In Australian use, the word not onlyimplies flatness, but treelessness.
1824. Edward Curr, `Account of the Colony of Van Diemen'sLand,' p. 55:
«The district called Macquarie Plains, the greater part ofwhich rises into hills of moderate height, with open andfertile valleys interspersed, while the plains bear a strongresemblance to what are called sheep downs in England.»
1848. T. L. Mitchell, `Tropical Australia,' p. 136:
«The country was grassy, and so open as almost to deserve thecolonial name of `plain.'»
1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' vol. i.p. 250:
«Squatters who look after their own runs always live in thebush, even though their sheep are pastured on plains.»
1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 73:
«One day an egg of a cassowary was brought to me; this bird,although it is nearly akin to the ostrich and emu, does not,like the latter, frequent the open plains, but the thickbrushwood. The Australian cassowary is found in NorthernQueensland from Herbert river northwards, in all the largevine-scrubs on the banks of the rivers, and on the highmountains of the coasts.»
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
n. a wild fruit, Grewiapolygama, Roxb., N.O. Tiliaceae. 1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris