Summary

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

Handwritten description of the chasing game 'King' written for Dr Dorothy Howard by Geffrey Taylor, a student at Double View Government Primary School, on 24 March 1955. Taylor describes 'King' as a game requiring a large, outdoor space, a tennis ball, and at least four players. To elect the chaser or 'he man', players stand in a circle throwing a tennis ball. The first child to drop the ball is pronounced 'he'. The 'he man' counts to one hundred before chasing the other players. To capture the players, 'he' must to throw the ball at them as they run. Taylor notes that the ball must not be thrown hard and players can deflect it with their fist. If hit, players assist 'he' to catch other children. Once 'he' has captured an assistant, he is no longer able to run with the ball.

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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