The Bush
Encyclopedia
"The bush" is a term used for rural, undeveloped land or country areas in certain countries.

Australia

The term is iconic in Australia. In reference to the landscape, "bush" describes a wooded area, intermediate between a shrubland
Shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub or brush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity...

 and a forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

, generally of dry and nitrogen-poor soil, mostly grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

less, thin to thick woody shrubs and bushes, under a sparse canopy of eucalypts
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

. The bush was something that was uniquely Australian and very different to the green Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an landscapes familiar to many new immigrants. The bush was revered as a source of national ideals by the likes of Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"...

 and Banjo Paterson
Banjo Paterson
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, OBE 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 district around Binalong, New South Wales where he spent much of his childhood...

. Romanticising the bush in this way was a big step forward for Australians in their steps towards self-identity. The legacy is a folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

 rich in the spirit of the bush.

From a social and/or political perspective the bush, as in a person "going bush", can also be understood to mean desert or any other sparsely inhabited region regardless of vegetation. "The Bush" also refers to any populated region outside of the major metropolitan areas, including mining and agricultural areas. Consequently it is not unusual to have a mining town in the desert such as Port Hedland (Pop. 14,000) referred to as "The bush" within the media.

The term bush is also affixed to any number of other entities or activities to describe their rural, country or folk nature, eg "Bush Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

", "Bush Music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

", etc.

New Zealand


In New Zealand, the term has a more specific connotation — that of isolated, heavily forested countryside, as opposed to the open coastal plains and tussock-covered high country
High country (New Zealand)
High country is a New Zealand term for the elevated pastoral land of the South Island and - to a lesser extent - North Island of New Zealand. This terrain, which can be compared loosely with the outback of Australia, high veldt of South Africa and pampas of Argentina, lies in the rain shadow of the...

. Bush always refers to areas of native trees rather than exotic forests.

The New Zealand usage of ‘bush’ probably comes from the word ‘bosch’, used by Dutch settlers in South Africa, where it meant uncultivated country.What is the bush?: The bush: dense native forest, Te Ara Website

Areas with this type of land cover are found predominantly in the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

, especially in the West Coast
West Coast, New Zealand
The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...

 region stretching from Fiordland
Fiordland
Fiordland is a geographic region of New Zealand that is situated on the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western-most third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes and its ocean-flooded, steep western valleys...

 to Nelson
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....

, with the east coast having been deforested except for parts of Kaikoura
Kaikoura
Kaikoura is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1 180 km north of Christchurch.Kaikoura became the first local authority to reach the Green Globe tourism certification standard....

 and the Catlins
The Catlins
The Catlins comprises an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between the Otago and Southland regions...

. Much of Stewart Island/Rakiura
Stewart Island/Rakiura
Stewart Island/Rakiura is the third-largest island of New Zealand. It lies south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. Its permanent population is slightly over 400 people, most of whom live in the settlement of Oban.- History and naming :...

 is bush-covered. In the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

, the largest areas of bush cover the main ranges stretching north-northeast from Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

 towards East Cape
East Cape
East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located to the north of Gisborne in the northeast of the North Island....

, notably including the Urewera Ranges
Te Urewera
Te Urewera is an area of the central North Island of New Zealand. Located in rough, sparsely populated hill country to the northeast of Lake Taupo, it is the historical home of Tuhoe, a Māori iwi known for their controversial stance on Māori sovereignty...

, and the catchment of the Whanganui River
Whanganui River
The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand.Known for many years as the Wanganui River, the river's name reverted to Whanganui in 1991, according with the wishes of local iwi. Part of the reason was also to avoid confusion with the Wanganui River in the South Island...

. Significant stands remain in Northland and the ranges running south from the Coromandel Peninsula towards Ruapehu, and isolated remnants cap various volcanoes in Taranaki, the Waikato, the Bay of Plenty and the Hauraki Gulf.

From the word comes many phrases including:
  • bush-bash – to make one’s way through the forest, rather than on a track or trail (cf. American English "bushwhack[ing]", "bushwack[ing]", or "bush-whack[ing]").
  • bush shirt – a woollen shirt or Swanndri, often worn by forest workers.
  • bush lawyer
    Bush lawyer
    Bush lawyer may refer to the following:*Bush lawyer, the common name of a number of species climbing blackberry plants that are found in New Zealand....

     – the name of a number of native climbing plants or a layman who expounds on legal matters.
  • bush walk - short day walks (hikes
    Hiking
    Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

    ) in the bush
  • going bush - to live in the bush for an extended period of time, which may include 'living off the land' by means of hunting or fishing.

South Africa

In South Africa, the term has specific connotations of rural areas which are not open veld
Veld
The term Veld refers primarily to the wide open rural spaces of South Africa or southern Africa and in particular to certain flatter areas or districts covered in grass or low scrub...

