The different kinds are--_Austral English

Black Trevally--

Teuthis nebulosa, Quoy, family Teuthididae

(a New South Wales fish).

Mackerel T. (so called in Tasmania)--

Neptonemus dobula, Gunth., family Carangidae.

Silver T.--

Another Tasmanian name for the White Trevally, Caranx

georgianus (see below).

Snotgall T.--

Neptonemus travale, Casteln. (in Victoria);

N. brama, Gunth. in Tasmania); both of the family

of Carangidae.

White T.--

Caranx georgianus, Cuv. and Val., family

Carangidae; (so called in New South Wales, New Zealand,

and Tasmania; in Victoria it is called Silver Bream).

Teuthis javus, Linn., family Tuethididae.

The Maori name for the Trevally is Awara,

and in Auckland it is sometimes called the Yellow-Tail

(q.v.). See also quotation, 1886.

Guenther says, the genus Teuthis is readily recognised

by the peculiar structure of the ventral fins, which have an

outer and an inner spine and three soft rays between.

1769. `Capt. Cook's Journal' (edition Wharton, 1893), p. 164:

"Several canoes came off to the ship, and two or three of them

sold us some fish--cavallys as they are called--which occasioned

my giving the Islands the same name."

1886. R. A. Sherrin, `Fishes of New Zealand,' p. 99:

"Dr. Hector says: `The trevalli is the arara of the Maoris, or

the trevalli or cavalli of the fishermen . . . In Auckland it

is sometimes called the yellow-tail, but this name appears to

be also used for the king-fish. The fish known as trevalli in

the Dunedin market is a different fish, allied to the

warehou.'"

1890. `Victorian Statutes--Fisheries Act' (Second Schedule):

"Travale."

<hw>Triantelope</hw>, n. a European comic variation of

the scientific name Tarantula. It is applied in

Australia to a spider belonging to a quite different genus,

Voconia, a perfectly harmless spider, though popularly

supposed to be poisonous. It has powerful mandibles, but will

attack nobody unless itself attacked.

1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 173:

"The tarantulas, or `triantelopes,' as the men call them, are

large, ugly spiders, very venomous."

1860. A Lady, `My Experiences in Australia,' p. 151:

"There is no lack of spiders either, of all sorts and sizes, up

to the large tarantula, or tri-antelope, as the common

people persist in calling it."

<hw>Tribonyx</hw>, n. There are several species of this

bird in Australia and Tasmania, where they go by the name of

Native Hen, and sometimes, erroneously, Moor-hen

(q.v.). For the species, see Native Hen. No species of

Tribonyx has been found wild in New Zealand, though

other birds have been mistaken for the genus.

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

(Introd.), p. xiv:

"I ought perhaps here to refer to a species mentioned in the

former Introduction as a newly discovered addition to the New

Zealand Avifauna, but now omitted from the list . . ."

Ibid. p. liv:

"Tribonyx has never actually occurred in a wild state

[in New Zealand]."

Ibid. p. 90:

"Tribonyx, a bird incapable of flight, but admirably

adapted for running."

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

of the Phalangers (q.v.), or Australian Opossums

(q.v.). (Grk. trichos, of hair, and 'oura,

tail.)

<hw>Trickett</hw>, n. slang name for a long drink of

beer in New South Wales, after Trickett, the New South Wales

champion sculler.

<hw>Trigger-plant</hw>, n. i.q. Hairtrigger

(q.v.) plant; called also Jack-in-a-box.

<hw>Trigonia</hw>, n. a bivalve marine mollusc with a

nacreous interior, much admired in Tasmania and used for

pendants and necklaces, Trigonia margaritacea, Lamarck,

of the order Pectinaceae. It is the largest

trigonia occurring in Australasia, and the only one

found in Tasmania. Numerous extinct species are characteristic

of the Mesozoic rocks. The only living species existing are

confined to Australia.

<hw>Trooper</hw>, n. a mounted policeman. The use is

transferred from the name for a private soldier in a cavalry

regiment. The Native troopers, or Black police,

in Queensland, are a force of aboriginal police, officered by

white men.

1858. T. McCombie, `History of Victoria,' c. viii. p. 100:

"A violent effort [was] made by the troopers on duty to

disperse an assemblage which occupied the space of ground in

front of the hustings."

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

"A trooper spies him snoring in the street."

1868. J. A. B., `Meta,' canto iii. ver. 20, p. 72:

"The felon crew . . . hard pressed by troopers ten."

<hw>Tropic-bird</hw>, n. The English name is applied

because the bird is usually seen in the tropics. The species

observed in Australia are--Red-tailed, Phaeton

rubricaudus, Bodd.; White-tailed, P. candidus,

Briss.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,'vol. vii. pl. 73:

"Phaeton Phoenicurus, Gmel., Red-tailed Tropic Bird;

New Holland Tropic Bird, Latham, `General History, vol. x.

p. 448."

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

of birds peculiar to Australia and New Guinea. The typical

species has a knob on the bill, and the head and neck destitute

of feathers. From Grk. tropis, the keel of a ship,

and rhunchos, "beak." They are called Friar Birds

(q.v.), and the generic name of Tropidorhynchus has been

replaced by Philemon (q.v.).

<hw>Trout</hw>, n. The English Trout has been

naturalised in Australia. In Tasmania, the name of

Trout, or Mountain-Trout, is also given to

species of the genus Galaxias. See Salmon.

<hw>Trumpeter</hw>, n. (1) A fish of Tasmanian,

New Zealand, and Australian waters, but chiefly of Hobart--

Latris hecateia, Richards., family Cirrhitidae,

much esteemed as a food-fish, and weighing sometimes 50 or 60

lbs. The name is probably from the noise made by the fish when

taken out of the water. The name was formerly given to a

different fish in Western Australia.

See also Bastard-Trumpeter, Morwong,

and Paper-fish.

1834. M. Doyle, `Letters and Journals of G. F. Moore, Swan

River Settlement,' p. 191:

"Many persons are trying to salt fish, which are very numerous

in the river about and below Perth, as you must have seen by

one of my letters, in which I mentioned our having taken 10,000

at one draught of the seine; these are of the kind called

herrings, but do not look very like them; they make a noise

when out of the water, and on that account are also called

trumpeters."

1870. T. H. Braim, `New Homes,' vol. ii. p. 65:

"The finest kinds are the guard-fish of the mainland and the

trumpeter of the Derwent in Tasmania."

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

p. 45:

"The first of these [Latris] is the genus of the well-known

`Hobart Town trumpeter,' a fish deservedly of high reputation."

(2) An obsolete name in Tasmania for the black

Crow-Shrike (q.v.), Strepera fuliginosa, Gould.

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' p. 177:

"We also occasionally heard the trumpeter or black magpie."

<hw>Trumpeter-Perch</hw>, n. i.q. Mado (q.v.).

<hw>Trumpeter-Whiting</hw>, n. See Whiting,

quotation 1882.

<hw>Tuan</hw>, n. aboriginal name for the

Flying-Squirrel (q.v.). See also Pongo.

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 57:

"The flying-squirrel, or tuan, is much sought after for its

fine fur; of these there are two kinds, a large one of a dark

colour, only found 1n the mountains; and a smaller description

found in all parts of the colony, and better known by the

native name, tuan."

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 274:

"The Touan, the little grey flying-squirrel, only begins to fly

about at night, and slides down from his bough sudden and

sharp."

<hw>Tuatara</hw>, n. the Maori name of a New Zealand

lizard, or reptile, Hatteria punctata, Gray; called

also Sphenodon puntatum.

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

(Church Missionary Society), p. 218:

"Tua tira, a species of lizard."

1863. `Mahoe Leaves,' p. 47:

"A small boy of a most precocious nature, who was termed `tua

tara,' from a horrid sort of lizard that the natives abhor."

