Solomon Islands Swimming: Racial Hierarchies and the Marginalisation of Pacific Swimming Cultures

Abstract

The sociology and history of sport have neglected Pacific swimming cultures and their impact on global recreational and sporting cultures. This chapter explores the potential for deeper analysis of Pacific contributions to aquatic recreational practices via Solomon Islands swimming. The focus is on the contributions and representations of Alick Wickham (1886–1967), a Solomon Islander who lived in Australia during the first three decades of the 20th century. Wickham, who was a champion swimmer and diver recognised nationally and internationally for his abilities, is popularly credited with introducing the crawl, or freestyle, stroke to swimming competition. While some commentators acknowledge that Wickham's crawl stroke was a practice called tapatapala in his home, Roviana, on New Georgia in the western Solomons, and that some of his other techniques and styles had Solomon Islands origins, little attention is paid to these Pacific cultural antecedents. This chapter examines Wickham's styles, reflects on their Roviana influences, and asks why these Pacific dimensions of his aquatic practices were, and continue to be, overlooked. This marginalisation of Pacific swimming cultures is analysed through the lenses of prevailing racial hierarchies and whiteness as a dominant discourse that continues to privilege white Australia development of the crawl stroke over its Solomons origins and elides other water practices that influenced Wickham.

Citation

Osmond, G. (2024), "Solomon Islands Swimming: Racial Hierarchies and the Marginalisation of Pacific Swimming Cultures", Kanemasu, Y. (Ed.) Towards a Pacific Island Sociology of Sport (Research in the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 22), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 23-41. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1476-285420240000022002