Summary

Game name (and type): 'Dodge' (ball game)
Alternative type: team games, circle games

Handwritten description of the ball game 'Dodge' written for Dr Dorothy Howard by Ivan Cotterell, a student at Double View Government Primary School, on 25 March 1955. To play, Cotterell writes that players draw a large circle of about forty feet on the ground. Two teams comprising twelve to fifteen children are established, each with a captain. A large rubber ball or basketball is also required. One team stands in the centre surrounded by the opposing team at the circle's edge. Cotterell states that the external team throw the ball at their opponents, who must avoid being hit or face elimination. He notes that 'Dodge' is a rough game, which is not particularly suitable for girls.

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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