A billy is Australian slang for a makeshift kettle used in the outback. It might be as simple as a metal can or bucket placed over a flame, and it is used for heating food and boiling water. Robyn Davidson writes often of “boiling the billy,” which usually means making tea.
Billy Quotes in Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback
The Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback quotes below are all either spoken by Billy or refer to Billy. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 8
Quotes
Aborigines. Warm, friendly, laughing, excited, tired Pitjantjara Aborigines, returning to Wingelinna and Pipalyatjara after a land rights meeting in Warburton. No fear there, they were comfortable with silence. No need to pretend anything. Billies of tea all round. Some sat by the fire and chatted, others drove on home.
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