<hw>Nigger</hw>, <i>n</i>. an Australian black or aboriginal. [Of course an incorrect use. He is not a negro, any more than the Hindoo is.]
1874. M. C., `Explorers,' p. 25:
"I quite thought the niggers had made an attack."
1891. `The Argus,' Nov. 7, p. 13, col. 5:
"The natives of Queensland are nearly always spoken of as `niggers' by those who are brought most directly in contact with them."
<hw>Nigger-head</hw>, <i>n</i>. (1) Name given in New Zealand to hard blackstones found at the Blue Spur and other mining districts. They are prized for their effectiveness in aiding cement-washing. The name is applied in America to a round piece of basic igneous rock.
(2) Name used in Queensland for blocks of coral above water.
1876. Capt. J. Moresby, R. N., `Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea,' pp. 2-3:
"The gigantic Barrier Reef is submerged in parts, generally to a shallow depth, and traceable only by the surf that breaks on it, out of which a crowd of `nigger heads,' black points of coral rock, peep up in places . . ."
1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 111: