From when Taini Jamison was a child, she was destined for great things.
So it’s little wonder that at the age of 95, she still held the record of being New Zealand’s most successful Silver Ferns netball coach.
The trailblazing sportswoman, coach and netball administrator was farewelled by family and friends at her funeral todayinside a packed St Faith’s Anglican Church at Ohinemutu in Rotorua.
The netball legend, who led the team to their first world title at the 1967 Netball World Cup, died early on Friday morning.
Former Silver Ferns coach Taini Jamison when she was 82. Photo / Stephen Parker
Jamison was remembered for her tenacity, wisdom, beauty, vision, and passion for people. She was thanked for her ability to spot talent on a court and admired for not only her top-level coaching, but as someone who would make a difference to the vitality and future of the sport.
It was said there were players competing at a high level today as a result of foundations Jamison put in place for the growth of the game over her decades of work.
She took over the reins of Netball Rotorua as president between 1981 and 2001 and was instrumental in convincing the then Rotorua District Council to move the courts from Kuirau Park to its current location at Westbrook.
Netball Rotorua secretary and good friend Mary Thompson spoke at the funeral and said even after Jamison stood down from her president’s role, when she visited the courts on a Saturday morning, everyone would “jump to attention” to make sure everything was working like clockwork.
Along with other netball fans, known as “netties”, Thompson and Jamison would travel New Zealand and the world following netball games and tournaments,
Thompson thanked the staff at Lara Lodge Care Home who looked after Jamison in her final years for ensuring the netball was always turned on the television for her.
Jamison’s grandson, Ben Jamison, delivered the eulogy saying his nan lived her life full of ambition and determination, selflessness, accomplishment and inspiration and it would “forever be a privilege to have known her”.
She was a natural at every sport in her early years, including tennis and basketball. Her real passion for netball started to shine at the age of 7 and she moved quickly through the ranks to representative teams.
Taini Jamison's coffin is carried into her funeral in Rotorua. Photo / Andrew Warner
After qualifying as a teacher from Wellington Teacher’s College, she returned to Rotorua. It was during this time she met her future husband, Thomas Jamison Snr but he tragically died not long after they were married following an accident on the basketball court, Ben Jamison said.
“Nan was pregnant at the time and named her son, my father, Tom, after him.”
Ben Jamison said his nan, then aged 31, did not look to remarry and instead concentrated on coaching and teaching.
It was in 1967 that the “chance of a lifetime” came her way to not only coach the Silver Ferns but be the national team’s first Māori coach. She would go on to win several titles.
“To this day nan holds the record for being the most successful Silver Ferns coach with a win rate of 90 per cent, 18 out of 20 games, during her four years (1967 to 1971).”
Taini Jamison was a netball legend. Photo / Andrew Warner
Ben Jamison said following his nan’s national coaching role, she never lost her humility and returned to Malfroy School to continue her teaching and coaching roles. She remained a netball pioneer and avid supporter of all things netball, ensuring there were programmes in place to foster its future.
He said current Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua, who was at the funeral, recently said of his nan: “once a coach always a coach”, and even until recently she would pass on to her “what she wanted on the court”.
He said his nan used her coaching skills off the court as well and he would always remember her comments when he visited as a teenager, when Jamison was aged in her 70s.
“I couldn’t even sit down for five minutes without her saying something like ‘is that chair paying you to sit on it’. Or ‘the dishes aren’t going to do themselves you know’.”
Tiweka Anaru spoke at the funeral and said Jamison would be remembered for her sparkly eyes, beautiful smooth skin and immaculate presentation. She would also be known for her tenacity, wisdom and, as a Māori woman, taking the sport to where it was today.
“She has gone to paradise, but look what she has left behind.”
Close relative Tui Ransfield said Jamison loved her food and she would often request the top-of-the-range Māori delicacies, including snapper, cream paua, scallops and Bluff oysters.
Officiant Reverend Tom Poata said Jamison was a generous woman who brought pride and dignity to her whakapapa [genealogy].
“Those who hold her memory will remember what she was like and will continue to be blessed. We don’t just stop when we die, because we have left some work behind us. This woman has done that and more.”
Taini Jamison - February 23, 1928-April 28, 2023
The Taini Jamison Trophy is contested between the Silver Ferns and visiting international teams other than Australia.
In the 1994 New Year Honours, Jamison was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to netball.
Inducted into the Māori Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and made a life member of Netball New Zealand in 2010.
