Born Wagin, W.A.
19 April, 1921 – 17 February, 1996
Four sisters from the remarkable Pearce family of Moulyinning formed the cornerstone of State Women’s hockey teams at interstate carnivals.
Unrelated to the hockey-playing brothers of the same name, there were six Pearce sisters. Three of them- May, Jean and Morna – captained WA and Australia, while the fourth, Caroline (Tib), represented her State and country but not as captain. The other two sisters, Winifred and Dorothy, were on the fringe of State selection.
Jean, the only one of the six who played in defence, was a brilliant centre-half-back with superb anticipation, excellent vision and uncanny skill in distributing the ball accurately to her forwards.
She represented Albany in Country Week while still a schoolgirl and moved to Perth in 1938 to continue her hockey with Surf.
In 1939 she was picked for the state but then World War II robbed WA and Australia of her services for six years. She resumed for WA in 1946 and was State captain-coach from 1947 to 1953. After that she continued as non-playing coach until 1958.
In 1939 she was picked for the state but then World War II robbed WA and Australia of her services for six years. She resumed for WA in 1946 and was State captain-coach from 1947 to 1953. After that she continued as non-playing coach until 1958.
At international level she was chosen in Australia’s blue-ribbon team every year from 1946 to 1953. She toured New Zealand in 1948 when sisters May and Caroline were also in the Australian team. The high point of her career was in 1953 when she captained Australia to a famous first victory over England in an international tournament at Folkestone.
Jean Wynne will be remembered for bringing a new dimension to women’s hockey as an attacking centre-half, joining in as a sixth forward and showing deceptive pace with long, loping strides to create scoring opportunities. This became a trademark of Australian and WA teams.
She was a shrewd tactician and her dynamic captaincy played a major part in the historic 2-1 defeat of England in the Folkestone tournament, which was won by Australia against teams from 19 other countries.