Our People

Our Patron: Bernie Fraser

Bernie Fraser has served in archery for over 60 years. He has held numerous national titles in target (recurve) and field (recurve barebow) and led the way in a variety of Australian competitions.
He competed in international events when the International body was called FITA – Fédération Internationale de Tir à l’Arc. He was the first NZL archer to compete in a FITA World Championship.
Bernie has contributed more to the coaching of archery than any other individual in the entire Oceania region. He has run so many courses for coaches here and in Australia. He was also coach and/or team manager for a number of our national teams competing in international competitions.
Bernie was a National Judge and established the high-quality system we still use today, which has produced several International Judges who have officiated in Olympic and Paralympic Games and numerous World Target and Field Championships, all thanks to Bernie’s knowledge and high standards.
Bernie has also been the Archery representative to the NZ Olympic Committee, and was elected to its executive committee. He became a shrewd assessor of the important aspects of most Olympic sports. In earlier days the Olympic team was selected by 3 individuals. Bernie Fraser was one of the 3 Olympic Selectors who decided who would represent NZL in each sport over 3 Olympic Games. This meant a lot of travel attending the various sport competitions, talking to athletes, coaches, and his co-selectors.
For his service Bernie was awarded the IOC Olympic Order “for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport.”
Bernie has also been a Life Member of Randwick Archery Club and Archery New Zealand. In 2013 he was presented the Hutt City Council award for 50 years service to the Randwick Archery Club.
At aged 91 he is still actively participating in Archery.

Your board for 2024/25

Katherine Watson

Chair

Katherine is an Australian based Kiwi archer. She has represented New Zealand at two World Cups. She loves travelling home to compete in archery tournaments, both for the competition and camaraderie.

As an active member of Kew City Bowmen, in Melbourne, Katherine organises club events and mentors young archers. Her day job is teaching, a profession that has honed her communication skills and patience!

Katherine is looking forward to supporting Archery NZ as it continues to embrace it’s values and works to grow an accessible and awesome sport as we expand our membership.

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Melissa Soh-Newstead

Deputy Chair

Melissa Soh-Newstead is a UK-qualified, NZ-trained lawyer. She is also an experienced company and board secretary and has solid experience in governance and senior management. Melissa has been named one of the NZ Lawyer’s In-House Leaders for 2022 and NZ Lawyer’s Elite Women for 2023.

As board-appointed board member and with her extensive legal background, Melissa brings a fresh perspective and a deep passion for fostering sports initiatives. A lifelong sports enthusiast, Melissa has been actively involved in number of sports and is eager to contribute to the NZ Archery board by leveraging her passion and dedication to support NZ Archery to achieve its goals.

Cushla Matheson

Board Member

Cushla is involved with archery as a parent, coach, club committee member, coaching coordinator, and World Archery Development Officer.

Joining the Board Cushla brings her Governance experience with special interest in performance development and equity.

Cushla is looking forward to moving the organisation forward towards a stronger and cohesive future for all members.

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Frasier Cho

Board Member

Frasier, a dedicated pharmacist and archer, brings over a decade of archery experience and leadership to the Archery New Zealand Board.
His academic background includes degrees in pharmacy and business management, enhancing his strategic decision-making and leadership skills. As a community advocate across multiple committees, Frasier actively fosters cultural diversity and engagement.
His commitment to inclusivity, excellence, and the growth of archery in New Zealand aligns closely with Archery New Zealand’s mission. Frasier’s multifaceted background and unwavering passion makes provides an asset to the organisation’s leadership team, ensuring a vibrant and welcoming archery community for all.

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Murray Prowse

Board Member

I started my journey with archery in 2014 and hopefully it’s not one that will end soon. I’m currently the Vice President at River Glade Archers, a range captain and a coach.

My background is Engineering, from building and installing plant and machinery through to managing Projects. This has given me the skills to successfully build good working relationships with multiple stakeholders and the ability to find solutions to situations as they come up.

I look forward to supporting all our archers from club day shooters through to our International competitors and building a sustainable, vibrant sport.

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Gordon Harris

Board Member

Gordon started archery back in England in 1974 when two-part steel recurves were common. After emigrating to New Zealand, he took up archery again in 2004 at Mana Archery Club. After terms as treasurer and president he became the current club registrar managing club events and membership. Gordon has competed in all the bow classes with 163 his highest world archery ranking in 2013 as a compound competitor (he is sure the ranking is a quirk of the ANZ nationals being held in January).
Gordon’s background combines experiences from property development to delivering major ICT data related projects with stakeholders with disparate interests. This has involved him in multiple roles including governance and forging good relationships across cultures and boundaries.
Gordon is committed to being part of the team helping steer Archery NZ through the next three years building up a stronger cohesive organisation for its associated club members and individual members