Summary

Game name (and type): 'Hidey' (hiding game)
Alternative types: chasing games

Handwritten description of the hiding game 'Hidey' written for Dr Dorothy Howard by L. McGrath, a student at Double View Government Primary School, on 25 March 1955. McGrath describes 'Hidey' as a game requiring at least four players, a home base and a player assume the role of 'finder'. The 'finder' searches for the hidden players, racing them back to the home base on discovery. McGrath notes that players can attempt to reach the home base while the 'finder' searches for other children. If successful, a new game is started. McGrath also states that 'Hidey' can be played in pairs, explaining that players hide in pairs. If the hiding place of a pair is discovered by the finder, both players race back to the home base. One of the two players reaching the home base before the 'finder' is sufficient to ensure both are safe.

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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