1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in New Zealand,' c. i. p. 380:

"These [the walls], nine feet high and six inches thick, were composed of neatly packed bunches of raupo, or bulrushes, lined inside with the glazed reeds of the tohe-tohe, and outside with the wiwi or fine grass."

1860. R. Donaldson, 'Bush Lays,' p. 5:

"Entangled in a foul morass, A raupo swamp, one name we know."

1864. F. E. Maning (Pakeha Maori), 'The War in the North,' p. 16:

"Before a war or any other important matter, the natives used to have recourse to divination by means of little miniature darts made of rushes or reeds, or often of the leaf of the cooper's flag (raupo)."

1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' p. 308:

"The favourite material of the Maoris for building purposes is Raupo (Typha), a kind of flag or bulrush, which grows in great abundance in swampy places."

1877. Anon., 'Colonial Experiences, or Incidents of Thirty-Four Years in New Zealand,' p. 10:

"It was thatched with raupo or native bulrush, and had sides and interior partitions of the same material."

Raven, n. English bird-name. The Australian species is Corvus coronoides, Vig. and Hors.

Razor-grinder, n. a bird-name, Seisura inquieta, Lath. Called also Dishwasher and Restless Fly-catcher. See Fly-catcher.

1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in New South Wales,' vol.ii. p. 159:

"Neither must you be astonished on hearing the razor-grinder ply his vocation in the very depths of our solitudes; for here he is a flying instead of a walking animal."

1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' vol. ii. pl. 87:

"Seisura Inquieta, Restless Flycatcher; the Grinder of the Colonists of Swan River and New South Wales."

1845. R. Howitt, 'Australia,' p. 332:

"The razor-grinder, fitly so called from making a grinding noise as it wavers in one position a foot or two from the ground."

Ready up, v. See quotation.

1893. 'The Age,' Nov. 25, p. 13, col. 2:

"Mr. Purees: A statement has been made that is very serious. It has been said that a great deal has been 'readied up' for the jury by the present commissioners. That is a charge which, if true, amounts to embracery.

"His Honor: I do not know what 'readying up' means.

"Mr. Purves: It is a colonial expression, meaning that something is prepared with an object. If you 'ready up' a racehorse, you are preparing to lose, or if you 'ready up' a pack of cards, you prepare it for dealing certain suits."

Red Bass, n. a fish of Moreton Bay (q.v.), Mesoprion superbus, Castln., family Percidae.

Redberry, n. name given to Australian plants of the genus Rhagodia, bearing spikes or panicles of red berries. Called also Seaberry. See also Saloop-bush.

Red-bill, n. bird-name given to Estrelda temporalis, Lath. It is also applied to the Oyster-catchers (q.v.); and sometimes to the Swamp-Hen (q.v.).

1802. G. Barrington, 'History of New South Wales,' p. 345:

"Lieut. Flinders taking up his gun to fire at two red-bills . . . the natives, alarmed, ran to the woods."

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, 'Transactions of the Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 259:

"'This bird,' says Mr. Caley, 'which the settlers call Red-bill, is gregarious, and appears at times in very large flocks. I have killed above forty at a shot.'"

1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' vol. iii. pl. 82:

"Estrelda temporalis. Red-eyebrowed Finch. Red-Bill of the Colonists."

'Red Bream, n. name given to the Schnapper when one year old. See Schnapper.

Red Cedar, n. See Cedar.

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 'History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 434:

"M'Leay river, New South Wales, Lat. 30 degrees 40'. This forest was found to contain large quantities of red cedar (Cedrela toona) and white cedar (Melia azederach), which, though very different from what is known as cedar at home, is a valuable wood, and in much request by the colonists."

Red Currant, n. another name for the Native Currant of Tasmania, Coprosma nitida, Hook., N.O. Rubiaceae. See Currant, Native.

Red Gum, n. (1) A tree. See Gum. The two words are frequently made one with the accent on the first syllable; compare Blue-gum.

(2) A medicinal drug. An exudation from the bark of Eucalyptus rostrata, Schlecht, and other trees; see quotation, 1793. Sir Ranald Martin introduced it into European medical practice.

177 J. White, 'Voyage to New South Wales,' p. 178:

"At the heart they [the trees] are full of veins, through which an amazing quantity of an astringent red gum issues. This gum I have found very serviceable in an obstinate dysentery."

Ibid. p. 233:

"A very powerfully astringent gum-resin, of a red colour, much resembling that known in the shops as Kino, and, for all medical purposes, fully as efficacious."

1793. J. E. Smith, 'Specimen of Botany of New Holland,' p. 10:

"This, Mr. White informs us, is one of the trees (for there are several, it seems, besides the Eucalyptus resinifera, mentioned in his Voyage, p. 231) which produce the red gum."

[The tree is Ceratopetalum gummiferum, Smith, called by him Three-leaved Red-gum Tree. It is now called Officer Plant or Christmas-bush (q.v.).]

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 'History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 42:

"The usual red gum was observed oozing out from the bark, and this attracted their notice, as it did that of every explorer who had landed upon the continent. This gum is a species of kino, and possesses powerful astringent, and probably staining, qualities."

Red Gurnet-Perch, n. name given in Victoria to the fish Sebastes percoides, Richards., family Scorpaenidae. It is also called Poddly; Red Gurnard, or Gurnet; and in New Zealand, Pohuikaroa. See Perch and Gurnet.

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 'Fish of New South Wales,' p. 48:

"Sebastes percoides, a fish of a closely allied genus of the same family [as Scorpaena cruenta, the red rock-cod]. It is caught at times in Port Jackson, but has no local name. In Victoria it is called the Red Gurnet-perch."

Redhead, n. See Firetail.

Red-knee, n. sometimes called the Red-kneed Dottrel, Charadrius ruftveniris, formerly Erythrogonys cinctus, Gould. A species of a genus of Australian plovers.

1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' vol. vi. pl. 21:

"Erythrogonys Cinctus, Gould; Banded Red-knee."

Red Mulga, n. name given to a species of Acacia, A. cyperophylla, F. v. M., owing to the red colour of the flakes of bark which peel off the stem. See Mulga.

1896. Baldwin Spencer, 'Home Expedition in Central Australia,' Narrative, pt. i. p. 16:

"We crossed a narrow belt of country characterized by the growth along the creek sides of red mulga. This is an Acacia (A. cyperophylla) reaching perhaps a height of twenty feet, the bark of which, alone amongst Acacias, is deciduous and peels off, forming little deep-red coloured flakes."

Red Mullet, n. New South Wales, Upeneoides vlamingii, Cuv. and Val., and Upeneus porosus, Cuv. and Val., family Mullidae. See Mullet.

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 'Fish of New South Wales,' p. 38:

"The name of this family is a source of much confusion. It is derived from the Latin word mullus, which in the form of 'Mullet' we apply to the well-known fishes of quite a different family, the Mugilidae. Another fish to which the term 'Red-Mullet' is applied is of the family Cottidae or Gurnards."

Red Perch, n. name given in Tasmania to the fish Anthias rasor, Richards.; also called the Barber. In Australia, it is Anthias longimanus, Gunth.

Red Rock-Cod, n. name given in New South Wales to the fish Scorpaena cardinalis, Richards., family Scorpaenidae, marine fishes resembling the Sea-perches. S. cardinalis is of a beautiful scarlet colour.

Red-streaked Spider, or Black-and-red Spider, an Australasian spider (Latrodectus scelio, Thorel.), called in New Zealand the Katipo (q.v.).

Red-throat, n. a small brown Australian singing-bird, with a red throat, Pyrrholaemus brunneus, Gould.

Reed-mace, n. See Wonga and Raupo.

Reef, n. term in gold-mining; a vein of auriferous quartz. Called by the Californian miners a vein, or lode, or ledge. In Bendigo, the American usage remains, the words reef, dyke, and vein being used as synonymous, though reef is the most common. (See quotation, 1866.) In Ballarat, the word has two distinct meanings, viz. the vein, as above, and the bed-rock or true-bottom. (See quotations, 1869 and 1874.) Outside Australia, a reef means "a chain or range of rocks lying at or near the surface of the water." ('Webster.')

1858. T. McCombie, 'History of New South Wales,' c. xiv. p. 213:

"A party . . . discovered gold in the quartz-reefs of the Pyrenees [Victoria]."

1860. W. Kelly, 'Life in Victoria,' vol. ii. p. 148:

"If experience completely establishes the fact, at least, under existing systems, that the best-paying reefs are those that are largely intersected with fissures—more inclined to come out in pebbles than in blocks—or, if I might coin a designation, 'rubble reefs,' as contradistinguished from 'boulder reefs,' showing at the same time a certain degree of ignigenous discoloration . . . still, where there are evidences of excessive volcanic effect . . . the reef may be set down as poor . . ."

1866. A. R. Selwyn, 'Exhibition Essays,' Notes on the Physical Geography, Geology, and Mineralogy of Victoria:

"Quartz occurs throughout the lower palaeozoic rocks in veins, 'dykes' or 'reefs,' from the thickness of a thread to 130 feet."

1869. R. Brough Smyth, 'Goldfields Glossary,' p. 619:

"Reef. The term is applied to the tip-turned edges of the palaeozoic rocks. The reef is composed of slate, sandstone, or mudstone. The bed-rock anywhere is usually called the reef. A quartz-vein; a lode."

1874. Reginald A. F. Murray, 'Progress Report, Geological Survey, Victoria,' vol. i. p. 65 [Report on the Mineral Resources of Ballarat]:

"This formation is the 'true bottom,' 'bed rock' or 'reef,' of the miners."

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

"In looking for reefs the experienced miner commences on the top of the range and the spurs, for the reason that storm-waters have carried the soil into the gullies and left the bed-rock exposed."

Reef, v. to work at a reef.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' c. iii. p. 30:

"The University graduate . . . was to be seen patiently sluicing, or reefing, as the case might be."

[See also Quartz-reefing.]

Regent-bird, n. (1) An Australian Bower-bird, Sericulus melinus, Lath., named out of compliment to the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV. (therefore named before 1820).

1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expedition,' p. 161:

"Mr. Gilbert observed the female of the Regent-bird."

(2) Mock Regent-bird, now Meliphaga phrygia, Lath.

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

"Zanthomyza Phrygia, Swains., Warty-faced Honey-eater [q.v.]; Mock Regent-Bird, Colonists of New South Wales."

Remittance-man, n. one who derives the means of an inglorious and frequently dissolute existence from the periodical receipt of money sent out to him from Europe.

1892. R. L. Stevenson, 'The Wrecker,' p. 336:

"Remittance men, as we call them here, are not so rare in my experience; and in such cases I act upon a system."

Rewa-rewa, n. pronounced raywa, Maori name for the New Zealand tree Knightia excelsa, R. Br., N.O. Proteaceae, the Honey-suckle of the New Zealand settlers. Maori verb, rewa, to float. The seed-vessel is just like a Maori canoe.

1857. C. Hursthouse, 'New Zealand, the Britain of the South,' vol. i. p. 143:

"Rewarewa (honeysuckle), a handsome flowering tree common on the outskirts of the forests. Wood light and free-working: the grain handsomely flowered like the Baltic oak."

1878. R. C. Barstow, 'On the Maori Canoe,' 'Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xi. art. iv. p. 73:

"Dry rewarewa wood was used for the charring."

1880. W. Colenso, 'Traditions of the Maoris,' 'Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xiii. p. 53:

"The boy went into the forest, and brought back with him a seed-pod of the rewarewa tree (Knightia excelsa). . . . He made his way to his canoe, which was made like the pod of the rewarewa tree."

1983. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 129:

"Rewarewa, a lofty, slender tree, 100 feet high. Wood handsome, mottled red and brown, used for furniture and shingles, and for fencing, as it splits easily. It is a most valuable veneering wood."

Reward-Claim, n. the Australian legal term for the large area granted as a "reward" to the miner who first discovers valuable gold in a new district, and reports it to the Warden of the Goldfields. The first great discovery of gold in Coolgardie was made by Bayley in 1893, and his reward-claim, sold to a syndicate, was known as "Bayley's Reward." See also Prospecting Claim, and Claim.

