Chapter XXV: Part 25

Text size

"`Open that gate, Piambook,' said Ernest gravely, pointing to the one which led into the `run-about' yard."

<hw>Run-hunting</hw>, exploring for a new run. See Run.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. xix. p. 238:

"What do you say if I go run-hunting with you?"

<hw>Running-Postman</hw>, n. a Tasmanian plant, i.q. Coral-Pea. See Kennedya.

<hw>Ruru</hw>, n. Maori name for the New Zealand bird, the More-pork, Athene novae-zelandiae, Gmel. (q.v.).

1883. F. S. Renwick, `Betrayed,' p. 45:

"The ruru's voice re-echoes, desolate."

<hw>Rush</hw>, v. (1) Of cattle: to charge a man. Contraction for to rush-at.

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 122:

"When not instigated by terror, wild cattle will seldom attack the traveller; even of those which run at him, or `rush,' as it is termed, few will really toss or gore, or even knock him down."

(2) To attack sheep; i.e. to cause them to rush about or away.

1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 153:

"Sometimes at night this animal [the dingo] will leap into the fold amongst the timid animals [sheep] and so `rush' them--that is, cause them to break out and disperse through the bush."

(3) To break through a barrier (of men or materials). Contraction for to rush past or through; e.g. to rush a cordon of policemen; to rush a fence (i.e. to break-down or climb-over it).

(4) To take possession of, or seize upon, either by force or before the appointed time. Compare Jump.

1896. Modern:

"Those who had no tickets broke through and rushed all the seats."

"The dancers becoming very hungry did not stand on ceremony, but rushed the supper."

(5) To flood with gold-seekers.

1887. H. H. Hayter, `Christmas Adventure,' p. 3:

"The Bald Hill had just been rushed, and therefore I decided to take up a claim."

<hw>Rush</hw>, n. (1) The hurrying off of diggers to a new field.

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 86:

"We had a long conversation on the `rush,' as it was termed."

1864. J. Rogers, `New Rush,' pt. i., p. 19:

"Arouse you, my comrades, for rush is the word, Advance to the strife with a pick for a sword."

1890. `The Argus,' June 13, p. 6, col. 2:

"Fell Timber Creek, where a new rush had set in."

(2) A place where gold is found, and to which consequently a crowd of diggers "rush."

1855. William Howitt, `Land, Labour and Gold; or Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 172:

"It is a common practice for them to mark out one or more claims in each new rush, so as to make sure if it turn out well. But only one claim at a time is legal and tenable. This practice is called shepherding."

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), May 22, p. 34, col. 1:

"The Palmer River rush is a perfect swindle."

1875. Wood and Lapham, `Waiting for Mail,' p. 34:

"Off we set to the Dunstan rush, just broken out."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 92:

"Morinish, was a worked-out rush close to Rockhampton, where the first attempt at gold-digging had been made in Queensland."

(3) A stampede of cattle.

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 102:

"A confused whirl of dark forms swept before him, and the camp, so full of life a minute ago, is desolate. It was `a rush,' a stampede."

<hw>Rush-broom</hw>, n. Australian name for the indigenous shrub Viminaria denudata, Sm., N.O. Leguminosae. The flowers are orange-yellow. In England, it is cultivated in greenhouses.

<hw>Rusty Fig</hw>, n. See under Fig-tree.

<hw>Saddle, Colonial</hw>, n.

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 53:

"The colonial saddle is a shapeless, cumbersome fabric, made of rough leather, with a high pommel and cantle, and huge knee-pads, weighing on an average twenty pounds. The greatest care is necessary to prevent such a diabolical machine from giving a horse a sore back."

[Mr. Finch-Hatton's epithet is exaggerated. The saddle is well adapted to its peculiar local purposes. The projecting knee-pads, especially, save the rider from fractured knee-caps when galloping among closely timbered scrub. The ordinary English saddle is similarly varied by exaggeration of different parts to suit special requirements, as e.g. in the military saddle, with its enormous pommel; the diminutive racing saddle, to meet handicappers' "bottom-weights," etc. The mediaeval saddle had its turret-like cantle for the armoured spearman.]

<hw>Saddle-Back</hw>, n. a bird of the North Island of New Zealand, Creadion carunculatus, Cab. See also Jack-bird and Creadion.

1868. `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' Essay on Ornithology, by W. Buller, vol. i. p. 5:

"The Saddle-back (Creadion carunculatus) of the North is represented in the South by C. cinereus, a closely allied species."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 64:

"It is the sharp, quick call of the saddle-back."

1886. A. Reischek, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. xix. art. xxiii. p. 102:

"The bird derives its popular name from a peculiarity in the distribution of its two strongly contrasting colours, uniform black, back and shoulders ferruginous, the shoulders of the wings forming a saddle. In structure it resembles the starling (Sturnidae); it has also the wedge bill."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 18:

"Creadion Carunculatus. This bird derives its popular name from a peculiarity in the distribution of its too strongly contrasted colours, black and ferruginous, the latter of which covers the back, forms a sharply-defined margin across the shoulders, and sweeps over the wings in a manner suggestive of saddle-flaps."

<hw>Sagg</hw>, n. the name given in Tasmania to the plant Xerotes longifolia, R. Br., N.O. Junceae, and also to the White Iris, Diplarhena morcaea.

<hw>Saliferous</hw>, adj. salt-bearing. See Salt-bush. The word is used in geology in ordinary English, but the botanical application is Australian.

1890. E. W. Hornung, `A Bride from the Bush,' p. 277:

"You have only to cover the desert with pale-green saliferous bushes, no higher than a man's knee."

<hw>Sallee</hw>, n. aboriginal name for many varieties of the Acacia (q.v.).

<hw>Sally</hw>, <hw>Sallow</hw>, n. corruptions of the aboriginal word Sallee (q.v.). There are many varieties, e.g. Black-Sally, White-Sally, etc.

<hw>Salmon</hw>, n. The English Salmon is being acclimatised with difficulty in Tasmania and New Zealand; the Trout more successfully. But in all Australian, New Zealand, and Tasmanian waters there is a marine fish which is called Salmon; it is not the true Salmon of the Old World, but Arripis salar, Gunth., and called in New Zealand by the Maori name Kahawai. The fish is often called also Salmon-Trout. The young is called Samson-fish (q.v.).

1798. D. Collins, `Account of the English Colony of New South Wales,' p. 136:

[Sept. 1790.] "Near four thousand of a fish, named by us, from its shape only, the Salmon, being taken at two hauls of the seine. Each fish weighed on an average about five pounds."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 93:

"The kawai has somewhat of the habits of the salmon, entering during spring and summer into the bays, rivers, and fresh-water creeks in large shoals."

