Vale Patsy Martinson (nee Palmer)

Hockey Australia is saddened to hear of the passing of Patsy Martinson at the age of 103. Patsy was selected in the Australian Blue Ribbon teams in 1936 and 1938.

Patsy Palmer grew up in Kojonup and attended Albany Senior High School where she excelled academically and in her chosen sport, hockey.

At secondary school Patsy was a teammate of May Pearce (Campbell), WA’s best known player of that era. As the local paper reported in 1936: It speaks well for the standard of hockey attained by the Albany Women’s Hockey Association that the team which will represent the State in the All-Australian Carnival in Sydney next month should contain three girls who were prominent last year in the local Association. They are May Pearce, who has also been chosen to go to America with the Australian Women’s team, Peggy Keeble and Patsy Palmer. Of these, Misses Pearce and Palmer were students at the Albany High School up to last year and learned most of their hockey here.

Patsy won a Hackett Scholarship to study at the University of WA in Perth, something the locals were justifiably proud of as it received a headline in a 1935 paper.

Patsy was selected in two Blue Ribbon teams for Australia in 1936 and 1938. The Blue Ribbon team in 1936 included five superstars of Australian women’s hockey in that era – May Campbell, Ena McRae, Connie Charlesworth, Merle Taylor and Mabel Cashmore all of whom are in the Hockey Australia Hall of Fame.

The Blue Ribbon team was prestigious and was made up of the best players from the national championships. It would now be described as a ‘virtual’ team. It was created because the opportunity for international representation was rare as it was funded by the player themselves and leave from work was difficult.

Patsy went on to the University of WA where she studied science and graduated as a science teacher. She played hockey for the University club and was awarded a ‘blue’ for international hockey. She was selected to play for her state and played for many years at right full back in the strong WA Women’s Hockey Team.

According to ‘Atalanta’ writing the Western Mail, although small in build, Patsy is one of the sturdiest players in the State and her stick work is pretty to watch. She has also a very effective clearing shot which is very handy in circle play.

At the conclusion of her first All Australian Tournament Patsy was named in the 1936 All Australian Team.

Reports from Sydney about the match after the tournament finished seemed to indicate that the touring side to visit America has rather more than its share of veteran players and some of them suffered in comparison with the players in the “Rest.”

The performances of WA’s three representatives for the Rest were applauded, and Pat Palmer was described as being again in fine form and one of the stars of the match. Patsy played for the WA team at Subiaco Oval against the touring English/Scots team in 1938.

Written by John Sanders