1938 British Empire Games

Multi-sport event in Sydney, Australia

III British Empire Games

Host city| Sydney, Australia
Nations| 15
Athletes| 464
Events| 71
Opening| 5 February 1938
Closing| 12 February 1938
Opened by| John Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst
Main venue| Sydney Cricket Ground

← II

IV →

The 1938 British Empire Games were the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 years since the foundation of British settlement in Australia). Venues included the Sydney Cricket Ground (the main stadium), the Sydney Sports Ground, North Sydney Olympic Pool and Henson Park. An estimated 40,000 people attended the opening ceremony. A competitors' residential village was established within the grounds of the Sydney Showground.[1][2]

The star of the games was the Australian athlete Decima Norman, who won five gold medals in track and field. Margaret Dovey, later married to Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam, finished sixth in the 220 yards breaststroke.

Due to the onset of World War II, the games were not held again until 1950.

## Participating teams

[edit]

Countries that participated

*  Australia (host)
* Bermuda
* British Guiana
* Canada
* Ceylon
*  England
*  Fiji
* India
*  New Zealand
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* South Africa
* Southern Rhodesia
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Wales

## Medals by country

[edit]

*   Host nation (Australia)

Rank| Nation| Gold| Silver| Bronze| Total

|
|
|
|
|

1|  Australia (AUS)*| 25| 19| 22| 66
2|  England (ENG)| 15| 15| 10| 40
3|  Canada (CAN)| 13| 16| 15| 44
4|  South Africa (SAF)| 10| 10| 6| 26
5|  New Zealand (NZL)| 5| 7| 13| 25
6|  Wales (WAL)| 2| 1| 0| 3
7|  Ceylon (CEY)| 1| 0| 0| 1
8|  Scotland (SCO)| 0| 2| 3| 5
9|  Guiana (BGU)| 0| 1| 0| 1
10|  Southern Rhodesia (SRH)| 0| 0| 2| 2
Totals (10 entries)| 71| 71| 71| 213

## Medals by event

[edit]

### Athletics

[edit]

Main article: Athletics at the 1938 British Empire Games

### Boxing

[edit]

Event  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

Flyweight  |  Johnny Joubert (SAF) |  Joe Gagnon (CAN) |  Hugh Cameron (SCO)
Bantamweight  |  William Butler (ENG) |  Hendrik Knoesen (SAF) |  Jack Dillon (AUS)
Featherweight  |  Barney Henricus (CEY) |  James Watson (SCO) |  Kenneth Moran (NZL)
Lightweight  |  Harry Groves (ENG) |  Harry Hurst (CAN) |  William Fulton (RHO)
Welterweight  |  Bill Smith (AUS) |  Arthur Heeney (NZL) |  Andrew Tsirindonis (RHO)
Middleweight  |  Denis Reardon (WAL) |  Maurice Dennis (ENG) |  Rex Carey (CAN)
Light heavyweight  |  Nick Wolmarans (SAF) |  Cecil Overell (AUS) |  Joseph Wilby (ENG)
Heavyweight  |  Thomas Osborne (CAN) |  Claude Sterley (SAF) |  Leslie Harley (AUS)

### Cycling

[edit]

#### Track

[edit]

Event  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

Time Trial  |  Bob Porter (AUS) | 1:15.2  |  Tasman Johnson (AUS) | 1:15.7  |  Ernest Mills (ENG) | 1:15.9
Sprint 1000 yd  |  Dunc Gray (AUS) |  |  Bob Porter (AUS) |  |  George Giles (NZL) |
10-mile Scratch  |  William Maxfield (ENG) | 24:44.0  |  Ray Hicks (ENG) |  |  Syd Rose (SAF) |

#### Road

[edit]

Event  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

Road Race  |  Hennie Binneman (SAF) | 2'53:29.6  |  John Brown (NZL) | s.t.  |  Ray Jones (ENG) | s.t.

### Diving

[edit]

#### Men's events

[edit]

Event  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

3 m springboard  |  Ron Masters (AUS) | 126.36  |  Doug Tomalin (ENG) | 124.78  |  George Athans (CAN) | 117.90
10 m platform  |  Doug Tomalin (ENG) | 108.74  |  Ron Masters (AUS) | 102.87  |  George Athans (CAN) | 98.93

#### Women's events

[edit]

Event  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

3 m springboard  |  Irene Donnett (AUS) | 91.18  |  Lynda Adams (CAN) | 88.27  |  Marie Sharkey (CAN) | 81.66
10 m platform  |  Lurline Hook (AUS) | 36.47  |  Lynda Adams (CAN) | 36.39  |  Irene Donnett (AUS) | 34.57

### Lawn bowls

[edit]

Main article: Lawn Bowls at the 1938 British Empire Games

### Rowing

[edit]

All events were for men only. The double sculls competition was an invitation event and originally no medals were awarded nevertheless these medals were counted nowadays. The bronze medal is listed as won by New Zealand.

