Chapter XVII: Part 17

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<hw>Larrikin</hw>, n. The word has various shades of meaning between a playful youngster and a blackguardly rough. Little streetboys are often in a kindly way called little larrikins. (See quotations, 1870 and 1885.) Archibald Forbes described the larrikin as "a cross between the Street Arab and the Hoodlum, with a dash of the Rough thrown in to improve the mixture." (`Century.) The most exalted position yet reached in literature by this word is in Sir Richard Burton's `Translation of the Arabian Nights' (1886-7), vol. i. p. 4, Story of the Larrikin and the Cook; vol. iv. p. 281, Tale of First Larrikin. The previous translator, Jonathan Scott, had rendered the Arabic word, Sharper.

There are three views as to the origin of the word, viz.--

(1) That it is a phonetic spelling of the broad Irish pronunciation, with a trilled r of the word larking. The story goes that a certain Sergeant Dalton, about the year 1869, charged a youthful prisoner at the Melbourne Police Court with being "a-larrr-akin' about the streets." The Police Magistrate, Mr. Sturt, did not quite catch the word--"A what, Sergeant?"--"A larrikin', your Worchup." The police court reporter used the word the next day in the paper, and it stuck. (See quotation, `Argus,' 1896.)

This story is believed by 99 persons out of 100; unfortunately it lacks confirmation; for the record of the incident cannot be discovered, after long search in files by many people. Mr. Skeat's warning must be remembered--"As a rule, derivations which require a story to be told turn out to be false."

(2) That the word is thieves' English, promoted like swag, plant, lift, etc., into ordinary Australian English. Warders testify that for a number of years before the word appeared in print, it was used among criminals in gaol as two separate words, viz.--leary ('cute, fly, knowing), and kinchen (youngster),--`leary kinchen ,'--shortened commonly into `leary kin' and `leary kid.' Australian warders and constables are Irish, almost to a man. Their pronunciation of `leary kin' would be very nearly `lairy kin,' which becomes the single word larrikin. (See quotation, 1871.) It is possible that Sergeant Dalton used this expression and was misunderstood by the reporter.

(3) The word has been derived from the French larron (a thief), which is from the Latin latronem (a robber). This became in English larry, to which the English diminutive, kin, was added; although this etymology is always derided in Melbourne.

1870. `The Daily Telegraph' (Melbourne), Feb. 7, p. 2, col. 3:

"We shall perhaps begin to think of it in earnest, when we have insisted upon having wholesome and properly baked bread, or a better supply of fish, and when we have put down the `roughs' and `larrikins.'"

1870. `The Age,' Feb. 8, p. 3, col. 1:

"In sentencing a gang of `larrikins' who had been the terror of Little Bourke-street and its neighbourhood for several hours on Saturday night, Mr. Call remarked. . ."

1870. `The Herald,' April 4, p.3, col. 2:

". . . three larikins who had behaved in a very disorderly manner in Little Latrobe-street, having broken the door of a house and threatened to knock out the eye of one of the inmates."

1870. Marcus Clarke, `Goody Two Shoes,' p. 26:

"He's a lively little larrikin lad, and his name is Little Boy Blue."

1871. `The Argus,' Sept. 19, p.5, col. 4:

"In San Francisco, the vagabond juveniles who steal, smash windows, and make themselves generally obnoxious to the respectable inhabitants, instead of being termed `larrikins,' as in Victoria, are denominated `hoodleums.' The name is more musical than the one in vogue here, and probably equally as descriptive, as its origin appears to be just as obscure as that of the word `larrikin.' This word, before it got into print, was confined to the Irish policemen, who generally pronounced it `lerrikan,' and it has been suggested that the term is of Hibernian origin, and should be spelt lerrichaun.'"

1871. Sir George Stephen, Q.C., `Larrikinism,' a Lecture reported in `Prahran Telegraph,' Sept. 23, p. 3, col. 1:

What is Larrikinism? It is a modern word of which I can only guess the derivation, . . . nor can I find any among the erudite professors of slang who adorn our modern literature who can assist me. Some give our police the credit of coining it from the `larking' of our school boys, but I am inclined to think that the word is of Greek origin--Laros, a cormorant--though immediately derived from the French `larron' which signifies a thief or rogue. If I am right, then larrikin is the natural diminutive form in English phraseology for a small or juvenile thief. . . . This however is, I must acknowledge, too severe a construction of the term, even if the derivation is correct; for I was myself, I frankly confess it, an unquestionable larrikin between 60 and 70 years ago. . . . Larrikinism is not thieving, though a road that often leads to it. . . . Is it a love of mischief for mischief's sake? This is the theory of the papers, and is certainly a nearer approach to the true solution."

1871. `Figaro,' in `Prahran Telegraph,' Sept. 30, p. 7, col. 3:

"A local contemporary has . . . done his `level best' to help me out of my `difficulty' with respect to the word Larrikin. He suggests that lerrichan should read leprichaun , a mischievous sprite, according to Irish tradition. . . . We think we may with more safety and less difficulty trace the word to the stereotype [sic] reply of the police to the magisterial question--`What was he doing when you apprehended him?' `Oh! larriking (larking) about, yer Wurtchip.'"

1872. J. S. Elkington, `Tenth Report of Education, Victoria,' dated Feb. 14:

"My inquiries into the origin and habits of that troublesome parasite the larrikin (if I may adopt Constable Dalton's term) do not make me sanguine that compulsory primary instruction can do much for him, unless indirectly."

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), May 15, p. 21, col. 3:

"On Sunday night an unfortunate Chinaman was so severely injured by the Richmond larrikins that his life was endangered."

1875. David Blair, in `Notes and Queries,' July 24, p. 66:

"Bedouins, Street Arabs, Juvenile Roughs in London; Gamins in Paris; Bowery Boys in New York; Hoodlums to San Francisco; Larrikins in Melbourne. This last phrase is an Irish constable's broad pronunciation of `larking' applied to the nightly street performances of these young scamps, here as elsewhere, a real social pestilence."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 338:

"There is not a spare piece of ground fit for a pitch anywhere round Melbourne that is not covered with `larrikins' from six years old upwards."

1889. Rev. J. H. Zillmann, `Australian Life,' p. 159:

"It has become the name for that class of roving vicious young men who prowl about public-houses and make night hideous in some of the low parts of our cities. There is now the bush `larrikin' as well as the town `larrikin,' and it would be difficult sometimes to say which is the worse. Bush `larrikins' have gone on to be bushrangers."

1890. `The Argus,' May 26, p. 6, col. 7:

"He was set upon by a gang of larrikins, who tried to rescue the prisoner."

