Elsie Mcdonald 1920 – 2012
ONE OF Kimberley’s sporting heroes, Elsie McDonald, died recently at Belgrave Lodge, taking from the bowling greens of South Africa a true great of the game.
Aged 92 years when she died on December 13, Elsie Adelaide Cawood was born in Kimberley on February 12 1920 and matriculated at Kimberley Girls’ High School.
She married Leslie McDonald, an auctioneer and estate agent, on January 10 1942. Her father, Ralph Cawood, was a South African Springbok shootist, while her husband Les played provincial rugby and water polo.
Her first sporting love was hockey and after school she represented Griqualand West hockey every year from 1938 until 1948.
She started playing bowls in 1958 at Kimberley Engineering Works Bowling Club, and was a loyal member and later an Honorary Life Member of that same club until her death.
In 1965 the KEW Women’s Fours were runners-up in the South African Championships played at Durban, the four being Elsie, Marie Cheney, Velma Sullivan and Lou Norton.
The same four were the South African Champions in East London in 1967, beating the team from Kimberley Mine in the final.
Eleven years later in Durban in 1978, the KEW side were again crowned the SA Fours Champions – the team being Elsie, Velma Sullivan, Ellen Nuttley and Elsie Fourie.
In 1966 the KEW Fours won for Griqualand West the South African District Trophy, repeat- ing their victory in Pretoria 1973 – Elsie representing the side on both occasions.
She was an extremely talented bowler.
As an individual Elsie was the South African Singles Champion in Cape Town in 1969, beating Nancy Pritchard 21-2 in the final, the game being over by the 12th end.
She competed in the prestigious invitation-only South African Masters in 1971 and 1972, and in 1971 won the Kimberley Centenary Bowls tournament, her prize being a magnificent diamond.
Elsie was awarded her Springbok colours in 1967, one of a group of women who for the first time in South African history donned the famous green and gold blazer, when South Africa competed against Australia in three Tests at Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.
She was again selected for the Springbok team that played in Australia in 1969, and after play- ing Australia in three Tests, competed in the inaugural World Bowls Championships for women.
The World Championships would be remarkable for Elsie. Apart from being a member of the South African team that won the overall World Championships, as an individual bowler she was runner-up in the World Championship Singles to Gladys Doyle of Papua New Guinea, and won the World Championship Pairs with May Cridlan.
Despite having beaten Doyle 21-11 and having the same amount of games won, McDonald lost the World title on points differential.
Honouring her magnificent bowls record Elsie was inaugurated in the SA Sporting Hall of Fame for her achievements on 13 February 1981.
It was the second time she had been honoured as such, as she, together with the entire Springbok Women’s team from 1969, had already been considered worthy for the Hall of Fame in 1971.
Kimberley Engineering Works’ Bowls club in June 2008 renamed the club’s function hall to the Elsie McDonald Hall in honour of its Honorary Life Member and former Springbok.
A true professional on and off the bowling green, she was always immaculate in both dress and etiquette. Petite, she was a loving person with a great smile, always positively encouraging her team and opponents equally. A good loser, she was a truly humble victor – Kimberley and Griqualand West Bowls have indeed lost their Queen of the Green.
She leaves her son Guy and two grandsons Vaughan and Russell.