By Greg Blood. Orginally published in the Australian Society for Sports History Bulletin No. 71 , February 2020.

Sport plays a significant role in rural and regional Australia. Cashman stated that ‘Bush sport, like city sport, is a way of emphasising community and locality but the former can also be a gesture of defiance against the tyranny of distance’.1 Overall argued that ‘Queanbeyan’s proud sporting tradition has played a major role in helping shape its identity and culture, informing its sense of self and earning it a merited reputation as a city of athletic champions’.2 These statements highlight the importance sport in community cohesion and identity in rural and regional Australian towns.  The limited research on the role of sport in rural and regional Australia has concentrated on community cohesion.3 This paper will endeavour to expand research in this area by examining the role of sport in community identity through the examination of sports statuary, sports museums and halls of fame in rural and regional cities and towns in Australia. 

Rural and regional Australian cities and towns in the media are occasionally linked to significant athletes and animals. Examples of this identification include — tennis player Rod Laver (‘Rockhampton Rocket’), cricketer Don Bradman (‘Boy from Bowral’), athletics sprinter Marjorie Jackson (‘Lithgow Flash’), boxer Les Darcy (‘Maitland Wonder’), race horse Gunsynd (‘Goondiwindi Grey’) and harness racing horses Paleface Adios (‘Temora Tornado’) and Hondo Grattan (‘Bathurst Bulldog’) . These media nicknames highlight links between the athlete or racing animal to the role the town played in their development.

There is significant research into heroes and links to community. Brunk and Fallaw argue that ‘heroes serve as a kind of cultural glue that helps hold together many kinds of communities’ 4 and Hartman states that ‘sports heroes, rather than a team have, therefore, now become the focal point for the hopes and aspirations of communities. 5 From an Australian perspective, Parry notes that ‘early Australian football players were initially seen to be representative of their local communities and, as local residents were loyal to their suburbs, towns and districts, the players quickly became sporting heroes’6 and Hutchins in his article on the role of the bush in the legend Don Bradman states ‘the narrative runs: “simple country lad excels in the meritocracy of sport, goes on to become a national hero, but never forgets his country roots”‘.7 He further notes that in his later life he was still known ‘Boy from Bowral’ and, at the age of 81, was still referred to as ‘the wonderful boy from the bush’.

The ‘heroic’ sporting achievements of athletes and racing animals are very important to the identity of rural and regional cities and towns and this will be documented through statues, sports museums and halls of fame.

Statues 

Sports statuary in Australia was extensively covered in papers presented at Sporting Traditions XX held in 2015 in Darwin.8 Studham’s paper stated:

In many ways this explosion reflects the role of sport in Australian society. It is with pride that we honour the great and the good. But it is also more and more tapping into the civic pride for towns. It is increasingly making them destination points. It is a reason for tourists to get off the country freeways that now bypass townships and hopefully spend some money in the local community.9

This statement summarises the role of sport statues in rural and regional cities and towns — community identity and tourism.

Monument Australia database was searched to discover the extent of statuary covering athletes and racing animals in rural and regional cities and towns in Australia. 10, 11 This database is the most comprehensive source for public monuments and memorials in Australia. During the research process several statues were discovered outside the database and subsequently added to it by liaising with the organisers. Table 1 lists statues/sculptures and very large monuments on Australian athletes and sporting animals that were located

Table 1 – List of Statues, Sculptures and Large Monuments of Australian Athletes and Racing Animals

Research into the establishment of these statues, sculptures and large monuments provided insights into the significance of an athlete or racing animal to the identity of a city or town and the community support required. This significance may be related to their birthplace or sporting development. More recently, their establishment is linked to tourism. Several case studies are used to highlight the use of statues, sculptures and large monuments. 