1891. W. Tilley, 'Wild West of Tasmania,' p. 11:

"Prospected with the result that he discovered the first payable gold on the West Coast, for which he obtained a reward claim."

Rhipidura, n. scientific name for a genus of Australasian birds, called Fantail (q.v.). They are Fly-catchers. The word is from Grk. rhipidos, 'of a fan,' and 'oura, 'a tail.'

Ribbed Fig, n. See Fig.

Ribbonwood, n. All species of Plagianthus and Hoheria are to the colonists Ribbonwood, especially Plagianthus betulinus, A. Cunn., and Hoheria populnea, A. Cunn., the bark of which is used for cordage, and was once used for making a demulcent drink. Alpine Ribbon-wood, Plagianthus lyalli, Hook. Other popular names are Houhere, Houi (Maori), Lace-bark (q.v.), and Thousand-Jacket (q.v.).

Ribgrass, n. a Tasmanian name for the Native Plantain. See Plantain.

Rice-flower, n. a gardeners' name for the cultivated species of Pimalea (q.v.). The Rice-flowers are beautiful evergreens about three feet high, and bear rose-coloured, white, and yellow blooms.

Rice-shell, n. The name is applied elsewhere to various shells; in Australia it denotes the shell of various species of Truncatella, a small marine mollusc, so called from a supposed resemblance to grains of rice, and used for necklaces.

Richea, n. a Tasmanian Grasstree (q.v.), Richea pandanifolia, Hook., N.O. Liliaceae.

1850. 'Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' May 8, vol. i. p. 278:

"A section . . . of the stem of the graceful palm-like Richea (Richea pandanifolia), found in the dense forests between Lake St. Clair and Macquarie Harbour, where it attains the height of 40 to 50 feet in sheltered positions,—the venation, markings, and rich yellow colouring of which were much admired."

1878. Rev. W. W. Spicer, 'Handbook of the Plants of Tasmania,' p. 125:

Richea pandanifolia, H. Giant Grass Tree. Peculiar to Tasmania. Dense forests in the interior and SW."

Ridge-Myrtle, n. See Myrtle.

Rifle-bird, n. sometimes called also Rifleman (q.v.); a bird of paradise. The male is of a general velvety black, something like the uniform of the Rifle Brigade. This peculiarity, no doubt, gave the bird its name, but, on the other hand, settlers and local naturalists sometimes ascribe the name to the resemblance they hear in the bird's cry to the noise of a rifle being fired and its bullet striking the target. The Rifle-bird is more famed for beauty of plumage than any other Australian bird. There are three species, and they are of the genus Ptilorhis, nearly related to the Birds of Paradise of New Guinea, where also is found the only other known species of Ptilorhis. The chief species is Ptilorhis paradisea, Lath., the other two species were named respectively, after the Queen and the late Prince Consort, Victoriae and Alberti, but some naturalists have given them other generic names.

As to the name, see also quotation, 1886. See Manucode.

1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expedition,' p. 194:

"We saw . . . a rifle-bird."

1886. 'Encyclopaedia Britannica,' vol. xx. p. 553:

"Rifleman-Bird, or Rifle-Bird, names given . . . probably because in coloration it resembled the well-known uniform of the rifle-regiments of the British army, while in its long and projecting hypochondriac plumes and short tail a further likeness might be traced to the hanging pelisse and the jacket formerly worn by the members of those corps."— [Footnote]: "Curiously enough its English name seems to be first mentioned in ornithological literature by Frenchmen—Lesson and Garnot—in 1828, who say (Voy. 'Coquille,' Zoologie, p. 669) that it was applied 'pour rappeler que ce fut un soldat de la garnison [of New South Wales] qui le tua le premier,' which seems to be an insufficient reason, though the statement as to the bird's first murderer may be true."

1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' p. 171:

"It was an Australian bird of paradise, the celebrated Rifle-bird (Ptilorhis victoriae), which, according to Gould, has the most brilliant plumage of all Australian birds."

Rifleman, n. a bird of New Zealand, Acanthidositta chloris, Buller; Maori name, Titipounamu. See quotation. The name is sometimes applied also to the Rifle-bird (q.v.).

1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 113:

"Acanthidositta chloris, Buller. The rifleman is the smallest of our New Zealand birds. It is very generally distributed."

[Footnote]: "This has hitherto been written Acanthisitta; but Professor Newton has drawn my attention to the fact of its being erroneous. I have therefore adopted the more classic form of Acanthidositta, the etymology of which is 'akanthid,—crude form of 'akanthis = Carduelis, and sitta = sitta."

1888. W. Smith, 'Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxi. art. xxi. p. 214:

"Acanthisitta chloris (Rifleman). The feeble note of this diminutive bird is oftener heard in the bush than the bird is seen."

Right-of-Way, n. a lane. In England the word indicates a legal right to use a particular passage. In Australia it is used for the passage or lane itself.

1893. 'The Argus,' Feb. 3:

"The main body of the men was located in the right-of-way, which is overlooked by the side windows of the bureau."

Rimu, n. Maori name for a New Zealand tree, Dacrydium cupressinum, N.O. Coniferae; also called Red pine. Rimu is generally used in North Island; Red pine more generally in the South. See Pine.

1835. W. Yate, 'Account of New Zealand,' p. 40:

"Rimu. This elegant tree comes to its greatest perfection in shaded woods, and in moist, rich soil."

1872. A. Domett, 'Ranolf,' p. 117:

"He lay Couched in a rimu-tree one day."

1875. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 306:

"The Rimu Tree. Height, eighty to 100 feet, fully forty to fifty feet clear of branches . . . moderately hard . . . planes up smoothly, takes a good polish, would be useful to the cabinetmaker."

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

"Some of the trees, especially the rimu, a species of yew, here called a pine, were of immense size and age."

Ring, v. tr. (1) To cut the bark of a tree round the trunk so as to kill it. The word is common in the same sense in English forestry and horticulture, and only seems Australasian from its more frequent use, owing to the widespread practice of clearing the primeval forests and generally destroying trees. "Ringed" is the correct past participle, but "rung" is now commonly used.

1846. J. L. Stokes, 'Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i. c. x. p. 315:

"What they call ringing the trees; that is to say, they cut off a large circular band of bark, which, destroying the trees, renders them easier to be felled."

1862. H. C. Kendall, 'Poems,' p. 56:

The gum-trees, ringed and ragged, from the mazy margins rise."

1873. A. Trollope, 'Australia and New Zealand,' c. xx. p. 312:

"Trees to be 'rung.' The ringing of trees consists of cutting the bark through all round, so that the tree cease to suck up the strength of the earth for its nutrition, and shall die."

1883. E. M. Curr, 'Recollections of Squatting in Victoria' (1841-1851), p. 81:

"Altogether, fences and tree-ringing have not improved the scene."

1889. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iv. p. 58:

"The trees are 'rung,' that there may be more pasture for the sheep and cattle."

(2) To make cattle move in a circle. [Though specifically used of cattle in Australia, the word has a similar use in England as in Tennyson's 'Geraint and Enid'

. . . "My followers ring him round: He sits unarmed."—Line 336.]

1874. W. H. Ranken, 'Dominion of Australia,' c. vi. p. 111:

"They are generally 'ringed,' that is, their galop is directed into a circular course by the men surrounding them."

1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 126:

"I'll tell you what, you'll have to ring them. Pass the word round for all hands to follow one another in a circle, at a little distance apart."

(3) To move round in a circle.

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne Memories,' p. 20:

"The cattle were uneasy and 'ringed' all night."

(4) To make the top score at a shearing-shed. See Ringer.

1896. A. B. Paterson, 'Man from Snowy River,' p. 136:

"The man that 'rung' the Tubbo shed is not the ringer here."

Ring-bark, v. tr. Same meaning as Ring (1).

1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' p. 204:

"The selector in a timbered country, without troubling himself about cause and effect, is aware that if he destroys the tree the grass will grow, and therefore he 'ring-barks' his timber."

1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' p. 9:

"Our way led us through a large but not dense wood of leafless gumtrees. My companion told me that the forest was dead as a result of 'ring-barking.' To get the grass to grow better, the settler removes a band of bark near the root of the tree. In a country where cattle-raising is carried on to so great an extent, this may be very practical, but it certainly does not beautify the landscape. The trees die at once after this treatment, and it is a sad and repulsive sight to see these withered giants, as if in despair, stretching their white barkless branches towards the sky."

1893. 'Thumbnail Sketches of Australian Life,' p. 232:

"We were going through ring-barked country. You don't know what that is? Well, those giant gum-trees absorb all the moisture and keep the grass very poor, so the squatters kill them by ring-barking—that is, they have a ring described round the trunk of each tree by cutting off a couple of feet of bark. Presently the leaves fall off; then the rest of the bark follows, and eventually the tree becomes nothing but a strange lofty monument of dry timber."

Ring-dollar, n. See quotation; and see Dump and Holy Dollar.

1870. T. H. Braim, 'New Homes,' c. iii. p. 131:

"The Spanish dollar was much used. A circular piece was struck out of the centre about the size of a shilling . . . and the rest of the dollar, called from the circular piece taken out a 'ring-dollar,' was valued at four shillings."

Ring-eye, n. one of the many names for the birds of the genus Zosterops (q.v.).

Ringer, n. a sheep-shearing term. See quotations. Mr. Hornung's explanation of the origin (quotation, 1894) is probably right. See Rings.

1890. 'The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, col. 6:

"A 'ringer' being the man who by his superior skill and expertness 'tops the score'—that is, shears the highest number of sheep per day."

1893. 'The Herald' (Melbourne), Dec. 23, p. 6, col. 1:

"Whence came the term 'ringer,' as applied to the quickest shearer, I don't know. It might possibly have some association with a man who can get quoits on to the peg, and again, it might not, as was remarked just now by my mate, who is camped with me."

1894. E. W. Hornung, 'Boss of Taroomba,' p. 101:

"They call him the ringer of the shed. That means the fastest shearer—the man who runs rings round the rest, eh?"

1894. 'Geelong Grammar School Quarterly,' April, p. 26:

"Another favourite [school] phrase is a 'regular ringer.' Great excellence is implied by this expression."

1896. A. B. Paterson, 'Man from Snowy River,' p. 162:

"The Shearers sat in the firelight, hearty and hale and strong, After the hard day's shearing, passing the joke along The 'ringer' that shore a hundred, as they never were shorn before, And the novice who toiling bravely had tommyhawked half a score."

Ring-neck, n. the equivalent of Jackaroo (q.v.). A term used in the back blocks in reference to the white collar not infrequently worn by a Jackaroo on his first appearance and when unaccustomed to the life of the bush. The term is derived from the supposed resemblance of the collar to the light- coloured band round the neck of the Ring-neck Parrakeet.

Rings, to run round: to beat out and out. A picturesque bit of Australian slang. One runner runs straight to the goal, the other is so much better that he can run round and round his competitor, and yet reach the goal first.

1891. 'The Argus,' Oct.10, p. 13, col. 3:

"Considine could run rings round the lot of them."

1897. 'The Argus,' Jan. 15, p. 6, col. 5:

"As athletes the cocoons can run rings round the beans; they can jump out of a tumbler."

Ring-tail, or Ring-tailed Opossum, n. See Pseudochirus and Opossum.

Rinka-sporum, n. a mis-spelt name for the Australian varieties of the tribe of Rhyncosporeae, N.O. Cyperaceae. This tribe includes twenty-one genera, of which Rhynchospora (the type), Schaenus, Cladium, and Remirea are widely distributed, and the others are chiefly small genera of the Southern Hemisphere, especially Australia. ('Century.')

1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' p. 93:

"Rinka-sporum, a mass of white bloom."

Riro-riro, n. a bird. Maori name for the Grey-Warbler of New Zealand, Gerygone flaviventris, Gray. See Gerygone.

