1883. F. S. Renwick, `Betrayed,' p. 45:
"The kuku, plaintive, wakes to mourn her mate."
1773. Sydney Parkinson, `Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas' (see extract in `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' `Manibus Parkinsonibus Sacrum,' W. Colenso, vol. x. art. ix. p. 124):
"Several canoes came alongside of the ship, of whom we got some fish, kumeras or sweet potatoes, and several other things."
1828. `Henry William Diarys' (in Life by Carleton), p. 69:
"Kumara had been planted over the whole plain."
1830. Ibid. p. 79:
"We passed over the hill, and found the assailants feasting on the kumara, or sweet potato, which they just pulled up from the garden at which they had landed."
1851. Mrs. Wilson, `New Zealand,' p. 49:
"He saw some fine peaches and kumaras or sweet potatoes."
1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' c. xi. p. 273 (3rd edition, 1855)
"The kumara or sweet potato is a most useful root."
1863. F. E. Maning (Pakeha Maori), `Old New Zealand,' p. 51:
"Behind the pigs was placed by the active exertion of two or three hundred people, a heap of potatoes and kumera, in quantity about ten tons, so there was no lack of the raw material for a feast."
1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 430:
"Now the autumn's fruitsKaraka,—taro,—kumera,—berries, rootsHad all been harvested with merry laysAnd rites of solemn gladness."
1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of Maori,' p. 18:
"Some more dainty toothsome dishThan the kumera and fish."
1886. E. M. Curr, `Australian Race,' vol. i. p. 148:
"It was discovered in 1882 . . . that the Blacks . . . wear a sort of shoe when they attack their enemies by stealth at night. Some of the tribes call these shoes Kooditcha, their name for an invisible spirit. I have seen a pair of them. The soles were made of the feathers of the emu, stuck together with a little human blood, which the maker is said to take from his arm. They were about an inch and a half thick, soft, and of even breadth. The uppers were nets made of human hair. The object of these shoes is to prevent those who wear them from being tracked and pursued after a night attack."
1896. P. M. Byrne, `Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria,' p. 66:
"The wearing of the Urtathurta and going Kurdaitcha luma appears to have been the medium for a form of vendetta."
Black Kurrajong— Sterculia diversifolia, G. Don., and Sterculia quadrifida, R. Br., N.O. Sterculiaceae.
Brown K.— Commersonia echinata, R. and G. Forst.; also, Brachychiton gregorii; both belonging to N.O. Sterculiaceae.
Green K.—Hibiscus heterophyllus, Vent., N.O. Malvaceae.
Tasmanian K.—Plagianthus sidoides, Hook., N.O. Malvaceae.
Others are Trema aspera, Blume, N.O. Urticeae; and Sterculia rupestris, Benth., N.O. Urticeae. Some of the varieties are also called Bottle-trees, and, in Tasmania, Cordage-trees (q.v.).
1823. `Uniacke's Narrative of Oxley's Expedition,' quoted by J. D. Lang, `Cooksland,' p. 408:
"The nets used for fishing [by the natives] are made by the men from the bark of the kurrajong (Hibiscus heterophyllus), a shrub which is very common to the swamps."
1825. Barron Field, Glossary, in `Geographical Memoirs of New South Wales,' p. 502:
"Currijong or Natives' cordage tree (Hibiscus heterophyllus)."
1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' vol. ii. p. 25:
"The curragong is sometimes found; its inner bark may be manufactured into ropes."
1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 149:
"The currajong (Sterculia)is used for cordage, and makes strong, close, but not very durable ropes."
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' vol. iii. p. 91:
"Dillis neatly worked of koorajong bark."
1849. J. P. Townsend, `Rambles in New South Wales,' p. 214:
"In such a valley in which stands a spreading corrijong (Sterculia diversifolia), which has a strong resemblance to the English oak, I constantly found a flock of sheep."
1862. W. Archer, `Products of Tasmania,' p. 41:
"Currajong (Plagianthus sidoides, Hook). The fibres of the bark are very strong. It is a large shrub, found chiefly on the southern side of the Island, in various and shady places, and grows rapidly."
1878. Rev. W. W. Spicer, `Handbook of the Plants of Tasmania,' p. 104:
"Plagianthus sidoides, Hooker. Currijong, N.O. Malvaceae. Peculiar to Tasmania."
1883. G. W. Rusden, `History of Australia,' vol. i. p. 77:
"The currejong of the forest, and the casuarina which lines the rivers, stand with brighter green in cheering contrast to the dulness of surrounding leaves."
