Rob Hess

Australia’s Game—the History of Australian Football covers the history of Australian Rules football in fantastic detail.Unlike every other sport that has captured the nation’s interest, Australian football is not a copy, a clone, or a hand-me-down of European culture. Rather, it is a game with special qualities, which arose from a distinctive series of events in the fledgling colony of Victoria, grew rapidly, and is now the most dominant sport in the country: a social, commercial, cultural and—for many—spiritual force.Australia’s Game—the History of Australian Football describes, in forensic detail, the characters that led the way, how crises were faced and overcome, the great players and coaches who have influenced the ways the game has been played, the supporters who have stayed true to their club and have passed on their passion through generations, and most recently how the game has added another dimension with a flourishing national competition for women.

The book explores the intersection between the Great War and patriotism through an examination of the effects of both on Australia’s most popular football code. The work is chronological, and therefore provides an easy path by which events may be followed. Ultimately it seeks to shine a light on and provide considerable detail to a much-ignored period in Australian Rules football history, including women’s football history, that was subject to much upheaval and which reflected considerable social and class divisions in society at the time. One hundred years on, the Australian Football League presents past soldier footballers as unequivocal representatives of a unifying national ‘Anzac’ spirit. That is far from the reality of football’s First World War experience.

The book explores the intersection between the Great War and patriotism through an examination of the effects of both on Australia’s most popular football code. The work is chronological, and therefore provides an easy path by which events may be followed. Ultimately it seeks to shine a light on and provide considerable detail to a much-ignored period in Australian Rules football history, including women’s football history, that was subject to much upheaval and which reflected considerable social and class divisions in society at the time. One hundred years on, the Australian Football League presents past soldier footballers as unequivocal representatives of a unifying national ‘Anzac’ spirit. That is far from the reality of football’s First World War experience.