T

Stinging-tree, n. a Queensland name for the Giant Nettle, or Nettle-tree (q.v.)

1890. A. J. Vogan, `The Black Police,' p. 209:

"The stinging-tree, . . . the most terrible of all vegetable growths. This horrible guardian of the Queensland jungle stands from five to fifteen feet in height, and has a general appearance somewhat similar to that of a small mulberry-tree. Their peculiarly soft and inviting aspect is caused by an almost invisible coating of microscopic cillia, and it is to these that the dangerous characteristics of the plant are due. The unhappy wanderer in these wilds, who allows any part of his body to come in contact with those beautiful, inviting tongues of green, soon finds them veritable tongues of fire, and it will be weeks, perhaps months, ere the scorching agony occasioned by their sting is entirely eradicated."

Sting-moth, n. an Australian moth, Doratifera vulnerans. The larva has at each end of the body four tubercles bearing stinging hairs. (`Standard.')

Stinkwood, n. The name is given to various woods in different parts of the world, from their unpleasant smell. In Tasmania, it is applied to the timber of Zieria smithii, Andr., N.O. Rutaceae.

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' p. 175:

"The timber in this district I found to be principally myrtle, sassafras, and stinkwood."

Stint, n. English bird-name. The Australian species are—

Curlew Stint—Tringa subarquata, Gmel.

Little S.—T. ruficollis.

Sharp-tailed S.—T. acuminata, Horsf.

Stitch-bird, n. a bird of New Zealand. See quotation.

1885. Hugh Martin, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xviii. art. xxii. p. 112:

"Pogonornis cincta (Hihi, Matahiore, stitch-bird), North Island."

[From a list of New Zealand birds that ought to be protected.]

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 101:

"Pogonornis cincta, Gray. [A full description.]"

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

"Stitch-bird (Pogonornis cincta), formerly abundant in the North Island, but now extinct on the main-land, and found only in some of the outlying islets. The rarest and one of the most beautiful of native Passerines."

Stock, n. The word has many meanings. In the one from which the Australian compounds are made, it denotes horses, cattle, or sheep, the farmer's stock in trade. Of course, this use is not peculiar to Australia, but it is unusually common there.

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. ix. p. 320:

"The cattle suffered much, and some of both the public and private stock perished."

Stock-agent, n. more usually in the form Stock and Station-agent. The circumstances of Australian life make this a common profession.

Stock-holder, n. a grazier; owner of large herds of cattle, or flocks of sheep.

1820. Lieut. Chas. Jeffreys, `Delineations of Van Dieman's Land' [sic], p. 25:

"Near this is the residence of D. Rose, Esq., formerly an officer of the 73rd regiment, and now a large land and stockholder."

1824. E. Curr, `Account of Van Diemen's Land,' p. 83:

"The most negligent stock-holders now carefully house their wool, and many take the trouble to wash their sheep."

Stock-horse, n. horse accustomed to go after cattle used in mustering and cutting-out (q.v.).

1874. W. H. L. Ranken, `Dominion of Australia,' c. vi. p. 122:

"The Australian stock-horse is a wonderful animal. . . . He has a wonderful constitution, splendid feet, great endurance, and very good temper."

1890. `The Argus,' June 14, p.4, col. 1:

"A twenty-year-old stock-horse."

Stock-hut, n. the hut of a stock-man.

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. ii. c. ii. p. 21:

"We crossed the Underaliga creek a little below the stock-hut."

Stock-keep, v. a quaint compound verb.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. x. p. 96 (1890):

"`What can you do, young man?' `Well, most things . . . fence, split, milk, drive bullocks, stock-keep, plough."

Stock-keeper, n. equivalent to a shepherd, or herdsman.

1821. Governor Macquarie, `Government Notice,' June 30, 1821, in E. Curr's `Van Diemen's Land' (1824), p. 154:

"To yard the flocks at night . . . for the purpose of keeping the stock-keepers in check, and sufficient shepherds should be kept to ensure constant attention to the flock."

1828. Governor Arthur in J. Bischoff's `Van Diemen's Land,' 1832, p. 185:

"Every kind of injury committed against the defenceless natives by the stock-keepers."

Stock-man, n. used in Australia for a man employed to look after stock.

1821. Governor Macquarie, `Government Notice,' June 30, 1821, in E. Curr's `Van Diemen's Land' (edition 1824), p. 155:

"It is the common practice with owners of flocks to allow their shepherds to acquire and keep sheep . . . it affords to the stock-men a cover frequently for disposing dishonestly of sheep belonging to their master."

1822. G. W. Evans, `Description of Van Diemen's Land,' p. 68:

"At its junction there is a fine space, named by the stockmenNative Hut Valley."

1833. C. Sturt,' Southern Australia,'vol. i. c. i. p. 6:

"He was good enough to send for the stockman (or chief herdsman)."

1846. J L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. ii. c. xii. p. 402:

"An exchange of looks I caught the overseer and stockman indulging in."

1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' p. 96:

"Here and there a stockman's cottage stands."

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 5:

"Would you still exchange your comfortable home and warm fireside . . . for a wet blanket, a fireless camp, and all the other etceteras of the stockman's life?"

1886. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 17:

"One stooped—a stockman from the nearer hillsTo loose his wallet strings."

Stock-rider, n. a man employed to look after cattle, properly on an unfenced station.

1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads' [Title]:

"The Sick Stock-rider."

1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 33:

"`Thus far into the bowels of the landHave we marched on without impediment,'

said a lithe-limbed stock-rider, bearded like a pard, as he lit his pipe—the bushman's only friend. And this was once a fellow of St. John's, Cambridge."

