Dobjects Details Document
- Title
- Document - Sandra Hacke, Addressed to Dorothy Howard, Descriptions of Game 'Duster Hockey', 1954-1955
- Description
Game name (and type): 'Duster Hockey' (games with sticks) Alternative types: team games, games with found objects, play with props/equipment Handwritten description of a game involving sticks called 'Duster Hockey' composed for Dr Dorothy Howard by Sandra Hacke, an eleven year old student at East Camberwell Girls Secondary School, in 1954-1955. Hacke describes 'Duster Hockey' as a game requiring a minimum of seven players, two chairs, two sticks measuring one foot six inches, and a rag or duster, which is played indoors in autumn, winter and spring. She notes that the number of players must be uneven as one child assumes the role of 'caller'; the remaining players are divided into two teams and allocated a number. Hacke discusses the game's setup, providing an annotated, hand drawn diagram to clarify her description. To play 'Duster Hockey', the 'caller' announces two numbers. The corresponding players, who are lined up in teams eight feet apart, collect a stick each and approach the rag or duster in the middle of the room. Hacke explains that the players' objective is to hit the rag or duster with the stick beneath one of the chairs. She states that the successful player scores a point for their team. Hacke lists other players of 'Duster Hockey' including Anne Crane, Judy Furphy, Jenny Greison, Cath Horsefall and other members of the Girl Guide Company. 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 black ink on paper. Comprises two sheets. First page features a letterhead printed in black ink and an annotated, hand drawn diagram in pencil; second page features borders ruled in red ink.
- Control
- HT 41336
Related Entries
See also
- Archive - ACFC Series 3, Dorothy Howard Collection, Manuscript Files, 1954-1955 (GAMES & TOYS)
- East Camberwell Girls' Secondary School (College)
- Hacke, Sandra
- Howard, Dorothy
- Howard, Dorothy
Created: 22 November 2015