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

"Casuarina torulosa, the she-oak. The young fruit and

young shoots afford an agreeable acid by chewing, which allays

thirst."

1835. Ross, `Hobart-town Almanack,' p. 75 [Article said by

Sir Joseph Hooker (Jan. 26, 1897) to be by Mr. Ronald Gunn]:

"Casuarina torulosa? She-oak. C. stricta? He-oak. C.

tenuissima? Marsh-oak. The name of the first of these is said

to be a corruption of Sheac, the name of an American tree,

producing the beef wood, like our Sheoak. The second species

has obtained the name of He-oak in contradistinction of

She-oak, as if they constituted one dioecious plant, the one

male and the other female, whereas they are perfectly distinct

species."

1842. `Western Australia,' p. 80:

"The Shea-oak (a corruption of sheak, the native name for this,

or a similar tree, in Van Diemen's Land) is used chiefly for

shingles."

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

"Then to cut down the timber, gum, box, she-oak, and

wattle-trees, was an Herculean task."

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

"They are generally a variety of Casuarinae, commonly

called she-oak by the colonists, and the sighing of the wind

among the sail-needle-like leaves, that constitute their

vegetation, produces a melancholy sound."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 219:

"Most of the trees of this colony owe their names to the

sawyers who first tested their qualities; and who were guided

by the colour and character of the wood, knowing and caring

nothing about botanical relations. Thus the swamp-oak and

she-oak have rather the exterior of the larch than any quercine

aspect."

1853. S. Sidney, `Three Colonies of Australia,' p. 277:

"A dull scene, sprinkled with funereal shiak or `she-oak

trees.'"

Ibid. p. 367:

"Groves of shea-oaks, eucalyptus and mimosa."

1857. W. Howitt, `Tallangetta,' vol. i. p. 24:

"Trees of a peculiar character--the Casuarinas or Shiacks--

part of which, with their more rigid and outstretched branches,

resemble pine-trees, and others, with theirs drooping gracefully,

resembling large trees of bloom."

1859. D. Bunce, `Australasiatic Reminiscences,' p. 33:

"The trees forming the most interesting groups were the

Casuarina torulosa, she-oak, and C. stricta,

he-oak. . . . The name of the first is said to have been

derived from `sheeac,' the name of an American tree producing

the beef-wood like our she-oak. C. stricta, or he-oak,

has been named in contradistinction to the sexes, as if they

constituted one dioecious plant, whereas they are two perfectly

distinct species."

1860. J. D. Hooker, `Botany of the Antarctic Voyage,'

part iii. [Flora Tasmaniae], p. 348:

"Casuarina suberosa. This is an erect species, growing

15 feet high. . . It is well known as the `He-oak,' in

contradistinction to the C. quadrivalvis, or `She-oak,'

a name, I believe, adapted from the North American `Sheack'

though more nearly allied botanically to the Northern Oaks than

any Tasmanian genus except Fagus, they have nothing to

do with that genus in habit or appearance, nor with the

Canadian `Sheack.'"

1864. J. McDouall Stuart, `Explorations in Australia,' p. 150:

"Within the last mile or two we have passed a few patches of

Shea-oak, growing large, having a very rough and thick bark,

nearly black. They have a dismal appearance."

1868. J. Bonwick, `John Batman, Founder of Victoria,' p.103:

"Even Batman's hill, the memorial of his ancient encampment,

has been levelled; and the she-oaks upon that grassy mound no

longer sigh in the breeze a dirge for the hero of exploration."

1869. `The Argus,' May 25, p. 5, col. 2:

"The she-oak trees, of which there are large quantities in the

sandy soil of the salt-bush country, proved very serviceable

during the late drought. Some of the settlers caused thousands

of she-oaks to be stripped of their boughs, and it was a sight

to see some of the famishing cattle rushing after the men who

were employed in thus supplying the poor animals with the means

of sustaining life. The cattle ate the boughs and the bark

with the greatest avidity, and the bushman's axe as it felled

the she-oak was music to their ears."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 258:

"She-oaks are scraggy-looking poles of trees, rather like

fir-trees."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 203:

"The rough bark of the she-oak and its soft sappy wood . . ."

