My Account
Lynette Gubb downplays the latest award given to her by Netball New Zealand, saying she’s “no flashy player”. But her lengthy list of sporting and community achievements speaks for itself. The 54-year old grandmother-of-four played, umpired and coached in the Rodney association for 33 years, helped to organise the local A&P show for 26 years, and is a member of the town’s sports and recreation collective. She shares her story with Andre Hueber:
I grew up in Katikati and played netball at primary school. I used to like horse riding as well. I came from a family of five and my parents said: “You have to choose one or the other”. I played for Katikati College and when I was in Form 6 Katikati Netball Association needed umpires so I put my hand up. In those days we had to umpire the whole game ourselves. I was learning and I’d get flak — it was a bit nerve wracking.
I planned to do a diploma in agriculture at Massey University in New Plymouth but the lecturers said I needed experience on a farm other than my own family farm. I moved to Tomarata in 1977 and started working for my future brother-in-law, Melville. It’s how I met my husband Roy. He went to check out his brother’s new worker and the rest is history. He and his older brother Colin ran the Te Hana Lime Company together. My father-in-law, Ray Gubb, lived on the property as well until he died in 1993.
We got married in December 1978 and lived in a rickety old house next to the quarry. It became clear the property couldn’t sustain two families. Colin and his family purchased a quarry in Russell and we kept on with this one. We worked as a family. My four children George, 32, Irene, 30, Bevan, 23 and Kelsie, 22, were all born in Warkworth and all went to Wellsford Primary and Rodney College.
Sometimes I’d drop the older kids off at school then head to the quarry with the younger ones. I’d put them in a playpen in the back of the van, or on a cot mattress behind the loader seat with Roy, while I’d operate the crusher. My two older children worked in the quarry from the age of 9. It wasn’t an ideal situation but we couldn’t afford to employ permanent workers and we were always careful about being safe.
In 1981 I was part of a group that started a netball club at Tomarata. We made our own uniforms. I had a screen printing set and made the bibs. Later on we went flash with pleated skirts. We felt we had no say in the wider Rodney association so we decided to join the committee. In 1985 we shifted from Rodney College to the new asphalt courts at Centennial Park. There was a lean-to office at the back that was as cold as charity. We got funding from the ASB and a small amount from Rodney Council and in 1987 we built a proper office. In 2010 we got new court lights.
My kids grew up around netball. The pushchair would often end up a clotheshorse on the side of the court, hiding the baby inside. My daughter Irene is now the president of Netball Rodney, a role I held for seven years. She and my other daughter Kelsie are both members of my beloved club Tomarata.
We’ve always been a sporting family, working together. It could often be a juggling act to get everyone to where they needed to be. Roy and I were supportive of each other’s interests. I encouraged him with things like rugby and wood chopping, and he’d often come and watch me and the girls play.
I got my senior umpire’s badge on the day of George’s fifth birthday in 1985. I received top service awards for Netball Rodney in 1986, 1988, 1997, 2003 and 2007 and the club contribution award in 1994. I’ve just been honoured with a Netball New Zealand service award. It’s the highest award someone serving at centre level can get. It’s an acknowledgement not only for me but for the hard work lots of people in the area have done. I feel sad that Roy isn’t here to share it. He would’ve been very proud.
I’ve been the draw steward since 1988 and I’m still doing it. I had to stop playing in the late 90s because of problems with my back and leg. I was pretty upset, but focused on the girls’ playing, coaching, umpiring and community work. I’ll occasionally play for the Golden Oldies. Last year I coached a Rodney College team and under-15 reps and this year I’m taking a team from Wellsford Primary – my 12-year-old granddaughter Summer Gubb Walsh plays for the school. Sometimes I’ll go to North Harbour and see girls I’ve coached over the years. They’ll come up and ask me how I am and give me a hug. Nowadays I can be coaching the children of girls I coached as teenagers.
I got involved with the Wellsford A&P Show as a netball delegate in 1985 and later became secretary. In 2008 we decided to have an event just for Wellsford and called it the Wellsford Country Show. After a few years’ break we got it going again in 2011 and hope to keep it annual. At the moment I’m also president of the Tomarata Public Hall but over the years I’ve been on the board of trustees at Rodney College, managed the bar at the Tomarata Rugby Club with Roy, and been on committees for the Wellsford Swimming Club, Wellsford Athletics and Wellsford Kindergarten, to name a few. I put my hand up in the mid-90s to manage the local intermediate cricket team so the kids could play.
By 2000 we didn’t have much quarrying or digging work so I started working for Irwin Industrial Tools in Wellsford. I would take some of my annual leave during Show week. I spent three years doing graveyard shifts. It could be difficult at times. I’d come home and try to get some sleep, then the kids would come back from school and I’d take them to sport. When Roy died of a heart attack in December 2008 the company was very supportive. Irwin was a good place to work but the high dollar and pressure from China meant the writing was on the wall. I was the in-house union leader and negotiated terms and conditions for our members. Supporting others helped me get through it myself.
At the same time I was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes and the following year I nearly lost my son Bevan in a car accident on Mangawhai Rd. It almost tipped me over the edge but I brushed myself off and remembered that others are worse off. In 2009 I became a member of Wellsford Districts Sports and Recreation Collective. We made submissions to Auckland Council for a walking and cycling loop through the council-owned Corry land next to Centennial Park. We wanted them to protect it for future development. We have also run several successful children’s fun days.
Over the years I’ve noticed netball has changed. The defensive side of the game has tightened – it used to be more of an attacking, flowing game. I believe the difference between a good team and a great team is teamwork. Some players might not be as skilled as others but because they’ve got that unity they’ll do better.
