Iliff-King phrasebook

Origin

Widespread Australian slang

Collector

Clayhoffs (aka Westerdons) – 1980s?
Clare, Win & their family

Notes

There is a town in Victoria, Australia called Smoko, which “gained its name in 1865 because gold seekers regularly stopped here for a smoke and a rest on their way to and from the goldfields”.

The term is believed to have originated in the British Merchant Navy, and was in use as early as 1857. The term is still in use in the British Merchant Navy today. The tradition of a smoko in the Australian sense seems to have begun amongst sheep shearers in the 1860s
—Wikipedia