Definition of straitsman in English:
straitsman
nounPlural straitsmenˈstreɪtsmən
Australian A person who lives on the Bass Strait Islands, in particular a seal-hunter of the 19th century.
Captain Stokes quotes as his authority for the statement the straitsmen living on the islands
Example sentencesExamples
- An old Straitsman who had for years been wandering all about them, hunting seals and mutton birds.
- The direct descendants of Straitsmen and their aboriginal wives now practise the harvest of short-tailed shearwater chicks.
- Bass Strait is obstructed by a great number of islands, now partly inhabited by the strange population of straitsmen, former convicts, or criminals, who subsist by fishing, seal hunting, and the capture of birds' eggs.
- Mystery surrounds the death of a straitsman, as well as his family connections and descendants, who are interested in the treasure.
- In his report to the lieutenant-governor, Power commented favourably on the character of the Straitsmen and their society.
- Were the Straitsmen the discoverers of Kangaroo Island?
- One straitsman, Thompson, went so far as to visit the native camp and warn them of Tucker's mood.
- For 30 years after his visit, the island was left to the Straitsmen, a renegade band of sealers and whalers who took aboriginal wives.