Vague name of Cuckoo—
1854. G. H. Haydon, `The Australian Emigrant,' p. 110:
"The note of the More-pork, not unlike that of a cuckoo with a cold."
1857. W. Howitt, `Tallangetta,' vol. i. p. 98:
"The distant monotone of the more-pork—the nocturnal cuckoo of the Australian wilds."
Incorrect—
1858. W. H. Hall, `Practical Experiences at the Diggings in Victoria,' p. 22:
"The low, melancholy, but pleasing cry of the Mope-hawk."
1877. William Sharp, `Earth's Voices':
"On yonder gum a mopoke's throatOut-gurgles laughter grim,And far within the fern-tree scrubA lyre-bird sings his hymn."
[This is confusion worse confounded. It would seem as if the poet confused the Laughing Jackass with the Mopoke, q.v.]
1878. Mrs. H. Jones, `Long Years in Australia,' p. 145:
"How the mope-hawk is screeching."
Owl—
1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 71:
"A bird of the owl species, called by the colonists morepork, and by the natives whuck-whuck, derives both its names from the peculiarity of its note. At some distance it reminds one of the song of the cuckoo; when nearer it sounds hoarse and discordant."
1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. ii. pl. 1:
"AEgotheles Novae-Hollandiae, Vig. and Horsf, Owlet Nightjar; Little Mawepawk, Colonists of Van Diemen's Land."
1852. Mrs. Meredith, `My Home in Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 253:
"The Mawpawk, More Pork, or Mope Hawk, is common in most parts of the colony, and utters its peculiar two-syllable cry at night very constantly. Its habits are those of the owl, and its rather hawkish appearance partakes also of the peculiarities of the goat-sucker tribe. . . . The sound does not really resemble the words `more pork,' any more than `cuckoo,' and it is more like the `tu-whoo' of the owl than either."
1859. D. Bunce, `Australasiatic Reminiscences,' p. 14:
"Just as our sportsman, fresh from the legal precincts of Gray's Inn Square, was taking a probably deadly aim, the solitary and melancholy note of `More-pork! more-pork!' from the Cyclopean, or Australian owl, interfered most opportunely in warding off the shot."
1864. `Once a Week,' Dec. 31, p. 45. `The Bulla Bulla Bunyip':
"The locusts were silent, but now and then might be heard the greedy cry of the `morepork,' chasing the huge night-moths through the dim dewy air."
1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of British Colonies,' p. 274:
"Owls are also numerous, the Mopoke's note being a familiar sound in the midnight darkness of the forest."
By transference to a man.—
1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 233:
"`A more-pork kind of a fellow' is a man of cut-and-dry phrases, a person remarkable for nothing new in common conversation. This by some is thought very expressive, the more-pork being a kind of Australian owl, notorious for its wearying nightly iteration, `More pork, more pork'"
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xiii. p. 125:
"What a regular more-pork I was to be sure to go and run my neck agin' a roping-pole."
(2) The New Zealand Owl, formerly Athene novae-zelandiae, Gray; now Spiloglaux novae-zelandiae, Kaup.
1849. W. T. Power, `Sketches in New Zealand,' p. 74:
"This bird gave rise to a rather amusing incident in the Hutt Valley during the time of the fighting. . . . A strong piquet was turned out regularly about an hour before daybreak. On one occasion the men had been standing silently under arms for some time, and shivering in the cold morning air, when they were startled by a solemn request for `more pork.' The officer in command of the piquet, who had only very recently arrived in the country, ordered no talking in the ranks, which was immediately replied to by another demand, distinctly enunciated, for `more pork.' So malaprop a remark produced a titter along the ranks, which roused the irate officer to the necessity of having his commands obeyed, and he accordingly threatened to put the next person under arrest who dared make any allusion to the unclean beast. As if in defiance of the threat, and in contempt of the constituted authorities, `more pork' was distinctly demanded in two places at once, and was succeeded by an irresistible giggle from one end of the line to the other. There was no putting up with such a breach of discipline as this, and the officer, in a fury of indignation, went along the line in search of the mutinous offender, when suddenly a small chorus of `more pork' was heard on all sides, and it was explained who the real culprits were."
