No. 184. [A Scientific Description of the Kangaroo.]_Austral English

1789. Governor Phillip, `Voyage':

[p. 106]: "The kangaroo."

[p. 168]: "Skeleton of the head of the kangaroo."

[At each of these places there is a description and a picture.

Under each picture the name is spelt "Kangooroo." At p. 289

there is a further note on the kanguroo. In the text at p. 149

the spelling " Kangooroo " is adopted.]

Ibid. p. 104:

"The kanguroo, though it resembles the jerboa in the

peculiarity of using only the hinder legs in progression,

does not belong to that genus."

Ibid, p. 168:

"Since stating the dimensions of the kanguroo, in page 106,

Lord Sydney has received from Governor Phillip a male of a much

larger size. . . . Lieutenant Shortland describes them as

feeding in herds of about thirty or forty, and assures us that

one is always observed to be apparently upon the watch at a

distance from the rest."

1789. Watkin Tench, `Account of the Settlement of Port

Jackson,' p. 171:

"Kangaroo was a name unknown to them [the aborigines of Port

Jackson] for any animal, until we introduced it. When I showed

Colbee [an aboriginal] the cows brought out in the Gorgon he

asked me if they were kangaroos."

1793. Governor Hunter, `Voyage,' p. 66:

"The animal described in the voyage of the Endeavour,

called the kangaroo (but by the natives patagorang), we found

in great numbers."

Ibid. p. 568:

"I had a kanguroo on board, which I had directions to carry to

Lord Grenville, as a present for his Majesty.--Nov. 26, 1791."

[There is no statement whether the animal reached England.]

Ibid. p. 402:

"In rowing up this branch, we saw a flock of about thirty

kangaroos or paderong, but they were only visible during their

leaps, as the very long grass hid them from our view."

1809. G. Shaw, `Zoological Lectures,' vol. i. p. 94:

"The genus Macropus or kangaroo . . . one of the most

elegant as well as curious animals discovered in modern times."

[Under the picture and in list of contents: Kanguroo.]

1814. M. Flinders, `Voyage to Terra Australis,' Introd.

p. lxiii:

"An animal found upon one of the islands is described [by

Dampier, `Voyage to New Holland,' vol. iii. p. 123] as `a

sort of raccoon, different from that of the West Indies,

chiefly as to the legs; for these have very short fore legs;

but go jumping upon them' [not upon the short fore, but the

long hind legs, it is to be presumed] `as the others do; and

like them are very good meat.' This appears to have been the

small kangaroo, since found upon the islands which form the

road; and if so, this description is probably the first ever

made of that singular animal" [though without the name].

1820. W. C. Wentworth, `Description of New South Wales,'

p. 57:

"Coursing the kangaroo and emu forms the principal amusement

of the sporting part of the colonists.

(p. 68): The colonists generally pursue this animal [kangaroo]

at full speed on horseback, and frequently manage,

notwithstanding its extraordinary swiftness, to be up at the

death."

1833. Charles Lamb, `Essays of Elia' [edition 1895], p. 151,

`Distant Correspondents':

"The kangaroos--your Aborigines--do they keep their primitive

simplicity un-Europe-tainted, with those little short fore

puds, looking like a lesson framed by nature to the

pick-pocket! Marry, for diving into fobs they are rather

lamely provided a priori; but if the hue and cry were

once up, they would show as fair a pair of hind-shifters as the

expertest loco motor in the colony."

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. I. c. iii. p. 106:

"Those that were noticed were made of the red kangaroo-skin."

1834. L. E. Threlkeld, `Australian Grammar of the Language

spoken by the Aborigines, at Hunter's River,' p. 87:

"Kong-go-rong, The Emu, from the noise it makes, and likely

the origin of the barbarism, kangaroo, used by the English, as

the name of an animal, called Mo-a-ne."

1835. T. B. Wilson, `Narrative of a Voyage round the World,

etc.' p. 212:

"They [natives of the Darling Range, W.A.] distinctly

pronounced `kangaroo' without having heard any of us utter that

sound: they also called it waroo, but whether they

distinguished `kangaroo' (so called by us, and also by them)

from the smaller kind, named `wallabi,' and by them

`waroo,' we could not form any just conclusion."

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 23:

"Kangaroos are of six different species, viz. the forester,

the flyer, the wallaby, the wallaroo, the kangaroo-rat,

and the kangaroo-mouse."

[This is of course merely a popular classification.]

1845. J. A. Moore, `Tasmanian Rhymings,' p. 15:

"A kangaroo, like all his race,

Of agile form and placid face."

1861. W. M. Thackeray, `Roundabout Papers', p.83:

"The fox has brought his brush, and the cock has brought his

comb, and the elephant has brought his trunk and the kangaroo

has brought his bag, and the condor his old white wig and black

satin hood."

1880. W. Senior, `Travel and Trout,' p. 8:

"To return to the marsupials. I have been assured that

the kangaroos come first and eat off the grass; that the

wallabies, following, grub up the roots."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 114:

"Sometimes a kangaroo would come down with measured thud,

thud, and drink, and then return without noticing the human

beings."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 118:

"According to the traditions of the bush--not always

reliable--the name of kangaroo was given under a misconception.

An aborigine being asked by one of the early discoverers the

name of the animal, replied, `Kangaroo' (`I don't know'), and

in this confession of ignorance or misapprehension the name

originated. It seems absurd to suppose that any black hunter

was really ignorant of the name of an animal which once

represented the national wealth of Australians as the merino

does to-day."

[The tradition is not quite so ridiculous, if the answer

meant--"I don't know what you mean,--I don't understand you."

See above.]

1891. `Guide Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':

"In this enclosure is a wooden model of a kangaroo of ancient

times. This is copied from a restoration by Professor McCoy,

who was enabled to represent it from fossil remains which have

been unearthed at various places in Australia."

1896. E. Meston, `Sydney Bulletin,' April 18:

"The origin of the word `kangaroo' was published by me six

years ago. Captain Cook got it from the Endeavor River blacks,

who pronounce it to-day exactly as it is spelled in the great

navigator's journal, but they use it now only for the big toe.

Either the blacks in Cook's time called the kangaroo `big toe'

for a nick-name, as the American Indians speak of the `big

horn,' or the man who asked the name of the animal was holding

it by the hind foot, and got the name of the long toe, the

black believing that was the part to which the question

referred."

1896. Rev. J. Mathew, Private Letter, Aug. 31:

"Most names of animals in the Australian dialects refer to their

appearance, and the usual synthesis is noun + adjective; the

word may be worn down at either end, and the meaning lost to

the native mind.

"A number of the distinct names for kangaroo show a

relation to words meaning respectively nose, leg, big,

long, either with noun and adjective to combination or

one or other omitted.

"The word kangaroo is probably analysable into ka

or kang, nose (or head), and goora,

long, both words or local equivalents being widely

current."

(2) Wild young cattle (a special use)--

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

p. 290:

"A stockyard under six feet high will be leaped by some of

these kangaroos (as we term them) with the most perfect ease,

and it requires to be as stout as it is high to resist their

rushes against it."

(3) Used playfully, and as a nickname for persons and things

Australian. An Australian boy at an English school is

frequently called "Kangaroo." It is a Stock Exchange nickname

for shares in Western Australian gold-mining companies.

1896. `Nineteenth Century' (Nov.), p. 711:

"To the 80,000,000 Westralian mining shares now in existence

the Stock Exchange has long since conceded a special `market';

and it has even conferred upon these stocks a nickname--the

surest indication of importance and popularity. And that

`Kangaroos,' as they were fondly called, could boast of

importance and popularity nobody would dare to gainsay."

(4) A kind of chair, apparently from the shape.

1834. Miss Edgeworth, `Helen,' c. xvi. (`Century'):

"It was neither a lounger nor a dormeuse, nor a Cooper, nor a

Nelson, nor a Kangaroo: a chair without a name would never do;

in all things fashionable a name is more than half. Such a

happy name as Kangaroo Lady Cecilia despaired of finding."

<hw>Kangarooade</hw>, n. a Kangaroo hunt; nonce word.

See quotation.

1863. M. K. Beveridge, `Gatherings among the Gum Trees,'

p. 86:

"The Kangarooade--in three Spirts."

[Title of a poem.]

<hw>Kangaroo-Apple</hw>, n. an Australian and Tasmanian

fruit, Solanum aviculare, Forst., N.O.

Solanaceae. The name is also applied to S. vescum,

called the Gunyang (q.v.). In New Zealand, the fruit is

called Poroporo (q.v.).

1834. Ross, `Van Diemen's Land Annual, p. 133:

`Solanum laciniatum, the kangaroo-apple, resembling the

apple of a potato; when so ripe as to split, it has a mealy

sub-acid taste."

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 85:

"The kangaroo-apple (Solanum laciniatum) is a fine shrub

found in many parts of the country, bearing a pretty blue

flower and a fruit rather unpleasant to the taste, although

frequently eaten by the natives, and also by Europeans."

1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 132:

"The kangaroo-apple comes from a bush or small tree bearing

blue blossoms, which are succeeded by apples like those of the

potato. They have a sweetish flavour, and when ripe may be

boiled and eaten, but are not greatly prized."

1857. F. R. Nixon (Bishop), `Cruise of Beacon,' p. 28:

"Of berries and fruits of which they partook, the principal

were those of Solanum laciniatum, or kangaroo-apple,

when dead ripe."

1877. F. v. Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 105:

"Solanum aviculare, on which our colonists have very

inappropriately bestowed the name Kangaroo-apple, while

in literal scientific translation it ought to be called Bird's

Nightshade, because Captain Cook's companions observed in New

Zealand that birds were feeding on the berries of this bush."

<hw>Kangaroo-Dog</hw>, n. a large dog, lurcher,

deerhound, or greyhound, used for hunting the Kangaroo.

