Summary

Game name (and type): 'Hide and Seek' (hiding game)
Alternative type: running game

Handwritten description of the hiding game 'Hide and Seek' written for Dr Dorothy Howard by Heather White, a student at Double View Government Primary School, on 25 March 1955. White describes 'Hide and Seek' as a very popular game played by at least three children. She writes that it is preferable to play 'Hide and Seek' outdoors as there are more places in which to hide. To play, one child is elected 'He' and a home base established. While the other children hide, 'He' counts with eyes closed before proceeding to locate the hidden players. If 'He' locates a player, he must return to the home base can yell out the child's name and 'One two three, home'. Similarly, if one of the hidden players can reach the home base without been seen by 'He', they must call out the same phrase. The first player to be found becomes 'He' in the next game.

One of a collection of letters describing a children's games written to children's Folklorist Dorothy Howard between 1954 and 1955. Dr Howard came to Australia in 1954-55 as an American Fulbright scholar to study Australian children's folklore. She travelled across Australia for 10 months collecting children's playground rhymes, games, play artefacts, etc. This letter, together with the other original fieldwork collected by Dr Howard during this period, is preserved in the Dorothy Howard Collection manuscript files, part of the Australian Children's Folklore Collection (ACFC), Archive Series 3. The ACFC is an extensive collection documenting children's folklore and related research.

Physical Description

Handwritten game description in black ink on lined paper. Features borders ruled in red pencil; text written on both sides of page.

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