1890. `The Argus,' June 14, p. 4, col. 2:

"I came to a little clump of sheoaks, moaning like living

things."

1895. `Notes and Queries,' Aug. 3, p. 87:

"The process followed by the Australian colonists when they

converted a native word for the Casuarina trees into

`she-oak.'"

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 204:

"The creek went down with a broken song,

'Neath the she-oaks high;

The waters carried the song along,

And the oaks a sigh."

(2) Slang name for colonial beer.

1888. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii. p. 83:

"Their drivers had completed their regulation half-score of

`long-sleevers' of `she-oak.'"

1890. Rolf Boldrewood,' Miner's Right,' c. vi. p. 59:

"Then have a glass of beer--it's only she-oak, but there's

nothing wrong about it."

<hw>She-Oak nets</hw>, nets placed on each side of a gangway

from a ship to the pier, to prevent sailors who have been

indulging in she-oak (beer) falling into the water.

<hw>Shepherd</hw>, v. (1) to guard a mining claim

and do a little work on it, so as to preserve legal rights.

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 135:

"Few of their claims however are actually `bottomed,' for the

owners merely watch their more active contemporaries."

(Footnote): "This is termed `shepherding' a claim."

1890. `Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 11:

"All the ground . . . is held in blocks which are being

merely shepherded."

(2) By transference from (1). To follow or hang about a person

in the hopes of getting something out of him. Compare similar

use of shadow.

1896. Modern:

"The robbers knowing he had so much coin about him, determined

to shepherd him till an opportunity occurred of robbery with

impunity."

<hw>Shepherd</hw>, n. a miner who holds a claim but does

not work it.

188-. `Argus' (date lost):

"The term `jumper,' being one of reproach, brought quite a yell

from the supporters of the motion. Dr. Quick retorted with a

declaration that the Grand Junction Company were all

`shepherds,' and that `shepherds' are the worse of the two

classes. The `jumpers' sat in one gallery and certain

representatives or deputy `shepherds' in the other. Names are

deceitful. . . . The Maldon jumpers were headed by quite a

venerable gentleman, whom no one could suspect of violent

exercise nor of regrettable designs upon the properties of his

neighbours. And the shepherds in the other gallery, instead of

being light-hearted beings with pipes and crooks--a la

Watteau and Pope--looked unutterable things at the individuals

who had cast sheep's eyes on their holding."

<hw>Shicer</hw>, n. (1) An unproductive claim

or mine: a duffer. From the German scheissen.

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 135:

"A claim without gold is termed a `shicer.'"

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' c. ix. p. 256:

"It's a long sight better nor bottoming a shicer."

1863. `Victorian Hansard,' May 10, vol. ix. p. 571:

"Mr. Howard asked whether the member for Collingwood knew

the meaning of the word `shicer.' Mr. Don replied in the

affirmative. He was not an exquisite, like the hon. member

(laughter), and he had worked on the goldfields, and he had

always understood a shicer to be a hole with no gold."

1870. S. Lemaitre, `Songs of Goldfields,' p. 15:

"Remember when you first came up

Like shicers, innocent of gold."

1894. `The Argus,' March 10, p. 4, col. 7:

"There are plenty of creeks in this country that have only so

far been scratched--a hole sunk here and there and abandoned.

No luck, no perseverance; and so the place has been set down as

a duffer, or, as the old diggers' more expressive term had it,

a `shicer.'"

(2) Slang. By transference from (1). A man who does not pay

his debts of honour.

1896. Modern:

"Don't take his bet, he's a regular shicer."

<hw>Shingle-splitting</hw>, vb. n. obsolete Tasmanian

slang.

1830. `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 89:

"When a man gets behindhand with his creditors in Hobart Town,

and rusticates in the country in order to avoid the

unseasonable calls of the Sheriff's little gentleman, that

delights to stand at a corner where four streets meet, so as

the better to watch the motions of his prey, he is said to be

shingle-splitting."

<hw>Shirallee</hw>, n. slang term for a swag or bundle

of blankets.

