Austral English Part 55

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition, p. 115:

"Brown cooyed to him, and by a sign requested him to wait for us."

1847. J. D. Lang, `Phillipsland,' p. 85 [Footnote]:

"Cooey is the aboriginal mode of calling out to any person at a distance, whether visible or not, in the forest. The sound is made by dwelling on the first syllable, and p.r.o.nouncing the second with a short, sharp, rising inflexion. It is much easier made, and is heard to a much greater distance than the English holla! and is consequently in universal use among the colonists... . There is a story current in the colony of a party of native-born colonists being in London, one of whom, a young lady, if I recollect aright, was accidentally separated from the rest, in the endless stream of pedestrians and vehicles of all descriptions, at the intersection of Fleet Street with the broad avenue leading to Blackfriars Bridge.

When they were all in great consternation and perplexity at the circ.u.mstance, it occurred to one of the party to cooey, and the well-known sound, with its ten thousand Australian a.s.sociations, being at once recognised and responded to, a reunion of the party took place immediately, doubtless to the great wonderment of the surrounding Londoners, who would probably suppose they were all fit for Bedlam."

1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 90:

"They [the aborigines] warily entered scrubs, and called out (cooyed) repeatedly in approaching water-holes, even when yet at a great distance."

1852. J. West, `History of Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 91:

"A female, born on this division of the globe, once stood at the foot of London Bridge, and cooyed for her husband, of whom she had lost sight, and stopped the pa.s.sengers by the novelty of the sound; which however is not unknown in certain neighbourhoods of the metropolis. Some gentlemen, on a visit to a London theatre, to draw the attention of their friends in an opposite box, called out cooey; a voice in the gallery answered `Botany Bay!'"

1880 (circa). `Melbourne Punch,' [In the days of long trains]:

"George, there's somebody treading on my dress; cooee to the bottom of the stairs."

Coo-in-new, n. aboriginal name for "a useful verbenaceous timber-tree of Australia, Gmelina leichhardtii, F. v. M. The wood has a fine silvery grain, and is much prized for flooring and for the decks of vessels, as it is reputed never to shrink after a moderate seasoning."

(`Century.') Usually called Mahogany-tree (q.v.).

Coolaman or Kooliman, n. an aboriginal word, Kamilaroi Dialect of New South Wales. [W. Ridley, `Kamilaroi,' p. 25, derives it from Kulu, seed, but it is just as likely from Kolle, water.--J. Mathew.] A hollowed knot of a tree, used as a seed vessel, or for holding water. The word is applied to the excrescence on the tree as well as to the vessel; a bush hand has been heard to speak of a hump-backed man as `cooliman-backed.'

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 269:

"Three koolimans (vessels of stringy bark) were full of honey water, from one of which I took a hearty draught."

1863. M. K. Beveridge, `Gatherings among the Gum-trees,'

p. 37:

"And the beautiful Lubrina Fetched a Cooliman of water."

[In Glossary.] Cooliman, a hollow knot of a tree for holding water.

186. W. Howitt, `Discovery in Australia, vol. ii. p. 24:

"Koolimans, water vessels... The koolimans were made of the inner layer of the bark of the stringy-bark tree."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 185:

"Coolaman, native vessel for holding water."

1885. Mrs. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 76:

"Cooliman, a vessel for carrying water, made out of the bark which covers an excrescence peculiar to a kind of gum-tree."

Cooper's-flag, n. another name in New Zealand for Raupo (q.v.).

Coopers-wood, n. the timber of an Australian tree, Alphitonia excelsa, Reiss, N.O. Rhamneae.

The wood becomes dark with age, and is used for coopers' staves and various purposes.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 373:

"Variously called Mountain-ash, Red-ash, Leather-jacket, and Coopers-wood."

Coordaitcha. See Kurdaitcha.

Coot, n. common English birdname; the Australian species is Fulica australis, Gould.

See also Bald-Coot.

Copper-head, n. See under Snake.

Copper Maori. This spelling has been influenced by the English word Copper, but it is really a corruption of a Maori word. There is a difference of opinion amongst Maori scholars what this word is. Some say Kapura, a common fire used for cooking, in contradistinction to a `chief's fire,' at which he sat, and which would not be allowed to be defiled with food. Others say Kopa. The Maori word Kopa was (1) adj. meaning bent, (2) n. angle or corner, and (3) the native oven, or more strictly the hole scooped out for the oven.

1888. T. Pine, `Transactions of New Zealand Inst.i.tute,' `A local tradition of Raukawa,' vol. xxi. p. 417:

"So they set to work and dug holes on the flat, each hole about 2 ft. across and about 1 1/2 ft. deep, and shaped something like a Kopa Maori."

1889. H. D. M. Haszard, ibid. `Notes on some Relics of Cannibalism,' vol. xxii. p. 104:

"In two distinct places, about four chains apart, there were a number of Kapura Maori, or native ovens, scattered about within a radius of about forty feet."

Coprosma, n. scientific and vernacular name fora large genus of trees and shrubs of the order Rubiaceae. From the Greek kopros, dung, on account of the bad smell of some of the species.

See quotation. The Maori name is Karamu (q.v.).

Various species receive special vernacular names, which appear in their places in the Dictionary.

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 110:

"Corosma comprises about forty species, of which at least thirty are found in New Zealand, all of which are restricted to the colony except C. pumila, which extends to Australia. Five species are found in Australia, one of which is C. pumila mentioned above. A few species occur in the Pacific, Chili, Juan Fernandez, the Sandwich Islands, &c."

Coral, n. See Batswing-Coral.

Coral-Fern, n. name given in Victoria to Gleichenia circinata, Swartz, called in Bailey's list Parasol-Fern. See Fern.

Coral-Flower, n. a plant, Epacris (q.v.), Epacris microphylla, R. Br., N.O. Epacrideae.

Coral-Pea, n. another name for the Kennedya (q.v.).

1896. `The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 53:

"The trailing scarlet kennedyas, aptly called the `bleeding-heart' or `coral pea,' brighten the greyness of the sandy, peaty wastes."

Coranderrk, n. the aboriginal name for the Victorian Dogwood (q.v.). An "aboriginal station," or asylum and settlement for the remaining members of the aboriginal race of Victoria, is called after this name because the wood grew plentifully there.