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Digger

A Digger was a participant in the short-lived radical agrarian movement of 1649–1650 in England, led by Gerrard Winstanley, which sought to reclaim common lands for communal cultivation as a means to abolish private property and alleviate poverty through shared labor and resources.^[1] The group, also known as the True Levellers, drew from Protestant millenarian beliefs that the earth was a "common treasury" for all humanity, corrupted by enclosures and economic enclosures that favored the wealthy, prompting them to plant crops on uncultivated "waste" lands like St. George's Hill in Surrey without legal title.^[2] Their efforts, documented in Winstanley's pamphlets such as The True Levellers Standard Advanced, emphasized voluntary cooperation and rejection of buying and selling, but faced violent opposition from local landowners, hired mobs, and authorities who viewed the actions as trespass and threat to order, leading to the dispersal of their colonies by early 1650.^[3] Though numerically small—never exceeding a few dozen active members at key sites—the Diggers articulated early critiques of inequality rooted in causal links between land monopoly and social distress, influencing subsequent radical and egalitarian thought despite their failure to establish lasting communes.^[4] Winstanley, a former cloth merchant turned visionary, framed their work as fulfilling biblical prophecies of a post-monarchical commonwealth, prioritizing empirical restitution of commons over coercive state intervention.^[5] Modern interpretations often align them with proto-socialism, but primary accounts reveal a theologically driven realism focused on human freedom through productive labor rather than abstract ideology, with limited evidence of broader societal impact beyond inspiring later agrarian reformers.^[6]

Excavation Equipment

Mechanical Diggers and Excavators

Mechanical diggers and excavators are powered construction machines equipped with a hinged arm and bucket for excavating soil, rock, and other materials, enabling efficient earthmoving in civil engineering, mining, and demolition projects.^[7] These machines typically feature a rotating cab or upper structure mounted on a tracked or wheeled undercarriage, with hydraulic systems providing the force for bucket operation and machine mobility.^[8] Unlike manual tools, they leverage mechanical advantage to handle large volumes of material rapidly, reducing labor requirements and increasing productivity on sites where precision digging is required.^[9] The origins of mechanical excavators trace to steam-powered designs in the early 19th century, with William Otis patenting the first practical steam shovel in 1839, a single-bucket machine that improved excavation efficiency for railroads and canals by automating the digging cycle.^[9] This innovation displaced manual labor but faced resistance from workers, as seen during its use on the Welland Canal in 1843, where guards were needed to protect the equipment.^[10] Steam shovels dominated until the mid-20th century, evolving into cable-operated models before hydraulic systems emerged; the first fully hydraulic excavator, dispensing with cables and chains, was developed by Kilgore Machine Company using direct-acting steam cylinders.^[11] Hydraulic excavators gained prominence post-1951 with Poclain's TU model, and by the 1960s, manufacturers like Caterpillar and Komatsu shifted production to hydraulics for superior control and versatility.^[12] Modern excavators operate via diesel engines driving hydraulic pumps that pressurize fluid to extend and retract cylinders, controlling the boom, arm, and bucket for digging depths up to 30 meters in large models.^[13] Control valves direct fluid flow to enable precise movements, with operators using joysticks to manage functions like swinging the upper structure 360 degrees.^[14] Key types include:

Crawler excavators: Tracked undercarriages provide stability on uneven terrain, ideal for heavy digging in mining or quarrying, with operating weights from 20 to over 100 tons.^[15]
Wheeled excavators: Rubber-tired for highway mobility and lighter-duty tasks, offering faster travel speeds up to 30 km/h but less traction on soft ground.^[16]
Mini and compact excavators: Weighing under 10 tons, suited for urban or confined spaces like landscaping, with zero-tail-swing designs to avoid cab overhang during rotation.^[17]
Specialized variants: Long-reach models extend booms for deep trenching or demolition, while dragline excavators use suspended buckets for large-scale overburden removal in mining.^[16]

Advancements since the 1990s include electronic controls for fuel efficiency and telematics for remote monitoring, though core hydraulic principles remain unchanged, ensuring reliability in demanding conditions.^[18] Safety features, such as load-sensing hydraulics to prevent overloads, have reduced accidents, with industry standards mandating operator certification for models exceeding 5 tons.^[19]

Historical and Specialized Variants

Early mechanical diggers evolved from steam-powered designs in the late 18th century. The first steam excavator prototype was developed in 1796 by Scottish inventor James Watt and English entrepreneur Matthew Boulton, marking an initial shift from manual labor to mechanized earthmoving.^[20] More practical steam shovels emerged in the 1830s, with American inventor William Otis patenting a steam-powered excavator in 1839 that featured a pivoting boom and bucket system, enabling efficient railway and canal construction.^[21] These early machines relied on steam engines for power, with cables and winches controlling the bucket, and were foundational for large-scale excavation before hydraulic systems dominated.^[22] By the late 19th century, electric and diesel variants appeared, such as the first electric excavator in 1899 and post-World War I adoption of diesel engines for greater mobility and reliability.^[23] Cable-operated draglines, a historical offshoot, used long booms and suspended buckets dragged toward the machine for deep excavation in mining and dredging, with notable use in projects like the Panama Canal starting in 1904.^[24] Specialized modern diggers adapt standard excavator designs for niche applications. Mini or compact excavators, typically under 10 tons, provide maneuverability in tight urban or residential sites, with digging depths up to 3 meters and zero-tail-swing models to avoid collisions.^[25] Long-reach excavators feature extended booms (up to 30 meters) for tasks like demolition or riverbank work, prioritizing reach over bucket force.^[26] Amphibious excavators employ pontoon undercarriages and sealed components for wetland or marine dredging, handling soft terrains where standard tracked models would sink.^[16] Bucket-wheel excavators represent oversized specialized variants for continuous mining operations, with rotating wheels of buckets capable of moving over 240,000 cubic meters of overburden daily in lignite mines, though their immense size—up to 100 meters tall—limits them to fixed, open-pit sites.^[24] Suction excavators, or hydraulic dredging pumps mounted on excavator bases, excel in slurry removal for underwater or contaminated soil excavation, minimizing dust and spillage compared to mechanical buckets.^[16] These variants enhance precision and safety in environments demanding customization beyond general-purpose hydraulic excavators.

