Austral English Part 176

Hurrah, hurrah for a good fat horse To carry me Westward Ho!

To carry me Westward Ho! my boys; That's where the cattle pay, On the far Barcoo, where they eat nardoo, A thousand miles away."

1879. S. Gason, in `The Native Tribes of South Australia,'

p. 288:

"Ardoo. Often described in news papers and by writers as Nardoo. A very hard seed, a flat oval of about the size of a split pea; it is crushed or pounded, and the husk winnowed.

In bad seasons this is the mainstay of the native sustenance, but it is the worst food possible, possessing very little nourishment, and being difficult to digest."

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Proceedings of the of the Linnaean Society of New South Wales,' p. 82 [Botanical Notes on Queensland]:

"Sesbania aculeata. The seeds of this plant are eaten by the natives. It grows in all warm or marshy places in Queensland. By many it is thought that this was the Nardoo which Burke and Wills thought came from the spores of a Marsilea. It is hard to suppose that any nourishment would be obtained from the spore cases of the latter plant, or that the natives would use it. Besides this the spore-cases are so few in number."

1890. E. D. Cleland, `White Kangaroo,' p. 113:

"The great thing with the blacks was nardoo. This is a plant which sends up slender stems several inches high; at the tip is a flower-like leaf, divided into four nearly equal parts. It bears a fruit, or seed, and this is the part used for food. It is pounded into meal between two stones, and is made up in the form of cakes, and baked in the ashes. It is said to be nouris.h.i.+ng when eaten with animal food, but taken alone to afford no support."

Native, n. This word, originally applied, as elsewhere, to the aboriginal inhabitants of Australia, is now used exclusively to designate white people born in Australia.

The members of the "Australian Natives' a.s.sociation" (A.N.A.), founded April 27, 1871, pride themselves on being Australian-born and not immigrants. Mr. Rudyard Kipling, in the `Times' of Nov. 1895, published a poem called " The Native-Born," sc. born in the British Empire, but outside Great Britain. As applied to Plants, Animals, Names, etc., the word Native bears its original sense, as in "Native Cabbage,"

"Native Bear," "Native name for," etc., though in the last case it is now considered more correct to say in Australia "Aboriginal name for," and in New Zealand "Maori name for."

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' c. v. p. 161:

"Three Sydney natives (`currency' not aboriginal) were in the coach, bound for Melbourne."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 43:

"They were long and wiry natives from the rugged mountain side."

Native, or Rock-Native, n. a name given to the fish called Schnapper, after it has ceased to "school." See Schnapper.

Native Arbutus, n. See Wax-cl.u.s.ter.

Native Banana, n. another name for Lilly-pilly (q.v.).

Native Banyan, n. another name for Ficus rubiginosa. See Fig.

Native Bear, n. See Bear.

Native Beech, n. See Beech.

Native Blackberry, n. See Blackberry.

Native Borage, n. See Borage.

Native Box, n. See Box.

Native Bread, n. See Bread.

Native Broom, n. See Broom.

Native Burnet, n. See Burnet.

Native Cabbage, n. The Nasturtium pal.u.s.tre, De C., N.O. Cruciferae, is so called, but in spite of its name it is not endemic in Australia.

In New Zealand, the name is sometimes applied to the Maori Cabbage (q.v.).

Native Carrot, n. See Carrot.

Native Cascarilla, n. See Cascarilla.

Native Cat, n. See Cat.

Native Celery, or Australian Celery, n. See Celery.

Native Centaury, n. See Centaury.

Native Cherry, n. See Cherry.

Native-Companion, n. an Australian bird-name, Grus australasia.n.u.s, Gould. See also Crane.

1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 125:

"Here we saw the native-companion, a large bird of the crane genus ... five feet high, colour of the body grey, the wings darker, blue or black."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 38:

"With native-companions (Ardea antigone) strutting round."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vi. pl. 48:

"Grus Australasia.n.u.s, Gould, Australian Crane; Native-Companion of the Colonists."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 146:

"A handsome tame `native-companion,' which had been stalking about picking up insects, drew near. Opening his large slate-coloured wings, and dancing grotesquely, the interesting bird approached his young mistress, bowing gracefully from side to side as he hopped lightly along; then running up, he laid his heron-like head lovingly against her breast."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 21:

"The most extraordinary of Riverina birds is the native-companion."

1890. Tasma, `In her Earliest Youth,' p. 145:

"A row of native-companions, of course, standing on one leg-- as is their wont--like recruits going to drill."

[Query, did the writer mean going "through" drill.]

1891. `Guide to Zoological Gardens, Melbourne,' p. 23:

"In this paddock are some specimens of the Native Companion, whose curious habit of a.s.sembling in groups on the plains and fantastically dancing, has attracted much attention. This peculiarity is not confined to them alone, however, as some of the other large cranes (notably the crowned cranes of Africa) display the same trait."