Here be a run of puns (based on AU place names, animals, and cultural phenomena) that was a major hit –
Australiana – for performer
Austen Tayshus in 1983. Back then much of its content was regarded as being racy; nowadays it’s passé.
My mate,
Boomer, rang1. Will
Walla be2 there?
Vegie might3 come. Let's
go, Anna4. Only if
Din goes5.
Nulla bores
6 me. Speak
ill of Warra7.
Ayers rocks
8 in.
Alice springs9 into action. Thanks,
Warra, ta10. Has
Eucum been11 in? Wait until
Gum leaves12. On the
lawn, Ceston13.
Marie knows14. Leave
Jack around a15 party.
Adel laid16 it on me. Do you wanna game of
euchre, Lyptus17? Can
Wom bat18? Can
Tenta field19?
Dar wins
20 every time. Is
Bass straight21? Swim in the
River, Ina22. I've got no
cosi, Oscar23. Without a
thread, Bo24.
Perish the25 thought. No
cooler bar26 maid. Where can
Marsu pee, Al27?
You reek of Stockade28.
Cook a burra29. A pair of
queens land30 in. Crack on
to Wumba31. Try to
mount Isa32. Trying to
plait her puss33. Flash your
wanger at her34.
What'll 'ey care35? Seen a
cock or two36. Pack
Bill a bong37. Will a
didgery do38? Where's the Tally-
ho, Bart39?
Great, Barry — a reefer
40.
Blew Mountains41 away.
Lord! How42?
Hey! Man!43 How much can a
Koala bear44? Lead you
astray, Liana45.
Unless one listens to the performance, some of the allusions might escape one’s notice.
1. boomerang – that indigenous tool that, if thrown correctly, returns to sender.
2. wallaby – a native macropod, smaller than a 'roo
3. Vegemite – AU’s answer to Marmite
4. goanna – native monitor lizard
5. dingoes – native dogs
6. Nullarbor (a treeless desert plain)
7. Illawarra – a region south of Sydney
8. Ayers Rock (now called Uluru)
9. Alice Springs – town in central AU
10. waratah – native flowering bush
11. Eucumbene – place in the Snowy Mountains region
12. gum leaves – eucalypt tree foliage
13. Launceston – city in Tasmania
14. merinos – famed wool-bearing sheep
15. Jacaranda – widespread (though exotic) flowering tree
16. Adelaide – capital of South Australia
17. eucalyptus – gum tree oil
18. wombat – burrowing native animal
19. Tenterfield – a country town in NSW, home of the late Peter Allan
20. Darwin – capital of the Northern Territory
21. Bass Strait – body of water between Tasmania and the AU mainland
22. Riverina – an agricultural region of south-western NSW
23. Kosciusko – the continent’s tallest mountain
24. Thredbo – a skiing town in the Snowy Mtns
25. Perisher – another skiing resort
26. coolabah – a type of tree
27. marsupial – animal type including kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, possums, wombats, Tasmanian devils, dunnarts, potoroos, cuscus, and the extinct thylacine
28. Eureka Stockade – significant event in the 1800s Gold Rush
29. kookaburra – AU kingfisher bird
30. Queensland – a state of AU (capital: Brisbane)
31. Toowoomba, a city in Queensland
32. Mt Isa – Another Qld town, big on mining
33. platypus – AU semi-aquatic, egg-laying mammal
34. Wangaratta – town in Victoria
35. Lake Eyre – large inland lake
36. cockatoo – bird of the parrot species
37. billabong – a usually crescent shaped piece of river cut off from the main stream
38. didgeridoo – indigenous musical instrument
39. Hobart – capital of Tasmania
40. Great Barrier Reef – reef off the coast of Queensland
41. Blue Mts – mountain range west of Sydney
42. Lord Howe Island
43. Hayman – another island
44. a koala
isn’t a bear!45. Australiana – tourist junk and the title of the song