1866. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 100:
"The last cry of a very pretty little owl, called from its distinctly uttered words the `more-pork.'"
1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of Maori,' p. 84:
"Sleeping alone where the more-pork's callAt night is heard."
1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 192:
"Spiloglaux Novae-Zelandiae, Kaup., More-pork of the colonists. Every New Zealand colonist is familiar with this little owl, under the name of `morepork.'"
1887. `The Australian,' April:
"I cannot recommend . . . [for fishing rods] . . . that awful thing which our philosopher called `prickly moses.'"
1893. A. R. Wallace, `Australasia,' vol. i. p. 76:
"Next to these, as a special Australian type. . . . come the bush-turkeys or mound-makers . . . all these birds have the curious reptilian character of never sitting on their eggs, which they bury under mounds of earth or decaying vegetable matter, allowing them to be hatched by the heat of the sun, or that produced by fermentation."
Mountain-Apple-tree— Angophora lanceolata, Cav., N.O. Myrtaceae.
M.-Ash— A name applied to various Eucalypts, and to the tree Alphitonia excelsa, Reiss.
M.-Beech— The tree Lomatia longifolia, R. Br., N.0. Proteaceae.
M.-Bloodwood—The tree Eucalyptus eximia, Schau.
M.-Cypress-pine— The tree Frenela parlatori, F. v. M., N.0. Coniferae.
M.-Ebony—See Ebony.
M.-Gentian— The name is applied to the Tasmanian species, Gentiana saxosa, Forst., N.O. Gentianeae.
M.-Gums—See Gum.
M.- Oak—See Oak.
M.-Parrot—Another name for the Kea (q.v.).
M.-Rocket— The name is applied to the Tasmanian species Bellendena montana, R. Br., N.O. Proteaceae.
M.-Tea-tree—See Tea-tree.
1853. `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. ii. p. 515 [November 9]:
"A spirit preparation of the Spiny Lizard (Moloch horridus) of Western Australia."
1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv. pl. 7:
"Oreocincla lunulatus, Mountain Thrush, Colonists of Van Diemen's Land. In all localities suitable to its habits and mode of life, this species is tolerably abundant, both in Van Diemen's Land and in New South Wales; it has also been observed in South Australia, where however it is rare."
1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 142:
"There's half this fine body of veal, mud-fat and tender as a chicken, worth a shilling a pound there."
1891. A. J. North, `Records of the Australian Museum,' vol. i. no. 6, p. 113:
"Southern Sphecotheres. Mr. Grime informs me it is fairly common on the Tweed River, where it is locally known as the `Mulberry-bird,' from the decided preference it evinces for that species of fruit amongst many others attacked by this bird."
Mulberry, Native, n. name given to three Australian trees, viz.—
Hedycarya cunninghami, Tull., N.O. Monimiaceae. Called also Smooth Holly.
Piturus propinquus, Wedd., N.O. Urticeae. Called also Queensland Grasscloth Plant.
Litsaea ferruginea, Mart., N.O. Laurineae. Called also Pigeonberry-tree.
The common English garden fruit-tree is also acclimatised, andthe Victorian Silk Culture Association, assisted by theGovernment, are planting many thousands of the WhiteMulberry for silk culture.
1864. J. McDouall Stuart, `Explorations in Australia,' p. 154:
"We arrived at the foot nearly naked, and got into open sandy rises and valleys, with mulga and plenty of grass, amongst which there is some spinifex growing."
1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 126, Note:
"Mulga is an Acacia. It grows in thick bushes, with thin twigs and small leaves. Probably it is the most extensively distributed tree in all Australia. It extends right across the continent."
1888. Baron F. von Mueller, `Select Extra-tropical Plants' [7th ed.], p. 1:
"Acacia aneura, F. v. M. Arid desert interior of extra-tropic Australia. A tree never more than 25 feet high. The principal `Mulga' tree. . . . Cattle and sheep browse on the twigs of this and some allied species, even in the presence of plentiful grass, and are much sustained by such acacias in seasons of protracted drought."