<hw>Shout</hw>, v. to stand treat. (1) Of drink. (2) By

transference, of other things. The successful digger used to

call passers-by to drink at his expense. The origin may

also be from noisy bar-rooms, or crowded bar-parlours, where

the man who was to pay for the liquor or refreshment called or

shouted for the waiter or barman. When many men drink

together the waiter of course looks for payment from the man

who first calls or shouts out for him to give him the

order. Or is "pay the shout" a variant of "pay the shot," or

tavern reckoning? In its first sense the word has reached the

United States, and is freely employed there.

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 335:

"And so I shouted for him and he shouted for me."

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 80:

"Gentlemen required a great deal of attendance, did not `shout'

(the slang term for ordering grog) every quarter of an hour,

and therefore spent comparatively nothing."

1867. A. L. Gordon, `Sea-Spray' (Credat Judaeus), p. 139:

"You may shout some cheroots, if you like; no champagne

For this child.'

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

"This `shouting,' as `treating' is termed in the colonies,

is the curse of the Northern goldfields. If you buy a horse you

must shout, the vendor must shout, and the bystanders who have

been shouted to [more usual, for] must shout in their turn."

1885. D. Sladen, `In Cornwall, etc.,' p. 156 [Title, `The

Sigh of the Shouter']:

"Give me the wealth I have squandered in `shouting.'"

1887. J. F. Hogan, `The Irish in Australia, p. 149:.

"Drinking is quite a common practice, and what is familiarly

known as `shouting' was at one time almost universal, though of

late years this peculiarly dangerous evil has been considerably

diminished in extent. To `shout' in a public-house means to

insist on everybody present, friends and strangers alike,

drinking at the shouter's expense, and as no member of the

party will allow himself to be outdone in this reckless sort of

hospitality, each one `shouts' in succession, with the result

that before long they are all overcome by intoxication."

1891. W. Tilley, `Wild West of Tasmania,' p. 30:

"Some heavy drinking is indulged in through the `shouting'

system, which is the rule."

1893. E. W. Hornung, `Tiny Luttrell,' vol. ii. c. xv.

p. 98:

"To insist on `shouting' Ruth a penny chair overlooking the

ornamental water in St. James's Park."

(p.99): "You shall not be late, because I'll shout a hansom

too."

<hw>Shout</hw>, n. a free drink.

1864. H. Simcox, `Outward Bound,' p. 81:

"The arms are left and off they go,

And many a shout they're treated to."

1874. Garnet Walch, Head over Heels,' p. 83:

"I . . . gave the boys round a spread an' a shout."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 78:

"Two lucky diggers laid a wager which of them should treat the

assembled company with the largest shout.'"

<hw>Shoveller</hw>, n. the English name for the duck

Spatula clypeata, Linn., a species also present in

Australia. The other Australian species is Spatula

rhynchotis, Lath., also called Blue-wing.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vii. pl. 12:

"Spatula Rhynchotis, Australian Shoveller."

<hw>Shovel-nose</hw>, n. a New South Wales species of

Ray-fish, Rhinobatus bougainvillei, Cuv.; called also

the Blind Shark, and Sand Shark. In the Northern

Hemisphere, the name is given to three different sharks and a

sturgeon.

<hw>Shrike</hw>, n. a bird-name, generally used in

Australia in composition. See Crow-Shrike,

Cuckoo-Shrike, Shrike-Robin,

Shrike-Thrush, and Shrike-Tit.

<hw>Shrike-Robin</hw>, n. a genus of Australasian

Shrikes, Eopsaltria (q.v.). The species are--

Grey-breasted Shrike-Robin--

Eopsaltria gularis, Quoy and Gaim.

Large-headed S.-R.--

E. capito, Gould.

Little S.-R.--

E. nana, Mull.

White-breasted S.-R.--

E. georgiana, Quoy and Gaim.

Yellow-breasted S.-R.--

E. australis, Lath.

1895. W. O. Legge, `Australasian Association for the

Advancement of Science' (Brisbane), p. 447:

"As regards portions of Gould's English nomenclatures, such as

his general term `Robin' for the genera Petroica,

Paecilodryas, Eopsaltria, it was found that by

retaining the term `Robin' for the best known member of the

group (Petroica), and applying a qualifying noun to the

allied genera, such titles as Tree-robin, Scrub-robin, and

Shrike-robin were easily evolved."