1880. Guenther, `Study of Fishes,' p. 393:

"Arripis salar, South Australia. Three species are known, from the coasts of Southern Australia and New Zealand. They are named by the colonists Salmon or Trout, from their elegant form and lively habits, and from the sport they afford to the angler."

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 35:

"Arripis salar, Gunth., is in the adult state the salmon of the Australian fishermen, and their salmon trout is the young. . . . The most common of all Victorian fishes . . . does not resemble the true salmon in any important respect . . . It is the A. truttaceus of Cuvier and Valenciennes."

<hw>Salmon-Trout</hw>, n. i.q. Salmon (q.v.).

<hw>Saloop-bush</hw>, n. name given to an erect soft-stemmed bush, Rhagodia hastata, R. Br., N.O. Salsolaceae, one of the Australian Redberries, two to three feet high. See Redberry and Salt-bush.

<hw>Salsolaceous</hw>, adj. belongs to the natural order Salsolaceae. The shrubs of the order are not peculiar to Australia, but are commoner there than elsewhere.

1837. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 906:

"Passing tufts of samphire and salsolaceous plants."

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' c. xlii. (`Century'):

"It is getting hopeless now . . . sand and nothing but sand. The salsolaceous plants, so long the only vegetation we have seen, are gone."

<hw>Salt-bush</hw>, n. and adj. the wild alkaline herb or shrub, growing on the interior plains of Australia, on which horses and sheep feed, of the N.O. Salsolaceae. The genera are Atriplex, Kochia, and Rhagodia. Of the large growth, A. nummularium, Lindl., and of the dwarf species, A. vesicarium, Heward, and A. halimoides, Lindl., are the commonest. Some species bear the additional names of Cabbage Salt-bush, Old-Man Salt-bush, Small Salt-bush, Blue-bush, Cotton-bush, Saloop-bush, etc. Some varieties are very rich in salt. Rhagodia parabolica, R. Br., for instance, according to Mr. Stephenson, who accompanied Sir T. Mitchell in one of his expeditions, yields as much as two ounces of salt by boiling two pounds of leaves.

1870. T. H. Braim, `New Homes,' c. ii. p. 89:

"This inland salt-bush country suits the settler's purpose well."

1889. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iv. p. 144:

"The ground is covered with the sage-coloured salt-bush all the year round, but in the winter it blooms with flowers."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. xxi. p. 262:

"How glorious it will be to see them pitching into that lovely salt-bush by the lake."

1892. E. W. Hornung, `Under Two Skies,' p. 11:

"The surrounding miles of salt-bush plains and low monotonous scrub oppressed her when she wandered abroad. There was not one picturesque patch on the whole dreary run."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 92:

"Over the miles of the salt-bush plain-- The shining plain that is said to be The dried-up bed of an inland sea.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

For those that love it and understand, The salt-bush plain is a wonderland."

<hw>Samson-fish</hw>, n. name given in Sydney to Seriola hippos, Gunth., family Carangidae; and in Melbourne to the young of Arripis salar, Richards., family Percidae. See Salmon.

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 60:

"The samson-fish (Senola hippos, Gunth.) is occasionally caught. The great strength of these fishes is remarkable, and which probably is the cause that gave it the name of Samson-fish, as sailors or shipwrights give to the name of a strong post resting on the keelson of a ship, and supporting the upper beam, and bearing all the weight of the deck cargo near the hold, Samson-post."

<hw>Sandalwood</hw>, n. The name is given to many Australian trees from the strong scent of their timber. They are --

Of the N.O. Santalaceae--

Exocarpos latifolia, R. Br.; called Scrub-Sandalwood.

Fusanus spicatus, R. Br.; called Fragrant Sandalwood.

Santalum lanceolatum, R. Br.

S. obtusifodum, R. Br.

Santalum persicarium, F. v. M.; called Native Sandalwood.

Of the N.O. Myoporinae--

Eremophila mitchelli, Benth.; called also Rosewood and Bastard-Sandalwood.

E. sturtii, R. Br.; called curiously the Scentless Sandalwood.

Myoporum platycarpum, R. Br.; called also Dogwood (q.v.).

Of the N.O. Apocyneae--

Alyxia buxifolia, R. Br.; called Native Sandalwood in Tasmania.

<hw>Sandfly-bush</hw>, n. Australian name for the indigenous tree Zieria smithii, Andr., N.O. Rutaceae. Called also Turmeric, and in Tasmania, Stinkwood.

<hw>Sand-Lark</hw>, n. name given in Australia to the Red-capped Dottrel, Charadrius ruficapilla, Temm.

1867. W. Richardson, `Tasmanian Poems,' pref. p. xi:

"The nimble sand-lark learns his pretty note."

<hw>Sandpiper</hw>, n. About twenty species of this familiar sea-bird exist. It belongs especially to the Northern Hemisphere, but it performs such extensive migrations that in the northern winter it is dispersed all over the world. (`Century.') The species observed in Australia are--

Bartram's Sandpiper-- Tringa bartrami.

Common S.-- Actitis hypoleucos, Linn.

Great S.-- Tringa crassirostris, Temm. and Schleg.

Grey-rumped S.-- T. brevisses.

<hw>Sandplover</hw>, n. a bird of New Zealand. According to Professor Parker, only two genera of this common bird are to be found in New Zealand. There is no bird bearing the name in Australia. See Plover and Wry-billed Plover.

1889. Prof. Parker, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 116:

"But two genera of the group [Wading Birds] are found only in New Zealand, the Sandplover and the curious Wry-billed Plover."

<hw>Sand-stay</hw>, n. a characteristic name for the Coast Tea-Tree, Leptospermum laevigatum, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae. See Tea-Tree.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 642:

"Sandstay. Coast Tea-Tree. This shrub is the most effectual of all for arresting the progress of driftsand in a warm climate. It is most easily raised by simply scattering in autumn the seeds on the sand, and covering them loosely with boughs, or, better still, by spreading lopped-off branches of the shrub itself, bearing ripe seed, on the sand. (Mueller.)"

<hw>Sandy</hw>, n. a Tasmanian fish, Uphritis urvillii, Cuv. and Val, family Trachinidae; also called the Fresh-water Flathead. See Flathead.

<hw>Sandy-blight</hw>, n. a kind of ophthalmia common in Australia, in which the eye feels as if full of sand. Called also shortly, Blight.

Shakspeare has sand-blind (M. of V. II. ii. 31); Launcelot says--

"0 heavens, this is my true-begotten father! who, being more than sand-blind, high-gravel blind, knows me not."

On this, the American commentator, Mr. Rolfe, notes--

"Sand-blind. Dim of sight; as if there were sand in the eye, or perhaps floating before it. It means something more than purblind."

"As if there were sand in the eye,"--an admirable description of the Australian Sandy-blight.