Historical Movements

The English Diggers of 1649–1650

The English Diggers, also termed True Levellers, emerged in Surrey during the English Commonwealth period, immediately following the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649. Led by Gerrard Winstanley, a former clothier who had experienced bankruptcy and turned to prophetic writings, the group numbered around 20 initial participants, primarily poor laborers and artisans drawn from local communities. They rejected private ownership of land as a post-Conquest imposition that enslaved the commons, proposing instead that all should work the earth collectively as a shared resource to end poverty and tyranny.^[27]^[28] On or about 1 April 1649, Winstanley and his associates occupied approximately 30-40 acres of uncultivated common land on St George's Hill, near Walton-on-Thames, some 20 miles southwest of London. There, they constructed simple huts from branches and began tilling the soil by hand, sowing seeds of wheat, parsnips, carrots, beans, and other vegetables suited to communal sustenance without reliance on markets or wages. The Diggers explicitly invited others, especially the landless poor, to participate in this labor, framing it as a divine mandate to reclaim creation from "buying and selling" that fostered inequality. By May, the community had grown slightly, with reports of up to 30-40 adherents at peak, though many were transient or deterred by hardships.^[27]^[29] Their foundational declaration, The True Levellers Standard Advanced, dated 26 April 1649 and signed by Winstanley alongside 14 others including William Everard, articulated the movement's principles: the earth belonged to all humanity by natural right, enclosures and conquest had usurped it, and collective digging would demonstrate freedom from "the King of Tyrants," meaning covetousness and property laws. Printed and circulated widely, the pamphlet called for non-violent action, rejecting force in favor of reasoned labor to convert skeptics, and critiqued the recent civil wars as failing to liberate the poor from economic bondage.^[29]^[30] Opposition materialized rapidly from neighboring gentry and yeomen, who viewed the occupation as a threat to established usage rights and potential spark for unrest. Local minister John Platt and landowner Francis Drake, among others, mobilized against them; Drake petitioned the Council of State, alleging the Diggers incited vagrancy and sedition. In June 1649, hired enforcers under a Captain Strawberry assaulted the camp, beating participants and scattering livestock, while subsequent raids in July destroyed nascent crops and huts. Winstanley petitioned Parliament and Oliver Cromwell for protection, arguing their actions aligned with the Commonwealth's anti-tyranny ethos, but received no redress, as authorities prioritized property stability amid post-war fragility. By August 1649, sustained harassment forced abandonment of St George's Hill.^[28]^[31] The Diggers relocated to smaller sites, including commons at Cobham manor in Surrey and Iver in Buckinghamshire during late 1649, and briefly Wellingborough in Northamptonshire by April 1650, attempting similar cultivation on a reduced scale of 5-10 persons per group. These efforts yielded modest crops but encountered parallel resistance: constables arrested members for trespass, mobs vandalized plantings, and lack of recruits eroded viability. Winstanley defended the experiments in follow-up tracts like A New Law of Righteousness (January 1649, predating but contextualizing) and The Law of Freedom (1652, post-dissolution), but by mid-1650, the communes had collapsed under economic pressures, legal eviction, and internal divisions over practicality. The episode highlighted tensions between radical egalitarianism and entrenched land tenure, with no evidence of violent reprisal from Diggers themselves.^[28]^[27]

Ideological Claims and Practical Experiments

The Diggers, under Gerrard Winstanley's leadership, asserted in their April 1649 manifesto The True Levellers Standard Advanced that the earth constituted a "common treasury" of livelihood for all, created by divine providence for collective use rather than subjection to private enclosure, buying, or selling, which they identified as the origin of economic enslavement and inequality.^[32] They rejected proprietary claims to land as a post-Fall corruption, arguing that true freedom required restoring communal access to its fruits through shared labor, without wages, rents, or coercive authority, to fulfill biblical ideals of universal brotherhood and provision as in Acts 2:44–45.^[32] Winstanley further contended that this system would eliminate poverty by enabling all to "know the earth to be a treasury" yielding abundance via mutual cultivation, dismissing enclosures as tyrannical barriers imposed by the Norman Conquest and subsequent laws favoring the rich.^[32] To enact these principles, the Diggers initiated their experiment on April 1, 1649, when thirteen poor men and their families occupied unenclosed waste land on St. George's Hill in Surrey, commencing to plow, dig, and sow vegetables including parsnips, carrots, beans, and wheat without employing servants or tools beyond spades and hoes.^[32] They erected simple cottages from branches and invited the poor to join in non-proprietary labor, aiming to model self-sustaining agrarian communism where produce would be freely distributed to participants and passersby, eschewing markets or hired work.^[33] By summer, the colony numbered around forty adherents, who expanded cultivation across several acres while publishing appeals like A Declaration from the Poor Oppressed People of England in July 1649 to justify their actions against property norms and solicit broader involvement.^[34] Persistent harassment from local landowners and villagers, including crop destruction and livestock incursions, compelled relocation in August 1649 to nearby Little Heath (or Cobham Manor), where the group persisted with planting until disbanding by April 1650 amid ongoing sabotage and failed recruitment.^[27] This brief endeavor yielded no scalable model of communal prosperity, as yields remained modest on marginal soil and internal divisions emerged over labor discipline, yet it exemplified Winstanley's conviction that practical demonstration, not mere petition, could catalyze societal leveling.^[34]

