wallaby

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

I.


n. a name used for the smaller kindsof Kangaroos of the genus Macropus (q.v.), formerlyclassed as Halmaturus. An aboriginal word. SeeCollins, 1798, below. ( Wolbai, in the Kabi dialect ofSouth Queensland, means a young creature.) Also spelt Walloby, Wallabee, and Wallobi. As in the caseof Kangaroo (q.v.), the plural is a little uncertain, Wallaby or Wallabies. Some of them are sometimescalled Brush-Kangaroos (q.v.). The following are thespecies – – Agile Wallaby – – Macropus agilis, Gould.

Aru Island W. – – M. brunnii, Schraeber.

Black-gloved W. – – M. irma, Jourd.

Black-striped W. – – M. dorsalis, Gray.

Black-tailed W. – – M. ualabatus, Less. and Garm.

Branded W. – – M. stigmaticus, Gould.

Cape York W. – – M. coxeni, Gray.

Dama W. – – M. eugenii, Desm.

Pademelon – – M. thetidis, Less.

Parma W. – – M. parma , Waterh.

Parry's W. – – M. parryi, Bennett.

Red-legged W. – – M. wilcoxi, McCoy.

Red-necked W., Grey's W. – – M. ruficollis, Desm.

Rufous-bellied W. – – M. billardieri, Desm.

Short-tailed W. – – M. brachyurus, Quoy and Gaim.

Sombre W. – – M. brownii, Ramsay.

In addition, there are six species of Rock-Wallaby (q.v.), genus Petrogale (q.v.). See also Paddymelon.

Three species of Nail-tailed Wallabies, genus Onychogale (q.v.), are confined to Australia.They are the Nail-tailed Wallaby, Onychogale unguifera,Gould; Bridled W., O. frenata, Gould; Crescent W., O. lunata, Gould.

Three species of Hare-Wallabies (genus Lagorchestes, q.v.), confined to Australia, are theSpectacled Hare-Wallaby, Lagorchestes conspiculatus,Gould; Common H. W., L. leporoides, Gould; Rufous H. W., L. hirsutus, Gould.

One species, called the Banded-Wallaby (genus, Lagostrophus, q.v.), confined to Western Australia,is L. fasciatus, Peron and Less.

For etymology, see wallaroo.

1798. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New SouthWales,' p. 614 [Vocabulary]:

«Wal-li-bah – – a black kangaroo.»

1830. R. Dawson' `Present State of Australia,' p. 111:

«In the long coarse grass with which these flats are alwayscovered, a species of small kangaroo is usually found, whichthe natives call the `wallaby.' Their colour is darker thanthat of the forest kangaroo, approaching almost to that of afox, and they seat themselves in the grass like a hare or arabbit.»

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 28:

«The wallabee is not very common.»

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i. c. ix.p. 267:

«The Wallaby are numerous on this part of the island.»

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 49:

«Rock wallabies were very numerous.»

Ibid. c. xii. p. 418:

«They returned with only a red wallabi ( Halmaturusagilis).»

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 37:

«The rock Wallaby, or Badger, also belongs to the family of thekangaroo; its length from the nose to the end of the tail isthree feet; the colour of the fur being grey-brown.»

1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 12:

«Sipping doubtfully, but soon swallowing with relish, a plateof wallabi-tail soup.»

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discoveryand Exploration of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 18:

«Eyre succeeded in shooting a fine wallaby.»

[Note]: «A small kind of kangaroo, inhabiting the scrub.»

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' c. vii.p. 117:

«I have also been frowned upon by bright eyes because I couldnot eat stewed wallabi. Now the wallabi is a little kangaroo,and to my taste it is not nice to eat even when stewed to theutmost with wine and spices.»

1880. Garnet Watch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 7:

«To hear . . . that wallabies are `the women of the nativerace' cannot but be disconcerting to the well-regulatedcolonial mind.» [He adds a footnote]: «It is on record that ajournalistically fostered impression once prevailed, to highEnglish circles, to the effect that a certain colonial Governorexhibited immoral tendencies by living on an island in themidst of a number of favourite wallabies, whom he was knownfrequently to caress.»

1883. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 213:

«Now one hears the pat-pat-pat of a wallaby.»

1885. J. B. Stephens, `To a Black Gin,' p. 5:

«Of tons of 'baccy, and tons more to follow, – – Of wallaby as much as thou could'st swallow, – – Of hollow trees, with 'possums in the hollow.»

1886. J. A. Froude, `Oceana,' p. 309:

«My two companions . . . went off with the keeper [sic] toshoot wallaby. Sir George (Grey) has a paternal affection forall his creatures, and hates to have them killed. But thewallaby multiply so fast that the sheep cannot live for them,and several thousands have to be destroyed annually.»

1888. Sir C. Gavan Duffy, in the `Contemporary Review,'vol. liii. p. 3:

«`Morality!' exclaimed the colonist. `What does your lordshipsuppose a wallaby to be?' `Why, a half-caste, of course.'`A wallaby, my lord, is a dwarf kangaroo!'»

II.

See wallaby track, on the

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