Croquet has historically been a sport in Australia where men and women were able to compete on a level playing field. While not being urged to avoid competition, women had few opportunities to compete in sport in Australia until the 1880s. After that date, new sporting facilities were being built around the country and many new sport clubs were created. The sport of croquet was being played by Australian women as early as 1881 in Queensland. The sport was viewed as acceptable because it was not seen as an overly competitive one. Tournaments were held for female enthusiasts of the sport. These tournaments were events at which to socialise, where refreshments and cakes were sold. One of the reason women were encouraged to play croquet,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

during the late 19th century was because it was scene as beneficial to their health. These sports were also seen as passive, non-aggressive and non-threatening to the period's concepts of masculinity and femininity. Croquet became part of the women's physical education curriculum during the 1880s. The largest area to adopt this sport in the curriculum was in Victoria at schools like MLC Kew, which borrowed heavily from a British sporting tradition. At some schools, there were purpose built croquet courts. In Australia and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

's early colonial history,

and croquet were acceptable sports for society women to participate in. During that period, women wore big hats and dresses that covered their arms and legs. The sport became a popular one for women around 1890. There were organised competitions for women at All Hallows Convent in Queensland during the 1920s. By the 1910s, there were many women playing that sport manufacturers began to see the power of creating advertising targeting them. Ads for

women's golf Women's golf has a set of major championships which parallels that in men's golf, with the women's system newer and less stable than the men's. As of 2013, five tournaments are designated as majors in women's golf by the LPGA Tour. LPGA majors ...

and croquet appeared in such publications as the ''Bulletin'' and the ''Brisbane Girls' Grammar Magazine.'' In 1940, a study of 314 women in New Zealand and Australia was done. Most of the women in the study were middle class, conservative, Protestant and white. The study found that 183 participated in sport. The sixth most popular sport that these women participated in was croquet, with 9 having played the sport. Australian women's sports had an advantage over many other women's sport organisations around the world in the period after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Women's sport organisations had largely remained intact and were holding competitions during the war period. This structure survived in the post war period. Women's sport were not hurt because of food rationing, petrol rationing, population disbursement, and other issues facing post-war Europe. This gave Australian women a competitive advantage during the post war era.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Women's Croquet In Australia Croquet Croquet in Australia

See also

References

Bibliography