# Australasia at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Australasia was the name of a combined team from Australia and New Zealand that competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. It was the fourth appearance of Australia, which had not missed any edition of the Summer Olympic Games, and the first appearance of New Zealand. The two would compete together again as Australasia at the 1912 Summer Olympics before competing separately at every edition of the Summer Games since. In 1908 there were three New Zealanders, Harry Kerr, Henry Murray and Albert Rowland (a fourth New Zealander, hurdler Arthur Halligan, competed for Great Britain); all other competitors were Australian. There were 30 competitors for Australasia who competed in 20 events in six sports. A further two competitors, who were to compete in tennis, did not play as their nominations failed to reach the organisers.

## Medallists

| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
| Gold | Australia national rugby union team John BarnettPhil CarmichaelDaniel CarrollBob CraigThomas GriffenJack HickeyMalcolm McArthurArthur McCabePatrick McCueChris McKivatCharles McMurtrieSydney MiddletonTom RichardsCharles RussellFrank Smith | Rugby union | Rugby union | October 26 |
| Silver | Snowy Baker (AUS) | Boxing | Middleweight | October 27 |
| Silver | Frank Beaurepaire (AUS) | Swimming | Men's 400 m freestyle | July 16 |
| Bronze | Harry Kerr (NZL) | Athletics | Men's 3500 m walk | July 14 |
| Bronze | Frank Beaurepaire (AUS) | Swimming | Men's 1500 m freestyle | July 25 |

## Athletics

Track & road events
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Harvey Sutton | 800 m | 2:00.0 | 3 | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
| Joseph Lynch | 1500 m | Unknown | 5 | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
| Charles Swain | 1500 m | did not finish | did not finish | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
| George Blake | 5 miles | Unknown | 3 | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
| Joseph Lynch | 5 miles | did not finish | did not finish | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
| Henry Murray | 110 m hurdles | 16.3 | 2 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Henry Murray | 400 m hurdles | 59.8 | 2 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Victor Aitken | Marathon | — | — | — | — | did not finish | did not finish |
| George Blake | Marathon | — | — | — | — | did not finish | did not finish |
| Joseph Lynch | Marathon | — | — | — | — | did not finish | did not finish |
| Harry Kerr | 3500 m walk | 16:02.2 | 2 Q | — | — | 15:43.4 | |
| Albert Rowland | 3500 m walk | 16:08.6 | 3 Q | — | — | 16:07.0 | 5 |
| Harry Kerr | 10 miles walk | 1:18:40.2 | 3 Q | — | — | did not start | did not start |
| Albert Rowland | 10 miles walk | 1:21:57.6 | 5 | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
Field events
| Athlete | Event | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Distance | Position |
| Ernest Hutcheon | Men's standing high jump | Unknown | 19-23 |

## Boxing

| Athlete | Event | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Snowy Baker | Middleweight | Dees (GBR) W KO | Child (GBR) W | Philo (GBR) W | Douglas (GBR) L 1-2 | |

## Diving

| Athlete | Event | Preliminary Round | Preliminary Round | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Rank |
| Snowy Baker | 3 m springboard | 61.3 | 6 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |

### Rugby

Australasia won the only rugby union match played in 1908 against Great Britain, earning the gold medal. The Australasian representative was the Australia national team.
| Event | Place | Players | Final |
| Men's rugby union | 1st | Phil Carmichael, Charles Russell, Daniel Carroll, John Hickey, Francis Bede-Smith, Chris McKivat, Arthur McCabe, Thomas Griffen, John "Jumbo" Barnett, Patrick McCue, Sydney Middleton, Tom Richards, Malcolm McArthur, Charles McMurtrie, Bob Craig | Won vs. Great Britain 32–3 |

### Shooting

| Event | Place | Shooter | Score |
| Men's stationary target small-bore rifle | 16th | William Hill | 354 |
| Men's moving target small-bore rifle | — | William Hill | Did not finish |
| Men's disappearing target small-bore rifle | 18th | William Hill | 36 |

### Swimming

| Event | Place | Swimmer | Heats | Semifinals | Final |
| Men's 100 metre freestyle | Semi- finalist | Frank Beaurepaire | 1:11.6 1st, heat 3 | Unknown 4th, semifinal 1 | Did not advance |
| Men's 100 metre freestyle | Heats | Theo Tartakover | Unknown 2nd, heat 1 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Men's 100 metre freestyle | Heats | Edward Cooke | Unknown 3–4, heat 6 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Men's 400 metre freestyle | 2nd | Frank Beaurepaire | 5:49.2 1st, heat 4 | 5:44.0 1st, semifinal 1 | 5:44.2 |
| Men's 400 metre freestyle | Semi- finalist | Theo Tartakover | 6:35.0 1st, heat 3 | Did not start —, semifinal 1 | Did not advance |
| Men's 400 metre freestyle | Heats | Frank Springfield | 5:57.4 2nd, heat 6 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Men's 1500 metre freestyle | 3rd | Frank Beaurepaire | 23:45.8 1st, heat 2 | 23:25.4 2nd, semifinal 1 | 22:56.2 |
| Men's 1500 metre freestyle | Heats | Frederick Springfield | 24:52.4 2nd, heat 4 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Men's 200 metre breaststroke | — | Edward Cooke | Did not finish —, heat 5 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay | 4th | Frank Beaurepaire Frederick Springfield Snowy Baker Theo Tartakover | None held | 11:35.0 1st, semifinal 1 | Unknown |

### Tennis

Les Poidevin and Anthony Wilding (who were partners in the 1906 Davis Cup preliminary round at Newport) were nominated for the Australasian team by the Australasian Lawn Tennis Association, but their nominations failed to reach the organisers. So the pair watched the "small, impoverished and out of place" Australasian contingent alongside the "tailored splendour" of some European teams. Although many leading tennis players bypassed the Olympic tournament (which followed almost immediately after Wimbledon) and his goal had been Wimbledon, Wilding regretted the missed opportunity and endorsed his mother's summing up of the administrative bungling: "seems very careless of them & very annoying".