History behind Australia’s sporting colours uncovered by the National
Sports Museum
Australians
have been wearing the green and gold for their country for more than a century,
but those colours have not always been the first choice for Australian sporting
teams.
From
Saturday July 27 until Sunday April 20, 2014, the National Sports Museum will
showcase a rare and valuable collection of artefacts illustrating the evolution
of green and gold as Australia’s national sporting colours.
More
than Green and Gold: Australia’s Sporting Colours captures the historical journey of
‘green and gold’, from 19th century experiments with the national colour palette
through to the contemporary use of the colours to define the broader Australian
identity.
“As
our cricketers pull on their baggy greens to represent Australia in the Ashes
this year, it’s fitting that we look back to their counterparts of 1899, who
were the first to wear the green and gold for Australia,” said National Sports Museum
Curator, Helen Walpole.
“The
exhibition’s opening coincides with the Ashes taking place in England and the
exhibition’s run will continue as the second of 2013’s two Ashes series comes
to the MCG later this year.
“There
have been some fascinating colour choices over the years. The exhibition
includes what we think is the oldest piece of Australian team uniform still in
existence – a pink and black striped sash from the Australian cricketers of
1880.
“Anyone
who thinks the combination of green and gold is unfashionable should definitely
take a look at this piece of sartorial sporting history.”
Of
course, 2013 marks 30 years since the green and gold boxing kangaroo received
national and international prominence when it served as the symbol for the
successful Australian challenge for the America’s Cup in 1983.
The
exhibition will mark this anniversary by featuring one of the original boxing
kangaroo banners (from the Western Australian Museum), as well as the infamous
boxing kangaroo dress worn by Barry Humphries’ character, Dame Edna Everage
(from the Arts Centre, Melbourne).
John
Bertrand, the yachtsman who skippered Australia II to victory in the 1983
America’s Cup, ending 132 years of American supremacy, was instrumental in the
transition of the green and gold from the sporting field into the broader
social domain.
“The
green and gold boxing kangaroo was our America's Cup 'battle flag’,” said
Bertrand, who is now Chairman of The Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
“Its red gloves were a symbol for aggression, its
pumped up chest embodied the pride of our nation and, of course, the green and
gold represented our national sporting colours.”
As
well as featuring unique Australian sporting uniforms from the past 130 years,
the exhibition also demonstrates how the green and gold colours have extended
beyond sport to become truly ‘national’ – used in political logos, patriotic
campaigns, commercial products, artworks and costumes.
John
Howard’s green and gold tracksuit, the 1999 ‘yes’ republic campaign, the
‘Australian Made’ symbol and the uniform of the Numbats (Australia’s inaugural
Sudoku team) are just some of the examples included in the exhibition to
reflect the broader use of the colours.
The
National Sports Museum is located at Gate 3, MCG, Yarra Park, Jolimont and is
open daily from 10am (check www.nsm.org.au
for details). Access to view More than Green and Gold: Australia’s Sporting
Colours is included in standard museum entry.
My personal experience of the Australia's Sporting Colours will be coming in the next two weeks once I have paid a visit :-)