. Generally it refers to areas in the north of the country that would be called savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...

. "Going to The Bush" often refers to going to a game park or game reserve. Areas most commonly referred to as The Bush are the Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...

 and Limpopo
Limpopo
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. The capital is Polokwane, formerly named Pietersburg. The province was formed from the northern region of Transvaal Province in 1994, and initially named Northern Transvaal...

 Lowveld, The Limpopo River
Limpopo River
The Limpopo River rises in central southern Africa, and flows generally eastwards to the Indian Ocean. It is around long, with a drainage basin in size. Its mean annual discharge is 170 m³/s at its mouth...

 Valley, northern KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

 or any other similar area of wilderness.

Alaska and Canada

The Bush in Alaska is generally described as any community not "on the road system", making it accessible only by more elaborate transportation. Usage is similar in Canada; it is called la brousse, or colloquially le bois, in Canadian French
Canadian French
Canadian French is an umbrella term referring to the varieties of French spoken in Canada. French is the mother tongue of nearly seven million Canadians, a figure constituting roughly 22% of the national population. At the federal level it has co-official status alongside English...

.

Related terms

The term "to go bush" has several similar meanings all connected with the supposed wildness of the bush. It can mean to revert to a feral nature (or to "go native"), and it can also mean to deliberately leave normal surroundings and live rough, with connotations of cutting off communication with the outside world — often as a means of evading capture or questioning by the police. The term bushwhacker is used in Australia to mean someone who spends his or her time in the bush.

Another related term used in Australia is "Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 or the bush", which equates with such terms as "Hollywood or bust" to mean staking total success or failure on one high-risk event.
In addition, many Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 Veterans refer to the wilderness, jungle or border areas of the theatre of operations as "the bush", as opposed to towns, cities and military bases.

In Australia, in particular within late nineteenth and early twentieth century literature such as by Banjo Paterson
Banjo Paterson
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, OBE 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 district around Binalong, New South Wales where he spent much of his childhood...

 and Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"...

, mulga can be an alternate term for the Bush or wilderness regions. For example as in ‘up the mulga’ or as used in the poem Mulga Bill's Bicycle
Mulga Bill's Bicycle
"Mulga Bill's Bicycle" is a poem written in 1896 by Banjo Paterson.The poem is a ballad. Each line is a fourteener, having fourteen syllables and seven iambic feet....

.

In New Zealand, "The Bush" is a nickname for the Wairarapa Bush provincial rugby team
Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union
The Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union was formed in 1971 with the amalgamation of the Wairarapa Rugby Football Union and Bush Rugby Football Union....

. The team was formed by an amalgamation of two earlier teams (Wairarapa
Wairarapa
Wairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest...

 and Bush), the latter of which represented an area on the boundaries of the Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay is a region of New Zealand. Hawke's Bay is recognised on the world stage for its award-winning wines. The regional council sits in both the cities of Napier and Hastings.-Geography:...

 which was in former times known as Bush, due to its dense vegetation cover.

To bushwhack has two meanings, one is to cut through heavy brush and other vegetation in order to pass through tangled country: "We had to do quite a bit of bushwhacking today to clear the new trail." The other meaning is to hide in such areas and then attack unsuspecting passers-by: "We were bushwacked by the bandits as we passed through their territory and they took all of our money and supplies."

In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the term has a similar meaning, for example in minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

, typically played in smaller cities, and sometimes derisively called "bush league" baseball.

See also

  • Bushcraft
    Bushcraft
    Bushcraft is a long-term extension of survival skills. A popular term for wilderness skills in Canada, The UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the term was popularised in the southern hemisphere by Les Hiddins in Australia as well as in the northern hemisphere by Mors Kochanski and...

  • Bush flying
    Bush flying
    Bush flying is a term for aircraft operations carried out in remote, inhospitable regions of the world. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally large tires,...

  • Bush tucker
  • Bushland
    Bushland
    Bushland is any area in Australia that is predominantly indigenous flora and fauna.Bushland is the term commonly used by conservation protection groups and other environmental groups as a blanket term for natural vegetation, which may cover any kind of habitat from open shrubby country with few...

  • Bushranger
    Bushranger
    Bushrangers, or bush rangers, originally referred to runaway convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities...

  • Bush mechanic
    Bush mechanic
    Bush mechanic is an Australian slang expression which refers to somebody who out of necessity and with immediate available materials, is able to solve practical problems using sometimes untraditional and inventive techniques...

  • Old-growth forest
  • Outback
    Outback
    The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...

  • Wilderness
    Wilderness
    Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...

  • Black stump
    Black Stump
    The Australian expression black stump is the name for an imaginary point beyond which the country is considered remote or uncivilised, an abstract marker of the limits of established settlement.  The origin of the expression, especially in its evolved use as an imaginary marker in the...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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