White " 20 9 Low, marshy House-carpentry_Austral English

Yellow " 20 9 " " do.

Brown " 20 30 " " do. and

joiners' planes

<hw>Nailrod</hw>, n. a coarse dark tobacco smoked by

bushmen. The name alludes to the shape of the plug, which

looks like a thin flat stick of liquorice. It is properly

applied to the imported brand of "Two Seas," but is

indiscriminately used by up-country folk for any coarse stick

of tobacco.

1896. H. Lawson, `While the Billy boils,' p. 118:

"`You can give me half-a-pound of nailrod,' he said,

in a quiet tone.'"

<hw>Nail-tailed Wallaby</hw>, n. See Onychogale.

<hw>Namma hole</hw>, n. a native well. Namma

is an aboriginal word for a woman's breast.

1893. `The Australasian,' August 5, p. 252, col. 4:

"The route all the way from York to Coolgardie is amply

watered, either `namma holes' native wells) or Government

wells being plentiful on the road."

1896. `The Australasian,' March 28, p. 605, col. 1:

"The blacks about here [far west of N.S.W.] use a word nearly

resembling `namma' in naming waterholes, viz., `numma,'

pronounced by them `ngumma,' which means a woman's breast. It

is used in conjunction with other words in the native names of

some waterholes in this district, e.g., `Tirrangumma' =

Gum-tree breast; and ngumma-tunka' = breast-milk, the water in

such case being always milky in appearance. In almost all

native words beginning with n about here the first

n has the ng sound as above."

<hw>Nancy</hw>, n. a Tasmanian name for the flower

Anguillaria (q.v.).

<hw>Nankeen Crane</hw>, or <hw>Nankeen Bird</hw>, or

<hw>Nankeen Night Heron</hw>, n. the Australian bird

Nycticorax caledonicus, Gmel. Both the Nankeen Bird and

the Nankeen Hawk are so called from their colour. Nankeen is

"a Chinese fabric, usually buff, from the natural colour of a

cotton grown in the Nanking district" of China. (`Century.')

1838. James, `Six Months in South Australia, p. 202:

"After shooting one or two beautiful nankeen birds."

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 121:

"The nankeen crane (Nycticorax caledonicus), a very

handsome bright nankeen-coloured bird with three long white

feathers at the back of the neck, very good eating."

<hw>Nankeen Gum</hw>. See Gum.

<hw>Nankeen Hawk</hw>, n. an Australian bird,

Tinnunculus cenchroides, Vig. and Hors., which

is otherwise called Kestrel (q.v.).

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of the Linnaean

Society,' vol. xv. p. 184:

"`This bird,' as we are informed by Mr. Caley, `is called

Nankeen Hawk by the settlers. It is a migratory species.'"

<hw>Nannygai</hw>, n. aboriginal name for an Australian

fish, Beryx affinis, Gunth.

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,'

p. 52:

"Amongst the early colonists it used also to be called `mother

nan a di,' probably a corruption of the native name, mura ngin

a gai."

1884. E. P. Ramsay, `Fisheries Exhibition Literature,' vol. v.

p. 308:

"Known among the fishermen of Port Jackson as the `nannagai,'

or as it is sometimes spelt `nannygy.' It is a most delicious

fish, always brings a high price, but is seldom found in

sufficient numbers."

<hw>Nardoo</hw>, or <hw>Nardu</hw>, n. aboriginal word

for the sporocarp of a plant, Marsilea quadrifolia,

Linn., used as food by the aboriginals, and sometimes popularly

called Clover-fern. The explorers Burke and Wills

vainly sought the means of sustaining life by eating flour made

from the spore-cases of nardoo. "Properly Ngardu in the

Cooper's Creek language (Yantruwunta)." (A. W. Howitt.)

Cooper's Creek was the district where Burke and Wills perished.

In South Australia Ardoo is said to be the correct form.

1861. `Diary of H. J. Wills, the Explorer,' quoted in Brough

Smyth's `Aborigines of Victoria,' p. 216:

"I cannot understand this nardoo at all; it certainly will

not agree with me in any form. We are now reduced to it alone,

and we manage to get from four to five pounds a day between us.

. . . It seems to give us no nutriment. . . . Starvation

on nardoo is by no means very unpleasant, but for the weakness

one feels and the utter inability to move oneself, for, as far

as appetite is concerned, it gives me the greatest

satisfaction."

1862. Andrew Jackson, `Burke and the Australian Exploring

Expedition of 1860,' p. 186:

"The [wheaten] flour, fifty pounds of which I gave them, they

at once called `whitefellow nardoo,' and they explained that

they understood that these things were given to them for having

fed King."

1865. W. Howitt, `Discovery in Australia,' vol. ii. p. 247:

"They now began to inquire of the blacks after the nardoo seed,

imagining it the produce of a tree; and received from the

natives some of their dried narcotic herbs, which they chew,

called pitchery. They soon found the nardoo seed in abundance,

on a flat, and congratulated themselves in the idea that on

this they could subsist in the wilderness, if all other food

failed, a hope in which they were doomed to a great

disappointment."

