TENN IS
G REA T
H ON O UR E D
Northern Suburbs bowler Fay Colthorpe (nee Muller) was a trailblazer for Queensland women in tennis and her legend will live on thanks to a new rebound wall named in her honour at Frew Park, on the site of the old Milton Tennis Courts. “I’m greatly honoured, especially to be remembered at Milton, that’s where it all began for me,” Fay said. Fay, now 82, notched up a unique series of “firsts” as a Brisbane sports woman, beginning at Milton in 1948 as a 15-year-old. She was a member of the first Queensland women’s team to win the Wilson Cup in 1951, the first Queenslander to represent Australia in an overseas tennis team in 1955, the first Queenslander along with Daphne Seeney to play in the women’s doubles final on Wimbledon’s centre court in 1956, and with Mal Anderson, the first all-Queensland mixed doubles team to win an Australian Open Championships in 1957. Fay played the biggest names on the international circuit for four years during the 1950s and her international tennis career continued into the 1960s. Fay then moved on to other sports including golf as well as playing Masters tennis but eventually she saw the light and took up bowls 12 years ago at Southport. With a move to Brisbane, Northern Suburbs became her new home two years ago and her passion for bowls grew because it is both social and competitive. “I’ve played a lot of different sports and this is a fabulous sport to be playing in your older years,” Fay said. “It’s a bit like tennis because you’re trying to outwit your opponents, it requires skill and patience. “There’s a lot of finesse in it and I love playing here at Northern Suburbs because the camaraderie between us here at the club is brilliant.” Fay plays at Northern Suburbs twice a week and is a member of the club’s Pennant team.
The Fay Muller Tennis Rebound Wall is located on the old Milton Tennis Courts site, now transformed into 3.5ha of inner city parkland called Frew Park, which includes six tennis courts (in a nod to history) and also honours other great Queensland tennis players, including the Roy Emerson Tennis Centre and the Wendy Turnbull Green, with shaded picnic areas and a mega-playground.
september 2016
queensland bowler
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