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Hostels were used to accommodate new Australians. 1950's-1970's
 
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cribs

 
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Phyl Phyl has been starred
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 2:13 am    Post subject: cribs Reply with quote

Hi Len,

Came across an interesting little piece in one of the company's staff Journals. People coming into Hostels were perplexed by the word 'crib' I was myself. To me it was a bach at the river used for holidays..
Here out of the 1956 January issue of the tidings is an explanation and I quote from the article.

'Some newcomers to our migrant hostels are baffled by the word "crib"
which we use to describe "cut lunches". They think it might be an example
of Australian slang.
Not so! Browsing through early copies of "Company Tidings" we came across this explanation,sent in by a correspondent at Radium Hill ,South Australia,and published in the January issue of 1956:
"The word 'crib' had it's origin in the copper mines of East Cornwall,England. It refers to any mid-shift meal. It is the equivalent
of the West Cornwall 'croust' and the East Devon 'scran'."

Interesting eh what !!!! Exclamation
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Len
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Location: Great Harwood, Blackburn. UK

PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I saw the title cribs, the first thing that popped into mind was packed lunches, a term used from years gone-by.
I myself never had a problem with it because I was young and if that�s what packed lunches were called then so be it, didn�t really know any different.
I have, to this day never heard the term crib used again. I�ve spoken to my parents and they told me that, at the time they thought that it was an unusual name to call a cut/packed lunch and it must have been an aussie slang word used to describe packed lunches and accepted it.

Interesting to know thou that the term used, actually originated from the UK.
I wonder if the term Crib is still being used today, or was it just used on the hostels?



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Fergie
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:31 am    Post subject: Re: cribs Reply with quote

Phyl wrote:
wrote:
'Some newcomers to our migrant hostels are baffled by the word "crib"
which we use to describe "cut lunches". They think it might be an example
of Australian slang.
"The word 'crib' had it's origin in the copper mines of East Cornwall, England. It refers to any mid-shift meal. It is the equivalent
of the West Cornwall 'croust' and the East Devon 'scran'."


Crib was the food [usually sandwiches] and a crib tin was the semi-circular shaped tin with a hinged lid to hold the food and protect it from dust down the mine.
One of the exhibits in the National Museum in Canberra is a crib tin.
The term has always been known to me, as my father was a miner, but many of the migrants who came here from the UK may have been city sparrows and unfamiliar with mining terms.
The English accents are still heard around Berkeley and surrounding shopping centres like Unanderra, Warrawong, even Dapto.
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Phyl Phyl has been starred
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 9:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for that interesting snippet Fergie ,it is nice to have further history about cribs. Very Happy
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