1869. J. F. Blanche, `The Prince's Visit,' p. 20:

"The Prince was suff'ring from the sandy blight."

1870. E. B. Kennedy, `Four Years in Queensland,' p. 46:

"Sandy-blight occurs generally in sandy districts in the North Kennedy; it may be avoided by ordinary care, and washing the eyes after a hot ride through sandy country. It is a species of mild ophthalmia."

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 78:

"He had pretty near lost his eyesight with the sandy blight, which made him put his head forward when he spoke, as if he took you for some one else, or was looking for what he couldn't find."

<hw>Sarcophile</hw>, and <hw>Sarcophilus</hw>, n. the scientific name of the genus of carnivorous marsupial animals of which the Tasmanian Devil (q.v.) is the only known living species.(Grk. sarkos, flesh, and philein, to love.)

<hw>Sardine</hw>, n. name given in Australia to a fresh-water fish, Chatoessus erebi, Richards., of the herring tribe, occurring in West and North-West Australia, and in Queensland rivers, and which is called in the Brisbane river the Sardine. It is the Bony Bream of the New South Wales rivers, and the Perth Herring of Western Australia.

<hw>Sarsaparilla, Australian</hw> or <hw>Native</hw>, n. (1) An ornamental climbing shrub, Hardenbergia monophylla, Benth., N.O. Leguminosae. Formerly called Kennedya (q.v.).

(2) Smilax glycyphylla, Smith, N.0. Liliaceae.

1883. F. M. Bailey, `Synopsis of Queensland Flora,' p. 114:

"Native Sarsaparilla. The roots of this beautiful purple- flowered twiner (Hardenbergia monophylla) are used by bushmen as a substitute for the true sarsaparilla, which is obtained from a widely different plant."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 189:

"Commonly, but wrongly, called `Native Sarsaparilla.' The roots are sometimes used by bushmen as a substitute for the true sarsaparilla (Smilax), but its virtues are purely imaginary. It is a common thing in the streets of Sydney, to see persons with large bundles of the leaves on their shoulders, doubtless under the impression that they have the leaves of the true Sarsaparilla, Smilax glycyphylla."

1896. `The Argus,' Sept. 8, p. 7, col. 1:

"He will see, too, the purple of the sarsaparilla on the hill-sides, and the golden bloom of the wattle on the flats, forming a beautiful contrast in tint. Old diggers consider the presence of sarsaparilla and the ironbark tree as indicative of the existence of golden wealth below. Whether these can be accepted as indicators in the vegetable kingdom of gold below is questionable, but it is nevertheless a fact that the sarsaparilla and the ironbark tree are common on most of Victoria's goldfields."

<hw>Sassafras</hw>, n. corruption of <hw>Saxafas</hw>, which is from <hw>Saxifrage</hw>. By origin, the word means "stone-breaking," from its medicinal qualities. The true Sassafras (S. officinale) is the only species of the genus. It is a North-American tree, about forty feet high, but the name has been given to various trees in many parts of the world, from the similarity, either of their appearance or of the real or supposed medicinal properties of their bark.

In Australia, the name is given to--

Atherosperma moschatum, Labill., N.0. Monimiaceae; called Native Sassafras, from the odour of its bark, due to an essential oil closely resembling true Sassafras in odour. (Maiden.)

Beilschmiedia obtusifolia, Benth., N.0. Lauraceae; called Queensland Sassafras, a large and handsome tree.

Cryptocarya glaucescens, R. Br., N.0. Lauraceae; the Sassafras of the early days of New South Wales, and now called Black Sassafras.

Daphnandra micrantha, Benth., N.0. Monimiaceae, called also Satinwood, and Light Yellow-wood.

Doryphora sassafras, Endl., N.0. Monimiaceae.

Grey Sassafras is the Moreton-Bay Laurel. See Laurel.

The New Zealand Sassafras is Laurelia novae-zelandiae.

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

"The leaves of these have been used as substitutes for tea in the colony, as have also the leaves and bark of Cryptocarya glaucescens, the Australian sassafras."

1852. Mrs. Meredith, `My Home in Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 166:

"The beautiful Tasmanian sassafras-tree is also a dweller in some parts of our fern-tree valleys. . . . The flowers are white and fragrant, the leaves large and bright green, and the bark has a most aromatic scent, besides being, in a decoction, an excellent tonic medicine. . . . The sawyers and other bushmen familiar with the tree call it indiscriminately `saucifax,' `sarserfrax,' and `satisfaction.'"

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 206:

"A Tasmanian timber. Height, 40 ft.; dia., 14 in. Found on low, marshy ground. Used for sashes and doorframes."

1894. `Melbourne Museum Catalogue--Economic Woods,' No. 36:

"Atherosperma moschatum, Victorian sassafras-tree, N.O. Monimiaceae."

<hw>Satin-bird</hw>, n. another name for the Satin Bower-bird. See Bower-bird.

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 264:

The natives call it Cowry, the colonists Satin-Bird."

<hw>Satin-Robin</hw>, n. a Tasmanian name for the Satin Fly-catcher, Myiagra nitida, Gould.

<hw>Satin-Sparrow</hw>, n. Same as Satin-Robin (q.v.).

<hw>Satinwood</hw>, n. a name applied to two Australian trees from the nature of their timber--Xanthoxylum brachyacanthum, F. v. M., N.O. Rutaceae, called also Thorny Yellow-wood; Daphnandra micrantha, Benth., N.O. Monimiaceae, called also Light Yellow-wood and Sassafras (q.v.).

<hw>Saw-fish</hw>, n. a species of Ray, Pristis zysron, Bleek, the Australasian representative of the Pristidae family, or Saw-fishes, Rays of a shark-like form, with long, flat snouts, armed along each edge with strong teeth.

1851. `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. i. p. 223 [J. E. Bicheno, June 8, 1850, in epist.]:

"Last week an old fisherman brought me a fine specimen of a Saw-fish, caught in the Derwent. It turned out to be the Pristis cirrhatus,--a rare and curious species, confined to the Australian seas, and first described by Dr. Latham in the year 1793."

<hw>Sawyer</hw>, n. (1) Name applied by bushmen in New Zealand to the insect Weta (q.v.). (2) A trunk embedded in the mud so as to move with the current--hence the name: a snag is fixed. (An American use of the word.) See also Snag.

1873. J. B. Stephens, `Black Gin,' p. 22:

"By Fitzroy's rugged crags, Its `sawyers' and its snags, He roamed."

<hw>Sceloglaux</hw>, n. the scientific name of the genus containing the New Zealand bird called the Laughing Owl (see under Jackass). The name was given by Kaup in 1848; the bird had been previously classed as Athene by Gray in 1844. It is now nearly extinct. Kaup also gave the name of Spiloglaux to the New Zealand Owl at the same date. The words are from the Greek glaux, an owl, spilos, a spot, and skelos, a leg.

