hielaman

n.

a word of Sydney andneighbourhood. The initial h, now frequently used bythe natives, is not found in the earliest forms. Thetermination man is also English. Elimang (Hunter),e-lee-mong (Collins), hilaman (Ridley). A narrow shield of anaboriginal, made of bark or wood. Notice Mr. Grant'sremarkable plural (1881 quotation).

1798. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New SouthWales,' 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:

«As a barbarism, `hillimung-a shield.'»

[A barbarism means with Mr. Threlkeld little more than «notbelonging to the Hunter district.» ]

1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions into the Interiorof Eastern Australia,' vol. ii. p. 349:

«There is much originality in the shield or hieleman of thesepeople. It is merely a piece of wood, of little thickness, andtwo feet, eight inches long, tapering to each end, cut to anedge outwards, and having a handle or hole in the middle,behind the thickest part.»

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1355), p. 102:

«The hieleman or shield is a piece of wood, about two and ahalf feet long, tapering to the ends, with a bevelled face notmore than four inches wide at the broadest part, behind whichthe left hand passing through a hole is perfectly guarded.»

1865. S. Bennett, `Australian Discovery,' p. 251:

«Hieleman, a shield. Saxon, heilan; English, helm or helmet(a little shield for the head).»

[This is a remarkable contribution to philological lore. In nodictionary is the Saxon «heilan» to be found, and a misprintmay charitably be suspected. There is no doubt that the h is an English Cockney addition to the aboriginal word.It would need an ingenious fancy to connect «e-leemong» with «helm.» ]

1873. J. B. Stephens, `Black Gin, etc.,' p. 26:

«No faint far hearing of the waddies banging

Of club and heelaman together clanging,

War shouts and universal boomeranging.»

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 66:

«Nullah-nullahs, paddy-melon sticks, boomerangs, tomahawks,and heelimen or shields lay about in every direction.»