1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 43:
"Not a drop of rain! And for many and many a day the jackaroo will still chop down the limbs of the mulga-tree, that of its tonic leaves the sheep may eat and live."
1894. `The Argus,' Sept. 1, p. 4, col. 2:
"The dull green of the mulga-scrub at their base."
1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 85:
"Flax and tussock and fern,Gum and mulga and sand,Reef and palm—but my fancies turnEver away from land."
(2) A weapon, made of mulgawood.
(a) A shield.
1878. `Catalogue of Ethnotypical Art in the National Gallery' (Melbourne), p. 19:
"Mulga. Victoria. Thirty-six inches in length. This specimen is 37 inches in length and 5 inches in breadth at the broadest part. The form of a section through the middle is nearly triangular. The aperture for the hand (cut in the solid wood) is less than 4 inches in length. Ornamentation :Herring-bone, the incised lines being filled in with white clay. Some figures of an irregular form are probably the distinguishing marks of the owner's tribe. This shield was obtained from Larne-Gherin in the Western District."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 349:
"Mulga is the name of a long narrow shield of wood, made by the aboriginals out of acacia-wood."
(b) In one place Sir Thomas Mitchell speaks of it as a club.
1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' vol. ii. p. 267:
"The malga [sic] . . . with which these natives were provided, somewhat resembled a pick-axe with one half broken off."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 3:
"In Western New South Wales two kinds of galls are found on these trees. One kind is very astringent, and not used; but the other is less abundant, larger, succulent and edible. These latter galls are called `mulga-apples,' and are said to be very welcome to the thirsty traveller."
1889. E. Giles, `Australia Twice Traversed,' p. 71:
"The mulga bears a small woody fruit called the mulga apple.It somewhat resembles the taste of apples and is sweet."
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xvii. p. 201:
"Fascinating territories of limitless mulga-downs."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 82:
"Mulga Grass. . . . Peculiar to the back country. It derives its vernacular name from being only found where the mulga-tree (Acacia aneura and other species) grows; it is a very nutritious and much esteemed grass."
1864. J. McDouall Stuart, `Explorations in Australia,' p. 190:
"For the first three miles our course was through a very thick mulga scrub, with plenty of grass, and occasionally a little spinifex."
1875. John Forrest, `Explorations in Australia,' p. 220:
"Travelled till after dark through and over spinifex plains, wooded with acacia and mulga scrub, and camped without water and only a little scrub for the horses, having travelled nearly forty miles."
1876. W. Harcus, `South Australia,' p. 127:
"The road for the next thirty miles, to Charlotte Waters Telegraph Station, is characterized by mulga-scrub, open plains, sand-hills, and stony rises poorly grassed."
1893. A. R. Wallace, `Australasia,' vol. i. p. 47:
"Still more dreaded by the explorer is the `Mulga' scrub, consisting chiefly of dwarf acacias. These grow in spreading irregular bushes armed with strong spines, and where matted with other shrubs form a mass of vegetation through which it is impossible to penetrate."
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xvii. p. 201:
"The frown on the face of the mulga-studded lowlands deepened."
Flat-tail Mullet—Mugil peronii, Cuv. and Val.
Hard-gut M.—M. dobula, Gunth.
Sand-M., or Talleygalanu— Myxus elongatus, Gunth. (called also Poddy in Victoria).
Sea-M.— M. grandis, Castln.
In New Zealand, the Mullet is Mugil perusii, called the Silver-Mullet (Maori name, Kanae); and the Sea-Mullet, Agonostoma forsteri (Maori name, Aua, q.v.); abundant also in Tasmanian estuaries.
The Sand-Mullet in Tasmania is Mugil cephalotus,Cuv. and Val. See also Red-Mullet.
1890. `Victorian Statutes—Fisheries Act, Second Schedule':
[Close Season.] "Sand-mullet or poddies."
1864. J. Rogers, `New Rush,' pt. ii. p. 26:
"A man each windlass-handle working slow,Raises the mullock from his mate below."
1874. Garnet Walch, `Head over Heels, p. 77:
"But still we worked on—same old tuneFor nothin' but mullock come up."