<hw>Scent-wood</hw>, a Tasmanian evergreen shrub, Alyxia buxifolia, R. Br., N.O. Apocyneae, of the dogbane family.

<hw>Schnapper</hw>, n. or <hw>Snapper</hw>, a fish abundant in all Australasian waters, Pagrus unicolor, Cuv. and Val. The latter spelling was the original form of the word (one that snaps). It was gradually changed by the fishermen, perhaps of Dutch origin, to Schnapper, the form now general. The name Snapper is older than the settlement of Australia, but it is not used for the same fish. `O.E.D.,' s.v. Cavally, quotes:

1657. R. Ligon, `Barbadoes,' p. 12:

"Fish . . . of various kinds . . . Snappers, grey and red; Cavallos, Carpians, etc."

The young are called Cock-schnapper (q.v.); at a year old they are called Red-Bream; at two years old, Squire; at three, School-Schnapper; when they cease to "school" and swim solitary they are called Natives and Rock-Natives. Being the standard by which the "catch" is measured, the full-grown Schnappers are also called Count-fish (q.v.). In New Zealand, the Tamure (q.v.) is also called Schnapper, and the name Red-Schnapper is given to Anthias richardsoni, Gunth., or Scorpis hectori, Hutton. See quotation, 1882.

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 68:

"King-fish, mullet, mackarel, rockcod, whiting, snapper, bream, flatheads, and various other descriptions of fishes, are all found plentifully about."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i. p. 261:

"The kangaroos are numerous and large, and the finest snappers I have ever heard of are caught off this point, weighing sometimes as much as thirty pounds."

[The point referred to is that now called Schnapper Point, at Mornington, in Victoria.]

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 39:

"The genus Pagrus, or as we term it in the vernacular, `schnapper,' a word of Dutch origin . . . The schnapper or snapper. The schnapper (Pagrus unicolor, Cuv. and Val.) is the most valuable of Australian fishes, not for its superior excellence . . . but for the abundant and regular supply . . . At a still greater age the schnapper seems to cease to school and becomes what is known as the `native' and `rock-native,' a solitary and sometimes enormously large fish."

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

"The fish, snapper, is so called because it snapped. The spelling with `ch' is a curious after-thought, suggestive of alcohol. The name cannot come from schnapps."

<hw>School-Schnapper</hw>, n. a fish. A name given to the Schnapper when three years old. See Schnapper.

<hw>Scorpion</hw>, n. another name for the New South Wales fish Pentaroge marmorata, Cuv. and Val.; called also the Fortescue (q.v.), and the Cobbler.

<hw>Scotchman</hw>, n. a New Zealand name for a smaller kind of the grass called Spaniard (q.v.).

1895. W. S. Roberts, `Southland in 1856,' p. 39:

"As we neared the hills speargrass of the smaller kind, known as Scotchmen,' abounded, and although not so strong and sharp-pointed as the `Spaniard,' would not have made a comfortable seat."

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

". . . national appellations are not satisfactory. It seems uncivil to a whole nation--another injustice to Ireland--to call a bramble a wild Irishman, or a pointed grass, with the edges very sharp and the point like a bayonet, a Spaniard. One could not but be amused to find the name Scotchman applied to a smaller kind of Spaniard.'

<hw>Scribbly-Gum</hw>, n. also called White-Gum, Eucalyptus haemastoma, Sm., N.O. Myrtaceae. See Gum.

1883. F. M. Bailey, `Synopsis of Queensland Flora,' p. 174:

"Scribbly or White-Gum. As regards timber this is the most worthless of the Queensland species. A tree, often large, with a white, smooth, deciduous bark, always marked by an insect in a scribbly manner."

<hw>Scrub</hw>, n. country overgrown with thick bushes. Henry Kingsley's explanation (1859), that the word means shrubbery, is singularly misleading, the English word conveying an idea of smallness and order compared with the size and confusion of the Australian use. Yet he is etymologically correct, for Scrobb is Old English (Anglo-Saxon) for shrub; but the use had disappeared in England.

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. i. c. i. p. 21:

"We encamped about noon in some scrub."

1838. T. L. Mitchell,' Three Expeditions,' vol. i. p. 213:

"A number of gins and children remained on the borders of the scrub, half a mile off."

1844. J A. Moore, `Tasmanian Rhymings' (1860), p. 13:

"Here Nature's gifts, with those of man combined, Hath [sic] from a scrub a Paradise defined."

1848. W. Westgarth, "Australia Felix,' p. 24:

"The colonial term scrub, of frequent and convenient use in the description of Australian scenery, is applicable to dense assemblages of harsh wild shrubbery, tea-tree, and other of the smaller and crowded timber of the country, and somewhat analogous to the term jungle."

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' vol. ii. p. 155 [Footnote]:

"Scrub. I have used, and shall use, this word so often that some explanation is due to the English reader. I can give no better definition of it than by saying that it means `shrubbery.'"

1864. J. McDouall Stuart, `Exploration in Australia,' p. 153:

"At four miles arrived on the top, through a very thick scrub of mulga."

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' c. v. p. 78:

"Woods which are open and passable--passable at any rate for men on horseback--are called bush. When the undergrowth becomes, thick and matted, so as to be impregnable without an axe, it is scrub."

[Impregnability is not a necessary point of the definition. There is "light" scrub, and "heavy" or "thick" scrub.]

1883. G. W. Rusden, `History of Australia,' vol. i. p. 67 [Note]:

"Scrub was a colonial term for dense undergrowth, like that of the mallee-scrub."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 7:

"Where . . . a belt of scrub lies green, glossy, and impenetrable as Indian bungle."

(p. 8): "The nearest scrub, in the thickets of which the Blacks could always find an impenetrable stronghold."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 36:

"A most magnificent forest of trees, called in Australia a `scrub,' to distinguish it from open timbered country."

1890. J. McCarthy and R. M. Praed, `Ladies' Gallery,' p. 252:

"Why, I've been alone in the scrub--in the desert, I mean; you will understand that better."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 374:

"One more prominent feature in Australian vegetation are the large expanses of the so-called `scrub' of the colonists. This is a dense covering of low bushes varying in composition in different districts, and named according to the predominating element."

1893. A. R. Wallace, `Australasia,' vol. i. p. 46:

"Just as Tartary is characterised by its steppes, America by its prairies, and Africa by its deserts, so Australia has one feature peculiar to itself, and that is its `scrubs.'. . . One of the most common terms used by explorers is `Mallee' scrub, so called from its being composed of dwarf species of Eucalyptus called the `Mallee' by the Natives. . . . Still more dreaded by the explorer is the `Mulga' scrub, consisting chiefly of dwarf acacias."

