Whangarei-born Australian netball star Catherine Cox left the region at three months old but she still has a solid Northland fan base.
A goal-shoot for the Australian team currently locked in a three-match series with New Zealand, she was hounded for autographs by several Northlanders following her team's second-test loss in
Perth this week.
Northlanders ask her for autographs often but she admits to knowing little about her place of birth.
Her family moved out of their Mt Parahaki home and down to the South Island when she was three months old before shifting to Australia when she was six.
And an Aussie she has remained, even to the point of cancelling her New Zealand passport a decade ago and getting an Australian one.
"I was constantly bagged by my team-mates for having a New Zealand passport so I decided to get naturalised, there's only so much grief you can take," she told the Advocate yesterday, a day out from the deciding third test in Melbourne.
Her New Zealand roots mean nothing when taking on the Silver Ferns. "When we see each other we hate each other," she said.
But it could easily have been a Kiwi jersey she was wearing tonight.
Cox almost played for her country of birth in 1998 when approached by Netball New Zealand to represent the Silver Ferns at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games. She had been given the run-around by the Aussie selectors at the time.
"I agreed to do it but it became a huge commitment to move to New Zealand and that's where it ended," she said.
Before this evening's test series decider in Melbourne she had played 40 games for Australia since 1997. Current Australian coach Norma Plummer made no bones about Cox's rightful place in the world ... "She's definitely an Aussie."
Cox's Kiwi parents Neville and Frances met in Hamilton before moving to Northland where they lived for seven years - Frances a teacher at Whau Valley School and Neville a manager at Arthur Yates seed company.
Cox, who was born in Whangarei Hospital on May 24, 1976, was last in town on a brief visit when she was about 12. Her uncle Gary and aunt June Duff and family still live on Pipiwai Rd, north of Whangarei.
Cox's mum, Frances, admitted she and Neville were torn when Australia played New Zealand at netball. They still sing God Defend New Zealand "but not in front of Catherine".