1881,. W. R. Guilfoyle, `Australian Botany' (second edition), p. 162:
"The aborigines apply the name Kurrajong, or Currijong, to some [Pimeleas]; but it would appear that this native name is indiscriminately given to any plant possessing a tough bark."
1888. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii. p. 138:
"Quaint currajongs . . . very like in form to the stiff wooden trees we have all played with in childish days."
1876. W. N. Blair, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. IX. art. x. p. 175:
"Ribbonwood, Plagianthus betulinus, botanical name, Hooker; Whauwhi, Maori name, according to Hector; lace-bark tree, settlers' name, according to Buchanan."
1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open':
"The soft, bright-foliaged ribbonwood (lace-bark, Plagianthus) contrasts with the dusky hue of the dark-leaved fagus."
1881. F. McCoy, `Prodomus of the Natural History of Victoria,' Dec. 4:
"Although the present Lace Lizard is generally arboreal, climbing the forest trees with ease, and running well on the ground, it can swim nearly as well as a Crocodile."
(1) To knock down a cheque or a sum of money in a spree. There is an old English verb, of Scandinavian origin, and properly spelt lamm, which means to thrash, beat.
1873. J. B. Stephens, `Black Gin,' p. 51:
"It is the Bushman come to town—Come to spend his cheque in town,Come to do his lambing down."
1890. `The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 2:
"The lambing down of cheques."
1890. Ibid. Aug. 9, p. 4, col. 5:
"The old woman thought that we were on gold, and would lamb down at the finish in her shanty."
(2) To make a man get rid of his money to you; to clean him out."
1873. Marcus Clarke, `Holiday Peak, etc.,' p. 21:
"The result was always the same—a shilling a nobbler. True, that Trowbridge's did not `lamb down' so well as the Three Posts, but then the Three Posts put fig tobacco in its brandy casks, and Trowbridge's did not do that."
1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p.30:
"The operation—combining equal parts of hocussing, overcharging, and direct robbery—and facetiously christened by bush landlords `lambing down.'"
1890. `The Argus,' Aug. 16, p. 4, col. 7:
"One used to serve drinks in the bar, the other kept the billiard-table. Between them they lambed down more shearers and drovers than all the rest on the river."
In Queensland, Epigonichthys cultellus, Peters, family Amplingae; in Victoria and New South Wales, species of Heteropleuron.
1875. Wood and Lapham, `Waiting for the Mail,' p. 21:
"I may explain that a `Ballarat Lantern' is formed by knocking off the bottom of a bottle, and putting a candle in the neck."
Brown Song Lark—Cincloramphus cruralis, Vig. and Hors.
Bush L.—Mirafra horsfieldii, Gould.
Field L.—Calamanthus campestris, Gould.
Ground L.—Anthus australis, Vig. and Hors. (Australian Pipit),A. novae-zelandae, Gray (New Zealand Pipit).
Lesser Bush L.—Mirafra secunda, Sharpe.
Little Field L.—Cathonicola sagittata, Lath.
Magpie L.—Grallina picata, Lath.; see Magpie-Lark.
Rufous Song L.—Cincloramphus rufescens, Vig. and Hors.
Striated Field L.—Calamanthus fuliginosus, Vig. and Hors.
See Ground-Lark, Sand-Lark, Pipit, and Magpie-Lark.
There are three views as to the origin of the word, viz.—
(1) That it is a phonetic spelling of the broad Irish pronunciation, with a trilled r of the word larking. The story goes that a certain Sergeant Dalton, about the year 1869, charged a youthful prisoner at the Melbourne Police Court with being "a-larrr-akin' about the streets." The Police Magistrate, Mr. Sturt, did not quite catch the word—"A what, Sergeant?"—"A larrikin', your Worchup." The police court reporter used the word the next day in the paper, and it stuck. (See quotation, `Argus,' 1896.)
This story is believed by 99 persons out of 100; unfortunately it lacks confirmation; for the record of the incident cannot be discovered, after long search in files by many people. Mr. Skeat's warning must be remembered—"As a rule, derivations which require a story to be told turn out to be false."
(2) That the word is thieves' English, promoted like swag, plant, lift, etc., into ordinary Australian English. Warders testify that for a number of years before the word appeared in print, it was used among criminals in gaol as two separate words, viz.—leary ('cute, fly, knowing), and kinchen (youngster),—`leary kinchen ,'—shortened commonly into `leary kin' and `leary kid.' Australian warders and constables are Irish, almost to a man. Their pronunciation of `leary kin' would be very nearly `lairy kin,' which becomes the single word larrikin. (See quotation, 1871.) It is possible that Sergeant Dalton used this expression and was misunderstood by the reporter.