1894. E. Favenc, `Tales of the Austral Tropics,' p. 3:

"Even more desolate than the usual dreary-looking scrub of the interior of Australia."

[p. 6]: "The sea of scrub."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Manfrom Snowy River,' p. 25:

"Born and bred on the mountain-side, He could race through scrub like a kangaroo."

<hw>Scrub</hw>, adj. and in composition. The word scrub occurs constantly in composition. See the following words.

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 113:

"We gathered the wild raspberries, and mingling them with gee-bongs, and scrub-berries, set forth a dessert."

<hw>Scrub-bird</hw>, n. name given to two Australian birds, of the genus Atrichia. (Grk. 'atrichos = without hair.) They are the Noisy Scrub-bird, Atrichia clamosa, Gould, and the Rufous S.-b., A. rufescens, Ramsay.

1869. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' `Supplement,' pl. 26:

"The Scrub-bird creeps mouse-like over the bark, or sits on a dripping stem and mocks all surrounding notes."

<hw>Scrub-cattle</hw>, n. escaped cattle that run wild in the scrub, used as a collective plural of Scrubber (q.v.).

1860. A. L. Gordon, `The Sick Stockrider' [in `Bush-Ballads,' 1876], p. 8:

"'Twas merry 'mid the blackwoods, when we spied the station
roofs,
To wheel the wild scrub-cattle at the yard,
With a running fire of stock-whips and a fiery run of hoofs,
Oh! the hardest day was never then too hard."

<hw>Scrub-Crab</hw>, n. a Queensland fruit. The large dark purple fruit, two inches in diameter, of Sideroxylon australe, Benth. and Hook., N.O. Saponaceae; a tall tree.

<hw>Scrub-dangler</hw>, n. a wild bullock.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xvi. p. 193:

"He is one of those infernal scrub-danglers from the Lachlan, come across to get a feed."

<hw>Scrub-fowl</hw>, n. name applied to birds of the genus Megapodius. See Megapode.

<hw>Scrub-Gum</hw>, n. See Gum.

<hw>Scrub-hen</hw>, i.q. Scrub fowl.

<hw>Scrub-Ironwood</hw>, n. See Ironwood.

<hw>Scrub-Myrtle</hw>, n. See Myrtle.

<hw>Scrub-Oak</hw>, n. See Oak.

<hw>Scrub-Pine</hw>, n. See Pine.

<hw>Scrub-Poison-tree</hw>, n. See Poison-tree.

<hw>Scrub-rider</hw>, n. a man who rides through the scrub in search of Scrub-cattle (q.v.).

1881. A. C. Giant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 278:

"A favourite plan among the bold scrub-riders."

<hw>Scrub-Robin</hw>, n. the modern name for any bird of the genus Drymodes.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iii. pl. 10:

"Drymodes Brunneopygia, Gould, Scrub-Robin. I discovered this singular bird in the great Murray Scrub in South [sc. Southern] Australia, where it was tolerably abundant. I have never seen it from any other part of the country, and it is doubtless confined to such portions of Australia as are clothed with a similar character of vegetation."

1895. W. O. Legge, `Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science' (Brisbane), p. 447:

"As regards portions of Gould's English nomenclatures, such as his general term `Robin' for the genera Petroica, Paecilodryas, Eopsaltria, it was found that by retaining the term `Robin' for the best known member of the group (Petroica), and applying a qualifying noun to the allied genera, such titles as Tree-robin, Scrub-robin, and Shrike-robin were easily evolved."

<hw>Scrub-Sandalwood</hw>, n. See Sandalwood.

<hw>Scrub-Tit</hw>, n. See Tit.

<HW>Scrub-tree</HW>, n. any tree that grows in the scrub.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 219:

"Almost all the Scrub-trees of the Condamine and Kent's Lagoon were still to be seen at the Burdekin."

<hw>Scrub-Turkey</hw>, n. an Australian bird, Leipoa ocellata, Gould; aboriginal name, the Lowan (q.v.). See Turkey.

<hw>Scrub-Vine</hw>, n. called also Native Rose. See Bauera (q.v.).

<hw>Scrub-Wren</hw>, n. any little bird of the Australian genus Sericornis. The species are--

Brown Scrub-Wren-- Sericornis humilis, Gould.

Buff breasted S.-W.-- S. laevigaster, Gould.

Collared S.-W.-- S. gutturalis, Gould.

Large-billed Scrub-Wren-- Sericornis magnirostris, Gould.

Little S.-W.-- S. minimus, Gould.

Spotted S.-W.-- S. maculatus, Gould.

Spotted-throated S.-W.-- S. osculans, Gould.

White-browed S.-W.-- S. frontalis, Vig. & Hors.

Yellow-throated S.-W.-- S. citreogularis, Gould.

<hw>Scrubber</hw>, n. (1) a bullock that has taken to the scrub and so become wild. See Scrub-cattle. Also formerly used for a wild horse, now called a Brumby (q.v.).

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' c. xxix:

"The captain was getting in the scrubbers, cattle which had been left to run wild through in the mountains."

1874. W. H. L. Ranken, `Dominion of Australia,' c. vi. p. 110:

"There are few field-sports anywhere . . . equal to `hunting scrubbers.'"

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 93:

"Out flew the ancient scrubber, instinctively making towards his own wild domain."

1887. W. S. S. Tyrwhitt, `The New Chum in the Queensland Bush,' p. 151:

"There are also wild cattle, which are either cattle run wild or descendants of such. They are commonly called `scrubbers,' because they live in the larger scrubs."

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 405:

"Here I am boxed up, like a scrubber in a pound, year after year."

1893. `The Argus,' April 29, p. 4, col. 4 (`Getting in the Scrubbers'):

"The scrubbers, unseen of men, would stay in their fastnesses all day chewing the cud they had laid up the night before, and when the sun went down and the strident laugh of the giant kingfisher had given place to the insidious air-piercing note of the large-mouthed podargus, the scrub would give up its inhabitants."

(2) A starved-looking or ill-bred animal.

(3) The word is sometimes applied to mankind in the slang sense of an "outsider." It is used in University circles as equivalent to the Oxford "smug," a man who will not join in the life of the place. See also Bush-scrubber.

1868. `Colonial Monthly,' vol. ii. p. 141 [art. `Peggy's Christening]:

"`I can answer for it, that they are scrubbers--to use a bush phrase--have never been brought within the pale of any church.'

"`Never been christened?' asked the priest.

"`Have no notion of it--scrubbers, sir--never been branded.'"

<hw>Scrubby</hw>, adj. belonging to, or resembling scrub.

