Beyond the black stump
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381837)
Rockingham, Australia
July 20, 2020 10:47pm CST
I wrote about an Australian saying ‘as fit as a Mallee bull’ meaning tough and strong; in good physical condition. Another Australian saying is ‘This side of the black stump’.
The black stump is an imaginary point, beyond which the country is regarded as remote or uncivilised. So you might say that a person is the fastest runner this side of the black stump.
One story about the origin of the phrase is that, in 1887, a group of surveyors arrived on Astro Station, near Blackall in Queensland and used a blackened tree stump as the base for their measuring equipment. Anything west of Blackall was then considered ‘beyond the black stump’.
The photo is of an area in the south-west after a bushfire has gone through.
18 people like this
18 responses
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
21 Jul 20
Yes, you used the bull one on me.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (381837)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Jul 20
Yes, you're definitely as fit as a Mallee bull. lol
@Tampa_girl7 (54714)
• United States
22 Jul 20
You’ve taught me another new saying.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381837)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Jul 20
You'd probably only find it in Australian publications.
@snowy22315 (208770)
• United States
21 Jul 20
I have to admit, that one and the bull one are phrases I never heard before. It's funny, I used to have an online friend from the UK who used alot of slang, and I couldn't figure out what he was talking about half the time. It was our joke that we used to use an Australian lady on the site to intrepret. She seemed to have a better idea of the slang than I.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (135601)
• Marion, Ohio
22 Jul 20
@JudyEv Not so far. The one might be if I clean the vine off of it 
1 person likes this
@xFiacre (14784)
• Ireland
21 Jul 20
@judyev We say ‘beyond the pale’ meaning, in Ireland, beyond the reaches, safety and protection of the British authorities in Dublin. The saying also carries within itself the idea that those with the pale are refined and civilised whereas those beyond it are uncouth.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
24 Jul 20
We just say "strong as bull" in the U.S. Right to the point Guess one does not want to be beyond that black stump, who knows what danger lies there 
Interesting phrases!
Guess one does not want to be beyond that black stump, who knows what danger lies there Interesting phrases!1 person likes this
@DocAndersen (54399)
• United States
21 Jul 20
wow i love that - i grew up in a part of Indiana that was well beyond the black stump./
1 person likes this
@SophiaMorros (5044)
• Belews Creek, North Carolina
21 Jul 20
I'm familiar with the Beyond the Black Stump thanks to a novel written by Nevil Shute with that title.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381837)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Jul 20
I was just wondering about you the other day. Good to see you again. Hope you're well and safe. Nevil Shute wrote some good books.
Good to see you again. Hope you're well and safe. Nevil Shute wrote some good books.
@JudyEv (381837)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Jul 20
This is a good place for learning new things. I've forever coming across something I didn't know before.
@LindaOHio (222285)
• United States
21 Jul 20
Thank you for another interesting post. I've never heard of that saying either.