1890. `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition':

"The Tuatara is the largest existing New Zealand reptile. It

is closely allied to the Lizards; but on account of certain

peculiarities of structure, some of which tend to connect it

with the Crocodiles, is placed by Dr. Guenther in a separate

order (Rhynchocephalina)."

<hw>Tucker</hw>, n. Australian slang for food.

To tuck in is provincial English for to eat, and

tuck is a school-boy word for food, especially what

is bought at a pastrycook's. To make tucker means

to earn merely enough to pay for food.

1874. Garnet Walch, `Head over Heels,' p. 73:

"For want of more nourishing tucker,

I believe they'd have eaten him."

1875. Wood and Lapham, `Waiting for the Mail,' p. 33:

"We heard of big nuggets, but only made tucker."

1890. `The Argus,' June 14, p. 14, col. 1:

"When a travelling man sees a hut ahead, he knows there's water

inside, and tucker and tea."

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 83:

"I took my meal in the hut, but we'd both the same kind of

tucker."

<hw>Tui</hw>, n. Maori name for the New Zealand bird,

Prosthemadera novae-zelandae, Gray; called the

Parson-bird (q.v.), and earlier the Poe (q.v.).

Another name is the Koko, and the young bird is

distinguished as Pi-tui, or Pikari. It is also

called the Mocking bird.

1835. W. Yate, `Some Account of New Zealand,' p. 52:

"Tui. This remarkable bird, from the versatility of its talents

for imitation, has by some been called `the Mocking-Bird.'"

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

p. 80:

"The little birds were chiefly the tui, or mocking-bird. It

resembles a blackbird in size and plumage, with two graceful

bunches of white feathers under the neck. It abounds in the

woods, and is remarkably noisy and active . . . it imitates

almost every feathered inhabitant of the forest, and, when

domesticated, every noise it hears."

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 170:

"I saw several birds named the Tooi; they are black, about

the size of a starling, and are sometimes called Parson-birds,

as they have two white feathers like clergymen's bands in front

of them."

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 166:

"One of the prettiest creatures is the tui, Parson-Bird of the

colonists (Prosthemadera Novae-Zelandae), which roves

about in the lofty, leafy crowns of the forest-trees."

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

"The tui, with his grand, rich note, made the wood musical."

1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of Maori,' p. 21:

"Woo the Bell-bird from his nest, to ring

The Tui up to sing his morning hymns."

Ibid. p. 101:

"I hear the swell

Of Nature's psalms through tree and bush,

From tui, blackbird, finch and thrush."

1889. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. facing

p. 94.:

[A plate entitled] "Tui, or parson-bird."

Ibid. pp. 94-100:

[A full description.]

1893. D. Frobisher, `Sketches of Gossipton,' p. 61:

As the forest soft echoes brought back their sweet chorus,

The tuis seemed silent from envy and spleen."

<hw>Tulip, Native</hw>, i.q. Waratah (q.v.);

and see Telopea.

<hw>Tulip-tree</hw>, n. The name is given,

in Australia, to Stenocarpus cunninghamii, R. Br.,

N.O. Proteaceae, on account of the brilliancy of its

bright-red flowers; called also Queensland Fire-tree.

<hw>Tulip-wood</hw>, n. The name is given,

in Australia, to Aphnanthe philipinensis, Planch.,

N.O. Urticaceae, and to the timber of Harpullia

pendula, Planch., N.O. Sapindaceae. It is,

further, a synonym for the Emu-Apple.

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

"The tulip-wood, with its variegated flowers and delightful

perfume, grows in abundance."

<hw>Tumata-kuru</hw>, n. Maori name for plant better

known as Wild Irishman (q.v.), Discaria toumatou,

Raoul. "A thorny plant, very difficult to handle." (Vincent

Pyke.) Tumatagowry, or Matagory (q.v.), is the

Southern corruption of contractors, labourers, and others.

1889. Vincent Pyke, `Wild Will Enderby,' p. 16:

"Upon the arid flats, patches of Tumatu-kuru, and of a

purple-flowering broom, struggle to maintain a scraggy

existence."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 283:

"The tumatakuru merits a place in this work rather on account

of its value in the past than of its present usefulness. In

the early days of settlement in the South Island this afforded

the only available timber in many mountain-valleys, and was

frequently converted by hand sawyers for building purposes;

being of great durability, it was found very serviceable,

notwithstanding its small dimensions: the formation of roads

has deprived it of value by facilitating the conveyance of

ordinary building timber."

<hw>Tuna</hw>, n. See Eel.

<hw>Tupakihi</hw>, n. i.q. Tutu (q.v.).

<hw>Tupara</hw>, n. Maori corruption of "two-barrel."

Compare the aboriginal word Whilpra (q.v.).

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

p. 109:

"He had previously despatched a messenger to me,

begging me to bring some tupara, or `two-barrel.'"

1881. J. L.Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 137:

"They were labouring under the `tupera fever' [in 1840]. The

percussion-gun had made its appearance, and the natives were

not slow to see how much more effectual a weapon it was than

the old flint `brown-bess.' And when they saw the tupera,

double-barrelled gun, the rage at once set in to possess it."

<hw>Tupong</hw>, n. aboriginal name for a Southern

Australian fish, Aphritis bassii, Castln., family

Trachinidae. Mr. J. Bracebridge Wilson says it is

called Marble-fish in the Geelong district.

It is also known as the Freshwater Flathead.

<hw>Tupuna</hw>, n. Maori word, meaning ancestor,

progenitor, male or female. Often used in the Land Courts

in the question: "Who are your tupuna?"

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

p. 113:

"I asked his permission to ascend Tonga Riro . . . But he

steadily refused, saying, `I would do anything else to show

you my love and friendship, but you must not ascend my tepuna,

or ancestor.'"

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 202:

"Tupuna, to stand, to spring; an ancestor; hence Tu-pu, to

grow."

1863. F. Maning (Pakeha Maori), `Old New Zealand,' p. 196:

"One evening a smart, handsome lad came to tell me his

tupuna was dying . . . The tribe were ke poto or

assembled to the last man about the dying chief."

<hw>Turbot</hw>, n. The name is given to

a New Zealand fish, called also Lemon-Sole (q.v.)

or Yellow-belly (q.v.), Ammotretis guntheri.

1876. `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. viii.

p. 215:

"Turbot--a fish not uncommon in the Dunedin market, where it

goes by the name of `lemon-sole.'"

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

applied in Australia to three birds, viz.--

(1) To the bird Eupodotis australis, Gray, which

is a true Bustard, but which is variously called the

Native Turkey, Plain Turkey (from its frequenting

the plains), and Wild Turkey.

(2) To the bird Talegalla lathami, Gould, called

the Brush Turkey (from its frequenting the brushes),

Wattled Turkey and Wattled Talegalla (from its

fleshy wattles), and sometimes, simply, Talegalla.

By Latham it was mistaken for a Vulture, and classed by him

as the New Holland Vulture. (`General History of Birds,'

1821, vol. i. p. 32.)

(3) To the bird Leipoa ocellata, Gould, called the

Scrub-Turkey (from its frequenting the Scrubs, the

Lowan (its aboriginal name), the Native Pheasant

(of South Australia); in the Mallee district it is called

Mallee-bird, Mallee-fowl, Mallee-hen.

In the following quotations the number of the bird referred

to is placed in square brackets at the end.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 14:

"We passed several nests of the Brush-Turkey (Talegalla

Lathami, Gould)." [2.]

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 260:

"Several native bustards (Otis Novae Hollandiae,

Gould) were shot." [1.]

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vi. pl. 4:

"Otis Australasianus, Gould, Australian Bustard; Turkey,

Colonists of New South Wales; Native Turkey, Swan River." [1.]

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. v. pl. 77:

"Talegalla Lathami, Wattled Talegalla; Brush-Turkey

of the Colonists." [2.]

