"There are also wild cattle, which are either cattle run wild or descendants of such. They are commonly called `scrubbers,' because they live in the larger scrubs."
1888. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 405:
"Here I am boxed up, like a scrubber in a pound, year after year."
1893. `The Argus,' April 29, p. 4, col. 4 (`Getting in the Scrubbers'):
"The scrubbers, unseen of men, would stay in their fastnesses all day chewing the cud they had laid up the night before, and when the sun went down and the strident laugh of the giant kingfisher had given place to the insidious air-piercing note of the large-mouthed podargus, the scrub would give up its inhabitants."
(2) A starved-looking or ill-bred animal.
(3) The word is sometimes applied to mankind in the slang sense of an "outsider." It is used in University circles as equivalent to the Oxford "smug," a man who will not join in the life of the place. See also Bush-scrubber.
1868. `Colonial Monthly,' vol. ii. p. 141 [art. `Peggy's Christening]:
"`I can answer for it, that they are scrubbers—to use a bush phrase—have never been brought within the pale of any church.'
"`Never been christened?' asked the priest.
"`Have no notion of it—scrubbers, sir—never been branded.'"
1802. Jas. Flemming, `Journal of the Exploration of C. Grimes' [at Port Phillip, Australia], ed. by J. J. Shillinglaw, 1879, Melbourne, p. 17:
"The land appeared barren, a scrubby brush."
[p. 221: "The trees low and scrubby."
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 19:
"To-day I . . . passed a scrubby ironbark forest.".
1849. J. P. Townsend, `Rambles in New South Wales,' p. 216:
"A scrubby country is a stockman's abhorrence, as there he cannot ride, at least at any pace."
1868. J. A. B., `Meta,' c. i. p. 9:
"'Twere madness to attempt to chase,In such a wild and scrubby place,Australia's savage steer."
1889. C. A. Sherard, `Daughter of South,' p. 29:
"My forefathers reigned in this scrubdom of old."
1853. S. Sidney, `Three Colonies of Australia,' p. 267:
"The aborigines eagerly pursue the dugong, a species of small whale, generally known to the colonists as the sea-pig."
1882. Rev. J E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 82:
"The Sergeant Baker in all probability got its local appellation in the early history of the colony (New South Wales), as it was called after a sergeant of that name in one of the first detachments of a regiment; so were also two fruits of the Geebong tribe (Persoonia); one was called Major Buller, and the other Major Groce, and this latter again further corrupted into Major Grocer."
1896. F. G. Aflalo, `Natural History of Australia,' p. 114:
"From its habit of starting its discordant paean somewhere near sunrise and, after keeping comparatively quiet all through the hotter hours, cackling a `requiem to the day's decline,' the bird has been called the Settler's clock. It may be remarked, however, that this by no means takes place with the methodical precision that romancers write of in their letters home."
1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 84:
"In the silence of the darkness and the playing of the breeze,That we heard the settlers' matches rustle softly in thetrees."
1896. `The Australasian,' June 13, p. 1133, col. 1:
"Re settlers' matches, torches, the blacks in the South-east of South Australia always used the bark of the she-oak to carry from one camp to another; it would last and keep alight for a long time and show a good light to travel by when they had no fire. A fire could always be lighted with two grass trees, a small fork, and a bit of dry grass. I have often started a fire with them myself."
Plate Phalacrocorax Carboides, Gould, Australian Cormorant, Black Shag, Colonists of W.A. . . . . . 66
P. Hypoleucus, Pied C., Black and White Shag, Colonists of W. A. . . . . . . . . . 68
P. Melanoleucus, Vieill., Pied C., Little Shag, Colonists of W.A. . . . . . . . . . 70
P. Punctatus, Spotted C., Crested Shag (Cook), Spotted Shag (Lapham) . . . . . . . . . 71
P. Leucogaster, Gould, White-breasted C. . . 69
P. Stictocephalus, Bp., Little Black C. . . 67
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 185:
"Shags started from dead trees lying half immersed."
