AUSTRALIA (land of the fair go) Ethnic Sports and New Games

Objectives By the end of this lesson you will: Be able to describe the nature and purpose of the sports and pastimes of the aboriginal people. Understand the reason for the rapid rise of athleticism during the development of sport in Australia Understand the development of soccer, tennis, swimming, rugby, aussie football and cricket in Australia

Ethinic Sports and Games in Aboriginal Society Thinking back to what you learned last year, what sort of activities do tribal societies do? Therefore, what activities do you think are popular in Aboriginal society?

As well as doing functional activities, Aborigines also played games for fun. With a ball made from possum skin, Aboriginal tribes played a game called ‘marn-grook’ It is though the leaping tactic employed in play was copied as a marking strategy in what was to become Aussie Rules.

Early British settlers regarded Aborigines as sub- human. Many died because of a lack of resistance to infections brought to Australia by the settlers. Many thousands were also massacred by the British Despite this, between 2 massacres in 1868, an aboriginal cricket team became the first to tour England in what was called a ‘dignified episode in race relations. In reality it was more like a circus in which the aborigines were good but novel performers.

Although the inclusion of ethnic minorities in sport in the UK has steadily risen in the last 25 years, they are only slowly emerging into international sport. Lionel Rose Evonne Goolagong Mal Meninga Cathy Freeman

Today in Australia, native aborigines make up less than 2% of inhabitants. Despite their under representation in many sports, they have been disproportionately successful at a high level in major sports like Aussie Rules, Rugby League an boxing.

The Development of New Sports Football (4 codes) TennisSwimming

Popularity of Colonial Games. The colonial elite established the hunt, golf and later tennis as places where people of high social status could socialise. Unlike in England, snobbery was less evident as survival and prosperity depended on people working together (frontier spirit = to the USA). People believed that true sportsmanship demanded moral effort and sport was good for society. This philosophy is called ‘Athleticism’

Sport and Athleticism was seen to have 3 purposes. 1. The elite private schools believed that athleticism prepared boys for leadership, government and business roles. 2. Athleticism gave a chance to a rapidly evolving newspaper industry to foster national pride through sport. 3. Organised sport was an agent of social control during the rough ‘frontier days’ of the colonial period when early settlers arrived.

Migration expansion and economic growth Fuelled by gold rush Fuelled by gold rush Resulted in rapid urbanisation Resulted in rapid urbanisation By 1891 most urbanised country in world By 1891 most urbanised country in world Resulted in a powerful middle class Resulted in a powerful middle class Adoption of middle class sports Adoption of middle class sports - Rugby, Tennis & Cricket - Rugby, Tennis & Cricket

Expansion of responsible government Expansion of responsible government Level of independence from Britain Level of independence from Britain Led to invention /adaption of sports Led to invention /adaption of sports Australian Rules Australian Rules Geographical isolation of football Geographical isolation of football codes codes

The Rise of Swimming as Australia’s National Sport

Factors Climate & access to beaches Climate & access to beaches Urbanisation – need for public baths Urbanisation – need for public baths Urban middle class and their views on cleanliness and athleticism Urban middle class and their views on cleanliness and athleticism Invention of the Australian crawl. Revolutionising speed swimming Invention of the Australian crawl. Revolutionising speed swimming Suits the Australian ‘beach culture’. Suits the Australian ‘beach culture’. The majority of the population live near the coast The majority of the population live near the coast

Tennis An expression of Anglo-Saxon status An expression of Anglo-Saxon status urbanised game favoured Australia's demography urbanised game favoured Australia's demography ideal climate for an outdoor sport ideal climate for an outdoor sport Role models throughout its development Role models throughout its development Rosewall - Laver - Cash - Hewitt Rosewall - Laver - Cash - Hewitt

Cricket began as the sport of middle-class gentlemen but it has always been played by all who could muster a bat, a ball and some flat land. Cricket differed only in where and by whom it was played.

