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• TLF-IDM006593

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 ...

• TLF-IDM006552

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 ...

• TLF-IDM006594

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 ...

• TLF-IDM006561

Finding-the-object games were played in many parts of Australia as well as the Torres Strait. The objects to be found were usually the eye lens of a fish or other animal. The hidden article would often be the lens, obtained after cooking, from the eye of a fish, possum, rat or wallaby. The usual method of hiding the lens ...

• TLF-IDM006582

Wanambi was a large snake. This game was observed being played by the Pitjantjatjara people of central Australia. This is a chase-and-tag game. Players in a line move towards another player, who suddenly chases and attempts to catch (touch) them. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide ...

• TLF-IDM006596

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 ...

• TLF-IDM006556

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 balls used were as round as possible and were usually about 8–10 centimetres in diameter. Gypsum, sandstone, mud, or almost any material that was easy to work was used to make the ...

• TLF-IDM006584

Bowling-ball or disc games were played by Aboriginal boys and men in all parts of Australia. A piece of rounded bark (disc) was rolled by one of the players for the other boys to use as a target for their short spears. A version of this activity is still played in the Kimberley area and Northern Territory (and perhaps elsewhere) ...

• TLF-IDM006571

A memory-testing game was played by the Walbiri children of central Australia. Players were required to recall sand-drawing maps of the locality after watching for a short time. This was a game that helped the children remember and identify the surrounding topography. This is a memory-testing game using various objects. ...

• TLF-IDM006592

In most parts of Australia young boys played fighting games or mock combat games for enjoyment and as a practice for adult life. In one part of Australia the boys would rise early in the morning to practise their self-taught skills of spear throwing. The little boys also indulged in imitating the skills of fighting as practised ...