1950 British Empire Games

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IV British Empire Games
Host cityAuckland, New Zealand
Nations12
Athletes590
Events87
Opening4 February 1950
Closing11 February 1950
Opened byBernard Freyberg
Athlete's OathStan Lay
Main venueEden Park
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The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. A documentary film of the games was made by the New Zealand National Film Unit.[1] The main venue was Eden Park, although the closing ceremonies were held at Western Springs Stadium, see New Zealand at the 1950 British Empire Games. The fourth games were originally awarded to Montreal, Canada and were to be held in 1942 but were cancelled due to World War II.[2]

Participating teams[edit]

Countries that participated

(Teams participating for the first time in bold).

Games venue[edit]

The main stadium was at Eden Park. Other venues were the Auckland Town Hall (boxing and wrestling), the Drill Hall (fencing), Western Springs (cycling and the closing ceremony) Lake Karapiro (rowing), and the Newmarket Olympic Pool (swimming). Accommodation was at the Ardmore Teachers' Training College, 23 miles (37 kilometres) away at South Auckland. Total attendance was 246,694; higher than the following three Games, 1954 (159,636), 1958 (178,621) and 1962 (224,987).[3]

Medals by country[edit]

At the 1950 British Empire Games all the teams won at least one medal.

  *   Host nation (New Zealand)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Australia (AUS)34271980
2 England (ENG)19161348
3 New Zealand (NZL)*10222153
4 Canada (CAN)891330
5 South Africa (SAF)84820
6 Scotland (SCO)53210
7 Malaya (MAL)2114
8 Fiji (FIJ)1225
9 Ceylon (CEY)1214
10 Nigeria (NGR)0101
 Southern Rhodesia (SRH)0101
 Wales (WAL)0101
Totals (12 entries)888980257

Medals by event[edit]

Athletics[edit]

Boxing[edit]

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Flyweight  Hugh Riley (SCO) Dominion of Ceylon K. Edwin (CEY) South Africa Marcus Temple (SAF)
Bantamweight South Africa Johnny van Rensburg (SAF) Dominion of Ceylon Albert Perera (CEY)  Len Walters (CAN)
Featherweight  Henry Gilliland (SCO) Southern Rhodesia Andy Verceuil (RHO)  Peter Brander (ENG)
Lightweight  Ronny Latham (ENG)  Billy Barber (AUS)  Jim Barnden (NZL)
Welterweight  Terry Ratcliffe (ENG)  Bill Seewitz (AUS) Dominion of Ceylon Alex Obeysekere (CEY)
Middleweight South Africa Theunis van Schalkwyk (SAF)  James Beal (NZL)  Bill Pinkus (CAN)
Light heavyweight  Don Scott (ENG)  Chris Rollinson (NZL)  Jack Taylor (AUS)
Heavyweight  Frank Creagh (NZL)  Sid Cousins (AUS) none awarded

Cycling[edit]

Track[edit]

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Time Trial  Russell Mockridge (AUS) 1:13.4  Sid Patterson (AUS) 1:13.5  Tommy Godwin (ENG) 1:13.6
Sprint 1000 m  Russell Mockridge (AUS) 2–0  Sid Patterson (AUS) 0–2  Graham Avery (NZL) 2–1
4000 m Ind. Pursuit  Cyril Cartwright (ENG) 5:16.3  Russell Mockridge (AUS) 5:27.0  Les Lock (NZL) 5:26.7
10-mile Scratch  Bill Heseltine (AUS) 23:23.4  Les Lock (NZL)  Ken Caves (AUS)

Road[edit]

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Road race  Hector Sutherland (AUS) 3'13:06.4  Nick Carter (NZL) 3'13:06.5  Jack Fowler (AUS) 3'13:06.6

Diving[edit]

Men's events[edit]

Event Gold Silver Bronze
3 m springboard  George Athans (CAN) 169.21  Peter Heatly (SCO) 168.80  Jack Stewart (NZL) 168.17
10 m platform  Peter Heatly (SCO) 156.07  George Athans (CAN) 145.36  Frank Murphy (AUS) 129.40

Women's events[edit]

Event Gold Silver Bronze
3 m springboard  Edna Child (ENG) 126.58  Noeline MacLean (AUS) 124.59  Lynda Hunt (CAN) 115.38
10 m platform  Edna Child (ENG) 70.89  Gwen Fawcett (AUS) 65.64  Noeline MacLean (AUS) 59.93

Fencing[edit]

Men's events[edit]

