Item HT 41234 Document - J. Murray, to Dorothy Howard, Description of Chasing Game 'Hip', 25 Mar 1955

Summary

Game name (and type): 'Hip' (chasing game)
Alternative type: running games, games with found objects, games with sticks

Handwritten description of the chasing game 'Hip' written for Dr Dorothy Howard by J. Murray, a student at Double View Government Primary School, probably on 25 March 1955. To play 'Hip', Murray writes that several players are needed. A child is elected 'He' and given a stick. 'He' chases the other players, tagging them with the stick. Captured players, known as 'Helpers' assist 'He' by restraining other children and calling 'Hip Hip'. 'He' must reach and tag the captives before they escape.

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 pencil on lined paper. Features borders ruled in red pencil; text written on one side only.