The
1974 British Commonwealth Games were held in
Christchurch,
New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Mexico City at the 1968 Summer Olympics. The Games were officially named "the friendly games". There were 1,276 competitors and 372 officials, according to the official history, and public attendance was excellent. The main venue was the
QEII Park, purpose built for this event and one of the most modern in the world when finished.
[citation needed] The Athletics Stadium and fully covered Olympic standard pool, diving tank, and practise pools were all on the one site. The
theme song was "
Join Together", sung by
Steven Allen.
[edit]Security
The Games were the first large international athletic event after the
murder of Israeli athletes at the
1972 Munich Olympics. The Athletes Village, the Student accommodation of
Canterbury University, was temporarily fenced in and guarded for the duration of the games. Official vehicles and persons were only allowed into sensitive areas around the venues.
The logo was the second (after
Edinburgh) to be protected and trademarked,
[1][2] and set a design benchmark which was echoed in the logos of the next five games.
[3]In recent years the logo has been regarded as one of New Zealand's iconic symbols, being reproduced on clothing and elsewhere.
[4][5][edit]Television
The Games were also an important milestone in New Zealand television, marking the introduction of
colour television. Unfortunately, due to the
NZBC's limited colour facilities, only
athletics,
swimming, and
boxing could be broadcast in colour. Meanwhile paralleling the Television coverage, the
National Film Unit produced a fine documented history of the Christchurch games (and the many events) in full colour. This has since been restored and is available on DVD.
[edit]Royal Family
[edit]Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony was held in the mid afternoon, with
Prince Phillip as the attending royal. A fanfare announced the
guard of honour by the
New Zealand Defence Forces, inspected by His Royal Highness. This was followed by the raising of flags of the past, present, and future hosts.
God Save the Queen was sung. The field was then invaded by 2500 school children in red, white and blue rain slicks all forming in the centre to create the NZ74 symbol. A
Māori concert group then performed action songs and a
haka, before the teams march past. The athletes then took the oath and
Sylvia Potts, the runner who fell mere meters from a gold medal finish in the
1970 Commonwealth Games, entered the stadium with the Queen's Baton. It was presented to Prince Phillip who read the message from the Queen declaring the 1974 Christchurch 10th British Commonwealth Games open. The
Commonwealth flag was then marched in and hauled up with a
21 gun salute.
[edit]Precedents Set
While the Opening Ceremony was a regimented and very formal affair, the late afternoon closing ceremony was anything but. This set a precedent for other closing ceremonies since then. With the formalities out of the way, the handing over of the flag to representatives of
Edmonton, Canada, the athletes broke ranks and ran amok, much to the delight of the packed stadium and the Queen herself. A flypast of the then
Red Checkers RNZAF display team brought the ceremony to a close as the Queen and Prince Philip did a lap of honour around the stadium and departed.
[edit]Economic aspects
Christchurch was (and still is) the smallest city to host the modern televised Commonwealth Games. This was the first games that tried using the "Olympic" look with a standard colour scheme for facilities, passes, flags, stationary, and above all uniforms (which wearers only borrowed, but could buy outright as a memento thus helping keep costs down).
This was also the first time a city had asked the Games Federation to allow commercial advertising. This was voted down as the Federation feared advertising by big corporations would remove focus away from the amateur ethos of the Games. As no commercial hoardings were allowed, Christchurch got around this with the use of "sponsorship". One example being
General Motors providing a lease fleet of
Holden HQsedans that would be sold off after the games.
Air New Zealand allowed large NZ74 symbols to be placed on the fuselage sides of the airline's brand new
McDonnell Douglas DC-10s, giving free advertising around the world. This in itself set a trend since with airlines vying to be "official airline" of a particular event.
Although the Games themselves were a success, making a then sizable profit of $500,000, the "sponsorship" wasn't anywhere near enough.The City of Christchurch was left with a financial facilities management debt (QEII Park) of what would be in today's (2008) amount of NZ$100million. This deterred the city from hosting major events until 1990 when the government stepped in with lotteries funding to clear the remaining debt. By then,
Auckland's 1990 games were fully commercialised.
