Margaret Sumner OAM — If you’d driven through Terang on any given Tuesday morning and spotted an older woman with a walker and a stick heading toward the bowling green, you might not have thought much of it. But that woman was Margaret Sumner OAM — a two-time Commonwealth Games representative, a Hall of Fame inductee, a 15-time club singles champion, and one of the finest lawn bowlers Australia has ever produced. She didn’t come from a big city. She didn’t have a corporate sponsor or a national academy behind her. She came from Terang, VIC, and she made the world take notice one bowl at a time.
Margaret Sumner OAM of Terang, VIC, passed away on October 16, 2022, at South West Healthcare in Warrnambool, aged 82. She left behind a community in mourning, a bowling fraternity shattered by the loss, and a legacy that no trophy cabinet could ever fully hold.
A Terang Girl Through and Through
Born and Raised in the Western District
Margaret was born in 1941 in Terang, a neat and historically rich country town in Victoria’s Western District, nestled among volcanic plains and rolling farmland. She was the daughter of Kath and Bill Terrington, and she grew up in a tight-knit community where neighbours knew neighbours, family came first, and loyalty to your town was just how things were.
Terang wasn’t — and still isn’t — a place that makes national headlines very often. But it shaped Margaret in ways that no city ever could. She understood community. She understood showing up. She understood what it meant to dedicate yourself fully to something, not because you’d get famous for it, but because it was yours.
How a Small Town Shaped a World-Class Competitor
Her brother-in-law Ian Brown remembers a Sunday family dinner around 1961. Her parents had taken Margaret to a bowls day in Mortlake, and when Bill Terrington came home that night, he reportedly said simply: “She’s going to make a champion.”
He wasn’t wrong. He was just about 18 years early.
Starting Late, Going Far — Her Bowling Journey Begins in 1979
Why She Picked Up a Bowl at 38
It’s worth pausing on this: Margaret Sumner didn’t begin her bowling career until 1979, when she was 38 years old. By the time most elite athletes are winding down, she was just getting started. There’s something quietly extraordinary about that. She didn’t need a childhood of training, a junior development pathway, or a scholarship. She needed a bowling club, a community, and a will to compete.
She joined Terang Bowling Club and never really left. “It’s home — Terang,” she once said. “I don’t like those who move around a lot. I think if you’re at a club you help them and dedicate yourself to it and do whatever you can for it. It’s been very good to me, so why would I leave?”
Early Club Wins and a Talent That Couldn’t Be Ignored
Once she started competing, it became clear quickly that Margaret wasn’t just a social bowler. She won the club singles title at Terang Bowling Club 15 times across her career. She claimed the District Champion of Champions title 12 times. She became a three-time State Champion of Champions. Each of those titles didn’t just represent skill — they represented hundreds of practice sessions, early mornings, late finishes, and a competitive spirit that simply refused to soften.
From Terang Greens to International Stages
Representing Victoria — 132 State Matches and Counting
Margaret’s form at the local and district level couldn’t be ignored by selectors, and before long she was pulling on the Victorian colours. Over her career, she represented Victoria in 132 state matches. That’s not a typo. One hundred and thirty-two appearances for her state — from a woman who started bowling at 38, from a town many Australians couldn’t find on a map.
Pulling on the Green and Gold — 168 Australian Matches
Beyond state representation, Margaret also represented Australia in 168 matches. She played in Scotland, England, New Zealand, Kuala Lumpur, and across her home country, facing the best women’s bowlers the world had to offer. She often talked about what those experiences meant to her — not the glamour of it, but the people she met, the things she learned, and the privilege of playing alongside the best.
“I’m very proud to have represented both Victoria and Australia in bowls,” she once said. “It was terrific to play with the best ladies in the sport and I learnt a lot from them all.”
Commonwealth Games Glory
The 1994 Victoria, Canada Campaign
Margaret’s first Commonwealth Games appearance came in 1994 in Victoria, Canada. She was 53 years old. Think about that for a moment. Most people at 53 are thinking about retirement, not about stepping onto one of the world’s biggest sporting stages. But for Margaret, age was just a number you wrote on an entry form. She competed with everything she had, and she returned to Terang having represented her country at the highest level.
