The word swamp appeared first in Virginia in the early 1600s and was used as if it was a synonym for a marsh.  The Editor, Susan Butler, explores the differences and similarities of the swamps and marshes of America, England and Australia -- including the many words used to describe this part of the environment. Read more about the OzPic project at: www.macquariedictionary.com.au/ozpic        

A soak is a damp patch of ground where the groundwater is close to the surface. A variant name for the soak is a sinkhole, a pothole or a swallow-hole. They can also be called gnamma holes or gilgai, which means waterhole.  The Editor, Susan Butler, explores the many names for soaks, and how they may differ across Australia. Read more about the OzPic project at: www.macquariedictionary.com.au/ozpic          

Many parts of the Australian landscape feature scrub -- low trees and shrub, often a bit stunted and sparse. The Editor, Susan Butler, talks about the different types of scrub, like brigalow, pindan, mulga, mallee and spinifex, and how many areas across the country have come to be known by the type of scrub growing there. Read more about the OzPic project at: www.macquariedictionary.com.au/ozpic            

Settlers in Australia moved from the British English notion of a creek being a bend or crook in a body of water, to the hierarchy of watercourses that we have today. The Editor, Susan Butler, discusses the range of words that can be used to refer to a creek, and how the meaning has changed over time. Read more about the OzPic project at: www.macquariedictionary.com.au/ozpic         

In colonial times, a billabong was a subsidiary course of a river, carved out as an anabranch or meander. But in the mid-1900s the primary idea of a billabong came to be synonymous with a waterhole. The Editor, Susan Butler, explores this change. Read more about the OzPic project at: www.macquariedictionary.com.au/ozpic          

The Editor, Susan Butler, explores the history of the word bombora which is now used to refer to any submerged reef or rock shelf and its associated wave formation. Read more about the OzPic project at: www.macquariedictionary.com.au/ozpic              

In this first episode, The Editor, Susan Butler, discusses how the Australian bush was perceived by the first colonials compared to how it is perceived today by city slickers and bushies alike. Read more about the OzPic project at: www.macquariedictionary.com.au/ozpic