Ngaire Galloway JP (née Lane, 31 October 1925 – 9 July 2021) was a New Zealand swimmer, who represented her country at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ngaire Lane |
| Born | 31 October 1925 Cambridge, New Zealand |
| Died | 9 July 2021 (aged 95) Nelson, New Zealand |
| Education | Otago Girls' High School |
| Years active | 1940–1949 |
| Spouse |
Kenneth Miller Galloway
(m. 1949; died 2007) |
| Sport | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Achievements and titles | |
| National finals |
|
Early life
editGalloway was born Ngaire Lane in Cambridge on 31 October 1925, the daughter of Mabel Doris Lane (née Saxby) and William George Lane.[1][2][3] She was educated at Otago Girls' High School.[4]
Swimming career
editIn 1940, Lane was the New Zealand junior champion in 50 and 100 yards freestyle and 50 yards backstroke, equalling the national junior record in the latter event. In 1943 she broke the national intermediate 100 yards backstroke record, and the following year she broke the national senior record for 220 yards backstroke, thus becoming the first female swimmer to hold junior, intermediate and senior national records concurrently. She was the national champion for the 100 yards and 220 yards backstroke every year from 1944 to 1949, and in 1947 she also won the 100 yards medley and 50 yards freestyle titles.[1]
Lane travelled to London in 1948 as the only swimmer and only woman on the New Zealand team at the Olympic Games.[1][5] Before the games, she swam in the 1948 ASA British Championships 100 yards backstroke and won the event.[6] At the Olympics, she reached the semi-finals of the 100 m backstroke, where she finished seventh in a time of 1:19.0.[7] At the conclusion of the Olympic swim meet, Lane was part of an Australasian team that finished third in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at the Continental Relay Gala.[1]
Later life and death
editOn 21 May 1949, Lane married Kenneth Miller Galloway—a medical student at the University of Otago—in Thames,[8][9] and the couple moved to Nelson the following year.[10] The couple went on to have five children.[10] Ken Galloway died in 2007.[11]
Ngaire Galloway was appointed as a justice of the peace in 1980,[12] and as a marriage celebrant in 1983.[13] She served as a member of the Nelson College board of trustees, and was the first woman to be president of the Nelson Tasman Justice of the Peace Association.[10] In 2011, she was inducted into Nelson's Legends of Sport.[14] Galloway's granddaughter, Gina Galloway, won a bronze medal in the 100 m backstroke at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games and competed at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.[15]
Galloway died in Nelson on 9 July 2021, aged 95.[16][17] She was the last surviving member of the 1948 New Zealand Olympic team.[18]
Honorific eponym
editin 1996, the Nelson City Council named a pedestrian walkway and street, adjacent to the city's Riverside Pool, Ngaire Lane and Ngaire Place, respectively, in Galloway's honour.[11][19]
External links
edit- "Obituary". Stuff/Fairfax. 24 July 2021.
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Nelson Legends of Sport — Ngaire Galloway". Sport Tasman. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "Birth". Waikato Independent. 3 November 1925. p. 1. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ Matthews, Bob. "Ngaire Lane". The families of Robert Matthews and Dayle McKenzie. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ McMurran, Alistair (20 November 2009). "Otago Girls High School honours its Olympians". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "Olympic team selection announced". Otago Daily Times. No. 26716. 10 March 1948. p. 6. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ ""Swimming." Times, 12 July 1948, p. 2". Times Digital Archive.
- ^ "Ngaire Lane bio, stats, and results". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ "Olympic swimmer married". Gisborne Herald. 26 May 1949. p. 7. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ "Engagements". Otago Daily Times. 22 April 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ a b c Newman, Tim (15 July 2021). "New Zealand's oldest Olympian passes away". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ a b Harwood, Nicola (2020). "Ngaire Lane". The Prow. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ "Justices of the peace appointed" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette. No. 4. 22 January 1981. p. 88. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ "Marriage celebrants for 1983, notice no. 4/83" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette. No. 156. 22 September 1983. p. 3161. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ Martin, Wayne (8 December 2011). "Ahletics keeps high profile at sports awards". Nelson Mail. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ Neal, Tracey (21 September 2018). "It's all swimming in the Galloway family". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ "New Zealand's oldest Olympian Ngaire Galloway has passed away". New Zealand Olympic Team. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ "Ngaire Galloway death notice". Nelson Mail. 11 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ "Olympic veteran motivates swim team". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "Editorial: Too little, too late for Harold Nelson". Nelson Mail. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2021.