The Australian travel slang dictionary

Author of The Essential Lingo Dictionary, John Miller, gives us his favourite Australian slang words and phrases, some weird, some borderline crude, but most hilarious.

1. Pitt Street farmer

Someone who lives in the city but has rural property, possibly as a means of tax avoidance: Pitt Street farmer (NSW), Collins Street cocky (Victoria), Queen Street bushie or ringer (Queensland) or St George’s Terrace cocky (WA).

2. Toorak taxi

Slang in various states for a city-based 4WD or SUV that never sees off road driving: Toorak taxi or tractor in Melbourne; Double Bay tractor, Mosman tractor, North Shore tank, Rose Bay shopping trolley or Turramurra tractor in Sydney; Kenmore tractor in Brisbane.

3. Gosford skirt

A very short skirt, so called because the NSW city of Gosford is close to a town called The Entrance.

4. Kate’s Folly

Bruce Stadium in Canberra, named after Kate Carnell, former chief minister of the ACT. Also Jeff’s Shed, The Melbourne Exhibition Centre, named after former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett.

5. Mildura marching girls

The tough roots of the mallee tree found in southwest NSW, northwest Victoria and eastern South Australia, the area around Mildura.

6. Madonna’s bra

A Sydney nickname for the Anzac Bridge which is said to resemble the pointy bra once worn by pop star Madonna.

7. Methodist gate

A gate that is difficult to open – only a Methodist could open it without swearing.

8. Mt Isa by the Sea

A nickname for the Queensland city of Townsville and coined owing to its lack of greenery, just as the town of Mt Isa, which is a long way west of Townsville.

9. Snow birds

Those people travelling with caravans. Believed to originate from the traits of many birds who fly north or south to escape the cold winters.

10. Territory confetti

The ring pulls from beer cans. So called because it is hot in the Northern Territory meaning that the locals tend to drink more beer and litter the ground with ring pulls.

Edited extract from The Essential Lingo Dictionary (Exisle Publishing, 2015) by John Miller ($14.99)

A town charmingly paused in time has become a hot mountain biking destination.

There’s a forest reserve full of eucalyptus and pines surrounding town – when you combine all the greenery with a main street of grand old buildings still standing from the Victorian Gold Rush, Creswick looks more period movie set than a 21st-century town.

old gold bank Victoria — Grand buildings from the Victorian gold rush. (Image: Visit Victoria)

This entire region of Victoria – the Central Goldfields – is as pretty-as-a-picture, but there’s something extra-special about Creswick. I used to live 30 minutes north; I’d drive in some evenings to cruise its main street at dusk, and pretend I was travelling back in time.

It was sleepy back then, but that’s changed. Where I used to walk through its forest, now I’m hurtling down the state’s best new mountain bike trails. There’s a 60-kilometre network of mountain bike trails – dubbed Djuwang Baring – which make Creswick the state’s hottest new mountain biking destination.

Meet Victoria’s new mountain biking capital

Creswick bike trail — This historic town has become a mountain biking hotspot.

Victoria has a habit of turning quiet country towns into mountain biking hotspots. I was there in the mid-2000s when the tiny Otways village of Forrest embarked on an ambitious plan to save itself (after the death of its timber cutting industry) courtesy of some of the world’s best mountain bike trails. A screaming success it proved to be, and soon mountain bike trails began popping up all over Victoria.

I’m no expert, so I like that a lot of Creswick’s trails are as scenic as they are challenging. I prefer intermediate trails, such as Down Martuk, with its flowing berms and a view round every corner. Everyone from outright beginners to experts can be happy here. There’s trails that take me down technical rock sections with plenty of bumps. But there’s enough on offer to appeal to day-trippers, as much as hard-core mountain-bikers.

I love that the trails empty onto that grand old main street. There’s bars still standing from the Gold Rush of the 1850s I can refuel at. Like the award-winning Farmers Arms, not to be confused with the pub sharing its name in Daylesford. It’s stood since 1857. And The American Creswick built two years later, or Odessa Wine Bar, part of Leaver’s Hotel in an 1856-built former gold exchange bank.

The Woodlands is set on a large bushland property. (Image: Vanessa Smith Photography)

Creswick is also full of great cafes and restaurants, many of them set in the same old buildings that have stood for 170 years. So whether you’re here for the rush of the trails or the calm of town life, Creswick provides.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

Inside the Woodlands, a chic 1970s log cabin. (Image: Vanessa Smith Photography)

RACV Goldfields Resort is a contemporary stay with a restaurant, swimming pool and golf course. The Woodlands in nearby Lal Lal comprises a chic log cabin set on a 16-hectare property abundant in native wildlife.

Eating there

Le Peche Gourmand makes for the perfect pitstop for carb and sugar-loading.

The menu at Odessa at Leaver’s Hotel includes some Thai-inspired fare. Fuel up for your ride on baguettes and pastries from French patisserie Le Peche Gourmand . The Farmers Arms has been a much-loved local institution since 1857.

Playing there

Creswick State Forest has a variety of hiking trails, including a section of the 210-kilometre-long Goldfields Track. Miss Northcotts Garden is a quaint garden store with tea room.