1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 44:

[A full description.]

1889. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iv. p. 163:

"A little wren managed to squeeze itself through, and it flew off to Kurangai-tuku, and cried, 'Kurangai-tuku, the man is riro, riro, riro!'—that is, gone, gone, gone. And to this day the bird is known as the riro-riro."

River-Oak. See Oak.

Roa, n. another Maori name for the largest or Brown Kiwi (q.v.). In Maori the word roa means long or big.

Roaring Horsetails, n. a slang name for the Aurora Australis.

Robin, n. The name, in consequence of their external resemblance to the familiar English bird, is applied, in Australia, to species of the various genera as follows:—

Ashy-fronted Fly-Robin— Heteromyias cinereifrons, Ramsay.

Buff-sided R.— Poecilodryas cerviniventris, Gould.

Dusky R.— Amaurodryas vittata, Quoy and Gaim.

Flame-breasted Robin— Petroica phoenicea, Gould.

Hooded R.— Melanodryas bicolor, Vig. and Hors.

Pied R.— M. picata, Gould.

Pink-breasted R.— Erythrodryas rhodinogaster, Drap.

Red-capped R.— Petroica goodenovii, Vig. and Hors.

Red-throated R.— P. ramsayi, Sharp.

Rose-breasted R.— Erythrodryas rosea, Gould.

Scarlet-breasted R.— Petroica leggii, Sharp.

Scrub R.— Drymodes brunneopygia, Gould.

White-browed R. Poecilodryas superciliosa, Gould.

White-faced Scrub-R.— Drymodes superciliaris, Gould.

The New Zealand species are—

Chatham Island Robin— Miro traversi, Buller.

North Island R.— M. australis, Sparrm.

South Island R.— M. albifrons, Gmel.

Gould's enumeration of the species is given below. [See quotations, 1848, 1869.]

See also Shrike-Robin, Scrub-Robin, and Satin-Robin.

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, 'Transactions of the Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 242:

"'This bird,' Mr. Caley says, 'is called yellow-robin by the colonists. It is an inhabitant of bushes'"

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

Plate Petroica superciliosa, Gould, White-eyebrowed Robin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Drymodes brunneopygia, Gould, Scrub Robin. . 10

Eopsaltria leucogaster, Gould, White-bellied Robin . . . . . . . 13

1864. R. L. A. Davies, 'Poems and Literary Remains,' p. 263:

"Very soon comes a robin. . . . In the bush no matter where you pitch, the robin always comes about, and when any other of his tribe comes about, he bristles up his feathers, and fights for his crumbs. . . . He is not at all pretty, like the Australian or European robin, but a little sober black and grey bird, with long legs, and a heavy paunch and big head; like a Quaker, grave, but cheerful and spry withal." [This is the Robin of New Zealand.]

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

"The New Zealand robin was announced, and I could see only a fat little ball of a bird, with a yellowish-white breast."

1869. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia' [Supplement]:

Drymodes superciliaris, Gould, Eastern Scrub Robin.

Petroica cerviniventris, Gould, Buff-sided Robin.

Eopsaltria capito, Gould, Large-headed Robin.

E. leucura, Gould, White-tailed Robin.

1872. A. Domett, 'Ranolf,' p. 239:

"The large red-breasted robin, kinsman true Of England's delicate high-bred bird of home."

1880. Mrs.Meredith, 'Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 123:

"The Robin is certainly more brilliantly beautiful than his English namesake. . . . Black, red and white are the colours of his dress, worn with perfect taste. The black is shining jet, the red, fire, and the white, snow. There is a little white spot on his tiny black-velvet cap, a white bar across his pretty white wings, and his breast is, a living flame of rosy, vivid scarlet."

1888. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia,' vol. ii. p. 235:

"Here, too, the 'careful robin eyes the delver's toil,' and as he snatches the worm from the gardener's furrow, he turns to us a crimson-scarlet breast that gleams in the sun beside the golden buttercups like a living coal. The hues of his English cousin would pale beside him ineffectual."

1896. 'The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 54:

"The flame-breasted robin no longer lingers showing us his brilliant breast while he sings out the cold grey afternoons in his tiny treble. He has gone with departing winter."

Rock-Cod, n. called also Red-Cod in New Zealand, Pseudophycis barbatus, Gunth., family Gadidae. In New Zealand the Blue-Cod(q.v.) is also called Rock-Cod. Species of the allied genus Lotella are also called Rock-Cod in New South Wales. See Beardy and Ling.

1883. 'Royal Commission on the Fisheries of Tasmania,' p. 40:

"A variety known to fishermen as the deep-water, or Cape-cod. . . . It would appear that the latter is simply the mature form of the 'rock-cod,' which enters the upper waters of estuaries in vast numbers during the month of May. . . The rock-cod rarely exceeds 2 1/2 lbs. weight."

Rocket, Native, a Tasmanian name for Epacris lanuginosa, Lab., N.O. Epacrideae. See Epacris.

Rock Lily, n. See under Lily.

Rock-Ling, n. a marine fish. The Australian R. is Genypterus australis, Castln., family Ophidiidae. The European R. belongs to the genera Onos and Rhinonemus, formerly Motella. Of the genus Genypterus, Guenther says they have an excellent flesh, like cod, well adapted for curing. At the Cape they are known by the name of "Klipvisch," and in New Zealand as Ling, or Cloudy-Bay Cod.

Rock-Native, or Native, n. a name given to the fish called a Schnapper when it has ceased to "school." See Schnapper.

Rock-Parrakeet, n. an Australian Grass-Parrakeet(q.v.), Euphema petrophila, Gould. It gets its name from its habitat, the rocks and crags.

Rock-Pebbler, n. another name for the Black-tailed Parrakeet. See Parrakeet.

Rock-Perch, n. the name given in Melbourne to the fish Glyphidodon victoriae, Gunth., family Pomacentridae, or Coral-fishes. It is not a true Perch.

Rock-shelter, n. a natural cave-dwelling of the aborigines. See Gibber-Gunyah.

1891. R. Etheridge, jun., in 'Records of the Australian Museum,' vol. i. No. viii. p. 171 ('Notes on Rock Shelters or Gibba-gunyahs at Deewhy Lagoon'):

". . . The Shelters are of the usual type seen throughout the Port Jackson district, recesses in the escarpment, overhung by thick, more or less tabular masses of rock, in some cases dry and habitable, in others wet and apparently never used by the Aborigines."

Rock-Wallaby, n. the popular name for any animal of the genus Petrogale (q.v.). There are six species—

Brush-tailed Rock-Wallaby— Petrogale penicillata, Gray.

Little R.-W.— P. concinna, Gould.

Plain-coloured R.-W.— P. inornata, Gould.

Rock-W., or West-Australian R.-W.— P. lateralis, Gould.

Short-eared R.-W.— P. brachyotis, Gould.

Yellow-footed R.-W.— P. xanthopus, Gray.

See Wallaby.

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne Memories,' c. viii. p. 58:

"A light, active chap, spinning over the stones like a rock wallaby."

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Robbery under Arms,' p. 119:

"They rode and rode, but Warrigal was gone like a rock wallaby."

1894. R. Lydekker, 'Marsupialia,' p. 43:

"The Rock-Wallabies are confined to the mainland of Australia, on which they are generally distributed, but are unknown in Tasmania. Although closely allied to the true Wallabies, their habits are markedly distinct, the Rock-Wallabies frequenting rugged, rocky districts, instead of the open plains."

Roger Gough, n. an absurd name given to the tree Baloghia lucida, Endl., N.O. Euphorbiaceae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native Plants,' p. 382:

"Scrub, or brush bloodwood, called also 'Roger Gough.'"

1896. 'The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 407, col. 5:

"Who were Messrs. James Donnelly, James Low, and Roger Gough that their names should have been bestowed on trees? Were they growers or buyers of timber? Was the first of the list any relative of the Minnesota lawyer who holds strange views about a great cryptogram in Shakespeare's plays? Was the last of the three any relative of the eminent soldier who won the battles of Sobraon and Ferozeshah? Or, as is more probable, were the names mere corruptions of aboriginal words now lost?"

Roll up, v. intr. to gather, to assemble.

1887. J. Farrell, 'How he died,' p. 26:

"The miners all rolled up to see the fun."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' c. xx. p. 185:

"At the Warraluen and other gold towns, time after time the ominous words 'roll up' had sounded forth, generally followed by the gathering of a mighty crowd."

Roll-up, n. a meeting. See preceding verb.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' c. xxxv. p. 308:

"Making as much noise as if you'd hired the bell-man for a roll-up?"

Roly-poly Grass, or Roley-poley, n. name given to Panicum macractinium, Benth., N.O. Gramineae; and also to Salsola Kali, Linn., N.O. Salsolaceae. See Grass.

1859. D. Bunce, 'Travels with Dr. Leichhardt in Australia,' pp. 167-8:

"Very common to these plains, was a large-growing salsolaceous plant, belonging to the Chenopodeaceae, of Jussieu. These weeds grow in the form of a large ball. . . . No sooner were a few of these balls (or, as we were in the habit of calling them, 'rolly-poleys') taken up with the current of air, than the mules began to kick and buck. . . ."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 'History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 468:

"A salsolaceous plant growing in the form of a ball several feet high. In the dry season it withers, and is easily broken off and rolled about by the winds, whence it is called roley-poly by the settlers."

1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native Plants,' p. 100:

"Roly-Poly Grass. This species produces immense dry and spreading panicles; it is perennial, and seeds in November and December. It is a somewhat straggling species, growing in detached tufts, on sand-hills and sandy soil, and much relished by stock."

1896. Baldwin Spencer, 'Horne Expedition in Central Australia,' Narrative, p. 13:

"On the loamy flats, and even gibber plains, the most noticeable plant is Salsola kali, popularly known as the Rolly-polly. It is, when mature, one of the characteristically prickly plants of the Lower Steppes, and forms great spherical masses perhaps a yard or more in diameter."

Roman-Lamp Shell, name given in Tasmania to a brachiopod mollusc, Waldheimia flavescens, Lamarck.

Roo, a termination, treated earlier as the name of an animal. It is the termination of potoroo, wallaroo, kangaroo. See especially the last. It may be added that it is very rare for aboriginal words to begin with the letter 'r.'

1790. J. White, 'Voyage to New South Wales' [Observations at the end, by Mr. John Hunter, the celebrated surgeon]:

Plate p. 272—A kangaroo. Description of teeth.

Plate p. 278—Wha Tapoua Roo, about the size of a Racoon [probably an opossum].

Plate p. 286—A Poto Roo or Kangaroo-Rat.

Plate p. 288—Hepoona Roo.

Rope, v. tr. to catch a horse or bullock with a noosed rope. It comes from the Western United States, where it has superseded the original Spanish word lasso, still used in California.

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne Memories,' c. xxi. p. 150:

"You could 'rope' . . . any Clifton colt or filly, back them in three days, and within a week ride a journey."

Ropeable, adj. (1) Of cattle; so wild and intractable as to be capable of subjection only by being roped. See preceding word.

(2) By transference: intractable, angry, out of temper.

1891. 'The Argus,' Oct. 10, p. 13, col. 4:

"The service has shown itself so 'ropeable' heretofore that one experiences now a kind of chastened satisfaction in seeing it roped and dragged captive at Sir Frederick's saddle-bow."

1896. Modern. In school-boy slang: "You must not chaff him, he gets so ropeable."

Roping-pole, n. a long pole used for casting a rope over an animal's head in the stockyard.

1880. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Squatter's Dream,' c. iv. p. 44:

"I happened to knock down the superintendent with a roping-pole."

1895. A. B. Paterson, 'Man from Snowy River,' p. 125:

"I'm travelling down the Castlereagh and I'm a station-hand, I'm handy with the ropin'-pole, I'm handy with the brand, And I can ride a rowdy colt, or swing the axe all day, But there's no demand for a station-hand along the Castlereagh."