Suppression, Failures, and Interpretive Debates

The Diggers' communal experiments faced immediate and sustained opposition from local landowners and authorities, beginning shortly after their occupation of St George's Hill on April 1, 1649. Landowner Francis Drake, whose property adjoined the hill, mobilized armed men to harass the group, destroying crops and tools while the Diggers refused to retaliate violently in line with their principles of non-resistance.^[35] By August 1649, assaults escalated, with reports of beatings and the burning of shelters, prompting the Diggers to relocate to nearby Cobham manor waste land in October.^[36] Local clergyman John Platt organized further attacks, including the demolition of Digger houses in November 1649, justified under claims of trespass and threat to enclosures.^[37] Although the Council of State issued warrants for investigation, central authorities provided limited intervention, allowing local justices to enforce evictions based on property rights upheld post-Civil War.^[38] Subsequent attempts to establish colonies in Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, and Kent met similar fates, with groups dispersed by mob violence and legal orders by early 1650. The St George's Hill settlement, numbering around 30-40 adults at its peak, was fully abandoned by March 1650 after repeated destruction rendered cultivation impossible.^[39] Winstanley petitioned Oliver Cromwell directly in 1650, appealing for protection against "the covetousness of lords of manors," but received no substantive aid, as the Commonwealth prioritized stability over radical land reform.^[40] Harassment tactics, including threats to women and children, eroded participation, with some Diggers resorting to contingency plans like placing dependents on parish relief.^[41] The Diggers' failures stemmed primarily from external coercion rather than internal discord or impracticality, though their small scale—rarely exceeding 50 members per site—and reliance on persuasion limited resilience. Property enclosures, legally reinstated after the 1640s upheavals, framed the Diggers as trespassers, galvanizing gentry defense of economic interests amid post-war enclosure expansions that displaced laborers.^[38] Lack of alignment with broader radical networks, such as the Levellers who prioritized legal reforms over communal seizure, isolated them; Winstanley's rejection of wage labor and private buying further alienated potential allies.^[42] Agrarian challenges, including poor yields from untilled waste land, compounded pressures, but primary causation lay in systemic enforcement of proprietary norms, demonstrating that the English Revolution preserved rather than dismantled class hierarchies.^[43] Historiographical interpretations of the Diggers diverge on their ideological coherence and historical significance, with early 19th-century accounts portraying them as precursors to Chartism and socialism, emphasizing egalitarian praxis over religious mysticism.^[44] Marxist scholars like Christopher Hill viewed Winstanley as a proto-communist rationalist, downplaying biblical influences in favor of materialist critiques of enclosure, though this overlooks his appeals to divine revelation and anti-Norman conquest rhetoric.^[45] Anarchist readings highlight non-hierarchical self-organization, contrasting socialist claims of state-appeal in Winstanley's later petitions, revealing projections of 20th-century ideologies onto a movement blending providentialism with anti-proprietary ethics.^[46] Debates persist on millenarianism—rejected by some as retrospective imposition—and the Diggers' relation to Levellers, with evidence of ideological overlap in land rights but divergence in methods, underscoring their marginality even among radicals.^[42] Left-leaning historiography often romanticizes their brevity as inspirational failure, yet causal analysis attributes collapse to entrenched property enforcement, not inherent utopianism, cautioning against anachronistic elevation amid biased academic tendencies to amplify proto-modernist elements.^[47]

Military Usage

Origins as Slang for Australian and New Zealand Soldiers

The term "digger" predates its military application in Australasia, where it initially referred to miners during Australia's Victorian gold rush of the 1850s and New Zealand's kauri gum extraction activities.^[48]^[49] In this context, it denoted manual laborers skilled in excavation, reflecting the rugged, self-reliant ethos of frontier workers who formed a significant portion of early colonial populations.^[50] During World War I, "digger" evolved into slang for soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF), particularly after their deployment to trench warfare campaigns such as Gallipoli in 1915 and the Western Front from 1916 onward.^[51] The earliest documented military usage appears in 1916, coinciding with intensified digging operations for trenches, saps, and fortifications amid static warfare that demanded constant earthworks to maintain positions against artillery and infantry assaults.^[52] Australian official historian Charles Bean noted in his accounts that the term, already familiar from civilian mining, "fell easily into the military language" as troops constructed extensive trench networks, often under fire, which exceeded 12,000 miles of front-line fortifications by war's end.^[52]^[50] Evidence suggests the slang gained traction first among New Zealand troops before widespread adoption by Australians, serving as a mode of address within ANZAC units that emphasized shared hardships in muddy, vermin-infested digs.^[52] By mid-1916, it had become a colloquial identifier for privates and infantry, evoking both literal spadework—such as the 1916 Somme offensive where ANZAC divisions dug in after heavy casualties—and a cultural nod to the nations' mining heritage, where many enlistees had prior experience with picks and shovels.^[51] This usage persisted post-armistice for Australians, symbolizing mateship forged in earth-moving toil, while fading among New Zealanders in favor of other identifiers like "Kiwi."^[50]

World War I Context and Trench-Digging Associations

The entrenched stalemate on the Western Front emerged by late 1914, after the initial German advance halted, leading to the construction of vast parallel trench systems stretching over 700 kilometers from the North Sea to Switzerland, where soldiers endured static warfare punctuated by artillery barrages, raids, and occasional offensives.^[53] Trench digging required constant manual labor with picks, shovels, and sandbags to create fire-steps, communication trenches, and protective earthworks against enfilade fire and bombardment, often under hazardous conditions that caused thousands of non-combat casualties from collapses, mud, and disease.^[53] Australian and New Zealand troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), deployed to Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, commenced digging defensive positions immediately upon landing at Anzac Cove amid chaotic terrain and Ottoman resistance, establishing a tenuous perimeter by nightfall through improvised trenching that prevented overrun.^[54] These efforts extended to tunneling and sapper work throughout the eight-month campaign, where soldiers, many from rural and mining backgrounds skilled in manual earthworks, adapted quickly to the demands of fortification in rugged, cliffside environments lacking heavy machinery.^[55] The slang term "digger" for these soldiers, rooted in 19th-century Australian gold rush parlance for miners since the 1850s Victorian fields, gained military currency during the war due to ANZAC proficiency in trench excavation, as observed by British "Tommies" who reportedly dubbed them such for their rapid and effective digging—exemplified in a 1917 account from Private Tudor Roberts noting the nickname arose from Allied admiration for Australian trench work in France.^[48]^[56] On the Western Front from mid-1916, Australian divisions like those at Pozières during the Somme Offensive (July-November 1916) constructed and reinforced extensive trench lines under intense shelling, leveraging pre-war mining expertise to outpace typical digging rates and maintain front-line integrity amid high attrition.^[51] This association persisted, with the term evoking both literal wartime labor and the egalitarian, resourceful ethos of former prospectors who formed a significant portion of enlistees.^[52]

