Sport in Australian National Identity

Kicking Goals

By: Tony Ward

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Hardcover | 5 March 2010 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
218 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
25.4 x 17.78 x 1.42

Hardcover

RRP $183.00

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For many Australians, there are two great passions: sport and 'taking the piss'. This book is about national identity - and especially about Australia's image as a sporting country. Whether reverent or not, any successful national image has to reflect something about the reality of the country. But it is also influenced by the reasons that people have for encouraging particular images - and by the conflicts between differing views of national identity, and of sport.

Buffeted by these elements, both the extent of Australian sports madness and the level of stirring have varied considerably over time. While many refer to long-lasting factors, such as the amount of sunshine, this book argues that the ebb and flow of sporting images are strongly linked to current views of national identity. Starting from Archer's win in the first Melbourne Cup in 1861, it traces the importance of trade unions in the formation of Australian Rules, the success of a small rural town in holding one of the world's foremost running races, and the win-from-behind of a fat arsed wombat knocking off the official mascots of Sydney 2000.

This book was based on a special issue of  Soccer and Society.

Industry Reviews

"Effectively the book is divided into two parts, with the first offering a more thematic examination, the second taking a chronological appraoch as it details Australian sport from 1860 through to the present. [...] The content is highly detailed and impressively researched." - Aaron Scott - Third Umpire

"Ward comes to his subject with anunfeigned zeal, asking all the right questions. this book contains much the best statistical analysis of its kind available." - Gideon Haigh, The Sydney Morning Herald

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