(3) The word has been derived from the French larron (a thief), which is from the Latin latronem (a robber). This became in English larry, to which the English diminutive, kin, was added; although this etymology is always derided in Melbourne.
1870. `The Daily Telegraph' (Melbourne), Feb. 7, p. 2, col. 3:
"We shall perhaps begin to think of it in earnest, when we have insisted upon having wholesome and properly baked bread, or a better supply of fish, and when we have put down the `roughs' and `larrikins.'"
1870. `The Age,' Feb. 8, p. 3, col. 1:
"In sentencing a gang of `larrikins' who had been the terror of Little Bourke-street and its neighbourhood for several hours on Saturday night, Mr. Call remarked. . ."
1870. `The Herald,' April 4, p.3, col. 2:
". . . three larikins who had behaved in a very disorderly manner in Little Latrobe-street, having broken the door of a house and threatened to knock out the eye of one of the inmates."
1870. Marcus Clarke, `Goody Two Shoes,' p. 26:
"He's a lively little larrikin lad, and his name isLittle Boy Blue."
1871. `The Argus,' Sept. 19, p.5, col. 4:
"In San Francisco, the vagabond juveniles who steal, smash windows, and make themselves generally obnoxious to the respectable inhabitants, instead of being termed `larrikins,' as in Victoria, are denominated `hoodleums.' The name is more musical than the one in vogue here, and probably equally as descriptive, as its origin appears to be just as obscure as that of the word `larrikin.' This word, before it got into print, was confined to the Irish policemen, who generally pronounced it `lerrikan,' and it has been suggested that the term is of Hibernian origin, and should be spelt lerrichaun.'"
1871. Sir George Stephen, Q.C., `Larrikinism,' a Lecture reported in `Prahran Telegraph,' Sept. 23, p. 3, col. 1:
What is Larrikinism? It is a modern word of which I can only guess the derivation, . . . nor can I find any among the erudite professors of slang who adorn our modern literature who can assist me. Some give our police the credit of coining it from the `larking' of our school boys, but I am inclined to think that the word is of Greek origin—Laros, a cormorant—though immediately derived from the French `larron' which signifies a thief or rogue. If I am right, then larrikin is the natural diminutive form in English phraseology for a small or juvenile thief. . . . This however is, I must acknowledge, too severe a construction of the term, even if the derivation is correct; for I was myself, I frankly confess it, an unquestionable larrikin between 60 and 70 years ago. . . . Larrikinism is not thieving, though a road that often leads to it. . . . Is it a love of mischief for mischief's sake? This is the theory of the papers, and is certainly a nearer approach to the true solution."
1871. `Figaro,' in `Prahran Telegraph,' Sept. 30, p. 7, col. 3:
"A local contemporary has . . . done his `level best' to help me out of my `difficulty' with respect to the word Larrikin. He suggests that lerrichan should read leprichaun , a mischievous sprite, according to Irish tradition. . . . We think we may with more safety and less difficulty trace the word to the stereotype [sic] reply of the police to the magisterial question—`What was he doing when you apprehended him?' `Oh! larriking (larking) about, yer Wurtchip.'"
1872. J. S. Elkington, `Tenth Report of Education, Victoria,' dated Feb. 14:
"My inquiries into the origin and habits of that troublesome parasite the larrikin (if I may adopt Constable Dalton's term) do not make me sanguine that compulsory primary instruction can do much for him, unless indirectly."
1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), May 15, p. 21, col. 3:
"On Sunday night an unfortunate Chinaman was so severely injured by the Richmond larrikins that his life was endangered."
1875. David Blair, in `Notes and Queries,' July 24, p. 66:
"Bedouins, Street Arabs, Juvenile Roughs in London; Gamins in Paris; Bowery Boys in New York; Hoodlums to San Francisco; Larrikins in Melbourne. This last phrase is an Irish constable's broad pronunciation of `larking' applied to the nightly street performances of these young scamps, here as elsewhere, a real social pestilence."
1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 338:
"There is not a spare piece of ground fit for a pitch anywhere round Melbourne that is not covered with `larrikins' from six years old upwards."
