Australasia at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Australasia was the name of a combined team from Australia and New Zealand that competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. It was the fourth appearance of Australia, which had not missed any edition of the Summer Olympic Games, and the first appearance of New Zealand. The two would compete together again as Australasia at the 1912 Summer Olympics before competing separately at every edition of the Summer Games since. In 1908 there were three New Zealanders, Harry Kerr, Henry St Aubyn Murray and Albert Rowland (a fourth New Zealander, hurdler Arthur Halligan, competed for Great Britain);[1] all other competitors were Australian. There were 30 competitors for Australasia who competed in 20 events in six sports.[2] A further two competitors, who were to compete in tennis, did not play as their nominations failed to reach the organisers.

Australasia at the
1908 Summer Olympics
Australasian Olympic Flag
IOC codeANZ
in London
Competitors30 in 6 sports
Flag bearerHenry St Aubyn Murray
Medals
Ranked 11th
Gold
1
Silver
2
Bronze
2
Total
5
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
 Australia (1896–1904, 1920–)
 New Zealand (1920–)

Medallists

Medal Name Sport Event Date
 Gold Australia national rugby union team
Rugby union October 26
 Silver Snowy BakerBoxing Middleweight October 27
 Silver Frank BeaurepaireSwimming Men's 400 m freestyle July 16
 Bronze Harry KerrAthletics Men's 3500 m walk July 14
 Bronze Frank BeaurepaireSwimming Men's 1500 m freestyle July 25

Results by event

Athletics

Australasia's best athletics result, and only medal, was Harry Kerr's bronze medal in the 3500 metre walk.

EventPlaceAthleteHeatsSemifinalsFinal
Men's 800 metresSemi-
finalist
Harvey SuttonNone heldUnknown
4th, semifinal 8
Did not advance
Men's 1500 metresSemi-
finalist
Joseph LynchUnknown
5th, semifinal 2
Did not advance
Charles SwainDid not finish
—, semifinal 3
Men's 110 metre hurdlesHeatsHenry St Aubyn MurrayUnknown
2nd, heat 1
Did not advance
Men's 400 metre hurdlesHeatsHenry St Aubyn MurrayUnknown
2nd, heat 3
Did not advance
Men's 5 milesSemi-
finalist
George BlakeNone heldUnknown
3rd, semifinal 1
Did not advance
Joseph LynchDid not finish
—, semifinal 5
Men's marathonVictor AitkenNone heldDid not finish
George BlakeDid not finish
Joseph LynchDid not finish
Men's 3500 metre walk3rdHarry KerrNone held16:02.2
2nd, semifinal 1
15:43.4
5thAlbert Rowland16:08.6
3rd, semifinal 3
16:07.0
Men's 10 mile walk8thHarry KerrNone held1:18:40.2
3rd, semifinal 2
Did not start
11thAlbert Rowland1:21:57.6
5th, semifinal 1
Did not advance
EventPlaceAthleteHeight
Men's standing high jump19-23Ernest HutcheonUnknown

Boxing

Australasia had one boxer in 1908, the middleweight Snowy Baker. He took the silver medal, and was the only non-British boxer to win a bout.

Weight
class
PlaceBoxerRound
of 16
Quarter-
finals
Semi-
finals
Final
Middleweight
Up to 158 pounds
2ndSnowy BakerDefeated Dees
KO, 2nd round
Defeated William Childs
2-0 decision
Defeated Philo
KO, 1st round
Lost to Douglas
2-1 decision
Opponent nationWinsLossesPercent
Great Britain31.750
Total31.750

Diving

Baker, the silver medal-winning middleweight boxer, also dove in the springboard event, placing 22nd of 23 overall.

EventPlaceDiverPreliminary
groups
Semi-
finals
Final
Men's 3 metre springboard22ndSnowy Baker61.30 points
6th, group 4
Did not advance

Rugby

Australasia won the only rugby union match played in 1908 against Great Britain, earning the gold medal. The Australasian representative was the Australia national team.

1908 Olympic Gold Final: Australasia v Great Britain
EventPlacePlayersFinal
Men's rugby union1stPhil Carmichael, Charles Russell, Daniel Carroll, John Hickey, Francis Bede-Smith,
Chris McKivat, Arthur McCabe, Thomas Griffen, John "Jumbo" Barnett, Patrick McCue,
Sydney Middleton, Tom Richards, Malcolm McArthur, Charles McMurtrie, Bob Craig
Won vs.
Great Britain
32-3

Shooting

EventPlaceShooterScore
Men's stationary target small-bore rifle16thWilliam Hill354
Men's moving target small-bore rifleWilliam HillDid not finish
Men's disappearing target small-bore rifle18thWilliam Hill36

Swimming

EventPlaceSwimmerHeatsSemifinalsFinal
Men's 100 metre freestyleSemi-
finalist
Frank Beaurepaire1:11.6
1st, heat 3
Unknown
4th, semifinal 1
Did not advance
HeatsTheo TartakoverUnknown
2nd, heat 1
Did not advance
Edward CookeUnknown
3-4, heat 6
Men's 400 metre freestyle2ndFrank Beaurepaire5:49.2
1st, heat 4
5:44.0
1st, semifinal 1
5:44.2
Semi-
finalist
Theo Tartakover6:35.0
1st, heat 3
Did not start
—, semifinal 1
Did not advance
HeatsFrank Springfield5:57.4
2nd, heat 6
Did not advance
Men's 1500 metre freestyle3rdFrank Beaurepaire23:45.8
1st, heat 2
23:25.4
2nd, semifinal 1
22:56.2
HeatsFrederick Springfield24:52.4
2nd, heat 4
Did not advance
Men's 200 metre breaststrokeEdward CookeDid not finish
—, heat 5
Did not advance
Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay4thFrank Beaurepaire
Frederick Springfield
Snowy Baker
Theo Tartakover
None held11:35.0
1st, semifinal 1
Unknown

Tennis

Les Poidevin and Anthony Wilding (who were partners in the 1906 Davis Cup preliminary round at Newport) were nominated for the Australasian team by the Australasian Lawn Tennis Association, but their nominations failed to reach the organisers. So the pair watched the "small, impoverished and out of place" Australasian contingent alongside the "tailored splendour" of some European teams. Although many leading tennis players bypassed the Olympic tournament (which followed almost immediately after Wimbledon) and his goal had been Wimbledon, Wilding regretted the missed opportunity and endorsed his mother's summing up of the administrative bungling: "seems very careless of them & very annoying".[3]

References

  1. Heidenstrom, P. (1992) Athletes of the Century. Wellington: GP Publications
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Australasia at the 1908 London Summer Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  3. Richardson, Len; Richardson, Shelley (2005). Anthony Wilding, A Sporting Life. Canterbury: Canterbury University Press. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-877257-01-8.

Sources

  • Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
  • De Wael, Herman (2001). "Top London 1908 Olympians". Herman's Full Olympians. Archived from the original on 12 July 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2006.
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