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• TLF-IDM006654

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 ...

• TLF-IDM006656

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’ ...

• TLF-IDM006575

A form of spin-ball was played among the lower Tully River people. The spinner was made out of a gourd of the Benincasa vacua. This game was played by women more often than men. It was known among the Mallanpara people of north Queensland as ngor-go, after the name of the gourd used. This activity comprises making and playing ...

• TLF-IDM006583

In parts of Western Australia mimic battles with toy spears frequently took place among the younger male members of the camp. Mock fights and duels were fought. There were also trials of skill with kyley and spear and kangaroo and emu hunts, the children taking turns at being hunter and hunted. In these activities the boys ...

• TLF-IDM006585

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 ...

• TLF-IDM006590

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 ...

• TLF-IDM006611

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 ...

• TLF-IDM006615

This was a traditional game of some Aboriginal groups such as the Kabi Kabi in 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 football, was sewn with tendons and stuffed with grass. The game was often played until sunset. Spectators ...

• TLF-IDM006617

A popular ball game of keep-away was played by adults in camps on Mornington Island in northern Australia. Grass and/or leaves were rolled into a ball and bound with hair-string or a piece of fishing net. The adults formed two teams and energetically threw the ball to each other until they tired. This is a keep-away throwing ...

• TLF-IDM006624

Various hockey-type games were played in many areas of the Torres Strait and Papua and New Guinea. A hockey game called kokan, which was played on Mabuiag Island, was the name of the ball itself. This ball was 6–8 centimetres in diameter. The game was played over a long stretch of the sandy beach. The kokan was hit with ...