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What our athletes mean to Australians

By Ian Jobling - posted Tuesday, 15 August 2000


Throughout our history many people have considered sport to be a particularly important institution in Australian society. Some observers have gone so far as to call it a national 'religion' or 'obsession'. Certainly, over the last hundred years, many visitors and observers from overseas have commented that sport has had a predominant effect on the culture, value systems and forms of expression of Australians. For example, Richard Twopeny wrote in Town Life in Australia that, "the principal amusements of the Australians are outdoor sports of one, kind or another". The wife of a former United States ambassador to Australia wrote "living in Australia is like living in a gymnasium – there's always somebody practicing something". In the assessment of Donald Horne:

Sport to many Australians is life and the rest shadow. Sport has been the one national institution that has had no 'knockers'. To many it is considered a sign of degeneracy no to be interested in it. To play sport, or watch others and to read and talk about it is to uphold the nation and build its character. Australia's success at competitive international sport is considered an important part of its foreign policy.

Following the announcement in September 1993 that Sydney would host the Olympic Games in the Year 2000, New South Wales premier, and president of the Sydney 2000 Games Bid, John Fahey, stated:

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Holding the Olympics will inspire a generation . . . When the Olympics are on – it is cartwheels around the back garden and across the lounge room floor. The Olympics in Sydney will inspire children to compete. They will be healthier, they will learn the pleasure of victory, the consolation of defeat, and in the end, we can perhaps teach our youth to take on the world and do their best. (Australian Olympian, Spring 1993)

To form an opinion about the role and place of sport in Australian society it is necessary to look at several factors. The political, economic and technological changes that occurred during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries influenced the development and direction of pastimes, games and sports. This paper will focus on sport in Australian society from a historical perspective, highlighting the role of the Olympics and of the government.

Sport and nationalism

The term "national identity" is simplistically defined as the identification of a distinctive character and assignment of this identification to a collective group of people as a whole. Bearing this in mind, what did the Olympic Games mean to colonial Australians before and following the Athens Olympics in 1896? Australians would have known little and cared less about the revived Olympic Games had they not had a 'representative' competing. He also happened to win two events. Edwin H. Flack was born in London but lived in Australia from infancy. Soon after leaving the Melbourne Church of England Grammar School, where he studied Greek history, Flack became the one mile champion of New South Wales and Victoria. Flack sailed to England in 1895, where he obtained an appointment with Price, Waterhouse and Company.

Before 1896 the Olympic Games were 'no more than a few lines in a newspaper'. Australians were unaware that a fellow countryman was competing until cabled reports of Flack's victories filtered through. Following Flack's victories in the 800 and 1500 metres, his losses in the tennis singles and doubles and his courageous efforts in the race from Marathon to Athens, the Australian daily and weekly newspapers gave more coverage to Olympic Games items.

It is clear that Edwin Flack, 'The Lion of Athens', fostered nationalism: it was seen that Australian athletes could be successful in sporting competitions with countries other than Great Britain and those of her Empire.

By the 1912 Olympic Games at Stockholm there was considerable evidence that the Olympic Movement was taking root in Australia. Australia sent 21 men and two women to Stockholm and followed their efforts with much enthusiasm and optimism. There were several civic farewells for our national representatives.

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Although it was already established that the 1916 Games would be in Berlin, the enthusiasm was so great the it was even mooted that Perth should host the 1916 Olympic Games to coincide with the proposed opening of the Transcontinental Railway. Clearly, the significance of the Olympic Games to national pride was manifest in the 'Perth' notion:

. . . the value to the country of such a gathering can be understood and publicity gained by an influx of athletes and visitors from all parts of the world would be the finest advertisement that Australia could receive. (Sydney Morning Herald, 12 June 1912)

Of course, it was not until 1956 that the Olympic Games were first held in Australia and the arrival of the Olympic Torch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 22 November brought with it a fervour of nationalism and pride in our athletes of which we are still reminded today.

Cricket has also been a major activity that has promoted nationalism. Consider the elation over Allan Border's team regaining 'the Ashes' in 1989, and the reactions in 1983 when Australia wrested the America's Cup from the New York Yacht club, where it had been for 132 years.

Sport and Government

The glorious international reputation that Australians had enjoyed in sport seemed to be waning by the mid-1970s. At the Montreal Olympics in 1976, Australia failed to win a gold medal and gained only one silver (men's hockey). The print and electronic media reacted strongly to this 'failure' – as can be gleaned from the many cartoons about the 'penny-pinching attitude' of the Liberal-National federal government and, in particular, Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser's visit to the Games Village and exhortations to athletes.

Prime Minister Fraser officially opened the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra on 26 January 1980. When the Labor Party returned to government in 1983, the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Tourism, John Brown, while retaining the AIS, proposed that an Australian Sports Commission (ASC) function as a statutory authority. The ASC, established in September 1984, had three main objectives: to sustain and improve Australia's level of achievement in international sporting competition; to increase the level of participation in sport by all Australians; and to increase the level of assistance from the private sector (which led to the establishment of the Sports Aid Foundation).

The issue of whether governments should promote 'elite sport' as compared to 'sport for all' is a continuing one. In its 1992 budget the federal government announced a four-year funding commitment of $293 million to sport and recreation. In a summary of the Australian Sports Commission 1992-93 proposed sport funding allocations, comprising approximately 100 sporting groups and a total budget of $32.2 million, the breakdown was: elite – $23.6 million; other – $8.5 million; unallocated – $1.8 million. In addition, the proposed allocation to the Australian Olympic Committee was $2.5 million.

Government control of the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) has increased since the NSW Minister for the Olympics, Michael Knight, also became president of SOCOG. Expected revenues from the Games are $2 331 million (as per May 1998), being from sponsorship ($828.8); consumer products ($61.1); ticket sales ($487.0); and television rights ($954.6). The expected profit over expenditures is $42.7 million. SOCOG will also contribute $369.6 million to the NSW government for rental of venues, construction reimbursements and services, including security.

The 2000 Olympic Games

There will be more than 10,000 athletes and 5000 officials at the Year 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. However, the combined total of these will be exceeded by the media – in excess of 15,000 accredited, plus many non-accredited media representatives. A worldwide television audience will exceed 3.5 billion people, and there will be approximately 1.3 million extra tourists during the period 1994-2004.

The Sydney Olympic Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park will seat 110,000, the biggest in Olympic history. There will be twenty-eight sports, with taekwondo and triathlon being included as Olympic sports for the first time; other disciplines included are women's water polo, slalom canoe and trampolining.

In terms of economic impact, an independent study by KPMG Peat Marwick has shown that in the period 1994-2004 Sydney 2000 could add $7.3 billion to Australia's gross domestic product, create 150,000 full-time and part-time jobs; and that almost half the national benefit of $3.5 billion will go to Sydney, with the other areas of NSW benefiting by approximately $1billion and other states and territories by approximately $2.8 billion. It is clear that there needs to be a close link with government, the private sector and the organisers of the Games to ensure appropriate cooperation and collaboration.

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This paper is an edited extract from Chapter 12 of Institutions in Australian Society (1999), edited by John Henningham, Oxford University Press.



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About the Author

Dr Ian Jobling is an Associate Professor in the School for Human Movement Studies, director of the Centre for Olympic Studies and acting director of the Centre for Physical Activity and Sport Education at the University of Queensland.

Related Links
Australian Sports Commission
International Olympic Committee
Olympic Coordination Authority
Olympics Social Impacts Advisory Committee
Sydney Olympics museum Homepage
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