At 7:21am on September 27, 1983, Australia II crossed the finish line off the coast of Newport, Rhode Island, ending the United States’ 132-year hold on the America’s Cup. That day, office workers reportedly abandoned their desks. Schools rolled televisions into classrooms. And Prime Minister Bob Hawke famously declared that any boss who sacked someone for not turning up to work that afternoon was “a bum.”
Across Australia, the win triggered national hysteria. It was the kind of…

