bunyip-aristocracy

Noun

(uncountable)

(Australia, derogatory) A peerage (hypothetical or proposed) in Australia; the new (in the colonial era) landed rich aspiring to aristocracy; snobbish Australian conservatives.

Usage notes

Mainly used in the context of Wentworth's proposal and Deniehy's speech. Occasionally used in New South Wales politics by Labor MPs referring to their Liberal Party opponents.

Origin

From bunyip (“mythical Australian monster; impostor”) + aristocracy.Coined in 1853 by Australian journalist and politician Daniel Deniehy (1828-1865) satirising a proposal of William Wentworth for an hereditary peerage in the then colony of New South Wales. At the time, bunyip was Sydney underworld slang for an impostor or con-man, a sense Deniehy may have been aware of, but which was “obviously” unknown to Wentworth.