‘Big Racquet’ – Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Barellan, NSW

Barellan (population 528, 521 km from Sydney), a New South Wales town in the Riverina region, erected a large tennis racquet (13.8 metre long steel racquet, which is perched at a 45 degree angle to the ground) that was a replica of the wooden Dunlop racquet that Goolagong Cawley used at the height of her success in the 1970s and 1980s. In this period, she won 14 Grand Slam titles including seven in singles. In 2009, the $40,000 ‘Big Racquet’ was unveiled as part of Barellan’s centenary celebrations. Goolagong Cawley grew up in Barellan and she commented that ‘they paid for my trips to Sydney, another lady made some tennis dresses for me” and ‘they were the people who were my first sponsors and really gave me a good chance of fulfilling my dream — which I have. They were like family really’.12 Local farmer David Irvin who was the driving force behind the construction stated that he marvelled at ‘a little Aboriginal girl going up and down the streets of Barellan … eventually went on to win two Wimbledon championships’.13 Besides recognising the achievements of the town’s favourite daughter, it was expected that monument would encourage tourists travelling along down Burley Griffin Way to visit the town and bring in much needed income to the struggling town.

‘Big Sherrin’ – Daniher Brothers, Ungarie, New South Wales

Ungarie (population 400, 513 km from Sydney), a New South Wales town in the Central West, unveiled a five metre ‘Big Sherrin’ football at its Bing Wallder Park in 2018 to recognise the achievements of the town’s famous Australian football family the Daniher brothers — Terry, Neale, Anthony and Chris, who played a combined 752 Victorian Football League (VFL) / Australian Football League (AFL) matches for South Melbourne, Essendon and the Sydney Swans.14 ‘Big Sherrin’ cost the community $60,000 and Terry Daniher noted that it was a way of ‘keeping the town on the map’ and ‘it’s great to have something for the town to hang its hat on, and it might slow the traffic down a bit’.15 Member for Riverina in the Federal Parliament Michael McCormack said that the Daniher family were synonymous with Australian Rules and ‘what they did also is they put the little town of Ungarie on the map’.16

John Coleman Statue, Hastings, Victoria

Hastings (population 9,609, 61km from Melbourne), Victorian town on the Mornington Peninsula, installed a statue of VFL footballer John Coleman in 2005. The four-metre bronze statue shows Coleman taking a flying mark over Fitzroy’s Tom Meehan at Windy Hill in 1953. Coleman was born in Port Fairy and his family moved to Hastings in 1943. He first played for Hastings in 1947 kicking 137 goals and the following year kicking 160 goals including 23 against Sorrento. Coleman played for Essendon between 1949 and 1954 kicking 537 goals, before a severe knee injury curtailed his career. In 1981, VFL instituted the Coleman Medal for leading goal kicker in the regular season and it was subsequently carried forward by AFL.  Whilst Coleman only played for Hastings for two years, Member for Flinders in Federal Parliament Greg Hunt said: Hastings produced John Coleman, the greatest full forward in Australian history. A group of people from the Western Port Chamber of Commerce, led by Peter McCulloch, have put together a plan for the creation of a John Coleman statue. It is about building pride, understanding and a sense of history in the town of Hastings.  I commend those who are involved and urge all those who are able to contribute to the funding of the project, costing over $100,000. 17 The statue of Coleman by Stephen Glassborrow was the culmination of 11 years of community effort to raise $100,000. Local newsagent McCulloch noted that the ‘idea for a John Coleman statue was kicked around when the Hubert Opperman statue was unveiled in Rochester about 10 years ago’.18 Interestingly, another statue of Coleman was unveiled at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in September 2013 as part of the Australia Post Avenue of Legends.

