But that's exactly what Danny Clark, an 18-year-old kid from George Town, did those 50 years ago.

As a slightly younger teenager at the time I was, as a result, captivated by the moment - scrapping every newspaper article and eagerly awaiting whatever snippets of black and white footage of the Games managed to make it onto our television screens.

There were only two Tasmanians in Edinburgh - Clark who rode in both the track time trial and individual pursuit and Hobart's Ross Livingstone who played in singles and doubles in the badminton tournament.

Launceston's Wayne Devlin was named as an emergency for the boxing team but did not get the call-up to make the journey to the Scottish capital. Perhaps inspired by Clark's remarkable silver medal-winning achievement, Devlin joined his fellow northern Tasmanian on the plane to the Olympic Games in Munich two years later.

Edinburgh 1970 provided a range of firsts - as inevitably most Games do. Reference to the Empire was deleted from the Games moniker - although obviously with some reluctance as "British" preceded "Commonwealth" in the title in this and the next edition in Christchurch four years later.

While Australia had to make do with monochrome for at least another five years, the host broadcast was locally screened in colour for the first time. Pleasingly, to bring the Commonwealth into line with the rest of international sport, the races in athletics and swimming were finally conducted over metric distances.

It was also the first Games in which legendary administrator Arthur Tunstall was in charge of the Australian team with the lusty title then accorded to the role of Commandant.

It was the beginning of an exceptional and often controversial reign at the head of the organisation, as Graeme Briggs, the Tasmanian who managed the athletics section was soon to find out.

Briggs always the innovator even in such times of very conservative approaches to team management and discipline, had decided to allow Ron Clarke to spend a night out of the Games Village with his wife Helen.

Clarke, already 35 and at his last Games, having been devastated by his defeat in the 10,000 metres was undecided whether he would even run the 5000. To Briggs it was a no-brainer to give the multiple-world record holder some clear air.

But Tunstall was of a different mind when he found out, publicly declaring that he had lost faith in Briggs and threatening to send Clarke home.

Fortunately Clarke remained and ran the 5000m albeit finishing fifth. As for the two officials they were still squabbling 20 years later over the selection of an "extra" 15 athletes in the track and field team for the 1990 Auckland Games.

It seems that things went better elsewhere with the spirit in which the Games were held and embraced by the locals causing them to be dubbed "The Friendly Games", an alternate title that has stuck ever since.

On the other hand the news was not great for those in fencing as this proved to be the last Games for their sport.

This is not the only factor highlighting the vast differences between Australian Commonwealth Games teams then and now.

For a start the entire Australian team had only two medical staff - a doctor and a masseur. There were only six specialist coaches - two each for athletics and swimming and one each for diving and cycling.

When two team members contracted the mumps during the Games they were left behind when the rest of the team boarded its charter flight home to make their own way back at a later date.

Australia had its first female flag bearer.

Pam Kilborn was eminently qualified for the role having won gold in two events at each of the previous two Games, yet pundits were shocked at her nomination, apparently due to her diminutive stature at just 1.57 metres.

We have made progress since.