Story: Billiards, snooker, pool and darts

Billiards in the 1860s

Billiards in the 1860s

This sketch from the mid-1860s depicts a game of billiards, probably in Dunedin. The provision of seating for spectators indicates this is taking place in a public billiard room rather than in a private gentlemen's club. Billiard saloons and billiard rooms in hotels opened the game up to become a sport that working-class men could also play and watch. In the 19th century billiards was a popular spectator sport, with considerable audiences watching both amateur tournaments and professional matches.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: E-016-2-042
Pencil sketch by William Mathew Hodgkins

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Peter Clayworth, 'Billiards, snooker, pool and darts - Billiards and its history', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/38475/billiards-in-the-1860s (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Peter Clayworth, published 5 Sep 2013