Summary

Game names (and types): 'Follow-Me-Taw', 'Follow', 'Black Track', 'Track Taws', 'Nine Holes', 'Prince Henry', 'Wall', 'In the Ring', 'The Ring', 'Circle', 'Big Ring', 'Little Circle', 'Poison Ring', 'Jumbo', 'Eye Drop', 'Pyramids', 'Football', 'Fats', 'Kill', 'In the Hole', 'Half Moon', 'Townsey', 'Mooney Ted First', 'Killy', 'Three Corner Killy', 'Square Ring', 'Liney', 'Basins', 'Bunny Hole', 'Holely', 'Goot', 'Castles', 'Pot Holes', 'Poison', 'Holes', 'Nucks', 'Nux', 'Toodlembuck', 'Stick on Scone', 'Taw', 'Agate Taw', 'Commonies', 'Steelies', 'Alley' (marbles, marble-chasing games, marble surface games, marble hole games)
Alternative game type: play with equipment/props

Article titled 'Marble Games of Australian Children' written by Dr Dorothy Howard and published in Folklore in 1960. Dr Howard's discusses the variety of marble games, the terminology, the names of games and the type of marbles used by Australian children. She focuses on the ways in which marble games have changed over time, examining the prevalence, locations, surfaces, and the types of games played. Dr Howard also considers the impact on the availability of marbles during the war years, the increasing supervision of playgrounds and the standardisation of school sports curriculums on marble games. She quotes Sir Joseph Verco's reminiscences on his childhood games from 1860-1870 described in his manuscript 'Early Memories'. These earlier accounts provide a basis for comparison with the games described by unidentified children, adults and teachers gathered during Dr Howard's visit to Australia. Dr Howard concludes with reflections on the standardisation of children's games in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, lamenting the future's probable loss of national and regional varieties.

One of a collection of publications about children's folklore written by Dr Dorothy Howard. 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. The original fieldwork she collected during this period is held in the Australian Children's Folklore Collection (ACFC) at Museum Victoria and includes index cards, letters and photographs.

Physical Description

Booklet with typed black text printed on paper. Eight pages printed on both sides inside orange cardboard cover.

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