Melaleuka : a history and description of New South Wales pidgin
Abstract
This thesis is about the genesis and development of the first pidgin English in
Australia, called here New South Wales Pidgin. It presents a detailed analysis of the
history of the language and a diachronic analysis of developments in the grammar
and lexicon of the language. 'Melaleuka' refers to the model devised for the purposes
of this thesis to explain the hypothesis on which the work is premised—that NSW
Pidgin existed in two dialect forms.
The time frame addressed is from the late eighteenth century when the language had
its inception to the middle of the nineteenth century when it was consolidated. The
geographical area of study encompasses the states of New South Wales and Victoria.
The area was known as the colony of New South Wales until the middle of the
nineteenth century.