Port Lincoln parrot—Barnardius zonarious, an Australian ringneck found from south-west Kimberley, WA to west of the Flinders Ranges in SA. The Port Lincoln Parrot (usually called "28" in south-western WA) breeds from August to February but in the drier inland areas will breed whenever the season permits. These parrots are noisy and inquisitive. When disturbed they may fly only a very short distance and then stop to investigate the cause. Their alarm call will quickly attract others. They feed on a variety of plant foods—blossoms, seeds, grasses—both on the ground and in the trees. When the maree trees (red gums) fail to flower, hungry 28's can be a major vineyard and orchard pest. These parrots cause major economic damage to blue gums and other tree crops. They also damage general farm trees, some grain crops at seeding and before harvest, some flower crops, fruit crops and garden plants, and native vegetation, especially grass trees. Inland areas are often badly affected, but severe damage has also been reported in coastal areas with high parrot populations, such as Margaret River. Surveys by the Agriculture Protection Board show population increases in many agricultural shires. Damage usually is greatest from late summer to winter, and seems to be worse in years when marri flowering is poor. Areas of trees most susceptible to parrot damage include high-fertility sites, such as sheep camps and edges of plantations near native forest or other remnant native trees.

Port Macquarie—named by John Oxley after the governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie in 1818. Although the area had been first noticed by Captain Cookon his voyage along the coast in 1770 and again later by Matthew Flindersin 1802, it was not explored in any detail until Oxley returned in 1819. Governor Macquarieinitiated Oxley's expedition as he was interested in the site's potential as a penal settlement. Throughout the 1960's the town experienced rapid growth and its popularity as a holiday spot was beginning to manifest. Today the town has more than 40,000 residents and is a popular tourist destination and the old buildings that remain are a testament to the town's colourful history.

Port Macquarie settlement—(hist.) established in 1821 under Captain Francis Allman, as the most northerly penal settlement in the colony of New South Wales. At this time, pastoralists were moving into the Hunter Valley, and the government planned to close the penal settlement at Newcastle and establish a new one elsewhere. The timber forests had been decimated in the Newcastle area, so the cedar near Port Macquarie was of particular interest to administrators. Governor Macquarie approved the proposed site following an inspection in November of 1821. Macquarie's idea was that the settlement would prove self-sustaining. Captain Allman immediately began directing the 60 convicts sent to establish the settlement, clear the area of trees and begin farming. Sugar cane was first grown in Australia on the site by a prisoner from the West Indies, and a sugar mill was established in 1824. By that time, also, convicts were employed in building, agriculture, boat-building, blacksmithing, teaching, baking, clerical duties and so forth. St Thomas' Anglican Church was built between 1824 and 1828 and a Female Factory, where the women made nails and other items, was erected in 1825. The penal settlement endured into the early 1840s—after the area had been opened up to free settlers in 1830. After being hard hit by the depression in 1840 and the final relocation of the remaining convict labour in 1847, the settlement began declining.

Port Melbourne—was first called Sandridge, after the ridge of sand dunes along the beach. In 1839 Wilbraham Frederick Evelyn Liardet arrived in Victoria with his wife and family and set up home at the beachfront. In 1850 the first land at Sandridge was sold, although the area had been surveyed as early as 1839. The most distinguishing feature of Sandridge at the time was the great saltwater lagoon as large as the settlement itself. The importance of Sandridge as the port for the metropolis was underlined when the first passenger railway in Australia was opened on September 12, 1854. It ran from Melbourne to Sandridge. On July 13 1860, after some agitation for self-government, the municipal district of Sandridge was proclaimed. William Morley, a local coal merchant, became the first chairman of the Council. Sandridge became a borough in 1863, and in 1884 changed its name to Port Melbourne. In 1893 Port Melbourne became a town and on May 14 1919 was proclaimed a city.

Port Phillip—the earliest inhabitants of the area were the Yalukit-willam, one of the five clans of the Bunurong, known as the coastal tribe, and who were members of the Kulin nation. They roamed the swampy areas below Emerald Hill and the sandy-ridged tea-tree-covered coastline, which extended from St Kilda to Fisherman's Bend (Port Melbourne). The Aboriginal inhabitants knew the St Kilda area as Euro-Yroke, a name they used to describe the red-brown sandstone found along the beach. But the face of the bay was to change forever when the Royal Navy's Lieutenant John Murray sailed into Port Phillip on the Lady Nelson in 1802. Fear of a Russian invasion during the Crimean war, and the temptation of Victorian gold after the gold rush, prompted the fortification of Port Phillip Bay. The district surrounding The Heads, both land and sea, is still littered with forts and other defences, including the South Channel Fort, Fort Queenscliff, Fort Nepean, Swan Island, the Pope's Eye, and Fort Franklin. These fortifications are a must for visitors today, with good fishing to be found within easy reach of all of them.

Port Phillip Bay—a broad expanse of water, measuring some 700 nautical square miles in area. The bay extends about 30 miles inland from the Port Phillip Heads, and averages 20 miles in breadth. The narrow entrance and hidden reefs of the bay precluded its use as a whaling port, yet increased its value as the site of naval fortifications. When a French scientific expedition arrived to investigate the area in 1802, two men were sent by Governor King to examine the possibility of establishing a British outpost at Port Phillip Bay. Forts were subsequently erected on both sides of the Heads, at Point Nepean and Queenscliff. Smaller forts were built in the South Channel and on the Pope's Eye shoal, and Swan Island was used as a base from which to control a minefield. Port Phillip Bay is located south of Melbourne, Victoria.

Port Phillip district—(hist) largely untouched prior to the early 1830s, primarily due to an insufficient water supply. The first attempt at permanent settlement, in 1803, was made on the Mornington Peninsula. Arriving from Van Diemen's Land under the direction of Colonel David Collins, they established a camp at Sullivan's Bay, near Sorrento. The only source of water for almost 400 convicts, marines and free settlers was from six wooden barrels sunk into the earth to tap the groundwater. On 30 January, 1804, Collins moved the settlement to the new Tasmanian town of Hobart. The next attempt at settlement would not occur for another three decades, with the arrival of John Batman in 1835. Port Phillip district separated from the colony of New South Wales in 1851, to become the state of Victoria.

Port Phillip Heads—better known as the place which claimed a Prime Minister (Harold Holt died one hot December day in 1967 while diving here), the headlands of Victoria's Port Phillip Bay are these days establishing a more friendly reputation as a hot fishing spot. "The Heads" is the most common name but it is also known as The Rip, due to the strong tide flows through the entrance. With the contents of Port Phillip Bay pouring though this narrow entrance it's not surprising that the place was once regarded as one of the most dangerous harbour entrances in the world. "The entrance is scarcely two miles wide, and nearly half of it is occupied by rocks... The depth varies from 6 to 12 fathoms, and this irregularity causes the strong tides, especially when running against the wind to make breakers...", so described the explorer Matthew Flinders, which explains why the coastline around The Heads is dotted with more than 100 ship wrecks. The Heads is formed by the Nepean Peninsula on the eastern side and the Bellarine Peninsula on the west. Both peninsulas are popular Melbourne holiday destinations. Just inside The Heads is the site of the first European settlement in Victoria, at Sorrento, by Lt David Collins in 1803. Largely through lack of water this settlement only lasted briefly until Collins sailed for Hobart the following year.

Port Phillip settlement—(hist) precursor to the city of Melbourne. The first permanent settlement was begun by John Batmanin 1835. Elevated land was very desirable in the then-swampy river flats along the Yarra River, and John Batman settled on the hill that was to be named after him. However, Batman's Hill also formed a natural confine for the fledgling village, providing a physical boundary between the newly emerging township and salty marshland to the west. On 7 March of that year, the governor named the settlement Melbourne. The wider Melbourne grid originated at the datum point at Batman's Hill, from which two primary section lines were mapped. The lines, one mile north (approximately to the corner of Capel Street and Victoria Street in north Melbourne), and two miles east (creating the corner of Victoria Street and Hoddle Street, Collingwood) formed the basis for all land sales and today’s Melbourne metropolitan road network.

Port Stephens—a volcanic crater drowned by the rising sea. Two imposing peaks form an entrance to Port Stephens, NSW—Tomaree Headland to the south and Yacaaba Headland to the north. These are remnants of the volcanic rim invaded by the rising seas, and there are in the order of 1,000 shipwrecks scattered along the coast from Newcastle to Seal Rocks. From the days of early settlement, Port Stephens was a trading port laden with cedar, shell grit and lime. The Worimi had occupied the area for many thousands of years prior to European settlement, and before being driven almost to extinction. From June to November each year, whales travel north to breed in the warm waters off the Queensland coast. During this journey, approximately 300 whales pass close to the headlands of Port Stephens, including a rare albino humpback named Migaloo ("White Fella").

portfolio—(of government) the office of a minister.

Portland Bay—the only deep-sea port between Adelaide and Port Phillip. In December 1800, Lieutenant James Grant sited the bay while aboard the Lady Nelson, and named it after the British Home Secretary, the Duke of Portland. In 1828 and 1829 William Dutton visited the bay on two sealing expeditions. In 1833, Dutton was appointed by one Captain Griffiths of Launceston to establish a whaling fishery at the bay for the extraction and shipping of whale oil and whale bone. There were at least seven whaling establishments at Portland Bay by 1838. During the early years of the Victorian gold rushes (mid-1850s), it was anchorage for 37 immigrant ships from England, bringing 11,395 new settlers to the shores of the Western District and beyond. Portland Bay has retained its position as a major exporting centre for the produce of south-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia.

Portsea—a small seaside holiday resort, Portsea faces northwards onto Port Phillip Bay, at a point where the Mornington Peninsula is so thin that the residential area almost reaches to the southern side of the promontory. Portsea is the westernmost settlement on the peninsula, located just east of Point Nepean and 9km south of Melbourne.

posh—elegant; smart; sophisticated; luxurious.

Possession Island—the island on which Captain James Cook raised the Union Jack on 22 August 1770 and claimed the east coast of Australia for England. The Indigenous inhabitants remained unaware of their distant ruler for a considerable time afterward. Located off the north-western tip of Cape York.

possie—position; place: e.g., We know a nice secluded possie at the beach.

possum—1. any of many chiefly herbiverous, long-tailed, arboreal marsupialsof the families Phalangeridae, Petauridae and Burramyidae. Australian possums are a diverse group, ranging from tiny gliding possumsas small as a mouse to large, climbing brushtails. The brushtail possumis the most familiar of all the Australian possums, found in most areas where there are trees, including backyards, but especially in open forests and woodlands. 2. a mildly derogatory term for a person. 3. an affectionate term for someone.

post—the official conveyance of parcels, letters; mail.

postbox—mailbox.

postie—postman.

postman—mailman.

pot—1. marijuana. 2. medium-sized glass of beer (285 ml). 3. large sum of money won as a prize. 4. to shoot.

pot calling the kettle black—bringing attention to someone else's failings when one is guilty of the same weaknesses.

potato cod—Epinephelus tukula, named after the potato-shaped markings all over its body. They have been known to grow to lengths of two metres or more and weight up to 100 kilos. The average adult is 1.5m long, weighing about 90 kilos. Potato cod like to ambush their prey by hiding behind lumps of coral until their food swims past. Potato cod eat stingrays, crabs, squid, octopus, fish and western rock lobsters, and large potato cod have such big mouths that they can often eat their prey in one gulp. They are very inquisitive and like to check out human visitors. As potato cod live in the same area throughout their life, they are easy targets for spear fishers. Large potato cod live alone most of the time, but they do get together in large groups when they are ready to spawn. They are ‘protogynous hermaphrodites’, which means they start their lives as female and as they get older become male. They are part of the groper family, which are commonly called cod in Australia. Tukula is from a Malagash word which means ‘man-eater’. Potato cod are also known as potato grouper or potato bass in other areas of the Indo-Pacific region.

potato fern—Marratia salicina, a large Australasian evergreen fern with an edible rhizome sometimes used as a vegetable by Indigenous people.

potato weed—Heliotropium europaeum, a hairy, summer-growing annual herb. Stems are grey-green, erect, covered with coarse white hairs. Leaves are grey-green, alternate. Flowers white with yellow throat, tubular. Slender, deeply penetrating taproot with a complex system of branches. It is toxic to sheep, cattle and horses.  

potoroo—any small, long-nosed, nocturnal animal of the genus Potorous (family Potoroidae), including the musky rat-kangaroo, bettongs, and potoroos. Potoroos prefer to live in forests with a dense understorey, where they shelter under tussocks and shrubs. None of them exceed a common rabbit in size. They inhabit mainland Australia and Tasmania, are nocturnal, and feed on the leaves of grasses and other plants, as well as roots and bulbs, which they dig up with their forepaws; in this way some of them do considerable damage to cultivated crops. About ten species are known, presenting a considerable range of diversity in minor characters. The members of Potorous run rather than leap, and do not use the hind feet for kicking.

potty—1. chamber pot. 2. silly; eccentric; crazy.

pouched mouse—any of several small carnivorous marsupials, especially the dunnart and the phascogale.

pouffe—a homosexual man.

pour oil on troubled waters—attempt to pacify, calm a troubled situation.

pouteria—Pouteria sericea, a small bush tree to 8m high, found in coastal areas and riparian monsoon vine thickets across northern Australia. The dark purple fruit are about as big as a fresh date. In some areas they are produced in good numbers, but in other areas are quite scarce. The fruit is very sweet and tasty. Fruit occur almost all year round, but the best supply is collected during the late wet and early dry seasons. The timber is often used to make woomeras, spear throwers and axe handles. It is also considered a very good firewood.

poverty bush—any of many shrubs of drier Australia growing in poor soil.

powder bark—Eucalyptus accedens, a small- to medium-sized tree endemic to Western Australia, found in the Darling Range from about Williams in the south, northwards to south-east of Geraldton, particularly on lateritic breakaways or stony ridges, usually above stands of E. wandoo. The powder bark is characterised by smooth, pink-toned, powdery bark.

powder puff—weak, ineffectual, effeminate man.

power—1. a great amount: e.g., That sleep did me the power of good. 2. to use rapidly: We powered through the food and beer. 3. to go, do quickly.

power point—electrical outlet in the wall.

powerful owl—Ninox strenua, Australia's largest owl. during the day it shelters in tall forest trees or in dense vegetation along timbered creeks. Shy and rarely seen, it hunts by night for roosting birds, gliders, possums and fruit bats.

powerful thylacine—Thylacinus potens lived 8 million years ago in the late Miocene era. Several kinds of thylacine have lived in Australia during the past 25 million years; the powerful thylacine was the largest of them all at 1.5m in lenth (head and body). It was also the largest meat-eating marsupial of its time and one of the largest carnivorous mammals ever to live in Australia. Only the Pleistocene marsupial lion was larger. A partial skull of the powerful thylacine was found at Alcoota Station in the Northern Territory. The death of the last known thylacine in Hobart Zoo, in 1936, marked the end of thylacines for all time. Today, the closest living relatives of the powerful thylacine are the dasyurid marsupials, including quolls and the Tasmanian devil.

pox—venereal disease.

pox-doctor—venereal-disease specialist.

poxed—jinxed; cursed with bad luck or misfortune.

prac—practice: e.g., We've got a prac class in pottery today.

prang—1. a crash or accident in a car. 2. crash and damage, especially a car.prat—bum, backside.

prawn—1. shrimp. 2. a weak, foolish, insignificant or ineffectual person.

prawn night—social occasion at which prawns and beer are served.

pre-loved—(of clothes etc) used; second-hand.

preferential voting—an electoral system under which a candidate must receive an absolute majority (50% plus 1 of the total formal votes cast) to be elected. Under this system, in order for a vote to count, the elector must show a preference for all candidates listed on the ballot paper. In some electoral systems that use full preferential voting, the voter can leave one box empty if the voter's intention with regard to the other preferences is clear. The empty box is treated as the voter's last preference, e.g., voting for the Victorian Legislative Council and Assembly. Under optional preferential voting, the number "1" preference must be shown and other preferences may be indicated, e.g., voting for the NSW Legislative Assembly. With partial preferential, the elector must show a minimum number of preferences as set out on the ballot paper (e.g., voting for the Tasmanian Legislative Council). The formal votes are counted according to the first preferences given by voters. This primary vote accounts for approximately 85% of total votes cast in an election. If no candidate receives an absolute majority, then subsequent preferences are distributed. In this case, the candidate with the lowest number of first-preference votes is excluded. Votes that had been attributed to the excluded candidate are then distributed to the remaining candidates, according to the next available preference indicated by the order of voting. This process is continued until one candidate has achieved an absolute majority, on the basis of preference.

preggers/preggie/preggo—pregnant.

prem/premmie—child born prematurely.

Premier—the chief minister of a state government.

Preminghana Indigenous Protected Area—(formerly known as Mount Cameron West) covers an area of 524ha and was one of 11 parcels of land returned to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community under the Aboriginal Lands Act 1995. Preminghana is located in the Woolnorth (high priority) bioregion adjacent to an existing nature reserve managed by the Tasmanian NPWS. The property has significant environmental and cultural features, being on the register of the National Estate as part of the range of the rare Tasmanian skipper butterfly and Aboriginal heritage listing as the Mount Cameron West Engraving Site. Preminghana is also a popular fishing spot among non-Aboriginal locals and the area has been subject to considerable 4WD damage along this sensitive coastal strip. Preminghana was declared an Indigenous Protected Area on June 5th 1999 and is managed in accordance with IUCN guidelines.

prescribed body corporate—(PBC) a native title corporation that may hold and/or manage native title for the whole group. Under the Native Title Act 1993, native title holders have to establish a body to represent them as a group and manage their native title rights and interests. Once the corporation is established by the native title holders, and approved by the court, it is entered onto the National Native Title Register as a registered native title body corporate. Once a PBC is registered it is used as the legal body to conduct business between the native title holders and other people with an interest in the area such as pastoralists, governments or developers. There are two types of PBCs; the appropriate type to be established for a group of native title-holders is decided at the time of making the native title determination. The first type of PBC holds native title in trust and acts as a trustee of the native title-holders in relation to native title matters in the area. The second type of PBC can be established where native title is held directly by the common law native title holders and the PBC acts as an agent of these common law holders, operating upon their instructions.p

reselection—the choice of a candidate for a forthcoming election by (local) members of a political party.

present as—appear as

.pressie—present; gift.

pretty-face wallaby—Macropus parryi, the whiptail wallaby, which was named after the ‘whip’ of fur that grows from the end of a mature male's very long tail. The 'whippy' is commonly called the pretty-face wallaby, because its white cheek stripes are very prominent against the almost black face, and makes it look very pretty. Its distribution barely reaches Cooktown, Qld, its densest populations being in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. It is an inhabitant of undulating or hilly country with open forest and a grass understorey. It is a grazer, feeding primarily on grasses and other herbaccous plants, including ferns. Except during drought, it seldom drinks, apparently getting sufficient moisture under normal circumstances from its food and front dew. It is unusually diurnal for a macropod. Feeding activity is at a maximum at dawn and continues into the early morning with increased periods of rest during the middle of the day. Feeding is resumed in the late afternoon and continues into the night. A social species, it lives in groups of up to 50 individuals, comprising subgroups of 10 or less. Vocal communication includes a soft cough, indicating fear or submission, a sound intermediate between a hiss and a growl which is used by females as a defensive threat, and a soft clucking made by courting males. Courtship involves the dominate male and a group of subordinate males following the female. The dominate male will keep other males away by chasing and a ritual of pulling up grass while facing the opposing male. When alarmed, an individual thumps the ground with its hindfeet and all animals in a group hop away, taking a zig-zag course which is probably confusing to a predator. The pretty-face wallaby is regarded as common throughout its range. Being a grazer, it probably benefited from the early agricultural practice of ringbarking, which permitted more grass to grow in forests while retaining adequate shelter. Total clearing of forest has had a detrimental effect on the species in some areas but it is sufficiently widespread and represented in national parks and reserves to be in no danger.

pretty-pretty—too attractive in an effeminate, frilly or tizzy way.

Prices and Income Accord—(the Accord) a legal agreement arbitrated between the federal government and the Australian Council of Trade Unions (1983-1997). The Accord introduced wage-fixation based upon full indexation to the CPI, eliminating the collective bargaining element of the system totally. Subsequently, the level of industrial dispute dropped. The only prolonged dispute was with airline pilots in 1989, and the federal government intervened to end the dispute in order to protect general pay restraint. Lower wages were expected to result in a lowering of unemployment. The losses to workers were supposed to be made up by improved government services and benefits. Medicare was introduced under the Accord, as were child care subsidies, superannuation for all workers (not just executives) and improved job protection and security. The Accord was re-negotiated eight times to reflect the changing economic and social factors in Australia. Enterprise bargaining was reintroduced in 1991.

pricey—expensive.

prickly currant bush—Coprosma quadrifida, a very common divaricating shrub of wet fores, usually under 2m tall. Ends of branches often sharp. Leaves opposite, thin, with stipules connecting the bases of the petioles of the leaves around the stem, up to 10mm long and 5mm wide, dull green with prominent veins when inspected closely. Male and female flowers occur on different plants. The green petals of the flowers are tiny, but the stamens and styles (in particular) are surprisingly large. The fruits are edible but rarely palatable. Flowering period: Spring; fruiting in autumn. Distribution: common in damp gullies, wet forest and the edge of rainforest.

prickly wattle—Acacia tetragonophylla, one of the extremely hardy plants in the outback. Prickly wattle bushes can be found in varying sizes from about 30cm high to about 2m, sometimes even up to 5m, multi-stemmed and with many branches. Straggly and prickly, the surface of branches are hairless, other than very young branches which may be slightly downy. The branches are cylindrical and the bark is dark grey and slightly cracked or rough at the base, but smooth further up The very tip of the "four-angled leaflet" is very much like a small thorn or needle. This thorny part possesses medical properties. In Aboriginal medicine they were used as a wart remover: In a very painful procedure, up to six thorns were inserted into the wart and left there until bleeding started. Alternatively, the thorny part was left in the wart after the main part of the leaflet had been broken off. After 4-5 days the wart had withered and could be removed. As well as wart treatment, the plant came in useful for the treatment of sores, boils and cuts: small pieces of root bark were boiled in half a billycanful of water, the liquid strained and used as a wash or applied directly to the affected area. The plant is called dead finish throughout most of Australia but confusion arises in Queensland, where the same name also applies to the plant Albizia basaltica.

pride of place—the most important position.

primary industry—agriculture, fishing, forestry, etc, as distinct from manufacturing industry.

primary producer—a person or country that is engaging mainly in one or more of the primary industries.

Prime Minister—the head of government for the Commonwealth. After a general election, the political party (or coalition of parties) having the most Members in the House of Representatives becomes the governing party, and its leader becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister holds office on commission from the Governor-General. If removed as leader of his/her party, or if he/she loses a vote of no-confidence in the House of Representatives, the Prime Minister must resign the office or be dismissed by the Governor-General. The Prime Minister must receive the support of both houses of Parliament to pass any legislation (though secondary legislation, called regulations, can be made by ministerial decree). While the Prime Minister normally will have a majority in the House of Representatives, the Government will often be in a minority within the Senate.

primed—drunk; intoxicated.

Prince Alberts/Alfreds—the toe-rags of the swagman, worn to protect the feet.

Prince of Wales Group—the traditional inhabitants of this group of islands stretching from Cape York to the Papua New Guinea coastline, are a culturally unique group. These Torres Strait Islanders lived, fished, traded and where possible on a few of the islands, tended vegetable gardens. They were masters of the sea and its products. The first recorded contact between islanders and Europeans came in 1606 when the Spanish navigator, Abel Torres, sailed through the strait, subsequently named after him. Thursday Island owes its present-day identity to the rough and tumble of the early pearling industry, which turned a quiet government administrative centre into a cosmopolitan "Port of Pearls". A blend of Torres Strait Islander culture, European modernisation and a strong Indo-Pacific influence has shaped this remote township. In the early days of exploration and settlement, the need for a port of refuge for survivors of ships wrecked in reef waters was recognized, and Somerset, a sheltered bay on the eastern side of the tip of Cape York, was chosen. However, strong tidal currents and voracious white ants were eventually to seal the fate of Somerset. In 1877 they relocated to Thursday Island, which, with its sheltered harbour, is virtually on the doorstep of the only navigable shipping lane through the Torres Strait, the Prince of Wales Channel. Access through this channel is still vital and Thursday Island remains the regions’ administrative and trading centre. The main industry today is cray-fishing.

Prince Regent Nature Reserve—covers more than 600,000 hectares of wilderness in Western Australia's highest rainfall area. It is one of Australia's most remote places, with the only access by air or boat. Some of its spectacular sites include King's Cascade, Mount Trafalgar, Python Cliffs, Pitta Gorge, lush rainforests and the Prince Regent River, which runs almost entirely straight for most of its length, often between near-vertical cliffs. The reserve boasts more than half the mammal and bird species found in the Kimberley and more than 500 species of plants. This part of the Kimberley is the only part of mainland Western Australia where no extinctions are known since European settlement.

Prince Regent River—rises 50km above the coast at an elevation of about 800m and then drops through a rugged gorge. At the head of the river lies a broad plateau averaging over 700m above sea level. The coastline is deeply indented by a number of drowned river valleys, and tidal flats occur in many of the inlets. Vegetation is diverse, although tropical open woodland covers extensive tracts. Vine thickets, fern gullies and mangroves occur in the area. Fauna is typical of wetter parts of northern Australia. The rare scaly-tailed possum occurs in the area, and water birds such as jabiru and magpie geese may be found on the tidal flats. This area has had a long history of Aboriginal use, and cave paintings may be found. A number of islands, as well as significant parcels of land south-west of the Prince Regent River, are Aboriginal Reserves.

Princess Charlotte Bay—an area of extensive river systems, lagoons and offshore coral reefs. On Flinders and Stanley islands in the bay are Aboriginal galleries of marine life, including stingrays, crabs, flying fish, turtles and dugong. According to anthropological studies done in the Port Stewart/ Princess Charlotte Bay region, there were eight language groups associated with the area. Following the gradual dispossession of their lands by European pastoralists and the loss of access to parts of their former territories, the remnants of those tribal groups came together and formed communities at Port Stewart, Coen and surrounding cattle properties. Princess Charlotte Bay is located 350kms NNW of Cairns, on the eastern side of Cape York Peninsula.

princess parrot—Polytelis alexandrae is a rare and highly nomadic inhabitant of the arid interior of the continent, in sandy deserts, dry scrubland and  eucalypts bordering water courses; also known as Alexandra's parrot or rose-throated parakeet.

Princess Royal Harbour—the inner haven of King George Sound, to which it is connected by a narrow channel. Whaling in West Australian waters was first recorded in 1800 when British ships reached Princess Royal Harbour. The first known sealer on the coast, the American brig Union, arrived in 1803.

prink—1. smarten oneself up. 2. (of a bird) preen.

prissy—prudish; affected.

privates/private parts—the genitals.

privy—a toilet -especially an outside one.

proclamation—an official government announcement.

Procoptodon goliah—the largest of the megafauna leaf-eating kangaroos (2 to 3m tall and weighing between 200-300kg) could stand on tiptoe, prop on its tail and reach leaves up to three metres from the ground. They had flat faces with forward facing eyes and long slender feet, each with one hoof-like toe. Their hands had two extra-long, clawed fingers that were probably used to reach the leaves of high branches. The skull was short and deep, an indication Procoptodon had enough power in its jaws to grind up very tough leaves.

Proddy dog—a Protestant.

productivity—a term referring to the measure of the economic efficiency of individuals, businesses or capital. The concept has assumed importance in enterprise bargaining, as employees are now required to produce more in order to earn pay increases.

professional ratbag—one who makes money out of doing weird, crazy, useless or unproductive things, schemes.

Progura naracoortensis—a giant (megafauna) malleefowl, first described from Naracoorte's fossils.

proof of the pudding is in the eating—testing, trial or actual evidence will establish the truth.

proper—absolute; thorough; complete: e.g., He made a proper galah of himself in front of everybody when he tripped and fell.

propleopus—carnivorous kangaroos from the Pliocene and Pleistocene eras. The last Pleistocene survivor of the lineage Propleopus oscillans stood about two metres tall.

proprietary company—private company.

prorogue—to end a session of parliament without calling an election. When the Governor prorogues parliament on the advice of the Premier, the business of the parliament remains on the agenda for the next session.

prossie—prostitute.

prostitution in pre-colonial Australia—as far as we know, prostitution, in the sense of the exchange of sexual services for goods or money, did not exist in traditional Aboriginal society. Most (but not all) Aboriginal societies did practise some form of polygamy, but this was not prostitution. Nor was the ritual exchange of women as a sign of friendship between different groups of people. The earliest hints we have of commercialised sex are with the Macassar fishermen who visited the northern shores of Australia on a seasonal basis from at least the 1670s. There were certainly sexual liaisons between these fishermen and local women, and cases of Aboriginal women returning to Macassar with their lovers.

prostitution in the convict era—prostitution was an integral part of the social and economic system of the early convict colonies. The numerical predominance of males on the first convict ships (amongst both convicts and gaolers) was from the outset perceived as a social and political problem. Women were needed as an antidote to sexual deviance, rape of 'respectable' women, and rebellion. Aboriginal women were obvious candidates for this role, and indeed Arthur Phillip, the first Governor, hoped that in time Aboriginal men would 'permit their Women to Marry and Live' with the convicts. In the short term, however, this was not practicable. If we add gaolers and officials to the numbers of males, women were outnumbered by roughly six to one in the convict settlements until the increase in free female immigration in the 1830s. To achieve even this level of comparability, the authorities had to transport women on much less serious offences than those for which men were transported. Other conditions in the penal settlements encouraged widespread prostitution. In the early years of the settlement no provision was made for housing for female convicts, thus a woman's best chance of accommodation was through striking up a liaison with some man. Those who could not or would not attach themselves to one man found the temporary bartering of sex for accommodation just as effective. Women were also the frequent targets of male violence and many found it necessary to seek the protection of one man, in return for sexual favours, against the sexual demands of other men. Limited opportunities for female employment in the early years, where the major demand was for male muscle-power, also placed pressure on women to prostitute themselves as one of the few ways in which they could earn a livelihood. In the final analysis, it is impossible to know exactly how many women engaged in commercial sex during the convict period. Despite this, prostitution obviously was a key institution in convict society, providing one of the few economic options for women who supplied a high level of demand for sexual services in a disproportionately male population. Working class women's role in this society was primarily to reproduce the working class: future, past and present. The convict era was thus crucial in setting the pattern for the history of prostitution in Australia. It saw the establishment of the sex industry as an important part of the life experience and work options of women within colonising society; it was also during this period that the extent of prostitution came to be used as a gauge of the worth of colonial women and of the success of colonial society more generally. Prostitution assumed a rhetorical and symbolic significance quite apart from its importance as an avenue for women's economic survival.

prostitution on the colonial pastoral, mining and maritime frontier—as prostitution of European women flourished in the penal settlements, wherever the white colonisers intruded on Aboriginal lands sexual contact between white men and black women occurred soon after. In some cases this was the result of Aboriginal people extending traditional hospitality to visitors. That is, Aboriginal women were lent to the intruders in the expectation that friendly relations would ensue. In some cases, too, Aboriginal women became more regular companions for white men, often as a deliberate strategy to incorporate the newcomers into the Aboriginal kinship system. All too often, however, sexual interaction was coercive and violent, with Aboriginal women being conquered and taken in the manner as wer Aboriginal lands. In the aftermath of dispossession Aboriginal women were often left with little choice but to engage in prostitution, either for money or for goods, in order to survive as individuals and to contribute to the survival of their kin. As access to hunting grounds was increasingly prevented and sources of food became rapidly depleted, Aboriginal people were forced to participate in the white economy to survive. In the early colonial period, where convict labour was readily available, Aboriginal women's sexuality was often the only saleable item possessed by the survivors who eked out a precarious existence on the edges of white society. In the north, the labour of young men was also valued, but here the almost total absence of white women placed Aboriginal women in even greater demand. They were indispensable as domestic workers as well as performing a wide range of non-traditional women's work, such as stock work and mining, in certain areas. For all these workers, satisfying the sexual demands of their co-workers and bosses was usually considered part of the job. The more fortunate were able to obtain something in exchange for their sexual favours—such as extra rations which were shared with their kin in the camp. The less fortunate were treated as sexual slaves, confined for the use of white managers and stock workers. In the Northern Territory there was the practice of keeping a number of young 'stud gins' locked up in a chicken-wire enclosure as an enticement for white labourers, who were otherwise reluctant to work in the so-called 'womanless North'. While this practice contributed to the economy of the pastoralists, the relatively benign practice of exchanging sex for extra rations contributed enormously to the survival of Aboriginal groups dispossessed by pastoralism and mining or living in areas where the bush tucker was radically depleted.

protected industrial action—the term used in the Workplace Relations Act to describe a legal strike in Australia. Under this law, employees cannot be disadvantaged for being part of a protected action.

Protection of Aboriginals and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Amendment Act 1934 (Qld)—extended the provisions of the 1897 Act and the powers of the Chief Protector. It also broadened the definition of 'aboriginal' and thereby caused many Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders to be struck off the electoral roll. It was replaced 5 years later by Queensland's Aboriginals Preservation and Protection Act, 1939 and the Torres Strait Islander Act, 1939.

protectionism—(hist.) a range of practices and beliefs about how Indigenous people should be 'managed' by governments and their institutions, followed in Australia from the 1850s to the mid-1900s. Different state and territory laws established protection boards and native affairs departments, which managed the protection/segregation of a considerable number of Indigenous people. The measures collectively comprising 'protection' of Aboriginal people were consistently spelt out for the first time in recommendations in a British parliamentary select committee on Aborigines, and made to the House of Commons in 1837. These included sending in missionaries to convert the Aborigines, the appointment of official protectors to defend them from encroachments by settlers, schooling for their young, and special laws for their supervision until such time as they learned to live within the general community. As protectors were subsequently appointed and special 'protection' law formulated, increasing emphasis was given to authoritarian management of Aboriginal people. As 'protection' came to be synonymous with 'control', restrictions on Aboriginal people's freedom of action intruded on most aspects of their lives. Heavy paternalism, often involving the arbitrary application of regulations made under protection law, consequently characterised the entire colonial period from the 1830s and then, after Federation, well into the 1960s and even the '70s in some states. In NSW, for example, the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 established the Aborigines Protection Board with absolute authority over the daily lives of Aboriginal people. Among its many powers were the 'care, custody and education of children' and 'to remove Aborigines from the vicinity of any reserve, town or township'. So relentless were the board's representatives in the execution of their duties that it came to be known throughout the Aboriginal community as the 'Aborigines Persecution Board'. In 1967 a referendum was held to change clauses in the Federal Constitution which discriminated against Aboriginal people. With these changes, Aboriginals became recognized as Australian citizens.

Protectors of Aborigines—(hist.) individuals appointed by the state governor or by the Aboriginal Protection Board, under the various Aborigines Protection acts. In 1886 the administration of Aboriginal affairs was removed from the Colonial Secretary and entrusted to Aboriginal Protection Boards in each state. They had wide-ranging powers, including giving permission to marry, control over movements to and from Aboriginal reserves, social contact between Indigenous people and the removal of Indigenous children from their families. Heavy paternalism, often involving the arbitrary application of regulations made under protection law, consequently characterised the entire colonial period from the 1830s and then, after Federation, well into the 1960s and even the '70s in some states. In NSW, for example, the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 established the Aborigines Protection Board with absolute authority over the daily lives of Aboriginal people. So relentless were the board's representatives in the execution of their duties that it came to be known throughout the Aboriginal community as the 'Aborigines Persecution Board'. In 1967 a referendum was held to change clauses in the Federal Constitution which discriminated against Aboriginal people. With these changes, Aboriginals became recognized as Australian citizens.

Province of South Australia—established in the year 1834 by an Act of Parliament (15th August 1834), the Province of South Australia was provided with its own constitution and laws specially enacted. Like Western Australia, it commenced as a settlement of free colonists. The 26th parallel of south latitude constituted its northern limit, and the 132nd and 141st meridians its western and eastern boundaries respectively. The little strip of land south of the 26th meridian and west of the proclaimed boundary of South Australia was known as 'No Man's Land'.

prowl-car—police patrol-car.

PT—physical training.

pterosaur—flying relatives of the dinosaurs, they were most likely warm-blooded, active creatures, most of which were capable of active flight (rather than just gliding). Pterosaurs came in a wide variety of forms and sizes, from about the size of a pigeon up to the largest flying creatures that have ever existed (about the size of a small aeroplane). Their fossils are known from the Late Triassic until the very end of the Cretaceous, a span of about 160 million years. Pterosaurs became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period about 66 million years ago, along with most of their distant dinosaur relatives. Australian pterosaur remains are mostly just the occasional fragment of fossilised bone. Having light, hollow bones, pterosaurs in general did not tend to fossilise very well.

PTO—please turn over, typically used in publications or papers.

pub—public house; hotel, especially the bar.

pub crawl—the practice of drinking at a series of hotels, especially in one evening.

public—'public' was borrowed early on to refer to aspects of the convict system, to show it was a penal settlement run as a public institution, not one in which a person could live privately.

public house—1. a hotel. 2. a tavern.

public school—1. any non-fee-paying school. 2. a private fee-paying secondary, usually boarding, school such as Eton.

public servant—civil servant.

public service—civil service.

publican—the keeper of a hotel or tavern.

pud/pudding—1. fat person. 2. stupid person. 3. any dessert.

pudding club—pertaining to pregnancy: e.g., She's joined the pudding club.

puddler—(hist.) or puddling machines, were used where it was necessary to break up the wash on the goldfields. They consisted of large circular holes about 15 m to 20 m in circumference in which the dirt and water were mixed, with perhaps a small race conveying water into the puddler. In the centre of the puddler was a mound with a tall wooden pole acting as a pivot, to which was attached a wooden shaft extending over the hole and to which a horse was yoked.

pug—a boxer.

pukamani pole—a decorated mortuary pole of the Tiwi.

pull faces—grimace; make distorted facial expressions as a means of being rude, impudent or contemptuous.

pull off a hat-trick—have three successes in a row.

pull (one's) finger out—1. hurry up. 2. do something; become active.

pull (one's) socks up—improve; make a greater effort; do better after a poor effort.

pull round—recover safely, such as after an illness.

pull the coat—not make a genuine or concerted effort.

pull the digit out—(see: pull one's finger out).

pull the dirty—try to trick, cheat or deceive; attempt to gain an unfair advantage over.

pull the pin—1. truckie's talk for 1. unhitch the trailer/s. 2. quit a job, sometimes without much or any warning, to go and work for someone else. 3. Stop what you're doing, to do something else.

pull up a pew—find a chair and sit down.

pull your head/neck in!—mind your own business!

Pulu Keeling National Park—was proclaimed in December 1995 and is Australia's sixth and smallest Commonwealth National Park. 'Pulu' is the Cocos-Malay word for island. The park includes the entire 1.2sq km land area of North Keeling Island, and a marine area extending 1.5km around the island. North Keeling Island forms part of the Cocos (Keeling) island group. The park's most outstanding feature is its intact coral atoll ecosystem. With the widespread global decline of similar coral island habitats and their associated reefs due to various human causes, the conservation and protection of the park and its wildlife is internationally critical.

pumpkin-head—someone who has a big head or is obese, fat.

punch-up—a violent fight.

punching the bundy—working set hours and operating a time-clock that records one's arrival and departure.

punnet—a small light basket or container for fruit or vegetables: e.g., In season, one can buy a punnet of strawberries for a reasonable price.

punt—attempt; try: e.g., I'll have a punt at it.

punter—1. a gambler—especially horse-racing. 2. anybody: e.g., The punters are wondering what the pollies are up to.

pup—a conceited, unsophisticated young man.

purler—1. a heavy fall. 2. anything outstanding, excellent.

Purnululu National Park—the 239,723 ha Purnululu National Park is located in the State of Western Australia. It contains the deeply dissected Bungle Bungle Range composed of Devonian-age quartz sandstone eroded over a period of 20 million years into a series of beehive-shaped towers or cones, whose steeply sloping surfaces are distinctly marked by regular horizontal bands of dark-grey cyanobacterial crust (single-celled photosynthetic organisms). These outstanding examples of cone karst owe their existence and uniqueness to several interacting geological, biological, erosional and climatic phenomena.

purple enamel orchid—Elythranthera brunosis. P urple and pink enamel orchids grow only in the south-west, where they are widespread, especially after a summer fire. They have petals that appear to be enamelled or highly polished. The stems grow to about 30cm tall and the flowers are about 3cm across. They have a single, hairy leaf. Flowers August to November.

purple swamphen—Porphyrio porphyrio, a common bird of wetland areas characterised by an iridescent, indigo blue breast. The back and wings are black with a greenish gloss. The under-tail coverts are pure white, while the heavy beak and thick legs are red. The range of the pukeko, as it is called in New Zealand, includes southern Europe, Africa, India, South East Asia, New Guinea, Melanesia and western Polynesia, as well as Australia and New Zealand. They are usually found in permanent swamps and wetlands containing thick vegetation, usually reeds. They mostly live near the coast in groups of between one and 10, and feed on vegetation, small birds and the eggs of other birds. Also known as the swamphen.

purple-crowned fairy-wren—Malurus coronatus is unusual for the beautiful shade of its head colouring, being larger than other fairy-wrens, building a bulkier nest and having a shrill song. It is found in three isolated areas in the Far North, where it inhabits pandanus palms and mangroves fringing tropical rivers. The wren is extinct over much of its former range, and becoming rare in the remaining locations.

push—1. influence; power: e.g., He's got a lot of push in politics. 2. enterprise; determination: e.g., He's got enough push to go a long way in politics. 3. dismissal; the sack: e.g., After that scandal, he was given the push. 4. promote; advertise; recommend; press for.

push off—go; depart; leave: e.g., It's time we pushed off.

push (one's) own barrow—further (one's) own interests; act for the betterment of (one's) own fortunes or opportunities--often in a selfish and uncaring manner towards others.

push up zeds—have a sleep, nap.

push-bike—bicycle.

pushing shit uphill (with a pointed stick/rubber fork)—attempting an impossible task; trying to do something that cannot succeed, is doomed to failure.

puss/pussy—1. a cat. 2. the face.

Pussies—Geelong VFL football team.

pussy-tail—any of many Australian shrubs of the genus Ptilotus having a soft, fluffy flower-head.

put a cork in it!—shut up!

put a spanner in the works—to upset, ruin, spoil; cause trouble.

put a spoke in (someone's) wheel—to hinder, spoil, ruin (someone's) plans or chances.

put in—betrayed to the authorities: e.g., He was put in by his best mate.

put in the boot—1. attack physically or verbally. 2. take unfair advantage of (someone) less fortunate: e.g., The landlords really put in the boot when they raised the rents.

put it across (someone)—outwit, deceive, trick, fool (someone): e.g., He's too smart for anyone to put it across him again!

put it on the slate—record as a debt, or as being on credit.

put on a dingo act—behave in a cowardly or treacherous manner.

put on a turn—1. become angry; create a scene. 2. have a party, social function.

put on jam/side—to behave in an affected, haughty, conceited, pompous manner.

put (one's) bib/oar/spoke/two-bob's worth in—offer (one's) opinion, whether asked for or not.

put (one's) oar in—interfere, meddle.

put paid to—thwart; put an end to; stop: e.g., The police put paid to his criminal activities.

put (someone) in his box—humble, humiliate, embarrass, belittle an arrogant person.

put (someone) straight—set (someone) straight.

put (someone's) weights up—embarrass (someone) by a disclosure; inform on (someone).

put the acid on (someone)—ask, pressure (someone), especially for a loan.

put the bite on (someone)—request, pressure for a loan, favour; cadge.

put the breeze up (someone)—frighten, disconcert (someone).

put the fangs in—1. have someone under one's power, control. 2. (see: put the bite on).

put the kybosh on—put an end to, stop, thwart.

put the mock/mockers/mozz on (someone)—prejudice the chances of; jinx; bring ill fortune and bad luck to bear on (someone).

put the nips into (someone)—(see: put the bite on someone).

put the shits up (someone)—1. cause (someone) to become angry. 2. disconcert, frustrate, worry (someone).

put the skids under (someone)—ensure (someone's) downfall, ruin, destruction.

put the wind up (someone)—1. frighten, intimidate, disconcert (someone). 2. alert, warn (someone).

put the wood in the hole—shut the door.

put up your dooks!—and invitation to fight.

Pydairrerme—a clan of the Oyster Bay tribe, which inhabited the Tasman Peninsula. Truganini, the last known surviving full-blood Tasmanian Aborigine, was a member of the Pydairrerme clan. There is no recorded evidence of any remaining Pydairrerme people on the Tasman Peninsula from the 1830s onwards, although people of Aboriginal ancestry settled on the peninsula after Port Arthur closed.

pygmy-possum—any small marsupial of the family Burramyidae. A pygmy-possum is the size of a mouse, with a prehensile tail, is active at night and sleeps in tree hollows during the day. Because they are so small, it is difficult for them to stay warm in very cold weather, so they remain inactive, or torpid, for a few weeks at a time in winter to save energy. Pygmy-possums keep their young in a nest until they are fully developed. little pygmy-possum is found in Tasmania and in Victoria's mallee area. The eastern pygmy-possum is found in forests along the eastern coast of Australia and in Tasmania. It eats pollen, nectar, fruit and insects; its tongue has a brushy tip to gather pollen.The base of its tail stores fat, which helps it survive when torpid. The long-tailed pygmy-possum is ound in the rainforest of northern Queensland and in New Guinea They make their nests of leaves, and eat insects, and nectar. The western pygmy-possum is found in south-western areas of South Australia and Western Australia. It feeds mainly on insects. The mountain pygmy-possum is found only at Mount Hotham in Victoria and Mount Kosciuszko in New South Wales, above the snowline. The largest pygmy-possum- body 10-12 cm long, tail 15 cm. In summer eats insects, spiders, worms. Stores seeds to eat in winter. When snow is over a metre deep, it gets about in tunnels close to the ground. It also gets torpid for days.

Pyrenees Range—a southern extension of the Great Dividing Range, which traverses eastern Australia. The region first developed as a pastoral area and then was turned over to the gold rushes from the 1850s to 1870s. Both centred on the Avoca River, which runs north to south through the region. The miners extended their interest west to the foothills of the Pyrenees where in the last months of 1854 gold was found at Sardine Gully, Middle Creek, Warrenmang and at Fiddlers Creek. Vineyards were planted as early as 1848, and the Pyrenees now is a celebrated wine region. Prior to settlement of the area, the Pyrenees had been inhabited by Aboriginal people for an estimated 13,000 years. Those encountered included several clans of the Djadja Wurrung language group, one of the main dialects of Kulin.

Python Pool—lies hidden at the base of the Chichester Ranges. This permanent pool is frequented by bird life.

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