The species most used for infusions was--_Austral English

L. fravescens, Smith (syn. L. thea, Willd.,

and Melaleuca thea, Willd.).

The Coast Tea-tree, common on the Victorian shores,

and so useful as a sand-binder, is--

L. laevigatum, F. v. M.

The Common Australian Tea-tree (according to Maiden) is

Melaleuca leucodendron, Linn.; called also White

Tea-tree, Broad-leaved T.-t., Swamp T.-t.,

and Paper-bark T.-t.

The name, however, as noted above, is used for all species

of Melaleuca, the Swamp Tea-tree being

M. ericifolia, Smith, and the Black,

or Prickly-leaved Tea-tree, M. styphelioides,

Smith.

Of the other genera to which the name is sometimes applied,

Kunzea pedunculata, F. v. M., is called Mountain

Tea-tree, and Callistemon salignus, De C., is

called--

Broad-leaved, or River Tea-tree.

In New Zealand, the Maori name Manuka (q.v.) is more

generally used than Tea-tree, and the tree denoted by

it is the original one used by Cook's sailors.

Concerning other plants, used in the early days for making

special kinds of infusions and drinking them as tea,

see under Tea, and Cape-Barren Tea.

1777. Cook's `Voyage towards the South Pole and Round the

World' [2nd Voyage], vol. i. p. 99:

"The beer certainly contributed not a little. As I have already

observed, we at first made it of a decoction of the spruce

leaves; but finding that this alone made the beer

too astringent, we afterwards mixed with it an equal quantity

of the tea plant (a name it obtained in my former voyage from

our using it as tea then, as we also did now), which partly

destroyed the astringency of the other, and made the beer

exceedingly palatable, and esteemed by every one on board."

[On page 100, Cook gives a description of the tea-plant, and

also figures it. He was then at Dusky Bay, New Zealand.]

1790. J. White, `Voyage to New South Wales,' p. 229:

"Tea Tree of New South Wales, Melaleuca (?)

Trinervia. This is a small shrub, very much

branched. . . . It most nearly approaches the Leptospermum

virgatum of Forster, referred by the younger Linnaeus,

perhaps improperly, to Melaleuca."

1820. C. Jeffreys, R.N., `Geographical and Descriptive

Delineations of the Island of Van Dieman's Land,' p. 133:

"Of course they [the Bushrangers] are subject to numerous

privations, particularly in the articles of tea, sugar,

tobacco, and bread; for this latter article, however, they

substitute the wild yam, and for tea they drink a decoction of

the sassafras and other shrubs, particularly one which they

call the tea-tree bush."

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

p. 175:

"On Monday the bushrangers were at a house at Tea-tree Brush."

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

p. 200:

"The leaves of the tea-tree furnished the colonists with a

substitute for the genuine plant in the early period of the

colony, and from their containing a saccharine matter required

no sugar."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 78:

"This boy got some bark from a tree called the tea-tree, which

makes excellent torches."

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 25:

"The tea-tree grows in wet situations . . . the leaves infused

make a pleasant beverage, and with a little sugar form a most

excellent substitute for tea."

1834. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 134:

"Leptospermum lanigerum, Hoary tea-tree; Acacia

decurrens, Black wattle; Conaea alba, Cape-Barren

tea. The leaves of these have been used as substitutes for tea

in the colony, as have also the leaves and bark of

Cryptocarya glaucescens, the Australian Sasafras"

(sic) [q.v.].

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 39:

"The Australian myrtles, or tea-trees, are to be found in thick

clusters, shading rocky springs. . . . Its leaves I have

seen made into a beverage called tea. It, however, was

loathsome, and had not the slightest resemblance to any known

Chinese tea."

1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 85:

"Often we had to take the boat down the river several miles,

to cut reeds amongst the tea-tree marshes, to thatch our houses

with."

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix;' p. 33:

"A great quantity of the tea-tree (Leptospermum) scrubs,

which formerly lined both banks of the Yarra."

(p. 84): "It is allied to the myrtle family (Melaleuca)

. . . A decoction of the leaves is a fair substitute for tea,

yielding a beverage of a very aromatic flavour."

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 210:

"Dense with tea-trees and wattles shrouding the courses of the

stream."

1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 126:

"Half-hidden in a tea-tree scrub,

A flock of dusky sheep were spread."

1870. A. L. Gordon, `Bush Ballads,' p. 14:

"Through the tea-tree scrub we dashed."

1871. C. L. Money, `Knocking About in New Zealand,' p. 70:

"Chiefly covered with fern and tea-tree (manuka) scrub."

1871. T. Bracken, `Behind the Tomb,' p. 60:

"Sobbing through the tea-tree bushes,

Low and tender, loud and wild,

Melancholy music gushes."

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 2o6:

Table of Tasmanian woods found in low marshy ground.

Hgt. Dia. Used.

Swamp Tea-tree 12 ft. 6 in. Useless.

Tea-tree 30 " 9 " } Turners' and

} Agricultural

Musk Tea-tree 12 " small } Implements.

1877. Baron von Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 18:

"We have among them [the Myrtaceae] . . . the native

tea-trees, inappropriately so called, as these bushes and trees

never yield substitutes for tea, although a New Zealand species

was used in Captain Cook's early expedition, to prepare a

medicinal infusion against scurvy; these so-called tea-trees

comprise within our colony [Victoria], species of Leptospermum,

Kunzea, Melaleuca and Callistemon, the last-mentioned genus

producing flowers with long stamens, on which the appellation

of `Bottle-brushes' has been bestowed."

