Colleen Mills

Colleen Mills, who was part of a remarkable athletics family, died from melanoma in 2005, aged 71 after a lifetime of achievement.

She was the wife of one of New Zealand’s great athletes, shot put and discus champion Les Mills. And she was the mother of two more Commonwealth Games athletes, hurdler Phillip and high Jumper Donna.

Colleen grew up in West Auckland and was an active member of the Owairaka and Western Suburbs athletics clubs. She met Les Mills at a Pasadena School reunion dance in 1950 and later married the aspiring Olympic athlete.

Colleen Mills was a gritty and well-performed 400m athlete who at the age of 40 earned selection for the New Zealand team at the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games.

If the national selectors hadn’t for some bizarre reason excluded Les from the 1974 Games team, despite his world ranking of 5th in the shot put, four members of the Mills family would have been in the team in Christchurch. Instead, Les did television commentary work and watched proudly as his wife, son and daughter, all of whom he helped train, did the honours.

Colleen had a stress fracture in Christchurch, but still ran in the heats, with painkillers numbing her leg from the knee down. Not surprisingly, her heat time of 57.5s was below her best, though it qualified her for the semi-finals. She elected not to run the semi.

Running was only one part of Colleen’s life, though she did go on to compete in four world masters championships, winning nine titles and setting three world age group records.

She also had a lifetime love of basketball, and with a group of friends formed and played for the Athletic team for 40 years.

Les and Colleen were a strong team. They initially ran two shops in Pt Chevalier, Auckland, a home appliance store and a shoe shop, and everyone in the family pitched in to make a success of the ventures.

Colleen willingly moved to the US for four years in the 1960s and looked after their young children so Les could base himself there and focus on his athletics.

On their return to New Zealand, Colleen worked closely with Les managing the gym business they started in 1968, and later pioneered women's involvement in gyms through the creation and management of a women-only facility within the Auckland gym.

The Mills fitness empire was born in their garage, where they operated the Auckland Weightlifting Association gym. As word got out and demand increased, they started Les Mills World of Fitness in Victoria St, Auckland.

The business expanded and was later taken over by their son Phillip, who rescued it at a tricky time and developed it into a world brand.

Colleen helped ignite the national jazzercize craze that Phillip introduced to New Zealand in the early 1980s, contributing especially through choreography development and instructor training.

In 1990, Colleen and Les were named Mayor and Mayoress of the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games Athletes Village and did a wonderful job, what with their knowledge of sport and their natural warmth. Perhaps it was good training for Les, who went on to become Auckland Mayor from 1990-98.

Colleen was active as Mayoress during her husband's tenure, initiating projects such as the annual Mayoress Mothers' Luncheon and forming friendships within a wide range of ethnic communities. She particularly enjoyed her involvement with the Salvation Army Faith Factory in Henderson, teaching life skills such as jam making, bottling and baking.

She also organised the Chariots of Fire dinner in Auckland, which celebrated the medal-winning feats of New Zealand’s Commonwealth Games athletes. The dinner was a huge success with 108 medallists gathering for the celebration. Colleen’s involvement in athletics led to her appointment as President of Athletics New Zealand in 1997-98 and to the board of the Hillary Commission in the early 1990s. One of her legacies was the way she advocated strongly for health and fitness, especially among women and children. She was also a board member of Variety - The Children's Charity, Avondale College and the Foundation for Alcohol and Drug Education, impressing many with her contacts and her ability to inspire others.