page_title: History of sport in Australia
section_title: 1900s
hierarchical_section_title: History of sport in Australia / 1900s
caption_attribution_description: English: The Australia national rugby team in 1908.
context_page_description: The history of sport in Australia dates back to the pre-colonial period of the country.
context_section_description: Basketball was first played in Adelaide, South Australia in 1900.
  The first badminton competition in Australia was played in 1900.
  In 1905, the first tennis Australasian Championships was held in Melbourne at Albert Cricket Ground.
  The first recorded game of ice hockey in Australia was on Tuesday July 17, 1906 and was between a Victorian representative team and the American sailors from the visiting American Warship the USS Baltimore. This game was held in the Melbourne Glaciarium and at 9:00pm a whistle blew to clear the public skaters from the ice surface so that the surface could be cleaned with scoops and brooms to remove the snowy covering generated by the public skating session before.
  The American team was made up of Warrant Machinist F. G. Randell (team captain), Seaman F. Brooks, First-class Fireman T. H. Miller, Seaman J. Benditti, First Class fireman D. F. Kelly (goaltender) and Third Class Gunner's mate J. T. Connolly.
  The Australian team were dressed in all white and the team from USS Baltimore wore white shirts with a large upper case black B on the front and center of the chest and grey trousers with red socks.
  The game was played in two 15 minutes halves, using a red ball made from gutta-percha and curved heavy-headed sticks as used in English field hockey at the time. The skill level of the Australians was not seen to be up to the level of the Americans but the game was hard-fought and result of the game was a 1-1 tie. The USS Baltimore team were first to score when Mr. T.H. Miller scored goal but Mr. Dunbar Poole scored off a hard shot to tie up the game.
   
  The 1907–1908 New Zealand All Golds rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain saw the All Golds contest three matches against a New South
  side under Rugby Union rules. Because the matches made a £600 profit, the New Zealand Rugby Union issued life bans to the All Gold players. This was a direct cause of the foundation of the New South Wales Rugby League in 1907 by JJ Giltinan and legendary cricketer Victor Trumper. Australian player Dally Messenger joined the remainder of the All Golds tour to Great Britain in 1907, where they were introduced to the new rules of Rugby League by the English Rugby Football League. Players were discontent with the amateur New South Wales Rugby Union over rejection of compensation payments for injuries and lost wages, and many players decided to join the new rugby league competition in 1908.
  When Messenger and the All Golds returned from Great Britain in 1908, they helped the new clubs adapt to the rules of rugby league prior to the inaugural 1908 NSWRFL season. The Queensland Rugby Football League also formed early in 1908 by seven rugby players who were dissatisfied with the administration of the Queensland Rugby Union. Queensland quickly formed a team to compete against the returning All Golds, before competing in the first interstate match against New South Wales as a selection trial for the national team, nicknamed the Kangaroos. Club rugby league began in Brisbane in 1909.
  The Australia national rugby union team had their first international test against New Zealand in 1903, and first international tour in 1908, earning their nickname of the Wallabies after two British journalist used it to refer to the team. The team won gold at the 1908 London Olympics, however the majority of the squad joined rugby league clubs upon returning to Australia.
  The first recorded game of ice hockey for female players in Australia was on the evening of 31 August 1908 in the Melbourne Glaciarium during Fleet Week when American sailors visited Melbourne. Though ladies hockey matches were held previously during sports carnivals at the Melbourne Glaciarium from 1906 and the Sydney Glaciarium from 1907 during sports nights, the first game on record is from the opening evening of 31 August 1908.
  The first Australian ice hockey association was formed 12 September 1908 after the close of the season in the Melbourne Glaciarium. The name of the association was the Victorian Amateur Ice Hockey Association (VAIHA). The association consisted of 4 
caption: The 1908 Wallabies
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