Cultural Legacy, Commemorations, and Military Valor

The term "Digger" encapsulates a cultural archetype central to the national identities of Australia and New Zealand, embodying qualities such as mateship, endurance, courage, egalitarianism, inventiveness, loyalty, humor, and irreverence toward authority that emerged from the shared experiences of ANZAC forces in World War I.^[57] This legend, originating with the ill-fated Gallipoli landing on April 25, 1915, portrays Diggers as tough, resourceful soldiers who prioritized collective solidarity over rigid hierarchy, influencing post-war literature, art, and public memory as a foundational myth of democratic spirit and resilience.^[57] While some historical analyses question the extent of indiscipline versus battlefield discipline, the Digger image persists as a symbol of voluntary sacrifice and anti-authoritarian grit, distinct from British military traditions.^[58]^[59] Diggers are prominently commemorated on ANZAC Day, observed annually on April 25 to mark the Gallipoli landings, featuring dawn services, parades, and moments of silence at memorials worldwide, where veterans and descendants honor the term's origins in trench warfare and frontline camaraderie.^[60] In Australia, events include the Sydney and Melbourne marches, with over 30,000 participants in major cities as of recent years, alongside specialized recognitions like the Coloured Diggers March since 2007 for Indigenous servicemen who faced post-war exclusion despite their contributions.^[61] New Zealand mirrors these with services at the Auckland War Memorial Museum and Pukeariaki, emphasizing shared ANZAC heritage, though the term "Digger" holds stronger colloquial resonance in Australian usage.^[62] Official commemorations, coordinated by bodies like the Department of Veterans' Affairs, extend to battlefield sites such as Bullecourt, where annual services recall specific WWI engagements.^[63] Military valor associated with Diggers is exemplified by their tenacity at Gallipoli, where Australian forces suffered 26,111 casualties including 8,141 deaths over eight months, yet held positions through improvised defenses and counterattacks against superior Ottoman numbers.^[64] On the Western Front, Diggers earned 65 of Australia's 67 Victoria Crosses awarded in WWI for actions like the 1916 Battle of Pozières, where relentless assaults amid heavy artillery fire captured key ridges at a cost of over 6,700 Australian casualties in three weeks, demonstrating resourcefulness and mateship under extreme duress.^[57] New Zealand Diggers shared this valor, contributing to ANZAC successes such as the Chunuk Bair offensive, though overall ANZAC casualties at Gallipoli exceeded 21,000, underscoring a collective resolve forged in defeat rather than victory.^[65] These feats, documented in official histories, refute portrayals of mere recklessness by highlighting tactical adaptability and high morale despite logistical hardships.^[58]

Notable Individuals

Real Persons Associated with the Term

Gerrard Winstanley (c. 1609–1676) served as the primary leader and intellectual force behind the English Diggers' communal experiments in 1649–1650, authoring key pamphlets such as The True Levellers Standard Advanced that outlined their agrarian communist principles of collective land cultivation to end poverty and enclosure.^[33] In April 1649, he organized a group of approximately 15–20 individuals to occupy and farm common land on St. George's Hill in Surrey, England, sowing vegetables and parsnips as a practical demonstration of their ideology against private property.^[35] Winstanley's writings emphasized that the earth belonged to all humanity, drawing from Christian apocalypticism and critiques of monarchy, though the colony faced harassment from local landowners and disbanded by early 1650 after crop failures and evictions.^[66] William Everard, a former Leveller soldier and co-signatory of the Diggers' manifestos, acted as an early organizer alongside Winstanley, helping to initiate the St. George's Hill settlement in 1649 before departing amid internal disputes over leadership and pacifism.^[67] Everard's military background contrasted with the Diggers' emerging non-violent stance, and he later distanced himself from the group, reflecting tensions between radical action and theoretical purity in the movement.^[68] Other participants, such as Thomas Firmin and John Gurney, contributed as laborers and signatories to Digger declarations but lacked Winstanley's prominence, with records indicating they joined the Surrey and subsequent Cobham colonies to sustain communal farming efforts until suppression in 1650.^[27] No major figures from the Australian and New Zealand "Digger" military slang tradition—referring collectively to ANZAC soldiers since World War I—are individually tied to the term as a personal moniker, though valorized soldiers like sniper Billy Sing (1886–1942) exemplified the resourceful, trench-digging archetype in Gallipoli campaigns from 1915.^[69]

Fictional or Pseudonymous Figures

One prominent fictional character is Digger, the anthropomorphic wombat protagonist of the webcomic Digger created by Ursula Vernon. Introduced in the series' debut strip on March 18, 2003, Digger—full name Digger of Unnecessarily Convoluted Tunnels—is depicted as a pragmatic engineer from an underground wombat society who emerges from her tunnel into a fantastical world of temples, demons, and tribal conflicts after a mining mishap.^[70] The narrative follows her efforts to navigate philosophical disputes, forge alliances with hyena-people and shadow-people, and resolve a curse threatening a sacred river, emphasizing themes of rational inquiry amid superstition. The black-and-white comic, spanning over 700 installments until its completion in 2011, was collected into print editions by Sofawolf Press, with the full omnibus released in 2017.^[71] In Japanese anime, Simon the Digger serves as the central figure in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, a mecha series produced by Gainax and aired from April to September 2007. Simon begins as a timid digger scavenging underground tunnels in a dystopian future, where humanity hides from surface-dwelling beastmen; his discovery of a small drill-like artifact propels him into a rebellion involving escalating mecha battles and galaxy-spanning conflicts.^[72] The character's arc traces his growth from subterranean laborer to cosmic leader, with "Digger" symbolizing his initial role and persistent ingenuity in forging paths through adversity; the epilogue reveals him as the series' narrator in old age.^[73] Marvel Comics features Digger (Roderick Krupp), a supernatural gravedigger introduced in Tower of Shadows #1 in August 1969. Portrayed as a green-skinned ghoul residing in a haunted cemetery, Digger narrates macabre tales to victims before burying them alive, deriving his moniker from this ritualistic habit.^[74] The character embodies horror anthology tropes, with later appearances in titles like Tales of Suspense linking him to undead lore and occasional confrontations with heroes such as the Shroud.^[75] No major pseudonymous figures using "Digger" as an alias have been documented in historical or literary records associated with the term's primary usages.

