Flights to Empire: Australia's imperial engagement with the Olympic Games, 1900–1938

Abstract

Imperialism was a key concern for Australia during its early engagement with the Olympic Movement. This engagement was marked by a tension between traditional British approaches to sport and more modern approaches that could stem the tide of American superiority that had been expressed at the Olympic Games since 1896. Australia used the Olympic Games to assert its centrality within the British Empire in a sporting context. These themes are observable in three sets of circumstances: the selection of Australian teams between 1900 and 1932, Australia's engagement with the British Empire Games and Australia's response to the development of state amateurism within the Olympic Movement.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

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^2. Amateur Athletic Union of Canada, Minutes of Annual Meeting: 23 November 1912 (AAUC fonds), 8–9.

^3. Victorian Amateur Athletic Association, Programme – Australasian Athletics Championships: 26 January 1914, Melbourne: VAAA, 1914. Davis Sporting Collection 1, Box 6 – Amateur Athletics Association Carnivals, 1899–1931, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 13.

^4. New Zealand Olympic Association, Minutes of Meeting, 27 February 1920, New Zealand Olympic Committee Records, Minute Book – October 1911 – March 1936, Olympic Studies Centre, New Zealand Olympic Committee, Wellington, New Zealand (NZOC Records, Minute Book), 38.

^5. New Zealand Olympic Association, Minutes of Meeting, 20 April 1920, NZOC Records, Minute Book, 42.

^6. New Zealand Olympic Association, Minutes of Meeting, 10 March 1924, NZOC Records, Minute Book, 84.

^7. New Zealand Olympic Association, Minutes of Meeting, 10 March 1924, NZOC Records, Minute Book, 84–85.

^8. New South Wales Sports Club, The Richard Coombes Testimonial: 27 April 1931, Sydney: NSWSC, 1931, E.S. Marks Sporting Collection, Box Q82 – Miscellaneous sports – Letters and Minute Books, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

^9. New Zealand Olympic Association, Minutes of Meeting, 7 May 1931, NZOC Records, Minute Book, 175; New Zealand Olympic Association, Minutes of Meeting, 10 November 1931, NZOC Records, Minute Book, 180.

^10. New Zealand Olympic Association, Minutes of Meeting, 8 March 1932, NZOC Records, Minute Book, 184.

^11. Australian Olympic Federation, Report of Executive: July 1929, Harry Gordon Papers, A.O.F. Conference & Executive Minutes – 1928–1939, National Library of Australia, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (Harry Gordon – Conferences), 6–7.

^12. James Taylor, Telegram, 17 August 1927; James Taylor, Telegram, 31 October 1927, Grande Bretagne Correspondance 1892–1959, CIO CNO-GRABR-CORR, 9287, International Olympic Committee Archives, Lausanne, Switzerland.

^13. Australian Olympic Federation, Minutes of Conference of Delegates: 30 April 1937, Harry Gordon – Conferences.

^14. New South Wales Olympic Council, Minutes of Biennial Meeting: 22 April 1937, Harry Gordon Papers, Box 2C – NSW Olympic Council, National Library of Australia, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.

^15. Australian Olympic Federation, Minutes of Conference of Delegates: 30 April 1937, Harry Gordon – Conferences.

^16. Australian Olympic Federation, Minutes of Conference of Delegates: 30 April 1937, Harry Gordon – Conferences.

^17. Australian Olympic Federation, Minutes of Conference of Delegates: 6 November 1938, Harry Gordon – Conferences.