Kangaroos and Dragons: The 1923 Chinese football tour of Australia

Abstract

The 1923 tour of Australia by a Chinese soccer team generated considerable public attention. It was, and was intended to be, a series of events that places these athletes in contrast to prevailing stereotypes of the Chinese in Australia. Much more than a spectacle or curiosity, however, the tour provided an opportunity for a range of interests to advance their claims and to find, in relation to each other, new points of synthesis on the issues of race, class, immigration, trade and the place of the Australian nation in a post World War One context. This thesis offers an account of the tour and an analysis of the aspirations invested in it by its promoters, the press, businessmen, politicians, Chinese communities and spectators. The tour's impact is hard to assess, but its significance in reflecting this synthesis and these aspirations is considerable. Show more