The 1950 British Empire Games were 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]

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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Participating teams

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Countries that participated

Games venue

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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

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

  *   Host nation (New Zealand)

Medals won by nation, ranked by number of golds—sortable
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

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Athletics

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Boxing

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Boxing medallists by weight division
Flyweight   Hugh Riley (SCO)   K. Edwin (CEY)   Marcus Temple (SAF)
Bantamweight   Johnny van Rensburg (SAF)   Albert Perera (CEY)   Len Walters (CAN)
Featherweight   Henry Gilliland (SCO)   Andy Verceuil (RHO)   Peter Brander (ENG)
Lightweight   Ronny Latham (ENG)   Billy Barber (AUS)   Jim Barnden (NZL)
Welterweight   Terry Ratcliffe (ENG)   Bill Seewitz (AUS)   Alex Obeysekere (CEY)
Middleweight   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

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Track

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Track cycling medallists by event, with times
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

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

Diving

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Men's events

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Medallists in men's diving by event, with points score
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

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Medallists in women's diving by event, with points score
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

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Men's events

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Medallists in men's fencing by discipline, including team events
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

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Medalists in women's fencing
Foil   Mary Glen-Haig (ENG) 7 wins   Patricia Woodroffe (NZL) 6 wins   Catherine Pym (AUS) 5 wins

Lawn bowls

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Rowing

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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
Medallists in men's rowing by event, with times
Single sculls   Mervyn Wood (AUS) 7:46.8   Tony Rowe (ENG) 7:54.0   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

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Men's events

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Medallists in men's swimming by event, with times
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   Graham Johnston (SAF) 4:51.3   Buddy Lucas (NZL) 5:02.5
1650 yd freestyle   Graham Johnston (SAF) 19:55.7   Jim Portelance (CAN) 20:08.3   Buddy Lucas (NZL) 20:10.1
110 yd backstroke   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

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Medallists in women's swimming by event, with times
110 yd freestyle   Marjorie McQuade (AUS) 1:09.0   Margaret Wellington (ENG) 1:09.6   Joan Harrison (SAF) 1:10.7
440 yd freestyle   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

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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
Medallists in men's water polo
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

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All events were for men only.

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Medallists in men's weightlifting by event, with weights
Bantamweight   Tho Fook Hung (MAL) 655 lb   Rosaire Smith (CAN) 615 lb   Keith Caple (AUS) 600 lb
Featherweight   Koh Eng Tong (MAL) 685 lb   Julian Creus (ENG) 670 lb   Barrie Engelbrecht (SAF) 640 lb
Lightweight   Jim Halliday (ENG) 760 lb   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   Issy Bloomberg (SAF) 815 lb   Tan Kim Bee (MAL) 765 lb
Heavyweight   Harold Cleghorn (NZL) 900 lb   Ray Magee (AUS) 830 lb none awarded

Wrestling

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All events were for men only.

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Medallists in men's wrestling by event, with win–loss record
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   Martin Jooste (SAF) 1 win
Middleweight   Maurice Vachon (CAN) 3 wins   Bruce Arthur (AUS) 3 w – 1 l   Callie Reitz (SAF) 2 w – 2 l
Light heavyweight   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

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  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

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