Two best mates from rural Victoria have vowed to keep Aussie lingo alive by making memorabilia that encapsulates the fading vernacular. Jeff McCubbery, 72, from Mandurang and Ian Bullock, 65, from Blackburn devised the plan for Captain Cootie Cards over twenty years ago in a bid to counter the influx of lingo from overseas. The pair now has a quirky range of greeting cards, coffee mugs, stubby-holders and calendars – but their hopes of spreading the message were dashed after they were spurned by the companies they pitched their products to. An Illustration from best mates Ian Bullock and Jeff McCubberry, who have vowed to keep Aussie slang alive through a range a range of custom memorabilia . McCubberry told Daily Mail Australia they designed the idea after meeting on a fishing trip 25 years ago. 'We met at an annual fishing trip, and quickly learned we shared the belief that the language we grew up with was waning.' 'People are dorks not drongos, guys not blokes. We decided to do something to keep the vocabulary afloat,' McCubbery said. 'We decided to consolidate the Australianisms we knew and loved from our upbringings-instead of the Americanisms which have ,' said Ian Bullock. With Ian Bullock (left) as illustrator and and Jeff McCubbery (right) as designer, the duo have devised a range of greeting cards, coffee mugs, stubby-holders and calendars emblazoned with down under lingo . One illustration depicts weather forecast map with the various Australian climatological zones – the Northern Territory is 'bloody muggy' , Alice Springs is 'dry as a dead dingo's donger', and Victoria is 'cold as a witch's tit'. Another card shows a fisherman sleeping next to a lake with beer can in hand and the accompanying message: 'flat out like a lizard drinking.' McCubberry believes the rise of television and the internet has let a torrent of lingo loose from Britain and America that has eclipsed the home grown counterpart. McCubberry said when the pair met on a fishing trip 20 years ago 'we quickly learned we shared the belief that the language we grew up with was waning' The best mates use lingo from their upbringing which they say has disappeared, such as the term: 'I don't give a rats a**' With McCubberry as designer and Bullock as illustrator, the mates got to work on a range of products that embody down under speech from a bygone time. But much to their dismay the pair got a rude shock when time came to pitch the product a manufacturers. 'Nobodies interested, said McCubbery. 'They say it's too crude or uncouth. It doesn't make sense because colourful language is a pivotal part of Aussie culture.' The duo plan to launch a digital campaign in hopes of finding a distributor to get their products on the market . Bullock said they had a deal with a major distributor that fell through before another wholesaler offered them a rather insulting rate to print the cards. 'It was pretty insulting really. It's been a real knock back but we're determined to stick at it.' The mates plan to launch a website and social media campaign in hopes of finding a distributor to get their products on the market. 'It's just a matter of getting my head around the online thing. We're sticking at it for sure,' said McCubbery.
Jeff McCubbery and Ian Bullock met on a fishing trip twenty years ago.
They believe traditional Aussie lingo is being lost to imported vernacular.
They make custom memorabilia which embodies traditional Aussie lingo.
But none of the companies they approached have taken on their products.