CLUB HISTORY
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Berowra Netball Club was formed in 1960 to establish organised sport for the girls in Berowra. The boys in Berowra had both cricket and soccer but other than a bit of tennis there was very little for the girls to do. To get things underway Mrs Joan Olson was coaxed into pulling something together. She had experience with women’s basketball (as netball was known in those days) when she was at school in New Zealand, so women’s basketball it was.
The first practice court was scratched out on dirt and grass in the grounds of Berowra Public School. The netballers first goal posts were home made, using timber, and they were stored under the school building, getting dragged in and out as required. Two teams were formed in that first season in 1960 with Under 12s and Under 13s representing the Club in the Ryde Eastwood Netball Association, which was the closest competition available at that time.
The first competition courts were also grass but in time were converted to a hard-court surface. One of the biggest problems to overcome was getting to and from games as most Berowra families didn’t have a car. Many girls travelled together by train to Eastwood station. They then had to walk to Brush Farm. After their game the girls grabbed their gear and headed off back to Eastwood station to catch the train home, often arriving well after dark.
After nearly a decade of growth, while playing at Eastwood, the Berowra club joined the newly established Ku-ring-gai Netball Association (KNA) giving them games closer to home. They played competitions for several seasons on courts in Wahroonga (Westbrook) and Turramurra (Commenara) until 1979 when KNA moved all competitions to their new facilities Canoon Road, South Turramurra where it remains their home for competitions today. In a major boost for Berowra netball, in 1977 Council constructed two new netball courts with lights as part of the Warrina St Oval sports precinct.
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