P

1894. R. Lydekker, `Marsupialia,' p. 118:

"Resembling a common mouse in size, and hence known to the colonists as the flying-mouse or opossum-mouse, this little animal is one of the most elegant of the Australian marsupials."

Opossum-Tree, n. a timber-tree, Quintinia sieberi, De C., N.O. Saxifrageae.

Orange, n. i.q. Native Lime, Citrus australis. See Lime.

Orange, Mock, n. i.q. Native Laurel. See Laurel.

Orange, Native, n. name given to two Australian trees. (1) Capparis mitchelli, Lindl., N.O. Capparideae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 12:

"`Small Native Pomegranate,' `Native Orange.' The fruit is from one to two inches in diameter, and the pulp, which has an agreeable perfume, is eaten by the natives."

(2) Citriobatus pauciflorus, A. Cunn., N.O. Pittosporeae.

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

"`Native Orange,' `Orange Thorn.' The fruit is an orange berry with a leathery skin, about one inch and a half in diameter. It is eaten by the aboriginals."

Orange, Wild, n. i.q. Wild Lemon. See under Lemon.

Orange-Gum, n. See Gum.

Orange-spotted Lizard (of New Zealand), Naultinus elegans, Gray.

Orange-Thorn, n. See Orange, Native(2).

Orange-Tree, n. The New Zealand Orange-Tree is a name given to the Tarata (q.v.), from the aromatic odour of its leaves when crushed.

Organ-Bird, or Organ-Magpie, n. other names for one of the Magpies (q.v.).

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. ii. pl. 48:

"Gymnorrhina organicum, Gould, Tasmanian crow-shrike; Organ-Bird and White-Magpie of the Colonists. Resembling the sounds of a hand-organ out of tune."

1848. T. L. Mitchell, `Tropical Australia,' p. 176:

"The burita, or Gymnorrhina, the organ-magpie, was here represented by a much smaller bird."

Ornithorhynchus, n. i.q. Platypus (q.v.).

Orthonyx, n. a scientific name of a remarkable Australian genus of passerine birds, the spine-tails. It long remained of uncertain position . . . and finally it was made the type of a family, Orthonycidae. In the type species, O. spinacauda . . . the shafts of the tail-feathers are prolonged beyond the legs. (`Century.') Thename is from the Greek 'orthos, straight, and 'onux, a claw. See Log-Runner and Pheasant's Mother.

Osprey, n. another name for the Fish-Hawk (q.v.).

Ounce, n. used as adj. Yielding an ounce of gold to a certain measure of dirt, as a dish-full, a cradle-full, a tub-full, etc. Also used to signify the number of ounces per ton that quartz will produce, as "ounce-stuff," "three-ounce stuff," etc.

Out-run, n. a sheep-run at a distance from the Head-station (q.v.).

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. vi. p. 47 (1890):

"They'd come off a very far out-run, where they'd been, as one might say, neglected."

Out-station, n. a sheep or cattle station away from the Head-station (q.v.).

1844. `Port Phillip Patriot,' July 11, p. 1, col. 3:

"There are four out-stations with huts, hurdles . . . and every convenience."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i. c. 8, p. 231:

"The usual fare at that time at the out-stations—fried pork and kangaroo."

1870. Paul Wentworth, `Amos Thorne,' c. iii. p. 26:

"He . . . at last on an out-station in the Australian bush worked for his bread."

Overland, v. to take stock across the country.

1874. W. H. L. Ranken, `Dominion of Australia,' c. xiii. p. 232:

"Herds used to be taken from New South Wales to South Australia across what were once considered the deserts of Riverina. That used to be called `overlanding.'"

1890. Lyth, `Golden South,' c. ix. p. 74:

"Several gentlemen were away from the two nearest stations, `overlanding,' i.e. taking sheep, cattle, and flour to Melbourne."

Overlander, n. (1) In the days before railways, and when much of the intervening country was not taken up, to travel between Sydney and Melbourne, or Melbourne and Adelaide, was difficult if not dangerous. Those who made either journey were called Overlanders. In this sense the word is now only used historically, but it retains the meaning in the general case of a man taking cattle a long distance, as from one colony to another.

(2) A slang name for a Sundowner (q.v.).

1843. Rev. W. Pridden, `Australia: Its History and Present Condition,' p. 335:

"Among the beings which, although not natives of the bush, appear to be peculiar to the wilds of Australia, the class of men called Overlanders must not be omitted. Their occupation is to convey stock from market to market, and from one colony to another."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discovery in Australia,' vol. ii. c. vi. p. 237:

"The Eastern extent of the country of South Australia was determined by the overlanders, as they call the gentlemen who bring stock from New South Wales."

1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 11:

"Overlanders from Sydney and Melbourne to Adelaide were making great sums of money."

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. ix. p. 69:

"He gave us the advice of an experienced overlander."

1880. A. J. Vogan, `Black Police,' p. 262:

"An `overlander,'—for, as you havn't any of the breed in New Zealand, I'll explain what that is,—is Queensland-English for a long-distance drover; and a rough, hard life it generally is. . . . Cattle have to be taken long distances to market sometimes from these `up-country' runs."

1890. `Melbourne Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 1:

"Then came overlanders of another sort—practical men who went out to develop and not to explore."

Owl, n. an English bird-name. The species in Australia are—

Boobook Owl—Ninox boobook, Lath.

Chestnut-faced O.—Strix castanops, Gould.

Grass O.—S. candida, Tickell.

