Austral English

E

Reading edition

<hw>Eagle</hw>, n. There are nine species of the true Eagle, all confined to the genus Haliaetus, such as the Baldheaded Eagle (H. leucocephalus), the national emblem of the United States. (`Century.') In Australia the name is assigned to—

Little Eagle— Aquila morphnoides, Gould.

Wedge-tailed E. (Eagle-hawk)— A. audax, Lath.

Whistling E.— Haliaetus sphenurus, Vieill.

White-bellied Sea E.— H. leucogaster, Gmel.

White-headed Sea E.— Haliaster girrenera, Vieill.

<hw>Eaglehawk</hw>, n. an Australian name for the bird Uroaetus, or Aquila audax, Lath. The name was applied to the bird by the early colonists of New South Wales, and has persisted. In `O.E.D.' it is shown that the name was used in Griffith's translation (1829) of Cuvier's `Regne Animal' as a translation of the French aigle-autour, Cuvier's name for a South American bird of prey of the genus Morphnus, called Spizaetus by Vieillot; but it is added that the word never came into English use. See Eagle. There is a town in Victoria called Eaglehawk. The Bendigo cabmen make the name a monosyllable, "Glawk."

1834. L. E. Threlkeld, `Australian Grammar, p. 56:

"The large eaglehawk, which devours young kangaroos, lambs, etc."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. i. pl. 1:

"Aquila Fucosa, Cuv., [now A. audax, Lath.] Wedge-tailed eagle. Eaglehawk, Colonists of New South Wales."

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 106:

"We knew it was dying, as two large eaglehawks were hovering about over it."

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 251:

"The hair of a person is tied on the end of the throwing-stick, together with the feathers of the eagle hawk."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia', p. 106:

"Since the destruction of native dogs and eagle-hawks by the squatters, who stocked the country with sheep, the kangaroos have not a single natural enemy left."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 35:

"On the New South Wales side of the river the eagle-hawk is sometimes so great a pest amongst the lambs that the settlers periodically burn him out by climbing close enough to the nest to put a fire-stick in contact with it."

<hw>Eagle-hawking</hw>, n. bush slang: plucking wool off dead sheep.

<hw>Eagle-Ray</hw>, n. name belonging to any large Ray of the family Myliobatidae; the New Zealand species is Myliobatis nieuhofii.

<hw>Eastralia</hw>, n. recent colloquial name, fashioned on the model of Westralia (q.v.), used in West Australia for the Eastern Colonies. In Adelaide, its application seems confined to New South Wales.

<hw>Ebony</hw>, n. a timber. The name is applied in Australia to two species of Bauhinia, B. carronii, F. v. M., and B. hookeri, F. v. M., N.O. Leguminosae. Both are called Queensland or Mountain Ebony.

<hw>Echidna</hw>, n. a fossorial Monotreme, in general appearance resembling a Porcupine, and often called Spiny Ant-eater or Porcupine, or Porcupine Ant-eater. The body is covered with thick fur from which stiff spines protrude; the muzzle is in the form of a long toothless beak; and the tongue is very long and extensile, and used largely for licking up ants; the feet are short, with strong claws adapted for burrowing. Like the Marsupials, the Echidna is provided with a pouch, but the animal is oviparous, usually laying two eggs at a time, which are carried about in the pouch until the young ones are hatched, when they are fed by a secretion from mammary glands, which do not, however, as in other mammals, open on to a nipple. The five-toed Echidnas (genus Echidna) are found in New Guinea, Australia, and Tasmania, while the three-toed Echidnas (genus Proechidna) are confined to New Guinea. The species are—Common E., Echidna aculeata, Shaw; Bruijn's E., Proechidna bruijni, Peters and Doria; Black-spined E., Proechidna nigro-aculeata, Rothschild. The name is from Grk. 'echidna, an adder or viper, from the shape of the long tongue.

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 29:

"The native porcupine or echidna is not very common."

1843. J.Backhouse, `Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies,' p. 89:

"The Porcupine of this land, Echidna hystrix, is a squat species of ant-eater, with short quills among its hair: it conceals itself in the day time among dead timber in the hilly forests."

1851. `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. i. p. 178:

"Mr. Milligan mentioned that one of the Aborigines of Tasmania reports having often discovered the nest of the Echidna Setosa, porcupine or ant eater, of the colony; that on several occasions one egg had been found in it, and never more: this egg has always been found to contain a foetus or chick, and is said to be round, considerably less than a tennis ball, and without a shell. The mother is said to sit continuously (for a period not ascertained) in the manner of the common fowl over the eggs; she does not leave the young for a considerable time after having hatched it; at length, detaching it from the small teat, she moves out hurriedly and at long intervals in quest of food, the young one becoming, at each successive return, attached to the nipple. . . The Platypus (Ornithorhyncus paradoxus) is said to lay two eggs, having the same external membranous covering, but of an oblong shape."

1860. G. Bennett,' Gatherings of a Naturalist in Australasia,' p. 147:

"The Porcupine Ant-eater of Australia (Echidna hystrix) (the native Porcupine or Hedgehog of the colonists), and the Ornithorhynchus, to which it is allied in internal organization, form the only two genera of the order Monotremata."

1888. Cassell's' Picturesque Australasia,' vol. ii. p. 230:

"Among the gigantic boulders near the top he may capture the burrowing ant-eating porcupine, though if perchance he place it for a moment in the stoniest ground, it will tax all his strength to drag it from the instantaneous burrow in which it will defiantly embed itself."

1892. A.Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of British Colonies,' p. 273:

"The echidna is an animal about a foot or 18 inches long, covered with spines like a hedgehog. It lives chiefly upon ants. With its bill, which is like a duck's but narrower, it burrows into an ant's-hill, and then with its long, whip-like, sticky tongue, draws the ants into its mouth by hundreds."

1894. R. Lydekker, `Marsupialia and Monotremata,' p. 247:

"In order to enable them to procure with facility their food of ants and their larvae, echidnas are provided with very large glands, discharging into the mouth the viscid secretion which causes the ants to adhere to the long worm-like tongue when thrust into a mass of these insects, after being exposed by the digging powers of the claws of the echidna's limbs. . . . When attacked they roll themselves into a ball similar to the hedgehog."

<hw>Echu</hw>, n. the name of an Australian bird which has not been identified. The word does not occur in the ornithological lists.

1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems—Evening Hymn,' p. 53:

"The echu's songs are dying with the flute-bird's mellow tone."

1896. `The Australasian,' Jan. 11, p. 73, col. 1:

"`Yeldina' (Rochester) writes—While I was on the Murray, a few days before Christmas last, some miles below Echuca, my attention was attracted to the melancholy note, as of a bird which had lost its mate, calling ee-k-o-o, e-e-koo, which was repeated several times, after which a pause, then ee-koo, ee-ko, coolie, coolie, ee-koo. This happened in the scrub at sunset, and came, I think, from a bird smaller than the Australian minah, and of a greenish yellowish hue, larger, but similar to the members of the feathered tribe known to young city `knights of the catapult' as greenies. It was while returning to camp from fishing that I noticed this bird, which appeared of solitary habits."

"`Crossbolt' (Kew) writes—The echu is probably identical with a handsome little bird whose peculiar cry `e-e-choo' is familiar to many bush ramblers. It is the size of a small wood-swallow; black head, back, wings, and tail more or less blue-black; white throat; neck and breast light to rich brown. The female is much plainer, and would scarcely be recognized as the mate of the former. The melodious `e-e-choo' is usually answered from a distance, whether by the female or a rival I cannot say, and is followed by a prolonged warbling."

<hw>Eel</hw>, n. The kinds present in Australia are—

Common Eel— Anguilla australis, Richards.

Conger E.— Conger labiatus, Castin., and Gonorhynchus grayi, Richards.

Green E. (New South Wales)— Muroena afra, Bl.

Silver E.— Muroenesox cinereus, Forsk.; also called the Sea-eel (New South Wales). Conger wilsoni, Castln. (Melbourne).

The New Zealand Eels are—

Black Eel— Anguilla australis, Richards.

Conger E.— Conger vulgaris, Cuv.

Sand E.— Gonorynchus grayi, Richards.

Serpent E.— Ophichthys serpens, Linn.

Silver E.— Congromuroena habenata, Richards.

Tuna E.— Anguilla aucklandii, Richards.

The Sand Eel does not belong to the Eel family, and is only called an Eel from its habits.

<hw>Eel-fish</hw>, n. Plotosus tandanus, Mitchell. Called also Catfish (q.v.), and Tandan (q.v.).

1838. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' vol. i. pl. 5, p.. 44 and 95 [Note]:

"Plotosus tandanus, tandan or eel-fish. Tandan is the aboriginal name."

<hw>Egret</hw>, n. an English bird-name. The following species are present in Australia, some being European and others exclusively Australian—

Lesser Egret— Herodias melanopus, Wagl.

Little E.— H. garzetta, Linn.

Pied E.— H. picata, Gould.

Plumed Egret— H. intermedia, v. Hasselq.

White E.— H. alba, Linn.

<hw>Elder</hw>, n. See next word.

<hw>Elderberry, Native</hw>, n. The two Australian species of the Elder are Sambucus gaudichaudiana, De C., and S. xanthocarpa, F. v. M., N.O. Caprifoliaceae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 56:

"Native elderberry. The fruit of these two native elders is fleshy and sweetish, and is used by the aborigines for food."

<hw>Elephant-fish</hw>, n. a fish of New Zealand, South Australian, and Tasmanian waters, Callorhynchus antarcticus, Lacep., family Chimaeridae. "It has a cartilaginous prominence of the snout, ending in a cutaneous flap" (Gunth.), suggesting a comparison with an elephant's trunk. Called also King of the Herrings (q.v.).

1802. G. Barrington, `Voyage to New South Wales,' p. 388:

"The sea affords a much greater plenty, and at least as great a variety as the land; of these the elephant fish were very palatable food."

<hw>Ellangowan Poison-bush</hw>, n. a Queensland name for Myoporum deserti, Cunn., N.O. Myoporinae,; called "Dogwood Poison-bush" in New South Wales. Ellangowan is on the Darling Downs in Queensland. Poisonous to sheep, but only when in fruit.

<hw>Emancipatist</hw>, and <hw>Emancipist</hw>, n. (the latter, the commoner), an ex-convict who has served out his sentence. The words are never used now except historically.

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 118:

"Emigrants who have come out free from England, and emancipists, who have arrived here as convicts, and have either been pardoned or completed their term of servitude."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 302:

"Men who had formerly been convicts, but who, after their period of servitude had expired, were called `emancipists.'"

1837. Jas. Mudie, `Felonry of New South Wales,' p. vii:

"The author begs leave to record his protest against the abuse of language to the misapplication of the terms emancipists and absentees to two portions of the colonial felonry. An emancipist could not be understood to mean the emancipated but the emancipator. Mr. Wilberforce may be honoured with the title of emancipist; but it is as absurd to give the same appellation to the emancipated felons of New South Wales as it would be to bestow it upon the emancipated negroes of the West Indies."

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 69:

"The same emancipist will, however, besides private charity, be among the first and greatest contributors to a new church."

1852. `Fraser's Magazine,' vol. xlvi. p. 135:

"The convict obtained his ticket-of-leave . . . became an emancipist . . . and found transportation no punishment."

<hw>Emu</hw>, n. an Australian bird, Dromaius novae-hollandiae, Lath. There is a second species, Spotted Emu, Dromaius irroratus, Bartlett. An earlier, but now unusual, spelling is Emeu. Emeus is the scientific name of a New Zealand genus of extinct struthious birds. The word Emu is not Australian, but from the Portuguese Ema, the name first of the Crane, afterwards of the Ostrich. Formerly the word Emu was used in English for the Cassowary, and even for the American Ostrich. Since 1885 an Emu has been the design on the twopenny postage stamp of New South Wales.

