Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. an Arab.

1858

Bucks Herald 21 Aug. 5/3: This Ninevah sand-groper said, referring to the Cawnpore massacre, ‘possibly we had done something to justify that deed of hell’.

2. (Aus.) an inhabitant of Western Australia; thus sand-groper land, Western Australia.

[1872		A. De Vere Legends of St. Patrick 12: This knave has heard of gold in river-beds, / And comes, a deft sand-groper ; let him come!].
1892		letter in West Australian (Perth, WA) 12 Dec. 6/4: Yours, etc., sandgroper.
1896		H. Lawson letter 3 Sept. in Letters 1890-1922 (1970) 62: The old Sandgropers are the best to work for [...] The Tothersiders are cutting each others’ throats. The Boss othersiders are nigger-drivers .
1899		West Aus. Sun. Times (Aus.) 14 May 6/5: Witternoon’s ideas of official dignity were gathered in Sandgroperland, so what more can be expected?
1900		Sun. Times (Perth) 9 Dec. : A ‘Sandgroper’ writes: [etc.].
1908		H. Lawson ‘The Blanky Papers’ in Roderick (1972) 786: The blanky Sandgropers has all been blanky well flooded out by the blanky Noo South Welshers.
1908		Truth (Sydney) 12 July 1/3: They do things differently over in Sandgroperland [AND].
1912		Sun. Times (Perth) 8 Dec. 3s/2: Bravo, Sandgroperland!
1918		Aussie (France) 4 Apr. 1/1: Then the mislaid Sydneysider will be able to write to his cobber Sandgroper.
1920		Referee (Sydney) 11 Feb. 13/5: How the swimmers of Sandgroperland attained the standard they reached under such conditions surpasses my understanding [AND].
1924		Lawrence & Skinner Boy in Bush 41: The whites, born here, is called ‘gropers,’ [...] Sand-gropers.
1934		Sydney Morn. Herald2 Jan. 3/2: Western Australians would ‘scrag’ him. I am, etc., Sandgroper.
1949		Sun. Herald (Sydney) 30 Jan. 65/8: Scratch [...] a Sandgroper or a Cornstalk [...] and you’ll find an Australian.
1950		(con. 1936–46) K.S. Prichard Winged Seeds (1984) 146: There’s a sandgroper for you!
1955		N. Pulliam I Travelled a Lonely Land (1957) 233/2: Groper (Sandgroper) – a person from Western Australia.
1961		T. Ronan Only a Short Walk 21: Western Australians are known as Sandgropers; but come on, Bob! Tell us how Victorians got the name of Gumsuckers.
1967		‘Whisper All Aussie Dict.’ in Kings Cross Whisper (Sydney) xxxix 4/4: sand groper: West Australian.
1970		(con. 1941) R. Beilby No Medals for Aphrodite 161: He’s from Wollongong and I’m from Perth. I’m a Sandgroper.
1986		C. Bowles G’DAY 42: The Australian populace is divided into four distinct groupings: eastern states, [...] banana benders (Queenslanders), crow eaters (South Australians) and gropers or sandgropers (Western Ausgrtalians).
1993		B. Moore Lex. of Cadet Lang. 314: usage: ‘Most sandgropers are backward — it’s because they’re so far from the action’.
2022		D. Andrew Aussie Sl. 10: Sandgropers Residents of Western Australia.

3. in attrib. use of sense 2.

1904

Sun. Times (Perth) 26 June 1/1: A well-known Sandgroper firm of solicitors threw in a tenner for the cause.