Changes

===Melbourne===

===Melbourne===

Between 1950 and 1970, Melbourne became, for the first time since the 1880s, the fastest growing major city in Australia. Perhaps more than any other Australian city it exemplified the modern paradigm of urban growth-high investment in manufacturing, especially of protected consumer products such as cars and electrical goods, high levels of immigration, high levels of car and home ownership and high levels of government intervention in the provision of infrastructure. Melbourne became the main beach-head of American economic and cultural influence and the leading centre of modernist innovation in art, architecture and design.  Its sponsorship of the 1956 summer Olympics brought world recognition. Journalists speculated that the expected floods of American tourists, accustomed to central heating and prompt room service, would react coldly to the standard Australian hotel routine of getting out of bed on to the chilly linoleum, and tip-toeing across the floor to the old-time wash basin and jug. What would sophisticated Frenchmen make of a city where it was impossible to get a drink after six o'clock at night? Melbourne, they feared, would be regarded as a hick town, too provincial and too staid to be entrusted with the hosting of a world event.  A small but vocal minority of Labor politicians and welfare workers opposed the Games as an unjustifiable extravagance; in rural Victoria the folk saw the event as yet another treat for city people.  Some clergymen feared the approach of that iniquitous institution, the 'Continental Sunday'. However the Chamber of Commerce won the day, hailing the Olympics as a boost to tourism and investment.  Modernist architects and designers embraced the Games as their chance to bring local taste before the bar of international opinion.  The Olympic Pool, for example, was hailed for its high originality and imagination.  The hotels were modernized, residents took in guests, and even the Japanese--the hated foe of the 1940s, were made welcome.  In the event the preparations transformed and upgraded Melbourne's self-image as a bastion of modernity, and the rest of the world paid little attention.<ref> Graeme Davison, "Welcoming the World: The 1956 Olympic Games and the Re-Presentation of Melbourne," ''Australian Historical Studies'' 1997 28(109): 64-76 in [[EBSCO]]</ref>  

Between 1950 and 1970, Melbourne became, for the first time since the 1880s, the fastest growing major city in Australia. Perhaps more than any other Australian city it exemplified the modern paradigm of urban growth-high investment in manufacturing, especially of protected consumer products such as cars and electrical goods, high levels of immigration, high levels of car and home ownership and high levels of government intervention in the provision of infrastructure. Melbourne became the main beach-head of American economic and cultural influence and the leading centre of modernist innovation in art, architecture and design.   

 

Modernity clashed with traditionalism when Melbourne became host of the 1956 summer Olympics. Journalists speculated that the expected floods of American tourists, accustomed to central heating and prompt room service, would react coldly to the traditional Aussie hotel routine of getting out of bed on to the chilly linoleum, and tip-toeing across the floor to the old-time wash basin and jug. What would sophisticated Frenchmen make of a city where all bars closed at 6 PM? Melbourne, the sophisticates feared, would be regarded as a hick town, too provincial and too staid to be entrusted with the hosting of a world event.  A small but vocal minority of Labor politicians and welfare workers opposed the Games as an unjustifiable extravagance; in rural Victoria the folk saw the event as yet another treat for city people.  Traditional clergymen feared the approach of that iniquitous institution, the 'Continental Sunday'. However the Chamber of Commerce won the day, hailing the Olympics as a boost to tourism and investment.  Modernist architects and designers embraced the Games as their chance to bring local taste before the bar of international opinion.  The Olympic Pool, for example, won praise for its high originality and imagination.  The hotels were modernized, upper middle class residents took in vistors, and even the Japanese--the hated foes of the 1940s, were made welcome.  In the event the preparations transformed and upgraded Melbourne's self-image as a bastion of modernity, and the rest of the world paid little attention.<ref> Graeme Davison, "Welcoming the World: The 1956 Olympic Games and the Re-Presentation of Melbourne," ''Australian Historical Studies'' 1997 28(109): 64-76 in [[EBSCO]]</ref>

 

===Sports===

===Sports===

Since the 1970s the evolution of sport in Australia has paralleled the transformation from a modern to a postmodern society and economy. Ambiguity, spectacle and excitement, nostalgia, and technology are elements of the postmodern ethos found in sport, driven today by media coverage and a corporate mentality. Marketing and image have replaced older, more traditional bases of sport. Whether it is cricket, Australian Rules football, soccer, rugby, or basketball, everything has changed, from patterns of fan support to modes of income generation.<ref>Bob Stewart and Aaron Smith, "Australian Sport in a Postmodern Age," ''International Journal of the History of Sport'' 2000 17(2-3): 278-304  </ref>

Since the 1970s the evolution of sport in Australia has paralleled the transformation from a modern to a postmodern society and economy. Ambiguity, spectacle and excitement, nostalgia, and technology are elements of the postmodern ethos found in sport, driven today by media coverage and a corporate mentality. Marketing and image have replaced older, more traditional bases of sport. Whether it is cricket, Australian Rules football, soccer, rugby, or basketball, everything has changed, from patterns of fan support to modes of income generation.<ref>Bob Stewart and Aaron Smith, "Australian Sport in a Postmodern Age," ''International Journal of the History of Sport'' 2000 17(2-3): 278-304  </ref>