Summary

Quandong seeds, collected in Western Australia in 1955, likely by visiting US folklorist and scholar Dr Dorothy Howard.

Children of all ages play games using materials found in their immediate environment. The impromptu use of sticks, stones, leaves, shells and seeds for imaginary and other games is well documented. In Western Australia, where these quandong seeds were collected, children in the 1950s used them in a game similar to Conkers in England. They were strung on a wire, and everyone took turns to hit each other's seeds, to try to break them. The last one left was the winner. These seeds are the 'stones' of the fruit of the quandong tree, an Australian native, found in dry areas, including Western Australia and Victoria.

The seeds are part of the Dorothy Howard Collection, gathered by eminent US folklorist and scholar Dr Dorothy Howard, who visited Australia as a Fulbright fellow in 1954-55 to document and research the folklore of Australian children. The Collection primarily contains documents, photographs and objects from Australia and the United States. It is now contained with the Australian Children's Folklore Collection (ACFC), unique in Australia, documenting contemporary children's folklore across Australia and in other countries reaching back to the 1870s. The Collection has a strong component of research material relating to Victoria.

Physical Description

Three round seeds from the Quandong tree, painted pink, in a clear plastic recycled box with hinged lid. Box previously contained Pine Incense Refills. Seeds are round, about the size of marbles, with rough surface. Lid and base of box are cracked.

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