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A billycan is an Australian term for a lightweight
cooking pot Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware ...
in the form of a metal bucketFarrell, Michael. "Death Watch: Reading the Common Object of the Billycan in 'Waltzing Matilda. ''Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature'' 10 (2010) commonly used for boiling water, making tea/coffee or cooking over a
campfire A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires ...
or to carry water. These utensils are more commonly known simply as a billy or occasionally as a billy can (billy tin or billy pot in Canada).


Usage

The term ''billy'' or ''billycan'' is particularly associated with Australian usage, but is also used in New Zealand, and to a lesser extent Britain and Ireland. In Australia, the billy has come to symbolise the spirit of exploration of the outback and is a widespread symbol of
bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...
life, although now regarded mostly as a symbol of an age that has long passed. To ''boil the billy'' most often means to make
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
. This expression dates from the
Australian gold rushes During the Australian gold rushes, starting in 1851, significant numbers of workers moved from elsewhere in Australia and overseas to where gold had been discovered. Gold had been found several times before, but the colonial government of Ne ...
and probably earlier. "Billy Tea" was the name of a popular brand of tea long sold by Australian grocers and supermarkets. Billies feature in many of
Henry Lawson Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...
's stories and poems.
Banjo Paterson Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, (17 February 18645 February 1941) was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the ...
's most famous of many references to the billy is surely in the first verse and chorus of
Waltzing Matilda "Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem". The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing) ...
: "Waltzing Matilda and leading a waterbag", which was later changed by the Billy Tea Company to "And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled ...".


Etymology

Although there is a suggestion that the word may be associated with the Aboriginal ''billa'' (meaning water; ''cf.''
Billabong Billabong ( ) is an Australian term for an oxbow lake, an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. As a result ...
), it is widely accepted that the term ''billycan'' is derived from b''ouilli can'', the name given to the empty cannisters used for preserving
Soup and bouilli Soup and Bouilli in England is a dish of boiled beef and root vegetables based on the traditional French dish pot-au-feu. The name comes from the general method in France of serving pot-au-feu as two courses - ''la soupe et le bouilli''. In Englan ...
and other foods. With the addition of a handle, these tins were repurposed for boiling water. Letters to newspapers in the early 20th century support this view and
David George Stead David George Stead (6 March 1877 – 2 August 1957) was an Australian marine biologist, ichthyologist, oceanographer, conservationist and writer. He was born at St Leonards in Sydney, and educated at public schools and the Sydney Technical Coll ...
quoting his father, who emigrated in 1862 aged 16, wrote "the term "billy can" was commonly used in south coastal England, to describe a "bouilli" can or tin. The preservation of foods in tin cannisters began in 1812 at the firm of Donkin, Hall and Gamble in Bermondsey, England. The reuse of the empty cans probably began at the same time but it is not until 1835 that there is a record of "an empty preserved-meat-canister serving the double purpose of tea-kettle and tea-pot". By the 1840s, ''soup and bouilli tin'' or ''bouilli tin'' was increasingly being used as a generic term for any empty preserved food can. The earliest known use of billy for kettle is in an 1848 Tasmanian newspaper report of a criminal trial. A defendant is reported as saying "he put some bread on the table and the "billy" on the fire." Reminiscences by Heberley and Davenport place billy or billies at earlier events but these accounts were written much later. Another early example from 1849 shows that use of the term was possibly widespread in Australia. It occurs in idyllic description of a shepherd's life in South Australia: "near the wooden fire, is what is called the billy or tea-kettle". From 1851 the gold rushes spur British emigration to Australia with many gold diggers writing letters home describing the journey to Australia and life on the goldfields and many writers mentioning their use of a "billy". From these it is known: *In 1853 soup and bouilli cans were converted to useful items on an emigrant ship. *"Billy - (this is what you call a tin-can, which is used very often at home for milking cows in, but which the diggers have christened Billy) - and a useful Billy he is: in it we make our tea and coffee". By 1855 "tin billys" are no longer just repurposed bouilli tins but are being sold by a Melbourne Importer and by 1859 are being manufactured in Australia with "Billys, all sizes" being sold at the Kyneton Tin and Zinc Works.The Kyneton Observer (Vic. : 1856 - 1900) Thu 14 Apr 1859
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See also

* Kelly kettle * Dixie, a large metal pot (12 gallon camp kettle) for cooking, brewing tea etc; used in military camps https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Dixy https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dixie *
List of cooking vessels This is a list of cooking vessels. A cooking vessel is a type of cookware or bakeware designed for cooking, baking, roasting, boiling or steaming. Cooking vessels are manufactured using materials such as steel, cast iron, aluminum, clay and va ...


References


External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Billycans Camping equipment Cooking vessels Australian cuisine Australian inventions Tea in Australia