1889. Rev. J. H. Zillmann, `Australian Life,' p. 159:
"It has become the name for that class of roving vicious young men who prowl about public-houses and make night hideous in some of the low parts of our cities. There is now the bush `larrikin' as well as the town `larrikin,' and it would be difficult sometimes to say which is the worse. Bush `larrikins' have gone on to be bushrangers."
1890. `The Argus,' May 26, p. 6, col. 7:
"He was set upon by a gang of larrikins, who tried to rescue the prisoner."
1891. `Harper s Magazine,' July, p. 215, col. 2:
"The Melbourne `larrikin' has differentiated himself from the London `rough,' and in due season a term had to be developed to denote the differentiation."
1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 12, p. 13, col. 2:
"Robert Louis Stevenson, in a recent novel, `The Wrecker,' makes the unaccountable mistake of confounding the unemployed Domain loafer with the larrikin. This only shows that Mr. Stevenson during his brief visits to Sydney acquired but a superficial knowledge of the underlying currents of our social life."
1896. J. St. V. Welch, in `Australasian Insurance and Banking Record,' May 19, p. 376:
"Whence comes the larrikin? that pest of these so-called over-educated colonies; the young loafer of from sixteen to eight-and-twenty. Who does not know him, with his weedy, contracted figure; his dissipated pimply face; his greasy forelock brushed flat and low over his forehead; his too small jacket; his tight-cut trousers; his high-heeled boots; his arms—with out-turned elbows—swinging across his stomach as he hurries along to join his `push,' as he calls the pack in which he hunts the solitary citizen—-a pack more to be dreaded on a dark night than any pack of wolves—and his name in Sydney is legion, and in many cases he is a full-fledged voter."
1896. W. H. Whelan, in `The Argus,' Jan. 7, p. 6, col. 3:
"Being clerk of the City Court, I know that the word originated in the very Irish and amusing way in which the then well-known Sergeant Dalton pronounced the word larking in respect to the conduct of `Tommy the Nut,' a rowdy of the period, and others of both sexes in Stephen (now Exhibition) street.
"Your representative at the Court, the witty and clever `Billy' O'Hea, who, alas! died too early, took advantage of the appropriate sound of the word to apply it to rowdyism in general, and, next time Dalton repeated the phrase, changed the word from verb to noun, where it still remains, anything to the contrary notwithstanding. I speak of what I do know, for O'Hea drew my attention to the matter at the time, and, if I mistake not, a reference to your files would show that it was first in the `Argus' the word appeared in print."
("We can fully confirm Mr. Whelan's account of the origin of the word `larrikin.'"—Ed. `Argus.')
[But see quotation from `Argus,' 1871.]
1878. `The Australian,' vol. i. p. 522:
"Marks the young criminals as heroes in the eyes not only of the ostensible larrikin element . . ."
1893. `Evening Standard,' July 5, p. 4, col. 4 (Leading Article):
"In the larrikinalian din which prevailed from start to finish . . ."
1871. `Collingwood Advertiser and Observer,' June 22, p. 3, col. 5:
"Evidence was tendered as to the manner of life led by these larikinesses . . . The juvenile larrikin element being strongly represented in court, all the boys were ordered out."
1871. Sir George Stephen, Q.C., `Larrikinism,' a Lecture reported in `Prahran Telegraph,' Sept. 23, p. 3, col. 1:
"I know many a larrikiness to whose voice I could listen by the hour with all my heart, without the least fear of her stealing it, even if it were worth the trouble."
1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 224:
"I have not found the larrikin [in Brisbane]. . . . The slouch-hat, the rakish jib, the drawn features are not to be seen; nor does the young larrikiness—that hideous outgrowth of Sydney and Melbourne civilization—exist as a class."
1870. `The Australian' (Richmond, Victoria), Sept. 10, p. 3, col. 3:
"A slight attempt at `larrikinism' was manifested. . . . "
1871. J. J. Simpson, `Recitations and Rhymes,' p. 17:
"Melbourne larrikinism is still very bad,By the papers each day we are told."
1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), June 19, p. 80, col. 2:
"He took as his theme the `Dialect of Victoria,' which was coarse and vulgar to a degree. `Larrikinism' was used as a synonym for `blackguardism.'"
1876. A. P. Martin, `Sweet Girl-Graduate,' p. 20:
"There is no doubt that its rising generation afforded material for letters in the newspapers, under the headings `Larrikinism,' or, `What shall we do with our boys?'"
1893. `The Argus,' Feb. 23:
"Outbreaks of larrikinism are not always harmless ebullitions of animal spirits. Sometimes they have very serious results."