Les Darcy Statue, Maitland, NSW

Maitland (population 78,015, 166 km from Sydney), a New South Wales city in the Hunter Region, installed a statue of boxer Les Darcy in 2000. Darcy was born at the property called ‘Stradbroke’ near Maitland and he grew up in the town. At the age of 12, he became a blacksmith’s apprentice and commenced fighting in tournaments at 14. 19 He was a significant sporting drawcard in the Hunter region, winning 27 out of 28 bouts between 1910 and 1914, and moved to Sydney in 1915 to further his boxing career. Darcy was dragged into First World War conscription debate when his parents refused to give permission for him to enlist and on the eve first conscription referendum in 1916, he stowed away on a ship to the United States with the intention of furthering his boxing career. He died tragically from septicaemia on 24 May 1917. It was estimated that between 35,000 and 40,000 lined the funeral route covering Emerald and Newcastle streets to East Maitland.20

Darcy is remembered in several locations in Maitland. In 2000, a bronze statue of Darcy was erected in East Maitland’s King Edward Park. The statue designed by Tanya Bartlett and reputably cost $90,000 through public donations and raffles. Les Darcy Committee Chairman Tony Edmunds said, ‘he hoped the statue would become as popular for tourists as Gundagai’s Dog on the Tucker Box’ and ‘Les was a man of the people so we wanted visitors to touch his statue and have their photographs taken with it. ‘That is why there’s no fence around it.’ Historian and fundraiser Bob Power noted the significance of Darcy by stating ‘He was king. He was also a symbol of the battling Scots and Irish families who pioneered the Hunter Valley.’21

The importance Darcy to the Maitland community is further emphasised by fundraising undertaken to restore his grave in the Catholic section of East Maitland Cemetery. The restoration cost $83,000 and Maitland Heritage Officer Clare James in 2012 stated ‘the restoration had attracted a high level of support from the Darcy family, the national boxing fraternity, local residents and government departments, generating pride and emotional attachment’. 22 In granting $20,000 for the restoration, NSW Minister for Lands Tony Kelly said ‘Les Darcy was a great sportsman and one of Maitland’s finest sons’.23 There is also a small museum display on Darcy at the East Maitland Bowling Club. 

Race and harness horses 

Race and harness horses have several statues rural and regional cities and towns including Makybe Diva in Port Lincoln, South Australia, Black Caviar in Nagambie Victoria, Gunsynd in Goondiwindi, Queensland and Paleface Adios in Temora, New South Wales. The most recent statue installed is that of Black Caviar. Nagambie (population 1,886, 122km from Melbourne), a Victorian town in the of Strathbogie Shire, in 2013 unveiled Mitch Mitchell’s life size bronze statue of Black Caviar with her jockey Luke Nolan. Black Caviar was born on 18 August 2006 at Gilgai Farm near Nagambie and went on to become one of the world’s greatest thoroughbred racehorses and was undefeated in 25 races including 15 Group One races. The importance of Black Caviar’s success to the local community is encapsulated by her breeder Rick Jamieson who said ‘the champion mare means a lot to the locals. Whenever she steps out they’re all totally behind her. Everybody watches and they get very excited.’ 24 The Strathbogie Shire Mayor Deb Swan stated that statue was very important due to the highway bypassing the town and statue will help bring tourists by stating ‘Hopefully they’ll come to visit our statue and whilst they’re there come to see our lovely wineries and enjoy the waterways and see what else there is to offer in this area’.25 The cost of the statue was funded by horse racing industry led by Jamieson. The Victorian Government and the Shire of Strathbogie provided $50,000 and $30,000 respectively for the project.26 Jamieson concluded ‘It’s great for the town. It puts Nagambie on the map’.27

There is an increasing proliferation of athlete statues at major sporting venues in Australian capital cities including the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Sydney Cricket Ground, Adelaide Oval and Lang Park (also referred to as Suncorp Stadium). These statues have relied more on corporate and government rather than community support. The establishment of statues, sculptures and large monuments in rural and regional cities and town is driven by community organisations and their leaders because of their importance to their identity and more recently enticing travellers off major highways.

Besides statues, sculptures and large monuments, it is noted that athletes and racing animals are also recognised by plaques, grandstands, sporting fields and entrance gates but were not included in this research. 