Stock-riding, n. the occupation of a Stock-rider (q.v.).

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 260 [Footnote]:

"Like other Australian aborigines, the Kurnai have a natural aptitude for stock-riding."

Stock-route, n. When land is first let in surveyed blocks to a Squatter (q.v.), and is, of course, unfenced, the lessee is required by law to leave passages through it from two to four chains wide, at certain intervals, as a right-of-way for travelling sheep and cattle. These are called Stock-routes. He may fence these routes if he chooses—which he very rarely does—but if he fences across the route he must provide gates or slip-rails (q.v.), or other free passage.

1896. `The Argus,' May 21, p. 5, Col. 1:

"To-day the Land Board dealt with the application for the re-appraisement of the Yantara pastoral holding. The manager said that owing to deterioration of the feed through the rabbits, from 9 to 10 acres were required to carry a sheep. . . . Thirteen trial wells had been put down on the holding, all of which had bottomed on a drift of salt water. Four stock routes passed through the area, one being the main stock route from South-western Queensland. . . . Wild dogs had been troublesome since the February rains. . . . There were Government bores on the run."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 51:

"Now Saltbush Bill was a drover tough, as ever the countryknew,He had fought his way on the Great Stock Routes from thesea to the Big Barcoo."

Stock-up, v. complete the number of animals on a station, so that it may carry its full complement.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. vii. p. 68:

"I shall decide to stock up as soon as the fences are finished."

Stock-whip, n. whip for driving cattle. See quotations.

1857. W. Howitt, `Tallangetta,' vol. i. p. 100:

"The stock-whip, with a handle about half a yard long and a thong of three yards long, of plaited bullock-hide, is a terrible instrument in the hands of a practised stockman. Its sound is the note of terror to the cattle; it is like the report of a blunderbuss, and the stockman at full gallop will hit any given spot on the beast that he is within reach of, and cut the piece away through the thickest hide that bull or bison ever wore."

1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads,' p. 14:

"With a running fire of stock-whips and a fiery run of hoofs."

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 76:

"The stock-whip, which bears such a prominent part in all dealings with cattle, is from twelve to fourteen feet in length, with a short light handle of about fourteen inches long, to which it is attached by a leather keeper as on a hunting crop. . . . The whip is made of a carefully selected strip of green hide, great attention having been paid to curing it."

Stocks-man, n. an unusual form for Stock-man (q.v.).

1862. F. J. Jobson, `Australia,' c. vi. p. 145:

"We saw the stocksman seated upon his bony long-limbed steed."

Stone-lifter, n. a Melbourne name for the fish Kathetostoma laeve, Bl., family Trachinidae, one of the genera of the "Stargazers" (Uranoscopina), which have eyes on the surface of the head.

Stonewall, v. intr. (1) A Parliamentary term: to make use of the forms of the House so as to delay public business.

(2) To obstruct business at any meeting, chiefly by long-winded speeches.

(3) To play a slow game at cricket, blocking balls rather than making runs.

1876. `Victorian Hansard,' Jan., vol. xxii. p. 1387:

"Mr. G. Paton Smith wished to ask the honourable member for Geelong West whether the six members sitting beside him (Mr. Berry) constituted the `stone wall' that had been spoken of? Did they constitute the stone wall which was to oppose all progress—to prevent the finances being dealt with and the business of the country carried on? It was like bully Bottom's stone wall. It certainly could not be a very high wall, nor a very long wall, if it only consisted of six."

1884. G. W. Rusden, `History of Australia,' vol. iii. p. 405:

"Abusing the heroic words of Stonewall Jackson, the Opposition applied to themselves the epithet made famous by the gallant Confederate General."

1894. `The Argus,' Jan. 26, p. 3, col. 5:

"The Tasmanians [sc. cricketers] do not as a rule stonewall."

Stonewood, n. Callistemon salignus, De C., N.O. Myrtaceae; called also the River Tea-tree.

1894. `Melbourne Museum Catalogue—Economic Woods,' No. 48:

"Stonewood."

Store, n. a bullock, cow, or sheep bought to be fattened for the market.

1874. W. H. L. Ranken, `Dominion of Australia,' c. xiii. p. 233:

"They then, if `stores,' pass to the rich salt-bush country ofRiverina."

Store-cattle, n. lean cattle bought to be fattened for the market; often contracted to stores (q.v.).

1885. R. M. Praed, `Head-Station,' p. 74:

"Oh, we're not fit for anything but store-cattle: we are all blady grass."

Stranger, n. name given in Victoria and Tasmania to the Rock-Whiting, Odax richardsoni, Gunth., family Labridae. The Stranger, which is a marine fish, is caught occasionally in the fresher water of the upper estuary of the Derwent; hence its name. See Whiting.

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), June 19, 1881, p. 1:

"Common fish such as . . . garfish, strangers, silvers, and others.'

Stringy-bark, n. (1) any one of various Gums, with a tough fibrous bark used for tying, for cordage, for roofs of huts, etc.

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 37:

"The string bark [sic] tree is also useful, and its bark, which is of a fibrous texture, often more than an inch in thickness, parts easily from the wood, and may be obtained ten or twelve feet in length, and seven or eight in breadth."

1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 73:

"The natives appear also to like the fruit of the pandanus, of which large quantities are found in their camps, soaking in water contained in vessels formed of stringy-bark."

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 27:

"In truth, the forests of Australia (consisting principally of woods of iron-bark, stringy-bark, and other species of the Eucalyptus) seen at a distance, just before sunset, are noble objects—perfect pictures."