1802. Jas. Flemming, `Journal of the Exploration of C. Grimes' [at Port Phillip, Australia], ed. by J. J. Shillinglaw, 1879, Melbourne, p. 17:

"The land appeared barren, a scrubby brush."

[p. 221: "The trees low and scrubby."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 19:

"To-day I . . . passed a scrubby ironbark forest.".

1849. J. P. Townsend, `Rambles in New South Wales,' p. 216:

"A scrubby country is a stockman's abhorrence, as there he cannot ride, at least at any pace."

1868. J. A. B., `Meta,' c. i. p. 9:

"'Twere madness to attempt to chase, In such a wild and scrubby place, Australia's savage steer."

<hw>Scrubdom</hw>, n. the land of scrub.

1889. C. A. Sherard, `Daughter of South,' p. 29:

"My forefathers reigned in this scrubdom of old."

<hw>Scythrops</hw>, n. scientific name for a genus of birds belonging to the Cuculidae, or Cuckoos (from Grk. skuthrowpos = angry-looking). The only species known is peculiar to Australia, where it is called the Channel-Bill, a name given by Latham (`General History of Birds,' vol. ii.). White (1790) calls it the Anomalous Hornbill (`Journal 1790,' pl. at p. 142).

<hw>Sea-Berry</hw>, n. See Red-berry.

<hw>Sea-Dragon</hw>, n. any Australian fish of any one of the three species of the genus Phyllopteryx, family Syngnathidae. The name of the genus comes from the Greek phullon = a leaf, and pterux = a wing. This genus is said by Guenther to be exclusively Australian. "Protective resemblance attains its highest degree of development," he says, in this genus. "Not only their colour closely assimilates that of the particular kind of sea-weed which they frequent, but the appendages of their spines seem to be merely part of the fucus to which they are attached. They attain a length of twelve inches." (`Study of Fishes,' p. 683.) The name, in England, is given to other and different fishes. The species P. foliatus is called the Superb Dragon (q.v.), from the beauty of its colours.

<hw>Sea-Perch</hw>, n. a name applied to different fishes--in Sydney, to the Morwong (q.v.) and Bull's-eye (q.v.); in New Zealand, to Sebastes percoides, called Pohuiakawa (q.v.); in Melbourne, to Red-Gurnard (q.v.). See Red Gurnet-Perch.

<hw>Sea-Pig</hw>, n. a small whale, the Dugong. See under Dugong-oil.

1853. S. Sidney, `Three Colonies of Australia,' p. 267:

"The aborigines eagerly pursue the dugong, a species of small whale, generally known to the colonists as the sea-pig."

<hw>Sea-Pike</hw>, n. a fish of New South Wales, Lanioperca mordax, Gunth., of the family Sphyraenidae. The name belongs to the Sydney fish-market.

<hw>Select</hw>, v. i.q. Free-select (q.v.).

<hw>Selection</hw>, n. i.q. Free-selection (q.v.).

<hw>Selector</hw>, n. i.q. Free-selector (q.v.).

<hw>Sergeant Baker</hw>, n. name given to a fish of New South Wales, Aulopus purpurissatus, Richards., family Scopelidae.

1882. Rev. J E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 82:

"The Sergeant Baker in all probability got its local appellation in the early history of the colony (New South Wales), as it was called after a sergeant of that name in one of the first detachments of a regiment; so were also two fruits of the Geebong tribe (Persoonia); one was called Major Buller, and the other Major Groce, and this latter again further corrupted into Major Grocer."

<hw>Settler's</hw> Clock (also <hw>Hawkesbury Clock</hw>), n. another name for the bird called the Laughing-Jackass. See Jackass.

1896. F. G. Aflalo, `Natural History of Australia,' p. 114:

"From its habit of starting its discordant paean somewhere near sunrise and, after keeping comparatively quiet all through the hotter hours, cackling a `requiem to the day's decline,' the bird has been called the Settler's clock. It may be remarked, however, that this by no means takes place with the methodical precision that romancers write of in their letters home."

<hw>Settlers' Matches</hw>, n. name occasionally applied to the long pendulous strips of bark which hang from the Eucalypts and other trees, during decortication, and which, bec oming exceedingly dry, are readily ignited and used as kindling wood.

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 84:

"In the silence of the darkness and the playing of the breeze, That we heard the settlers' matches rustle softly in the trees."

1896. `The Australasian,' June 13, p. 1133, col. 1:

"Re settlers' matches, torches, the blacks in the South-east of South Australia always used the bark of the she-oak to carry from one camp to another; it would last and keep alight for a long time and show a good light to travel by when they had no fire. A fire could always be lighted with two grass trees, a small fork, and a bit of dry grass. I have often started a fire with them myself."

<hw>Settler's Twine</hw>, n. a fibre plant, Gymnostachys anceps, R. Br., N.O. Aroideae, called also Travellers' Grass. Much used by farmers as cord or string where strength is required.

<hw>Shag</hw>, n. common English birdname for a Cormorant (q.v.). Gould, fifty years ago, enumerates the following as Australian species, in his `Birds of Australia' (vol. vii.)--

Plate Phalacrocorax Carboides, Gould, Australian Cormorant, Black Shag, Colonists of W.A. . . . . . 66

P. Hypoleucus, Pied C., Black and White Shag, Colonists of W. A. . . . . . . . . . 68

P. Melanoleucus, Vieill., Pied C., Little Shag, Colonists of W.A. . . . . . . . . . 70

P. Punctatus, Spotted C., Crested Shag (Cook), Spotted Shag (Lapham) . . . . . . . . . 71

P. Leucogaster, Gould, White-breasted C. . . 69

P. Stictocephalus, Bp., Little Black C. . . 67

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 185:

"Shags started from dead trees lying half immersed."

<hw>Shagroon</hw>, n. When the province of Canterbury, in New Zealand, was first settled, the men who came from England were called Pilgrims, all others Shagroons, probably a modification of the Irish word Shaughraun.

1877. W. Pratt, `Colonial Experiences of Incidents of Thirty-four Years in New Zealand,' p. 234:

"In the `Dream of a Shagroon,' which bore the date Ko Matinau, April 1851, and which first appeared in the `Wellington Spectator' of May 7, the term `Pilgrim' was first applied to the settlers; it was also predicted in it that the `Pilgrims' would be `smashed' and the Shagroons left in undisputed possession of the country for their flocks and herds."

<hw>Shake</hw>, v. tr. to steal. Very common Australian slang, especially amongst school-boys and bushmen. It was originally Thieves' English.

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. ii. p. 9:

"The tent of a surgeon was `shook,' as they style it--that is, robbed, during his absence in the daytime."

1878. `The Australian,' vol. i. p. 418:

"Crimean shirts, blankets, and all they `shake,' Which I'm told's another name for `take.'"

