Search results

Listed under:  Society  >  Culture  >  Recreation  >  Games
Online

Yulunga: kalkadoon kee'an

In areas of north Queensland, a game of throwing skill was played. A large bone, such as an emu shinbone (with twine attached to it) was thrown over a net (used to catch emus) into a pit or hole. Considering the distance to the hole, great skill was required to correctly aim the bone and ensure that it did not touch the ...

Online

Yulunga: wirrwuyu

As in various other cultures, stone skipping (throwing) along a surface of water was played by Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. On Dunk Island in Queensland, the throwing of cuttle-fish (krooghar) bones was observed. The bones were thrown along the surface of the water like ‘skipping stones’ and ...

Online

Yulunga: battendi

A spear game was played by Aboriginal people in the Lake Murray, Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert areas of southern Australia. A prize such as a newly made shield was offered to the winner. The contest was in two parts: distance throwing and target throwing. This is a distance-and-accuracy throwing contest using a woomera ...

Online

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. ...

Online

Yulunga: Garumba

Teams from far and wide gathered at a ‘place of wrestling’ (at Dingulami) in Kabi Kabi territory in south Queensland each year at the time when the bunya nuts were ready. Tingalpa near Brisbane was also a wrestling place. Only one team represented each group attending. Two players came from each totem of a group. Each pair ...

Online

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 ...

Online

Yulunga: tingalpa

Teams from far and wide gathered at a ‘place of wrestling’ (at Dingulami) in Kabi Kabi territory in south Queensland each year at the time when the bunya nuts were ready. Tingalpa near Brisbane was also a wrestling place. Only one team represented each group attending. Two players came from each part (totem) of a group. ...

Online

Yulunga: Tur-dur-er-rin

The lessons learned around the camp fire were often required for survival. Tur-dur-er-rin, war-rok-minder- neit, or work-ern-der-eit, was a wrestling game from Victoria in which the most skilful, or perhaps the strongest, proved to be the winner. The old men and women and the children acted as spectators and sat down around ...

Online

Yulunga: bunbuja

Spin-tops were made from the gourds of the Benincasa vacua, in an area of north Queensland. The people in the Cape Grafton area called them bunbuja. A spin-top was made by passing a stick through the gourd and then fixing the stick into position with twine and beeswax. Spin-tops were used only by the men, and spun by twirling ...

Online

Yulunga: chiba

At Clump Point in north Queensland, regular mock warfare tournaments were held. These were called chiba or malla. The name of the actual site where it took place in the close neighbourhood was called yirri. In Cairns the Yidinji people called this activity puloga. A game of mock warfare between two groups, using ‘sponge’ ...

Online

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 ...

Online

Yulunga: murrumbidgee

In 1834, boys on the banks of the Murrumbidgee were observed amusing themselves by throwing stones into the deep part of the stream and diving in order to catch them before they reached the bottom — usually successfully. There was much amusement associated with their competition. This is a swimming-and-diving game where ...

Online

Yulunga: koabangan

A game called koabangan was a finding-object game observed being played in the early 1900s by the Kokominni boys of north Queensland. The object commonly used was a goanna claw, but other objects were also used. A player hides an object in a designated area and the other players attempt to find it. The Yulunga: Traditional ...

Online

Yulunga: brajerack

Many different types of hide-and-seek games were played in Australia and the Torres Strait Islands. A game played in one part of Victoria in the latter part of the 1800s was called brajerack (the wild man). It was essentially a game of hide and seek whereby a player would hide in a wombat hole and would need to be dug out ...

Online

Yulunga: inkanyi

Although not a universal activity, athletic events were common. In a part of central Australia the children would have running races together. The race was a cooperative effort. According to age, running speed and fitness levels, runners started at different distances and all players attempted to finish together. This activity ...

Online

Yulunga: weet weet

The throwing of the play-stick, commonly called the weet weet (‘wit-wit’) was a popular activity among Aboriginal people in some parts of Australia, and various contests were held. The weet weet was often referred to as the ‘kangaroo rat’, because when thrown correctly its flight resembled the leaping action of this small ...

Online

Yulunga: makar

Various types of toy boats and canoes are found in parts of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands. On Sunday Island in northern Australia, small models of the raft (kaloa) were made for children to play with. In other areas of Australia small replicas of dugout canoes were fashioned. In parts of the Torres Strait simple ...

Online

Yulunga: thepan

Large, heavy wooden swords were used by males in the rainforest areas of north Queensland, around Tully and neighbouring areas. These swords would be straight or slightly curved in shape. Swordplay was a popular ceremonial and recreational activity, and two contestants with a wooden sword and shield would compete. Each ...

Online

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 ...

Online

Yulunga: kwatye

Water games and contests were played in all areas of Australia. In some parts of central Australia a frequent expression of ‘opposition’ between the generation groupings in a camp takes the form of light-hearted abuse and spectacular waterthrowing battles. The aim of the activity was to saturate certain kin in the opposite ...