Menu
What games did you play as a child?
Expand/collapse
About this image
DescriptionI remember playing Double Dutch on Blake street with the Blaketown kids.. and playing hopscotch,, and Rounders, and on Saturday mornings there would be turf wars in the lupins at Blaketown beach and there would be be underground huts to shelter/hide in and holes dug with bamboo stakes in to trap intruders.Date of Photo1950`s -1960`sMap[1] ContributorHeather Newby
Shown in this image
Location (city or town)Blaketown, Greymouth
From Facebook
Date Created31st January 2024CommentsMargaret Wright
Rounders in middle of street as well
Tania Tones Lawrence
Friends and I being able to ride our ponies for miles where ever we wanted, rain or sun. The Cobden beach for spuds in a bonfire. Swimming down the Hockey. Riding our bikes once from Cobden to Nelson Creek for a swim with a stop at Nana and Grandad's for tea at Dobson on the way home. Cricket with heaps of local kids/teens anywhere that was suitable for a game
Sue Scott
One memory.....We were so lucky to have a great playground in our backyard.... chips in a pan of fat on the beach over a fire. This was after hours of playing in the lupins or the sea. Blessed...
Christine Banks
Heather, what game is double Dutch, I have never heard of it? What great childhoods we had.
Jackie Farrelly
Christine Banks skipping with two ropes.
Christine Banks
Jackie Farrelly We can learn something every day
Trish Rennie
Christine Banks I think that may have been a skipping rope game …
Lindsay Dowie
Heather rememberwe also built bike racing tracks and kept the air raid shelters in good nick and arranged the occasional burnoffs of access dry vegetation
Dennis Wick
Good times building the tunnels in the lupins and our little gang battles.
Rebekah Fairhurst Geer
Games of cricket on Palmerston Street/marlborough Street, riding our bikes and pretending they were horses, bull rush ( I was bloody good at that!) body surfing at Cobbo or blaketown, building huts and having wars…. Neighbourhood wars were the best and could go for days. These were games of strategy and cunning. You had to be on your toes and slippery like an eel..
Murray Bradley
Yes remember the wars on the beach
Greg Deborah Hay
Hut building on Hokitika beach ( complete with bonfire) ...
Marilyn Paterson
Marbles after tea on the unsealed footpath,hopscotch,hide and seek were all games involving the neighbourhood! Hide and seek was anywhere around the block.
Carol Tipler
Knuckle bones
Rob Absalom
Cricket on Fox St, Cobden and someone standing guard to yell, "car coming" and we'd pack up the wickets as 'the' car went past and replace them and carry on. Swimming and cooking spuds on the fire at the hockey or the beach. Climbing up to the "gun" or the cross. As well as the usual cowboys and Indians, Sally all over, footy in the back yard, hide n seek, etc.
Joyce White
You and me both Heather. Plus skipping in the middle of Blake Street. Good memories
Sharyn Symons
Great fun. Out playing with neighbours until it got dark. Much more fun than the devices now
Trish Rennie
What about elastics….two people standing a distance away from each other holding a looped elastic band around their legs while third person had to jump n hook the outer elastic etc to make patterns …
Lorraine Dennison
Same it was great being a kid in our day
Aileen Thornley
Hop scotch, elastics and bar the door and not to forget we re-enacted Bonanza at the bottom of the playground at Kaiata
To add to the hop scotch you had to have your favourite stone
Patricia Stephens
Hop scotch, Sally over, hide and seek, and many moreLorraine Dennison
Same it was great being a kid in our day
Aileen Thornley
Hop scotch, elastics and bar the door and not to forget we re-enacted Bonanza at the bottom of the playground at Kaiata
To add to the hop scotch you had to have your favour
Patricia Stephens
Hop scotch, Sally over, hide and seek, and many more
Trish Rennie
Catching eels and cocker bullies in the creeks,building huts in the bush and cooking often half baked chips in a pan over a camp fire…all smokey tasting. Riding push bikes for miles. Making wooden karts and tin lizzies and having races. Roof rocking or door knocking and doing the bolt before you got caught. Making stilts out of tin cans and string and then progressing to taller wooden ones. Mud sliding into the creek on a piece of tin or cardboard. Playing on the railway jiggers. All such good fun and no one harmed apart from the odd cut,burn or broken limb….