Event  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

Single sculls  |  Herb Turner (AUS) | 8:24  |  Peter Jackson (ENG) |  |  Robert Smith (NZL) |
Double sculls  |  Cecil Pearce
and William Bradley (AUS) | 7:29.4  |  Jack Offer
and Dick Offer (ENG) |  |  Gus Jackson
and Robert Smith (NZL) |
Coxed four  |  Australia
Don Fraser
Gordon Freeth
Harry Kerr
Jack Fisher
Stewart Elder | 7:16.8  |  New Zealand
Albert Hope
George Burns
John Rigby
Ken Boswell
Jim Clayton | +1.25 lgths  |  Canada
Donald Davis
James Temple
James MacDonald
Kenneth Jaggard
Max Winkler | +0.75 lgths
Eights  |  England
Basil Beazley
Desmond Kingsford
John Sturrock
John Burrough
John Turnbull
Peter Jackson
Rhodes Hambridge
J. Tim Turner
William Reeve (cox) | 6:29  |  Australia
Joe Gould
Alfred Gregory
Ted Bromley
Frank le Souef
Gordon Yewers
Richard Paramor
William Godfrey Thomas[3]
Bill Dixon
Doug Bowden | +0.75 lgths  |  New Zealand
Gus Jackson
Cyril Stiles
Rangi Thompson
Howard Benge
John Charters
Les Pithie
Oswald Denison
James Gould
William Stodart | +2 lgths

### Swimming

[edit]

#### Men's events

[edit]

Event  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

110 yd freestyle  |  Bob Pirie (CAN) | 59.6  |  Terry Collard (SAF) | 60.8  |  William Fleming (AUS) | 61.0
440 yd freestyle  |  Bob Pirie (CAN) | 4:54.6  |  Bob Leivers (ENG) | 4:55.4  |  Robin Biddulph (AUS) | 4:55.5
1650 yd freestyle  |  Bob Leivers (ENG) | 19:46.4  |  Bob Pirie (CAN) | 19:59.2  |  Norman Wainwright (ENG) | 20:17.4
110 yd backstroke  |  Percy Oliver (AUS) | 01:07.9  |  Gordon Kerr (CAN) | 1:09.0  |  Micky Taylor (ENG) | 1:09.3
220 yd breaststroke  |  John Davies (ENG) | 2:51.9  |  Walter Spence (BGU) | 3:00.5  |  Jimmy Prentice (CAN) | 3:00.8
4×220 yd freestyle relay  |  England
Frederick Dove
Mostyn Ffrench-Williams
Norman Wainwright
Bob Leivers | 9:19.0  |  Canada
George Burleigh
Gordon Devlin
Robert Hooper
Bob Pirie | 9:20.2  |  Australia
Robert Wilshire
Noel Ryan
Robin Biddulph
William Fleming | 9:32.9
3×110 yd medley relay  |  England
Frederick Dove
John Davies
Micky Taylor | 3:28.2  |  Canada
Gordon Kerr
Jimmy Prentice
Bob Pirie | 3:30.5  |  Australia
Ernest Hobbs
Percy Oliver
William Fleming | 3:31.8

#### Women's events

[edit]

Event  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

110 yd freestyle  |  Evelyn de Lacy (AUS) | 1:10.1  |  Dorothy Green (AUS) | 1:11.1  |  Dorothy Lyon (CAN) | 1:12.1
440 yd freestyle  |  Dorothy Green (AUS) | 5:39.7  |  Margaret Jeffery (ENG) | 5:40.2  |  Mona Leydon (NZL) | 5:42.0
110 yd backstroke  |  Pat Norton (AUS) | 1:19.5  |  Jeanne Greenland (WAL) | 1:22.5  |  Margot Hamilton (SCO) | 1:23.2
220 yd breaststroke  |  Doris Storey (ENG) | 3:06.3  |  Carla Gerke (SAF) | 3:12.1  |  Joan Langdon (CAN) | 3:22.2
4×110 yd freestyle relay  |  Canada
Noel Oxenbury
Dorothy Lyon
Mary Baggaley
Phyllis Dewar | 4:48.3  |  Australia
Dorothy Green
Evelyn de Lacy
Margaret Rawson
Pat Norton | 4:49.0  |  England
Edna Hughes
Joyce Harrowby
Margery Hinton
Zilpha Grant | 4:50.1
3×110 yd medley relay  |  England
Doris Storey
Lorna Frampton
Margery Hinton | 3:57.7  |  South Africa
Carla Gerke
Hazel Holmes
Molly Ryde | 4:07.5  |  Australia
Evelyn de Lacy
Pat Norton
Valerie George | 4:10.0

### Wrestling

[edit]

All events were for men only.