1862. G. T. Lloyd, `Thirty-three Years in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 29:

"The stringy bark tree is so named from the ropy nature of its bark, which is frequently used for tying on the rods and thatch of sheds, huts, and barns in the country."

1862. W. Archer, `Products of Tasmania,' p. 39:

"Gum-topped String-bark, sometimes called white gum (Eucalyptus gigantea, var.). A tree resembling the Blue Gum in foliage, with rough bark similar to Stringy Bark towards the stem."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 237:

"Stringy-bark trees were also seen—so called, because the rough bark has a brown tenacious fibre, like that of the cocoanut, which can be split off in sheets to make the roofs of houses, or unravelled into a fibre that will tie like string."

1868. Carleton, `Australian Nights,' p. 2:

"The mia-mia that the native darkHad formed from sheets of stringy bark."

1873. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 204:

"The Stringy-bark tree is of straight growth, and takes its name from the strip-like character of its bark. . . . The wood is of a brown colour, hard, heavy, strong and close in the grain. It works up well . . . in ship-building, for planking, beams, keels and keelsons, and in civil architecture for joists, flooring, etc. Upon the farms it is used for fences and agricultural implements: it is also employed for furniture and for all ordinary purposes."

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 196:

"Down to the waist they are all wound round with frayed stringy-bark in thick folds."

1894. `The Age,' Oct. 19, p. 5, col. 8:

"Granite and stringy-bark are always associated with `hungry' country."

(2) Bush slang for bad whisky.

1890. A. J. Vogan, `The Black Police,' p. 217:

"Stringy-bark, a curious combination of fusil oil and turpentine, labelled `whisky.'"

Stringy-bark, adj. equivalent to "bush."

1833. Oct. `New South Wales Magazine,' vol. 1. p. 173:

". . . the workmanship of which I beg you will not scrutinize, as I am but, to use a colonial expression, `a stringy-bark carpenter.'"

1853. C. Rudston Read, `What I Heard, Saw, and Did at the Australian Gold Fields,' p. 53:

". . . after swimming a small river about 100 yards wide he'd arrive at old Geordy's, a stringy bark settler . . ."

Sturt's Desert Pea, n. a beautiful creeper, Clianthus dampieri, Cunn., N.O. Leguminosae, which will only grow in very dry, sandy soil. It is sometimes called Lobster's Claw, from its clusters of brilliant scarlet flowers with black-purple centres, like a lobster's claw. Called also Glory Pea (q.v.). See Clianthus.

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 29:

"Amongst which appears the beautiful Clianthus, known to the colonists as Sturt's desert pea."

[Footnote]: "Woodward in `Dampier's Voyages,' vol. iii. cap. 4, pl. 2. The plant is there called Colutea Novae-Hollandiae. Its name now is Clianthus Dampieri. R. Brown proposed the name of Eremocharis, from the Greek 'eraemos, desert."

[Dampier's voyage was made in 1699, and the book published in 1703. Mr. Woodward contributed notes on the plants brought home by Dampier.]

Stump-jump Plough, n. a farm implement, invented in Australia, for ploughing the wheat-lands, which are often left with the stumps of the cleared trees not eradicated.

1896. `Waybrook Implement Company' (Advt.):

"It is only a very few years since it came into use, and no one ever thought it was going to turn a trackless scrub into a huge garden. But now from the South Australian border right through to the Murray, farms and comfortable homesteads have taken the place of dense scrub. This last harvest, over three hundred thousand bags of wheat were delivered at Warracknabeal, and this wonderful result must, in the main, be put down to the Stump-jump Plough. It has been one of the best inventions this colony has ever been blessed with."

Stump-tailed Lizard, n. an Australian lizard, Trachydosaurus rugosus, Gray.

Styphelia, n. scientific name of a genus of shrubby plants of New Zealand and Australia, of the N.O. Epacrideae. It contains the Five-Corners (q.v.).

1793. J. E. Smith, `Specimen of the Botany of New Holland,' p. 46:

"We adopt Dr. Solander's original name Styphelia, derived from stuphelos, harsh, hard, or firm, expressive of the habit of the whole genus and indeed of the whole natural order."

Sucker, n. name given in New Zealand to the fish Diplocrepis puniceus, Rich., family Gobiesocidae. This is a family of small, marine, littoral fishes provided with a ventral disc, or adhesive apparatus. Other genera of the family occur in Australasia.

Sugar, n. slang for money. It may be doubted if it is specially Australian.

1887. J. Bonwick, `Romance of Wool Trade,' p. 273 (quoting `Victoria, the El Dorado'):

"I hear him sing out `sold again, and got the sugar' (a colonial slang word for ready money); `half a sheep for a shilling.'"

Sugar-Ant, n. a small ant, known in many parts of Australia by this name because of its fondness for sweet things.

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

"The sun reaches a sugar-ant and rouses him from his winter sleep. Out he scurries, glad to greet the warmth, and tracks hurriedly around. He feels the sun, but the cold damp ground tells him the time is not yet come when at evening he will sally forth in long columns over the soft warm dust in search of the morrow's meal; so, dazzled by the unaccustomed glare, he seeks his hiding-place once more."

Sugar-bag, n. nest of honey, and the honey.

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 67:

"The regular sharp chop-chop of the tomahawks could be heard here and there, where some of them had discovered a sugar-bag (nest of honey) or a 'possum on a tree."

Ibid. vol. ii. p. 129:

"The tiny bee which manufactures his adored chewgah-bag."

[Footnote: "Sugar-bag—the native pigeon-English word for honey."]

Sugar-Grass, n. an Australian grass, Erianthus fulvus, Kunth., N.O. Gramineae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 106:

"The `Sugar Grass' of colonists, so called on account of its sweetness; it is highly productive, and praised by stockowners. Cattle eat it close down, and therefore it is in danger of extermination, but it is readily raised from seed."

