In Australia, the national representative team of many sports has a nickname, used informally when referring to the team in the media or in conversation. These nicknames are typically derived from well-known symbols of Australia. Often the nickname is combined with that of a commercial sponsor, such as the "Qantas Wallabies" or the "Telstra Dolphins". Some names are a portmanteau word with second element -roo, from kangaroo; such as "Olyroos" for the Olympic association football team.
History
The oldest nicknames are Kangaroos and Wallabies for the rugby league football and rugby union teams. The other names are more recent, mostly invented to help publicise sports not traditionally popular in Australia.[1] Some journalists have criticised the practice as embarrassing,[2] gimmicky, or PR-driven.[3]
The name "Wallabies" was chosen by the 1908 rugby union side, making its first tour of the Northern Hemisphere.[4]British newspapers had already nicknamed the 1905 New Zealand touring team the "All Blacks" from their sporting uniform predominant colour;[5] the 1906 South African tourists had adopted "Springboks".[6] "Rabbits" was first suggested for Australia, but rejected since rabbits there are notorious as pests.[4] Until the 1980s, only touring sides were "Wallabies"; players on the eight tours up to 1984 were "the First Wallabies" up to "the Eighth Wallabies".[4]
As part of a 1998 strategic business plan, Cricket Australia surveyed "stakeholders" in 1998 about a possible nickname, to enhance marketing opportunities.[15] State cricket teams in the Sheffield Shield had benefited from adopting nicknames in the 1990s.[15] 69% opposed a national nickname, partly from a sense of decorum[16] and partly because the best names were already taken by other teams.[16][17]
In December 2004, the Australian Soccer Association renamed itself Football Federation Australia (FFA) and announced an effort to rebrand association football as "football" rather than "soccer" in Australia.[21] The national team had been nicknamed "the Socceroos" by journalist Tony Horstead on a 1967 tour to South Vietnam.[22] FFA chairman Frank Lowy commented "It has been commonly used and is a much loved name but we may see it fade out as evolution takes place", and suggested few national football teams had nicknames.[21] By 2016, the FFA announcement of Caltex as sponsors was titled "Caltex Australia with the Socceroos all the way".[23]
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Malone, Paul (3 June 1998). "Test side in name game". The Daily Telegraph. p. 71.
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Craddock, Robert (6 August 1998). "Test cricket men market talent alone". The Advertiser.
^"There's one in every crowd..."AAFLA Sportsletter. Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles. October 2003. Archived from the original on 1 October 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2007.
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Ede, Charisse; Darren Walton (4 August 2001). "Digger nickname could be buried". The Advertiser. p. 2.
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"Aths: AA digs itself out of a hole over nickname". AAP. 4 August 2001.
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"Olympic Review: The nickname game". The San Diego Union-Tribune. 17 September 2000. p. Special, p.2. The Aussie track team is the Blazers.
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"Soccer to become football in Australia". Associated Press. 16 December 2004.
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Cockerill, Michael (14 January 2005). "O'Neill wants to lose Roos in the name of progress". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 36.
^Australian Athletes with a Disability (October–November 2007). "Australian Athletes with a Disability Newsletter" (Press release). Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2007. The Steelers, Australia's National Wheelchair Rugby team, recently competed in the cross Tasman Chris Handy Cup challenge
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Overington, Caroline (30 October 2000). "Paralympics 2000: Hero Hucks not enough". The Age. Australia (which calls itself the Steelers but for whom the popular name is the Wheelabies)
^ abcd"All that you ever wanted to know about hockey in and around Australia". playinghockey.com.au. 2006. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2008. There are four national hockey teams in Australia, Kookaburras Australian Men's Hockey Team, Hockeyroos is the Australian Women's Hockey Team, Jillaroos is the Australian Under 21 Women's Team and Burras is the Australian Under 21 Men's Team.
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Rurak, Don (January 2004). "From the President: Newsletter" (Press release). Ice Hockey Australia. Archived from the original on 5 February 2004. Retrieved 23 November 2007. Adoption of the "Mighty Roos" name, logo and jersey for the Australian Senior Men's National Team.
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Koreen, Mike (16 May 2003). "Green Aussies grin and bear it; Box lacrosse underdogs are giving it their all". The Toronto Sun. p. Sports, p.81. They produced some t-shirts with the team's nickname – Boxaroos – printed on them.
^"Jackaroos is a winner". Bowls Australia. August 2004. As a result, the Australian men's bowls team has a new nickname – the Jackaroos. [...] The jackaroo is symbolic of the Australian outback. And the first part of the word – jack – is the most common name for the small white ball that is the prime focus and target in a game of bowls.
^"The shining Sapphires". Bowls Australia. 2004. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2007. After much deliberation the new nickname for the Australian women's bowls team is the Sapphires.
