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The Kiandra Snow Shoe Club was founded in the gold-mining district of
Kiandra, New South Wales Kiandra is an abandoned gold mining town and the birthplace of Australian skiing. The town is situated in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council inside the Kosciuszko National Park. Its name i ...
(NSW),
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
by three Norwegians—as early as 1861 by some accounts— and reportedly became the "world's longest continuously running ski club" as it evolved into the present-day Kiandra Pioneer Ski Club in Perisher Valley, NSW. Whether the club is the first of its kind has been subject to debate.The debate hinges on whether the club was founded in 1861 or later. According to Clarke, Cross made a number of claims suggesting insufficient snow in the time period. Clarke counters with news accounts of snow and skiing activity during 1861. Clarke reports that as of 1929, there was no proof that the club had been formed before 1870, which was deemed to be a supportable approximate date, based on the living memories of those who remembered its formation. Clarke instead relies on a 2006 letter from the
Holmenkollen Ski Museum Holmenkollen Ski Museum ( no, Skimuseet i Holmenkollen) is located at the base of the Holmenkollen ski jump in Oslo, Norway. The Ski Museum was founded in 1923 and is the world's oldest ski museum. The initiator of the museum was the architect ...
and a 2011 letter from the FIS president on the occasion of the Kiandra Pioneer Ski Club's 150th anniversary as validation for the claim of an 1861 founding of the club. As of 2016, there are no contemporary news accounts of the founding of the club available through the
National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
on-line search utility. The 1861 founding was accepted in a 1935 ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' account and in a 2011 book by Tredinnick.
In this case, "snow shoe" is an archaic term for "ski".


History

As reported by Vaage, Norwegian gold miners introduced skiing in California in the 1850s. A few years later, some moved on to Australia when the news about gold at Kiandra reached California. These Norwegians introduced skiing to Kiandra as a form of recreation, as had occurred in California. ''The Manaro Mercury'' of July 29, 1861 reported that young people climbed the hills of Kiambra with
kis Kis or KIS may refer to: Places * Kiş, Khojavend, Azerbaijan * Kiş, Shaki, Azerbaijan * Kish (Sumer) (Sumerian: Kiš), an ancient city in Sumer * Kis, Babol Kenar, a village in Mazandaran Province, Iran * Kis, Bandpey-ye Gharbi, a village in ...
and came back down at high speed. Andresen reports that, from the gold rush in 1860-1861 onwards, there were annual "ski carnivals" at Kiandra. According to Clarke, the
International Ski Federation The ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...
(FIS) recognized the club "for having organized the first Alpine icski races in the history of hesport" in a 2011 letter.


Club founding

Vaage suggests that the Kiandra Snow Shoe Club was established around 1870, but reports that the date and circumstances are indefinite. According to ''Skiing Magazine'', the first downhill races occurred in 1861 and the club was founded in 1870. Between the years 1861 and 1863, the Australian club members constructed and used a short, broad ski, which was designed specifically for skiing downhill and called the "Kiandra kick-in" (referring to kicking one's boot into the binding strap). According to Andresen, Jens Olsen from Tjølling, Norway, gave up gold digging and instead set up a ski manufacturing workshop, the first such factory in Australia. Andresen suggests that Jens Olsen was one of the founders of the Kiandra Snow Shoe Club. There were championships held for
cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
and
ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...
, starting in 1878.


Competitions

A variety of ethnic backgrounds were represented in the ski competitions at Kiandra. ''The Manaro Mercury'' of August 10, 1887 mentions a little girl and a lady of Chinese descent, both winning races in their category. Chinese names appear again among the winners in 1894. Vaage reports that skiers at Kiandra used wax made from oil, rubber or fat to increase downhill speed—methods that may have been introduced from California. Skis used at Kiandra were not suited for turning, so downhill races were in a straight line only. In 1908 the club reportedly held an "International Ski Carnival"—including an "International Downhill Race", which was won by an American, competing on skis made in Kiandra; other events included races for youths in categories of under eight, ten, eleven and fourteen years of age. "Open Championships" were also conducted; the events concluded with a "New Chum" event and toboggan race. Competitions continued at least until 1911, despite a decline in gold mining.


Kiandra Pioneer Ski Club

In 1929, the club reorganized as the Kiandra Pioneer Ski Club. At its 1935 annual competition, "orthodox" and "straight" down-hill competitions were held. Covering the event, the ''
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...
'' reported that, "The Kiandra Club, which was formerly called the Kiandra Snow Shoe Club, is now 65 years old, and is probably the oldest ski club in the world." This claim was echoed by Tredinnick in 2011. As of 2016, the club operated as the "Kiandra Pioneer Ski Club (1861) Limited" and was located in
Perisher Valley, New South Wales Perisher Valley, commonly called Perisher, is a valley formed below Mount Perisher, a mountain that is located in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. Located in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council, the valley is the site of on ...
, its new home as of 1966.


Gallery

Charles Kerry Charles Henry Kerry (3 April 1857 – 26 May 1928) was an Australian photographer noted for his photographs that contributed to the development of the Australian national psyche and romance of the bush. Early life and career Kerry was born o ...
, ca. 1900."> Start for the championship, snowshoe races, Kiandra.jpg, Ready for the men's championship races. The start of girls' snowshoe race, Kiandra.jpg, Ready for the girls' championship races. Ladies' Toboggan Race.jpg, Ladies' toboggan race.


Notes


See also

*
History of skiing Skiing, or traveling over snow on skis, has a history of at least eight millennia. The earliest archaeological examples of skis were found in Russia and date to 6000 BCE. Although modern skiing has evolved from beginnings in Scandinavia, 5000-ye ...
*
Skiing in Australia Skiing in Australia takes place in the Australian Alps in the States and territories of Australia, states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory as well as in the mountains of the island state ...
*
Skiing in New South Wales Skiing in New South Wales takes place in the high country of the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales during the Southern Hemisphere winter. Skiing in Australia began at the goldrush town of Kiandra, New South Wales around 1861. New South Wales ...


References


Further reading

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External links


Website of the Kiandra Pioneer Ski Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiandra Snow Shoe Club Ski areas and resorts in Australia Ski clubs Winter sports in Australia 1861 establishments in Australia Sporting clubs in New South Wales