1893. `The Age,' Sept. 23, p. 14, col. 4:
"I affirm as a practical shearer, that no man could shear 321 sheep in eight hours, although I will admit he might do what we shearers call `mullock over' that number; and what is more, no manager or overseer who knows his work would allow a shearer to do that number of sheep or lambs in one day."
1896. E. C. Stirling, `Horne Expedition in Central Australia,' Anthropology, p. 56:
"In these districts `Munyeru' takes the place of the spore cases of `Nardoo' (Marsilea quadrifolia), which is so much used in the Barcoo and other districts to the south and east, these being treated in a similar way."
1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia,' vol. i. p. 95:
"We soon found that this river contained . . . the fish we first found in the Peel, commonly called by the colonists `the cod,' although most erroneously, since it has nothing whatever to do with malacopterygious fishes."
1880. Guenther, `Introduction to Study of Fishes,' p. 392 (`O.E.D.'):
"The first (Oligorus macquariensis) is called by the colonists `Murray-cod,' being plentiful in the Murray River and other rivers of South Australia. It attains to a length of more than 3 feet and to a weight of nearly 100 lbs."
1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 124:
"Our noble old 1400-mile river, the Murray, well christened the Nile of Australia, . . . produces `snags,' and that finny monster, the Murray cod, together with his less bulky, equally flavourless congener, the Murray perch."
1878. R. Brough Smyth, `Aborigines of Victoria,' p. 209:
"Murr-nong, or `Mirr-n'yong', a kind of yam (Microseris Forsteri) was usually very plentiful, and easily found in the spring and early summer, and was dug out of the earth by the women and children."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 45:
"Murr-nong, or `Mirr n'yong' of the aboriginals of New South Wales and Victoria. The tubers were largely used as food by the aboriginals. They are sweet and milky, and in flavour resemble the cocoa-nut."
1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 30:
"The ungainly musk-duck paddles clumsily away from the passing steamer, but hardly out of gunshot, for he seems to know that his fishy flesh is not esteemed by man."
1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 159:
"That's a musk duck: the plumage is very sombre and loose looking—not so thick as most other ducks; the tail, too, is singular, little more than a small fan of short quills. The head of the male has a kind of black leathery excrescence under the bill that gives it an odd expression, and the whole bird has a strange odour of musk, rendering it quite uneatable."
1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. v. pl. 5:
"Trichoglossus Concinnus, Vig. and Horsf. (Australis, Wagl.), Musky-Parrakeet; Musk-Parrakeet, Colonists of New South Wales, from the peculiar odour of the bird."
1848. Letter by Mrs. Perry, given in Canon Goodman's `Church in Victoria during the Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' p. 71:
"Also there is some pretty underwood, a good deal of the musk-tree—which is very different from our musk-plant, growing quite into a shrub and having a leaf like the laurel in shape."
1888. Mrs. M'Cann, `Poetical Works,' p. 143:
"The musk-tree scents the evening airFar down the leafy vale."
Fresh-water Mussels belong to the genus Unio.
1839. W. Mann, `Six Years' Residence in the Australian Provinces,' p. 51:
"They are commonly called mutton birds, from their flavour and fatness; they are migratory,and arrive in Bass's Straits about the commencement of spring, in such numbers that they darken the air."
1843. J. Backhouse, `Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies' (1832), p. 73:
"Mutton birds were in such vast flocks, that, at a distance, they seemed as thick as bees when swarming."
Ibid. p. 91:
"The Mutton-birds, or Sooty Petrels, are about the size of the Wood Pigeon of England; they are of a dark colour, and are called `Yola' by the natives."
1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i. p. 264:
"The principal occupation of these people during this month of the year is taking the Sooty Petrel, called by the Colonists the Mutton Bird, from a fancied resemblance to the taste of that meat."
1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 47:
"The mutton-bird, or sooty petrel . . . is about the size of the wood-pigeon of England, and is of a dark colour. These birds are migratory, and are to be seen ranging over the surface of the great southern ocean far from land . . . Many millions of these birds are destroyed annually for the sake of their feathers and the oil of the young, which they are made to disgorge by pressing the craws."