1880. W. Senior, `Travel and Trout,' p. 78:

"Numerous flowering shrubs, such as the tea-tree, native lilac,

and many another that varies the colour and softly scents the

atmosphere."

1880. Mrs.Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 221:

"Thickets of tea-tree, white with lovely hawthorn-like

flowers."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 19:

"Along the water's edge, noble titrees, whose drooping branches

swept the stream, formed a fringe, the dark green of their

thick foliage being relieved."

1883. C. Harpur, `Poems,' p. 78:

"Why roar the bull-frogs in the tea-tree marsh?"

1884. R. L. A. Davies, `Poems and Literary Remains,' p. 84:

"Shading a brook the tea-trees grew,

Spangled with blossoms of whitish hue,

Which fell from the boughs to the ground below,

As fall from heaven the flakes of snow."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 112:

"The bottle-brush flowers of the ti-trees."

1888. Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, `Select Extra-Tropical

Plants,' p. 221:

"The somewhat aromatic leaves of Liscoparium (Forster)

were already in Captain Cook's Expedition used for an

antiscorbutic Tea, hence the name tea-tree for this and some

allied plants."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 76:

"The intrusive ti-tree. . . . The dark line of ti-tree in the

foreground . . ."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' pp. 235, 236:

"Leptospermum scoparium, Forster, the Manuka.

. . . It is commonly termed `tea-tree' by the settlers, but

must not be confounded with the `ti' or `toi' of the Maories,

which is a handsome palm-lily, Cordyline australis,

often termed `cabbage-tree' by the bushmen."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 38:

"Leptospermum scoparium, Tea Tree. It is said that this

is the shrub the leaves of which were utilized by the crews of

Captain Cook's ships for the purpose of making `tea,' and that

they were also used with spruce leaves in equal quantity for

the purpose of correcting the astringency in brewing a beer

from the latter. It is exceedingly common about Sydney, so

large quantities would therefore be available to the sailors.

Species of this genus are exceedingly abundant not far from the

coast, and the leaves would be very readily available, but the

taste of the infusion made from them is too aromatic for the

European palate."

[In Maiden's admirable book slips are very rare. But he is

mistaken here in the matter of the abundance of the tree at

Sydney having any reference to the question. Captain Cook had

but one ship, the Endeavour; and it never entered Port

Jackson. It is true that L. scoparium was the tree used

by Cook, but he was then at Dusky Bay, New Zealand, and it was

there that he used it. See quotations 1777 and 1877.]

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 24:

"The well-known Melaleuca Leucadendron, called by the

colonists tea-tree, from which is extracted what is known in

medicine as cajeput oil."

1893. `The Australasian,' Jan 14:

"The ti-tree on either side of the road was in bloom, its soft,

fluffy, creamy bushes gathering in great luxuriance on the tops

of the taller trees, almost hiding the green."

1893. `The Argus,' April 29, p. 4, col. 4:

"There was many a shorthorned Hereford hidden in the innermost

recesses of that tick and sand-fly infested ti-tree that knew

not the cunning of a stockman's hand."

1894. `Melbourne Museum Catalogue--Economic Woods':

"No. 133, Coast tea-tree, Leptospermum laevigatum,

F. v. M. No. 142, Swamp tea-tree, Melaleuca ericifolia,

Smith."

<hw>Teetee</hw>. Same as Ti-Ti (q.v.).

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

containing the flower called the Waratah (q.v.),

from the Greek taelowpos, `seen from afar,' in allusion

(as the author of the name, Robert Brown, himself says) to

the conspicuous crimson flowers. The name has been corrupted

popularly into Tulip, and the flower is often called

the Native Tulip.

1835. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 110:

"The beautiful crimson flowering shrub, with dark green

rhododendron-like leaves, which grows in the upper region

of Mount Wellington. . . . The generic name is derived from

telopos, seen at a distance. It has been corrupted

into tulip tree, to which it bears not the least resemblance."

<hw>Tena koe</hw>, a Maori salutation used in North Island of

New Zealand. Lit. "That is you," and meaning "How do you do?"

Tena and Tera both mean `that'; but

tena implies the idea of nearness, `that near you,'

tera the idea of distance, `that (or there) away

yonder.' Hence, while Tena koe is a welcome, Tera koe

would be an insult.

<hw>Tench</hw>, n. slang term, used during the days of

transportation, for the Hobart Town Penitentiary, or Prisoners'

Barracks--a corruption of "'tentiary," which is for

Penitentiary. It is now obsolete.

1859. Caroline Leakey, `The Broad Arrow,' vol. ii. p. 32:

"Prisoners' barracks, sir--us calls it Tench."

<hw>Teraglin</hw>, n. a fish of New South Wales,

Otolithus atelodus, Gunth. The name Teraglin

is stated to be aboriginal. Sometimes called Jew-fish

(q.v.).

<hw>Thickhead</hw>, n. the name applied to the

Australian birds of the genus Pachycephala (q.v.).

They are often called Thrushes. The species are--

The Banded Thickhead

Pachycephala pectoralis, Vig. and Hors.

Black T.--

P. melanura, Gould.

Gilbert's T.--

P. gilbertii, Gould.

Grey-tailed T.--

P. glaucura, Gould (confined to Tasmania).

Lunated T.--

P. falcata, Gould.

Olivaceous T.--

P. olivacea, Vig. and Hors. (confined to Tasmania).

Pale-breasted T.--

P. pallida, Ramsay.

Plain-coloured T.--

P. simplex, Gould.

Red-throated T.--

P. rufigularis, Gould.

Rufous-breasted T.--

P. rufiventris, Lath.

Shrike-like T.--

Pachycephala lanoides, Gould.