Event  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

Bantamweight  |  Ted Purcell (AUS) |  Vernon Blake (CAN) |  Ray Cazaux (ENG)
Featherweight  |  Roy Purchase (AUS) |  Larry Clarke (CAN) |  Joe Genet (NZL)
Lightweight  |  Dick Garrard (AUS) |  Vernon Thomas (NZL) |  Alfred Harding (SAF)
Welterweight  |  Tom Trevaskis (AUS) |  Felix Stander (SAF) |  Jerry Podjursky (NZL)
Middleweight  |  Terry Evans (CAN) |  Peter Sheasby (SAF) |  Leslie Jeffers (ENG)
Light heavyweight  |  Eddie Scarf (AUS) |  Sidney Greenspan (SAF) |  Thomas Ward (SCO)
Heavyweight  |  Jack Knight (AUS) |  Jim Dryden (NZL) |  John Whelan (CAN)

## See also

[edit]

* 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney, Australia

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Sydney 1938". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
2. ^ "British Empire Games in Sydney 80 years ago was Australia's first major international event". insidethegames.biz. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
3. ^ "1938 Sydney Empire Games – History of Australian Rowing". rowinghistory-aus.info. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* "Sydney 1938". Commonwealthsport.com. Commonwealth Sport.

* "Results and Medalists—1938 British Empire Games". Thecgf.com. Commonwealth Games Federation.

Preceded by
London | British Empire Games
Sydney
III British Empire Games | Succeeded by
Auckland

|
|

* v
* t
* e

Commonwealth Games

* CGF
* Bids
* CGAs
* Participating nations
* Commonwealth Day
* Inter-Empire Championships
* Queen's Baton Relay
* Medal table
* Sports
* Records
* Mascots
* Results
* Winter Games

Commonwealth Games|

* 1930 Hamilton
* 1934 London
* 1938 Sydney
* 1950 Auckland
* 1954 Vancouver
* 1958 Cardiff
* 1962 Perth
* 1966 Kingston
* 1970 Edinburgh
* 1974 Christchurch
* 1978 Edmonton
* 1982 Brisbane
* 1986 Edinburgh
* 1990 Auckland
* 1994 Victoria
* 1998 Kuala Lumpur
* 2002 Manchester
* 2006 Melbourne
* 2010 Delhi
* 2014 Glasgow
* 2018 Gold Coast
* 2022 Birmingham
* 2026 Glasgow
* 2030 TBA

Commonwealth Youth Games|

* 2000 Edinburgh
* 2004 Bendigo
* 2008 Pune
* 2011 Isle of Man
* 2015 Apia
* 2017 Nassau
* 2023 Trinidad and Tobago

* Category
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Commonwealth Games medal tables

* 1930
* 1934
* 1938
* 1950
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

* v
* t
* e

Commonwealth Games results

Archery|

* 1982
* 2010

Athletics|

* 1930
* 1934
* 1938
* 1950
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Badminton|

* 1966
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Basketball|

* 2006
* 2018
* 2022

Boxing|

* 1930
* 1934
* 1938
* 1950
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Cricket|

* 1998
* 2022

Cycling|

* 1934
* 1938
* 1950
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Diving|

* 1930
* 1934
* 1938
* 1950
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Fencing|

* 1950
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1966
* 1970

Gymnastics|

* 1978
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Hockey|

* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Judo|

* 1990
* 2002
* 2014
* 2022

Lawn bowls|

* 1930
* 1934
* 1938
* 1950
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Netball|

* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Rowing|

* 1930
* 1938
* 1950
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1986

Rugby sevens|

* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Shooting|

* 1966
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018

Squash|

* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Swimming|

* 1930
* 1934
* 1938
* 1950
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Synchronised swimming|

* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010

Table tennis|

* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Tennis|

* 2010

Triathlon|

* 2002
* 2006
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Weightlifting|

* 1950
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Wrestling|

* 1930
* 1934
* 1938
* 1950
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1994
* 2002
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

* v
* t
* e

Sports at the 1938 British Empire Games (Sydney)

* Aquatics
* Athletics
* Boxing
* Cycling
* Lawn bowls
* Rowing
* Wrestling

Portals:

* Sports
* Australia
* New South Wales

*[CAN]: Canada
*[SCO]: Scotland
*[ENG]: England
*[AUS]: Australia
*[NZL]: New Zealand
*[WAL]: Wales
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template