Australia at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Sporting event delegation
Australia was the host nation for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne , Australia . However, due to Australian quarantine restrictions the equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden. 294 competitors, 250 men and 44 women, took part in 140 events in 18 sports.[1]
Medalists
Gold
Betty Cuthbert – athletics, women's 100 metres
Betty Cuthbert – athletics, women's 200 metres
Shirley Strickland – athletics, women's 80 m Hurdles
Norma Croker , Betty Cuthbert , Fleur Wenham , and Shirley Strickland – athletics, women's 4 × 100 m Relay
Joey Browne and Anthony Marchant — Cycling, men's 2000 m Tandem
Jon Henricks — Swimming, men's 100 m Freestyle
Murray Rose — Swimming, men's 400 m Freestyle
Murray Rose — Swimming, men's 1500 m Freestyle
David Theile — Swimming, men's 100 m Backstroke
John Devitt , Jon Henricks , Kevin O'Halloran , and Murray Rose — Swimming, men's 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay
Dawn Fraser — Swimming, women's 100 m Freestyle
Lorraine Crapp — Swimming, women's 400 m Freestyle
Lorraine Crapp , Dawn Fraser , Faith Leech , and Sandra Morgan — Swimming, women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay
Silver
Graham Gipson , Kevan Gosper , Leon Gregory , and David Lean – athletics, men's 4 × 400 m Relay
Chilla Porter – athletics, men's High Jump
Stuart Mackenzie – rowing, men's Single Sculls
John Devitt — Swimming, men's 100 m Freestyle
John Monckton — Swimming, men's 100 m Backstroke
Lorraine Crapp — Swimming, women's 100 m Freestyle
Dawn Fraser — Swimming, women's 400 m Freestyle
John Scott and Roland Tasker — Sailing, men's Sharpie 12 m²
Bronze
Hector Hogan – athletics, men's 100 metres
John Landy – athletics, men's 1500 metres
Allan Lawrence – athletics, men's 10.000 metres
Norma Thrower – athletics, women's 80 m Hurdles
Marlene Mathews – athletics, women's 100 metres
Marlene Mathews – athletics, women's 200 metres
Kevin Hogarth — Boxing, men's Welterweight
Walter Brown and Dennis Green – canoeing, men's K2 10,000 m Kayak Pairs
Dick Ploog — Cycling, men's 1000 m Sprint (Scratch)
Murray Riley and Mervyn Wood – rowing, men's Double Sculls
Michael Aikman , Angus Benfield , David Boykett , Bryan Doyle , Harold Hewitt , Jim Howden , Walter Howell , Garth Manton , and Adrian Monger – rowing, men's Eights
Gary Chapman — Swimming, men's 100 m Freestyle
Faith Leech — Swimming, women's 100 m Freestyle
Douglas Buxton , Devereaux Mytton , Ernest Wagstaff and Jock Sturrock — Sailing, men's 5½ Meter Class
Athletics
Men
Track & road events
Field events
Combined events – Decathlon
Athlete
Event
100 m
400 m
1500 m
Final
Rank
Ian Bruce
Result
11.7
6.62
12.30
1.83
51.3
15.9
36.62
3.40
51.38
4:50.4
6025
11
Points
678
672
609
806
751
612
536
476
554
331
John Cann
Result
10.9
6.57
12.18
1.70
49.3
15.6
38.76
2.70
57.89
4:49.2
6278
10
Points
948
659
598
656
900
673
592
226
686
340
Pat Leane
Result
11.4
6.79
13.26
1.86
51.0
16.4
38.86
3.50
58.83
4:56.8
6427
9
Points
768
722
696
845
772
523
595
516
706
284
Women
Track & road events
Field events
Basketball
Men's Team Competition
Preliminary round
Group D
Source:
FIBA archive Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(H) Hosts
Classification 9–15
Group 1
Source:
FIBA archive Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(H) Hosts
Classification matches
Team Roster
Boxing
Men
Canoeing
Sprint
Men
Women
Cycling
Road
Track
1000m time trial
Sprint
Tandem
Pursuit
Diving
Men
Women
Fencing
21 fencers, 18 men and 3 women, represented Australia in 1956.
Men
Ranks given are within the pool.
Women
Ranks given are within the pool.
First round
Quarter-finals
Men's team squads
Head coach: Richard Telfer
No.
Pos.
Player
DoB
Age
Caps
Club
Tournament games
Tournament goals
Minutes played
Sub off
Sub on
Cards yellow/red
1
GK
Billy Henderson
November 23, 1929
26
5
Granville
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
2
GK
Ron Lord
August 25, 1929
27
1
Auburn
2
0
180
0
0
3
FW
Col Kitching
November 11, 1933
22
2
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
4
MF
Pete Stone
0
Bankstown
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
5
MF
Ted Smith
September 24, 1935
21
0
2
0
180
0
0
6
George Arthur
1925
31
0
Wallsend FC
2
0
180
0
0
7
Bill Harburn
0
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
8
Alwyn Warren
November 1, 1931
25
1
2
0
180
0
0
9
Alastair Rattray
February 16, 1925
31
0
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
10
Alec Beattie
0
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
11
DF
Bob Bignall
March 14, 1922
34
5
Corrimal
2
0
180
0
0
12
DF
John Pettigrew
October 31, 1934
21
1
2
0
180
0
0
13
MF
Francis Loughran
January 31, 1931
25
3
Moreland F.C.
2
1
180
0
0
14
Bob Wemyss
July 1, 1928
28
0
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
15
MF
Jack Lennard
April 2, 1930
26
3
Cessnock
2
0
180
0
0
16
MF
Brian Vogler
May 30, 1932
24
0
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
17
FW
Bruce Morrow
May 5, 1936
20
0
Wallsend FC
2
2
180
0
0
18
Con Purser
August 2, 1931
25
1
North Perth
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
19
FW
Graham McMillan
January 21, 1936
20
0
2
1
180
0
0
20
Cliff Sander
November 11, 1931
25
6
2
0
180
0
0
Gymnastics
Hockey
Preliminary round
Pool B
Umpires: Ernst-Ludwig Nack (GER) K. Hamilton (NZL)
Umpires: Birendra Ghosh (IND) Gian Singh (IND)
Umpires: Gian Singh (IND) Birendra Ghosh (IND)
Play–off match
At the conclusion of the pool stage, Australia and Great Britain finished equal on points, resulting in a play–off match to determine number one position in the pool.
Umpires: Gian Singh (IND) Birendra Ghosh (IND)
Men's Team Competition
Modern pentathlon
Three male pentathletes represented Australia in 1956.
Individual
Team
Neville Sayers
Sven Coomer
George Nicoll
Rowing
Australia had 26 male rowers participate in all seven rowing events in 1956.[2]
Men
Sailing
Open
Shooting
Twelve shooters represented Australia in 1956.
Men
Swimming
Men
Women
Water polo
Preliminary round
The preliminary round consisted of a round-robin tournament held in three groups. Each team played the other teams in its group once.
Group A
28 November
14:00 - Romania def. Australia, 4-2
29 November
22:15 - Yugoslavia def. Australia, 9-1
30 November
16:00 - Soviet Union def. Australia, 3-0
Consolation
Great Britain def. Australia, 5-2
Australia def. Singapore, 3-2
Romania def. Australia, 4-2
Weightlifting
Men
Wrestling
References
Africa America Asia Europe Oceania Nations in bullet brackets indicating competed at the Equestrian events (Stockholm only)