South Taranaki sport stars inducted into hall of fame

Adine Wilson ex-Silver Fern Captain

Three elite sports people have been selected to be the first inductees into the new South Taranaki Sporting Hall of Fame.

James Hunter (rugby), Roger Cox (shearing) and Adine Wilson (netball) will be the first of many to be inducted.

TSB Hub manager Mark Mekalick said the selection committee received a large number of high quality nominations and narrowing it down to three was extremely challenging."

"It was amazing reading the histories of our nominees," he said.

"It really hit home that South Taranaki has produced some extremely talented sports people."

All three of the sportspeople being inducted have achieved great success in their chosen sport.

James Hunter was a member of the original's All Blacks team from 1905-1908. James was a captain of the All Blacks on eight occasions and still holds the record for the most tries scored on one tour when he scored an astonishing 44 tries in 24 matches.

Roger Cox won the sheep shearing World Champs in 1977 and also won the Golden Shears in 1977, 1978 and 1980.

Adine Wilson won the World Netball Champs with the Silver Ferns in 2003 and also captained the Silver Ferns when they won a gold medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006.

Mekalick says the Sporting Hall of Fame project has been in the pipeline since the TSB Hub opened.

"The displays, which will be in the main thoroughfare, are going to be quite large and will be a key feature of the facility. The Hall of Fame is going to add another inspirational dimension to the TSB Hub, which is such a great community asset," he says.

The inductees to the South Taranaki Sporting Hall of Fame will be recognised at a ceremony held at the Hub on 21 July.

The Sporting Hall of Fame is a partnership between the Hawera Rotary Club, the main funders, and the South Taranaki District Council (STDC).