1613. `Purchas Pilgrimmage,' pt. I. Vol v. c. xii. p. 430 (`O.E.D.'):

"The bird called Emia or Eme is admirable."

1774. Oliver Goldsmith, `Natural History,' vol. iii. p. 69, Book III. c. v. [Heading]

"The Emu."

1788. `History of New South Wales' (1818), p. 53:

"A bird of the ostrich genus, but of a species very different from any other in the known world, was killed and brought in. Its length was between seven and eight feet; its flesh was good and thought to resemble beef. It has obtained the name of the New South Wales Emu."

1789. Captain W. Tench, `Expedition to Botany Bay,' p. 123:

"The bird which principally claims attention is a species of ostrich, approaching nearer to the emu of South America than any other we know of."

1793 Governor Hunter, `Voyage,' p. 69:

"Some were of opinion that it was the emew, which I think is particularly described by Dr. Goldsmith from Linneus: others imagined it to be the cassowary, but it far exceeds that bird in size . . . two distinct feathers grew out from every quill."

1802. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 307:

"These birds have been pronounced by Sir Joseph Banks, of whose judgment none can entertain a doubt, to come nearer to what is known of the American ostrich than to either the emu of India or the ostrich of Africa."

1804. `Rev. R. Knopwood's Diary' (J. J. Shillinglaw— `Historical Records of Port Phillip,' 1879), p. 115:

[At the Derwent] 26 March, 1804—"They caught six young emews [sic], about the size of a turkey, and shot the old mother."

1832. J. Bischof, `Van Diemen's Land,' p. 165:

"We saw an emu track down the side of a hill."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discovery in Australia,' vol. i. c. ix. p.276

"The face of the emu bears a most remarkable likeness to that of the aborigines of New South Wales."

1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 160:

"They will pick up anything, thimbles, reels of cotton, nails, bullets indiscriminately: and thus the proverb of `having the digestion of an emu' has its origin."

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

"Dromaius Novae Hollandiae. The Emu. New Holland Cassowary.—'Governor Phillips' Voyage, 1789.'"

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 42:

"The emu strides with such rapidity over the plains as to render its capture very difficult even by the swiftest greyhound."

1872. C. H. Eden, "My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 52:

"A couple of grave-looking emus. These wobble away at an ungainly but rapid pace directly they sight us, most probably vainly pursued by the dray dogs which join us farther on, weary and unsuccessful—indeed the swiftest dog finds an emu as much as he can manage."

1878. A. Newton, in `Encyclopedia Britannica' (9th edit.), vol. viii. p. 173:

"Next to the ostrich the largest of existing birds, the common emeu. . .''

1881. A.C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 210:

". . . points out two emus to John. . . . They resemble ostriches, but are not so large, and the tail droops more. . . . John can distinguish every point about them, from their black cast-iron looking legs, to the bare neck and small head, with its bright eye and strong flat beak."

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

"Emu. [Close Season.] From the 14th day of June to the 20th day of December following in each year."

1893. `The Argus,' March 25,p. 4, col. 5:

"The chief in size is the egg of the cassowary, exactly like that of the emu except that the colour is pale moss green instead of the dark green of the emu."

<hw>Emu-Apple</hw>, n. See Apple.

<hw>Emu-Bush</hw>, n. an Australian shrub, Eremophila longifolia, F. v. M., N.O. Myoporineae.

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 206:

"Emu-tree. A small Tasmanian tree; found on low marshy ground used for turners' work."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 317:

"Emu-bush. Owing to emus feeding on the seeds of this and other species. Heterodendron oleaefolium, Desf."

Ibid. p. 132:

"The seeds, which are dry, are eaten by emus."

<hw>Emu-Wren</hw>, n. a bird-name. See Malurus.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iii. pl. 31:

"Stipituras Malachurus, Less. Emu Wren. The decomposed or loose structure of these [tail] feathers, much resembling those of the emu, has suggested the colonial name of Emu-Wren for this species, an appellation singularly appropriate, inasmuch as it at once indicates the kind of plumage with which the bird is clothed, and the Wren-like nature of its habits."

1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 213:

"The delicate little emeu wren."

1865. Lady Barker (letter from `Melbourne), `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 8:

"Then there is the emu-wren, all sad-coloured, but quaint, with the tail-feathers sticking up on end, and exactly like those of an emu, on the very smallest scale, even to the peculiarity of two feathers growing out of the same little quill."

<hw>Eopsaltria</hw>, n. scientific name for the genus of Australian birds called Shrike-Robins (q.v.). (Grk. 'aeows, dawn, and psaltria, a female harper.)

<hw>Epacris</hw>, n. scientific name of the typical genus of the order Epacrideae, a heath-like flower of which there are twenty- five species, mostly Australian. From Greek 'epi, upon, and 'akron, top (the flowers grow in spikes at the top of the plant). In Australia they are frequently confused with and called Ericas.

<hw>Ephthianura</hw>, n. scientific name of a genus of very small Australian birds, anglicized as Ephthianure. For species see quotation, 1848. A fourth species has been discovered since Gould's day, E. crocea, Castln. and Ramsay, which inhabits Northern Australia. The name was first given by Gould, in the `Proceedings of the Zoological Society of 1837,' p. 148, as a genus novum. The origin of the word is not certain, but as the tail is unusually small, it is suggested that the name is from the Greek 'oura, tail, and Homeric imperfect 3rd person sing. 'ephthien, wasted away, from phthiow (= phthinow). [The word occurs Iliad xviii. 446.] //phthio is ONLY in Homer!! Iliad AND Odyssey GJC//

1848. J. Gould,' Birds of Australia,' vol. iii. pl. 64:

"Ephthianura Albifrons, White-fronted Ephthianura," pl. 65. "Aurifrons, Gould, Orange-fronted E.," pl. 66. "Tricolor, Gould, Tricoloured E.'"

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

"Close season.—Ephthianuras. The whole year."

<hw>Escapee</hw>, n. one who has escaped. Especially used of French convicts who escape from New Caledonia. The word is formed on the model of absentee, refugee, etc., and is manifestly influenced by Fr. e/chappe/. Escaper is the historical English form. (See Bible, 2 Kings ix. 15, margin.) //He means, of course, the so-called Authorised Version" which reads, ftn. 5: "let no escaper go, etc." Even though the Revised Version was published in 1885. GJC//

1880. `Melbourne Argus,' July 22, p. 2, col. 3 (`O.E.D.'):

"The ten New Caledonia escapees . . . are to be handed over to the French consul."

<hw>Eucalyn</hw>, n. a sugar obtained, together with laevulose, by fermentation of melitose (q.v.) with yeast, or by boiling it with dilute acids.

<hw>Eucalypt</hw>, n. shortened English form of Eucalyptus used especially in the plural, Eucalypts. Eucalypti sounds pedantic.

1880. T. W. Nutt, `Palace of Industry,' p. 11:

"Stems of the soaring eucalypts that rise Four hundred friendly feet to glad the skies."

1887. J. F. Hogan, `The Irish in Australia,' p. 126:

"There is no unmixed good, it is said, on this mundane sphere, and the evil that has accompanied the extensive settlement of Gipps Land during recent years is to be found in the widespread destruction of the forests, resulting in a disturbance of the atmospheric conditions and the banishment of an ever-active agent in the preservation of health, for these eucalypts, or gum-trees, as they are generally called, possess the peculiar property of arresting fever-germs and poisonous exhalations. They have been transplanted for this especial purpose to some of the malaria-infested districts of Europe and America, and with pronounced success. Australia, to which they are indigenous, has mercilessly hewn them down in the past, but is now repenting of its folly in that respect, and is replanting them at every seasonable opportunity."

1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of British Colonies,' p. 270:

"Throughout the whole of Australia the prevailing trees are eucalypts, known generally as gum-trees on account of the gum which they secrete, and which may be seen standing like big translucent beads on their trunks and branches."

<hw>Eucalyptene</hw>, n. the name given by Cloez to a hydrocarbon obtained by subjecting Eucalyptol (q.v.) to dehydration by phosphorus pentoxide. The same name has also been given by other chemists to a hydrocarbon believed to occur in eucalyptus oil.

<hw>Eucalyptian</hw>, adj. playfully formed; not in common use.

1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads,' p. 8:

"Gnarl'd, knotted trunks Eucalyptian Seemed carved, like weird columns Egyptian, With curious device—quaint inscription And hieroglyph strange."

<hw>Eucalyptic</hw>, adj. full of gumtrees.

1873. J. Brunton Stephens, `Black Gin, etc.,' p.6:

"This eucalyptic cloisterdom is anything but gay."

<hw>Eucalyptol</hw>, n. a volatile oil of camphor-like smell, extracted from the oil of Eucalyptus globulus, Labill., E. amygdalina, Labill., etc. Chemically identical with cineol, got from other sources.

<hw>Eucalyptus</hw>, n. the gum tree. There are 120 species, as set forth in Baron von Mueller's `Eucalyptographia, a Descriptive Atlas of the Eucalypts of Australia.' The name was first given in scientific Latin by the French botanist L'Heritier, in his Sertum Anglicum, published in 1788. From the Greek 'eu, well, and kaluptein, to cover. See quotation, 1848. N.O. Myrtaceae. The French now say Eucalyptus; earlier they called it l'acajou de la nouvelle Hollande. The Germans call it Schoenmutze. See Gum.

1823. Sidney Smith, `Essays,' p. 440:

"A London thief, clothed in Kangaroo's skins, lodged under the bark of the dwarf eucalyptus, and keeping sheep, fourteen thousand miles from Piccadilly, with a crook bent into the shape of a picklock, is not an uninteresting picture."

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. i. c. ii. p. 80:

"A large basin in which there are stunted pines and eucalyptus scrub."

1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 132:

"The scientific term Eucalyptus has been derived from the Greek, in allusion to a lid or covering over the blossom, which falls off when the flower expands, exposing a four-celled capsule or seed-vessel."

1851. G. W. Rusden, `Moyarra,' canto i. p. 8:

"The eucalyptus on the hill Was silent challenge to his skill."

1879. `Temple Bar,' Oct., p. 23 ('0. E. D.'):

"The sombre eucalypti . . . interspersed here and there by their dead companions."

1886. J. A. Froude, `Oceana,' p. 118:

"At intervals the bush remained untouched, but the universal eucalyptus, which I had expected to find grey and monotonous, was a Proteus it shape and colour, now branching like an oak or a cork tree, now feathered like a birch, or glowing like an arbutus with an endless variety of hue—green, orange, and brown."

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

"A lofty eucalyptus . . . lay with its bared roots sheer athwart a tiny watercourse."

<hw>Euro</hw>, n. one of the aboriginal names for a Kangaroo (q.v.); spelt also Yuro.

1885. Mrs. Praed, `Head Station,' p. 192:

"Above and below . . . were beetling cliffs, with ledges and crannies that afforded foothold only to yuros and rock-wallabies."

<hw>Exclusionist</hw>, n. and adj. See quotation.

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. ii. pp. 118-19:

". . . one subdivision of the emigrant class alluded to, is termed the exclusionist party, from their strict exclusion of the emancipists from their society."

<hw>Exileism</hw>, n. a word of same period as Exiles (q.v.).

1893. A. P. Martin, `Life of Lord Sherbrooke,' vol. i. p. 381:

"A gentleman who was at this time engaged in pastoral pursuits in New South Wales, and was therefore a supporter of exileism.'"

<hw>Exiles</hw>, n. euphemistic name for convicts. It did not last long.

1847, A. P. Martin, `Life of Lord Sherbrooke' (1893), vol. i. p. 378:

"The cargoes of criminals were no longer to be known as `convicts,' but (such is the virtue in a name!) as `exiles.' It was, as Earl Grey explained in his despatch of Sept 3, 1847, `a scheme of reformatory discipline.'"

1852. G. B. Earp, `Gold Colonies of Australia,' p. 100:

"The convict system ceased in New South Wales in 1839; but `exiles' as they were termed, i.e. men who had passed their probation at home, were forwarded till 1843."

<hw>Expiree</hw>, n. a convict whose term of sentence had expired.

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (ed. 1885), p. 107:

"A hireling convict - emancipist, expiree, or ticket of leave."

<hw>Expiree</hw>, adj. See preceding.

1847. J. D. Lang, `Cooksland,' p. 271:

"Very many of their servants, being old hands or expiree convicts from New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, are thoroughly unprincipled men."

1883. E. M. Curr, `Recollections of Squatting in Victoria' (1841-1351), p. 40:

"Hiring men in Melbourne in 1841 was not by any means an agreeable job, as wages were high, and labourers (almost all old gaol-birds and expiree convicts) exceedingly independent and rowdy."

F

<hw>Fairy Gardens</hw>, n. a miner's term, explained in quotation.

1852. F. Lancelott, `Australia, as it is', vol. ii. p. 221:

"On the south-eastern portion of this county is the world-famed Burra Burra copper mine. . . . Some of the cuttings are through solid blocks of ore, which brilliantly glitter as you pass with a lighted candle, while others are formed in veins of malachite, and from their rich variegated green appearance are not inaptly called by the miners `Fairy gardens.'"

<hw>Fake-mucker</hw>, n. a Tasmanian name for the Dusky Robin (Petroica vittata). See Robin.

<hw>Falcon</hw>, n. English bird-name. The Australian species are—

Black Falcon— Falco subniger, Gray.

Black-cheeked F.— F. melanogenys, Gould.

Grey F.— F. hypoleucus, Gould.

Little F.— F. lunulatus, Lath.

See also Nankeen-Hawk.

<hw>Fantail</hw>, n. bird-name applied in England to a pigeon; in Australia and New Zealand, to the little birds of the genus Rhipidura (q.v.). It is a fly-catcher. The Australian species are—

Rhipidura albiscapa, Gould.

Black-and-White Fantail (called also the Wagtail, q.v.)— R. tricolor, Vieill.

Dusky F.— R. diemenensis, Sharpe.

Northern F.— R. setosa, Quoy and Gaim.

Pheasant F.— Rhipidura phasiana, De Vis.

Rufous F.— R. rufifrons, Lath.

Western F.— R. preissi, Cab.

White-tailed F.— R. albicauda, North.

Wood F.— R. dryas, Gould.

The New Zealand species are—

Black F.— Rhipidura fuliginosa, Sparrm. (Tiwaiwaka).

Pied F.— R. flabellifera, Gmel. (Piwakawaka).

In Tasmania, the R. diemenensis is called the Cranky Fantail, because of its antics.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Journal,' vol. ii. p. 80:

"We also observed the . . . fantailed fly-catcher (Rhipidura)."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 69:

"The Red Fantail, ever flitting about with broadly expanded tail, and performing all manner of fantastic evolutions, in its diligent pursuit of gnats and flies, is one of the most pleasing and attractive objects in the New Zealand forest. It is very tame and familiar."

<hw>Farinaceous City</hw>, or <hw>Village</hw>, n. a playful name for Adelaide. The allusion is to wheat being the leading export of South Australia.

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 184:

"[Adelaide] has also been nicknamed the Farinaceous City. A little gentle ridicule is no doubt intended to be conveyed by the word."

<hw>Fat-cake</hw>, n. ridiculous name sometimes applied to Eucalyptus leucoxylon, F. v. M., according to Maiden (`Useful Native Plants,' p. 471).

<hw>Fat-hen</hw>, n. a kind of wild spinach. In England the name is applied to various plants of thick foliage.

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

"The fat-hen (Atriplex) . . ."

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 120:

"Another wild vegetable brew in the sandy beds of the rivers and creeks, called `fat-hen.' It was exactly like spinach, and not only most agreeable but also an excellent anti-scorbutic, a useful property, for scurvy is not an unknown thing in the bush by any means."

1881. A.C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 156:

"Boiled salt junk, with fat-hen (a kind of indigenous spinach)."

1889. J. M. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 16:

"Chenopodium murale, Linn., Australian spinach. Bentham considers this may have been introduced."

<hw>Felonry</hw>, n. See quotation.

1837. Jas. Mudie, `Felonry of New South Wales,' p. 6:

"The author has ventured to coin the word felonry, as the appellative of an order or class of persons in New South Wales—an order which happily exists in no other country in the world. A legitimate member of the tribe of appellatives . . . as peasantry, tenantry, yeomanry, gentry."

1858. T. McCombie, `History of Victoria,' c. xv. p. 24:

"The inundation of the Australian colonies with British Felonry."

1888. Sir C. Gavan Duffy, `Contemporary Review,' vol. liii. p.14 [`Century']:

"To shut out the felonry of Great Britain and Ireland."

<hw>Ferns</hw>. The following list of Australian ferns is taken from `The Fern World of Australia,' by F. M. Bailey of Brisbane (1881), omitting from his list all ferns of which the vernacular and scientific names coincide with the names of ferns elsewhere.

Bat's-wing Fern— Pteris incisa, Thunb.

Black Tree F. of New Zealand— Cyathea medullaris, Sw.

Blanket F.— Grammitis rutaefolia, R. Br.

Braid F.— Platyzoma microphyllum, R. Br.

Caraway F.— Athyrium umbrosum, J. Sm.

Curly F.— Cheilanthes tenuifolia, Sw.

Deer's-tongue F.— Acrostichum conforme, Sw.

Ear F.— Pteris falcata, R. Br.

Elk's-horn F.— Platycerium alcicorne, Desv.

Fan F.— Gleichenia flabellata, R. Br.

Golden Swamp F.— Acrostichum aureum, Linn.

Grass-leaved F. (q.v.)— Vittaria elongata, Sw.

*Hare's-foot F.— F. Davallia pyxidata, Cav.

Jersey F.— Grammitis leptophylla, Sw.

*Lady F.— Aspidium aculeatum, Sw.

*Maiden-hair F.— Adiantum, spp.

Meadow-rue Water F.— Ceratoptoris thalictroides, Brong.

Parasol F.— Gleichenia circinata, Sw.

Pickled-cabbage F.— Lomaria capensis, Willd.

Potato F. (q.v.)— Marattia fraxinea, Sm.

Prickly F. (q.v.)— Alsophila australis, R. Br.

Prickly-tree Fern— Alsophila leichhardtiana, F. v. M.

Ribbon F.— Ophioglossum pendulum, Linn.

Shiny F.— Polypodium aspidoides, Bail.

Snake's-tongue F.— Lygodium, spp.

The following are not in Baileys List:

Parsley F.— Cheilanthes tenuifolia, Sw. (Name Parsley applied to a different Fern elsewhere.)

Sword F.— Grammitis australis, R. Br.

Umbrella F., Tasmanian name for Fan F. (q.v.).

Other ferns not in this list appear elsewhere. See also Ferntree. ____ * Elsewhere the name is applied to a different species. ——

<hw>Fern-bird</hw>, n. a New Zealand bird of the genus Sphenoecus. Also called Grass-bird, and New Zealand Pipit. There are three species—

The Fern-bird— Sphenoecus punctatus, Gray.

Chatham Island F.-b.— S. rufescens, Buller.

Fulvous F.-b.— S. fulvus, Gray.

1885. `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xviii. p. 125:

"The peculiar chirp of the fern bird is yet to be heard among the tall fern."

1885. A. Hamilton, `Native Birds of Petane, Hawke's Bay':

"Fern-bird. The peculiar chirp of this lively little bird is yet to be heard among the tall fern, though it is not so plentiful as in days gone by."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 59:

"Fern Bird . . . This recluse little species is one of our commonest birds, but is oftener heard than seen. It frequents the dense fern of the open country and the beds of Raupo."

<hw>Fern-tree</hw>, n. Name applied to various species of ferns which grow to a large size, the stem in the fully grown plant reaching often a height of many feet before the leaves are given off. Such Tree-ferns clothe the sides of deep and shady gullies amongst the hills, and give rise to what are known as Fern-tree gullies, which form a very characteristic feature of the moister coastal Ranges of many parts of Australia. The principal Fern-trees or Tree-ferns, as they are indiscriminately called, of Australia and Tasmania are—

Dicksonia antarctica, Lab.; Alsophila australis, R. Br.; Todea africana, Willd.; Cyathea cunninghami, J. Hook.; Alsophila excelsa, R. Br.;

the last named, however, not occurring in Tasmania or Victoria.

1836. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 164:

"We entered a beautiful fern-tree grove, that also concealed the heavens from view, spreading like a plantation or cocoa-nut tree orchard, but with far more elegance and effect."

1839. C. Darwin, `Voyage of Beagle' (ed. 1890), p. 177:

"Tree-ferns thrive luxuriantly in Van Diemen's Land (lat. 45 degrees), and I measured one trunk no less than six feet in circumference. An arborescent fern was found by Forster in New Zealand in 46 degrees, where orchideous plants are parasitical on the trees. In the Auckland Islands, ferns, according to Dr. Dieffenbach, have trunks so thick and high that they may be almost called tree-ferns."

1857. F. R. Nixon (Bishop of Tasmania), `Cruise of the Beacon,' p. 26:

"With these they [i.e. the Tasmanian Aborigines] mingled the core or pith of the fern trees, Cibotium Bollardieri and Alsophila Australis (of which the former is rather astringent and dry for a European palate, and the latter, though more tolerable, is yet scarcely equal to a Swedish turnip.)"

1870. S. H. Wintle, `Fragments of Fern Fronds,' p. 39:

"Where the feet of the mountains are bathed by cool fountains, The green, drooping fern trees are seen."

1878. William Sharp, `Australian Ballads,' `Canterbury Poets' (Scott, 1888), pp. 180-81:

"The feathery fern-trees make a screen, Where through the sun-glare cannot pass— Fern, gum, and lofty sassafras."

"Under a feathery fern-tree bough A huge iguana lies alow."

1884. R. L. A. Davies, `Poems and Literary Remains,' p. 83:

"There were mossy fern-trees near me, With their graceful feathered fronds, Which they slowly waved above me, Like hoar magicians' wands."

1893. A.R. Wallace, `Australasia,' vol. i. p. 53:

"Here are graceful palms rising to 70 or even 100 feet; the Indian fig with its tortuous branches clothed with a drapery of curious parasites; while graceful tree ferns, 30 feet high, flourish in the damp atmosphere of the sheltered dells."

<hw>Fern-tree Gully</hw>. See Fern-tree and Gully.

<hw>Fever-bark</hw>, n. another name for Bitter-bark (q.v.).

<hw>Fibrous Grass</hw>, n. a Tasmanian grass (see Grass), Stipa semiibarbata, R. Br., N.O. Gramineae.

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

"Fibrous grass (Stipa semibarbata, Br.). After the seed has ripened the upper part of the stem breaks up into fibre, which curls loosely and hangs down waving in the wind."

<hw>Fiddle-back</hw>, n. name given in Australia to the beetle, Schizorrhina australasiae.

<hw>Fiddler</hw>, n. a New South Wales and Victorian name for a species of Ray, Trygonorhina fasciata, Mull. and Heule, family Rhinobatidae.

<hw>Fig-bird</hw>, n. a bird-name. Sphecotheres maxillaris, Lath.; Yellow bellied, S. flaviventris, Gould. S. maxillaris is also called Mulberry-bird (q.v.).

<hw>Fig-eater</hw>, n. a bird, i.q. Grape-eater (q.v.).

<hw>Fig-tree</hw>, n. The name is applied in Australia to the following species:—

Blue Fig— Elaeocarpus grandis, F. v. M., N.O. Tiliaceae.

Clustered F.— Ficus glomerata, Willd., N.O. Urticaceae.

Moreton Bay F.— P. macrophylla, Desf., N.O. Urticaciae //sic. check//.

Prickly F.— Elaeocarpus holopetalus, F. v. M., N.O. Tiliaceae.