<hw>Shamrock, Australian</hw>, n. a perennial, fragrant, clover-like plant, Trigonella suavissima, Lindl., N.O. Leguminosae; excellent as forage. Called also Menindie Clover (aboriginal name, Calomba). See Clover.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 143:

"It is the `Australian shamrock' of Mitchell."

<hw>Shamrock, Native</hw>, n. a forage plant, Lotus australis, Andr., N.O. Leguminosae. Called Native Shamrock in Tasmania.

<hw>Shanghai</hw>, n. a catapult. Some say because used against Chinamen. The reason seems inadequate.

1863. `The Leader,' Oct. 24, p. 17, col. 1:

"Turn, turn thy shanghay dread aside, Nor touch that little bird."

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), May 15, p. 22, col. 1:

"The lads had with them a couple of pistols, powder, shot, bullets, and a shanghai."

1875. Ibid. July 17, p. 123, col. 3:

"The shanghai, which, as a secret instrument of mischief, is only less dangerous than the air-gun."

1884. `Police Offences Act, New Zealand,' sec. 4, subsec. 23:

"Rolls any cask, beats any carpet, flies any kite, uses any bows and arrows, or catapult, or shanghai, or plays at any game to the annoyance of any person in any public place."

1893. `The Age,' Sept. 15, p. 6, col. 7:

"The magistrate who presided on the Carlton bench yesterday, has a decided objection to the use of shanghais, and in dealing with three little boys, the eldest of whom was but eleven or twelve years of age, charged with the use of these weapons in the Prince's Park, denounced their conduct in very strong terms. He said that he looked upon this crime as one of the worst that a lad could be guilty of, and if he had his own way in the matter he would order each of them to be lashed."

1895. C. French, Letter to `Argus,' Nov. 29:

"Wood swallows are somewhat sluggish and slow in their flight, and thus fall an easy prey to either the gun or the murderous and detestable `shanghai.'"

<hw> Shanghai-shot</hw>, n. a short distance, a stone's-throw.

1874. Garnet Walch, `Head over Heels' [Introduction to Tottlepot Poems]:

"His parents . . . residing little more than a Shanghai-shot from Romeo Lane, Melbourne."

<hw>Shanty</hw>, n. (1) a hastily erected wooden house; (2) a public-house, especially unlicensed: a sly-grog shop. The word is by origin Keltic (Irish). In the first sense, its use is Canadian or American; in the last, Australian. In Barrere and Leland it is said that circus and showmen always call a public-house a shanty.

1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), June 26, p. 91, col. 1:

"These buildings, little better than shanties, are found in . . . numbers."

1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 9:

"We read of the veriest shanties letting for L2 per week."

1880. W. Senior, `Travel and Trout,' p. 15:

"He becomes a land-owner, and puts up a slab-shanty."

1880. G. n. Oakley, in `Victoria in 1880,' p. 114:

"The left-hand track, past shanties soaked in grog, Leads to the gaol."

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 103:

"The faint glimmering light which indicates the proximity of the grog shanty is hailed with delight."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 221:

"I have seen a sober man driven perfectly mad for the time being, by two glasses of so-called rum, supplied to him at one of these shanties."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. vi. p. 64:

"Any attempt to limit the licensing produced . . . a crop of shanties, or sly-grog shops."

1890. `The Argus,' Aug. 9, p. 4, col. 2:

"The old woman thought that we were on gold, and would lamb down at the finish in her shanty."

<hw>Shanty-Keeper</hw>, n. keeper of a sly-grog shop.

1875. Wood and Lapham, `Waiting for Mail,' p. 45:

"Mrs. Smith was a shanty-keeper's wife."

1887. J. Farrell, `How he died,' p. 72:

"The shanty-keeper saw the entering strangers."

<hw>Shantywards</hw>, adv.

1890. `The Argus,' Aug. 2, p. 13, col. 4:

"Looking . . . over the fence shantywards."

<hw>Shark</hw>, n. Some of the Australasian species are identical with those of Europe. Varieties and names which differ are--

Blue Shark (New South Wales)-- Carcharias macloti, Mull. and Heule.

Hammer S. (N.S.W.)-- Zygaena malleus, Shaw.

One-finned S. (N.S.W.)-- Notidanus indicus, Cuv.

Port Jackson S. (q.v.)-- Heterodontus phillipii, Lacep.; called also the Shell-grinder.

Saw-fish S.-- Pristiophorus cirratus, Lath.

School S. (N.S.W.)-- Galeus australis, Macl.; called also Tope (q.v.).

Shovel-nosed S. (N.S.W.)-- Rhinobatus granulatus, Cuv.; also called the Blind-Shark, or Sand-Shark.

Tiger S. (N.S.W.)-- Galeocerdo rayneri, Macdon. and Barr.

White S.-- Carcharodon rondeletii, Mull. and Heule; called also the White-Pointer.

The Sharks of New Zealand are--

Black Shark-- Carcharodon melanopterus (Maori name Keremai).

Brown S.-- Scymnus lichia.

Great S.-- Carcharias maso.

Hammer-head S.--
Zygaena malleus (Maori name, Mangopare).

Port-eagle S.-- Lamna cornutica

Spinous S.-- Echinorhinus spinosus.

Tiger S.-- Scymnus sp. (Maori name, Mako).

See also Blue-Pointer, Whaler, and Wobbegong.

<hw>Shearer's Joy</hw>, n. a name given to colonial beer.

1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 22:

"It was the habit afterwards among the seven to say that the officers of the Eliza Jane had been indulging in shearer's joy."

<hw>She-Beech</hw>, n. See Beech.

<hw>Shed</hw>, n. The word generally signifies the Woolshed (q.v.). A large, substantial, and often expensive building.

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 143:

"There's 20 hungry beggars wild for any job this year, An' 50 might be at the shed while I am lyin' here."

1896. `Melbourne Argus,' April 30, p. 2, col. 5:

"There is a substantial and comfortable homestead, and ample shed accommodation."

<hw>Sheep-pest</hw>, n. a common Australian weed, Acama ovina, Cunn., N.O. Rosaceae, found in all the colonies; so called because its fruit adheres by hooked spines to the wool of sheep.

<hw>Sheep-run</hw>, n. See Run.

<hw>Sheep-sick</hw>, n. Used of pastures exhausted for carrying sheep. Compare English screw-sick, paint-sick, nail-sick, wheat-sick, etc.

1895. `Leader,' August 3, p. 6, col. 1:

"It is the opinion of many practical men that certain country to which severe losses have occurred in recent years has been too long carrying sheep, and that the land has become what is termed `sheep sick,' and from this point of view it certainly appears that a course of better management is most desirable."