1872. C. H. Eden, `My wife and I in Queensland,' p. 122:

"The bird that repaid the sportsman best was the plain turkey

or bustard (Otis Australasianus), a noble fellow, the

male weighing from eighteen to twenty pounds. They differ from

the European birds in being good flyers. . . . The length of

the wings is very great, and they look like monsters in the

air." [1.]

1872. Ibid. p. 124:

"The scrub-turkey (Talegalla Lathami) is a most curious

bird; its habitat is in the thickest scrubs. In appearance it

much resembles the English hen turkey, though but little larger

than a fowl." [2.]

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 214:

"Look at this immense mound. It is a scrub-turkey's nest.

Thirty or forty lay their eggs in it. One could hardly imagine

they could gather such a huge pile of sticks and earth and

leaves. They bury their eggs, and heap up the nest until the

laying time ceases. The moist heap heats and incubates the

eggs. The young turkeys spring out of the shell, covered with

a thick warm coat, and scratch their way into daylight, strong

and able to provide food for themselves." [3.]

1891. `Guide to Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':

"The bustard (Eupodotis Australis) is known by the

colonists as the native turkey. It is excellent eating and is

much sought after on that account. The hen bird lays only one

egg, depositing it on the bare ground. Formerly they were

numerous in the neighbourhood of Melbourne, but they have now

been driven further inland; they are still abundant on the

western plains and on the open Saltbush country of the Lower

Murray. They are difficult to approach on foot, but it is easy

to get within gunshot of them on horseback or driving. The

natives used formerly to capture them in an ingenious manner by

means of a snare; they approached their intended victim against

the wind under cover of a large bush grasped in the left hand,

while in the right was held a long slender stick, to the end of

which was fastened a large fluttering moth, and immediately

below a running noose. While the bird, unconscious of danger,

was eyeing and pecking at the moth, the noose was dexterously

slipped over its head by the cunning black, and the astonished

bird at once paid the penalty of its curiosity with its life."

[1.]

1891. Ibid.:

"In the first division are several specimens of the

Brush-Turkey (Talegalla Lathami) of Australia. These

birds have excited world-wide interest in scientific circles,

by their ingenious mode of incubating. They construct a large

mound of vegetable mould and sand; mixed in such proportions

that a gentle heat will be maintained, which hatches the buried

eggs. The young chicks can look after themselves shortly after

bursting the egg-shell." [2.]

1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of British

Colonies,' p. 274:

"The brush-turkeys, which are not really turkeys but birds of

that size, build big mounds of decaying vegetable matter, lay

their eggs on the top, cover them over with leaves, and leave

the whole to rot, when the heat of the sun above and of the

fermentation below, hatches the eggs, and the young creep out

to forage for themselves without ever knowing their parents."

[2.]

1893. Professor H. A. Strong, in `Liverpool Mercury,' Feb.

13:

"The well-known `wild turkey' of Australian colonists is a

bustard, and he has the good sense to give a wide berth to the

two-legged immigrants indeed the most common method of

endeavouring to secure an approach to him is to drive up to him

in a buggy, and then to let fly. The approach is generally

made by a series of concentric circles, of which the victim is

the centre. His flesh is excellent, the meat being of a rich

dark colour, with a flavour resembling that of no other game

bird with which I am acquainted." [1.]

1893. `The Argus,' March 25, p. 3, col. 5:

"The brush-turkey (Talegalla), another of the

sand-builders, lays a white egg very much like that of a swan,

while the third of that wonderful family, the scrub-hen or

Megapode, has an egg very long in proportion to its

width." [2.]

<hw>Turmeric</hw>, i.q. Stinkwood (q.v.); also applied

occasionally to Hakea dactyloides, Cav.,

N.O. Proteaceae. See Hakea.

<hw>Turnip-wood</hw>, n. the timbers of the trees

Akania hillii, J. Hook., N.O. Sapindaceae,

and Dysoxylon Muelleri, Benth., N.O. Meliaceae,

from their white and red colours respectively.

<hw>Turpentine, Brush</hw>, name given to two trees--

Metrosideros leptopetala, F. v. M., also called

Myrtle; and Rhodamnia trinervia, Blume,

both N.O. Myrtaceae.

<hw>Turpentine-Tree</hw>, n. The name is applied to many

trees in Australia yielding a resin, but especially to the tree

called Tallow-Wood (q.v.), Eucalyptus microcorys,

F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae; to Eucalyptus punctata,

De C., N.O. Myrtaceae, called also Leather-

Jacket, Hickory, Red-, and Yellow-Gun,

and Bastard-Box; and to E. stuartiana, F. v. M.,

N.O. Myrtaceae. In New Zealand, it is also applied to

the Tarata. See Mapau.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 523:

"[E. Stuartiana is] frequently called Turpentine Tree,

or Peppermint Tree. In Victoria it is known as Apple Tree,

Apple-scented Gum, White Gum, and Mountain Ash. It is the

Woolly Butt of the county of Camden (New South Wales).

Occasionally it is known as Stringybark. It is called Box

about Stanthorpe (Queensland), Tea Tree at Frazer's Island

(Queensland), and Red Gum in Tasmania."

<hw>Turquoise-Berry</hw>, n. i.q. Solomon's Seal

(q.v.).

<hw>Tussock-grass</hw>, n. Tussock is an English word

for a tuft of grass. From this a plant of the lily family,

Lomandra longifolia, R. Br., N.O. Lilaceae,

is named Tussock-grass; it is "considered the best

native substitute for esparto." (`Century.')

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. v. p. 38:

"The roof was neatly thatched with the tall, strong

tussock-grass."

<hw>Tussocker</hw>, n. a New Zealand name

for a Sundowner (q.v.).

1889. Vincent Pyke, `Wild Will Enderby':

"Now, a `sun-downer,' or `tussocker'--for the terms are

synonymous--is a pastoral loafer; one who loiters about till

dusk, and then makes for the nearest station or hut, to beg for

shelter and food."

<hw>Tutu</hw>, or <hw>Toot</hw>, n. Maori name for a

shrub or small tree, Coriaria ruscifolia, Linn., or

C. sarmentosa, Forst., of New Zealand, widely

distributed. It bears greenish flowers, and shiny pulpy black

berries. From these the Maoris make a wine resembling light

claret, taking care to strain out and not to crush the seeds,

which are poisonous, with an action similar to that of

strychnine. It goes also by the name of Wineberry-bush,

and the Maori name is Anglicised into Toot. In Maori,

the final u is swallowed rather than pronounced. In

English names derived from the Maori, a vowel after a mute

letter is not sounded. It is called in the North Island

Tupakihi. In Maori, the verb tutu means to be

hit, wounded, or vehemently wild, and the name of the plant

thus seems to be connected with the effects produced by its

poison. To "eat your toot": used as a slang phrase; to become

acclimatised, to settle down into colonial ways.

1857. R. Wilkin, in a Letter printed by C. Hursthouse,

`New Zealand,' p. 372:

"The plant called `tutu' or `toot' appears to be universal over

New Zealand. If eaten by sheep or cattle with empty stomachs,

it acts in a similar manner to green clover, and sometimes

causes death; but if partaken of sparingly, and with grass, it

is said to possess highly fattening qualities. None of the

graziers, however, except one, with whom I conversed on the

subject, seemed to consider toot worth notice; . . . it is

rapidly disappearing in the older settled districts and will

doubtless soon disappear here."

1857. C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand,' p. 395:

"The wild shrub Tutu (Coriaria ruscifolia), greedily

devoured by sheep and cattle, produces a sort of `hoven'

effect, something like that of rich clover pastures when stock

break in and over feed. . . . Bleeding and a dose of spirits

is the common cure. . . Horses and pigs are not affected by

it."

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

"And flax and fern and tutu grew In wild luxuriance round."

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 139:

"The toot-plant, tutu or tupakihi of the Maoris (Coriaria

sarmentosa, Forst. = C. ruscifolia, L.), is a small

bush, one of the most common and widely distributed shrubs of

the islands. [New Zealand.] It produces a sort of `hoven' or

narcotic effect on sheep and cattle, when too greedily eaten.

It bears a fruit, which is produced in clusters, not unlike a

bunch of currants, with the seed external, of a purple colour.

The poisonous portion of the plant to man are the seeds and

seedstalks, while their dark purple pulp is utterly innoxious

and edible. The natives express from the berries an agreeable

violet juice (carefully avoiding the seed), called native

wine."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 103:

"The tutu-tree,

Whose luscious purple clusters hang so free

And tempting, though with hidden seeds replete

That numb with deadly poison all who eat."

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

"Tupakihi, tree tutu. A perennial shrub ten to eighteen feet

high; trunk six to eight inches in diameter. The so-called

berries (fleshy petals) vary very much in succulence. . . .

The juice is purple, and affords a grateful beverage to the

Maoris; and a wine, like elderberry wine, has been made from

them. The seeds and leaves contain a poisonous alkaloid, and

produce convulsions, delirium and death, and are sometimes

fatal to cattle and sheep."

1884. Alfred Cox, `Recollections,' p. 258:

"When footpaths about Christchurch were fringed with tutu

bushes, little boys were foolish enough to pluck the beautiful

berries and eat them. A little fellow whose name was `Richard'

ate of the fruit, grew sick, but recovered. When the punster

heard of it, he said, `Ah! well, if the little chap had died,

there was an epitaph all ready for him, Decus et

tutamen. Dick has ate toot, amen.'"

1889. G. P. Williams and W. P. Reeves, `Colonial Couplets,'

p. 20:

"You will gather from this that I'm not `broken in,'

And the troublesome process has yet to begin

Which old settlers are wont to call `eating your tutu;'

(This they always pronounce as if rhyming with boot)."

1889. Vincent Pyke, `Wild Will Enderby, p. 16 [Footnote]:

"The poisonous tutu bushes. A berry-bearing, glossy-leaved

plant, deadly to man and to all animals, except goats."

1891. T. H. Potts, `New Zealand Country Journal,' vol. xv.

p. 103:

"The Cockney new chum soon learnt to `eat his toot,' and he

quickly acquired a good position in the district."

<hw>Twenty-eight</hw>, n. another name for the

Yellow-collared Parrakeet. Named from its note.

See Parrakeet.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. v. pl. 19:

"Platycercus Semitorquatus, Quoy and Gaim.,

Yellow-collared Parrakeet; Twenty-eight Parrakeet, Colonists of

Swan River. It often utters a note which, from its resemblance

to those words, has procured for it the appellation of

`twenty-eight' Parrakeet from the Colonists; the last word or

note being sometimes repeated five or six times in succession."

<hw>Twine Bush</hw>, n. i.q. Hakea flexilis.

See Hakea.

<hw>Twine, Settler's</hw>, n. See Settler's

Twine.

<hw>Two-hooded Furina-Snake</hw>. See under Snake.

<hw>Umbrella-bush</hw>, Acacia osswaldi, F. v. M.,

N.O. Leguminosae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 363:

"Often called `Umbrella-Bush,' as it is a capital shade tree.

A small bushy tree."

1894. `Melbourne Museum Catalogue--Economic Woods,' No. 17:

"The plant is exquisitely adapted for tall hedges. It is often

called the `umbrella tree,' as it gives a capital shade. The

heart-wood is dark, hard, heavy and close-grained."

<hw>Umbrella-grass</hw>, i.q. Native Millet, Panicum

decompositum, R. Br., N.O. Gramineae. See

Millet. It is called Umbrella-grass, from the

shape of the branches at the top of the stem representing the

ribs of an open umbrella.

<hw>Umbrella-tree</hw>, n. name given to Brassaia

actinophylla, Endl., N.O. Araliaceae, from the large

leaves being set, like umbrella-ribs, at the top of numerous

stems.

<hw>Umu</hw>, n. Maori word, signifying a native oven.

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

p. 75:

"The tangi had terminated; the umu or `cooking holes' were

smoking away for the feast."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika, a Maui,' p. 389:

"The native oven (umu hangi) is a circular hole of about two

feet in diameter and from six to twelve inches deep."

1872. `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. v.

p. 96:

". . . being all in and around the umus (or native

ovens) in which they had been cooked."

1882. S. Locke, `Traditions of Taupo,' `Transactions of the

New Zealand Institute,' vol. xv. art. liv. p. 440:

"They killed Kurimanga the priest and cooked him in an oven,

from which circumstance the place is called Umu-Kuri."

1889. S. P. Smith, `Transactions of the New Zealand

Institute,' vol. xxii. p. 98:

"An oven of stones, exactly like a Maori umu or hangi."

1893. `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxvi.

p. 432:

"The oumu or haangi, in which food was cooked, was only

a hole scooped in the ground, of a size proportioned to that

which was to be cooked."

<hw>Union Nut</hw>, n. a fine cabinet timber,

Bosistoa sapindiformis, F. v. M., N.O. Rutaceae.

<hw>"Unlock the lands."</hw> A political cry in Victoria,

meaning open up for Free-selection (q.v.) the lands

held by squatters on lease.

1887. J. F. Hogan, `The Irish in Australia,' p. 290:

"The democratic party, that had for its watchword the

expressive phrase, `Unlock the lands.'"

<hw>Unpayable</hw>, adj. not likely to pay for working;

not capable of yielding a profit over working expenses.

(A very rare use.)

1896. `The Argus,' Dec. 26, p. 5, col. 3:

"Unpayable Lines.--The Commissioner of Railways has had a

return prepared showing the results of the working of 48 lines

for the year ending 30th June, 1896. Of these, 33, covering

515 miles, do not pay working expenses, and are reckoned to be

the worst lines in the colony."

<hw>Utu</hw>, n. a Maori word for "Return, price paid,

reward, ransom, satisfaction for injuries received, reply."

(Williams.) Sometimes corrupted by Englishmen into Hoot

(q.v.).

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

vol. ii. p. 63:

"Utu or payment is invariably expected for any injustice

committed, and is exacted in some shape, the sufferer feeling

debased in his own opinion until he obtains satisfaction. The

Utu, similar to the tapu, enters into everything

connected with this people."

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

p. 29:

"He asserted that we should pay for the tapu; but suggested as

an amendment that the utu or `payment' should be handed to

him."

1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 252:

"Utu, which may be freely translated `blood for blood,'

is with him [the Maori] a sacred necessity. It is the

lex talionis carried out to the letter. The exact

interpretation of the formidable little word `Utu' is,

I believe, `payment.'"

1857. C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 61:

"The learned commissioner's court was instantly besieged by

bands of natives vociferating for more `utu' (payment), and

threatening the settlers with the tomahawk if more `utu' were

not instantly accorded."

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 470:

"Besides that, for such shining service done,

A splendid claim, he reckoned, would arise

For `utu'--compensation or reward."

1873. H. Carleton, `Life of Henry Williams,' p. 79:

"Blood for blood, or at least blood money, is Maori law.

Better the blood of the innocent than none at all, is a

recognised maxim of the Maori law of utu."

<hw>Vandemonian</hw>, n. and adj. belonging to

Van Diemen's land, the old name of Tasmania; generally used

of the convicts of the early days; and the demon in

the word is a popular application of the law of Hobson-Jobson.

Now obsolete.

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' (edition 1855), p. 533:

"The Van Diemonians, as they unpleasingly call themselves,

or permit themselves to be called, are justly proud of their

horse-flesh."

1853. S. Sidney, `Three Colonies of Australia' (2nd edit.),

p. 171:

"One of the first acts of the Legislative Assemblies created by

the Australian Reform Bill of 1850 was to pass . . . acts

levelled against Van Diemonian expirees."

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i, p. 367:

"Unquestionably some of the Van Diemenian convicts."

1867. `Cassell's Magazine,' p. 440:

"`I never wanted to leave England,' I have heard an old

Vandemonian observe boastfully. `I wasn't like one of these

`Jemmy Grants' (cant term for `emigrants'); I could always

earn a good living; it was the Government as took and sent me

out."

<hw>Vandemonianism</hw>, n. rowdy conduct like that of

an escaped convict; the term is now obsolete.

1863. `Victorian Hansard,' April 22, vol. ix. p. 701:

"Mr. Houston looked upon the conduct of hon. gentlemen opposite

as ranging from the extreme of vandemonianism to the extreme of

nambypambyism."

<hw>Van Diemen's Land</hw>, the name given to the colony now

called Tasmania, by Abel Jansz Tasman, the Dutch navigator,

in 1642, after Anthony Van Diemen, Governor-General of the

Dutch East Indies. The name was changed to Tasmania

(q.v.) in 1853, on the granting of Responsible Government.

<hw>Vedalia</hw>, n. a genus of greedily predatory

ladybirds. The V. cardinalis of Australia was imported

by the United States Government from Australia and New Zealand

into California in 1888-89, in order to kill the fluted

scale (Icerya purchasi), a fruit-pest. It destroyed

the scale in nine months.

<hw>Velvet-fish</hw>, n. name given in Tasmania

to the fish Holoxenus cutaneus, Gunth., family

Cirrhitidae. The skin is covered with minute

appendages, so soft to the touch as to suggest velvet;

the colour is deep purplish red.

<hw>Verandah</hw>, n. In Australia, the heat of the sun

makes verandahs much commoner than in England. They are an

architectural feature of all dwelling-houses in suburb or in

bush, and of most City shops, where they render the broad

side-walks an almost continuous arcade. "Under the Verandah "

has acquired the meaning, "where city men most do congregate."

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' c. xxvii.

p. 418:

"In Melbourne there is the `verandah'; in Sandhurst there is a

`verandah'; in Ballaarat there is a `verandah.' The verandah is

a kind of open exchange--some place on the street pavement,

apparently selected by chance, on which the dealers in mining

shares do congregate."

1895. Modern. Private Letter of an Australian on Tour:

"What I miss most in London is the Verandahs. With this

everlasting rain there is no place to get out of a shower,

as in Melbourne. But I suppose it pays the umbrella-makers."

<hw>V-hut</hw>, a term used in the province of Canterbury,

New Zealand. See quotations.

1857. R. B. Paul, `Letters from Canterbury,' p. 57:

"The form is that of a V hut, the extremities of the

rafters being left bare, so as to form buttresses to the walls"

(of the church).

1863. S. Butler, `First Year in Canterbury,' p. 73:

"I am now going to put up a V-hut on the country that I took up

on the Rangitata. . . . It consists of a small roof set up on

the ground; it is a hut all roof and no walls."

1879. C. L.Innes, `Canterbury Sketches,' p. 20:

"In case my readers may not know what a `V' hut is like, I will

describe one:--It is exactly as if you took the roof off a

house and stood it on the ground, you can only stand upright in

the middle."

1896. Jan. A Traveller's note:

"Not long ago a Canterbury lady said--`I was born in a V-hut,

and christened in a pie-dish.'"

<hw>Victoria</hw>, n. the name of the smallest of all

the Australian colonies. It was separated from New South Wales

in 1851, when it was named after Queen Victoria. Sir Thomas

Mitchell had before given it the name of "Australia Felix," and

Dr. J. D. Lang wanted the name "Phillipsland." He published a

book with that title in 1847. Previous to separation, the name

used was "the Port Phillip District of New South Wales."

<hw>Village Settlement</hw>, the system, first adopted in New

Zealand, whence it spread to the other colonies, of settling

families on the land in combination. The Government usually

helps at first with a grant of money as well as granting the

land.

<hw>Vine</hw>, n. In Australia, the word is loosely

applied to many trailing or creeping plants, which help to

form scrubs and thickets. In the more marked cases specific

adjectives are used with the word. See following words.

1849. J. P. Townsend, `Rambles in New South Wales,' p. 22:

"With thick creepers, commonly called `vines.'"

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 21:

"Impenetrable vine-scrubs line the river-banks at intervals."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 25:

"Vitis in great abundance and of many varieties are found

especially in the scrubs, hence the colonists call this sort

of brush, vine-scrub."

<hw>Vine, Balloon</hw>. See Balloon Vine.

<hw>Vine, Burdekin</hw>. Called also Round Yam,

Vitis opaca, F. v. M., N.O. Ampelideae.

<hw>Vine, Caustic</hw>, i.q. Caustic-Plant (q.v.).

<hw>Vine, Lawyer</hw>. See Lawyer.

<hw>Vine, Macquarie Harbour</hw>, or <hw>Macquarie Harbour

Grape</hw> (q.v.). Same as Native Ivy. See Ivy.

1891. `Chambers' Encyclopaedia,' s.v. Polygonaeae:

"Muhlenbeckia adpressa is the Macquarie Harbour Vine of

Tasmania, an evergreen climbing or trailing shrub of most rapid

growth, sometimes 60 feet in length. It produces racemes of

fruit somewhat resembling grapes or currants, the nut being

invested with the large and fleshy segments of the calyx. The

fruit is sweetish and subacid, and is used for tarts."

1884. R. L. A. Davies, `Poems and Literary Remains,' p. 99:

"How we saw the spreading myrtles,

Saw the cypress and the pine,

Saw the green festoons and bowers

Of the dark Macquarie vine,

Saw the blackwoods and the box-trees,

And the spiral sassafrases,

Saw the fairy fern-trees mantled

With their mossy cloak of grasses."

<hw>Vine, Native Pepper</hw>. See Climbing Pepper,

under Pepper.

<hw>Vine, Wonga Wonga</hw>. See Wonga Wonga Vine.

<hw>Waddy</hw>. (1) An aboriginal's war club. But the word is

used for wood generally, even for firewood. In a kangaroo

hunt, a man will call out, "Get off and kill it with a waddy,"

i.e. any stick casually picked up. In pigeon-English, "little

fellow waddy" means a small piece of wood.

In various dictionaries, e.g. Stanford, the word is entered as

of aboriginal origin, but many now hold that it is the English

word wood mispronounced by aboriginal lips.

L. E. Threlkeld, in his `Australian Grammar,' at p. 10, enters

it as a "barbarism "--"waddy, a cudgel." A `barbarism,'

with Threlkeld, often means no more than `not in use on the

Hunter River'; but in this case his remark may be more

appropriate.

On the other hand, the word is given as an aboriginal word in

Hunter's `Vocabulary of the Sydney Dialect' (1793), and in

Ridley's `Kamilaroi' (1875), as used at George's River. The

Rev. J. Mathew writes:

"The aboriginal words for fire and wood are very

often, in fact nearly always, interchangeable, or interchanged,

at different places. The old Tasmanian and therefore original

Australian term for wood and fire, or one or the other

according to dialect, is wi (wee) sometimes win.

These two forms occur in many parts of Australia with numerous

variants, wi being obviously the radical form. Hence

there were such variants as wiin, waanap, weenth

in Victoria, and at Sydney gweyong, and at Botany Bay

we, all equivalent to fire. Wi sometimes took on

what was evidently an affixed adjective or modifying particle,

giving such forms as wibra, wygum, wyber,

wurnaway. The modifying part sometimes began with the

sound of d or j (into which of course d

enters as an element). Thus modified, wi became

wadjano on Murchison River, Western Australia;

wachernee at Burke River, Gulf of Carp.; wichun

on the Barcoo; watta on the Hunter River, New South

Wales; wudda at Queanbeyan, New South Wales. These last

two are obviously identical with the Sydney waddy =

`wood.' The argument might be lengthened, but I think what I

have advanced shows conclusively that Waddy is the

Tasmanian word wi + a modifying word or particle."