1806. `History of New South Wales' (1818), p. 265:

"Shortly before the Estramina left the River Derwent,

two men unfortunately perished by a whale-boat upsetting, in

which they were transporting four valuable kangaroo-dogs to the

opposite side, none of which ever reached the shore."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 141:

"The kind of dog used for coursing the kangaroo is generally a

cross between the greyhound and the mastiff or sheep-dog; but

in a climate like New South Wales they have, to use the common

phrase, too much lumber about them. The true bred greyhound is

the most useful dog: he has more wind; he ascends the hills

with more ease; and will run double the number of courses in a

day. He has more bottom in running, and if he has less

ferocity when he comes up with an `old man,' so much the

better, as he exposes himself the less, and lives to afford

sport another day."

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 31:

"They . . . are sometimes caught by the kangaroo-dogs."

1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 126:

"A fine kangaroo-dog was pointed out to us, so fond of

kangarooing that it goes out alone, kills the game, and then

fetches its master to the dead animals."

1847. J. D. Lang, `Cooksland,' p. 422:

"With the gun over his shoulder, and the kangaroo-dog in a

leash by his side."

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' c. iii.

p. 35:

"On every station, also, a large kind of greyhound, a cross

of the Scotch greyhound and English bulldog, called the

kangaroo-dog, which runs by sight, is kept for the purpose

of their destruction."

1888. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. ii. p. 91:

"Kangaroo-dogs are a special breed, a kind of strong

greyhound."

1893. `The Argus,' April 8, p. 4, col. 1:

"That big, powerful, black kangaroo-dog Marmarah was well worth

looking at, with his broad, deep chest, intelligent, determined

eyes, sinews of a gymnast, and ribs like Damascus steel. On

his black skin he bore marks of many honourable fights; the

near side showed a long, whitish line where the big emu he had

run down, tackled single-handed, and finally killed, had laid

him open. His chest and legs showed numerous grey scars, each

with a history of its own of which he might well be proud."

<hw>Kangaroo-Fly</hw>, n. a small Australian fly,

Cabarus. See quotations.

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. I. c. ii. p. 71:

"Our camp was infested by the kangaroo-fly, which settled upon

us in thousands."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery

and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 313 [Note]:

"Rather smaller than the house-fly, it acts with such celerity

that it has no sooner settled on the face or hands than it

inflicts instantaneously a painful wound, which often bleeds

subsequently. It is called by the colonists the kangaroo-fly;

and though not very common, the author can testify that it is

one of the most annoying pests of Australia."

<hw>Kangaroo-Grass</hw>, n. a name given to several

species of grasses of the genera Anthistiria and

Andropogon, chiefly from their height, but also because,

when they are young and green in spring, the Kangaroo

feeds on them. Andropogon is more like a rush or sedge,

and is sometimes so high as to completely conceal horses. See

Grass.

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

p. 209:

"Of native grasses we possess the oat-grass, rye-grass,

fiorin, kangaroo-grass, and timothy,--blady grass growing in wet,

flooded, alluvial spots, and wire-grass upon cold, wet, washed

clays."

1838. `Report of Van Diemen's Land Company,' in J. Bischoff's

`Van Diemen's Land' (1832), c. v. p. 119:

"The grasses were principally timothy, foxtail, and single

kangaroo."

1845. T. L. Mitchell, `Tropical Australia, p. 88:

"A new species of Anthistiria occurred here, perfectly

distinct from the kangaroo grass of the colony."

1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 131:

"The most conspicuous of the native Gramineae that so

widely cover the surface of Australia Felix."

1862. G. T. Lloyd, `Thirty-three Years in Tasmania and

Victoria,' p. 36:

"Where are the genial morning dews of former days that used to

glisten upon and bespangle the vernal-leaved kangaroo grass?"

1862. G. T. Lloyd, `Thirty-three Years in Tasmania,' p. 393:

"Between the Lake River and Launceston . . . I was most

agreeably surprised in beholding the novel sight of a spacious

enclosure of waving kangaroo grass, high and thick-standing as

a good crop of oats, and evidently preserved for seed."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 8:

"Not even a withered wisp of kangaroo-grass."

(p. 193):

"The long brown kangaroo-grass."

1891. `The Argus,' Dec. 19, p. 4, col. 2:

"Had they but pulled a tuft of the kangaroo-grass beneath their

feet, they would have found gold at its roots."

<hw>Kangaroo-hop</hw>, n. a peculiar affected gait. See

quotation.

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), May 22, p. 27, col. 2:

"The young lady that affects waterfalls, the Grecian-bend,

or the kangaroo hop."

<hw>Kangaroo-Hound</hw>, n. i.q. Kangaroo-Dog

(q.v.).

1865. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 28:

"A large dog, a kangaroo-hound (not unlike a lurcher in

appearance)."

<hw>Kangarooing</hw>, vb. n. hunting the kangaroo.

1852. Mrs. Meredith, `My Home in Tasmania,' p. 257:

"In chasing kangaroos, or, as it is technically termed,

`kangarooing,' large powerful dogs are used . . ."

1870. E. B. Kennedy, `Four Years in Queensland,' p. 194:

"You may be out Kangarooing; the dogs take after one

[a kangaroo], and it promises to be a good course."

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 15:

"We were sick of kangarooing, like the dogs themselves,

that as they grew old would run a little way and then pull

up if a mob came jump, jump, past them."

<hw>Kangaroo-Mouse</hw>, n. more strictly called the

Pouched-Mouse (q.v.).

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 256:

"It is a long chain from the big forester, down through the

different varieties of wallaby to the kangaroo-rat, and finally,

to the tiny interesting little creature known on the plains as

the `kangaroo-mouse'; but all have the same characteristics."

<hw>Kangaroo-net</hw>, n. net made by the natives to

catch the kangaroo.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 45:

"I found . . . four fine kangaroo-nets, made of the bark of

sterculia."

<hw>Kangaroo-Rat</hw>, or <hw>Rat-Kangaroo</hw>, n.

the name applied to species of Marsupials belonging to the

following genera, viz.--

(1) Potorous, (2) Caloprymnus, (3)

Bettongia, (4) AEpyprymnus.

(1) The first genus (Potorous, q.v.) includes animals

about the size of a large rat; according to Gould, although

they stand much on their hind-legs they run in a totally

different way to the kangaroo, using fore and hind-legs in a

kind of gallop and never attempting to kick with the hind-feet.

The aboriginal name was Potoroo. The species are

three--the Broad-faced Kangaroo-Rat, Potorous platyops,

Gould; Gilbert's, P. gilberti, Gould; Common,

P. tridactylus, Kerr. They are confined to Australia

and Tasmania, and one Tasmanian variety of the last species is

bigger than the mainland form. There is also a dwarf Tasmanian

variety of the same species.

(2) A second genus (Caloprymnus, q.v.) includes the

Plain Kangaroo-Rat; it has only one species,

C. campestris, Gould, confined to South Australia.

The epithet plain refers to its inhabiting plains.

(3) A third genus (Bettongia, q.v.) includes the

Prehensile-tailed Rat-Kangaroos and has four species,

distributed in Australia and Tasmania--

Brush-tailed Kangaroo-Rat--

Bettongia penicillata, Gray.

Gaimard's K.-R.--

B. gaimardi, Desm.

Lesueur's K.-R.--

B. lesueuri, Quoy and Gaim.

Tasmanian K.-R.--

B. cuniculus, Ogilby.

(4) A fourth genus (AEpyprymnus, q.v.) includes the

Rufous Kangaroo-Rat. It has one species, AE. rufescens,

Grey. It is the largest of the Kangaroo-Rats and is

distinguished by its ruddy colour, black-backed ears,

and hairy nose.

[Mr. Lydekker proposes to call the animal the Rat-

Kangaroo (see quotation, 1894), but the name Kangaroo-

Rat is now so well-established that it does not seem

possible to supersede it by the, perhaps, more correct name of

Rat-Kangaroo. The introduction of the word

Kangaroo prevents any possibility of confusion between

this animal and the true rodent, and it would seem to be a

matter of indifference as to which word precedes or follows the

other.]

1788. Governor Phillip (Despatch, May 15), in `Historical

Records of New South Wales,' vol. I. pt. ii. p. 135:

"Many trees were seen with holes that had been enlarged by the

natives to get at the animal, either the squirrel, kangaroo

rat, or opossum, for the going in of which perhaps they wait

under their temporary huts, and as the enlarging these holes

could only be done with the shell they used to separate the

oysters from the rocks, must require great patience."

1793 Governor Hunter, `Voyage,' p. 61:

"As most of the large trees are hollow by being rotten in the

heart, the opossum, kangaroo-rat, squirrel, and various other

animals which inhabit the woods, when they are pursued,

commonly run into the hollow of a tree."

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. xi.

p. 430:

"The poto roo, or kangaroo-rat. . . . This curious animal

which is indeed a miniature of the Kangaroo."

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 28:

"The kangaroo-rat is a small inoffensive animal and perfectly

distinct from the ordinary species of rat."

1836. C. Darwin, `Naturalist's Voyage,' c. xix. p. 321:

"The greyhounds pursued a kangaroo-rat into a hollow tree,

out of which we dragged it; it is an animal as large as a

rabbit, but with the figure of a kangaroo."

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 37:

"The kangaroo-rat is twice the size of a large English

water-rat, and of the same colour, measuring nearly two feet

in length."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1853), p. 157:

"Two or three of the smallest kind, called the kangaroo-rat--

about the size of a hare, and affording pretty good coursing."

1860. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 195:

"One of the skin aprons . . . made from the skin of a

kangaroo-rat."

1879. C. W. Schurmann, `Native Tribes of Australia--Port

Lincoln Tribe,' p. 214:

"The natives use this weapon [the Waddy] principally

for throwing at kangaroo-rats or other small animals."

1890. A. H. S. Lucas, `Handbook of the Australasian

Association for the Advancement of Science,' Melbourne, p. 63:

"The Victorian Kangaroo rat is Bettongia cuniculus."

1894. R.Lydekker, `Marsupialia,' p. 63:

"The rat-kangaroos, often incorrectly spoken of as

kangaroo-rats."

<hw>Kangaroo-skin</hw>, n. either the leather for the

tanned hide, or the complete fur for rugs and wraps.