Torres-straits T.--

P. fretorum, De Vis.

Western T.--

P. occidentalis, Ramsay.

White-throated T.--

P. gutturalis, Lath.; called also

the Thunder-bird (q.v.).

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

"Thick-heads. [Close season.] From the first day of August to

the twentieth day of December next following in each year."

<hw>Thornback</hw>, n. special name for one of the

Stingrays, Raia lemprieri, Richards., or Raja

rostata, Castln., family Raijdae.

1875. `Melbourne Spectator,' Aug. 28, p. 201, col. 3:

"A thornback skate . . . weighing 109 lbs., has been caught

. . . at North Arm, South Australia."

<hw>Thousand-Jacket</hw>, n. a North Island name for

Ribbon-wood (q.v.), a New Zealand tree. Layer after

layer of the inner bark can be stripped off.

1888. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii. p. 210:

"Koninny [sic], raupo, toi-toi, supplejack, thousand-jacket,

and the like, are names of things known well enough to the

inhabitants of Napier and Taranaki, but to the average

stay-at-home Englishman they are nouns which only vexatiously

illustrate the difference between names and things."

1889. T. Kirk, `Flora of New Zealand,' p. 87:

"Hoheria populnea. The Houhere. Order--Malvaceae. . . In the

north of Auckland the typical form is known as `houhere'; but

Mr. Colenso informs me the varieties are termed `houi' and

`whau-whi' in the south . . . By the settlers all the forms

are termed `ribbon-wood,' or less frequently `lace-bark'--

names which are applied to other plants: they are also termed

`thousand-jacket.'"

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

"`Thousand-jacket' is a picturesque name for a many-named New

Zealand tree, the bark of which peels, and peels, and peels

again, though in the number chosen there is certainly a note of

exaggeration."

<hw>Throwing-stick</hw>, n. native Australian weapon,

by means of which the spear is thrown. See Woomera.

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

p. 12:

"The principals who perform it come from, Cammer-ray, armed

with shields, clubs, and throwing-sticks."

Ibid. c. i. p. 26:

"The throwing-stick is used in discharging the spear. The

instrument is from two to three feet in length, with a shell

on one end and a hook on the other."

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

p. 72:

"Natives . . . seemingly ignorant of the use of the

throwing-stick."

1879. J. D. Woods, `Native Tribes of South Australia,'

Introd. p. xviii:

"The spear is propelled by a wommerah or throwing-stick, having

at one end a kangaroo's tooth, fixed so as to fit into a notch

at the end of the spear. This instrument gives an amount of

leverage far beyond what would be excited by unaided muscular

strength."

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 251:

"It is supposed that if the hair of a person is tied on the

end of the throwing-stick. . . and roasted before the fire

with some kangaroo fat, the person to whom it belonged will

pine away and die."

1885. H. H. Hayter, `Carboona,' p. 24:

"Warrk Warrk, having a dart on his throwing-stick ready

adjusted, hurled it."

<hw>Thrush</hw>, n. This common English bird-name is

applied in Australia and New Zealand to four different genera

of birds, viz.--

(1) Collyriocincla, the Shrike-Thrushes (q.v.); the name

Collyriocincla is a compound of two Greek bird-names,

kolluriown /corr. from kolluriowu in Morris/, `a bird,

probably of the thrush kind, Arist. H. A. 9, 23, 2'

(`L. & S.' /1869 p.864/), and kigalos, `a kind of

wag-tail or water-ousel' (`L. & S.'). The next

two genera are derived in a similar way from gaer,

earth, and 'opos, mountain.

(2) Geocincla, the Ground-Thrushes (q.v.).

(3) Oreocincla, the Mountain-Thrush (q.v.).

(4) Pachycephala (q.v.); called Thrushes,

but more often Thickheads (q.v.).

(5) Turnagra (the New Zealand Thrushes), viz.--

T. hectori, Buller, North Island Thrush.

T. crassirostris, Gmel., South Island Thrush.

The name Thrush was also applied loosely, by the early

writers and travellers, to birds of many other genera which

have since been more accurately differentiated. The common

English thrush has been acclimatised in Australia, Tasmania,

and New Zealand.

<hw>Thunder-bird</hw>, n. an early name for one

of the Thickheads (q.v.), or Pachycephalae

(q.v.). See also quotation, 1896.

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of Linnaean

Society,' vol. xv. p. 239:

"`This species,' Mr. Caley says, `is called

Thunder-bird by the colonists. . . . The natives tell

me, that when it begins to thunder this bird is very noisy.'"

1848. J. Gould,' Birds of Australia,' vol. ii. pl. 64:

"Pachycephala Gutturalis, Thunder Bird,

Colonists of New South Wales."

1896. A. J. North, `List of the Insectivorous Birds of New

South Wales,' part i. p. 3:

"Pachycephala gutturalis, Latham. `Yellow-breasted

Thick-head.' . . . From its habit of starting to sing

immediately after a clap of thunder, the report of a gun,

or any other loud and sudden noise, it is known to many

residents of New South Wales as the Thunder-bird.'

"Pachycephala rufiventris, Latham. `Rufous-breasted

Thickhead.' . . . Also known as the `Thunder-bird.'"

<hw>Thunder-dirt</hw>, n. In New Zealand, a gelatinous

covering of a fungus (Ileodictyon cibarium) formerly

eaten by the Maoris.