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Foil  René Paul (ENG) 7 wins  John Fethers (AUS) 6 wins  Georges Pouliot (CAN) 4 wins
Foil team  England
Arthur Pilbrow
Robert Anderson
René Paul
20 wins  New Zealand
Austen Gittos
Gordon Dearing
Murray Gittos
Malcolm Millar
13 wins  Canada
Georges Pouliot
Robert Desjarlais
Edward Brooke
12 win
Épée  Charles de Beaumont (ENG) 7 wins  Robert Anderson (ENG) 6 wins  Ivan Lund (AUS) 5 wins
Épée team  Australia
Allan Jay
Ivan Lund
Charles Stanmore
3 wins  England
René Paul
Charles de Beaumont
Robert Anderson
2 wins  Canada
Georges Pouliot
Robert Desjarlais
Edward Brooke
1 win
Sabre  Arthur Pilbrow (ENG)  Robert Anderson (ENG)  Georges Pouliot (CAN)
Sabre team  England
Charles de Beaumont
Arthur Pilbrow
Robert Anderson
4 wins  Canada
Georges Pouliot
Robert Desjarlais
Edward Brooke
2 wins  Australia
Norman Booth
Leslie Chillug
Edwin Dean
Jock Gibson
1 win

Women's events[edit]

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Foil  Mary Glen-Haig (ENG) 7 wins  Patricia Woodroffe (NZL) 6 wins  Catherine Pym (AUS) 5 wins

Lawn bowls[edit]

Rowing[edit]

All events were for men only. The events were held at Lake Karapiro, 160 kilometres (99 mi) south of Auckland. Three special trains took 1500 people to Cambridge on 7 February 1950.[4]

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Single sculls  Mervyn Wood (AUS) 7:46.8  Tony Rowe (ENG) 7:54.0 South Africa Ian Stephen (SAF) 8:04.0
Double sculls  Mervyn Wood
and Murray Riley (AUS)
7:22  Joe Schneider
and Des Simonson (NZL)
7:32  Ken Tinegate
and Jack Brown (ENG)
7:39
Coxless pair  Wal Lambert
and Jack Webster (AUS)
7:58  David Gould
and Humphrey Gould (NZL)
8:10 none awarded
Coxed four  New Zealand
Ted Johnson
John O'Brien
Bill James
Bill Carroll
Colin Johnstone
7:17.2  Australia
Leslie Montgomery
Erwin Elder
Cecil Winkworth
Kenneth Gee
Kevin Fox
7:24.0 none awarded
Eights  Australia
Alan Brown
Bruce Goswell
Edward Pain
Eric Longley
James Barnes
Peter Holmes a Court
Phil Cayzer
Bob Tinning
Ross Selman
6:27  New Zealand
Bruce Culpan
Donald Adam
Don Rowlands
Edwin Smith
Grahame Jarratt
Kerry Ashby
Murray Ashby
Thomas Engel
William Tinnock
6:27.5  England
Tony Butcher
Hank Rushmere
Michael Lapage
Patrick Bradley
Peter de Giles
Peter Kirkpatrick
Dickie Burnell
William Windham
Jack Dearlove
6:40

Swimming[edit]

Men's events[edit]

Event Gold Silver Bronze
110 yd freestyle  Peter Salmon (CAN) 1:00.4  Frank O'Neill (AUS) 1:00.6  Pat Kendall (ENG) 1:01.8
440 yd freestyle  Garrick Agnew (AUS) 4:49.4 South Africa Graham Johnston (SAF) 4:51.3  Buddy Lucas (NZL) 5:02.5
1650 yd freestyle South Africa Graham Johnston (SAF) 19:55.7  Jim Portelance (CAN) 20:08.3  Buddy Lucas (NZL) 20:10.1
110 yd backstroke South Africa Jackie Wiid (SAF) 1:07.7  John Brockway (WAL) 1:08.0  Bert Kinnear (SCO) 1:10.8
220 yd breaststroke  David Hawkins (AUS) 2:54.1  Roy Romain (ENG) 2:54.2  Ron Sharpe (AUS) 2:56.0
4×220 yd freestyle relay  New Zealand
Buddy Lucas
Lyall Barry
Michael Amos
Noel Chambers
9:27.7  Australia
Barrie Kellaway
Garrick Agnew
Frank O'Neill
James Beard
9:34.5  England
Donald Bland
Jack Hale
Pat Kendall
Ray Legg
9:36.8
3×110 yd medley relay  England
Jack Hale
Pat Kendall
Roy Romain
3:26.6  Canada
Allen Gilchrist
Lucien Beaumont
Peter Salmon
3:29.4  New Zealand
John Shanahan
Lyall Barry
Peter Mathieson
3:30.1

Women's events[edit]

