A trailblazer on and off the court, New Zealand netball is paying tribute to the life of Dame June Hinekahukura Mariu, a former Silver Fern, teacher, youth advocate and community leader who has died at the age of 92.
In a life full of achievements, Dame June became the fifth captain of the Silver Ferns in 1960 and was the first to lead the national team to a prized first win the same year. She was also a New Zealand softball and indoor basketball representative.
After netball, she became an equally influential figure as the national president of the Māori Women's Welfare League from 1987 to 1990, chairperson of the Te Whānau O Waipareira Trust and a member of the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission.
Dame June worked as a teacher and as a lay advocate with youth and their whānau in West Auckland appearing at the Rangatahi Court based at Hoani Waititi Marae.
She was the National Co-ordinator for Aotearoa Māori Netball and was a trustee of the Māori Women's Development Fund.
Dame June’s considerable contribution to netball and the wider community was recognised on multiple occasions, including receiving a Queen's Service Medal in 1985 and becoming a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2006.
In 2012, she was appointed a Dame of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee honours list.
Dame June’s selection as Silver Fern #22 had historical significance for the New Zealand team. With the first team to be selected since 1948, the 1960 edition proved the turning point for netball in New Zealand and with it, the start of the modern era for the sport in this country.
Playing under the recently-adopted international rules of seven-a-side, the 1960 Silver Ferns set off across the Tasman for a 15-game tour 22 years after their historic first-ever test against Australia.
Elevated from the Auckland provincial team, shooter Dame June, 28, was named the Silver Ferns fifth captain and entrusted with leading a 10-strong team on their trailblazing mission. It was the first national team to undertake a full-scale tour, which included three tests and 12 other games, the team from 1960 representing a new breed of player and laying the foundation for the game as we know it today.
Growing up in Hicks Bay on the East Coast, Dame June was a natural athlete across multiple sports from early on. Well suited to the playmaking role of goal attack, Dame June had the distinction of becoming New Zealand’s first winning captain when the Silver Ferns prevailed 49-40 in the first test, on the grass centre tennis court in Adelaide.
In mirroring the trans-Tasman rivalry that has long since continued, they lost the second test in Melbourne 44-39 and suffered a heart-breaking 46-45 loss in the final test.
“You met such wonderful people,” Dame June recalled of her involvement with netball.
“It really taught you how to embrace people. I was the only Māori on the team but it didn’t matter. Netball was a game you all played and it didn’t matter what colour or creed you were. You all belonged to New Zealand.”
With no secondary school in Hicks Bay, Dame June was sent to Queen Victoria boarding school in Auckland. She suffered terribly from homesickness but found some solace in her sport, playing nine aside outdoor basketball in the Auckland secondary schools’ competition, which was played on Auckland’s famous Windmill Road courts.
After finishing school, Dame June trained as teacher but continued to play netball. She played for Arahi in the Auckland club competition “which was one of the big shot teams in those days.”
She went onto make the Auckland team and progression to the Silver Ferns came in 1960. Much to her surprise and delight, Dame June was chosen to captain the side.
“It was a great honour indeed,’’ she said. ``They were a great bunch of girls. I remember my Uncle John, who they named the marae, the Hoani Waititi Marae, out here in Henderson, he taught all the girls (on our team) a Māori song which we performed over there (Australia).”
On returning home, Dame June married and retired from international netball but her passion remained strong and she moved into coaching at school, club and provincial level with great success while also becoming a Silver Ferns selector.
Her work in the community spent much time encouraging family wellbeing and helping more Māori women become involved in sport which included obtaining funding to start Māori netball.
There were many segments to the life of “Whaea” or “Aunty June,” as she was affectionately known, and once her sporting days were over, devoted herself tirelessly to her community.
Dame June’s experiences with netball laid the foundation for her success as a pillar in the community and helping those less fortunate.
“If gave me opportunities that I probably wouldn’t have got to travel, to meet all sorts of people, to go to all sorts of functions, to tour,’’ she said.
“You learned to share and to care about those that you played with. It helped me in my work in teaching. But it has been a love I must say. I just loved getting out there with my friends and playing.”
From leaving her mark in netball to improving the lives of others, Dame June has left a lasting impression across many walks during a much-acclaimed life.