Purple F., or White F., or Rough-leaved F., or Flooded F. [Clarence River]— Ficus scabra, G. Forst., N.O. Urticaciae.

Ribbed F.— F. pleurocarpa, F. v. M., N.O. Urticaciae.

Rusty F., or Narrow-leaved F. [or Port Jackson]— F. rubiginosa, Desf., N.O. Urticaciae; called also Native Banyan.

1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p.119:

"And I forget how lone we sit beneath this old fig-tree."

1870. F. S. Wilson, `Australian Songs,' p. 115:

"The fig-tree casts a pleasant shade On the straggling ferns below."

1882. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 537:

"Moreton Bay fig. This noble-looking tree has a wood which is sometimes used, though it is very difficult to season."

[It is a handsome evergreen with dark leaves, larger than those of a horse-chestnut, much used as an ornament in street and gardens, especially in Sydney and Adelaide. The fig is not edible.]

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right, c. 44, p. 380:

"The . . . venerable church with its alleys of araucaria and Moreton Bay fig-trees."

<hw>File-fish</hw>, n. name given in New Zealand to the fish Monacanthus rudis, Richards, family Sclerodermi; in New South Wales to species of the genus Balistes. The first of the spines of the dorsal fin is roughened in front like a file. Balistes maculatus is the "Spotted File-fish" of Sydney. It is closely allied to the genus Monacanthus, called Leather-jacket (q.v.), which is much more numerously represented in Australasia.

<hw>Finch</hw>, n. a bird-name, first applied in Australia, in 1848, by Gould, to the genus Poephila (Grass-lover), and since extended to other genera of birds. The species are—

Banded Finch— Stictoptera bichenovii, Vig. and Hors.

Black-ringed F.— S. annulosa, Gould.

Black-rumped F.— Poephila atropygialis, Diggles.

Black-throated F.— P. cincta, Gould.

Chestnut-breasted F.— Munia castaneothorax, Gould.

Chestnut-eared F.— Taeniopygia castanotis, Gould.

Crimson F.— Neochmia phaeton, Homb. and Jacq.

Fire-tailed F.— Zonaeginthus bellus, Lath.

Gouldian F.— Poephila gouldiae, Gould.

Long-tailed F.— P. acuticauda, Gould.

Masked F.— P. personata, Gould.

Painted F.— Emblema picta, Gould.

Plum-head F.— Aidemosyne modesta, Gould.

Red-browed F.— AEgintha temporalis, Lath.

Red-eared F.— Zonaeginthus oculatus, Quoy and Gaim.

Red-tailed F.— Bathilda ruficauda, Gould.

Scarlet-headed F.— Poephila mirabilis, Homb. and Jacq.

Spotted-sided F.— Staganopleura guttata, Shaw.

White-Breasted F.— Munia pectoralis, Gould.

White-eared F.— Poephila leucotis, Gould.

Yellow-rumped F.— Munia flaviprymna, Gould.

<hw>Fire-stick</hw>, n. name given to the lighted stick which the Australian natives frequently carry about, when moving from camp to camp, so as to be able to light a fire always without the necessity of producing it by friction. The fire-stick may be carried in a smouldering condition for long distances, and when traversing open grass country, such as the porcupine-grass covered districts of the interior, the stick is used for setting fire to the grass, partly to destroy this and partly to drive out the game which is hiding amongst it. The fire-stick (see quotations) is also used as emblematic of the camp-fire in certain ceremonies.

1847. J. D. Lang,' Cooksland,'p. 126, n.:

"When their fire-stick has been extinguished, as is sometimes the case, for their jins or vestal virgins, who have charge of the fire, are not always sufficiently vigilant."

1896. F. J. Gillen, `Horne Expedition in Central Australia,' Anthropology, pt. iv. p. 170:

"Carrying fire-sticks, they place rings, woven of fur and vegetable down, round the boy's neck and arms and sometimes over and under the shoulders; the fire-sticks are then handed to him, the lubras saying: Take care of the fire; keep to your own camp.'"

<hw>Firetail</hw>, n. name applied in Victoria to the bird AEgintha temporalis, Lath.; and in Tasmania to Zonaeginthus (Estrelda) bellus, Lath. In New South Wales, AE. temporalis is known as the Red-head.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iii. pl. 78:

"Estrelda Bella, Fire-tailed finch. Fire-tail, Colonists of Van Diemen's Land."

<hw>Fire-tree</hw>, n. a tree of New Zealand; another name for Pohutukawa (q.v.). For Queensland Fire-tree, see Tulip-tree.

<hw>Fireweed</hw>, n. a name given to several weeds, such as Senecio lautus, Sol., N.O. Compositae; so called because they spring up in great luxuriance where the forest has been burned off.

<hw>Fish-hawk</hw>, n. English name applied to Pandion leucocephalus, Gould; called also the Osprey.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. i. pl. 6:

"Pandion Leucocephalus, Gould, White-headed osprey. Little fish hawk, Colonists of New South Wales. Fish-hawk, Colonists of Swan River.''

<hw>Fist</hw>, v. to use the hands. The word is not unknown in English in the sense of to grip. (Shakspeare, `Cor.' IV. v. 124)

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

"`Fist it,' a colonial expression, which may convey to the uninitiated the idea that knives, forks, plates, etc., are unknown in the bush; such was formerly the case, but the march of improvement has banished this peculiar simplicity."

<hw>Five-corners</hw>, n. name given to the fruit of an Australian tree and to the tree itself, Syphelia triflora, Andr., N.O. Epacrideae. There are many species of Styphelia (q.v.), the fruit of several being edible.

1889. J. H. Maiden,' Useful Native Plants,' p. 61:

"Five-corners. These fruits have a sweetish pulp with a large stone. They form part of the food of the aboriginals, and are much appreciated by school boys. When from a robust plant they are of the size of a large pea, and not at all bad eating."

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 158:

"Still I see in my fancy the dark-green and blue Of the box-covered hills where the five-corners grew."

<hw>Flame-tree</hw>, n. The name is given in India and elsewhere to several trees with bright scarlet, or crimson, flowers. In Australia, two different trees are called Flame-trees—

(1) A tree of Eastern Australia, with profuse bright coral-like flowers, Brachychiton acerifolium, F. v. M., N.O. Sterculiaceae.

(2) A tree of Western Australia, with brilliant orange-coloured flowers, Nuytsia floribunda, N.O. Loranthaceae; which is also called Tree Mistletoe, and, locally, a Cabbage-tree.

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 96:

"There are flame-trees showing in spring vivid patches of crimson."

<hw>Flannel Flower</hw>, n. an Australian flower, Actinotus helianthi, Labill., N.O. Compositae. It ranges from Gippsland to Southern Queensland, but is particularly abundant in New South Wales. Sometimes called the Australian Edelweiss. For the reason of the name see quotation.

1895. J. H. Maiden, `Flowering Plants of New South Wales,' p. 9:

"We only know one truly local name for this plant, and that is the `Flannel Flower'—a rather unpoetical designation, but a really descriptive one, and one universally accepted. It is, of course, in allusion to the involucre, which looks as if it were snipped out of white flannel. It is also known to a few by the name of Australian Edelweiss."

<hw>Flathead</hw>, n. name given to several Australian marine fishes, Platycephalus fuscus, Cuv. and Val., and other species of Platycephalus, family Cottidae. The Red Flathead is P. bassensis, Cuv.and Val., and the Rock F. is P. laevigatus, Cuv.and Val. See also Tupong and Maori-chief.

1793. Governor Hunter, `Voyage,' p. 410 (Aboriginal Vocabulary):

"Paddewah, a fish called a flathead."

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 32:

"The market of Hobart Town is supplied with small rock cod, flatheads, and a fish called the perch."

<hw>Flat Pea</hw>, n. a genus of Australian flowering plants, Platylobium, N.O. Leguminosae.

1793. `Transactions of Linnaean Society,' vol. ii. p. 350:

"Its name I have deduced from platus, broad, and lobos, a pod."

"P. formosum. Orange flat-pea . . . A figure of this . . . will soon be given in the work I have undertaken on the botany of New Holland."

[The figure referred to will be found at p. 17 of the `Specimen of the Botany of New Holland.']

<hw>Flax, Native</hw>, n. The European flax is Linum usitatissimum, N.O. Liniae. There is a species in Australia, Linum marginale, Cunn., N.O. Linaceae, called Native Flax. In New Zealand, the Phormium is called Native Flax. See next word.

1889. J. M. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 626:

"`Native flax.' Although a smaller plant than the true flax, this plant yields fibre of excellent quality. It is used by the blacks for making fishing-nets and cordage."

<hw>Flax, New Zealand</hw>, n. Phormium tenax, N.O. Liliaceae. A plant yielding a strong fibre. Called also, in New Zealand, Native Flax, and Flax Lily.

1807. J. Savage, `Some account of New Zealand,' p. 56:

"Small baskets made of the green native flax."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i, p. 63:

"The plant is called Phormium tenax by naturalists. The general native name for the plant, we are told, is `korari,' but each sort, and there are ten or twelve, has its distinctive name. Any portion of the leaf, when gathered, becomes here `kie kie,' or literally, `tying stuff.' The operation of scraping is called `kayo,' the fibre when prepared, `muka.'" [Mr. Tregear says that Wakefield's statements are mistaken.]

1851. Mrs. Wilson, `New Zealand,' p. 23:

"His robe of glossy flax which loosely flows."

1861. C. C. Bowen, `Poems,' p. 57:

"And flax and fern and tutu grew In wild luxuriance round."

1870. T. H. Braiui, `New Homes,' c. viii. p. 375:

"The native flax (Phormium tenax) is found in all parts of New Zealand; it grows to the height of about nine feet."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' v.3, p. 93:

"In flowing vest of silky flax, undyed."

1893. `Murray's Handbook to New Zealand,' p. 29:

"The so-called native flax (phormium tenax)."

<hw>Flax-blade</hw>, n. the leaf of the New Zealand Flax (q.v.).

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' i. 5, p. 11:

"With flax-blades binding to a tree The Maid who strove her limbs to free."

<hw>Flax-bush</hw>, n. the bush of the New Zealand Flax.

1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' Intro. p. v:

"I had . . . to pass a night . . . under the shade of a flax-bush."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' x. 4, p. 171:

"And the louder flax-bushes With their crowding and crossing Black stems, darkly studded With blossoms red-blooded."

<hw>Flax-flower</hw>, n. the flower of the New Zealand Flax (q.v.).

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' xiv. 3, p. 221:

"little isles Where still the clinging flax-flower smiles."

<hw>Flax-leaf</hw>, n. the blade of the New Zealand Flax (q.v.).

1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of Maori' p. 69:

"Zephyrs stirred the flax-leaves into tune.

<hw>Flax-lily</hw>, n. (1) An Australian fibre plant, Dianella laevis, var. aspera, R. Br., N.O. Liliaceae. (2) Phormium tenax. See Flax, New Zealand.

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

"Flax-lily. The fibre is strong, and of a silky texture. The aboriginals formerly used it for making baskets, etc. All the colonies except Western Australia."

<hw>Flindosa</hw>, and <hw>Flindosy</hw>, n. two trees called Beech (q.v.).

<hw>Flintwood</hw>, n. another name for Blackbutt (q.v.), Eucalyptus pillularis.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 502:

"From the great hardness of the wood it is often known as flintwood."

<hw>Flounder</hw>, n. The Flounders in Australia are—

In Sydney, Pseudorhombus russelli, Gray; in Melbourne, Rhombosolea victoriae, Castln.; in New Zealand and Tasmania, R. monopus, Gunth. Maori name, Patiki; family Pleuronectidae. They are all excellent eating.

1876. P. Thomson, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. ix. art. lxvii., p. 487:

"Patiki (flounder). Flounders are in the market all the year."

