Niveles de ruido

The commitment of private and state schools in teaching swimming in the last decade of the nineteenth century was highly beneficial in furthering the development of the sport. Private schools such as St James Grammar and Geelong Church of England Grammar were holding swimming carnivals as early as 1893, and these events were reported on in the media as annual occurrences, suggesting they had been undertaken for some time.620 However, the development of swimming in the Melbourne state schools was most integral to the development of competitive swimming in Melbourne. There had been numerous attempts to institute swimming lessons into Melbourne state schools prior to their 1898 introduction, primarily by bath owners and swimming teachers looking to obtain profit from the venture. In 1881, 49 head teachers of state schools signed a letter backing a physical educator’s proposal that an

617

Imke Fischer, ‘The Involvement of the Commonwealth Government in Physical Education’, in Richard Cashman, John O’Hara and Andrew Honey (eds), Sport, Federation, Nation, Walla Walla Press, Sydney, 2001, p. 17.

618

Brown, ‘The Legacy of British Victorian Social Thought’, p. 31.

619

‘Unda’, ‘Swimming’, Australasian, 22 January 1898, p. 192.

620

See ‘Swimming’, Age, 7 December 1893, p. 4, for a summary of the 1893 St James Grammar School carnival.

indoor swimming and gymnastics school be constructed in the city, stating that ‘it is desirable that our national system of Education should be supplemented by systematic instruction in Gymnastics and Swimming’. However, the plan was rejected due to economic arguments over the proposed venture.621

Attempts to provide swimming education for children later in the nineteenth century also proved unsuccessful, and this was primarily due to the financial implications of such an initiative. One of the early Ministers of the Education Department had instructed their architect to create a plan for large swimming baths that could be instituted in large schools, but these baths were never constructed.622 In 1890, a sporting goods distributor, H. H. Simpson, wrote numerous letters to the Education Department suggesting the erection of a specialised learn-to-swim bath in the city centre, with teaching provided, for the sum of £20 per school per annum. The Department considered the price too high, but suggested an interview with Simpson to discuss the matter.623 However, in the meantime, the Department were alerted to another offer. Stubbs’ baths at South Melbourne offered to provide tuition to school students at 1d per head, providing a teacher accompanied them. The Department promptly replied once more to Simpson, stating that the Minister did not ‘feel inclined to go to any greater expense than this’.624 The Department also attempted to organise reduced rail fares for students travelling to Stubbs’ Baths, but this venture was unsuccessful.625

Over the last quarter of the nineteenth century a number of boards of advice and head teachers initiated sporadic classes for teaching swimming, but nothing systematic was put in place.626 The first serious attempt came in March 1893, when the Male Assistant Teachers Association sent a deputation to visit the Minister of Public Education, regarding the matter of teaching swimming in state schools. Their requests were that the railway commissioners be approached to offer concessions for children

621

Crawford, ‘Thwarted Visions’, p. 173.

622

Sweetman, Long and Smyth, A History of State Education in Victoria, pp. 138-139.

623

Public Records Office of Victoria, Education Department, VPRS892, Special Case Files 1862-1977, P0000/79, 1062, 90/11951, ‘Swimming’, 19 March 1890.

624

Public Records Office of Victoria, Education Department, VPRS892, Special Case Files 1862-1977, P0000/79, 1062, 90/19593, ‘Swimming’, 13 April 1893.

625

Public Records Office of Victoria, Education Department, VPRS892, Special Case Files 1862-1977, P0000/79, 1062, 90/22688, ‘Swimming, Railways’, 19 May 1890.

