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In Australia, a swag is a portable sleeping unit. It is normally a bundle of belongings rolled in a traditional fashion to be carried by a foot traveller in the bush. Before motor transport was common, foot travel over long distances was essential to agriculture in the Australian bush. It is sometimes referred to as a "backpack bed". Swags have been carried by shearers, miners, the unemployed, and many others, some of whom would have been happy to have been called swagmen and some not.
In the early 1800s, the term swag was used by British thieves to describe any amount of stolen goods. One definition given in Francis Grose's 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue is "any booty you have lately obtained,.... To carry the swag is to be the bearer of the stolen goods to a place of safety." [1] James Hardy Vaux, a convict in Australia, used the term for similar purposes in his memoirs written in 1812 and published in 1819. [2] By the 1830s, the term in Australia had transferred from meaning goods acquired by a thief to the possessions and daily necessaries carried by a bushman. The compound swagman and colloquial variation swaggie first appeared in the 1850s during the Australian gold rushes, alongside less common terms such as bundleman. [3] New Zealanders adopted the term in the 1880s, where swagmen were also known as swaggers. [4] Swagger also originated in Australia, but became obsolete there by the 1890s. [5]
In Australia, the term swag is widely used to refer to a portable shelter used for camping or outdoor sleeping that acts as tent, sleeping bag and mattress combined in a single item. Originally designed to be carried by bush travellers on foot, the modern swag has grown in both size and weight and is intended for campers travelling with a vehicle.
The modern swag is a waterproof canvas sleeping compartment that is sometimes insect-proof. Swags include a mattress (usually high density foam, 50 or 75mm thick). When rolled up the swag is relatively lightweight and compact, making it ideal for storage and transport. It is typically easy to erect, and roll up can be done quickly. Swags are still heavily used in Australia, by overlanders. There are still a large number of manufacturers actively making both standard and custom-design swags. The modern swag is designed for robustness and is marketed towards those travelling by vehicle – they are too heavy (10-20kg) and bulky to be transported long distances on foot. [6] [7] Bushwalkers and hikers would use conventional lightweight tents and sleeping bags. More recently, several camping supply firms have produced readymade bedrolls along the pattern of the original swag. [8]
1. a bundle or roll carried across the shoulders or otherwise, and containing the bedding and personal belongings of a traveller through the bush, a miner, etc.; shiralee; bluey; drum: *I got my rug and rolled it up into a swag, putting the remains of the bread and butter inside. –A.B. FACEY, 1981.
2. a pack of personal belongings. [9]
3. The Australian Swag, as defined in the past, is a portable sleeping unit. It is normally a bundle of belongings rolled in a traditional fashion to be carried by a foot traveler in the bush. Before motor transport was common, foot travel over long distances was essential to agriculture in the Australian bush. [10]
"Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem".
Matilda or Mathilda may refer to:
A swagman was a transient labourer who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying his belongings in a swag. The term originated in Australia in the 19th century and was later used in New Zealand.
Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a bivy or tarp, or no shelter at all. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors, in pursuit of activities providing them enjoyment or an educational experience. Spending the night away from home distinguishes camping from day-tripping, picnicking, and other outdoor activities.
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A sleeping bag is an insulated covering for a person, essentially a lightweight quilt that can be closed with a zipper or similar means to form a tube, which functions as lightweight, portable bedding in situations where a person is sleeping outdoors. It is also commonly used indoors for people who do not have beds or at sleepovers. Its primary purpose is to provide warmth and thermal insulation through its synthetic or down insulation. It also typically has a water-resistant or water-repellent cover that protects, to some extent, against wind chill and light precipitation, but a tent is usually used in addition to a sleeping bag, as it performs those functions better. The bottom surface also provides some cushioning, but a sleeping pad or camp cot is usually used in addition to that purpose. The bottom surface of a sleeping bag may be moderately water repellent, but a plastic tarp or groundsheet is often used to protect against moist ground.
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Swag, SWAG, or Swagg may refer to:
A campervan, also referred to as a camper, caravanette, motorhome or RV in North America, is a self-propelled vehicle that provides both transport and sleeping accommodation. The term describes vans that have been fitted out, whereas a motorhome is one with a coachbuilt body.
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A billycan is an Australian term for a lightweight cooking pot in the form of a metal bucket commonly used for boiling water, making tea/coffee or cooking over a campfire or to carry water. These utensils are more commonly known simply as a billy or occasionally as a billy can.
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In Australia, a sly-grog shop is an unlicensed hotel, liquor-store or other vendor of alcoholic beverages, sometimes with the added suggestion of selling poor-quality products. From the time of the First World War to the 1950s, Australia had early closing of hotels and pubs serving alcoholic beverages. The term is also used to denote illegal sales in Indigenous areas where alcohol has been banned or restricted.
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The cowboy bedroll was an American Old West precursor to the modern sleeping bag, which carried a man's bed and some personal belongings in a waterproof shell. In Australia, it was called a swag.