Three new Life Members were conferred at the Commonwealth Games Australia Annual General Meeting today, becoming the 23^rd, 24^th and 25^th members of the prestigious club.

At today’s Commonwealth Games Australia Annual General Meeting, the voting members conferred three new Life Members – Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE, Dr. Grace Bryant OAM and Sue Taylor AM.

Commonwealth Games Australia President Ben Houston thanked the new life members for their contributions and service to the Commonwealth Sport Movement and welcomed them as the 23rd, 24th and 25th members of the prestigious club.

Houston said the conferring of life membership for the first time since 2015 was part of a refreshed Awards and Honours program being developed by the recently formed Heritage and Awards Committee and is an important component of CGA’s strategy to celebrate the rich history of the Commonwealth Games in Australia.

The three new Life Members also marked a broadening of the award, to better reflect the contribution made by athlete, coaches and team officials, not just administrators.

“Congratulations to Dr. Grace, Marjorie and Sue. Without their contributions and service to the Commonwealth Sport Movement, Commonwealth Games Australia would not be where we are today,” Houston said.

“We look forward to a period in the future when we can hold another reception to properly congratulate and celebrate the latest CGA Life Members, but on behalf of CGA, our sport partners and all those in CGA family, we thank you all and congratulate you on being bestowed with this honour as a tribute to your service.”

Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE

A legend of Australian sport, Marjorie Jackson-Nelson is one of the most significant figures in Commonwealth Games Australia history, with a lifetime of service as an athlete and team official. At the Auckland 1950 British Empire Games, then Marjorie Jackson burst on to the international stage winning four gold medals (100 yards, 220 yards, 440 yards and 660 yards medley relays) as an 18-year-old, becoming the most successful competitor at the Games.

Two years later at the Helsinki 1952 Olympic Games, Jackson-Nelson won both the 100 and 200 metre. In 1953, her exploits on the track earned Jackson-Nelson a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) ‘For Women’s athletics’, thus becoming the first Australian woman to receive such an honour for sporting achievement. She married fellow Australian Helsinki Olympic, cyclist Peter Nelson in the same year.

At the Vancouver 1954 Empire and Commonwealth Games, Marjorie called time on her illustrious career but duly won the 100 yards, 220 yards and was part of the winning 4 x 110 yards relay to take her Empire and Commonwealth Games medal haul to seven gold.

The 1980s saw Marjorie return to athletics in administrative roles. She served the Australian team at five Commonwealth Games as a team official including General Manager (Victoria 1994), Team Manageress (Brisbane 1982 and Edinburgh 1986), Assistant Manager (Auckland 1990), and Athlete Liaison (Kuala Lumpur 1998).

A former Governor of South Australia (2001-2007), she was one of the final four baton bearers of the Queen’s Baton at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. Marjorie is a Member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and was elevated to Legend in 1995. She is also a member of the World Athletics and Athletics Australia Hall of Fame.

Dr. Grace Bryant OAM

For more than four decades, Dr. Grace Bryant’s contribution to sports medicine in Australia has been manifold. And much of this has been focussed on her service to the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Games sports, including service on the medical teams at six editions of the Commonwealth Games.

Dr. Bryant has served as a Team Doctor on six Commonwealth Games teams (Kuala Lumpur 1998, Manchester 2002, Melbourne 2006, Delhi 2010, Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018 – the last two as Chief Medical Officer) and two Commonwealth Games Youth Games teams (Pune 2008 and Apia 2015). She is a former chair of CGA’s Medical Sport Science Advisory Group and current Chair of CGA’s Performance HealthCare Advisory Group.

Having also served as a Team Doctor at five Olympics, Dr. Bryant’s contributions to Australian sport have also earned her accolades such as a Member of the Sport Australia and Netball Australia Hall of Fame.

As part of the Australian Federal Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic saw Dr. Bryant appointed as a member of the Australian Government’s COVID-19 Sports and Advisory Committee in 2020.

Sue Taylor AM

Sue Taylor’s service to the Commonwealth Sport Movement has been extensive, as has her worldwide service to netball.

A Board Member of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association (1994–2011), including a significant term as Vice President (1998–2006), during that time, Taylor was also a member of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Board (2003–2007), one of the first women to fill that role.

Having served as a Board Member for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Corporation (2001–2007), Taylor played a central role in the successful Games in Melbourne.

From 2007, she was a Vice President of the Commonwealth Games Association, Western Australian Division, which saw her honoured with Life Membership to the organisation in 2020.

In 2021, the CGF created its Ethics Commission with Sue being one of the inaugural members.  Such is her standing in the organisation that President Dame Louise Martin said, ‘I am delighted we [the CGF] have been able to appoint three individuals of such gravitas to lead our new Ethics Commission’.

The full list of all 25 Commonwealth Games Australia Life Members, along with their biographies, can be found here.