History – Athletics and Art

New Zealand women’s javelin champion Mary Mitchell represented her country at the 1938 British Empire Games held in Sydney, where the 26-year-old placed fourth overall after throwing an impressive 35.98m, narrowly missing the bronze medal.

Mary was one of 69 New Zealand athletes competing at the Games, which later became known as the Commonwealth Games. In the lead-up she trained without a coach, but once in Sydney, fellow New Zealand athlete Stan Lay provided mentoring.

Years later, Mary reminisced about the impact of Lay’s coaching, telling the Northland Times in 1990 that, after his coaching, she “added another ten feet to my throw!”

Stan, known as a natural javelin thrower, won silver at the 1938 Games. Mary continued to compete at a national level until the early 1950s, holding the New Zealand record for this event for 18 years.

A collection of Mary’s medals is on permanent display at the Kauri Museum. And it is remarkable how they arrived here. In early 2013 the medals were spotted in an op-shop in Dargaville. One of the workers recognised the name and contacted Mary’s niece. The medals were duly collected and donated to the Kauri Museum for safekeeping.

Mary Logan (née Mitchell) was born in 1912 and lived on the home farm at Mamaranui, near Dargaville, for almost sixty years. She married James Logan in 1949, and together they moved from the farm to Te Kopuru in the early 1970s, where she lived until her passing in 2007.

Locally, Mary was known as an athlete, exemplary horsewoman, competitive showjumper, and a talented woodcarver. She acquired this skill from her father at a young age and spent many years developing her style and technique.

Alongside her medals is a collection of more than 25 wooden sculptures, all handmade by Mary. Kauri wood has been used for most of the pieces, along with tōtara, manawa, pūriri and rimu. There are sculptures depicting kiwi, horses, sheep shearing, and many other animals, along with a team of six bullocks with wagon and driver.

Mary kindly donated her collection to the Kauri Museum in 1994 so that it could be enjoyed by many. It’s a wonderful record of her experiences in rural Kaipara where she lived her entire life.

You will find the collection in the Volunteers Hall when you next visit.