Lesser Masked O.—S. delicatula, Lath.

Masked O.—S. novae-hollandiae, Steph.

Powerful O.—Ninox strenua, Gould.

Sooty O.—Strix tenebricosa, Gould.

Spotted O.—Ninox maculata, Vig. and Hors.

Winking O.—N. connivens, Lath.

In New Zealand, the species are—Laughing Jackass, or L. Owl, Sceloglaux albifacies, Kaup (Maori name, Whekau, q.v.), and the Morepork, formerly Athene novae-zelandiae, Gray, now Spiloglaux novae-zelandiae, Kaup. (See Morepork.)

See also Barking Owl.

Owl-Parrot, n. a bird of New Zealand. See Kakapo.

Oyster, n. The Australian varieties are—Mud-Oyster, Ostrea angasi, Sow. (sometimes considered only a variety of O. edulis, Linn., the European species): New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia. O. rutupina, Jeffreys, "the native" of Colchester, England, is a variety and occurs in Tasmania. Drift-O., O. subtrigona, Sow., called so because its beds are thought to be shifted by storms and tides: New South Wales and Queensland. Rock-O., O. glomerata, Gould, probably the same species as the preceding, but under different conditions: all Eastern Australia. And other species more or less rare. See also Stewart Islander. Australian oysters, especially the Sydney Rock-Oyster, are very plentiful, and of excellent body and flavour, considered by many to be equal if not superior to the Colchester native. They cost 1s. a dozen; unopened in bags, they are 6d. a dozen—a contrast to English prices.

Oyster-Bay Pine, n. See Pine.

1857. `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. i. p. 155:

"16 August, 1848 . . . A sample of the white resin of the Oyster Bay Pine (Callitris Australis, Brown) lay on the table. The Secretary stated that this tree has only been met with along a comparatively limited and narrow strip of land bordering the sea on the eastern coast of Tasmania, and upon Flinders and Cape Barren Islands in Bass's Straits; that about Swanport and the shores of Oyster Bay it forms a tree, always handsome and picturesque, and sometimes 120 feet in height, affording useful but not large timber, fit for all the ordinary purposes of the house carpenter and joiner in a country district."

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 222:

"Those most picturesque trees, the Oyster Bay pines, which, vividly green in foliage, tapering to a height of eighty or one hundred feet, and by turns symmetrical or eccentric in form, harmonise and combine with rugged mountain scenery as no other of our trees here seem to do."

Oyster-catcher, n. common English bird-name. The Australasian species are—Pied, Haematopus longirostris, Vieill.; Black, H. unicolor, Wagler; and two other species—H. picatus, Vigors, and H. australasianus, Gould, with no vernacular name.

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. ii. c. vii. p. 174:

"Our game-bag was thinly lined with small curlews, oyster-catchers, and sanderlings."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 274:

"Slim oyster-catcher, avocet,And tripping beach-birds, seldom metElsewhere."

Pa, or Pah, n. The former is now considered the more correct spelling. A Maori word to signify a native settlement, surrounded by a stockade; a fort; a fighting village. In Maori, the verb pa means, to touch, to block up. Pa = a collection of houses to which access is blocked by means of stockades and ditches.

1769. `Captain Cook's Journal' (edition Wharton, 1893), p. 147:

"I rather think they are places of retreat or stronghold, where they defend themselves against the attack of an enemy, as some of them seemed not ill-design'd for that purpose."

Ibid. p. 156:

"Have since learnt that they have strongholds—or hippas, as they call them—which they retire to in time of danger."

[Hawkesworth spelt it, Heppahs; he = Maori definite article.]

1794. `History of New South Wales' (1818), p. 175:

"[On the coast of New Zealand] they passed many huts and a considerable hippah, or fortified place, on a high round hill, from the neighbourhood of which six large canoes were seen coming towards the ship."

1842. W. R. Wade, `Journey in New Zealand' (Hobart Town), p. 27:

"A native pa, or enclosed village, is usually surrounded by a high stockade, or irregular wooden fence, the posts of which are often of great height and thickness, and sometimes headed by the frightful carving of an uncouth or indecent image."

1858. `Appendix to Journal of House of Representatives,' E-4, p. 4:

"They seem, generally speaking, at present inveterate in their adherence to their dirty native habits, and to their residence in pas."

1859. A. S. Thomson, M.D., `Story of New Zealand,' p. 132:

"The construction of the war pas . . . exhibits the inventive faculty of the New Zealanders better than any other of their works. . . . Their shape and size depended much on the nature of the ground and the strength of the tribe. They had double rows of fences on all unprotected sides; the inner fence, twenty to thirty feet high, was formed of poles stuck in the ground, slightly bound together with supple-jacks, withes, and torotoro creepers. The outer fence, from six to eight feet high, was constructed of lighter materials. Between the two there was a dry ditch. The only openings in the outer fence were small holes; in the inner fence there were sliding bars. Stuck in the fences were exaggerated wooden figures of men with gaping mouths and out-hanging tongues. At every corner were stages for sentinels, and in the centre scaffolds, twenty feet high, forty feet long, and six broad, from which men discharged darts at the enemy. Suspended by cords from an elevated stage hung a wooden gong twelve feet long, not unlike a canoe in shape, which, when struck with a wooden mallet, emitted a sound heard in still weather twenty miles off. Previously to a siege the women and children were sent away to places of safety."