626

to travel to the baths at a reduced rate, and that one hour of lessons per week be allotted to the teaching of swimming. Members of the deputation reported that Stubbs, the proprietor of the South Melbourne baths, had continued to admit children for 1d per head, with an assurance of their general supervision and safety. Additionally, they noted that the teaching of swimming was already occurring in some bayside schools outside school hours, and had been successful. It was their belief that by including the lessons in school hours, it was predicted that more children would attend.627

While the Minister supported the initiative, deeming it an ‘an excellent thing’ and stating he ‘would be delighted to see this class a very great success’, he was still not in favour of cutting an hour from student lessons each week to provide the teaching. His reasoning was that in the summer months ‘it was no very great hardship’ to visit the baths outside of school hours (4.00 - 6.30 pm), even though the teachers would have to accompany them, and that the hours of schooling in Victoria were already short in comparison to other countries. However, he promised to consider the matter, and supported the establishment of cheap rail fares for the students, stating that a letter would be written to the railway commissioners to secure these.628 In April 1893, the Minister replied officially to the deputation, stating that:

There can be no difference of opinion as to the extreme desirability of encouraging the teaching of swimming to our young people. Scarcely any outdoor exercise exacts a more salutary influence, moral and physical on the individual while to the community it is of inestimable value as an important aspect in the saving of life. At the same time I see no necessity, while giving every due encouragement to the formation of classes for teaching swimming, for encroaching upon the time at present given to the Programme subjects. There is ample time during the summer months from 4-6pm and in the cases of some schools from 3.30-6 to give adequate attention to the subject.629 He again stated that he would support and organise reduced bathing and transit fares, and an assistant from each school was to take charge of the boys whilst bathing.630 However, a letter received by the Education Department in May 1893 stated that the

627

Public Records Office of Victoria, Education Department, VPRS892, Special Case Files 1862-1977, P0000/79, 1062, 93/9492, ‘Dep. Male Assistant Teachers Association re Swimming’, 1 March 1893.

628

Public Records Office of Victoria, Education Department, VPRS892, Special Case Files 1862-1977, P0000/79, 1062, 93/9492, ‘Dep. Male Assistant Teachers Association re Swimming’, 1 March 1893.

629

Public Records Office of Victoria, Education Department, VPRS892, Special Case Files 1862-1977, P0000/79, 1062, 93/9492, no title, 13 April 1893.

630

Public Records Office of Victoria, Education Department, VPRS892, Special Case Files 1862-1977, P0000/79, 1062, 93/9492, no title, 13 April 1893.

railway commissioners could not offer any reduction in fares, and subsequently this motion was quashed.631

In the meantime, Melbourne schools continued to incorporate swimming into their curriculum as best they could without this official approval, which was instrumental in proving the worth of the program in later years. During the season of 1880/81, the headmaster of the Albert Park School initiated a swimming program for the boys of his school, where older boys taught the younger ones.632 The Sandridge School held swimming championships as early as 1881,633 and the Middle Park State School taught swimming to their students from 1892. A letter from the head teacher to the Education Department in 1894 reported on the continued success of the program and the processes involved. Two boys’ classes and one girls’ class per week were instituted, with the classes being held at the conclusion of the school day. Students were taught by volunteer teachers at the school, and were instructed in swimming, diving, rescue and resuscitation, with an examination held at the conclusion of the season. It was also stated that four boys who had taken part in the program had been able to save a life as a result of these lessons, and the head teacher asked that this fact be brought to the attention of the Department.634 Undoubtedly, this was an attempt to draw attention to the viability of including swimming lessons in the curriculum, which would not occur for a number of years.

Prior to the official organisation of swimming in the state schools, however, youth swimmers were also being catered for at swimming club carnivals sanctioned by VASA. Assorted races for boys were placed on the majority of carnival programs, and these events were usually classified by age. Specialty youth events, with lucrative prizes, were also instrumental in encouraging youth participation. In particular, an event titled the George Gall Bequest Cup was the most prominent youth event of each season. A deceased prominent Melbourne businessman named George Gall had bequeathed a sum of £100 for the provision of an annual cup for swimming races, to be held in trust by the Mayor of Melbourne. The cup was to be swum for by Victorian

631

Public Records Office of Victoria, Education Department, VPRS892, Special Case Files 1862-1977, P0000/79, 1062, 93/15151, ‘Railways’, 15 May 1893.

632

Priestley, South Melbourne, p. 199.

633

U’Ren and Turnbull, A History of Port Melbourne, p. 120.