Alexandrian Laurel— Calophyllum inophyllum, Linn:, N.O. Guttiferae; not endemic in Australia.
Diamond-leaf L.— Pittosporum rhombifolium, A. Cunn., N.O. Pittosporeae.
Dodder L.— Cassytha filiformis, Linn., N.O. Lauraceae; called also Devil's Guts, not endemic in Australia.
Hedge L. (q.v.)— Pittosporum eugenioides, Cunn.
Moreton Bay L.— Cryptocarya australis, Benth., N.O. Lauraceae; called also Grey Sassafras.
Native L.— Pittosporum undulatum, Andr., N.O. Pittosporeae; called also Mock Orange (q.v.). Panax elegans, C. Moore and F. v. M., N.O. Araliaceae; which is also called Light or White Sycamore.
White L.— Cryptocarya glaucescens, R. Br., N.O. Lauraceae; for other names see Beech.
In Tasmania, the name Native Laurel is applied to Anopterus glandulosus, Lab., N.O. Saxifrageae. Peculiar to Tasmania.
The New Zealand Laurel is Laurelia novae-zelandiae; called also Sassafras.
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 292:
"Native Laurel, [also called] `Mock Orange.' This tree is well worth cultivating on a commercial scale for the sake of the sweet perfume of its flowers."
1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 157:
"Calamus Australis, a plant which Kennedy now saw for the first time. . . It is a strong climbing palm. From the roots as many as ninety shoots will spring, and they lengthen out as they climb for hundreds of feet, never thicker than a man's finger. The long leaves are covered with sharp spines; but what makes the plant the terror of the explorers, is the tendrils, which grow out alternately with the leaves. Many of these are twenty feet long, and they are covered with strong spines, curved slightly downwards."
1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 135:
"Rubus Australis, the thorny strings of which scratch the hands and face, and which the colonists, therefore, very wittily call the `bush-lawyer.'"
1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 71:
"Torn by the recurved prickles of the bush-lawyer."
1889. Vincent Pyke, `Wild Will Enderby,' p. 16:
"Trailing `bush-lawyers,' intermingled with coarse bracken, cling lovingly to the rude stones."
1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 103:
"In the mountain scrubs there grows a very luxuriant kind of palm (Calamus Australis), whose stem of a finger's thickness, like the East Indian Rotang-palm, creeps through the woods for hundreds of feet, twining round trees in its path, and at times forming so dense a wattle that it is impossible to get through it. The stem and leaves are studded with the sharpest thorns, which continually cling to you and draw blood, hence its not very polite name of lawyer-palm."
1891. A. J. North, `Records of Australian Museum,' vol. i. p. 118:
"Who, in the brushes of the Tweed River, found a nest placed on a mass of `lawyer-vines' (Calamus Australis)."
1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 256:
"`Look out,' said my companion, `don't touch that lawyer-vine; it will tear you properly, and then not let you go.' Too late; my fingers touched it, and the vine had the best of it. The thorns upon the vine are like barbed spears, and they would, in the language of the Yankee, tear the hide off a crocodile."
1892. `The Times,' [Reprint] `Letters from Queensland,' p. 7:
"But no obstacle is worse for the clearer to encounter than the lawyer-vines where they are not burnt off. These are a form of palm which grows in feathery tufts along a pliant stalk, and fastens itself as a creeper upon other trees. From beneath its tufts of leaves it throws down trailing suckers of the thickness of stout cord, armed with sets of sharp red barbs. These suckers sometimes throw themselves from tree to tree across a road which has not been lately used, and render it as impassable to horses as so many strains of barbed wire. When they merely escape from the undergrowth of wild ginger and tree-fern and stinging-bush, which fringes the scrub, and coil themselves in loose loops upon the ground, they are dangerous enough as traps for either man or horse. In the jungle, where they weave themselves in and out of the upright growths, they form a web which at times defies every engine of destruction but fire."
1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), June 19, p. 75, col. 2:
"There was every facility for abstracting the gold in the rich lead of a neighbour."
1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 272 [Note]:
"The expression `deep lead' refers to those ancient river-courses which are now only disclosed by deep-mining operations."
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. v. p. 55:
"Taking the general matter of `leads' or dead rivers, it chiefly obtained that if gold were found on one portion of them, it extended to all the claims within a considerable distance."
1874. Garnet Walch, `Head over Heels,' p. 74:
"We could shy up our caps for a feller,As soon as he struck the lead."
1890. Lyth, `Golden South,' c. xiv. p. 127:
"The birds are very beautiful—the Blue Mountain and Lowrie parrots . . . leadbeater, and snow-white cockatoos."