[edit]Medals by country
- * = First medal in the British Commonwealth Games.
[edit]Medals by event
[edit]Athletics
[edit]Badminton
| Event | | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Men's Singles | Men |  Punch Gunalan | |  Jamie Paulson | |  Derek Talbot | |
| Men's Doubles | Men | Elliot Stuart & Derek Talbot | | Ray Stevens & Mike Tredgett | | Punch Gunalan & Dominic Song Chok Soon | |
| Women's Singles | Women | Gillian Gilks (Perrin) | | Margaret Beck | | Sylvia Meow Eng Ng | |
| Women's Doubles | Women | Margaret Beck & Gillian Gilks (Perrin) | | Margaret Boxall & Sue Whetnall | | Rosalind Singha Ang & Sylvia Meow Eng Ng | |
| Mixed Doubles | Mixed | Derek Talbot & Gillian Gilks (Perrin) | | Paul Whetnall & Nora Gardner | | Elliot Stuart & Sue Whetnall | |
| Event | | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Light Flyweight | Men |  Stephen Muchoki | |  James Odwori | |  Syed Kadir | |
| | | |  John Bambrick | |
| Flyweight | Men |  Davy Larmour | |  Chandra Narayanan | |  Saliu Ishola | |
| | | | John Byaruhanga | |
| Bantamweight | Men | Patrick Cowdell | | Ali Rojo | |  Newton Chisanga | |
| | | | Isaac Maina | |
| Featherweight | Men | Edward Ndukwu | | Shadrack Odhiambo | | Dale Andersen | |
| | | | Samuel Mbugua | |
| Lightweight | Men | Ayub Kalule | | Kayin Amah | | Muniswami Venu | |
| | | |  Robert Colley | |
| Light Welterweight | Men | Obisia Nwankpa | |  Anthony Martey | | Philip Mathenge | |
| | | | James Douglas | |
| Welterweight | Men | Mohamed Muruli | |  Errol McKenzie | | John Rodgers | |
| | | | Steve Cooney | |
| Light Middleweight | Men | Lottie Mwale | | Alex Harrison | | Lance Revill | |
| | | | Robert Davies | |
| Middleweight | Men |  Frankie Lucas | | Julius Luipa | | Carl Speare | |
| | | | Leslie Rackley | |
| Light Heavyweight | Men | Billy Knight | | William Byrne | | Gordon Ferris | |
| | | | Isaac Ikhouria | |
| Heavyweight | Men | Neville Meade | | Fatai Ayinla | | Benson Masanda | |
| | | |  Vai Samu | |
[edit]Cycling
| Event | | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Road Race | Men |  Clyde Sefton | 05:07:17 | Phil Griffiths | 05:07:46 | Remo Sansonetti | 05:17:27 |
[edit]Shooting
| Event | | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Free Pistol | Men/Open | Jules Sobrian | 549 | Norman Harrison | 549 | Laslo Antal | 543 |
| Rapid-Fire Pistol | Men/Open | William Hare | 586 | Jules Sobrian | 583 | Bruce McMillan | 581 |
| Event | | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Small Bore Rifle | Men/Open | Yvonne Gowland | 594 | Bill Watkins | 591 | Alister Allan | 591 |
| Full Bore Rifle | Men/Open | Maurice Gordon | 387.26 | Colin McEachran | 386.27 | James Spaight | 383.35 |
[edit]Shotgun
| Event | | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Trap | Men/Open | John Primrose | 196 | Brian Bailey | 193 | Philip Lewis | 191 |
| Skeet | Men/Open | Harry Willsie | 194 | Joe Neville | 191 | Robin Bailey | 189 |
[edit]Swimming
