Austral English Part 180

"Australasia, or Australia, consists of the continent of New Holland, or Australia, the island of Tasmania, or Van Diemen's Land, and the islands of New Zealand."

[In the map accompanying the above work `Australia' is printed across the whole continent, and in smaller type `New Holland' stretches along the Western half, and `New South Wales' along the whole of the Eastern.]

New South Wales, n. the name of the oldest and most important colony in Australia. The name "New Wales" was first given by Captain Cook in 1770, from the supposed resemblance of the coast to that of the southern coast of Wales; but before his arrival in England he changed the name to "New South Wales." It then applied to all the east of the continent. Victoria and Queensland have been taken out of the parent colony. It is sometimes called by the slang name of Eastralia, as opposed to Westralia (q.v).

New Zealand, n. This name was given to the colony by Abel Jansz Tasman, the Dutch navigator, who visited it in 1642. He first called it Staaten-land. It is now frequently called Maoriland (q.v.).

New Zealand Spinach, n. See Spinach.

Ngaio, >n. Maori name for a New Zealand tree, Myoporum laetum, Forst.; generally corrupted into Kaio, in South Island.

1873. `Catalogue of Vienna Exhibition':

"Ngaio: wood light, white and tough, used for gun-stocks."

1876. J. C. Crawford, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. ix. art. xiv. p. 206:

"A common New Zealand shrub, or tree, which may be made useful for shelter, viz. the Ngaio."

1880. W. Colenso, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,'

vol. xiii. art. i. p. 33:

"The fruits of several species of Rubus, and of the Ngaio (Myoporum laetum), were also eaten, especially by children."

1892. `Otago Witness,' Nov. 3, `Native Trees':

"Myoporum Laetum (Ngaio). This is generally called kio by colonists. It is a very rapid-growing tree for the first five or six years after it has been planted. They are very hardy, and like the sea air. I saw these trees growing at St. Kilda, near Melbourne, thirty years ago."

Nicker Nuts, n. i.q. Bonduc Nuts (q.v.).

Nigger, n. an Australian black or aboriginal.

[Of course an incorrect use. He is not a negro, any more than the Hindoo is.]

1874. M. C., `Explorers,' p. 25:

"I quite thought the niggers had made an attack."

1891. `The Argus,' Nov. 7, p. 13, col. 5:

"The natives of Queensland are nearly always spoken of as `niggers' by those who are brought most directly in contact with them."

Nigger-head, n. (1) Name given in New Zealand to hard blackstones found at the Blue Spur and other mining districts. They are prized for their effectiveness in aiding cement-washing. The name is applied in America to a round piece of basic igneous rock.

(2) Name used in Queensland for blocks of coral above water.

1876. Capt. J. Moresby, R. N., `Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea,' pp. 2-3:

"The gigantic Barrier Reef is submerged in parts, generally to a shallow depth, and traceable only by the surf that breaks on it, out of which a crowd of `nigger heads,' black points of coral rock, peep up in places ..."

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

p. 111:

"Abundantly on the Queensland coast, especially on the coral reefs, where all the outstanding blocks of coral (nigger-heads) are covered with them."

Nightjar, n. English bird-name, applied in Australia to the following species--

Large-tailed Nightjar-- Caprimulgus macrurus, Hors.

Little N.-- AEgotheles novae-hollandiae, Gould.

Spotted N.-- Eurostopodus guttatus, Vig. and Hors.

White-throated N.-- E. albogularis, Vig. and Hors.

Nikau, n. Maori name for a New Zealand palm-tree, Areca sapida, N.O. Palmeae. Spelt also Necho and Neko.

1843. `An Ordinance for imposing a tax on Raupo Houses, Session II. No. xvii. of the former legislative Council of New Zealand':

[From A. Domett's collection of Ordinances, 1850.]

"Section 2... . there shall be levied in respect of every building constructed wholly or in part of raupo, nikau, toitoi, wiwi, kakaho, straw or thatch of any description [ ... L20]."

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

p. 270:

[The house was] "covered with thick coating of the leaves of the nikau (a kind of palm) and tufts of grass."

1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' [Note] p. 75:

"The necho or neko is a large tree-like plant known elsewhere as the mountain cabbage."

1862. `All the Year Round,' `From the Black Rocks on Friday,'

May 17, No. 160:

"I found growing, as I expected, amongst the trees abundance of the wild palm or nikau. The heart of one or two of these I cut out with my knife. The heart of this palm is about the thickness of a man's wrist, is about a foot long, and tastes not unlike an English hazel-nut, when roasted on the ashes of a fire. It is very nutritious."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 86:

"The pale green pinnate-leaved nikau."

1888. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii.

p. 210:

"With the exception of the kauri and the nekau-palm nearly every tree which belongs to the colony grows in the `seventy-mile bush' of Wellington."

Nipper, n. local name in Sydney for Alphaeus socialis, Heller, a species of prawn.

Nobbler, n. a glass of spirits; lit. that which nobbles or gets hold of you. Nobble is the frequentative form of nab. No doubt there is an allusion to the bad spirits frequently sold at bush public-houses, but if a teetotaler had invented the word he could not have invented one involving stronger condemnation.