Obituary: Evelyn Webster, tennis player

Small in stature, Evelyn Webster had one big claim to fame: she was the first New Zealand woman to compete at the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament.

Evelyn Webster, nee Attwood, was an age-group tennis star in the 1940s. She won the junior girls’ national title in 1941 and the national ladies’ singles championship in 1948. She saved furiously and in 1950 sailed for England. She lived there from 1951-55, working full-time as a secretary in London. She competed at four Wimbledon tournaments, in both singles and doubles, but enjoyed greater success playing county tennis, winning several tournaments. She returned to New Zealand in late 1954. She married Eric Webster, and the couple were the main instigators in creating an anchorage at Smokehouse Bay, in Port Fitzroy on Great Barrier, known as Webster’s Wonderland. Evelyn Webster died in late August, aged 101. — Agencies/Allied Media