26 September 2007
Liz Ellis, Captain of the Australian Netball Team, has donated some of her personal netball memorabilia to the National Museum of Australia to document the development of the game and is encouraging other elite Australian sports people to do the same.
'Liz Ellis is a well-known ambassador for Australian netball and her high-profile has contributed to the current popularity of the game. Without her contribution, the National Museum of Australia would not be able to tell the stories of some of the key moments in Australian netball,' said Curator Cinnamon van Reyk.
Some of the stories include the Australian Netball Team's transition into lycra uniforms, international success the first two times that the Team competed in the Commonwealth Games, as well as some of Liz's personal achievements as a player.
Liz Ellis first played netball for Australia in 1993 and became captain in 2004. She has since represented Australia more times than any other netball player.
As captain of the Sydney Swifts, Liz has won several national netball titles and is passionate about equality in her sport campaigning for more sponsorship and a better deal for players.
The first recorded game was played in 1897, but the contemporary version of netball was only codified in 1970. Netball has provided important and rare opportunities for women to shape sport. Until the 1970s the all Australian Women's Basketball Association excluded men from holding any official position as umpire, coach, or administrator, ensuring that women controlled the development of the game. Today, netball has the highest participation rate of any team sport played by girls and women in Australia.
Netball is one of eight sports profiled in the National Museum's permanent sport display which explores the history of several different sports and considers how sport reveals the values of Australian society. Other sports profiled include tennis, football, surfing, cycling, cricket, horseracing and the Olympics.
For interviews, images and more information please contact Dennis Grant on 02 6208 5351, 0409 916 481; Caroline Vero on 02 6208 5338, 0438 620 710 or media@nma.gov.au