Once upon a time, almost half-a-century ago, the first netball game was played on a large and leafy parcel of public land in Melbourne's east, donated specifically for the purpose of hosting women's sport.
So it was that the Waverley Women’s Sports Centre was born.
A noble premise, certainly, if not one quite matched by the very basic facilities that existed on the Jells Road site back in August, 1971.
A profile of the late Anne George, the woman synonymous with the Waverley Netball Centre's establishment and development, paints the picture: four asphalt courts; a portable lighting generator; a garden shed as a change-room; hessian surrounds on the toilet block; competition supervisors working from a card table, whatever the weather.
It would be 23 years before the proud opening of the $3.5 million four-court stadium, for which a $1.2 million loan was painstakingly serviced each month through the diligence of George and former treasurer, Jill Albrecht. An upgrade came later, when council matched a further $475,000 investment in a site used by up to 5,000 patrons each week.
The indoor centre, whose first big event was the 1995 Australian Open and 21/U Championships - featuring a couple of handy players called Simone McKinnis and Shelley O’Donnell - has since hosted national league home games for the Melbourne Phoenix and Kestrels, international fixtures, rounds of the Deakin University Australian Netball League, and Bupa Victorian Netball League (VNL). As well as highland dancing and trampolining, karate and taekwondo.
The annual Waverley International Schools Championships has been an annual highlight until a pandemic-paralysed 2020, while weekly users range upwards in age from NetSetGO across levels, including social competitions, junior representative teams and premier open competitions involving many future VNL players. Competitors travel from as far afield as Fish Creek and the Mornington Peninsula, as well as across town from Doncaster and Kew.
Now for the next phase of the Waverley Women’s Sports Centre’s evolution, funded in part by a $2 million Andrews' Government pledge secured before the 2018 state election. An outdoor development and updated master precinct plan, approved by the City of Monash, is open for public consultation and discussion via its website until October 9.
“In Victoria we’ve got Parkville, which covers the north and west, and Waverley really looks after the east,’’ says Netball Victoria’s General Manager, Government and Affiliate Services, Amanda Basu.
“So, after the State Netball Hockey Centre, obviously the next priority is making sure that precinct is the best one we can possibly have, because so many of our Affiliates send their rep teams into Waverley Night, as they do at Parkville, on the other side of town.
"What’s happening in those two big centres then flows into the rest of our netball community. They’re the benchmarks that everyone really aspires to. It’s the start of the pathway; you’ve got a (Melbourne Vixens’ captain) Kate Moloney going through Diamond Creek into Parkville with the Diamond Creek rep team, and there are plenty of great examples that have come through Waverley and the east.’’
Including former Diamond and Olympic softball representative, Nicole Richardson, the Netball Victoria pathway product who is now Magpies' Assistant Coach in Suncorp Super Netball. Like so many sporty young things who grew up in the area, Waverley was the Saturday hub of activity, which often graduated to evening competition mid-week.
“It has hosted so many of our state events and programs throughout the years,’’ says Basu. “The women’s sports precinct at Jells Park is just such an important place as a centre for netball and a centre for women.’’
And one striving to build on Anne George’s legacy. The outdoor courts are no longer Netball Victoria compliant, and stage one includes not just overdue resurfacing works but expanding the footprint of the eight existing outdoor courts to meet contemporary run-off standards and incorporate additional player shelters and viewing outlets.
The linear, covered walkway will provide safer access across the site and into the adjacent Jells Park carpark, where - as part of stage two - the lighting will finally be upgraded to address longstanding safety concerns.
Stage three will extend to site access, new outdoor amenities to share with the Waverley Softball Association co-tenant, a women’s fitness hub and the relocation of the children's playground. The final stage will involve the refurbishment and upgrade of a stadium that has been meticulously maintained during its 26 year life, but is now falling short of user needs and community expectations.
“It’s just bringing ourselves up to the current day standards, modernising areas. It makes Waverley the premier regional facility that it should be - for our community and for the greater netball community,’’ says centre manager, Michelle George, whose husband Ian - the facilities manager - is Anne’s son.
Yet Michelle also stresses that the Waverley Night Netball Association (WNNA) is about far more than the physical infrastructure or paid workforce.
“The success of our Association is not just the staff but the volunteers and the netball community that work around us to create our community competition on a Saturday, and then our regional and social competitions of a weeknight.
“So many of our people have been there for so long, and they keep coming back because they just like the environment and the community that netball creates. We’ve got lots of passionate, involved members - people who’ve played there themselves, their kids have played there, and now they’re seeing their grandkids play there.’’
But they're not playing right now - considering COVID-19's impact on metropolitan Melbourne - with a last whistle blown on March 13. The majority of the 21 WNNA permanent and (long-serving) casual employees have been able to access the Federal Government's JobKeeper payment, while the Georges have also taken their long service leave.
Ian George’s maintenance and preparatory work ahead of a post-virus return has been on hold during Stage Four lockdown restrictions, while efforts are being made to engage the many juniors lamenting a season lost.
But netball will return, and the Waverley Women’s Sports Centre will continue to thrive, given how far it has already come from the generator/shed/card table genesis of 49 years ago.
Michelle George is excited by the blueprint for the next phase of development, and grateful for the contribution made by so many women, in particular.
As for what Anne George would think?
“She’d be proud to know that her dream continues to grow,'' says Michalle, "and that we're continuing to improve on what we have.''
Written by Linda Pearce