Rosary-shell, n. In Europe, the name is applied to any marine gastropod shell of the genus Monodonta. In Australia, it is applied to the shell of Nerita atrata, Lamarck, a marine mollusc of small size and black colour used for necklaces, bracelets, and in place of the "beads" of a rosary.

Rose, n. name given to the Australian shrub, Boronia serrulata, Sm., N.O. Rutaceae. It has bright green leaves and very fragrant rose-coloured flowers.

Rose-Apple, n. another name for the Sweet Plum. See under Plum.

Rose-bush, a timber-tree, Eupomatia laurina, R. Br., N.O. Anonaceae.

Rose-hill, n. The name is given by Gould as applied to two Parrakeets—

(1) Platycercus eximius, Vig. and Hors., called by the Colonists of New South Wales, and by Gould, the Rose-hill Parrakeet.

(2) Platycercus icterotis, Wagl., called by the Colonists of Swan River, Western Australia, the Rose-hill, and by Gould the Earl of Derby's Parrakeet.

The modern name for both these birds is Rosella (q.v.), though it is more specifically confined to the first. 'Rose-hill' was the name of the Governor's residence at Parramatta, near Sydney, in the early days of the settlement of New South Wales, and the name Rosella is a settler's corruption of Rose-hiller, though the erroneous etymology from the Latin rosella (sc. 'a little rose') is that generally given. The word Rosella, however, is not a scientific name, and does not appear as the name of any genus or species; it is vernacular only, and no settler or bushman is likely to have gone to the Latin to form it.

1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' vol. v. pl. 27:

"Platycercus eximius, Vig. & Hors. Rose-hill Parrakeet; Colonists of New South Wales."

Ibid. vol. v. pl. 29:

"Platycercus icterotis, Wagl. The Earl of Derby's Parrakeet; Rose-hill of the Colonists [of Swan River]."

Rosella, n. (1) A bird, Platycercus eximius, the Rosehill (q.v.).

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

"The common white cockatoo, and the Moreton Bay Rosella parrot, were very numerous."

1884. R. L. A. Davies, 'Poems and Literary Remains,' p. 99:

"Saw the bright rosellas fly, With breasts that glowed like sunsets In the fiery western sky."

1890. 'The Argus,' June 7, p. 13, col. 5:

"The solitudes where the lorikeets and rosellas chatter."

1896. 'The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 60:

"As [the race] sweeps past the Stand every year in a close bright mass the colours, of the different clubs, are as dazzling and gay in the sun as a brilliant flight of galahs and rosellas."

(2) In Northern Australia, it is a slang name for a European who works bared to the waist, which some, by a gradual process of discarding clothing, acquire the power of doing. The scorching of the skin by the sun produces a colour which probably suggested a comparison with the bright scarlet of the parrakeet so named.

Rosemary, n. name given to the shrub Westringia dampieri, R. Br., N.0. Labiatae.

1703. W. Dampier, 'Voyage to New Holland,' vol. iii. p. 138:

"There grow here 2 or 3 sorts of Shrubs, one just like Rosemary; and therefore I call'd this Rosemary Island. It grew in great plenty here, but had no smell."

[This island is in or near Shark's Bay]

Rosemary, Golden, n. name given in Tasmania to the plant Oxylobium ellipticum, R. Br., N.O. Leguminosae.

Rosemary, Wild, a slender Australian timber-tree, Cassinia laevis, R. Br., N.O. Compositae.

Rose, Native, n. i.q. Bauera (q.v.).

Rosewood, name given to the timber of three trees. (1) Acacia glaucescens, Willd., N.O. Leguminosae; called also Brigalow, Mountain Brigalow, and Myall.

(2) Dysoxylon fraserianum, Benth., N.O. Meliaceae; called also Pencil Cedar.

(3) Eremophila mitchelli, Benth. N.O. Myoporinae; called also Sandalwood.

1838. T. L. Mitchell, 'Three Expeditions,' vol. i. p. 203:

"One or two trees of a warmer green, of what they call 'rosewood,' I believe gave a fine effect, relieving the sober greyish green of the pendent acacia."

1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expedition' p. 4:

"The Rosewood Acacia of Moreton Bay."

Rough, or Roughy, or Ruffy, or Ruffie, n. a Victorian fish, Arripis georgianus, Cuv. and Val., family Percidae. Arripis is the genus of the Australian fish called Salmon, or Salmon-trout, A. salar, Gunth. See Salmon.

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

"Common fish, such as trout, ruffies mullet . . . and others."

1890. 'Victorian Statutes—Fisheries, Second Schedule' [Close Season]:

"Rough, or Roughy."

Rough Fig, n. See under Fig-tree.

Rough-leaved Fig, n. See under Fig-tree.

Round, v. trans., contraction of the verb to round-up, to bring a scattered herd together; used in all grazing districts, and common in the Western United States.

1894. 'The Argus,' June 23, p. 11, col. 4:

"A friend of mine who has spent many a night rounding the mob on lonely Queensland cattle camps where hostile blacks were as thick as dingoes has a peculiar aversion to one plain covered with dead gums, because the curlews always made him feel miserable when crossing it at night."

Round Yam, n. i.q. Burdekin Vine. See under Vine.

Rouseabout, n. a station-hand put on to any work, a Jack of all work, an 'odd man.' The form 'roustabout' is sometimes used, but the latter is rather an American word (Western States), in the sense of a labourer on a river boat, a deck-hand who assists in loading and unloading.

1887. J. Farrell, 'How he died,' p. 19:

"It may be the rouseabout swiper who rode for the doctor that night, Is in Heaven with the hosts of the Blest, robed and sceptred, and splendid with light."

18W. 'The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, col. 6:

"The 'rouseabouts' are another class of men engaged in shearing time, whose work is to draft the sheep, fill the pens for the shearers, and do the branding. . . . The shearers hold themselves as the aristocrats of the shed; and never associate with the rouseabouts."

1892. Gilbert Parker, 'Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 58:

"While we sat there, a rouseabout came to the door. 'Mountain Jim's back,' he said. There was no 'sir' in the remark of this lowest of stationhands to his master."

1894. 'Sydney Morning Herald' (date lost):

"A rougher person—perhaps a happier—is the rouseabout, who makes himself useful in the shearing shed. He is clearly a man of action. He is sometimes with less elegance, and one would say less correctly, spoken of as a roustabout."

1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World was Wide,' p. 98 [Title of poem, 'Middleton's Rouseabout']:

"Flourishing beard and sandy, Tall and robust and stout; This is the picture of Andy, Middleton's Rouseabout."

Rowdy, adj. troublesome. Common slang, but unusual as applied to a bullock or a horse.

1872. C. H. Eden, 'My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 69:

"Branding or securing a troublesome or, colonially, a 'rowdy' bullock."

1896. A. B. Paterson, 'Man from Snowy River, p. 125:

"And I can ride a rowdy colt, or swing the axe all day."

Rua, n. Maori word (used in North Island) for a pit, cave or hole. A place for storing roots, such as potatoes, etc. Formerly some of these rua had carved entrances.

Ruffy or Ruffie, n. a fish. See Rough or Roughy.

Run, n. (1) Tract of land over which sheep or cattle may graze. It is curious that what in England is called a sheep-walk, in Australia is a sheep-run. In the Western United States it is a sheep-ranch. Originally the squatter, or sheep-farmer, did not own the land. It was unfenced, and he simply had the right of grazing or "running" his sheep or cattle on it. Subsequently, in many cases, he purchased the freehold, and the word is now applied to a large station property, fenced or unfenced. (See quotation, 1883.)

1826. Goldie, in Bischoff's 'Van Diemen's Land' (1832), p. 157:

"It is generally speaking a good sheep-run."

1828. Report of Van Diemen's band Company, in Bischoff's 'Van Diemen's Land' (1832), p. 117:

"A narrow slip of good sheep-run down the west coast."

1844. 'Port Phillip Patriot,' July 8, p. 4, col. 3:

"The thousand runs stated as the number in Port Phillip under the new regulations will cost L12,800,000."

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

"'Runs,' land claimed by the squatter as sheep-walks, open, as nature left them, without any improvement from the squatter."

1862. H. C. Kendall, 'Poems,' p. 78:

"The runs of the Narran wide-dotted with sheep, And loud with the lowing of cattle."

1864. W. Westgarth, 'Colony of Victoria,' p. 273:

"Here then is a squatting domain of the old unhedged stamp. The station or the 'run,' as these squatting areas are called, borders upon the Darling, along which river it possesses a frontage of thirty-five lineal miles, with a back area of 800 square miles."

1868. J. Bonwick, 'John Batman, Founder of Victoria,' p. 34:

"The desire of some to turn Van Diemen's Land into a large squatter's run, by the passing of the Impounding Act, was the immediate cause, he told us, of his taking up the project of a poor man's country elsewhere."

1870. '/Delta/,' 'Studies in Rhyme,' p. 26:

"Of squatters' runs we've oft been told, The People's Lands impairing."

1883. G. W. Rusden, 'History of Australia,' vol. i. p. 73 [Note]:

"A run is the general term for the tract of country on which Australians keep their stock, or allow them to 'run.'"

(2) The bower of the Bowerbird (q.v.).

1840. 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society,' p. 94:

"They are used by the birds as a playing-house, or 'run,' as it is termed, and are used by the males to attract the females."

Run-about, n. and adj. Run-abouts are cattle left to graze at will, and the runabout-yard is the enclosure for homing them.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Colonial Reformer,' c. xviii. p. 218:

"'Open that gate, Piambook,' said Ernest gravely, pointing to the one which led into the 'run-about' yard."

Run-hunting, exploring for a new run. See Run.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Squatter's Dream,' c. xix. p. 238:

"What do you say if I go run-hunting with you?"

Running-Postman, n. a Tasmanian plant, i.q. Coral-Pea. See Kennedya.

Ruru, n. Maori name for the New Zealand bird, the More-pork, Athene novae-zelandiae, Gmel. (q.v.).

1883. F. S. Renwick, 'Betrayed,' p. 45:

"The ruru's voice re-echoes, desolate."

Rush, v. (1) Of cattle: to charge a man. Contraction for to rush-at.

1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian Sketches,' p. 122:

"When not instigated by terror, wild cattle will seldom attack the traveller; even of those which run at him, or 'rush,' as it is termed, few will really toss or gore, or even knock him down."

(2) To attack sheep; i.e. to cause them to rush about or away.

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

"Sometimes at night this animal [the dingo] will leap into the fold amongst the timid animals [sheep] and so 'rush' them—that is, cause them to break out and disperse through the bush."

(3) To break through a barrier (of men or materials). Contraction for to rush past or through; e.g. to rush a cordon of policemen; to rush a fence (i.e. to break-down or climb-over it).

(4) To take possession of, or seize upon, either by force or before the appointed time. Compare Jump.

1896. Modern:

"Those who had no tickets broke through and rushed all the seats."

"The dancers becoming very hungry did not stand on ceremony, but rushed the supper."

(5) To flood with gold-seekers.

1887. H. H. Hayter, 'Christmas Adventure,' p. 3:

"The Bald Hill had just been rushed, and therefore I decided to take up a claim."

Rush, n. (1) The hurrying off of diggers to a new field.

1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian Sketches,' p. 86:

"We had a long conversation on the 'rush,' as it was termed."

1864. J. Rogers, 'New Rush,' pt. i., p. 19:

"Arouse you, my comrades, for rush is the word, Advance to the strife with a pick for a sword."

1890. 'The Argus,' June 13, p. 6, col. 2:

"Fell Timber Creek, where a new rush had set in."

(2) A place where gold is found, and to which consequently a crowd of diggers "rush."

1855. William Howitt, 'Land, Labour and Gold; or Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 172:

"It is a common practice for them to mark out one or more claims in each new rush, so as to make sure if it turn out well. But only one claim at a time is legal and tenable. This practice is called shepherding."

1875. 'Spectator' (Melbourne), May 22, p. 34, col. 1:

"The Palmer River rush is a perfect swindle."