1891. `Harper s Magazine,' July, p. 215, col. 2:

"The Melbourne `larrikin' has differentiated himself from the London `rough,' and in due season a term had to be developed to denote the differentiation."

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 12, p. 13, col. 2:

"Robert Louis Stevenson, in a recent novel, `The Wrecker,' makes the unaccountable mistake of confounding the unemployed Domain loafer with the larrikin. This only shows that Mr. Stevenson during his brief visits to Sydney acquired but a superficial knowledge of the underlying currents of our social life."

1896. J. St. V. Welch, in `Australasian Insurance and Banking Record,' May 19, p. 376:

"Whence comes the larrikin? that pest of these so-called over-educated colonies; the young loafer of from sixteen to eight-and-twenty. Who does not know him, with his weedy, contracted figure; his dissipated pimply face; his greasy forelock brushed flat and low over his forehead; his too small jacket; his tight-cut trousers; his high-heeled boots; his arms--with out-turned elbows--swinging across his stomach as he hurries along to join his `push,' as he calls the pack in which he hunts the solitary citizen---a pack more to be dreaded on a dark night than any pack of wolves--and his name in Sydney is legion, and in many cases he is a full-fledged voter."

1896. W. H. Whelan, in `The Argus,' Jan. 7, p. 6, col. 3:

"Being clerk of the City Court, I know that the word originated in the very Irish and amusing way in which the then well-known Sergeant Dalton pronounced the word larking in respect to the conduct of `Tommy the Nut,' a rowdy of the period, and others of both sexes in Stephen (now Exhibition) street.

"Your representative at the Court, the witty and clever `Billy' O'Hea, who, alas! died too early, took advantage of the appropriate sound of the word to apply it to rowdyism in general, and, next time Dalton repeated the phrase, changed the word from verb to noun, where it still remains, anything to the contrary notwithstanding. I speak of what I do know, for O'Hea drew my attention to the matter at the time, and, if I mistake not, a reference to your files would show that it was first in the `Argus' the word appeared in print."

("We can fully confirm Mr. Whelan's account of the origin of the word `larrikin.'"--Ed. `Argus.')

[But see quotation from `Argus,' 1871.]

<hw>Larrikin</hw>, adj.

1878. `The Australian,' vol. i. p. 522:

"Marks the young criminals as heroes in the eyes not only of the ostensible larrikin element . . ."

<hw>Larrikinalian</hw>, adj. (Not common.)

1893. `Evening Standard,' July 5, p. 4, col. 4 (Leading Article):

"In the larrikinalian din which prevailed from start to finish . . ."

<hw>Larrikiness</hw>, n. a female larrikin.

1871. `Collingwood Advertiser and Observer,' June 22, p. 3, col. 5:

"Evidence was tendered as to the manner of life led by these larikinesses . . . The juvenile larrikin element being strongly represented in court, all the boys were ordered out."

1871. Sir George Stephen, Q.C., `Larrikinism,' a Lecture reported in `Prahran Telegraph,' Sept. 23, p. 3, col. 1:

"I know many a larrikiness to whose voice I could listen by the hour with all my heart, without the least fear of her stealing it, even if it were worth the trouble."

1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 224:

"I have not found the larrikin [in Brisbane]. . . . The slouch-hat, the rakish jib, the drawn features are not to be seen; nor does the young larrikiness--that hideous outgrowth of Sydney and Melbourne civilization--exist as a class."

<hw>Larrikinism</hw>, n. the conduct of larrikins (q.v.).

1870. `The Australian' (Richmond, Victoria), Sept. 10, p. 3, col. 3:

"A slight attempt at `larrikinism' was manifested. . . . "

1871. J. J. Simpson, `Recitations and Rhymes,' p. 17:

"Melbourne larrikinism is still very bad, By the papers each day we are told."

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), June 19, p. 80, col. 2:

"He took as his theme the `Dialect of Victoria,' which was coarse and vulgar to a degree. `Larrikinism' was used as a synonym for `blackguardism.'"

1876. A. P. Martin, `Sweet Girl-Graduate,' p. 20:

"There is no doubt that its rising generation afforded material for letters in the newspapers, under the headings `Larrikinism,' or, `What shall we do with our boys?'"

1893. `The Argus,' Feb. 23:

"Outbreaks of larrikinism are not always harmless ebullitions of animal spirits. Sometimes they have very serious results."

<hw>Laughing Jackass</hw>, n. See Jackass.

<hw>Launce</hw>, n. The Australian species of this fish is Congrogradus subducens, Richards., found in North- West Australia. The Launces or Sand-eels of the Northern Hemisphere belong to a different group.

<hw>Laurel</hw>, n. The English tree name is applied in Australia to various trees, viz.--

Alexandrian Laurel-- Calophyllum inophyllum, Linn:, N.O. Guttiferae; not endemic in Australia.

Diamond-leaf L.-- Pittosporum rhombifolium, A. Cunn., N.O. Pittosporeae.

Dodder L.-- Cassytha filiformis, Linn., N.O. Lauraceae; called also Devil's Guts, not endemic in Australia.

Hedge L. (q.v.)-- Pittosporum eugenioides, Cunn.

Moreton Bay L.-- Cryptocarya australis, Benth., N.O. Lauraceae; called also Grey Sassafras.

Native L.-- Pittosporum undulatum, Andr., N.O. Pittosporeae; called also Mock Orange (q.v.). Panax elegans, C. Moore and F. v. M., N.O. Araliaceae; which is also called Light or White Sycamore.

White L.-- Cryptocarya glaucescens, R. Br., N.O. Lauraceae; for other names see Beech.

In Tasmania, the name Native Laurel is applied to Anopterus glandulosus, Lab., N.O. Saxifrageae. Peculiar to Tasmania.

The New Zealand Laurel is Laurelia novae-zelandiae; called also Sassafras.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 292:

"Native Laurel, [also called] `Mock Orange.' This tree is well worth cultivating on a commercial scale for the sake of the sweet perfume of its flowers."

<hw>Lavender, Native</hw>, n. a Tasmanian tree, Styphelia australis, R. Br., N.O. Epacrideae.

<hw>Lawyer</hw>, n. One of the English provincial uses of this word is for a thorny stem of a briar or bramble. In New Zealand, the name is used in this sense for the Rubus australis, N.O. Rosaceae, or Wild Raspberry-Vine (Maori, Tataramoa). The words Bush-Lawyer, Lawyer-Vine, and Lawyer-Palm, are used with the same signification, and are also applied in some colonies to the Calamus australis, Mart. (called also Lawyer- Cane), and to Flagellaria indua, Linn,, similar trailing plants.

