Australian sporting moments

Group of men in white pants and dark blazers standing in a field. One of them holds a previous version of the Australian flag and another a sign that Reads 'Australie'

Léquipe d'Australie, 1924, nla.obj-148686918

Voyage to the 1924 Paris Olympics

Explore letters written by Dorothy Richmond about her experience travelling to Europe with the 1924 Australian Olympic team.

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My Story: A Life in Basketball and Beyond by Lauren Jackson

Sports stories part 2: On the court and in the pool

In the second part of our sports stories series, we turn our attention to books by and about the Australian athletes on the basketball and tennis courts and in the swimming pool.

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Sports stories part 1: On the field

Since the Library was founded, our goal has been to collect and share Australian stories. Recently, we have been particularly focused on exploring Australian sports stories through our exhibition, Grit & Gold: Tales from a Sporting Nation.

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Two woman in green and gold clothing embracing excitedly in front of a crowd.

Leigh Henningham, Matildas fans reacting to an Australian goal at a public screening of the Australia vs Canada 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup match at Federation Square, Melbourne, Victoria, 31 July, nla.obj-3254738517

Photographs of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

The Library commissioned photographers to capture the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

News article

More than a medal: An introduction to Grit & Gold

Sport is a storytelling machine. And for Australians that machine is prolific. Our popular imagination is crowded with stories drawn from sporting contests.

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A handwritten diary entry in an old fashioned script.

George Thomson, Diary entry for Tuesday 26 May 1868, Diary of George Thomson, 1868-1869, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3308197449

Indigenous Australian cricket team touring England in the 1860s

Australians have often gone to great lengths to see their favourite sporting teams, even back in the 1860s!

News article

Family of three sitting in the crowded stands of a sports stadium while various events take place on the track and field. The parents seem to be enjoying a warm beverage while looking at their baby who lies in a stroller.

Family having a picnic in the stands, with a baby in one basket, and picnic paraphernalia in the other, Olympic Games, Melbourne, 28 November 1956, nla.obj-148938429

How to watch sports: a lesson from the 1956 Olympics

Browse photographs from the 1956 Melbourne Olympics to learn the top tips for how to watch a sports game.

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Image grid featuring (clockwise) Dawn Fraser, Warwick Capper, Shane Warne and Louise Sauvage

Images (left to right): David Moore, Portrait of Dawn Fraser, Melbourne, 1963 (detail), nla.obj-140402089 [left hand upper]; Serena Ovens, Portrait of Louise Sauvage, 1996 paralympian (detail), nla.obj-136368441 [left hand lower]; Bruce Howard, Sydney's Warwick Capper taking a spectacular mark over Mick Martin of the Kangaroos in a game at the MCG on Anzac Day, 1991 (detail), nla.obj-148148262; Steve Holland, Australian cricketer Shane Warne holding a cricket ball and stump at the end of the Fourth Test of the Ashes Series, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 2006 (detail), nla.obj-137980452.

Grit & Gold: Tales from a Sporting Nation

Great sporting moments make great stories.

Exhibition

Three friends watch Rugby World Cup 2003 from the Rocks

Ben Rushton, Three friends in the crowd at the Rocks watching the last minutes of the live telecast of the Rugby World Cup final in 2003, nla.obj-148690668

And the crowd goes wild

It’s no secret that Aussies love coming out in droves to support their favourite athletes. Amongst the many thousands of online photographs from the National Library collection are images of noteworthy sporting events and the crowds that showed up to support them.

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