Summary

Game name (and type): 'Kingie' (chasing game)
Alternative type: ball games, running games, counting-out actions

Handwritten description of the chasing game 'Kingie' written for Dr Dorothy Howard by Brian Rule, a student at Double View Government Primary School, on 25 March 1955. Rule describes 'Kingie' as an exciting, outdoor game usually played in a large, open space by about twelve boys aged between eight and fourteen. To elect 'he' or the chaser, players stand in a circle and a ball is dropped into the centre. The child touched by the rolling ball is pronounced 'he'. 'He' must bounce the ball ten times before chasing the other players, trying to throw the ball at them as they run. Rule notes that players may use a piece of wood to deflect balls thrown by 'he'; hits to the head or fist are also not considered to be tags. If hit, players are out of the 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 blue ink on lined paper. Features borders ruled in red pencil; text printed on one side only.

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