A pioneer in Australian sport, Marcia Ella-Duncan OAM represented New South Wales in both the Opens (1984-1987) and 21/U (1981-1983) State Teams, claiming four Championship titles during that period.
The talented midcourter went on to play 18 Tests for Australia after making her international debut against New Zealand in Christchurch in May 1986. Her career included winning a silver medal at the 1987 Netball World Cup in Glasgow, Scotland.
Ella-Duncan was also the first Indigenous athlete to receive a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.
Born and raised in Sydney, Ella-Duncan – a descendant of the Yuin nation on the NSW far south coast – began her netball career as a nine-year-old at the La Perouse Netball Club, playing in a team of girls five years older than her.
She has received numerous awards over her career, on and off the court, including an Order of Australia Medal for services to netball in 1988, and in 2015 was inducted into the Netball Australia Hall of Fame.
Ella-Duncan continues to combine her loves of sport and championing issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
She is the coaching co-ordinator for the Randwick Netball Association (RNA) in Sydney, coaches the RNA’s State League team and founded the Pearlers Netball Club, which provides an inclusive, diverse and supportive netball environment for all its members.
She is also a member of Netball Australia’s Working Group to develop a Reconciliation Action Plan, and has been a leader and visionary in her desire to see more indigenous people – particularly girls – to be involved in netball and lead happy, healthy lives.
Inducted into the Netball NSW Hall of Fame in 2016
