G'day Martin (aussiebloke),

The OED doesn't show quite as long a history of "Kraut", as a personification of Germans as I expected. References to "kraut" - the vegetable (cabbage) start to appear in the first decade of Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert - but the interchangeability of "Kraut" with German (person) is only cited from the end of WW1.

Oxford's Australian National Dictionary (a full OED treatment of Australian words and terms), Oxford University Press, 1988 doesn't distinguish any usages as distintively Australian ... and I was intrigued, while reading the OED, to note that, although the term appears frequently, as a mild vilification, in books after both World Wars, there are no citations from published marerial during either war! I guess this says something about the Poms ... at least, in Fleet Street! I'm sure that an early tape recorder, roaming amongst Australian troops, would present something quite at odds with the published record!

Regards,

Bob