Between 1901 and 1912, sport was and still is the most important expression of national pride in Australia, many sports bring Australia pride, but some sports brought the whole country together including the Melbourne Cup, the Ashes and AFL or what was VFL in the 19th century Australia during 1901-1912 was known for the Melbourne Cup, this event was iconic during that time period for many reasons. the Melbourne Cup “the race that stops a nation” it is called that because of the enormous attention it engenders.
When the Melbourne Cup is being held, workplaces all around the country stop operations as staff bundle around radios, large crowds gather in clubs and hotels and the streets are bizarrely quiet as people listen for the magic four minutes of the race. Even though in 1901 Australia had economic problems “the Cup” so instead of an actual prize the winners of the cup got presented with tea and coffee. (TheNewsDaliy) This is a great example of how sport brings all Australians together and how the people involved in the race accepted the little prize because of the economic troubles. Sport for Australia is a major part or the economic and social parts of society and sport in 1901-1912 was popular to watch at the track or listen to on the radio. 1901 and 1912 was a good time period for cricket (the Ashes series) this sport made5 Australia well known for many reasons, including them wining the ashes in 5 times in that time period of 1901-1912 (wikipediaAshesSeries).
Cricket was a spectator’s sport for the wealthy and for the working class it was listened to on radios all around Australia. And because of the eight-hour day was introduced in 1856, which left people having more time to do different activity’s such as watching cricket or listening to it on the radio the “Wireless “one of the first radios invented. Cricket made Australia a nation because of the support and the fans behind the team. Even if the Aussie team lost the Ashes they still had support behind them. Also cricket shared national pride when the ashes were one because it brought everyone together and it shared national pride because England was Australia’s biggest rival when it comes to cricket. AFL has most important expression of national pride because it was born in Australia and is only played in Australia, that is why AFL is such a respected game in Australia and people who followed the AFL During the 19th century brought Aussie together because it was easy to play and fun to watch.
Early VFL teams developed loyal fans, known as “barrackers,” many of whom were club members. Unique among football sports, Australian football has always had a large number of female supporters who attend matches, and by 1900 women formed one-third or more of audiences.
