A Netball History inTasmania

The First Bounce

1900-2005
by Pauline Barker

REVIEWS

Dr Rob Hess, Victoria University

Head of the Sports History Unit, & Senior Lecturer in the School and Exercise Science Victoria University - Co - authored A National Game - The History of Australian Rules Football, Associate Academic Editor of the International Journal of the History of Sport. Executive Editor of the Bulletin of Sport and Culture.

"A Netball History in Tasmania - The First Bounce 1900-2005" is a comprehensive and well illustrated account of the development of netball in Tasmania between 1900 and 2005. Spanning sixteen chapters from the early foundations of netball in Tasmania to the recent development of a men's League, the reader is carefully introduced to the spirit of the most participated women's game in Australia. The origins of the modern game are explored through an analysis of the early association between netball and basketball, and the section highlights some of the more usual social expectations of woman in the early to mid 1900's. Traditional activities such as sewing did not appeal to all and netball (originally known as women's basketball) was therefore welcome change and alternative option for some girls and women. In this context, Barker reveals that the involvement of primary and secondary schools in Tasmania in the sport was a catalyst for netball's popularity and success, a relationship that was also relevant at the national level.

In the 1970's, Barker reminisces on what could be termed an 'explosive' period of netball activity in Tasmania. A number of photographs illustrate the development of highly organised competitions. such as the Audrey Quillam netball establishment, while other images also recognise the role that individuals made to the game in Tasmania. Barker also explains how the game expanded internationally during this period, creating the foundation for the birth of a modern international competition. The game was further enriched by the inclusion of a nationally intellectually disabled competition during the 1980's and Barker plots such developments with sensitivity.

A Netball History in Tasmania is supplemented by a worthwhile array of photographs that are presented in magazine-like fashion, adding spectacle and character to the narrative, and perhaps drawing the reader to particular sections relevant to their own experience. While heavily laden with facts and figures, Barker is adept at highlighting certain individuals, such as Shirley Hunt and Jan Walley, who were influential in developing Tasmanian netball. A compelling read, the book gives the reader a succient decade-by=decade overview of the game's development, and the content should appeal to not only those with a specific interest in netball, but to those with a general interest in the social history of sport in Tasmania.

The Mercury

“This thoroughly researched and skillfully written history by Pauline Barker tells of an enduring commitment by dedicated women to winning recognition and public support for their sport. It is socially significant and intrinsically interesting work.
In a word it’s a gem”.
Warren Brewer

The Examiner

"Tasmanian netball has good reason to thank Pauline Barker for being disinterested in sewing. Barker’s involvement in netball (or basketball as it was known in my early days”) began at Riverside Primary School in the late 1960’s where pupils who did not make the school sports teams had to stay behind and do knitting or sewing.” There were times when I sat with the knitting needles in class hating every minute of it, because I did not reach selection that week”, she recalled. This unusual introduction began a 40 year old involvement in the sport in Tasmania as a player, umpire, administrator and now chronicler with her publication. Barker has achieved her aim of creating “ a bountiful knowledge in one volume” detailing the State’s netballing achievements spanning from Rosalie Parkes, the first Tasmanian to tour with an Australian team to Natasha Chokjlat making the unprecedented journay from Savage River to the national team. Constantly referring to her beloved sport with a capital “N” helps demonstrate how strongly Barker feels about it”.
Rob Shaw

The Advocate

"This is a book that sporting fans and netball fanatics need to buy. Pauline Barker has covered every aspect of the history of netball in the State over the past 115 years comprehensively. A fantastic celebration of the sport of netball, the book is well - written and well-organised"
Kate White