1863. T. Moser, `Mahoe Leaves,' p. 14:

"A pah is strictly a fortified village, but it has ceased to be applied to a fortified one only, and a collection of huts forming a native settlement is generally called a pah now-a-days."

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 22:

"They found the pah well fortified, and were not able to take it."

1879. Clement Bunbury, `Fraser's Magazine, June, p. 761:

"The celebrated Gate Pah, where English soldiers in a panic ran away from the Maoris, and left their officers to be killed."

1889. Cassell's' Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iv. p. 46:

"A sally was made from the pah, but it was easily repulsed.Within the pah the enemy were secure."

Pachycephala, n. the scientific name for the typical genus of Pachycephalinae, founded in 1826 by Vigors and Horsfield. It is an extensive group of thick-headed shrikes, containing about fifty species, ranging in the Indian and Australian region, but not in New Zealand. The type is P. gutturalis, Lath., of Australia. (`Century.') They are singing-birds, and are called Thickheads (q.v.), and often Thrushes (q.v.). The name is from the Greek pachus, thick, and kephalae, the head.

Packer, n. used for a pack-horse.

1875. Wood and Lapham, `Waiting for Mail,' p. 59:

"The boys took notice of a horse, some old packer he looked like."

1890. `The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 1:

"The Darling drover with his saddle-horses and packers."

Paddock. (1) 1n England, a small field; in Australia, the general word for any field, or for any block of land enclosed by a fence. The `Home-paddock' is the paddock near the Homestation, and usually very large.

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. vi. p. 148:

"There is one paddock of 100 acres, fenced on four sides."

1844. `Port Phillip Patriot,' July 25, p. 3, col. 6:

"A 300-acre grass paddock, enclosed by a two-rail fence."

1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 42:

"The paddocks are so arranged that hills may afford shelter, and plains or light-timbered flats an escape from the enormous flies and other persecuting enemies."

1892. `Scribner's Magazine,' Feb., p. 141:

"`Paddocks,' as the various fields are called (some of these `paddocks' contain 12,000 acres)."

(2) An excavation made for procuring wash-dirt in shallow ground. A place built near the mouth of a shaft where quartz or wash-dirt is stored. (Brough Smyth, `Glossary of Mining Terms,' 1869.)

1895. `Otago Witness,' Nov. 21, p. 22, col. 5:

"A paddock was opened at the top of the beach, but rock-bottom was found."

Paddock, v. to divide into paddocks.

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' c. xx. p. 302:

"When a run is paddocked shepherds are not required; but boundary riders are required."

Paddy Lucerne, n. i.q. Queensland Hemp. See under Hemp.

Paddymelon, n. the name of a small Wallaby (q.v.), Macropus thetidis, Less. It is certainly a corruption of an aboriginal name, and is spelt variously pademelon, padmelon, and melon simply. (See Melon-holes.) This word is perhaps the best instance in Australia of the law of Hobson-Jobson, by which a strange word is fitted into a language, assuming a likeness to existing words without any regard to the sense. The Sydney name for kangaroo was patagorang. See early quotations. This word seems to give the first half of the modern word. Pata, or pada, was the generic name: mella an adjective denoting the species. Paddymalla (1827) marks an intermediate stage, when one-half of the word had been anglicised. At Jervis Bay, New South Wales, the word potalemon was used for a kangaroo.

1793. J. Hunter, `Voyage,' p. 547:

"The pattagorang and baggaray frequently supplied our colonists with fresh meals, and Governor Phillip had three young ones, which were likely to live: he has not the least doubt but these animals are formed in the false belly."

1798. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 548:

"The pat-ta-go-rang or kangooroo was (bood-yer-re) good, and they ate it whenever they were fortunate enough to kill one."

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 310:

"The wallabee and paddymalla grow to about sixty pounds each."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 212:

"Had hunted down a paddymelon (a very small species of kangaroo, which is found in the long grass and thick brushes)."

1845. Clement Hodgkinson, `Australia, from Port Macquarie to Moreton Bay,' p. 45:

"The brush-kangaroos or pademellas were thus gradually enclosed."

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 47:

"A small species of the kangaroo tribe, called by the sealers paddymelon, is found on Philip Island, while none have been seen on French Island."

1851. J. Henderson, `Excursions in New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 129:

"The small kind of kangaroo, however, called by the natives `Paddy Melon,' and which inhabits the dense brushes or jungles, forms a more frequent, and more easily obtained article of food."

1863. M. K. Beveridge, `Gatherings,' p. 41:

"An apron made from skin of Paddie-Melon."

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 107:

"In the scrub beyond, numbers of a small kind of kangaroo called `Paddy- Mellans,' resort."

[Footnote] "I cannot guarantee the spelling."

1888. Cassell's' Picturesque Australasia,' vol. ii. p. 90:

"The kangaroo and his relatives, the wallaby and the paddymelon."

1890. A. H. S. Lucas, `Handbook of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science,' p. 62:

"Onychogale fraenatus and its ally O. lunatus. Mr. Le Souef reports that the former are fairly numerous in the Mallee country to the north-west of the Colony, and are there known as Pademelon." [This seems to be only a local use.]

1893. J. L. Purves, Q.C., in `The Argus,' Dec. 14, p. 9, col. 7:

"On either side is a forest, the haunt of wombats and tree-bears, and a few paddymelons."

Paddymelon-Stick, n. a stick used by the aborigines for knocking paddymelons (q.v.) on the head.

