Margaret Caldow (nee Jackson) BEM

Among the outstanding sportswomen who were honoured in December 1985 as inaugural inductees into the Australian Hall of Fame was Margaret Caldow - a netball player who had once been named captain of the world.

Few Tasmanians remembered her but Margaret Jackson had already made her mark here as one of the State's best woman athletes as a 16 year old and it was this natural talent that took her to Melbourne to develop her sporting career. Her netball ability, however, was the equal of her athletics prowess and she quickly gained selection in the 1961 Victorian team. It came as no surprise that she was soon selected in the Australian team.

A remarkable career followed. She represented Australia from 1962-65, captaining the team in 1964-65. Having married earlier Margaret decided to retire after 1965 and start a family. She had two children and as they grew older, the world's top goal shooter returned to the sport she loved in 1971 and in 1975 again captained the successful Australian team to the World Championships in Auckland.

It was at the conclusion of these titles that Margaret was named as captain of the World Team. She went on to lead Australia to a 3-0 Test Series win over England in 1978 and to successfully defend the World Championships in Trinidad in 1979.

For her services to netball, Margaret was awarded the B.E.M. in l977. From l984-86 she was resident coach at the Australian Institute of Sport and l991-93 was head coach of the Victorian Institute of Sport netball program.