The fourth National Paraplegic Games

The Fourth Australian Paraplegic Games was held at the Carina Sports Area, in outer Brisbane, from 11-14 May 1966.

The Carina Sports Area had its beginnings in the 1950s, when the Camp Hill Carina Branch of the Australian Labor Party arranged to lease from the Brisbane City Council 42 acres of Crown land 7km from the city that was a badly neglected unofficial trotting track, also being used as an illegal dump. Association members wanted to provide a variety of sporting opportunities for the youth in the district and set about the arduous task of clearing the land and making it suitable for the many sporting fields. At that time, many areas of Brisbane were without paved roads or sewerage. Even by 1966, it was still a raw site, although competitors had the advantage of competing in swimming events in the newly opened pool. More than 50 years later, the Paralympic movement and the the venue that held those Games are both going strong.

While the facilities and the athlete transport were somewhat rudimentary, the competition was as fierce as ever and the Games were the selection event for the Australian team to attend the 1966 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Kingston, Jamaica.

The 1966 National Paraplegic Games were held in Brisbane. They were the selection event for the 1966 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games.