Sports Museums 

Sports museums in rural and regional cities and towns in Australia tell the stories of athletes, sport and sporting events in their communities. In researching the existence of these museums and halls of fame, it was discovered that there was a wide divergence in their objectives, organisation, size, professionalism, physical location and operation. These range from museums maintaining and displaying physical collections and combining museums and halls of fame.  First sport rural and regional museums in Australia were established in the 1980’s. Phillips has divided sports museums into four categories — academic, corporate, community and vernacular.28  Regional and rural sports museums in Australia fall into the community category and are characterised by:

• Purpose — sport celebration and community connections
• Staffing — Volunteers and limited professional contribution
• Funding — Local councils, club committees and private donations. 29

Table 2 lists sports museums and halls of fame located in rural and regional Australia. In addition, the author, where possible, has visited some of the museums and halls of fame to gain an understanding of their formation, collection size and role in the local community. The museums in Table 2 have three themes:

• Showcasing a sport, i.e. cricket, rodeo, woodchopping, surfing, skiing
• Showcasing significant sporting events, i.e. Bathurst 1000 (National Motor Museum), Stawell Gift
• Showcasing a significant athlete, i.e. Don Bradman, Hubert Opperman, Roy Emerson, Les Darcy, Johnny Mullagh

The examination of sport several museums provided an insight into their importance and relevance to the city or town.

Bradman Museum and International Cricket Hall of Fame was originally established as the Bradman Museum in Bowral (population 12,949 in 2016 and 136 km from Sydney), a New South Wales town in the Southern Highlands. The Museum has morphed into a state-of-the-art museum in terms of the extent of its collection and interactive experiences. In 1987, Bradman Museum Trust was established with the goal to build and operate a museum celebrating the life of Sir Donald Bradman and sport of cricket. Bradman was born in Cootamundra, New South Wales but his family moved to Bowral when he was two. He attended Bowral Primary School and went on to play for Bowral in the Berrima District competition. In 1927, he travelled to Sydney to play for the St George Cricket Club in the Sydney competition and made his first-class debut for NSW in the same year. Bradman is regarded as Australia’s greatest cricketer and became known as the ‘Boy from Bowral’. Besides the Museum and his statue in front of the Museum, the house where Bradman grew up between 1911 and 1924 has been restored and is open to the public. 

The establishment of the Museum and more recently its extension to include International Cricket Hall of Fame has played a significant role in attracting tourists particularly cricketing enthusiasts to Bowral even though its over 90 years since he lived in the town. His birthplace in Cootamundra (population 6,782, 390km from Sydney), New South Wales town on South West Slopes, has established the Sir Donald Bradman Birthplace Museum and there are statues at Melbourne Cricket Ground and Adelaide Oval. 

Oppy Museum is in Rochester (population 3,113, 179km from Melbourne), a Northern Victorian town. The museum was established to recognise the achievements of Sir Hubert Opperman, a very successful international endurance cyclist including riding in 1928 and 1932 Tour de France and in later life a Minister in the Menzies Federal Government. This small museum is located in one room in the Campaspe Shire Service Centre and it was originally located at Rochester Railway Station. A 2001 financial sustainability review recommended the museum be moved from the Railway Station to allow longer opening hours and save the council $13,300 each year in cleaning costs. 

Besides the Museum, there is a statue of Opperman unveiled in 1994 outside the Railway Station. The French Government contributed to the statue.30 Why is this museum located in Rochester? Opperman was born in the town on 29 May 1904 but his family moved after his birth. He then moved to Melbourne at the age of twelve. He made a brief return for 12 months before World War 1, staying on at his uncle George Parr’s farm. One of Opperman’s obituaries stated that:

Opperman’s was a classic story of a modest country boy striking it big on the world stage by persevering and overcoming the odds.31

In 2011, Mayor of Rochester Neil Pankhurst stated:

The Rochester community has established an affinity with the Oppy legacy, and this is demonstrated in a range of town images and marketing materials. The community continues to seek opportunities to build this theme to further develop town identity to enhance social cohesion and tourism attraction.32

Opperman’s primary association with Rochester was his birthplace but the local community has utilised this small part of his life to create an identity around his sporting achievements.

