Limit search to available items
Book Cover
Book
Author O'Hara, John, 1948-

Title A mug's game : a history of gaming and betting in Australia / John O'Hara
Published [Kensington, N.S.W.] : New South Wales University Press, [1988]
Kensington, N.S.W. : New South Wales University Press, 1988
©1988
©1988

Copies

Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 W'PONDS  795.0994 Oha/Mga  AVAILABLE
Description [xiv], 285 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 22 cm
Contents Includes index
Includes list of abbreviations
Summary From cover:- Almost ninety percent of Australians gamble- anything from two-up to the Melbourne Cup sweep; from the 'pokies' [poker machines] to the glittering casinos; from the Harold Park trots to frog jumping contests in Queensland. Gambling is our national obsession and has been an Integral part of our history since the first convicts and settlers gambled with coins, cards and dice. In the nineteenth century gaming and betting of one sort or another was enjoyed by all sections of society, whether at the race-tracks, In the gentlemen's clubs or In the bars and taverns at night. Despite opposition by the wowser element, the voice of moral concern determined to eradicate society of this evil, the passion for the tum of the card, the swiftness of the steed or the throw of the dice flourished into the twentieth century, even in the face of restrictive legislation. A Mug's Game is the story of this remarkable aspect of Australia's history, a fascinating picture of the struggle for dominance between classes with differing values, and of individuals of infamy and notoriety. It is the most definitive and complete history of the extraordinary relationship between Australians and gambling
Notes Includes index
Bibliography Bibliography
Subject Gambling -- Australia -- History.
Gambling -- Texts.
Gambling -- Australia.
Gambling.
Horse racing -- Betting -- Australia -- History.
LC no. 86840298
ISBN 0868400599 (paperback: corrected)
0868402982
(paperback: corrected)
Other Titles A history of gaming and betting in Australia