English

Noun

nulla-nulla ‎(plural nulla-nullas)

1. (Australia) A war club used by Aboriginal Australians
   • 1897, R.H. Mathews, "The Wandarral of the Richmond and Clarence River Tribes" in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, Volumes 7-10, p. 38,

     When these two men get within hearing distance, they tap two nulla nullas, or other weapons together, and crouch down in the long grass, or among bushes, so as to be out of sight. The bush mob hear the tapping, but pretend they don't know what it is, and say to each other in the presence of the boys, "What noise is that?"

   • 1977, Dick Roughsey, Moon and Rainbow: the autobiography of an Aboriginal, Rigby, p. 37,

     After the growling the two men stood apart and hurled their boomerangs at each other, but these were easily fended off with the nulla-nullas. Then the two men came together and fought with nulla-nullas. They swung and thrust at each others' head, legs and arms, jumping about all over the place.

   • 2005, David McKnight, Of Marriage, Violence and Sorcery: The Quest for Power in Northern Queensland, Ashgate, p. 63, ,

     A nulla nulla should be grasped so that one's fingers are not crushed by a blow (several older men were missing part of a finger and had a crushed thumb). One trick is to slide one's nulla nulla along an opponent's nulla nulla and thus rake his fingers.

   • See also quotations under nulla and nullah-nullah.

Alternative forms

• nulla
• nullah-nullah

Synonyms

• waddy