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Bound for South Australia 1836: chronology of events from 1829

This section of the website 'Bound for South Australia 1836' contains a chronology of events leading to the establishment of South Australia. It covers the period from 1829 to the departure of the first ships on their voyage to the new province in February 1836. The timeline contains links to detailed information about ...

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Yulunga: diyari koolchee

This ball-throwing and hitting game was played by the Diyari people from near Lake Eyre in South Australia. The balls were called koolchee. The aim of the activity is to roll a ball to rebound off a wall in order to hit a skittle. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide all Australians ...

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Yulunga: walle ngan werrup

In the west Kimberley area of Western Australia the young men were fond of playing a version of hide-and-seek called ‘the hunting or bush game’ (wallee ngnan weerup). This is an imitation and acting game that is also a form of hide-and-seek. Younger players pretend to be on a kangaroo or emu hunt. The Yulunga: Traditional ...

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Yulunga: kamai

Using a length of twine, adult women and young children of both genders often amused themselves for hours at a time with cat’s cradle (string-figure games). These were played almost everywhere throughout Australia and also in the Torres Strait. In some areas older boys and adult men also played these games. Elaborate figures ...

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Yulunga: borna jokee

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 ...

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Yulunga: Munhanganing

The game of Munhanganing was played by children of the Arnhem Land area in northern Australia. Children played this, and other running games, in the flickering lights from firebrands of the grownups, sitting about a camp site. A running-and-chasing team game in which players attempt to touch players on the opposing team. ...

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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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Yulunga: keentan

A keep-away game of catch-ball was played everywhere by both genders in the northwest central districts of Queensland. Because the action of the players jumping up to catch the ball resembled the movements of a kangaroo, the Kalkadoon people sometimes described this game as the ‘kangarooplay’. The ball itself was made from ...

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Yulunga: weme

The Walbiri people of central Australia played a stone-bowling game. One player rolled a stone, which was used as a target by the second player. In the traditional game players alternated turns, with each one aiming at the other’s stone. This is a bowling game in which balls are rolled underarm along the ground to knock ...

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Yulunga: kolap

This object-throwing game was observed being played on Mer Island in the Torres Strait region in the nineteenth century. More recent versions have also been observed. A game based on throwing accuracy. Teams of one to two players throw objects, attempting to make them land on a target on the ground. The Yulunga: Traditional ...

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Yulunga: waayin

The study of different animal and bird tracks was an important part of the education of Aboriginal children. These were drawn in the smoothed earth or sand by means of the fingers, fingernails, palms, small sticks and so on. A great deal of care was taken by adults in imitating the tracks of various animals for the benefit ...

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Bound for South Australia 1836: significant people

This section of the website 'Bound for South Australia 1836' contains biographical profiles of significant people in the British colonisation of South Australia. The listing includes those who were aboard the first nine ships that sailed to South Australia to establish the colony and those in Britain who were instrumental ...

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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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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: kai wed

In this game from the Torres Strait Islands, a number of players stood in a circle and sang the kai wed (ball song) as they hit a ball up in the air with the palm of their hands. The game was often played using the thick, oval, deep-red fruit of the kai tree, which is quite light when dry. This game was apparently introduced ...

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Yulunga: kandomarngutta

In some parts of Australia children were allowed to use the bullroarer (whirlers), or small versions of it, as a source of amusement. In other areas the bullroarer had a special significance and was not used as a ‘toy’. In parts of Victoria a bullroarer called the kandomarngutta was used. This was a thin piece of wood, ...

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Yulunga: Bondi

The Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had many water and diving games, which were often indulged in at any convenient creek, waterhole or at the beach. In various parts of Australia, contests in diving, floating, remaining beneath the water, and many other aquatic activities, were undertaken. They ...

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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: juluhya

A favourite pastime of the Aboriginal children in the Numinbah Valley area of south Queensland was rolling small round pebbles down long sheets of bark. These were folded in a tubular fashion. Competitions were held to see whose pebble appeared first. This activity involves a group of players working together to roll a ...