Karen Lee Henrikson (born 20 February 1961) is a former netball player who played on 16 occasions for New Zealand in the 1980s. She served in the

New Zealand Police The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...

, rising to the rank of inspector, while continuing her involvement with netball as a coach.

Early life

Henrikson was born on 20 February 1961 in Matamata in the Waikato region of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. She was brought up on a farm and had two brothers. She went to school at

Matamata College Matamata College is a co-educational state secondary school located in Matamata, New Zealand. History The college was declared open on 11 February 1924 by the Minister for Education, James Parr. In July 2012, a student was killed by a tra ...

Netball playing career

Playing for Wellington as a wing attack (WA) or centre (C), Henrikson was first selected for the Silver Ferns in 1985, playing her first game in July of that year, against Northern Ireland. The Silver Ferns were unbeaten in 1985 and she was a member of the team that won the gold medal at that year's World Games, which were held in London. She was reselected for the team in 1986.

Police career

Henrikson joined the New Zealand Police in 1983, at a time when the force was having a big push to attract women. After training, her first posting was to

Porirua Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...

in the Wellington Region of the North Island. Subsequently she worked in Tokoroa and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, both in the Waikato region. In 2008, she was appointed to be an inspector, the first woman to achieve that rank in Waikato, where she served as the operations support manager for the Waikato police district. Among other activities, she was responsible for promoting strong relationships with local councils and Māori Focus Forums. She helped to set up the Women's Advisory Network for Waikato and the Safety Comes First group in central Hamilton, which she chaired. This initiative aimed at improving the safety of people in the city's central business district at night. She helped to establish the Hamilton Interagency Youth Action group, which provides support to families at risk of being connected with criminal offending, and she was also involved with child protection activities. Henrikson retired from the police in December 2017.

Netball coaching

For much of her time as a police officer, Henrikson was also able to continue her involvement with netball, including being assistant coach and then coach for the Waikato representative team in the national championships. At Waikato she worked with two other former Silver Ferns,

Margaret Forsyth Margaret Hine Forsyth (28 December 1961 – 4 May 2021) was a New Zealand netball player and coach, and politician. Born in Hamilton, she was selected for the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, in 1979 at the age of 17 while a ...

and

Tracey Fear Tracey Fear (born 1959) was an Australian-born netball player who played 63 times for New Zealand. In 1999 she was chosen as a member of New Zealand's "Team of the Century". She later worked for Netball New Zealand and was made an Officer of ...

Awards and honours

In 2012, Henrikson received the award for most outstanding female leader in the Australasian Council of Women and Policing's Excellence in Policing Awards. In the

2017 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

, she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the New Zealand Police and the community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henrikson, Karen 1961 births Living people Sportspeople from Matamata People educated at Matamata College New Zealand international netball players New Zealand netball coaches New Zealand police officers Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic coaches Netball players at the 1985 World Games World Games gold medalists for New Zealand World Games medalists in netball Medalists at the 1985 World Games