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The Mahurangi region has produced or been home to a number of sporting names that have played at the highest level for New Zealand. Dudley Wright attended the Empire Games, now the Commonwealth Games, in 1950 and went on to be the president of the Assassins Fencing Club of New Zealand. More recently, Rene Ranger played six tests for the All Blacks and Becky Wood was part of the World Cup winning Black Ferns team last year. Then there have been the achievements of runner Allison Roe, rugby players Zinzan and Robin Brooke, and cricketer John Parker. The following is a look at some of the area’s sporting greats:
Ken Stirling
Perhaps no-one encapsulates the term ‘sporting legend’ more than former Kiwis rugby league player Ken Stirling.
The Warkworth resident captained the national side in the 1975 world championship and was inducted into the New Zealand Rugby League Legends of League list in 2007.
Stirling’s father also played for the Kiwis, but his career was cut short after just one match when World War II broke out. Stirling Snr fought with NZ troops and was taken prisoner in Greece.
“I come from a very sporty family. My sister Glenda made the finals in 100-metre backstroke at the 1968 Olympics,” Ken Stirling says.
Stirling played for North Shore, Ellerslie and Auckland before getting his call up for the Kiwis in 1971. He made his debut at Carlaw Park where his side beat Australia 24-3 and he was named Man of the Match.
“That was probably my favourite match and one of the better results a Kiwi side has taken over the years.”
He then played his first overseas match against Great Britain after coming off crutches just two days prior.
In 1974, he was selected as captain for the team and led the side in a series against France.
“It was an honour to be selected to lead the national team and I always tried to set an example for other players on the field.”
The following year the team came third in the Rugby League World Championship, the only one in history to use a home and away, round robin format.
After multiple head injuries he was advised to stop playing and made a one season return as captain for the Kiwis in 1978.
“I would never have come back in today’s game with what we now know about concussion. I retired because I didn’t want my children seeing me injured which might have put them off the sport.”
He tried to escape the game with a move to Dairy Flat, but one year on was helping to set up the Hibiscus Coast Rugby League Club. He was chair, and is now patron.
Ken served two four-year terms on the NZ Rugby League Board, was a convenor of NZ rugby selectors and chaired North Harbour during its time in the Lion Red Cup.
“I feel like I’ve done my time for the sport now.”
Alistair Elder
Alistair Elder says he wouldn’t have made the All Whites football squad in the modern game, but ran his way into the team in 1980.
The 60-year-old Mahurangi College assistant principal played five matches for the team, under the great Steve Sumner.
“I was selected because I was fit and faster than anyone else, but I never had the technical ability needed in today’s game,” Elder says.
“I used to just try and collect long balls and beat defenders with pace.”
In his five games in the Oceania Cup Tournament in New Caledonia Alistair bagged three goals.
“I’ve scored hundreds of goals in the sport, but the only ones I remember clearly were those three.
“When you score a goal in today’s game there’s a huge celebration, but back then you just knew you had done your job and went straight back to halfway.”
Elder got his first kick of a ball for Glenfield Midgets and then played First XI football for Auckland Grammar School. He made the North Shore team in the National League at 17 and played six games for them.
“One of my early matches was in Dunedin in the middle of winter and I came off the bench in the second half and couldn’t feel my toes; it was that cold.”
Elder says at this point he wasn’t taking football too seriously and began playing for the Mt Roskill Club while at the University of Auckland.
“We got promoted to division one in my first year at the club. I was scoring a lot of goals because I was fast and ended up getting the call up for the national team.”
At 30, Elder finished a stint with Blockhouse Bay and went to Africa. While travelling through Kenya he was involved in a serious train crash, when a goods train ploughed into his passenger carriage. He was left with four fractures in his pelvis, a broken rib and a number of severe cuts.
He returned to New Zealand where he recovered in Auckland Hospital before he began coaching the Takapuna women’s team on crutches.
“Coming out of the crash with some serious damage was something I just accepted because the reality was, I was lucky to be alive.”
Since recovering he has continued to compete for Mt Roskill and won silver with his team at the World Masters Games 2017.
He also coaches juniors at the Warkworth Association Football Club.
Fiona Mann
Fiona Mann, of Warkworth, is a jack of all sports and a master of many as well.
The 42-year-old has represented NZ in three major water polo tournaments and has played at a regional level in five other sports.
“I’m very competitive and can’t stand losing, but as I’ve got older, I’ve learnt how to deal with it and have some fun,” Mann says.
She got her first call to play water polo when her sister’s high school team was short a player. She then went on to represent NZ at the FINA World Cup in 1995.
“The tournament was held in Sydney and because they were preparing for the 2000 Olympic Games, it was a really well run event,” Mann says.
“We finished eighth because we didn’t have the experience to be a top side, but it was great to play against teams with different styles.”
