Anne Evelyn Clark was an Australian netball administrator, umpire and coach. Between 1950 and 1979 she served as President of the New South Wales Women's Basketball Association. Between 1955 and 1978, she also served five terms as President of the All Australia Netball Association. Clark umpired at the

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

and 1975 World Netball Championships. In 1975 she was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

and in 2009 was inducted into the Australian Netball Hall of Fame. Clark died on 12 June 1983 in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

while attending the

1983 World Netball Championships The 1983 World Netball Championships was the sixth edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It took place from 11 to 24 June and was held in Singapore. This edition of the tournament featured 14 te ...

. She was cremated in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Early life, family and employment

Clark was born on 16 August 1903 in Waterloo, Sydney. She was the third of five children. Her parents were George Cornelius Clark, a sewerage labourer, and his wife Martha (née Doidge). They were both originally from Victoria. Clark attended Redfern Superior Public School until she was 14. She lived with her parents in Waterloo until the late 1930s. Between 1919 and 1963, she worked in the personnel department of a W.D. & H.O. Wills cigarette factory. Clark participated in a range of sports and served as president of the company's sports club for twelve years. In 1941, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she briefly enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force but she was discharged on compassionate grounds after her mother died. After her retirement, she lived on the North Shore.

Netball career

Netball NSW

After breaking her ankle during her first season playing netball, Clark decided to concentrate on umpiring and coaching. In 1924, she joined the Sydney City Girls' Amateur Sports Association. When this organisation changed its name to the New South Wales Women's Basketball Association, she became a vice-president. Between 1950 and 1979 she served as President of the NSWWBA. During her time as president, she campaigned to establish district associations throughout the state. She also served as manager, coach and selector for NSW teams in the Australian National Netball Championships. She encouraged the association to acquire its own headquarters which were subsequently named in her honour. Between 1980 and 2014, the association's headquarters were based at the Anne Clark Centre in Lidcombe. It was officially opened on 11 October 1980. In December 2014,

Netball New South Wales Netball New South Wales is the governing body for netball in New South Wales. It is affiliated to Netball Australia. It is responsible for organizing and managing two elite level teams, New South Wales Swifts and Giants Netball, who compete in Su ...

moved to its current home at Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park.

Netball Australia

Between 1955 and 1978, Clark served five terms (1955, 1960, 1966, 1972 and 1978) as President of the All Australia Netball Association.

Umpire

In 1931, Clark was awarded her all All Australian Umpire Badge. In 1938 she umpired the first netball Test between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. She also umpired during the 1948 series between Australia and New Zealand, during Australia's 1956 tour of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and during the

and 1975 World Netball Championships. Clarke also helped with the development of netball in Papua New Guinea, making four umpiring tours there. She also umpired at the

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and

1969 South Pacific Games The 3rd South Pacific Games, also known as Port Moresby 1969 (), held on 13–23 August 1969 in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, was the third edition of the South Pacific Games. A total of 1,150 athletes participated in the games. Participating ...

. In 1972, aged 69, Clark was still umpiring senior matches in the Australian National Netball Championships.

Anne Clark Service Awards

In 1976, the Anne Clark Service Award was introduced in her honour. The award recognises individuals who have given at least ten years of outstanding service to netball in New South Wales.

Honours

Individual awards

References

Reading

* Dunbar, Judy, ''1929-1989: 60 Years of Netball in New South Wales'',

, Sydney, 1989 * Hyland, Deirdre, ''"Little Anne" : a biography of Anne Clarke'', B.E.M., N.S.W. Netball Association, Sydney, 1987. {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Anne 1903 births 1983 deaths Australian netball players Netball players from Sydney Australian netball administrators Australian netball coaches Australian netball umpires Australian women referees and umpires Australian recipients of the British Empire Medal Australian women in World War II 20th-century Australian sportswomen