A social history of cricket in Western Australia 1829-1885

The dissertation will investigate how cricket integrated a frontier society whose initial class structures caused divisions within the colony. The colony was founded on the precept that wealth would create further wealth. As a result, class barriers were constructed during the formative years by those who had wealth and influence that dictated the colony’s future fortunes. These fortunes were based on agriculture and horse breeding that created a horseracing society, and became a major factor towards erecting social barriers between the classes. Horseracing was a popular sport, enjoyed by many colonials, but it led to social and economic fissures that kept colonists segregated on the daily and sporting calendar. Consequently, in order for the colony to fuse together and create lasting homogeneity, cohesion and mores it had to participate in a sport that would infiltrate and integrate society and become successful in bonding all classes within the colony. Cricket was the only sport that could achieve this because it was the first organised team sport to be played in the colony. The game was an imperialistic institution that became a common denominator across the broad scope of colonial society, not only in Australia, but also in South Africa and India, eventually reaching the shores of several other countries. Consequently, cricket played a major part in uniting a frontier society that created social harmony and cohesion by blending people from various backgrounds together