Hockey star and 'Queensland Great' Daphne Pirie dies aged 90

Champion hockey player Daphne Pirie has been remembered as a lifelong lover of sport and a trailblazer for female athletes in Queensland, right up until her death at 90 years of age on Friday.

But it was a chance encounter that led her to hockey, and the man she came to love.

Already a nationally ranked track and field athlete, Pirie was in her 20s when she was training with her sister Nola in Brisbane's Wooloowin when two men across the field caught their eye.

«There was some Valley Hockey Club men training on the oval,» Pirie's niece Jodi Holmes said.

«They thought those guys looked alright, so they thought they might try hockey.»

The quest for romance on the field paid off.

«I kid you not, Aunty Daphne married uncle Mick, so uncle Mick was one of the players playing hockey while they doing their athletic training,» Ms Holmes said.

«And my mother Nola married Stewart, who was also training at the time.»

Despite the late entry into the sport, Pirie's determination saw her conquer any barrier in her way.

It was no easy feat to get into hockey.

Pirie and Nola had to restart the Valley Hockey Club's female side, which had disbanded during World War II.

Two years after that night on the field, she was picked to represent Queensland in Hockey.

«She ended up representing Australia and Queensland many times,» Ms Holmes said.

«I think the team atmosphere, she really thrived on that. She loved being part of a team.»

Pirie achieved national and international success in track and field, hockey and golf during her 40-year career in sport.

After retiring from hockey, she would return to athletics once more, setting records on the world stage at Masters events.

She received an Order of Australia in 2012, was an inductee of the Queensland Sport Hall