British Empire and Commonwealth Games: Perth Australia 1962
The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (as the Commonwealth Games were known at the time) were held in Perth, held between 21 November – 1 December.
Trivia
- The VII Games are remembered for its “heat, dust and glory”. The day before the Perth Games opened the temperature was an expected 80 degrees Fahrenheit, but the heat was measured at 105 degrees at the opening ceremony in the new Perry Lakes Stadium the following day and such extremes persisted throughout the Games’ duration. In the previous 65 years, only 10 100 degree plus days had been recorded in Perth. Australian soldiers were pressed into action, ferrying water to competing athletes.
- Thirty-five countries sent a total of 1,041 athletes and officials to Perth. Jersey was amongst the medal winners for the first time, whilst British Honduras, Dominica, Papua New Guinea and St Lucia all made their inaugural Games appearances.
- Dave Prowse, a Bristol weightlifter, represented England in Perth in 1962. He later turned to the 'dark side' and became Darth Vader in the Star Wars movie and subsequent sequels.
Sports
Nine sports were featured at the Perth Games – athletics, boxing, cycling, fencing, lawn bowls, rowing, swimming and diving, weightlifting and wrestling.
Medal Count
The following list includes the first four ranked teams. The ranking list for all years is available here.
| Year | Country | GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Australia England New Zealand Canada |
38 29 10 4 |
36 22 12 12 |
31 27 10 15 |
105 78 32 31 |
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