 942 (May 21):

"Mr. Wood: Some of the evils spoken of seemed indeed only to exist in the imagination of the hon. and learned gentleman, as, for instance, that of `jumping,' for which a remedy was already given by the 77th section of the present Act.

"Mr. Ireland: Yes; after the claim is `jumped.'"

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `The Miner's Right,' p. 37:

"If such work were not commenced within three days, any other miners might summarily take possession of or jump the claim."

ibid. p. 52:

"Let us have the melancholy satisfaction of seeing Gus's pegs, and noting whether they are all en regle. If not, we'll `jump' him."

Ibid. p. 76:

"In default of such advertisement, for the general benefit, they were liable, according to custom and practice, to have their claim `jumped,' or taken forcible possession of by any party of miners who could prove that they were concealing the golden reality."

1875. `Melbourne Spectator,' August 21, p. 189, col. 3:

"Jumping selections . . . is said to be very common now in the Winmera district."

<hw>Jumpable</hw>, adj. open to another to take. See Jump.

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, Melbourne Memories,' c. xvi. p. 114:

"The heifer station was what would be called in mining parlance `an abandoned claim' and possibly `jumpable.'"

Jumper, n. one who jumps a claim. See Jump.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xii. p. 127:

"Come along, my noble jumper, you've served your injunction."

<hw>Jumping-mouse</hw>, n. See Hapalote.

<hw>June</hw>, n. a winter month in Australia. See Christmas.

1886. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 132:

"Twenty white-haired Junes have left us Grey with frost and bleak with gale."

<hw>Jungle-hen</hw>, n. name given to a mound-building bird, Megapodius tumulus, Gould. See also Megapode. The Indian Jungle-fowl is a different bird.

1890. Carl Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 97:

"But what especially gives life and character to these woods are the jungle-hens (mound-builders) . . . The bird is of a brownish hue, with yellow legs and immensely large feet; hence its name Megapodius."

<hw>Juniper, Native</hw>, n. i.q. Native Currant (q.v.).

K

<hw>Kahawai</hw>, n. Maori name for the fish Arripis salar, Richards.; called in Australia and New Zealand Salmon (q.v.).

<hw>Kahikatea</hw>, n. Maori name for a New Zealand tree, Podocarpus dacrydioides, A. Rich., N.O. Coniferae. Also called White-Pine. See Pine. The settlers' pronunciation is often Kackatea. There is a Maori word Kahika, meaning ancient.

1855. Rev. R. Taylor. `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 439:

"White-pine, Podocarpus dacrydioides—Kahikatea, kahika, korol. This tree is generally called the white-pine, from the colour of its wood. The kahikatea may be considered as nearly the loftiest tree in the New Zealand forest; it often attains a height of little less than two hundred feet, and in that respect rivals the noble kauri, but the general appearance is not very pleasing."

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Trees,' p. 304:

"The kahikatea or kakaterra-tree (Dacrydium excelsum or taxifolium). This majestic and noble-looking tree belongs to the natural order of Taxaceae, more commonly known by the name of Joint Firs. Height 150 to 180 feet, rising sixty feet and upward without a branch."

1876: W. Blair, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. ix. art. 10, p. 160:

"This timber is known in all the provinces, except Otago, by the native name of `kahikatea'. I think we should adopt it also, not only on account of being more euphonious, but for the reason that so many timbers in other parts of the world are called white-pine."

1873. `Appendix to Journal of House of Representatives,' vol. iii. G. 7, p. 11:

"On the purchased land stands, or lately stood, a small kahikatea bush. . . . The wood appears to have been of no great money value, but the natives living in Tareha's pa depended upon it for their supply of fire-wood."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 124:

[It is Sir James Hector who assigns the tree to Coniferae, not Taxaceae.]

1888. Cassell's' Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii. p. 210:

"The White Pine or kahikatea is a very beautiful tree, and droops its dark feathery foliage in a way which recalls the graceful branches of the English elm-tree."

<hw>Kahikatoa</hw>, n. Maori name for /a/ New Zealand shrub, but no longer used by the settlers.

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 126:

"Kahikatoa, tea-tree of Cook. Leptospermum scoparium, Forst., N.O. Myrtaceae."

<hw>Kahikomako</hw>, n. Maori name [shortened into kaikomako] for a New Zealand timber, Pennantia corymbosa, N.O. Olacineae; called also Ribbonwood (q.v.).

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 130:

"Kahikomako, a small, very graceful tree, with white sweet-smelling flowers; height twenty to thirty feet. Wood used by the Maoris for kindling fires by friction."

<hw>Kai</hw>, n. Maori word for food; used also in the South Sea islands. Kai-kai is an English adaptation for feasting.

