Manly Rugby Sun, Surf & Scrums: The Story of the Manly Marlins
Local History Collectible Sports Book Australian Sports Rugby History Beach Culture Amateur Athletics Team Biography
Manly Rugby Sun, Surf & Scrums: The Story of the Manly Marlins is the definitive 482-page hardback chronicle of one of Australia’s most iconic amateur football clubs. Published in 2015 and presented in a sturdy dust-jacketed hardcover, this very-good-condition volume traces the Manly Marlins from their barefoot beginnings on Sydney’s northern beaches in the late 19th century to their modern-day battles in the Shute Shield. Author Wavell Wakefield blends match-day drama with beachside culture, showing how sun, surf and scrums forged a distinctively Australian rugby identity that has influenced the national style of play.
Collectors prize this book for its rarity—only a single print run was issued under ISBN 9780646931944—making clean copies increasingly hard to find. Inside are never-before-republished team photographs, programmes and scrapbook clippings sourced from club basements and private family albums, all reproduced on high-grade paper that still feels crisp. The oversized format lets panoramic shots of the 1970s championship sides spill across two pages, while decade-by-decade statistics tables satisfy the most data-hungry fan.
Beyond the numbers, Wakefield captures the larrikin spirit that turned a casual Saturday kick-about into a breeding ground for Wallabies. Young adult and adult readers alike will relish stories of pre-match surf sessions, post-try celebrations at the Steyne Hotel, and the community fundraising that kept the club afloat during two world wars and the professional era. Whether you’re a Marlins old-boy hunting nostalgia, a rugby historian building an Antipodean collection, or a newcomer wanting to understand how beach lifestyle shaped Australian sport, this copy delivers an authoritative, entertaining and highly giftable addition to any sports library.
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