Silver at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Games
Four years later, she was back at it. At the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Margaret was part of the Australian Women’s Fours team. They came away with a silver medal. It was the kind of achievement that deserved front pages — and in the Western District, among those who truly understood what she’d built, it was celebrated exactly as it should have been.
What It Felt Like to Walk Past the Queen
Margaret had a wonderful way of bringing the highs back down to earth. When she talked about her first Commonwealth Games experience, she laughed about the pomp and ceremony of it all. “It goes right over your head the first time you play there,” she said. “Matter of fact, I’d never even seen the Queen the first time — I didn’t even know where she was, but I’d walked past and didn’t see her.”
That was Margaret. Grounded, funny, real.
A Medal Collection That Tells a Story
World Bowls Championships — Gold and Silver in Adelaide
In 1996, the World Outdoor Bowls Championships came to Adelaide, Australia. Margaret was ready. She won a gold medal in the Fours and a silver medal in the Triples at that tournament. To win gold on home soil, in front of Australian crowds, is a different kind of special — and Margaret knew it.
Pacific Games Dominance and Trans-Tasman Series Gold
In 1998, Margaret also claimed gold medals in both the Fours and Triples at the Pacific Games. And across the Trans-Tasman Series from 1996 to 2002, she accumulated five gold medals and two silver medals in the Fours and Triples events. When you add all of it up, you’re looking at a medal haul that very few Australian lawn bowlers — men or women — can match.
Her complete career highlights include:
- Club singles title at Terang: 15 times
- District Champion of Champions: 12 times
- State Champion of Champions: 1989, 1996, 2002
- State singles champion: 1997
- Australian singles champion: 1999
- Australian pairs champion: 1991, 1992
- Australian fours champion: 1995
- World Championship bronze (fours): 1992
- World Championship gold (fours) and silver (triples): 1996
- Commonwealth Games representative: 1994, 1998
- Commonwealth Games silver (fours): 1998
- Pacific Games gold (fours and triples): 1998
- Trans-Tasman Series: five gold, two silver medals (1996–2002)
Indoor Bowls — The Chapter Most People Don’t Know About
Here’s something that barely gets mentioned in most coverage of Margaret’s life: her indoor bowls career. She competed and achieved at association, state, and Australian level in the indoor game too. It was a side of her sporting life that flew under the radar — but those who shared that chapter with her haven’t forgotten it. “Margaret’s often unrecognized contribution and success in indoor bowls will be remembered forever,” wrote one friend in her funeral tribute book. “The competition and the social fun we had are wonderful memories.”
Honoured, Inducted, and Never Forgotten
The OAM in 2009 — What It Meant for a Country-Town Champion
In 2009, Margaret Sumner was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia — an OAM — for her service to lawn bowls. It’s one of Australia’s most respected civilian honours, and it was richly deserved. For a woman from Terang, VIC, who’d spent three decades quietly dedicating herself to a sport, her club, and her community, it was recognition from a country that doesn’t always shine its spotlight on regional Australia.
She wore it with the same grace she brought to everything else — proudly, humbly, and without fuss.
Bowls Australia Hall of Fame — Class of 2011
In 2011, Margaret was inducted into the Bowls Australia Hall of Fame. This places her among the sport’s greatest contributors nationally — not just as a player, but as someone who gave the game back more than she took from it.
Bowls Victoria Hall of Fame — 2020 Induction
A decade after the national honour, Bowls Victoria added her to its own Hall of Fame in 2020. Both inductions recognised not just her medals and titles, but her decades of service, mentoring, and quiet leadership within the sport.
The Mentor, the Friend, the Heart of Terang Bowling Club
Her Philosophy on New Bowlers and Giving Back
Margaret didn’t stop at winning. She gave back, constantly and without keeping score. Graeme Dolling, assistant secretary of Terang Bowling Club, put it plainly: “She had a keen eye for good bowls and was always willing to mentor new bowlers and support other team members.”
Fellow bowler Pamela Bryant once described her as “an all-round champion person with a big happy smile and a willingness to share her time and experience.” That willingness wasn’t something Margaret turned on for special occasions. It was just who she was.
She was still turning up to play on Tuesdays and Saturdays in her final years, walker and all. “My friendships and love of the game keep me going,” she said. “I just want to beat people and prove I can go with them. There’s a lot of new players, and it just keeps me going.”