1875. Wood and Lapham, 'Waiting for Mail,' p. 34:

"Off we set to the Dunstan rush, just broken out."

1880. G. Sutherland, 'Tales of Goldfields,' p. 92:

"Morinish, was a worked-out rush close to Rockhampton, where the first attempt at gold-digging had been made in Queensland."

(3) A stampede of cattle.

1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 102:

"A confused whirl of dark forms swept before him, and the camp, so full of life a minute ago, is desolate. It was 'a rush,' a stampede."

Rush-broom, n. Australian name for the indigenous shrub Viminaria denudata, Sm., N.O. Leguminosae. The flowers are orange-yellow. In England, it is cultivated in greenhouses.

Rusty Fig, n. See under Fig-tree.



S

Saddle, Colonial, n.

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Australia,' p. 53:

"The colonial saddle is a shapeless, cumbersome fabric, made of rough leather, with a high pommel and cantle, and huge knee-pads, weighing on an average twenty pounds. The greatest care is necessary to prevent such a diabolical machine from giving a horse a sore back."

[Mr. Finch-Hatton's epithet is exaggerated. The saddle is well adapted to its peculiar local purposes. The projecting knee-pads, especially, save the rider from fractured knee-caps when galloping among closely timbered scrub. The ordinary English saddle is similarly varied by exaggeration of different parts to suit special requirements, as e.g. in the military saddle, with its enormous pommel; the diminutive racing saddle, to meet handicappers' "bottom-weights," etc. The mediaeval saddle had its turret-like cantle for the armoured spearman.]

Saddle-Back, n. a bird of the North Island of New Zealand, Creadion carunculatus, Cab. See also Jack-bird and Creadion.

1868. 'Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' Essay on Ornithology, by W. Buller, vol. i. p. 5:

"The Saddle-back (Creadion carunculatus) of the North is represented in the South by C. cinereus, a closely allied species."

1882. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open,' p. 64:

"It is the sharp, quick call of the saddle-back."

1886. A. Reischek, 'Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xix. art. xxiii. p. 102:

"The bird derives its popular name from a peculiarity in the distribution of its two strongly contrasting colours, uniform black, back and shoulders ferruginous, the shoulders of the wings forming a saddle. In structure it resembles the starling (Sturnidae); it has also the wedge bill."

1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 18:

"Creadion Carunculatus. This bird derives its popular name from a peculiarity in the distribution of its too strongly contrasted colours, black and ferruginous, the latter of which covers the back, forms a sharply-defined margin across the shoulders, and sweeps over the wings in a manner suggestive of saddle-flaps."

Sagg, n. the name given in Tasmania to the plant Xerotes longifolia, R. Br., N.O. Junceae, and also to the White Iris, Diplarhena morcaea.

Saliferous, adj. salt-bearing. See Salt-bush. The word is used in geology in ordinary English, but the botanical application is Australian.

1890. E. W. Hornung, 'A Bride from the Bush,' p. 277:

"You have only to cover the desert with pale-green saliferous bushes, no higher than a man's knee."

Sallee, n. aboriginal name for many varieties of the Acacia (q.v.).

Sally, Sallow, n. corruptions of the aboriginal word Sallee (q.v.). There are many varieties, e.g. Black-Sally, White-Sally, etc.

Salmon, n. The English Salmon is being acclimatised with difficulty in Tasmania and New Zealand; the Trout more successfully. But in all Australian, New Zealand, and Tasmanian waters there is a marine fish which is called Salmon; it is not the true Salmon of the Old World, but Arripis salar, Gunth., and called in New Zealand by the Maori name Kahawai. The fish is often called also Salmon-Trout. The young is called Samson-fish (q.v.).

1798. D. Collins, 'Account of the English Colony of New South Wales,' p. 136:

[Sept. 1790.] "Near four thousand of a fish, named by us, from its shape only, the Salmon, being taken at two hauls of the seine. Each fish weighed on an average about five pounds."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 93:

"The kawai has somewhat of the habits of the salmon, entering during spring and summer into the bays, rivers, and fresh-water creeks in large shoals."

1880. Guenther, 'Study of Fishes,' p. 393:

"Arripis salar, South Australia. Three species are known, from the coasts of Southern Australia and New Zealand. They are named by the colonists Salmon or Trout, from their elegant form and lively habits, and from the sport they afford to the angler."

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 'Fish of New South Wales,' p. 35:

"Arripis salar, Gunth., is in the adult state the salmon of the Australian fishermen, and their salmon trout is the young. . . . The most common of all Victorian fishes . . . does not resemble the true salmon in any important respect . . . It is the A. truttaceus of Cuvier and Valenciennes."

Salmon-Trout, n. i.q. Salmon (q.v.).

Saloop-bush, n. name given to an erect soft-stemmed bush, Rhagodia hastata, R. Br., N.O. Salsolaceae, one of the Australian Redberries, two to three feet high. See Redberry and Salt-bush.

Salsolaceous, adj. belongs to the natural order Salsolaceae. The shrubs of the order are not peculiar to Australia, but are commoner there than elsewhere.

1837. Ross, 'Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 906:

"Passing tufts of samphire and salsolaceous plants."

1859. H. Kingsley, 'Geoffrey Hamlyn,' c. xlii. ('Century'):

"It is getting hopeless now . . . sand and nothing but sand. The salsolaceous plants, so long the only vegetation we have seen, are gone."

Salt-bush, n. and adj. the wild alkaline herb or shrub, growing on the interior plains of Australia, on which horses and sheep feed, of the N.O. Salsolaceae. The genera are Atriplex, Kochia, and Rhagodia. Of the large growth, A. nummularium, Lindl., and of the dwarf species, A. vesicarium, Heward, and A. halimoides, Lindl., are the commonest. Some species bear the additional names of Cabbage Salt-bush, Old-Man Salt-bush, Small Salt-bush, Blue-bush, Cotton-bush, Saloop-bush, etc. Some varieties are very rich in salt. Rhagodia parabolica, R. Br., for instance, according to Mr. Stephenson, who accompanied Sir T. Mitchell in one of his expeditions, yields as much as two ounces of salt by boiling two pounds of leaves.

1870. T. H. Braim, 'New Homes,' c. ii. p. 89:

"This inland salt-bush country suits the settler's purpose well."

1889. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iv. p. 144:

"The ground is covered with the sage-coloured salt-bush all the year round, but in the winter it blooms with flowers."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Squatter's Dream,' c. xxi. p. 262:

"How glorious it will be to see them pitching into that lovely salt-bush by the lake."

1892. E. W. Hornung, 'Under Two Skies,' p. 11:

"The surrounding miles of salt-bush plains and low monotonous scrub oppressed her when she wandered abroad. There was not one picturesque patch on the whole dreary run."

1896. A. B. Paterson, 'Man from Snowy River,' p. 92:

"Over the miles of the salt-bush plain— The shining plain that is said to be The dried-up bed of an inland sea.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

For those that love it and understand, The salt-bush plain is a wonderland."

Samson-fish, n. name given in Sydney to Seriola hippos, Gunth., family Carangidae; and in Melbourne to the young of Arripis salar, Richards., family Percidae. See Salmon.

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 'Fish of New South Wales,' p. 60:

"The samson-fish (Senola hippos, Gunth.) is occasionally caught. The great strength of these fishes is remarkable, and which probably is the cause that gave it the name of Samson-fish, as sailors or shipwrights give to the name of a strong post resting on the keelson of a ship, and supporting the upper beam, and bearing all the weight of the deck cargo near the hold, Samson-post."

Sandalwood, n. The name is given to many Australian trees from the strong scent of their timber. They are —

Of the N.O. Santalaceae—

Exocarpos latifolia, R. Br.; called Scrub-Sandalwood.

Fusanus spicatus, R. Br.; called Fragrant Sandalwood.

Santalum lanceolatum, R. Br.

S. obtusifodum, R. Br.

Santalum persicarium, F. v. M.; called Native Sandalwood.

Of the N.O. Myoporinae—

Eremophila mitchelli, Benth.; called also Rosewood and Bastard-Sandalwood.

E. sturtii, R. Br.; called curiously the Scentless Sandalwood.

Myoporum platycarpum, R. Br.; called also Dogwood (q.v.).

Of the N.O. Apocyneae—

Alyxia buxifolia, R. Br.; called Native Sandalwood in Tasmania.

Sandfly-bush, n. Australian name for the indigenous tree Zieria smithii, Andr., N.O. Rutaceae. Called also Turmeric, and in Tasmania, Stinkwood.

Sand-Lark, n. name given in Australia to the Red-capped Dottrel, Charadrius ruficapilla, Temm.

1867. W. Richardson, 'Tasmanian Poems,' pref. p. xi:

"The nimble sand-lark learns his pretty note."

Sandpiper, n. About twenty species of this familiar sea-bird exist. It belongs especially to the Northern Hemisphere, but it performs such extensive migrations that in the northern winter it is dispersed all over the world. ('Century.') The species observed in Australia are—

Bartram's Sandpiper— Tringa bartrami.

Common S.— Actitis hypoleucos, Linn.

Great S.— Tringa crassirostris, Temm. and Schleg.

Grey-rumped S.— T. brevisses.

Sandplover, n. a bird of New Zealand. According to Professor Parker, only two genera of this common bird are to be found in New Zealand. There is no bird bearing the name in Australia. See Plover and Wry-billed Plover.

1889. Prof. Parker, 'Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 116:

"But two genera of the group [Wading Birds] are found only in New Zealand, the Sandplover and the curious Wry-billed Plover."

Sand-stay, n. a characteristic name for the Coast Tea-Tree, Leptospermum laevigatum, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae. See Tea-Tree.

1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native Plants,' p. 642:

"Sandstay. Coast Tea-Tree. This shrub is the most effectual of all for arresting the progress of driftsand in a warm climate. It is most easily raised by simply scattering in autumn the seeds on the sand, and covering them loosely with boughs, or, better still, by spreading lopped-off branches of the shrub itself, bearing ripe seed, on the sand. (Mueller.)"

Sandy, n. a Tasmanian fish, Uphritis urvillii, Cuv. and Val, family Trachinidae; also called the Fresh-water Flathead. See Flathead.

Sandy-blight, n. a kind of ophthalmia common in Australia, in which the eye feels as if full of sand. Called also shortly, Blight.

Shakspeare has sand-blind (M. of V. II. ii. 31); Launcelot says—

"0 heavens, this is my true-begotten father! who, being more than sand-blind, high-gravel blind, knows me not."

On this, the American commentator, Mr. Rolfe, notes—

"Sand-blind. Dim of sight; as if there were sand in the eye, or perhaps floating before it. It means something more than purblind."

"As if there were sand in the eye,"—an admirable description of the Australian Sandy-blight.

1869. J. F. Blanche, 'The Prince's Visit,' p. 20:

"The Prince was suff'ring from the sandy blight."

1870. E. B. Kennedy, 'Four Years in Queensland,' p. 46:

"Sandy-blight occurs generally in sandy districts in the North Kennedy; it may be avoided by ordinary care, and washing the eyes after a hot ride through sandy country. It is a species of mild ophthalmia."

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, 'A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 78:

"He had pretty near lost his eyesight with the sandy blight, which made him put his head forward when he spoke, as if he took you for some one else, or was looking for what he couldn't find."

Sarcophile, and Sarcophilus, n. the scientific name of the genus of carnivorous marsupial animals of which the Tasmanian Devil (q.v.) is the only known living species.(Grk. sarkos, flesh, and philein, to love.)

Sardine, n. name given in Australia to a fresh-water fish, Chatoessus erebi, Richards., of the herring tribe, occurring in West and North-West Australia, and in Queensland rivers, and which is called in the Brisbane river the Sardine. It is the Bony Bream of the New South Wales rivers, and the Perth Herring of Western Australia.

Sarsaparilla, Australian or Native, n. (1) An ornamental climbing shrub, Hardenbergia monophylla, Benth., N.O. Leguminosae. Formerly called Kennedya (q.v.).

(2) Smilax glycyphylla, Smith, N.0. Liliaceae.

1883. F. M. Bailey, 'Synopsis of Queensland Flora,' p. 114:

"Native Sarsaparilla. The roots of this beautiful purple- flowered twiner (Hardenbergia monophylla) are used by bushmen as a substitute for the true sarsaparilla, which is obtained from a widely different plant."

1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native Plants,' p. 189:

"Commonly, but wrongly, called 'Native Sarsaparilla.' The roots are sometimes used by bushmen as a substitute for the true sarsaparilla (Smilax), but its virtues are purely imaginary. It is a common thing in the streets of Sydney, to see persons with large bundles of the leaves on their shoulders, doubtless under the impression that they have the leaves of the true Sarsaparilla, Smilax glycyphylla."

1896. 'The Argus,' Sept. 8, p. 7, col. 1:

"He will see, too, the purple of the sarsaparilla on the hill-sides, and the golden bloom of the wattle on the flats, forming a beautiful contrast in tint. Old diggers consider the presence of sarsaparilla and the ironbark tree as indicative of the existence of golden wealth below. Whether these can be accepted as indicators in the vegetable kingdom of gold below is questionable, but it is nevertheless a fact that the sarsaparilla and the ironbark tree are common on most of Victoria's goldfields."

Sassafras, n. corruption of Saxafas, which is from Saxifrage. By origin, the word means "stone-breaking," from its medicinal qualities. The true Sassafras (S. officinale) is the only species of the genus. It is a North-American tree, about forty feet high, but the name has been given to various trees in many parts of the world, from the similarity, either of their appearance or of the real or supposed medicinal properties of their bark.

In Australia, the name is given to—

Atherosperma moschatum, Labill., N.0. Monimiaceae; called Native Sassafras, from the odour of its bark, due to an essential oil closely resembling true Sassafras in odour. (Maiden.)

Beilschmiedia obtusifolia, Benth., N.0. Lauraceae; called Queensland Sassafras, a large and handsome tree.

Cryptocarya glaucescens, R. Br., N.0. Lauraceae; the Sassafras of the early days of New South Wales, and now called Black Sassafras.

Daphnandra micrantha, Benth., N.0. Monimiaceae, called also Satinwood, and Light Yellow-wood.

Doryphora sassafras, Endl., N.0. Monimiaceae.

Grey Sassafras is the Moreton-Bay Laurel. See Laurel.

The New Zealand Sassafras is Laurelia novae-zelandiae.

1834. Ross, 'Van Diemen's Land Annual,' p. 134:

"The leaves of these have been used as substitutes for tea in the colony, as have also the leaves and bark of Cryptocarya glaucescens, the Australian sassafras."

1852. Mrs. Meredith, 'My Home in Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 166:

"The beautiful Tasmanian sassafras-tree is also a dweller in some parts of our fern-tree valleys. . . . The flowers are white and fragrant, the leaves large and bright green, and the bark has a most aromatic scent, besides being, in a decoction, an excellent tonic medicine. . . . The sawyers and other bushmen familiar with the tree call it indiscriminately 'saucifax,' 'sarserfrax,' and 'satisfaction.'"

1875. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 206:

"A Tasmanian timber. Height, 40 ft.; dia., 14 in. Found on low, marshy ground. Used for sashes and doorframes."

1894. 'Melbourne Museum Catalogue—Economic Woods,' No. 36:

"Atherosperma moschatum, Victorian sassafras-tree, N.O. Monimiaceae."

Satin-bird, n. another name for the Satin Bower-bird. See Bower-bird.

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, 'Transactions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 264:

The natives call it Cowry, the colonists Satin-Bird."

Satin-Robin, n. a Tasmanian name for the Satin Fly-catcher, Myiagra nitida, Gould.

Satin-Sparrow, n. Same as Satin-Robin (q.v.).

Satinwood, n. a name applied to two Australian trees from the nature of their timber—Xanthoxylum brachyacanthum, F. v. M., N.O. Rutaceae, called also Thorny Yellow-wood; Daphnandra micrantha, Benth., N.O. Monimiaceae, called also Light Yellow-wood and Sassafras (q.v.).

Saw-fish, n. a species of Ray, Pristis zysron, Bleek, the Australasian representative of the Pristidae family, or Saw-fishes, Rays of a shark-like form, with long, flat snouts, armed along each edge with strong teeth.

1851. 'Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. i. p. 223 [J. E. Bicheno, June 8, 1850, in epist.]:

"Last week an old fisherman brought me a fine specimen of a Saw-fish, caught in the Derwent. It turned out to be the Pristis cirrhatus,—a rare and curious species, confined to the Australian seas, and first described by Dr. Latham in the year 1793."

Sawyer, n. (1) Name applied by bushmen in New Zealand to the insect Weta (q.v.). (2) A trunk embedded in the mud so as to move with the current—hence the name: a snag is fixed. (An American use of the word.) See also Snag.

1873. J. B. Stephens, 'Black Gin,' p. 22:

"By Fitzroy's rugged crags, Its 'sawyers' and its snags, He roamed."

Sceloglaux, n. the scientific name of the genus containing the New Zealand bird called the Laughing Owl (see under Jackass). The name was given by Kaup in 1848; the bird had been previously classed as Athene by Gray in 1844. It is now nearly extinct. Kaup also gave the name of Spiloglaux to the New Zealand Owl at the same date. The words are from the Greek glaux, an owl, spilos, a spot, and skelos, a leg.

Scent-wood, a Tasmanian evergreen shrub, Alyxia buxifolia, R. Br., N.O. Apocyneae, of the dogbane family.

Schnapper, n. or Snapper, a fish abundant in all Australasian waters, Pagrus unicolor, Cuv. and Val. The latter spelling was the original form of the word (one that snaps). It was gradually changed by the fishermen, perhaps of Dutch origin, to Schnapper, the form now general. The name Snapper is older than the settlement of Australia, but it is not used for the same fish. 'O.E.D.,' s.v. Cavally, quotes:

1657. R. Ligon, 'Barbadoes,' p. 12:

"Fish . . . of various kinds . . . Snappers, grey and red; Cavallos, Carpians, etc."

The young are called Cock-schnapper (q.v.); at a year old they are called Red-Bream; at two years old, Squire; at three, School-Schnapper; when they cease to "school" and swim solitary they are called Natives and Rock-Natives. Being the standard by which the "catch" is measured, the full-grown Schnappers are also called Count-fish (q.v.). In New Zealand, the Tamure (q.v.) is also called Schnapper, and the name Red-Schnapper is given to Anthias richardsoni, Gunth., or Scorpis hectori, Hutton. See quotation, 1882.

1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 68:

"King-fish, mullet, mackarel, rockcod, whiting, snapper, bream, flatheads, and various other descriptions of fishes, are all found plentifully about."

1846. J. L. Stokes, 'Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i. p. 261:

"The kangaroos are numerous and large, and the finest snappers I have ever heard of are caught off this point, weighing sometimes as much as thirty pounds."

[The point referred to is that now called Schnapper Point, at Mornington, in Victoria.]

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 'Fish of New South Wales,' p. 39:

"The genus Pagrus, or as we term it in the vernacular, 'schnapper,' a word of Dutch origin . . . The schnapper or snapper. The schnapper (Pagrus unicolor, Cuv. and Val.) is the most valuable of Australian fishes, not for its superior excellence . . . but for the abundant and regular supply . . . At a still greater age the schnapper seems to cease to school and becomes what is known as the 'native' and 'rock-native,' a solitary and sometimes enormously large fish."

1896 'The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 407, col. 5:

"The fish, snapper, is so called because it snapped. The spelling with 'ch' is a curious after-thought, suggestive of alcohol. The name cannot come from schnapps."

School-Schnapper, n. a fish. A name given to the Schnapper when three years old. See Schnapper.

Scorpion, n. another name for the New South Wales fish Pentaroge marmorata, Cuv. and Val.; called also the Fortescue (q.v.), and the Cobbler.

Scotchman, n. a New Zealand name for a smaller kind of the grass called Spaniard (q.v.).

1895. W. S. Roberts, 'Southland in 1856,' p. 39:

"As we neared the hills speargrass of the smaller kind, known as Scotchmen,' abounded, and although not so strong and sharp-pointed as the 'Spaniard,' would not have made a comfortable seat."

1896. 'The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 407, col. 5:

". . . national appellations are not satisfactory. It seems uncivil to a whole nation—another injustice to Ireland—to call a bramble a wild Irishman, or a pointed grass, with the edges very sharp and the point like a bayonet, a Spaniard. One could not but be amused to find the name Scotchman applied to a smaller kind of Spaniard.'

Scribbly-Gum, n. also called White-Gum, Eucalyptus haemastoma, Sm., N.O. Myrtaceae. See Gum.

1883. F. M. Bailey, 'Synopsis of Queensland Flora,' p. 174:

"Scribbly or White-Gum. As regards timber this is the most worthless of the Queensland species. A tree, often large, with a white, smooth, deciduous bark, always marked by an insect in a scribbly manner."

Scrub, n. country overgrown with thick bushes. Henry Kingsley's explanation (1859), that the word means shrubbery, is singularly misleading, the English word conveying an idea of smallness and order compared with the size and confusion of the Australian use. Yet he is etymologically correct, for Scrobb is Old English (Anglo-Saxon) for shrub; but the use had disappeared in England.

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

"We encamped about noon in some scrub."

1838. T. L. Mitchell,' Three Expeditions,' vol. i. p. 213:

"A number of gins and children remained on the borders of the scrub, half a mile off."

1844. J A. Moore, 'Tasmanian Rhymings' (1860), p. 13:

"Here Nature's gifts, with those of man combined, Hath [sic] from a scrub a Paradise defined."

1848. W. Westgarth, "Australia Felix,' p. 24:

"The colonial term scrub, of frequent and convenient use in the description of Australian scenery, is applicable to dense assemblages of harsh wild shrubbery, tea-tree, and other of the smaller and crowded timber of the country, and somewhat analogous to the term jungle."

1859. H. Kingsley, 'Geoffrey Hamlyn,' vol. ii. p. 155 [Footnote]:

"Scrub. I have used, and shall use, this word so often that some explanation is due to the English reader. I can give no better definition of it than by saying that it means 'shrubbery.'"

1864. J. McDouall Stuart, 'Exploration in Australia,' p. 153:

"At four miles arrived on the top, through a very thick scrub of mulga."

1873. A. Trollope, 'Australia and New Zealand,' c. v. p. 78:

"Woods which are open and passable—passable at any rate for men on horseback—are called bush. When the undergrowth becomes, thick and matted, so as to be impregnable without an axe, it is scrub."

[Impregnability is not a necessary point of the definition. There is "light" scrub, and "heavy" or "thick" scrub.]

1883. G. W. Rusden, 'History of Australia,' vol. i. p. 67 [Note]:

"Scrub was a colonial term for dense undergrowth, like that of the mallee-scrub."

1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' p. 7:

"Where . . . a belt of scrub lies green, glossy, and impenetrable as Indian bungle."

(p. 8): "The nearest scrub, in the thickets of which the Blacks could always find an impenetrable stronghold."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Australia,' p. 36:

"A most magnificent forest of trees, called in Australia a 'scrub,' to distinguish it from open timbered country."

1890. J. McCarthy and R. M. Praed, 'Ladies' Gallery,' p. 252:

"Why, I've been alone in the scrub—in the desert, I mean; you will understand that better."

1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' p. 374:

"One more prominent feature in Australian vegetation are the large expanses of the so-called 'scrub' of the colonists. This is a dense covering of low bushes varying in composition in different districts, and named according to the predominating element."

1893. A. R. Wallace, 'Australasia,' vol. i. p. 46:

"Just as Tartary is characterised by its steppes, America by its prairies, and Africa by its deserts, so Australia has one feature peculiar to itself, and that is its 'scrubs.'. . . One of the most common terms used by explorers is 'Mallee' scrub, so called from its being composed of dwarf species of Eucalyptus called the 'Mallee' by the Natives. . . . Still more dreaded by the explorer is the 'Mulga' scrub, consisting chiefly of dwarf acacias."

