Meanings
plural Refugee Regattas
- AustraliacolloquialoffensiveslangDarwinAn influx of illegal immigrants or refugees attempting to enter the country by sea; an influx of boat people.
1983, Redgum, Caught In The Act, song, on the album Caught in the Act, Get an Esky, fill it full of cans, get your dope, go down to the beach, roll a big spliff about that long sit on the beach at sunset, have a few cans, and watch what they call up in Darwin the Refugee Regatta.
1 more example
We grew up in a household where every Asian was a Gook. Dad served in Vietnam. We went to school with Dagos, boat loads of Slopes arrived in Darwin in the "Refugee Regatta", and when I was in Malaysia the locals were known to us as Bongos, or Rock Apes.
2011 April 9, Government Shill #2, “A Vietnam veteran phone 2UE today upset”, in aus.politics (Usenet)
Origin
From refugee + regatta (“boat race”), referring to the fact that the influxes tend to be seasonal, occurring normally during the cooler months.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Refugee Regatta. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Refugee%20Regatta
“Refugee Regatta.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Refugee%20Regatta. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Refugee Regatta,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Refugee%20Regatta.
Source: Refugee Regatta on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.