1950 British Empire Games

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 city	Auckland, New Zealand
Nations	12
Athletes	590
Events	87
Opening	4 February 1950
Closing	11 February 1950
Opened by	Bernard Freyberg
Athlete's Oath	Stan Lay
Main venue	Eden Park
← III V →

Participating teams

Countries that participated

•  Australia
•  Canada
•  Ceylon
•  England
•  Fiji
• Malaya—first appearance
•  New Zealand (host)
•  Nigeria—first appearance
•  Scotland
•  South Africa
•  Southern Rhodesia
•  Wales

Games venue

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

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

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Australia (AUS)	34	27	19	80
2	England (ENG)	19	16	13	48
3	New Zealand (NZL)*	10	22	21	53
4	Canada (CAN)	8	9	13	30
5	South Africa (SAF)	8	4	8	20
6	Scotland (SCO)	5	3	2	10
7	Malaya (MAL)	2	1	1	4
8	Fiji (FIJ)	1	2	2	5
9	Ceylon (CEY)	1	2	1	4
10	Nigeria (NGR)	0	1	0	1
	Southern Rhodesia (SRH)	0	1	0	1
	Wales (WAL)	0	1	0	1
Totals (12 entries)		88	89	80	257

Medals by event

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 1950 British Empire Games

Boxing

Boxing medallists by weight division

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
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

Track

Track cycling medallists by event, with times

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

Road race cycling medallists with times

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

Men's events

Medallists in men's diving by event, with points score

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

Medallists in women's diving by event, with points score

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

Men's events

Medallists in men's fencing by discipline, including team events

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

Medalists in women's fencing

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

Lawn bowls

Main article: Lawn bowls at the 1950 British Empire Games

Rowing

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]

Medallists in men's rowing by event, with times

Event	Gold		Silver		Bronze
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

Men's events

Medallists in men's swimming by event, with times

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	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

Medallists in women's swimming by event, with times

Event	Gold		Silver		Bronze
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

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.

Medallists in men's water polo

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

All events were for men only.

Medallists in men's weightlifting by event, with weights

Event	Gold		Silver		Bronze
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

All events were for men only.

Medallists in men's wrestling by event, with win–loss record

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	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

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

• 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

• "Auckland 1950" commonwealthsport.com. Commonwealth Sport.
• "Results and Medalists—1950 British Empire Games" Archived 3 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Thecgf.com. Commonwealth Games Federation.

Preceded by Sydney

British Empire Games Auckland IV British Empire Games

Succeeded by Vancouver