Really? Only 34% got Billabong? I got it straight away. I missed 6 (Ugg, Yellow, Rabbit, Neighbours because I hate it, Golden and Station) and I'm Australian! Patriotic shame
In outback Australia areas such as Arnhem Land, Northern Territory etc. a billabong is a pond left behind when a river dries up. The monsoonal rains have these rivers running for a few months, then eventually when the rains stop, the rivers stop running and deeper locations along the course form ponds. These too will slowly evaporate unless quite deep. Generally when bathing in these billabongs the top 2 feet is quite warm, below that they are icy cold. Sometimes rivers flood their banks and form secondary channels and billabongs can occur along those, but not usually as deep as in the primary channel.
What happened to my comment here? I think I said that it never would have occurred to me to guess something as ordinary as "station." I assumed it was going to be something like a swoombatoombly... was that deemed racist?
My son chose Waltzing Matilda as the subject of a school report about Australia, and we learned the lyrics which is the only reason this American got both Matilda and billabong. Too bad there wasn't anything in the lyrics about Neighbours or Golden Wattle. :)
Wikipedia to the rescue: "In Australia, an oxbow lake is known as a billabong, from the indigenous language Wiradjuri. In south Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called resacas."
One of these days I will remember the name of that danged soap opera. Also, I got this right by randomly guessing adjectives, but what is a long black? (Or a flat white, for that matter?)
Weird how long and flat and black and white are synonyms for the same thing. Would have never guessed it was about a coffee, thought perhaps fish or something
Made a correct guess, but never realised the golden wattle was the national flower. I would've assumed it was the banksia. Which it should be, really, since it's far more distinctive and unlike the wattle is found in every state.
"Aboriginies" is the collective noun while "aboriginal" is an adjective (eg Aboriginal land, Aboriginal artefact). Suggest accepting both but displaying "Aboriginies".
Aboriginals is the preferred term these days; Aborigine is considered offensive. https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2018/02/23/why-do-media-organisations-news-corp-reuters-and-new-york-times-still-use-words
Based on the link, and I would agree, "Indigenous" is the preferred term (but obviously doesn't start with A). I stand corrected on "Aboriginies" and even on the use of "Aborigines" - we should be listening to what Indigenous Australians want to be called.
G'day mate! You beauty! I was flat out mate, like a lizard drinkin'. Crikey! I'm a fair dinkum' Aussie, but blimey! Thought I was a dag! But I'm stoked! I knew I was in for a ripper this arvo. Now I can go treat myself to some tucker. I had heaps of pressure coz I was bustin for the dunny the whole time, mate. Nah, mate. I got em all with ages left.
Stop saying aboriginals or aboriginees (which is more offensive). I don't get why its so hard to refer to Australian First Nations by their preferred term?
I always thought a billabong was some sort of pot/pan because of the first verse of waltzing Matilda (where he waited till his billy boiled) thinking billy was short for billabong, a word I'd heard later in the song. Having looked it up I now know it's short for billycan. And having looked at the full lyrics the meanings make a lot more sense to me :)
Amen!"
Sadly, this little 'poem' does not include the word 'golden' in it, or I would have definitely got that one.
we south Australian call it that