1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 382:
"The titi, or mutton-bird, is a seabird which goes inland at night just as the light wanes. The natives light a bright fire, behind which they sit, each armed with a long stick. The titis, attracted by the light, fly by in great numbers, and are knocked down as quickly as possible; thus in one night several hundreds are often killed, which they preserve in their own fat for future use."
1857. C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand the Britain of the South,' vol. i. p. 121:
"The young titi (mutton-bird), a species of puffin, is caught by the natives in great quantities, potted in its own fat, and sent as a sort of `pa^te de foie gras' to inland friends."
1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 232:
"The natives in the South [of Stewart's Island] trade largely with their brethren in the North, in supplies of the mutton- bird, which they boil down, and pack in its own fat in the large air-bags of sea-weed."
1879. H. n. Moselep `Notes by Naturalist on Challenger, p. 207:
"Besides the prion, there is the `mutton-bird' of the whalers (AEstrelata lessoni), a large Procellanid, as big as a pigeon, white and brown and grey in colour."
1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 49:
"The crest of the Cape [Wollomai] is a favourite haunt of those elegant but prosaically-named sea-fowl, the `mutton-birds.'. . One of the sports of the neighbourhood is `mutton-birding.'
1888. A. Reischek, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxi. art. xlix. p. 378:
"Passing through Foveaux Strait, clothed with romantic little islands, we disturbed numerous flocks of mutton-birds (Puffinus tristis), which were playing, feeding, or sleeping on the water."
1891. `The Australasian,' Nov. 14, p. 963, col. 1 (`A Lady in the Kermadecs'):
"The mutton-birds and burrowers come to the island in millions in the breeding season, and the nesting-place of the burrowers is very like a rabbit-warren; while the mutton-bird is content with a few twigs to do duty for a nest."
1891. Rev. J. Stack, `Report of Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science,' vol. iii. p. 379:
"Wild pigeons, koko, tui, wekas, and mutton-birds were cooked and preserved in their own fat."
1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish and Fisheries of New South Wales,' p. 92:
"Then mutton fish were speared. This is the ear-shell fish (Haliotis naevosa), which was eagerly bought by the Chinese merchants. Only the large muscular sucking disc on foot is used. Before being packed it is boiled and dried. About 9d. per lb. was given."
Myall, n. and adj. aboriginal word with two different meanings; whether there is any connection between them is uncertain.
(1) n. An acacia tree, Acacia pendula, A. Cunn., and its timber. Various species have special epithets: Bastard, Dalby, True, Weeping, etc.
1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 38:
"The myall-tree (Acacia pendula) is the most picturesque tree of New South Wales. The leaves have the appearance of being frosted, and the branches droop like the weeping willow. . . . Its perfume is as delightful, and nearly as strong, as sandal-wood."
(p. 10): "They poison the fish by means of a sheet of bark stripped from the Myall-tree (Acacia pendula)."
1846. T. L. Mitchell, Report quoted by J. D. Lang, `Cooksland,' p. 495:
"The myall-tree and salt-bush, Acacia pendula and salsolae [sic], so essential to a good run, are also there."
1864. J. S. Moore, `Spring Life Lyrics,' p. 170:
"The guerdon's won! What may it be?A grave beneath a myall-tree."
1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 193 [Note]:
"This acacia, which has much the habit of the weeping willow, is found very extensively on the wet, alluvial flats of the west rivers. It sometimes forms scrubs and thickets, which give a characteristic appearance to the interior of this part of Australia, so that, once seen, it can never be again mistaken for scenery of any other country in the world. The myall scrubs are nearly all of Acacia pendula."
1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 280:
"The myall-wood weapons made at Liverpool Plains were exchanged with the coast natives for others."
1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 46:
"Lignum-vitae and bastard-myall bushes were very common."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 115:
"Weeping or true Myall. . . . Stock are very fond of the leaves of this tree [Acacia pendula], especially in seasons of drought, and for this reason, and because they eat down the seedlings, it has almost become exterminated in parts of the colonies."
