Melbourne 2006: 20 years on and as iconic as ever

by Val Febbo on March 24, 2026

This year marks 20 years since the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, which at the time was the Australian Jackaroos’ most successful outing at the event.

Three gold, a silver and a bronze saw Australia top the bowls medal tally for the first time since Auckland 1990, a tally that would not be eclipsed until Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022.

Those medallions contributed to the nation sitting at the summit of the mountain with 84 gold, 69 silver and 69 bronze in the Victorian capital.

Kelvin Kerkow OAM would clinch a history making men’s singles title, Lynsey Clarke and Karen Murphy AM won the women’s pairs and Bill Cornehls, Wayne Turley OAM and Mark Casey claimed the men’s triples crown across the fortnight at Darebin in Melbourne’s North.

Noi Tucker, Ceri-Ann Davies and Roma Dunn won silver in the women’s triples while Nathan Rice and Barrie Lester took home bronze in the men’s pairs.

The MCG was the focal point of the opening ceremony as it launched its new look for the first time, with the rebuilt Ponsford Stand opened in time for the extravaganza.

Clarke’s memories of the night as a shy 22-year-old are that of excitement and anticipation as she strode out into an environment she never envisioned for herself.

“I still get goosebumps and tingles down the spine when I think about it,” Clarke said.

“We were underneath like in the marshalling area for what felt like an eternity because we were the host country, so we were the last to come out so you could hear all the noise and the buildup as we were walking to the ‘G.

“We had to sit in Rod Laver Arena and they called the countries one-by-one to be marshalled over to the MCG, so suddenly the tennis arena is getting smaller and smaller with the countries are all leaving and that’s just Aussies left.

“We were waiting and everyone was just building and in anticipation to get in there and then walking down the little ramp to the MCG just erupting with I think 92,000 people.

“I couldn’t catch my breath because I was in awe of what we were doing. It’s probably up there with standing on top of the dais because I’m a huge sports nut so getting to go onto the MCG as an athlete was incredible and something I will never forget.”

Like Clarke, Turley thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to stride onto the hallowed deck of one of sport’s great colosseums, but it quickly turned into stress as he and Casey went through a bizarre experience in the lead up to their opening triples match against Kenya.

One of the most vivid recollections that many have about the Games was that Queen Elizabeth II was present to open the competition, and that stay extended for some days to tour the village in the inner city suburb of Parkville.

However, this village tour could not have come at a worse time for Turley and Casey who were already late getting to Darebin to meet Cornehls ahead of the campaign kicking off.

“On the first day of play, Case and I decided to go over to the dining hall in the village and had something to eat before having to rush back to get the bus to the game,” Turley said.

“They’re closing off the street in the village and we asked what was going going on because we need to get to the bus and they said the Queen’s coming through and that we’re going to be late.

“So we’re standing there and Queen comes through and she just walks straight up to Case and myself.

“We shook her hand and greeted her with protocol then she asked what spot we participated in and when we mentioned bowls she told us how much she loved her bowls before wishing us luck and continuing on her way.

“At this point, we’re basically saying that this needs to hurry up because we need to get moving.

“Then we finally went and got to the bus, Billy was a bit worried before we got there, but that’s when we got beaten by Kenya.

“So we’ve gone from meeting the Queen to getting beaten by Kenya, we were pretty shattered that night but as in most events you need a bit of luck to go your way and that’s what happened.”

The blonde hairstyles became synonymous with the Australian men at the competition, with shades of green and gold for those that didn’t go the full mile in respect to the victorious Victoria 1994 pairs team of Cam Curtis and Rex Johnston and the Kuala Lumpur 1998 winners in Brett Duprez and Mark Jacobsen.

Turley admits that he was devastated with how his looked and quips that he had no intention of leaving the village looking how he did.

However, with how the result turned out, he doesn’t mind it so much looking back.

“It’s been a bit of tradition over the years that the men had their hair done, Mark had his hair dyed and Billy’s got none. So Kelvin sort of talked me into doing something,” he said.

“So they took me to the hairdresser in the village and they asked if he could give me a bit of a blonde tip, but I didn’t know they already spoke to the hairdresser and said, make sure he goes full white.

“It was a bit of a setup. I looked at it and thought there was no way I would play, I couldn’t possibly.