1806. `History of New South Wales' (1818), p. 258:

"The fitness of the kangaroo-skin for upper leathers will no

doubt obtain preference over most of the imported leather, as

it is in general lighter and equally durable."

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 106:

"I used always to strip and preserve the pelt, for it makes

good and pretty door-mats, and is most useful for pouches,

leggings, light-whips, or any purpose where you require

something strong and yet neater than green hide. I have seen

saddles covered with it, and kangaroo-skin boots are very

lasting and good."

<hw>Kangaroo-tail Soup</hw>, n. soup made from the

kangaroo-tail.

1820. W. C. Wentworth, `Description of New South Wales,'

p. 58:

"The tail of the forest kangaroo in particular makes a soup

which, both in richness and flavour, is far superior to any

ox-tail soup ever tasted."

1865. Lady Barker, writing from Melbourne, `Station Life in

New Zealand,' p. 14:

"The soups comprised kangaroo-tail--a clear soup not unlike

ox-tail, but with a flavour of game."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xxxv. p. 312:

"Kangaroo-tail and ox-tail soup disputed pre-eminence."

<hw>Kangaroo-Thorn</hw>, n. an indigenous hedge-plant,

Acacia armata, R. Br., N.O. Leguminosae; called

also Kangaroo Acacia.

<hw>Kapai</hw>, adj. Maori word for good, used

by the English in the North Island of New Zealand; e.g. "That is

a kapai pipe." "I have a kapai gun."

1896. `New Zealand Herald,' Feb. 14 (Leading Article):

"The Maori word which passed most familiarly into the speech

of Europeans was `kapai,' `this is good.'"

<hw>Kapu</hw>, n. Maori word for a stone adze. The

Maori word means the hollow of the hand. The adze is so called

from its curved shape. (Williams, `Maori Dict.')

1889. `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 140:

"Kapu,, or adze."

<hw>Karaka</hw>, n. Maori name for a tree,

Corynocarpus laevigata, Forst. N.O. anacardiaceae;

also called Cow-tree (q.v.), forty feet high, with orange-

coloured berries, two to three inches long.

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

p. 226:

"Two or three canoes were hauled up under some karaka trees,

which formed a pleasant grove in a sort of recess from the

beach."

Ibid. vol. i. p. 233:

"The karaka-tree much resembles the laurel in its growth and

foliage. It bears bright orange-coloured berries about the

size and shape of damsons, growing in bunches. The fruit is

sickly and dry; but the kernel forms an important article of

native food."

1859. A. S. Thomson, `Story of New Zealand,' p. 157:

"The karaka fruit is about the size of an acorn. The pulp is

eaten raw; the kernel is cooked in the oven for ten days, and

then steeped for several weeks in a running stream before it is

fit for use. Karaka berries for winter use are dried in the

sun. The kernel is poisonous uncooked."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 108:

"The thick karakas' varnished green."

1881. J. L. Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 102:

"The karaka with its brilliantly polished green leaves

and golden yellow fruit."

1883. F. S. Renwick, `Betrayed,' p. 35:

"Bring the heavy karaka leaf,

Gather flowers of richest hue."

1892. `Otago Witness,' Nov. 10. (Native Trees):

"Corynocarpus laevigata (generally known by the name of

karaka). The fruit is poisonous, and many deaths of children

occur through eating it. Mr. Anderson, a surgeon who

accompanied Captain Cook, mentions this tree and its fruit, and

says the sailors ate it, but does not say anything about it

being poisonous. The poison is in the hard inner part, and it

may be that they only ate the outer pulp."

<hw>Karamu</hw>, n. Maori name for several species of

the New Zealand trees of the genus Coprosma,

N.O. Rubiaceae. Some of the species are called

Tree-karamu, and others Bush-karamu; to the

latter (C. lucida, Kirk) the name Coffee-plant,

or Coffee-bush, is also applied.

1874. J. White, `Te Rou, or the Maori at Home,' p. 221:

"Then they tied a few Karamu branches in front of them and went

towards the settlement."

1876. J. C. Crawford, `Transactions of the New Zealand

Institute,' vol. IX. art. lxxx. p. 545:

"I have seen it stated that coffee of fine flavour has been

produced from the karamu, coprosma lucida."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 132:

"Karamu. an ornamental shrub-tree; wood close-grained and

yellow; might be used for turnery."

1887. T. F. Cheeseman, `Transactions of the New Zealand

Institute,' vol. XX. art. xxii. p. 143:

"The first plant of interest noted was a new species of

coprosma, with the habit of the common karamu."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 275:

"`Karamu' is applied by the Maoris to several species of

Coprosma, amongst which, I believe, this

[C. arborea] is included, but it is commonly termed

`tree-karamu' by bushmen and settlers in the North."

1891. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' `New Zealand Country

Journal,' vol. xv. p. 105:

"Of these fruits that of the karamu, (Coprosma lucida),

seemed to be amongst the first to be selected."

<hw>Kareau</hw> or <hw>Kareao</hw>, n. Maori name for

Supplejack (q.v.).

<hw>Karmai</hw>, n. used by settlers in South Island of

New Zealand for Towhai (q.v.), a New Zealand tree,

Weinmannia racemosa, Forst. N.O. Saxifrageae.

Kamahi is the Maori, and Karmai, or Kamai, the

corruption.

1876. W. N. Blair, `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,'

vol. ix. p. 148:

"As will be seen by the tables of names, kamai is called black

birch in the Catlin River District and Southland, which name is

given on account of a supposed resemblance to the `birches,'

or more correctly `beeches,' a number of which occur in that

locality. I cannot understand how such an idea could have

originated, for except in the case of the bark of one there

is not the slightest resemblance between the birches and kamai.

Whatever be the reason, the misapplication of names is

complete, for the birches are still commonly called kamai in

Southland."

<hw>Karoro</hw>, n. Maori name for a Black-backed Gull,

Larus dominicanus.

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 47:

[Description.]

<hw>Karri</hw> or <hw>Kari</hw>, n. aboriginal name

(Western Australia) for Eucalyptus diversicolor.

F. v. M.

1870. W. H. Knight, `Western Australia: Its History,

Progress, Condition, etc.,' p. 38:

"The Karri (eucalyptus colossea) is another wood very

similar in many respects to the tuart, and grows to an enormous

size."

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 196:

"The kari-tree is found in Western Australia, and is said to be

very abundant . . . of straight growth and can be obtained

of extraordinary size and length. . . . The wood is red in

colour, hard, heavy, strong, tough, and slightly wavy or curled

in the grain."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 444:

"Commonly known as `karri,' but in its native habitat as

blue-gum. . . . The durability of this timber for lengthened

periods under ground yet remains to be proved."

1896. `The Inquirer and Commercial News,' [Perth] July 3,

p. 4, col. 5:

"Mr. J. Ednie Brown, conservator of forests . . . expresses

astonishment at the vastness of the karri forests there. They

will be in a position to export one thousand loads of karri

timber for street-blocking purposes every week."

1896. `The Times' (Weekly Edition), Dec. 4, p. 822, col. 1:

"Karri, Eucalyptus diversicolor, is the giant tree of

Western Australia. an average tree has a height of about

200ft., and a diameter of 4 ft. at 3 ft. or 4 ft. above the

ground. The tree is a rapid grower, and becomes marketable in

30 or 40 years, against 50 years for jarrah. Karri timber is

being largely exported for London street-paving, as its surface

is not easily rendered slippery."

<hw>Katipo</hw>, n. a small venomous spider of New

Zealand and Australia. The name is Maori. The scientific name

is Latrodectus scelio, Thorel.In New Zealand, it is

generally found on the beach under old driftwood; but in

Australia it is found widely scattered over the Continent, and

always frequents dark sheltered spots. The derivation may be

from Kakati, verb, to sting, and po, night.

Compare Kakapo. It is a dark-coloured spider, with a

bright red or yellowish stripe.

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 440:

"A small black spider with a red stripe on its back, which they

[the natives of New Zealand] call katipo or katepo."

1870. Sir W. Buller, before Wellington Philosophical Society,

quoted in `The Katipo,' Jan. 1, 1892, p. 2:

"I have satisfied myself that in common with many other

venomous creatures it (the katipo) only asserts its dreaded

power as a means of defence, or when greatly irritated,

for I have observed that on being touched with the finger it

instantly folds its legs, rolls over on its back, and simulates

death, remaining perfectly motionless till further molested,

when it attempts to escape, only using its fangs as the dernier

ressort."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals, p. 39:

"Another spider (Lathrodectus scelio), which is very

common here and everywhere in Queensland, is very dangerous

even to men. It is a small black animal, of the size of our

house-spider, with a brilliant scarlet mark on its back."

1891. C. Frost, `Victorian Naturalist,' p. 140:

"I also determined, should opportunity occur, to make some

further experiments with the black and red spider

Latrodectus scelio . . . I found suspended in the web

of one of this species a small lizard . . . which doubtless had

been killed by its bite."

1892. Jan. 1, `The Katipo,' a Journal of Events in connection

with the New Zealand Post Office and Telegraph Services. On

p. 2 of the first number the Editor says:

"If hard words could break bones, the present lot of the

proprietors of `The Katipo' would be a sorry one. From certain

quarters invectives of the most virulent type have been hurled

upon them in connection with the title now bestowed upon the

publication--the main objections expressed cover contentions

that the journal's prototype is a `repulsive,' `vindictive,'

and `death-dealing reptile,' `inimical to man,' etc. ; and so

on, ad infinitum."

[The pictorial heading of each number is a katipo's web,

suggestive of the reticulation of telegraph wires, concerning

which page 3 of the first number says: "The Katipo spider and

web extends its threads as a groundwork for unity of the

services."]

1895. H. R. Hogq, `Horne Expedition in Central Australia,

Zoology, p. 322:

"This spider, popularly known as the red streaked spider, is

found all over Victoria and New South Wales, and is recorded

from Rockhampton and Bowen on the Queensland Coast, and from

the North Island of New Zealand, where it is known by the

Maoris as the Katipo."

