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Green’s Dictionary of Slang

bull v.²

[note RN jargon bull the barrel/cask, to pour water into an empty rum barrel; the resulting (weakly alcoholic) liquid can be drunk]

(Aus.) to adulterate, to weaken.

1827		P. Cunningham New South Wales II 209: The first man’s heedless exposure of himself arose from his bulling a rum-cask and drinking off the contents.
1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. 107: ‘Bull the Cask’ to pour hot water into an empty rum puncheon, and let it stand until it extracts the spirit from the wood. The result is drunk by sailors in default of something stronger. ? Sea.
1873		Sl. Dict.
1900–10		Stephens & O’Brien Materials for a Dict. of Aus. Sl. [unpub. ms.] 30: BULLING: [...] to add cold water to the tea or grog to dilute it.
1945		Baker Aus. Lang. 84: From the 1890s came another use of bull, to add cold water to tea or spirits to dilute it.

In phrases

bull the tea (v.)

(N.Z.) to add soda to tea, in order to make it stronger.

1933		(ref. to 1890–1910) L.G.D. Acland Early Canterbury Runs (1951) 366: Bull the tea – Put soda in it to make it stronger.
1934		Press (Christchurch) (Acland Gloss.) 13 Jan. 13: Bull the tea — put soda in it to make it stronger [DNZE].
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 37: bull the tea Put soda in your bush tea to boost its impact.