Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(Aus./N.Z.) a pavlova, Australia’s ‘national dessert’, a large, soft-centred meringue topped with whipped cream and passion-fruit; thus pavs and savs, pavlovas and saveloys, typical N.Z. picnic food.

1966		G.W. Turner Eng. Lang. in Aus. and N.Z. 173: Pavlova cake [...] sometimes shortened to pav [AND].
1977		E. Mackie Oh to be Aussie 54: Nice to ave a pav after a baked dinner. Created in Melbourne in 1926 to honour the greatest pav of them all, Anna Pavlova, it’s a grand finish to an Aussie meal [AND].
1981		Bulletin (Sydney) 13 Jan. 74/1: The Pav, a kind of meringue the size and shape of a truck wheel, is the country’s national dish.
1998		Direct Recipes 13 Dec. 🌐 Using the back of the spoon, spread out the meringue evenly within the circle, building up the lip on the sides of the circle. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until firm to the touch. Turn off the oven and cool the pav in the oven, leaving the door slightly ajar.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 154: pav Pavlova cake, named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova who toured New Zealand in 1926, the cake appearing the next year in the jellied shape of a tutu, a few years later converting to meringue, with Australians claiming first dip on that recipe. The pavlova brigade cooked competitive pavs in the mid C20 heyday of the meringue cake. pavs and savs Pavlova and saveloys, traditional Kiwi party fodder.
2013		‘Australia Day’ ad for MacDonalds cited crikey.com.au 10 Jan. 🌐 Back from the Murray are Hoddy ’n’ Binny, / with pav McFlurries ’n’ towin’ a tinnie.
2018		R. O’Neill ‘Ocker’ in The Drover’s Wives (2019) 180: They got spag boll [...] and a pav.