The billabong is an environment that is important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as a place of meeting, of cultural significance, social importance, as a source of freshwater and as a source of many resources.
billabong HISTORY
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Freshwater streams and billabongs
live on the riverbanks including broad-leafed paperbark, silver-leafed paperbark and white paperbark.
The Wiradjuri are a group of indigenous Australian Aboriginal people that live in central New South Wales. The language scientists stress that "billa" means "river," and "bong" or "bung" means "dead."
Billabongs ebb and flow throughout the year, bursting with water and blooming lilies after the summer monsoonal rains and then gradually receding during the months-long dry season, when they serve as permanent water sources for people and wildlife.
Billabong (/ˈbɪləbɒŋ/ BIL-ə-bong) is an Australian term for an oxbow lake, an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end.
The word Billabong's origins
The term billabong comes from the Wiradjuri word 'bilabang' which translates to 'lake'. The Wiradjuri language is from the Aboriginal Wiradhuric tribe, located in New South Wales. The section bila translates to 'river', whereas the bang refers to 'continuing in time or space'.
jumbuck. Jumbuck is an Australian word for a 'sheep'. It is best known from Banjo Paterson's use of it in Waltzing Matilda.
billabong. An originally aboriginal word for a section of still water adjacent to a river, cut off by a change in the watercourse, cf. an oxbow lake. In the Australian outback, a billabong generally retains water longer than the watercourse itself, so it may be the only water for miles around. billy.
The billy is an Australian term for a metal container used for boiling water, making tea or cooking over a fire. By the end of the 19th century the billy had become as natural, widespread and symbolic of bush life as the gum tree, the kangaroo and the wattle.
Billabongs, cut-off meanders of the Murray-Darling rivers, South-east Australia, were the main standing (fresh) waters prior to colonisation by Europeans.
The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes.
Platypus can live in man-made lakes, dams and irrigation channels, but they are more commonly found in natural lakes, creeks, rivers, backwaters and billabongs. They can be found anywhere from sea-level to alpine environments, but are uncommon in salty bays or estuaries.
Cuppa - a cup of tea or coffer 'Drop by this arvo for a cuppa' means please come and visit this afternoon for a cup of tea or coffee.
The didgeridoo is an Aboriginal instrument which, traditionally, is important in Aboriginal ceremony. It is musical, and today it is used to play contemporary music, but traditionally this was not the role of the didgeridoo.
“Barbie” is a short form of barbeque. In Australian English, “-ie” is also added to lots of abbreviated words. The word “selfie” is a good example of this; it was coined by an Australian man in 2002! How to use it: We're having a barbie tomorrow – do you want to come?
(Australian slang) Genuine, true. quotations ▼
drongo. A fool, a simpleton, an idiot. There is also a bird called a drongo.
To boil the billy most often means to make tea. This expression dates from the Australian gold rushes and probably earlier. "Billy Tea" was the name of a popular brand of tea long sold by Australian grocers and supermarkets. Billies feature in many of Henry Lawson's stories and poems.
5. Sheila = Girl. Yes, that is the Australian slang for girl.
Historians and etymologists are still unsure as to precisely where the term bogan originated. Some research suggests the term originated from specific areas around Melbourne's western suburbs during the 1980s. Others believe it comes from communities living near the Bogan River in rural NSW.
Gubbah, also spelt gubba, is a term used by some Aboriginal people to refer to white people or non-Aboriginal people.