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• TLF-IDM006669

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 ...

• TLF-IDM006678

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 ...

• TLF-IDM006572

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 ...

• TLF-IDM006597

In parts of Papua New Guinea and the Torres Strait Islands players of both genders were observed playing a game of sand-ball throwing. It required a great deal of expertise to perform successfully and was often played all day. Players make ‘bombs’ out of sand and throw (lob) them into the water. The Yulunga: Traditional ...

• TLF-IDM006602

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 ...

• TLF-IDM006623

This was a spear game observed being played by some Aboriginal groups on Cape York Peninsula in north Queensland. The men used a throwing stick (woomera) to project a big killing spear (kalq) towards the next player. The spear would travel around the circle of men, who were armed only with their woomera, which they then ...

• TLF-IDM006643

A ‘secret’ play-language game was reported on Waiben (Thursday) Island in the early 1970s. It was spoken by girls in Torres Strait Creole and was introduced to Dauan Island, where it was spoken in the local language. The language was spoken fluently in unprepared talk. This is a play-language game in which players insert ...

• TLF-IDM006675

The Kal boming (fire-hitting) game was played by the Noongar people in the southern districts of Western Australia and called for both agility and strength. A fire was lit either on the ground or the top of a Balga or Xanthorrhoea (‘grass tree’). The players divided themselves into two teams. One side tried to put the fire ...

• TLF-IDM006682

A boomerang game was played by the Wogadj people of central Australia. This was a keep-away type of game that encouraged a lot of running. A boomerang was thrown along the ground in the game. The older men usually played against the younger men. The game is one of running and throwing using a disc (frisbee) in place of ...

• TLF-IDM006686

Regular mock warfare tournaments took place in the Cardwell and Tully River areas of north Queensland. The Mallanpara people called this a prun. It was essentially an entertainment activity, though the opportunity was taken to settle disputes, real or imaginary. The event also gave the men a chance to show off their prowess ...