1851. J. Henderson, `Excursions in New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 129:

"These are hunted in the brushes and killed with paddy mellun sticks with which they are knocked down. These sticks are about 2 feet long and an inch or less in diameter."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 56:

"Nulla-mullahs, paddy-melon sticks, boomerangs, tomahawks, and heelimen or shields lay about in every direction."

Pah, n. i.q. Pa (q.v.).

Pake, n. Maori name for a coarse mat used against rain. A sack thrown over the shoulders is called by the settlers a Pake.

Pakeha, n. Maori word for a white man. The word is three syllables, with even accent on all. A Pakeha Maori is an Englishman who lives as a Maori with the Maoris. Mr. Tregear, in his `Maori Comparative Dictionary,' s.v. Pakepakeha, says: "Mr. John White [author of `Ancient History of the Maoris'] considers that pakeha, a foreigner, an European, originally meant `fairy,' and states that on the white men first landing sugar was called `fairy-sand,' etc." Williams' `Maori Dictionary' (4th edit.) gives, "a foreigner: probably from pakepakeha, imaginary beings of evil influence, more commonly known as patupaiarehe, said to be like men with fair skins." Some express this idea by "fairy." Another explanation is that the word is a corruption of the coarse English word, said to have been described by Dr. Johnson (though not in his dictionary), as "a term of endearment amongst sailors." The first a in Pakeha had something of the u sound. The sailors' word would have been introduced to New Zealand by whalers in the early part of the nineteenth century.

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 187:

"Pakeha, s. an European; a white man."

1832. A. Earle, `Narrative of Nine Months' Residence in New Zealand,' p. 146:

"The white taboo'd day, when the packeahs (or white men) put on clean clothes and leave off work" [sc. Sunday].

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' c. i. p. 73:

"We do not want the missionaries from the Bay of Islands, they are pakeha maori, or whites who have become natives."

1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' canto iii. p. 44:

"Aiding some vile pakehasIn deeds subversive of the laws."

1876. F. E. Maning [Title]:

"Old New Zealand, by a Pakeha Maori."

1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of the Maori,' p. 15:

"Long ere the pale pakeha came to the shrine."

Palberry, n. a South Australian name for the Native Currant. See Currant. The word is a corruption of the aboriginal name Palbri, by the law of Hobson-Jobson.

Palm, Alexandra, n. a Queensland timber-tree, Ptychosperma alexandrae, F. v. M., N.O. Palmeae.

Palm, Black, n. a Queensland timber-tree, Ptychosperma normanbyi, F. v. M., N.O. Palmeae.

Palm, Cabbage, n. i.q. Cabbage-tree (q.v.)

Palm Nut, n. See under Nut.

Palm, Walking-Stick, n. a Queensland plant, Bacularia monostachya, F. v. M., N.O. Palmeae. So called because the stem is much used for making walking-sticks.

Panel, n. the part between two posts in a post-and-rail fence. See also Slip-panel.

1876. A. L. Gordon, `Sea-spray,' p. 148:

"In the jar of the panel rebounding,In the crash of the splintering wood,In the ears to the earth-shock resounding,In the eyes flashing fire and blood."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xviii. p. 226:

"A panel of fencing is not quite nine feet in length."

Pan, or Pan-wash, Pan-out, Pan-off, verbs, to wash the dirt in the pan for gold. Some of the forms, certainly pan-out, are used in the United States.

1870. J. O. Tucker, `The Mute,' p. 40:

"Others to these the precious dirt convey,Linger a moment till the panning's through."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Gold fields,' p. 4:

"On the very day of their arrival they got a lesson in pan-washing."

Ibid. p. 36:

"All the diggers merely panned out the earth."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. vii. p. 79:

"These returned gnomes having been brought to light, at once commenced to pan off according to the recognized rule and practice."

Pannikin, n. a small tin cup for drinking. The word is not Australian. Webster refers to Marryat and Thackeray. The `Century' quotes Blackmore. This diminutive of pan is exceedingly common in Australia, though not confined to it.

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 200:

"He went to the spring and brought me a pannican full."

(p. 101): "Several tin pannicans."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 87:

"We caught the rain in our pannikins as it dropt from our extended blankets."

1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 190:

"There is a well-known story of two bullock-drivers, who, at a country public-house on their way to the town, called for a dozen of champagne, which they first emptied from the bottles into a bucket, and then deliberately drank off from their tin pannikins."

1871. C. L. Money, `Knocking About in New Zealand,' p. 6:

"He was considered sufficiently rewarded in having the `honour' to drink his `pannikin' of tea at the boss's deal table."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 44:

"A small pannikin full of gold dust."

Pannikin-boss, or Pannikin-overseer, n. The term is applied colloquially to a man on a station, whose position is above that of the ordinary station-hand, but who has no definite position of authority, or is only a `boss' or overseer in a small way.

Papa, n. Maori word for a bluish clay found along the east coast of the North Island.

Paper-bark Tree, or Paper-barked Tea-tree, n. Called also Milk-wood (q.v.). Name given to the species Melaleuca leucodendron, Linn. Its bark is impervious to water.

1842. `Western Australia,' p. 81:

"There is no doubt, from the partial trial which has been made of it, that the wood of the Melaleuca, or tea-tree, could be rendered very serviceable. It is sometimes known by the name of the paper-bark tree from the multitudinous layers (some hundreds) of which the bark is composed. These layers are very thin, and are loosely attached to each other, peeling off like the bark of the English birch. The whole mass of the bark is readily stripped from the tree. It is used by the natives as a covering for their huts."

