1852 Argus (Melbourne) 14 Jan. 2/6 Let them immediately return, or commence what is called surface-washing, or fossicking.

1853 E. Clacy Lady's Visit Gold Diggings Austral. vii. 123 William was the one whose fossicking-knife first brought its hidden beauties to light.

1880 G. Sutherland Tales of Goldfields 22 He commenced working..at surface digging and fossicking.

1916 J. B. Cooper Coo-oo-ee xiv. 213 All the same, I don't think Hawley got much colour for all his ‘fossickin’.

1936 F. Clune Roaming round Darling xxv. 273 Gorrie..had given up cooking and taken to fossicking, as a mate of his found a gold nugget on Christmas Eve worth £130.

1970 K. Giles Death in Church iv. 77 No suspicion of illegal fossicking or buying.

1999 Canberra Times 28 Oct. 2/4 It seems that, about 3am, Christian had felt an uncontrollable urge to initiate a good-old bush-tucker fossicking adventure, by himself.

1859 W. Kelly Life in Victoria I. 234 I was highly edified..at the conduct of three under-sized fossicking coons, who discussed the nature of ‘their shout’ with the gravity of veteran topers.

1896 E. Dyson Rhymes from Mines 42 That fossicking veteran sold us, And he lied as his quality lie.

1915 Bulletin (Sydney) 3 June 47/2 The gullies with their sordid and ghastly tragedies, strangely connected nearly always with mysterious fossicking mates.

1964 Jrnl. Hygiene 62 459 These small, predominantly terrestrial, fossicking animals were reservoirs of at least some representatives of all the major serogroups known from North Queensland.

1995 P. Weinstein Introd. Biol. xvi. 115/2 The occupant of this niche must prey on soil microorganisms, aerate the soil for plant roots, and provide proteinaceous meals for fossicking birds.

2003 N.Z. Herald (Nexis) 14 Nov. There is even the chance that a fossicking iguana will scamper across the path.