<hw>Flower-pecker</hw>, n. bird-name used elsewhere, but in Australia assigned to Dicaeum hirundinaceum, Lath.

<hw>Flowering Rush</hw>, n. name given to the rush or reed, Xyris operculata, Lab., N.O. Xyrideae.

<hw>Flute-bird</hw>, n. another name for the bird Gymnorrhina tibicen, Lath. Called also Magpie (q.v.).

1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 53:

"The flute-bird's mellow tone."

<hw>Fly-catcher</hw>, n. bird-name used elsewhere. The Australian species are—

Black-faced Flycatcher— Monarcha melanopsis, Vieill.

Blue F.— Myiagra concinna, Gould.

Broad-billed F.— M. latirostris, Gould.

Brown F. [called also Jacky Winter (q.v.)] Micraeca fascinans, Lath.

Leaden F.— Myiagra rubecula, Lath.

Lemon-breasted F.— Micraeca flavigaster, Gould.

Lesser Brown F.— M. assimilis, Gould.

Little F.— Seisura nana, Gould.

Pale F.— Micraeca pallida.

Pearly F.— Monarcha canescens, Salvad.

Pied Fly-catcher— Arses kaupi, Gould.

Restless F.— Seisura inquieta, Lath. [called also Razor- grinder, q.v., and Dishwasher, q.v.]

Satin F.— Myiagra nitida, Gould [called Satin-robin, q.v., in Tasmania]

Shining F.— Piezorhynchus nitidus, Gould.

Spectacled F.— P. gouldi, Gray.

White-bellied F.— P. albiventris, Gould.

White-eared F.— P. leucotis, Gould.

Yellow-breasted F.— Machaerhynchus flaviventer, Gould.

1790. J. White, `Voyage to New South Wales,' p. 161:

"We this day caught a yellow-eared fly-catcher (see annexed plate). This bird is a native of New Holland." [Description follows.]

Fly-eater, n. the new vernacular name for the Australian birds of the genus Gerygone (q.v.), and see Warbler. The species are—

Black-throated Fly-eater— Gerygone personata, Gould.

Brown F.— G. fusca, Gould.

Buff-breasted F.— G. laevigaster, Gould.

Green-backed F.— G. chloronota, Gould.

Large-billed F.— G. magnirostris, Gould.

Southern F.— G. culicivora, Gould.

White-throated F.— G. albogularis, Gould.

Yellow-breasted F.— G. flavida, Ramsay.

1895. W. O. Legge, `Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science `(Brisbane), p. 447:

"[The habits and habitats of the genus as] applied to Gerygone suggested the term Fly-eater, as distinguished from Fly-catcher, for this aberrant and peculiarly Australasian form of small Fly-catchers, which not only capture their food somewhat after the manner of Fly-catchers, but also seek for it arboreally."

<hw>Flyer</hw>, n. a swift kangaroo.

1866. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' second series, p. 172:

"I may here state that the settlers designate the old kangaroos as `old men' and `old women,' the full-grown animals are named `flyers,' and are swifter than the British hare."

<hw>Flying-Fox</hw>, n. a gigantic Australian bat, Pteropus poliocephalus, Temm. It has a fetid odour and does great damage to fruits, and is especially abundant in New South Wales, though often met with in Victoria. Described, not named, in first extract.

1793. Governor Hunter, `Voyage,' p. 507:

"The head of this bat strongly resembles that of a fox, and the wings of many of them extend three feet ten inches. . . . [Description of one domesticated.] . . . They are very fat, and are reckoned by the natives excellent food. . . . It was supposed more than twenty thousand of them were seen within the space of one mile."

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 315:

"One flying fox is an immense bat, of such a horrific appearance, that no wonder one of Cook's honest tars should take it for the devil when encountering it in the woods."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 310:

". . . a flying fox, which one of them held in his hand. It was, in fact, a large kind of bat, with the nose resembling in colour and shape that of a fox, and in scent it was exactly similar to it. The wing was that of a common English bat, and as long as that of a crow, to which it was about equal in the length and circumference of its body."

1849. J. P. Townsend, `Rambles in New South Wales,' p. 97:

"Some of the aborigines feed on a large bat popularly called `the flying fox.' . . We found the filthy creatures, hanging by the heels in thousands, from the higher branches of the trees."

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 102:

"The shrill twitter of the flying fox, or vampire bat, in the bush around us."

1871. Gerard Krefft, `Mammals of Australia':

"The food on which the `Foxes' principally live when garden fruit is not in season, consists of honey-bearing blossoms and the small native figs abounding in the coast-range scrubs. . . . These bats are found on the east coast only, but during very dry seasons they occur as far west as the neighbourhood of Melbourne."

1881. A.C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 20:

"A little further on they came to a camp of flying foxes. The huge trees on both sides of the river are actually black with them. The great bats hang by their hooked wings to every available branch and twig, squealing and quarrelling. The smell is dreadful. The camp extends for a length of three miles. There must be millions upon millions of them."

<hw>Flying-Mouse</hw>, n. See Opossum-mouse and Flying-Phalanger.

<hw>Flying-Phalanger</hw>, n. included in the class of Phalanger (q.v.). The "flying" Phalangers "have developed large parachute-like expansions of skin from the sides of the body, by means of which they are able to take long flying leaps from bough to bough, and thus from tree to tree. While the great majority of the members of the family are purely vegetable feeders, . . . a few feed entirely or partly on insects, while others have taken to a diet of flesh." (R. Lydekker.)

They include the so-called Flying-Squirrel, Flying-Mouse, etc. There are three genera—

Acrobates (q.v.), called the Flying-Mouse, and Opossum-Mouse (q.v.).

Petauroides commonly called the Taguan, or Taguan Flying-Squirrel.

Petaurus (q.v.), commonly called the Flying Squirrel.

The species are—

Lesser F.-Ph.— Petaurus breviceps.

Papuan Pigmy F.-Ph.— Acrobates pulchellus (confined to Northern Dutch New Guinea).

Pigmy F.-Ph.— A. pygmaeuss.

Squirrel F.-Ph.— Petaurus sciureus.

Taguan F.-Ph.— Petauroides volans.

Yellow-bellied F.-Ph.— P. australis.

<hw>Flying-Squirrel</hw>, n. popular name for a Flying-Phalanger, Petaurus sciureus, Shaw, a marsupial with a parachute-like fold of skin along the sides by which he skims and floats through the air. The name is applied to entirely different animals in Europe and America.

1789. Governor Phillip, `Voyage to Botany Bay,' c. xv. p. 151:

"Norfolk Island flying squirrel." [With picture.]

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

"The flying squirrels are of a beautiful slate colour, with a fur so fine that, although a small animal, the hatters here give a quarter dollar for every skin."

1849. J. P. Townsend, `Rambles in New South Wales,' p. 37:

"The squeal and chirp of the flying squirrel."

1850. R. C. Gunn, `Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. i. p. 253:

"In the year 1845 I drew the attention of the Tasmanian Society to the interesting fact that the Petaurus sciureus, or Flying Squirrel, of Port Phillip, was becoming naturalized in Van Diemen's Land. . . . No species of Petaurus is indigenous to Tasmania. . . . It does not appear from all that I can learn, that any living specimens of the Petaurus schireus were imported into Van Diemen's Land prior to 1834; but immediately after the settlement of Port Phillip, in that year, considerable numbers of the flying squirrel were, from their beauty, brought over as pets by the early visitors."

1851. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 78:

"The flying squirrel, another of the opossum species of the marsupial order, is a beautiful little creature, and disposed over the whole of the interior of New South Wales: its fur is of a finer texture than that of the opossum."

1855. W. Blandowski, `Transactions of Philosophical Society of Victoria,' vol. i. p. 70:

"The common flying squirrel (Petaurus sciureus) is very plentiful in the large gum trees near the banks of a creek or river, and appears to entertain a peculiar aversion to the high lands."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 90:

"Flying squirrel."

[Footnote]:

"The marsupial flying phalanger is so called by the Australians."

<hw>Fly-Orchis</hw>, n. name applied in Tasmania to the orchid, Prasophyllum patens, R. Br.

<hw>Forest</hw>, n. See quotation.

1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia,' vol i. p. 71 [Footnote]:

"A `forest' means in New South Wales an open wood with grass. The common `bush' or `scrubb' consists of trees and saplings, where little grass is to be found."

[It is questionable whether this fine distinction still exists.]

<hw>Forester</hw>, n. the largest Kangaroo, Macropus giganteus, Zimm.

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' vol. ii. p. 27:

"There are three or four varieties of kangaroos; those most common are denominated the forester and brush kangaroo."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 423:

"I called this river the `Red Kangaroo River,' for in approaching it we first saw the red forester of Port Essington."

1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 67:

"And the forester snuffing the air Will bound from his covert so dark."

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 15:

"We have never had one of the largest kind—the Forester Kangaroo (Macropus gigantes)—tame, for they have been so hunted and destroyed that there are very few left in Tasmania, and those are in private preserves, or very remote out-of-the-way places, and rarely seen. . . . The aborigines called the old father of a flock a Boomer. These were often very large: about five feet high in their usual position, but when standing quite up, they were fully six feet . . . and weighing 150 or 200 pounds."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xix. p. 181:

"The dogs . . . made for them as if they had been a brace of stray foresters from the adjacent ranges."

<hw>Forest-Oak</hw>, n. See Oak.

Forget-me-not, n. The species of this familiar flower is Myosotis australis, R. Br., N.O. Asperifoliae.

<hw>Fortescue</hw>, or <hw>40-skewer</hw>, n. a fish of New South Wales, Pentaroge marmorata, Cuv. and Val., family Scorpaenidae; called also the Scorpion, and the Cobbler. All its names allude to the thorny spines of its fins. The name Fortescue is an adaptation of Forty-skewer by the law of Hobson-Jobson.

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 49:

"Of this fish Mr. Hill says: The scorpion or Fortescue, as these fish are popularly termed by fishermen, have been known for a long time, and bear that name no doubt in memory of the pain they have hitherto inflicted; and for its number and array of prickles it enjoys in this country the alias `Forty-skewer' or `Fortescure.' "

1896. F. G. Aflalo, `Natural History of Australia,' p. 228:

"Fortescue is a terrible pest, lurking among the debris in the nets and all but invisible, its spines standing erect in readiness for the unwary finger. And so intense is the pain inflicted by a stab, that I have seen a strong man roll on the ground crying out like a madman."

<hw>Forty-legs</hw>, n. name given to a millipede, Cermatia smithii.

<hw>Forty-spot</hw>, n. name for a bird, a Pardalote (q.v.). Pardalote itself means spotted "like the pard." See also Diamond-bird.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. ii. pl. 37:

"Pardalotus quadragintus, Gould, Forty-spotted pardalote. Forty-spot, Colonists of Van Diemen's Land."

1896. `The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 407, col. 5:

"`Lyre bird' is obvious; so, too, is `forty-spot'; only one wonders why the number 40 was pitched upon. Was it a guess? Or did the namer first shoot the bird and count?"

<hw>Fossick</hw>, v. intrans. to dig, but with special meanings. Derived, like fosse, a ditch, and fossil, through French from Lat. fossus, perfect part. of fodere, to dig. Fossicking as pres. part., or as verbal noun, is commoner than the other parts of the verb.

(1) To pick out gold.

1852. W. H. Hall, `Practical Experiences at the Diggings in Victoria,' p. 16:

"Or fossicking (picking out the nuggets from the interstices of the slate formation) with knives and trowels."

(2) To dig for gold on abandoned claims or in waste-heaps.

1865. F. H. Nixon, `Peter Perfume,' p. 59:

"They'll find it not quite so `welly good' As their fossicking freak at the Buckland."

1873. A.Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' c. xix. p. 286:

"Here we found about a dozen Chinamen `fossicking' after gold amidst the dirt of the river, which had already been washed by the first gold-seekers."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 22:

"He commenced working along with several companions at surface digging and fossicking."

