Origins of fencing in Australia

In their paper Prestige, Privilege and Polite Society: The Origins of Fencing in New South Wales 1800 To 1939, Richard Emmerick and Daryl Adair, of University of Technology Sydney note that duelling was banned in Britain and Australia in the 1850s as formal policing increased, but persisted in parts of Europe until the 1930s. With dueling outlawed in the British Empire, foil, epee, and sabre became sporting weapons, while fencing practice also included tools such as the smallsword, bayonet and singlestick. Fencing arrived in Australia with the military, together with European colonisation from 1788, and by the 1800s fencing schools and advertisements appeared following the codification of the sport of fencing.

In Australia, fencing competitions from the beginning of the twentieth century involved the three key weapons with strict rules and etiquette (still consistent in many respects with current standards). The bayonet was also still taught in fencing clubs, but there were no formal competitions for this type of weapon. Similarly, the smallsword was also only used for exhibitions, having been replaced in tournaments by the epee.

Fencing was included in the first modern Olympics in 1896, with the first men's and women's world championships in 1906 and the F.I.E. founded in 1913. Women joined Olympic fencing in 1924, making it one of the few sports for women at the time. Despite these global developments, Australia lacked national or state fencing bodies until later, so competitions were club-based, with The Sydney Swords Club leading early efforts. Attempts to create official state organizations faced opposition but eventually succeeded when international requirements made them necessary, though not in time for Australian fencers to participate in the 1932 Olympics. The first Australian Olympic fencing team competed in 1952 after a national body formed in 1946.

This focus on amateur status influenced clubs like The Swords Club, which split groups based on strict definitions of amateurism—excluding professionals and even paid sports teachers. Victoria's association defined amateurs as those never competing for money or against professionals, but the Australian Olympic Committee adopted a broader definition, emphasizing participation solely for pleasure without material gain. This approach reflected the British-influenced cult of amateurism central to Olympic ideals.

After its creation in 1932, the New South Wales Amateur Fencing Association organized annual championships, but it disbanded during World War II and did not restart until 1946.

Emmerick and Adair's history of fencing in New South Wales highlighted three notable themes:

  • the association of fencing with social elitism;

  • migration’s impact on both fencing and coaching; and

  • the involvement of women in the sport and its instruction;

Fencing has a rather exclusive, even elitist pedigree. Chamberlayne’s State of Great Britain, in its reference to English pastimes, places the use of the sword with the nobility and the gentry. Cashman, a doyen of Australian sport history, notes the interest of the colonial military in swordsmanship, with officers engaged in fencing as an expression of their elite status among fellow soldiers and in the wider community.

Throughout the early twentieth century, influential individuals such as NSW Premier W.A.Holman, president of the Sydney Swords Club and Governor-General Sir Munro Ferguson were active participants. Chief Justice F.R. Jordan engaged in regular instruction for two decades.

Fencing, being technically demanding to both learn and teach, required the expertise of well-trained coaches. As local training infrastructure was limited, the migration of foreign (particularly British-trained) coaches was essential to the establishment and development of fencing in the region.

Australia continued to benefit from migrant coaches, including those from Hungary after World War II and Russia following the 1990s. In 1988, post-Tiananmen Square, Australia also welcomed Chinese fencing coaches as political refugees, further contributing to the sport's expansion.

Women have maintained a significant connection with fencing, with records of female duels dating back to 1650. International women’s fencing competitions began in 1906 with the inaugural Women’s World Championships.

In Australia, evidence exists of women participating in fencing as early as 1914 in South Australia and at The Swords Club in New South Wales from 1913. The club hosted Australasia’s first women’s fencing championship in June 1919, and Miss Hera Roberts was subsequently described by Sydney’s Triad journal as ‘one of the finest women fencers in the Southern Hemisphere’.

Many women entering fencing during the 1920s and 1930s were students at the Australian College of Physical Education, pursuing careers in teaching.

By 1924, women’s fencing became part of the Olympic program, fostering increased female participation across Australia, with regular competitions held between the world wars. Miss Kathleen Meek achieved the distinction of becoming the first Australian woman to hold a national fencing title (1913–15). The Swords Club reported 30 female members and an assistant coach, Miss Sylvia Forrest, by 1938. Forrest, mentored by Stuart, earned titles from the Academie d’Armes de Paris and London honours, and in 1935 was regarded by Stuart as the best fencer he had encountered, regardless of gender.