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The imaginations of convicts in Australia became attuned to the pairing of opposites and this led to strange tensions in their way of representing things. On Norfolk Island the meanings of words were reversed, so that 'good' meant 'bad' and 'ugly' meant 'beautiful'. This undermining of official meanings produced the argot called the 'flash' or 'kiddy' language of the colony. Designed at first to keep private sentiments from being inspected, it eventually supported a system of dissident actions called 'cross-work' or 'cross doings'. One word loomed large amidst these inversions: 'fakement', meaning booty, forgery or deceit. The verb has more extensive meanings: rob, wound, shatter; 'fake your slangs' means break your shackles. It also meant performing a fiction and accepting the consequences of it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the case Berowra Holdings Pty. Ltd. v. Gordon, concerning a worker who commenced an action for damages against his employer, heard by the High Court of Australia. The court dismissed the appeal filed by the employer, which sought summary dismissal and an order that the proceedings were a nullity ab initio. The decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales was affirmed.