Australasian Golf Museum located in Bothwell (population 485, 76 km north of Hobart), a small Tasmanian town, was established in 1996 by former Australian champion golfer, Peter Toogood with the support of the significant Tasmanian golfers — Pearce brothers, Lucy Arthur, Len Nettlefold, Elvie Whiteside, the Goggins. Why is it located in Bothwell? It is the home of Ratho Golf Links, reported to be the oldest golf course in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.33 The Museum tells the early story of golf in Scotland and in Tasmania from 1822 and has golfing memorabilia from Greg Norman, Peter Thompson, Lindy Goggin, Norman Von Nida, the Toogood and Nettlefold families and Ian Baker-Finch. Golf historian Richardson disputes the claim of golf being played in Tasmania in 1822 and concludes it was played in Bothwell in about 1860. 34 In 2019, is it located in two rooms at the Old School House which also includes the town’s visitor information centre. It managed by volunteers and is now an annexe of Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. A visit to the Museum highlights significant golfing memorabilia but limited resources for its ongoing development.

Stawell Gift Hall of Fame is located in Stawell’s (population 6,032 in 2016, 237km from Melbourne) Central Park, home of the Stawell Gift first held in 1878. The Hall of Fame is located in a modern facility and contains artefacts, memorabilia, multimedia clips and archives dating back to the Gift’s  inception. It has received significant local and state support, including $25,000 from Victorian Government in 1985. In 2010, the Stawell Gift Hall of Fame was further refurbished and is now part of its Visitor Centre. The Gift held at Easter is still a significant sporting event in regional Australia with contributing more than $4 Million in economic impact to the region.35 

Victorian Athletic League CEO Tom Burbridge stated:

As the pinnacle of pro running in Australia, the Stawell Gift holds a special meaning for so many people. The event is the cornerstone of professional athletics and its story is synonymous with Australia’s unique and proud sporting history.36

Besides the Hall of Fame, the town centre has plaques recognising both male and female winners of the Gift. These sport museum case studies demonstrate several rural and regional towns have a strong interest in maintaining the heritage and story of an athlete, sport or sporting event, often achieved despite considerable investment required to establish and maintain a sports museum including facility construction and maintenance, collection and storage of memorabilia and operation costs.

Halls of Fame

Several halls of fame in rural and regional cities and towns in Australia are part of a museum but most are displays in local community and sporting facilities or, more recently, on the internet. Research undertaken highlighted there has been a growth in halls of fame in rural and regional cities and towns since 2000. In Australia, there are well-established national, state and sport specific halls of fame with the Sport Australia

Hall of Fame being the first established in 1985. Halls of Fame were created to recognise the achievements of athletes and sports officials associated with the area — country, state, region, city or town. The selection criteria for each hall of fame differs but the general tenets for rural and regional halls of fame include:

1. Represented State or Australia as an athlete, coach, trainer, umpire/referee, administrator in a competitive sport at a junior and senior level that is recognised by the Australian Sports Commission or the Australian Institute of Sport and any other national body. 37

2. Born in the area, attended the majority of their education in the area or participated in sport in the area for a specific period. 

3. Local legend category often meritorious service to sport over a long period.

4. Displayed integrity, sportsmanship and good character.

Table 3 lists halls of fame in rural and regional cities and towns that was compiled through an extensive internet search over six months.38 The list may not be exhaustive as not all halls of fame may be publicised through the internet.

Unlike sport statues and sport museums, halls of fame do not necessarily have an objective to attract tourism. Their main objective is to recognise highlevel sport achievers and their contribution to the community and its identity. Their location in local community and sporting facilities in a reminder to locals visiting these facilities of past high-level sport achievers of the city or town.