[Compare the New Zealand Thousand-jacket.]

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries of Australia,' vol. i. c. v. p. 106:

"The face of the country was well but not too closely covered with specimens of the red and white gum, and paper-bark tree."

1847. E. W. Landor, `The Bushman; or, Life in a New Country,' p. 212:

"Fish and other things are frequently baked in the bark of the papertree."

1857. J. Askew, `Voyage to Australia and New Zealand,' p. 433:

"The dead bodies are burnt or buried, though some in North Australia place the corpse in the paper bark of the tea-tree, and deposit it in a hollow tree."

Paper-fish, n. a Tasmanian name. See Bastard Trumpeter and Morwong.

1883. `Royal Commission on Fisheries of Tasmania,' p. xxxvi:

"The young [of the bastard trumpeter] are always coloured, more or less, like the red, and are known by some as `paper-fish.' The mature form of the silver bastard is alone caught. This is conclusive as favouring the opinion that the silver is simply the mature form of the red."

Paradise, Bird of, n. English bird-name, originally applied in Australia to the Lyre-bird (q.v.), now given to Manucoda gouldii, Gray. Called also the Manucode (q.v.).

1802. D. Collins, `Account of New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 300:

"By him [Wilson, a convict] the first bird of paradise ever seen in this country had been shot." [This was the Lyre-bird.]

Paradise-Duck, n. bird-name applied to the New Zealand duck, Casarca variegata, Gmel. See Duck quotation, 1889, Parker.

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' c. 1. p. 57:

"These (wild ducks of different sorts) are principally the black, the grey, the blue-winged, and the paradise-duck, or `pu tangi tangi,' as it is called by the natives. The last is nearly as large as a goose, and of beautiful plumage."

Paradoxus, n. a shortened form of the former scientific name of the Platypus, Paradoxus ornithorrhynchus. Sometimes further abbreviated to Paradox. The word is from the Greek paradoxos, `Contrary to opinion, strange, incredible.' (`L. & S.')

1817. O'Hara, `The History of New South Wales,' p. 452:

"In the reaches or pools of the Campbell River, the very curious animal called the paradox, or watermole, is seen in great numbers."

Paramatta/sic/, n. "A fabric like merino, of worsted and cotton. So named from Paramatta, a town near Sydney, New South Wales." (Skeat, `Etymological Dictionary,' s.v.) According to some, the place named Parramatta means, in the local Aboriginal dialect, "eels abound," or "plenty of eels." Others rather put it that para = fish, and matta= water. There is a river in Queensland called the Paroo, which means "fish-river."

NOTE.—The town Parramatta, though formerly often spelt with one r, is now always spelt with two.

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

"A peculiar tweed, made in the colony, and chiefly at Paramatta, hence the name."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 19:

"Paramattas, fine cloths originally made from the Paramatta wool, with silk warps, though now woollen."

Pardalote, n. anglicised form of the scientific bird-name Pardalotus (q.v.), generally called Diamond birds (q.v.); a genus of small short-tailed birds like the Flycatchers. The species are—

Black-headed Pardalote—Pardalotus melanocephalus, Gould.

Chestnut-rumped P.—P. uropygialis, Gould.

Forty-spotted P.— P. quadragintus, Gould; called also Forty-Spot (q.v.).

Orange-tipped P.—P. assimilis, Ramsay.

Red-browed P.—P. rubricatus, Gould.

Red-tipped P.—P. ornatus, Temm.

Spotted P.— P. punctatus, Temm.; the bird originally called the Diamond Bird (q.v.).

Yellow-rumped P.—P. xanthopygius, McCoy.

Yellow-tipped P.—P. affinis, Gould.—

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. ii. pl. 35:

"No species of the genus to which this bird belongs is more widely and generally distributed than the spotted pardalote, Pardalotus punctatus."

Pardalotus, n. scientific name for a genus of Australian birds, called Diamond birds (q.v.), and also Pardalotes (q.v.), from Grk. pardalowtos, spotted like the pard.

Parera, n. Maori name for the genus Duck (q.v.).

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 407:

"Family, Anatida—Parera, turuki (Anas superciliosa), the duck; very similar to the wild duck of England."

Parra, n. a popular use for the fuller scientific name Parra gallinacea. Called also the Jacana (q.v.), and the Lotus-bird (q.v.).

1893. `The Argus,' March 25, p. 4, col. 6:

"The egg of the comb-crested parra shines amongst its neighbours so vividly that it at once catches the eye, and suggests a polished agate rather than an egg. The bird itself is something of a gem, too, when seen skipping with its long water-walking claws over the floating leaves of pink and blue water-lilies."

Parrakeet, n. (various spellings). From French. Originally from Spanish periquito, dim. of sp. perico, a little parrot. Hence used generally in English to signify any small parrot. The Australian species are—

Alexandra Parrakeet—Spathopterus (Polytelis) alexandra, Gould.

Beautiful P.—Psephotus pulcherrimus, Gould.

Black-tailed P.— Polytelis melanura, Vig. and Hors.; called also Rock-pebbler.

Blue-cheeked P.—Platycercus amathusiae, Bp.

Cockatoo P.—Calopsittacus novae-hollandiae Gmel.

Crimson-bellied P.—Psephotus haematogaster, Gould.

Golden-shouldered P.—Psephotus chrysopterygius, Gould.

Green P.—Platycercus flaviventris, Temm.

Ground P.—Pezoporus formosus, Lath.

