People also feature in the panoramas as photographers turned their lenses on huge crowds enjoying sport and leisure activities. Despite the relatively broad geographic spectrum in this collection, cultural and class diversity is limited and some faces and stories are missing.
English tour of Australia 1920–21
The first test match tour following the First World War was surrounded by controversy. Trouble began when English players were quarantined after an outbreak of typhus on their ship. Then rowdy crowds disrupted matches after 2 English players were discovered reporting their matches for British newspapers. England only lost one of 8 first-class matches; however, it was the Australian team's score of 5-0 in the Ashes test series that went down in history.
Australia v New Zealand Rugby Union
A crowd of around 35,000 spectators gathered to watch Australia play the All Blacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In this final test match of the tour, the teams finished with a 5-5 draw. Mysteriously, the handwritten date on the image is incorrect.
Children performing maypole drills
Thousands of students performed numerous displays of physical culture at the annual ‘States Schools Demonstration'. Arnott's donated 100 boxes of biscuits for the competition winners.
Commercial Traveller's Association picnic
Commercial travellers traversed the country selling products for the companies they represented. Their annual picnic was a chance for families to spend time together. The day consisted of sports competitions, dance and the distribution of sweets and gifts to the children.
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This collection of panoramic photographs are found in Series A1861 within records which document applications for artistic copyright.