1890. `Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 15:
"A nice block of stone was crushed from Johnson's lease."
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 461:
"The Leatherhead with its constantly changing call and whistling."
1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 58:
"The leather-heads utter their settled phrase `Off we go! off we go!' in the woods, or they come to suck honey from the Melianthus major, which stands up like a huge artichoke plant, tipped with dark red plumes of flowers."
1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 233:
"Among the Honey-suckers is that singular-looking bird, the Leatherhead, or Bald-headed Friar (Tropidorhynchus corniculatus); it is commonly seen upon the topmost branches of lofty trees, calling `Poor Soldier,' `Pimlico,' `Four o'clock,' and uttering screaming sounds. It feeds upon insects, wild fruits, and any sweets it can procure from the flowers of the Banksia and Gum-trees."
(1) A name applied popularly and somewhat confusedly to various trees, on account of the toughness of their bark— (a) Eucalyptus punctata, De C., Hickory Eucalypt (q.v.); (b) Alphitonia excelsa, Reiss., or Cooperswood; (c) Ceratopetalum, or Coachwood; (d) Cryptocarya meissnerii, F. v. M.; (e) Weinmannia benthami, F. v. M.
(2) A fish of the family Sclerodermi, Monacanthus ayraudi, Quoy. and Gaim., and numerous other species of Monocanthus. Leather-Jackets are wide-spread in Australian seas. The name is given elsewhere to other fishes. See File-fish and Pig-fish.
1770. `Capt. Cook's Journal,' edition Wharton, 1893, p. 246:
"They had caught a great number of small fish, which the sailors call leather jackets, on account of their having a very thick skin; they are known in the West Indies."
1773. `Hawkesworth's Voyages,' vol. iii. p. 503—'Cook's First Voyage,' May 4, 1770 (at Botany Bay):
"Small fish, which are well known in the West Indies, and which our sailors call Leather jackets, because their skin is remarkably thick."
1789. W. Tench, `Expedition to Botany Bay, p. 129:
"To this may be added bass, mullets, skaits, soles, leather-jackets, and many other species."
(3) A kind of pancake.
1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 151:
"A plentiful supply of `leatherjackets' (dough fried in a pan)."
1853. Mossman and Banister, `Australia Visited and Revisited,' p. 126:
"Our party, upon this occasion, indulged themselves, in addition to the usual bush fare, with what are called `Leather jackets,' an Australian bush term for a thin cake made of dough, and put into a pan to bake with some fat. . . The Americans indulge in this kind of bread, giving them the name of `Puff ballooners,' the only difference being that they place the cake upon the bare coals . . ."
1855. R. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 117:
"The leather-jacket is a cake of mere flour and water, raised with tartaric acid and carbonate of soda instead of yeast, and baked in the frying-pan; and is equal to any muffin you can buy in the London shops."
1845. Charles Griffith, `Present State and Prospects of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales,' p. 155:
"The liangle is, I think, described by Sir Thomas Mitchell.It is of the shape of a pickaxe, with only one pick. Its nameis derived from another native word, leang, signifying a tooth.It is a very formidable weapon, and used only in war."
1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. II. c. xiii. p. 479:
"A weapon used by the natives called a Liangle, resembling a miner's pick."
1863. M. K. Beveridge,' Gatherings among the Gum-trees,' p. 56:
"Let us hand to hand attack himWith our Leeawells of Buloite."
Ibid. (In Glossary) p. 83:
"Leeawell, a kind of war club."
1867. G. Gordon McCrae, `Mimba,' p. 9:
"The long liangle's nascent formFore-spoke the distant battle-storm."
1886. R. Henty, `Australiana,' p. 21:
"His war-club or leeangle."
1889. P. Beveridge, `Aborigines of Victoria and Riverina, p. 67:
"Of those [waddies] possessing—we might almost say—-a national character, the shapes of which seem to have come down generation after generation, from the remotest period, the Leawill is the most deadly-looking weapon. It is usually three feet long, and two and a half inches thick, having a pointed head, very similar both in shape and size to a miner's driving pick; in most cases the oak (Casuarina) is used in the manufacture of this weapon; it is used in close quarters only, and is a most deadly instrument in the hands of a ruthless foe, or in a general melee such as a midnight onslaught."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 121:
"`Native Onion,' `Native Leek.' Mr. W. n. Hutchinson, Sheep Inspector, Warrego, Queensland, reports of this plant: `Its effects on cattle are . . . continually lying down, rolling, terribly scoured, mucous discharge from the nose.'"