1877. W. Pratt, `Colonial Experiences of Incidents of Thirty-four Years in New Zealand,' p. 234:
"In the `Dream of a Shagroon,' which bore the date Ko Matinau, April 1851, and which first appeared in the `Wellington Spectator' of May 7, the term `Pilgrim' was first applied to the settlers; it was also predicted in it that the `Pilgrims' would be `smashed' and the Shagroons left in undisputed possession of the country for their flocks and herds."
1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. ii. p. 9:
"The tent of a surgeon was `shook,' as they style it—that is, robbed, during his absence in the daytime."
1878. `The Australian,' vol. i. p. 418:
"Crimean shirts, blankets, and all they `shake,'Which I'm told's another name for `take.'"
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 143:
"It is the `Australian shamrock' of Mitchell."
1863. `The Leader,' Oct. 24, p. 17, col. 1:
"Turn, turn thy shanghay dread aside,Nor touch that little bird."
1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), May 15, p. 22, col. 1:
"The lads had with them a couple of pistols, powder, shot, bullets, and a shanghai."
1875. Ibid. July 17, p. 123, col. 3:
"The shanghai, which, as a secret instrument of mischief, is only less dangerous than the air-gun."
1884. `Police Offences Act, New Zealand,' sec. 4, subsec. 23:
"Rolls any cask, beats any carpet, flies any kite, uses any bows and arrows, or catapult, or shanghai, or plays at any game to the annoyance of any person in any public place."
1893. `The Age,' Sept. 15, p. 6, col. 7:
"The magistrate who presided on the Carlton bench yesterday, has a decided objection to the use of shanghais, and in dealing with three little boys, the eldest of whom was but eleven or twelve years of age, charged with the use of these weapons in the Prince's Park, denounced their conduct in very strong terms. He said that he looked upon this crime as one of the worst that a lad could be guilty of, and if he had his own way in the matter he would order each of them to be lashed."
1895. C. French, Letter to `Argus,' Nov. 29:
"Wood swallows are somewhat sluggish and slow in their flight, and thus fall an easy prey to either the gun or the murderous and detestable `shanghai.'"
1874. Garnet Walch, `Head over Heels' [Introduction to Tottlepot Poems]:
"His parents . . . residing little more than a Shanghai-shot from Romeo Lane, Melbourne."
1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), June 26, p. 91, col. 1:
"These buildings, little better than shanties, are found in . . . numbers."
1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 9:
"We read of the veriest shanties letting for L2 per week."
1880. W. Senior, `Travel and Trout,' p. 15:
"He becomes a land-owner, and puts up a slab-shanty."
1880. G. n. Oakley, in `Victoria in 1880,' p. 114:
"The left-hand track, past shanties soaked in grog,Leads to the gaol."
1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 103:
"The faint glimmering light which indicates the proximity of the grog shanty is hailed with delight."
1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 221:
"I have seen a sober man driven perfectly mad for the time being, by two glasses of so-called rum, supplied to him at one of these shanties."
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. vi. p. 64:
"Any attempt to limit the licensing produced . . . a crop of shanties, or sly-grog shops."
1890. `The Argus,' Aug. 9, p. 4, col. 2:
"The old woman thought that we were on gold, and would lamb down at the finish in her shanty."
1875. Wood and Lapham, `Waiting for Mail,' p. 45:
"Mrs. Smith was a shanty-keeper's wife."
1887. J. Farrell, `How he died,' p. 72:
"The shanty-keeper saw the entering strangers."
1890. `The Argus,' Aug. 2, p. 13, col. 4:
"Looking . . . over the fence shantywards."
Blue Shark (New South Wales)—Carcharias macloti, Mull. and Heule.
Hammer S. (N.S.W.)—Zygaena malleus, Shaw.
One-finned S. (N.S.W.)—Notidanus indicus, Cuv.
Port Jackson S. (q.v.)— Heterodontus phillipii, Lacep.; called also the Shell-grinder.
Saw-fish S.— Pristiophorus cirratus, Lath.
