Kookaburra Sport facts for kids
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| Industry | Sporting goods (cricket, field hockey) |
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| Founded | 1890 |
| Founder | Alfred Grace Thompson |
| Headquarters | Moorabbin, Melbourne, Australia |
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Area served
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Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Bangladesh, India |
| Products | Sporting Equipment |
Kookaburra is an Australian sports equipment company, specialising in cricket and field hockey equipment, named after the Australian kingfisher. The company notably manufactures the most widely used brand of ball used in One-day internationals and Test cricket.
The company was founded in 1890 as A.G. Thompson Pty Ltd by Alfred Grace Thompson, a migrant harness and saddle maker who turned to manufacturing cricket balls when his livelihood was threatened by the advent of the motor car. In the mid-1980s, the company branched out into manufacturing the full range of cricket bats, clothing, footwear and protective equipment.
Kookaburra today
In addition to its Australian operations, Kookaburra has offices in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa, Bangladesh and India.
Kookaburra's Turf Cricket Ball has been used exclusively in Australia, New Zealand and South African Test Cricket since 1946.
The company sponsors a junior cricket tournament called the Kookaburra Cup. It also has endorsement deals with many players including former Australia Captain Ricky Ponting and Martin Guptill of New Zealand.
Current ranges of equipment are Kahuna, Fever, Obsidian, Ghost, XLR8, Blaze and Surge. Previous ranges include Diablo, Genesis, Blade,Sword, Ice, Beast and CCX. They are famous for their colourful and artistic designs.
Kookaburra also manufacture hockey sticks and equipment which are used by many top international players. Flagship stick models include the Phoenix L-Bow and the Dragon M-Bow stick.
The Kookaburra Dimple Elite hockey ball has been used in all Olympic Games since 1984.