Representations in Arts and Media

Literature and Historical Fiction

C. J. Dennis's Digger Smith (1918), a collection of narrative poems, depicts the experiences of an Australian soldier returning from World War I, highlighting themes of mateship, resilience, and the challenges of reintegration into civilian life after trench warfare.^[76] The work, published by Angus & Robertson, builds on Dennis's earlier verse series featuring larrikin characters like the Sentimental Bloke and Ginger Mick, with Smith portrayed through the eyes of his rural neighbors Doreen and the Bloke, emphasizing the digger's unpretentious heroism and enduring spirit.^[77] Popular among Australian Imperial Force troops, it sold widely in 1918, reflecting contemporary sentiment toward the digger archetype as tough yet affable.^[78] Earlier Australian literature occasionally employed "digger" for gold miners, as in Barcroft H. Boake's poem "The Digger's Song" (c. 1890s), which evokes the hardships of prospecting but predates the military connotation.^[79] By World War I, the term shifted firmly to soldiers, influencing literary representations of ANZAC valor without overt romanticization in Dennis's grounded dialect verse. In modern historical fiction, children's literature has explored the digger through anthropomorphic or companion narratives, such as Anthony Hill's Young Digger (2002), based on the true story of a stray puppy adopted by Australian soldiers on the Western Front in 1917–1918.^[80] The book details the dog's journey from Belgium to Australia, underscoring soldiers' compassion amid combat's brutality, drawn from archival records of the 14th Battalion, AIF.^[81] Similarly, Mark Wilson's Digger: The Dog Who Went to War (2015) fictionalizes a young Australian enlistee smuggling his pet to the front, portraying the bond as emblematic of digger loyalty and wartime isolation.^[82] Adult historical fiction featuring diggers remains sparse compared to non-fiction memoirs, with the archetype more often invoked in poetry anthologies or short stories capturing the digger's wit and endurance, as seen in wartime publications like soldiers' trench magazines.^[83] Works like these prioritize empirical soldier perspectives over idealized narratives, avoiding unsubstantiated glorification by rooting depictions in observed behaviors and dialect.

Film, Television, and Music

"Diggers" (1931), an Australian comedy film directed by Norman Lee, portrays World War I Australian soldiers known as diggers, drawing from a popular stage revue by Pat Hanna that humorously depicted their exploits and camaraderie on the Western Front.^[84] The film features scenes of trench life, farewells to French sweethearts, and the soldiers' irreverent spirit, reflecting the cultural archetype of the digger as resourceful and defiant.^[84] "The Digger Carries On" (1919), a silent Australian propaganda film, follows the adventures of a digger returning from World War I to civilian life, emphasizing themes of mateship and resilience amid post-war challenges.^[85] Restored by the National Film and Sound Archive, it captures early cinematic representations of the digger as a national hero, blending humor with patriotic sentiment to boost morale during the war's aftermath.^[85] In television, "The Digger" (2011), a documentary-style TV movie directed by Serge Ou, chronicles the evolution of the Australian soldier from the Boer War through modern conflicts, highlighting the digger's enduring traits of heroism, humor, and larrikinism as icons of national identity.^[86] The production traces how the term "digger" originated in World War I trench warfare and became synonymous with Australian and New Zealand troops' valor.^[86] Music referencing diggers often draws from folk traditions and war commemorations. "Diggers of the Anzac (This Is Gallipoli)," a 2013 song by Australian country artist John Williamson, celebrates the diggers' mutual support and the Anzac spirit forged at Gallipoli, with lyrics evoking mateship: "Of the digger who gives a mate a hand."^[87] Traditional songs like "The Digger's Song," performed in Australian folk repertoires, recount soldiers' bravery at Gallipoli and their role in shaping national character.^[88] Collections such as "An Album of Digger Songs" preserved by the Australian War Memorial compile tunes sung by troops, including "Brigadier, he gets Turkey" and "Come to the cookhouse, boys," illustrating the diggers' use of satirical and morale-boosting music during World War I.^[89] Warren Fahey's recordings of "Australia at War – Digger's Songs" further document these oral traditions, featuring verses on battles like Gallipoli and the soldiers' wandering spirit under war clouds.^[90]

Video Games, Sports, and Other Cultural References

Digger (1983 video game) was developed by Windmill Software and released as a self-booting disk for IBM PC compatibles, featuring gameplay where players control a digging character navigating underground mazes to collect emeralds while avoiding monsters like hobgoblins and scorpions.^[91] The game drew inspiration from arcade titles such as Dig Dug and Mr. Do!, emphasizing tunnel-digging mechanics, bonus rounds with falling apples, and increasing difficulty across levels.^[92] Ports and remakes have appeared on platforms including Android and modern PCs, preserving its retro appeal among enthusiasts of early 1980s personal computer gaming.^[93] In sports, "Digger" served as the nickname for Richard Frederick Phelps, a prominent American college basketball coach who led the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 1971 to 1991, compiling a record of 393 wins and 197 losses, including multiple NCAA tournament appearances and a Final Four berth in 1978.^[94] Phelps earned the moniker from childhood friends, later applying it professionally during stints at Fordham University (1966–1969, 26–3 record) and as an ESPN analyst from 1993 to 2014.^[95] The nickname has occasionally appeared elsewhere, such as Oakland Athletics pitcher Kendall Graveman's "Digger," referencing his ground-ball-inducing sinker pitches.^[96] Beyond these, "Digger" denotes the San Francisco Diggers, a 1960s countercultural collective in Haight-Ashbury that rejected monetary exchange by distributing free food, clothing, and services through "free stores" and street actions, drawing ideological roots from 17th-century English agrarian radicals while pioneering guerrilla theater and community self-reliance amid the hippie influx.^[97] Active from 1966 to around 1968, the group—comprising actors, artists, and activists—influenced the era's free-form activism, emphasizing "life-acting" over traditional protest and providing crash pads and medical aid to runaways, though internal debates over structure led to its dissolution.^[98]

Additional and Derogatory Uses

Slang Terms and Regional Variations

In Australian English, "digger" originated as slang for a miner, particularly during the 19th-century gold rushes, where it denoted individuals engaged in excavating earth for precious metals or resources such as kauri gum in New Zealand fields. This usage predated its adoption by military personnel and reflected the laborious nature of manual digging in colonial mining communities.^[99] The term evolved into a casual form of address meaning "mate" or "friend," employed in the second or third person among workers on Australian gold fields and New Zealand gum fields well before World War I. In regional contexts, it retained prominence in Australia as an informal reference to a fellow countryman or "bloke," while fading in New Zealand, where soldiers came to be known simply as "ANZACs" rather than "diggers." This variation highlights its entrenched role in Australian vernacular, occasionally extending beyond mining and military spheres to denote camaraderie in civilian life.^[99]