1894. E. Favenc, 'Tales of the Austral Tropics,' p. 3:

"Even more desolate than the usual dreary-looking scrub of the interior of Australia."

[p. 6]: "The sea of scrub."

1896. A. B. Paterson, 'Manfrom Snowy River,' p. 25:

"Born and bred on the mountain-side, He could race through scrub like a kangaroo."

Scrub, adj. and in composition. The word scrub occurs constantly in composition. See the following words.

1885. R. M. Praed, 'Australian Life,' p. 113:

"We gathered the wild raspberries, and mingling them with gee-bongs, and scrub-berries, set forth a dessert."

Scrub-bird, n. name given to two Australian birds, of the genus Atrichia. (Grk. 'atrichos = without hair.) They are the Noisy Scrub-bird, Atrichia clamosa, Gould, and the Rufous S.-b., A. rufescens, Ramsay.

1869. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' 'Supplement,' pl. 26:

"The Scrub-bird creeps mouse-like over the bark, or sits on a dripping stem and mocks all surrounding notes."

Scrub-cattle, n. escaped cattle that run wild in the scrub, used as a collective plural of Scrubber (q.v.).

1860. A. L. Gordon, 'The Sick Stockrider' [in 'Bush-Ballads,' 1876], p. 8:

"'Twas merry 'mid the blackwoods, when we spied the station roofs, To wheel the wild scrub-cattle at the yard, With a running fire of stock-whips and a fiery run of hoofs, Oh! the hardest day was never then too hard."

Scrub-Crab, n. a Queensland fruit. The large dark purple fruit, two inches in diameter, of Sideroxylon australe, Benth. and Hook., N.O. Saponaceae; a tall tree.

Scrub-dangler, n. a wild bullock.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Colonial Reformer,' c. xvi. p. 193:

"He is one of those infernal scrub-danglers from the Lachlan, come across to get a feed."

Scrub-fowl, n. name applied to birds of the genus Megapodius. See Megapode.

Scrub-Gum, n. See Gum.

Scrub-hen, i.q. Scrub fowl.

Scrub-Ironwood, n. See Ironwood.

Scrub-Myrtle, n. See Myrtle.

Scrub-Oak, n. See Oak.

Scrub-Pine, n. See Pine.

Scrub-Poison-tree, n. See Poison-tree.

Scrub-rider, n. a man who rides through the scrub in search of Scrub-cattle (q.v.).

1881. A. C. Giant, 'Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 278:

"A favourite plan among the bold scrub-riders."

Scrub-Robin, n. the modern name for any bird of the genus Drymodes.

1848. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' vol. iii. pl. 10:

"Drymodes Brunneopygia, Gould, Scrub-Robin. I discovered this singular bird in the great Murray Scrub in South [sc. Southern] Australia, where it was tolerably abundant. I have never seen it from any other part of the country, and it is doubtless confined to such portions of Australia as are clothed with a similar character of vegetation."

1895. W. O. Legge, 'Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science' (Brisbane), p. 447:

"As regards portions of Gould's English nomenclatures, such as his general term 'Robin' for the genera Petroica, Paecilodryas, Eopsaltria, it was found that by retaining the term 'Robin' for the best known member of the group (Petroica), and applying a qualifying noun to the allied genera, such titles as Tree-robin, Scrub-robin, and Shrike-robin were easily evolved."

Scrub-Sandalwood, n. See Sandalwood.

Scrub-Tit, n. See Tit.

Scrub-tree, n. any tree that grows in the scrub.

1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expedition,' p. 219:

"Almost all the Scrub-trees of the Condamine and Kent's Lagoon were still to be seen at the Burdekin."

Scrub-Turkey, n. an Australian bird, Leipoa ocellata, Gould; aboriginal name, the Lowan (q.v.). See Turkey.

Scrub-Vine, n. called also Native Rose. See Bauera (q.v.).

Scrub-Wren, n. any little bird of the Australian genus Sericornis. The species are—

Brown Scrub-Wren— Sericornis humilis, Gould.

Buff breasted S.-W.— S. laevigaster, Gould.

Collared S.-W.— S. gutturalis, Gould.

Large-billed Scrub-Wren— Sericornis magnirostris, Gould.

Little S.-W.— S. minimus, Gould.

Spotted S.-W.— S. maculatus, Gould.

Spotted-throated S.-W.— S. osculans, Gould.

White-browed S.-W.— S. frontalis, Vig. & Hors.

Yellow-throated S.-W.— S. citreogularis, Gould.

Scrubber, n. (1) a bullock that has taken to the scrub and so become wild. See Scrub-cattle. Also formerly used for a wild horse, now called a Brumby (q.v.).

1859. H. Kingsley, 'Geoffrey Hamlyn,' c. xxix:

"The captain was getting in the scrubbers, cattle which had been left to run wild through in the mountains."

1874. W. H. L. Ranken, 'Dominion of Australia,' c. vi. p. 110:

"There are few field-sports anywhere . . . equal to 'hunting scrubbers.'"

1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 93:

"Out flew the ancient scrubber, instinctively making towards his own wild domain."

1887. W. S. S. Tyrwhitt, 'The New Chum in the Queensland Bush,' p. 151:

"There are also wild cattle, which are either cattle run wild or descendants of such. They are commonly called 'scrubbers,' because they live in the larger scrubs."

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Robbery under Arms,' p. 405:

"Here I am boxed up, like a scrubber in a pound, year after year."

1893. 'The Argus,' April 29, p. 4, col. 4 ('Getting in the Scrubbers'):

"The scrubbers, unseen of men, would stay in their fastnesses all day chewing the cud they had laid up the night before, and when the sun went down and the strident laugh of the giant kingfisher had given place to the insidious air-piercing note of the large-mouthed podargus, the scrub would give up its inhabitants."

(2) A starved-looking or ill-bred animal.

(3) The word is sometimes applied to mankind in the slang sense of an "outsider." It is used in University circles as equivalent to the Oxford "smug," a man who will not join in the life of the place. See also Bush-scrubber.

1868. 'Colonial Monthly,' vol. ii. p. 141 [art. 'Peggy's Christening]:

"'I can answer for it, that they are scrubbers—to use a bush phrase—have never been brought within the pale of any church.'

"'Never been christened?' asked the priest.

"'Have no notion of it—scrubbers, sir—never been branded.'"

Scrubby, adj. belonging to, or resembling scrub.

1802. Jas. Flemming, 'Journal of the Exploration of C. Grimes' [at Port Phillip, Australia], ed. by J. J. Shillinglaw, 1879, Melbourne, p. 17:

"The land appeared barren, a scrubby brush."

[p. 221: "The trees low and scrubby."

1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expedition,' p. 19:

"To-day I . . . passed a scrubby ironbark forest.".

1849. J. P. Townsend, 'Rambles in New South Wales,' p. 216:

"A scrubby country is a stockman's abhorrence, as there he cannot ride, at least at any pace."

1868. J. A. B., 'Meta,' c. i. p. 9:

"'Twere madness to attempt to chase, In such a wild and scrubby place, Australia's savage steer."

Scrubdom, n. the land of scrub.

1889. C. A. Sherard, 'Daughter of South,' p. 29:

"My forefathers reigned in this scrubdom of old."

Scythrops, n. scientific name for a genus of birds belonging to the Cuculidae, or Cuckoos (from Grk. skuthrowpos = angry-looking). The only species known is peculiar to Australia, where it is called the Channel-Bill, a name given by Latham ('General History of Birds,' vol. ii.). White (1790) calls it the Anomalous Hornbill ('Journal 1790,' pl. at p. 142).

Sea-Berry, n. See Red-berry.

Sea-Dragon, n. any Australian fish of any one of the three species of the genus Phyllopteryx, family Syngnathidae. The name of the genus comes from the Greek phullon = a leaf, and pterux = a wing. This genus is said by Guenther to be exclusively Australian. "Protective resemblance attains its highest degree of development," he says, in this genus. "Not only their colour closely assimilates that of the particular kind of sea-weed which they frequent, but the appendages of their spines seem to be merely part of the fucus to which they are attached. They attain a length of twelve inches." ('Study of Fishes,' p. 683.) The name, in England, is given to other and different fishes. The species P. foliatus is called the Superb Dragon (q.v.), from the beauty of its colours.

Sea-Perch, n. a name applied to different fishes—in Sydney, to the Morwong (q.v.) and Bull's-eye (q.v.); in New Zealand, to Sebastes percoides, called Pohuiakawa (q.v.); in Melbourne, to Red-Gurnard (q.v.). See Red Gurnet-Perch.

Sea-Pig, n. a small whale, the Dugong. See under Dugong-oil.

1853. S. Sidney, 'Three Colonies of Australia,' p. 267:

"The aborigines eagerly pursue the dugong, a species of small whale, generally known to the colonists as the sea-pig."

Sea-Pike, n. a fish of New South Wales, Lanioperca mordax, Gunth., of the family Sphyraenidae. The name belongs to the Sydney fish-market.

Select, v. i.q. Free-select (q.v.).

Selection, n. i.q. Free-selection (q.v.).

Selector, n. i.q. Free-selector (q.v.).

Sergeant Baker, n. name given to a fish of New South Wales, Aulopus purpurissatus, Richards., family Scopelidae.

1882. Rev. J E. Tenison-Woods, 'Fish of New South Wales,' p. 82:

"The Sergeant Baker in all probability got its local appellation in the early history of the colony (New South Wales), as it was called after a sergeant of that name in one of the first detachments of a regiment; so were also two fruits of the Geebong tribe (Persoonia); one was called Major Buller, and the other Major Groce, and this latter again further corrupted into Major Grocer."

Settler's Clock (also Hawkesbury Clock), n. another name for the bird called the Laughing-Jackass. See Jackass.

1896. F. G. Aflalo, 'Natural History of Australia,' p. 114:

"From its habit of starting its discordant paean somewhere near sunrise and, after keeping comparatively quiet all through the hotter hours, cackling a 'requiem to the day's decline,' the bird has been called the Settler's clock. It may be remarked, however, that this by no means takes place with the methodical precision that romancers write of in their letters home."

Settlers' Matches, n. name occasionally applied to the long pendulous strips of bark which hang from the Eucalypts and other trees, during decortication, and which, bec oming exceedingly dry, are readily ignited and used as kindling wood.

1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World was Wide,' p. 84:

"In the silence of the darkness and the playing of the breeze, That we heard the settlers' matches rustle softly in the trees."

1896. 'The Australasian,' June 13, p. 1133, col. 1:

"Re settlers' matches, torches, the blacks in the South-east of South Australia always used the bark of the she-oak to carry from one camp to another; it would last and keep alight for a long time and show a good light to travel by when they had no fire. A fire could always be lighted with two grass trees, a small fork, and a bit of dry grass. I have often started a fire with them myself."

Settler's Twine, n. a fibre plant, Gymnostachys anceps, R. Br., N.O. Aroideae, called also Travellers' Grass. Much used by farmers as cord or string where strength is required.

Shag, n. common English birdname for a Cormorant (q.v.). Gould, fifty years ago, enumerates the following as Australian species, in his 'Birds of Australia' (vol. vii.)—

Plate Phalacrocorax Carboides, Gould, Australian Cormorant, Black Shag, Colonists of W.A. . . . . . 66

P. Hypoleucus, Pied C., Black and White Shag, Colonists of W. A. . . . . . . . . . 68

P. Melanoleucus, Vieill., Pied C., Little Shag, Colonists of W.A. . . . . . . . . . 70

P. Punctatus, Spotted C., Crested Shag (Cook), Spotted Shag (Lapham) . . . . . . . . . 71

P. Leucogaster, Gould, White-breasted C. . . 69

P. Stictocephalus, Bp., Little Black C. . . 67

1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expedition,' p. 185:

"Shags started from dead trees lying half immersed."