Mallee P.—Platycercus barnardi, Vig. and Hors.

Many-coloured P.—Psephotus multicolor, Temm.

Night P.—Pezoporus occidentalis, Gould.

Pale-headed P:—Platycercus pallidiceps, Vig.

Pheasant P.—P. adelaidensis, Gould.

Red-backed P.—Psephotus haematonotus, Gould.

Red-capped P.—P. spurius, Kuhl.

Rock P.—Euphema petrophila, Gould.

Smutty P.—Platycercus browni, Temm.

Yellow P.—P. flaveolus, Gould.

Yellow-banded P.P. zonarius, Shaw.

Yellow-cheeked P.P. icterotis, Temm.

Yellow-collared P.— P. semitorquatus, Quoy and Gaim.; called also Twenty-eight (q.v.).

Yellow-mantled P.—P. splendidus, Gould.

Yellow-vented P.—Psephotus xanthorrhous, Gould.

See also Grass-Parrakeet, Musk-Parrakeet, Rosella, and Rosehill. The New Zealand Green Parrakeet (called also Kakariki, q.v.) has the following species—

Antipodes Island P.-Platycercus unicolor, Vig.

Orange-fronted P.—P. alpinus, Buller.

Red-fronted P.—P. novae-zelandiae, Sparrm.

Rowley's Parrakeet—Platycercus rowleyi, Buller.

Yellow-fronted P.—P. auriceps, Kuhl.

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

"The cockatoo-parrakeet of the Gwyder River (NymphicusNovae-Hollandiae, Gould)."

1867. A. G. Middleton, `Earnest,' p. 93:

"The bright parroquet, and the crow, black jet,For covert, wing far to the shade."

1889. Prof. Parker, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 118:

"There are three species of parrakeet, the red-fronted (Platycercus Novae-Zelandiae), the yellow-fronted (P. auriceps), and the orange-fronted (P. alpinus). The genus Platycercus is found in New Zealand, New Guinea, and Polynesia."

Parrot-bill, n. See Kaka-bill.

Parrot-fish, n. name given in Australia to Pseudoscarus pseudolabrus; called in the Australian tropics Parrot-perch. In Victoria and Tasmania, there are also several species of Labricthys. In New Zealand, it is L. psittacula, Rich.

Parrot-Perch, n. See Parrot-fish.

Parrot's-food, n. name given in Tasmania to the plant Goodenia ovata, Sm., N.O. Goodeniaceae.

Parsley, Wild, n. Apium leptophyllum, F. v. M., N.O. Umbelliferae. Parsley grows wild in many parts of the world, especially on the shores of the Mediterranean, and this species is not endemic in Australia.

Parsnip, Wild, n. a poisonous weed, Trachymene australis, Benth., N.O. Umbelliferae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 142:

"Recently (Dec. 1887) the sudden death of numbers of cattle in the vicinity of Dandenong, Victoria, was attributed to their having eaten a plant known as the wild parsnip. . . . Its action is so powerful that no remedial measures seem to be of any avail."

Parson-bird, n. the New Zealand bird Prosthemadera novae-zelandiae, Gmel.; Maori name, Tui (q.v.). See also Poe.

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 401:

"Cook named this beautiful and lively bird the parson and mocking-bird. It acquired the first name from its having two remarkable white feathers on the neck like a pair of clergyman's bands."

[Mr. Taylor is not correct. Cook called it the Poe-bird (q.v.). The name `Parson-bird' is later.]

1857. C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand the Britain of the South,' vol. i. p. 118:

"The most common, and certainly the most facetious, individual of the ornithology is the tui (parson-bird). Joyous Punchinello of the bush, he is perpetual fun in motion."

1858. C. W., `Song of the Squatters,' `Canterbury Rhymes' (2nd edit.), p. 47:

"So the parson-bird, the tui,The white-banded songster tui,In the morning wakes the woodlandsWith his customary music.Then the other tuis round himClear their throats and sing in concert,All the parson-birds together."

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

"The tui, or parson-bird, most respectable and clerical-looking in its glossy black suit, with a singularly trim and dapper air, and white wattles of very slender feathers—indeed they are as fine as hair—curled coquettishly at each side of his throat, exactly like bands."

1888. Dr. Thomson, apud Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 95:

"Sitting on the branch of a tree, as a pro tempore pulpit, he shakes his head, bending to one side and then to another, as if he remarked to this one and to that one; and once and again, with pent-up vehemence, contracting his muscles and drawing himself together, his voice waxes loud, in a manner to awaken sleepers to their senses."

1890. W. Colenso, `Bush Notes,' `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxxiii. art. lvii. p. 482:

"It is very pleasing to hear the deep rich notes of the parson-bird—to see a pair of them together diligently occupied in extracting honey from the tree-flowers, the sun shining on their glossy sub-metallic dark plumage."

Partridge-Pigeon, n. an Australian pigeon.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 8:

"The partridge-pigeon (Geophaps scripta) abounded in theAcacia groves."

Partridge-wood, n. another name for the Cabbage-Palm (q.v.).

Passion-flower, Native, n. Several species of the genus Passiflora are so called in Australia; some are indigenous, some naturalised.

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 398:

"The native passion-flower, scarlet and orange, was tangled up with the common purple sarsaparilla and the English honeysuckle and jessamine."

Pastoralist, n. The squatters are dropping their old name for this new one. A Pastoralist is a sheep or cattle-farmer, the distinction between him and an Agriculturist being, that cultivation, if he undertakes it at all, is a minor consideration with him.