<hw>Thylacine</hw>, and <hw>Thylacinus</hw>, n. the

scientific name of the genus of the animal called variously the

Tasmanian Tiger (q.v.), Hyaena, Tasmanian

Wolf, Zebra Wolf, and Marsupial Wolf. The

first spelling is the Anglicised form of the word. (Grk.

thulakos, a pouch, and kuown, a dog.)

1894. R. Lydekker, `Marsupialia,' p. 153:

"The Thylacine appears to be generally found among caverns and

rocks and the deep and almost impenetrable glens in the

neighbourhood of the highest mountains of Tasmania."

<hw>Ti</hw>, n. the name of various species of trees of

the genus Cordyline, N.O. Liliaceae. It exists

in the Pacific Islands as C. Ti, and in New Zealand the

species are C. australis and C. indivisa. It is

called in New Zealand the Cabbage-tree (q.v.), and the

heart used to be eaten by the settlers. The word is

Polynesian. In Hawaiian, the form is Ki; in Maori,

Ti. Compare Kanaka (q.v.) and Tangata.

By confusion, Tea, in Tea-tree (q.v.), is

frequently spelt Ti, and Tea-tree is sometimes

spelt Ti-tri (q.v.).

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

p. 58:

"In these natural shrubberies, too, and especially in wet

situations, a kind of cabbage-tree, called ti by the natives,

flourishes to great abundance."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor,' Te Ika a Maui,' p. 435:

"The ti (Cordyline australis or Dracoena

australis) is found in great abundance. Though so common,

it has a very foreign look . . . the leaf is that of a flag,

the flower forms a large droop and is very fragrant."

1866. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 52:

"Ti-ti palms are dotted here and there, and give a foreign and

tropical appearance to the whole."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 297:

"An abundance of narrow strips of the tough, fibrous leaves of

the ti-palm."

1890. W. Colenso, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,'

vol. xviii. art. lvii. p. 486:

"In these plains stand a number of cabbage-trees (Cordyline

Australis), the ti-trees of the Maori. These often bear

only a single head of long narrow harsh leaves at the top of

their tall slender stems, but sometimes they are slightly

branched, the branches also only bearing a similar tuft."

1892. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 22, p. 7, col. 2:

"A small grove of ti-palms or cabbage-tree."

<hw>Tiaki</hw> (spelt also <hw>Tieke</hw>), n. Maori

name for the Saddle-back or Jack-bird (q.v.).

1835. W. Yate, `Account of New Zealand,' p. 56:

"Tiaki or purourou. This elegant bird is about the size of the

sky-lark."

<hw>Tieke</hw>, n. Same as Tiaki (q.v.).

<hw>Tiers</hw>, pl. n. used in Tasmania as the usual

word for mountains, in the same way as the word Ranges

(q.v.) in Australia.

1876. W. B. Wildey, `Australasia and Oceanic Region,' p.

320:

"Two chains of mountains, the eastern and western tiers, run

through it nearly north and south."

1891. `The Australasian,' April 4, p. 670, col. 2:

"That stuff as they calls horizontal, a mess of branches and

root,

The three barren tiers; and the Craycroft, that 'ud settle

a bandicoot."

<hw>Tiersman</hw>, n. Tasmanian word for one who lives

in the Tiers (q.v.).

1852. F. Lancelott, `Australia as it is,' vol. ii. p. 115:

"Splatters, or, as they are commonly called tiersmen, reside in

the forest of stringy bark . . ."

<hw>Tiger-Cat</hw>, n. special name applied

to the Common and Spotted-tailed Native Cat.

See under Cat.

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 52:

"The skins of the . . . opossum, tiger-cat, and platypus

. . . are exported."

1852. Ronald C. Gunn, `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal

Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. ii. p. 11:

"Dasyurus maculatus, Shaw. . . . The Spotted

Martin, Phillip's `Voy. to Botany Bay, p. 276. Martin

Cat,' pl. 46. `Tiger Cat' of the Colonists of Tasmania,

to which island it is confined. It is distinguished from

D. viverrinus, the `Native Cat' of the Colonists,

by its superior size and more robust form; also from

the tail being spotted as well as the body."

1891. `Guide to the Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':

"After the opossums comes a specimen of the tiger-cat

(Dasyurus maculatus); this animal, which is so

destructive to poultry, is well known throughout the

country in Victoria."

<hw>Tiger, Tasmanian</hw>. See Thylacine

and Tasmanian Tiger.

<hw>Tiger-Snake</hw>, n. See under Snake.

<hw>Tihore</hw>, n. Maori name for a species of New

Zealand flax. Name used specially in the North Island for the

best variety of Phormium (q.v.).

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

p. 286:

"The species of Phormium tenax thus cultivated is

the tihore, literally the `skinning' flax. This name describes

the ease with which it submits to the scraping process."

<hw>Tiki</hw>, n. Maori name for the Creator of man, and

thence taken to represent an ancestor. The Maoris made large

wooden images to represent their Tiki, and gave the name

of Tiki to these images. Later they were made in

miniature in greenstone (q.v.), and used as neck ornaments.

See Heitiki.

<hw>Tit</hw>, n. common English bird name.

Applied in Australia to the following species--

Broad-tailed Tit--

Acanthiza apicalis, Gould.

Brown T.--

A. pusilla, Lath.

Buff T.--

Geobasileus reguloides, V. and H.

Chestnut-rumped T.--

Acanthiza uropygialis, Gould.

Little T.--

A. nana, Vig. and Hors.

Plain T.--

A. inornata, Gould.

Red-rumped T.--

A. pyrrhopygia, Gould.

Scaly-breasted T.--

A. squamata, De Vis.

Scrub T.--

Sericornis magna, Gould.

Striated T.--

Acanthiza lineata, Gould.