<hw>Sheep-wash</hw> (used as verb), to wash sheep. The word is also used as a noun, in its ordinary English senses of (1) a lotion for washing sheep; (2) the washing of sheep preparatory to shearing: (3) the place where the sheep are washed, also called the `sheep-dip.'

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 184:

"He can't dig or sheep-wash or plough there."

<hw>Sheldrake</hw>, or <hw>Shieldrake</hw>, n. the common English name of ducks of the genera Tadorna and Casarca. The Australian species are--Casarca tadornoides Jard., commonly called the Mountain Duck; and the White-headed S., Tadorna radjah, Garnot.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 217:

"Charley shot the sheldrake of Port Essington (Tadorna Rajah)."

<hw>Shell-grinder</hw>, n. another name for the Port-Jackson Shark (q.v.).

<hw>She-Oak</hw>, n. (1) A tree of the genus Casuarina (q.v.). The timber, which is very hard and makes good fuel, was thought to resemble oak. See Oak, and quotation from Captain Cook. The prefix she is used in Australia to indicate an inferiority of timber in respect of texture, colour, or other character; e.g. She-beech, She-pine. The reason for He-oak is given in quotation 1835. Bull-oak, Marsh-oak, Swamp-oak, were invented to represent variations of the Casuarina. Except in its timber, the She-oak is not in the least like an oak-tree (Quercus). The spelling in quotation 1792 makes for this simple explanation, which, like that of Beef-eater in English, and Mopoke in Austral-English, was too simple; and other spellings, e.g. Shea-oak, were introduced, to suggest a different etymology. Shiak (quotation, 1853) seems to claim an aboriginal origin (more directly claimed, quotation, 1895), but no such aboriginal word is found in the vocabularies. In quotations 1835, 1859, a different origin is assigned, and a private correspondent, whose father was one of the first to be born of English parents in New South Wales, says that English officers who had served in Canada had named the tree after one that they had known there. A higher authority, Sir Joseph D. Hooker (see quotation, 1860), says, "I believe adapted from the North-American Sheack." This origin, if true,is very interesting; but Sir Joseph Hooker, in a letter dated Jan. 26, 1897, writes that his authority was Mr. Gunn (see quotation, 1835). That writer, however, it will be seen, only puts "is said to be." To prove the American origin, we must find the American tree. It is not in the `Century,' nor in the large `Webster,' nor in `Funk and Wagnall's Standard,' nor in either of two dictionaries of Americanisms. Dr. Dawson, director of the Geological Survey of Canada, who is thoroughly acquainted with Indian folk-lore and languages, and Mr. Fowler, Professor of Botany in Queen's University, Kingston, say that there is no such Indian word.

2792. G. Thompson, in `Historical Records of New South Wales,' vol. ii. (1893) p. 799:

"There are two kinds of oak, called the he and the she oak, but not to be compared with English oak, and a kind of pine and mahogany, so heavy that scarce either of them will swim."

1802. D. Collins, `Account of New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 166 (Bass' diary at Port Dalrymple, Tasmania, Nov. 1798):

"The She oaks were more inclined to spread than grow tall."

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

"Casuarina torulosa, the she-oak. The young fruit and young shoots afford an agreeable acid by chewing, which allays thirst."

1835. Ross, `Hobart-town Almanack,' p. 75 [Article said by Sir Joseph Hooker (Jan. 26, 1897) to be by Mr. Ronald Gunn]:

"Casuarina torulosa? She-oak. C. stricta? He-oak. C. tenuissima? Marsh-oak. The name of the first of these is said to be a corruption of Sheac, the name of an American tree, producing the beef wood, like our Sheoak. The second species has obtained the name of He-oak in contradistinction of She-oak, as if they constituted one dioecious plant, the one male and the other female, whereas they are perfectly distinct species."

1842. `Western Australia,' p. 80:

"The Shea-oak (a corruption of sheak, the native name for this, or a similar tree, in Van Diemen's Land) is used chiefly for shingles."

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

"Then to cut down the timber, gum, box, she-oak, and wattle-trees, was an Herculean task."

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

"They are generally a variety of Casuarinae, commonly called she-oak by the colonists, and the sighing of the wind among the sail-needle-like leaves, that constitute their vegetation, produces a melancholy sound."

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

"Most of the trees of this colony owe their names to the sawyers who first tested their qualities; and who were guided by the colour and character of the wood, knowing and caring nothing about botanical relations. Thus the swamp-oak and she-oak have rather the exterior of the larch than any quercine aspect."

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

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

Ibid. p. 367:

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

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

"Trees of a peculiar character--the Casuarinas or Shiacks-- part of which, with their more rigid and outstretched branches, resemble pine-trees, and others, with theirs drooping gracefully, resembling large trees of bloom."

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

"The trees forming the most interesting groups were the Casuarina torulosa, she-oak, and C. stricta, he-oak. . . . The name of the first is said to have been derived from `sheeac,' the name of an American tree producing the beef-wood like our she-oak. C. stricta, or he-oak, has been named in contradistinction to the sexes, as if they constituted one dioecious plant, whereas they are two perfectly distinct species."

1860. J. D. Hooker, `Botany of the Antarctic Voyage,' part iii. [Flora Tasmaniae], p. 348:

"Casuarina suberosa. This is an erect species, growing 15 feet high. . . It is well known as the `He-oak,' in contradistinction to the C. quadrivalvis, or `She-oak,' a name, I believe, adapted from the North American `Sheack' though more nearly allied botanically to the Northern Oaks than any Tasmanian genus except Fagus, they have nothing to do with that genus in habit or appearance, nor with the Canadian `Sheack.'"

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

"Within the last mile or two we have passed a few patches of Shea-oak, growing large, having a very rough and thick bark, nearly black. They have a dismal appearance."

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

"Even Batman's hill, the memorial of his ancient encampment, has been levelled; and the she-oaks upon that grassy mound no longer sigh in the breeze a dirge for the hero of exploration."

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

"The she-oak trees, of which there are large quantities in the sandy soil of the salt-bush country, proved very serviceable during the late drought. Some of the settlers caused thousands of she-oaks to be stripped of their boughs, and it was a sight to see some of the famishing cattle rushing after the men who were employed in thus supplying the poor animals with the means of sustaining life. The cattle ate the boughs and the bark with the greatest avidity, and the bushman's axe as it felled the she-oak was music to their ears."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"The process followed by the Australian colonists when they converted a native word for the Casuarina trees into `she-oak.'"

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

"The creek went down with a broken song,
'Neath the she-oaks high;
The waters carried the song along,
And the oaks a sigh."

(2) Slang name for colonial beer.

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

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

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

Previous Next

Comments

Austral EnglishChapter XXV: Part 25

0%36 min left in chapter