Auckland 1950

The Games in Auckland saw a number of firsts with the introduction of air travel and chaperones for female competitors. These Games were particularly noteworthy for the first Games Village. Ardmore, 23 miles out, had been an Air Force camp and later a Teachers’ Training College. The women had individual cubicles, the men doubled up. The Village was too far out, but it achieved the ideal of fellowship as never before.

Seventeen of the Scottish team left Southampton on 16 December 1949, aboard the Shaw and Savill liner, Tamaroa, in which the English party also sailed. Heading into the Pacific, the ceremony of ‘Crossing the Line’ broke the monotony. For 21 days, until they made landfall at Auckland, the passengers saw nothing but the sea. After the Games, the Scottish, English, Welsh and Canadian contingents were taken on a tour of New Zealand, lasting three weeks, staying in private homes. The Scots reached Southampton again on April 8 having been away for 113 days.

However, for the first time, the aeroplane made an entrance into Scottish travel plans. Alan Paterson (High Jump) and Andrew Forbes (3 & 6 miles) could not make the ship, for good reasons. The two Victoria Park athletes flew out from Prestwick on 23rd January – two days after the main party had docked at Auckland. The fliers were the forerunners of future travel, so that Auckland became the last of the great sea voyages.