Summary

Toy wrestlers, made by Gurr & Jamieson circa 1993, workshops 3 & 4, the Craft Centre, Drumlanrig Castle, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire, Scotland.

In 1993 a World Play Summit was held in Melbourne. Delegates were asked to bring a traditional toy from their own country. The toy wrestlers were brought by Pat Anderson, Play Matters/National Association of Toy & Leisure Libraries, Great Britain.

The tying of cords to parts of the body is one of the oldest mehods of animating toys. The animation of wooden figures through string-pulling has its origins in Asia. This toy represents traditional Cumbrian-style wrestlers from the north of England. It is a collaborative toy for two people of any age. They each take an end of the cord, and tug it to make the wrestlers move.

The Australian Children's Folklore Collection is unique in Australia, documenting contemporary children's folklore across Australia and in other countries reaching back to the 1870s. The Collection has a strong component of research material relating to Victoria.

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