Australasia

Australasia

Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...

was the name of a combined team from Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 that competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics

1908 Summer Olympics

The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...

in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It was the fourth appearance of Australia, which had not missed any edition of the Summer Olympic Games

Summer Olympic Games

The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...

, and the first appearance of New Zealand. The two would compete together again as Australasia at the 1912 Summer Olympics

Australasia at the 1912 Summer Olympics

Australasia was the name of a combined team at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, consisting of 26 athletes from Australia and New Zealand...

 before competing separately at every edition of the Summer Games since. In 1908 there were 3 New Zealanders, Harry Kerr, Henry St Aubyn Murray and Arthur Rowland (a fourth New Zealander, hurdler Arthur Halligan, competed for Great Britain), all other competitors were Australian.

Silver

• Reginald Baker
  Reginald Baker
  Reginald Leslie "Snowy" Baker was an Australian athlete, sports promoter and film actor, who was born in Surry Hills, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales...
  
  , Boxing
  Boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics
  At the 1908 Summer Olympics, five boxing events were contested. All of the boxing was conducted on October 27. The event was held in the Northampton Institute in Clerkenwell, East London....
  
  , Middleweight
• Frank Beaurepaire
  Frank Beaurepaire
  Sir Francis "Frank" Joseph Edmund Beaurepaire was an Australian distance freestyle swimmer from the 1900s to the 1920s, who won three silver and three bronze medals, from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London to the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, setting 15 world records.He was also a decorated...
  
  , Swimming
  Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics
  At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, six swimming events were contested. These were the first Olympic Games in which a 100 metre pool had been especially constructed . Previous Olympic events were swum in open water...
  
  , Men's 400m freestyle

Bronze

• Harry Kerr
  Harry Kerr
  Harry Kerr was a New Zealand athlete who competed mainly in the 3500 metre walk....
  
  , Athletics
  Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics
  At the 1908 Summer Olympics held in London, England, 26 athletics events were contested, all for men only.Each nation was allowed to enter up to 12 competitors in most of the events. In the team races , each nation entered one team. The medley relay was run by four athletes, with four alternates...
  
  , Men's 3500m walk
• Frank Beaurepaire
  Frank Beaurepaire
  Sir Francis "Frank" Joseph Edmund Beaurepaire was an Australian distance freestyle swimmer from the 1900s to the 1920s, who won three silver and three bronze medals, from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London to the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, setting 15 world records.He was also a decorated...
  
  , Swimming
  Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics
  At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, six swimming events were contested. These were the first Olympic Games in which a 100 metre pool had been especially constructed . Previous Olympic events were swum in open water...
  
  , Men's 1500m freestyle

Athletics

Australasia's best athletics result, and only medal, was Harry Kerr

Harry Kerr

Harry Kerr was a New Zealand athlete who competed mainly in the 3500 metre walk....

's bronze medal in the 3500 metre walk.

Event	Place	Athlete	Heats	Semifinals	Final
Men's 800 metres Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 800 metres The men's 800 metres made its fourth Olympic appearance at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 20, 1908 and on July 21, 1908. The races were held on a track of 536.45 metres= mile in circumference...	Semi- finalist	Harvey Sutton Harvey Sutton Harvey Vincent Sutton was an Australian athlete and public health physician. He competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London on the Australasia team, a combined squad of competitors from Australia and New Zealand.In the 800 metres, Sutton placed third in his initial semifinal heat and did not...	None held	Unknown 4th, semifinal 8	Did not advance
		Joseph Lynch		Unknown 5th, semifinal 4
Men's 1500 metres Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 1500 metres The men's 1500 metres was an Olympic event for the fourth times at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 13, 1908 and on July 14, 1908. The races were held on a track of 536.45 metres= mile in circumference...	Semi- finalist	Joseph Lynch	Unknown 5th, semifinal 2	Did not advance
	—	Charles Swain Charles Swain Charles Edward Swain was an Australian athlete. He competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London on the Australasia team, a combined squad of competitors from Australia and New Zealand....	Did not finish —, semifinal 3
Men's 110 metre hurdles Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 110 metre hurdles The men's 110 metres hurdles was the shorter of two hurdling events at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. It was dominated by the American runners. The competition was held from Thursday, July 23, 1908 to Saturday, July 25, 1908....	Heats	Henry St. A. Murray Henry St. A. Murray Henry St Aubyn Murray was a New Zealand athlete, who competed for Australasia in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England....	Unknown 2nd, heat 1	Did not advance
Men's 400 metre hurdles Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 400 metre hurdles The men's 400 metres hurdles was the longer of two hurdling events at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. It was the third time the event had been featured at the Olympics. The Olympic record was beat three times in the course of the Games....	Heats	Henry St. A. Murray	Unknown 2nd, heat 3	Did not advance
Men's 5 miles Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 5 miles The men's 5 miles race was held at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. It was discontinued after that in favour of the metric races of 5,000 and 10,000 metres. The competition was held on July 15, 1908 and July 18, 1908...	Semi- finalist	George Blake George Blake (athlete) George Bernard Blake was an Australian sportsman who competed in the 1906 Intercalated Games and 1908 Summer Olympics as a long distance runner. He also played Australian rules football with St Kilda and Carlton in the Victorian Football League .Blake, the son of Irish immigrants, had 10 siblings...	None held	Unknown 3rd, semifinal 1	Did not advance
	—	Joseph Lynch		Did not finish —, semifinal 5
Men's marathon Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's marathon The men's marathon race was held at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The race was held on July 24, 1908.The distance was the now-standard length of 26 miles, 385 yards . 75 competitors entered. 55 runners from 16 nations began the race, with 27 athletes finishing.The most famous incident of...	—	Victor Aitken	None held		Did not finish
		George Blake			Did not finish
		Joseph Lynch			Did not finish
Men's 3500 metre walk Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 3500 metre walk The men's 3500 metre walk race was held for the only time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held on Tuesday, July 14, 1908.It was held in two rounds...	3rd	Harry Kerr Harry Kerr Harry Kerr was a New Zealand athlete who competed mainly in the 3500 metre walk....	None held	16:02.2 2nd, semifinal 1	15:43.4
	5th	Arthur Rowland		16:08.6 3rd, semifinal 3	16:07.0
Men's 10 mile walk Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 10 mile walk The men's 10 miles walk race was held at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. This event was held for the only time. The competition was held on Thursday, July 16, 1908 and on Friday, July 17, 1908.The competition was held in two rounds...	8th	Harry Kerr	None held	1:18:40.2 3rd, semifinal 2	Did not start
	11th	Arthur Rowland		1:21:57.6 5th, semifinal 1	Did not advance

Event	Place	Athlete	Height
Men's standing high jump Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's standing high jump The men's standing high jump was one of six jumping events on the athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme in London. The competition was held on July 23, 1908.23 high jumpers from eleven nations competed.-Records:...	19-23	Ernest Hutcheon Ernest Hutcheon Ernest Henry Hutcheon was an Australian sportsman who played first-class cricket with Queensland and represented Australasia in standing high jump at the 1908 Summer Olympics....	Unknown

Boxing

Australasia had one boxer in 1908, the middleweight Reginald Baker

Reginald Baker

Reginald Leslie "Snowy" Baker was an Australian athlete, sports promoter and film actor, who was born in Surry Hills, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales...

. He took the silver medal, and was the only non-British boxer to win a bout.

Weight class	Place	Boxer	Round of 16	Quarter- finals	Semi- finals	Final
Middleweight Boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Middleweight -Competition:Round of 16The first round was characterized by knockouts, as all three Frenchmen as well as Dees were out before the start of the third round. Aspa managed to make it through two rounds before withdrawing due to a thumb injury. Doudelle went down the quickest, in the first round,...   Up to 158 pounds	2nd	Reginald Baker Reginald Baker Reginald Leslie "Snowy" Baker was an Australian athlete, sports promoter and film actor, who was born in Surry Hills, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales...	Defeated Dees  KO, 2nd round	Defeated Childs  2-0 decision	Defeated Philo William Philo William Philo was a British Middleweight professional boxer who competed in the early twentieth century. He won a bronze medal in Boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics losing against Reginald Baker in the semi-finals...   KO, 1st round	Lost to Douglas Johnny Douglas John "Johnny" William Henry Tyler Douglas was a cricketer who was captain of the England team and an Olympic boxer.-Early life:...   2-1 decision

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
Great Britain	3	1	.750
Total	3	1	.750

Diving

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

Event	Place	Diver	Preliminary groups	Semi- finals	Final
Men's 3 metre springboard Diving at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 3 metre springboard The men's 3 metre springboard, also known as the fancy diving competition, was one of two diving events on the Diving at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme, along with the men's 10 metre platform....	22nd	Reginald Baker Reginald Baker Reginald Leslie "Snowy" Baker was an Australian athlete, sports promoter and film actor, who was born in Surry Hills, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales...	61.30 points 6th, group 4	Did not advance

