Cover.qxd 6/01/2011 1:08 PM Page 1 22 2011 (2012) 2011 Major international Volume 22 numismatic auctions held Australia Association of Journal of the Numismatic in Sydney & Melbourne With three major numismatic auctions each year, consignments are wanted. Be a part of our success. Contact our Sydney offi ce (02) 9223 4578 or our Melbourne offi ce (03) 9600 0244 for a free, confi dential valuation. Journal of the NOBLE www.noble.com.au NUMISMATICS PTY LTD Numismatic Association of Australia ground fl oor 169 macquarie street sydney [email protected] level 7 / 350 collins street melbourne [email protected] The role of sporting medals in a sports museum Helen Walpole Medals are a vital part of the material understand the role of sporting medals culture of sport. Whether awarded within the institution’s exhibitions as prizes, bestowed in recognition of policy, representing social values service or created as souvenirs for fans and communicating ideas such as and collectors alike, sporting medals are nationhood, victory and prowess. This an important symbol of the way society paper then looks to sporting medals recognises key achievements and in the context of the NSM collection, moments in sport. For a sports museum revealing a different emphasis on whose mission is to reflect on the symbolic value. Within the institution’s importance of sport in society, medals existing collecting policy and practice, play a crucial role in the representation, sporting medals are valued for their interpretation and communication of ability to signify a broader range of these attitudes and values. sporting and non-sporting themes. The To gain an understanding of how museum’s attitude toward sporting sporting medals can be deployed by a medals is further demonstrated by its sports museum in their collection and non-numismatic approach to the way exhibition programs, this paper takes as such objects are stored, catalogued and a case study the National Sports Museum managed.2 In the areas of exhibitions (NSM) in Melbourne, Australia. The and collections, the NSM prioritises NSM approaches sporting medals as the semantic power of sporting medals, objects of material culture, rather than and their role in communicating the as numismatic items, and the museum’s value, impact and meaning of sport in methodologies in interpretation, display, Australian society. storage and cataloguing methods This paper specifically addresses the all reflect this integrated approach.1 context of the NSM, a public museum Looking first to exhibitions, this paper located at the Melbourne Cricket introduces a typology that divides Ground in Melbourne, Australia.3 It is a sporting medals into three thematic multi-sport museum, with a significant categories – competition, honour portion of its exhibition space devoted and commemoration. A semiotic to permanent displays relating to those model is then used to analyse and sports with the highest participation and JNAA 22, 2011 (2012) 1 Helen Walpole spectatorship rates in the country. Large excluding coins and badges.5 Secondly, areas are devoted to Australian football, a medal is considered a sporting medal cricket and the Olympic Games, with if it bears a relationship to a sporting smaller areas addressing thoroughbred event, venue or sports person. This racing and the MCG itself, while grouping covers a very wide variety individual showcases are themed to of objects, and it is therefore useful to sports such as rugby league, netball, apply a three-part typology for sporting tennis, football (soccer) and boxing. A medals that reflects their creation and large gallery and a number of showcases purpose in the sporting world. This throughout the museum are reserved typology comprises, in sequence from for a changing program of temporary most exclusive to most inclusive, exhibitions, allowing the museum to competition medals, honour medals and address contemporary issues, minor commemorative medals. sports and other themes. In addition, Competition medals are awarded the museum houses five sporting Halls to an individual or a team following of Fame (cricket, boxing, thoroughbred achievement of a certain standard racing and Australian football as well as in a sporting event. The gold, silver the Sport Australia Hall of Fame).4 The and bronze medals awarded at the NSM has a small heritage collection of Olympic Games for first, second and its own with a broad remit to represent third place-getters are competition the social importance of sport in medals. Although the gold/silver/ Australian history, but also has access bronze paradigm is upheld at many to the large heritage collections of the contemporary sporting events there are Melbourne Cricket Club Museum, also many other kinds of competition Library and Archives and the Australian medals, with wide variation through Gallery of Sport and Olympic Museum. history in the material used as well as Medals are just one element of a in the number of medals presented (for varied inventory that includes sporting first place only, to lower place-getters, equipment and apparel, trophies, or to all participants