634

George Morris, Middle Park School No. 2815: The First Hundred Years, 1887-1987, Middle Park Primary School, Middle Park, 1987, pp. 25-26.

born male youths under the age of sixteen, with previous winners not permitted to enter. Three races of 100, 200 and 300 yards respectively were swum, with points allocated for each, and the cup awarded to the highest point scorer. The races for the George Gall Bequest Cup were held at a different club carnival each year, at the discretion of the mayor.635 The award had a prestigious place in Victorian swimming folklore, due both to its longevity and its reputation. As the Australasian correspondent related, ‘many of our best swimmers graduated as winners of this cup’.636 However, as noted by the same correspondent, there was reportedly no record of previous winners of the George Gall Cup, prompting him to ask the public to send in the names of the winners from previous years.637

Where the George Gall Cup had previously only received superficial coverage in the press, from approximately 1896 the Cup began to draw significant attention, as the standard of youth swimming improved. Press correspondents interpreted the results of the regular boys’ races on club programs as indicators of form, and speculated on which youth would win the George Gall Cup that year. After one particularly convincing win at a Collingwood carnival, the Leader correspondent declared, ‘The winner is a candidate for the George Gall Bequest Cup, and if able to sustain the double overarm stroke and pace for 300 yards should have a good chance of annexing this year’s handsome trophy’.638

However, as the status of the George Gall Bequest Cup increased, so too did the incidences of cheating, and the number of protests and complaints associated with it. After the cup was awarded to an A. Michie in 1896, a protest was immediately submitted by the second placegetter ‘on the grounds of incorrect age at the time of entry’.639 The Australasian correspondent also stated that another protest had been lodged on the grounds that the competitors had swum the incorrect amount of laps in the 300 yard race.640 The Leader correspondent reported shortly after that the young gentleman, Bishop, who raised the protest had swum, but not placed, in any of the

635

‘Unda’, ‘Swimming’, Australasian, 2 February 1895, p. 212.

636

‘Unda’, ‘Swimming’, Australasian, 2 February 1895, p. 212.

637

‘Unda’, ‘Swimming’, Australasian, 2 February 1895, p. 212.

638

‘Header’, ‘Swimming’, Leader, 29 February 1896, p. 18.

639

‘Header’, ‘Swimming’, Leader, 14 March 1896, p. 19.

640

events.641 It was therefore suggested that this was a case of sour grapes, as Bishop had no evidence to support his claim, and declined an invitation to make a statement to a committee. The protest was subsequently dismissed, but the Michie protest was upheld, as he was found to be ‘a shade’ over sixteen.642 Upon supplying a valid birth certificate stating that he was the appropriate age, the second placegetter was awarded the cup.643

Other examples of age infringements continued to be identified in other youth races, and were dealt with severely. A young boy, who lied about his age to VASA officials, and won a race for boys under eleven years at South Melbourne in 1896, was suspended from competing in VASA competitions for one season.644 There were an increased number of transgressions associated with the boys’ races in the later years of the century, and in theory these should not have occurred, given that they were strictly ‘amateur’ races. It can be suggested that the increased incidences of cheating were related to the lucrative prizes and the developing importance and prestige associated with boys’ races. This is somewhat ironic, given VASA’s firm stance on amateurism as a method of avoiding these unsavoury practices. However, it is also demonstrative of the ambiguities of amateurism in these years. As long as monetary prizes were not offered, and the objects awarded as prizes were not significantly valuable, tokens could still be accepted as reward.

In response to the growing popularity of the youth races, another regular race for young boys was introduced in the 1894/95 season, titled the ‘Boys Champion Race’, and open to boys under the age of fourteen competing for an associated club. The race was instituted by VASA, with the trophy donated by Mr H. M. Gooch. Like the George Gall Cup, the location changed each year, with a ballot taking place to decide which club would stage the event. The inaugural race was awarded to the Brighton carnival.645 The boys’ races continued to be popular events on competition programs, both with competitors and spectators. As the Australasian correspondent stated, ‘the attendance at the Collingwood Swimming Carnival was limited to 200 or 300, but

641

‘Header’, ‘Swimming’, Leader, 21 March 1896, p. 18.