1894. `The Argus,' March 14, p. 4, col. 6:

"The easiest and simplest of all methods is `fossicking.' An old diggings is the place for this work, because there you will learn the kind of country, formation, and spots to look for gold when you want to break new ground. `Fossicking' means going over old workings, turning up boulders, and taking the clay from beneath them, exploring fissures in the rock, and scraping out the stuff with your table knife, using your pick to help matters. Pulling up of trees, and clearing all soil from the roots, scraping the bottoms of deserted holes, and generally keeping your eye about for little bits of ground left between workings by earlier miners who were in too great a hurry looking after the big fish to attend much to small fry."

(3) To search for gold generally, even by stealing.

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 60:

"A number of idle and disorderly fellows had introduced a practice which was termed `fossicking.' . . . In the dead hours of midnight they issued forth, provided with wax tapers, and, entering upon the ground, stole the auriferous earth."

(4) To search about for anything, to rummage.

1870. S. Lemaitre, `Songs of Goldfields,' p. 14:

"He ran from the flat with an awful shout Without waiting to fossick the coffin lid out."

1890. `The Argus,' Aug. 2, p. 4, col. 3:

"Half the time was spent in fossicking for sticks."

1891. `The Argus,' Dec. 19, p. 4, col. 2:

"I was . . . a boy fossicking for birds' nests in the gullies."

1893. `The Australasian,' Jan. 14:

"The dog was fossicking about."

<hw>Fossicker</hw>, n. one who fossicks, sc. works among the tailings of old gold-mines for what may be left.

1853. C. Rudston Read, `What I heard, saw, and did at the Australian Gold Fields,' p. 150:

"The man was what they called a night fossicker, who slept, or did nothing during the day, and then went round at night to where he knew the claims to be rich, and stole the stuff by candle-light."

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 87:

"I can at once recognize the experienced `fossickers,' who know well how to go to work with every chance in their favour."

1864. J. Rogers, `New Rush,' pt. ii. p. 32:

"Steady old fossickers often get more Than the first who open'd the ground."

1869. R. Brough Smyth, `Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 612:

"A fossicker is to the miner as is the gleaner to the reaper; he picks the crevices and pockets of the rocks."

1891. `The Australasian,' Nov. 21, p. 1015:

"We had heard that, on this same field, years after its total abandonment, a two hundred ounce nugget had been found by a solitary fossicker in a pillar left in an old claim."

1891. `The Argus,' Dec. 19, p. 4, col. 2:

"The fossickers sluiced and cradled with wonderful cradles of their own building."

<hw>Four-o'clock</hw>, n. another name for the Friar-bird (q.v.).

<hw>Free-select</hw>, v. to take up land under the Land Laws. See Free-selector. This composite verb, derived from the noun, is very unusual. The word generally used is to select.

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. xix. p. 134:

"Everything which he could have needed had he proceeded to free-select an uninhabited island."

<hw>Free-selection</hw>, n. (1) The process of selecting or choosing land under the Land Laws, or the right to choose. Abbreviated often into Selection. See Free-selector.

1865. `Ararat Advertiser' [exact date lost]:

"He was told that the areas open for selection were not on the Geelong side, and one of the obliging officials placed a plan before him, showing the lands on which he was free to choose a future home. The selector looked vacantly at the map, but at length became attracted by a bright green allotment, which at once won his capricious fancy, indicating as it did such luxurious herbage; but, much to his disgust, he found that `the green lot' had already been selected. At length he fixed on a yellow section, and declared his intention of resting satisfied with the choice. The description and area of land chosen were called out, and he was requested t0 move further over and pay his money. `Pay?' queried the fuddled but startled bona fide, `I got no money (hic), old `un, thought it was free selection, you know.'"

1870. T. H. Braim, `New Homes,' ii. 87:

"A man can now go and make his free selection before survey of any quantity of land not less than 40 nor more than 320 acres, at twenty shillings an acre."

1878. `The Australian,' vol. i. p. 743:

"You may go to nine stations out of ten now without hearing any talk but `bullock and free-selection.'"

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 82:

"His intention . . . was to take up a small piece of land under the system of `free-selection.'"

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. xx. p. 162:

"This was years before the free-selection discovery."

(2) Used for the land itself, but generally in the abbreviated form, Selection.

1887. R. M. Praed, `Longleat of Kooralbyn,' vol. vi, p. 56:

"I've only seen three females on my selection since I took it up four years last November."

<hw>Free-selector</hw>, n. (abbreviated often to Selector), one who takes up a block of Crown land under the Land Laws and by annual payments acquires the freehold. [320 acres to Victoria, 640 in New South Wales.]

1864. J. Rogers, `New Rush,' pt. i. p. 21:

"Free selectors we shall be When our journey's end we see."

1866. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 9:

"The very law which the free selector puts in force against the squatter, the squatter puts in force against him; he selected upon the squatter's run, and the squatter selects upon his grazing right."

1873. Ibid. p. 33:

"Men who select small portions of the Crown lands by means of land orders or by gradual purchase, and who become freeholders and then permanently wedded to the colony."

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 33:

"The condition of the free-selector—that of ownership of a piece of land to be tilled by the owner—is the one which the best class of immigrants desire."

1875. `Melbourne Spectator,' June 12, p. 70, col. 2:

"A public meeting of non-resident selectors has been held at Rushworth."

1884. Marcus Clarke, `Memorial Volume,' p. 85:

"A burly free selector pitched his tent in my Home-Station paddock and turned my dam into a wash."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xii. p. 116:

"No, no; I've kept free-selectors out all these years, and as long as I live here I'll do so still."

<hw>Freezer</hw>, n. a sheep bred and raised in order that its mutton may be frozen and exported.

1893. J. Hotson, Lecture in `Age,' Nov.30, p. 7, col. 2:

"In the breeding of what are in New Zealand known as `freezers' there lies a ready means of largely increasing the returns from our land."

<hw>Fresh-water Herring</hw>, n. In Sydney, the fish is Clupea richmondia, Macl. Elsewhere in Australia, and in Tasmania, it is another name for the Grayling (q.v.).

<hw>Fresh-water Perch</hw>, n. name given in Tasmania to the fish Microperca tasmaniae.

<hw>Friar-bird</hw>, n. an Australian bird, of the genus called Philemon, but originally named Tropidorhynchus (q.v.). It is a honey-eater, and is also called Poor Soldier and other names; see quotation, 1848. The species are—

Friar-Bird— Philemon corniculatus, Lath. [Called also Leather-head, q.v.]

Helmeted F.— P. buceroides, Swains.

Little F.— P. sordidus, Gould.

Silvery-crowned F.— P. argenticeps, Gould.

Yellow-throated F.- P. citreogularis, Gould.

Western F.— P. occidentalis, Ramsay.

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

"Wirgan,—bird named by us the friar."

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 324:

"Friar,—a very common bird about Paramatta, called by the natives `coldong:' It repeats the words `poor soldier' and `four o'clock' very distinctly."

1845. `Voyage to Port Phillip,' p. 53:

"The cheerful sedge-wren and the bald-head friar, The merry forest-pie with joyous song."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv. pl. 58:

"Tropidorhynchus Corniculatus, Vig. and Hors.

"From the fancied resemblance of its notes to those words, it has obtained from the Colonists the various names of `Poor Soldier,' `Pimlico,' `Four o'clock,' etc. Its bare head and neck have also suggested the names of `Friar Bird,' `Monk,' `Leather Head,' etc."

1855. W. Blandowski, `Transactions of the Philosophical Society of Victoria,' vol. i. p. 64:

"The Tropidorhynchus corniculatus is well known to the colonists by the names `poor soldier,' `leather-headed jackass,' `friar-bird,' etc. This curious bird, in common with several other varieties of honey-eaters, is remarkable on account of its extreme liveliness and the singular resemblance of its notes to the human voice."

<hw>Frilled-Lizard</hw>, n. See quotation.

1875, G. Bennett, `Proceedings of Royal Society of Tasmania,' p. 56:

"Notes on the Chlamydosaurus or frilled-lizard of Queensland (C. Kingii.) "

<hw>Frogsmouth</hw>, n. an Australian bird; genus Podargus, commonly called Mopoke (q.v.). The mouth and expression of the face resemble the appearance of a frog. The species are—

Freckled Frogsmouth— Podargus phaloenoides, Gould.

Marbled F.— P. marmoratus, Gould.

Plumed F.— P. papuensis, Quoy and Gaim.

Tawney F.— P. strigoides, Lath.

1895. W. O. Legge, `Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science' (Brisbane), p. 447:

"The term `Frogsmouth' is used in order to get rid of that very objectionable name Podargus, and as being allied to the other genera Batrachostomus and Otothrix of the family Steatorninae in India. It is a name well suited to the singular structure of the mouth, and presumably better than the mythical title of `Goatsucker.' `Night-hawk,' sometimes applied to the Caprimulginae, does not accord with the mode of flight of the genus Podargus."

<hw>Frontage</hw>, n. land along a river or creek, of great importance to a station. A use common in Australia, not peculiar to it.

1844. `Port Phillip Patriot,' July i8, p. 3, col. 7:

". . . has four miles frontage to the Yarra Yarra."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. iii. p. 29:

"Jack was piloted by Mr. Hawkesbury through the `frontage' and a considerable portion of the `back' regions of Gondaree."

<hw>Frost-fish</hw>, n. name given in Australia and New Zealand to the European Scabbard-fish, Lepidopus caudatus, White. The name is said to be derived from the circumstance that the fish is found alive on New Zealand sea-beaches on frosty nights. It is called the Scabbard-fish in Europe, because it is like the shining white metal sheath of a long sword. Lepidopus belongs to the family Trichiuridae, it reaches a length of five or six feet, but is so thin that it hardly weighs as many pounds. It is considered a delicacy in New Zealand.

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 51:

"The frost-fish . . . the most delicately flavoured of all New Zealand fishes, is an inhabitant of deep water, and on frosty nights, owing probably to its air-bladders becoming choked, it is cast up by the surf on the ocean-beach."

<hw>Fruit-Pigeon</hw>, n. The name is given to numerous pigeons of the genera Ptilinopus and Carpophaga. In Australia it is assigned to the following birds:—

Allied Fruit-Pigeon— Ptilinopus assimilis, Gould.

Purple-breasted F.-P.— P. magnifica, Temm.

Purple-crowned F.-P.— P. superbus, Temm.

Red-crowned F.-P.— P. swainsonii, Gould.

Rose-crowned F.-P.— P. ewingii Gould.

White-headed F.-P.— Columba leucomela, Temm.

And in New Zealand to Carpophaga novae-zealandiae, Gmel. (Maori name, Kereru Kuku, or Kukupa.)

<hw>Fryingpan-Brand</hw>, n. a large brand used by cattle-stealers to cover the owner's brand. See Duffer and Cattle-Duffer.

1857. Frederic De Brebant Cooper, `Wild Adventures in Australia,' p. 104:

". . . This person was an `old hand,' and got into some trouble on the other side (i.e. the Bathurst side) by using a `frying-pan brand.' He was stock-keeping in that quarter, and was rather given to `gulley-raking.' One fine day it appears he ran in three bullocks belonging to a neighbouring squatter, and clapt his brand on the top of the other so as to efface it."

<hw>Fuchsia, Native</hw>, n. The name is applied to several native plants.

(1) In Australia and Tasmania, to various species of Correa (q.v.), especially to Correa speciosa, And., N.O. Rutaceae.

(2) In Queensland, to Eremophila maculata, F. v. M., N.O. Myoporineae.

(3) In New Zealand, to Fuchsia excorticata, Linn., N.O. Onagrariae. (Maori name, Kotukutuktu, q.v.). See also Tooky-took and Konini.

1860. Geo. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist in Australasia,' pp. 371-2:

"The Correa virens, with its pretty pendulous blossoms (from which it has been named the `Native Fuchsia'), and the Scarlet Grevillea (G. coccinea) are gay amidst the bush flowers."

