Meanings
- AustraliaslangNickname for Queensland: a state of Australia.
The post-office is in New South Wales, and the police-barracks in Bananaland.
1896, Henry Lawson, “Hungerford”, in While the Billy Boils, Sydney, N.S.W.: Angus and Robertson […], →OCLC, page 412 more examples
But it's ages before the news gets up north to Bananaland that the ASL has passed more motions against agitators than you can poke a stick at, especially if they agitate amongst the unemployed.
2007, Pip Wilson, Faces in the Street: Louisa and Henry Lawson and the Castlereagh Street Push, page 145The recompense ‘James’ required from the Government was three miles depth of frontage along the whole route; but the representatives of the people in Bananaland thought the offer was a bit one-sided, and declined to negotiate.
2010, Graham Seal, Great Australian Stories: Legends, Yarns and Tall Tales, page 216
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
From banana + -land, after Queensland, since the tropical coast of Queensland is suited to growing bananas.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Bananaland. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bananaland
“Bananaland.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bananaland. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Bananaland,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bananaland.
Source: Bananaland on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.