| Event | | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 100 Metres Freestyle | Men | Mike Wenden | 52.73 | Bruce Robertson | 53.78 | Brian Phillips | 54.11 |
| 200 Metres Freestyle | Men | Steve Badger | 00:01:57 | Bruce Robertson | 00:01:57 | Mike Wenden | 00:01:58 |
| 400 Metres Freestyle | Men | John Kulasalu | 00:04:01 | Brad Cooper | 00:04:02 | Steve Badger | 00:04:04 |
| 1500 Metres Freestyle | Men | Steve Holland | 00:15:35 | Mark Treffers | 00:16:00 | Steve Badger | 00:16:22 |
| 100 Metres Backstroke | Men | Mark Tonelli | 59.65 | Steve Pickell | 59.88 | Brad Cooper | 00:01:00 |
| 200 Metres Backstroke | Men | Brad Cooper | 00:02:06 | Mark Tonelli | 00:02:09 | Robert Williams | 00:02:10 |
| 100 Metres Breaststroke | Men | David Leigh | 00:01:07 | David Wilkie | 00:01:07 | Paul Naisby | 00:01:09 |
| 200 Metres Breaststroke | Men | David Wilkie | 00:02:24 | David Leigh | 00:02:25 | Paul Naisby | 00:02:27 |
| 100 Metres Butterfly | Men | Neil Rogers | 56.58 | Byron MacDonald | 56.83 | Bruce Robertson | 56.84 |
| 200 Metres Butterfly | Men | Brian Brinkley | 00:02:05 | Ross Seymour | 00:02:07 | John Coutts | 00:02:07 |
| 200 Metres Individual Medley | Men | David Wilkie | 00:02:10 | Brian Brinkley | 00:02:13 | Gary MacDonald | 00:02:13 |
| 400 Metres Individual Medley | Men | Mark Treffers | 00:04:36 | Brian Brinkley | 00:04:41 | Ray Terrell | 00:04:43 |
| 4 x 100 Metres Freestyle Relay | Men | Canada | 00:03:34 | Australia | 00:03:34 | England | 00:03:38 |
| 4 x 200 Metres Freestyle Relay | Men | Australia | 00:07:50 | England | 00:07:53 | Canada | 00:07:53 |
| 4 x 100 Metres Medley Relay | Men | Canada | 00:03:53 | Australia | 00:03:56 | England | 00:04:00 |
| Event | | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 3 Metres Springboard Diving | Men | Don Wagstaff | 531.54 | Scott Cranham | 509.61 | Trevor Simpson | 489.69 |
| 10 Metres Highboard [Platform] Diving | Men | Don Wagstaff | 490.74 | Andrew Jackomos | 472.47 | Scott Cranham | 460.98 |
[edit]Swimming
| Event | | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 100 Metres Freestyle | Women | Sonya Gray | 59.13 | Gail Amundrud | 59.36 | Judy Wright | 59.46 |
| 200 Metres Freestyle | Women | Sonya Gray | 00:02:04 | Jenny Turrall | 00:02:07 | Gail Amundrud | 00:02:07 |
| 400 Metres Freestyle | Women | Jenny Turrall | 00:04:22 | Wendy Quirk | 00:04:23 | Jaynie Parkhouse | 00:04:23 |
| 800 Metres Freestyle | Women | Jaynie Parkhouse | 00:08:58 | Jenny Turrall | 00:08:59 | Rosemary Milgate | 00:08:59 |
| 100 Metres Backstroke | Women | Wendy Cook | 00:01:06 | Donna Gurr | 00:01:07 | Linda Young | 00:01:08 |
| 200 Metres Backstroke | Women | Wendy Cook | 00:02:20 | Sandra Yost | 00:02:22 | Donna Gurr | 00:02:24 |
| 100 Metres Breaststroke | Women | Christine Gaskell | 00:01:16 | Marion Stuart | 00:01:17 | Sandra Dickie | 00:01:17 |
| 200 Metres Breaststroke | Women | Pat Beavan | 00:02:43 | Beverley Whitfield | 00:02:44 | Allison Smith | 00:02:45 |
| 100 Metres Butterfly | Women | Patti Stenhouse | 00:01:05 | Kim Wickham | 00:01:06 | Sandra Yost | 00:01:06 |
