[Ads-l] Antedating of "bunyip"

[Robin Hamilton]

        ... often found in the shade of the koala-barbed tree.

Robin Hamilton

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-----Original Message----- 
From: Jonathan Lighter
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2014 12:32 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Antedating of "bunyip"

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Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Antedating of "bunyip"
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Reminds me of Flubadub.

JL

On Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 7:16 AM, Arnold Zwicky <zwicky at stanford.edu> wrote:
>
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Arnold Zwicky <zwicky at STANFORD.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Antedating of "bunyip"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Dec 19, 2014, at 4:00 AM, Hugo <hugovk at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> > bunyip (OED: 1848)
> >=20
> > 1845, Trove:
> >=20
> > [Begin]
> > On the bone being shown to an intelligent black, he at once recognised =
> it as belonging to the "Bunyip,"
> > which he declared he had seen. On being requested to make a drawing of =
> it, he did so without hesitation. The bone and the picture were then =
> shown separately to different blacks who had no opportunity of =
> communicating with each other; and they one and all recognized the bone =
> and picture
> > as belonging to the " Bunyip," repeating the name without variation.
> > ...
> > The Bunyip, then, is represented as uniting the characteristics of a =
> bird and of an alligator.
> > [End]
> >=20
> > "WONDERFUL DISCOVERY OF A NEW ANIMAL." Geelong Advertiser and =
> Squatters'
> > Advocate (Vic. : 1845 - 1847) 2 Jul 1845: 2. Web. 19 Dec 2014 <
> > http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article94443733>.
> >=20
> > It goes on to give a long description of the mythical creature.
>
> the bunyip redivivus, from Wikipedia:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertie_the_Bunyip
> Bertie the Bunyip was the lead puppet character on the popular American =
> children's television series The Bertie the Bunyip Show in Philadelphia, =
> Pennsylvania, during the 1950s and 60s. He was portrayed as a =
> black-colored seal-looking character with a duck-bill-type face. For =
> children he was cute and friendly, getting into harmless situations.
> =20
> Created by Australian Lee Dexter, Bertie was a bunyip (a mythological =
> Australian creature), described by Dexter as "a cross between a bunny, a =
> collie dog and a duck billed platypus."=
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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