Sugar-Gum, n. an Australian Gum, Eucalyptus corynocalyx of South Australia and North-Western Victoria. The foliage is sweet, and attractive to cattle. See Gum.

Sultana-bird, n. a name for the Swamp-Hen (q.v.), Porphyrio melanonotus, Temm.

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 223:

"Black sultana-birds, blue-breasted as deep ocean."

Summer-bird, n. the Old Colonists' name for the Wood-swallows. See Swallow. In Tasmania it is applied to a species of Shrike, Graucalus melanops, Lath. The name refers to the migratory habits of both birds.

1895. C. French, Government entomologist, letter to `Argus,' Nov. 29:

"The wood-swallows, known to us old colonists as summer birds, are migratory, making their appearance about September and disappearing about the end of January."

Summer Country, n. In New Zealand (South Island), country which can be used in summer only; mountain land in Otago and Canterbury, above a certain level.

Sun-bird, n. a common name of various birds. Applied in Australia to Cinnyris frenata, Mull.

1869. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia' (Supplement), pl. 45:

"`This pretty Sun-bird,' says Mr. MacGillivray, `appears to be distributed along the whole of the northeast coast of Australia, the adjacent islands, and the whole of the islands in Torres Straits.'"

Sundew, n. There are many species of this flower in Australia and Tasmania, most of them peculiar to Australasia; Drosera spp., N.O. Droseraceae.

1888. `Cassell's Picturesque Australasia,' vol. ii. p. 236:

"Smooth, marshy meadows, gleaming with the ruby stars of millions of tiny little sundews."

Sundowner, n. a tramp who takes care to arrive at a station at sundown, so that he shall be provided with `tucker' (q.v.) at the squatter's cost: one of those who go about the country seeking work and devoutly hoping they may not find it.

1880. G. n. Oakley, in `Victoria in 1880,' p. 114 [Title of poem of seventeen stanzas]:

"The Sundowner."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 32:

"When the real `sundowner' haunts these banks for a season, he is content with a black pannikin, a clasp knife, and a platter whittled out of primaeval bark."

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

"Sundowners are still the plague of squatocracy, their petition for `rashons' and a bed amounting to a demand."

1891. F. Adams, `John Webb's End,' p. 34:

"`Swagsmen' too, genuine, or only `sundowners,'—men who loaf about till sunset, and then come in with the demand for the unrefusable `rations.'"

1892. `Scribner's Magazine,' Feb., p. 143:

"They swell the noble army of swagmen or sundowners, who are chiefly the fearful human wrecks which the ebbing tide of mining industry has left stranded in Australia."

[This writer does not differentiate between Swagman (q.v.) and Sundowner.]

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 12, p. 8, col. 7:

"Numbers of men who came to be known by the class name of `sundowners,' from their habit of straggling up at fall of evening with the stereotyped appeal for work; and work being at that hour impossible, they were sent to the travellers' hut for shelter and to the storekeeper or cook for the pannikin of flour, the bit of mutton, the sufficiency of tea for a brew, which made up a ration."

1896. `Windsor Magazine,' Dec., p. 132:

"`Here,' he remarked, `is a capital picture of a Queensland sundowner.' The picture represented a solitary figure standing in pathetic isolation on a boundless plain. `A sundowner?' I queried. `Yes; the lowest class of nomad. For days they will tramp across the plains carrying, you see, their supply of water. They approach a station only at sunset, hence the name. At that hour they know they will not be turned away.' `Do they take a day's work?' `Not they! There is an old bush saying, that the sundowner's one request is for work, and his one prayer is that be may not find it.'"

Super, n. short for superintendent, sc. of a station.

1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads,' p. 23:

"What's up with our super to-night? The man's mad."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. ix. p. 83:

"That super's a growlin' ignorant beggar as runs a feller from daylight to dark for nothing at all."

1890. `The Argus,' June 10, p. 4, col. 1:

"He . . . bragged of how he had bested the super who tried to `wing him' in the scrub."

Superb-Dragon, n. an Australian marine fish, Phyllopteryx foliatus, Shaw. See Sea-Dragon.

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' pl. 7:

"`Superb-Dragon—Phyllopteryx Foliatus.' This is one of the `Pipe fishes,' order Lophobranchii. It has been compared to the ghost of a seahorse (Hippocampus) with its winding sheet all in ribbons around it; and the tattered cerements are like in shape and colour to the seaweed it frequents, so that it hides and feeds in safety. The long ends of ribs which seem to poke through the skin to excite our compassion are really `protective resemblances,' and serve to allure the prey more effectually within reach of these awful ghouls. Just as the leaf-insect is imitative of a leaf, and the staff insect of a twig, so here is a fish like a bunch of seaweed. (Tenison-Woods.)" [Compare Phasmid.]

Superb-Warbler, n. any Australian bird of the genus Malurus (q.v.), especially M. cyaneus, the Blue Wren.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 80:

"We also observed the Superb Warbler, Malurus cyaneus, of Sydney."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iii. pl. 18:

"Malurus Cyaneus, Vieill., Blue Wren; Superb Warbler of the Colonists."

1896. F. G. Aflalo, `Natural History of Australia,' p. 136:

"The best known are . . . and the Blue Wren or SuperbWarbler (Malurus cyaneus), both of which I haverepeatedly watched in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. . . .They dart about the pathways like mice, but rarely seem to fly.There are a dozen other Superb Warblers."

Supple-jack, n. The word is English in the sense of a strong cane, and is the name of various climbing shrubs from which the canes are cut; especially in America. In Australia, the name is given to similar creeping plants, viz.—Ventilago viminalis, Hook., N.O. Rhamnaceae; Clematis aristata, R. Br., N.O. Ranunculaceae. In New Zealand, to Ripogonum (spp.).

1818. `History of New South Wales,' p. 47:

"The underwood is in general so thick and so bound together by that kind of creeping shrub called supple-jack, interwoven in all directions, as to be absolutely impenetrable."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 218:

"After a tedious march . . . along a track constantly obstructed by webs of the kareau, or supple-jack, we came to the brow of a descent."

1857. C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand, the Britain of the South,' vol. i. p. 135:

"Supple-jack snares, root-traps, and other parasitical impediments."

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 135:

"Two kinds of creepers extremely molesting and troublesome, the so-called `supple-jack' of the colonists (Ripogonum parviflorum), in the ropelike creeping vines of which the traveller finds himself every moment entangled."

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

"The tangles blackOf looped and shining supple jack."

1874. W. M. B., `Narrative of Edward Crewe,' p. 199:

The supple-jack, that stopper to all speedy progression in theNew Zealand forest."

1881. J.L. Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 154:

"Forty or fifty feet of supple-jack. This creeper is of the thickness of your finger, and runs along the ground, and goes up the trees and springs across from one tree to the other, spanning great gaps in some mysterious manner of its own—a tough, rascally creeper that won't break, that you can't twist in two, that you must cut, that trips you by the foot or the leg, and sometimes catches you by the neck . . . so useful withal in its proper places."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 71:

"Threading with somewhat painful care intricacies formed by loops and snares of bewildering supple-jacks, that living study of Gordian entanglement, nature-woven, for patient exercise of hand and foot."

1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of British Colonies,' p. 309:

"Laced together by creepers called supple-jacks, which twine and twist for hundreds of yards, with stems as thick as a man's wrist, so as to make the forests impassable except with axes and immense labour."

Surfacing, n. (1) Wash-dirt lying on the surface of the ground.

(2) verbal n. Gold-digging on the surface of the ground.

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 133:

"What is termed `surfacing' consists of simply washing the soil on the surface of the ground, which is occasionally auriferous."

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' c. iv. p. 133:

"I've been surfacing this good while; but quartz-reefin's the payinest game, now."

1866. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches' [Second Series], p. 133:

"What is termed `surfacing' consists of simply washing the soil on the surface of the ground, which is occasionally auriferous."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xv. p. 153:

"They have been mopping up some rich surfacing."

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

"`Surfacing' or `loaming.' Small canvas bags are carried by the prospector, and top soil from various likely-looking spots gathered and put into them, the spots being marked to correspond with the bags. The contents are then panned off separately, and if gold is found in any one of the bags the spot is again visited, and the place thoroughly overhauled, even to trenching for the reef."

Swag, n. (1) Used in the early days, and still by the criminal class, in the ordinary sense of Thieves' English, as booty, plunder.

1837. J. Mudie, `Felonry of New South Wales,' p. 181:

"In short, having brought with her a supply of the `swag,' as the convicts call their ill-gotten cash, a wife seldom fails of having her husband assigned to her, in which case the transported felon finds himself his own master."

1879. R. H. Barham, `Ingoldsby Legends' (Misadventures at Margate):

"A landsman said, `I twig the drop,—he's been uponthe mill,And `cause he gammons so the flats, ve calls himVeepin' Bill.'He said `he'd done me very brown, and neatly stowedthe swag,'-That's French, I fancy, for a hat,—or else a carpet-bag."

(2) A special Australian use: a tramp's bundle, wrapt up in a blanket, called a Bluey (q.v.). Used also for a passenger's luggage.

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 59:

"A number of the slang phrases current in St. Giles's Greek bid fair to become legitimatized in the dictionary of this colony: plant, swag, pulling up, and other epithets of the Tom and Jerry school, are established—the dross passing here as genuine, even among all ranks."

1853. S. Sidney, `Three Colonies of Australia,' p. 361:

"His leathern overalls, his fancy stick, and his `swag' done up in mackintosh."

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 384:

"There were others with huge swags suspended from a pole, with which they went on, like the Children of Israel carrying the gigantic bunches of the grapes of Canaan."

1865. J. O. Tucker, `Australian Story,' c. i. p. 86:

"The cumbrous weight of blankets that comprised my swag."

1867. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 127:

"A pair of large double blankets to make the tent of,—that was one swag, and a very unwieldy one it was, strapped knapsack fashion, with straps of flax leaves."

1868. J. Bonwick, `John Batman, Founder of Victoria,' p. 51:

"Three white men, the Sydney natives, and Batman, who carried his swag the same as the rest, all armed."

1871. C. L. Money, `Knocking About in New Zealand,' p. 9:

"With my rug and blankets on my back (such a bundle being called a `swag')."

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 285:

"Swag, which consists of his personal properties rolled up in a blanket."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 33:

"His cumbrous attire and the huge swag which lay across the seat."

1888. A. Reischek, in Buller's `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 93:

"With the hope that there would now be a few fine days, I at once packed up my swag with provisions, ammunition, blanket, &c."

1892. `The Australasian,' May 7, p. 903, col. 1:

"Kenneth, in front, reminded me comically of Alice's White Knight, what with the billies dancing and jingling on his back, and the tomahawk in his belt, and his large swag in front."

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 95:

"I suppose he's tramping somewhere,Where the bushmen carry swags,Cadging round the wretched stationsWith his empty tucker-bags."

Swag, v. to tramp the bush, carrying a swag.

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 5:

"There was the solitary pedestrian, with the whole of his supplies, consisting of a blanket and other necessary articles, strapped across his shoulders—this load is called the `swag,' and the mode of travelling `swagging it.'"

Swag-like, adv. in the fashion of a swag.

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

"He strapped the whole lot together, swag-like."

Swagger, n. Same as Swagman (q.v.). Specially used in New Zealand. The word has also the modern English slang sense.

1875. Lady Barker, `Station Amusements in New Zealand,' p. 154:

"Describing the real swagger, clad in flannel shirt, moleskin trowsers, and what were once thick boots."

1890. `The Century,' vol. xli. p. 624 (`Century'):

"Under the name of swagger or sundowner the tramp, as he moves from station to station in remote districts, in supposed search for work, is a recognized element of society."

1893. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 21, p. 6, col. 3:

"Once a footsore swagger came along, and having gone to the house to ask for `tucker,' soon returned. He took his swag from his shoulders and leant it against the Tree; then he busied himself gathering the small sticks and dried leaves lying about on every side."

1896. `The Argus,' March 23, p.5, col. 1:

"The minister's house is the sure mark for every stone-broke swagger in search of clothes or victuals."

1896. `Southern Standard' (New Zealand), [page not given]:

"An ardent young lady cyclist of Gore, who goes very long journeys on her machine, was asked by a lady friend if she was not afraid of swaggers on the road. `Afraid of them?' she said, `why, I take tea with them!'"

1896. `The Champion,' Jan. 4, p. 3, col. 3:

"He [Professor Morris] says that `swagger' is a variant of `swagman.' This is equally amusing and wrong."

[Nevertheless, he now says it once again.]

Swaggie, n. a humorous variation on swagman.

1892. E. W. Horning, `Under Two Skies,' p. 109:

"Here's a swaggie stopped to camp, with flour for a damper, and a handful of tea for the quart-pot, as safe as the bank."

Swagman, n. a man travelling through the bush carrying a Swag (q.v.), and seeking employment. There are variants, Swagger (more general in New Zealand), Swaggie, and Swagsman. The Sundowner, Traveller, or New Zealand Tussocker, is not generally a seeker for work.

1890. `The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 2:

"The regular swagman carrying his ration bags, which will sometimes contain nearly twenty days' provender in flour and sugar and tea."

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 156:

"We pulled up a swagman. He was walking very slow; he was a bit lame too. His swag wasn't heavy, for he had only a rag of a blue blanket, a billy of water in his hand, and very little else."

1893. `The Herald' (Melbourne), Jan. 25:

"Under the electric light in the quadrangle of the Exhibition they will give tableaux, representing the murder of a swagman by a native and the shooting of the criminal by a black tracker."

1897. `The Argus,' Jan. 11, p. 7, col. 2:

"The Yarra has claimed many swagman in the end, but not all have died in full travelling costume . . . a typical back-blocks traveller. He was grey and grizzled, but well fed, and he wore a Cardigan jacket, brown moleskin trousers, blucher boots, and socks, all of which were mended with rough patches. His knife and tobacco, his odds and ends, and his purse, containing 14 1/2d., were still intact, while across his shoulder was a swag, and the fingers of his right hand had tightly closed round the handle of his old black billy-can, in which were some scraps of meat wrapped in a newspaper of the 5th inst. He had taken with him his old companions of the roads—his billy and his swag."

Swagsman, n. a variant of Swagman (q.v.).

1879 J. Brunton Stephens, `Drought and Doctrine' (Works, p. 309):

"Rememberin' the needful, I gets up an' quietly slipsTo the porch to see—a swagsman—with our bottle at his lips."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 89:

"One of these prospecting swagsmen was journeying towardsMaryborough."

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 111:

"Idleness being the mainspring of the journeys of the Swagsman(Anglice, `tramp')."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xix. p. 235:

"The able-bodied swagsmen hasten towards Rainbar."

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

The Swallow—Hirundo neoxena, Gould.

Black-and-white S.—Cheramaeca leucosternum, Gould.

Black-faced Wood S.—Artamus melanops, Gould.

Eastern S.—Hirundo javanica, Sparrm.

Grey-breasted Wood S.—Artamus cinereus, Vieill.

Little Wood S.—A. minor, Vieill.

Masked Wood S.—Artamus personatus, Gould.

White-bellied Wood S.—A. hypoleucus.

White-browed Wood S.—A. superciliosus, Gould.

White-rumped Wood S.—A. leucogaster, Valenc.

Wood S.—A. sordidus, Lath.

Artamus is often wrongly spelt Artemus. The Wood-Swallows are often called Summer-birds (q.v.).

Swamp-Broom, n. a rush-broom, Viminaria denudata, Sm., N.O. Leguminosae. See Swamp-Oak.

Swamp-Daisy-tree, n. See Daisy-tree.

Swamp-Gum, n. See Gum.

Swamp-Hawk, n. another name for the New Zealand Harrier. See Harrier.

Swamp-Hen, n. an Australasian bird, Porphyrio melanonotus, Temm. (often incorrectly shortened to Melanotus). Called sometimes the Porphyrio (q.v.); Maori name, Pukeko. Called also the Swamp-Turkey, the Purple Coot, and by New Zealand colonists, Sultana-bird, Pukaki, or Bokaka, the last two being corruptions of the Maori name. For a West-Australian variety of the Porphyrio, see quotation (1848).

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' c. i. p. 228:

"The pukeko is of a dark-blue colour, and about as large as a pheasant. The legs, the bill, and a horny continuation of it over the front of the head, are of a bright crimson colour. Its long legs adapt it for its swampy life; its flight is slow and heavy, resembling that of a bittern."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vi. pl. 70:

"Porphyrio Bellus, Gould, Azure breasted Porphyrio; Swamp-Hen, Colonists of Western Australia."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 79:

[A full description.]