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 157:

"Calamus Australis, a plant which Kennedy now saw for the first time. . . It is a strong climbing palm. From the roots as many as ninety shoots will spring, and they lengthen out as they climb for hundreds of feet, never thicker than a man's finger. The long leaves are covered with sharp spines; but what makes the plant the terror of the explorers, is the tendrils, which grow out alternately with the leaves. Many of these are twenty feet long, and they are covered with strong spines, curved slightly downwards."

1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 135:

"Rubus Australis, the thorny strings of which scratch the hands and face, and which the colonists, therefore, very wittily call the `bush-lawyer.'"

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 71:

"Torn by the recurved prickles of the bush-lawyer."

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

"Trailing `bush-lawyers,' intermingled with coarse bracken, cling lovingly to the rude stones."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 103:

"In the mountain scrubs there grows a very luxuriant kind of palm (Calamus Australis), whose stem of a finger's thickness, like the East Indian Rotang-palm, creeps through the woods for hundreds of feet, twining round trees in its path, and at times forming so dense a wattle that it is impossible to get through it. The stem and leaves are studded with the sharpest thorns, which continually cling to you and draw blood, hence its not very polite name of lawyer-palm."

1891. A. J. North, `Records of Australian Museum,' vol. i. p. 118:

"Who, in the brushes of the Tweed River, found a nest placed on a mass of `lawyer-vines' (Calamus Australis)."

1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 256:

"`Look out,' said my companion, `don't touch that lawyer-vine; it will tear you properly, and then not let you go.' Too late; my fingers touched it, and the vine had the best of it. The thorns upon the vine are like barbed spears, and they would, in the language of the Yankee, tear the hide off a crocodile."

1892. `The Times,' [Reprint] `Letters from Queensland,' p. 7:

"But no obstacle is worse for the clearer to encounter than the lawyer-vines where they are not burnt off. These are a form of palm which grows in feathery tufts along a pliant stalk, and fastens itself as a creeper upon other trees. From beneath its tufts of leaves it throws down trailing suckers of the thickness of stout cord, armed with sets of sharp red barbs. These suckers sometimes throw themselves from tree to tree across a road which has not been lately used, and render it as impassable to horses as so many strains of barbed wire. When they merely escape from the undergrowth of wild ginger and tree-fern and stinging-bush, which fringes the scrub, and coil themselves in loose loops upon the ground, they are dangerous enough as traps for either man or horse. In the jungle, where they weave themselves in and out of the upright growths, they form a web which at times defies every engine of destruction but fire."

<hw>Lawyer-Cane</hw>, <hw>Lawyer-Palm</hw>, and <hw>Lawyer-Vine</hw>. See Lawyer.

<hw>Lead</hw>, n. (pronounced leed), a mining term. In the Western United States and elsewhere, the term lead in mining is used as equivalent for lode. In Australia, the word lead is only used in reference to alluvial mining, and signifies the old river-bed in which gold is found.

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), June 19, p. 75, col. 2:

"There was every facility for abstracting the gold in the rich lead of a neighbour."

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 272 [Note]:

"The expression `deep lead' refers to those ancient river-courses which are now only disclosed by deep-mining operations."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. v. p. 55:

"Taking the general matter of `leads' or dead rivers, it chiefly obtained that if gold were found on one portion of them, it extended to all the claims within a considerable distance."

<hw>Lead, to strike the</hw>. See above. Used figuratively for to succeed.

1874. Garnet Walch, `Head over Heels,' p. 74:

"We could shy up our caps for a feller, As soon as he struck the lead."

<hw>Leadbeater</hw>, n. applied to a Cockatoo, Cacatua leadbeateri, Vig., called Leadbeaters Cockatoo by Major Mitchell (q.v.).

1890. Lyth, `Golden South,' c. xiv. p. 127:

"The birds are very beautiful--the Blue Mountain and Lowrie parrots . . . leadbeater, and snow-white cockatoos."

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

<hw>Lease</hw>, n. a piece of land leased for mining purposes. In England, the word is used for the document or legal right concerning the land. In Australia, it is used for the land itself. Compare Right-of-way.

1890. `Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 15:

"A nice block of stone was crushed from Johnson's lease."

<hw>Lease in perpetuity</hw>, a statutory expression in the most recent land legislation of New Zealand, indicating a specific mode of alienating Crown lands,. It is a lease for 999 years at a permanent rental equal to 4% on the capital value, which is not subject to revision.

<hw>Leather-head</hw>, n. another name for the Friar-bird (q.v.), Philemon corniculatus, Lath. See Tropidorhynchus.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 461:

"The Leatherhead with its constantly changing call and whistling."

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 58:

"The leather-heads utter their settled phrase `Off we go! off we go!' in the woods, or they come to suck honey from the Melianthus major, which stands up like a huge artichoke plant, tipped with dark red plumes of flowers."

1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 233:

"Among the Honey-suckers is that singular-looking bird, the Leatherhead, or Bald-headed Friar (Tropidorhynchus corniculatus); it is commonly seen upon the topmost branches of lofty trees, calling `Poor Soldier,' `Pimlico,' `Four o'clock,' and uttering screaming sounds. It feeds upon insects, wild fruits, and any sweets it can procure from the flowers of the Banksia and Gum-trees."

<hw>Leather-Jacket</hw>, n.

(1) A name applied popularly and somewhat confusedly to various trees, on account of the toughness of their bark-- (a) Eucalyptus punctata, De C., Hickory Eucalypt (q.v.); (b) Alphitonia excelsa, Reiss., or Cooperswood; (c) Ceratopetalum, or Coachwood; (d) Cryptocarya meissnerii, F. v. M.; (e) Weinmannia benthami, F. v. M.

(2) A fish of the family Sclerodermi, Monacanthus ayraudi, Quoy. and Gaim., and numerous other species of Monocanthus. Leather-Jackets are wide-spread in Australian seas. The name is given elsewhere to other fishes. See File-fish and Pig-fish.

1770. `Capt. Cook's Journal,' edition Wharton, 1893, p. 246:

"They had caught a great number of small fish, which the sailors call leather jackets, on account of their having a very thick skin; they are known in the West Indies."

1773. `Hawkesworth's Voyages,' vol. iii. p. 503--'Cook's First Voyage,' May 4, 1770 (at Botany Bay):

"Small fish, which are well known in the West Indies, and which our sailors call Leather jackets, because their skin is remarkably thick."

1789. W. Tench, `Expedition to Botany Bay, p. 129:

"To this may be added bass, mullets, skaits, soles, leather-jackets, and many other species."

(3) A kind of pancake.

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 151:

"A plentiful supply of `leatherjackets' (dough fried in a pan)."

1853. Mossman and Banister, `Australia Visited and Revisited,' p. 126:

"Our party, upon this occasion, indulged themselves, in addition to the usual bush fare, with what are called `Leather jackets,' an Australian bush term for a thin cake made of dough, and put into a pan to bake with some fat. . . The Americans indulge in this kind of bread, giving them the name of `Puff ballooners,' the only difference being that they place the cake upon the bare coals . . ."

1855. R. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 117:

"The leather-jacket is a cake of mere flour and water, raised with tartaric acid and carbonate of soda instead of yeast, and baked in the frying-pan; and is equal to any muffin you can buy in the London shops."

<hw>Leather-wood</hw>, n. i.q. Pinkwood (q.v.).

<hw>Leawill</hw>, or <hw>Leeangle</hw> (with other spellings), n. aboriginal names for a native weapon, a wooden club bent at the striking end. The name is Victorian, especially of the West; probably derived from lea or leang, or leanyook, a tooth. The aboriginal forms are langeel, or leanguel, and lea-wil, or le-ow-el. The curve evidently helped the English termination, angle.

1845. Charles Griffith, `Present State and Prospects of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales,' p. 155:

"The liangle is, I think, described by Sir Thomas Mitchell. It is of the shape of a pickaxe, with only one pick. Its name is derived from another native word, leang, signifying a tooth. It is a very formidable weapon, and used only in war."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. II. c. xiii. p. 479:

"A weapon used by the natives called a Liangle, resembling a miner's pick."

1863. M. K. Beveridge,' Gatherings among the Gum-trees,' p. 56:

"Let us hand to hand attack him With our Leeawells of Buloite."

Ibid. (In Glossary) p. 83:

"Leeawell, a kind of war club."

1867. G. Gordon McCrae, `Mimba,' p. 9:

"The long liangle's nascent form Fore-spoke the distant battle-storm."

1886. R. Henty, `Australiana,' p. 21:

"His war-club or leeangle."

1889. P. Beveridge, `Aborigines of Victoria and Riverina, p. 67:

"Of those [waddies] possessing--we might almost say---a national character, the shapes of which seem to have come down generation after generation, from the remotest period, the Leawill is the most deadly-looking weapon. It is usually three feet long, and two and a half inches thick, having a pointed head, very similar both in shape and size to a miner's driving pick; in most cases the oak (Casuarina) is used in the manufacture of this weapon; it is used in close quarters only, and is a most deadly instrument in the hands of a ruthless foe, or in a general melee such as a midnight onslaught."

<hw>Leeangle</hw>, n. i.q. Leawill (q.v.).

<hw>Leek</hw>, n. a small parrot. See Greenleek.

<hw>Leek, Native</hw>, n. a poisonous Australian plant, Bulbine bulbosa, Haw., N.O. Liliaceae. Called also Native Onion. Its racemes of bright yellow flowers make the paddocks gay in spring.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 121:

"`Native Onion,' `Native Leek.' Mr. W. n. Hutchinson, Sheep Inspector, Warrego, Queensland, reports of this plant: `Its effects on cattle are . . . continually lying down, rolling, terribly scoured, mucous discharge from the nose.'"

<hw>Leg</hw>, n. mining term. a peculiar form of quartz-reef, forming a nearly vertical prolongation of the saddle.

1890. `The Argus,' June x6th, p. 6, col. 1:

"It may also be observed that in payable saddle formations a slide intersects the reef above the saddle coming from the west, and turning east with a wall of the east leg, where the leg of reef is observed to go down deeper, and to carry a greater amount of gold than in ordinary cases."

<hw>Legitimacy</hw>, n. See quotation. [Old and now unused slang.]

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 16:

"Legitimacy--a colonial term for designating the cause of the emigration of a certain portion of our population; i.e. having legal reasons for making the voyage."

[So also at p. 116, "Legitimates"]

<hw>Leguminous Ironbark</hw>, n. a name given by Leichhardt to the Queensland tree Erythrophaeum laboucherii, F. v. M., N.O. Leguminosae. See Ironbark.

<hw>Leichhardt</hw>, or <hw>Leichhardt-Tree</hw>, n. an Australian timber-tree, Morinda citrifolia, Linn., N.O. Rubiaceae; called also Canary-wood and Indian Mulberry. In Queensland, the name is applied to Sarcocephalus cordatus, Miq., N.O. Rubiaceae, a large timber-tree of North Queensland, much used in building.

1874. M. K. Beveridge, `Lost Life,' p. 40:

"Groaning beneath the friendly shade That by a Leichhardt-tree was made."

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

"The Leichhardt is a very symmetrical tree, that grows to a height of about sixty feet, and has leaves rather like a big laurel."

<hw>Leichhardt-Bean</hw>, n. See Bean.

<hw>Leichhardt's Clustered-Fig</hw>, n. i.q. Clustered Fig. See Fig.

<hw>Lemon, Desert</hw>, n. See Desert Lemon.

<hw>Lemon-scented Gum</hw>, n. See Gum.

<hw>Lemon-scented Ironbark</hw>, n. a name given to the Queensland tree Eucalyptus staigeriana, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae. See Ironbark. The foliage of this tree yields a large quantity of oil, equal in fragrance to that of lemons.

<hw>Lemon-Sole</hw>, n. In England, the name is applied to an inferior species of Sole. In New South Wales, it is given to Plagusia unicolor, Mad., of the family Pleuronectidae or Flat-fishes. In New Zealand, it is another name for the New Zealand Turbot (q.v.).

<hw>Lemon, Wild</hw>, n. a timber tree, Canthium latifolium, F. v. M., N.O. Rubiaceae; called also Wild Orange.

<hw>Lemon-Wood</hw>, n. one of the names given by settlers to the New Zealand tree called by Maoris Tarata (q.v.), or Mapau (q.v.). It is Pittosporum eugenoides, A. Cunn., N.O. Pittosporeae.

<hw>Leopard-Tree</hw>, n. an Australian tree, Flindersia maculosa (or Strezleckiana), F. v. M., N.O. Meliaceae; called also Spotted-Tree (q.v.), and sometimes, in Queensland, Prickly Pine.

<hw>Lerp</hw>, n. an aboriginal word belonging to the Mallee District of Victoria (see Mallee). Sometimes spelt leurp, or laap. The aboriginal word means `sweet.' It is a kind of manna secreted by an insect, Psylla eucalypti, and found on the leaves of the Mallee, Eucalyptus dumosa. Attention was first drawn to it by Mr. Thomas Dobson (see quotations). A chemical substance called Lerpamyllum is derived from it; see Watts' `Dictionary of Chemistry,' Second Supplement, 1875, s.v.

