Represented New Zealand in athletics and South Canterbury in netball, "but no single sport could contain her talent".
Born 13 January 1917; died November 1974.
Athlete, representative sportswoman
Doris Louisa Strachan, was born in Timaru on 13 January 1917, Doris was the daughter of Julia McInnes and James Dunn Strachan. She attended Timaru South School before enrolling at Timaru Girls’ High School in February 1931. Her ability was apparent almost immediately.
During her first year at TGHS, Doris won the Junior Athletics Cup with victories in the 100 yards, long jump and throwing the ball. The following year she won the senior 100 and 220 yards. School may have lasted only two years for Doris, but it provided the beginning of an extraordinary sporting career.
After leaving TGHS, she worked at Shackell’s in Timaru and became increasingly prominent in regional sport. She represented South Canterbury in women’s basketball, now known as netball, from 1934. She was a fast court player and accomplished goal shooter, helping South Canterbury compete at national tournaments and later contributing ten goals to the South Island’s 16–8 victory in a North versus South match.
Athletics took Doris onto the international stage. She established a New Zealand women’s long-jump record during the 1930s and was selected to represent New Zealand at the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney. There she contested the 100 yards, 220 yards and long jump and ran in the New Zealand relay team, which finished fourth.
Yet athletics and netball were only part of her story. Her obituary also records her involvement in baseball, gymnastics, swimming, ice skating, tramping, marching and even a women’s rugby match held in Timaru to raise patriotic funds during the 1940s. She later coached and refereed and captained Otago’s representative netball team in 1944.
Doris married Andrew Aikenhead in 1943 and settled in Oamaru, where they raised four children: Derek, Brian, Tony and Judith. She remained interested in sport throughout her life and died in Oamaru in November 1974.
Impact: At a time when opportunities for women to compete internationally were still limited and vulnerable to circumstances beyond their control, Doris created opportunities wherever she found them. As well as a runner, jumper and netballer, she was noted in the newspaper as one of Timaru’s most versatile sportswomen and one of TGHS’s earliest international sporting representatives.
Sources
- Newspaper obituary, “Timaru Woman Was Versatile Athlete,” dated 27 November 1974.
- New Zealand Births, Deaths and Marriages historical records.
- Timaru Girls’ High School enrolment register.
- Timaru Girls’ High School Chronicles, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1937 and 1938.
- New Zealand Olympic Team, Doris Strachan athlete profile.
- Papers Past, “Woman’s Long Jump Record,” Evening Star, 2 December 1935.
- Netball New Zealand, History of Netball.