Late in 1929, a relatively unknown Sydney athlete called Christina Dahm began to run some very fast times for the 100 yards sprint. Earlier in the decade Dahm had competed in a number of professional races. She was not particularly successful in these carnivals and disappeared from the track for a few years. In 1929, inspired by the participation of women in the Amsterdam Olympics, she returned to the track at the age of 25, training seriously for the first time in her life.

Chrissie Dahm wins the NSW 100y title.   She ran a time of 10.9w in 1929.

In January 1930, for the first time, Australian championships were held for both men's and women's teams. The championships were to be held in Melbourne and only three women's events were allowed to be contested.

Chrissie Dahm dominated the 100y at these championships and was considered a great hope for the first Empire Games, to be held in Canada later that year.

Dahm easily won the final beating Queensland star Rita Dean and Tasmania's Edith Youll in a swift time of 11.1 seconds. This time was faster than the listed national record, but was judged to be wind assisted by the officials.

A week later in Sydney, she won the NSW 100y title running a remarkable 10.9 seconds which broke the listed world record. Again her time was ruled wind assisted and not considered.

Jean Cartmill Outstanding Hurdler

Clarice Kennedy was another standout in the 1929/30 season. She had been an outstanding schoolgirl sprinter from 1924-1928 and in 1929 adopted the hurdles as her pet event. Early in 1930 she broke the world record for 80m Hurdles running 12.2 in Sydney. She easily won the National Championships in 1930 beating the Queenslanders Jean Cartmill and Rita Dean. Dahm, Kennedy and Dean were all nominated for the 1930 Empire Games team before it became known that no women's athletics events were to be held. Queensland's Jean Cartmill had only just turned 16 years of age when she competed at the 1930 Nationals, but had already run an outstanding 11.6 for 80 yards Hurdles.

In 1930 the regular events for women at interclub and state championships were fairly limited. The program generally consisted of 75y/100y/220y/4x110y relay/880y Walk/Hurdles - either 80m or 90y/Long Jump/High Jump and perhaps the Discus.

The Queensland association was certainly the most progressive of the associations and held 440y/880y and even Two Miles Cross Country events from 1929.

From 1930 Shot Putt and Javelin events for women began to appear more frequently on programs in NSW, Queensland and Victoria. In 1932 NSW women competed in the Triathlon event but the always progressive Qld women conducted a non-standard Decathlon for women won by the all-round star Thelma Mason-Peake.

Eileen Wearne was the standout sprinter of the 1931/32 season and was the only woman athlete chosen in the Olympic team, where numbers were restricted because of the economic climate. Wearne did not progress beyond her heat in Los Angeles.

The formation of state associations in Qld, NSW, Victoria and SA led to the creation of the Australian Amateur Athletic Association in 1932 and its' first National Championships for women only were held in Melbourne in 1933.

It was resolved to conduct championships each two years and future championships were awarded to Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide. Tasmania and Western Australia were unable to form state bodies and so were left without a voice in affairs.

Competitions had been held in Tasmania prior to 1920 but it was only in 1938 that a state body was created. In 1932, Decima Norman had won the first WA amateur 100y/220y titles, but a WA amateur association for women was not formed until 1937, precluding her entry into national meets.

Clarice Kennedy (left) and Thelma Peake (right)
Outstanding all-round athletes of the 1930s

Australian women were unlucky not to be chosen for the 1934 Empire Games in London. Women's events were included for the first time but no Australian representatives were selected in the national team.

The (male) selectors had decided that the extra expense required to send women's coaches or chaperones was not justified. A number of great all-round athletes were thus denied the chance to represent their county internationally.

Clarice Kennedy (hurdles, discus, javelin), Thelma Peake (sprints, distances, hurdles, long jump) and Doris Carter (high jump, hurdles, discus) alone would have been a formidable Australian team. Coupled with a couple of sprinters (and the obligatory chaperone), a squad of six could have done extremely well at the 1934 Empire Games.

