The title of this profound talk “Stories of PNG Rugby League-How PNG entered the NRL for 2028”. Patrick is joined by guest speakers Ponabe Yuwa (Consul General of PNG NSW) and NRL journalist Brad Walter. Available now through YouTube.
Tom Brock Awards 2025-2026
Tom Brock Scholar for 2025-2026 is Joanne Lester . Project – The Tries That Bind Us: Australia and Papua New Guinea as Rugby League Neighbours Further information
The Wes Smythe Award for a Community and Rugby League Project 2025-2026 is Samuel Guthrie/Central West Libraries. Project: – Will recover the hidden history of the Mandurama Reds and, through them, tell a wider story about community,memory, and change in rural Australia. Further information
The 26th Annual Tom Brock Lecture: Stories of PNG Rugby League, 1 September 2025
This year’s Tom Brock Lecture will be held at Petersham RSL from 6:30pm on Monday, 1 September 2025. Details including registration.
ASSH Fellow 2025 – Bernard Whimpress OAM
ASSH Honours and Awards Committee inducted Bernard Whimpress OAM as an ASSH Fellow at Sporting Traditions XXV Conference 2025, Bond University, Gold Coast. ASSH acknowledges the long, diverse and outstanding contributions made by Bernard to the history of sport. Details of Fellow citation.
ASSH Book Awards 2025 Winners
ASSH congratultions 2025 ASSH Book Awards winners.
- ASSH Book Award- Line and Length: A History of the Geelong Cricket Club. Line and Length was written by Tony Joel and Mathew Turner and published in 2024 by Slattery Books.
- Inaugural ASSH Public History Book Award- Celestial Footy: The Story of Chinese Heritage Aussie Rules. Celestial Footy was written by Patrick Skene and published by Hardie Grant in 2023.
ASSH Honours and Awards Committee report on 2025 ASSH Book Awards.
Sporting Traditions XXV, 21 July – 24 July 2025, Bond University
Final program. Registrations closed.
Congratulations to Bernard Whimpress OAM
Bernard was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) on 9 June 2025 for ” services to literature as sportswriter and author”.Details of citation.
ASSH Student Article Award (2023-2025) Winner Announced
The Honours and Awards Committee is pleased to announce that the ASSH Student Article Award (2023-2025) has been won by Ruby Ekkel for her article “The Meaning of a Bushwalk with the Melbourne Women’s Walking Club” which was published in Australian Historical Studies on 14 October 2024 (https://doi.org/10.1080/1031461X.2024.2406839). Further information about the successful winner and article.
The Tom Brock Bequest Scholarships 2025-2026
Applications are now open for the 2025-26 Tom Brock and Wes Smythe scholarships. These scholarships help to advance the serious study of rugby league. See the following pages for more information:
Applications for both awards will close Monday 9 June 2025.
ASSH Book and Article Awards 2023-2025
The following ASSH Awards are now open for submission – ASSH Book Award, ASSH Anthology Award, ASSH Public History Book Award (new) and ASSH Student Article Award. Full details including submission conditions. Nominated books to sent to each member of the Book Awards Sub-Committee by 21 March 2025.