There isn’t much Dame Susan Devoy hasn’t done in her 58 years. She dominated the world squash court for a decade throughout the ’80s, has run some of Aotearoa’s most prestigious sporting institutions and was even the Race Relations Commissioner for five years.
But despite her varied CV, Susan admits she never imagined the next thing on her list would be competing in the new season of Celebrity Treasure Island.
“I roared with laughter when they asked me. It was the last thing I ever thought I’d get a phone call about. And my initial reaction was to say no,” she tells the Weekly.
Not one to shy away from a challenge, it wasn’t long before the four-time squash world champion had talked herself into it, especially when there was $100,000 on the line for her chosen charity – The Aunties.
Susan dominated world squash competitions.
“I thought about it overnight and went back and watched some of the episodes,” she tells. “The opportunity to win money for charity was enticing and I thought there might be some miracle where I could do that.
“I’m also in a stage of life where I don’t work full-time and I have no family that relies on me, apart from my dog. I thought if it’s not now, it’s never, so I may as well give it a go.”
Most Kiwis will remember Susan as one of our great international sporting successes. She went pro at 17 and only four years later, in 1985, she won her first world championship. Over the next seven years, she won three more world championships, and countless other titles, holding the number-one ranking for a staggering 105 months. It was a shock to the sporting world when she unexpectedly retired at what many felt was the top of her game in 1992 to start a family.
“My biggest achievements are my four wonderful sons and my amazing husband John, who have made my life so complete,” she tells of her boys Julian, 29, Alex, 27, Josh, 26, and Jamie, 24.
She loved the toddler years with her four young sons.
Along with her celebrated sporting career, Susan has also made headlines for her charity efforts. In 1988, she spent seven weeks walking the length of the country and raised $500,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
This time, she’s surviving the elements to make a difference for The Aunties, a charity founded by former kindergarten teacher Jackie Clark that supports women who are healing from partner or sexual abuse.
“I’m a great admirer of Jackie and all the women who work there. Jackie has taught me a lot about the real meaning of giving, and she does an amazing job of giving women the self-belief and the opportunity to live the lives they deserve.
“It’s a scourge on our society that we have terrible rates of domestic violence. At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be a solution for that and it’s left to organisations like The Aunties, and Jackie, to advocate for these women.”
Even though she’d watched the TVNZ 2 show before, Susan admits there was a part of her that thought she wouldn’t really be expected to sleep in the elements, so her first night at camp was a rude awakening.
“I hated every minute,” she says with a laugh. “I thought we were going to pretend it’s rough and then they’d whizz us down the road to an Airbnb for the night and give us a nice home-cooked meal. But it was awful. There were possums and rats and rain falling on your face – one day you’d be sunburnt, the next it would be raining.”
At 58, Susan is one of the oldest of the 21 competitors and she soon realised it was one of her biggest strengths and greatest burdens.
“I did feel incredibly ancient,” she admits. “I’ve always been very competitive and sporty, but the years have caught up with me. I wasn’t able to do some of the things that I thought I could do. But you have a lot of experience and wisdom when you’re a little bit older, so you don’t tend to dwell on things. I found it really fascinating and quite a lot of fun mixing with a lot of young people.”
Despite the physical and mental challenges, Susan says she would absolutely do it all over again. “If you’d asked me immediately afterwards, I would have said never! But six months down the track, with some time to reflect, I think it was quite a bit of fun and I’d probably have another go.”
Celebrity Treasure Island premieres Monday, September 5 at 7.30pm and continues through Wednesday on TVNZ 2. To donate to The Aunties, visit aunties.co.nz/donate-to-us
