The New Zealand Collection presents – This Week in history 14th – 20th June

This week’s selected topic comes from the Today in History page at nzhistory.net.nz. The New Zealand Collection is located on the second floor of The Central Library. Each ‘This Week in History’ post is associated with a display in the NZ Collection and uses available databases and the library collections to illustrate and provide additional information.

Lovelock wins ‘Mile of the century’

15th June 1935

I grew up in a town where a number of the streets were named after some of New Zealand’s most famous middle distance runners, these were runners who had become household names. There was a Lovelock Street and a Halberg Cresent and I lived on Peter Snell Street for a number of years. In Wellington we have Porritt Ave in Mount Victoria and I’m sure there are lots of towns with parks and streets named after these athletes. This week I chose the anniversary of Lovelock’s “Mile of the Century’ win for this post and I found it difficult to choose what to write about and what to leave out as there are so many connections to some really interesting events and people. So if you want to know more about Lovelock and Porritt check out the links attached to their names below and read the entries in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. This resource is available from the Library Website at the My Gateway New Zealand page.

24051-PAColl-8163-31 2.tif
Associated Press. Jack Lovelock after his victory in the `mile of the century’ – Photograph taken by the Associated Press. New Zealand Free Lance : Photographic prints and negatives. Ref: PAColl-8163-31. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22453630

Jack Lovelock had become well known as a runner after he set a world record for the mile in 1933 with a time of 4 minutes, 7.6 seconds. He was the top miler and received many invitations to races that were being organised in Europe and the United States. One of the races was to become known as the ‘Mile of the Century’ and it was to pit Lovelock up against a number of American runners and was held at the Princeton College track where he had previously set the world record.

Lovelock Victor
Downloaded from Papers Past from “Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 141, 17 June 1935, Page 14”

Lovelock was the first New Zealand track and field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal which he did at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. The Berlin Olympics was of course known for the debate and protest over the Nazi regime and Hitler’s rise to power which had occurred after Berlin was selected as the venue for the games. Hitler used the games as a propaganda showcase of his regime and to advance the Nazi cause to the world. In the picture below Lovelock is running in fourth place during the 1500m Berlin Olympics.

1500metres 1936 Berlin Olympics
Runners during the first lap of the 1500 metres final at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Making New Zealand :Negatives and prints from the Making New Zealand Centennial collection. Ref: MNZ-0983-1/4-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22838560

The New Zealand Olympic team in Berlin was managed by Arthur Porritt and this starts a circle of interesting intersections. Starting first with Porritt’s connection to the 1924 Paris Olympics where he represented New Zealand in the 100m race where he came third and won the bronze medal. This was the race famously depicted in the movie “Chariots of Fire”. Apparently due to Porritt’s modesty his name did not feature in the movie and a fictional ‘Tom Watson’ was depicted as the bronze medallist. The winner of that famous race and so the main character depicted in the movie was Harold Abrahams. This brings us back to Lovelock and the Berlin Olympics. On the following Youtube clip you can watch Lovelock winning the Olympic gold medal in the 1500m race. The amazing commentary is by Harold Abrahams who was covering the Olympics for BBC radio. It’s a cross between an informed expert commentary and a fan watching a race on television at home with lots of “Come on Jack, he’s won, Hooray he’s won!!!. It is an amazing clip to watch and I’m sure you will enjoy the exuberant commentary.

Syndetics book coverJack Lovelock : athlete and doctor / Graeme Woodfield. “Jack Lovelock remains one of New Zealand’s greatest sportsmen, the diminutive figure in black who, “running in a rapture”, won the Olympic 1500m gold medal in world record time in front of Hitler in 1936.Despite his fame, Lovelock has been an enigmatic, elusive figure. This prompted fellow Timaru Boys’ High School old boy Dr Graeme Woodfield to embark on a comprehensive study of Lovelock. Woodfield has examined the many facets of Lovelock – athlete, doctor, journalist, soldier, family man – and, drawing on the contributions of several specialists, completed what is virtually a forensic investigation of this famous New Zealander. He now offers the most comprehensive and readable account of this New Zealand icon’s life.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book coverAs if running on air : the journals of Jack Lovelock / edited by David Colquhoun.
“In the 1930s the New Zealander Jack Lovelock was one of the world’s best-known athletes. In 1933 he broke the world record for the mile. At the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games he won a gold medal and broke the world record for the 1500 metres. When he retired, a leading sports writer lamented the end of a golden age of mile racing. Throughout his running career Lovelock kept journals and diaries. While much has been written about Lovelock, until now his journals and diaries have never been published. Some are brief, little more than notes; others are eloquent and reflective. Collectively they constitute a unique record of a sporting life in the 1930s and offer insights into just what it took to make a world champion.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book coverNo ordinary man : the remarkable life of Arthur Porritt / Joseph Romanos and Graeme Woodfield.
“Arthur Porritt was a multi-faceted New Zealander who achieved great things in several spheres. Among his achievements: A Rhodes Scholar in 1923. An Olympic sprint medallist, in 1924, in the 100m final made famous by the film Chariots of Fire. A widely-respected and much-honoured surgeon, who became president of the Royal College of Surgeons and the British Medical Association. A member of the International Olympic Committee for more than half a century, and chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation for 18 years. A decorated war hero, who was present during the D-Day landings. Surgeon to the Royal Family from 1936-67. The first New Zealand-born Governor General. In addition to their own research, the authors – one a medical doctor, the other a sports writer – have been given Porritt’s extensive unpublished memoirs, and have made maximum use of these in compiling No Ordinary Man.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book coverHitler’s Olympics : the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games / Christopher Hilton.
“The Berlin Olympic Games, which remain the most controversial ever held, have their 70th anniversary in August 2006. Using newspapers, diaries and interviews to recreate the atmosphere during the XIth Olympiad, this book presents an account of the disputes, the personalities and the events which made these Games so memorable.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book coverOlympia / Leni Riefenstahl ; foreword by Monique Berlioux ; introduction by Kevin Brownlow.
“A pictorial coverage of the Berlin Olympics.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book coverFaster stronger higher : golden Olympians of New Zealand / Wilf Haskell.
“Wilf Haskell has written a book which is unique. His research into the previously unrecorded background of New Zealand’s Olympic champions provides some new and interesting insights into our gold medal winners from our first involvement in the Olympic Games through to the 1960’s.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book coverOur Olympic century / Joseph Romanos.
“A landmark book that contains the story of New Zealand’s first 100 years at the Olympic Games, presented in an attractive, easy-to-read format” (Syndetics summary)