1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 73:

"The natives of the Wimmera prepare a luscious drink from the laap, a sweet exudation from the leaf of the mallee (Eucalyptus dumosa)."

1850. T. Dobson, `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. i. p. 235:

"The white saccharine substance called `lerp,' by the Aborigines in the north-western parts of Australia Felix, and which has attracted the attention of chemists, under the impression that it is a new species of manna, originates with an insect of the tribe of Psyllidae, and order Hemiptera."

1850. Ibid. p. 292::

"Insects which, in the larva state, have the faculty of elaborating from the juices of the gum-leaves on which they live a glutinous and saccharine fluid, whereof they construct for themselves little conical domiciles."

1878. R. Brough Smyth, `The Aborigines of Victoria,' vol. i. p. 211:

"Another variety of manna is the secretion of the pupa of an insect of the Psylla family and obtains the name of lerp among the aborigines. At certain seasons of the year it is very abundant on the leaves of E. dumosa, or mallee scrub . . ."

<hw>Lift</hw>, v. tr. to drive to market from the run.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. iv. p. 45:

"I haven't lifted a finer mob this season."

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

"We lifted 7000 sheep."

<hw>Light-horseman</hw>, n. obsolete name for a fish; probably the fish now called a Sweep (q.v.).

1789. W. Tench, `Expedition to Botany Bay,' p. 129:

"The French once caught [in Botany Bay] near two thousand fish in one day, of a species of grouper, to which, from the form of a bone in the head resembling a helmet, we have given the name of light horseman."

1793. J. Hunter, `Voyage,' p. 410 [Aboriginal Vocabulary]:

"Woolamie, a fish called a light-horseman." [But see Wollomai.]

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. iv. p. 78:

"A boat belonging to the Sirius caught near fifty large fish, which were called light-horsemen from a bone that grew out of the head like a helmet."

<hw>Lightwood</hw>, n. a name given to various trees. See Blackwood. It is chiefly applied to Acacia melanoxylon, R. Br., N.O. Leguminosae. See quotations, 1843 and 1889.

1843. I. Backhouse. `Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies,' p. 48:

"Lightwood--Acacia Melanoxylon . . . It derives its name from swimming in water, while the other woods of V. D. Land, except the pines, generally sink. In some parts of the Colony it is called Blackwood, on account of its dark colour."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 515:

"Some immense logs of `light wood,' a non lucendo, darker than mahogany."

1864. J. Rogers, `New Rush,' p. 17:

"Arms so brown and bare, to look at them Recalls to mind the lightwood's rugged stem."

1866. H. Simcox, `Rustic Rambles,' p. 54:

"The numerous lightwood trees with sombre shade Tend to enhance the richness of the glade."

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. xv. p. 111:

"The ex-owner of Lyne wished himself back among the old lightwood trees."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 359:

"Called `Blackwood' on account of the very dark colour of the mature wood. It is sometimes called `Lightwood' (chiefly in South Tasmania, while the other name is given in North Tasmania and other places), but this is an inappropriate name. It is in allusion to its weight as compared with Eucalyptus timbers. It is the `Black Sally' of Western New South Wales, the `Hickory' of the southern portion of that colony, and is sometimes called `Silver Wattle.' This is considered by some people to be the most valuable of all Australian timbers.

It is hard and close-grained; much valued for furniture, picture-frames, cabinet-work, fencing, bridges, etc., railway, and other carriages, boat-building, for tool-handles, gun-stocks, naves of wheels, crutches, parts of organs, pianofortes (sound-boards and actions), etc."

<hw>Light Yellow-wood</hw>, i.q. Long-Jack (q.v.).

<hw>Lignum</hw> (1), or <hw>Lignum-Vitae</hw>, n. The name is applied to several trees, as Myrtus acmenioides, F. v. M., called also White Myrtle; Acacia falcata, Willd., N.O. Leguminosae, called also Hickory and Sally; but chiefly to Eucalyptus polyanthema, Schau., N.O. Myrtaceae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 505:

"[E. polyanthema.] The `Red Box' of South-eastern Australia. Called also `Brown Box,' `Grey Box,' and `Bastard Box.' `Poplar-leaved Gum' is another name, but it is most commonly known as `Lignum Vitae' because of its tough and hard wood. Great durability is attributed to this wood, though the stems often become hollow in age, and thus timber of large dimensions is not readily afforded. It is much sought after for cogs, naves and felloes; it is also much in demand for slabs in mines, while for fuel it is unsurpassed. (Mueller.) Its great hardness is against its general use."

(2) A bushman's contraction for any species of the wiry plants called polygonum.

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' [writing of the Lachlan district, New South Wales] p. 180:

"The poor emus had got down into the creek amongst the lignum bushes for a little shade . . . I do not know what a botanist would call them; they are something like cane, but with large leaves, which all animals are fond of, and they grow about eight feet high in the creeks and gullies."

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 135:

"By mulga scrub and lignum plain."

<hw>Lilac</hw>, n. name given in Australia to the tree Melia composita, Willd., N.O. Meliaceae, called Cape Lilac. It is not endemic in Australia, and is called "Persian Lilac "in India. In Tasmania the name of Native Lilac is given to Prostanthera rotundifolia, R. Br., N.O. Labiatae, and by Mrs. Meredith to Tetratheca juncea, Smith, of the Linnean Order, Octandria.

1793. J. E. Smith, `Specimen of Botany of New Holland,' p. 5:

"Tetratheca juncea, Rushy Tetratheca [with plate]."

1852. Mrs. Meredith, `My Home in Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 69:

"A little purple flower, which is equally common, so vividly recalls to my mind, both by its scent and colour, an Old-World favorite, that I always know it as the native Lilac (Tetratheca juncea)."

<hw>Lily, Darling</hw>, n. a bulbous plant, Crinum flaccidum, Herb., N.O. Amaryllideae; called also the Murray Lily. (See Lily, Murray.)

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 20:

"The `Darling Lily.' This exceedingly handsome white-flowered plant, which grows back from the Darling, has bulbs which yield a fair arrowroot. On one occasion, near the town of Wilcannia, a man earned a handsome sum by making this substance when flour was all but unattainable."

<hw>Lily, Flax</hw>, n. See Flax-Lily, and Flax, New Zealand.

<hw>Lily, Giant</hw>-, or <hw>Spear</hw>-, n. a fibre plant, Doryanthes excelsa, Corr., N.O. Amaryllideae.

