Historical information

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 1997 the Men's Winner was Paul Gray from Australia in a time of 1:43:07. The winner of the Women's event was Camille Melvey of Australia in a time of 2:06:58.

Significance

This poster is significant because it documents an event which brings international attention to Falls Creek and the surrounding region.

Physical description

A large poster featuring a main image of many skiers on the slopes, with a larger image of a female skier superimposed over it. A title is written in the top left section of the poster in orange text. Remaining text is in black. The logos of Worldloppet, Southern Hydro, Alpine Resorts Commission Victoria and the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club are also included in the left side of the poster.

Inscriptions & markings

In top left: Kangaroo Hoppet / August 30 1997 Falls Creek Australia
At the bottom beneath images: Kangaroo Hoppet 42km Birkebeiner 21km Joey Hoppet 7km
Race Secretary P.O. Box 400 Mt. Beauty 3699 Tel: (03) 5754 3103 Fax: (03) 5754 4475