Celebrating 50 years: New Zealand wins GOLD for the first time

Gold for New Zealand - they’ve done it! The first time New Zealand has won Gold at the Netball World Cup…

1967 was the year, it was the Second World Tournament. The great Taini Jamison was the coach with Judy Blair the captain.

The New Zealand team had fallen agonisingly short in 1963, but they had returned in 1967 with renewed vigour and determination to claim the title.

Seven wins from seven matches, including a 40-34 victory over Australia in their final match saw the team etch their name in the history books.

Saturday marks 50 years since this famous moment in New Zealand Netball history. We celebrate this group of pioneering women – a team that helped shape the way the sport is played today…

“It was a pretty rugged game,” captain Judy Blair recalls their match against Australia.

“I think there were about 4000 spectators there, it was outside and on a concrete court and I remember talking to the Mayor of Perth before the game.

“It was an experience for us – it was rugged for those times but I think we could put up with that as New Zealand players.”

For Judy, the honour of captaining her country at the Second World Tournament was special.

“It was very special and it was very unexpected because we had some senior girls there amongst us,” she said.

“A happy team is a winning team. It didn’t matter who went on the court, everyone was happy.

“We were so close and played for each other. Captaincy was easy to me because I was just one of the girls.”

The loss in 1963 was a driver for the team to go one better in 1967, with three players returning for another tilt at the title.

“1963… losing by one and travelling all that way to England. I remember saying to myself I will stay around for another four years and we will win. And that’s what we did by six goals – it was tremendous.”

Netball New Zealand will honour the 1967 Gold Medal-winning team at the final Test of the Taini Jamison Trophy at Claudelands Arena, Hamilton, Wednesday 13 September – GET TICKETS.

The 1967 New Zealand team: Taini Jamison (coach), Edna Yates (manager), Judy Blair (captain), Margaret Filippini, Joan Harnett, Ann Rankin, Tilly Hirst, Billie Irwin, Mirth Solomon, Pam Marsden, Elizabeth Rowley, Sandra Easterbrook.