Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(Aus.) to make a fuss, to make an issue out of something.

1913		Sport (Adelaide) 8 Nov. 7/2: They Say [...] That Clifford P. is making a welter of it with Mary O .
1917		Cairns Post (Qld) 21 Feb. 4/6: The Cairns Inspector of Nuisances is making a ‘welter’ of it [i.e. stray animals].
1919		C.H. Thorp Handful of Ausseys 198: Yer makin’ a welter, ain’t yer digger?
1924		(con. WWI) A.G. Pretty Gloss. Sl. [...] in the A.I.F. 1921–1924 (rev. t/s) n.p.: welter. ‘To make it a welter’ – to exceed the limit.
1929		Western Champion (Barcaldine, Qld) 17 Aug. 29/3: [cartoon caption] Making It a Welter Indignant Footballer (to belated batsman): ‘’Ere, wot’s yer game? Trying to beat don Bradman’s aggrigit!’.
1932		M.R. White No Road Go By 141: Cecil, intent on slapping together a good cheque, had lost sight of eveything but the fact that the Boss was away, and now was his chance to make a welter of it [AND].
1936		Cairns Post (Qld) 8 Aug. 9/6: They are making it a welter on the North Coast as far as ringing-in [of greyhounds] is concerned.
1947		G. Casey Wits Are Out 55: He goes the slops too heavy, though [...] he makes a welter of it.
1952		J. Cleary Sundowners 227: ‘Now I don’t want you to make a welter of it,’ she said as she walked in behind the bar [...] ‘Any-one who gets noisy drunk or tries to start a fight gets locked up until he sobers up.’.
1972		A. Chipper Aussie Swearers Guide 76: They were in like Flynn on the pavlova. A real welter.
1979		National Times 17 Feb. 10: Whitlam lists the works of art purchased by the National Gallery that were ordered to be hung at Yarralumla. [...] The Kerrs made a bit of a welter of it [GAW4].
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 121/2: make a welter of it to overindulge or go to extremes.
1990		US Supreme Court Oct. 🌐 Application of that definition would require federal courts to make a welter of unusually difficult and burdensome factual determinations.
2002		Sydney Morning Herald 3 May 🌐 We don’t want to make a welter of SLOs. However, you should know that Bob Everard, of Dignams Creek, south of Narooma, applied the Fog Index [...] to the description of a Shareable Learning Object.