| 200 Metres Butterfly | Women | Sandra Yost | 00:02:21 | Patti Stenhouse | 00:02:21 | Gail Neall | 00:02:22 |
| 200 Metres Individual Medley | Women | Leslie Cliff | 00:02:24 | Becky Smith | 00:02:25 | Susan Hunter | 00:02:26 |
| 400 Metres Individual Medley | Women | Leslie Cliff | 00:05:01 | Becky Smith | 00:05:04 | Susan Hunter | 00:05:07 |
| 4 x 100 Metres Freestyle Relay | Women | Canada | 00:03:57 | Australia | 00:04:02 | England | 00:04:06 |
| 4 x 100 Metres Medley Relay | Women | Canada | 00:04:25 | Australia | 00:04:31 | Scotland | 00:04:32 |
| Event | | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 3 Metres Springboard Diving | Women | Cindy Shatto | 430.88 | Beverley Boys | 426.93 | Teri York | 413.83 |
| 10 Metres Highboard [Platform] Diving | Women | Beverley Boys | 361.95 | Beverley Williams | 352.14 | Madeleine Barnett | 339.3 |
[edit]Weightlifting
| Event | | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Flyweight - Overall | Men | Precious McKenzie (ENG) | 215 | Anil Mondal (IND) | 200 | John McNiven (SCO) | 192.5 |
| Bantamweight - Overall | Men | Michael Adams (AUS) | 222.5 | Yves Carignan (CAN) | 212.5 | Shanmug Velliswamy (IND) | 212.5 |
| Featherweight - Overall | Men | George Vasiliades (AUS) | 237.5 | Gerald Hay (AUS) | 235 | Brian Duffy (NZL) | 232.5 |
| Lightweight - Overall | Men | George Newton (ENG) | 260 | Ieuan Owen (WAL) | 255 | Bruce Cameron (NZL) | 252.5 |
| Middleweight - Overall | Men | Tony Ebert (NZL) | 275 | Stanley Bailey (TRI) | 275 | Robert Wrench (WAL) | 270 |
| Light Heavyweight - Overall | Men | Tony Ford (ENG) | 302.5 | Paul Wallwork (SAM) | 300 | Mike Pearman (ENG) | 292.5 |
| Middle Heavyweight - Overall | Men | Nicolo Ciancio (AUS) | 330 | Brian Marsden (NZL) | 315 | Steve Wyatt (AUS) | 310 |
| Heavyweight - Overall | Men | Russ Prior (CAN) | 352.5 | John Bolton (NZL) | 340 | John Barrett (NZL) | 320 |
| Super Heavyweight - Overall | Men | Graham May (NZL) | 342.5 | Andy Kerr (ENG) | 337.5 | Terry Perdue (WAL) | 330 |
[edit]Wrestling
| Event | | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Light Flyweight | Men | Mitchell Kawasaki (CAN) | | Wally Koenig (AUS) | | Radhey Shyam (IND) | |
| Flyweight | Men | Sudesh Kumar (IND) | | Gordon Bertie (CAN) | | John Navie (AUS) | |
| Bantamweight | Men | Prem Nath (IND) | | Amrik Singh (ENG) | | Kevin Burke (AUS) | |
| Featherweight | Men | Egon Beiler (CAN) | | Shivaji Chingle (IND) | | Ray Brown (AUS) | |
| Lightweight | Men | Jagrup Singh (IND) | | Joe Gilligan (ENG) | | Stephen Martin (CAN) | |
| Welterweight | Men | Raghunath Pawar (IND) | | Tony Shacklady (ENG) | | Gordon Mackay (NZL) | |
| Middleweight | Men | Dave Aspin (NZL) | | Satpal Singh (IND) | | Taras Hryb (CAN) | |
| Light Heavyweight | Men | Terry Paice (CAN) | | Netra Pal Singh (IND) | | Maurice Allan (SCO) | |
| Heavyweight | Men | Claude Pilon (CAN) | | Dadu Chaugule (IND) | | Ian Duncan (SCO) | |
| Super Heavyweight | Men | Bill Benko (CAN) | | Bishwanath Singh (IND) | | Gary Knight (NZL) | |
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