Where "Mulga" Comes From
Photo by Mark Marathon, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
"Mulga" comes from malga in Yuwaalaraay (an Aboriginal language of northern NSW), first recorded in English in the 1830s-40s, originally naming the dense, narrow-leaved wattle Acacia aneura.
Its extremely dense, heavy hardwood was traditionally used by Aboriginal peoples for implements such as digging sticks, woomeras, shields and bowls.
“We drove for hundreds of miles through endless red dirt and mulga scrub without passing another car.”
How Aussies Actually Use It
In Australian slang, "the mulga" became widespread shorthand for the remote outback or back of beyond (e.g. "out in the mulga").
Pastoralists rely on mulga foliage as a vital survival fodder for sheep and cattle during harsh drought seasons.
ð Sources & Further Reading
- Borrowings from Aboriginal Languages â Australian National Dictionary Centre, ANU
- List of English words of Australian Aboriginal origin — Wikipedia
- mulga - Dictionary.com
- Acacia aneura - Wikipedia
- Mulga - Wikipedia
Part of our Aboriginal Loanwords collection →
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