Summary

Game name (and type): 'King or Queen of the Playground' (chasing game)
Alternative types: ball games

Handwritten description of the chasing game 'King or Queen of the Playground' composed for Dr Dorothy Howard by Leona Howlett, a twelve year old student at East Camberwell Girls Secondary School, in 1954-1955. Howlett describes 'King or Queen of the Playground' as game requiring a soft tennis ball, which is played by any number of players aged between seven and fourteen in a backyard during winter. She writes that a player assumes the role of 'King' or 'Queen', also known respectively as 'he' or 'she', and chases after the other children, trying to hit them with the ball. If a player is hit, Howlett explains that they become one of the 'King or Queen's subjects' and assist with the capture of other players. The last player to avoid capture assumes the role of 'King' or 'Queen' in the subsequent game. Howlett lists other players of 'King or Queen of the Playground' including Glenis Buchanan, Trev, Geoff Howlett, Robin, Micheal [sic], Raoul and Ian.

One of a collection of letters describing a children's game 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 paper. Comprises two sheets. First page features a letterhead printed in black ink and text underlined with red pencil; second page features a border ruled in red pencil.

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