1807. J. Savage, `Some Account of New Zealand,' Vocab. p. 75:

"Kiki . . . food." [The i has the English not the Italian sound.]

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 157:

"Kai, s. victuals, support, etc.; a. eatable."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 29:

"He explained to us that every one would cry very much, and then there would be very much kai-kai or feasting."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 95:

"Kai, the general word for food, is not used at Rotorua, because it was the name of a great chief, and the word tami has been substituted for it."

1895. Louis Becke and J. D. Fitzgerald, `The Maori in Politics,' `Review of Reviews,' June 20, p. 621:

"We saw some thirty men and women coming towards us, singing in chorus and keeping step to the music. In their hands they carried small baskets woven of raupo reeds, containing kai, or food. This was the `kai' dance."

<hw>Kainga</hw>, and <hw>Kaika</hw>, n. now generally kaik, and pronounced kike, a Maori settlement, village. Kainga is used in the North, and is the original form; Kaika is the South Island use. It is the village for dwelling; the pa is for fighting in.

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 157:

"Kainga. A place of residence, a home," etc.

1873. Lt.-Colonel St. John, `Pakeha Rambles through Maori Lands,' p. 164 [Heading of Chapter x.]:

"How we live in our kainga."

1896. `Otago Witness,' Jan. 23, p. 50, col. 5:

"A cosy-looking kainga located on the bank of a picturesque bend of the river."

Ibid. p. 52, col. 1:

"We steamed on slowly towards Tawhitinui, a small kainga or kaik, as it is called in the South island."

1884. `Maoriland,' p. 84:

"The drive may be continued from Portobello to the Maori kaik."

<hw>Kaio</hw>, n. popular corruption in the South Island of New Zealand of Ngaio (q.v.).

<hw>Kaitaka</hw>, n. Maori word for the best kind of native mat.

1835. W. Yate, `Account of New Zealand,' p. 157:

"Requiring from three to four months' close sitting to complete one of their kaitakas—the finest sort of mat which they make. This garment has a very silky appearance."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 244:

"Pukaro ended by flinging over my shoulders a very handsome kaitaka mat, which he had been wearing while he spoke."

1881. J. L. Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 205:

"Highly prized and beautiful kaitaka mats."

<hw>Kaiwhiria</hw>, n. Maori name for New Zealand tree, Hedycarya dentata, Forst., N.O. Monimiaceae. Porokaiwhiri is the fuller name of the tree.

1883. /J./ Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 129

"Kaiwhiria, a small evergreen tree, twenty to thirty feet high; the wood is finely marked and suitable for veneering."

<hw>Kaka</hw>, n. the Maori name for a parrot. The word is imitative of a parrot's cry. It is now always used to denote the Brown Parrot of New Zealand, Nestor meridionalis, Gmel.

1835. W. Yate, `Account of New Zealand,' p. 54:

"Kaka—a bird of the parrot kind; much larger than any other New Zealand parrot."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 259:

"The kaka, a large russet parrot, of excellent flavour, and very abundant in many places."

1851. Mrs. Wilson, `New Zealand,' p. 40:

"The bright red feathers from under the wing of the kaka or large parrot."

1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' [Notes] p. 79:

"The kaka is a kind of parrot of a reddish grey colour, and is easily tamed when taken young."

1866. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 93:

"The hoarse croak of the ka-ka, as it alighted almost at our feet, and prepared, quite careless of our vicinity, to tear up the loose soil at the root of a tall tree, in search of grubs."

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

"Nestor hypopolius, ka-ka parrot."

1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of Maori,' p. 38:

"I heard mocking kakas wail and cry above thy corse."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 150:

"Nestor meridionalis, kaka parrot."

Ibid. p. 158:

"Sprightly in its actions, eminently social, and more noisy than any other inhabitant of the woods, the kaka holds a prominent place among our native birds."

<hw> Kaka-bill</hw>, n. a New Zealand plant, the Clianthus (q.v.), so called from the supposed resemblance of the flower to the bill of the Kaka (q.v.). Called also Parrot-bill, Glory-Pea, and Kowhai (q.v.).

1842. W. R. Wade, `Journey in New Zealand,' [Hobart Town]. p. 196:

"Kowai ngutukaka [parrot-bill kowai]; the most elegant flowering shrub of the country."

1892. `Otago Witness,' Nov. 24, `Native Trees':

"A plantation of a shrub which is in great demand in England and on the Continent, and is greatly neglected here—the Clianthus puniceus, or scarlet glory pea of New Zealand, locally known as kaka beak."

<hw>Kakapo</hw>, n. Maori name for the Night-parrot, Stringops habroptilus, Gray. Called also Owl-parrot. See Kaka. The syllable po is Maori for night. Compare Katipo (q.v.).

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

"Strigops habroptilus, G. R. Gray, Kakapo, native name."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 149:

"Stringops, owl-parrot—ground-parrot of the colonists."

