Billabong

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Yellow Water Billabong, Kakadu National Park
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Yellow Water Billabong, Kakadu National Park
For other meanings, see Billabong (disambiguation)

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 stream or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. The word is derived from two Indigenous Australian 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 by Billabong International.

Billabong is also the name given to a chocolate ice cream on a stick, similar to Paddle Pop or Fudgsicle, manufactured by the Peter's company in Perth, Western Australia.

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