School S. (N.S.W.)— Galeus australis, Macl.; called also Tope (q.v.).
Shovel-nosed S. (N.S.W.)— Rhinobatus granulatus, Cuv.; also called the Blind-Shark, or Sand-Shark.
Tiger S. (N.S.W.)— Galeocerdo rayneri, Macdon. and Barr.
White S.— Carcharodon rondeletii, Mull. and Heule; called also the White-Pointer.
The Sharks of New Zealand are—
Black Shark—Carcharodon melanopterus (Maori name Keremai).
Brown S.—Scymnus lichia.
Great S.—Carcharias maso.
Hammer-head S.—Zygaena malleus (Maori name, Mangopare).
Port-eagle S.—Lamna cornutica
Spinous S.—Echinorhinus spinosus.
Tiger S.—Scymnus sp. (Maori name, Mako).
See also Blue-Pointer, Whaler, and Wobbegong.
1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 22:
"It was the habit afterwards among the seven to say that the officers of the Eliza Jane had been indulging in shearer's joy."
1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 143:
"There's 20 hungry beggars wild for any job this year,An' 50 might be at the shed while I am lyin' here."
1896. `Melbourne Argus,' April 30, p. 2, col. 5:
"There is a substantial and comfortable homestead, and ample shed accommodation."
1895. `Leader,' August 3, p. 6, col. 1:
"It is the opinion of many practical men that certain country to which severe losses have occurred in recent years has been too long carrying sheep, and that the land has become what is termed `sheep sick,' and from this point of view it certainly appears that a course of better management is most desirable."
1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 184:
"He can't dig or sheep-wash or plough there."
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 217:
"Charley shot the sheldrake of Port Essington (Tadorna Rajah)."
2792. G. Thompson, in `Historical Records of New South Wales,' vol. ii. (1893) p. 799:
"There are two kinds of oak, called the he and the she oak, but not to be compared with English oak, and a kind of pine and mahogany, so heavy that scarce either of them will swim."
1802. D. Collins, `Account of New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 166 (Bass' diary at Port Dalrymple, Tasmania, Nov. 1798):
"The She oaks were more inclined to spread than grow tall."
1834. Ross, `Van Diemen's Land Annual,' p. 134
"Casuarina torulosa, the she-oak. The young fruit and young shoots afford an agreeable acid by chewing, which allays thirst."
1835. Ross, `Hobart-town Almanack,' p. 75 [Article said by Sir Joseph Hooker (Jan. 26, 1897) to be by Mr. Ronald Gunn]:
"Casuarina torulosa? She-oak. C. stricta? He-oak. C. tenuissima? Marsh-oak. The name of the first of these is said to be a corruption of Sheac, the name of an American tree, producing the beef wood, like our Sheoak. The second species has obtained the name of He-oak in contradistinction of She-oak, as if they constituted one dioecious plant, the one male and the other female, whereas they are perfectly distinct species."
1842. `Western Australia,' p. 80:
"The Shea-oak (a corruption of sheak, the native name for this, or a similar tree, in Van Diemen's Land) is used chiefly for shingles."
1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 91:
"Then to cut down the timber, gum, box, she-oak, and wattle-trees, was an Herculean task."
1847. J. D. Lang, "Phillipsland,' p. 95:
"They are generally a variety of Casuarinae, commonly called she-oak by the colonists, and the sighing of the wind among the sail-needle-like leaves, that constitute their vegetation, produces a melancholy sound."
1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 219:
"Most of the trees of this colony owe their names to the sawyers who first tested their qualities; and who were guided by the colour and character of the wood, knowing and caring nothing about botanical relations. Thus the swamp-oak and she-oak have rather the exterior of the larch than any quercine aspect."
1853. S. Sidney, `Three Colonies of Australia,' p. 277:
"A dull scene, sprinkled with funereal shiak or `she-oak trees.'"
Ibid. p. 367:
"Groves of shea-oaks, eucalyptus and mimosa."
