COMMUNITY has always been at the heart of the Commonwealth Games, just as it was for the late 1954 gold medallist Jim Achurch.

The two things that meant the most in life for the Olympic and Commonwealth javelin thrower were sport and family.

When he was selected for the games in Vancouver but wasn't sure how he would afford to get there, the residents of Nambour raised funds for his trip.

The veteran athlete passed away in November 2015 but handed on many stories to his son Peter, who now lives in Canberra.

"His love of sport was influenced by his father, a state-cricketer,” his son said.

"His own claim to fame was that he was nursed by Don Bradman at 18 months.”

Jim moved to Bli Bli from New South Wales in 1950 and he became immersed in tennis and cricket, before picking up the javelin for the first time. He had been running around an oval to keep fit at a time when tennis was not an all-year sport.

Noticing people in the middle throwing the javelin he went over to have a look.

By the end of the day he was throwing further than the coach.

"He had his own javelin that he used to throw in a stone covered field,” his son said.

After joining up with a handful of fellow throwers, Jim began to take the sport a little more seriously.

"He used to travel by train to Brisbane from Nambour, have two or three throws, and catch the train back again,” Peter said.

When he was invited to come and throw in the professional event, he was slightly disgruntled as the New South Wales athletes had their fares paid, but the community banded together and helped him fund his way.

"There was a great lot of effort in Nambour to get him to go, and fortunately he didn't let them down.”

The athlete had a shoulder injury in the lead up to the games so he was only able to practise his stride and angle, and never use his arm.

He was coming in at fourth place as he took his last shot, but broke the Commonwealth Games record with a 224-foot throw.

He returned home to Nambour with a Gold Medal in tow and he married his wife Christine the following year. The two walked under an arch of javelins as they emerged from the church as newly-weds.

Jim continued to stay involved in sport throughout his later years and encouraged all his children to give it a go.

"We didn't show the same level of skill as he did,” peter said.