Sport Collections

Redfern All Blacks 1 - Koori Knockout champions, Leichhardt Oval, 30 September-3 October 2016 / photograph by Barbara McGrady

‘For Australians, playing or watching sport gives life one of its principal meanings.’

Donald Horne, The Lucky Country (1964)

When writing about the place of sport in Australian society, Donald Horne’s words were not meant as praise. For millions of Australians however, sporting pursuits take on an outsized significance in shaping identity, sparking conversation, and even determining emotional states. While this relationship to sport is not unique to Australians, or shared by all Australians, no serious study of Australian culture can fail to reckon with the cultural impact of sport.

As one of the country’s leading cultural institutions, the State Library of NSW bears witness to the place of sport in our society. Sport is prominent across all formats collected by the Library. This includes books, newspapers and magazines, images, sound recordings, manuscripts, objects and more.

In this research guide, you will learn about our sporting collections and how to access them. You will also find suggestions on where to find information on sport — whether here at the Library, online or at other cultural institutions across the country.

About this guide

This guide is one of many offered by the Library. Our research guides cover a range of topics and have been put together as a starting point for your research here. In this guide you will see collection highlights, search tips, relevant links, collection lists and more.

Due to the huge scope of our collection and the number of sports represented within it, this guide has been arranged according to the different formats of research material. These include:

Print collections

• These are published works such as books and periodicals (newspapers, journals and magazines). The category also includes scrapbooks, which predominantly contain printed material such as newspaper clippings.

Souvenirs, objects & ephemera

• A broad category encompassing ephemeral printed material such as match programs, collectible cards and posters, as well as physical objects. 

Pictures & sound

• This includes any visual item such as photographs, artworks and film, along with our audio collection of oral histories, radio broadcasts and music.

Manuscripts

• This refers to original material held by the Library as part of our Special Collections. Manuscripts may include personal papers such as diaries and correspondence, as well as organisational and business records.

Online resources

• A significant portion of our collection has been digitised and made available online. This guide will demonstrate how to search, view and download digitised material. 
• Beyond our physical collection, the Library also provides access to an extensive array of online databases and other resources. Also included in this guide are links to some of the most useful websites to continue your research beyond the Library.