Category: Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series
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Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series – Stanley Bruce
By Greg Blood STANLEY MELBOURNE BRUCE CH MC PC NATIONALIST PARTY & UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY 8th Prime Minister – 1923-1929 Stanley Bruce is regarded as the first prime minister to actively engage in sport during his political career. He had a lifetime commitment to sport, particularly rowing and golf. As prime minster, he regarded regularly…
australiansportreflections
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Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series – John Gorton
By Greg Blood SIR JOHN GREY GORTON GCMG AC CH LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA 19th Prime Minister: 1968-1971 John Grey Gorton became prime minister with the unexpected tragic death of Harold Holt. In his three years as prime minister, Gorton highlighted that community sport was important for health, social cohesion and assimilation. This view most…
australiansportreflections
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Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series – Harold Holt
By Greg Blood HAROLD HOLT LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA 17th Prime Minister: 1966–1967 Harold Holt had a passion for health and fitness and this led to several Australian Government initiatives during his time in leadership positions. Holt as prime minister upheld the Menzies Government view that government should have a limited involvement in sport. His…
australiansportreflections
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Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series – Ben Chifley
By Greg Blood JOSEPH BENEDICT ‘BEN’ CHIFLEY– AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY 15th Prime Minister: 1945 -1949 Ben Chifley as Treasurer (1941-1949) and Prime Minister (1945-1949) made decisions that impacted positively and negatively on sport in Australia encompassed by World War II. Sport was important to Chifley in his youth and it helped him gain a community…
australiansportreflections
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Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series – Chris Watson
By Greg Blood JOHN CHRISTIAN (CHRIS) WATSON AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY 3rd Prime Minister: 1904 Chris Watson was the Australian Labor Party’s (ALP) first prime minister but his time in the role was very brief – 113 days. Watson predominantly played rugby union and rowed in his youth and twenties. He viewed sport from the…
australiansportreflections
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Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series – William McMahon
By Greg Blood SIR WILLIAM McMAHON GCMG CH PC – LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA 20th Prime Minister: 1971-1972 William ‘Billy’ McMahon was prime minister for just under 2 years and his government had to manage the controversial tour of the 1971 South African rugby union team. There was increasing opposition in Australia to the racially…
australiansportreflections
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Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series – Joseph Lyons
By Greg Blood JOSEPH ALOYSIUS LYONS CH – AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY / UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY 10th Prime Minister: 1932-1939 Joseph ‘Joe’ Lyons was prime minister during a significant period of the Great Depression where sport played a role in distracting the Australian community from the day-to-day cost of living pressures and high levels of unemployment. The…
australiansportreflections
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Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series – Gough Whitlam
by Greg Blood EDWARD “GOUGH” WHITLAM AC QC – AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY 21st Prime Minister: 1972-1975 Gough Whitlam had a limited interest in sport as a participant and spectator but he understood the role that sport could play in Australian society at a time where there was increasing leisure time. His government can be considered…
australiansportreflections
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Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series
By Greg Blood This series profiles every Australian prime minister and their interest in and contribution to the development of sport in Australia. It is often stated that politics and politics don’t or should not mix. This series will highlight how they do mix and interact particularly since 1970 when the Australian Government established a…
australiansportreflections