Swamp-Mahogany, n. a timber tree, Eucalyptus botryoides, Sm. See Gum and Mahogany.

1886. T. Heney, `Fortunate Days,' p. 50:

"Swamp mahogany's floor-flowered arms."

Swamp-Oak, n. (1) A broomlike leguminous shrub or small tree, Viminaria denudata, Sm. (also called Swamp-broom). (2) A tree of the genus Casuarina, especially C. paludosa. See Oak.

1833. C. Sturt, I Southern Australia,'vol. i. c. i. p. 53:

"Light brushes of swamp-oak, cypress, box and acacia pendula."

1847. J. D. Lang, `Phillipsland,' p. 257:

"Its banks (Murrumbidgee) are fringed with the beautiful swamp-oak, a tree of the Casuarina family, with a form and character somewhat intermediate between that of the spruce and that of the Scotch fir, being less formal and Dutch-like than the former, and more graceful than the latter."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 324:

"A stream, whose winding channel could be traced by the particularly dark verdure of the swamp-oak (Casuarina paludosa) on its banks."

1866. Miss Parkes, `Poems,' p. 40:

"Your voice came to me, soft and distant seeming,As comes the murmur of the swamp-oak's tone."

1870. F. S. Wilson, `Australian Songs,' p. 100:

"Softly the swamp-oakMuttered its sorrows to her and to me."

1883. C. Harpur, `Poems,' p. 47:

"Befringed with upward tapering feathery swamp-oaks."

Swamp-Pheasant, n. called also Pheasant-cuckoo. Another name for the Coucal (q.v.).

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 60:

"A Centropus phasianellus (the swamp-pheasant of Moreton Bay) was shot."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 116:

"Far down the creek, on one of the river-oaks which grow in its bed, a swamp-pheasant utters its rapid coocoo-coo-coo-coo- coo-cook."

1887. R. M. Praed, `Longleat of Kooralbyn,' c. xvi. p. 102:

"The gurgling note of the swamp-pheasant."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 94:

"The bird Centropus, which is common in all Queensland, is found here in great numbers. Although it really is a cuckoo, the colonists call it the `swamp-pheasant,' because it has a tail like a pheasant. It is a very remarkable bird with stiff feathers, and flies with difficulty on account of its small wings. The swamp-pheasant has not the family weakness of the cuckoo, for it does not lay its eggs in the nests of other birds. It has a peculiar clucking voice which reminds one of the sound produced when water is poured from a bottle."

Swamp-Sparrow, n. a nickname in New Zealand for the Fern-bird (q.v.).

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 60:

"These beds of rushes which form blind water-courses during the winter season, are dry in summer and are then a favourite resort for the Swamp-Sparrow as this bird is sometimes called."

Ibid. vol. ii. p. 255:

"The melancholy cry of the Fern-bird is so general and persistent that its nick-name of Swamp Sparrow is not undeserved."

Swan, Black, n. an Australian bird—Cycnus niger, Juvenal; Cygnus atratus, Gould; Chenopsis atrata, Wagl., sometimes miscalled Chenopis.

The river upon which Perth, Western Australia, is situated, is called the Swan River, and the colony was long known as the Swan River Settlement. It has expanded into Western Australia, the emblem of which colony is still the Black Swan. Since 1855 the Black Swan has been the device on the postage stamps of Western Australia.

82 A.D. (circiter). `Juvenal, Sat.' vi. 164: "Rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cycno."

1700 (circiter). J. Locke, in `Johnson's Dictionary' (9th edition, 1805), s.v. Swan:

"The idea which an Englishman signifies by the name Swan, is a white colour, long neck, black beak, black legs, and whole feet, and all these of a certain size, with a power of swimming in the water, and making a certain kind of noise."

1789. Governor Phillip, `Voyage,' p. 98:

"A black swan, which species, though proverbially rare in other parts of the world, is here by no means uncommon . . . a very noble bird, larger than the common swan, and equally beautiful in form . . . its wings were edged with white: the bill was tinged with red."

1790. J. White, `Voyage to New South Wales,' p. 137:

"We found nine birds, that, whilst swimming, most perfectly resembled the rara avis of the ancients, a black swan."

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' p. 146:

"Large ponds covered with ducks and black swans."

1847. J. D. Lang, `Phillipsland,' p. 115:

"These extensive sheets of glassy water . . . were absolutely alive with black swans and other water fowl . . . There must have been at least five hundred swans in view at one time on one of the lakes. They were no `rara avis' there."

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

"Cygnus Atratus, Black Swan. The first notice on record respecting the existence of the Black Swan occurs in a letter written by Mr. Witsen to Dr. M. Lister about the year 1698, in which he says, `Here is returned a ship, which by our East India Company was sent to the south land called Hollandea Nova'; and adds that Black Swans, Parrots and many Sea-Cows were found there."

1856. J. S. Mill, `Logic' [4th edition], vol. i. bk. iii. c. iii. p. 344:

"Mankind were wrong, it seems, in concluding that all swans were white. . . . As there were black swans, though civilized people had existed for three thousand years on the earth without meeting with them."

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), May 29, p. 45, col. 3:

"The presence of immense flocks of black swans is also regarded as an indication of approaching cold weather."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 22:

"The musical whoop of the black swan is sometimes heard as the wedge-shaped flock passes over."

