A trailblazer in the sport she loved, the netball community is mourning the passing of Taini Jamison, an inspiring and influential figure who left her mark in many ways.
Slightly built but with a big personality, Taini was an influential and highly-regarded presence throughout her decades-long involvement. From the varied arenas of playing, coaching and administration, she moved seamlessly through each but made her most memorable imprint on the coaching front.
The Rotorua stalwart fashioned a remarkable career after her first introduction to netball as a seven-year-old, an involvement which continued for the rest of her rich and rewarding life. Taini was involved for nearly all her adult life with Netball Rotorua and was its president from 1981 to 2001.
Taini’s interest in netball began at a young age. In a strong era for the province during the 1950s, she progressed to being a member of the Rotorua representative team and was selected for the North Island team on three occasions, a highlight for players of the time.
An impressive all-round athlete, Taini played netball, softball, basketball and tennis at provincial level but netball remained her No 1 sport of choice.
“The love of netball stayed with me all the time through everything,” she said during an interview.
Retiring from playing in 1959, Taini then spent a decade coaching a consistently successful Rotorua team, her credentials in this facet of the game setting her up for higher honours.
In a natural progression, Taini became the first Māori coach of the New Zealand netball team when appointed Silver Ferns coach #3 in 1967. In what was to become a history-making year for New Zealand netball, Jamison guided the Silver Ferns to a first world title when they swept all-comers in the second edition of the Netball World Championships, held in Perth.
Her history-making 1967 team were duly recognised by being inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.
Four years later, she coached the Silver Ferns to the runners-up position at the 1971 World Netball Championships in Jamaica, when the team was away from home for almost four months.
She has remained one of the Silver Ferns most successful coaches with a 90 percent winning rate, chalking up 18 wins from 20 tests.
In acknowledging her impressive contribution to netball, Taini received many accolades over the years, including the Netball New Zealand Service Award in 1972 while in the 1994 New Year’s Honours, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to netball. She was inducted into the Māori Sports Hall of Fame in 2006, and in 2010, was made a life member of Netball New Zealand.
In 2008, the Taini Jamison Trophy was established. It is contested when any netballing nation or nations, other than Australia, play the Silver Ferns in New Zealand.
The spectacular trophy featuring a mango pare (hammerhead shark) pattern around the top, and with the Rotorua Netball Māori motif being front and centre to honour Taini’s exceptional legacy, has always had particular significance to both Taini and the Silver Ferns.
“To have the Trophy named in my honour is really something that I’m very proud of,” she said at the time.
“To be able to present the trophy is another honour that I keep close to my heart.”
Born in Rotorua in 1928, Taini’s father was of Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Tamaterā descent, and her mother, Ngāi Tahu. Taini attended Rotorua High and Grammar School, but when her father was posted to Wellington after the war she moved to Wellington Girls' College, later studying at Wellington Teachers' Training College.
After qualifying as a teacher, she had several different postings, spending eight years teaching in Horohoro, near Rotorua, before moving to Malfroy Primary School in Rotorua, where she stayed until reaching retirement age.
Taini Jamison’s immense contribution to netball has enriched the experience for those who play the game today, the value of her rich legacy now part of the sport’s fabric.