Australia and the Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics Historical Context The Events of 1956 1956 was another year of the so‐called ‘Cold War’ and significant international tensions. The rivalries and divisions in Europe following World War II had firmed up opposing alliances despite the existence of the United Nations. The expansionist policy of Russian communism posed a threat to world peace and questioned the authority of the United Nations. Troubles in the Suez Canal area involved military action involving Egypt, Britain, France and Israel. Nuclear testing made the world uneasy. Australia may have seemed remote but was directly and indirectly affected by these historical events of 1956. And this was not just because from November 22 to December 8 many nations of the world were in Melbourne for the Olympic Games. 23 March ‐ Pakistan an Islamic Republic Pakistan was formerly a part of India in 1956. Pakistan achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. The next step in Pakistan’s national development was its proclamation in March 1956 as the first Islamic Republic in the British Commonwealth. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/thisday/2009/03/pakistan‐becomes‐worlds‐first‐islamic.php Australia and Pakistan played their first cricket test in October 1956. October ‐ Hungarian Uprising After World War II, Hungary was controlled by the Soviet Union by the army and the Communist Party. Joseph Stalin had died in 1953 and countries like Hungary and Poland hoped for changes under the new Russian leader, Khrushchev. By 1956 most Hungarians wanted reforms which would improve their lives and freedom. Anti‐Russian feeling was very strong. What started as a student demonstration in the Hungarian capital, Budapest in October became a demonstration for all workers and a call for Russia to leave Hungary. Now consider how the demonstration became an uprising, the immediate Russian response and the situation in the lead up to the Olympic Games in November. Australia and the Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics Historical Context Hungary Revolution 1956 –Stalin’s head Source: Wikimedia commons http://www.acting‐man.com/?p=2673 The Cold War Museum ‐ http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/HungarianRevolution.asp BBC On This Day ‐ http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/4/newsid_2739000/2739039.stm Remembering the Hungarian Uprising (Flash Audio 9 minutes) http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/remembering‐the‐hungarian‐uprising‐of‐1956‐
audio/11281.html The United Nations demanded the Soviet Union withdraw from Hungary, the UN be allowed to supervise free elections and UN observers be allowed to assess the situation. Hungary was a member of the International Olympic movement and had selected a team for the Melbourne Olympic Games in a months time. Part of the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Hungary was that some 200 000 Hungarians fled their country and became refugees. The Melbourne Olympic Games was not affected by these events however you can investigate this further in The Games and Performance sections of this resource. The Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis of 1956 has its causes in the post‐war upsurge of nationalism in the world. Egypt was one country which wanted to become independent from colonial powers like Britain. In 1951, Nahas Pasha leader of the recently‐elected nationalist party revoked the Anglo‐Egyptian Treaty of 1936. Then Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's planned to build the Aswan Dam project for hydro‐
electric energy and water for crop irrigation. When he had no success in getting United States Australia and the Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics Historical Context financial support Nasser implied he would ask Russia. This then became a ‘Cold War’ issue. The turning point was on July 26 1956 when Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal and restricted access for Israel’s shipping. As a vital international waterway access to and control of the Suez Canal had international implications. Britain and France joined with Israel to open the Suez Canal and military action, without United States or United Nations support, began in October 1956. Consider the way this crisis contributed to tensions and rivalries in 1956. The Cold War Museum: http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/SuezCrisis1956.asp http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/suez_01.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/suez_01.shtml Read and listen: http://www.open2.net/writingthecentury/suez_crisis.html Suez crisis – key players: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5195582.stm YouTube video: The Other Side of Suez 1956 (BBC Documentary) 9min 48 sec. Did any of the rivals in the Suez Crisis of 1956 not go to the Melbourne Olympic Games? Nuclear Tests Nuclear testing is commonly associated with the United States and Soviet Union arms race in the 1950s. Australia was directly involved in nuclear bomb testing in 1956 and earlier. In 1956 atomic tests were held by the USSR in March and November. The United States carried out three atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in May and July. http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/05/0521bikini‐h‐bomb/ Where and what is Enwetak? How many nuclear tests were carried out there? Australia was a member of the British Commonwealth and former colony of Britain. Their mutual support during World War II continued in the Cold War era. With little opposition, the government of Robert Menzies agreed to British nuclear testing in Australia at Monte Bello Island and Marilinga. Find these locations and complete an outline of the number and nature of the tests. British Atomic testing in Australia: http://allshookup.org/quakes/atomic.htm Maps of Australian nuclear sites: http://australianmap.net/ 16 September ‐ Television is first broadcast in Australia Australia's first TV broadcast was made by TCN Channel 9 in Sydney on 16 September 1956 to about 2000 television sets. Australia and the Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics Historical Context Starting in 1934, there had been many test transmissions before this official launch. The major world sporting event, the Olympic Games, was scheduled for November in Melbourne and this accelerated the support for the wider introduction of television. The Australian government granted GTV 9 the rights to use the 1956 Olympic Games for test transmissions. The 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games was broadcast as a test transmission by all three television stations operating in Melbourne at the time. Regular broadcasts didn’t begin until January 1957. The Olympic Games was a way to use television to promote Australia and its sporting achievements. Read and watch more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_did_television_arrive_in_Australia#ixzz1XJQAb1nk http://australia.gov.au/about‐australia/australian‐story/popular‐austn‐television http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_broadcasting_in_Australia Television demonstration 1948 ‐ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk8‐vuapgjk&feature=related Television studio camera used in 1956 to transmit the first regular television program in Australia from the studios of TCN Channel 9, Sydney ‐ http://www.nma.gov.au/collections‐
search/display?irn=29510 YouTube ‐ TCN Channel 9 Sydney opened ‐ September 16th, 1956 (1 min.20sec.) ‐ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMzczmbspDk 22 November ‐ Opening of the Melbourne Olympic Games HRH The Duke of Edinburgh opened the Melbourne Olympic Games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for a crowd of 107,700 and television viewers.