ORIGINS

Before colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had their own traditional games, however not a lot is known about their history with sport, as many of the games were forgotten when British sport such as cricket was introduced to Australia, and became very popular.

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Many of these traditional games have now been documented by Ken Edwards. These took him a decade to research, documenting games from all across Australia. He condensed this research into a series of 140 games, titled Yulunga which means 'playing'. This series of games was made into a resource intended for primary school children, as a way to introduce them to an aspect of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. These cards and research gave Australians an overall better understanding of Australia's precolonial history with sport.

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One of the most famous traditional games is a game called Marngrook, which is a ball game played between two teams, each represented by their totems. It was generally played with a possum skin ball which could be kicked, passed and caught and is said to resemble modern day AFL, with some people speculating that this is where AFL even originated from. These games would often last up to two days. It was a fun activity which was a way to keep fit and healthy and was also a social activity that reinforced kinship systems, connection to totems, family and community.

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However, as traditional Indigenous games such as Marngrook and other forms of physical activity such as dancing and hunting has become less prominent in First Nation's lives, it has become important for them to become more involved in playing some type of sport or participating in physical activity.