By News Ltd
09 December, 1956
By Bruce Howard
08 December, 1956
By News Ltd
08 December, 1956
By News Ltd
08 December, 1956
By News Ltd
08 December, 1956
By News Ltd
08 December, 1956
By Bruce Howard
08 December, 1956
By Bruce Howard
08 December, 1956
By Bruce Howard
08 December, 1956
By Bruce Howard
08 December, 1956
By News Ltd
08 December, 1956
By News Ltd
08 December, 1956
By News Ltd
08 December, 1956
By News Ltd
08 December, 1956
By News Ltd
08 December, 1956
By News Ltd
07 December, 1956
By News Ltd
06 December, 1956
By News Ltd
06 December, 1956
By News Ltd
06 December, 1956
By News Ltd
06 December, 1956
By News Ltd
06 December, 1956
By News Ltd
06 December, 1956
By News Ltd
06 December, 1956
By News Ltd
06 December, 1956
By News Ltd
06 December, 1956
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The Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games was one of the most significant events in Australia’s sporting history. It was the first time Australia hosted the Olympics, the first time the Olympic Games were held in the Southern Hemisphere and the first games to be broadcasted on live television. The Melbourne Olympics also heralded the arrival of Australia as a real sporting force at the Olympics. With 291 athletes competing for Australia, it was the largest team ever. Stars such as swimmers Dawn Fraser and Murray Rose and sprinters Betty Cuthbert and Shirley Strickland helped Australia to win 13 gold medals, 8 silver medals and 14 bronze medals, placing Australia in third position on the medal table behind the Soviet Union and the United States. Despite the international tensions of 1956, or perhaps because of them, a young Melburnian came up with a new idea for the closing ceremony. Instead of the teams marching behind their national flags, athletes from the 72 participating countries walked around the arena together, uniting athletes from around the world. This tradition has been continued ever since. 


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