<hw>Kauri</hw>, or <hw>Cowry</hw>, or <hw>Kauri-Pine</hw>,

n. Maori name for the tree Agathis australis,

Sal. (formerly Dammara A.), N.O. Coniferae.

Variously spelt, and earlier often called Cowdie. In

`Lee's New Zealand Vocabulary,' 1820, the spelling Kaudi

appears. Although this tree is usually called by the generic

name of Dammara (see quotation, 1832), it is properly

referred to the genus Agathis, an earlier name already

given to it by Salisbury. There is a Queensland Kauri

(Dammara robusta, F. v. M.). See Pine.

1823. R. A. Cruise, `Ten Months in New Zealand,' p. 145:

"The banks of the river were found to abound with cowry; and

. . . the carpenter was of opinion that there could be no great

difficulty in loading the ship. The timber purveyor of the

Coromandel having given cowry a decided preference to

kaikaterre, . . . it was determined to abandon all further

operations."

1835. W. Yate, `True Account of New Zealand,' p. 37:

"As a shrub, and during its youthful days, the kauri is not

very graceful . . . but when it comes to years of maturity,

it stands unrivalled for majesty and beauty."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 285:

"The kauri (Dammera [sic] Australis) is

coniferous, resinous, and has an elongated box-like leaf."

1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 349:

"When Captain Cook visited New Zealand (nearly a century after

the discovery of the Dammara of Amboyna), he saw, upon

the east coast of the Northern Island, a tree, called by the

natives Kowrie; it was found to be a second species of

Dammara, and was named D. australis."

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 140:

"The Kauri-pine is justly styled the Queen of the New Zealand

forest . . . the celebrated and beautiful Kauri."

1874. W. M. B., `Narrative of Edward Crewe,' p. 169:

"The kauri is the only cone-bearing pine in New Zealand. The

wood is of a yellow colour, wonderfully free from knots, and

harder than the red-pine of the Baltic. Beautifully mottled

logs are sometimes met with, and are frequently made up into

furniture."

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 295:

"The Kaurie or Cowdie-Pine (Dammara Australis) is a

native of and is found only in New Zealand. . . . A tall and

very handsome tree with a slightly tapering stem. . . . For

masts, yards, etc., is unrivalled in excellence, as it not only

possesses the requisite dimensions, lightness, elasticity, and

strength, but is much more durable than any other Pine." [The

whole of chap. 37 is devoted to this tree.]

1883. F. S. Renwick, `Betrayed,' p. 47:

"As some tall kauri soars in lonely pride,

So proudly Hira stood."

1886. J. A. Froude, `Oceans,' p. 318:

"Only the majestic Kauri tolerated no approaches to his

dignity. Under his branches all was bare and brown."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 143:

"The Native name `Kauri' is the only common name in general

use. When the timber was first introduced into Britain it was

termed `cowrie' or `kowdie-pine'; but the name speedily fell

into disuse, although it still appears as the common name in

some horticultural works."

1890. Brett, `Early History of New Zealand,' p. 115:

"`The Hunter' and `Fancy' loaded spars for Bengal at the Thames

in 1798." . . . "These two Indian vessels in the Thames were

probably the earliest European ships that loaded with New

Zealand Timber, and probably mark the commencement of the

export Kauri trade."

<hw>Kauri-gum</hw>, n. the resin which exudes from the

Kauri (q.v.), used in making varnish.

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 140:

"In the year 1859 the amount of timber exportation from the

Province of Auckland was L 34,376; that of kauri-gum exported

L 20,776."

1874. G. Walch, `Head over Heels,' p. 15:

"He paid his passage with kauri-gum."

1893. `Murray's Handbook to New Zealand,' p. 62:

"The industry which will most interest the tourist is the

Kauri-gum. . . . The resin or gum which they [the Kauri-trees]

contained fell into the ground as the trees died, and (not

being soluble in water) has remained there ever since. Men go

about with spears which they drive into the ground, and if they

find small pieces of gum sticking to the end of the spear, they

commence digging, and are often rewarded by coming on large

lumps of gum."

<hw>Kava</hw>, n. The word is Tongan for--

(1) An ornamental shrub, Piper methysticum, Miq.; also

Macropiper latifolium, Miq. See Kawa-kawa.

(2) A narcotic and stimulant beverage, prepared from the root

of this plant, which used to be chewed by the natives of Fiji,

who ejected the saliva into a Kava bowl, added water and

awaited fermentation. The final stage of the manufacture was

accompanied by a religious ceremonial of chanting. The

manufacture is now conducted in a cleaner way. Kava produces

an intoxication, specially affecting the legs.

1858. Rev. T. Williams, `Fiji and the Fijians,' vol. i.

p. 141:

"Like the inhabitants of the groups eastward, the Fijians drink

an infusion of the Piper methysticum, generally called

Ava or Kava--its name in the Tongan and other

languages. Some old men assert that the true Fijian mode of

preparing the root is by grating, as is still the practice in

two or three places; but in this degenerate age the Tongan

custom of chewing is almost universal, the operation nearly

always being performed by young men. More form attends the use

of this narcotic on Somosomo than elsewhere. Early in the

morning the king's herald stands in front of the royal abode,

and shouts at the top of his voice, `Yagona!' Hereupon

all within hearing respond in a sort of scream,

`Mama!'--`Chew it!' At this signal the chiefs, priests,

and leading men gather round the well-known bowl, and talk over

public affairs, or state the work assigned for the day, while

their favourite draught is being prepared. When the young men

have finished the chewing, each deposits his portion in the

form of a round dry ball in the bowl, the inside of which thus

becomes studded over with a large number of these separate

little masses. The man who has to make the grog takes the bowl

by the edge and tilts it towards the king, or, in his absence,

to the chief appointed to preside. A herald calls the king's

attention to the slanting bowl, saying, `Sir, with respects,

the yagona is collected.' If the king thinks it enough,

he replies, in a low tone, `Loba'--`Wring it--an order

which the herald communicates to the man at the bowl in a

louder voice. The water is then called for and gradually

poured in, a little at first, and then more, until the bowl is

full or the master of the ceremonies says, `Stop!' the operator

in the meantime gathering up and compressing the chewed root."

1888. H. S. Cooper, `The Islands of the Pacific,' p. 102:

"Kava is the name given to a liquor produced by chewing the

root of a shrub called angona, and the ceremonious part of the

preparation consists in chewing the root."

<hw>Kawa-kawa</hw>, n. Maori name for an ornamental

shrub of New Zealand, Macropiper excelsum. In Maori,

Kawa = "unpleasant to the taste, bitter, sour." (Williams.)

The missionaries used to make small beer out of the

Kawa-kawa.

1850. Major Greenwood, `Journey from Taupo to Auckland,'

p. 30:

"The good missionary . . . thrust upon us . . . some

bottles of a most refreshing light beverage made from the

leaves of the kawa-kawa tree, which in taste much resembled

ginger-beer."

1877. Anon., `Colonial Experiences, or Incidents of

Thirty-four Years in New Zealand,' p. 104:

"Our tea was made from the dried leaves of a native shrub,

of a very spicy flavour, and known as the kawakawa, too pungent

if used fresh and green."

1896. `Otago Witness,' June 4, p. 49:

"The tints of kawa, of birch and broadleaf, of

rimu and matai are blended together into one dark

indivisible green."

<hw>Kawau</hw>, n. Maori name for a Shag,

Phalacrocorax novae-hollandiae, Steph.

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

p. 145:

[Description given.]

<hw>Kea</hw>, n. a parrot of New Zealand, Nester

notabilis, Gould. For its habits see quotations.

1862. J. Von Haast, `Exploration of Head Waters of Waitaki,

1862,'-in `Geology of Westland' (published 1879), p. 36:

"What gave still greater interest to the spot was the presence

of a number of large green alpine parrots (Nestor

notabilis), the kea of the natives, which visited

continually the small grove of beech-trees near our camp."

1880. `Zoologist' for February, p. 57:

"On the 4th of November last the distinguished surgeon,

Mr. John Wood, F.R.S., exhibited before the Pathological

Society of London the colon of a sheep, in which the operation

known as Colotomy had been performed by a Parrot . . . the

species known as the `Kea' by the Maoris, the `Mountain Parrot'

of the colonists, Nestor notabilis of Gould. Only five

species . . . are known, one of which (Nestor productus)

has lately become extinct; they only occur in New Zealand and

Norfolk Island. They were formerly classed among the

Trichoglossinae or brush-tongued parrots . . . more

nearly allied to true Psittaci . . . Its ordinary food

consists of berries and insects; but since its Alpine haunts

have been reached by the tide of civilization, it has acquired

a taste for raw flesh, to obtain which it even attacks living

animals."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 176:

"We have the hoary-headed nestors, amongst which are found the

noisy honey-loving kaka, the hardy kea, that famous sheep-

killer and flesh-eater, the dread of many an Alpine sheep

farmer."

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

p. 166:

"Nestor notabilis, Gould, Kea-parrot, Mountain-parrot of

the Colonists."

1888. `Antipodean Notes,' p. 74:

"The Kea picks the fat which surrounds the kidneys. . . .

Various theories have been started to explain how this parrot

has become carnivorous."

[Two pages are devoted to the question.]

1889. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iv. p. 19:

"The kea-parrot. . . . The kea is pretty to look at, having

rich red and green plumage, but it is a cruel bird. It is said

that it will fasten on the back of a living sheep and peck its

way down to the kidney-fat, for which this parrot has a special

fancy. No tourist need feel compunction about shooting a kea."

1893. A. R. Wallace, `Australasia,' vol. i. p. 445:

"Another very interesting group of birds are the large dull

colonial parrots of the genus Nestor, called kea or kaka by the

natives from their peculiar cries. Their natural food is

berries . . . but of late years the kea (Nestor

notabilis), a mountain species found only in the South

Island, has developed a curious liking for meat, and now

attacks living sheep, settling on their backs and tearing away

the skin and flesh to get at the kidney fat."

1895. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 26, p. 3, col. 1:

"There is in the Alpine regions of the South Island a plant

popularly called the `vegetable sheep,' botanically named

Raoulia. From the distance of even a few yards it looks

like a sheep. It grows in great masses, and consists of a

woolly vegetation. A large specimen of this singular plant was

exhibited in the Colonial and Indian Exhibition. It is said

that the kea was in the habit of tearing it up to get at the

grubs which harbour within the mass, and that mistaking dead

sheep for vegetable sheep it learned the taste of mutton. A

more enterprising generation preferred its mutton rather

fresher."

<hw>Kelp-fish</hw>, n. In New Zealand, also called

Butter-fish (q.v.), Coridodax pullus, Forst.

In Tasmania, Odax baleatus, Cuv. and Val.; called

also Ground Mullet by the fishermen. In Victoria,

Chironemus marmoratus, Gunth. Coridodax and

Odax belong to the family Labridae or Wrasses,

which comprises the Rock-Whitings; Chironemus

to the family Cirrhitidae. The name is also given

in New Zealand to another fish, the Spotty (q.v.).

These fishes are all different from the Californian food-

fishes of the same name.

1841. J. Richardson, `Description of Australian Fishes,'

p. 148:

"This fish is known at Port Arthur by the appellation of

`Kelp-fish,' I suppose from its frequenting the thickets of

the larger fuci."

<hw>Kennedya</hw>, n. the scientific name of a genus of

perennial leguminous herbs of the bean family-named, in 1804,

after Mr. Kennedy, a gardener at Hammersmith, near London.

There are seventeen species, all natives of Australia and

Tasmania, many of them cultivated for the sake of their showy

flowers and berries. Others lie near the ground like a vetch;

K. prostrata is called the Coral Pea (q.v.),

or Bleeding Heart, or Native Scarlet Runner,

or Running Postman. Another species is called

Australian Sarsaparilla. See Sarsaparilla.

1885. R. M. Praed, `The Head Station,' p. 294:

"Taking off his felt hat, he twisted round it a withe of

crimson Kennedia, then put it on again."

<hw>Kestrel</hw>, n. the common English name for a

falcon. According to Gould the Australian species is identical

with Cerchneis tinnunculus, a European species, but

Vigors and Horsfield differentiate it as Tinnunculus

cenchroides.

1893. `The Argus,' March 25, p. 4, col. 5:

"The kestrel's nest we always found in the fluted gums that

overhung the creek, the red eggs resting on the red mould of

the decaying trunk being almost invisible."

Kia ora, interj. Maori phrase used by English in

the North Island of New Zealand, and meaning "Health to you!"

A private letter (1896) says--"You will hear any day at a

Melbourne bar the first man say Keora ta-u, while the

other says Keora tatu, so replacing "Here's to you!"

These expressions are corruptions of the Maori, Kia ora

taua, "Health to us too!" and Kia ora tatou,

"Health to all of us!"

<hw>Kie-kie</hw>, n. Maori name for a climbing plant,

Freycinetia banksii, N.O. Pandanaceae; frequently

pronounced ghi-ghi in the North Island of New Zealand,

and gay-gie in the South Island.

1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' p. 77:

"The trees were . . . covered with a kind of parasite plant,

called a keekee, having a thick cabbage-like stock."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf' (Notes), p. 505:

"Kie-kie (parasite). . . . A lofty climber; the bracts and

young spikes make a very sweet preserve."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 20:

"The unused food . . . of our little camp, together with

the empty kie-kie baskets."

[sc. baskets made of kie-kie leaves.]

<hw>Kiley</hw>, n. aboriginal word in Western Australia

for a flat weapon, curved for throwing, made plane on one side

and slightly convex on the other. A kind of boomerang.

1839. Nathaniel Ogle, `The Colony of Western Australia,'

p. 57:

"In every part of this great continent they have the koilee,

or boomerang . . ."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. 1.

c. iv. p. 72:

"One of them had a kiley or bomerang."

1872. Mrs. E. Millett, `An Australian Parsonage; or, The

Settler and the Savage in Western Australia,' p. 222:

"The flat curved wooden weapon, called a kylie, which

the natives have invented for the purpose of killing several

birds out of a flock at one throw, looks not unlike a bird

itself as it whizzes (or walks as natives say) through

the air in its circular and ascending flight. . ."

1885 Lady Barker, `Letters to Guy,' p. 177:

"More wonderful and interesting, however, is it to see them

throw the kylie (what is called the boomerang in other parts of

Australia), a curiously curved and flat stick, about a foot

long and two or three inches wide. . . . There are heavier

`ground kylies,' which skim along the ground, describing

marvellous turns and twists, and they would certainly break

the leg of any bird or beast they hit; but their gyrations

are nothing compared to those of a good air-kylie in skilful

hands."

<hw>Kinaki</hw>, n. a Maori word for food eaten with

another kind to give it a relish. Compare Grk. 'opson.

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand'

(Church Missionary Society), p. 164:

"Kinaki. Victuals, added for variety's sake."

1873. `Appendix to Journal of House of Representatives,'

vol. iii. G. 1, p. 5:

"If it be a Maori who is taken by me, he will also be

made into a kinaki for my cabbage."

1878. R. C. Barstow, `Transactions of New Zealand

Institute,' vol. XI. art. iv. p. 71:

"Fifty years ago it would have been a poor hapu that could

not afford a slave or two as a kinaki, or relish, on such an

occasion."

<hw>King-fish</hw>, n. In New Zealand a sea-fish,

Seriola lalandii (Maori, Haku), sometimes called the

Yellow-tail; in Victoria, Sciaena antarctica,

Castln. Called Jew-fish (q.v.) in New South Wales.

Tenison Woods says the King-fish of Port Jackson must not be

confounded with the King-fish of Victoria or the King-fish of

Tasmania (Thyrsites micropus, McCoy). The Port Jackson

King-fish belongs to a genus called "Yellow-tails" in Europe.

This is Seriola lalandii, Cuv. and Val. Seriola

belongs to the family Carangidae, or Horse-

Mackerels. Thyrsites belongs to the family

Trichiuridae. The "Barracouta" of Australasia is

another species of Thyrsites, and the "Frost-fish"

belongs to the same family. The Kingfish of America is

a different fish; the name is also applied to other fishes in

Europe.

1876. P. Thomson, `Transactions of New Zealand

Institute,' vol. XI. art. lii. p. 381:

"The king-fish, Seriola Lalandii, put in no appearance

this year."

1883. `Royal Commission on Fisheries of Tasmania,' p. 11:

"Thyrsites Lalandii, the king-fish of Tasmania:

migratory. Appear in immense numbers at certain seasons

(December to June) in pursuit of the horse-mackerel. Caught

with a swivelled barbless hook at night. Voracious in the

extreme--individuals frequently attacking each other, and also

the allied species, the barracouta."

<hw>Kingfisher</hw>, n. common English bird-name. Gould

mentions thirteen species in Australia. The Australian species

are--

Blue Kingfisher--

Halcyon azurea, Lath.

Fawn-breasted K.--

Dacelo cervina, Gould.

Forest K.--

Halcyon macleayi, Jard. and Selb.

Laughing jackass (q.v.)--

Dacelo gigas, Bodd.

Leach's K.--

D. leachii, Vig. and Hors.

Little K.--

Halcyon pusilla, Temm.

Mangrove K.--

H. sordidus, Gould.

Purple K.--

H. pulchra, Gould.

Red-backed K.--

H. pyrropygius, Gould.

Sacred K.--

H. sanctus, Vig. and Hors.

White-tailed K.--

Tanysiptera sylvia, Gould.

Yellow-billed K.--

Syma flavirostris, Gould.

There is a Kingfisher in New Zealand (Halcyon vagans,

Less.) considered identical by many with H. sanctus

of Australia, but concluded by Butler to be a distinct species.

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

p. 121:

[A full description.]

<hw>King of the Herrings</hw>, n. another name for the

Elephant-fish (q.v.).

1890. A. H. S. Lucas, `Handbook of the Australasian

Association' (Melbourne), p. 72:

"The King of the Herrings, Callorhynchus antarcticus,

is fairly common with us."

<hw>King-Parrot</hw>. See Parrot.

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery

and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 317:

This creek [King Parrot Creek] was named after a beautiful

parrot which was then seen for the first time. It is a bird

of magnificent plumage, with crimson feathers on the body,

and blue wings, both of gorgeous hue, and no other colour except

a little black. The name, King Parrot, is variously applied to

several birds in different arts of Australia; the one

described is common."

<hw>King William Pine</hw>, n. a Tasmanian tree.

See Cedar.

<hw>Kino</hw>, n. a drug; the dried juice, of astringent

character, obtained from incisions in the bark of various

trees. In Australia it is got from certain Eucalypts,

e.g. E. resinifera, Smith, and E. corymbosa,

Smith. "It is used in England under the name of Red-gum

in astringent lozenges for sore throat." (`Century.') See

Red Gum. The drug is Australian, but the word,

according to Littre, is "Mot des Indes orientales."

<hw>Kipper</hw>, n. a youth who has been initiated,

i.e. been through the Bora (q.v.). It is a Queensland

word. In Kabi, Queensland, the form is kivar: on the

Brisbane River, it is kippa, whereas in the Kamilaroi of

New South Wales the word is kubura.

1853. H. Berkeley Jones, `Adventures in Australia in 1852 and

1853,' p. 126:

"Around us sat `Kippers,' i.e. `hobbledehoy blacks.'"

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 24:

"The young men receive the rank of warriors,

and are henceforth called kippers."

Kit, n. a flexible Maori basket; not the English

kit used by soldiers, but the Maori word kete, a basket.

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 199:

"Kete (Maori), pa-kete (Anglo-Maori), basket, kit

(Eng.)."

1856. E. B. Fitton, `New Zealand,' p. 68:

"The natives generally bring their produce to market in neatly

made baskets, plaited from flax and known by the name of `Maori

kits.'"

1857. C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand, the Britain of the South,'

vol. i. p. 180:

"The kit is a large plaited green-flax basket."

1877. An Old Colonist, `Colonial Experiences,' p. 31:

"Potatoes were procurable from the Maoris in flax kits,

at from one to five shillings the kit."

1884. Lady Martin, `Our Maoris,' p. 44:

"They might have said, as an old Maori woman long afterwards

said to me, `Mother, my heart is like an old kete (i.e. a

coarsely-woven basket). The words go in, but they fall

through.'"

<hw>Kite</hw>, n. common English bird-name. The species

in Australia are--

Allied Kite--

Milvus affanis, Gould.

Black-shouldered K.--

Elanus axillaris, Lath.

Letter-winged K.--

E. scriptus, Gould.

Square-tailed K.--

Lophoictinia isura, Gould.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 321:

"We had to guard it by turns, whip in hand, from a host of

square-tailed kites (Milvus isiurus)."

1895. G. A. Keartland, `Horne Expedition in Central

Australia,' Zoology, p. 55:

"At any stockyard or station passed Kites were seen . . . at

Henbury one female bird was bold enough to come right into camp

and pick up the flesh thrown to it from birds I was skinning."

<hw>Kiwi</hw>, n. Maori name for a wingless struthious

bird of New Zealand, the Apteryx (q.v.), so called from

the note of the bird. The species are--

Large Grey Kiwi (Roa roa, generally shortened to Roa,

q.v.)--

Apteryx haastii, Potts.

Little Grey K.--

A. oweni, Gould.

North Island K.--

A. bulleri, Sharpe.

South Island K. (Tokoeka)--

A. australis, Shaw and Nodder.

See Buller, `Birds of New Zealand' (1888), vol. ii. p. 308.

1835. W. Yate, `Account of New Zealand,' p. 58:

"Kiwi--the most remarkable and curious bird in New Zealand."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vi. pl. 2:

"Apteryx Australis, Shaw, Kiwi kiwi."

[Australis here equals Southern, not Australian.]

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 181:

"The Kiwi, however, is only the last and rather insignificant

representative of the family of wingless birds that inhabited

New Zealand in bygone ages."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 232:

"'Twas nothing but that wing-less, tail-less bird,

The kiwi."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 35:

"The fact that one collector alone had killed and disposed

of above 2000 specimens of the harmless kiwi."

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

p. 116:

"The Kiwi, although flightless, has a small but well-formed

wing, provided with wing quills."

<hw>Knockabout</hw>, adj. a species of labourer employed

on a station; applied to a man of all work on a station. Like

Rouseabout (q.v.).

1876. W. Harcus, `Southern Australia,' p. 275:

"Knockabout hands, 17s. to 20S. per week."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 80:

"They were composed chiefly of what is called in the bush

`knockabout men'--that is, men who are willing to undertake

any work, sometimes shepherding, sometimes making yards or

driving."

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' xvi. p. 118:

"I watched his development through various stages of colonial

experience--into dairyman, knockabout man, bullock-driver,

and finally stock-rider."

<hw>Knock-down</hw>, v. generally of a cheque. To spend

riotously, usually in drink.

1869. Marcus Clarke, `Peripatetic Philosopher' (reprint),

p. 80:

"Last night! went knocking round with Swizzleford and

Rattlebrain. C'sino, and V'ri'tes. Such a lark! Stole two

Red Boots and a Brass Hat. Knocked down thirteen notes, and

went to bed as tight as a fly!"

1871. J. J. Simpson, `Recitations,' p. 9:

"Hundreds of diggers daily then were walking Melbourne town,

With their pockets fill'd with gold, which they very soon

knock'd down."

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 6:

"Cashed by the nearest publican, who of course never handed

over a cent. A man was compelled to stay there and knock his

cheque down `like a man'"

1885. H. Finch-Hatton,' Advance Australia,' p. 222:

"A system known as `knocking down one's cheque' prevails all

over the unsettled parts of Australia. That is to say, a man

with a cheque, or a sum of money in his possession, hands it

over to the publican, and calls for drinks for himself and his

friends, until the publican tells him he has drunk out his

cheque."

1887. R. M. Praed, `Longleat of Kooralbyn,' c. xviii. p. 182:

"The illiterate shearer who knocks down his cheque in a spree."

<hw>Koala</hw>, <hw>Coola</hw>, or <hw>Kool-la</hw>,

n. aboriginal name for Native Bear (q.v.); genus,

Phascolarctus (q.v.). A variant of an aboriginal word

meaning a big animal. In parts of South Australia koola means

a kangaroo.

1813. `History of New South Wales' (1818), p. 432:

"The koolah or sloth is likewise an animal of the opossum

species, with a false belly. This creature is from a foot and

a half to two feet in length, and takes refuge in a tree, where

he discovers his haunt by devouring all the leaves before he

quits it."

1849. J. Gould, `Proceedings of the Zoological Society of

London,' November:

"The light-coloured mark on the rump, somewhat resembling that

on the same part of the Koala . . . the fur is remarkable for

its extreme density and for its resemblance to that of the

Koala."

<hw>Kohekohe</hw>, n. Maori name for a New Zealand

tree, sometimes called Cedar, Dysoxylum spectabile,

Hook (N.O. Meliaceae).

1883. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 127:

"Kohekohe. A large forest tree, forty to fifty feet high. Its

leaves are bitter, and used to make a stomachic infusion: wood

tough, but splits freely."

<hw>Kohua</hw>, n. Maori word, for (1) a Maori oven;

(2) a boiler. There is a Maori verb Kohu, to cook or

steam in a native oven (from a noun Kohu, steam, mist),

and an adj. Kohu, concave. The word is used by

the English in New Zealand, and is said to be the origin of

Goashore (q.v.).

<hw>Kokako</hw>, n. Maori name for the Blue-wattled

Crow. See under Crow and Wattle-bird.

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 194:

"The Orange-wattled Crow, or wattled bird, kokako of the

Maoris, Glaucopis cinerea, Gml., still seems to be an almost

unknown bird as to its nesting habits. . . . The kokako loving

a moist temperature will probably soon forsake its ancient

places of resort."

<hw>Kokopu</hw>, n. Maori name for a New Zealand fish;

any species of Galaxias, especially G. fasciatus;

corrupted into Cock-a-bully (q.v.). See Mountain

Trout.

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand'

(Church Missionary Society), p. 106:

"Kokopu. Name of a certain fish."

1886. R. A. Sherrin, `Fishes of New Zealand,' p. 138:

"`Kokopu,' Dr.Hector says, `is the general Maori name for

several very common fishes in the New Zealand streams and

lakes, belonging to the family of Galaxidae.'"

<hw>Kokowai</hw>, n. Maori name for Red Ochre, an oxide

of iron deposited in certain rivers, used by the Maoris for

painting. It was usually mixed with shark oil, but for very

fine work with oil from the berries of the titoki

(q.v.).

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

p. 124:

"His head, with the hair neatly arranged and copiously

ornamented with feathers, reclined against a carved post,

which was painted with kokowai, or red ochre."

1878. R. C. Barstow, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,'

vol. XI. art. iv. p. 75:

"Kokowai is a kind of pigment, burnt, dried, and mixed with

shark-liver oil."

<hw>Konini</hw>, n. Maori name for (1) the fruit of the

New Zealand fuchsia, Fuchsia excorticata, Linn.

(2) A settlers' name for the tree itself.

See Kotukutuku.

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 114:

"The berries of the konini . . . ripening early furnish some

part of its (bell-bird's) food supply."

(p. 146): "Rather late in August, when the brown-skinned konini

begins to deck its bare sprays with pendulous flowers."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 53:

"Mr. Colenso informs me that it [Fuchsia excorticata]

is the Kohutuhutu and the Kotukutuku of the Maoris, the fruit

being known as Konini, especially in the South Island and the

southern part of the North Island. The settlers sometimes term

it Kotukutuku or Konini, but more generally fuchsia."

<hw>Kooberry</hw>, n. aboriginal name for the Bidyan

Ruffe (q.v.).

<hw>Kookaburra</hw>, n. (also <hw>Gogobera</hw> and

<hw>Goburra</hw>), the aboriginal name for the bird called

the Laughing Jackass (q.v.). The first spelling is

that under which the aboriginal name now survives in English,

and is the name by which the bird is generally called in Sydney.

1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 123:

"And wild goburras laughed aloud

Their merry morning songs."

1870. F. S. Wilson, `Australian Songs,' p. 167:

"The rude rough rhymes of the wild goburra's song."

1886. E. M. Curr, `Australian Race,' p. 29:

"The notes of this bird are chiefly composed of the sounds

ka and koo, and from them it takes its name

in most of the languages . . . It is noticeable in some

localities that burra is the common equivalent of

people or tribe, and that the Pegulloburra . . .

the Owanburra, and many other tribes, called the laughing-

jackass--kakooburra, kakaburra, kakoburra, and so on; literally

the Kakoo people." [Mr. Curr's etymology is not

generally accepted.]

1890. `The Argus,' Oct. 25, p. 4, col 5:

"You might hear the last hoot of the kookaburra then."

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 26, p. 5, col. 4:

"But what board will intervene to protect the disappearing

marsupials, and native flora, the lyre-bird, the kookaburra,

and other types which are rapidly disappearing despite the laws

which have been framed in some instances for their protection?"

1894. E. P. Ramsay, `Catalogue of Australian Birds in the

Australian Museum at Sydney,' p. 2, s.v. Dacelo:

"Gogobera, aborigines of New South Wales."

<hw>Koradji</hw>, or <hw>Coradgee</hw>, n. aboriginal

name for a wise man, sorcerer, or doctor. In the south-east of

New South Wales, it means one of the tribal wizards, usually

called "blackfellow- doctors."

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 14:

"The coradgees, who are their wise men, have, they suppose,

the power of healing and foretelling. Each tribe possesses one

of these learned pundits, and if their wisdom were in proportion

to their age, they would indeed be Solons."

1865. S. Bennett, `Australian Discovery,' p. 250:

"Kiradjee, a doctor; Grk. cheirourgos. Persian,

khoajih. English, surgeon. Old English (obsolete),

chirurgeon."

[Curious and impossible etymology.]

