broadleaf paperbark—Melaleuca quinquinervia, a tall tree common in areas of coastal swamp, having papery bark that can be stripped off in sheets without damaging the tree. White flowers appear in terminal spikes, between February and May. This was once an important resources for Aborigines, principally for the construction of shelters.

Broadwater National Park—an example of the evolution and dynamics of coastal landforms. Salty Lagoon walk (3km) gives an opportunity to see undisturbed saltmarsh, swamp forest and 60,000 years old dunes. Heath and wetland areas are vividly transformed each spring by a multi-coloured carpeting of wildflowers, rimming the ocean road. Fishing, swimming and bushwalking. Located at Lismore, NSW, 759km north of Sydney and 3km north of Evans Head.

Brockman National Park—a 49ha preserve in Western Australia that takes its name from Brockman's Station (now known as the Yeagarup Historic Homestead). This park provides a magnificent entry to the Pemberton area. On the way from Northcliffe and south of the Warren River, the road winds its way through the tall, straight karri trees. Below the karri trees is the typical karri understorey of smaller trees and large shrubs. The peppermint, karri she-oak and the yellow blossoms of the karri wattle mix with other large shrubs, such as the karri hazel. The Brockman National Park, along with the Beedelup and Warren national parks, lie within a 15km radius of Pemberton.

Broken Creek—a branch of the Broken River, occurring near Benalla and running through to Barmah, where it outfalls into the Murray River. Below Katamatite the creek is utilised for irrigation supply. A series of eight weirs situated between Nathalia and Barmah hold water back to enable diversion for pasture and crop production. The creek provides important habitat for 13 species of native freshwater fish, nine of which are listed as threatened, and is recognised as one of the most important streams in the state for the breeding of Murray cod. The lower reaches of the creek also supports a population of the threatened spiny freshwater, or Murray crayfish. The Broken Creek, situated on the northern Victorian plains, has a catchment that drains an area covering 350,000 a. The Broken Creek catchment has many significant environmental values. It forms a habitat network that spans 450km in length and hosts a variety of Victoria's threatened flora and fauna species.

Broken Head Nature Reserve—a 98ha reserve for the preservation of littoral rainforest. The prominent headlands shelter moist, rainforest-filled gullies lined with bangalow palms and maidens blush. Brush box, native elm and tuckeroo grow on the ridge tops high above the low understorey of burrawangs. The coastal sub-tropical rainforest contains many tree species—such as white booyong, rosewood, red bean, red carbeen and yellow carbeen—that once occurred in the nearby Big Scrub rainforest. It also contains the most southerly occurrence of the smooth-seeded kurrajong, and one of the few known examples of stinking cryptocarya in NSW. Prominent rock outcrops, known as Cocked Hat Rocks, are visible from walking tracks within the reserve, and are a birding site as well as part of local Aboriginal mythology. Broken Head Nature Reserve lies within the land of the Arakwal people of the Bundjalung nation. Located 6km south of Byron Bay, on the far north coast of New South Wales.

Broken Hill—Australia's longest-lived mining city. Its massive orebody, formed about 1800 million years ago, has proved to be the world's largest silver-lead-zinc mineral deposit. The orebody is shaped like a boomerang plunging into the earth at its ends and outcropping in the centre. The protruding tip of the orebody stood out as a jagged, rocky ridge amongst undulating plain country on either side. This was known as the broken hill by early pastoralists. The mine was founded in 1883 by a boundary rider who patrolled the Mt Gipps fences, a German immigrant by the name of Charles Rasp. Beyond the Darling River on the edge of the sundown, is where they used to say you would find Broken Hill, as if there was nowhere further to travel in Australia. Perhaps it was the feeling of suddenly being confronted by such vast space, like an inland sea rolling into the sunset. It is here that the big red roos run two hundred kilometres in a night chasing a thunderstorm, and the unique Sturt desert peas bloom in dark red soils.

Broken Hill complex—hills and colluvial fans on Proterozoic rocks; desert loams and red clays, lithosols and calcareous red earths; supporting chenopod shrublands Maireana spp.—Atriplex spp. shrublands, and mulga open shrublands.

broken reed—a person who has become unreliable or ineffective.