1889. Prof. Parker, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 117:

"Although possessing large wings, it is flightless, its breast-muscles being so small as to be practically useless. Its habits are nocturnal, and it has a ring of feathers arranged round the eye, giving it a curious resemblance to an owl, whence the name owl-parrot is often applied to it."

1893. A. R. Wallace, `Australasia,' vol. i. p. 445:

"Another remarkable bird is the owl parrot (Stringops habroptilus) of a greenish colour, and with a circle of feathers round the eye as in the owl. It is nocturnal in its habits, lives in holes in the ground under tree-roots or rocks."

1896. `Otago Witness,' June 11, p. 53:

"The Kakapo is one of our most unique birds."

<hw>Kakariki</hw>, n. Maori name for a green Parrakeet. There are two species, Platycercus novae zelandiae, Sparrm., and P. auriceps, Kuhl. See Parrakeet. The word kakariki means literally little parrot, kaka (q.v.) and iki (little), the r is intrusive. It is applied also to a green lizard. In Maori it becomes later an adjective, meaning `green.'

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 404:

"The Kakariki . . . (platycercus novae zeal.) is a pretty light green parrot with a band of red or yellow over the upper beak and under the throat. This elegant little bird is about the size of a small thrush."

1894. `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxvii. p. 95 [Note]:

"The name Kakarika (indicative of colour) is applied alike to the green lizard and to the green Parrakeet of our woods."

<hw>Kamin</hw>, n. aboriginal word, explained in quotation. It is probably local.

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 89:

"If he [the Australian black] has to climb a high tree, he first goes into the scrub to fetch a piece of the Australian calamus (Calamus australis), which he partly bites, partly breaks off; he first bites on one side and breaks it down, then on the other side and breaks it upwards—one, two, three, and this tough whip is severed. At one end of it he makes a knot, the other he leaves it as it is. This implement, which is usually from sixteen to eighteen feet long, is called a kamin."

<hw>Kanae</hw>, n. (trisyll.) Maori name for a fish of New Zealand, the Silver-Mullet, Mugil perusii or argenteus.

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (C.M.S.), p. 158:

"Kanae, s. The mullet fish."

1888. Order in Council, New Zealand, Jan. 10, `Regulations under the Fisheries Conservation Act':

"The months of December, January, and February in each year are here prescribed a close season for the fish of the species of the mugil known as mullet or kanae."

<hw>Kanaka</hw>, n. and adj. a labourer from the South Sea Islands, working in Queensland sugar-plantations. The word is Hawaiian (Sandwich Islands). The kindred words are given in the following extract from

Fornander's Polynesian Race' (1885), vol. iii. p. 154:

"Kanaka, s. Hawaiian, man, human, mankind, a common man in distinction from chiefs. Samoan, New Zealand [sc. Maori], Tongan, tangata, man. Tahitian, taata, man."

In the original word the accent is on the first syllable, which accent Mr. Rudyard Kipling preserves (see quotation, 1893), though he has changed the word in his reprint of the poem in `The Seven Seas'; but the usual pronunciation in Australia is to accent the second syllable.

1794. J. J. Jarves, `History of Hawaiian Islands,' printed at Honolulu (1872), p. 82:

"[On 21st Feb. 1794.] A salute was then fired, and the natives shouted, `Kanaka no Beritane'—we are men of Britain."

1852. A. Miller, `Narrative of United States Exploring Expedition,' c. ii. p. 142:

"On Monday (Nov. 16, 1840) our gentlemen formed themselves into two parties, and started on horseback for their journey. One party consisted of Messrs. Reade, Rich, and Wall, with eight kanakas and two guides."

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' c. viii. p. 133:

"Queensland at present is supplying itself with labour from the South Sea Islands, and the men employed are called Polynesians, or canakers, or islanders."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia, p. 162:

"The word `kanaka' is really a Maori word, signifying a man, but in Australia it has come to be applied exclusively to the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Head Station,' p. 9:

"The kanaka reverences women and adores children. He is loyal in heart, affectionate of disposition, and domestic in his habits."

1888. H. S. Cooper, `The Islands of the Pacific,' p. 5:

"The kanakas, who at present populate Hawaii, are, as a rule, well made and intelligent. That there is a cross of the Malay and Indian blood in them few can doubt."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 64:

"Natives of the South Sea Islands, who in Australia are called kanakas—a capable and intelligent race, especially to this kind of work [on plantations], for they are strong, and endure the tropical heat far better than the whites."

1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 298:

"Thus, it is maintained by the planters, the kanaka, necessary as he is to the conditions of North Queensland, opens up avenues of skilled labour for the European, and makes population and commerce possible where otherwise there would be complete stagnation."