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' p. 27:
"A strip of the swaying, streaming myall, of a colour more resembling blue than black."
1890. `The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 2:
"The soft and silvery grace of the myalls."
1890. E. D. Cleland, `The White Kangaroo,' p. 50:
"Miall, a wood having a scent similar to raspberry jam, and very hard and well-grained."
1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 130:
"Stock-whips with myall handles (the native wood that smells like violets)."
(2) adj. and n. wild, wild natives, used especially in Queensland. The explanation given by Lumholtz (1890) is not generally accepted. The word mail, or myall, is the aboriginal term for "men," on the Bogan, Dumaresque, and Macintyre Rivers in New South Wales. It is the local equivalent of the more common form murrai.
1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 41:
"On my arrival I learnt from the natives that one party was still at work a considerable distance up the country, at the source of one of the rivers, called by the natives `Myall,' meaning, in their language, Stranger, or a place which they seldom or never frequent."
1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' vol. i. p. 192:
"This tribe gloried in the name of `Myall,' which the natives nearer to the colony apply in terror and abhorrence to the `wild blackfellows,' to whom they usually attribute the most savage propensities."
1844. `Port Phillip Patriot,' Aug. i, p. 4, col. 4:
"Even the wildest of the Myall black fellows—as cannibals usually are—learned to appreciate him."
1847. J. D. Lang, `Cooksland,' p. 447:
"Words quite as unintelligible to the natives as the corresponding words in the vernacular language of the white men would have been, were learned by the natives, and are now commonly used by them in conversing with Europeans, as English words. Thus corrobbory, the Sydney word for a general assembly of natives, is now commonly used in that sense at Moreton Bay; but the original word there is yanerwille. Cabon, great; narang little; boodgeree, good; myall, wild native, etc. etc., are all words of this description, supposed by the natives to be English words, and by the Europeans to be aboriginal words of the language of that district."
1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 171:
"A more intimate acquaintance with the ways and customs of the whites had produced a certain amount of contempt for them among the myalls."
1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 209:
"I had many conversations with native police officers on the subject of the amelioration of the wild myalls."
1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 150:
"Suddenly he became aware that half-a-dozen of these `myalls,' as they are called, were creeping towards him through the long grass. Armed with spears and boomerangs . . ."
1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 76:
"These so-called civilized blacks look upon their savage brethren with more or less contempt, and call them myall."
[Footnote]: "A tree (Acacia pendula) which grows extensively in the less civilized districts is called by the Europeans myall. This word was soon applied by the whites as a term for the wild blacks who frequented these large remote myall woods. Strange to say, the blacks soon adopted this term themselves, and used it as an epithet of abuse, and hence it soon came to mean a person of no culture."
1893. M. Gaunt, `English Illustrated,' March, p. 367:
"He himself had no faith in the myall blacks; they were treacherous, they were cruel."
(3) By transference, wild cattle.
1893. `The Argus,' April 29, p. 4, col. 4, `Getting in the Scrubbers':
"To secure these myalls we took down sixty or seventy head of quiet cows, as dead homers as carrier pigeons, some of them milking cows, with their calves penned up in the stockyard."
Backhousia citriodora, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae, called the Scrub Myrtle and Native Myrtle.
Backhousia myrtifolia, Hook. and Herv., N.O. Myrtaceae, called Scrub Myrtle, or Native Myrtle, or Grey Myrtle, and also Lancewood.
Diospyrus pentamera, F. v. M., N.O. Ebenaceae, the Black Myrtle and Grey Plum of Northern New South Wales.
Eugenia myrtifolia, Sims, N.O. Myrtaceae, known as Native Myrtle, Red Myrtle and Brush Cherry.
Eugenia ventenatii, Benth., N.O. Myrtaceae, the Drooping Myrtle or Large-leaved Water-gum.
Melaleuca decussata, R. Br., N.O. Myrtaceae.
Melaleuca genistifolia, Smith, N.O. Myrtaceae, which is called Ridge Myrtle, and in Queensland Ironwood.
Myoporum serratum, R. Br., N.O. Myoporineae, which is called Native Myrtle; and also called Blue-berry Tree, Native Currant, Native Juniper, Cockatoo-Bush, and by the aborigines Palberry.
