Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Aus.) an inferior animal, usu. a second-rate racehorse; also attrib.

1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 9 Jun. 24/1: One Sydney city shop seems to have got the grip of three or four big stables and rarely dabbles in ‘scrouchers.’.
1901		Referee (Sydney) 20 Feb. 4/6: Another instance of how good a horse may be in the warm climate of tho northern colony, and still a scroucher down below.
1905		Sydney Sportsman 6 Sept. 1/3: Scoucher Steeds. A scroucher batch of horses went to the post in the Park Stakes at Hawkesbury last Saturday, as evinced by Ben-my-Chree’s victory, carrying top weight.
1911		Truth (Sydney) 11 Apr. 8/7: It was a bad dog, with no principle, no appreciation of .the fitness of things, and absolutely no honorable intentions whatever. It was a scroucher of a dog, a wastrel, and no decent dog would think of chumming up with it.
1929		Truth (Sydney) 31 Mar. 3/3: Geoffrey was beaten only a few weeks back in a scoucher field at Geelong.

2. (Aus.) a general derog. term for a person; also attrib.

1900		Dubbo Liberal 15 Dec. 2/7: Fully one-half of the £40 was subscribed by members of the Club — a sum that will probably astonish this individual and show him that it is not a ‘scroucher’ committee that has the matter in hand.
1902		Truth (Sydney) 8 June 2/6: There are two classes — swells with whips of gonce, and scrouchers who live on the game.
1906		E. Dyson Fact’ry ’Ands 160: They’s scrougers what think they’s just the lolly in a red tie [...] but they ain’t respectible.
1914		Truth (Melbourne) 10 Jan. 8/4: They have been stigmatised as a lot of scrouchers when compared with those who landed here in the old times.
1914		Sport (Adelaide) 24 Dec. 5/3: What about the tin rattling? / ‘We’ll do it,’ said the scroushers.
1922		Westralian Worker (Perth, WA) 22 Dec. 8/7: Hoffman [a boxer] is well recommended, and it might be mentioned that in Sydney he was looked after by that excellent judge Jack Lynch, who would not waste his time on a ‘scroucher’.
1934		Sydney Morn. Herald 2 Feb. 4/6: My oath, the fits that right toe’s bin givln’ me [...] There are a few scrouchers I'd like to pass that toe on to, especially the [...] blokes In the Federal Parlmlnt.
1948		Barrier Dly Truth (Broken Hill, NSW) 3 Aug. 4/4: If he filled his shelves up with chain lightnlng. whisky, or plonk he would get onlv a scroucher crowd of drinkers.
1959		D. Niland Big Smoke 182: The scrousher and the underworld characters, they don’t eat here no more.
1966		D. Niland Pairs and Loners 111: That scrousher, that rough-house annie, what’s she got so uppety about? See the kisser on it!
1982		N. Keesing Lily on the Dustbin 89: Don’t mix with scrowchers [...] Remember what the girl did.