1857. W. Howitt, `Tallangetta,' vol. i. p. 24:
"Trees of a peculiar character—the Casuarinas or Shiacks— part of which, with their more rigid and outstretched branches, resemble pine-trees, and others, with theirs drooping gracefully, resembling large trees of bloom."
1859. D. Bunce, `Australasiatic Reminiscences,' p. 33:
"The trees forming the most interesting groups were the Casuarina torulosa, she-oak, and C. stricta, he-oak. . . . The name of the first is said to have been derived from `sheeac,' the name of an American tree producing the beef-wood like our she-oak. C. stricta, or he-oak, has been named in contradistinction to the sexes, as if they constituted one dioecious plant, whereas they are two perfectly distinct species."
1860. J. D. Hooker, `Botany of the Antarctic Voyage,' part iii. [Flora Tasmaniae], p. 348:
"Casuarina suberosa. This is an erect species, growing 15 feet high. . . It is well known as the `He-oak,' in contradistinction to the C. quadrivalvis, or `She-oak,' a name, I believe, adapted from the North American `Sheack' though more nearly allied botanically to the Northern Oaks than any Tasmanian genus except Fagus, they have nothing to do with that genus in habit or appearance, nor with the Canadian `Sheack.'"
1864. J. McDouall Stuart, `Explorations in Australia,' p. 150:
"Within the last mile or two we have passed a few patches of Shea-oak, growing large, having a very rough and thick bark, nearly black. They have a dismal appearance."
1868. J. Bonwick, `John Batman, Founder of Victoria,' p.103:
"Even Batman's hill, the memorial of his ancient encampment, has been levelled; and the she-oaks upon that grassy mound no longer sigh in the breeze a dirge for the hero of exploration."
1869. `The Argus,' May 25, p. 5, col. 2:
"The she-oak trees, of which there are large quantities in the sandy soil of the salt-bush country, proved very serviceable during the late drought. Some of the settlers caused thousands of she-oaks to be stripped of their boughs, and it was a sight to see some of the famishing cattle rushing after the men who were employed in thus supplying the poor animals with the means of sustaining life. The cattle ate the boughs and the bark with the greatest avidity, and the bushman's axe as it felled the she-oak was music to their ears."
1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 258:
"She-oaks are scraggy-looking poles of trees, rather like fir-trees."
1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 203:
"The rough bark of the she-oak and its soft sappy wood . . ."
1890. `The Argus,' June 14, p. 4, col. 2:
"I came to a little clump of sheoaks, moaning like living things."
1895. `Notes and Queries,' Aug. 3, p. 87:
"The process followed by the Australian colonists when they converted a native word for the Casuarina trees into `she-oak.'"
1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 204:
"The creek went down with a broken song,'Neath the she-oaks high;The waters carried the song along,And the oaks a sigh."
(2) Slang name for colonial beer.
1888. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii. p. 83:
"Their drivers had completed their regulation half-score of `long-sleevers' of `she-oak.'"
1890. Rolf Boldrewood,' Miner's Right,' c. vi. p. 59:
"Then have a glass of beer—it's only she-oak, but there's nothing wrong about it."
1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 135:
"Few of their claims however are actually `bottomed,' for the owners merely watch their more active contemporaries."
(Footnote): "This is termed `shepherding' a claim."
1890. `Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 11:
"All the ground . . . is held in blocks which are being merely shepherded."
(2) By transference from (1). To follow or hang about a person in the hopes of getting something out of him. Compare similar use of shadow.
1896. Modern:
"The robbers knowing he had so much coin about him, determined to shepherd him till an opportunity occurred of robbery with impunity."
188-. `Argus' (date lost):
"The term `jumper,' being one of reproach, brought quite a yell from the supporters of the motion. Dr. Quick retorted with a declaration that the Grand Junction Company were all `shepherds,' and that `shepherds' are the worse of the two classes. The `jumpers' sat in one gallery and certain representatives or deputy `shepherds' in the other. Names are deceitful. . . . The Maldon jumpers were headed by quite a venerable gentleman, whom no one could suspect of violent exercise nor of regrettable designs upon the properties of his neighbours. And the shepherds in the other gallery, instead of being light-hearted beings with pipes and crooks—a la Watteau and Pope—looked unutterable things at the individuals who had cast sheep's eyes on their holding."
