Cathy Parkes OA (BA ’85)
1955-2007

Cathy Parkes learnt to swim in the Georges River because there was no swimming pool near her home. Later she had to sell chocolates to raise enough money to represent her country in the 1984 World Cup in Los Angeles.

Yet she became the "first lady" of water polo in NSW, playing for Australia from 1978 to 1986, including as vice-captain of the gold medal teams in 1984 and in the 1986 world championships in Madrid. In all, she played in three world championships, five world cups and more than 100 international matches and was NSW Sportswoman of the Year in 1986.

Parkes worked hard promoting women's water polo for entry in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and was vindicated when the Australian team won the gold medal. In March 2007 she organised a lunch to celebrate 32 years of Australian women's water polo. Although the function was a success, Parkes was by then so sick with breast cancer that she couldn't really enjoy her triumph.

Cathy Parkes was born Catherine Gloria Turner in Ingleburn in the south-west of Sydney, the youngest of four children of Lal and Doreen Turner. Lal was a swimming coach and would make a mark on the bank of the Georges River for races among the children. Cathy showed early promise in all sports; her father made her a high jump and she became a keen golfer and tennis player.

When she finished school, as captain of Ingleburn High, Parkes went to Sydney University, where she took up water polo in 1973 and qualified as a high school physical education teacher, completing a part-time arts degree later. She taught at Liverpool Girls and Moorefield Girls schools before moving into the private system in 1989, at Danebank Anglican School for Girls in Hurstville.

Cathy Turner met Christopher Parkes, another physical education teacher, at a swimming carnival at North Sydney in 1985 and they married soon afterwards.

Parkes played water polo for NSW from 1977 to 1986, the year she captained the winning state team, led a Sydney University side to its 12th successive club premiership and was named NSW Sportswoman of the Year. She was made a member of the NSW Institute of Sport Hall of Fame in 1997 and awarded an Order of Australia medal in 2004 for services to water polo. "You need the three Ds to be a sportsperson," she said, "dedication, determination and discipline."

Parkes also spent many years coaching and promoting water polo. She started the Sydney Dolphins Water Polo Club in Sutherland and the Independent Schoolgirls Competition, now a city-wide Saturday morning event. She helped the Combined Independent Schools, Combined High Schools and Combined Catholic Colleges establish a NSW All Schools team, which now competes at national level. She was director of development for the NSW Water Polo Board from 1976 to 1988 and president of the Sportswomen Association of Australia in 1988-89.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001, Parkes said her only remaining ambition was to see her younger son finish school; this was one aim she did not attain.

Cathy Parkes is survived by Chris and their sons, Ben and Michael.


This is an edited version of the obituary published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 31 October 2007