Cricket has always been considered the one sport where Aussies can get one over the ‘motherland’ and prove their world domination. The Ashes

Aussie Rules Football Australian football is not an international game but has developed beyond its Melbourne origins to become a popular national game.

Aussie football was invented by English born Tom Willis. He took aspects of Marn-Grook and combined them with basic principles of the ball sports he had encountered in England. As a result, the sport of Melbourne Rules was codified in 1858

Australian Football has been shaped by several cultures in its development. 1. The Aborigines contributed the athleticism 2. The Irish contributed the strength and ruggedness 3. The ‘cornstalks’ (2 nd and 3 rd generation Australians) brought the manly image of frontier Australia.)

Populi ludos populo Game of the people for the people. Australian football: 1)Suits their culture (Aborigines, Irish, Europeans, etc.) 2)Suits their geography (space is boundless and the game is played on huge cricket ovals) 3)Suits the social and economic environment of the nation.

Soccer Soccer was originally not accepted by the Australians as it was considered to be ‘the Pommie Game’. Soccer brought dissent towards officials as well as shirt pulling and foul tactics which weren’t desirable in Aussie society. Teams were divided by ethnic group according to where they settled. Each community reflected the country of origin in its name for example: Melbourne Croatia St George Budapest Sydney Hellas

As a result the media were opposed to giving coverage to a sport which appeared to divide the country and stimulate racial rivalry and crowd violence. More recently these names have been changed (For example Sydney Hellas became Sydney Knights). The media are now less hostile and soccer is now seen as the main game of Australia

Rugby was the game of the “ruling elite”, which even as an amateur game generated income and influence for both players and ruling body alike. Rugby League, as in English Rugby League, has developed mainly in one area, in the case of Australia, in New South Wales.

Football divides Australia AUSSIE RULES AUSSIE RULES Colonial links with Rugby School and Melbourne cricket club led to birth of a handling game which was then shaped by the Irish immigrants. Colonial links with Rugby School and Melbourne cricket club led to birth of a handling game which was then shaped by the Irish immigrants. RUGBY Development around Sydney and Brisbane due to proportion of Northern English and Welsh, though industrial areas meant that Rugby League became dominant code. SOCCER Did not develop due to middle class culture and lack of major industrialisation, eventually brought in by Italian and Greek immigrants in the 1950’s.

Football & Australian Geography Brisbane - Rugby League Sydney - Rugby League Canberra - Rugby Union Perth - Aussie Rules Adelaide - Aussie Rules Melbourne - Aussie Rules

History of Australian Sport - a summary Reflects developments in UK Reflects developments in UK Middle class developments remained dominant because there was little industrial working class influence. (A major reason why soccer didn’t become popular earlier). Middle class developments remained dominant because there was little industrial working class influence. (A major reason why soccer didn’t become popular earlier). Geographical and Topographical factors were a major influence. Geographical and Topographical factors were a major influence.

End of lesson test 1. What is the name of the activity played by Aboriginals that lend some aspects of its game play to Aussie Football. (1) 2. Name 2 famous Aboriginal sports stars. (1) 3. Give 3 reasons why sports and athleticism were so popular in Australia’s development. (3) 4. What does Populi ludos populo mean and what sport does it apply to? (1) 5. Outline the development of Aussie Football including cultural variables and reasons for its popularity. (5) 6. Why was soccer not originally adopted by Australians when it was first introduced. (2) 7. What sport and competition provides Australians with the perfect opportunity to get one over the ‘motherland’? (1) 8. What is Australia’s national sport and what lead to its development and popularity? (2) Out of 16

Answers 1.Marn-Grook 2.Evonne Goolagong, Cathy Freeman, Mal Meninga, Lionel Rose 3.See slide 10 4.‘Game of the people, for the people’. Aussie Football 5.See slides See Slide 24 7.Cricket – The Ashes 8.Swimming. See slide 14