“Case has gone back to his room and gotten these green stripes and put them through it, but I wouldn’t even go to the dining hall and I had to wear a hat because I was shattered.

“Then after we ended up winning and didn’t worry me.”

Every gold medal was earned by the Jackaroos, with Clarke and Murphy enduring some lengthy battles in their quarterfinal against Northern Ireland and semi against their Trans Tasman rivals in New Zealand.

Murphy reveals that she joined Clarke this week for a celebratory Zoom retrospective on their anniversary discussing some of the finest moments from the competition, which included their scintillating knockout run.

“We jumped on a Zoom last night, celebrated and had a chat about memories of that win and the lead up and post final,” Murphy said.

“It was great and and remembered things that we’d forgotten at times. A home games is always special because it’s wonderful to be able to win in front of your family and friends before sharing it with the entire bowls community. It’s something special.

“The atmosphere was just huge, and the semifinal was really exciting where we literally won on the last bowl.

“I remember both of the quarters and semis. The quarterfinal against Ireland was on the ditch rink and there was nothing in it.

“I remember the tiebreak, and playing two bowl pairs, which is a format that will never, ever be played again. It was an absolute leads game. Lynsey set up heads really well and if your lead wasn’t on, you were right up against it.

“We went to the tie break in both, and the one against New Zealand was unbelievable, it really was an amazing match.

“We were tested and challenged through the quarter in the semi and I think if that was to happen again in the final, we would have been ready for it because we had our backs backs to the wall and were able to show resilience and back ourselves.”

“I couldn’t think of someone better to do it with the Lynsey, 20 years on and we’re still the best of mates, no one will ever take that win away from us and we’ve been great mates ever since.”

As per tradition at the Games, the men’s singles is the last discipline to conclude, and it gave Melbournians and Australians a memory that would last for generations, hurling his shirt away and celebrating appropriately as he joined Rob Parella OAM as the only Australians to take gold in the event at the time.

Speaking to Bowls Australia in 2016 on the ten-year anniversary, Kerkow revealed that the now iconic celebration came about and how much of a relief it was to salute for the country.

“Barrie was playing with Nathan Rice in a grand-prix final against myself and Brett Duprez; after Barrie won he took the liberty of showing me a glimpse of his 6 pack,” Kerkow said..

“I said to Barrie that if I win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games I’ll go further than just a lift of the shirt, I’ll rip the whole thing off.

“I hadn’t given my rash statement anymore thought until that exact moment when so much relief and joy came over me after winning gold, and off it went.”

Kerkow says that sense of relief and joy came from being the last event on the schedule and having watched five of his team mates taste gold already.

“It was an absolute thrill to be selected to represent Australia at a Commonwealth Games and to play the singles was an even greater honour, but with that came a lot of added pressure,” he said.

“The pressure that was building prior to the games, the pressure of being the final event on the program, the last role of the dice, the expectations everyone had on you to win and when it was one set all and one all in the tie-break, that’s where the real sense of relief came over me.”

The opportunity to win in front of family and friends was something not lost on the team, with Turley jubilant to be able to look into the stands and see his late father watching on as he stood on the top step of the podium.

“I’m just looking up and seeing my family, friends teammates and staff, as well and my dad up there, who had been pretty early at the time,” he said.

“He passed away 18 months later so to have those memories and look back at some old photos, they’re memories you have for life.

“I played Delhi as well, and there wasn’t much of a crowd in Delhi because of the conflict that was going on between India and Pakistan, so there was a lot of security.

“So that was one that all of us will just cherish.”

Murphy had to wait to celebrate with her family due to a drug test, but once she was out she found her adoring crew waiting and ready to embrace the newly minted Commonwealth Champion.

“I remember ringing my dad who couldn’t come down because I think it was a bit too much for him in case we lost,” she said.

“But mum, my sister and some friends were there and when I back out after the drug test and everyone was still there.

“They’re all celebrating and it was so good. We didn’t sleep that night.”

The teams may not have slept on the nights of their victories, but Australia has not slept on those results with Melbourne 2006 starting a rejuvenation for the bowls in the national sporting landscape.

20 years on, the memories are as fond as ever and will continue to be celebrated for many decades to come.

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