1814. Flinders, `Voyage,' vol. ii. p. 189:

"Some resembling the whaddie, or wooden sword of the natives of

Port Jackson."

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

p. 20:

"It is amusing to see the consequential swagger of some of

these dingy dandies, as they pass lordly up our streets, with a

waddie twirling in their black paws."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 66:

"Such a weapon as their waddy is: it is formed like a large

kitchen poker, and nearly as heavy, only much shorter in the

handle. The iron-bark wood, of which it is made, is very hard,

and nearly as heavy as iron."

1844. Mrs. Meredith, `Notes and Sketches of New South Wales,'

p. 106:

"The word `waddie,' though commonly applied to the weapons of

the New South Wales aborigines, does not with them mean any

particular implement, but is the term used to express wood of

any kind, or trees. `You maan waddie 'long of fire,' means

`Go and fetch firewood.'"

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 17:

"The Lachlan black, who, with his right hand full of spears,

his whaddie and heleman in his left, was skipping in the air,

shouting his war cry."

185o. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 54:

"A waddy, a most formidable bludgeon."

1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 101:

"The waddy is a heavy, knobbed club about two feet long, and is

used for active service, foreign or domestic. It brains the

enemy in the battle, or strikes senseless the poor gin in cases

of disobedience or neglect."

1864. `Once a Week,' Dec. 31, p. 45, `The Bulla Bulla

Bunyip':

"The landlord swore to the apparition of a huge blackfellow

flourishing a phantasmal `waddy.'"

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

Lincoln Tribe,' p. 214:

"The wirris, by the whites incorrectly named waddies, are also

made of gum saplings; they are eighteen inches in length, and

barely one inch in diameter, the thin end notched in order to

afford a firm hold for the hand, while towards the other end

there is a slight gradual bend like that of a sword; they are,

however, without knobs, and every way inferior to the wirris of

the Adelaide tribes. The natives use this weapon principally

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

1886. R. Henty, `Australiana,' p. 18:

"The `waddy' is a powerful weapon in the hands of the native.

With unerring aim he brings down many a bird, and so materially

assists in replenishing the family larder."

1892. J. Fraser, `Aborigines of New South Wales,' p. 74:

"A general name for all Australian clubs is `waddy,' and,

although they are really clubs, they are often used as missiles

in battle."

(2) The word is sometimes used for a walking-stick.

<hw>Waddy</hw>, v. trans. to strike with a waddy.

1855. Robert Lowe (Viscount Sherbrooke), `Songs of the

Squatters,' canto ii. st. 7:

"When the white thieves had left me, the black thieves

appeared,

My shepherds they waddied, my cattle they speared."

1869. `Victorian Hansard,' Nov. 18, vol. ix. p. 2310, col. 2:

"They were tomahawking them, and waddying them, and breaking

their backs."

1882. A. Tolmer, `Reminiscences,' p. 291:

"In the scuffle the native attempted to waddy him."

1893. `The Argus,' April 8, p. 4, col. 3:

"Only three weeks before he had waddied his gin to death

for answering questions asked her by a blacktracker."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 45:

"For they waddied one another, till the plain was strewn with

dead,

While the score was kept so even that they neither got

ahead."

<hw>Waddy Wood</hw>, or <hw>White Wood</hw>, n. name

given in Tasmania to the tree Pittosporum bicolor,

Hook., N.O. Pittosporeae; from which the aboriginals

there chiefly made their Waddies.

1851. `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van

Diemen's Land,' vol. i. p. 156:

"11th October, 1848. . . a sample of a very fine close-grained

white timber, considered by him suitable for wood-engraving

purposes, obtained in a defile of Mount Wellington. It seems

to be the young wood of Pittosporum bicolor, formerly in

high estimation amongst the Aborigines of Tasmania, on account

of its combined qualities of density, hardness, and tenacity,

as the most suitable material of which to make their warlike

implement the waddie."

<hw>Wagtail</hw>, or <hw>Wagtail Fly-catcher</hw>, n.

an Australian bird, Rhipidura tricolor, the

Black-and-white Fantail, with black-and-white plumage

like a pied wagtail. See also quotation, 1896. The name is

applied sometimes in Gippsland, and was first used in Western

Australia as a name for the Black-and-white Fantail.

See Fantail.

1885. R. M. Praed, `Head-Station,' p. 24:

"He pointed to a Willy-wagtail which was hopping cheerfully

from stone to stone."

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

South Wales,' pt i. p. 13:

"Salltoprocta motacilloides, Vig. and Horsf. `Black and

White Fantail.' `Water Wagtail.'. . . From this bird's habit

of constantly swaying its lengthened tail feathers from side to

side it is locally known in many districts as the `Willy

Wagtail.'"

<hw>Wahine</hw>, n. Maori word for a woman.

The i is long.

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

p. 29:

"Having enquired how many (wives) the Kings of England had, he

laughed heartily at finding they were not so well provided, and

repeatedly counted `four wahine' (women) on his fingers."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 289:

"A group of whyenees and piccaninnies."

1893. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 21, p. 11, col. 5:

"It is not fit that a daughter of the great tribe should be

the slave-wife of the pakeha and the slave of the white wahine."

<hw>Waipiro</hw>, n. Maori name for spirits,--

literally, stinking water, from piro, stinking,

and wai, water. In New Zealand geography, the word

Wai is very common as the first part of many names

of harbours, lakes, etc. Compare North-American Indian

Fire-water.

1845. W. Brown, `New Zealand and its Inhabitants,' p. 132:

"Another native keeps a grog-shop, and sells his

waipero, as he says, to Hourangi drunken

pakehas."

1863. F. Maning (Pakeha Maori), `Old New Zealand,' p. 169:

"He would go on shore, in spite of every warning, to get some

water to mix with his waipiro, and was not his canoe

found next day floating about with his paddle and two empty

case bottles in it?"

1873. Lt.-col. St. John, `Pakeha Rambles through Maori

Lands,' p. 167:

"When we see a chance of getting at waipiro, we don't stick at

trifles."

1887. The Warrigal, `Picturesque New Zealand,' `Canterbury

Weekly Press,' March 11:

"The priest was more than epigrammatic when he said that the

Maoris' love for `waipiro' (strong waters) was stronger than

their morals."

<hw>Wairepo</hw>, n. Maori name for the fish called

Stingray.

<hw>Wait-a-while</hw>, n. also called

Stay-a-while: a thicket tree.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 306:

"Acacia colletioides, A. Cunn., N.O. Leguminosae,

`Wait-a-while' (a delicate allusion to the predicament of a

traveller desirous of penetrating a belt of it)."

<hw>Waka</hw>, n. Maori word for canoe. Waka

huia is a box for keeping feathers, originally the

feathers of the huia (q.v.).

1874. W. M. Baynes, `Narrative of Edward Crewe,' p. 81:

"`Whaka' is the native name, or rather the native genetic term,

for all canoes, of which there are many different kinds, as

tete, pekatu, kopapa, and others answering in variety to our

several descriptions of boats, as a `gig,' a `whaleboat,' a

`skiff,' a `dingy,' etc."

1878. R. C. Barstow, `On the Maori Canoe,' `Transactions

of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xi. art. iv. p. 72:

"Canoes may be divided into four classes; Waka-taua

or Waka-hitau were canoes, fully carved; the

Waka-tetee, which, generally smaller, had a plain

figure-head and stern; Waka-tiwai, an ordinary canoe

of one piece, and the kopapa or small canoe, usually

used for fishing, travelling to cultivation, etc."

<hw>Wakiki</hw>, n. shell money of the South Sea

Islands.