1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 339:

"The Doryanthes excelsa, a gigantic Lily of Australia, is a magnificent plant, with a lofty flowering spike. The bunches or clusters of crimson flowers are situated in the summit of the flowering spike . . . The diameter of a cluster of blossoms is about 14 inches . . . The flower-buds are of a brilliant crimson, and the anthers of the stamens are, in the recently expanded flower, of a dark-green colour."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 621:

"`Spear Lily.' `Giant Lily.' The leaves are a mass of fibre, of great strength, which admits of preparation either by boiling or maceration, no perceptible difference as to quality or colour being apparent after heckling. Suitable for brush making, matting, etc."

<hw>Lily, Gordon</hw>, n. a Tasmanian plant and its flower, Blandfordia marginata, Herb., N.O. Liliaceae, and other species of Blandfordia (q.v.).

1835. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 72:

"Blandfordia nobilis. This splendid plant is common on the west coast and on the shores of the Mersey. It bears a head of pendulous scarlet blossoms tipped with yellow, one inch long, rising out of a stalk of from 1 1/2 to 3 feet long, from between two opposite series of strapshaped leaves. It is named after George [Gordon] Marquis of Blandford, son of the second Duke of Marlborough."

<hw>Lily, Murray</hw>, n. i.q. Darling Lily. See above.

1877. F. v. Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 119:

"This showy genus Crinum furnishes also Victoria with a beautiful species, the Murray Lily (Crinum flaccidum), not however to be found away from the Murray-River southward."

<hw>Lilly-Pilly</hw>, n. name given to a large timber tree, Eugenia smithii, Poir., N.O. Myrtaceae. The bark is rich in tanning. Sometimes called Native Banana.

1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 327:

"The Lillypilly-trees, as they are named by the colonists, consist of several species of Acmena, and are all of elegant growth and dense and handsome foliage."

1879. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Proceedings of the Linnaean Society of New South Wales,' p. 134:

"Eugenia Smithii, or Lilli pilli, and Melodorum Leichhardtii are also fair eating. The latter goes by the name of the native banana though it is very different from a banana, and in reality allied to the custard apple."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 29:

"`Lilly Pilly.' The fruits are eaten by aboriginals, small boys, and birds. They are formed in profusion, are acidulous and wholesome. They are white with a purplish tint, and up to one inch in diameter."

<hw>Lily, Rock</hw>, n. an orchid, Dendrobium speciosum, Smith, N.O. Orchideae. although not a Lily, it is always so called, especially in Sydney, where it is common.

1879. H. n. Moseley, `Notes by Naturalist on Challenger,' p. 270:

"A luxuriant vegetation, with huge masses of Stagshorn Fern (Platycerium) and `rock-lilies' (orchids), and a variety of timbers, whilst there are Tree-ferns and small palms in the lateral shady gullies."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 22:

"`Rock Lily.' The large pseudobulbs have been eaten by the aboriginals; they contain little nutritive matter."

<hw>Lily, Water</hw>, n. There are several indigenous native varieties of the N.O. Nymphaeceae--Cabombia peltata, Pursh; Nymphaea gigantea, Hook. (Blue Water-lily).

<hw>Lily, Yellow</hw>, n. a Tasmanian name for Bulbine bulbosa, Haw., N.O. Liliaceae. See Leek, Native.

<hw>Lime, Native</hw>, n. an Australian tree, Citrus australasica, F. v. M., N.O. Rutaceae; called also Finger Lime and Orange. But the appellation of Native Lime is more generally given to Citrus australis, Planch., N.O. Rutaceae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 16:

"`Native Lime. Orange.' The fruit, which is an inch and a half in diameter, and almost globular, yields an agreeable beverage from its acid juice."

<hw>Ling</hw>, n. a fish. The name is given in England to various fishes, from their length. In New Zealand and Tasmania, it is applied to Genypterus blacodes, Forst.; also called Cloudy Bay Cod. Lotella marginata, Macl., is called Ling, in New South Wales, and Beardie. Genypterus belongs to the Ophidiidae and Lotella to the next family, the Gadidae.

<hw>Lobster</hw>, n. The name is often carelessly used in Australia for the Crayfish (q.v.).

<hw>Lobster's</hw>-Claw, n. another name for Sturt's Desert Pea (q.v.).

<hw>Locust</hw>, n. name popularly but quite erroneously applied to insects belonging to two distinct orders.

(1) Insects belonging to the order Hemiptera. The great black Cicada, Cicada moerens, Germ., and the great green Cicada, Cyclochila australasiae, Donov.

(2) Insects belonging to the order Orthoptera, such as the great green gum-tree grasshopper, Locusta vigentissima, Serv., or the Australian yellow-winged locust, Oedipoda musica, Fab.

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. I. c. ix. p. 285:

"The trees swarmed with large locusts (the Cicada), quite deafening us with their shrill buzzing noise."

1862. F. J. Jobson, `Australia,' c. iv. p. 104:

"We heard everywhere on the gumtrees the cricket-like insects--usually called locusts by the colonists--hissing their reed-like monotonous noise."

1869. J. Townend, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 155:

"The perpetual song of unnumbered locusts."

1885. H. H. Hayter, `Carboona,' p. 5:

"The deaf'ning hum of the locusts."

1885. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Natural History of Victoria,' Dec. 5, pl. 50:

"Our Cicada moerens . . . produces an almost deafening sound from the numbers of the individuals in the hottest days and the loudness of their noise." "This species (Cyclochila Australasiae) is much less abundant than the C. moerens, and seems more confined to moist places, such as river banks and deep ravines and gullies."

1889. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Natural History of Victoria,' Dec. 11, pl. 110:

"The great size of the muscular thighs of the posterior pair of feet enables the Locusts to jump much higher, further, and more readily than Grasshoppers, giving an example of muscular power almost unparalleled in the animal kingdom."

1896. F. A. Skuse, `Records of Australian Museum,' vol. ii. No. 7, p. 107:

"What are commonly styled `locusts' in this country are really Cicadae, belonging to a totally distinct and widely separated order of insects. And moreover the same kind of Cicada is known by different names in different localities, such as `Miller,' `Mealyback,' etc. The true locusts belong to the grasshoppers, while the Homopterous Cicadidae have been known as Cicadas from times of remote antiquity."

<hw>Locust-tree</hw>, of New Zealand. See Kowhai.

<hw>Logan-Apple</hw>, n. a small Queensland tree, with an acid fruit, Acronychia acidia, F. v. M., N.O. Rutaceae.

<hw>Log-hut</hw>, n. Log-cabin is American. Log-hut is Australian.

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' p. 178:

"Not more than ten settlers had been able to erect dwellings better than log-huts." [This was in Sydney, 1796.]

