Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(Aus./N.Z.) orig. prize-fighting, a fighter.

1899		Launceston Examiner (Tas.) 17 June 9/2: A company which included [...] J. Caesar the ‘Stousher’, [and] Carey the hero.
1905		Sun. Times (Perth) 8 July 5/2: Baker is alleged to be the best amateur stousher in the profesh.
1909		J. London ‘A Piece of Steak’ Complete Short Stories (1993) II 1633: He remembered the time he put out old Stowsher Bill, at Rush-Cutters Bay, in the eighteenth round.
1909		Sun. Times (Perth, WA) Supp. 19 Dec. 25/3: It was the opening day of the amateur stoushers tournament.
1910		Sun. Times (Perth) 22 May 2nd sect. 10/3: Pat O'Keeïe [...] who will be remembered best by Perth sportsmen as Tommy Burns' sparring partner, [...] is a native of London, and it was there that Little Tahmy picked up the hard-dialled stousher.
1929		Brisbane Courier 30 Sept. 20/5: This ‘stousher’ [...] dealt out to her his rage and spite with blows and kicks.
1937		Sun. Times (Perth) 21 Feb. 3/7: A big muscular man of 6 ft. 2 in. and a mighty stousher landed a woodener on the aide’s jaw.
1943		Cairns Post (Qld) 21 Sept. 1/5: Uncle Sam’s stoushers gained their first victories in the two succeeding fights.
1973		J. Murray Larrikins 99: The Age’s fear was that the pushes and their larrikin members would turn into gaol-hardened brutes because ‘the larrikin will inevitably develop into the stousher’ [AND].
1986		R. Beckett Dinkum Aussie Dict. 42: Push: Member of a sect. Now somewhat archaic [...] Members of a push were once regarded as larrikins or ‘street stoushers’.