King Billy
noun Australian historical
A generic term for an Aboriginal leader: they imposed hierarchy on Aborigines by appointing King Billies and requiring them to wear identifying trinkets...
- Ballarat council looks set to name its newest suburb after one of the city's most famous historical elders, Mullawallah, or King Billy as he was commonly known.
- He was one of at least three Wathaurung men in the region given the title King Billy by European settlers.
- This particular measure does not seem to have had any marked effect except perhaps in helping to set up a number of tribal King Billies to confuse writers on native ways.
Origin
Mid 19th century: probably a jocular allusion to the British king William IV.
- Welsh bill
- Welsh Black
- Welsh British
- Welsh Briton
- Welsh cake
- Welsh cattle
- Welsh Celtic
- Welsh chimney
- Welsh clearwing
- Welsh cloth
- Welsh coal
- Welsh cob
- Welsh comb
- Welshcomb
- Welsh corgi
- Welsh cotton
- Welsh dragon
- Welsh drake
- Welsh draper
- Welsh dresser
- Welsh English
- welsher
- Welsherie
- Welshery
- Welsh flannel