642

‘Header’, ‘Swimming’, Leader, 4 April 1896, p. 18.

643

‘Header’, ‘Swimming’, Leader, 18 April 1896, p. 18.

644

‘Header’, ‘Swimming’, Leader, 11 April 1896, p. 19.

645

judging from the noise made when the boys’ races were in progress one would have thought it much larger’.646

As swimming continued to gain popularity in the Melbourne schools, swimming clubs based around schools began to develop. The Albert Park State School Swimming Club held its inaugural ladies’ day in 1896, which showcased a series of boys’ swimming races as well as a few novelty events. A number of Education Department employees were in attendance to witness the sport, which was described as a success.647 These types of carnivals were soon being held by a number of schools in the metropolitan area. Prominent individuals associated with VASA would often assist with the running of school carnivals, which established them as serious events, and undoubtedly allowed VASA to recruit members for their clubs.648 The development of these clubs corresponded with the increase of school swimming carnival reports in the press, and as one correspondent noted, ‘I am glad to see the schools taking up swimming’.649 As these school swimming clubs began to increase in number, the association swiftly realised that their existence could potentially increase both numbers and profits. Therefore, in November 1896, it was proposed that to alleviate VASA’s increasing financial burden, school swimming clubs should be invited to affiliate with VASA for half a guinea per year, and to increase this amount if the club should number over 50 members on account of requiring an extra delegate. This would not only increase the number of clubs affiliated, but also increase finances by way of admission costs and entry fees to association and club carnivals.650

In response to these developments in school swimming, races for schools were introduced at VASA carnivals, where the competitors represented their school instead of a swimming club. These kinds of races were commonly held at VASA-sanctioned carnivals, in an attempt to encourage maximum participation as part of their provisions for special groups and to boost entries. The inaugural championship of the Victorian schools was swum at the Melbourne club’s carnival in 1896, but it is doubtful whether this event was sanctioned by the Education Department, and was

646

‘Unda’, ‘Swimming’, Australasian, 28 December 1895, p. 1233.

647

‘Swimming’, Sportsman, 8 April 1896, p. 6.

648

For one example, see ‘Swimming’, Argus, 26 March 1895, p. 3. Two of the officials, J. Pearson and H. Heath, were champion swimmers and were also involved in VASA administration.

649

‘Unda’, ‘Swimming’, Australasian, 29 February 1896, p. 401.

650

likely a clever marketing ploy by the Melbourne club to attract a greater number of entries and spectators to their carnival. Nonetheless, the 150 yard race was given ‘especial attention’ by the Australasian correspondent, who stated that the race was open to all schoolboys under the age of 21, from public, private and state schools.651

Despite these provisions for young boys from the earliest days of the association, and the increasing coverage of these in the press, it appears that there was not a great awareness of these competitions. Upon reporting on a weekly athletic competition in New Zealand (which featured boys’ races, the Australasian correspondent implored ‘Cannot something of the same sort be done in Melbourne?’,652 though perhaps it can be theorised that he was referring to organised competitions for public schoolboys. The perceived importance of teaching schoolboys how to swim was gaining favour, and was manifested in the free entry granted to them at the newly established Collingwood baths from 1895, which had been organised by the Education Department upon granting the land for the baths.653

While swimming was not being actively promoted in schools, measures were put in place to ensure schoolchildren could still swim in a safe location. The local council supervising the erection of the Richmond City Baths in 1897 also approved free admittance to the baths for schoolchildren at certain times of the day. Boys under fourteen were admitted from 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and girls on Fridays at the same time. This offer was contingent on obtaining a ticket from the class teacher.654 This arrangement, in conjunction with the increased prevalence of lessons for boys and the provision of races for schoolboys at VASA carnivals, highlights the lack of attention paid to the aquatic education of girls prior to the inclusion of swimming in state school curriculum. Girls were not always catered for, and if they were, they were given fewer lessons and reduced pool time.

Despite the apparent gender equality, it appears that the Education Department were supportive of swimming, provided it did not take place in school hours. Eventually this barrier to participation was removed, and swimming in the state schools was able