New Zealand

Popular Games

A commonly cited and popular outdoor game for gangs of boys was Cowboys and Indians. Many historical accounts of New Zealand childhood cite the relevance of this game for its seeming preference over other potential Maori and pakeha variations. Although a stalking game called “Maori” is recorded as having been played in the 19th century, a more common interpretation of Cowboys and Indians is found in Alan Mulgan's (1944) comments that: “Generation after generation of New Zealand boys have fed with shining eyes on the stories of European and Indian scouts and have scarcely realized that these men have prototypes in their own land.” Variants of the game are also noted in the form of “French and English” and eventually the Hollywood-influenced Cops and Robbers.

As an archipelago with the two main islands, Te Ika a Maui (North Island) and Te Wai Pounamu (South Island), New Zealand also possesses regional dialects that are evident in children's games. Some researchers argue that chasing and tagging games divide New Zealand into the south, comprising of Southland and Otago, where children play “Tig,” a central area to the north and south of the Cook Strait where “Tag” is played and the north where “Tiggy” is played. While Tig appears to have been brought to New Zealand by early British settlers and Tag is the standard term used in North America and Australia, researchers suggest that Tiggy appears to be a “New Zealand innovation.” With the shift toward the greater influence of commercially produced resources for, and adult management of, children's play, like many other countries, New Zealand experienced an influx of overseas products from a wider range of cultures. While New Zealand imported toys from Europe and America as early as the 1840s, a hundred years later one locally produced toy became so popular that it went on to become a major Kiwi icon—the pull-along toy Buzzy Bee. Furthermore, children's participation in organized sports eventually came to define the popular meaning of the term play. However, it might be argued that games such as King of the Castle, Stacks on the Mill, and No Man Standing were probable training grounds for the game of rugby and its required skills of defense, scrummaging, and tackling.

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