Myrtus acmenioides, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae, which is the White Myrtle of the Richmond and Clarence Rivers (New South Wales), and is also called Lignum-vitae.
Rhodamnia argentea, Benth., N.O. Myrtaceae, called White Myrtle, the Muggle-muggle of the aboriginals of Northern New South Wales.
Syncarpia leptopetala, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae, which is called Myrtle and also Brush-Turpentine.
Tristania neriifolia, R. Br., N.O. Myrtaceae, called Water Myrtle, and also Water Gum.
Trochocarpa laurina, R. Br., N.O. Epacrideae, called Brush-Myrtle, Beech and Brush Cherry.
In Tasmania, all the Beeches are called Myrtles, and there are extensive forests of the Beech Fagus cunninghamii, Hook., which is invariably called "Myrtle" by the colonists of Tasmania.
1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 206:
Hgt. Dia. Where found. Use. ft. in.
Scented Myrtle 15 6 Low, marshy Seldom used
Red " 40 12 Swampy As pine
White " 20 9 Low, marshy House-carpentry
Yellow " 20 9 " " do.
Brown " 20 30 " " do. and joiners' planes
1896. H. Lawson, `While the Billy boils,' p. 118:
"`You can give me half-a-pound of nailrod,' he said, in a quiet tone.'"
1893. `The Australasian,' August 5, p. 252, col. 4:
"The route all the way from York to Coolgardie is amply watered, either `namma holes' native wells) or Government wells being plentiful on the road."
1896. `The Australasian,' March 28, p. 605, col. 1:
"The blacks about here [far west of N.S.W.] use a word nearly resembling `namma' in naming waterholes, viz., `numma,' pronounced by them `ngumma,' which means a woman's breast. It is used in conjunction with other words in the native names of some waterholes in this district, e.g., `Tirrangumma' = Gum-tree breast; and ngumma-tunka' = breast-milk, the water in such case being always milky in appearance. In almost all native words beginning with n about here the first n has the ng sound as above."
1838. James, `Six Months in South Australia, p. 202:
"After shooting one or two beautiful nankeen birds."
1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 121:
"The nankeen crane (Nycticorax caledonicus), a very handsome bright nankeen-coloured bird with three long white feathers at the back of the neck, very good eating."
1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of the Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 184:
"`This bird,' as we are informed by Mr. Caley, `is calledNankeen Hawk by the settlers. It is a migratory species.'"
1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 52:
"Amongst the early colonists it used also to be called `mother nan a di,' probably a corruption of the native name, mura ngin a gai."
1884. E. P. Ramsay, `Fisheries Exhibition Literature,' vol. v. p. 308:
"Known among the fishermen of Port Jackson as the `nannagai,' or as it is sometimes spelt `nannygy.' It is a most delicious fish, always brings a high price, but is seldom found in sufficient numbers."
1861. `Diary of H. J. Wills, the Explorer,' quoted in Brough Smyth's `Aborigines of Victoria,' p. 216:
"I cannot understand this nardoo at all; it certainly will not agree with me in any form. We are now reduced to it alone, and we manage to get from four to five pounds a day between us. . . . It seems to give us no nutriment. . . . Starvation on nardoo is by no means very unpleasant, but for the weakness one feels and the utter inability to move oneself, for, as far as appetite is concerned, it gives me the greatest satisfaction."
1862. Andrew Jackson, `Burke and the Australian Exploring Expedition of 1860,' p. 186:
"The [wheaten] flour, fifty pounds of which I gave them, they at once called `whitefellow nardoo,' and they explained that they understood that these things were given to them for having fed King."
1865. W. Howitt, `Discovery in Australia,' vol. ii. p. 247:
"They now began to inquire of the blacks after the nardoo seed, imagining it the produce of a tree; and received from the natives some of their dried narcotic herbs, which they chew, called pitchery. They soon found the nardoo seed in abundance, on a flat, and congratulated themselves in the idea that on this they could subsist in the wilderness, if all other food failed, a hope in which they were doomed to a great disappointment."