1895. G. Metcalfe, `Australian Zoology,' p. 64:

"Strzelecki states that the black swan was discovered in 1697 by Vlaming. . . . In 1726 two were brought alive to Batavia, having been procured on the West Coast of Australia, near Dirk Hartog's Bay. Captain Cook observed it on several parts of the coast."

Swan-River Daisy, n. a pretty annual plant, Brachycome iberidifolia, Benth., N.O. Compositae, of Western Australia. The heads are about an inch broad, and have bright blue rays, with paler centre. It is cultivated in flower gardens, and is well suited for massing. (`Century.')

Sweep, n. a marine fish of the Australian coasts, called by this name in Sydney. It is Scorpis aequipinnis, Richards., family Squamipinnes. This family has the soft, and frequently also the spinous, part of their dorsal and anal fins so thickly covered with scales, that the boundary between fins and body is entirely obliterated. S. aequippinnis is possibly the Light-horseman (q.v.) of early Australian writers.

Sweet Tea. See Tea.

Swift, n. In Australia, the species of this common bird are—Spine-tailed Swift, Chaetura caudacuta, Lath.; White-rumped S., Micropus pacificus, Lath.

Swing-gate, n. Used in its ordinary English sense, but specially applied to a patent gate for drafting sheep, invented by Mr. Lockhart Morton.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. ix. p. 91:

"Mr. Stangrove . . . has no more idea of a swing-gate than a shearing-machine."

Sword-grass, n. In New Zealand, Arundo conspicua; in Australia, Cladium psittacorum, Labill. It is not the same as the English plant of that name, and is often called Cutting Grass (q.v.).

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 172:

"The great plumes far and wide of the sword-grass aspire."

Sword-Sedge, a sedge on Australian coasts, Lepidosperma gladiatum, Labill., N.O. Cyperaceae, useful for binding sea-sand, and yielding a good material for paper.

1877. Baron von Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 124:

"Lepidosperma is nearly endemically Australian. Lepidosperma gladiatum, the great Swords-edge [sic] of our coasts, furnishes an admirable material for writing paper."

[It is curious that Swords-edge makes most ingenious sense, but it is evidently a misprint for Sword-sedge.]

Sycamore Tree. See Laurel. In New South Wales, the name is given to Brachyciton luridus, C. Moore, N.O. Sterculiaceae.

Sycoceric, adj. belonging to a waxy resin obtained from the Port-Jackson Fig; see under Fig. (From Grk. sukon, "fig," and kaeros, "wax.")

Sycoceryl, n. a supposed element of the sycoceric compounds. See Sycoceric.

Taboo, n. See Tapu.

Tagrag-and-Bobtail, n. a species of sea-weed. See quotation.

1866. S. Hannaford, `Wild Flowers of Tasmania,' p. 80:

"It is a wiry-stemmed plant, with small mop-like tufts, which hold water like a sponge. This is Bellotia Eriophorum, the specific name derived from its resemblance to the cotton-grass. Harvey mentions its colonial name as `Tagrag and Bobtail,' and if it will enable collectors the more easily to recognise it, let it be retained."

Taiaha, n. a Maori word for a chief's walking-staff, a sign of office, sometimes used in fighting, like a quarterstaff.

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 139:

"The men are placed at equal intervals along either side to paddle, and they keep excellent stroke to the song of two leaders, who stand up and recite short alternate sentences, giving the time with the taiaha, or long wooden spear. The taiaha is rather a long-handled club than a spear. It is generally made of manuka, a very hard, dark, close-grained and heavy wood. The taiaha is about six feet long, etc."

1851. Mrs. Wilson, `New Zealand,' p. 46:

"The taiaha is rather a long-handled club than a spear."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 299:

"A taiaha, or chiefs staff."

1881. J. L. Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 80:

"In his right hand he brandished a taiaha, a six-foot Maori broadsword of hard wood, with its pendulous plume of feathers hanging from the hilt."

1889. Major Wilson and Edward Tregear, `On the Korotangi,' `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxii. art. lxii. p. 505:

"Many famous tribal heirlooms are hidden and lost to posterity. The Rev. Mr. Buller mentions a famous taiaha, of great mana, as having been buried and lost in this way, lest it should fall into the power of opposing tribes, and cause disaster to the original owner."

Taihoa, Maori phrase, meaning "Wait a bit." Much used in some circles in New Zealand. The `Standard' gives it wrongly as "Anglo-Tasmanian," probably because Mr. Wade's book was published in Hobart.

1842. W. R. Wade, `Journey in New Zealand' (Hobart Town), p.66:

"`Taihoa.' This word has been translated, By and by; but in truth, it has all the latitude of directly,—presently, —by and by,—a long time hence,—and nobody knows when . . . the deliberate reply is, `Taihoa'. . . this patience-trying word. . . ."

1881. J. L. Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 87:

"That irritatingly provoking word, `taihoa.'"

[p. 88]: "The drawled-out t-a-i-h-o-a fell upon the ear."

[p. 266] [Title of chapter]: "I learn what Taihoa means."

[p.271]: "Great is the power of taihoa."

[p. 276]: "The imperturbable taihoa, given to us with the ordinary placid good-humour."

Tail, v. tr. to herd and tend sheep or cattle: lit. to follow close behind the tail.

1844. `Port Phillip Patriot,' Aug. 5, p. 3, col. 6:

"I know many boys, from the age of nine to sixteen years, tailing cattle."

1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 153:

"The stockman, as he who tends cattle and horses is called, despises the shepherd as a grovelling, inferior creature, and considers `tailing sheep' as an employment too tardigrade for a man of action and spirit."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xix. p. 239:

"`The cattle,' no longer `tailed,' or followed daily, as a shepherd does sheep."

Tailing, adj. consisting of tailings (q.v.).

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