1890. `The Argus,' June x6th, p. 6, col. 1:
"It may also be observed that in payable saddle formations a slide intersects the reef above the saddle coming from the west, and turning east with a wall of the east leg, where the leg of reef is observed to go down deeper, and to carry a greater amount of gold than in ordinary cases."
1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 16:
"Legitimacy—a colonial term for designating the cause of the emigration of a certain portion of our population; i.e. having legal reasons for making the voyage."
[So also at p. 116, "Legitimates"]
1874. M. K. Beveridge, `Lost Life,' p. 40:
"Groaning beneath the friendly shadeThat by a Leichhardt-tree was made."
1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia, p. 258:
"The Leichhardt is a very symmetrical tree, that grows to a height of about sixty feet, and has leaves rather like a big laurel."
1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 73:
"The natives of the Wimmera prepare a luscious drink from the laap, a sweet exudation from the leaf of the mallee (Eucalyptus dumosa)."
1850. T. Dobson, `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. i. p. 235:
"The white saccharine substance called `lerp,' by the Aborigines in the north-western parts of Australia Felix, and which has attracted the attention of chemists, under the impression that it is a new species of manna, originates with an insect of the tribe of Psyllidae, and order Hemiptera."
1850. Ibid. p. 292::
"Insects which, in the larva state, have the faculty of elaborating from the juices of the gum-leaves on which they live a glutinous and saccharine fluid, whereof they construct for themselves little conical domiciles."
1878. R. Brough Smyth, `The Aborigines of Victoria,' vol. i. p. 211:
"Another variety of manna is the secretion of the pupa of an insect of the Psylla family and obtains the name of lerp among the aborigines. At certain seasons of the year it is very abundant on the leaves of E. dumosa, or mallee scrub . . ."
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. iv. p. 45:
"I haven't lifted a finer mob this season."
1890. `The Argus,' June 14, p. 4, col. 2:
"We lifted 7000 sheep."
1789. W. Tench, `Expedition to Botany Bay,' p. 129:
"The French once caught [in Botany Bay] near two thousand fish in one day, of a species of grouper, to which, from the form of a bone in the head resembling a helmet, we have given the name of light horseman."
1793. J. Hunter, `Voyage,' p. 410 [Aboriginal Vocabulary]:
"Woolamie, a fish called a light-horseman."[But see Wollomai.]
1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. iv. p. 78:
"A boat belonging to the Sirius caught near fifty large fish, which were called light-horsemen from a bone that grew out of the head like a helmet."
1843. I. Backhouse. `Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies,' p. 48:
"Lightwood—Acacia Melanoxylon . . . It derives its name from swimming in water, while the other woods of V. D. Land, except the pines, generally sink. In some parts of the Colony it is called Blackwood, on account of its dark colour."
1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 515:
"Some immense logs of `light wood,' a non lucendo, darker than mahogany."
1864. J. Rogers, `New Rush,' p. 17:
"Arms so brown and bare, to look at themRecalls to mind the lightwood's rugged stem."
1866. H. Simcox, `Rustic Rambles,' p. 54:
"The numerous lightwood trees with sombre shadeTend to enhance the richness of the glade."
1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. xv. p. 111:
"The ex-owner of Lyne wished himself back among the old lightwood trees."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 359:
"Called `Blackwood' on account of the very dark colour of the mature wood. It is sometimes called `Lightwood' (chiefly in South Tasmania, while the other name is given in North Tasmania and other places), but this is an inappropriate name. It is in allusion to its weight as compared with Eucalyptus timbers. It is the `Black Sally' of Western New South Wales, the `Hickory' of the southern portion of that colony, and is sometimes called `Silver Wattle.' This is considered by some people to be the most valuable of all Australian timbers.
It is hard and close-grained; much valued for furniture, picture-frames, cabinet-work, fencing, bridges, etc., railway, and other carriages, boat-building, for tool-handles, gun-stocks, naves of wheels, crutches, parts of organs, pianofortes (sound-boards and actions), etc."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 505:
"[E. polyanthema.] The `Red Box' of South-eastern Australia. Called also `Brown Box,' `Grey Box,' and `Bastard Box.' `Poplar-leaved Gum' is another name, but it is most commonly known as `Lignum Vitae' because of its tough and hard wood. Great durability is attributed to this wood, though the stems often become hollow in age, and thus timber of large dimensions is not readily afforded. It is much sought after for cogs, naves and felloes; it is also much in demand for slabs in mines, while for fuel it is unsurpassed. (Mueller.) Its great hardness is against its general use."
