The recent Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast inspired the Archives team to look at the times that Auckland has hosted the Games.
Auckland first hosted the Games back in 1950 (then known as the British Empire Games). Eden Park was the main venue for the Games and was where the track and field events took place. Auckland Town Hall was the venue for the boxing and wrestling, Western Springs the venue for the cycling events, while the Olympic Pool in Newmarket was the venue for the swimming and diving competitions.
The next time the Games were hosted in Auckland was in 1990. This time round, track cycling events were held at the newly built velodrome at the Manukau Sports Bowl, Mt Smart provided the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies together with the athletic events, whilst swimming events were held at the purpose built Henderson Swimming Pool Complex (now known as West Wave). The athletes village was built in Glen Innes, where the University of Auckland’s Tamaki Campus is now located.
The exhibition features a selection of records, photographs and memorabilia from the Auckland Council Archives collection about the Games. One significant piece of memorabilia is the 1990 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton (pictured above). The Queen's Baton Relay, similar to the Olympic Torch Relay, is a relay around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. For the 1990 Commonwealth Games, the baton was a two-piece affair. Each piece went on its own individual relay run in the North and South Islands of New Zealand, only being joined back together in the final week before the Games began. The final baton carrier was Peter Snell.
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