free selectorn.
/ˌfriː sᵻˈlɛktə/, U.S. /ˌfri səˈlɛktər/, Australian English /ˌfriː səˈlektə/ Australian. Now historical.
A farmer who acquires a tract of land under a scheme of free selection; = selector n. b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > taking possession > [noun] > of land > under government scheme > one who
encloserc1547
locator1784
locater1816
free selector1864
pegger1901
1864 J. Rogers New Rush 22 Free selectors we shall be! Deserting mineralogy, Retir'd to farms six foot by three—Free selectors we shall be!
1866 Sydney Morning Her. 9 Aug. The very law which the free selector puts in force against the squatter.
1920 W. McGuffin Austral. Tales of Border 180 When the boundary riders noticed the advent of a free selector on the run instead of the ‘dummy’, the matter was promptly reported to the squatter.
1951 A. B. Paterson Coll. Verse i. 73 Where the wily free-selector walks in armour-plated pants, And defies the sting of scorpions, and the bites of bull-dog ants.
2002 Canberra Times (Nexis) 24 Feb. a15 The antics of bushranger Ben Hall, the gold rush and the far-from-congenial relationship between squatters and free selectors.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1864