Brenda Rowberry is a former

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

player in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. She played for her country on 12 occasions, including in the

1971 Netball World Championships The 1971 World Netball Championships was the third edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Kingston, Jamaica, and featured nine teams including the debut of the Bahamas. It began on ...

. She is the mother of

Anna Stanley Anna Catherine Stanley (née Rowberry, born 31 March 1976 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netballer, who captained the national team (the Silver Ferns), to win the 2003 Netball World Championships in Jamaica. She led the Silver ...

, who played netball for the ''

Silver Ferns The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern (''Cyathea dealbata''), which is an emblem for many New Zealand s ...

'' 92 times.

Early life

Brenda Rowberry (née Walker) was born on 3 December 1946. She went to the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

School of Physical Education (OUSPE) in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, where she met her husband, Jerry Rowberry, who would go on to teach Physical Education at

Christ's College, Canterbury Christ's College, Canterbury is an independent Anglican secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand. Founded in 1850 by Reverend Henry Jacobs in Lyttelton as a school for early settlers, c ...

. They both graduated in 1969. While at university, Rowberry competed in athletics in

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

, discus and

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with t ...

events. She took part in the

New Zealand University Games The New Zealand University Games is a multi-sport competition held annually in each March / April between teams fielded from a large number of New Zealand Universities and tertiary institutions. It was formerly known as the Easter Tournament. The ...

in athletics and represented the New Zealand universities in competition with Australian universities.

Netball career

Rowberry played netball for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

. She was first selected for the ''Silver Ferns'', the national team, in June 1969, becoming the 48th woman to play for the team, and was on the team until 1971. She played mainly in the Goal Defence position, usually in partnership with

Tilly Hirst Tilly Titihuia Rangimatau Hirst (née Vercoe; 17 September 1941 – 4 June 2021) was a New Zealand netball player. She was a member of the New Zealand team that won the 1967 World Netball Championships. Early life Hirst was born Tilly Titihuia ...

. Rowberry was a strong player, helped by her athletic training, and was one of the few netball players of the time who did weight training. She took part in the

1971 World Netball Championships The 1971 World Netball Championships was the third edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Kingston, Jamaica, and featured nine teams including the debut of the Bahamas. It began on ...

, which were held in Kingston, Jamaica, with New Zealand finishing second.

Later career

Rowberry taught Physical Education for 16 years at Linwood High School (now

Linwood College Te Aratai College (founded as Linwood High School, then renamed Linwood College from 2000–2021) is a co-educational secondary school in Linwood Linwood may refer to: Places Many of the place names for Linwood come from the presence of lind ...

) in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

and then transferred to

Rangi Ruru Girls' School Rangi Ruru Girls' School is a New Zealand private girls' day and boarding secondary school located in Merivale, an inner suburb of Christchurch. The school is affiliated to the Presbyterian Church, and serves approximately girls from Years 7 ...

in Christchurch. She also coached netball, often at the Sacred Hearts College Old Girls' Club. A junior-grade netball competition between schools in the Canterbury region is known as the Brenda Rowberry Cup. In 2018 she and her husband were both given a Service Award by the New Zealand Secondary Schools Athletic Association.

Family

Rowberry and her husband have four daughters. Their second daughter, Anna, played for the ''Silver Ferns'' on 92 occasions. They were the second mother and daughter to play for the Silver Ferns, one year after

Belinda Charteris Belinda Jane Charteris (née Blair; born 10 May 1972 in Christchurch) is a New Zealand former international netball representative, who played in the Silver Ferns team that won a silver medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. Sh ...

, daughter of

Judy Blair Judy Blair (born December 29, 1948) is an American musician, singer, piano and Hammond B3 organ player, a composer of jazz, blues, rhythm & blues and boogie music. She is a Hammond organ virtuoso whose musical career began in the United States i ...

, first played for the team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowberry, Brenda New Zealand international netball players 1971 World Netball Championships players Living people 1946 births University of Otago alumni