Table 3 – List of Halls of Fame in Rural and Regional Australia (Febuary 2020)

Several rural and regional cities and towns in Australia have halls of fame that recognise outstanding achievements and contributions of individuals from all spheres of the community, not just sport. A good example is the Maitland Hall of Fame which recognises boxer Les Darcy, rugby league player Jim Morgan, Olympic runner David Power but also actors John Bell and Ruth Cracknell and politicians and judges Sir Samuel Griffith. In 2019, it has 38 inductees which included 18 athletes.39 Case studies of several sport rural and regional halls of fame provide an insight in their formation and importance to their community.

Wagga Wagga (population 54,411 in 2016, 452 km from Sydney) developed one of the first rural and regional sport hall of fames in 1993. Wagga Wagga

Sporting Hall of Fame includes the city’s most well-known sportspeople: its first Olympic gold medallist Alicia Quirk (women’s rugby sevens), Matildas’ Sally Shipard (soccer), Paul Kelly (AFL), Wayne Carey (AFL), Mark Taylor (cricket), Michael Slater (cricket), Geoff Lawson (cricket) and Steve and Chris Mortimer (rugby league).40 The city has a long history of developing sporting champions, which led to the phrase ‘Wagga Effect’, used by the Australian Institute of Sport researcher Damian Farrow to highlight the disproportionately high number of elite sports men and women from regional cities. Factors that contribute to this effect include: more time to play a variety of sports, access to good sport facilities and early exposure to adult competition. 41 In addition, Farrow stressed that Wagga Wagga ‘celebrated its sporting icons really well’ and ‘more children are encouraged to follow in their hometown sporting heroes’ footsteps’.42 

This research is corroborated by Megan Marcks (nee Still), a rowing gold medallist at the 1996 Olympics, when she said ‘When you live somewhere like Queanbeyan, succeeding at the top level seems attainable, and you’ve got role models you can look to and aren’t up on a pedestal’. 43 Mayor of Wagga Wagga, Councillor Greg Conkey OAM, highlighted the role of the city’s sporting hall of fame by stating ‘being inducted in the Sporting Hall of Fame reflects the valuable contribution the nominee has made to their sport and to our community’.44

A recent development in this area is to move halls of fame to open public places. Geelong has established a Legends Plaza outside Kardinia Park, its primary sporting hub. Inductees in 2019 include Russell Mockridge, John Landy, Lindsay Hassett, Simone McKinnis, Wayne Davies, Charles Brownlow, Leo White, Ian Redpath, Reg Hickey, Jack Hawkes, James Wilson Junior, Trevor Billingham, Greg Stewart, Dick Garrard, Trisha Fallon and Graeme Lloyd.45

Ballarat has created an Olympic precinct at Lake Wendouree, the location of the 1956 Olympic Games rowing events. The site includes a memorial that honours the city’s Olympians by bronze casts of their hands or feet. In discussing the precinct, Ballarat Mayor, Councillor Joshua Morris, said ‘I think it’s good to recognise that Ballarat certainly punches above its weight with Olympians’. 46 There was criticism of the precinct for not recognising Paralympians and this was rectified 2016 with the Ballarat Paralympic Walk constructed near the Olympian monuments.47

These halls of fame are examples of rural and regional cities and towns permanently recognising the national, state and local achievements of athletes and officials. They also highlight to developing athletes and officials that they can defy ‘the tyranny of distance’ or ‘punch above their weight’ despite not living in a capital city. 

Conclusion

Sport statues, museums and halls of fame are not unique to rural and regional Australia cities and towns. However, these cities and towns are often not wealthy and go through severe economic cycles due to ‘drought and flooding rain’ but the community will raise significant funds for the establishment for sport statues, museums and halls of fame because they assist in developing the identity of the city or town. In more recent times, this commitment is linked to tourism and attracting travellers off the main highways. Athletes and racing animals often put cities and more particularly towns on the map — many of us know Rod Laver is from Rockhampton or Marjorie Jackson from Lithgow.      

