New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games
New Zealand is one of only six nations have attended every Commonwealth Games (The others are Australia, Canada, England, Scotland and Wales). New Zealand have also hosted the Commonwealth Games on three occasions; 1950, 1974 and 1990. The latter Games in Auckland produced 58 medals for the host nation, 17 of which were gold.
New Zealand entering the stadium at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane (image source: Qld State Archives)Trivia
- New Zealand joined the Commonwealth in 1931. This South Pacific nation is made up of two large islands (North and South Islands), Stewart Island and a number of offshore islands too.
- The Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, 'Land of the Long White Cloud', and the residents are commonly known as Kiwis.
- The Kiwis made history in 1998 when they won the first-ever Commonwealth Games Rugby 7's gold medal by defeating Fiji in the final. A feat they repeated in Manchester in 2002 with the Fijians once again securing the runners up spot.
- New Zealander Yvette Williams became a Games legend when she won gold in the discus, shot put and long jump at the 1954 Vancouver games.
- Greg Yelavich, a sports shooter from New Zealand, has won 12 medals in seven games from 1986 to 2010.
- Tokelau is an island group of the central Pacific Ocean in the northern Ryukyu Islands, north of Samoa. They became part of New Zealand in 1948. Tokelau were expected to take part in its first Commonwealth Games in Delhi, but no team turned up.
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