<hw>Waler</hw>, n. Anglo-Indian name for an Australian

horse imported from New South Wales into India, especially for

the cavalry. Afterwards used for any horse brought from

Australia.

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 134:

"Horses are exported largely from Australia to India even.

I have heard men from Bengal talk of the `Walers,' meaning

horses from New South Wales."

1866. G. 0. Trevelyan, `Dawk Bungalow,' p. 223 [Yule's

`Hobson Jobson']:

"Well, young Shaver, have you seen the horses? How is the

Waler's off fore-leg?"

1873. `Madras Mail,' June 25 [Yule's `Hobson Jobson']:

"For sale. A brown Waler gelding."

1888. R. Kipling, `Plain Tales from the Hills,' p. 224:

"The soul of the Regiment lives in the Drum-Horse who carries

the silver kettle-drums. He is nearly always a big piebald

Waler."

1896. `The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 62:

"C. R. Gaunt is Senior Subaltern of the 4th (Royal Irish)

Dragoon Guards, at present stationed at Rawul Pindi in India.

He won the Regimental Cup Steeplechase this year on an

Australian mare of his own. Australian horses are called

`Walers' in India, from the circumstance of their being

generally imported from New South Wales."

<hw>Walking-Leaf</hw>, n. See Phasmid.

<hw>Walking-stick</hw>, n. See Phasmid.

<hw>Walking-stick Palm</hw>, n. See under Palm.

<hw>Wallaby</hw>, n. a name used for the smaller kinds

of Kangaroos of the genus Macropus (q.v.), formerly

classed as Halmaturus. An aboriginal word. See

Collins, 1798, below. (Wolbai, in the Kabi dialect of

South Queensland, means a young creature.) Also spelt

Walloby, Wallabee, and Wallobi. As in the case

of Kangaroo (q.v.), the plural is a little uncertain,

Wallaby or Wallabies. Some of them are sometimes

called Brush-Kangaroos (q.v.). The following are the

species--

Agile Wallaby--

Macropus agilis, Gould.

Aru Island W.--

M. brunnii, Schraeber.

Black-gloved W.--

M. irma, Jourd.

Black-striped W.--

M. dorsalis, Gray.

Black-tailed W.--

M. ualabatus, Less. and Garm.

Branded W.--

M. stigmaticus, Gould.

Cape York W.--

M. coxeni, Gray.

Dama W.--

M. eugenii, Desm.

Pademelon--

M. thetidis, Less.

Parma W.--

M. parma , Waterh.

Parry's W.--

M. parryi, Bennett.

Red-legged W.--

M. wilcoxi, McCoy.

Red-necked W., Grey's W.--

M. ruficollis, Desm.

Rufous-bellied W.--

M. billardieri, Desm.

Short-tailed W.--

M. brachyurus, Quoy and Gaim.

Sombre W.--

M. brownii, Ramsay.

In addition, there are six species of Rock-Wallaby

(q.v.), genus Petrogale (q.v.). See also

Paddymelon.

Three species of Nail-tailed Wallabies, genus

Onychogale (q.v.), are confined to Australia.

They are the Nail-tailed Wallaby, Onychogale unguifera,

Gould; Bridled W., O. frenata, Gould; Crescent W.,

O. lunata, Gould.

Three species of Hare-Wallabies (genus

Lagorchestes, q.v.), confined to Australia, are the

Spectacled Hare-Wallaby, Lagorchestes conspiculatus,

Gould; Common H. W., L. leporoides, Gould; Rufous H. W.,

L. hirsutus, Gould.

One species, called the Banded-Wallaby (genus,

Lagostrophus, q.v.), confined to Western Australia,

is L. fasciatus, Peron and Less.

For etymology, see Wallaroo.

1798. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South

Wales,' p. 614 [Vocabulary]:

"Wal-li-bah--a black kangaroo."

1830. R. Dawson' `Present State of Australia,' p. 111:

"In the long coarse grass with which these flats are always

covered, a species of small kangaroo is usually found, which

the natives call the `wallaby.' Their colour is darker than

that of the forest kangaroo, approaching almost to that of a

fox, and they seat themselves in the grass like a hare or a

rabbit."

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

"The wallabee is not very common."

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

p. 267:

"The Wallaby are numerous on this part of the island."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 49:

"Rock wallabies were very numerous."

Ibid. c. xii. p. 418:

"They returned with only a red wallabi (Halmaturus

agilis)."

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

"The rock Wallaby, or Badger, also belongs to the family of the

kangaroo; its length from the nose to the end of the tail is

three feet; the colour of the fur being grey-brown."

1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 12:

"Sipping doubtfully, but soon swallowing with relish, a plate

of wallabi-tail soup."

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

and Exploration of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 18:

"Eyre succeeded in shooting a fine wallaby."

[Note]: "A small kind of kangaroo, inhabiting the scrub."

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' c. vii.

p. 117:

"I have also been frowned upon by bright eyes because I could

not eat stewed wallabi. Now the wallabi is a little kangaroo,

and to my taste it is not nice to eat even when stewed to the

utmost with wine and spices."

1880. Garnet Watch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 7:

"To hear . . . that wallabies are `the women of the native

race' cannot but be disconcerting to the well-regulated

colonial mind." [He adds a footnote]: "It is on record that a

journalistically fostered impression once prevailed, to high

English circles, to the effect that a certain colonial Governor

exhibited immoral tendencies by living on an island in the

midst of a number of favourite wallabies, whom he was known

frequently to caress."

188x. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 213:

"Now one hears the pat-pat-pat of a wallaby."

1885. J. B. Stephens, `To a Black Gin,' p. 5:

"Of tons of 'baccy, and tons more to follow,--

Of wallaby as much as thou could'st swallow,--

Of hollow trees, with 'possums in the hollow."

1886. J. A. Froude, `Oceana,' p. 309:

"My two companions . . . went off with the keeper [sic] to

shoot wallaby. Sir George (Grey) has a paternal affection for

all his creatures, and hates to have them killed. But the

wallaby multiply so fast that the sheep cannot live for them,

and several thousands have to be destroyed annually."

1888. Sir C. Gavan Duffy, in the `Contemporary Review,'

vol. liii. p. 3:

"`Morality!' exclaimed the colonist. `What does your lordship

suppose a wallaby to be?' `Why, a half-caste, of course.'

`A wallaby, my lord, is a dwarf kangaroo!'"

<hw>Wallaby-Bush</hw>, n. a tall shrub or tree,

Beyeria viscosa, Miq., N.O. Euphorbiaceae.

Same as the Pinkwood of Tasmania.

<hw>Wallaby-Grass</hw>, n. an Australian grass,

Danthonia penicillata, F. v. M., N.O. Gramineae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 82:

"`Wallaby Grass.' This perennial artificial grass is useful

for mixed pasture."

<hw>Wallaby-skin</hw>, the skin, with the hair on it,

of the wallaby, prized as a warm and ornamental fur for rugs.

1890. `The Argus,' June13, p.6, col. 2:

"A quantity of hair, a wallaby-skin rug.

<hw>Wallaby track, On the</hw>, or <hw>On the Wallaby</hw>,

or <hw>Out on the Wallaby</hw>, or simply <hw>Wallaby</hw>,

as adj. [slang]. Tramping the country on foot, looking

for work. Often in the bush the only perceptible tracks, and

sometimes the only tracks by which the scrub can be penetrated,

are the tracks worn down by the Wallaby, as a hare

tramples its "form." These tracks may lead to water or they

may be aimless and rambling. Thus the man "on the

wallaby" may be looking for food or for work,

or aimlessly wandering by day and getting food and shelter

as a Sundowner (q.v.) at night.

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

p. 41:

"The Wimmera district is noted for the hordes of vagabond

`loafers' that it supports, and has earned for itself the name

of `The Feeding Track.' I remember an old bush ditty, which I

have heard sung when I was on the `Wallaby.' . . . At

the station where I worked for some time (as `knockabout man')

three cooks were kept during the `wallaby' season--one for the

house, one for the men, and one for the travellers."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Colonial Reformer,' p. 82:

"`What is the meaning of `out on the wallaby'?' asked Ernest.

