On 7 August 1858, the first game of Australian Rules football was played between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College in a Melbourne sports ground. Although the game is an original Australian game, it has its antecedents in a very similar game played by Australia’s First Nations people – a game known as Marngrook. Both games are free flowing in their action, characterised by high leaps, catching or ‘marking’ the ball and free kicks.
In ‘Marngrook : The Long-ago Story of Aussie Rules’ author, Titta Secombe, weaves the tales of marngrook told by her Elders into a story which gives both a background and a life to a game played by the Djab-Wurrung and Jardwadjali people on their country, Gariwerd, the Grampians region in Victoria.
Wawi, a clan Elder was walking through the bush when he caught a ‘banya’ or possum. The possum became a delicious stew and its skin was made into a ‘marngrook’ or an object resembling a football with the aid of kangaroo tendon to sew it together and emu feathers to stuff it. Formed into the shape of an emu egg it was perfect for Wawi’s son Jaara to play with. Jaara loved his new ball and practiced his catching and kicks even when asked to collect wood for the fire. He kicked and kicked getting further and further into the bush till he became lost and frightened remembering his mother’s rule about being home before dark. Luckily his family searched for and found him, and Jaara learned to stay home. However this love of marngrook has spread and is played all over Australia today in the sport we know as ‘Aussie Rules’.
Included throughout the story are various words from the Jardwadjali language. A short list and pronunciation guide is given near the start of the book. The illustrations by award-winning illustrator Grace Fielding bring an added sense of the Indigenous influence and feeling First Nation people have for the game both though the motifs and the image of the boy Jaara playing with his ‘marngrook’.
Titta Secombe is a Gunditj-marra-Jard-wa woman from the Wimmera region in Western Victoria. She is a dedicated AFL fan and has been involved in programmes to develop the skills of young football players. This is her first book. Illustrator, Grace Fielding, was raised on the Wandering Mission near Perth. Her unique art style combines traditional dot art with contemporary images. She has illustrated several children’s books and has won many awards for her work.
Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
