Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(N.Z. gay) a male prostitute specialising in ports and finding clients/partners among sailors; seen as occuping the lowest rung of the profession, they were not paid but received gifts such as cuty-free alcohol or cigarettes.

2010

W. Ings ‘Trolling the Beat to Working the Soob’ in Int’l Jrnl Lexicog. 23:1 65: [W]aterfront boys [...] were a significant feature of male prostitution in New Zealand up until the early 1970s. They traditionally operated around ports sometimes forming liaisons with seamen that could last for a single visit or grow into longer-term relationships.