1880. Mrs.Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 23:

"I see some pretty red correa and lilac." [Footnote]: "Correa speciosa—native fuchsia of Colonies."

1883. F. M. Bailey, `Synopsis of Queensland Flora,' p. 374:

"E. maculata. A . . . shrub called native fuchsia, and by some considered poisonous, by others a good fodder bush."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 126:

"E. maculata. . . . Called `Native Fuchsia' in parts of Queensland."

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

"A species of native fuchsia that is coming greatly into favour is called [Fuchsia] Procumbens. It is a lovely pot plant, with large pink fruit and upright flowers."

<hw>Full up of</hw>, adj. (slang), sick and tired of. "Full on," and "full of," are other forms.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xxiii. p. 213:

"She was `full up' of the Oxley, which was a rowdy, disagreeable goldfield as ever she was on."

<hw>Furze, Native</hw>, n. a shrub, Hakea ulcina, R. Br. See Hakea.

<hw>Futtah</hw>, n. a settlers' corruption of the Maori word Whata (q.v.).

1895. W.S. Roberts, `Southland in 1856,'p. 28:

"These stores were called by the Europeans futters,—but the Maori name was Whata."

1896. `Southland Daily News,' Feb. 3:

"`Futtah is familiar as `household words.' There were always rats in New Zealand—that is, since any traditions of its fauna existed. The original ones were good to eat. They were black and smooth in the hair as the mole of the Old Country, and were esteemed delicacies. They were always mischievous, but the Norway rat that came with the white man was worse. He began by killing and eating his aboriginal congener, and then made it more difficult than ever to keep anything eatable out of reach of his teeth. Human ingenuity, however, is superior to that of most of the lower animals, and so the `futtah' came to be—a storehouse on four posts, each of them so bevelled as to render it impossible for the cleverest rat to climb them. The same expedient is to-day in use on Stewart Island and the West Coast —in fact, wherever properly constructed buildings are not available for the storage of things eatable or destructible by the rodents in question."

G

<hw>Galah</hw>, n. a bird.(The accent is now placed on the second syllable.) Aboriginal name for the Cacatua roseicapilla, Vieill., the Rose-breasted Cockatoo. See Cockatoo. With the first syllable compare last syllable of Budgerigar (q.v.)

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

"They can afford to screech and be merry, as also the grey, pink-crested galahs, which tint with the colours of the evening sky a spot of grass in the distance."

1890. Lyth, `Golden South,' c. xiv. p. 127:

"The galahs, with their delicate grey and rose-pink plumage, are the prettiest parrots."

1891. Francis Adams, `John Webb's End,' p. 191:

"A shrieking flock of galahs, on their final flight before they settled to roost, passed over and around him, and lifting up his head, he saw how all their grey feathers were flushed with the sunset light, their coloured breasts deepening into darkest ruby, they seemed like loosed spirits."

<hw>Gallows</hw>, n. Explained in quotation. Common at all stations, where of course the butchering is done on the premises.

1866. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 64:

"The gallows, a high wooden frame from which the carcases of the butchered sheep dangle."

<hw>Gang-gang</hw>, or <hw>Gan-gan</hw>, n. the aboriginal word for the bird Callocephalon galeatum, Lath., so called from its note; a kind of cockatoo, grey with a red head, called also Gang-gang Cockatoo. See Cockatoo.

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. i. Intro. p. xxxviii:

"Upon the branches the satin-bird, the gangan, and various kinds of pigeons were feeding."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. v. pl. 14:

"Callocephalon Galeatum, Gang-gang Cockatoo, Colonists of New South Wales."

<hw>Gannet</hw>, n. the English name for the Solan Goose and its tribe. The Australian species are—

The Gannet— Sula serrator, Banks.

Brown G. (called also Booby)— S. leucogastra, Bodd.

Masked G.— S. cyanops, Sunder.

Red-legged G.— S. piscator, Linn.

The species in New Zealand is Dysporus serrator, Grey; Maori name, Takapu.

<hw>Garfish</hw>, n. In England the name is applied to any fish of the family Belonidae. The name was originally used for the common European Belone vulgaris. In Melbourne the Garfish is a true one, Belone ferox, Gunth., called in Sydney "Long Tom." In Sydney, Tasmania, and New Zealand it is Hemirhamphus intermedius, Cantor.; and in New South Wales, generally, it is the river-fish H. regularis, Gunth., family Sombresocidae. Some say that the name was originally "Guard-fish," and it is still sometimes so spelt. But the word is derived from xGar, in Anglo-Saxon, which meant spear, dart, javelin, and the allusion is to the long spear-like projection of the fish's jaws. Called by the Sydney fishermen Ballahoo, and in Auckland the Piper (q.v.).

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 288:

"Charley brought me . . . the head bones of a large guard-fish."

1849. Anon., `New South Wales: its Past, Present, and Future Condition,' p. 99:

"The best kinds of fish are guard, mullet, and schnapper."

1850. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip,' c. iii. p. 44:

"In the bay are large quantities of guard-fish."

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), June I9, p. 81, col.1:

"Common fish, such as trout, ruffies, mullet, garfish."

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 83:

"Of the garfishes we have four species known to be found on our coasts. One, Hemirhamphus regularis, is the favourite breakfast fish of the citizens of Sydney. H. melanochir, or `river garfish,' is a still better fish, but has become very scarce. H. argentcus, the common Brisbane species . . . and H. commersoni."

<hw>Gastrolobium</hw>, n. scientific name of a genus of Australian shrubs, N.O. Leguminosae, commonly known as Poison Bushes (q.v.). The species are—

Gastrolobium bilobum, R. Br. G. callistachys, Meissn. G. calycium, Benth. G. obovatum, Benth. G. oxylobioides, Benth. G. spinosum, Benth. G. trilobum, Benth.

All of which are confined to Western Australia. The species Gastrolobium grandiflorum, F. v. M. (also called Wall-flower), is the only species found out of Western Australia, and extends across Central Australia to Queensland. All the species have pretty yellow and purple flowers. The name is from the Greek gastaer, gastros, the belly, and lobion, dim. of lobos, "the capsule or pod of leguminous plants." (`L. & S.')

<hw>Geebung</hw>, or <hw>Geebong</hw>, n. aboriginal name for the fruit of various species of the tree Persoonia, and also for the tree itself, N.O. Proteaceae.

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 221:

"The jibbong is another tasteless fruit, as well as the five corners, much relished by children."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition, p. 478:

"We gathered and ate a great quantity of gibong (the ripe fruit of Persoonia falcata)."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' c. vi,. p. 176, 3rd edition 1855:

"The geebung, a native plum, very woolly and tasteless."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 113:

"We gathered the wild raspberries, and mingling them with geebongs and scrub berries, set forth a dessert."

1885. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 255:

"You won't turn a five-corner into a quince, or a geebung into an orange."

1889. J. M. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 584:

"A `geebung' (the name given to the fruits of Persoonias, and hence to the trees themselves)."

<hw>Gerygone</hw>, n. scientific and vernacular name of a genus of small warblers of Australia and New Zealand; the new name for them is Fly-eater (q.v.). In New Zealand they are called Bush-warblers, Grey-warblers, etc., and they also go there by their Maori name of Riro-riro. For the species, see Fly-eater and Warbler. The name is from the Greek gerugonae, "born of sound," a word used by Theocritus.

1895. W. O. Legge, `Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science' (Brisbane), p. 447:

"[The habits and habitats of the genus] Gerygone suggested the term Fly-eater, as distinguished from Fly-catcher, for this aberrant and peculiarly Australasian form of small Fly-catchers, which not only capture their food somewhat after the manner of Fly-catchers, but also seek for it arboreally."

<hw>Ghilgai</hw>, n. an aboriginal word used by white men in the neighbourhood of Bourke, New South Wales, to denote a saucer-shaped depression in the ground which forms a natural reservoir for rainwater. Ghilgais vary from 20 to 100 yards in diameter, and are from five to ten feet deep. They differ from Claypans (q.v.), in being more regular in outline and deeper towards the centre, whereas Claypans are generally flat-bottomed. Their formation is probably due to subsidence.

<hw>Giant-Lily</hw>, n. See under Lily.

<hw>Giant-Nettle</hw>, i.q. Nettle-tree (q.v.).

<hw>Gibber</hw>, n. an aboriginal word for a stone. Used both of loose stones and of rocks. The G is hard.

1834. L. E. Threlkeld, `Australian Grammar,' p. x. [In a list of `barbarisms']:

"Gibber, a stone."

[Pace Mr. Threlkeld, the word is aboriginal, though not of the dialect of the Hunter District, of which he is speaking.]

1852. `Settlers and Convicts; or Recollections of Sixteen Years' Labour in the Australian Backwoods,' p. 159:

"Of a rainy night like this he did not object to stow himself by the fireside of any house he might be near, or under the `gibbers' (overhanging rocks) of the river. . . ."

1890. A .J. Vogan, `Black Police,' p. 338:

"He struck right on top of them gibbers (stones)."

1894. Baldwin Spencer, in `The Argus,' Sept. 1, p. 4, col. 2:

"At first and for more than a hundred miles [from Oodnadatta northwards], our track led across what is called the gibber country, where the plains are covered with a thin layer of stones—the gibbers—of various sizes, derived from the breaking down of a hard rock which forms the top of endless low, table-topped hills belonging to the desert sandstone formation."

<hw>Gibber-gunyah</hw>, n. an aboriginal cave-dwelling. See Gibber and Gunyah, also Rock-shelter.

1852. `Settlers and Convicts; or, Recollections of Sixteen Years' Labour in the Australian Backwoods,' p. 211:

"I coincided in his opinion that it would be best for us to camp for the night in one of the ghibber-gunyahs. These are the hollows under overhanging rocks."

1863. Rev. R. W. Vanderkiste, `Lost, but not for Ever,' p. 210:

"Our home is the gibber-gunyah, Where hill joins hill on high, Where the turrama and berrambo Like sleeping serpents lie."

1891. R. Etheridge, jun., `Records of the Australian Museum,' vol. i. no. viii. p. 171:

"Notes on Rock Shelters or Gibba-gunyahs at Deewhy Lagoon."

<hw>Giddea</hw>, <hw>Gidya</hw>, or <hw>Gidgee</hw>, adj. aboriginal word of New South Wales and Queensland for—

(1) a species of Acacia, A. homalophylla, Cunn. The original meaning is probably small, cf. gidju, Warrego, Queensland, and kutyo, Adelaide, both meaning small.

(2) A long spear made, from this wood.

1878. `Catalogue of Objects of Ethno-typical Art in National Gallery, Melbourne,' p. 46:

"Gid-jee. Hardwood spear, with fragments of quartz set in gum on two sides and grass-tree stem. Total length, 7 feet 8 inches."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 51:

"Gidya scrubs."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 357:

"A. homalophylla. A `Spearwood.' Called `Myall' in Victoria. . . . Aboriginal names are . . . Gidya, Gidia, or Gidgee (with other spellings in New South Wales and Queensland). This is the commonest colonial name . . . much sought after for turner's work on account of its solidity and fragrance. . . . The smell of the tree when in flower is abominable, and just before rain almost unbearable."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xvii. p. 211:

"I sat . . . watching the shadows of the gydya trees lengthen, ah! so slowly."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 37:

"Kind of scrub, called by the colonists gydya-scrub, which manifests itself even at a distance by a very characteristic, but not agreeable odour, being especially pungent after rain."

1896. Baldwin Spencer, `Home Expedition in Central Australia,' Narrative, p. 22:

"We camped beside a water-pool on the Adminga Creek, which is bordered for the main part by a belt of the stinking acacia, or giddea (A. homalophylla). When the branches are freshly cut it well deserves the former name, as they have a most objectionable smell."

<hw>Gill-bird</hw>, n. an occasional name for the Wattle-bird (q.v.).

