Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(Aus.) a woman.

1999

G. Seal Lingo 90: The names of places have contributed their share to the formation of our rhyming slang, often adding a local touch. A barossa pearl is a girl, from the name of a cheap white, sparkling wine that was a popular drink in the 1960s and early 1970s before we matured as a wine-drinking nation and pretended that we had transcended such embarrassments.