A notional marker in the outback imagined as being the last outpost of civilization.
the true stories of those who go out past the black stump only to never return
Example sentencesExamples
This is black stump territory.
Qantas today assured the Gold Coast it will be flying into Tullamarine and not via the black stump at Avalon.
We went to the small township of Milestone, about 250 miles west of Burketown in the Northern Territory — real "black stump" country.
This is backblocks Taranaki, out in the ‘never never’, ‘past the black stump’: a rough and rugged land that has beaten most settlers who dared attempt to scrape a living from the landscape.
The town seems like the last frontier with its black stump, wide streets, corrugated iron houses and Burke River.
Phrases
beyond the black stump
informal In the remote outback.
在偏远的内地
he was born not in the capital city, but somewhere out beyond the black stump
Example sentencesExamples
I've been in Australia beyond the black stump for a month now.
I found myself at an event with no working Wi-Fi and the kind of mobile reception you'd expect to get beyond the black stump.
Soil microbiology may lie beyond the black stump separating chemistry from its cousin biology.
We want to head out way beyond the black stump and see the National Park.
Anything west of here is beyond the black stump.
Your average sheila and bloke, be it in Sydney or beyond the black stump, doesn't have a lot of time for earbashers.
The land beyond the black stump lay two hundred miles to the west.
Historians have had little to say about the lands that stretch beyond the black stump.
If it was a little further west it could fairly be described as being beyond the black stump.
Maybe it's all right that he is as beyond the black stump when it comes to common sense.
this side of the black stump
informal In the world known to the speaker.
he turned out to be one of the best blokes this side of the black stump
Example sentencesExamples
If you have some prize-winning pickles, nifty needlework, or the best looking fleeces this side of the Black Stump, consider entering in the show.
The greatest navigator and rum stirrer this side of the Black Stump passed away in 1817.
He's the best champagne cocktail man this side of the black stump, or so he tells me.
Here's the pub that serves the absolutely best meals this side of the Black Stump.
He is the most egotistical, shameless liar this side of the black stump.
He said he would write a letter to every politician this side of the black stump.
They are the most hideous suburban housing developments this side of the black stump.
There were no housekeepers to be found this side of the black stump.
The sign boasted that it was the last pub this side of the Black Stump.
They are the biggest bunch of thieving scumbags this side of the black stump!
Origin
Early 20th century: black in the sense 'fire-blackened'.