Tasmanian T.--

A. diemenensis, Gould; called also Brown-tail.

Yellow-rumped T.--

Geobasileus chrysorrhoea, Quoy and Gaim.

See also Tree-tit.

<hw>Tit-fish</hw>, n. a name given in North Australia

to the Sea-slug, or Trepang; because the appearance of its

tentacles suggests the teat of a cow.

1880. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Proceedings of the Linnaean

Society of New South Wales,' vol. v. pt. ii. p. 128:

"G. F. Jaeger, in 1833, . . . enumerates four [species of

Trepang), viz. Trepang edulis, T. ananas,

T. impatiens and T. peruviana. The first of

these is certainly found on the reefs, and is called by the

fishermen `redfish.' . . . Next to this is the `tit-fish'

. . . studded with somewhat distant large tentacles, which

project nearly an inch or so."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 22:

"They were engaged in smoking a large haul of `tit' fish, which

they had made on a neighbouring reef."

<hw>Ti-ti</hw>, n. Maori name for the sea-bird

Pelecanoides urinatrix, Gmel., the Diving-petrel.

Spelt also tee-tee.

1891. `The Australasian,' Nov. 14, p. 963, col. 1 (`A Lady

in the Kermadecs'):

"The petrels--there are nine kinds, and we have names of our

own for them, the black burrower, the mutton-bird, the white

burrower, the short-billed ti-ti, the long-billed ti-ti, the

little storm petrel, and three others that we had no names

for--abound on the island."

<hw>Tititpunamu</hw>, n. (spelt also

<hw>Tititipunamu</hw>), n. Maori name for the bird

Acanthidositta chloris, Sparm., the Rifleman

(q.v.). It has many other Maori names.

<hw>Titoki</hw>, n. Maori name for the New Zealand tree,

Alectryon excelsum, De C., N.O. Sapindaceae.

Also called New Zealand Oak and New Zealand Ash. See

Alectryon.

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

p. 317:

"The berry of the titoki tree might be turned to account. The

natives extract a very fine oil from it."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 253:

The youth, with hands beneath his head,

Against a great titoki's base."

1877. Anon., `Colonial Experiences or Incidents of

Thirty-four Years in New Zealand,' p: 16:

"For this purpose, titoki was deemed the most suitable timber,

from its hardness and crooked growth resembling English oak."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 131:

"Titoki, a beautiful tree with large panicles of reddish

flowers . . . Wood has similar properties to ash. Its

toughness makes it valuable for wheels, coachbuilding, etc."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 183:

"It is sometimes termed `the New Zealand ash,' doubtless on

account of its resembling that tree in the shape of its foliage

and in the toughness of its wood, but it is most generally

known as the `titoki.'"

1896. `Otago Witness,' June 23, p. 42, col. 2:

"The saddling-paddock and the scales are surrounded by a fence

made of stout titoki saplings, on which are perched the

knowing."

<hw>Ti-tree</hw>, n. erroneous spelling of

Tea-tree (q.v.). See also Manuka.

<hw>Titri</hw>, n. corruption for Tea-tree

(q.v.), from the fancy that it is Maori, or aboriginal

Australian. On the railway line, between Dunedin and

Invercargill, there is a station called "Titri,"

evidently the surveyor's joke.

1895. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 19, p. 23, col. 3:

"Our way lay across two or three cultivations into a grove of

handsome titri. Traversing this we came to a broad, but

shallow and stony creek, and then more titri, merging into

light bush."

<hw>Toad-fish</hw>, n. In New Zealand, a scarce marine

fish of the family Psychrolutidae, Neophrynichthys

latus. In Australia, the name is applied to Tetrodon

hamiltoni, Richards., and various other species of

Tetrodon, family Gymnodontes, poisonous fishes.

Toad-fishes are very closely allied to Porcupine-fishes.

"Toads" have the upper jaw divided by a median suture, while

the latter have undivided dental plates. See

Porcupine-fish and Globe-fish,

1836. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 89:

"The Poisonous or Toad Fish of Van Diemen's Land.

(Communicated by James Scott, Esq. R.N. Colonial

Surgeon). . . . The melancholy and dreadful effect

produced by eating it was lately instanced in the neighbourhood

of Hobart Town, on the lady of one of the most respectable

merchants, and two children, who died in the course of three

hours . . . The poison is of a powerful sedative nature,

producing stupor, loss of speech, deglutition, vision and

the power of the voluntary muscles, and ultimately an entire

deprivation of nervous power and death."

1844. J. A. Moore, `Tasmanian Rhymings,' p. 24:

"The toad-fish eaten, soon the body dies."

<hw>Toatoa</hw>, n. Maori name of New Zealand tree,

Phyllocladus glauca, Carr., N.O. Coniferae.

The Mountain Toatoa is P. alpinus, Hook.

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

p. 120:

"The toa toa, a small tree which is much prized by the natives

for walking-sticks, and only grows, they say, in the

neighbourhood of Tonga Riro. The stick underneath the bark is

of a bright red colour, which takes a fine polish."

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

<hw>Tobacco, Native</hw>, n. In Australia generally,

a true Tobacco, Nicotiana suaveolens, Lehm.,

N.O. Solanaceae; readily eaten as a forage plant

by stock. In Queensland, the name is also applied to

Pituri (q.v.). In Tasmania, the name is given to

Cassinia billardieri, De C., N.O. Compositae.

Various American tobaccos are also naturalised, and their

growing and manufacture is an industry. Tobacco manufactured

in the colonies, whether from imported American leaf or from

leaf grown in the colonies, is called Colonial Tobacco.

