Bundaberg Hockey Association

Bundaberg has always held a strong presence at the Women’s Masters Championships. Our inaugural appearance was in 1993 in Toowoomba at the Qld Women’s Veterans, which is now Masters. From the program of that year the team was shown as :

Liz Allen	Lauretta Ball	Pam Dunn	Sharon Morrell	Ann Robinson
Lyn Anderson	Gail Binder	Sue Elton	Lynn Murray	Judy Williams
Sandy Aslett	Robyn Crook	Debbie McCulloch	Chris Myers

Coach: Margaret Dorron
Manager: Elsie Quaite

Unfortunately most of our history has been destroyed in the floods we sustained in 2011 and 2013, but that hasn’t stopped our strong spirit, memories and love for representative hockey and with contributions from various sources we are able to still give some of the highlights of Bundaberg’s Veteran’s/Masters journey.

Bundaberg hosted the Women’s Masters Championship in 1994 and 2016. In 2016 Bundaberg 1 finished second in Division 3, with Susan Kendall taking out player of the final on home turf.

Over the years Bundaberg has had a number of division wins at the State Championships. In 2002 and 2009 Team 1 were successful in winning Division 3.

One of our proudest moments was in 2017 in Gympie, when both of our teams played their final at the same time and won both their respective divisions to become Queensland State Champions.

Another division win came in 2021 with Team 2 winning Division 6. We strive to field two teams each year for State Championships with our Bundaberg Team 1 fighting hard to now be in Division 2. The team won this Division in Townsville in 2022 with sisters Malanie Stehbens and Nicole Pollock (Leather) sharing the experience.

For the first time in 2024, Bundaberg fielded 3 teams at a State Championship in Maryborough which was fantastic for the Association.

HQ Women’s Masters Association Service Awards have been awarded to Nola Zahn in 2015 and Kay Hemus in 2016. Nola is still playing each year in both Club and Bundaberg teams, and is still an active member of the Bundaberg Hockey community. She was thrilled to play her first State Championship alongside daughter Kassie in 2024.

We have consistently fielded competitive teams with a large number of our players being selected in State teams across several age divisions each year.
Our long list of State players include: Marion Higman, Deborah McCulloch, Kayleen Kirchener, Karen McGuire, Susan Kendall, Angela Asnicar, Amanda Scherer, Christine Pohlmann, Naomi Paulsen, Deborah Burchard, Maree Beaumont, Minka Elliott, Leah McLaren, Erin Greenwood, Lume Van Der Walt and Amy Lane.
The Dorron family have also achieved selection with mother Margaret, as well as daughters Helen and Dennette, competing in Queensland teams

Some of these players have also gone on to represent Australia, most recently with Sheryl Simpson, Susan Kendall and Deborah Burchard at the 2025 Masters Trans Tasman Challenge in May 2025.

Heading into the celebration of 40 years of Queensland Women’s Masters Hockey, we wouldn’t have achieved our success without acknowledging our past and present players, coaches, officials and cheerleaders. For us it’s not just about our love of hockey. It’s the mateship, support and life long friendships that have been forged both on and off field – as well as with members from other Associations. Not to mention picking what theme we are going to go away with each year!

We have been part of Veterans and Masters hockey for over 30 years and we always play with heart, are extremely proud to call ourselves Masters hockey players, our region has a deep friendship, dedication and an overwhelming passion for what our sport and Association represents, and wecannot wait to see what the next 30 years holds for us and the generations to follow.