The World Women's Games were also being held in London, a day or so after the Empire Games, so Australia's women were dealt a double blow.

Kennedy, Peake and Carter were also the main contenders for Olympic selection honours in 1936, but only Carter was selected after some controversy. The women's association claimed they sent the names of Carter and Kennedy to the men's board as their nominations but the male committee claimed only Carter's name had been communicated to them.

In the end only Doris Carter went to Berlin as Australia's only female athlete. In those Games she become the first Australian woman to reach an Olympic athletics final, placing equal sixth in the High Jump.

Western Australian Decima Norman
First Commonwealth Games Golden Girl

Finally, with the 1938 Empire Games to be held in Sydney, it seemed that Australia would be represented by a sizeable team. Still the selectors were conservative; announcing a very small team immediately after the trials.  Further nominations were later announced, although Sydney residents had an advantage and were chosen in preference to higher-ranked athletes from other states.

At these Games, Decima Norman became the greatest champion the Empire Games had known winning the 100y, 220y, Long Jump and running on both victorious relay teams. Norman was also an excellent hurdler and competent at High Jump and 440y.  Her athletic ability and her desire to compete for Australia internationally had been the major catalyst for the formation of a Western Australian association in 1937.

It was a foregone conclusion that Norman would have been the number one choice for selection in the 1940 Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo (and later Helsinki). The escalation of hostilities that led to World War II eventually forced the cancellation of these Games and the retirement of Decima Norman.

Norman was one of many Australian (and international) athletes whose sporting careers were all spoiled by the war.

100y

11.0	Eileen Wearne	(N)		1	Sydney		16/12/33
11.0	Edie Robinson	(N)	06	1	Sydney		17/03/34
11.0	Eileen Wearne	(N)		1	Sydney		01/02/37
11.0	Amy Bremer	(V)		1	Melbourne	18/02/37
11.0	Thelma Peake	(Q)	14	1	Brisbane	28/08/37
11.0	Joyce Walker	(N)		1	Sydney		04/02/39
11.0	Joyce Mitchell	(V)		1	Melbourne	11/03/39
11.0	Decima Norman	(W)	15	1 hcp	Morrinsville	18/03/39

wind assisted?
10.9	Chrissie Dahm	(N)	04	1	Sydney		08/02/30
11.0	Amy Bremer	(V)		1	Melbourne	08/02/36
11.0	Joyce Mitchell	(V)		1	Melbourne	04/03/39

100m

12.3	Eileen Wearne	(N)		1	Sydney		30/01/32

wind assisted?
12.3	Eileen Wearne	(N)		1	Sydney		19/03/32

220y

24.5	Decima Norman	(W)	15	1	Sydney		10/02/38

440y

58.2	Irene Talbot	(V)		1	Melbourne	19/02/38

880y

2-25.2	Audr. Bradfield	(V)		1	Melbourne	05/03/39

unconfirmed
2-24.7	Audr. Bradfield	(V)			Melbourne	00/00/39

80m Hurdles	

12.0	Thelma Peake	(Q)	14	1	Brisbane	05/09/36

wind assisted?
11.7e	Isobel Grant	(V)		2	Sydney		12/02/39

90y Hurdles	

12.1	Shirley Curtin	(W)		1	Perth		04/02/39 * 1 watch
12.1	Decima Norman	(W)	15	1	Sydney		04/02/39

unconfirmed
11.7	Thelma Peake	(Q)	14				00/00/38

Long Jump

5.80	Decima Norman	(W)	15	1	Sydney		07/02/38

High Jump

1.615	Doris Carter	(V)	12	1	Melbourne	01/02/36

Shot Putt	

10.09	Vera Cowan	(V)		1	Melbourne	08/12/37

Discus	

38.67	Doris Carter	(V)	12	1	Melbourne	02/12/39

Javelin

39.12	Charlotte McGibbon (V)		1	Melbourne	25/11/39

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