1848. T. L. Mitchell, `Tropical Australia,' p. 64:

"In the rich soil near the river-bed, we saw the yellowish

flowers of the native tobacco, Nicotiana suaveolens."

<hw>Toe-ragger</hw>, n. In the bush a term of abuse;

though curiously in one or two parts of New South Wales the

word "toey," which is derived from it, is a term of praise, a

"swell." The word has been explained as of convict origin,

that the rags were used to soothe the galling of fetters; but

the explanation is not satisfactory, for the part galled by the

irons would not be the toe, but the ankle. A writer in `Truth'

has cleared up the word (see quotation). It is of Maori

origin. Away from Maoriland "toe-rigger" had no meaning, and a

false meaning and origin were given by the change of vowel.

1896. `Truth' (Sydney), Jan. 12:

"The bushie's favorite term of opprobrium `a toe-ragger' is

also probably from the Maori. Amongst whom the nastiest term

of contempt was that of tau rika rika, or slave. The

old whalers on the Maoriland coast in their anger called each

other toe-riggers, and to-day the word in the form of

toe-ragger has spread throughout the whole of the South Seas."

<hw>Toe-toe</hw>, and <hw>Toi-toi</hw>, Maori name of several

species of native grass of the genus Arundo, especially

Arundo conspicua, A. Cunn. Toe-toe is the right

spelling in Maori, given in Williams' `Maori Dictionary.' In

English, however, the word is frequently spelt toi-toi.

It is also called Prince of Wales' feather.

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]."

1849. C. Hursthouse, `Settlement of New Plymouth,' p. 13:

"A species of tall grass called `toetoe.'"

1861. C. C. Bowen, `Poems,' p. 57:

"High o'er them all the toi waved,

To grace that savage ground."

1867. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 110:

"Thatching it with tohi, or swamp-grass."

1892. `The Katipo,' Jan. i. [sic] p. 3 [description of the

Title-cut]:

"The toi toi and Phorinium tenax in the corners are

New Zealand emblems."

1895. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 19, p. 6, col. 3:

"Where Christmas lilies wave and blow,

Where the fan-tails tumbling glance,

And plumed toi-toi heads the dance."

<hw>Tohora</hw>, n. Maori name for a whale.

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 136:

"Fable of the Kauri (pine-tree) and Tohora (whale)."

1878. W. Colenso, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,'

vol. xi. art. iv. pt. 2, p. 90:

"Looking at it as it lay extended, it resembled a very large

whale (nui tohora)."

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 21:

"In the open sea, and to the south, the most prized whale next

to the sperm is the black whale, or tohora (Eubalaena

Australis), which is like the right whale of the North Sea,

but with baleen of less value."

<hw>Tohunga</hw>, n. Maori word for a wise man.

"Perhaps from Maori verb tohu, to think." (Tregear's

`Polynesian Dictionary.') Tohu, a sign or omen;

hence Tohunga, a dealer in omens, an augur.

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf and Amohia,' p. 102:

"But he whose grief was most sincere

The news of that unwonted death to hear,

Was Kangapo, the Tohunga--a Priest

And fell Magician famous far and near."

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

G. 1, B. p. 9:

"I am a tohunga who can save the country if you will follow my

advice."

1878. F. E. Maning, `Heke's War, told by an Old Chief,'

`New Zealand Reader,' p. 153:

"Amongst these soldiers there was not one tohunga--not a man at

all experienced in omens--or they must have had some warning

that danger and defeat were near."

1893. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 21, p. 10, col. 2:

"She would consult a tohunga. The man she selected--

one of the oldest and most sacred of the Maori priests,

prophet, medicine-man, lawyer and judge."

<hw>Tolmer's Grass</hw>, n. a fibrous plant,

Lepidosperma gladiatum, Labill., N.O. Cyperaceae,

suitable for manufacture of paper. It is not a true grass, and

is classed by Maiden (`Useful Native Plants,' p. 626) under

fibres.

1882. A. Tolmer, `Reminiscences,' p. 298:

"The plant that has since by courtesy borne my name (Tolmer's

grass)."

<hw>Tomahawk</hw>, n. a word of North-American Indian

origin, applied in English to the similarly shaped short

one-handed axe or hatchet. The word is not frequent in

England, but in Australia the word hatchet has

practically disappeared, and the word Tomahawk to

describe it is in every-day use. It is also applied to the

stone hatchet of the Aboriginals. A popular corruption of it

is Tommy-axe.

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

p. 466:

"A plentiful assortment of . . . knives, shirts, toma-hawkes

[sic], axes, jackets, scissars [sic], etc., etc., for the

people in general."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 259:

"We . . . observed recent marks of the stone tomahawk

of the natives."

1851. G. W. Rusden, `Moyarra,' canto i. 17, p. 25:

"One hand he wreathed in Mytah's hair,

Whirled then the tomahawk in air."

1870. E. B. Kennedy, `Fours /sic/ Years in Queensland,' p. 721:

"They [the Aboriginals] cut out opossums from a tree or sugar

bag (wild honey) by means of a tomahawk of green stone; the

handle is formed of a vine, and fixed in its place with gum.

It is astonishing what a quantity of work is got through in the

day with these blunt tomahawks."

1873. J. B. Stephens, `Black Gin,' p. 60:

"Lay aside thy spears (I doubt them);

Lay aside thy tomahawk."

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 206:

"The aborigines have obtained iron tomahawks."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 73:

"Men had to cleave out a way for themselves with tomahawks."