1896. `Menu' for October 15:

"Gill-bird on Toast."

<hw>Gin</hw>, n. a native word for an aboriginal woman, and used, though rarely, even for a female kangaroo. See quotation 1833. The form gun (see quotation 1865) looks as if it had been altered to meet gunae, and of course generate is not derived from gunae, though it may be a distant relative. In `Collins's Vocabulary' occurs "din, a woman." If such a phonetic spelling as djin had been adopted, as it well might have been, to express the native sound, where would the gunae theory have been?

1798. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South Wales,' Vocabulary, p. 612:

"Din—a woman."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 152:

"A proposition was made by one of my natives to go and steal a gin (wife)."

Ibid. p. 153:

"She agrees to become his gin."

1833. Lieut. Breton, R.N., `Excursions in New South Wales,' p. 254:

"The flying gin (gin is the native word for woman or female) is a boomall, and will leave behind every description of dog."

1834. L. E. Threlkeld, `Australian Grammar,' p. x:

"As a barbarism [sc. not used on the Hunter], jin—a wife."

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 8:

"A gin (the aboriginal for a married woman)."

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

"Gin, the term applied to the native female blacks; not from any attachment to the spirit of that name, but from some (to me) unknown derivation."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discovery in Australia,' vol. I. c. iv. p. 74:

"Though very anxious to . . . carry off one of their `gins,' or wives . . . he yet evidently holds these north men in great dread."

1847. J. D. Lang, `Cooksland,'p. 126, n.:

"When their fire-stick has been extinguished, as is sometimes the case, for their jins or vestal virgins, who have charge of the fire, are not always sufficiently vigilant."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 98:

"Gins—native women—from gune, mulier, evidently!"

1864. J. Rogers, `New Rush,' pt. 2, p. 46:

"The females would be comely looking gins, Were not their limbs so much like rolling-pins."

1865. S. Bennett, `Australian Discovery,' p. 250:

"Gin or gun, a woman. Greek gunae and derivative words in English, such as generate, generation, and the like."

1872. C. H. Eden, `MY Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 118:

"The gins are captives of their bow and spear, and are brought home before the captor on his saddle. This seems the orthodox way of wooing the coy forest maidens. . . . All blacks are cruel to their gins."

1880. J. Brunton Stephens, `Poems' [Title]:

"To a black gin."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 23:

"Certain stout young gins or lubras, set apart for the purpose, were sacrificed."

<hw>Ginger, Native</hw>, n. an Australian tree, Alpinia caerulea, Benth., N.O. Scitamineae. The globular fruit is eaten by the natives.

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 296:

"Fresh green leaves, especially of the so-called native ginger (Alpinia caerulea)."

<hw>Give Best</hw>, v. Australian slang, meaning to acknowledge superiority, or to give up trying at anything.

1883. Keighley, `Who are You?' p. 87:

"But then—the fact had better be confessed, I went to work and gave the schooling best."

1887. J. Farrell, `How he Died,' p. 80:

"Charley gave life best and died of grief."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xviii. p. 174:

"It's not like an Englishman to jack up and give these fellows best."

<hw>Globe-fish</hw>, n. name given to the fish Tetrodon hamiltoni, Richards., family Gymnodontes. The Spiny Globe-fish is Diodon. These are also called Toad-fish (q.v.), and Porcupine-fish (q.v.). The name is applied to other fish elsewhere.

<hw>Glory Flower</hw>, or <hw>Glory Pea</hw>, i.q. Clianthus (q.v.).

<hw>Glory Pea</hw>, i.q. Clianthus (q.v.).

<hw>Glucking-bird</hw>, n. a bird so named by Leichhardt, but not identified. Probably the Boobook (q.v.), and see its quotation 1827; see also under Mopoke quotation, Owl, 1846.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 23:

"The musical note of an unknown bird, sounding like `gluck gluck' frequently repeated, and ending in a shake . . . are heard from the neighbourhood of the scrub."

Ibid. p. 29:

"The glucking bird—by which name, in consequence of its note, the bird may be distinguished—was heard through the night."

Ibid. p. 47:

"The glucking-bird and the barking owl were heard throughout the moonlight nights."

Ibid. pp. 398, 399:

"During the night, we heard the well-known note of what we called the `Glucking bird,' when we first met with it in the Cypress-pine country at the early part of our expedition. Its re-appearance with the Cypress-pine corroborated my supposition, that the bird lived on the seeds of that tree."

<hw>Glue-pot</hw>, n. part of a road so bad that the coach or buggy sticks in it.

1892. `Daily News,' London (exact date lost):

"The Bishop of Manchester [Dr. Moorhouse, formerly Bishop of Melbourne], whose authority on missionary subjects will not be disputed, assures us that no one can possibly understand the difficulties and the troubles attendant upon the work of a Colonial bishop or clergyman until he has driven across almost pathless wastes or through almost inaccessible forests, has struggled through what they used to call `glue-pots,' until he has been shaken to pieces by `corduroy roads,' and has been in the midst of forests with the branches of trees falling around on all sides, knowing full well that if one fell upon him he would be killed."

<hw>Goai</hw>, n. common name in southern island of New Zealand for Kowhai (q.v.), of which it is a corruption. It is especially used of the timber of this tree, which is valuable for fencing. The change from K to G also took place in the name Otago, formerly spelt Otakou.

1860. John Blair, `New Zealand for Me,':

"The land of the goai tree, mapu, and pine, The stately totara, and blooming wild vine."

1863. S. Butler, `First Year in Canterbury Settlement,' p. 104:

"I remember nothing but a rather curiously shaped gowai-tree."

<hw>Goanna</hw>, <hw>Guana</hw>, and <hw>Guano</hw>, n. popular corruptions for Iguana, the large Lace-lizard (q.v.), Varanus varius, Shaw. In New Zealand, the word Guano is applied to the lizard-like reptile Sphenodon punctatum. See Tuatara. In Tasmania, the name is given to Taliqua schincoides, White, and throughout Australia any lizard of a large size is popularly called a Guana, or in the bush, more commonly, a Goanna. See also Lace-lizard.

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. viii. p. 285:

"Among other reptiles were found . . . some brown guanoes."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present state of Australia,' p. 118:

"At length an animal called a guana (a very large species of lizard) jumped out of the grass, and with amazing rapidity ran, as they always do when disturbed, up a high tree."

1864. J. Ropers, `New Rush,' p. 6:

"The shy guana climbs a tree in fear."

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 99:

"A goanna startled him, and he set to and kicked the front of the buggy in."

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 139:

"And the sinister `gohanna,' and the lizard, and the snake."

<hw>Go-ashore</hw>, n. an iron pot or cauldron, with three iron feet, and two ears, from which it was suspended by a wire handle over the fire. It is a corruption of the Maori word Kohua (q.v.), by the law of Hobson-Jobson.

1849. W. Tyrone Power, `Sketches in New Zealand with Pen and Pencil,' p. 160:

"Engaged in the superintendence of a Maori oven, or a huge gipsy-looking cauldron, called a `go-ashore.'"

1877. An Old Colonist, `Colonial Experiences,' p. 124:

"A large go-ashore, or three-legged pot, of the size and shape of the cauldron usually introduced in the witch scene in Macbeth."

1879. C. L. Innes, `Canterbury Sketches,' p. 23:

"There was another pot, called by the euphonious name of a `Go-ashore,' which used to hang by a chain over the fire. This was used for boiling."

<hw>Goborro</hw>, n. aboriginal name for Eucalyptus microtheca, F. v. M. See Dwarf-box, under Box.

<hw>Goburra</hw>, and <hw>Gogobera</hw>, n. variants of Kookaburra (q.v.).

<hw>Goditcha</hw>. See Kurdaitcha.

<hw>Godwit</hw>, n. the English name for birds of the genus Limosa. The Australian species are—

Black-tailed G.,— Limosa melanuroides, Gould;

Barred-rumped G.,— L. uropygialis, Gould.

<hw>Gogobera</hw>, and <hw>Goburra</hw>, n. variants of Kookaburra (q.v.).

<hw>Gold</hw>-. The following words and phrases compounded with "gold" are Australian in use, though probably some are used elsewhere.

<hw>Gold-bearing</hw>, verbal adj. auriferous.

1890. `Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 13:

"A new line of gold-bearing quartz."

<hw>Gold-digging</hw>, verbal n. mining or digging for gold.

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Gold. fields,' p. 36:

"There were over forty miners thus playing at gold-digging in Hiscock's Gully."

<hw>Gold-digger</hw>, n.

1852. J. Bonwick [Title]:

"Notes of a Gold-digger."

<hw>Gold-fever</hw>, n. the desire to obtain gold by digging. The word is more especially applied to the period between 1851 and 1857, the early Australian discovery of gold. The term had been previously applied in a similar way to the Californian excitement in 1848-49. Called also Yellow fever.

1888. A. J. Barbour, `Clara,' c. ix. p. 13:

"The gold fever coursed through every vein."

<hw>Gold-field</hw>, n. district where mining for gold is carried on.

1858. T. McCombie, `History of Victoria, c. xv. p. 215:

"All were anxious to get away for the gold fields."

1880. G. Sutherland, [Title] `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 19:

"Edward Hargreaves, the discoverer of the Australian goldfields . . . received L15,000 as his reward."

<hw>Gold-founded</hw>, part. adj. founded as the result of the discovery of gold.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. ix. p. 91:

"I rode up the narrow street, serpentine in construction, as in all gold-founded townships."

<hw>Gold-hunter</hw>, n. searcher after gold.

1852. G. S. Rutter [Title]:

"Hints to Gold-hunters."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. v. p. 48:

"I was not as one of the reckless gold-hunters with which the camp was thronged."

<hw>Gold-mining</hw>, verbal n.

1852. J. A.Phillips [Title]:

"Gold-mining; a Scientific Guide for Australian Emigrants."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 23:

"He had already had quite enough of gold-mining."

<hw>Gold-seeking</hw>, adj.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xv. p. 150:

"The great gold-seeking multitude had swelled . . . to the population of a province."

<hw>Golden Bell-Frog</hw>, n. name applied to a large gold and green frog, Hyla aurea, Less., which, unlike the great majority of the family Hylidae to which it belongs, is terrestrial and not arboreal in its habits, being found in and about water-holes in many parts of Australia.

1881. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria,' Dec. 6, pl. 53:

"So completely alike was the sound of the Bell-frogs in an adjoining pond at night to the noise of the men by day."

<hw>Golden-chain</hw>, n. another name for the Laburnum (q.v.).

<hw>Golden-eye</hw>, n. the bird Certhia lunulatu, Shaw; now called Melithreptus lunulatus, Shaw, and classed as White-naped Honey-eater (q.v.).

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 315:

"`This bird,' Mr. Caley says, `is called Golden-eye by the settlers. I shot it at Iron Cove, seven miles from Sydney, on the Paramatta road.'"

<hw>Golden-Perch</hw>, n. a fresh-water fish of Australia, Ctenolates ambiguus, Richards., family Percidae, and C. christyi, Castln.; also called the Yellow-belly. C. ambiguus is common in the rivers and lagoons of the Murray system.

<hw>Golden-Rosemary</hw>, n. See Rosemary.

<hw>Golden-Wattle</hw>, n. See Wattle.

1896. `The Argus,' July 20, p. 5, col. 8:

"Many persons who had been lured into gathering armfuls of early wattle had cause to regret their devotion to the Australian national bloom, for the golden wattle blossoms produced unpleasant associations in the minds of the wearers of the green, and there were blows and curses in plenty. In political botany the wattle and blackthorn cannot grow side by side."

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

"The last two weeks have been alive with signs and tokens, saying `Spring is coming, Spring is here.' And though this may not be the `merry month of May,' yet it is the time of glorious Golden Wattle,—wattle waving by the river's bank, nodding aloft its soft plumes of yellow and its gleaming golden oriflamme, or bending low to kiss its own image in the brown waters which it loves."