Remembering Christchurchs greatest sporting event

The Christchurch Olympic City Committee is looking for more memorabilia from the 1974 Commonwealth Games as part of the 2009 Reunion for the Games.

The 35th reunion of the greatest sporting event in Christchurch, the Xth British Commonwealth Games of 1974, will take place on January 24. Christchurch was (and still is) the smallest city to host the modern televised Commonwealth Games.

The committee will commemorate the staging anniversary of the Games in Christchurch with a dinner at the Papanui Club from 7 pm.

The Chairman of the Olympic City Committee, Mr Bruce Ullrich is suggesting that people to turn up in their Games uniforms at the dinner. The Xth British Commonwealth Games was the first games that used a coordinated ‘design approach’ with a standard colour scheme for facilities, passes, flags, stationary, and above all uniforms (which wearers paid for themselves but were subsequently refunded out of profits) and all based on the colours red, white and blue.

“We are also hoping that people will bring along their memorabilia from the Games. We are building up a good collection so we can cherish and remember Christchurch’s greatest sporting achievement ever,” says Mr Ullrich. “The Games were held in our own backyard and we came out fourth overall, scoring nine gold medals. Because of the huge volunteer support from the people of Christchurch, the games became known as the “Friendly Games” and the benchmark for staging Commonwealth Games”.

The Committee is looking at setting up a venue for such memorabilia, says Mr. Ullrich. A large collection of sporting memorabilia is held at the Canterbury Museum. Memorabilia collected at the January 24 dinner will be kept and displayed at the Christchurch City Council.

New Zealand is one of the only six countries in the Commonwealth which have participated in all Commonwealth Games since 1930, when it started as the British Empire Games. The 1974 Games was the last year it was called the British Commonwealth Games and is now known as the Commonwealth Games.

New Zealand also marked its first TV sports broadcast in colour during the Games. The Games were the last time that the entire immediate British Royal Family (Queen Elizabeth II, her husband and children) visited New Zealand as a group. The Royal Yacht "HMY Britannia" was the royal residence during the games.


35th Reunion of the Staging of the Xth British Commonwealth Games 1974
Papanui Club, Sawyers Arm Road, Christchurch on
Saturday, January 24, 6 pm Start

Tickets - $40. Available from the Papanui Club

For further information, please contact Martin McGregor, Christchurch City Council Sports Liaison Advisor
Email - Martin.McGregor@ccc.govt.nz
Phone – (03) 941 7137