1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 135:
"A claim without gold is termed a `shicer.'"
1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' c. ix. p. 256:
"It's a long sight better nor bottoming a shicer."
1863. `Victorian Hansard,' May 10, vol. ix. p. 571:
"Mr. Howard asked whether the member for Collingwood knew the meaning of the word `shicer.' Mr. Don replied in the affirmative. He was not an exquisite, like the hon. member (laughter), and he had worked on the goldfields, and he had always understood a shicer to be a hole with no gold."
1870. S. Lemaitre, `Songs of Goldfields,' p. 15:
"Remember when you first came upLike shicers, innocent of gold."
1894. `The Argus,' March 10, p. 4, col. 7:
"There are plenty of creeks in this country that have only so far been scratched—a hole sunk here and there and abandoned. No luck, no perseverance; and so the place has been set down as a duffer, or, as the old diggers' more expressive term had it, a `shicer.'"
(2) Slang. By transference from (1). A man who does not pay his debts of honour.
1896. Modern:
"Don't take his bet, he's a regular shicer."
1830. `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 89:
"When a man gets behindhand with his creditors in Hobart Town, and rusticates in the country in order to avoid the unseasonable calls of the Sheriff's little gentleman, that delights to stand at a corner where four streets meet, so as the better to watch the motions of his prey, he is said to be shingle-splitting."
1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 335:
"And so I shouted for him and he shouted for me."
1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 80:
"Gentlemen required a great deal of attendance, did not `shout' (the slang term for ordering grog) every quarter of an hour, and therefore spent comparatively nothing."
1867. A. L. Gordon, `Sea-Spray' (Credat Judaeus), p. 139:
"You may shout some cheroots, if you like; no champagneFor this child.'
1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 268:
"This `shouting,' as `treating' is termed in the colonies, is the curse of the Northern goldfields. If you buy a horse you must shout, the vendor must shout, and the bystanders who have been shouted to [more usual, for] must shout in their turn."
1885. D. Sladen, `In Cornwall, etc.,' p. 156 [Title, `The Sigh of the Shouter']:
"Give me the wealth I have squandered in `shouting.'"
1887. J. F. Hogan, `The Irish in Australia, p. 149:.
"Drinking is quite a common practice, and what is familiarly known as `shouting' was at one time almost universal, though of late years this peculiarly dangerous evil has been considerably diminished in extent. To `shout' in a public-house means to insist on everybody present, friends and strangers alike, drinking at the shouter's expense, and as no member of the party will allow himself to be outdone in this reckless sort of hospitality, each one `shouts' in succession, with the result that before long they are all overcome by intoxication."
1891. W. Tilley, `Wild West of Tasmania,' p. 30:
"Some heavy drinking is indulged in through the `shouting' system, which is the rule."
1893. E. W. Hornung, `Tiny Luttrell,' vol. ii. c. xv. p. 98:
"To insist on `shouting' Ruth a penny chair overlooking the ornamental water in St. James's Park."
(p.99): "You shall not be late, because I'll shout a hansom too."
1864. H. Simcox, `Outward Bound,' p. 81:
"The arms are left and off they go,And many a shout they're treated to."
1874. Garnet Walch, Head over Heels,' p. 83:
"I . . . gave the boys round a spread an' a shout."
1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 78:
"Two lucky diggers laid a wager which of them should treat the assembled company with the largest shout.'"
1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vii. pl. 12:
"Spatula Rhynchotis, Australian Shoveller."
Grey-breasted Shrike-Robin—Eopsaltria gularis, Quoy and Gaim.
Large-headed S.-R.—E. capito, Gould.
Little S.-R.—E. nana, Mull.
