native name for a large speciesof Kangaroo, the mountain kangaroo, Macropus robustus,Gould. The black variety of Queensland and New South Wales iscalled locally the Wallaroo, the name Euro beinggiven in South and Central Australia to the more rufous-coloured variety of the same species.
In the aboriginal language, the word walla meant`to jump,' and walla-walla `to jump quickly.'
1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i.:
«The wallaroo, of a blackish colour, with coarse shaggy fur,inhabiting the hills.»
1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 157:
«Some very fierce and ready to attack man, such as the largemountain `wolloroo.'»
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 481:
«Charley shot a Wallooroo just as it was leaping, frightenedby our footsteps, out of its shady retreat to a pointed rock.»
[On p. 458, Leichhardt spells Wallurus, plural]
1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 50:
«The Wallaroos grope through the tufts of the grass.»
1868 (before). C. Harpur, `Creek of the Four Graves'(edition1883), p. 49:
«Up the steep,
Between the climbing forest-growths they saw,
Perched on the bare abutments of the hills,
Where haply yet some lingering gleam fell through,
The wallaroo look forth.»
[Footnote]: «A kind of large kangaroo, peculiar to the higherand more difficult mountains.»
1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 328:
«A wallaroo, a peculiar kind of kangaroo ( Macropusrobustus), which was kept tame at a station, showed amarked fondness for animal food, particularly for boiled saltbeef. A dove had been its companion, and these two animalswere the best of friends for half-a-year, when the wallaroo oneday killed its companion and partly ate it.»
1895. `The Australasian,' June 22, 1181, col. 1 [Answers toCorrespondents]:
«Professor Baldwin Spencer kindly deals with the question asfollows: – – What is the distinction between a wallaroo and awallaby? – – A wallaroo is a special form of kangaroo ( Macropusrobustus) living in the inland parts of Queensland and NewSouth Wales. Wallaby is the name given to several kinds ofsmaller kangaroos, such as the common scrub wallaby( Macropus ualabatus) of Victoria. The wallaroo isstouter and heavier in build, its fur thicker and coarser,and the structure of its skull is different from that of anordinary wallaby.»