(2) A bushman's contraction for any species of the wiry plants called polygonum.
1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' [writing of the Lachlan district, New South Wales] p. 180:
"The poor emus had got down into the creek amongst the lignum bushes for a little shade . . . I do not know what a botanist would call them; they are something like cane, but with large leaves, which all animals are fond of, and they grow about eight feet high in the creeks and gullies."
1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 135:
"By mulga scrub and lignum plain."
1793. J. E. Smith, `Specimen of Botany of New Holland,' p. 5:
"Tetratheca juncea, Rushy Tetratheca [with plate]."
1852. Mrs. Meredith, `My Home in Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 69:
"A little purple flower, which is equally common, so vividly recalls to my mind, both by its scent and colour, an Old-World favorite, that I always know it as the native Lilac (Tetratheca juncea)."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 20:
"The `Darling Lily.' This exceedingly handsome white-flowered plant, which grows back from the Darling, has bulbs which yield a fair arrowroot. On one occasion, near the town of Wilcannia, a man earned a handsome sum by making this substance when flour was all but unattainable."
1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 339:
"The Doryanthes excelsa, a gigantic Lily of Australia, is a magnificent plant, with a lofty flowering spike. The bunches or clusters of crimson flowers are situated in the summit of the flowering spike . . . The diameter of a cluster of blossoms is about 14 inches . . . The flower-buds are of a brilliant crimson, and the anthers of the stamens are, in the recently expanded flower, of a dark-green colour."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 621:
"`Spear Lily.' `Giant Lily.' The leaves are a mass of fibre, of great strength, which admits of preparation either by boiling or maceration, no perceptible difference as to quality or colour being apparent after heckling. Suitable for brush making, matting, etc."
1835. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 72:
"Blandfordia nobilis. This splendid plant is common on the west coast and on the shores of the Mersey. It bears a head of pendulous scarlet blossoms tipped with yellow, one inch long, rising out of a stalk of from 1 1/2 to 3 feet long, from between two opposite series of strapshaped leaves. It is named after George [Gordon] Marquis of Blandford, son of the second Duke of Marlborough."
1877. F. v. Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 119:
"This showy genus Crinum furnishes also Victoria with a beautiful species, the Murray Lily (Crinum flaccidum), not however to be found away from the Murray-River southward."
1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 327:
"The Lillypilly-trees, as they are named by the colonists, consist of several species of Acmena, and are all of elegant growth and dense and handsome foliage."
1879. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Proceedings of the Linnaean Society of New South Wales,' p. 134:
"Eugenia Smithii, or Lilli pilli, and Melodorum Leichhardtii are also fair eating. The latter goes by the name of the native banana though it is very different from a banana, and in reality allied to the custard apple."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 29:
"`Lilly Pilly.' The fruits are eaten by aboriginals, small boys, and birds. They are formed in profusion, are acidulous and wholesome. They are white with a purplish tint, and up to one inch in diameter."
1879. H. n. Moseley, `Notes by Naturalist on Challenger,' p. 270:
"A luxuriant vegetation, with huge masses of Stagshorn Fern (Platycerium) and `rock-lilies' (orchids), and a variety of timbers, whilst there are Tree-ferns and small palms in the lateral shady gullies."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 22:
"`Rock Lily.' The large pseudobulbs have been eaten by the aboriginals; they contain little nutritive matter."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 16:
"`Native Lime. Orange.' The fruit, which is an inch and a half in diameter, and almost globular, yields an agreeable beverage from its acid juice."
(1) Insects belonging to the order Hemiptera. The great black Cicada, Cicada moerens, Germ., and the great green Cicada, Cyclochila australasiae, Donov.
(2) Insects belonging to the order Orthoptera, such as the great green gum-tree grasshopper, Locusta vigentissima, Serv., or the Australian yellow-winged locust, Oedipoda musica, Fab.
1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. I. c. ix. p. 285:
"The trees swarmed with large locusts (the Cicada), quite deafening us with their shrill buzzing noise."
1862. F. J. Jobson, `Australia,' c. iv. p. 104:
"We heard everywhere on the gumtrees the cricket-like insects—usually called locusts by the colonists—hissing their reed-like monotonous noise."
1869. J. Townend, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 155:
"The perpetual song of unnumbered locusts."
1885. H. H. Hayter, `Carboona,' p. 5:
"The deaf'ning hum of the locusts."