1865. W. Howitt, `Discovery in Australia, vol. i. p. 287:

"One who seemed a coradge, or priest, went through a strange

ceremony of singing, and touching his eyebrows, nose, and

breast, crossing himself, and pointing to the sky like an old

Druid."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 23:

"The korradgees, or medicine men, are the chief repositories

(of the secrets of their religion)."

1892. J. Fraser, `Aborigines of New South Wales,' p. 63:

"For some diseases, the kar'aji, or native doctor when he is

called in, makes passes with his hand over the sick man, much

in the same way as a mesmerist will do . . . Our Australian

karaji is highly esteemed, but not paid."

<hw>Korari</hw>, n. often pronounced Koladdy

and Koladdy, and spelt variously; the Maori word for

the flowering stem of Phormium tenax, J. and G. Forst.

(q.v.), generally used for making a mokihi (q.v.).

There is a Maori noun, kora, a small fragment;

and a verb korari, to pluck a twig, or tear it off.

1879. `Old Identity' [Title]:

"The Old Identities of the Province of Otago."

[p. 53]: "A kolladie (the flower stalk of the flax,

about seven feet long) carried by each, as a balancing pole or

staff."

1893. Daniel Frobisher, `Sketches of Gossipton,' p. 75:

"But now the faithful brute is gone;

Through bush and fern and flax koladdy,

Where oft he bunny pounced upon,

No more will follow me, poor Paddy."

<hw>Korero</hw>, n. Maori for a conference,

a conversation. The verb means "to tell, to say, to address,

to speak, to talk." (`Williams' Maori Dictionary,' 4th. ed.)

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand'

(Church Missionary Society), p. 168:

"Korero, s. a speaking; v. n. speaking."

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

p. 78:

"There were about sixty men assembled, and they proceeded to

hold a `korero,' or talk on the all-important subject."

Ibid. p. 81:

"With the exception of an occasional exclamation of `korero,

korero,' `speak, speak,' which was used like our `hear, hear,'

in either an encouraging or an ironical sense, or an earnest

but low expression of approval or dissent, no interruption of

the orators ever took place."

1863. T. Moser, `Mahoe Leaves,' p. 30:

"As he had to pass several pahs on the road, at all of which

there would be `koreros.'"

(p. 31): "Had been joined by a score or more of their

acquaintances, and what between `koreros' and `ko-mitis,'

had not made any further progress on their journey."

1896. `Otago Witness,' Jan. 23, p. 42, col. 3:

"All this after a very excited `korero' on the empty dray,

with the surging and exciting crowd around."

<hw>Korimako</hw>, n. Maori name for the

Bell-Bird (q.v.).

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 402:

"The korimako, or kokorimako (Anthornis melanura).

This bird is the sweetest songster of New Zealand, but is not

distinguished by its plumage, which is a yellowish olive with

a dark bluish shade on each side of the head."

Ibid. p. 75:

"In the first oven [at the Maori child's naming feast] a

korimako was cooked; this is the sweetest singing bird of New

Zealand; it was eaten that the child might have a sweet voice

and be an admired orator."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 202:

"The korimako, sweetest bird

Of all that are in forest heard."

1888. W. W. Smith, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,'

vol. XXI. art. xxi. p. 213:

"Anthornis melanura, korimako or bell-bird. In fine

weather the bush along the south shores of Lake Brunner

re-echoes with the rich notes of the tui and korimako, although

both species have disappeared from former haunts east of the

Alps."

<hw>Koromiko</hw>, n. a white flowering arborescent

Veronica of New Zealand, Veronica salicifolia, Forst.,

N.O. Scrophularineae.

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' P. 454:

"Koromiko, a very ornamental plant, but disappearing before the

horse. It bears a tapering-shaped flower of a purplish white."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 2:

"Just a ditch,

With flowering koromiko rich."

1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of Maori,' p. 21:

"The early breeze

That played among the koromiko's leaves."

1889. Vincent Pyke, `Wild Will Enderby,' p. 16:

"Fostered by the cool waters of a mountain rivulet, the

koromiko grows by the side of the poisonous tutu bushes."

Korora, n. Maori name for a Blue Penguin,

Spheniscus minor, Gmel. See Penguin.

<hw>Korrumburra</hw>, n. aboriginal name for the common

blow-fly, which in Australia is a yellow-bottle, not a

blue-bottle.

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

"Odd `Korrumburras' dodge quickly about with cheerful hum.

Where they go, these busy buzzy flies, when the cold calls them

away for their winter vac. is a mystery. Can they hibernate?

for they show themselves again at the first glint of the spring

sun."

<hw>Kotuku</hw>, n. Maori name for the White

Crane of the Colonists, which is really a White

Heron (Ardea egretta). See Crane.

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 124:

[A full description.]

<hw>Kotukutuku</hw>, n. Maori name for the New Zealand

tree, Fuchsia excorticata, Linn.,

N.O. Onagrariea; written also Kohutuhutu. This

name is not much used, but is corrupted into Tookytook

(q.v.). See Konini and Fuchsia.

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 127:

"Kotukutuku. The fruit is called konini. A small and

ornamental tree, ten to thirty feet high . . . a durable

timber. . . . The wood might be used as dye-stuff . . . Its

fruit is pleasant and forms principal food of the wood-pigeon."

<hw>Kowhai</hw>, n. Maori name given to--

(1) Locust-tree, Yellow Kowhai (Sophora

tetraptera, Aiton, N.O. Leguminosae).

(2) Parrot-bill, Scarlet Kowhai (Clianthus

puniceus, N.O. Leguminosae), or Kaka-bill

(q.v.).

Variously spelt Kowai and Kohai, and corrupted

into Goai (q.v.) by the settlers.

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

p. 58:

"The kohai too, a species of mimosa covered with bright

yellow blossoms, abounds in such situations where the stunted

growth is an almost unvarying sign of constant inundation."

[Mr. Wakefield was mistaken. The Kohai is not a mimosa.]

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 261:

"`Tis the Kowhai, that spendthrift so golden

But its kinsman to Nature beholden,

For raiment its beauty to fold in,

Deep-dyed as of trogon or lory,

How with parrot-bill fringes 'tis burning,

One blood-red mound of glory!"

1873. `New Zealand Parliamentary Debates,' No. 16, p. 863:

"Kowai timber, thoroughly seasoned, used for fencing posts,

would stand for twelve or fourteen years; while posts cut out

of the same bush and used green would not last half the time."

1882. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open,' p. 146:

"The head of the straight-stemmed kowhai is already crowned

with racemes of golden blossoms."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 131:

"Kowhai--a small or middling-sized tree. . . . Wood red,

valuable for fencing, being highly durable . . . used for

piles in bridges, wharves, etc."

1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of Maori,' p. 21:

"The dazzling points of morning's lances

Waked the red kowhai's drops from sleep."

<hw>Kuku</hw>, or <hw>Kukupa</hw>, n. Maori name

for the New Zealand Fruit-pigeon (q.v.), Carpophaga

novae-zelandiae, Gmel. Called also Kereru.

The name is the bird's note.

1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand'

(Church Missionary Society), p. 170:

"Kuku, s. the cry of a pigeon."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 406:

"Family Columbidae--kereru, kukupa (kuku, Carpophaga

Novae Zealandiae), the wood-pigeon. This is a very fine

large bird, the size of a duck; the upper part of the breast

green and gold, the lower a pure white, legs and bill red. It

is a heavy flying bird, and very stupid, which makes it an easy

prey to its enemies. The natives preserve large quantities in

calabashes, taking out the bones; these are called kuku."

Ibid. p. 183:

"The pigeon bears two names--the kuku and kukupa, which are

common to the isles."

1881. J. L. Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 115:

"The kukupa . . . was just the bird created expressly for the

true cockney sportsman--the one after his heart . . . for if not

brought down by the first shot, why he only shakes his feathers

and calmly waits to be shot at again!"

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

"The kuku, plaintive, wakes to mourn her mate."

<hw>Kumara</hw>, or <hw>Kumera</hw>, n. (pronounced

Koomera), a Maori word for an edible root, the yam or sweet

potato, Ipomaea batatas, N.O. Convolvulaceae.

There are numerous varieties. It should be added that it is

doubtful whether it grows wild in New Zealand.

1773. Sydney Parkinson, `Journal of a Voyage to the South

Seas' (see extract in `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,'

`Manibus Parkinsonibus Sacrum,' W. Colenso, vol. x. art. ix.

p. 124):

"Several canoes came alongside of the ship, of whom we got some

fish, kumeras or sweet potatoes, and several other things."

1828. `Henry William Diarys' (in Life by Carleton), p. 69:

"Kumara had been planted over the whole plain."

1830. Ibid. p. 79:

"We passed over the hill, and found the assailants feasting on

the kumara, or sweet potato, which they just pulled up from

the garden at which they had landed."

1851. Mrs. Wilson, `New Zealand,' p. 49:

"He saw some fine peaches and kumaras or sweet potatoes."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' c. xi. p. 273 (3rd

edition, 1855)

"The kumara or sweet potato is a most useful root."

1863. F. E. Maning (Pakeha Maori), `Old New Zealand,' p. 51:

"Behind the pigs was placed by the active exertion of two or

three hundred people, a heap of potatoes and kumera, in

quantity about ten tons, so there was no lack of the raw

material for a feast."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 430:

"Now the autumn's fruits

Karaka,--taro,--kumera,--berries, roots

Had all been harvested with merry lays

And rites of solemn gladness."

1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of Maori,' p. 18:

"Some more dainty toothsome dish

Than the kumera and fish."

<hw>Kumquat, Native</hw>, n. an Australian tree,

Atalantia glauca, Hook., N.O. Rutaceae,

i.q. Desert Lemon (q.v.).

<hw>Kurdaitcha</hw>, <hw>Coordaitcha</hw>, or <hw>Goditcha</hw>,

n. a native term applied by white men to a particular

kind of shoe worn by the aborigines of certain parts of Central

Australia, and made of emu feathers matted together. The two

ends are of the same shape, so that the direction in which the

wearer has travelled cannot be detected. The wearer is

supposed to be intent upon murder, and the blacks really apply

the name to the wearer himself. The name seems to have been

transferred by white men to the shoes, the native name for

which is interlin~a, or urtathurta.

