Boxing kangaroos on wheels: Australian design education, sporting heritage and national identity

At sporting events world-wide, the image of a boxing kangaroo on a green and gold flag is flown by proud Australian spectators. Australia’s national identity has long been based on sporting prowess, inspiring one influential manufacturer to lament in 1945: 'Great deeds in the realms of war and sport have imbued Australians with a full measure of national pride. We should be no less proud of their industrial history, but unfortunately there are few who appreciate the extent of their achievement in less than 150 years.' Despite these stirring words, it is as a sporting nation that Australians, then and now mostly identify. Happily, however, there have been several occasions where industrial design, manufacturing and sport have met to mutual advantage.