Sunshine Coast Council
As we barrack for the Australian team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, this Backward Glance commemorates our sporting nation and the sporting heroes who represent this great country we live in.
Edwin (Teddy) Flack was Australia’s first gold medallist, winning the 1500m and 800m at the 1896 Athens Games.
Australia has competed at every summer Olympic Games since then and has hosted two summer games – Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000 and now has the won the hosting rights for Brisbane and South East Queensland in 2032.
Did you know one of our early Yandina pioneers who came to Australia in 1915 was Otto Raisanen, a champion wrestler who represented Finland as a young man aged 16? He competed at two Olympic Games for Finland before migrating to Australia.
Sunshine Coast Council
James ‘Jim’ Hocking
James ‘Jim’ Hocking was born in Nambour as the second child of William and Eva Hocking’s five children. When war was declared in 1939, three Hocking boys were ready to sign up. As soon as Jim turned 18, he enlisted with the Citizens Military Forces before being discharged after four months to take up acceptance in the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942.
He was sent to England to train on the heavy bombers of the RAF during World War Two. On July 28, 1944, the 21-year-old RAAF pilot was flying a Stirling Bomber or “flying coffin” during a final training run before heading into battle.