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Yulunga: woomera

A woomera or throwing stick was used by Aboriginal boys and men in all parts of Australia to propel spears with great force, often over considerable distances. On Dunk Island in Queensland a favourite target for spear-throwing contests was the white ant nests hanging from the gum trees. This is a throwing competition for ...

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Yulunga: parndo

This ball game was played by Aboriginal people in the vicinity of Adelaide (Kaurna language) in South Australia. The parndo (ball) was made with a piece of possum skin and was fairly flat in shape. This is a game of kicking the ball high into the air and attempting to catch it. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games ...

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Yulunga: riawena

Riawena means ‘fun (sport)’ in the language used by the Aboriginal people of the Oyster Bay area of Tasmania. A number of the games and activities can be conducted as athletic events. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide all Australians with a greater understanding and appreciation ...

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Yulunga: wana wana

This is a version of a game played by the young Noongar girls in the southwest of Western Australia. A girl used her wana (digging stick) to stop the other girls hitting a short stick placed on the ground. Players practise their throwing, catching and hitting skills. (This is a practice activity version of the game called ...

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Yulunga: tarnambai

Although not a universal activity, athletics-type events were common. On Tiwi (Bathurst) Island the children collected the seed heads of the ‘spring rolling grass’ (Spinifex hirsutis) that grew on the sand hills near the coast. These were taken to the beach and released. The children allowed these to be blown along by the ...

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Yulunga: birray

Young children in the Bloomfield area of north Queensland played the game of birray (march-fly). It was observed by Walter Roth in the early 1900s. This is a game where a chaser (birray) attempts to tag (touch) other players. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide all Australians with ...

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Yulunga: thapumpan

The tag game of thapumpan (shark) was observed being played by little children at Cape Bedford in north Queensland. A chasing-and-tagging game. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide all Australians with a greater understanding and appreciation of Indigenous culture by celebrating the ...

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Yulunga: yulunga

Yulunga means ‘playing’ in the language of the Kamilaroi (Gamori) people from the northwest of New South Wales. The following games and activities may be organised as part of a display of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide all Australians ...

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Yulunga: buroinjin

This was a ball game played by the Kabi Kabi people of south Queensland. The game was played with a ball made of kangaroo skin, which was called a buroinjin. The ball, which was smaller than a soccer ball, was sewn with tendons and stuffed with grass. Teams from different groups played against each other. The game was often ...

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Yulunga: pulyugge

Keep-away types of ball games were played in many parts of Australia. Pulyugge was played between selected teams of different groups in the Murray, Lake Alexandria and Lake Albert areas of South Australia. A running, passing and ball-catching game of team keep-away. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was ...

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Yulunga: kami kami

Turlurlu is the name of a traditional ball-rolling and hitting game observed being played by boys in the Great Sandy Desert of central Australia. A rough ball called a kamikami was cut from the thick root of the ngulyungu tree. Each player held a mukurru, or fighting stick, as a bat. The boys formed teams and each side ...

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Yulunga: jinnee ngaman billee billee dabbulgar

The stunt activity of jinnee ngaman billee billee dabbulgar was observed among the Capel district people of southwest Australia. It was usually only after much practice that this trick was able to be performed. This is a stunt of jumping over a line on the ground. It is suitable as a warm-up or ‘challenge’ activity. The ...

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Yulunga: brambahl

A favourite game of the old men of the Juwalarai people of the Narran River in New South Wales was brambahl (skipping). Men of more than 70 years were often the best. This is a skipping game where players perform various actions. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide all Australians ...

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Yulunga: barambah gimbe

Throwing a ball or object high into the air and attempting to catch it was an activity observed in various parts of Australia. This proved to be a particularly popular activity at Barambah (now Cherbourg) after an Aboriginal settlement was established by the Queensland government on the lands of the Wakka Wakka people in ...

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Yulunga: wadai

In the 1890s, children in parts of the Torres Strait were observed playing a ball-catching game in the water called udai (wadai) or doamadiai. This is a throwing-and-catching game in which players compete for possession of a ball. The versions outlined here use the original water game (udai) and adapt it for use on land. ...

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Yulunga: ngarinbarm

The swimming game of ngarinbarm (turtle) was played by the Jagara (Jagera) people in lagoons around the Brisbane area. Players in a canoe chase and attempt to catch a ngarinbarm. The players who are the turtles swim underwater to avoid capture. The players in the canoe may enter the water to touch the turtles if they are ...

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Yulunga: meetcha kambong

A wrestling game of the Noongar people of the southwest of Western Australia was called meetcha kambong (‘nut game’) or boojur kombang (‘ground game’). In the Swan district it was called boojoor-eleeja. A team beaten at this game might resume the contest in a month or so. A ‘wrestling’ game where attacking players attempt ...

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Yulunga: millim baeyeetch

One of the favourite games of the Aboriginal people in parts of Victoria was a game of football. There were a few variations of the game and the one outlined here was observed in the 1840s. The ball was about the size of an orange, and was made of possum skin, with the fur side outwards. It was filled with pounded charcoal ...

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Yulunga: woggabaliri

Aboriginal people in places such as the Bogan and Lachlan River areas of New South Wales played ball games with a ball made of possum fur. This was usually spun by the women and made into a ball about five centimetres or more in diameter. The various types of games required great agility and suppleness of limbs to play ...

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Yulunga: emu

This game is based on a chasing game observed being played by Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory in more recent times. This is a chasing and catching (tag) game. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide all Australians with a greater understanding and appreciation of Indigenous ...