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The convicts, soldiers and settlers who came to Australia to set up an outpost of the British Empire brought with them the sporting culture of eighteenth-century Britain. As the colonial settlements grew, opportunities for leisure and sport increased.
Hunting, horseracing, cricket, rowing and boxing were just some of the British sports which found a new home in Australia. These pastimes became a focus of colonial life, and the athletes who excelled at them quickly became some of the most celebrated personalities in colonial society.