Event Gold Silver Bronze
110 yd freestyle  Marjorie McQuade (AUS) 1:09.0  Margaret Wellington (ENG) 1:09.6 South Africa Joan Harrison (SAF) 1:10.7
440 yd freestyle South Africa Joan Harrison (SAF) 5:26.4  Margaret Wellington (ENG) 5:33.7  Denise Norton (AUS) 5:33.8
110 yd backstroke  Judy-Joy Davies (AUS) 1:18.6  Jean Stewart (NZL) 1:19.1  Helen Yate (ENG) 1:20.5
220 yd breaststroke  Elenor Gordon (SCO) 3:01.7  Nancy Lyons (AUS) 3:03.6  Elizabeth Church (ENG) 3:10.3
4×110 yd freestyle relay  Australia
Denise Spencer
Denise Norton
Judy-Joy Davies
Marjorie McQuade
4:44.9  New Zealand
Joan Hastings
Kristin Jacobi
Norma Bridson
Winifred Griffin
4:48.7  England
Grace Wood
Helen Yate
Lillian Preece
Margaret Wellington
4:56.0
3×110 yd medley relay  Australia
Judy-Joy Davies
Marjorie McQuade
Nancy Lyons
3:53.8  England
Elizabeth Church
Helen Yate
Margaret Wellington
3:56.6  Scotland
Elizabeth Turner
Elenor Gordon
Margaret Girvan
3:58.9

Water polo[edit]

Water polo was contested by men's teams only, with New Zealand and Australia the only two teams entered. The matches were played at the Olympic Pool in Newmarket.

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Tournament  Australia
John Amadee
Peter Bennett
Bruce Bourke
John Bourke
Herman Doerner
Owen Doerner
Ronald Faulds
Colin French
Kevin Hallett
Malcolm Hastie
Percy Johnston
James McKay
Francis Murphy
Frank O'Neill
3 wins  New Zealand
Charles Brown
Jim Cameron
Terry Harris
Bob Hatchwell
Barrie Hutchinson
Tom Logan
Edward Raven
Jim Walsh
Neil Williams
Wally Williams
 
 
 
 
0 wins none awarded

Weightlifting[edit]

All events were for men only.

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Bantamweight Federation of Malaya Tho Fook Hung (MAL) 655 lb  Rosaire Smith (CAN) 615 lb  Keith Caple (AUS) 600 lb
Featherweight Federation of Malaya Koh Eng Tong (MAL) 685 lb  Julian Creus (ENG) 670 lb South Africa Barrie Engelbrecht (SAF) 640 lb
Lightweight  Jim Halliday (ENG) 760 lb Federation of Malaya Thong Saw Pak (MAL) 735 lb  Vern Barberis (AUS) 730 lb
Middleweight  Gerry Gratton (CAN) 795 lb  Tony George (NZL) 740 lb  Fred Griffin (AUS) 720 lb
Light Heavyweight  Jim Varaleau (CAN) 815 lb South Africa Issy Bloomberg (SAF) 815 lb Federation of Malaya Tan Kim Bee (MAL) 765 lb
Heavyweight  Harold Cleghorn (NZL) 900 lb  Ray Magee (AUS) 830 lb none awarded

Wrestling[edit]

All events were for men only.

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Flyweight  Bert Harris (AUS) 1 win  Eric Matthews (NZL) 1 loss none awarded
Bantamweight  Douglas Mudgway (NZL) 1 win  Jim Chapman (AUS) 1 loss none awarded
Featherweight  John Armitt (NZL) 3 wins  Roland Milord (CAN) 2 w – 1 l  Arnold Parsons (ENG) 1 w – 2 l
Lightweight  Dick Garrard (AUS) 3 wins  Morgan Plumb (CAN) 2 wins  Gordon Hobson (NZL) 1 win
Welterweight  Henry Hudson (CAN) 3 wins  Jack Little (AUS) 3 w – 1 l South Africa Martin Jooste (SAF) 1 win
Middleweight  Maurice Vachon (CAN) 3 wins  Bruce Arthur (AUS) 3 w – 1 l South Africa Callie Reitz (SAF) 2 w – 2 l
Light heavyweight South Africa Pat Morton (SAF) 2 wins  Arthur Sneddon (NZL) 1 win  Tom Trevaskis (AUS)
Heavyweight  Jim Armstrong (AUS) 3 wins  Pat O'Connor (NZL) 2 wins  Kenneth Richmond (ENG) 1 win

References[edit]

  1. ^ Martin, Helen; Edwards, Sam (1997). "New Zealand film, 1912-1996". Trove. Auckland ; Melbourne ; Oxford :Oxford University Press. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Auckland 1950". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  3. ^ Dheensaw page 35-41
  4. ^ Churchman & Hurst 2001, p. 106.

Further reading[edit]

  • Churchman, Geoffrey B; Hurst, Tony (2001) [1990, 1991]. The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey through History (Second ed.). Transpress New Zealand. ISBN 0-908876-20-3.

External links[edit]

Preceded by
Sydney
British Empire Games
Auckland
IV British Empire Games
Succeeded by
Vancouver