Offensive or Obsolete Applications

The term "digger" has been used as an ethnic slur referring to indigenous peoples of the Great Basin and California regions, particularly tribes like the Paiute and Nisenan, who subsisted partly by digging roots and tubers for food; European settlers applied it derogatorily to imply primitiveness and degradation during and after the 19th-century Gold Rush era.^[100]^[101] This usage originated in the mid-19th century, spreading from Great Basin tribes to broader California Native populations, and persisted in stereotypes portraying them as "dirty digger Indians" to justify land dispossession and marginalization.^[102] The slur's offensiveness stems from its reduction of complex foraging practices to a marker of inferiority, often invoked in settler narratives including those by figures like Mark Twain; it remains a pejorative epithet in historical accounts, contributing to efforts to rename species like the "digger pine" (Pinus sabiniana), reclassified in botanical nomenclature to excise the racist connotation.^[103] In obsolete applications, "digger" formerly denoted a gold miner in Australia during the 19th-century rushes, encompassing those who excavated shallow alluvial deposits before the term narrowed to specific machinery or military slang; this sense fell out of common use by the early 20th century as mining terminology evolved.^[104]^[105] Such historical usages highlight the word's shift from literal labor descriptors to culturally specific or mechanized contexts, with the gold-prospecting meaning now archaic outside niche historical references.^[106]

References

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Brave community: The Digger Movement in the English Revolution
It was in April 1649 that the Diggers, inspired by the teachings and writings of Gerrard Winstanley, began their occupation of waste land at St George's Hill in ...
[2]
[PDF] Radical Theology and Social Reform: A Study of the Works of ...
' W.S. Hudson, "Economic and Social Thought of Gerrard Winstanley," Journal of Modern History XVIII ... record ... the rights of the Diggers brought Winstanley ...
[3]
Winstanley, "The True Levellers' Standard Advanced."
This movement, which called itself the "True Levellers" to distinguish themselves from another less radical faction, argued in favor of social and economic ...Missing: primary | Show results with:primary
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"Truth lifting up its head above scandals : the new law of ...
Cook, John, "Truth lifting up its head above scandals : the new law of righteousness proposed by Gerrard Winstanley and the Diggers" (1986). Honors Theses. 451.
[5]
Project MUSE - <i>The Works of Gerrard Winstanley
Out of the same ferment which produced George Fox and the Society of Friends came Gerrard Winstanley and the group of religious communists known as Diggers.
[6]
What Did the Diggers Really Believe? - JSTOR Daily
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Cat® Excavators | New Hydraulic & Construction Machines
Equipment Type · Mini Excavators (22) · Small Excavators (6) · Medium Excavators (8) · Large Excavators (7) · Demolition Excavators (5) · Long Reach Excavation (2) ...Large Excavators · Mini Excavators · Medium Excavators · Small Excavators<|separator|>
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The Otis shovel was the earliest known steam-powered, single-bucket excavator, and it greatly improved the efficiency of at-grade excavation.
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Kilgore machine company built the first fully hydraulic excavator using steam cylinders without cables or chains.<|separator|>
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Hydraulic Excavator working principle
A hydraulic pump generates pressure, which powers cylinders. Fluid in cylinders pushes pistons, moving the arm. Control valves direct fluid flow.
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Understanding Excavator Hydraulic Systems | The Scoop
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Nov 6, 2024 · The hydraulic system is the heart of the excavator, providing power and control for functions like digging and lifting, and enhancing ...
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Beginners should know that training makes it easier, check fluid levels, engage the safety lever, and that the control pattern (SAE or ISO) is important.
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A brief history of the Excavator - Highways Today
Nov 23, 2022 · The Scottish inventor James Watt and the English entrepreneur Matthew Boulton developed the first steam-powered excavator back in 1796.
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Excavators are used for digging, lifting, and mining. Types include crawler, wheeled, dragline, suction, and mini excavators, each with specific uses.What Is an Excavator, and... · Types of Excavators · Mini Excavator
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9 Types of Excavators and What They Do ?Purple Wave
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The English Diggers (1649-1650)
The English Diggers (1649-1650) · Background material on the English Diggers, Levellers, &c. · Short history from Encyclopedia Britannica · The Digger Songs.
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[PDF] THE W"ORK.S OF GERRARD W"INSTANLEY - The Digger Archives
The Digging at St. George's Hill met such a reception from the landowners and other people of the locality as might be expected. The Diggers were taken by the ...
[29]
The True Levellers' Standard Advanced, Part One | Libertarianism.org
The True Levellers' Standard Advanced, Part One. Part. 1. of a series. The True Levellers' Standard Advanced, Part Two. Jan 1st, 1649. When the Diggers occupied ...
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Jul 13, 2006 · The True Levellers Standard Advanced. Diggers evicted from St George's Hill, Surrey - 1649. A printable pamphlet version of The True Levellers ...Missing: text | Show results with:text
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Today in radical history, 1649: the 'Diggers' take over common land ...
Apr 1, 2019 · In early June, the 'Digger' community was attacked by soldiers hired by the local landowners, commanded by a Captain Stravie, who wounded a man ...
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Gerrard Winstanley (1649). The True Levellers Standard Advanced: Or, The State of Community Opened, and Presented to the Sons of Men.Missing: text | Show results with:text
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The English Digger Writings
The True Levellers Standard Advanced, issued in April 1649 and signed by Gerrard Winstanley and other early Diggers, is the foundational manifesto of the ...Missing: primary | Show results with:primary
[34]
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Digger Movement in the Days ...
Jan 8, 2006 · As Gerrard Winstanley, the inspirer of the Digger Movement, seems to us to have been greatly influenced by the teaching of one of these sects, ...
[35]
Gerrard Winstanley and the Failed Digger Revolution (Classroom ...
Primary sources with questions and answers on Gerrard Winstanley and the Failed Digger ... "The work we are going about is this," declared The True Levellers' ...
[36]
The Diggers and the local community - Manchester Hive
Apr 19, 2025 · Assaults on the Diggers began almost immediately after they set to work on. St George's Hill. In the first recorded attack, 'divers of the ...
[37]
Criticism: Gerrard Winstanley and the Digger Movement in Walton ...
Platt was accused by Winstanley of being responsible for the destruction of Digger houses in November, of making false allegations against the Diggers to the ...
[38]
Diggers - Connexipedia article - Connexions.org
The collapse of the movement was due to the efforts of local landowners backed by the Council of State to crush the Digger colonies whenever they arose. [edit] ...
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[41]
The Diggers - by Andy Ciccone - The Poor Prole's Almanac
Jul 4, 2025 · There is sufficient evidence to indicate that as many as a third of the seventy-four Surrey Diggers whose names we know were local inhabitants, ...
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Feb 6, 2014 · Gerrard Winstanley: The Digger's Life and Legacy. Author: William A ... failed for Winstanley that he turned against it. Indeed, Gurney's ...
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The Diggers' Green Roots - Tribune
Feb 16, 2021 · In 1649, the same year the Diggers set up their camp on St George's Hill, King Charles I was executed in Whitehall. Almost up until that very ...
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Jan 25, 2024 · In The Digger Movement in the Days of the Commonwealth, Berens characterised the Diggers as proto revolutionaries, their ideas the forerunners ...
[45]
Winstanley's Ecology: The English Diggers Today - Monthly Review
The True Levellers have appealed to anarchists as well as socialists, and the Digger legacy has been claimed by both traditions.2 The Diggers rejected ...
[46]
Gerrard Winstanley and the Left* | Past & Present - Oxford Academic
Although Gerrard Winstanley and the Digger movement made only a fleeting ... Consequently, tracing those attitudes can reveal much not just about the Diggers' ...Missing: debates | Show results with:debates
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GERRARD WINSTANLEY AND THE LEFT - jstor
Furthermore, tracing those attitudes and setting them in the context of earlier interpretations of the Diggers, and of seventeenth-century radicalism more ...
[48]
War's lexicon | State Library of New South Wales
But their informal name was the Diggers. The first specialised use of digger in Australian English dates back to the 1850s gold rush in Victoria. This use ...Missing: origin | Show results with:origin
[49]
Anzac Soldier - Anzac Day Tours
Before World War I, “digger” was commonly used in Australia to describe miners, while in New Zealand, it referred to Kauri gum-diggers. The term also had ...<|separator|>
[50]
Military history Origin of the term digger | findmypast.com.au
Digger became the general mode of address for Australian and New Zealand soldiers although its usage disappeared for the latter troops, who became known simply ...
[51]
The Genesis of Digger by Tim Lycett | Traces Magazine
Jun 9, 2013 · The derivation of the term 'Digger' as a colloquial reference to Australian and New Zealand soldiers originates from the First World War.
[52]
Origin of the nickname 'Digger' - Great War Forum
Mar 5, 2012 · During the First World War, the first Australian use of digger to refer to an Australian soldier was in 1916, and this appears very early to be ...
[53]
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Jan 28, 2021 · Trench warfare created a living environment for the men which was harsh, stagnant and extremely dangerous.
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Sep 3, 2025 · Hamilton decided against their recommendation. He ordered the troops to begin digging trenches. The Anzacs held on for the crucial first night.Missing: WWI | Show results with:WWI
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Life at Anzac - Australian War Memorial
Apr 2, 2020 · Having left home seeking adventure and possible glory, troops on Gallipoli found themselves dirty, thirsty, constantly digging and tunnelling, ...
[56]
Diggers and Doughboys: The Art of Allies 100 Years On
Dec 2, 2018 · Diggers: The word Digger has been around since the early days of the gold rush in Australia and anecdotally there is evidence that some ...
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The Anzac legend
Oct 17, 2025 · The Anzac legend was born on 25 April 1915, when some 16,000 soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landed under fire on ...
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D is for Digger - ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee
ANZAC was their official name, but 'Digger' is what the soldiers called themselves. Where do you think the name came from? No one really knows!
[61]
Anzac Day Coloured Digger march - Creative Spirits
Aug 18, 2023 · Many don't know Australia's Aboriginal war veterans and the Coloured Diggers march which started in 2007.
[62]
Boosting Morale on the Western Front: The Digger Pierrots
'Digger' was a popular slang term used to describe ANZAC soldiers during World War One, particularly between Kiwis and Australians when referring to one another ...
[63]
Chief of Air Force Commemorative Address, Diggers Service ...
Apr 25, 2025 · This Anzac Day, we remember the more than 103,000 Australians who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. We also ...<|separator|>
[64]
Gallipoli - Australian War Memorial
Nov 1, 2023 · The whole Gallipoli operation, however, cost 26,111 Australian casualties, including 8,141 deaths. Despite this, it has been said that Gallipoli ...
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Gallipoli casualties by country - NZ History
Oct 3, 2024 · Infographic showing Gallipoli fatal and non-fatal casualties for individual countries and for total Allied and Ottoman forces.
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Gerrard Winstanley, the man who got the Diggers digging - Aeon
May 26, 2025 · The first Digger pamphlet, The True Levellers Standard Advanced (1649), was addressed to 'the powers of England and to all the powers of the ...<|separator|>
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Gerrard Winstanley and The Diggers — MUD
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Winstanley and the Diggers, 1649–1999 . London: Frank Cass,. 2000 . Google ... Gurney, John. Brave Community: The Digger Movement in the English Revolution.
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Douglas Grant, Aboriginal Digger - The Australian Museum Blog
Apr 8, 2015 · To his comrades, Douglas was not an Aboriginal man in a white army; he was just a fellow Digger. Douglas recalled later in life that, 'the ...
[70]
Digger by Ursula Vernon
Digger won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story. I cannot thank everybody enough–all my readers and fans and friends–for voting for Digger in the Hugo awards.Digger February 1st, 2007 · Shop · Artist · CastMissing: character | Show results with:character
[71]
Review: Digger by Ursula Vernon - Bastian's Book Reviews
Oct 21, 2017 · Digger is a long form fantasy epic, told through the medium of a serialised comic strip, almost right from the start.
[72]
Simon | Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Wiki - Fandom
The epilogue reveals that the middle-aged Simon the Digger has been the narrator of the series the whole time, as they have the same voice. Relationships ...Spiral · Tengen Toppa Lagann · Simon/Gallery · Series
[73]
r/Mecha on Reddit: How would you rate Simon the Digger on a scale ...
Jan 15, 2024 · All of his character designs slap. I quoted him in my valedictorian speech (bias?) Simon the digger is peak mecha pilot!Simon The Digger. : r/gurrenlagann - RedditIs Simon the digger the strongest character that dc has ever facedMore results from www.reddit.com
[74]
Digger (Roderick Krupp) Powers, Enemies, History - Marvel.com
He earned the name Digger from his practice of telling victims his stories as he buried them to death. At some point, the vigilante called the Shroud contacted ...
[75]
Digger (Marvel Comics) | Hey Kids Comics Wiki | Fandom
Digger (Roderick Krupp) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared as a story narrator/host in ...
[76]
Digger Smith by C. J. Dennis - Project Gutenberg
This collection of verse explores the experiences of Australian soldiers during the war and aims to capture their emotions, struggles, and the impact of war.
[77]
DIGGER SMITH by C.J. Dennis (1876 - 1938) - middlemiss.org
Though Mick was lost at Gallipoli, little Smith returned to become a country neighbour of Doreen and the Bloke and it is through their compassionate eyes that ...
[78]
Australian WW1 Book | Digger Smith by CJ Dennis
C J Dennis books were extremely popular among AIF troops. First printed in 1918, Digger Smith was another success, in the last year of the war.
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The Digger's Song [poem by Barcroft Boake]
May 2, 2024 · digger = a gold digger, someone seeking gold by digging in the ... Australian literature · Recommended poetry · Poetry and songs, 1786-1900
[80]
Writing Young Digger - Anthony Hill Books
I first came across the remarkable story of Young Digger in early March 2000, not long after I finished writing Soldier Boy. My friend Ashley Ekins, then Senior ...
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Young Digger (2002, new edition 2016), by Anthony Hill
Sep 7, 2016 · Young Digger (2002, new edition 2016), by Anthony Hill ... There has been such a plethora of military history books published during the WW1 ...
[82]
Digger: The Dog Who Went To War by Mark Wilson - Books
A heartfelt story of the bond of love and devotion between a man and his dog in war. Matthew, a young Australian soldier, smuggles his beloved dog, Digger, ...
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Literature (Australia) - 1914-1918 Online
Sep 24, 2018 · The intellectual and imaginative lives of Australian soldiers in the Great War and beyond, Burlington, 2012: Ashgate. Niall, Brenda Mary: Seven ...
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Diggers (1931)Share
This clip shows the final scenes from Diggers , a black-and-white film of 1931. It is the First World War and an Australian soldier farewells his French ...
[85]
Anzac films restored | National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
Apr 23, 2018 · We are proud to showcase these invaluable films from our collection. You can watch the full version of The Digger Carries On (1919) below.
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The Digger (TV Movie 2011) - IMDb
Rating 7.6/10 (9) The Digger: Directed by Serge Ou. With Nick Allen-Ducat, Alex Becconsall, Kristopher Bos, Tim Boyle. At the end of the nineteenth century soldiers from ...
[87]
Diggers of the Anzac (This Is Gallipoli) - Spotify
Listen to Diggers of the Anzac (This Is Gallipoli) on Spotify. Song · John Williamson · 2013. ... Of the digger who gives a mate a hand. And in the end they ...
[88]
762. The Digger's Song (Traditional Australian) - YouTube
Mar 29, 2009 · 762. The Digger's Song (Traditional Australian). 16K views · ...
[89]
An Album of digger songs [music] - Australian War Memorial
An Album of digger songs [music] : "songs the diggers sang" Digger songs ... song"; "Brigadier, he gets Turkey"; "Come and do your picket, boys"; "Come to ...
[90]
Australia at War – Digger's Songs | Warren Fahey
A digger was a soldier as brave as he could be, And a grand old man he made, in the landing at Gallipoli, When the war clouds filled the skies, He wandered ...
[91]
DIGGER Game Online
Digger game (Windmill Software 1983)
[92]
Play Digger online - PlayDOSGames.com
Digger MS-DOS game released by Windmill Software in 1998. Download or play Digger online, or choose from more than hundreds of other DOS games.
[93]
Digger Classic - Apps on Google Play
Rating 2.8 (1,408) · Free · AndroidDec 29, 2024 · The authentic Digger experience. This version of the good old DOS-game Digger, now on Android, is not a remake, but is based on the Java port.
[94]
Digger Phelps Coaching Record - Sports-Reference.com
Digger Phelps ; Alma Mater: Rider (1963) ; Career Record (major schools): 21 Years, 419-200, .677 W-L% ; Schools: Fordham (26-3) and Notre Dame (393-197).
[95]
Digger Phelps on Fordham's great 26-3 season 50 years ago
Apr 8, 2020 · “I still say it was the greatest single year of college basketball New York has ever seen,” Phelps says from his home in South Bend, Ind.
[96]
Ranking the Oakland A's nicknames - Athletics Nation
Aug 11, 2017 · No. 3: Digger ... He's the Grave Man, ya dig? The sinker specialist uses opponents' ground balls as his shovel. This is a top-level nickname, at ...
[97]
This 1960s Anarchist Group Believed Food Should Be Free
Oct 3, 2023 · Still, women continued to play a role within the Diggers, including Di Prima, who writes about picking up “free Digger meat / for Free City ...
[98]
Overview: who were (are) the Diggers
Overview: who were (are) the Diggers? The Digger Archives is an ongoing Web project to preserve and present the history of the anarchist guerrilla street ...
[99]
AIF slang - Annotated glossary - D | School of Literature, Languages ...
Digger Mate, friend. Used in the second or third person. This term had been in use on the Aust. gold fields, and New Zealand Kauri gum fields for many years ...
[100]
The Digger Indian Stereotype in California - eScholarship
The "Digger" stereotype, first applied to indigenous peoples in the Great Basin, soon came to refer to native Californians, particularly those in and around ...Missing: offensive | Show results with:offensive
[101]
Racism in Taxonomy: What's in a Name? - Hoyt Arboretum
Aug 9, 2020 · ... Digger Pine.” This tree from the western United States is named for a pejorative term used to reference the Paiute and other Indigenous groups.
[102]
The Nisenan: from 'digger Indian' to citizenship | Gold Country Media
Feb 15, 2012 · Thus was the source, probably, of the very derogatory slur “dirty digger Indian.” Many ceased to identify themselves as Indians to avoid ...
[103]
Racism lurks in many plant and animal names. That's now changing
Oct 22, 2021 · This is a term of abuse for Indigenous Khoikhoi people in southern Africa. Likewise, the Digger pine tree contains a slur for the Paiute people.
[104]
digger, n. meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary
A collection of slang phrases used by the Australian soldiers on active service. ... A card of the spade suit; big-digger, the ace of spades (Farmer Slang).
[105]
digger - definition and meaning - Wordnik
digger: A person or animal that digs ... noun Australia, obsolete A gold miner, one who digs for gold. noun Australia, dated An informal nickname for a ...
[106]
What Does The Name Digger Mean?
What is the meaning of Digger? How popular is the baby name Digger? Learn ... (Australia, obsolete) A gold miner, one who digs for gold. (Australia ...