Barry Larkin (Olympics)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 1956 Olympic flame hoax was a
hoax A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...
during the
1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...
, in which Barry Larkin, a
veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...
student from
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, ran with a homemade torch and fooled spectators, including a police escort and the
Lord Mayor of Sydney The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has be ...
, into thinking he was the torchbearer of the
Olympic flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...
.


Background

In the 1956 Summer Olympics, the Olympic torch was scheduled to enter
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, carried by Harry Dillon. Dillon would present the torch to the Lord Mayor of Sydney,
Pat Hills Patrick Darcy Hills (31 December 1917 – 22 April 1992) was a New South Wales politician. He served in various high offices across the state most notably the Deputy Premier of New South Wales, Leader of the Opposition and as the Lord Mayor ...
, at
Sydney Town Hall The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, housing the chambers of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, council offices, and venues for meetings and ...
. Hills would then make a speech and pass the torch to Bert Button. Larkin and eight other students at
St John's College, University of Sydney St John's College, or the College of St John the Evangelist, is a residential college within the University of Sydney. Established in 1857, the college is the oldest Roman Catholic, and second-oldest overall, university college in Australia. ...
planned to protest against the Olympic flame torch relay. One reason for the protest was that the torch relay was invented by the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
s for the
1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.


Hoax


Preparation

The students were aided in planning the hoax because Larkin was acquainted with Marc Marsden, the organiser of the real relay. Their plan was for one student, dressed in white shorts and a white top, to carry a fake torch. The fake torch was made of a wooden chair leg painted silver, on top of which was a
plum pudding Christmas pudding is sweet dried-fruit pudding traditionally served as part of Christmas dinner in Britain and other countries to which the tradition has been exported. It has its origins in medieval England, with early recipes making use of ...
can. A pair of underpants, worn by one of the students in
National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...
, was put inside the can, soaked in
kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...
. The underpants were set on fire. Another student dressed as a motorcycle outrider by wearing a reserve airforce uniform.


Execution

Before Dillon arrived, the two students went out carrying the fake torch. At the beginning, people noticed they were joking and spectating police laughed at them. Then the underpants fell out of the torch because the fake runner was swinging his arms too hard. The runner panicked and fled. Peter Gralton, one of the nine students, went to get the pants and told Larkin to pick up the torch. With Larkin holding the torch, Gralton kicked Larkin's backside and told him to run. Larkin did so, running the rest of the way to Sydney Town Hall. He ran the rest of the route, protected by police who thought he was Dillon. Larkin then presented the torch to Hills. As Hills was unprepared for the early arrival, he was taken by surprise and did not look at the torch, going straight to his speech. While Hills was talking, Larkin walked quietly away, avoiding attention. Hills did not realise the torch was a fake until someone whispered in his ear to tell him. Hills looked around for Larkin, but by now Larkin had merged into the crowd and escaped. When the crowd discovered the torch was fake, they grew unruly. When Dillon arrived with the real torch, the crowd was still unsettled. Hills had to calm down the crowd and the police had to clear a path to allow Dillon to get through. When Button took the torch, an army truck had to clear his path.


Aftermath

When Larkin returned to university, he was congratulated by the director of the college and was given a standing ovation by fellow students when he attended an exam later that morning. Larkin went on to become a successful veterinary surgeon. The fake torch was taken to the reception of the main hall and then ended up in the possession of John Lawler, who had been travelling with the relay in a car. He kept it until it was discarded when tidying his house.


Related events

During the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
in Sydney, the media reported the story of Larkin's hoax. As a result, police took measures to prevent any repetition of the hoax, including having security guards line the route. There were two attempts to disrupt the relay; two people attempted to steal the torch, and one man tried to put out the torch using a
fire extinguisher A fire extinguisher is a handheld active fire protection device usually filled with a dry or wet chemical used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergencies. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which ha ...
, but none succeeded.


References

{{Reflist 1956 Summer Olympics Hoaxes in Australia 1950s hoaxes