"The hut of the labourer was usually formed of plaited twigs or young branches plastered over with mud, and known by the summary definition of `wattle and dab.'"
1852. Mrs. Meredith, `My Home in Tasmania,' vol. i. p. 179:
"Wattles, so named originally, I conceive, from several of the genus being much used for `wattling' fences or huts. A `wattle and dab' but is formed, in a somewhat Robinson Crusoe style, of stout stakes driven well into the ground, and thickly interlaced with the tough, lithe wattle-branches, so as to make a strong basket-work, which is then dabbed and plastered over on both sides with tenacious clay mortar, and finally thatched."
1879. W. J. Barry, `Up and Down,' p. 21:
"It was built of what is known as `wattle and dab,' or poles and mud, and roofed with the bark of the gum-tree."
1883. E. M. Curr, `Recollections of Squatting,' p. 5:
"Others were of weather boards, wattle and dab, or slabs."
<hw>Wattle-bark</hw>, <i>n</i>. the bark of the wattle; much used in tanning, and forms a staple export.
1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), Aug. 14, p. 178 col. 2:
"A proprietor of land at Mount Gambier has refused L4000 for the wattle-bark on his estate."