1877. F. von Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 130:

"Of Marsiliaceae we have well known examples in the

nardoo (Marsilea quadrifolia, with many varieties),

the foliage resembling that of a clover with four leaflets."

1878. R. Brough Smyth, `Aborigines of Victoria,' p. 209:

"They seem to have been unacquainted generally with the use, as

a food, of the clover-fern, Nardoo, though the natives of the

North Western parts of Victoria must have had intercourse with

the tribes who use it, and could have obtained it, sparingly,

from the lagoons in their own neighbourhood."

1879. J. D. Wood, `Native Tribes of South Australia,' p. 288:

"Ardoo, often described by writers as Nardoo. A very hard

seed, a flat oval of about the size of a pea. It is crushed

for food."

1879 (about). `Queensland Bush Song':

"Hurrah for the Roma Railway!

Hurrah for Cobb and Co.!

Hurrah, hurrah for a good fat horse

To carry me Westward Ho!

To carry me Westward Ho! my boys;

That's where the cattle pay,

On the far Barcoo, where they eat nardoo,

A thousand miles away."

1879. S. Gason, in `The Native Tribes of South Australia,'

p. 288:

"Ardoo. Often described in news papers and by writers

as Nardoo. A very hard seed, a flat oval of about the size of

a split pea; it is crushed or pounded, and the husk winnowed.

In bad seasons this is the mainstay of the native sustenance,

but it is the worst food possible, possessing very little

nourishment, and being difficult to digest."

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Proceedings of the of the

Linnaean Society of New South Wales,' p. 82 [Botanical Notes on

Queensland]:

"Sesbania aculeata. The seeds of this plant are eaten

by the natives. It grows in all warm or marshy places in

Queensland. By many it is thought that this was the Nardoo

which Burke and Wills thought came from the spores of a

Marsilea. It is hard to suppose that any nourishment

would be obtained from the spore cases of the latter plant,

or that the natives would use it. Besides this the spore-cases

are so few in number."

1890. E. D. Cleland, `White Kangaroo,' p. 113:

"The great thing with the blacks was nardoo. This is a plant

which sends up slender stems several inches high; at the tip is

a flower-like leaf, divided into four nearly equal parts. It

bears a fruit, or seed, and this is the part used for food. It

is pounded into meal between two stones, and is made up in the

form of cakes, and baked in the ashes. It is said to be

nourishing when eaten with animal food, but taken alone to

afford no support."

<hw>Native</hw>, n. This word, originally applied, as

elsewhere, to the aboriginal inhabitants of Australia, is now

used exclusively to designate white people born in Australia.

The members of the "Australian Natives' Association" (A.N.A.),

founded April 27, 1871, pride themselves on being

Australian-born and not immigrants. Mr. Rudyard Kipling, in

the `Times' of Nov. 1895, published a poem called " The

Native-Born," sc. born in the British Empire, but outside Great

Britain. As applied to Plants, Animals, Names, etc., the word

Native bears its original sense, as in "Native Cabbage,"

"Native Bear," "Native name for," etc., though in the last case

it is now considered more correct to say in Australia

"Aboriginal name for," and in New Zealand "Maori name for."

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' c. v. p. 161:

"Three Sydney natives (`currency' not aboriginal) were in the

coach, bound for Melbourne."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 43:

"They were long and wiry natives from the rugged mountain

side."

<hw>Native</hw>, or <hw>Rock-Native</hw>, n. a name

given to the fish called Schnapper, after it has ceased

to "school." See Schnapper.

<hw>Native Arbutus</hw>, n. See Wax-cluster.

<hw>Native Banana</hw>, n. another name for

Lilly-pilly (q.v.).

<hw>Native Banyan</hw>, n. another name for Ficus

rubiginosa. See Fig.

<hw>Native Bear</hw>, n. See Bear.

<hw>Native Beech</hw>, n. See Beech.

<hw>Native Blackberry</hw>, n. See Blackberry.

<hw>Native Borage</hw>, n. See Borage.

<hw>Native Box</hw>, n. See Box.

<hw>Native Bread</hw>, n. See Bread.

<hw>Native Broom</hw>, n. See Broom.

<hw>Native Burnet</hw>, n. See Burnet.

<hw>Native Cabbage</hw>, n. The Nasturtium

palustre, De C., N.O. Cruciferae, is so called,

but in spite of its name it is not endemic in Australia.

In New Zealand, the name is sometimes applied to the

Maori Cabbage (q.v.).

<hw>Native Carrot</hw>, n. See Carrot.

<hw>Native Cascarilla</hw>, n. See Cascarilla.

<hw>Native Cat</hw>, n. See Cat.

<hw>Native Celery</hw>, or <hw>Australian Celery</hw>,

n. See Celery.

<hw>Native Centaury</hw>, n. See Centaury.

<hw>Native Cherry</hw>, n. See Cherry.

<hw>Native-Companion</hw>, n. an Australian bird-name,

Grus australasianus, Gould. See also Crane.

1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 125:

"Here we saw the native-companion, a large bird of the crane

genus . . . five feet high, colour of the body grey, the wings

darker, blue or black."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 38:

"With native-companions (Ardea antigone) strutting

round."

