One of the most influential administrators in Australian netball history, Dorothy “Dot” McHugh OAM, will be elevated to Legend status in the Netball NSW Hall of Fame.
The honour recognises Dot’s remarkable contribution to the sport spanning more than five decades and reaching from the grassroots of the game in NSW to the international stage.
McHugh’s elevation will be formally celebrated at the 2026 Netball NSW State Dinner.
On behalf of the Recognition Reference Panel, Netball NSW Hall of Fame inductee and former President Wendy Archer AM nominated McHugh for elevation to Legend status, having witnessed firsthand the lasting influence of her contribution to the game.
“Dot's contribution through a period of time when our sport was really setting itself up, was critical, I believe, to the success that we enjoy today,” Archer shared.
“She belonged to a very strong group of women who didn't understand the word ‘no’. They were doers. And Dot was part of that group that had a vision for the sport, particularly in NSW at that particular time.”
McHugh’s involvement in netball began as a player in the early 1940’s, before injury brought her playing career to an early end. Rather than ending her involvement in the sport, however, it marked the beginning of an extraordinary journey through umpiring and administration.
McHugh earned her All-Australian Umpires Award in 1957 while establishing herself as a leading administrator in NSW. She served as NSW Vice President in 1953 and State Secretary from 1954 to 1960, before going on to hold positions including Insurance Officer, Treasurer and State Umpires Convenor.
Her contribution to the game was recognised with Life Membership of Netball NSW in 1970, but McHugh’s influence would ultimately extend far beyond the state.
McHugh represented NSW at national level for decades, serving as a delegate to the sport’s national governing body and contributing across numerous committees. In 1974, this service to the game was recognised with the All-Australia Service Award.
For Archer, McHugh’s ability to contribute across so many different areas of the sport was a defining part of her legacy.
“Put very simply, I think it was she had a love of the game and she was very passionate about the game. And this flowed through into everything that she did within the sport.”
“ Whether she was umpiring, administrating, mentoring, whatever it might have been, that love of the game and the passion for the game always came through. It was never, ever about her,” Archer said.
Eventually, her impact would reach the international stage.
McHugh represented Australia as a delegate at four World Tournaments – New Zealand in 1975, Trinidad and Tobago in 1979, Singapore in 1983 and Scotland in 1987.
Following the 1987 World Tournament, she was appointed General Secretary of the International Federation of Netball Associations; a position she held through to the eighth World Tournament in Sydney in 1991.
“She would advocate very strongly at the Netball Australia table, which was then expanded up into the international space, which at the time was the International Netball Federation… member countries had to actually vote in the General Secretary. So, the fact that she was voted in meant that she had the support of the majority of the then international members of the INF.
“Now, that in itself, I think, is indicative of the esteem and the respect that was held for her. And again, the love and the passion that she had for the game, that's what made her a force. It was about the promotion of the sport, regardless of what level she was sitting at, what cap she had on her head — that always came to the fore,” Archer shared.
McHugh’s service was recognised with the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1992, before she became the first NSW recipient of the IFNA Service Award in 1995.
Deservingly, she was inducted into both the Netball NSW Hall of Fame and Netball Australia Hall of Fame in 2010.
McHugh sadly passed away in 2018, but her influence on the game continues today through the Dot McHugh OAM Administrator of the Year Award, which recognises outstanding leadership and service in netball administration at Association and club level.
“We're all custodians of the sport. And she was an outstanding custodian of the sport across all levels, with a very strong emphasis on the development of the sport in New South Wales. I just think she was an outstanding individual.”
McHugh’s elevation to Legend status will be formally celebrated at the 2026 Netball NSW State Dinner, honouring a contribution that stretched from the courts of NSW to the highest levels of the international game.
The Netball NSW State Dinner & Awards will take place on 31 October 2026 at Waterview in Bicentennial Park, with further award finalists to be announced in the coming weeks.
You can purchase tickets for the 2026 Netball NSW Awards Dinner directly through the official Netball NSW Shop on PlayHQ.
