was neither Cockney nor Yankee, but a nasal blend of both:
it was a lingo that declined to let the vowels run alone, but
trotted them out in ill-matched couples, with discordant and
awful consequences; in a word, it was Australasiatic of the
worst description."

1890. `Victorian Consolidated Statutes,' Administration and
p.obate Act, Section 39:

"`Australasian Colonies,' shall mean all colonies for the time
being on the main land of Australia. ..and shall also include
the colonies of New Zealand, Tasmania and Fiji and any other
British Colonies or possessions in Australasia now existing or
hereafter to be created which the Governor in Council may from
time to time declare to be Australasian Colonies within the
meaning of this Act."

1895. Edward Jenks [Title]:

"History of the Australasian Colonies."

1896. J. S. Laurie [Title]:

"The Story of Australasia."

<hw>Australia</hw>, <i>n</i>., and <hw>Australian</hw>,
<i>adj</i>. As early as the 16th century there was a belief in
a <i>Terra australis</i> (to which was often added the epithet
<i>incognita</i>), literally "southern land," which was
believed to be land lying round and stretching outwards from
the South Pole.

In `Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of
Australasia,' Sydney, Jan. 1892, is printed a paper read at the
Geographical Congress at Berne, by E. Delmar Morgan, on the
`Early Discovery of Australia.' This paper is illustrated by
maps taken from `Nordenskiold's Atlas.' In a map by Orontius
Finoeus, a French cosmographer of Provence, dated 1531, the
<i>Terra australis</i> is shown as "Terra Australis recenter
inventa, sed nondum plene cognita." In Ortelius' Map, 1570, it
appears as "Terra Australis nondum cognita." In Gerard
Mercator's Map, 1587, as "Terra Australis" simply.

In 1606 the Spaniard Fernandez de Quiros gave the name of
<i>Terra Australis del Espiritu Santo</i> to land which he
thought formed part of the Great Southland. It is in fact one
of the New Hebrides.

The word "<i>Australian</i> " is older than "<i>Australia</i>"
(see quotations, 1693 and 1766). The name <i>Australia</i> was
adapted from the Latin name <i>Terra Australis</i>. The
earliest suggestion of the word is credited to Flinders, who
certainly thought that he was inventing the name. (See
quotation, 1814.) Twenty-one years earlier, however, the word
is found (see quotation, 1793); and the passage containing it
is the first known use of the