![International Sports Studies](/images/iss.44-1.jpg) |
The Rise and Fall of Popular Australian Lawn Bowls 1864–2021
Steve Georgakis, Peter Horton
International Sports Studies 44 No. 1 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.30819/iss.44-1.02 pp: 6-19 2021-12-30
|
Stichworte/keywords: Lawn bowls; sports culture; seniors sport; Australian society
Cite: APA BibTeX
Georgakis, S., & Horton, P. (2022). The Rise and Fall of Popular Australian Lawn Bowls 1864–2021. International Sports Studies, 44 (1), 6-19. doi:10.30819/iss.44-1.02
@article{Georgakis_2022,
doi = {10.30819/iss.44-1.02},
url = {https://doi.org/10.30819/iss.44-1.02},
year = 2022,
publisher = {Logos Verlag Berlin},
volume = {44},
number = {1},
pages = {6-19},
author = {Steve Georgakis, Peter Horton},
title = {The Rise and Fall of Popular Australian Lawn Bowls 1864–2021},
journal = {International Sports Studies}
}
Abstract
Lawn bowls is one of the oldest formally established British sports in Australia. This
paper provides an overview of the place of lawn bowls in Australian history and society
from 1864 to 2021 through four eras: British nationalism (1864–1900); middle class
sport (1900–1945); leading seniors sport (1945–1990); and decline (1990–2021). The
four eras cover the span of Australian lawn bowls and are based on historical data from
both primary and secondary sources tracing its rise and decline. The decline in lawn
bowls has been a combination of both internal and external factors. This paper is not a
purely chronological account of lawn bowls, but rather provides a framework to better
understand the place and role of the sport in Australian culture and society. The origins
of lawn bowls in Australia are directly linked to the cultural heritage that stemmed from
British settlement. Lawn bowls provides a vehicle to develop insight and understanding
into several past, current, and future social and cultural issues including seniors sport,
sport participation rates, gender relations, nationalism, class structures, urbanisation,
and the development of contemporary cities.