This photo is part of the Fred Griffith Photographic Collection. Frederick Charles “Fred” Griffith was born in Albury, NSW on 2 March 1910. He was one of the pioneers behind the development of Falls Creek and an inaugural member of the Albury Ski Club. After a serious work accident, Fred retired in 1985 and moved to Rosebud, Victoria where he died on 19 August 1992. A Bogong ski team travelled to the South Island, New Zealand in 1950 and raced in the Wigley Cup, becoming the first Australian club team to compete in New Zealand. The trip was organised and the team was coached by Toni St Elmo and Tom MItchell.This image depicts an important step in the development of Falls Creek and the sport of snow skiing in Australia.A collection of black and white photo depicting the Bogong Ski team of 1950.fred griffith, albury ski club, falls creek, bowna ski club

This article is from the Swedish ski magazine "Inbjudan" in 1991. In 1977 a group of cross country skiers in Mount Beauty, decided to form a cross country ski club. Some of them had skied in Norway and taken part in the Norwegian Birkebeiner Ski Race in 1979, the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club was formed. In 1989, a 42km event named the Australian Birkebeiner Ski Marathon was held and the organisers also included a half distance of 21km called the Birkebeiner and a 7km event called the Birkebeiner Lite. This article outlines the work of Allan Marsland, the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club, the Alpine Resorts Commission, the Australian Ski Federation and Tourism Victoria to be accepted into the Worldloppet international series.This item is important as it documents seasonal activities at Falls Creek Alpine Resort A magazine cover and article about the quest to be included in the Worldloppet series, including text and black and white images.skiing, ski, falls creek, victoria, school holidays, winter, snow, winter sport, 1990s, marketing, graphic design

The Kangaroo Hoppet is Australia’s premier long distance cross country ski race, and a member of the Worldloppet series of international cross country ski events. The first race at Falls Creek was held in 1979 under the name of “Australian Birkebeiner”. It was a 21km race with about 80 participants organised by the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club of Mount Beauty. The course started and finished at Falls Creek Alpine Resort and took participants out into the Bogong High Plains. After running the event for 10 years, it was decided they should become part of the Worldloppet series of marathon ski races. Representatives from the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club and the Australian Ski Federation attended the Worldloppet Annual Meeting in Finland in June 1990 to put the case for the acceptance of an Australian event into the Worldloppet series. Before being admitted, they had to demonstrate that the Birkebeiner Club could run a world class event, so three months later in August 1990 a 42km event named the Australian International Ski Marathon was held at Falls Creek together with a 21km Birkebeiner race and a 7km event called the Birkebeiner Lite. The event was approved by delegates from USA, Norway and Austria, in 1991 Australia became the 12th member of Worldloppet, with the condition that there had to be a name change. After some late night discussion allegedly involving red wine from North East Victoria the main event became the 42km Kangaroo Hoppet, with the minor events being the 21km Australian Birkebeiner, and 7km Joey Hoppet. In the winter of 1991, the first Kangaroo Hoppet was held. It was a great success and has been a regular fixture on the international ski calendar ever since. It features the main 42km event as well as a 21km event and a 7km event. The Hoppet brings the Australian snowfields to an international audience. In 1991 the Men's Winner was John Aalberg from USA in a time of 1:56:12. The winner of the Women's event was Betsy Youngman of USA in a time of 2:16:55.This poster is significant because it documents an event which brings international attention to Falls Creek and the surrounding region.A large coloured poster featuring several images: from top:- Kangaroo symbol: a large group of cross country skiers; sunset over the mountains; mountains in the daytime with a skier on the right and the central image of a skier superimposed over the other images. The logo for Worldloppet is in the centre beneath the main image beside the logo for QANTAS. This was the poster for the first Kangaroo Hoppet held as an international event.Above image: AUSTRALIA' S SKI MARATHON / FALLS CREEK VICTORIA / Kangaroo Hoppet Beneath image: 31 AUGUST 1991 / 42/21/7 km DETAILS FROM RACE SECRETARY BOX 192 MT. BEAUTY 3699 AUSTRALIAkangaroo hoppet, worldloppet events, falls creek, mt. beauty

The Kangaroo Hoppet is Australia’s premier long distance cross country ski race, and a member of the Worldloppet series of international cross country ski events. The first race at Falls Creek was held in 1979 under the name of “Australian Birkebeiner”. It was a 21km race with about 80 participants organised by the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club of Mount Beauty. The course started and finished at Falls Creek Alpine Resort and took participants out into the Bogong High Plains. After running the event for 10 years, it was decided they should become part of the Worldloppet series of marathon ski races. Representatives from the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club and the Australian Ski Federation attended the Worldloppet Annual Meeting in Finland in June 1990 to put the case for the acceptance of an Australian event into the Worldloppet series. Before being admitted, they had to demonstrate that the Birkebeiner Club could run a world class event, so three months later in August 1990 a 42km event named the Australian International Ski Marathon was held at Falls Creek together with a 21km Birkebeiner race and a 7km event called the Birkebeiner Lite. The event was approved by delegates from USA, Norway and Austria, in 1991 Australia became the 12th member of Worldloppet, with the condition that there had to be a name change. After some late night discussion allegedly involving red wine from North East Victoria the main event became the 42km Kangaroo Hoppet, with the minor events being the 21km Australian Birkebeiner, and 7km Joey Hoppet. In the winter of 1991, the first Kangaroo Hoppet was held. It was a great success and has been a regular fixture on the international ski calendar ever since. It features the main 42km event as well as a 21km event and a 7km event. The Hoppet brings the Australian snowfields to an international audience. In 1992 the Men's Winner was Gudmund Skjeldal from Norway in a time of 1:47:17. The winner of the Women's event was Beatrice Grunenfelder of Switzerland in a time of 2:12:49. This poster is significant because it documents an event which brings international attention to Falls Creek and the surrounding region.A large coloured poster featuring an aerial photo of cross country skiers from the 1991 event. The logo of the Kangaroo Hoppet is in the centre top position and the Worldloppet logo is in the bottom left corner.At top: AUSTRALIA' S WORLDLOPPET SKI RACE / FALLS CREEK VICTORIA / 29TH AUGUST 1992 Beside Worldloppet logo: Details from Race Secretary Box 192 Mt. Beauty 3699 Australia Photo: Ken Bell, PhotoMotionkangaroo hoppet, worldloppet events, falls creek, mt. beauty