Billabong

A billabong (/ˈbɪləbɒŋ/, BIL-ə-bong) is an oxbow lake, an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. Billabongs, reflecting the arid Australian climate in which these "dead rivers" are found, fill with water seasonally and are dry for a greater part of the year.

The etymology of the word billabong is disputed. The word is most likely derived from the Wiradjuri term bilabaŋ, which means "a watercourse that runs only after rain" and is derived from bila, meaning "river", and possibly bong or bung, meaning "dead". One source, however, claims that the term is of Scottish Gaelic origin.

Billabongs attained significance as they held water longer than parts of rivers and it was therefore important for people to name these areas.

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
Who'll come a'waltzing Matilda with me

Banjo Paterson's popular song Waltzing Matilda is set alongside a billabong, while Mary Grant Bruce wrote a series of books, known as The Billabong Series, in which the adventures of the Linton family, who live at Billabong station from around 1911 until the late 1920s, are depicted.

Both Aboriginal Australians and European artists use billabongs as subject matter in painting; for example, Aboriginal painter Lance Tjyllyungoo's watercolour painting "Trees at a billabong".

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