Shagroon, n. When the province of Canterbury, in New Zealand, was first settled, the men who came from England were called Pilgrims, all others Shagroons, probably a modification of the Irish word Shaughraun.

1877. W. Pratt, 'Colonial Experiences of Incidents of Thirty-four Years in New Zealand,' p. 234:

"In the 'Dream of a Shagroon,' which bore the date Ko Matinau, April 1851, and which first appeared in the 'Wellington Spectator' of May 7, the term 'Pilgrim' was first applied to the settlers; it was also predicted in it that the 'Pilgrims' would be 'smashed' and the Shagroons left in undisputed possession of the country for their flocks and herds."

Shake, v. tr. to steal. Very common Australian slang, especially amongst school-boys and bushmen. It was originally Thieves' English.

1855. W. Howitt, 'Two Years in Victoria,' vol. ii. p. 9:

"The tent of a surgeon was 'shook,' as they style it—that is, robbed, during his absence in the daytime."

1878. 'The Australian,' vol. i. p. 418:

"Crimean shirts, blankets, and all they 'shake,' Which I'm told's another name for 'take.'"

Shamrock, Australian, n. a perennial, fragrant, clover-like plant, Trigonella suavissima, Lindl., N.O. Leguminosae; excellent as forage. Called also Menindie Clover (aboriginal name, Calomba). See Clover.

1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native Plants,' p. 143:

"It is the 'Australian shamrock' of Mitchell."

Shamrock, Native, n. a forage plant, Lotus australis, Andr., N.O. Leguminosae. Called Native Shamrock in Tasmania.

Shanghai, n. a catapult. Some say because used against Chinamen. The reason seems inadequate.

1863. 'The Leader,' Oct. 24, p. 17, col. 1:

"Turn, turn thy shanghay dread aside, Nor touch that little bird."

1875. 'Spectator' (Melbourne), May 15, p. 22, col. 1:

"The lads had with them a couple of pistols, powder, shot, bullets, and a shanghai."

1875. Ibid. July 17, p. 123, col. 3:

"The shanghai, which, as a secret instrument of mischief, is only less dangerous than the air-gun."

1884. 'Police Offences Act, New Zealand,' sec. 4, subsec. 23:

"Rolls any cask, beats any carpet, flies any kite, uses any bows and arrows, or catapult, or shanghai, or plays at any game to the annoyance of any person in any public place."

1893. 'The Age,' Sept. 15, p. 6, col. 7:

"The magistrate who presided on the Carlton bench yesterday, has a decided objection to the use of shanghais, and in dealing with three little boys, the eldest of whom was but eleven or twelve years of age, charged with the use of these weapons in the Prince's Park, denounced their conduct in very strong terms. He said that he looked upon this crime as one of the worst that a lad could be guilty of, and if he had his own way in the matter he would order each of them to be lashed."

1895. C. French, Letter to 'Argus,' Nov. 29:

"Wood swallows are somewhat sluggish and slow in their flight, and thus fall an easy prey to either the gun or the murderous and detestable 'shanghai.'"

Shanghai-shot, n. a short distance, a stone's-throw.

1874. Garnet Walch, 'Head over Heels' [Introduction to Tottlepot Poems]:

"His parents . . . residing little more than a Shanghai-shot from Romeo Lane, Melbourne."

Shanty, n. (1) a hastily erected wooden house; (2) a public-house, especially unlicensed: a sly-grog shop. The word is by origin Keltic (Irish). In the first sense, its use is Canadian or American; in the last, Australian. In Barrere and Leland it is said that circus and showmen always call a public-house a shanty.

1875. 'Spectator' (Melbourne), June 26, p. 91, col. 1:

"These buildings, little better than shanties, are found in . . . numbers."

1880. Garnet Walch, 'Victoria in 1880,' p. 9:

"We read of the veriest shanties letting for L2 per week."

1880. W. Senior, 'Travel and Trout,' p. 15:

"He becomes a land-owner, and puts up a slab-shanty."

1880. G. n. Oakley, in 'Victoria in 1880,' p. 114:

"The left-hand track, past shanties soaked in grog, Leads to the gaol."

1882. A. J. Boyd, 'Old Colonials,' p. 103:

"The faint glimmering light which indicates the proximity of the grog shanty is hailed with delight."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Australia,' p. 221:

"I have seen a sober man driven perfectly mad for the time being, by two glasses of so-called rum, supplied to him at one of these shanties."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' c. vi. p. 64:

"Any attempt to limit the licensing produced . . . a crop of shanties, or sly-grog shops."

1890. 'The Argus,' Aug. 9, p. 4, col. 2:

"The old woman thought that we were on gold, and would lamb down at the finish in her shanty."

Shanty-Keeper, n. keeper of a sly-grog shop.

1875. Wood and Lapham, 'Waiting for Mail,' p. 45:

"Mrs. Smith was a shanty-keeper's wife."

1887. J. Farrell, 'How he died,' p. 72:

"The shanty-keeper saw the entering strangers."

Shantywards, adv.

1890. 'The Argus,' Aug. 2, p. 13, col. 4:

"Looking . . . over the fence shantywards."

Shark, n. Some of the Australasian species are identical with those of Europe. Varieties and names which differ are—

Blue Shark (New South Wales)— Carcharias macloti, Mull. and Heule.

Hammer S. (N.S.W.)— Zygaena malleus, Shaw.

One-finned S. (N.S.W.)— Notidanus indicus, Cuv.

Port Jackson S. (q.v.)— Heterodontus phillipii, Lacep.; called also the Shell-grinder.

Saw-fish S.— Pristiophorus cirratus, Lath.

School S. (N.S.W.)— Galeus australis, Macl.; called also Tope (q.v.).

Shovel-nosed S. (N.S.W.)— Rhinobatus granulatus, Cuv.; also called the Blind-Shark, or Sand-Shark.

Tiger S. (N.S.W.)— Galeocerdo rayneri, Macdon. and Barr.

White S.— Carcharodon rondeletii, Mull. and Heule; called also the White-Pointer.

The Sharks of New Zealand are—

Black Shark— Carcharodon melanopterus (Maori name Keremai).

Brown S.— Scymnus lichia.

Great S.— Carcharias maso.

Hammer-head S.— Zygaena malleus (Maori name, Mangopare).

Port-eagle S.— Lamna cornutica

Spinous S.— Echinorhinus spinosus.

Tiger S.— Scymnus sp. (Maori name, Mako).

See also Blue-Pointer, Whaler, and Wobbegong.

Shearer's Joy, n. a name given to colonial beer.

1892. Gilbert Parker, 'Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 22:

"It was the habit afterwards among the seven to say that the officers of the Eliza Jane had been indulging in shearer's joy."

She-Beech, n. See Beech.

Shed, n. The word generally signifies the Woolshed (q.v.). A large, substantial, and often expensive building.

1896. H. Lawson, 'When the World was Wide,' p. 143:

"There's 20 hungry beggars wild for any job this year, An' 50 might be at the shed while I am lyin' here."

1896. 'Melbourne Argus,' April 30, p. 2, col. 5:

"There is a substantial and comfortable homestead, and ample shed accommodation."

Sheep-pest, n. a common Australian weed, Acama ovina, Cunn., N.O. Rosaceae, found in all the colonies; so called because its fruit adheres by hooked spines to the wool of sheep.

Sheep-run, n. See Run.

Sheep-sick, n. Used of pastures exhausted for carrying sheep. Compare English screw-sick, paint-sick, nail-sick, wheat-sick, etc.

1895. 'Leader,' August 3, p. 6, col. 1:

"It is the opinion of many practical men that certain country to which severe losses have occurred in recent years has been too long carrying sheep, and that the land has become what is termed 'sheep sick,' and from this point of view it certainly appears that a course of better management is most desirable."

Sheep-wash (used as verb), to wash sheep. The word is also used as a noun, in its ordinary English senses of (1) a lotion for washing sheep; (2) the washing of sheep preparatory to shearing: (3) the place where the sheep are washed, also called the 'sheep-dip.'

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, 'A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 184:

"He can't dig or sheep-wash or plough there."

Sheldrake, or Shieldrake, n. the common English name of ducks of the genera Tadorna and Casarca. The Australian species are—Casarca tadornoides Jard., commonly called the Mountain Duck; and the White-headed S., Tadorna radjah, Garnot.

1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expedition,' p. 217:

"Charley shot the sheldrake of Port Essington (Tadorna Rajah)."

Shell-grinder, n. another name for the Port-Jackson Shark (q.v.).

She-Oak, n. (1) A tree of the genus Casuarina (q.v.). The timber, which is very hard and makes good fuel, was thought to resemble oak. See Oak, and quotation from Captain Cook. The prefix she is used in Australia to indicate an inferiority of timber in respect of texture, colour, or other character; e.g. She-beech, She-pine. The reason for He-oak is given in quotation 1835. Bull-oak, Marsh-oak, Swamp-oak, were invented to represent variations of the Casuarina. Except in its timber, the She-oak is not in the least like an oak-tree (Quercus). The spelling in quotation 1792 makes for this simple explanation, which, like that of Beef-eater in English, and Mopoke in Austral-English, was too simple; and other spellings, e.g. Shea-oak, were introduced, to suggest a different etymology. Shiak (quotation, 1853) seems to claim an aboriginal origin (more directly claimed, quotation, 1895), but no such aboriginal word is found in the vocabularies. In quotations 1835, 1859, a different origin is assigned, and a private correspondent, whose father was one of the first to be born of English parents in New South Wales, says that English officers who had served in Canada had named the tree after one that they had known there. A higher authority, Sir Joseph D. Hooker (see quotation, 1860), says, "I believe adapted from the North-American Sheack." This origin, if true,is very interesting; but Sir Joseph Hooker, in a letter dated Jan. 26, 1897, writes that his authority was Mr. Gunn (see quotation, 1835). That writer, however, it will be seen, only puts "is said to be." To prove the American origin, we must find the American tree. It is not in the 'Century,' nor in the large 'Webster,' nor in 'Funk and Wagnall's Standard,' nor in either of two dictionaries of Americanisms. Dr. Dawson, director of the Geological Survey of Canada, who is thoroughly acquainted with Indian folk-lore and languages, and Mr. Fowler, Professor of Botany in Queen's University, Kingston, say that there is no such Indian word.

2792. G. Thompson, in 'Historical Records of New South Wales,' vol. ii. (1893) p. 799:

"There are two kinds of oak, called the he and the she oak, but not to be compared with English oak, and a kind of pine and mahogany, so heavy that scarce either of them will swim."

1802. D. Collins, 'Account of New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 166 (Bass' diary at Port Dalrymple, Tasmania, Nov. 1798):

"The She oaks were more inclined to spread than grow tall."

1834. Ross, 'Van Diemen's Land Annual,' p. 134

"Casuarina torulosa, the she-oak. The young fruit and young shoots afford an agreeable acid by chewing, which allays thirst."

1835. Ross, 'Hobart-town Almanack,' p. 75 [Article said by Sir Joseph Hooker (Jan. 26, 1897) to be by Mr. Ronald Gunn]:

"Casuarina torulosa? She-oak. C. stricta? He-oak. C. tenuissima? Marsh-oak. The name of the first of these is said to be a corruption of Sheac, the name of an American tree, producing the beef wood, like our Sheoak. The second species has obtained the name of He-oak in contradistinction of She-oak, as if they constituted one dioecious plant, the one male and the other female, whereas they are perfectly distinct species."

1842. 'Western Australia,' p. 80:

"The Shea-oak (a corruption of sheak, the native name for this, or a similar tree, in Van Diemen's Land) is used chiefly for shingles."

1845. R. Howitt, 'Australia,' p. 91:

"Then to cut down the timber, gum, box, she-oak, and wattle-trees, was an Herculean task."

1847. J. D. Lang, "Phillipsland,' p. 95:

"They are generally a variety of Casuarinae, commonly called she-oak by the colonists, and the sighing of the wind among the sail-needle-like leaves, that constitute their vegetation, produces a melancholy sound."