Australia during 1901-1912 was known for the Melbourne Cup, this event was iconic during that time period for many reasons.

the Melbourne Cup “the race that stops a nation” it is called that because of the enormous attention it engenders. When the Melbourne Cup is being held, workplaces all around the country stop operations as staff bundle around radios, large crowds gather in clubs and hotels and the streets are bizarrely quiet as people listen for the magic four minutes of the race. Even though in 1901 Australia had economic problems “the Cup” so instead of an actual prize the winners of the cup got presented with tea and coffee. (TheNewsDaliy) This is a great example of how sport brings all Australians together and how the people involved in the race accepted the little prize because of the economic troubles.

Sport for Australia is a major part of the economic and social parts of society and sport in 1901-1912 was popular to watch at the track or listen to on the radio. 1901 and 1912 was a good time period for cricket (the Ashes series) this sport got Australia well known for many reasons, including them winning the ashes in 5 times in that time period of 1901-1912 (wikipediaAshesSeries). Cricket was a spectator’s sport for the wealthy and for the working class it was listened to on radios all around Australia. And because of the eight-hour day was introduced in 1856, which left people having more time to do different activities such as watching cricket or listening to it on the radio.