1886. E. M. Curr, `Australian Race,' vol. i. p. 148:

"It was discovered in 1882 . . . that the Blacks . . . wear a

sort of shoe when they attack their enemies by stealth at

night. Some of the tribes call these shoes Kooditcha,

their name for an invisible spirit. I have seen a pair of

them. The soles were made of the feathers of the emu, stuck

together with a little human blood, which the maker is said to

take from his arm. They were about an inch and a half thick,

soft, and of even breadth. The uppers were nets made of human

hair. The object of these shoes is to prevent those who wear

them from being tracked and pursued after a night attack."

1896. P. M. Byrne, `Proceedings of the Royal Society of

Victoria,' p. 66:

"The wearing of the Urtathurta and going Kurdaitcha luma

appears to have been the medium for a form of vendetta."

<hw>Kurrajong</hw>, n. or <hw>Currajong</hw> (spelt

variously), the aboriginal name for various Australian and

Tasmanian fibrous plants; see quotations, 1825 and 1884.

They are the--

Black Kurrajong--

Sterculia diversifolia, G. Don., and Sterculia

quadrifida, R. Br., N.O. Sterculiaceae.

Brown K.--

Commersonia echinata, R. and G. Forst.; also,

Brachychiton gregorii; both belonging to

N.O. Sterculiaceae.

Green K.--

Hibiscus heterophyllus, Vent., N.O. Malvaceae.

Tasmanian K.--

Plagianthus sidoides, Hook., N.O. Malvaceae.

Others are Trema aspera, Blume, N.O. Urticeae;

and Sterculia rupestris, Benth., N.O. Urticeae.

Some of the varieties are also called Bottle-trees, and,

in Tasmania, Cordage-trees (q.v.).

1823. `Uniacke's Narrative of Oxley's Expedition,' quoted by

J. D. Lang, `Cooksland,' p. 408:

"The nets used for fishing [by the natives] are made by the men

from the bark of the kurrajong (Hibiscus heterophyllus),

a shrub which is very common to the swamps."

1825. Barron Field, Glossary, in `Geographical Memoirs of New

South Wales,' p. 502:

"Currijong or Natives' cordage tree (Hibiscus heterophyllus)."

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' vol. ii. p. 25:

"The curragong is sometimes found; its inner bark may be

manufactured into ropes."

1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 149:

"The currajong (Sterculia)is used for cordage, and makes

strong, close, but not very durable ropes."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' vol. iii. p. 91:

"Dillis neatly worked of koorajong bark."

1849. J. P. Townsend, `Rambles in New South Wales,' p. 214:

"In such a valley in which stands a spreading corrijong

(Sterculia diversifolia), which has a strong resemblance

to the English oak, I constantly found a flock of sheep."

1862. W. Archer, `Products of Tasmania,' p. 41:

"Currajong (Plagianthus sidoides, Hook). The fibres

of the bark are very strong. It is a large shrub, found

chiefly on the southern side of the Island, in various and

shady places, and grows rapidly."

1878. Rev. W. W. Spicer, `Handbook of the Plants of

Tasmania,' p. 104:

"Plagianthus sidoides, Hooker. Currijong,

N.O. Malvaceae. Peculiar to Tasmania."

1883. G. W. Rusden, `History of Australia,' vol. i. p. 77:

"The currejong of the forest, and the casuarina which lines the

rivers, stand with brighter green in cheering contrast to the

dulness of surrounding leaves."

1881,. W. R. Guilfoyle, `Australian Botany' (second

edition), p. 162:

"The aborigines apply the name Kurrajong, or Currijong, to some

[Pimeleas]; but it would appear that this native name is

indiscriminately given to any plant possessing a tough bark."

1888. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii. p. 138:

"Quaint currajongs . . . very like in form to the stiff

wooden trees we have all played with in childish days."

<hw>Laburnum, Native</hw>, n. the Tasmanian

Clover-tree, Goodenia lotifolia, Sal.,

N.O. Leguminosae.

<hw>Laburnum, Sea-coast</hw>, n. also called Golden

Chain, Sophora tomentosa, Linn., N.O.

Leguminosae; a tall, hoary shrub.

<hw>Lace-bark</hw>, <hw>Lacey-bark</hw>, or <hw>Lacewood</hw>,

n. names for Ribbonwood (q.v.). The inner bark of the

tree is like fine lace.

1876. W. N. Blair, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,'

vol. IX. art. x. p. 175:

"Ribbonwood, Plagianthus betulinus, botanical name,

Hooker; Whauwhi, Maori name, according to Hector; lace-bark

tree, settlers' name, according to Buchanan."

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

"The soft, bright-foliaged ribbonwood (lace-bark,

Plagianthus) contrasts with the dusky hue

of the dark-leaved fagus."

<hw>Lace-Lizard</hw>, n. Hydrosaurus (Varanus)

varius. See Goanna.

1881. F. McCoy, `Prodomus of the Natural History of Victoria,'

Dec. 4:

"Although the present Lace Lizard is generally arboreal,

climbing the forest trees with ease, and running well on the

ground, it can swim nearly as well as a Crocodile."

<hw>Lagorchestes</hw>, n. the scientific name for a

genus of Australian marsupial mammals, called the Hare-

Wallabies or Hare-Kangaroos (q.v.). (Grk.

lagows, a hare, and 'orchestaes, a dancer.)

They live on plains, and make a "form" in the herbage like

the hare, which they resemble.

<hw>Lagostrophus</hw>, n. the scientific name of the

genus containing the animal called the Banded-Wallaby.

(Grk. lagows, a hare, and strophos, a band or

zone.) Its colour is a greyish-brown, with black and white

bands, its distinguishing characteristic. It is sometimes

called the Banded-Kangaroo, and is found at Dirk

Hartog's Island, and on one or two islands in Shark's Bay,

and in West Australia. For its interesting habits see

R. Lyddeker's `Marsupialia.'

<hw>Lake-Trout</hw>, n. a Tasmanian fish, Galaxias

auratus, family Galaxidae. See Mountain-

Trout.

<hw>Lamb down</hw>, v. tr.

(1) To knock down a cheque or a sum of money in a spree.

There is an old English verb, of Scandinavian origin, and

properly spelt lamm, which means to thrash, beat.

1873. J. B. Stephens, `Black Gin,' p. 51:

"It is the Bushman come to town--

Come to spend his cheque in town,

Come to do his lambing down."

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

"The lambing down of cheques."

1890. Ibid. Aug. 9, p. 4, col. 5:

"The old woman thought that we were on gold, and would lamb

down at the finish in her shanty."

(2) To make a man get rid of his money to you; to clean him

out."

1873. Marcus Clarke, `Holiday Peak, etc.,' p. 21:

"The result was always the same--a shilling a nobbler. True,

that Trowbridge's did not `lamb down' so well as the Three

Posts, but then the Three Posts put fig tobacco in its brandy

casks, and Trowbridge's did not do that."

1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p.30:

"The operation--combining equal parts of hocussing,

overcharging, and direct robbery--and facetiously christened

by bush landlords `lambing down.'"

1890. `The Argus,' Aug. 16, p. 4, col. 7:

"One used to serve drinks in the bar, the other kept the

billiard-table. Between them they lambed down more shearers

and drovers than all the rest on the river."

<hw>Lamprey</hw>, n. The Australian Lampreys are

species of the genera Mordacia and Geotria,

of the same family as the "Lampreys" of the Northern Hemisphere.

<hw>Lancelet</hw>, n. The fishes of this name present in

Australasia are--

In Queensland, Epigonichthys cultellus, Peters, family

Amplingae; in Victoria and New South Wales, species of

Heteropleuron.

<hw>Lancewood</hw>, n. There are many lancewoods in

various parts of the world. The name, in Australia, is given

to Backhousia myrtifolia, Hook. and Harv., N.O.

Myrtaceae; and in New Zealand, to Panax crassifolium,

Dec. and Plan., N.O. Araliaceae, known as Ivy-

tree, and by the Maori name of Horoeka (q.v.).

<hw>Landsborough Grass</hw>, n. a valuable Queensland

fodder grass of a reddish colour, Anthistiria

membranacea, Lindl., N.O. Gramineae.

See Grass.

<hw>Lantern, Ballarat</hw>, n. a local term.

See quotation.

1875. Wood and Lapham, `Waiting for the Mail,' p. 21:

"I may explain that a `Ballarat Lantern' is formed by knocking

off the bottom of a bottle, and putting a candle in the neck."

<hw>Lark</hw>, n. common English bird name.

The Australian species are--

Brown Song Lark--

Cincloramphus cruralis, Vig. and Hors.

Bush L.--

Mirafra horsfieldii, Gould.

Field L.--

Calamanthus campestris, Gould.

Ground L.--

Anthus australis, Vig. and Hors. (Australian Pipit),

A. novae-zelandae, Gray (New Zealand Pipit).

Lesser Bush L.--

Mirafra secunda, Sharpe.

Little Field L.--

Cathonicola sagittata, Lath.

Magpie L.--

Grallina picata, Lath.; see Magpie-Lark.

Rufous Song L.--

Cincloramphus rufescens, Vig. and Hors.

Striated Field L.--

Calamanthus fuliginosus, Vig. and Hors.

See Ground-Lark, Sand-Lark, Pipit, and

Magpie-Lark.

<hw>Larrikin</hw>, n. The word has various shades of

meaning between a playful youngster and a blackguardly rough.

Little streetboys are often in a kindly way called little

larrikins. (See quotations, 1870 and 1885.) Archibald

Forbes described the larrikin as "a cross between the Street

Arab and the Hoodlum, with a dash of the Rough thrown in to

improve the mixture." (`Century.) The most exalted position

yet reached in literature by this word is in Sir Richard

Burton's `Translation of the Arabian Nights' (1886-7),

vol. i. p. 4, Story of the Larrikin and the Cook;

vol. iv. p. 281, Tale of First Larrikin. The previous

translator, Jonathan Scott, had rendered the Arabic word,

Sharper.