The Australian National Dictionary beta

Cultural Sensitivity Warning: Please note that due to the nature of this reference work as a historical dictionary and form of historical record, it contains terms that are offensive.

Select preference: [Hide sensitive content|Show sensitive content]

expanded quote list ⇕text sizeexpand long entries ⇕

Pacific adj.
1. Used as a distinguishing epithet in the names of birds occurring on the Pacific coast:

   Pacific gull a large gull, Larus pacificus, of coastal southern Australia including Tasmania, with white and black plumage and a heavy yellow beak.

1801 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds Suppl. II. 332 Pacific G[ull] inhabits New South Wales.   1847 J. Gould Birds of Aust. (1848) VII. Pl. 19, Larus pacificus  ..  Pacific Gull.   1887 Illustr. Sydney News 21 Dec. 218/2 On Wednesday some of the party went on to the Ettrick River, and on the way found the eggs of the Pacific gull.   1911 Lucas & Le Souef Birds of Aust. 86 The Pacific Gull… Head, neck and under surface white; mantle and surface of wings black.   1924 Lord & Scott Synopsis Vertebrate Animals Tas. 156 The Pacific Gull  ..  is common around the coasts of Tasmania.   1945 C. Barrett Austral. Bird Life 94 The Pacific gull (Gabianus pacificus) neglects no opportunity to steal an egg or seize an unprotected nestling.   1968 R. Hill Bush Quest 40 Further out from the pier, the great black and white shapes of Pacific gulls rode on the water amongst the swimming prions.   1984 M. Blakers et al. Atlas Austral. Birds 195 The Pacific Gull lives on ocean beaches and offshore islands, only exceptionally appearing far inland.   2000 M. Morcombe Field Guide Austral. Birds 142 Pacific Gull  ..  50–66 cm. Very large gull; patrols water's edge; has heavy lumbering flight interspersed with glides.   2013 Kirkwood & Goldsworthy Fur Seals & Sea Lions 52 At colonies in southern Australia, the placenta is quickly detected and cleaned up by birds—mostly silver, kelp and pacific gulls.


   Pacific heron a predominantly grey-black waterbird, Ardea pacifica, chiefly of mainland Australia, with a white head and neck. Also called white-necked heron white adj.2 1 b.

1801 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds Suppl. II. 305 Pacific H[eron]  ..  inhabits the sea-shores in various parts of New Holland  ..  but is not a common species.   1847 J. Gould Birds of Aust. (1848) VI. Pl. 52, Ardea pacifica  ..  Pacific Heron… White-necked Heron of the Colonists.   1890 G.J. Broinowski Birds of Aust. II. Pl. 21, The Pacific Heron is a summer visitant to the southern coasts of Australia.   1924 Lord & Scott Synopsis Vertebrate Animals Tas. 171 The White-necked or Pacific Heron is by no means common in Tasmania.   1931 M. Terry Hidden Wealth 325 Birds included  ..  Pacific heron.   1984 M. Blakers et al. Atlas Austral. Birds 49 The Pacific Heron forages in water or wet paddocks, often alone.   1990 Geraldton Guardian 15 May 6/5 Rare species of waterbirds such as freckled ducks, pacific heron and white-faced heron have been found shot dead during the recent duck shooting season.   2000 Age (Melbourne) 27 Dec. 5/3 Mr Caldwell said bird species that had chosen to breed in the waterlogged forest included great egrets, nankeen night herons, Pacific herons [etc.].   2013 Campbell & Woods Wildlife in Aust. 84 Juveniles are more similar to Pacific Herons.


2. Special Compounds:

   Pacific peso (esp. in the 1980s and 1990s) the Australian dollar when devalued against other major currencies, esp. the US dollar. [From Pacific (alluding to Australia's geographic position) + peso (alluding to the traditional buying power of the American dollar against the Mexican peso) as a derogatory term for the low value of the Australian dollar.]

1986 Sydney Morning Herald 8 Sept. (Good Living Suppl.) 3/3 Since the devaluation of the Pacific peso, Australian champagne should appeal even more to local imbibers.   1988 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 3 June 35/1 The rise and rise of our once-libelled Pacific Peso is seen as posing all sorts of delicate policy problems for the Government.   1994 Advertiser (Adelaide) 7 Dec. 18/3, I shall start singing the new Australian national anthem: ‘Yes, we have no bananas but plenty of Pacific pesos’.   2001 Age (Melbourne) 6 Feb. 6/7 When you have got the Australian dollar turning into the Pacific peso, courtesy of this government, you're in a situation where your exports are going to go obviously bananas.   2013 Sunday Tel. (Sydney) 14 Apr. 109/2 Once dismissed as the ‘pacific peso’, our turbo-charged Aussie dollar is a boon for consumers.


   Pacific solution an Australian Government policy of detaining asylum seekers in Pacific-island states such as Nauru etc., rather than processing them on Australian territory.

2001 Canberra Times 13 Dec. 1/7 The Government denied yesterday that Cabinet had approved up to $500 million to fund its so-called ‘Pacific Solution’.   2002 Austral. (Sydney) 15 May 5/1 John Howard told the Coalition partyroom the Pacific solution had been a great success. Successful in terms of resonating with the electorate, leaving the Opposition bloodied and bowed, and winning a third term, perhaps.   2005 Age (Melbourne) 4 Sept. 18/7 The Pacific solution has been scrapped and camps in Nauru and Papua New Guinea officially closed.   2013 Sydney Morning Herald 28 Mar. 19/3 The panel was wrong to propose the Pacific Solution again.