White-breasted S.-R.—E. georgiana, Quoy and Gaim.
Yellow-breasted S.-R.—E. australis, Lath.
1895. W. O. Legge, `Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science' (Brisbane), p. 447:
"As regards portions of Gould's English nomenclatures, such as his general term `Robin' for the genera Petroica, Paecilodryas, Eopsaltria, it was found that by retaining the term `Robin' for the best known member of the group (Petroica), and applying a qualifying noun to the allied genera, such titles as Tree-robin, Scrub-robin, and Shrike-robin were easily evolved."
Bower's Shrike-Thrush—Collyriocincla boweri, Ramsay.
Brown S.-T.—C. brunnea, Gould.
Buff-bellied S.-T.—C. rufiventris, Gould.
Grey S.-T.— C. harmonica, Lath.; called also Port Jackson Thrush (q.v.).
Little Shrike-Thrush—Collyriocincla parvula, Gould.
Pale-bellied S.-T.—C. pallidirostris, Sharpe.
Rufous-breasted S.-T.—C. rufigaster, Gould.
Whistling S.-T.— C. rectirostris, Jard. and Selb.; see Duke Willy.
1896. `The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 54:
"With gathering shadows the spotted thrush of England gives forth from the top-most pine branch his full and varied notes; notes which no Australian bird can challenge, not even the shrike-thrush on the hill side, piping hard to rival his song every bright spring morning."
1890. `Victorian Statutes—Game Act' (Third Schedule):
"Shrike-tit. [Close season.] From the 1st day of August to the 10th day of December next following in each year."
1883. `Royal Commission, Report on Fisheries of Tasmania,' p. 9:
"The prawn (Penoeus sp.), locally known among fishermen as the shrimp, abounds all around our coasts."
1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), June 19, 1881:
"Common fish such as . . . garfish, strangers, silvers, and others."
1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 252 [Footnote]:
"To convey anything like a correct idea of this extremely beautiful fish, it should be `laid in' with a ground of burnished silver, and the delicate tints added. The skin is scaleless, and like satin, embossed all over in little raised freckles, and with symmetrical dark lines, resembling the veining of a leaf. In quality they are a good deal like mullet."
1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 43:
"Mr. Hill, in the series of essays already referred to, speaks of a silver-bream or white-bream. It is probable he refers to Gerres ovatus, a common fish of very compressed form, and very protractile mouth. They probably never enter fresh-water. . . . It is necessary to cook the silver-belly, as it is often called, perfectly fresh."
1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 77:
"Zosterops caerulescens, Lath. I have myself arrived at the conclusion that the Silver-eye, although identical with the Australian bird, is in reality an indigenous species."
1888. James Thomas, `To a Silver Eye:' `Australian Poets 1788-1888' (edition Sladen), p. 550:
"Thou merry little silver-eye,In yonder trailing vine,I, passing by this morning, spiedThat ivy-built nest of thine."
1890. A. J. Vogan, `The Black Police,' p. 116:
"A select circle of long-limbed members of those upper circles who belong to the genus termed in Australian parlance `silver-tailed,' in distinction to the `copper-tailed' democratic classes."
1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv.:
"Sittella chrysoptera, Orange-winged Sittella; S. leucocephala, Gould, White-headed S.; S. leucoptera,Gould, White-winged S.; S. pileata, Gould, Black-capped S.; S. tenuirostris, Gould, Slender-billed S.
1869. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia' (Supplement):
"Sittella Striata, Gould, Striated Sittella."
1875. Gould and Sharpe, `Birds of New Guinea,' vol. iii. pl. 28:
"Sittella albata, Pied Sittella."
1890 `Victorian Statutes-Game Act' (Third Schedule):
"Sittellas. [Close season.] From the first day of August to the 10th day of December next following in each year."
1896. F. G. Aflalo, `Natural History of Australia,' p. 136:
"Four species of Sitilla [sic] which, except that they do not lay their eggs in hollow trees, bear some resemblance to our nuthatch."
1872. Hutton and Hector, `Fishes of New Zealand,' p. 111:
"It is quoted by Richardson that this fish [trevally], which he says is the Skipjack of the sealers, used to be a staple article of food with the natives."
1884. Marcus Clarke, `Memorial Volume,' p. 127:
"How many nights have I listened to the skirr of the wild cats."
1890. `The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, col. 7:
"At the `skirting-table' we will stand for a little while, and watch while the fleece just brought in is opened out by the `roller,' and the inferior portions removed."
1866. A. Michie, `Retrospects and Prospects of the Colony,' p. 9:
"A skull-banker is a species of the genus loafer—half highwayman, half beggar. He is a haunter of stations, and lives on the squatters, amongst whom he makes a circuit, affecting to seek work and determining not to find it."
1844. `Port Phillip Patriot,' July 25, p. 3 col. 5:
A substantial slab building with verandah."
1845. `Voyage to Port Phillip,' p. 52:
"His slab-built hut, with roof of bark."
1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i. c. ix. p. 266:
"The house in which this modern Robinson Crusoe dwelt was what is called a Slab Hut, formed of rough boards and thatched with grass."
1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' c. iv. p. 130:
"A bare, rough, barn-like edifice built of slabs."
1869. J. Townend, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 155:
"We passed through Studley Park, with here and there a slab house or tent."
1874. G. Walch, `Head over Heels,' p. 81:
"The moonlight . . . poured on the hut, slabs an' roof."
1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 8:
"The hut was built of logs and slabs."
[p. 73]: "The usual bush-hut of slabs and bark."
[p.144]:"The neighbours congregated in the rough hut of unplaned slabs."
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `The Miner's Right,' c. vi. p. 61:
"Slab huts of split heavy boards, Australian fashion, placed vertically."
1871. J. J. Simpson, `Recitations,' p. 24:
"So dig away, drive away, slab and bail."
1893. `The Australasian,' Aug.12, p. 302, col. 1:
"Take him round by the water-hole and wait for me at the slip-panels."
1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads From the Wreck,' p. 24:
"Down with the slip-rails; stand back."
1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 43:
"He [a horse] would let down the slip-rails when shut into the stockyard, even if they were pegged, drawing the pegs out with his teeth."
1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 79:
"Many men rode through the sliprails and turned out their horses."
1891. Canon Goodman, `Church in Victoria during Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' p. 98:
"Some careless person had neglected to replace the slip-rails of the paddock into which his horses had been turned the previous evening."
1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 104:
"Then loudly she screamed: it was only to drownThe treacherous clatter of slip-rails let down."
1890. `The Argus,' Sept.20, p.13, col. 6:
"`Sundays are the most trying days of all,' say the cuisiniers, `for then they have nothing to do but to growl.' This man's assistant is called `the slusher.'
1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 162:
"The tarboy, the cook, and the slushy,the sweeper that swept the board,The picker-up, and the penner, with the rest of theshearing horde."
1896. `The Field,' Jan. 18, p. 83, col. 1:
"He employs as many `slushies' as he thinks necessary, paying them generally L1 per week."
1883. J. Keighley, `Who are You?' p. 45:
"The slush-lamp shone with a smoky light."
1890. `The Argus,' Sept.20, p.13, col. 6:
"Occasionally the men will give Christy Minstrel concerts, when they illuminate the wool-shed with slush-lamps, and invite all on the station."
1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' June 26, p. 8, col. 8:
"He said to the larrikins, `You have done for him now; you have killed him.' `What!' said one of them, `do not say we were here. Let us smoke.' `Smoke,' it may be explained, is the slang for the `push' to get away as fast as possible."
1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. ix. p. 68:
"Snaileys and poleys, old and young, coarse and fine, they were a mixed herd in every sense."
1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 133:
"There's a snaily Wallanbah bullock I haven't seen this two years."
Various popular names have been given to different species in different colonies, the same name being unfortunately not infrequently applied to quite distinct species. The more common forms are as follows:—
Black Snake.
