She was the eldest of 12 offspring born to Arnold and Dorothy Salmon, who were all raised on a small farm on Salmon Rd in Mata, just south of Whangārei.
Sport was ingrained in them from an early age as the whole family played tennis and hockey, and the love of sport was instrumental in the way she lived her life, brought up her own family and served her community.
Mary attended Springfield Primary School, then went to Waipu District High School for a few years until she was required to help at home with her brothers and sisters.
At that time, she played tennis in the summer for the Springfield Tennis Club and the Mid Western Tennis Club. She continued to play after her marriage and with her children.
In the winter she played hockey for Mangapai for many years. She was selected for Whangārei as a formidable left fullback, and from there in 1955 she was selected for the Auckland Country team to play in the national tournament in Gisborne.
She met David (Buster) Miller at one of the many dances held around the district back then, probably at the Mangapai Hall. At the insistence of her father, she had to wait until she was 21 before she was allowed to marry Buster. First daughters were precious back then, so her brother Ted said.
They were married on April 30, 1955 two days after Mary’s 21st birthday.
Mary brought her own five children up the same way she had been raised, hard-working and outdoors, milking cows, feeding calves, helping out on the farm. And of course she taught them all to play tennis and hockey. So the housework got neglected, but nobody held that against her.
Not only did she teach her own children to play tennis but she coached all those in Springfield and the surrounding districts who wanted to learn as well. She was still coaching with the help of Priscilla Price, even after her own children had grown up and moved on. Her honesty, patience and calm demeanour and love of the game made her the perfect mentor.
Mary helped on the tennis committees of Springfield, Mid Western and Northland for many years. She was part of the Tennis Northland establishment which realised the Thomas Neale Family Memorial Tennis Park which opened in 1972, and she was also there to help with the big Winstones and Molenburg tennis tournaments that were held in the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1985 Buster had done his dash milking cows, so Mary and youngest son James, who was 15 at the time, took over the milking. So not only did she have all her sporting commitments but she milked the cows as well.
James said, “Mum gave up milking about 1992 when she got back from one of her Australian trips.”
Mary joined the Northland Tennis Seniors when she was 40 and she and her friend Lucy Te Whata travelled the North Island playing in the seniors tournaments, winning many doubles events. Her Northland team won national senior team events when they were in the 65+ age group. Mary continued playing competitive and social tennis until she was 72. But when she lost her right eye she found it too difficult to play, so she took up indoor bowls and croquet.
She coached some of her children’s hockey teams, and took up umpiring to give back to a sport she loved. She also helped out on the JMC hockey and the umpiring committees for many years.
In 1993 Northland Hockey gave Mary a life membership for her many accolades, and in 1994 at the Bream Bay Sport Awards, Mary was given a Service to Sport Award.
She mentored and trained young umpires for over a decade from 1988 to 2003. She was awarded a mirror from the Junior Management Committee in 2004 for the many years of dedication as an umpire coach. She taught her daughter Raewyn to umpire and she also taught her granddaughter Shelley to umpire. She brought through national and international umpires, so a huge accomplishment.
She was up at Kensington Park looking after her young umpires Thursdays, Fridays Saturdays and even Sundays some weeks. She retired in 2003 at the age of 69 when her husband Buster started going downhill and needed her support. Northland Hockey had to find three people to replace her.
Mary Miller (seated centre) with her siblings.
She lost her husband Buster in 2005, after a two-year illness which Mary nursed him through.
When Mary was 82, she was diagnosed with failing kidneys due to prolonged high blood pressure. Dr Supershad said it was very rare to start an over 80-year-old on dialysis. It is a very harsh process for anyone, let alone an 84-year-old, but because Mary was a big strong girl with no other ailments, they took a chance on her. That she went on to thrive for five years and Dr Supershad said he was in no doubt Mary would have made 100 if her kidneys hadn’t failed. The renal staff nicknamed her “amazing Mary”.
