| III British Empire Games | |
| Size: | 170 |
| Host City: | Sydney, Australia |
| Nations: | 15 |
| Athletes: | 464 |
| Events: | 71 |
| Opening: | 5 February 1938 |
| Closing: | 12 February 1938 |
| Opened By: | John Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst |
| Stadium: | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| Previous: | II |
The 1938 British Empire Games were the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 years since the foundation of British settlement in Australia). Venues included the Sydney Cricket Ground (the main stadium), the Sydney Sports Ground, North Sydney Olympic Pool and Henson Park. An estimated 40,000 people attended the opening ceremony. A competitors' residential village was established within the grounds of the Sydney Showground.[1] [2]
The star of the games was the Australian athlete Decima Norman, who won five gold medals in track and field. Margaret Dovey, later married to Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam, finished sixth in the 220 yards breaststroke.
Due to the onset of World War II, the games were not held again until 1950.
See main article: Athletics at the 1938 British Empire Games.
| Flyweight | Johnny Joubert (SAF) | |||
| Bantamweight | Hendrik Knoesen (SAF) | |||
| Featherweight | Barney Henricus (CEY) | |||
| Lightweight | William Fulton (RHO) | |||
| Welterweight | Andrew Tsirindonis (RHO) | |||
| Middleweight | ||||
| Light heavyweight | Nick Wolmarans (SAF) | |||
| Heavyweight | Claude Sterley (SAF) |
| Time Trial | 1:15.2 | 1:15.7 | 1:15.9 | ||||
| Sprint 1000 yd | |||||||
| 10-mile Scratch | 24:44.0 | Syd Rose (SAF) |
| Road Race | Hennie Binneman (SAF) | 2'53:29.6 | s.t. | s.t. |
| 3 m springboard | 126.36 | 124.78 | 117.90 | ||||
| 10 m platform | 108.74 | 102.87 | 98.93 |
| 3 m springboard | 91.18 | 88.27 | 81.66 | ||||
| 10 m platform | 36.47 | 36.39 | 34.57 |
See main article: Lawn Bowls at the 1938 British Empire Games.
All events were for men only. The double sculls competition was an invitation event and originally no medals were awarded nevertheless these medals were counted nowadays. The bronze medal is listed as won by New Zealand.
| Single sculls | 8:24 | |||||||
| Double sculls | 7:29.4 | |||||||
| Coxed four |  AustraliaDon Fraser Gordon Freeth Harry Kerr Jack Fisher Stewart Elder | 7:16.8 |  New ZealandAlbert Hope George Burns John Rigby Ken Boswell Jim Clayton | +1.25 lgths |  CanadaDonald Davis James Temple James MacDonald Kenneth Jaggard Max Winkler | +0.75 lgths | ||
| Eights | Basil Beazley Desmond Kingsford John Sturrock John Burrough John Turnbull Peter Jackson Rhodes Hambridge J. Tim Turner William Reeve (cox) | 6:29 | Australia Joe Gould Alfred Gregory Ted Bromley Frank le Souef Gordon Yewers Richard Paramor William Godfrey Thomas[3] Bill Dixon Doug Bowden | +0.75 lgths | New Zealand Gus Jackson Cyril Stiles Rangi Thompson Howard Benge John Charters Les Pithie Oswald Denison James Gould William Stodart | +2 lgths |
| 110 yd freestyle | 59.6 | Terry Collard (SAF) | 60.8 | 61.0 | |||
| 440 yd freestyle | 4:54.6 | 4:55.4 | 4:55.5 | ||||
| 1650 yd freestyle | 19:46.4 | 19:59.2 | 20:17.4 | ||||
| 110 yd backstroke | 01:07.9 | 1:09.0 | 1:09.3 | ||||
| 220 yd breaststroke | 2:51.9 | Walter Spence (BGU) | 3:00.5 | 3:00.8 | |||
| nowrap | 4×220 yd freestyle relay | Frederick Dove Mostyn Ffrench-Williams Norman Wainwright Bob Leivers | 9:19.0 | Canada George Burleigh Gordon Devlin Robert Hooper Bob Pirie | 9:20.2 | Australia Robert Wilshire Noel Ryan Robin Biddulph William Fleming | 9:32.9 |
| 3×110 yd medley relay | Frederick Dove John Davies Micky Taylor | 3:28.2 | Canada Gordon Kerr Jimmy Prentice Bob Pirie | 3:30.5 | Australia Ernest Hobbs Percy Oliver William Fleming | 3:31.8 |
| 110 yd freestyle | 1:10.1 | 1:11.1 | 1:12.1 | ||||
| 440 yd freestyle | 5:39.7 | 5:40.2 | 5:42.0 | ||||
| 110 yd backstroke | 1:19.5 | 1:22.5 | 1:23.2 | ||||
| 220 yd breaststroke | 3:06.3 | Carla Gerke (SAF) | 3:12.1 | 3:22.2 | |||
| nowrap | 4×110 yd freestyle relay | Canada Noel Oxenbury Dorothy Lyon Mary Baggaley Phyllis Dewar | 4:48.3 | Australia Dorothy Green Evelyn de Lacy Margaret Rawson Pat Norton | 4:49.0 | Edna Hughes Joyce Harrowby Margery Hinton Zilpha Grant | 4:50.1 |
| 3×110 yd medley relay | Doris Storey Lorna Frampton Margery Hinton | 3:57.7 |  South AfricaCarla Gerke Hazel Holmes Molly Ryde | 4:07.5 | Australia Evelyn de Lacy Pat Norton Valerie George | 4:10.0 |
All events were for men only.
| Bantamweight | ||||
| Featherweight | ||||
| Lightweight | Alfred Harding (SAF) | |||
| Welterweight | Felix Stander (SAF) | |||
| Middleweight | Peter Sheasby (SAF) | |||
| Light heavyweight | Sidney Greenspan (SAF) | |||
| Heavyweight |
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