1891. March 15 [Title]:

"The Pastoralists' Review," No. 1.

1892. `Scribner's Magazine,' Feb., p. 147:

"A combination has been formed by the squatters under the name of the Pastoralists' Union."

Patagorang, n. one of the aboriginal names for the Kangaroo (q.v.), and see Paddy-melon.

Pataka, n. Maori word for storehouse, supported on a post to keep off rats. See Whata.

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' c. i. p. 283:

"We landed at the pataka, or stage."

Patiki, n. the Maori name for the Flounder (q.v.). The accent is on the first syllable of the word.

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of the Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 190:

"Patiki, s. a fish so called."

1844. F. Tuckett, `Diary,' May 31:

"A fine place for spearing soles or patike (the best of fish)."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 412:

"Patiki, common name for the sole and flat-fish; the latter is found in rivers, but decreases in size as it retires from the sea."

1879. Captain Mair, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xii. art. xlvi. p. 316:

"Large patiki, flat-fish, are occasionally speared up the river."

Patriot, n. Humorously applied to convicts.

1796. In `History of Australia,' by G. W. Rusden (1894), p. 49 [Footnote]:

"In 1796 the Prologue (erroneously imputed to a convict Barrington, but believed to have been written by an officer) declared:

`True patriots we, for be it understoodWe left our country for our country's good.'"

Patter, v. to eat. Aboriginal word, and used in pigeon- English, given by Collins in his vocabulary of the Port Jackson dialect. Threlkeld says, ta is the root of the verb, meaning "to eat."

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. ii. c. vii. p. 223:

"He himself did not patter (eat) any of it."

Patu, n. Maori generic term for all hand-striking weapons. The mere (q.v.) is one kind.

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 82:

"It (fern-root) was soaked, roasted, and repeatedly beaten with a small club (patu) on a large smooth stone till it was supple."

Paua, n. the Maori name for the Mutton- fish (q.v.). Also used as the name for Maori fishhooks, made of the paua shell; the same word being adopted for fish, shell, and hook.

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 191:

"Paua, s. a shell-fish so called."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 416:

"Pawa (Haliotis iris), or mutton-fish. This beautiful shell is found of considerable size; it is used for the manufacture of fish-hooks."

1855. Ibid. p.397:

"The natives always tie a feather or two to their paua, or fish-hooks."

1877. W. L. Buller, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. x. art. xix. p. 192:

"Elaborately carved, and illuminated with paua shell."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 162:

"Immense piles of paua shells (Haliotis iris), heaped up just above the shore, show how largely these substantial molluscs were consumed."

Payable, adj. In Australia, able to be worked at a profit: that which is likely to pay; not only, as in England, due for payment.

1884. R. L. A. Davies, `Poems and Literary Remains,' p. 38:

"We . . . expect to strike a payable lead on a hill near . . . A shaft is bottomed there, and driving is commenced to find the bottom of the dip."

1890. `Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 15:

"Good payable stone has been struck."

1894. `The Argus,' March 28, p. 5, col. 5:

"Good payable reefs have been found and abandoned through ignorance of the methods necessary to obtain proper results."

Pea, Coral, n. See Coral Pea.

Pea, Darling, n. See Darling Pea.

Pea, Desert, n. See Sturt's Desert Pea.

Pea, Flat, n. See Flat Pea.

Pea, Glory, n. another name for the Clianthus (q.v.).

Pea, Heart, n. i.q. Balloon-Vine (q.v.).

Pea-plant, n. The term is applied sometimes to any one of various Australian plants of the N.O. Leguminosae.

Peach-berry, n. a Tasmanian berry, Lissanthe strigosa, Smith, N.O. Epacrideae.

Peach, Native, n. another name for the Quandong (q.v.), and for Emu-Apple (q.v.).

1877. F. v. Mueller, `Botanic Teachings, p. 42:

"The so-called native Peach-tree of our desert tracts is a true Santalum, S. acuminatum."

Peacocking, vb. n. Australian slang. To peacock apiece of country means to pick out the eyes of the land by selecting or buying up the choice pieces and water-frontages, so that the adjoining territory is practically useless to any one else.

1894. W. Epps, `Land Systems of Australasia,' p. 28:

"When the immediate advent of selectors to a run became probable, the lessees endeavoured to circumvent them by dummying all the positions which offered the best means of blocking the selectors from getting to water. This system, commonly known as `peacocking' . . ."

Pear, Native, name given to a timber-tree, Xylomelum pyriforme, Sm., N.O. Proteaceae (called also Wooden Pear), and to Hakea acicularis. See Hakea.

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 219:

"The pear-tree is, I believe, an eucalyptus, and bears a pear of solid wood, hard as heart of oak."

[It is not a eucalypt.]

Pear, Wooden, i.q. Native Pear. See above.

Pearl-Perch, n. a rare marine fish of New South Wales, excellent for food, Glaucosoma scapulare, Ramsay, family Percidae.

Pedgery, n. i.q. Pituri (q.v.).

Pee-wee, n. a New South Wales name for the Magpie-Lark (q.v.).

Peg-out, v. tr. to mark out a gold-claim under the Mining Act, or a Free-Selection (q.v.) under the Land Act, by placing pegs at the corners of the land selected. Used also metaphorically.

