Netball Centenary 2021

This year's Centenary celebrates 100 years from 1921 to 2021 of Christchurch Netball Centre, the Canterbury Netball Association and the Canterbury Netball Union.

We would like to invite all Centres to share this information with their members.

All events will take place from Friday 29 to Saturday 30 October 2021.

The celebrations commence with a Sod Turning Ceremony on the Friday afternoon. This will take place at Ngā Puna Wai. This will be followed by a cocktail party back at the Centre in the evening which will include a fashion parade of old and new uniforms as a visual display of 'Netball through the Ages'.

There will be a Centenary Lunch on the Saturday, which will also include exhibition games by ANZ futureFERNS, Walking Netball, Men's Netball, Secondary Schools and Mothers and Daughters.

The celebrations will culminate in a Centenary Dinner that Saturday evening at Christchurch Netball Centre hosted by Lesley Murdoch.

Those attending events at the Centre will also be treated to a suite of digitised images from the last 100 years.

Life Members in attendance will also be honoured, including Oonah Shannahan (née Murray) who will also be turning 100 this year. Silver Fern number 8 and former Captain, Oonah, is the oldest surviving Silver Fern having played and captained New Zealand in the first Test against Australia in Dunedin in August 1948. This match was only the second ever Test Match played  by the Silver Ferns, the first being in Australia, 10 years earlier in 1938. Oonah played centre or wing attack and was a very quick,  strong and athletic player.

Oonah received a Netball New Zealand Service Award and together with her two sisters Mary and Julia (both now deceased) contributed a life time of administrative service and dedication to Netball.

The events present an opportunity for anyone who has been involved in any part of our history to be involved in a celebration of netball. Players, coaches, club personnel, volunteers, staff, life members, game officials and volunteers, past and present, can reconnect and recount their memories.

For more information and bookings: click here.