Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Aus./N.Z.) a blowfly.

1902		B. Baynton ‘Scrammy ’And’ in Murdoch & Drake-Brockman Classic Australian Short Stories (1997) 42: No blowey carn’t get in there, eh? The dog looked at the meat [...] noted the resting-place of two disturbed ‘bloweys’.
1916		in J.B. Cooper Coo-oo-ee! 84: A dead jumbuck is buzzing with blowies [AND].
1920		A. Baer Putting ’Em Over 23 Sept. [synd. col.] [Aus. baseball sl.] Smithney moved smartly to take some good blowies [...] Smithney caught some flies on the hoof.
1952		H.P. Down Out Fishing 69: ‘We catch our fish on flies’ [...] ‘March flies or blowies’ [AND].
1963–74		B. Humphries Barry McKenzie [comic strip] in Complete Barry McKenzie (1988) 41: Once we had a barbecue in the bush and the blowies got Mum’s T-bone.
1971		H. Porter Sel. Stories 25: Yuss! I heard him buzz. Like a blowie in a cobweb.
1983		J. Byrell (con. 1959) Up the Cross 83: The two on the right-hand side he swatted like blowies.
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 16/1: blowie blowfly.
1996		J. Byrell Lairs, Urgers & Coat-Tuggers 152: Lennie scoop-caught a blowfly and [...] took a squiz at the captive blowie inside his fist.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].
2008		G. Kennedy Me, Antman and Fleabag 90: Antman, packing a cone and waving away a blowfly away at the same time. The blowie then decided to bother Boris. He turned to Antman. ‘You got any fly spray or one of them swatters?’.

2. (Aus.) an instance of belching.

1991

J.T. Pickle Aus.-Amer. Dict. 35: BLOWIE, A bit: A windy day. Can also be used as a comment on odoriferous flatulence.

3. in fig. use, an irritant.

2009

P. Temple Truth 59: Stuff like this, the media blowies on you, bloody pollies pestering, the ordinary work goes to hell.

4. see blow job n.¹ (1)