New Zealand at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
New Zealand at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games was represented by a team of 142 competitors and 33 officials. Selection of the team for the Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and British Commonwealth Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was field athlete Warwick Nicholl. The New Zealand team finished fourth on the medal table, winning a total of 35 medals, nine of which were gold.
New Zealand has competed in every games, starting with the British Empire Games in 1930 at Hamilton, Ontario.
Venue
The games, which became known as "the friendly games", were held in Christchurch, New Zealand. The main venue was QEII Park.The games marked the beginning of colour television broadcasts in New Zealand. The trademark logo of these Games served as the 'benchmark' design for logo designs for subsequent Games, up to 1998.
Medal tables
New Zealand was fourth on the medal table in 1974, with a total of 35 medals, including nine gold.| Medal | Name | Sport | Event |
| Athletics | Men's 10,000 m | ||
| Athletics | Men's discus throw | ||
Kerry Clark John Somerville Gordon Jolly | Lawn bowls | Men's fours | |
| Shooting | Open full-bore rifle | ||
| Swimming | Women's 800 m freestyle | ||
| Swimming | Men's 400 m individual medley | ||
| Weightlifting | Men's middleweight | ||
| Weightlifting | Men's super heavyweight | ||
| Wrestling | Men's middleweight | ||
| Athletics | Men's 1500 m | ||
| Athletics | Women's shot put | ||
| Athletics | Men's marathon | ||
| Athletics | Women's 800 m | ||
| Boxing | Men's light heavyweight | ||
| Swimming | Men's 1500 m freestyle | ||
| Weightlifting | Men's middle heavyweight | ||
| Weightlifting | Men's heavyweight | ||
| Athletics | Men's 200 m | ||
| Athletics | Men's 800 m | ||
| Boxing | Men's lightweight | ||
| Boxing | Men's light middleweight | ||
| Boxing | Men's middleweight | ||
Phil Skoglund | Lawn bowls | Men's pairs | |
Paul Medhurst | Cycling | Men's tandem sprint | |
Russell Nant Blair Stockwell René Heyde | Cycling | Men's team pursuit | |
| Shooting | Open rapid-fire pistol | ||
| Swimming | Men's 200 m butterfly | ||
| Swimming | Women's 200 m individual medley | ||
| Swimming | Women's 400 m individual medley | ||
| Swimming | Women's 400 m freestyle | ||
| Weightlifting | Men's featherweight | ||
| Weightlifting | Men's lightweight | ||
| Weightlifting | Men's heavyweight | ||
| Wrestling | Men's welterweight | ||
| Wrestling | Men's super heavyweight |
Competitors
The following table lists the number of New Zealand competitors participating at the Games according to gender and sport.| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
| Athletics | 36 | 23 | 59 |
| Badminton | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| Boxing | 9 | 9 | |
| Cycling | 11 | 11 | |
| Diving | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Lawn bowls | 7 | 7 | |
| Shooting | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Swimming | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| Weightlifting | 9 | 9 | |
| Wrestling | 8 | 8 | |
| Total | 103 | 39 | 142 |
New Zealanders Jane and Rebecca Perrott swam for Fiji at the games, as their father was Registrar at the University of the South Pacific. At 12½ years, Rebecca was the youngest competitor at the games.
Athletics
Track and road
Field
Combined
;Men's decathlon| Athlete | 100 m | Long jump | Shot put | High jump | 400 m | 110 m hurdles | Discus throw | Pole vault | Javelin throw | 1500 m | Overall points | Rank |
| Mene Mene | 6.81 m 780 pts | 14.22 m 741 pts | 50.9 766 pts | 6993 pts | 6 | |||||||
| Roger Main | 6.78 m 774 pts | 13.97 m 725 pts | 50.3 792 pts | 6799 pts | 7 | |||||||
| Geoffrey Wood | 6.38 m 695 pts | 13.34 m 685 pts | 51.1 758 pts | 6622 pts | 9 |
;Women's pentathlon
| Athlete | 100 m hurdles | Shot put | High jump | Long jump | 200 m | Overall points | Rank |
| Susan Burnside | 15.1 | 6.02 m 910 pts | 3726 pts | 11 | |||
| Barbara Poulsen | 14.4 | 14.82 m 885 pts | 4158 pts | 5 |
Badminton
Boxing
Cycling
Road
;Men's road race| Athlete | Time | Rank |
| Garry Bell | 5:18:26 | 5 |
| Vern Hanaray | 5:17:28 | 4 |
Track
;Men's 1000 m sprint;Men's tandem 2000 m sprint
;Men's 1 km time trial
| Athlete | Time | Rank |
| John Dean | 1:14.22 | 10 |
| René Heyde | 1:12.16 | 4 |
| Jacob Schriek | 1:12.81 | 6 |
;Men's 4000 m pursuit
;Men's 10 miles scratch race
| Athlete | Time | Rank |
| Paul Brydon | 20:51.78 | 6 |
| Paul Medhurst | Unplaced | |
| John Dean | Unplaced |
Diving
| Athlete | Event | Points | Rank |
| Cyril Buscke | Men's 3 m springboard | 440.73 | 7 |
| Karen Conway | Women's 3 m springboard | 376.83 | 9 |
| Rebecca Ewert | Women's 3 m springboard | 379.29 | 8 |
| Margaret Lay | Women's 3 m springboard | 354.81 | 10 |
Lawn bowls
Shooting
Pistol
Rifle
Shotgun
Swimming
Weightlifting
| Athlete | Event | Snatch | Clean and jerk | Total | Rank |
| Brian Duffy | Featherweight | 102.5 kg | 130.0 kg | 232.5 kg | |
| Bruce Cameron | Lightweight | 110.0 kg | 142.5 kg | 252.5 kg | |
| Phillip Sue | Lightweight | 250.0 kg | 5 | ||
| Tony Ebert | Middleweight | 117.5 kg | 157.5 kg | 275.0 kg | |
| Peter Brosnan | Light heavyweight | 127.5 kg | 162.5 kg | 290.0 kg | 4 |
| Brian Marsden | Middle heavyweight | 135.0 kg | 180.0 kg | 315.0 kg | |
| John Bolton | Heavyweight | 145.0 kg | 195.0 kg | 340.0 kg | |
| Rory Barrett | Heavyweight | 140.0 kg | 180.0 kg | 320.0 kg | |
| Graham May | Super heavyweight | 150.0 kg | 192.5 kg | 342.5 kg |