Mann then competed for NZ in water polo at the 1998 World Swimming Champs before participating in the same event in 2001, but this time as captain.
“I liked to lead by example so I did have to adjust to the role by learning to control my emotions better.”
While playing at the top level Mann would train around 15 hours a week and eventually had to retire due to other commitments.
“I was doing my Bachelor of Health Science at AUT and sleeping through lectures because I was so tired. In the end I burnt out trying to do everything. It was a really tough decision to call it quits.”
That same year she got into the North Harbour women’s rugby team that won second division and then took part in a Black Ferns trial.
A significant back injury took her away from sport for a year before she picked up cricket with the Auckland Hearts.
Prior to her water polo, Mann also played for the New Zealand women’s U19 and U21 softball sides and attended two international football competitions.
She now coaches cricket for Warkworth School students and the J3 Mahurangi Rugby Football Club team.
“I enjoy coaching, but I would love to get back into a sport at the top level again.”
James Marshall
James Marshall may be well known for playing along side his brother Hamish in a Black Caps jersey, but this partnership started in an orchard in Warkworth.
The identical twins grew up near the Honey Centre and were active from a young age.
“Ever since I can remember we were playing sport in the backyard with Dad,” James says.
“Sometimes Hamish and I would play a test match where you had to bowl the other person out 10 times and you might not get to bat for a whole day.”
At five, James joined the Kaipara Flats Cricket Club, but soon headed off to board at Southwell School in Hamilton.
When he returned to Warkworth, aged 14, he went straight into the Mahurangi College First XI and the Kaipara Flats Cricket Club Premiers team.
“I was very young to be playing in those teams as the opposition was a lot bigger than me and my brother. I think the fact that those sides picked us up so quickly gave us the chance to develop our cricket so we were ready for the top level when we got the opportunity.”
Marshall finished high school at Kings College and made his debut for Northern Districts in 1997.
“It was a baptism of fire going into that side and playing teams like Canterbury, who had seven Black Caps.
“I didn’t take cricket too seriously as a career because it was still an amateur sport and players worked full-time jobs.”
In 2005, Marshall made his debut for the national side at Eden Park against Australia.
“I used to watch a lot of matches at Eden Park as a kid and got to hang out with my childhood hero Mark Greatbatch.
“Getting the chance to play one of the greatest cricketing nations in front of a loud crowd was one of the more special moments of my career.”
Marshall finished with the Black Caps in 2008 with one career century, where he smashed 161 against Ireland.
Although now living in Auckland, he returned to Kaipara Flats club this season where he played for the premier and senior teams.
“It’s quite a competitive standard in the Rodney competition but for me, it’s all about just enjoying the game and bringing my family up here for the day.
“I can give the players some advice, too, just about reading the game and positioning.”
Conrad Robertson
Gold at the Olympics is one of the most prestigious achievements in world sport and one that Warkworth rower Conrad Robertson has to his name.
The 60-year-old picked up the medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles as part of the New Zealand straight four team.
“It’s hard to describe the feeling when you win that medal, but it’s the best thing in the sport,” Robertson says.
“Getting to that part is a real journey and it’s satisfying being able to deliver when you’re actually in the big race.”
The road to gold was no easy feat for Robertson after missing the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, when Robert Muldoon’s government issued a directive that NZ would be boycotting the games in response to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
“You train to meet the Olympic cycle so to miss the games after all of that hard work was really disappointing.”
In 1981 Robertson moved to Warkworth and took a break from the sport over winter before training on the Mahurangi River.
In 1982 he won the men’s single scull race at the New Zealand Rowing Championships and the following year he took gold at the World Championships in Duisburg in the coxed four race.
“That was a very strong era for New Zealand rowing, but we were presented with a challenge when the selectors changed our crew and boat to a straight four for the 1984 games.”
From 1996 to 2016, Robertson was involved with NZ rowing as a convenor of selectors and says the sport has changed for the better in this country.
“When I was rowing there was very little funding, but now there are better structures in place and rowers can afford to commit to fulltime training.”
Although he has no involvement with the sport currently, he can see himself getting back into it at a domestic level in future.
James Udy
When it comes to persistence, it would be hard to outdo Hall of Fame Iron Man competitor James Udy, 46, of Warkworth.
Only five other multi-sport athletes have competed in more Iron Man New Zealand events than James.
He has 23 under his belt but has his sights set on taking the number one spot on that list.
“The record holder is 73, so I’m hoping I have a few years left in me to catch him,” Udy says.
“The key is to pace myself, as I need to remain injury free and avoid burning out too quickly to reach that milestone.”
Udy trains 200km a week, with a mixture of swimming, cycling and running.
The pinnacle of his sporting career was completing the Iron Man World Championship race in Hawaii with two minutes to spare.
