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The Commercialisation of Australasian Amateur Athletics

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Sport and the British World, 1900–1930

Part of the book series: Britain and the World ((BAW))

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Abstract

If the name ‘Cavill’ was not synonymous with Australian swimming at the turn of the twentieth century, even an informed observer may attribute the sentiments expressed in the quotation above to current concerns in Australian sport. ‘British sporting bodies’ may also have to be modified to read ‘French rugby clubs’ or ‘Indian cricket franchises’. These changes would reflect the contemporary realisation that — while Australia may develop rich sporting talent — its place in the global market places it at a disadvantage when securing the services of top athletes. The quotation actually derives from a leading athletic commentator from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. It illustrates that, in spite of vastly different methods of transmission and consumption of sport over this period, a surprising continuity exists in some aspects of the conduct of amateur sport between then and now.

The unfairness of British sporting bodies is very marked. We in Australia may send home Hellings, Cavill [… et cetera] but we must pay the piper for the privilege (?), and if we desire a J. B. Tyers to visit us in return we have again to pay the piper.1 — ‘Harrier’, athletic commentator for The Australasian (Melbourne).

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Notes

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of New South Wales, Australia

    Erik Nielsen (Sessional Tutor)

  2. Honorary Academic, Macquarie University, Australia

    Erik Nielsen (Sessional Tutor)

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  1. Erik Nielsen
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© 2014 Erik Nielsen

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Nielsen, E. (2014). The Commercialisation of Australasian Amateur Athletics. In: Sport and the British World, 1900–1930. Britain and the World. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137398512_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137398512_2

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-48538-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-39851-2

  • eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)

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