Name applied in Australia to Pseudechis porphyriacus, Shaw, which is more common in the warmer parts, and comparatively rare in the south of Victoria, and not found in Tasmania. In the latter the name is sometimes given to dark-coloured varieties of Hoplocephalus curtus, and in Victoria to those of H. superbus. The characteristic colour is black or black-brown above and reddish beneath, but it can be at once distinguished from specimens of H. superbus, which not infrequently have this colour, by the presence of a double series of plates at the hinder end, and a single series at the anterior end of the tail, whereas in the other species named there is only a single row along the whole length of the tail underneath.
1799. D. Collins, `Account of New South Wales' (edition 1802), vol. ii. p. 189 [Bass Diary at the Derwent, Tasmania]:
"The most formidable among the reptiles was the black snake with venomous fangs."
[This refers to some species of Hoplocephalus, and not to theAustralian Black Snake, which does not occur in Tasmania.]
Black and white ringed Snake.
Name applied to Vermicella annulata, Gray, the characteristic colouration of which consists of a series of alternating dark and light rings. It is found especially in the dry, warmer parts of the interior.
Brown Snake.
Name given to three species of the genus Diemenia— (1) the Common Brown Snake, D. superciliosa, Fischer; (2) the small-scaled Brown Snake, D. microlepidota, McCoy; and (3) the shield-fronted Brown Snake, D. aspidorhyncha, McCoy. All are venomous, and the commonest is the first, which is usually known as the Brown Snake.
1890. A. H. S. Lucas, `Handbook of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science,' Melbourne, p. 71:
"The most abundant of these are the tiger snake, Hoplocephalus curtus, the most widespread, active, and dangerous of them all: the brown snake, Diemenia superciliosa, pretty generally distributed."
Carpet Snake.
Name applied in Australia to Python variegata, Gray, a non-venomous snake reaching a length of ten feet. The name has reference to the carpet-like pattern on the scales. The animal crushes its prey to death, and can hang from branches by means of its prehensile tail. In Tasmania, the name is unfortunately applied to a venomous snake, Hoplocephalus curtus, Schlegel.
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' c. i. p. 16:
"Brown brought a carpet snake and a brown snake with yellow belly."
1878. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria,' Decade ii. pl. 13:
"The pattern has some resemblance to some of the commoner sorts of Kidderminster carpets, as suggested by the popular name of Carpet Snake . . . the name . . . is, unfortunately, applied to the poisonous Tiger Snake in Tasmania, producing some confusion."
1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals, p. 294:
"One of the snakes most common is the Australian python (Morelia variegata), the largest snake found in Australia, which here in Northern Queensland may even attain a length of more than twenty feet."
Copper-head Snake.
Name applied in Australia to Hoplocephalus superbus, Gunth., a venomous snake which is very common in Tasmania, where it is often called the Diamond Snake (q.v.). In Victoria, it is often confused with the Black Snake; unlike the latter, it is more common in the south than in the north. It derives its popular name from the colour of the head.
1885. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Natural History of Victoria,' Decade i. pl. 2:
"In Tasmania the name Diamond snake is unfortunately given to this species, for that name properly belongs to a perfectly harmless snake of New South Wales, so that the numerous experiments made in Tasmania to test the value of some pretended antidotes, were supposed in London to have been made with the true Diamond snake, instead of, as was the case, with this very poisonous kind. . . . I have adopted the popular name `copperhead' for this snake from a well-known vendor of a supposed antidote for snake-bites."
1896. `The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 54:
"Those heather lands round Caulfield and Oakleigh where the copperhead snake basks, coiled on the warm silver sand."
Death-adder; also called Deaf-adder.
An Australian snake, Acanthophis antarctica. It is usually found in hot sandy districts, and is supposed to be the most venomous of the Australian snakes. Large specimens reach a length of upwards of three feet, the body having a diameter of about two inches: at the end of the tail is a short spine popularly known as the animal's "sting."
1878. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria,' Decade ii. pl. 12: