Tucker bag is a traditional

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n term for a storage bag used by travellers in the

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than Australian bush, the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastli ...

, typically a

swagman A swagman (also called a swaggie, sundowner or tussocker) was a transient labourer who traveled by foot from farm to farm carrying his belongings in a swag. The term originated in Australia in the 19th century and was later used in New Zealan ...

bushman The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are the members of any of the indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures of southern Africa, and the oldest surviving cultures of the region. They are thought to have diverged from other humans 100,000 to 200 ...

, for carrying subsistence food (the term ''tucker'' being Australian and New Zealand slang for food). In its basic design a tucker bag is a pouch or bag with a single entry typically closed with a drawstring, and may have been made of leather or

oilskin Oilskin is a waterproof cloth used for making garments typically worn by sailors and by others in wet areas. The modern oilskin garment was developed by a New Zealander, Edward Le Roy, in 1898. Le Roy used worn-out sailcloth painted with a mixtu ...

The tucker bag should not be confused with the swag, also carried by outback travellers, whether on foot, horse or pushbike, which may have comprised blankets (usually blue, hence "bluey", another name for a swag), waterproof sheet, personal effects, and basic cooking implements such as a

billy Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) * Billy (surname), a surname (and list of people with the surname) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy ( ...

. The swag would generally be carried as a sausage-shaped roll slung over the shoulder, and the tucker bag in front. The term "tucker bag" appears in a number of traditional Australian songs and poems, including ''

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 ...

'' "Whose is that jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?", reflecting the tucker bag's place in Australian culture and history.

Tucker box

Bullockies and drivers of horse-drawn vehicles were not so constrained by the need for portability, so a greater quantity of food could be carried in a tucker box, as exemplified by the story of the Dog on the Tuckerbox. The contents would be similar, though: salt beef, tea, flour and sugar or

golden syrup Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made by the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance and co ...

and perhaps tinned

jam Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...

. Train crews' tucker boxes would contain more than food: a tin plate, pannikin (small pan or cup), eating utensils and toiletries. Most crews would not take meat with them but would buy it at the town where they ended their shift, since there were no refrigeration facilities on board. "Tucker box" was a model of domestic chest freezer built in Australia under the

Whirlpool A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...

brand name.

References

{{Bags Australian slang Bags

Tucker box

See also

References