A billabong The word is derived from two Indigenous Australian words: “billa” meaning “creek” and “bong” meaning “dead”. Billabongs appear relatively often in Australian literature. One of the most well-known references is in the opening line of Banjo Paterson’s famous poem “Waltzing Matilda”.
Home / Questions / Which Australian English word is used to refer to an oxbow lake, a stagnant pool of water attached to a waterway that is usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end?