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Yulunga: wulijini

This hand-hitting or handball game was played with a zamia (Cycas media) seed by the people of Bathurst Island in northern Australia. In the Meda district of northwest Australia players hit flat pieces of wood. This is a ball-hitting game. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide all Australians ...

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Yulunga: wittchim

In Victoria, a corroboree game was played by different groups. Depending on the area it was played in it was called tarratt or wittchim. The game consists of stalking a feather, in imitation of hunting an emu. It is recognised that individuals will hunt in different ways. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource ...

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Yulunga: boojur kombang

A wrestling game of the Noongar people of the south-west 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 attaching players attempt ...

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Indigenous Science: shell middens and fish traps

This is an article about Aboriginal shell middens along the Queensland coast and the information they provide about Aboriginal food collection practices. Written by Kudjala/Kalkadoon Elder from Queensland Letitia Murgha and intended mainly for teachers, it describes how shell middens were created over thousands of years ...

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Yulunga: chuboochuboo

A chuboochuboo is a wallaby skin stuffed with grass and about the size of a football. Men, women and children played the game. The game generated a great deal of fun and enjoyment and never any arguments. It was observed being played in parts of South Australia. The Aboriginal people of the Lower Murray and surrounding ...

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Yulunga: Gapala

Playing in small dug-out canoes, bark boats or rafts was (and still is) a popular water activity. A favourite game of the Tiwi children of Bathurst Island (northern Australia) in the wet season was pushing a tin, box or other flat-bottomed object along the water. Children’s rafts were observed in parts of Northern Australia ...

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Yulunga: tambil tambil

In many areas of Australia people played skills practice games, where they threw objects at each other. These included sticks, mud and stones of various sizes. A spear-dodging game called tambil tambil (refers to the blunt spears used) was played by the Jagara (Jagera) people of the Brisbane area, as part of sham fights ...

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Alexander Schramm: 'Adelaide, a tribe of natives on the banks of the river Torrens' 1850

This is a painting made in 1850 by Australian colonial artist Alexander Schramm depicting Kaurna people, sheltering under gum trees in Adelaide parkland. The painting is shown as an enlargeable image and in a video. Text onscreen gives information on Schramm’s life and practice as he is known for his sympathetic representation ...

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Indigenous science: Australia had ancient trade routes too

This is an article about the ancient overland trade routes of Aboriginal Australia. Written by Kudjala/Kalkadoon Elder from Queensland Letitia Murgha and intended mainly for teachers, it compares Aboriginal trading routes based on Dreaming pathways and songlines throughout Australia to the Silk Road and the spice trade ...

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Gold – shaping our identity

This is a task-based resource for students to explore the social, economic, political and environmental impact of the gold rush in Australia in the 1850s. The resource includes videos, SMART notebooks, worksheets and links to further interactive resources. It includes support notes for teachers and/or supervisors in distance ...

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Writers Talk 2007

A resource for primary and secondary students that features ten award-winning writers from the 2007 Sydney Writers' Festival. The resource explores each author's books, background, beliefs and approaches to writing, and includes advice for young writers. Video interviews of each author are accompanied by a biography, bibliography. ...

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Biodiversity and farming for a healthy planet

This is a digital resource containing information and resources, such as printable games, that relate to biodiversity and farming, and how food and materials can be produced while protecting the Earth's natural resources. It includes an extensive glossary of important terms, and external links to teacher and student resources ...

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Yulunga: jumpinpin

This activity is based on a description to Troy Meston by Uncle Ronny Ahwang of Brisbane, who told of his days fishing off the jetty on Stradbroke Island and how it was similar to a game they played. This is an adapted game loosely based on the essential components of traditional spear fishing. This activity is similar ...

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Yulunga: yongar ngardongin

The emu and kangaroo dance (play) games among the Bibbuluk kening (Bibbulum people’s dances) were performed in Western Australia in the Vasse, Augusta, Bunbury, Murray and Swan districts and probably further north and east. The game was called yongar ngardongin by the Vasse district people. Almost all large animal and bird ...

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State, territory and Australian parliaments

This website is about the parliaments of the states and territories of Australia, as well as the Australian Parliament. It describes the different origins of the colonies and their movement to self-government during the 19th century, and subsequent federation into one nation in 1901. The resource describes the structures, ...

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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: 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’ ...

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Yulunga: pukamitjal

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 ...

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Daniel Walbidi, 'Kirriwirri', 2010

This is a painting by Mangala/Yulparija artist Daniel Walbidi (b1983) depicting his grandfather and grandmother’s country on his father’s side. The painting is shown as an enlargeable image. This work was exhibited as a part of the second National Indigenous Art Triennial, ‘unDisclosed’, at the National Gallery of Australia ...

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Sites2See: The Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples

This resource links to video coverage and key websites related to the apology to Indigenous Australians by the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 13 February 2008. Selected sites provide background information to the apology and personal stories about what happened to members of the Stolen Generations, with a focus on reconciliation.