Tome! Whaddaya Know About Quandongs?!

[Steph]

LOL, I just read about Quandong seeds being used for marbles. Do you know about that?

[Greatmacscott]

Using round seeds as marbles would be a possibility.

The idea "grows" on you as you think about about it. Maybe it will take root.

[Flicker]

G'day Steph,

lol, What a question!! The seeds of the Quandong tree are round, pale and knobbly, early settlers used these for making necklace beads, stud buttons and Chinese checker marbles, also for medicinal purposes. Today, they are only rarely used for these purposes, by locals and art and craft shops. So I would say no to that Steph, they would be no way classified as marbles here.

Tome.

[Steph]

Thanks Tome for the explanation. Chinese Checkers marbles count! LOL

I also read a very brief reference to Aboriginal children playing games with them. It didn't give any details and I can't find it again today, but it was just someone's sort of vague memory anyway.

Here's where I first saw examples of the quandong seed marbles yesterday. It's what started my brief search and prompted my question.

Jane's Marble Collection

p.s. & lol! Check out Jane's Marble Man on that same page! rofl (the 2nd pic is the front of the fella!)

[Flicker]

Well if you ever lost your quandong marbles, I bet they would pop up in the form of a new quandong tree, you could start your own quandong marble production network, hey you could make shooters from the avocardo seeds! or peewee's from the cherry seeds! a new line of marble production, I only just accepted clay marbles and benningtons as marbles.

:-/

[Steph]

lol ... YOU could start a new line of marble production. I would but I don't think we have Quandong trees in Wisconsin! LOL

I can see it, quaint knobbly quandong seeds in a flour sack cloth marble bag, or maybe gingham checked? (My dad's marble bag was black and white gingham! My grandma made it.)

Way retro!

Everything old is new again!

[Steph]

I wrote to Jane, who owns the quandongs I linked to. Wasn't sure she'd get my message since her site was created in 1998 but I thought it worth a try.

She got my mail and nicely wrote me back. And Tome she agrees with you and wouldn't call them marbles as such. She'd also read about aboriginal kids playing with them, but she said when they're dry they're not very heavy. It would be hard to play "marbles" with them then.

Maybe the aboriginal children played with them before they dried out. Temporary toys? Kids being kids and finding ways to make do with what they have?

[Flicker]

Oh maybe I was alittle harsh towards those cute little marble look alikes the 'Quandongs', I guess they woulda been the closest thing to marbles the kids had in the outback, but I reckon clay's and stone marbles woulda been heaps better then seed marbles though, gee ill have to revisit Janes site again to check out is she's another aussie marble collector, very interesting topic I thought.

Tome.

[Al Oregon]

When I first started collecting, Jane was on one of the marble sites and she sent me some of those marbles for my collection. I tried to contact her a couple years later just to see if she was still collecting but couldn't locate her. I notice her website was last updated in 1998.