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. I. c. ix. p. 287:

"Captain Fyans was living in a log-hut on the banks of the Marabool river."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. vi. p. 61:

"Log-huts, with the walls built American fashion, of horizontal tree-trunks."

<hw>Log-Runner</hw>, n. an Australian bird, called also a Spinetail. The species are--

Black-headed-- Orthonyx spaldingi, Ramsay;

Spinetailed-- O. spinicauda, Temm., called also Pheasant's Mother. See Orthonyx.

<hw>Logs</hw>, n. pl. the Lock-up. Originally, in the early days, a log-hut, and often keeping the name when it was made a more secure place. Sometimes, when there was no lock-up, the prisoners were chained to heavy logs of trees.

1802. G.Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' p. 184:

"The governor resolved on building a large log prison both at Sydney and Paramatta, and `as the affair cried haste,' a quantity of logs were ordered to be sent in by the various settlers, officers and others."

[p. 196]: "The inhabitants of Sydney were assessed to supply thatch for the new gaol, and the building was enclosed with a strong high fence. It was 80 feet long, the sides and ends were of strong logs, a double row of which formed each partition. The prison was divided into 22 cells. The floor and the roof were logs, over which was a coat eight inches deep of clay."

1851. Letter from Mrs. Perry, given in Canon Goodman's `Church of Victoria during Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' p. 164:

"One [sentry] at the lock-up, a regular American log-hut." [sic. But in America it would have been called a log-cabin.]

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 193:

"Let's put him in the Logs . . . The lock-up, like most bush ones, was built of heavy logs, just roughly squared, with the ceiling the same sort."

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydneyside Saxon,' p. 111:

"`He'll land himself in the logs about that same calf racket if he doesn't lookout, some day.' `Logs!' I says. `There don't seem to be many about this part. The trees are all too small.'"

<hw>Log up</hw>, v. to make a log-support for the windlass.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. v. p. 54:

"We . . . had logged up and made a start with another shaft."

<hw>Lolly</hw>, n., pl. <hw>Lollies</hw>. The English word lollipop is always shortened in Australia, and is the common word to the exclusion of others, e.g. sweets. Manufacturers of sweetmeats are termed Lolly-makers.

1871. J. J. Simpson, `Recitations,' p. 24:

"Lollies that the children like."

1874. Garnet Walch, `Head over Heels,' p. 18:

"Common children fancy lollies, Eat them 'gainst their parents' wills."

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 16:

"I thankfully expended the one in bile-producing cakes and lollies."

1893. `Evening Standard' (Melbourne), Oct. 18, p. 6, col. 2:

"Mr. Patterson (musing over last Saturday's experiences): You're going to raise the price of lollies. I'm a great buyer of them myself. (Laughter.) If you pay the full duty it will, doubtless, be patriotic for me to buy more when I go amongst the juveniles."

<hw>Long-fin</hw>, n. name given to the fish Caprodon schlegelii, Gunth., and in New South Wales to Anthias longimanus, Gunth.

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 33:

"The long-fin, Anthias Iongimanus, Gunth., is a good fish that finds its way to the market occasionally . . . may be known by its uniform red colour, and the great length of the pectoral fins."

<hw>Long-Jack</hw>, name given to the tree Flindersia oxleyana, F. v. M., N.O. Meliaceae; called also Light Yellow-Wood.

<hw>Long-sleever</hw>, n. name for a big drink and also for the glass in which it is contained. Perhaps in allusion to its tall, tapering, long shape.

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

"Their drivers had completed their regulation half-score of `long-sleevers' of `she-oak.'"

<hw>Long-Tom</hw>, n. name given in Sydney to Belone ferox, Gunth., a species of Garfish which has both jaws prolonged to form a slender beak. See Garfish.

<hw>Long-Yam</hw>. See Yam.

<hw>Look</hw>, v. tr. to examine.

1874. W. H. L. Ranken, `Dominion of Australia,' c. vi. p. 105:

"Plains are scoured and every piece of timber looked." [sc. looked-over.]

<hw>Lope</hw>, n. a slow and steady gallop. From Dutch verb loopen, to leap, to run. The word is American rather than Australian.

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 35:

"Every body gallops here, or at least goes at a canter--which they call the Australian lope."

<hw>Loquat</hw>, a Chinese word meaning "Rush-orange," Photinia japonica. Being highly ornamental and bearing a pleasant stony juicy fruit of the colour and size of a small orange, it has been introduced into nearly all Australian gardens. The name Native Loquat has been given to an indigenous shrub, Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa, Benth., N.O. Myrtaceae.

<hw>Lorikeet</hw>, n. a bird-name, little Lory (q.v.). The species in Australia are--

Blue-bellied Lorikeet-- Trichoglossus novae-hollandiae, Gmel.

Blue-faced L.-- Cyclopsitta macleayana, Ramsay.

Little L.-- Trichoglossus pusillus, Shaw.

Musk L.-- T. concinnus, Shaw.

Purple-crowned L.-- T. porphyrocephalus, Dietr.

Red-collared L.-- T. rubritorqus, Vig. and Hors.

Red-faced L.-- Cyclopsitta coxenii, Gould.

Scaly-breasted L.-- Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus, Kuhl.

Swift L.-- Lathamus discolor, Shaw.

Varied L.-- Trichoglossus versicolor, Vig.

The following table gives Gould's classification in 1848:--

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

Plate

Lathamus discolor, Swift Lorikeet ... ... 47 Trichoglossus Novae-Hollandiae, Jard. and Selb., Swainson's L. ... ... ... ... ... ... 48 T. rubritorquis, Vig. and Horsf., Red-collared L. 49 T. chlorolepidotus, Scaly-breasted L. ... 50 T. versicolor, Vig., Varied L. ... ... 51 T. concinnus, Musky L. ... ... ... ... 52 T. porphyrocephalus, Dict., Porphyry-crowned L. 53 T. pusillus, Little L. ... ... ... ... 54

1890. `The Argus,' June 7, p. 13, col. 4:

"On the hill-sides the converse of the lorikeets as they drain the honeycups and swing and chatter in low undertones the whole day long."

<hw>Lory</hw>, n. a bird-name. The word is Malay. (See `Encyclopaedia Britannica,' vol. xv.) It is often spelt Lowrie in Australia. The species in Australia are--

Crimson-winged Lory-- Aprosmictus coccineopterus, Gould.

King L.-- A. scapulatus, Bechst.

Red-winged Lory-- A. erythropterus, Gmel.

1848. Gould's `Birds of Australia,' vol. v.:

"Aprosmictus scapulatus, king lory; erythropturus, red-winged lory."

<hw>Lotus-bird</hw>, n. Parra gallinacea, Temm.; called also the Jacana (q.v.), and the Parra (q.v.).