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

"Grus Australasianus, Gould, Australian Crane;

Native-Companion of the Colonists."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 146:

"A handsome tame `native-companion,' which had been stalking

about picking up insects, drew near. Opening his large

slate-coloured wings, and dancing grotesquely, the interesting

bird approached his young mistress, bowing gracefully from side

to side as he hopped lightly along; then running up, he laid

his heron-like head lovingly against her breast."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 21:

"The most extraordinary of Riverina birds is the

native-companion."

1890. Tasma, `In her Earliest Youth,' p. 145:

"A row of native-companions, of course, standing on one leg--

as is their wont--like recruits going to drill."

[Query, did the writer mean going "through" drill.]

1891. `Guide to Zoological Gardens, Melbourne,' p. 23:

"In this paddock are some specimens of the Native Companion,

whose curious habit of assembling in groups on the plains and

fantastically dancing, has attracted much attention. This

peculiarity is not confined to them alone, however, as some of

the other large cranes (notably the crowned cranes of Africa)

display the same trait."

<hw>Native Cranberry</hw>, n. See Cranberry.

<hw>Native Currant</hw>, n. See under Currant.

<hw>Native Daisy</hw>, n. See Daisy.

<hw>Native Damson</hw>, n. See Damson.

<hw>Native Dandelion</hw>, n.

See Dandelion.

<hw>Native Daphne</hw>, n. See Daphne.

<hw>Native Date</hw>, n. See Date.

<hw>Native Deal</hw>, n. See Deal.

<hw>Native Dog</hw>, n. Another name for the

Dingo (q.v.).

<hw>Native Elderberry</hw>, n. See Elderberry.

<hw>Native Flag</hw>, n. See under Flax, Native,

and New Zealand.

<hw>Native Fuchsia</hw>, n. See Fuchsia.

<hw>Native Furze</hw>, n. See Hakea.

<hw>Native Ginger</hw>, n. See Ginger.

<hw>Native Grape</hw>, n. See Grape, Gippsland.

<hw>Native-hen</hw>, n. name applied to various species

of the genus Tribonyx (q.v.). The Australian species

are--

Tribonyx mortieri, Du Bus., called by Gould the

Native Hen of the Colonists;

Black-tailed N.-h.,

T. ventralis, Gould;

and in Tasmania,

Tribonyx gouldi, Sclater. See Tribonyx.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vi. pl. 71:

"Tribonyx Mortierii, Du Bus., native-hen of the

colonists."

<hw>Native Hickory</hw>, n. See Hickory.

<hw>Native Holly</hw>, n. See Holly.

<hw>Native Hops</hw>, n. See Hops.

<hw>Native Hyacinth</hw>, n. See Hyacinth.

<hw>Native Indigo</hw>. n. See Indigo.

<hw>Native Ivy</hw>, n. See Ivy, and Grape,

Macquarie Harbour.

<hw>Native Jasmine</hw>, n. See Jasmine.

<hw>Native Juniper</hw>, n. Same as Native

Currant. See under Currant.

<hw>Native Kumquat</hw>, n. Same as Desert Lemon

(q.v.).

<hw>Native Laburnum</hw>, n. See Laburnum.

<hw>Native Laurel</hw>, n. See Laurel.

<hw>Native Lavender</hw>, n. See Lavender.

<hw>Native Leek</hw>, n. See Leek.

<hw>Native Lilac</hw>, n. a Tasmanian plant.

See Lilac.

<hw>Native Lime</hw>, n. See Lime.

<hw>Native Lucerne</hw>, n. i.q. Queensland Hemp.

See under Hemp.

<hw>Native Mangrove</hw>, n. Tasmanian name for the

Boobialla (q.v.).

<hw>Native Mignonette</hw>, n. See Mignonette.

<hw>Native Millet</hw>, n. See Millet.

<hw>Native Mint</hw>, n. See Mint.

<hw>Native Mistletoe</hw>, n. See Mistletoe.

<hw>Native Mulberry</hw>, n. See Mulberry.

<hw>Native Myrtle</hw>, n. See Myrtle.

<hw>Native Nectarine</hw>, n. another name for the

Emu-Apple. See under Apple.

<hw>Native Oak</hw>, n. See Oak.

<hw>Native Olive</hw>, n. See under Olive and

Marblewood.

<hw>Native Onion</hw>, n. Same as Native Leek.

See Leek.

<hw>Native Orange</hw>, n. See under Orange.

<hw>Native Passion-flower</hw>, n.

See Passion-flower.

<hw>Native Peach</hw>, n. i.q. Quandong (q.v.).

<hw>Native Pear</hw>, n. See Hakea

and Pear.

<hw>Native Pennyroyal</hw>, n. See Pennyroyal.

<hw>Native Pepper</hw>, n. See Pepper.

<hw>Native Plantain</hw>, n. See Plantain.

<hw>Native Plum</hw>, n. See Plum, Wild.

<hw>Native Pomegranate</hw>, n. See Orange,

Native.

<hw>Native Potato</hw>, n. See Potato.

<hw>Native Quince</hw>, n. Another name for

Emu-Apple. See Apple.

<hw>Native Raspberry</hw>, n. See Raspberry.

<hw>Native Rocket</hw>, n. See Rocket.

<hw>Native Sandalwood</hw>, n. See Sandalwood

and Raspberry-Jam Tree.

<hw>Native Sarsaparilla</hw>, n.

See Sarsaparilla.

<hw>Native Sassafras</hw>, n. See Sassafras.

<hw>Native Scarlet-runner</hw>, n. See Kennedya.

<hw>Native Shamrock</hw>. n. See Shamrock.

<hw>Native Sloth</hw>, n. i.q. Native Bear.

See Bear.

<hw>Native Speedwell</hw>, n. See Speedwell.

<hw>Native Tamarind</hw>, n. See Tamarind-tree.

<hw>Native Tiger</hw>, n. See Tasmanian Tiger.

<hw>Native Tobacco</hw>, n. See Tobacco.

<hw>Native Tulip</hw>, n. See Waratah.

<hw>Native Turkey</hw>, n. Same as Wild Turkey.

A vernacular name given to Eupodotis australis, Gray,

which is not a turkey at all, but a true Bustard. See

Turkey.

<hw>Native Vetch</hw>, n. See Vetch.

<hw>Native Willow</hw>, n. See Boobialla and

Poison-berry Tree.

<hw>Native Yam</hw>, n. See Yam.

<hw>Necho</hw>, and <hw>Neko</hw>. See Nikau.

<hw>Nectarine, Native</hw>, n. another name for

Emu-Apple. See Apple.

<hw>Needle-bush</hw>, n. name applied to two Australian

trees, Hakea leucoptera, R. Br., N.O. Proteaceae;

called also Pin-bush and Water-tree (q.v.)

and Beefwood; Acacia rigens, Cunn., N.O.

Leguminosae (called also Nealie). Both trees have

fine sharp spines.

<hw>Negro-head</hw> Beech, n. See Beech.

<hw>Neinei</hw>, n. Maori name for New Zealand shrub,

Dracophyllum longifolium, R. Br., also

D. traversii, N.O. Epacrideae.

1865. J. Von Haast, `A Journey to the West Coast, 1865' (see

`Geology of Westland,' p. 78):

"An undescribed superb tree like Dracophyllum, not

unlike the D. latifolium of the North Island, began to

appear here. The natives call it nene. (Named

afterwards D. traversii by Dr. Hooker.) It has leaves

a foot long running out into a slender point, of a reddish brown

colour at the upper part, between which the elegant flower-

panicle comes forth."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 128:

"Neinei, an ornamental shrub-tree, with long grassy leaves.

Wood white, marked with satin-like specks, and adapted for

cabinet-work."

1888. J. Adams, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol.

xxi. art. ii. p. 40:

"On the flat and rounded top the tallest plants are stunted

neinei."

<hw>Nephrite</hw>, n. See Greenstone.

<hw>Nestor</hw>, n. scientific name for a genus of New

Zealand Parrots. See Kaka and Kea.

1863. S. Butler, `First Year in Canterbury Settlement,' p. 58:

"There was a kind of dusky, brownish-green parrot too, which

the scientific call a Nestor. What they mean by this name I

know not. To the unscientific it is a rather dirty-looking

bird, with some bright red feathers under its wings. It is

very tame, sits still to be petted, and screams like a parrot."

<hw>Nettle-tree</hw>, n. Two species of

Laportea, N.O. Urticaceae, large scrub-trees, are

called by this name--Giant Nettle, L. gigas, Wedd., and

Small-leaved Nettle, L. photiniphylla, Wedd.; they have

rigid stinging hairs. These are both species of such magnitude

as to form timber-trees. A third, L. moroides, Wedd.,

is a small tree, with the stinging hairs extremely virulent.

See also preceding words. /??/

1849. J. P. Townsend, `Rambles in New South Wales,' p. 34:

"In the scrubs is found a tree, commonly called the nettle-

tree (Urtica gigas). It is often thirty feet in height,

and has a large, broad, green leaf. It is appropriately named;

and the pain caused by touching the leaf is, I think, worse

than that occasioned by the sting of a wasp."

<hw>Never, Never Country</hw>, or <hw>Never, Never Land</hw>.

See quotations. Mr. Cooper's explanation (1857 quotation) is

not generally accepted.

1857. F. de Brebant Cooper, `Wild Adventures in Australia,'

p. 68:

"With the aid of three stock-keepers, soon after my arrival at

Illarrawarra, I had the cattle mustered, and the draft destined

for the Nievah vahs ready for for the road."

[Footnote]: "Nievah vahs, sometimes incorrectly pronounced

never nevers, a Comderoi term signifying unoccupied land."

1884. A. W. Stirling, `The Never Never Land: a Ride in

North Queensland,' p. 5:

"The `Never Never Land,' as the colonists call all that portion

of it [Queensland] which lies north or west of Cape Capricorn."

1887. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. i. p. 279:

"In very sparsely populated country, such as the district of

Queensland, known as the Never Never Country--presumably

because a person, who has once been there, invariably

asseverates that he will never, never, on any consideration,

go back."

1890. J. S. O'Halloran, Secretary Royal Colonial Institute,

apud Barrere and Leland:

"The Never, Never Country means in Queensland the occupied

pastoral country which is furthest removed from the more

settled districts."

1890. A. J. Vogan, `The Black Police,' p. 85:

"The weird `Never, Never Land,' so called by the earliest

pioneers from the small chance they anticipated, on reaching

it, of ever being able to return to southern civilization."

<hw>Newberyite</hw>, n. [Named after J. Cosmo Newbery

of Melbourne.] "A hydrous phosphate of magnesium occurring in

orthorhombic crystals in the bat-guano of the Skipton Caves,

Victoria." (`Century.')

<hw>New Chum</hw>, n. a new arrival, especially from the

old country: generally used with more or less contempt; what in

the United States is called a `tenderfoot.'

1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' vol. i. p. 99:

"He was also what they termed a `new chum,' or one newly

arrived."

1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 366:

"`New Chum,' in opposition to `Old Chum.' The former

`cognomen' peculiarizing [sic] the newly-arrived Emigrant;

the latter as a mark of respect attached to the more experienced

Colonist."

1855. `How to Settle in Victoria,' p. 15:

"They appear to suffer from an apprehension of being under-

sold, or in some other way implicated by the inexperience of,

as they call him, the `new chum.'"

1865. `Once a Week,' `The Bulla Bulla Bunyip':

"I was, however, comparatively speaking, a `new chum,'

and therefore my explanation of the mystery met with

scant respect."

1874. W. M. B., `Narrative of Edward Crewe,' p. 17:

"To be a new chum is not agreeable--it is something like being

a new boy at school--you are bored with questions for some time

after your arrival as to how you like the place, and what you

are going to do; and people speak to you in a pitying and

patronizing manner, smiling at your real or inferred simplicity

in colonial life, and altogether `sitting upon' you with much

frequency and persistence."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Head Station,' p. 32:

"A new chum is no longer a new chum when he can plait a

stock-whip."

1886. P. Clarke [Title]:

"The New Chum in Australia."

1887. W. S. S. Tyrwhitt [Title]:

"The New Chum in the Queensland Bush."

1890. Tasma, `In her Earliest Youth,' p. 152:

"I've seen such a lot of those new chums, one way and another.

They knock down all their money at the first go-off, and then

there's nothing for them to do but to go and jackaroo up in

Queensland."

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 4:

"The buggy horse made a bolt of it when a new-chum Englishman

was driving her."

1892. Mrs. H. E. Russell, `Too Easily jealous,' p. 155:

"One man coolly told me it was because I was a new chum,

just as though it were necessary for a fellow to rusticate for

untold ages in these barbarous solitudes, before he is allowed

to give an opinion on any subject connected with the colonies."

<hw>New Chumhood</hw>, n. the period and state of being

a New Chum.

1883. W. Jardine Smith, in `Nineteenth Century,' November,

p. 849:

"The `bumptiousness' observable in the early days of `new

chumhood.'"

<hw>New Holland</hw>, n. the name, now extinct, first

given to Australia by Dutch explorers.

1703. Capt. William Dampier,' Voyages,' vol. iii. [Title]:

"A Voyage to New Holland, &c., in the Year 1699."

1814. M. Flinders, `Voyage to Terra Australis,' Intro. p. ii:

"The vast regions to which this voyage was principally

directed, comprehend, in the western part, the early

discoveries of the Dutch, under the name of New Holland; and in

the east, the coasts explored by British navigators, and named

New South Wales."

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 2:

"The Spaniards at the commencement of the seventeenth century

were the discoverers of New Holland; and from them it received

the name of Australia. It subsequently, however, obtained its

present name of New Holland from the Dutch navigators, who

visited it a few years afterwards."

[The Spaniards did not call New Holland Australia

(q.v.). The Spaniard Quiros gave the name of Australia del

Espiritu Santo to one of the New Hebrides (still known as

Espiritu Santo), thinking it to be part of the `Great South

Land.' See Captain Cook's remarks on this subject in

`Hawkesworth's Voyages,' vol. iii. p. 602.]

1850. J. Bonwick, `Geography for Australian Youth,' p. 6:

"Australasia, or Australia, consists of the continent of New

Holland, or Australia, the island of Tasmania, or Van Diemen's

Land, and the islands of New Zealand."

[In the map accompanying the above work `Australia' is

printed across the whole continent, and in smaller type `New

Holland' stretches along the Western half, and `New

South Wales' along the whole of the Eastern.]

<hw>New South Wales</hw>, n. the name of the oldest and

most important colony in Australia. The name "New Wales" was

first given by Captain Cook in 1770, from the supposed

resemblance of the coast to that of the southern coast of

Wales; but before his arrival in England he changed the name to

"New South Wales." It then applied to all the east of the

continent. Victoria and Queensland have been taken out of the

parent colony. It is sometimes called by the slang name of

Eastralia, as opposed to Westralia (q.v).

<hw>New Zealand</hw>, n. This name was given to the

colony by Abel Jansz Tasman, the Dutch navigator, who visited

it in 1642. He first called it Staaten-land. It is now

frequently called Maoriland (q.v.).

<hw>New Zealand Spinach</hw>, n. See Spinach.

<hw>Ngaio, <i</hw>>n. Maori name for a New Zealand tree,

Myoporum laetum, Forst.; generally corrupted into

Kaio, in South Island.

1873. `Catalogue of Vienna Exhibition':

"Ngaio: wood light, white and tough, used for gun-stocks."

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

Institute,' vol. ix. art. xiv. p. 206:

"A common New Zealand shrub, or tree, which may be made

useful for shelter, viz. the Ngaio."

1880. W. Colenso, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,'

vol. xiii. art. i. p. 33:

"The fruits of several species of Rubus, and of the Ngaio

(Myoporum laetum), were also eaten, especially by

children."

1892. `Otago Witness,' Nov. 3, `Native Trees':

"Myoporum Laetum (Ngaio). This is generally called kio

by colonists. It is a very rapid-growing tree for the first

five or six years after it has been planted. They are very

hardy, and like the sea air. I saw these trees growing at

St. Kilda, near Melbourne, thirty years ago."

<hw>Nicker Nuts</hw>, n. i.q. Bonduc Nuts (q.v.).

<hw>Nigger</hw>, n. an Australian black or aboriginal.

[Of course an incorrect use. He is not a negro, any more than

the Hindoo is.]

1874. M. C., `Explorers,' p. 25:

"I quite thought the niggers had made an attack."

1891. `The Argus,' Nov. 7, p. 13, col. 5:

"The natives of Queensland are nearly always spoken of as

`niggers' by those who are brought most directly in contact

with them."

<hw>Nigger-head</hw>, n. (1) Name given in New Zealand

to hard blackstones found at the Blue Spur and other mining

districts. They are prized for their effectiveness in aiding

cement-washing. The name is applied in America to a round

piece of basic igneous rock.

(2) Name used in Queensland for blocks of coral above water.

1876. Capt. J. Moresby, R. N., `Discoveries and Surveys in

New Guinea,' pp. 2-3:

"The gigantic Barrier Reef is submerged in parts, generally to

a shallow depth, and traceable only by the surf that breaks on

it, out of which a crowd of `nigger heads,' black points of

coral rock, peep up in places . . ."

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,'

p. 111:

"Abundantly on the Queensland coast, especially on the coral

reefs, where all the outstanding blocks of coral (nigger-heads)

are covered with them."

<hw>Nightjar</hw>, n. English bird-name, applied in

Australia to the following species--

Large-tailed Nightjar--

Caprimulgus macrurus, Hors.

Little N.--

AEgotheles novae-hollandiae, Gould.

Spotted N.--

Eurostopodus guttatus, Vig. and Hors.

White-throated N.--

E. albogularis, Vig. and Hors.

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

palm-tree, Areca sapida, N.O. Palmeae. Spelt

also Necho and Neko.

1843. `An Ordinance for imposing a tax on Raupo Houses,

Session II. No. xvii. of the former legislative Council of

New Zealand':

[From A. Domett's collection of Ordinances, 1850.]

"Section 2. . . . there shall be levied in respect of every

building constructed wholly or in part of raupo, nikau,

toitoi, wiwi, kakaho, straw or thatch of any

description [ . . . L20]."

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

p. 270:

[The house was] "covered with thick coating of the leaves of

the nikau (a kind of palm) and tufts of grass."

1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' [Note] p. 75:

"The necho or neko is a large tree-like plant

known elsewhere as the mountain cabbage."

1862. `All the Year Round,' `From the Black Rocks on Friday,'

May 17, No. 160:

"I found growing, as I expected, amongst the trees abundance

of the wild palm or nikau. The heart of one or two of these

I cut out with my knife. The heart of this palm is about the

thickness of a man's wrist, is about a foot long, and tastes

not unlike an English hazel-nut, when roasted on the ashes of

a fire. It is very nutritious."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 86:

"The pale green pinnate-leaved nikau."

1888. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii.

p. 210:

"With the exception of the kauri and the nekau-palm nearly

every tree which belongs to the colony grows in the

`seventy-mile bush' of Wellington."

<hw>Nipper</hw>, n. local name in Sydney for Alphaeus

socialis, Heller, a species of prawn.

<hw>Nobbler</hw>, n. a glass of spirits; lit. that which

nobbles or gets hold of you. Nobble is the frequentative form

of nab. No doubt there is an allusion to the bad spirits

frequently sold at bush public-houses, but if a teetotaler had

invented the word he could not have invented one involving

stronger condemnation.

1852. G. F. P., `Gold Pen and Pencil Sketches,' canto xiv.:

"The summit gained, he pulls up at the Valley,

To drain a farewell `nobbler' to his Sally."

1859. Frank Fowler, `Southern Lights and Shadows,' p. 52:

"To pay for liquor for another is to `stand,' or to `shout,'

or to `sacrifice.' The measure is called a `nobbler,' or a

`break-down.'"

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' vol. ii.

p. 201:

"A nobbler is the proper colonial phrase for a drink at a

public-house."

1876. J. Brenchley, `May Bloom,' p. 80:

"And faster yet the torrents flow

Of nobblers bolted rapidly."

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 249:

"When cruising about . . . with a crew of Kurnai . . . I

heard two of my men discussing where we could camp, and one, on

mentioning a place, said, speaking his own language, that there

was `le-en (good) nobler.' I said, `there is no nobler there.'

He then said in English, `Oh! I meant water.' On inquiry I

learned that a man named Yan (water) had died shortly, before,

and that not liking to use that word, they had to invent a new

one."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 36:

"Only to pull up again at the nearest public-house, to the

veranda of which his horse's bridle was hung until he had

imbibed a nobbler or two."

<hw>Nobblerise</hw>, v. to drink frequent nobblers

(q.v.).

1864. J. Rogers, `The New Rush,' p. 51:

"And oft a duffer-dealing digger there

Will nobblerize in jerks of small despair . ."

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 268:

"The institution of `nobblerising' is carried out in far

different places."

<hw>Noddy</hw>, n. common English name for the sea-bird.

The species observed in Australia are--

The Noddy--

Anous stolidus, Linn.

Black-cheeked N.--

A. melanogenys, Gray.

Grey N.--

A. cinereus, Gould.

Lesser N.--

A. tenuirostris, Temm.

White-capped N.--

A. leucocapillus, Gould.

<hw>Nonda</hw>, n. aboriginal name for a tree,

Parinarium Nonda, F. v. M., N.O. Rosaceae,

of Queensland. It has an edible, mealy fruit, rather

like a plum.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 315:

"We called this tree the `Nonda,' from its resemblance to a

tree so called by the natives in the Moreton Bay district."

<hw>Noogoora Bur</hw>, n. a Queensland plant,

Xanthium strumarium, Linn., N.O. Compositae.

<hw>Noon-flower</hw>, n. a rare name for the

Mesembryanthemum. See Pig-face.

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

"The thick-leaved noon-flower that swings from chalk cliffs

and creek banks in the auriferous country is a delectable salad."

<hw>Norfolk Island Pine</hw>, n. See Pine.

<hw>Note</hw>, n. short for Bank-note, and always used

for a one-pound note, the common currency. A note = L1.

1864. J. Rogers, `New Rush,' pt. ii. p. 28:

"A note's so very trifling, it's no sooner chang'd than gone;

For it is but twenty shillings."

1875. Wood and Lapham, `Waiting for Mail,' p. 39:

"And even at half fifty notes a week

You ought to have made a pile."

1884. Marcus Clarke, `Memorial Volume,' p. 92:

"I lent poor Dick Snaffle a trotting pony I had, and he sold

him for forty notes."

<hw>Notornis</hw>, n. a bird of New Zealand allied to

the Porphyrio (q.v.), first described from a fossil

skull by Professor Owen (1848), and then thought to be extinct,

like the Moa. Professor Owen called the bird Notornis

mantelli, and, curiously enough, Mr. Walter Mantell, in

whose honour the bird was named, two years afterwards captured

a live specimen; a third specimen was captured in 1879. The

word is from the Greek notos, south, and 'ornis,

bird. The Maori names were Moho and Takahe

(q.v.).

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

to which belongs the Marsupial Mole (q.v.).

<hw>Nugget</hw>, n. a lump of gold. The noun nugget is

not Australian, though often so supposed. Skeat (`Etymological

Dictionary,' s.v.) gives a quotation from North's `Plutarch'

with the word in a slightly different shape, viz.,

niggot. "The word nugget was in use in Australia many

years before the goldfields were heard of. A thick-set young

beast was called `a good nugget.' A bit of a fig of tobacco

was called `a nugget of tobacco.'" (G. W. Rusden.)

1852. Sir W. T. Denison, `Proceedings of the Royal Society

of Van Diemen s Land,' vol. ii. p. 203:

`In many instances it is brought to market in lumps, or

`nuggets' as they are called, which contain, besides the gold

alloyed with some metal, portions of quartz or other extraneous

material, forming the matrix in which the gold was originally

deposited, or with which it had become combined accidentally."

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

p. 51:

"They lead a peaceful, happy, pastoral life--dig in a hole all

day, and get drunk religiously at night. They are respected,

admired, and esteemed. Suddenly they find a nugget, and lo!

the whole tenor of their life changes."

<hw>Nugget</hw>, v. Queensland slang. See quotation.

1887. R. M. Praed, `Longleat of Kooralbyn,' c. iii. p. 25:

"To nugget: in Australian slang, to appropriate your

neighbours' unbranded calves."

Ibid. c. xviii. p. 182:

"If he does steal a calf now and then, I know several squatters

who are given to nuggeting."

<hw>Nuggety</hw>, adj. applied to a horse or a man.

Short, thick-set and strong. See G. W. Rusden's note under

Nugget.

1896. Private Letter, March 2:

"Nuggety is used in the same sense as Bullocky

(q.v.), but with a slight difference of meaning, what we should

say `compact.' Bullocky has rather a sense of

over-strength inducing an awkwardness of movement.

Nuggety does not include the last suggestion."

<hw>Nulla-nulla</hw>, n. (spellings various) aboriginal

name. A battle club of the aborigines in Australia.

1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions into the Interior of

Eastern Australia,' vol. i. p. 71:

"He then threw a club, or nulla-nulla, to the foot

of the tree."

1853. C. Harpur, `Creek of the Four Graves':

"Under the crushing stroke

Of huge clubbed nulla-nullas."

1873. J. B. Stephens, `Black Gin,' p. 61:

"Lay aside thy nullah-nullahs

Is there war betwixt us two?"

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 9:

"The blacks . . . battered in his skull with a nulla-nulla."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 11:

"They would find fit weapons for ghastly warriors in the long

white shank-bones gleaming through the grass--appropriate

gnulla-gnullas and boomerangs."

1889. P. Beveridge, `Aborigines of Victoria and Riverina,'

p. 67:

"The nulla-nulla is another bludgeon which bears a distinctive

character . . . merely a round piece of wood, three feet long

and two and a half inches thick, brought to a blunt point at

the end. The mallee is the wood from which it is generally

made."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 72:

"I frequently saw another weapon, the `nolla-nolla' or club,

the warlike weapon of the Australian native most commonly in

use. It is a piece of hard and heavy wood sharpened to a point

at both ends. One end is thick and tapers gradually to the

other end, which is made rough in order to give the hand a more

secure hold; in using he weapon the heavy end is thrown back

before it is hurled."

1892. J. Fraser, `Aborigines of New South Wales,' p. 73:

"One of the simplest of Australian clubs, the `nulla-nulla'

resembles the root of a grass-tree in the shape of its head

. . . in shape something like a child's wicker-rattle."

<hw>Nut</hw>, n. (1) Slang. Explained in quotation.

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 60:

"The peculiar type of the Australian native (I do not mean the

aboriginal blackfellow, but the Australian white), which has

received the significant sobriquet of `The Nut,' may be

met with to all parts of Australia, but more particularly . . .

in far-off inland bush townships. . . . What is a Nut? . . .

Imagine a long, lank, lantern jawed, whiskerless, colonial

youth . . . generally nineteen years of age, with a smooth

face, destitute of all semblance of a crop of `grass,' as he

calls it in his vernacular."

(2) Dare-devil, etc. "Tommy the Nut" was the alias of

the prisoner who, according to the story, was first described

as "a-larrikin," by Sergeant Dalton. See Larrikin.

<hw>Nut, Bonduc</hw>, n. See Bonduc Nut.

<hw>Nut, Burrawang</hw>, n. See Burrawang.

<hw>Nut, Candle</hw>, n. See Candle-nut.

<hw>Nut, Nicker</hw>, n. See Bonduc Nut.

<hw>Nut, Queensland</hw>, n. See Queensland Nut.

<hw>Nut, Union</hw>, n. See Union Nut.

<hw>Nut-Grass</hw>, n. an Australian plant, Cyperus

rotundus, Linn., N.O. Cyperaceae. The specific and

the vernacular name both refer to the round tubers of the

plant; it is also called Erriakura (q.v.).

<hw>Nutmeg, Queensland</hw>, n. See Queensland

Nutmeg.

<hw>Nut-Palm</hw>, n. a tree, Cycas media,

R. Br., N.O. Cycadeae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 21:

"Nut-Palm. Employed by the aborigines as food. An excellent

farina is obtained from it."

Oak, n. The Oak of the Northern Hemisphere

(Quercus) is not found among the indigenous trees

of Australia; but the name Oak is applied there to

the trees of the genus Casuarina (q.v.), and usually

in the curious form of She-Oak (q.v.). The species

have various appellations in various parts, such as

Swamp-Oak, River-Oak, Bull-Oak,

Desert-Oak; and even the word He-Oak is applied

sometimes to the more imposing species of She-Oak,

though it is not recognised by Maiden, whilst the word

Native Oak is indiscriminately applied to them all.

The word Oak is further extended to a few trees, not

Casuarinae, given below; and in New Zealand it is also

applied to Matipo (q.v.) and Titoki, or

Alectryon (q.v.).

The following table of the various trees receiving the name of

Oak is compiled from J. H. Maiden's `Useful Native Plants'--

Bull-Oak--

Casuarina equisetifolia, Forst.;

C. glauca, Sieb.

Forest-O.--

Casuarina equisetifolia, Forst.;

C. suberosa; Otto and Diet.;

C. torulosa, Ait.

Mountain-O.--

Queensland name for Casuarina torulosa, Ait.

River Black-O.--

Casuarina suberosa, Otto and Diet.

River-O.--

Callistemon salignus, De C., N.O. Myrtaceae;

Casuarina cunninghamii, Miq.;

C. distyla, Vent.;

C. stricta, Ait.;

C. torulosa, Ait.

Scrub Silky-O.--

Villaresia moorei, F. v. M., N.O. Olacineae.

Called also Maple.