Austral English Part 111

The wood is excellent, of a beautiful satiny texture, and adapted for carvers' and turners' work. [Grows in] all the colonies except Western Australia and Queensland."

Head, n. the rammer for crushing quartz in gold-mining.

1890. `Goldfields of Victoria,' p.7:

"Forty additional heads will be shortly added to the crushing power, bringing the battery up to sixty heads."

Head-Station, n. the princ.i.p.al buildings, including the owner's or manager's house, the hut, store, etc., of a sheep or cattle run.

1885. Mrs. Campbell Praed [t.i.tle]:

"The Head Station."

Heart-Pea, n. i.q. Balloon-Vine (q.v.).

Heartsease, n. i.q. Brooklime, (q.v.).

Heartseed, n. i.q. Balloon-Vine (q.v.)

Heartwood. n. See Ironwood.

Heath, n. In Tasmania, where the Epacris is of very beautiful colour, this name is popularly used for Epacris impressa, Labill., N.O. Epacrideae. See Epacris.

Hedgehog-Fruit, n. Popular name applied to the fruit of Echinocarpus australis, Benth., N.O. Tiliaceae. The tree is also called Maiden's Blush (q.v.).

Hedge-Laurel, n. a name given to the tree Mapau (q.v.), an evergreen shrub of New Zealand, of the genus Pittosporum (q.v.). It has dark glossy foliage and handsome flowers, and is planted and cultivated in the form of tall garden hedges. See also Laurel.

Hei-tiki, n. Maori name for a neck ornament made of greenstone (q.v.).

1835. W. Yate, `Account of New Zealand,' p. 151:

"The latter idea [that they are representatives of G.o.ds] was conceived from the hei-tiki being taken off the neck, laid down ... and then wept and sung over."

1889. Dr. Hocken, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,'

p. 81:

"Hei means ornament for the neck. Tiki was the creator of man, and these are the representations of him. By a sort of license, they are occasionally taken to represent some renowned ancestor of the possessor; but wooden Tikis, some of immense size, usually represented the ancestors, and were supposed to be visited by their spirits. These might be erected in various parts of a pa, or to mark boundaries, etc. The Maories cling to them as sacred heirlooms of past generations, and with some superst.i.tious reverence."

Helmet-Orchis, n. This English name is applied in Australia to the orchid Pterostylis cucullata, R. Br.

1852. Mrs. Meredith, `My Home in Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 168:

"I also found three varieties of a singular green orchis, of a helmet shape, growing singly, on rather tall slender footstalks."

Hemp, Queensland, n. name given to the common tropical weed Sida rhombifolia, Linn., N.O. Malvaceae. Called also Paddy Lucerne, and in other colonies Native Lucerne, and Jelly Leaf.

It is not endemic in Australia.

Hemp-bush, n. the plant Plagianthus pulch.e.l.lus, A. Gray, N.O. Halvaceae, native of Australia and New Zealand. Though not true hemp (cannabis), it yields a fibre commercially resembling it.

He-Oak, n. See Oak and She-Oak.

Heron, n. common English bird-name. The species present in Australia are--

Ashy Reef H.-- Demiegretta asha, Sykes.

Great-billed H.-- Ardea sumatrana, Rafll.

Grey H.-- A. cinerea, Linn.

Night H.-- Nycticorax caledonicus, Lath.

Reef H.-- Demiegretta sacra, Gmel.

White-fronted H.-- Ardea novae-hollandiae, Lath.

White-necked H.-- A. pacifica, Lath.

The Cranes and the Herons are often popularly confused.

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' p. 11:

"There did I shoot ... a blue crane--the Australian heron."

Herring, n. Various species of Clupeidae, to which the European Herring belongs, are known by this name in Australasia, and the word is also applied to an entirely different fish, Prototroctes maraena, Gunth., the Yarra Herring, Freshwater Herring, Grayling (q.v.), or Cuc.u.mber-Mullet, found in the rivers of Victoria or Tasmania. The Clupeidae are Clupea sagax (called also Maray, q.v., and Pilchard), C. sundaica, C. hypselosoma Bleek., C. novae-hollandiae, Cuv, and Val., C. vittata, Castln, (called the Smelt, q.v.), and others. In Western Australia Chatoessus erebi, Richards., is called the Perth Herring. See also Picton Herring, Aua, and Sardine.

Herring-cale, n. name given in New South Wales to the fish Olistherops brunneus, Macl., family Labridae, or Wra.s.ses.

Hickory, n. The name Hickory is originally American, and is derived from the North-American Indian; its earliest form was Pohickery. The tree belongs to the genus Carya. The wood is excellent for gig-shafts, carriage-poles, fishing-rods, etc. The name is applied in Australia to various trees whose wood is suitable for similar purposes. In Tasmania, the name Hickory is given to Eriostemon squameus, Labill., N.O. Rutacea. Native Hickory, or Hickory-Acacia, is Acacia leprosa, Sieb., N.O. Leguminosae, and in the southern part of New South Wales, Acacia melanoxylon. (Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 358.)

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. v. p. 35:

"The beautiful umbrageous blackwood, or native hickory, one of the handsomest trees in Australia."

Hickory-Eucalypt, n. one of the names for the tree Eucalyptus punctata, DeC., N.O. Myrtaceae.

Called also Leather-jacket (q.v.).

Hickory-Wattle, n. a Queensland name for Acacia aulacocarpa, Cunn., N.O. Leguminosae; called Hickory about Brisbane.

Hielaman, n. a word of Sydney and neighbourhood. The initial h, now frequently used by the natives, is not found in the earliest forms. The termination man is also English. Elimang (Hunter), e-lee-mong (Collins), hilaman (Ridley). A narrow shield of an aboriginal, made of bark or wood. Notice Mr. Grant's remarkable plural (1881 quotation).

1798. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South Wales,' p. 612:

"E-lee-mong-shield made of bark."

1834. L. E. Threlkeld, `Australian Grammar,' p. 5:

"As an initial, h occurs in only a few words, such as hilaman, a `shield.'"

Ibid. p. 10: