In My Childhood Memories of the 1960s and 1970s, Find Things that Children and I Did in Australia.
Which of these Childhood Memories Should You Do? And, Share Stories with Your Grandkids.
And, you'll find childhood memories you can do every day with your Grandparents.
You can use these ideas to do with grandparents, parents, parents-in-law, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, and your kids' grandparents.
The 1960s & 1970s Childhood Memories You Can Do. And, Share Stories with Your
- children
- grandchildren
- great-grandchildren
**Please Note: Some games and activities have been banned, restricted, or modified, so check for updates. For instance, British Bulldogs has been banned or been modified in places like schools.**
There is a lot of beauty in ordinary things ~ Pam Beasley [The Office]

Hopscotch in a local playground
Learn from the Past
So, what things can you do that have disappeared in the past?
Think about, what things you can find that are still played today?
Which activities can you do with your grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and children?
That is in Australia or the country where you lived:
- Share stories and things that you did
- Outdoor things to do
- Indoor things to do
Great things are done by a series of small things brought together ~ Vincent Van Gogh
1 In the 1960s and 1970s, Childhood Memories Found in Australia to Share with Your Grandchildren and Children

At Monday morning school assembly sing God Save the Queen
Use Paper Bags
Use carry bags made from string
Knitted teapot cozies to keep the teapot warm
Make a vegetable garden in the backyard
My grandparents had chickens in their backyard. Please Note: check with your council and shire for current regulations.
Watch Skippy, the bush kangaroo
No Speed Limits on the roads, before they were introduced
No Seat Belts in cars before they were introduced and legally made to wear them
We piled in the back of the station wagon before seat belts were installed in cars, and legally made to wear seat belts.
When we had seat belts in cars, they had metal buckles. The buckles were very hot in summer.
During hot days in summer, the vinyl seats in the car were very hot.
No air conditioner in the car
Summers at the beach
Caravans and tents along the foreshores around the bay
Freshly baked biscuits and snacks when we got home from school
Buy an 11c loaf of bread
10c bus fare to school
Buy a 5c bag of mixed lollies in a paper bag
Watch HR Puffin Stuff
Watch Banana Splits
Watch Countdown
Sunday football show with VFL now AFL
Black & White TV with no remote
Drive Ford & Holden cars
V8 cars used a lot of petrol
Wear bathers & bare feet
Eat Twistees in a bread roll
Razz & Sunny Boy
Watch Mad Max
Play Space Invaders
Read John & Betty ~ Please Note: This book has been banned
Sing Sadi the Cleaning Lady
Eat a Summer Roll
Light red Fire Crackers on New Year's Eve, were banned.
Listen to Bay City Rollers and go to their gig.
When we back to school in February, it was hotter than the school holidays
Put your tooth that had fallen out under the pillow for the Tooth Fairy.
School Teams, Sports Day & Marathon Day at school
Played hockey with no shin guards at school
Eat Meat & 3 Veg
Eat Roast Lamb & roast potatoes on Sundays
Eat Mock Fish
Sunburn
Learn to swim lessons with the school in a cold pool
A small bottle of milk at school. It would get warm from sitting in the sun. Take Milo or Quik to school to have the milk
Milk is delivered by horse and cart early in the morning. You could hear the sound of the horse's hooves on the road
Fresh bread delivered to your house
The toilet was in an outhouse, nicknamed a dunny. It had a black pan. I think it was collected weekly.
Sunday dinner at my grandparent's with aunts, uncles, & cousins
When the man landed on the moon, it was a school day. So, we watched it at a student's house who lived near the school. Because there were no televisions at school.
Collect shells at the back beaches on the Mornington Peninsula. Please Note: In some places, especially National and State Parks, you are not allowed to collect them anymore.
Buy ice-creams from the Ice Cream Truck
Eat sandwiches for school lunch. You took your lunch to school in a paper bag
Watch the Flintstones
Watch Road Runner
Holidays with family at the farms in Camperdown or family's holiday house in Rye
2 Which Childhood Memories You Can Do Outdoors?

Walk in the neighborhood together
Walk the dog
Watch a movie at the cinema
Watch a sunset
Walk along the beach
Go on a road trip in the country
Climb a hill, ranges, or a mountain
Visit relatives
Watch movies at the drive-ins
Catch a train to Melbourne's CBD
Ride a tram in Melbourne
Go on a drive to see where your parents and grandparents used to live and hang out
Go on a hike
Visit Melbourne Zoo
Have a picnic or BBQ at a park
Explore a national or state park
Wander in a forest
Go fishing
Visit the art gallery where the water runs down the front window
Visit the museum
Plant a garden
Take a road trip
Collect wildflowers
Discover a new town
Go for a bike ride
Look for butterflies
Go for a swim
Sit outside under the stars in the moonlight
Jump in puddles
Stand in the rain
Feed the ducks and swans
Pick flowers in the garden
Listen to the waves crashing at the beach and coast
Get dunked by the waves at the coast
Stay at a farm, sit in the haystack, & milk the cows
Collect Pine Cones
Play cricket in the street with the neighborhood kids
Stop and look at a rainbow
Help in the garden
Clean old bricks to reuse to build the garage
Listen to the bird's chirp
Look at the clouds
Play cricket on the beach or in the backyard
Draw hopscotch with chalk on the pavement and play hopscotch
Fly a kite in a park
Play tennis
Play squash
Play catch the ball
Smell the roses
Visit the botanical gardens
Visit a historical site
Find statues and monuments
Visit a ghost town
Explore an old mining town
Play Poison ball and British Bulldogs ~ check for banns like in schools
Play on the seesaw and swings
Play on the monkey bars at school
Play rounders at school
Play 'Stocking Ball', a game with a ball (tennis) in a stocking against a wall
Play Jacks or Knucklebones using sheep knuckles
Play skipping & elastics in the playground at school
Play games like sack races, egg & spoon races, three-legged races at festivals, carnivals, and school events
Visit Sovereign Hill
Walk on the sandy roads in Rye
Swim in the cold water above ground backyard pool
Play Kiss Chasey; Please Note: some schools have banned this game.
Blow dandelions to make wishes
Make chains with the yellow daisies
Stare at the black sky and the stars
Visit the Royal Melbourne Show, walk through the animal sheds, and buy show bags
Collect betting cards at the country races
Ride a three-wheeled bike
Sing songs in the car
Play I spy
Ride in a billy cart
Build Sand Castles at the beach
Visit Luna Park to do the slides, dodgem cars, carousel, wooden rollercoaster, distorted mirrors ...
Dance at barn dances
Ride on the steam train at Puffing Billy Railway
Visit Healesville Sanctuary
See koalas, kangaroos, cockatoos, platypus, echidna, emus, wombats, wallabies, dingoes, parrots, snakes at zoos, and sanctuaries.
3 Which Childhood Memories Can You Do Indoors?

Read Books
Bake together
Share a meal
Sing songs
Play music on vinyl records or cassettes
Create a painting
Play hide and seek
Play cards
Play a board game
Read books
Play charades
Learn to knit, crochet, sew, or embroidery
Learn to mend clothes
Ask about your family history
Record a conversation onto a cassette
Collect family recipes
Make a family photograph
Draw a picture
Write a story
Play lego
Paint each other's nails
Do coloring
Play clackers, two balls on a string game. Warning: it hurts when they hit your knuckles
Play card games like snap, memory
Play Monopoly
Play Mouse Trap
Play music on the piano
Learn to use an old Singer sewing machine
Type on a manual typewriter
Play Jacks or Knucklebones using sheep knuckles
Play marbles
Play Cat's Cradle using wool or string
Play Truth, Dare, Double Dare, Love, Kiss, or Promise
Play Spin the Bottle
Play Shadows in the Dark
Learn to Swim in a warm swimming pool
Memories live longer than things ~ James Wallman
Learning from the Past
Share Childhood Memories from the 1960s & 1970s with your Grandkids


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These are great childhood memories! I can relate to the no seatbelt stuff. Or we would ride in the back of my dad’s pickup truck, or he’d put us on his lap so we could feel like we were driving too. Yikes!
Thank you Kendra. It makes us think twice about what happened in the past to what’s allowed now.
These activities to do with your grandkids are exactly how I grew up too. My mother-in-law used to hold my husband on her lap on their drive up to New Hampshire. No car seat, no seatbelt either.
Thank you Leeanne. It’s scary the things that happened in the past, that is no longer allowed now.
These activities bring back so many childhood memories for myself. Makes me look forward to having my own grandkids one day.
Thank you Julie. Enjoy sharing childhood memories when you have grandkids.
I don’t have grandkids yet, but these childhood memories would be fun to share / do with my nieces and nephews. I especially remember our station wagon with no seatbelts and it had a backseat that faced backwards.
Thank you kmf. I remember those seats.
Childhood memories are so important! We love playing games with our kids on the Sabbath. Great list to explore!
Thank you Tricia. Enjoy play time with your kids.
These are all awesome ideas! The outdoor ones are my favorite. And freshly delivered bread yummmm
Thank you Alexis.
Great ideas! So much better than sitting in front of a screen! I have taught some of these games/activities to my own kids!
Thank you Marianne. It’s good you have shared childhood memories with your kids.