Cheefah ticket
Date Published
: gambling
: Kimberleys
: Broome
: c.1880 to c.1960
Cheefah ticket
Chiffa or Cheefah (字花) was probably introduced by the pearl divers who came to Broome where it was played well into the second half of the 20th century, as well as earlier that century in Perth. The Cheefah winning combination is drawn before the tickets are sold and are accompanied with a clue that supposedly hints at the winning number. Thus, the two characters in each of the 36 boxes are actually a name of an historical or mythological person associated with a number of themes, animals, etc. Knowledge of these supposedly allows the clue or riddle given by the promotor to be helpful in guessing the best combination for a win.
See: The story of the Chinese in Broome by Sarah Yu and Carol Tang Wei, Broome, 1999 & The Register, Saturday 30 June 1906, p.8.