1877. F. von Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 130:
"Of Marsiliaceae we have well known examples in the nardoo (Marsilea quadrifolia, with many varieties), the foliage resembling that of a clover with four leaflets."
1878. R. Brough Smyth, `Aborigines of Victoria,' p. 209:
"They seem to have been unacquainted generally with the use, as a food, of the clover-fern, Nardoo, though the natives of the North Western parts of Victoria must have had intercourse with the tribes who use it, and could have obtained it, sparingly, from the lagoons in their own neighbourhood."
1879. J. D. Wood, `Native Tribes of South Australia,' p. 288:
"Ardoo, often described by writers as Nardoo. A very hard seed, a flat oval of about the size of a pea. It is crushed for food."
1879 (about). `Queensland Bush Song':
"Hurrah for the Roma Railway!Hurrah for Cobb and Co.!Hurrah, hurrah for a good fat horseTo carry me Westward Ho!To carry me Westward Ho! my boys;That's where the cattle pay,On the far Barcoo, where they eat nardoo,A thousand miles away."
1879. S. Gason, in `The Native Tribes of South Australia,' p. 288:
"Ardoo. Often described in news papers and by writers as Nardoo. A very hard seed, a flat oval of about the size of a split pea; it is crushed or pounded, and the husk winnowed. In bad seasons this is the mainstay of the native sustenance, but it is the worst food possible, possessing very little nourishment, and being difficult to digest."
1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Proceedings of the of the Linnaean Society of New South Wales,' p. 82 [Botanical Notes on Queensland]:
"Sesbania aculeata. The seeds of this plant are eaten by the natives. It grows in all warm or marshy places in Queensland. By many it is thought that this was the Nardoo which Burke and Wills thought came from the spores of a Marsilea. It is hard to suppose that any nourishment would be obtained from the spore cases of the latter plant, or that the natives would use it. Besides this the spore-cases are so few in number."
1890. E. D. Cleland, `White Kangaroo,' p. 113:
"The great thing with the blacks was nardoo. This is a plant which sends up slender stems several inches high; at the tip is a flower-like leaf, divided into four nearly equal parts. It bears a fruit, or seed, and this is the part used for food. It is pounded into meal between two stones, and is made up in the form of cakes, and baked in the ashes. It is said to be nourishing when eaten with animal food, but taken alone to afford no support."
1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' c. v. p. 161:
"Three Sydney natives (`currency' not aboriginal) were in the coach, bound for Melbourne."
1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 43:
"They were long and wiry natives from the rugged mountain side."
1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 125:
"Here we saw the native-companion, a large bird of the crane genus . . . five feet high, colour of the body grey, the wings darker, blue or black."
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 38:
"With native-companions (Ardea antigone) strutting round."
1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vi. pl. 48:
"Grus Australasianus, Gould, Australian Crane; Native-Companion of the Colonists."
1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 146:
"A handsome tame `native-companion,' which had been stalking about picking up insects, drew near. Opening his large slate-coloured wings, and dancing grotesquely, the interesting bird approached his young mistress, bowing gracefully from side to side as he hopped lightly along; then running up, he laid his heron-like head lovingly against her breast."
1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 21:
"The most extraordinary of Riverina birds is the native-companion."
1890. Tasma, `In her Earliest Youth,' p. 145:
"A row of native-companions, of course, standing on one leg— as is their wont—like recruits going to drill."
[Query, did the writer mean going "through" drill.]
1891. `Guide to Zoological Gardens, Melbourne,' p. 23:
"In this paddock are some specimens of the Native Companion, whose curious habit of assembling in groups on the plains and fantastically dancing, has attracted much attention. This peculiarity is not confined to them alone, however, as some of the other large cranes (notably the crowned cranes of Africa) display the same trait."
Tribonyx mortieri, Du Bus., called by Gould the Native Hen of the Colonists;
Black-tailed N.-h.,T. ventralis, Gould;
and in Tasmania,Tribonyx gouldi, Sclater. See Tribonyx.
1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vi. pl. 71:
"Tribonyx Mortierii, Du Bus., native-hen of the colonists."