Life Member and Club Stalwart Since 1979
Margaret was a life member of Terang Bowling Club, a status that can’t be bought and isn’t handed out casually. She helped out with everything that needed doing — from running events to making cups of tea to coaching nervous beginners on how to hold a bowl. “From making cups of tea to running events,” as one tributer recalled — she showed up for all of it.
Who She Was Beyond the Green
Family, Friendships, and a Bit of Horse Racing
Away from the green, Margaret was warm, funny, and fiercely connected to the people she loved. Her sister Shirley described her as “a fun-loving character who lived for her bowls, family and friends.” Her nephew trained horses down the Mornington way, and Margaret — along with her good friend Pat — was known to have a flutter on the races. She had a gift for conversation. She could tell you exactly how you were connected to every other family in the district. She was, as Shirley put it, “an encyclopedia of knowledge in so many different ways.”
Scooting Around Terang on a Gopher with Pat
One of the most endearing images of Margaret in her later years is of her and her good friend Pat scooting around Terang on their gophers. It’s the kind of detail that says everything about a person — the easy joy of friendship, the refusal to slow down entirely, the community rootedness of a woman who considered Terang not just her address but her identity.
Margaret Sumner’s Legacy in Terang and Australian Bowls
How Clubs Around Australia Responded to Her Passing
When Margaret passed on October 16, 2022, the response was immediate and overwhelming. Within hours of the Bowls Victoria Facebook page posting news of her death, more than 300 condolences messages had poured in from across Australia. “We looked at the Bowls Victoria Facebook page this morning and there were already more than 300 condolences messages from all over Australia,” her brother-in-law Ian said. That kind of response doesn’t happen for just anyone. It happens when a person has genuinely touched the sport, the community, and the lives of everyone around them.
Before the very next round of midweek pennant at Terang Bowling Club, players observed a minute’s silence in her honour. The same happened on the following Saturday.
What Her Story Means for Regional Australian Sport
Margaret Sumner’s life is, in many ways, a story about what regional Australia can quietly produce when it’s left to its own devices. No academies. No national spotlight. Just a woman from Terang, a bowling club, a fierce love of competition, and four decades of showing up.
She proves that you don’t have to start young. She proves that where you come from doesn’t limit how far you can go. And she proves that staying loyal to a community — really staying, really giving — is its own kind of championship.
Terang was always home for Margaret. And Terang was lucky to have her.
Frequently Asked Questions About Margaret Sumner OAM, Terang VIC
Who was Margaret Sumner OAM? Margaret Sumner OAM was a champion lawn bowler from Terang, Victoria, Australia. Born in 1941, she began bowling at age 38 and went on to represent both Victoria and Australia at the highest levels of the sport, winning a Commonwealth Games silver medal, multiple World Championship medals, and national singles and team titles across her career. She passed away in October 2022, aged 82.
When did Margaret Sumner start bowling? She began her bowling career in 1979 at Terang Bowling Club, at the age of 38. Despite this late start, she went on to become one of Australia’s most decorated women’s lawn bowlers.
What did Margaret Sumner win at the Commonwealth Games? Margaret competed in the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada, and the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she won a silver medal in the Women’s Fours. She also won gold at the 1996 World Outdoor Bowls Championships in the Fours event, held in Adelaide.
Why was Margaret Sumner given an OAM? She was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2009 in recognition of her long-standing service to lawn bowls, both as an elite competitor and as a contributor to her club and community over several decades.
Was Margaret Sumner inducted into any Hall of Fame? Yes — twice. She was inducted into the Bowls Australia Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Bowls Victoria Hall of Fame in 2020. Both honours recognised her contributions as a player, administrator, and mentor within the sport.
How many times did Margaret Sumner win the Terang club singles title? She won the club singles title at Terang Bowling Club 15 times over her career, a remarkable achievement at any level of competition.
What was Margaret Sumner’s connection to Terang, VIC? Margaret was born in Terang in 1941 and remained deeply connected to the town throughout her life. She was a life member of Terang Bowling Club, where she played, mentored, and volunteered from 1979 until her passing in 2022. She often described Terang simply as “home.”
Did Margaret Sumner play indoor bowls as well? Yes. In addition to her celebrated outdoor bowls career, Margaret also competed in indoor bowls at association, state, and Australian level — a contribution that is often overlooked but was deeply meaningful to those who played alongside her.