1858. W. H. Hall, `Practical Experiences at the Diggings in Victoria,' p. 23:

"I selected an unoccupied spot between two holes . . . pegged out eight square feet, paid the licence fee."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 58:

"He was in high hopes that he might be one of the first to peg out ground on the goldfield."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `The Miner's Right,' c. iii. p. 32:

"The pegging out, that is, the placing of four stout sticks, one at each corner, was easy enough."

1891. W. Tilley, `Wild West of Tasmania,' p. 8:

"Making their way to Heemskirk, where they were the first to peg out land for ten."

Ibid. Preface:

"The writer . . . should be called on to defend his conduct in pegging out an additional section on the outskirts of the field of literature."

Pelican, n. English bird-name. The pelicans occur in nearly all temperate or tropical regions. The Australian species is Pelecanus conspicillatus, Temm.

1885. R. M. Praed, `Head Station,' p. 256 [Title of chapter 39]:

"Where the pelican builds her nest."

Penguin, n. common English bird-name. The species in Australia are—

Crested Penguin—Catarractes chrysocome, Lath.

Fairy P.—Eudyptula undina, Gould.

Little P.—E. minor, Forst.

For the New Zealand species, see the quotation, and also Korora.

1889. Professor Parker, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 119:

"The Penguins are characteristic Southern Hemisphere sea-birds, being represented in the Northern by the Puffins. They are flightless, but their wings are modified into powerful fins or flappers. Among the most interesting forms are the following— the King Penguin, Aptenodytes longirostris; Rock Hopper P., Pygoscelis taeniatus; Yellow-Crowned P., Eudyptes antipodum; Crested P., E. pachyrhynchus; Little Blue P., E. minor and undina."

Pennyroyal, Native, n. Mentha gracilis, R. Br., N.O. Labiatae. Much more acrid than the European species of Mentha; but used widely as a herbal medicine. Very common in all the colonies. See also Mint.

Pepper, Climbing, n. Piper novae-hollandiae, Miq., N.O. Piperaceae. Called also Native Pepper, and Native Pepper-vine. A tall plant climbing against trees in dense forests.

Peppermint, or Peppermint-tree, n. a name given to various Eucalypts, from the aromatic nature of their leaves or extracted essence. See quotation below from White, 1790. There are many species, and various vernacular names, such as Brown Peppermint, Dandenong P., Narrow-leaved P., White P., etc. are given in various parts to the same species. See Maiden's note on Eucalyptus amygdalina, under Gum. Other vernacular names of different species are Bastard-Peppermint, Peppermint-Box, Peppermint-Gum.

1790. J. White, `Voyage to New South Wales' (Appendix by Dr. Smith or John Hunter), pp. 226-27:

"The Peppermint Tree, Eucalyptus piperita. . . . The name of peppermint-tree has been given to this plant by Mr. White on account of the very great resemblance between the essential oil drawn from its leaves and that obtained from the Peppermint (Mentha piperita) which grows in England. This oil was found by Mr. White to be much more efficacious in removing all cholicky complaints than that of the English Peppermint, which he attributes to its being less pungent and more aromatic."

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

"The peppermint, so called from the leaves imparting to the taste that flavour, grows everywhere throughout the island."

1874. Garnet Walch, I Head over Heels,' p. 75:

"Well, mate, it's snug here by the logsThat's peppermint—burns like a match."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 30:

"A woody gully filled with peppermint and stringy-bark trees."

1884. R. L. A. Davies, `Poems and Literary Remains,' p. 231:

"The peppermints rose like pillars, with funereal brancheshung,Where the dirge for the dead is chanted,And the mourning hymn is sung."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 116:

"Down among the roots of a peppermint bush."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' 439:

"It [Eucalyptus capitella, Smith] is one of the numerous `peppermints' of New South Wales and Victoria, and is noteworthy as being the first eucalypt so called, at any rate in print."

Pepper, Native, i.q. Climbing Pepper (see above), Piper Novae-Hollandiae, Miq.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 198:

"`Native Pepper.' An excellent tonic to the mucous membrane. . . . One of the largest native creepers, the root being at times from six inches to a foot in diameter. The plant climbs like ivy to the tops of the tallest trees, and when full-grown weighs many tons, so that a good supply of the drug is readily obtainable."

Pepper-tree, n. The name is given to two trees, neither of which are the true pepper of commerce (Piper). They are—

(1) Schinus molle, which is a native of South America, of the Cashew family, and is largely cultivated for ornament and shade in California, and in the suburbs and public parks and gardens of all Australian towns where it has been naturalised. It is a very fast growing evergreen, with feathery leaves like a small palm or fern, drooping like a weeping willow. It flowers continuously, irrespective of season, and bears a cluster of red-berries or drupes, strongly pungent,-whence its name.

(2) The other tree is indigenous in Australia and Tasmania; it is Drimys aromatica, F. v. M., formerly called Tasmania aromatica, R. Br., N.O. Magnoliaceae. In New Zealand the name is applied to Drimys /corr./ axillaris, Forst. (Maori, Horopito; q.v.).

1830. `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 65:

"A thick grove of the pepper-shrub, Tasmania fragrans of Smith. It grows in a close thicket to the height of from six to ten feet. When in blossom, in the spring months of November or December, the farina of the flower is so pungent, especially if shaken about by the feet of horses or cattle, that it is necessary to hold a handkerchief to the nose in order to avoid continual sneezing."

1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia,' vol. ii. p. 280:

"We also found the aromatic tree, Tasmania aromatica. . . . The leaves and bark of this tree have a hot, biting, cinnamon-like taste, on which account it is vulgarly called the pepper-tree."

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