Memories of mother's win

MUM'S THE WORD: Wanganui East bowler Sadie Head and the scrapbook that documents her mother Beth Richardson's team win in New Zealand Women's Fours Bowls competition in 1966.PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

THE winners of Wanganui's first ever national women's bowls fours title were named supreme winners at the Ray White Wanganui Sports Awards on Friday night.

A superb effort by Cynthia Adams, Dot Belliss, Pam Burgess and Glenis Pidwell ... with just one slight snag. Were they, in fact, Wanganui's first national fours champions?

Yesterday, Sadie Head visited the Chronicle to recount how her mother, Beth Richardson, helped Wanganui take out the title in 1966.

Head arrived armed with her mother's scrapbook with photographs of the Wanganui foursome and a certificate and badges to confirm the national title win in Wellington nearly 50 years ago.

Head's mother was lead for the team that also included Mary Raine (skip), Aileen Gordon (3) and Beth Percy (2).

The bowlers were members of the now defunct Wanganui Women's Bowling Club that played on greens on the corner of Pitt St and Somme Pde.

Head, a top class bowler herself with seven centre titles to her name, said she was fiercely proud of her mother's achievements and did not want them forgotten. "I certainly don't want to take anything away from the four that won the title this year.

"In fact, it was a huge achievement on their part in today's bowling environment - there are far more competitive teams around today compared to my mother's day. But I just want to preserve the memory of my mother and her teammates who won the title in 1966," Head said yesterday.

"I'm very proud of my mum's record in bowls and just don't want her or her team mates' achievements forgotten. Mum also won five centre titles to be awarded the Gold Star."

Head is a member of the Wanganui East Bowling Club and knows all four 2015 national title winners very well.

"I'm actually related to Glenis Pidwell. I haven't talked to any of them yet, but when I do it will be to congratulate them on winning the supreme Wanganui award," Head said.