It will be interesting observe the future development of sports statuary, museums and halls of fame in rural and regional Australia. Museums may struggle to be continue or be established due to their ongoing operational costs. There has been a proposal to establish Margaret Court Museum in Albury, New South Wales but this has stalled due to lack of financial support from state government and Tennis Australia.48 The later would prefer her collection at Melbourne Park. It is not apparent that support is due to her public stance on against same sex marriage. Sporting murals may become more popular with Queanbeyan in 2019 immortalising rugby league player Ricky Stuart with a largescale portrait mural in the heart of its central business district.49

Note: This paper was first presented at Sporting Traditions XXII at Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, New South Wales in July 2019.

 References / Notes

1. Richard Cashman, Sport in the national imagination: Australian Sport in the Federation decades, Walla Walla Press, Sydney, 2002, p. 41
2.   Nichole Overall, Queanbeyan: city of champions, Nichole Overall, Queanbeyan, 2013.
3.  Ramón Spaaij, ‘The glue that holds the community together? Sport and sustainability in rural Australia, Sport in Society, 12(1), 2009, pp. 1132–14; Matthew Tonks and Kim Atherley, ‘Competitive sport and the construction of place identity in rural Australia’, Sport in Society, 13(3), 2010, pp. 381–98; Kate Driscoll and Liz Wood, Sporting capital: Changes and challenges for rural communities in Victoria, RMIT Centre for Applied Social Research, Melbourne, 1999
4.  Samuel Brunk and Ben Fallaw (eds.), Heroes & Hero Cults in Latin America, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, 2006 , p. 4.
5. K. Hartman, ‘Fields Of Dreams And Gods Of The Gridiron: The Trinity Of Myth, Sport And The Hero’, In D Whitt & J Perlich (eds.), Myth In The Modern World: Essays On Intersections With Ideology And Culture, McFarland , Jefferson, NC, 2014, pp. 165–84.
6. Keith Parry, ‘The Bad, the Good, and the Ugly: the Formation of Heroes within the Setting of a New Sports Team’, Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Western Sydney, 2017. https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws%3A39824/datastream/PDF/view, accessed 23 July 2019.
7. Brett Hutchins, ‘The Boy From Bowral’: The Role of The Bush in The Legend of Sir Donald Bradman’, Journal Of Australian Studies, V29, 2005, pp. 29–35
8. Papers from Sporting Traditions XX, Darwin, NT, in 2005 were published in Sporting Traditions, 33 (1), 2016.
9. David Studham,’ Idol Worship at the New Temples of Pleasure: An Examination of Sporting Artworks at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and its Place in the Nations Heart’, Sporting Traditions, 33 (1), 2016,  pp. 9–35.
10. Statuary for this paper includes statues, sculptures and large monuments.
11. Monument Australia website http://monumentaustralia.org.au/ includes a database that lists over 33,000 public monuments and memorials. It includes statues, sculptures, monuments, plaques, gates and grandstands
12.  ‘World’s Biggest Racquet for Goolagong Cawley’, ABC News, 13 June 2008. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-06-13/worlds-biggest-racquet-for-goolagong-cawley/2470822, accessed 23 July 2019.
13. “World’s Biggest Racquet for Goolagong Cawley’.
14.  Daniher brothers VFL/AFL: Terry played 19 games for South Melbourne and 294 for Essendon; Neale, 82 games for Essendon; Anthony played 115 games for Sydney Swans and 118 for Essendon and Chris played 124 games for Essendon.
15. Warwick Green, ‘Ungarie to Unveil “Big Sherrin” as part of Danihers Tribute’, The Age, 6 March 2018 https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/ungarie-to-unveil-big-sherrin-as-part-of-danihers-tribute-20180306p4z325.html, accessed 23 July 2019.
16. Michael McCormack, Transcript – Press Conference Mental Head and Headspace Announcement, 13 April 2019. https://www.michaelmccormack.com.au/media-releases/2019/4/13/transcript-pressconference-mental-health-and-headspace-announcement-13-april-2019, accessed 23 July 2019
17. Greg Hunt, ‘Flinders Electorate: Hastings and Somerville Area Development’, House of Representatives Hansard, 19 November 2004. https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/genpdf/chamber/hansardr/2004-1129/0161/hansard_frag.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf, accessed 23 July 2019
18. Darryl Timms, ‘A Legend Kicks On’, Herald Sun, 30 November 2004, p. 73.
19. W.G. McMinn, ‘Darcy, James Leslie (Les) Darcy (1895–1917)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1981. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/darcy-james-leslie-les-5881, accessed 23 July 2019
20. ‘Les Darcy’s Funeral’, Singleton Argus, 3 July 1917. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page8076931, accessed 23 July 2019.
21. Mike Scanlon, ‘New Statue Packs a Punch’, Newcastle Herald, 7 August 2000, p. 3.
22.  Donna Sharpe, ‘Les Darcy Vault Restored’, Newcastle Herald, 7 February 2012, https://www.theherald.com.au/story/412719/les-darcy-vault-restored, accessed 23 July 2019.
23. Donna Sharpe, ‘Boost for Boxer’s Gravesite’, Newcastle Herald, 25 March 2010, p 13.
24.  ‘Owners Reveal Black Caviar is Pregnant as Bronze Statue is Unveiled’, ABC Premium News, 17 January 2014. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-24/champion-mare-black-caviar-to-be-immortalised-atnagambie/5042202,  accessed 23 July 2014.
25. ‘Owners reveal Black Caviar pregnant’.
26. ‘Black Caviar statue at Nagambie’, Thoroughbred Express, 31 July 2013,  http://www.thoroughbredexpress.com.au/news-archives/black-caviar-statue-at-nagambie, accessed 23 July 2019.
27.  ‘Owners reveal Black Caviar pregnant’.
28.  Murray Phillips, ‘Introduction — Historians in sport museums’, in Murray Phillips (ed.), Representing the sporting past in museums and halls of fame, Routledge, New York, 2012, pp. 1–26. 
29. Phillips, ‘Introduction — Historians in Sport Museums’, p. 6.
30. Charles Hibbert, ‘Australian Sporting Icons: where to find shrines to their achievements’, Sunday Herald Sun, 11 April 2004, p. Escape V10.  
31. Robert Milliken,’ Obituary: Sir Hubert Opperman’, Independent, 24 April 1996. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-sir-hubert-opperman-1306513.html, accessed 23 July 2019.
32. ‘Opperman Museum Moves to Rochester’, Bendigo Advertiser, 30 January 2011. https://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/713470/opperman-museum-moves-to-rochester/, accessed 23 July 2019.
33. Australasian Golf Museum website. http://www.ausgolfmuseum.com/index.html, accessed 23 July 2019.
34. Norman Richardson, ‘Early Golf in Tasmania’, Australian Golf Heritage Society website, http://www.australiangolfheritage.org.au/articles.html#earlytas, accessed 23 July 2019.
35. A statement regarding 2019 Stawell Gift prize money, Stawell Gift Website, http://www.stawellgift.com/ 2019/02/a-statement-regarding-2019-stawell-gift-prize-money/, accessed 23 July 2019.
36. Statement Stawell Gift
37. Australian Sports Commission definition of sport — ‘a human activity capable of achieving a result requiring physical exertion and/or physical skill, which, by its nature and organisation, is competitive and is generally accepted as being a sport’. 
38. Search undertaken January to June 2018.
39. Maitland Hall of Fame website. https://www.maitland.nsw.gov.au/our-services/community/serviceawards/hall-of-fame, accessed 23 July 2019
40. Wagga Wagga Sporting Hall of Fame website. https://museumriverina.com.au/exhibitions/sporting-hallof-fame, accessed 23 July 2019.
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