Broken River—rises to the south-east of Tolmie and flows north-west to join the Goulburn River, near Shepparton. During much of its journey the Broken River passes through a floodplain, resulting in multiple watercourses and swampy depressions. When pastoral overlanders followed reports by explorers Hume, Hovell and Mitchell of the Port Phillip grazing lands, they had to cross the Broken River. Alexander Mollison found a narrow streambed and built a temporary bridge to transport stock and equipment (1837). He "broke through" the swampy river, and it thereafter became Broken River. Broken River is located between Euroa and Wangaratta, and 95km west of Mackay, Far North Queensland.

brolga—Grus rubicunda, a graceful, silver-grey bird, and the only crane in the world to have a specialised eye gland for the excretion of salt. The only crane endemic to the Australian region, the brolga is regarded as a national emblem. Famed for their elaborate courtship display, the male prances and pirouettes, leaping as much as a metre into the air to capture the females' attention. Inhabitants of the tropical north during the wet season, they migrate to the eastern coast during the dry. Their habitat includes open wetlands, plains, grasslands, irrigated pastures and salt flats. Standing one metre in height and with a two-metre wingspan, they make an impressive sight as migratory flight. Though generally living in small groups, they flock in the hundreds when food is plentiful. Their diet includes tubers, seed, grain, insects and other invertebrates such as molluscs and crustaceans, and small vertebrates such as frogs. From the Aboriginal name for the ancestral 'companion'.

brolly—umbrella.

bronze-backed legless lizard—following its initial discovery in the 1890s, it was not seen again until 80 years later. It is found along temporary watercourses lined by gidgee—open woodland with low open scrub, from Charlotte Waters in the NT to Coober Pedy in SA.

Bronze Swagman Award—an annual worldwide bush verse competition, the Bronze Swagman Award, run by the Winton Tourist Promotion Association, is considered to be one of Australia’s most prestigious literary awards.

bronzed Anzac/Aussie—pertaining to the image of the healthy, suntanned, out-door, athletic Australian male.

bronzewing pigeons—a group of pigeons native to Australia which have distinctive iridescent wing patches that appear bronze or green-brown in dull light, but flash in many bright colours in the sun as the bird moves. There are three species always known as "bronzewings" in the genus Phaps, and several broadly similar birds that also have the trademark wing patch to a more or less obvious degree. Bronzewings are ground feeders but capable of very fast flight. They tend to browse quietly until disturbed, then remain still, their earthy browns blending into the earth and leaf litter until the intruder approaches too closely, at which point the bronzewing takes off with an explosive burst of sudden wing clapping and feather noise, and disappears from sight within moments. The dividing line between the bronzewings and the rock pigeons is arbitrary: essentially, rock pigeons are bronzewings without bronze on their wings.

broody—1. moody; depressed. 2. clucky; in a maternal condition or frame of mind.

Broome—one of the main towns of the Kimberley, Broome is a remote settlement on the northern tip of Roebuck Bay, the site of rich pearling grounds discovered in the 1850s. Japanese, Malays and Koepangers joined the Aboriginal pearl divers, as the South Sea pearls from this region gained international recognition for their superior size and quality. By 1910, nearly 400 luggers and more than 3500 people were fishing for shell in waters around Broome, then the biggest pearling centre in the world. Today, the pearling industry is undergoing a transformation to modern methods, and the famous pearls feature in the Chinatown pearl galleries. Tourists are drawn to the area by Cable Beach, said to be the best swimming beach in the world. The 22kms of sparkling white sand are fringed by clear tropical waters that daily reflect vibrantly hued sunsets. Sunset camel rides stroll along the shores daily.

Broome Bird Observatory—a research and education facility established by Birds Australia in 1988. The principle aim of the observatory is the conservation of the migratory shorebirds that use Roebuck Bay. The north-west coast is regarded as the most significant viewing site in Australia for shorebirds, and the fourth most significant in the world. Broome has five distinctly different habitats visited by in excess of 800,000 migratory birds annually, coming from as far away as the Antarctic tundra. The area also draws more than one-third of Australia's total bird species (over 300), including nearly a quarter of the world's total species of waders (50). Raptors are always present, with 22 of the 24 Australian species recorded around Broome. The area is also well known for the number of scarce migrants and vagrants that periodically arrive here from the Northern Hemisphere.

brothel—any disreputable or messy room or place.

brothel boots—sneakers or other shoes with soft, quiet soles.

Brown and Wells—two experienced stockmen whose pioneering opened up mustering trails in the alpine region of Victoria. Jim Brown and John Wells etched the first track from the Bogong High Plains to the northeast along the spur, in 1851. They also pioneered the route that leads over Mt. Hotham into the Ovens Valley. This track was much used in the early 1850s by gold miners travelling to the Omeo fields. Local cattlemen went on to cut tracks up many of the access spurs to the lush summer pastures, many of which are still used today for cattle musters.

brown booby—Sula leucogaster, a bird that breeds on a number of Australian islands, from WA to the tropical northern coast, to Torres Strait and off central Queensland. Colonies are often formed on beaches and other flat ground; however, in many areas, they nest on the edges of sea-cliffs. Nests are scraped together from leaves and debris. Two eggs are laid, but it is rare for both chicks to survive, as silicide is common (the stronger chick kills the weaker one). Incubation is shared by both parents in shifts. Brown boobies pursue their prey underwater, diving from great heights (up to 100m). The feet and wings are used for propulsion whilst swimming. They rely heavily on flying fish and squid for food. The birds breed throughout the year, with a peak in spring and autumn.

brown boronia—Boronia megastigma, an evergreen, Australian native plant with cup-like flowers varying in colour from all yellow to dark brown with yellow inside. The flowers appear in spring, and it's interesting to note that although this plant is prized for its magnificent perfume, a significant number of people cannot smell it at all. Brown boronias are highly variable from seed and there many forms. Boronias are at their best in the cooler areas of southern Western Australia, the Dandenongs and Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Tasmania and the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

brown gerygone—Gerygone moi will win no prizes as songsters. However, what they lack in musicality they compensate for in endurance; brown gerygones repeat the same three-syllable motif over and over ad infinitum. Their songs are composed of three or four noisy syllables which rise in frequency from 3000 to 6000 Hz, sounding like ‘which-is-it? which-is-it? which-is-it?’. Brown gerygones repeated this three-note motif at a rate of one motif every 0.6 seconds. Song bouts may last for several minutes. Brown gerygones travel in chattery groups through the rainforest understory. They build covered nests with long tapering tails made from spider webs, plant shoots, moss and lichen. Gerygone nests are popular day-roost sites for the golden-tipped bat.

brown honeyeater—Lichmera indistincta, one of the smallest and perhaps blandest of Australia's honeyeaters, it is commonly seen with other honeyeater species which will "mob" an intruder or predator, such as a cat or raven, especially when breeding. The female does all of the nest building, incubation and feeding of young while the male keeps a close vigil, calling from a favourite perch. The nest is a neat cup made from thin twigs and bark strips, woven with spiderweb between two branches, lined with bark fibres and feathers, and is constructed within a week. The brown honeyeater is commonly found in residential areas, parks and gardens, as well as wetlands and bushland areas. Its voice is a sweet tweet tweet. It is found in Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, northern New South Wales and South Australia.

brown mallet—Eucalyptus astringens (Latin, astringens, astringent, referring to extracts from the bark). A small to medium-sized tree to 15m tall, rarely to 25m. Bark smooth throughout, pale shiny grey over salmon to brown, but often with small, curled flakes of dead bark adhering to lower trunk. Found in south-west Western Australia on the drier, inland side of the jarrah forest. About 8000ha of plantations have been established near Narrogin. The timber of E. astringens is very hard and strong. The species has been cultivated for use in tool handles, mining timber, farm purposes and fuel. The bark has a high tannin content.

brown nose/brown noser—a sycophant; a toady; a crawler.

brown quail—Coturnix ypsilophora, a small, plump ground-dwelling bird. It is variable in colour, ranging from red brown to grey brown, with fine white streaks and black barring above and chestnut brown below. The eye is red to yellow, the bill black and the legs and feet orange-yellow. In Tasmania, this species is called the swamp quail and tends to be larger and darker than mainland birds, with a pale yellow eye. Quails rarely fly, preferring to hide, unless an intruder flushes them; then they fly low to the ground, with a rapid whirring flight. The brown quail is found across northern and eastern Australia, from the Kimberley region in Western Australia to Victoria and Tasmania, as well as in south-western Australia. It is also found in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, and has been introduced to New Zealand. The Brown Quail prefers dense grasslands, often on the edges of open forests, and bracken. It is nomadic, moving wherever suitable feeding and breeding conditions are available. The brown quail feeds in the early morning or evening, on the ground, mainly on seeds and green shoots but also on insects. Its nest is a scrape in the ground, lined with grass and hidden in thick grasses under overhanging vegetation not far from water. Both sexes incubate the eggs, and the young leave the nest straight after they hatch.

brown silky oak—Darlingia darlingiana. This silky oak species is endemic to the wet tropical rainforests of Queensland. It has extremely durable wood that was once of major value to the timber industry. Silky oak trees can grow to about 30m and have dense crowns of large leaves which bear clusters of creamy, nectar-rich, fragrant flowers on long spikes.

brown (someone) off—annoy, upset, bore (someone).

brown stringybark—Eucalyptus baxteri, an erect, medium to tall tree to 40m, or sometimes crooked and stunted on poor soils. Bark spongy, fibrous and fissured and persistent on all but the smallest branches.

brown treecreeper—Climacteris picumnus, the largest of Australia's treecreepers. It measures 16cm—19cm and is mostly pale brown in plumage. Birds of northern Queensland are darker brown. The head, throat and upper breast are pale greyish-brown, while the lower breast and belly are strongly streaked with black and buff. In flight, a buff stripe can be seen in the wing. The brown treecreeper has a loud spink call, which is given either singly or in a series, and normally betrays its presence before the bird is seen. It is endemic to the drier open forests and woodlands of eastern Australia, from Cape York Peninsula to south-eastern South Australia. It does not occur in Tasmania. The brown treecreeper climbs up the trunks and branches of trees in search of insects and their larvae, probing cavities and under loose bark with its long, downward-curving bill. Brown treecreepers breed from June to January each year. During this season, pairs often have two broods of two to three young. The nest is a collection of grasses, feathers and other soft material, placed in a suitable tree hollow or similar site. Both sexes build the nest, but the female alone incubates the eggs. The eggs hatch after about 17 days, and the young birds leave the nest after a further 25 to 26 days. Occasionally, other birds ("helpers") assist the breeding pair with building of nest and feeding the young chicks.

brown treesnake—the python Boiga irregularis, indigenous to northern and eastern Australia. The color varies from olive-brown to yellow-brown and shades of green and grey. They may have faint yellow and brown banding. The snakes have a broad, flat head with large, yellow eyes. Brown treesnakes have mild venom, which trickles down grooved teeth at the rear of the mouth. The snake kills its prey by injecting venom while holding the animal with its body.

brown tulip oak—(see: white booyong).

brown-trouser job—something terrifying.

browned off—annoyed, upset, bored, discontented.

brownie—beer that comes in a brown glass bottle.

brumby—1. a wild horse, descended from escaped domestic horses imported for use during settlement. Brumby-running was a notable activity in the Brindabella Range during the twentieth century, just as it had been in the Snowy Mountains where it has earned a place in Australian folklore. Several brumby trap-yards remain in the bush today. 2. person(s) with wild, unruly attributes.

brumby-running—a herding and penning of wild horses; the process known in the U.S. as "corralling mustangs".

brummy—1. false, shoddy or useless: e.g., Up yer arse, ye brummy git! 2. a man's nickname. 3. (cap.) the city of Birmingham in England. 4. a resident of Birmingham, or someone from there. 5. The linguistic accent of Birmingham.

Bruny Island—two islands linked by a narrow isthmus of sand dunes. North Bruny Island is flat grazing land interspersed with open woodland, while South Bruny Island is largely protected by the South Bruny National Park. The southern part of the island is exposed to the full brunt of wind-whipped waves of the Southern Ocean. The northern part has a calmer coastline, and also affords scenic views of D’Entrecasteaux Channel and Derwent Estuary. The long and narrow isthmus of sand that links the two islands has accumulated over the last 6000 years, following a rise in sea level at the end of the last ice age. A memorial to Truganini, the last full-blooded Tasmanian Aborigine, has been erected on the isthmus. The first European to sight and record the island’s existence was Abel Tasman, who sailed his ships, the Zeehaen and Heenskerc, along the coast in November 1642. The French admiral after whom the island was named, Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, debarked on the 50km-long island in 1792. Bruny Island is located in Storm Bay, across the d’Entrecasteaux Channel from the Tasmanian mainland.

brush box—Lophostemon confertus, a tall tree growing to 35m in forest, much shorter and many-branched in littoral rainforest. Its bark is rough and scaly, its leaves appear in whorls toward branchlet ends; the blade is glossy dark green above, paler below. Flowers are creamish/white about 25mm in diameter, five petals, stamens prominent and numerous. Flowers October to December. Fruit is a capsule, green/brown, bell-shaped with a flat top and numerous seeds; inedible. The brush box is endemic to eastern Australia, ranging from Newcastle in NSW to Bowen in north Queensland. It is unique in that its distribution is dependent upon soil moisture availability. Grows in all types of rainforest, along margins and in open forests. It is a favourite tree for bee-keepers, widely planted as a park or street tree and a valuable host tree for orchid growers.

brush wallaby—Macropus irma, also known as black-gloved wallaby, western brush wallaby.

brush-tailed bettong—Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi, a small, ground-dwelling marsupial of the genus Potorus. This remarkable animal lives in open forests and woodlands in which tussock grasses or low, woody scrub predominate. Their days are spent in a domed nest, intricately constructed of grass or bark. Individuals hold home territories in which they nest and feed. They do not drink, but forage from dusk to near dawn for underground fungi, as well as bulbs, seeds, tubers, insects and resin. Females give birth at intervals of about 100 days, starting from their first birth at about 170-180 days of age. The single young lives in the pouch for about 90 days, and stays with its mother until the next young is born. Their lifespan is 4-6 years. Also known locally as woylie.

brush-tailed marsupial rat—(see: kowari).

brush-tailed phascogale—Phascogale tapoatafa, a small, nocturnal, arboreal, carnivorous marsupial. It is a uniform deep grey on the head, back and flanks, light grey to pale cream underneath, with large naked ears and a conspicuous, black 'brushy' tail. There are two sub-species in Australia: P. tapoatafa tapoatafa, occurs in southern Australia, P. tapoatafa pirata, in the north. The brush-tailed phascogale inhabits open, dry foothill forest with little ground cover, typically associated with box, ironbark and stringybark eucalyptus. It now has a fragmented distribution, to the east and north-east of Melbourne, central Victoria around Ballarat, Heathcote and Bendigo; north-eastern Victoria from Broadford to Wodonga; the Brisbane Ranges north-east of Geelong; and far western Victoria from Mt Eccles to Apsley. The brush-tailed phascogale is a shy, cryptic species that occurs in low densities and forages over a very large home range (female 20-70ha, males 100ha) which means only small populations can exist in quite large areas of habitat. Brush-tailed phascogales are primarily arboreal, and forage for their diet, which is predominantly large insects, spiders and centipedes, on the trunks and major branches of rough-barked eucalypt trees, fallen logs and amongst litter on the forest floor. Eucalypt nectar may be taken when ironbarks or boxes are flowering. Hollows in dead or live trees provide preferred den sites, although nests constructed under flaking bark, or in tree stumps are sometimes used but provide a less secure substitute against predators in areas where hollows are scarce. Mating occurs in late autumn to early winter, and males die after the breeding season at an age of about one year old. Females give birth to about six young from mid-June to early August. Clearing and fragmentation of preferred habitats combined with changes to the forest structure through timber and firewood cutting, grazing and previous gold mining has impacted upon habitat values. A reduced abundance of hollows limits breeding opportunities and increases exposure to predation from foxes and cats. The loss of hollow-bearing trees from Victorian native forests has been listed as a potentially threatening process on Schedule 3 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, largely because of the dependence of many vertebrates (including a number of rare species) on this habitat for shelter and nesting.

brush-tailed possum—Trichosurus vulpecula, the most widely distributed possum in Australia. An arboreal marsupial, they occur in any wooded area from backyard to tree-lined rivers and creeks to woodland and forests of eastern, central and south-western Australia. They are about the size of a large domestic cat, though they vary in size as well as colour, depending upon their range. They are characterised by a pointed snout, sharp claws, a powerful grip and a prehensile tail. Solitary rather than social in nature, they shun each other except in mating season. Born in May and June after a gestation period of 17 days, the young mature for a further five months before exiting the pouch (marsupium). Females are ready for breeding at one year of age. Brush-tailed possums are known to eat mistletoes, but during the 1930s, millions of these animals were killed for their skins. A decrease in possum numbers in rural areas, coupled with the destruction or fragmentation of their habitat, have aided in the increase of mistletoe.

brush-tailed rabbit-rat—Conilurus penicillatus,  the only extant member of its genus; its sole congener, Conilurus albipes, became extinct at the end of the 19th century before any but the most superficial of studies could be carried out on its ecology. The limited evidence suggests that the brush-tailed rabbit-rat is in decline in the Top End. It has not been trapped in the Alligator Rivers Region or mainland Arnhem Land for at least a decade. Early reports by naturalists such as Dahl (1897) and Collett (1897) noted that Conilurus penicillatus was common all over Arnhem Land. Its decline from its core mainland range to promontories and islands suggests a successional pattern of extinction.

brush-tailed rock wallaby—Petrogale penicillata, a threatened species living in rocky areas in the sclerophyll forests of inland and subcoastal, south-eastern Australia. Now reduced to only a few small colonies in the Warrumbungle, where they live in areas of extensive rock outcrops with deep cracks and caves. When the young animal has permanently left the pouch but is not yet weaned, it is left in a sheltered position among the rocks to which its mother returns to feed it. Adults weigh about 7 kg; the head and body measure about 54 cm in length, and the tail is about 61 cm in length with a distinct brush at the end. They are dull brown in colour and more reddish on the rump. Their preferred food is grass but they also eat herbs and some leaves and fruit. The main threats to their survival are foxes, which eat the young, and competition for food by introduced herbivores, particularly goats.

brush-turkey—Alectura lathami, one of three Australian species of mound-building birds, or megapodes. The other two species are the mallee fowl and the orange-footed scrubfowl. All are descendants of birds once found in the ancient landmass of Gondwana. The brush-turkey inhabits tropical to warm-temperate coastal rainforests of eastern Australia, from Cape York peninsula south to New South Wales.

Buandik—an extinct tribal group of the Western District in Victoria. Before European settlement, their national boundaries stretched from the Glenelg River and the Grampians in Victoria, as far north as Naracoorte and up the coast to Kingston. They had roamed the area for at approximately 10,000 years and some evidence suggests it was a lot longer. In 1844, it has been estimated, there were more than 1000 members of the tribe, although because of their nomadic habits precise numbers were difficult to assess. By 1877 the Aboriginal population of the entire Western District had been reduced to 170, primarily as a result of introduced diseases such as smallpox. By 1895, the Buandik had two survivors, the last one (Lanky Kana) dying in 1904.

bubble and squeak—(Brit) left-over meat and vegetables fried together.

Buccaneer Archipelago—situated in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, The Buccaneer Archipelago consists of up to 1000 rugged and sparsely vegetated islands with patches of rainforest, secluded beaches and a fringe of mangroves set in a tropical sea of turquoise blue. Rock art on the islands reflects occupation by Aboriginal people. Accessible by a 35-minute light aircraft flight to Cockatoo Island or a boat cruise from Derby. Cockatoo Island has a splendid resort atop a cliff, overlooking hundreds of other islands.

bucket bong—a makeshift water pipe for smoking marijuana: a plastic soft drink or milk bottle has the bottom cut out of it before being partially submerged in a bucket (or sinkful) or water; the smoke is drawn slowly to fill the chamber, then sucked up all at once.

Bucketty—a hamlet in the lower Hunter Valley of NSW. Situated on a break line of the geological formation of the Hawkesbury sandstone and Terrigal limestone plateaus, formed some 260 million years ago. Most of the current flora and fauna is a direct result of this development. Stunning wildflower displays proliferate in Spring in the rugged sandstone areas, and the Wattagan Forest contains beautiful rainforests, remnants of the Terrigal formation. The land was formed 260 million years ago and the surrounding bushland contains some of the country's most significant Aboriginal sites, including Mount Yengo. This fledgling town of approximately 180 inhabitants was formed in 1972, but the name was assumed from that given by Brown and Wells.

buckle bunnies—rodeo groupies.

Buckley, William—the legendary "Wild White Man" who lived 32 years with the Aborigines. As a young convict in 1803, he escaped from custody and skirted around Port Phillip Bay to the area now known as Geelong. Here, he encountered the Wathawurung people, who thought he was a reincarnation of a dead tribal chief. He learned their language and customs, married, had a daughter and lived on the Bellarine Peninsula. He emerged in 1835, allegedly to report an Aboriginal plot to attack a party of whites at Indented Head. He gave himself up to the party of John Wedge (who had followed in the wake of John Batman). He received a pardon and thence acted as intermediary and interpreter between the whites and Aborigines. Eventually he went to Tasmania, obtained employment, married, and received a government pension. His unlikely survival is the supposed basis for the saying, "You have two chances: Buckley's and none".

Buckley's—very slim, poor chance: e.g., You've got Buckley's of getting there on time in peak-hour traffic.

Buckley's and none—two chances that really amount to no chance at all.

Buckley's Falls—located on the Barwon River just upstream from Queen's Park. These falls are formed by a series of terraced rock formations that at weekends turn into playgrounds for the people of Geelong, with many fishermen and walkers. The name comes from William Buckley, a legendary convict who escaped from custody in 1804 and travelled around the bay, eventually becoming accepted by the local Aboriginal tribe, with whom he lived for 32 years. His knowledge of the area was of great advantage to new settlers, who used him as an interpreter and guide.

buckshee—a prize, a catch, a windfall, something for nothing. From Hindi, bakhshi: giver, or bucksheesh: gift, tip. Brought into English from the Hindustani (although originally Persian) by the British Army, the word was popularised in the First World War.

Budawang—the first indigenous Australians to be sighted by Captain Cook in 1770, on Koorbrua beach at Murramarang, New South Wales. The tribal area of Budawang was from Conjola in the north, Lake George in the west and the Moruya (Deua) River in the south. The defining of exact tribal grounds can be quite complex. The Walbanga clan are part of the Yuin Tribal Group: their territory on the coast extending from about Narooma in the south, to Lake Burrill in the north. Their hinterland included the valley of Turross, Moruya and Clyde rivers, and the source and upper valley of the Shoalhaven River.

Budawang National Park—a rugged wilderness in the southern highland of New South Wales. Most of this park has been declared wilderness area, including the Ettrema Wilderness. There are formal and informal walking tracks in the park, including a fire trail to the summit of Mt Budawang. A magnificent panoramic view of the southern highlands and the distant coast can be seen from the summit. The Budawang Range is spectacular, with sculptured rock faces, mesa-like peaks, and significant Aboriginal rock shelters containing paintings and drawings. The park is also home to many threatened native plant and animal species. Conditions are isolated and difficult, suitable for experienced bushwalkers only.

budda—Eremophila mitchelli, a native shrub that grows in dense thickets, invading pastureland. Along with turpentine (E. sturtii)and punty (Cassia nemophila), these woody weeds prevent pasture regrowth, rendering the land unproductive and making stock mustering difficult. It is estimated to cost graziers approximately $50-$100 million annually in lost production.

Budderoo National Park—contains the Minnamurra rainforest, at the northern tip of the Shoalhaven. Carrington Falls has walking tracks and lookouts. A raised boardwalk with wheelchair access winds through the rainforest, beginning from the Minnamurra Rainforest Centre. There is a return walk to Minnamurra Falls, which are also accessible via a paved track. Located on 7120ha, 5km west of Jamberoo, NSW.

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