<hw>Shrike-Thrush</hw>, n. a genus of Australasian

Shrikes, Collyriocincla (q.v.). The species are--

Bower's Shrike-Thrush--

Collyriocincla boweri, Ramsay.

Brown S.-T.--

C. brunnea, Gould.

Buff-bellied S.-T.--

C. rufiventris, Gould.

Grey S.-T.--

C. harmonica, Lath.; called also Port Jackson

Thrush (q.v.).

Little Shrike-Thrush--

Collyriocincla parvula, Gould.

Pale-bellied S.-T.--

C. pallidirostris, Sharpe.

Rufous-breasted S.-T.--

C. rufigaster, Gould.

Whistling S.-T.--

C. rectirostris, Jard. and Selb.;

see Duke Willy.

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

"With gathering shadows the spotted thrush of England gives

forth from the top-most pine branch his full and varied notes;

notes which no Australian bird can challenge, not even the

shrike-thrush on the hill side, piping hard to rival his song

every bright spring morning."

<hw>Shrike-Tit</hw>, n. a genus of Australian Shrikes,

Falcunculus (q.v.). The species are--Falcunculus

frontatus, Lath.; White-bellied S.-T.,

F. leucogaster, Gould.

1890. `Victorian Statutes--Game Act' (Third Schedule):

"Shrike-tit. [Close season.] From the 1st day of August

to the 10th day of December next following in each year."

<hw>Shrimp</hw>, n. The only true shrimp

(Crangon) which Australian waters are known to possess

is found in the Gulf of St. Vincent, South Australia.

(Tenison-Woods.) In Tasmania, the Prawn (Penoeus spp.)

is called a Shrimp.

1883. `Royal Commission, Report on Fisheries of Tasmania,'

p. 9:

"The prawn (Penoeus sp.), locally known among fishermen

as the shrimp, abounds all around our coasts."

<hw>Sida-weed</hw>, n. i.q. Queensland Hemp.

See Hemp.

<hw>Signed Servant</hw>, n. obsolete contraction for

Assigned Servant (q.v.).

<hw>Silky-Oak</hw>, n. a tree, often tall, Grevillea

robusta, Cunn., N.O. Proteaceae, producing a useful

timber in demand for various purposes. See Grevillea,

Maple, and Oak.

<hw>Silver</hw>, or <hw>Silver-fish</hw>, n. a Tasmanian

name for Caranx georgianus, Cuv. and Val., family

Carangidae, the White or Silver Trevally.

See Trevally.

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

"Common fish such as . . . garfish, strangers, silvers,

and others."

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 252

[Footnote]:

"To convey anything like a correct idea of this extremely

beautiful fish, it should be `laid in' with a ground of

burnished silver, and the delicate tints added. The skin is

scaleless, and like satin, embossed all over in little raised

freckles, and with symmetrical dark lines, resembling the

veining of a leaf. In quality they are a good deal like

mullet."

<hw>Silver-Belly</hw>, n. name given (1) in New South

Wales, to the fish Silver-Bream (q.v.); (2) in Tasmania,

to various species of Atherinidae.

<hw>Silver-Bream</hw>, or <hw>White-Bream</hw>, n.

a New South Wales fish, Gerres ovatus, Gunth.,

family Percidae; also called Silver-Belly (q.v.).

For another use, see Trevally.

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

p. 43:

"Mr. Hill, in the series of essays already referred to, speaks

of a silver-bream or white-bream. It is probable he refers to

Gerres ovatus, a common fish of very compressed form,

and very protractile mouth. They probably never enter

fresh-water. . . . It is necessary to cook the silver-belly,

as it is often called, perfectly fresh."

<hw>Silver-Eye</hw>, n. a bird-name. Same as

Wax-eye, White-eye, or Blight-bird (q.v.).

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 77:

"Zosterops caerulescens, Lath. I have myself arrived at

the conclusion that the Silver-eye, although identical with the

Australian bird, is in reality an indigenous species."

