Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Aus., also spadge) a sparrow, esp. the House Sparrow, Passer domesticus.

1865		Sth Aus. Register (Adelaide) 3 Aug. 3/7: The Bounceboys give one of their ‘stuck-up’ dinner-parties, and are horror-stricken at the entrance of Little Spadger in the costume of ‘gent of the period.’ / Spadger. – ‘Didn’t like to disappoint, old fellow, but I promised to go to Flampoynte’s fancy ball, so thought I might as well keep both engagements.’.
1884		Newcastle Morn. Herald (NSW) 24 Sept. 3/5: Genuine cockney ‘spadgers’ have appeared at Bulli. The little hoppers are spreading rapidly all over the colony.
1901		Referee (Sydney) 24 July 9/5: It was not decided until the 14th round, when Mr. Badgery killed his bird, and ‘Bird,’ who up to this had seldom used his second barrel, failed to stop his ‘spadger,’ and left Badgery a well-earned winner of a leg-in.
1913		Examiner (Launceston, Tas.) 25 Mar. 3/1: Those who have concluded that the village boy’s interest in birds was necessarily confined to catapulting ‘spadgers’ and destroying nests and eggs might be surprised to read several foolscap sheets showing intimate acquaintance with great crested grebe, tufted duck, pochard, kestrel, or lesser woodpecker.
1929		Bulletin (Sydney) 11 Sept. 25/2: A white sparrow lately appeared, the first albino of the species I have ever met. [...] Albinos are pretty common among most birds and animals. I think for consistency of color-scheme Spadge just about takes the grub.
1934		N. Lindsay Saturdee 39: ‘I been missin’ eggs for a long time,’ he told Peter. ‘Lost two willie-wagtails and a bonzer white spadger’s’.
1937		Bulletin (Sydney) 4 Aug. 21/4: What is the objection against the sparrow, about the introduction of which W.A. has been in hysterics lately? Has the spadg no virtues as an insect-eater?
1937		Herald (Melbourne) 14 Oct. 3/6: ‘Three spadgies’ eggs,’ he said. [A ‘spadgie’ (in South Australia: ‘spoggy’) is the schoolboy name for ‘spriggy,’ or ‘sparrow.’].
1938		Australasian (Melbourne) 28 May 46/3: On careful inspection of the footmarks of his capture and then of the creature itself, he realised it to be neither mouse nor spadge, but a flea, a Brobdingnagian flea.
1941		Aus Women’s Wkly 15 Nov. 38/5: [F]ree to go with one’s chosen friends and camp out in an empty house, cooking spadgers on a pocket-knife over a gas jet, or a pigeon over a fire lighted in a bath.
1947		Argus (Melbourne) 3 May 23S/2: [E]very time the puffing billy pulled in [...] the ‘spadgies’ would be waiting, beaks crammed with tucker, ready to [...] feed their clamouring brood.
1952		(ref. to 18C) Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) 12 July 15/4: Richard Jefferies, celebrated field naturalist in England during the 18th century, made reference to it in his essays on country life in Sussex. ‘Sparrow are called “spadgers”,’ he said. So the name comes to us from England.
1959		D. Hewett Bobbin Up (1985) 61: A wiry, brisk little woman [...] she walked, head cocked sideways like a cheeky spadger.
2008		Birding-Aus 21 Nov. 🌐 Here in the Hunter Valley NSW numerous birdos refer to them as ‘Spadgers’.

2. a boy.

1899		Captain II 273/2: If we’ve got to take these three young spadgers [...] we shall want something bigger’n this here gig.
1978		K. Bonfiglioli All the Tea in China 29: ‘See here, young spadger,’ he said [...] ‘if you should be a little short of tin [...] come and spend a night or two at Great Coram Street.’.

3. (Aus.) the vagina.

1997		Roger’s Profanisaurus in Viz 87 Dec. n.p.: spadger Aus n. Vagina.
2005		L. Redhead Rubdown [ebook] I became desensitised to funbags, completely sick of spadger.