regardless of programs, posters, printed ephemera, performance). A medal does not need trade cards, artworks, photographs, to be received at the time of victory or personal effects, audio-visual material participation to be a competition medal, and much more. but might be created at a later date in The NSM takes a broad view in order to acknowledge a competition the definition of sporting medals. achievement (for example, a football First, the term ‘medal’ is used to cover club awarding medals to its premiership many forms of metal tokens, including players since a championship trophy medallions, medalets and fobs regardless cannot be shared). An important quality of the method of manufacture, but of these medals is that they are earned 2 JNAA 22, 2011 (2012) The role of sporting medals in a sports museum directly through participation in sporting By thus dividing sporting competition, and therefore are exclusive medals into competition, honour and to those athletes who have competed in commemorative medals this typology a particular event. favours thematic characteristics Honour medals are semi-exclusive over more conventional numismatic medals that are bestowed or issued properties such as material, age or in recognition of a contribution made origin. By using exclusivity and to sport more generally. At the most inclusivity as its guiding principles, the exclusive end of the spectrum, this typology reflects the dominant social category includes medals awarded for attitude to sport that confers highest sporting prowess, such as most valuable esteem to sporting success at the elite player, best on ground, or highest goal level, less esteem to participation and scorer. Such honours are often awarded lowest esteem to non-participatory by clubs or leagues, but can also be activities such as spectatorship.7 The presented by non-sporting organisations, categories reflect the varying roles such as sponsors, newspapers and radio of sporting medals in wider society, stations. This category also includes and by extrapolation reveal how these medals awarded by government bodies same ideas are represented within the (such as an Order of Australia medal museum. for service to sport), as well as medals Museums draw on material culture recognising admission into sporting – objects – to understand history.8 In Halls of Fame and other excellence a museum, objects act as evidence, awards. At its least exclusive level, this evoking the past by virtue of their category also includes medals or fobs continuing physical presence. This issued to recognise membership of a evocation is not objective however, but sporting organisation. is influenced by the choices and actions Commemorative medals form the of the museum.9 The act of selecting least exclusive, or most inclusive, an object for a museum’s collection or category of sporting medals. These display is always subjective, and reflects are created and distributed to mark a set of judgments about an object’s certain sporting anniversaries or events. social, cultural or heritage value. In Being broadly available to the public, a museum, then, items of material these medals serve various purposes: culture such as sporting medals can to commemorate and remember, to be usefully understood as signs, able publicise and to advertise. Often to communicate a range of messages generated specifically as souvenirs, these depending on context. medals provide a way for non-athletes In the terminology of semiotics, a to feel inclusion in, and ownership of, sign is composed of two elements – the particular sporting moments.6 signifier (the physical object) and the JNAA 22, 2011 (2012) 3 Helen Walpole signified (the idea, or the message, that as with any museum object – changes the object carries).10 While the signifier according to its consideration in either is inert, its signified message is wholly an exhibition or a collection context. socially generated. An object can act as The NSM takes the phrase many signs; meaning that it can signify ‘moments that made us’ as the many things simultaneously.11 Being museum’s overarching exhibition socially constructed, these meanings theme, presenting the narratives of key will shift and change depending on moments in Australia’s sporting history the viewer, the context, the culture and that have had influence on Australian the era in which they are viewed. For culture and identity. Such ‘moments’ a museum, collecting and exhibiting are widely varied, and include national objects means creating signs – a sporting victories such as the America’s powerful act that can perpetuate as much Cup in 1983; major events such as the as interrogate ideologies, assumptions staging of the 1956 Olympic Games and norms. Whereas exhibitions are in Melbourne; examples of Australian developed for communication with the sporting innovation such as Jack visitor through providing an education Brabham’s BT19 Formula 1 race car; and entertainment experience, collecting and structural changes to the sporting is undertaken for the purposes of industry such as the staging of World preservation, research and posterity.