1888. A. Reischek, in Buller's `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. ii.

p. 94:

"The snow had been blown together, and was frozen so hard that

I had to take my tomahawk to chop it down so as to get softer

snow to refresh myself with a wash."

<hw>Tomahawk</hw>, v. tr. to cut sheep when shearing

them.

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 147:

"Shearers were very scarce, and the poor sheep got fearfully

`tomahawked' by the new hands."

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 96:

"Some men never get the better of this habit, but `tomahawk'

as badly after years of practice as when they first began."

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

"The Shearers sat in the firelight, hearty and hale and strong,

After the hard day's shearing, passing the joke along

The `ringer' that shore a hundred, as they never were shorn

before,

And the novice who toiling bravely had tommyhawked half

a score."

<hw>Tommy-axe</hw>, n. a popular corruption of the word

Tomahawk (q.v.); it is an instance of the law of

Hobson-Jobson.

<hw>Tom Russell's Mahogany</hw>. See Mahogany.

<hw>Tomtit</hw>, n. name applied in New Zealand to two

New Zealand birds of the genus Myiomoira, the species

being M. toitoi, Garnot, in North Island;

M. macrocephala, Gmel., in South Island.

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 39:

[A full description.]

<hw>Tonquin Bean-Tree</hw>, n. a Tasmanian variety of

Native Sandalwood; also called Tonga Beanwood.

1862. W. Archer, `Products and Resources of Tasmania,' p. 41:

"`Tonga Bean-wood (Alyxia buxifolia, Br.). The odour

is similar to that of the Tonga Bean (Dipteryx

odorata). A straggling seaside shrub, three to five inches

in diameter."

<hw>Tooart</hw>, or <hw>Tewart</hw>, n. a West

Australian name for Eucalyptus gomphocephala,

or White Gum. See Gum.

1870. T. H. Braim, `New Homes,' c. iv. p. 181:

`Another valuable tree is the tooart, a kind of white gum."

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 187:

"The Tewart Tree (Eucalyptus), a variety of the White

Gum, found principally in the Swan River and King George's

Sound District of Western Australia. . . . Of straight growth

and noble dimensions. The wood is of a yellowish or straw

colour, hard, heavy, tough, strong and rigid. . . . It is used

in ship-building for beams, keelsons, stern-posts,

engine-bearers, and for other works below the line of

flotation."

<hw>Tookytook</hw>, n. a corruption of Kotukutuku

(q.v.), a Maori name equivalent to Konini, the fruit of

the Fuchsia-tree (q.v.).

<hw>Toot</hw>, n. the anglicised spelling

of the Maori word Tutu (q.v.).

<hw>Tooted</hw>, quasi past participle from Toot.

The cattle are tooted, sc. poisoned by the Toot.

1863. G. Butler, `Canterbury Settlement,' p. 98:

"As, then, my bullocks could not get tuted."

1891. T. H. Potts, `New Zealand Country Journal,' p. 201:

"His hearty salutation in its faultiness proved to be about on

a par with `rummy-rum,' `triddy' and `toot.' The last word

reminds me of a man near by who was even judged to be somewhat

vain of his Maori accent and pronunciation. With one word he

was indeed very particular, he could not bring himself to use

that manifest corruption `toot.' With him it was ever `tutu.'

He had to make rather a boggle or dodge of it when he used the

colonial made verb formed on his favourite Maori noun."

<hw>Tooth-shell</hw>, n. The name is applied, in

Europe, to any species of Dentalium and allied genera

having a tooth-shaped shell. In Australia, it is the shell of

Marinula pellucida, Cooper, a small marine mollusc used

for necklaces.

<hw>Tope</hw>, n. an Australasian Shark, Galeus

australis, Macl. It differs somewhat from Galeus

canis, the Tope of Britain. Called also the

School-Shark, in Australia.

<hw>Top-knot Pigeon</hw>, n. an Australian bird,

Lopholaimus antarcticus, Shaw.

1891. Francis Adams, `John Webb's End,' p. 33:

"Flying for a moment beside a lovely, melodious top-knot

pigeon."

<hw>Torea</hw>, n. Maori name for all the New Zealand

species of the Oyster-catchers (q.v.).

<hw>Torpedo</hw>, n. a fish, well known elsewhere, and

also called elsewhere, the Numb-fish and Cramp

fish. For the Australian species, see quotation.

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

p. 100:

"Our Torpedo or Electric Ray is Hypnos subnigrum,

that of Tasmania is Narcine Tasmaniensis."

<hw>Torres-Straits Pigeon</hw>, n. See quotation.

1893. Saville Kent, `Great Barrier Reef,' p. 123:

"Making a bag of the famous Torres Straits pigeons

(Myristicivora spilorrhoa), a large white variety,

highly esteemed for the table, which, arriving from the north

[that is New Guinea], is distributed from October until the end

of March throughout the tree-bearing islets and mainland coast,

as far south as Keppel Bay."

<hw>Tortoise-shell Fish</hw>. See Hand-fish.

<hw>Totara</hw>, n. Maori name for a lofty-spreading

New Zealand tree, Podocarpus totara, A. Cunn.,

N.O. Coniferae,. In Maori, the accent falls on

the first syllable; but in English use it is often placed

on the second, and from Mr. Polack's spelling it must have

been so as early as 1840. Called also Mahogany-pine.

There are several other species, e.g. P. vivalis, Hook.,

the Mountain Totara; called also Mahogany Pine.

See Mahogany, and Pine.

