Author Description

Australia has long been regarded as a paradise of sport, but few have questioned why. When and how was this sporting paradise established? Who created it, and for whom? Richard Cashman's Paradise of Sport explores the rise of organized sport in Australia and advances many reasons why sport became so dominant. Australian society was deeply influenced by the games cult inherited from Britain. Strategically located land was found for sporting venues in the new cities, reinforcing sport's lofty status. Abundant waterways and superb beaches encouraged this fascination. Australia's prosperity after the Gold Rush led to an elaborate sporting culture which included grand stadiums, racecourses, gymnasiums, swimming pools and golf links. Sport represented a kind of social unifier, binding new communities, neighbourhoods, suburbs and country towns. Every paradise presupposes its hell. If Australia became a sporting utopia, it was more so for certain Australians: men rather than women; Anglo-Celtic Australians rather than immigrants and Aborigines. Sizeable numbers of women and men came to resent the dominance of sport in Australia. Many intellectuals believe that Australians' preoccupation with sport has been detrimental. Richard Cashman disagrees and contends that sport is central to the business of being Australian. Believing that nothing will be gained by deriding or ignoring sport - the theatre of the masses - he contends that sport, like politics and business, needs to be scrutinized, historicized, and understood.