An incomplete Glossary of Australasian and obscure terms:

Billabong: A waterhole that dries up during the dry season.

Billy: A kettle used for camp cooking, especially to boil water for tea.

Box: When referring to plants, it can be any of a number of trees and shrubs, especially those of genus Buxus or genus Eucalyptus.

Cocky/cockatoo: A small-time farmer.

Coolabah: (more often Coolibah) Eucalyptus microtheca. The leaves of the Eucalyptus hang sideways, with the narrow edge to the sun, as an adaptation to drought. Hence they are famous for not providing shade.

Edward Rex: (Rex = King) Edward VII, 1841-1910, King of the United Kingdom (and therefore nominal head of state in Australia) from 1901 to 1910.

Fi. fa.: fieri facias—a legal paper authorising the seizure of a debtor's goods.

Flash: Ostentatious; fake; (obsolete) relating to shady characters.

Gully-raker: A person who musters unbranded cattle (or horses).

Humpy: (Aboriginal) A rough or temporary hut or shelter in the bush, especially one built from bark, branches, and the like. A gunyah, wurley, or mia-mia.

Jumbuck: A sheep.

Korero: (Maori) a discussion, meeting, etc.

Leichhardt, Ludwig [1813-1848?]: Prussian-born Australian explorer, his last expedition (in 1848) never returned.

Matilda: A swag. See "Waltz Matilda".

Mob: When referring to animals, a group or herd.

Myall: An Aborigine living according to tradition; wild; any of several types of wattle trees (genus Acacia).

Native bear: A koala.

Overland: (Historical) A route by land, especially for driving stock, and especially a route from New South Wales to South Australia; to drive stock by land, especially on this route.

Overlander: One who travels or drives stock overland.

Paddy-melon/paddymelon/pademelon: One of several species of wallabies, of the genus Thylogalefound.

Pah/Pa: A Maori village.

Pannikin: A small pan; also (colloquial), self-important.

Push: Any group of people sharing something in common; a gang.

Rangatira: (Maori) a lord, chief, boss, etc.

Ringer: When speaking of shearing sheep, the fastest shearer in the group.

Saltbush: Any of a number species of the family Chenopodiaceae, especially of genus Atriplex and of genus Rhagodia, the latter of which is limited to Australia and New Zealand. Used as a grazing crop, saltbush can grow in arid, saline, or alkaline conditions; the region where saltbush grows.

Selector: A free selector, a farmer who selected and settled land by lease or license from the government.

Shout: To buy a round of drinks.

Squatter: A person who first settled on land without government permission, and later continued by lease or license, generally to raise stock; a wealthy rural landowner.

Station: A farm or ranch, especially one devoted to cattle or sheep.

Sturt, Charles [1795-1869]: Indian-born Australian explorer, explored eastern Australia, his explorations led to the discovery of the river system in southeastern Australia.

Sundowner: (Historical) A swagman who arrives at a place too late for work, but looking for food and/or shelter.

Swag: A bundle or roll of bedding and other personal items.

Swagman: A man who travels from place to place looking for work, e.g. carrying a swag.

Tucker: Food.

Wallaby: One of a number of marsupial species of the genus Wallabia, etc., related to the kangaroo, but smaller; (colloquial) "on the wallaby (track)", on the move, on the road.

Waltz Matilda: To wander with a swag. "Waltz", to travel in circles.

Warrigal: Originally the dingo, or native dog of Australia; by association, anything wild; brumbies (wild horses).

Water-bag/waterbag: A bag for carrying water, usually canvas.

Wattle: Any of a number of shrubs or trees of the genus Acacia, having off-white or yellow flowers. So named because the branches were used to weave wattle, a type of construction made of interwoven branches and the like.

Wombat: Any of several species of burrowing marsupials, family Vombatidae, which vaguely resemble small bears; (colloquial) an ignorant person.

Yarran: A small tree, Acacia homalophylla, also the bastard myall, A. glaucescens.



Notes on the text:

"An Answer to Various Bards" appeared 10 Oct. 1892 as one of a series of poems in the Sydney 'Bulletin', debating what life in the bush was like, or, the city versus the bush (according to the interpretation), primarily between A. B. Paterson and Henry Lawson [1867-1922], who may have staged the debate as a way of selling more poems.

Other writers joined the debate, including Edward Dyson [1865-1931], who, despite Paterson's remark in this poem, also favoured the bush in at least one poem. Another noted participant was Will Ogilvie [1869-1963] who was in Australia during the 1890's (born in Scotland, returned in 1901, and was in Iowa, U.S.A, from 1905 to 1907).

Other verses from the debate maybe found in "The Man from Snowy River" by Paterson and "In the Days When the World was Wide" by Henry Lawson.

The second stanza was mistakenly broken into two equal parts in the original edition.

"'Shouting' for a Camel": A number of camels were brought to Australia, with their Afghan handlers, in order to have suitable beasts of burden in the desert regions. There are still wild camels there today. (A similar scheme was tried in America during the 1800's, but no camels remain.)

"The Gundaroo Bullock":

[ Said Morgan, "Tis the carcase of an old man native bear. ] changed to: [ Said Morgan, "'Tis the carcase of an old man native bear. ]

"Lay of the Motor-Car": To put this poem in perspective, it must be remembered that this book was published in 1917, and the poem written earlier. It may be helpful to compare Paterson's short story, "Three Elephant Power", in the book of the same name that was published in the same year. The plot centres around a speed demon who would drive at unspeakable speeds, even up to 45 MPH! (About 72 Km/H.)

"The Mylora Elopement":

[ No thought has be but for his prize. ] changed to: [ No thought has he but for his prize. ]

"The Protest":

[ W ll, but I KNOW. ] changed to: [ Well, but I KNOW. ]

"The Maori's Wool":

[ In any place more civilised that Rooti-iti-au. ] changed to: [ In any place more civilised than Rooti-iti-au. ]

"The Lost Drink", "The Matrimonial Stakes", "Not on It", "The Scapegoat", "The Angel's Kiss", and "The Reveille" were all dropped from "Saltbush Bill" when it was included in Paterson's "Collected Verse" (first issued in 1921). No poems were added, though "The Song of the Pen" moved from the front of the book to the back, and several titles were slightly changed. No effort has been made to compare the texts.

There was no Table of Contents in the original trench-edition; one was added.

Omitted from the original are the index (to Paterson's first 3 books) and the "frontispiece and vignette by Lionel Lindsay", the first of which was set above the lines:

"But when the dawn makes pink the sky And steals across the plain, The Brumby horses turn and fly Towards the hills again."

which is a (mis)quote of the fourth stanza of "Brumby's Run" (should be "steals along the plain").

THE END