Joe Wilson and His Mates Read online

  Produced by Alan R. Light, and Gary M. Johnson

  JOE WILSON AND HIS MATES

  by Henry Lawson

  Transcriber's Note: This etext was entered twice (manually) andelectronically compared, by Alan R. Light This method assures a low rateof errors in the text--often lower than in the original. Special thanksgo to Gary M. Johnson, of Takoma Park, Maryland, for his assistance inprocuring a copy of the original text, and to the readers ofsoc.culture.australian and rec.arts.books (USENET newsgroups) for theirhelp in preparing the glossary. Italicized words or phrases arecapitalized. Some obvious errors may have been corrected.

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  An incomplete glossary of Australian, British, or antique terms andconcepts which may prove helpful to understanding this book:

  "A house where they took in cards on a tray" (from Joe Wilson'sCourtship): An upper class house, with servants who would take avisitor's card (on a tray) to announce their presence, or, if the familywas out, to keep a record of the visit.

  Anniversary Day: Mentioned in the text, is now known as Australia Day.It commemorates the establishment of the first English settlement inAustralia, at Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), on 26 January 1788.

  Gin: An obvious abbreviation of "aborigine", it only refers to *female*aborigines, and is now considered derogatory. It was not consideredderogatory at the time Lawson wrote.

  Jackaroo: At the time Lawson wrote, a Jackaroo was a "new chum" ornewcomer to Australia, who sought work on a station to gain experience.The term now applies to any young man working as a station hand. Afemale station hand is a Jillaroo. Variant: Jackeroo.

  Old-fashioned child: A child that acts old for their age. Americanswould say 'Precocious'.

  'Possum: In Australia, a class of marsupials that were originallymistaken for possums. They are not especially related to the possums ofNorth and South America, other than both being marsupials.

  Public/Pub.: The traditional pub. in Australia was a hotel with a"public" bar--hence the name. The modern pub has often (not always)dispensed with the lodging, and concentrated on the bar.

  Tea: In addition to the regular meaning, Tea can also mean a light snackor a meal (i.e., where Tea is served). In particular, Morning Tea (about10 AM) and Afternoon Tea (about 3 PM) are nothing more than a snack, butEvening Tea (about 6 PM) is a meal. When just "Tea" is used, it usuallymeans the evening meal. Variant: Tea-time.

  Tucker: Food.

  Shout: In addition to the regular meaning, it also refers to buyingdrinks for all the members of a group, etc. The use of this term can beconfusing, so the first instance is footnoted in the text.

  Sly-grog-shop: An unlicensed bar or liquor-store.

  Station: A farm or ranch, especially one devoted to cattle or sheep.

  Store Bullock: Lawson makes several references to these. A bullock isa castrated bull. Bullocks were used in Australia for work that wastoo heavy for horses. 'Store' may refer to those cattle, and theirdescendants, brought to Australia by the British government, and sold tosettlers from the 'Store'--hence, the standard draft animal.

  Also: a hint with the seasons--remember that the seasons are reversedfrom those in the northern hemisphere, hence June may be hot, butDecember is even hotter. Australia is at a lower latitude than theUnited States, so the winters are not harsh by US standards, and are noteven mild in the north. In fact, large parts of Australia are governedmore by "dry" versus "wet" than by Spring-Summer-Fall-Winter.

  --A. L.

  JOE WILSON AND HIS MATES

  Author of "While the Billy Boils", "On the Track and Over theSliprails", "When the World was Wide, and other verses", "Verses,Popular and Humorous", "Children of the Bush", "When I was King, andother verses", etc.

  The Author's Farewell to the Bushmen.