Rugby

Australasia won the only rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

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

Event	Place	Players	Final
Men's rugby union	1st	Phil Carmichael Phil Carmichael Philip Patrick "Phil" Carmichael was a rugby union player who represented Australia. He won a gold medal in rugby at the 1908 Summer Olympics.... , Charles Russell, Daniel Carroll, John Hickey, Francis Bede-Smith Frank Smith (rugby player) Francis Bede "Frank" Smith was an Australian rugby union player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Smith, a centre, was born in Wellington, New South Wales and claimed a total of 4 international rugby caps for Australia... , Christopher McKivatt, Arthur McCabe Arthur McCabe Arthur John Michael McCabe was a pioneer Australian rugby union and rugby league player. He represented for Australian in rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics.-Rugby union career:... , Thomas Griffen Thomas Griffen Thomas Sydney Griffen was an Australian rugby union player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Griffin, a hooker, was born in Sydney, New South Wales and claimed a total of 6 international rugby caps for Australia.... , John "Jumbo" Barnett John Barnett (rugby) John Thomas "Jumbo" Barnett was a pioneer Australian rugby union and rugby league player and won an Olympic gold medal winning in rugby at the 1908 Summer Olympics... , Patrick McCue Patrick McCue Patrick Aloysius "Paddy" McCue was an Australian representative rugby union player and pioneer rugby league player... , Sydney Middleton Sydney Middleton Sydney Albert 'Syd' Middleton DSO, OBE was an Australian Army officer and national representative rugby union player and rower. He won a gold medal in rugby at the 1908 Summer Olympics and competed in rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He had a distinguished career in World War I being awarded... , Tom Richards, Malcolm McArthur Malcolm McArthur Malcolm J. "Mannie" McArthur was an Australian rugby union national representative rugby union player. He won a gold medal in rugby at the 1908 Summer Olympics.-Rugby career:... , Charles McMurtrie Charles McMurtrie Charles H. McMurtrie was a pioneer Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer who represented his country at both sports... , Robert Craig	Won vs. Great Britain  32-3

Shooting

Event	Place	Shooter	Score
Men's stationary target small-bore rifle Shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's stationary target small-bore rifle The men's stationary target small-bore rifle, also referred to as the miniature rifle competition, was one of 15 events on the Shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Regulation of the equipment used in the event was done through proscribing ammunition weighing more than 140 grains, with...	16th	William Hill	354
Men's moving target small-bore rifle Shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's moving target small-bore rifle The men's moving target small-bore rifle was one of 15 events on the Shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Regulation of the equipment used in the event was done through allowing the use of .22 or .297/.230 caliber ammunition. The target used was a three-quarter length silhouette,...	—	William Hill	Did not finish
Men's disappearing target small-bore rifle Shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's disappearing target small-bore rifle The men's disappearing target small-bore rifle was one of 15 events on the Shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Regulation of the equipment used in the event was done through allowing the use of .22 or .297/.230 caliber ammunition. The target used was a three-quarter length silhouette,...	18th	William Hill	36

Swimming

Event	Place	Swimmer	Heats	Semifinals	Final
Men's 100 metre freestyle Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 metre freestyle The men's 100 metre freestyle was one of six swimming events on the swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. It was the shortest of the three individual freestyle events, as the 50 yard freestyle had been dropped after its one appearance on the 1904 Summer Olympics programme...	Semi- finalist	Frank Beaurepaire Frank Beaurepaire Sir Francis "Frank" Joseph Edmund Beaurepaire was an Australian distance freestyle swimmer from the 1900s to the 1920s, who won three silver and three bronze medals, from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London to the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, setting 15 world records.He was also a decorated...	1:11.6 1st, heat 3	Unknown 4th, semifinal 1	Did not advance
	Heats	Theodore Tartakover	Unknown 2nd, heat 1	Did not advance
		Edward Cooke	Unknown 3-4, heat 6
Men's 400 metre freestyle Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 400 metre freestyle The men's 400 metre freestyle was one of six swimming events on the swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Its distance was the median of the 3 individual freestyle event distances. It was the first time an event over 400 metres was held at the Olympics...	2nd	Frank Beaurepaire	5:49.2 1st, heat 4	5:44.0 1st, semifinal 1	5:44.2
	Semi- finalist	Theodore Tartakover	6:35.0 1st, heat 3	Did not start —, semifinal 1	Did not advance
	Heats	Frederick Springfield	5:57.4 2nd, heat 6	Did not advance
Men's 1500 metre freestyle Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 1500 metre freestyle The men's 1500 metre freestyle was one of 6 swimming events on the swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Its distance was the longest of the 3 individual freestyle event distances...	3rd	Frank Beaurepaire	23:45.8 1st, heat 2	23:25.4 2nd, semifinal 1	22:56.2
	Heats	Frederick Springfield	24:52.4 2nd, heat 4	Did not advance
Men's 200 metre breaststroke Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 200 metre breaststroke The men's 200 metre breaststroke was one of 6 swimming events on the Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. It was the only breaststroke event on the schedule...	—	Edward Cooke	Did not finish —, heat 5	Did not advance
Men's 4x200 metre freestyle relay Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 4x200 metre freestyle relay The men's 4x200 metre freestyle relay, or 800 metre team race, was one of 6 swimming events on the Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme...	4th	Frank Beaurepaire Frederick Springfield Reginald Baker Reginald Baker Reginald Leslie "Snowy" Baker was an Australian athlete, sports promoter and film actor, who was born in Surry Hills, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales...   Theodore Tartakover	None held	11:35.0 1st, semifinal 1	Unknown

Tennis

Les Poidevin

Les Poidevin

Leslie Oswald Sheridan Poidevin was an Australian first class cricketer who played for New South Wales and Lancashire....

 and Tony Wilding

Tony Wilding

Anthony "Tony" Frederick Wilding was a champion tennis player from Christchurch, New Zealand and a soldier killed in action during World War I near Neuve-Chapelle, Pas-de-Calais, France....

(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".

External links

• Cover of 1908 programme