Teacher guide Yulunga: marn-grook

TLF ID M006616

The marn-grook or ‘game of ball’ was played by some Aboriginal groups in Victoria. The men and boys would joyfully assemble when the game was to be played. The ball was often made of twine formed using the twisted hair of the possum. It was of a good size, somewhat elastic but firm and light. The ball was given to the ‘best’ player or someone of ‘note’ to commence the game. The tallest players, and those able to jump the highest, had the best chances in the game. Some players would leap as high as 1.5 metres (or higher) from the ground to catch the ball. The game continued for hours and the players never seemed to weary of the exercise. Some people believe that the game of marn-grook influenced the development of Australian rules football, but the evidence is not conclusive. A ball is kicked into the air and players attempt to catch it. This version is designed for younger players. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide all Australians with a greater understanding and appreciation of Indigenous culture by celebrating the games that Indigenous Australians have been playing across the country for hundreds of years.





Educational details

Educational value
  • This resource combines curriculum principles and cultural traditions in sport-related activities for people of all ages. While ensuring the integrity of the traditional games it provides opportunities for traditional Indigenous games to become part of the school curriculum by acknowledging and incorporating the practices of Indigenous people from different areas across the country.
  • The resource acknowledges and uses traditional language names throughout.
Year level

4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12

Learning area
  • History

Other details

Contributors
  • Author
  • Name: Australian Sports Commission
  • Organization: Australian Sports Commission
  • Description: Author
  • Contributor
  • Name: Australian Sports Commission
  • Organization: Australian Sports Commission
  • Description: Author
  • Address: ACT, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.ausport.gov.au/
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Description: Data manager
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au/
  • Publisher
  • Name: Australian Sports Commission
  • Organization: Australian Sports Commission
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: ACT, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.ausport.gov.au/
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Generic
Learning Resource Type
  • Online
Rights
  • © ASC 2016. Unless otherwise noted, this material may be used in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 AU) licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/. This licence does not provide for the commercial or derivative use of ASC copyright material. The ASC should be attributed as Australian Sports Commission — http://www.ausport.gov.au.