What is "taking gongs"?

What is the meaning, if any, of the expression "taking gongs"?

I know what a gong is (a large Oriental cymbal).

But I don't understand the expression in the context of the following article: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/09/mad-men-modern-family-win-emmys-glory/

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Cult ad agency drama “Mad Men” won the best drama Emmy for the fourth year late Sunday, while “Modern Family” again took the comedy glory at US television’s awards show.

British shows also triumphed at the annual Hollywood show, the Oscars of the small screen, with Kate Winslet leading a string of Brits taking gongs, notably for “Downton Abbey.”

“Mad Men,” which has spawned a host of lookalike shows, fought off the strongly-tipped “Boardwalk Empire” to take the best drama Emmy at the climax of the show.

The expression only appears in the said article:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=%22taking+gongs%22&oq=%22taking+gongs%22 so I am guessing is a typo of some sort...

or does it refer to another show?

Gong is a colloquial expression for an award or medal. The only citation I found for this was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gong_(disambiguation)

Gongs is a slang term for military medals, dating from the 1940s if not earlier; both are suspended discs of metal. And it's not far from that to 'prizes in general'.