Any collections or compilations you can suggest? I assume it was quite a bit different from today, but I wonder how, exactly. Thanks!
The general reference source that I use is:
The Australian national dictionary : a dictionary of Australianisms on historical principles / edited by W. S. Ramson. Melbourne : Oxford University Press, 1988.
However, that covers Australian slang up to the 1980s. For something limited to earlier slang, you might try:
The Australian language : an examination of the English language and English speech as used in Australia, from convict days to the present, with special reference to the growth of indigenous idiom and its use by Australian writers / by Sidney J. Baker. Sydney : Angus and Robertson, 1945.
You might find it hard to get hold of a copy of that, however. There’s a second edition, published in 1966, which might be easier to find.
Try reading through C.J. Dennis’ the Songs of a Sentimental Bloke. It was published in idiom in 1915, and should be fit for purpose.
ETA: Gutenberg’s got it.
Thanks! Any online phrasebooks or dictionaries of slang you know of?
Sorry, tugger. Yer on yer Pat there.
Here is the Gutenberg Australia site. Try different searches for what you want. I’ve found some of what you may want in the results, but you’ll have to decide what is right for you.
A Dictionary of Australian Words And Terms - Gilbert H. Lawson - 1924
While I’m at it I have to plug reading some Henry Lawson.
Just visit Adelaide. It is still stuck in the 1920’s.