Billabong is an Australian English word used to refer to an oxbow lake, a stagnant pool of water attached to a waterway. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. The word is derived from two Aboriginal words: "billa" meaning "creek" and "bong" meaning "dead".
Billabongs appear relatively often in Australian literature . One of the most well-known references is in the opening line of Banjo Paterson's famous poem "Waltzing Matilda".
The name Billabong has been adopted as the brand name for a popular brand of Australian surfing wear sold around the world.
Billabong is also the name given to a chocolate flavoured icecream manufactured by the Peter's company in Perth, Western Australia, presumably because the brown colour matches the colour of most billabongs. In addition, the cool, refreshing, chocolate icecream mirrors the refreshment of the traditional billabong.
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