Australia at the 2002 Commonwealth Games was represented by a team selected by the Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA) and abbreviated AUS.
Australia officially became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in 1931 under the Statute of Westminster having become independent of the UK in 1901.
Australia is one of only six countries to have competed in all of the Commonwealth Games held since 1930, although they did attend the 1911 Inter-Empire Championships as part of an Australasian team. This impressive international record extends to its participation in every Olympic Games in the modern era.
At the first Games in 1930 Australia won only 8 medals against England's 61. However by the first Games of the 21st century held in the city of Manchester, Australia's medal tally had moved to 207, ahead of any other country including England's 165.
Famous quotes containing the words australia, commonwealth and/or games:
“It is very considerably smaller than Australia and British Somaliland put together. As things stand at present there is nothing much the Texans can do about this, and ... they are inclined to shy away from the subject in ordinary conversation, muttering defensively about the size of oranges.”
—Alex Atkinson, British humor writer. repr. In Present Laughter, ed. Alan Coren (1982)
“We must conceive of this whole universe as one commonwealth of which both gods and men are members.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)
“In the past, it seemed to make sense for a sportswriter on sabbatical from the playpen to attend the quadrennial hawgkilling when Presidential candidates are chosen, to observe and report upon politicians at play. After all, national conventions are games of a sort, and sports offers few spectacles richer in low comedy.”
—Walter Wellesley (Red)