Games and Goalposts: How Sport In NZ Has Evolved From 1840

Games and goalposts: How sport in NZ has evolved from 1840 to now.

Dr Geoff Watson:
Rugby and rowing, cycling and sailing, basketball and boxing – Kiwis love to play and watch numerous sporting codes. We’re world champions in quite a few too. Participation in sport – whether in a team, a committee or on the side lines – seems integral to our national sense of identity.

To what extent have professionalism, economic reforms, technological change, gender and ethnicity influenced the development of sport in New Zealand? Why do New Zealanders share such a significant material and emotional investment in sport? Historian Geoff Watson evaluates continuity and change in New Zealand sport between 1840 and 2019, arguing that sport and sporting organisations have, willingly or otherwise, adapted to changing times and values.

Doors open at 6pm. Lecture runs from 6.30pm - 7.30pm.

Light refreshments included.