 | |
| 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 |
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 due to World War II. The fourth games were originally awarded to Montreal, Canada and were to be held in 1942 but were cancelled due to the War.[1]
The Games were declared open by Sir Bernard Freyberg. The opening ceremony was held at Eden Park and was sold out with 40,000 people attending.[2] Eden Park also served as the main venue, while the closing ceremonies were held at Western Springs Stadium. Other venues included the Auckland Town Hall and the Newmarket Olympic Pool.[3]
Total attendances were 246,694; higher than the following three Games, 1954 (159,636), 1958 (178,621) and 1962 (224,987).[4]
A 1950 British Empire Games documentary film of the games was made by the New Zealand National Film Unit.[5]
Participating teams
[edit]
Australia
Canada
Ceylon
England
Fiji
Malaya—first appearance
New Zealand (host)
Nigeria—first appearance
Scotland
South Africa
Southern Rhodesia
Wales
Medal table
[edit]At the 1950 British Empire Games all the teams won at least one medal.
* Host nation (New Zealand)
| 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 | .svg){kind=small} 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 | |
Sports
[edit]
Aquatics ()
Diving ()- Swimming ()
Water polo ()
Athletics ()
Boxing ()
Cycling ()
Fencing ()
Lawn bowls ()
Rowing ()
Weightlifting ()
Wrestling ()
Venues
[edit]- Eden Park (opening ceremony and athletics)
- Auckland Town Hall (Great Hall) (boxing and wrestling)
- Auckland Town Hall (Concert Chamber) (weightlifting)
- The Auckland City Drill Hall, Rutland Street (fencing)
- Western Springs Stadium (cycling and the closing ceremony)
- Lake Karapiro (rowing)
- Newmarket Olympic Pool (swimming, diving & water polo)
- Carlton BC and Remuera BC (lawn bowls)
- Accommodation was at the Ardmore Teachers' Training College, 23 miles (37 kilometres) away at South Auckland.
References
[edit]- ^ "Auckland 1950". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- ^ "Empire Games Prospoects". Birmingham Daily Post. 4 February 1950. Retrieved 11 September 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "The Fourth British Empire Games". Ireland's Saturday Night. 9 July 1949. Retrieved 12 September 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Dheensaw page 35-41
- ^ Martin, Helen; Edwards, Sam (1997). "New Zealand film, 1912-1996". Trove. Auckland; Melbourne; Oxford :Oxford University Press. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
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]- "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 |
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