`Well, it's bush slang, sir, for men just as you or I might be

now, looking for work or something to eat; if we can't get

work, living on the country, till things turn round a little.'"

Ibid. p. 388:

"Our friends who pursue the ever-lengthening but not arduous

track of the wallaby in Australia."

1893. Gilbert Parker, `Pierre and his People,' p. 242:

"The wallaby track? That's the name in Australia for trampin'

west, through the plains of the Never Never Country, lookin'

for the luck o' the world."

1894. Longmans' `Notes on Books' (May 31), p. 206:

"`On the Wallaby: a Book of Travel and Adventure.' `On the

Wallaby' is an Australianism for `on the march,' and it is

usually applied to persons tramping the bush in search of

employment."

1894. Jennings Carmichael, in `Australasian,' Dec. 22,

p. 1127, col. 5:

"A `wallaby' Christmas, Jack, old man!--

Well, a worse fate might befall us!

The bush must do for our church to-day,

And birds be the bells to call us.

The breeze that comes from the shore beyond,

Thro' the old gum-branches swinging,

Will do for our solemn organ chords,

And the sound of children singing."

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 134:

"Though joys of which the poet rhymes

Was not for Bill an' me

I think we had some good old times

Out on the Wallaby."

<hw>Wallaroo</hw>, n. native name for a large species

of Kangaroo, the mountain kangaroo, Macropus robustus,

Gould. The black variety of Queensland and New South Wales is

called locally the Wallaroo, the name Euro being

given in South and Central Australia to the more rufous-

coloured variety of the same species.

In the aboriginal language, the word walla meant

`to jump,' and walla-walla `to jump quickly.'

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

"The wallaroo, of a blackish colour, with coarse shaggy fur,

inhabiting the hills."

1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 157:

"Some very fierce and ready to attack man, such as the large

mountain `wolloroo.'"

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 481:

"Charley shot a Wallooroo just as it was leaping, frightened

by our footsteps, out of its shady retreat to a pointed rock."

[On p. 458, Leichhardt spells Wallurus, plural]

1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 50:

"The Wallaroos grope through the tufts of the grass."

1868 (before). C. Harpur, `Creek of the Four Graves'(edition

1883), p. 49:

"Up the steep,

Between the climbing forest-growths they saw,

Perched on the bare abutments of the hills,

Where haply yet some lingering gleam fell through,

The wallaroo look forth."

[Footnote]: "A kind of large kangaroo, peculiar to the higher

and more difficult mountains."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 328:

"A wallaroo, a peculiar kind of kangaroo (Macropus

robustus), which was kept tame at a station, showed a

marked fondness for animal food, particularly for boiled salt

beef. A dove had been its companion, and these two animals

were the best of friends for half-a-year, when the wallaroo one

day killed its companion and partly ate it."

1895. `The Australasian,' June 22, 1181, col. 1 [Answers to

Correspondents]:

"Professor Baldwin Spencer kindly deals with the question as

follows:--What is the distinction between a wallaroo and a

wallaby?--A wallaroo is a special form of kangaroo (Macropus

robustus) living in the inland parts of Queensland and New

South Wales. Wallaby is the name given to several kinds of

smaller kangaroos, such as the common scrub wallaby

(Macropus ualabatus) of Victoria. The wallaroo is

stouter and heavier in build, its fur thicker and coarser,

and the structure of its skull is different from that of an

ordinary wallaby."

<hw>Wallflower, Native</hw>, n. a Tasmanian name for

Pultenaea subumbellata, Hook., N.O. Leguminosae.

In Australia, used as another name for one of the Poison-

Bushes (q-v.).

<hw>Wandoo</hw>, n. Western Australian aboriginal

word for the White Gum-tree of Western Australia,

Eucalyptus redunca, Schauer, N.O. Myrtaceae.

It has a trunk sometimes attaining seventeen feet in diameter,

and yields a hard durable wood highly prized by wheelwrights.

<hw>Waratah</hw>, n. an Australian flower. There are

three species, belonging to the genus Telopea,

N.O. Proteaceae. The New South Wales species,

T. speciosissima, R. Br., forms a small shrub

growing on hill-sides, as does also the Tasmanian species,

T. truncata, R. Br.; the Victorian species,

T. oreades, F. v. M., called the Gippsland

Waratah, grows to a height of fifty feet. It has a bright

crimson flower about three inches in diameter, very regular.

Sometimes called the Australian or Native Tulip.

As emblematic of Australia, it figures on certain of the New

South Wales stamps and postcards. The generic name,

Telopea (q.v.), has been corrupted into Tulip

(q.v.). Its earliest scientific generic name was

Embothrium, Smith.

1793. E. Smith, `Specimen of Botany of New Holland,' p. 19:

"The most magnificent plant which the prolific soil of New

Holland affords is, by common consent both of Europeans and

Natives, the Waratah."

1801. Governor King, in `Historical Records of New South

Wales' (1896), vol, iv. p. 514 (a Letter to Sir Joseph Banks):

"I have also sent in the Albion a box of waratahs, and the

earth is secured with the seed."

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

p. 66:

"Bennillong assisted, placing the head of the corpse, near

which he stuck a beautiful war-ra-taw."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 98:

[Description, but not the name.]

"A plant called the gigantic lily also flourishes on the tops

of these mountains, in all its glory. Its stems, which are

jointy, are sometimes as large as a man's wrist, and ten feet

high, with a pink and scarlet flower at the top, which when in

full blossom (as it then was) is nearly the size of a small

spring cabbage."

1830. `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 66:

"Interspersed with that magnificent shrub called warratah or

tulip-tree, and its beautiful scarlet flowers."

1857. D. Bunce, `Australasiatic Reminiscences,' p. 44:

"The most common of them was, however, the Telopia [sic]

Tasmaniensis, or waratah, or scarlet tulip tree, as it has

been occasionally termed by stock-keepers."

1864. J. S. Moore, `Spring Life Lyrics,' p. 115:

"The lily pale and waratah bright

Shall encircle your shining hair."

1883. D. B. W. Sladen, `Poetry of Exiles':

"And waratah, with flame-hued royal crown,

Proclaim the beauties round Australia's own."

1885. Wanderer, `Beauteous Terrorist,' etc., p. 62:

"And the waratahs in state,

With their queenly heads elate,

And their flamy blood-red crowns,

And their stiff-frill'd emerald gowns."

1888. D. Macdonald, I Gum Boughs,' p. 188:

"Outside the tropical Queensland forests, the scarlet flowering

gum of Western Australia, and the Waratah, of Blue Mountains

fame, are its [i.e. the wattle's] only rivals."

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 5, p. 9, col. 1:

"The memory of many residents runs back to the time when the

waratah and the Christmas-bush, the native rose and fuchsia,

grew where thickly-peopled suburbs now exist. . . . The

waratah recedes yearly."

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Sept. 2, p. 5, col. 6:

"The wattles and waratahs are creditable instances of the

value of our Australian flowers for art purposes, and the

efforts of the artists to win recognition for their

adaptability as subjects for the artist's brush are deserving

of acknowledgment."

<hw>Warbler</hw>, n. This English birdname is applied

loosely to many birds of different genera in Australia and New

Zealand.

The majority of the Australian Warblers have now had other

names assigned to them. (See Fly-eater and

Gerygone.) The name has been retained in Australia

for the following species--

Grass Warbler--

Cisticola exilis, Lath.

Grey W.--

Gerygone flaviventris, Gray.

Long-billed Reed W.--

Calamoherpe longirostris, Gould.

Reed W.--

Acrocephalus australis, Gould.

Rock W.--

Origma rubricata, Lath.