Where "Currency Lad & Lass" Comes From
"Currency lads and lasses" were the first generations of native-born white Australians — children of the convicts and free settlers who arrived with and after the First Fleet in 1788. The name came from the colonial monetary system: locally minted coins and paper were called "currency" (as distinct from pound sterling), and the native-born colonists were named after this locally authentic but technically inferior money. The term was popularised in the 1820s and carried connotations of local origin and improvisation.
Peter Miller Cunningham, in his 1827 account Two Years in New South Wales, explained that the term had been coined by "a facetious paymaster of the 73rd Regiment." Despite its origins as a mild put-down, currency lads and lasses reclaimed the name positively, using it to distinguish themselves from more recent arrivals and to assert their claim to the land as people born in it. In 1832, Horatio Wills founded The Currency Lad, the first newspaper specifically representing the interests of the native-born.
"The currency lads and lasses were noted by early visitors for their tall build, independent spirit, and distinct local accents."
How Aussies Actually Use It
An essential concept in early Australian colonial history and genealogical research.
Represents the birth of a distinct, native-born Australian cultural character.
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