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 22:

"The most striking bird on the lagoon is doubtless the beautiful Parra gallinacea, which in Australia is called the lotus-bird. It sits on the leaves that float on the water, particularly those of the water-lily."

<hw>Lowan</hw>, n. aboriginal birdname for Leipoa ocellata, Gould. The name is used for the bird in Victoria and in the south-east district of South Australia. In the Mallee district, it is called Mallee-bird, Mallee fowl, Mallee-hen (q.v.); in South Australia, Native Pheasant (q.v.); and in various parts of Australia, the Scrub-Turkey. The county called Lowan, after the bird, is in the Mallee country in the west of Victoria. See Turkey.

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 171:

"The Lowan (Mallee-hen, they're mostly called). The Lowan eggs--beautiful pink thin-shelled ones they are, first-rate to eat, and one of 'em a man's breakfast."

1890. A. H. S. Lucas, `Handbook of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science,' Melbourne, p. 68:

"To the dry, arid Mallee Scrub of the Western District is a radical change of scene. There the so-called Mallee hen, or Native name, Lowan (Leipoa ocellata), loves to dwell."

1896. `The Argus,' Aug. 4, p. 5, col. 2:

"The postmaster at Nhill had drawn the attention of the Deputy Postmaster-General to the large number of letters which are received there addressed to `Lowan.' It should be understood that this is the name of a county containing several postal districts, and correspondents should be more specific in their addresses."

<hw>Lowrie</hw>, n. a bird-name. An Australian variant of Lory (q.v.).

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 40:

"A great many species of the parrot are found; and of these the King Parrot is the most beautiful, and that called the Lowrie is perhaps the most docile."

1890. Lyth, `Golden South,' p. 127:

"The birds are very beautiful--the Blue Mountain and Lowrie parrots . . .'

<hw>Lubra</hw>, n. aboriginal name for a black woman. The name comes from Tasmania, appearing first in the form loubra, in a vocabulary given in the `Voyage de Decouvertes de l'Astrolabe' (Paris, 1834), vol. vii. p. 9, and was obtained from a Tasmanian woman, belonging to Port Dalrymple on the Tamar River. It is probably a compound of the Tasmanian words loa or lowa, a woman, and proi (with variants), big. In Victoria, the use of the word began at the Hopkins River and the vicinity, having been introduced by settlers from Tasmania, but it was generally adopted south of the Murray. North of the Murray the native women were called Gins (q.v.). Both words are now used indiscriminately.

1855. W. Blandowski, `Transactions of Philosophical Society of Victoria,' vol. i. p. 73 :

"The young man who wishes to marry has first to look out for a wife amongst the girls or leubras of some neighbouring tribe."

1864. H. Simcox, `Outward Bound," p. 87:

"Many lubras so black with their load on their back."

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

"Certain stout young gins or lubras, set apart for that purpose, were sacrificed."

1891. `The Argus,' Nov. 7, p. 13, col. 4:

"A few old lubras sufficiently dirty and unprepossessing."

1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 28:

"Naked, and not ashamed, the old men grey-bearded and eyes bright, watched the cooking of the fish, and the younger, with the lubras, did the honours of reception."

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

1895. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 95:

"And now lies wandering fat and sleek, On the Lucerne flats by the Homestead Creek."

<hw>Luderick</hw>, or <hw>Ludrick</hw>, n. an aboriginal Gippsland name for a local variety of the fish Girella simplex, Richards., the Black-fish (q.v.).

<hw>Lugg</hw>, n. a fish not identified.

"Lug, a kind of fish." (`Walker,' 1827)

1802. Flemming, `Journal of the Exploration of C. Grimes' (at Port Phillip), ed. by J. J. Shillinglaw, Melbourne, 1897, p. 27:

"Many swans, ducks and luggs."

<hw>Lyonsia</hw>, n. a Tasmanian plant. See Devil's guts.

<hw>Lyre-bird</hw>, n. an Australian bird, originally called the Bird of Paradise of New South Wales; then called a Native Pheasant, or Mountain Pheasant, and still generally called a Pheasant by the Gippsland bushmen. The name Lyre-bird apparently began between 1828 and 1834. It is not used by Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales' (1828), vol. i. p. 303. See Menura. The species are--

The Lyre-bird-- Menura superba, Davies.

Albert L.-b.-- M. alberti, Gould.

Victoria L.-b.-- M. victoriae, Gould.

Since 1888 the Lyre-bird has been the design on the eight-penny postage-stamp of New South Wales.

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' p. 435:

"The Bird of Paradise of New South Wales [with picture]. This elegant bird, which by some is called the Bird of Paradise, and by others the Maenura Superba, has a straight bill, with the nostrils in the centre of the beak."

1802. D. Collins, `History of English Colony of New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 335:

"Menura superba." [But not the name lyre-bird].

1834. Geo. Bennett, `Wanderings in New South Wales, etc.,' /vol./ i. p. 277:

"The `Native or Wood-pheasant,' or `Lyre bird' of the colonists, the `Menura superba' of naturalists, and the `Beleck, beleck,' and `Balaugara' of the aboriginal tribes, is abundant about the mountain ranges, in all parts of the colony."

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 132:

"Numerous pheasants (Menura superba). These birds are the mocking-birds of Australia, imitating all the sounds that are heard in the bush in great perfection. They are about the size of a barn-door fowl, and are not remarkable for any beauty either in the shape or colour, being of a dirty brown, approaching to black in some parts; their greatest attraction consists in the graceful tail of the cock bird, which assumes something the appearance of a lyre, for which reason some naturalists have called them lyre-birds."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iii. pl. 14:

"Menura superba, Davies, Lyre-bird; Pheasant of the Colonists. Were I requested to suggest an emblem for Australia amongst its birds, I should without the slightest hesitation select the Menura as the most appropriate, being strictly peculiar to Australia."

1864. J. S. Moore, `Spring-Life Lyrics;' p. 92:

"Shy as the lyre-bird, hidden away, A glittering waif in the wild."

1867. G. G. McCrae, `Balladeadro,' p. 30:

"There the proud lyre-bird spreads his tail, And mocks the notes of hill and dale Whether the wild dog's plaintive howl Or cry of piping water-fowl."

1872. A. McFarland, `Illawarra Manaro,' p. 54:

"The Lyre-bird may yet be seen--more frequently heard--amongst the gullies and ravines. It has the power of imitating every other bird, and nearly every sound it hears in the bush-even that of a cross-cut saw."

1886. J. A. Fronde, `Oceana,' p. 146:

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Austral EnglishChapter XVII: Part 17

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