Australia. [Of obscure origin.] A Puritanical enthusiast or fanatic.
Hence Wowserism, Wowserite.
1906. Sydney Morning Herald, 30 Oct., 5/8. Mr. John Norton seconded the resolution, and in a long address he referred to the ‘pulpiterring press,’ the ‘Wesleyan wowsers,’ ‘the Judkinses,’ and the ‘Methodistical mugwumpers,’ as being authors of the anti-gambling movement.
1909. Daily News, 1 April, 4. ‘Wowser’ is a term applied by certain portions of the Australian Press to parsons of all denominations, more particularly to those who are fanatical on temperance and social evils. Their followers are called ‘Wowserites,’ and their propaganda ‘Wowserism.’
1912. Nation, 11 May, 214/2. A wowser is one who wants to compel everybody else … to do whatever he thinks right, and abstain from everything he thinks wrong.