1832. G. Bennett, in Lambert's `Genus Pinus,' vol. ii. p. 190:

"This is an unpublished species of Podocarpus, called

Totara by the natives. . . . The value placed on this tree by

the natives is sometimes the occasion of quarrels, terminating

in bloodshed, if it is cut down by any except the party by whom

it is claimed. . . It is not unusual for the trees to descend

from father to son."

1840. J. S. Polack, `Manners and Customs of New Zealanders,'

vol. i. p. 227:

"The totarra or red-pine."

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

p. 221:

"The totara is one of the finest trees in the forest, and is

the principal wood used by the natives, whether for canoes,

houses, or fencing."

1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' [Notes] p. 80:

"The place received its name from a number of large totara

trees."

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 134:

"Totara (Podocarpus totara) and Matai (Podocarpus

spicata) are large and beautiful trees found in every

forest."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 107:

"One lone totara-tree that grew

Beneath the hill-side."

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 308:

"The Totara Tree (Taxus or Podocarpus totara).

Height, eighty to ninety feet. The wood is red in colour,

close, straight, fine and even in grain . . . a good substitute

for mahogany."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 227:

"With the exception of the kauri, the totara affords the most

valuable timber in New Zealand, but unlike the kauri it is

found almost throughout the colony."

<hw>Towai</hw>, n. Maori name for New Zealand tree,

Weinmannia racemosa, Forst., N.O. Saxifrageae,

i.q. Kamahai in south of South Island, and

Tawhero in North Island (Wellington).

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

p. 95:

"Its banks . . . are covered almost wholly with the towai.

This tree has very small dark leaves.It is used for ship-

building, and is called by Englishmen the `black birch.'"

1851. Mrs. Wilson, `New Zealand,' p. 43:

"The ake . . . and towai (Leiospermum racemosum)

are almost equal, in point of colour, to rosewood."

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

"Towhai, Kamahi. A large tree; trunk two to four feet in

diameter, and fifty feet high. Wood close-grained and heavy,

but rather brittle. . . . The bark is largely used for

tanning. The extract of bark is chemically allied to the gum

kino of commerce, their value being about equal."

<hw>Township</hw>, n. a village, a possible future town.

In the United States, the word has a definite meaning--a

district, subordinate to a county, the inhabitants having power

to regulate their local affairs; in Australia, the word has no

such definite meaning. It may be large or small, and sometimes

consists of little more than the post-office, the public-house,

and the general store or shop.

1802. D. Collins, `Account of New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 7:

"The timber of a hundred and twenty acres was cut down . . .

a small township marked out, and a few huts built."

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' vol. ii. p. 40:

"It used to seem to me a strange colonial anomaly to call a

very small village a `township,' and a much larger one a

`town.' But the former is the term applied to the lands

reserved in various places for future towns."

1873. J. B. Stephens, `Black Gin,' p. 79:

"There's a certain township and also a town,--

(For, to ears colonial, I need not state

That the two do not always homologate)."

1888. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,'

p. 439:

[Mr. Parker is a Canadian who lived four years in Australia]

"A few words of comparison here. A pub of Australia is a

tavern or hotel in Canada; a township is a village; a

stock-rider is a cow-boy; a humpy is a shanty; a warrigal or

brombie 1s a broncho or cayuse; a sundowner is a tramp; a

squatter is a rancher; and so on through an abundant list."

1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of British

Colonies,' p. 276:

"Villages, which are always called `townships,' spring up

suddenly round a railway-station or beside some country inn."

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

"A township--the suffix denotes a state of being--seems to be

a place which is not in the state of being a town. Does its

pride resent the impost of village that it is glad to be called

by a name which is no name, or is the word loosely appropriated

from America, where it signifies a division of a county? It is

never found in England."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 38:

"There stands the town of Dandaloo--

A township where life's total sum

Is sleep, diversified with rum."

<hw>Traveller</hw>, n. used specifically for a

Swagman, a Sundowner. See quotation.

1868. Marcus Clarke, `Peripatetic Philosopher' (Reprint),

p. 41:

"At the station where I worked for some time (as

`knock-about-man') three cooks were kept during the `wallaby'

season--one for the house, one for the men, and one for the

travellers. Moreover, `travellers' would not unfrequently

spend the afternoon at one of the three hotels (which, with a

church and a pound, constituted the adjoining township), and

having `liquored up' extensively, swagger up to the station,

and insist upon lodging and food--which they got. I have no

desire to take away the character of these gentlemen

travellers, but I may mention as a strange coincidence, that,

was the requested hospitality refused by any chance, a

bush-fire invariably occurred somewhere on the run within

twelve hours."

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 12, p. 8, col. 7:

"Throughout the Western pastoral area the strain of feeding the

`travellers,' which is the country euphemism for bush

unemployed, has come to be felt as an unwarranted tax upon the

industry, and as a mischievous stimulus to nomadism."

1896. `The Australasian,' Aug. 8, p. 249, col. 2:

". . . never refuses to feed travellers; they get a good tea

and breakfast, and often 10 to 20 are fed in a day. These

travellers lead an aimless life, wandering from station to

station, hardly ever asking for and never hoping to get any

work, and yet they expect the land-owners to support them. Most

of them are old and feeble, and the sooner all stations stop

giving them free rations the better it will be for the real

working man. One station-owner kept a record, and he found that

he fed over 2000 men in twelve months. This alone, at 6d. a

meal, would come to L100, but this is not all, as they `bag' as

much as they can if their next stage is not a good feeding

station."

<hw>Travellers' Grass</hw>, i.q. Settler's Twine (q.v.).

<hw>Tree-creeper</hw>, n. popular name applied to

members of an old Linnaean genus of birds. The Australian

species are enumerated by Gould in quotation.

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