1888. James Thomas, `To a Silver Eye:' `Australian Poets

1788-1888' (edition Sladen), p. 550:

"Thou merry little silver-eye,

In yonder trailing vine,

I, passing by this morning, spied

That ivy-built nest of thine."

<hw>Silver Jew-fish</hw>, n. a New South Wales name for

the young of the fish called Teraglin, or of the true

Jew-fish (q.v.); it is uncertain which.

<hw>Silver-leaf Boree</hw>, n. i.q. Boree (q.v.).

<hw>Silver-Perch</hw>, n. a fresh-water fish,

i.q. Bidyan Ruffe (q.v.).

<hw>Silver-tail</hw>, n. a bush term for a "swell":

a man who goes to the manager's house, not to the men's hut.

See Hut.

1890. A. J. Vogan, `The Black Police,' p. 116:

"A select circle of long-limbed members of those upper circles

who belong to the genus termed in Australian parlance

`silver-tailed,' in distinction to the `copper-tailed'

democratic classes."

<hw>Silver-Trevally</hw>, n. See Trevally.

<hw>Sittella</hw>, n. an Australian genus of small

creeping-birds, called also Tree-Runners (q.v.).

Sittella is the Latin diminutive of sitta,

which is from the Greek sittae, a woodpecker,

whose habits the Tree-runners or Sittellae have.

Gould's enumeration of the species is given in quotation.

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

"Sittella chrysoptera, Orange-winged Sittella;

S. leucocephala, Gould, White-headed S.;

S. leucoptera,Gould, White-winged S.; S. pileata,

Gould, Black-capped S.; S. tenuirostris, Gould,

Slender-billed S.

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

"Sittella Striata, Gould, Striated Sittella."

1875. Gould and Sharpe, `Birds of New Guinea,' vol. iii.

pl. 28:

"Sittella albata, Pied Sittella."

1890 `Victorian Statutes-Game Act' (Third Schedule):

"Sittellas. [Close season.] From the first day of August

to the 10th day of December next following in each year."

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

"Four species of Sitilla [sic] which, except that they

do not lay their eggs in hollow trees, bear some resemblance to

our nuthatch."

<hw>Skate</hw>, n. The New Zealand fish called

a Skate is Raja nasuta, a different species

of the same genus as the European Skate.

<hw>Skipjack</hw>, or <hw>Skipjack-Pike</hw>, n.

This fish, Temnodon saltator, Cuv. and Val., is the

same as the British and American fish of that name. It is

called Tailor (q.v.) in Sydney. The name Skipjack

used also to be given by the whalers to the Australian fish

Trevally (q.v.).

1872. Hutton and Hector, `Fishes of New Zealand,' p. 111:

"It is quoted by Richardson that this fish [trevally], which he

says is the Skipjack of the sealers, used to be a staple

article of food with the natives."

<hw>Skipper</hw>, i.q. Hopping fish (q.v.).

<hw>Skirr</hw>, n. imitative.

1884. Marcus Clarke, `Memorial Volume,' p. 127:

"How many nights have I listened to the skirr of the wild

cats."

<hw>Skirting</hw>, n. generally used in the plural.

In sheep-shearing, the inferior parts of the wool taken

from the extremities.

1890. `The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, col. 7:

"At the `skirting-table' we will stand for a little while, and

watch while the fleece just brought in is opened out by the

`roller,' and the inferior portions removed."

<hw>Skullbanker</hw>, or <hw>Scowbanker</hw>, n. a slang

name in Australia for a loafer, a tramp.

1866. A. Michie, `Retrospects and Prospects of the Colony,'

p. 9:

"A skull-banker is a species of the genus loafer--half

highwayman, half beggar. He is a haunter of stations,

and lives on the squatters, amongst whom he makes a circuit,

affecting to seek work and determining not to find it."

<hw>Slab</hw>, n. In English, the word slab, as applied

to timber, means "an outside piece taken from a log in sawing

it into boards, planks, etc." (`Webster.') In Australia, the

word is very common, and denotes a piece of timber, two or

three inches thick a coarse plank, axe-hewn, not sawn. Used

for the walls of rough houses.

1844. `Port Phillip Patriot,' July 25, p. 3 col. 5: