Austral English / A dictionary of Australasian words, phrases and usages with those aboriginal-Australian and Maori words which have become incorporated in the language, and the commoner scientific words that have had their origin in Australasia

by Edward Ellis Morris

1859. D. Bunce, `Australasiatic Reminiscences,' p. 33:

"The trees forming the most interesting groups were the <i>Casuarina torulosa</i>, she-oak, and <i>C. stricta</i>, he-oak. . . . The name of the first is said to have been derived from `sheeac,' the name of an American tree producing the beef-wood like our she-oak. <i>C. stricta</i>, or he-oak, has been named in contradistinction to the sexes, as if they constituted one dioecious plant, whereas they are two perfectly distinct species."

1860. J. D. Hooker, `Botany of the Antarctic Voyage,' part iii. [Flora Tasmaniae], p. 348:

"<i>Casuarina suberosa</i>. This is an erect species, growing 15 feet high. . . It is well known as the `He-oak,' in contradistinction to the <i>C. quadrivalvis</i>, or `She-oak,' a name, I believe, adapted from the North American `Sheack' though more nearly allied botanically to the Northern Oaks than any Tasmanian genus except <i>Fagus</i>, they have nothing to do with that genus in habit or appearance, nor with the Canadian `Sheack.'"

1864. J. McDouall Stuart, `Explorations in Australia,' p. 150:

"Within the last mile or two we have passed a few patches of Shea-oak, growing large, having a very rough and thick bark, nearly black. They have a dismal appearance."

1868. J. Bonwick, `John Batman, Founder of Victoria,' p.103:

"Even Batman's hill, the memorial of his ancient encampment, has been levelled; and the she-oaks upon that grassy mound no longer sigh in the breeze a dirge for the hero of exploration."

1869. `The Argus,' May 25, p. 5, col. 2:

"The she-oak trees, of which there are large quantities in the sandy soil of the salt-bush country, proved very serviceable during the late drought. Some of the settlers caused thousands of she-oaks to be stripped of their boughs, and it was a sight to see some of the famishing cattle rushing after the men who were employed in thus supplying the poor animals with the means of sustaining life. The cattle ate the boughs and the bark with the greatest avidity, and the bushman's axe as it felled the she-oak was music to their ears."