The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-08
AUSTRALIAN SLANG.
HOW A LANGUAGE MAY be EN-
RICHED BY CIRCUMSTANCE.

New Dictionary May he Necessary.
The Newly Arrived settler Needs
the Services of an Interpreter-By-
Words of the Mines.
From the London Standard
At the present moment. owing to the
development of the West Australian
gold fields. an enormous amount of at
tention is being devoted to Australian
the Australian banking crisis drew mems
thoughts almost as effectively to our
great colony down under" The devel-
opment of the timber trade. frozen-meat
and butter export trades, and of many
other branches of Australasian industry,
all help to direct our minds to the same
portion of the globe. The consequence is
that every year and every month more
and more Englishmen go out to Australia
to try and take advantage of the flowing
tide of fortune. while of those who stay
at home, an ever-increasing number. in
terest themselves peculiarly in Australian
ventures, and become insensibly acquaint-
ed in consequence with an entirely novel
group of ideas and modes of expression.
At first. these new words and phrases
are very confusing to the English mind.
Many of them, indeed, are literally taken
from foreign languages. namely, those of
the various Australian aboriginal tribes,
or 'black-fellows," as they are called
Others are old English slang, forgotten
aN.s l. -.
glish slang imported direct from America
There is some excuse therefore, for the
temporary confusion of the newly arrived
stranger, or new chum" when he first
hears this odd jargon mingled with the
queens English; and as new chums are
now arriving in greater numbers every
week, the moment seems an opportune
one for explaining some of the elementary
forms of Australian slang.
There are certain words w&hich even
Englshmen generally understand. words
which constantly recar, but which. as
1t is unsafe to take anything for grant
ed shall be explained and defined at the
outset. Such a word is bush" This
means uncleared ground, and especially
the enormous areas covered with open
forests of eucalyptus, or gum" as 1t Is
locally termed. A 'bushman" is not a
black fellow in the sense in which the
Dutch used the word at the Cape, but
means a man accustomed to traverse the
bush and able to look after himself there
in. To be pushed" is to be lost in the
bush, a fate usually reserved for those
who are not bushmen, and very common
ly ending in death. 1t may be said that
bush is a general word, including what
the government statistician of New South
Wales terms "open, brush and scrub for
ests." The brush" forests are found
chiefly along the coast, and consist large
L. -
Mareton bay figs, etc. The scrub for
ests are mostly stunted pines, acacia and
gum. Having disposed of these three i'm
portant words, we may pass on to say
that a "squatter is a large land owner
and his holding is called station"
The "squatocracy' corresponds to our
squirearchy. A station far removed from
centers of civilization is called a hack
block" a small farmer is a ''cockatoo"
or a tringybarger;" a young, man work.
ing on a station for the sake of learn
ing how to farm is called a ''jackeroo:"
a "selector" is a man who, under certain
conditions, is allowed to occupy a small
portion of the squatter's holding and
farm 1t until he is bought out by the SQUAT
ter. Such solicitors used formerly to be
able to fix on the most valuable parts of
the holding. They were then said to have
picked the eyes out of it," and hence
from connection of this idea with a pea,
cocks tail, to have ''peacocked" it. This
is still done in some parts of Australia
Naturally holders of stations often have
their cattle stolen, especially by these Sc
lectors.
Stealing stock from a station is called
"duffing." To prevent this, IT is custom
airy to brand stock. At certain times
however. there are likely TO be great num-
bers of unbranded young stock running
wild. These are called clear skins" and
more rarely "tclean skins - "A craxyIor0
is a sheep left behind on the road. To
bail cattle, as is well known, is TO Sc
cure them by means of a BALL hence to
bail up is TO drive into a corner: and
more generally, to render helpless. The
cry Of bail upl" signifies hold your arms
above your head and keep them there till
further orders, or I'll shoot you" The
bailed up shall be rendered helpless. and
not be able to reach his revolver.
So much then for stations and stock:
we may now pass on 70 the station hands
Not many, as rule, are permanently en-
gagged on one place. A man Of all work
especially at shearing time. is called
"rouse-about.' The ordinary Australian
laborer who travels from station to sta
ton, carrying his kit or "swag' on his
back Is called a "swagman," or "swag-
ger" While on the tramp through the
bush, with this object in view. he Is said
to be ION the wallaby" (wallaby being a
small form of kangaroo common in the
BUSH, or to be carrying bluey," and
generally speaking, to hump ones
swag'' In to make a start TO set out, or
continue on a tramp or journey and go
forth. The man who appears at stations
at sunset, ostensibly in search of work
but really DESTROYS only Of nights lodg-
ing and some provisions. goes by the name
Of "sundowner." Such man, like all