‘Out-there Aussie’ keeps connections with NZ
Former Australian defender Demelza Fellowes played her way round New Zealand with a number of netball franchise. Otago Daily Times reporter Adrian Seconi catches up with self-described “stage-five clinger” and “out-there Aussie”.
Demelza Fellowes is always a second or two awayfrom delivering her next gag.
Very few topics are taboo but her favourite target is a 40-year-old former Australian defenderwho briefly called Dunedin home.
She loves a good laugh at herown expense.
Perhaps the best examples of her devilishhumourstem fromsomeof her darker times.
The potentially morbid story about her slipping in the shower, cutting her back open and nearly bleeding to death wasspun into something, well, hilarious.
“I did ask the surgeon for plastic surgery, as in breast implants. I told himi’d done all the incisions and all he needed to dowasput the silicon in,” she told the Otago Daily Times shortly after arriving in Dunedin to play for the Steel in 2012.
In that sameinterview she described herself as “a bit of a tart”, whenasked about playing for four teams infive years.
There have been a couple of marriages without the happily-everafter, which have proven to be rich material as well.
“[Husbandno2] wasn’t around long enough to go on the Wikipedia page,” she joked.
That’s Fellowes— always laughing. She charmed her team-mates with her sense of funwhenshe arrived in Dunedin in 2007 to play for theotago Rebels.
Andthat sanguine outlookcame in handywhenshe returned in 2012 to play for the Steel.
She putdownroots of sorts the second time around. She bought a house—“the Lair”— which she held on to until about three years ago.
It is a time inher life she reflects on with great fondness.
The Rebels were lucky to get her, really. Fellowes hadmadenine appearances for Australia andwas seemingly well ensconced with the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
But she sensed a charging of the guard and jumped. Initially she had hoped to head to Queensland.
There were no openings but she got a hot tip instead. Trynewzealand, they said, and so she rang Jodibrown (nee Te Huna) whoput her on to the Otago Rebels.
As it turned out, Brownwas about tomakethemovesouth to play for the side as well.
Whenthe National Bankcupwas replaced by theanzchampionship the following year, the Otago Rebels were disestablished and players went in different directions.
Katrina Rore (nee Grant) and Debbie White went south to join the Southern Steel, while Fellowes joined Brown, Anna Thompsonand Phillipa Finch (nee Duncan) headed north to play for the Canterbury Tactix.
The Tactix were a kind of a pseudo Otago team for a fewyears and got somelove despite the Steel actually being the local team.
But that first year with the Rebels madequite an impression on Fellowes.
“I just rememberhowmuch characterwehad in that group and howmuchi loved it.
“Itwasmy first foray at living overseas and I loved the community and the family feeling in Dunedin.
“Sometimes I think if I knewwhat the next 13 years were going to be like Iwould have loved to have had a different mindset around wheremy careerwasgoing.
“I loved the season there but Iwas still a little bit wild. Maybemy nutrition could have been better and I could have workedmynetworks a little bit better.
“But it led on tosomebeautiful things. Iwent straight to the Tactix the next year and just continued that love affair withnewzealand.
“Dunedinwasthe perfect place to be initiated into Kiwi life.”
Fellowes returned five years later, following several “dalliances” with other teams.
Itwasa tough campaign for the Steel. The sidewontwoof their first three games before losing 10 in arow.
Fellowes ended up bouncing back to the Tactix in 2015 and retired at the end of the season.
“I retired 50 times but officially it wasin 2015, at the end of that season with the Tactixwhenwefinallywon a game— webeat themagic. Thatwas bloody great.”
She headed to France with her second husband, former Tongan rugby league player Saia Makisi.
The couple hadmarried in Christchurch but theunion unravelled and Fellowes returned to Australia and got a job with the Melbourne Rebels in the commercial team.
“I fall in love every five minutes and I joke withmyfamily there are somanywedding styles Ihaven’t done yet. I’ve done destination, I’ve done intimate but I haven’t done the sit-down royal wedding, somaybe that is next.
“But I’m blessed. Ihave somany nieces and nephews andmynetball career has been amazing andmy working career is enormous and I feel really lucky in it.”
After a couple of years with the Rebels, Fellowes accepted a challenging role with Fiji Rugby in Suva as the marketing and sponsorshipmanager.
“Itwas so full-on but it wasgreat.
I’m a six-foot-twohighly extroverted, blonde, out-there Aussie and they didn’tknowhowto takeme[initially]. But I just loved it there and I really thrived.”
In March, when Covid-19 arrived, Fellowes returned to Australia and lived with her family in Victoria.
Victoria enjoyed about three weeks of freedom in July butwas otherwise in lockdown from late March until late September.
Fellowes continued to work remotely for Fiji Rugby until itwas forced to let her go inseptember.
“I think ithas worked out for the best. They would have lost somuch moneykeepingmeon. It is sad because Idid really thrive in that space.”
Felloweswas not unemployed for long. She worked hernetworks and isnowrunning thehart Sapphire series for Queensland Netball.
But Dunedin and her friends on this side of thetasmanremain close to her heart.
“I’m a stage-five clinger so no-one gets to cutmeoff that easy. Iwould talk to the guys or hear from them once every couple of months.
“And I can’t wait to go back and sit at St Clair sipping coffee and being fabulous, or getting a chocolate brownie somewhere or a nicewarm Speight’s.”
She’s joking about thewarm Speight’s, right? — ODT