Noeline Gourley

Noeline Brokenshire ( Gourley; 1 December 1925 – 3 April 2022) was a New Zealand sportswoman, who represented her country in field hockey, and as a hurdler at the 1950 British Empire Games. Later she was a gallery owner and noted woodturner, and the founder and publisher of New Zealand's first woodworking magazine, Touch Wood.

Early life and family Brokenshire was born Noeline Gourley in Dunedin on 1 December 1925. She was educated at Avonside Girls' High School in Christchurch, and went on to study at Canterbury University College from 1944 to 1945 and then the University of Otago from 1948 to 1950, gaining a Diploma of Physical Education in 1951.

Athletics A hurdler, Gourley won the New Zealand national 80 m hurdles title on five occasions: in consecutive years from 1945 to 1948, and in 1950. She represented New Zealand at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, competing in the 80 metre hurdles. In the final she finished in fourth place, behind the Australian winner, Shirley Strickland, and New Zealand teammates June Schoch and Janet Shackleton.

Honours Gourley was awarded university blues for athletics and hockey. and held their first joint exhibition of pottery and turned wood in Christchurch in 1966. Noeline Brokenshire exhibited her work widely in New Zealand, including at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington, and a combined show with her husband and weaver Karin Wakely in Christchurch in 1969. Brokenshaw sold Touch Wood in March 1988 after 14 issues, and the magazine was transformed by its new owner into The New Zealand Woodworker with a focus more on trade than craft.

In 1986, the Association of Designers and Furniture Makers New Zealand was formed, and Brokenshire was its inaugural secretary. From November 1990, she operated the Salamander Gallery, also in the Christchurch Arts Centre.

Later life and death Brokenshire was widowed by the death of her husband, David, on 26 April 2014. She died in Christchurch on 3 April 2022, at the age of 96.