Tilly Titihuia Rangimatau Hirst (née Vercoe; 17 September 1941 – 4 June 2021) was a New Zealand

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

player. She was a member of the New Zealand team that won the

1967 World Netball Championships The 1967 World Netball Championships was the second edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial international netball competition. The 1967 tournament was held in Perth, Western Australia, and featured eight teams. New Zealand national ne ...

Early life

Hirst was born Tilly Titihuia Rangimatau Vercoe on 17 September 1941, the daughter of Ruhina and Raharuhi Vercoe. Of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

descent, she was affiliated with

Ngāti Pikiao Ngāti Pikiao is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand. They are one of the iwi within the Te Arawa tribal confederation. Their rohe (territory) centres on Lake Rotoiti and the area east of the Kaituna River in the Bay of Plenty. History Ngāti ...

Ngāti Kea Ngāti Tuarā Ngāti Kea Ngāti Tuarā is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. They claim descent from Kearoa, the wife of Ngātoro-i-rangi, and from Tuara, a sister of Tangaroamihi and descendant of Ika, who was part of the crew of the '' Arawa''. The tribes lived ...

, and

Ngāti Manawa Ngāti Manawa is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. Hapū and marae The tribe is made up of four ''hapū'' (sub-tribes). Each has a ''marae'' (communal grounds) and ''wharenui'' (meeting house). * Moewhare, based at Karangaranga marae and Moewhar ...

. She was educated at Rotorua High School from 1955 to 1958.

Netball career

At in height, Vercoe was regarded as being a tall netballer player in her day, and was known as a dynamic defender, playing as a goal keeper, goal defence or wing defence. She represented the Rotorua provincial team between 1960 and 1972, winning the North Island provincial championships every year from 1962 to 1967, except 1963, and was a member of the North Island team from 1963 to 1966, 1968 to 1970 and in 1972. Vercoe was first selected to play for New Zealand at the 1967 World Netball Championships in Perth, and was also named as the team's vice-captain, with

Joan Harnett Joan Frances Harnett-Kindley (née Martin; born 24 February 1943) is a New Zealand former netball player and real estate agent. She began playing for Canterbury's Sacred Hart team in 1960 and was first selected to play for the country's nationa ...

as captain. At that tournament, New Zealand won all seven of their matches, and were crowned world champions. In 1969, Vercoe toured Australia with the New Zealand netball team, with the two-test series being shared 1–1. She retired as a player after the

1971 World Netball Championships The 1971 World Netball Championships were 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 ...

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, at which New Zealand lost just one match, against Australia 48–42, to finish as runners-up. Over her career, Vercoe played 19 international games for New Zealand. In 1996, the world-champion 1967 New Zealand netball team was inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the hall ...

. In 2018, Hirst was inducted into the

Rotorua Boys' High School Rotorua Boys' High School (RBHS) is a state school educating boys from Year 9 to Year 13. It is situated just outside the Rotorua CBD at the intersection of Old Taupo Road and Pukuatua Street in Rotorua, New Zealand. The school is governed by ...

Hall of Fame, which includes people who attended the school when it was the co-educational Rotorua High School.

Later life and death

After retiring from netball, Hirst worked at the Rotorua police station, undertaking clerical duties. She was married to Peter Hirst, who died in 2013. The couple were active members of the Rotorua Baháʼí community, with Peter Hirst serving as the group's secretary. Tilly Hirst died on 4 June 2021, aged 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirst, Tilly 1941 births 2021 deaths Ngāti Pikiao people Ngāti Manawa people Ngāti Kearoa people People educated at Rotorua Girls' High School Sportspeople from Rotorua New Zealand Māori netball players New Zealand international netball players New Zealand Bahá'ís 1967 World Netball Championships players 1971 World Netball Championships players 20th-century New Zealand sportswomen