coolabah

Where does the word "coolabah" come from? It comes from Yuwaalaraay gulabaa, and was adopted directly into English (1860s).

Coolabah’s story begins in Yuwaalaraay: gulabaa meant “coolabah tree.” A eucalyptus of inland floodplains; the Burke and Wills 'Dig Tree' at Cooper Creek, blazed in 1861, is a coolabah. It reached English by 1860s as coolabah. Banjo Paterson's 'Waltzing Matilda' (1895) sets its swagman 'under the shade of a coolibah tree'. Today, coolabah means a eucalyptus tree of inland Australian watercourses.

1. Stage 1 · Yuwaalaraay · 1800s gulabaa "coolabah tree", a eucalyptus of inland floodplains; the Burke and Wills 'Dig Tree' at Cooper Creek, blazed in 1861, is a coolabah.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1860s coolabah "inland eucalyptus", Banjo Paterson's 'Waltzing Matilda' (1895) sets its swagman 'under the shade of a coolibah tree'.