Joyce White
Hopscotch, marbles, elastic jumping, hula hoop, dress up paper dolls, cricket on Blake Street and cooking potatoes on the beach bonfire. Those were the days.
June Williams
Hopscotch, four square, marbles, elastics, skipping, knuckle bones and hula hoop.
Jill Smith
Hopscotch, elastics, skating and biking. Also climbing trees in Rugby Park, where I broke my arm!! Loved playing on the sand bank and clay bank up on Arnott Heights and roaming the bush. Mum would give me a cut lunch, and say " be home at tea time". Great times just playing outside with my friends and having fun.
PJ Spence
It was marbles through primary - but very serious knuckle bones at intermediate 53'/ 54' - -
Raewyn Taylor
Marbles !!
Lillian Munn
Knuckle bones
Malcolm Howell
We entertained ourselves with simple traditional games. Today's lot would want to play this game on their Mobile Phone or IPad !!! ?
Kevin Searle
We used to spin our little brother on the rotary clothesline to see how far he would fly when he lost his grip. Mum ended it when we bent the clothesline…. Not our brother!???
Tracy Alford
Elastics and marbles
Peter Lambert
Marbles in the drains at Grey Main School
Catherine Moffitt Rowlands
Moonlight Statlight, sardines, knuckle bones , skipping, marbles , four square and so many more that are listed here. Life was good.
d
Rachel Shirlee Mcmillan
Hopscotch, elastics, go home, stay home, double Dutch
Sharyn Duncan
Knuckle bones
Maggs Mcindoe
Elastics
Patricia Stephens
·
Sally over, hopscotch, marbles, knuckle bones, four square,
Russell Murphy
4 Square, street cricket
Jacqueline Green
Stickaway
Averil Lark
Pick up Stix
Shelly Baxter
Elastics
Gutter ball
Rounders in middle of street as well
Tania Tones Lawrence
Friends and I being able to ride our ponies for miles where ever we wanted, rain or sun. The Cobden beach for spuds in a bonfire. Swimming down the Hockey. Riding our bikes once from Cobden to Nelson Creek for a swim with a stop at Nana and Grandad's for tea at Dobson on the way home. Cricket with heaps of local kids/teens anywhere that was suitable for a game
Sue Scott
One memory.....We were so lucky to have a great playground in our backyard.... chips in a pan of fat on the beach over a fire. This was after hours of playing in the lupins or the sea. Blessed...
Christine Banks
Heather, what game is double Dutch, I have never heard of it? What great childhoods we had.
Jackie Farrelly
Christine Banks skipping with two ropes.
Christine Banks
Jackie Farrelly We can learn something every day
Trish Rennie
Christine Banks I think that may have been a skipping rope game …
Lindsay Dowie
Heather rememberwe also built bike racing tracks and kept the air raid shelters in good nick and arranged the occasional burnoffs of access dry vegetation
Dennis Wick
Good times building the tunnels in the lupins and our little gang battles.
Rebekah Fairhurst Geer
Games of cricket on Palmerston Street/marlborough Street, riding our bikes and pretending they were horses, bull rush ( I was bloody good at that!) body surfing at Cobbo or blaketown, building huts and having wars…. Neighbourhood wars were the best and could go for days. These were games of strategy and cunning. You had to be on your toes and slippery like an eel..
Murray Bradley
Yes remember the wars on the beach
Greg Deborah Hay
Hut building on Hokitika beach ( complete with bonfire) ...
Marilyn Paterson
Marbles after tea on the unsealed footpath,hopscotch,hide and seek were all games involving the neighbourhood! Hide and seek was anywhere around the block.
Carol Tipler
Knuckle bones
Rob Absalom
Cricket on Fox St, Cobden and someone standing guard to yell, "car coming" and we'd pack up the wickets as 'the' car went past and replace them and carry on. Swimming and cooking spuds on the fire at the hockey or the beach. Climbing up to the "gun" or the cross. As well as the usual cowboys and Indians, Sally all over, footy in the back yard, hide n seek, etc.
Joyce White
You and me both Heather. Plus skipping in the middle of Blake Street. Good memories
Sharyn Symons
Great fun. Out playing with neighbours until it got dark. Much more fun than the devices now
Trish Rennie
What about elastics….two people standing a distance away from each other holding a looped elastic band around their legs while third person had to jump n hook the outer elastic etc to make patterns …
Lorraine Dennison
Same it was great being a kid in our day
Aileen Thornley
Hop scotch, elastics and bar the door and not to forget we re-enacted Bonanza at the bottom of the playground at Kaiata
To add to the hop scotch you had to have your favourite stone
Patricia Stephens
Hop scotch, Sally over, hide and seek, and many moreLorraine Dennison
Same it was great being a kid in our day
Aileen Thornley
Hop scotch, elastics and bar the door and not to forget we re-enacted Bonanza at the bottom of the playground at Kaiata
To add to the hop scotch you had to have your favour
Patricia Stephens
Hop scotch, Sally over, hide and seek, and many more
Trish Rennie
Catching eels and cocker bullies in the creeks,building huts in the bush and cooking often half baked chips in a pan over a camp fire…all smokey tasting. Riding push bikes for miles. Making wooden karts and tin lizzies and having races. Roof rocking or door knocking and doing the bolt before you got caught. Making stilts out of tin cans and string and then progressing to taller wooden ones. Mud sliding into the creek on a piece of tin or cardboard. Playing on the railway jiggers. All such good fun and no one harmed apart from the odd cut,burn or broken limb….
Joyce White
Hopscotch, marbles, elastic jumping, hula hoop, dress up paper dolls, cricket on Blake Street and cooking potatoes on the beach bonfire. Those were the days.
June Williams
Hopscotch, four square, marbles, elastics, skipping, knuckle bones and hula hoop.
Jill Smith
Hopscotch, elastics, skating and biking. Also climbing trees in Rugby Park, where I broke my arm!! Loved playing on the sand bank and clay bank up on Arnott Heights and roaming the bush. Mum would give me a cut lunch, and say " be home at tea time". Great times just playing outside with my friends and having fun.
PJ Spence
It was marbles through primary - but very serious knuckle bones at intermediate 53'/ 54' - -
Raewyn Taylor
Marbles !!
Lillian Munn
Knuckle bones
Malcolm Howell
We entertained ourselves with simple traditional games. Today's lot would want to play this game on their Mobile Phone or IPad !!! ?
Kevin Searle
We used to spin our little brother on the rotary clothesline to see how far he would fly when he lost his grip. Mum ended it when we bent the clothesline…. Not our brother!???
Tracy Alford
Elastics and marbles
Peter Lambert
Marbles in the drains at Grey Main School
Catherine Moffitt Rowlands
Moonlight Statlight, sardines, knuckle bones , skipping, marbles , four square and so many more that are listed here. Life was good.
d
Rachel Shirlee Mcmillan
Hopscotch, elastics, go home, stay home, double Dutch
Sharyn Duncan
Knuckle bones
Maggs Mcindoe
Elastics
Patricia Stephens
·
Sally over, hopscotch, marbles, knuckle bones, four square,
Russell Murphy
4 Square, street cricket
Jacqueline Green
Stickaway
Averil Lark
Pick up Stix
Shelly Baxter
Elastics
Gutter ball
Editing is temporarily disabled
Cancel EditClick on the image to add
a tag or press ESC to cancel
a tag or press ESC to cancel
West Coast New Zealand History (3rd Feb 2026). What games did you play as a child?. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 29th Apr 2026 22:06, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/33200