Local Red Cross knits Trauma Teddies to mark 35th anniversary

TRAUMA Teddies, those vital comforters that help children recover from terrible events, turn 35 this year.

To mark the anniversary, the Tea Gardens Red Cross is hosting regular knitting sessions to make more teddies for those in need.

Over one million children have been comforted by colourful Trauma Teddies since Red Cross associates began knitting them back in 1991.

They are given to children who have witnessed or been part of a catastrophic event, such as bushfires, floods and other emergencies.

They also provide a warm welcome to refugee children, and keep kids company should they find themselves in the back of a speeding ambulance.

The Trauma Teddies concept began with NSW Ambulance Superintendent Richard Hamilton, who observed the calming effect of a teddy given to a child being treated in an ambulance.

The call then went out via various Red Cross branches for volunteer knitters.

In 1997, to mark the fifth anniversary of the idea, the World’s Largest Teddy Bear was knitted, standing at a giant 5.15m tall.

The following year, the movement gained a mascot – Trauma Ted – whose design follows the same standard pattern.

In the wake of the terrorist attacks on the US on September 11, 2001, and on tourists in Bali in 2002, Trauma Teddies were sent to children in those areas to help them cope.

There have been other international humanitarian aid events in the decades since.

The Australian Red Cross counts more than 600 volunteer knitters who have lovingly crafted more than 50,000 Trauma Teddies a year.

That’s 250,000 volunteer knitting hours annually and up to 7.5 million hours over the three decades.

“There are 75 groups around the state knitting Trauma Teddies,” long-serving member of Tea Gardens Red Cross Elizabeth Fenton, told News Of The Area.

“And in the six months from July 2025 to January 2026, there were more than 20,000 teddies distributed across NSW.

“The stuffing for the teddies is provided by Qantas, and we need people to not just knit the teddies, but to sew them together and to stuff them and sew on their faces.”

The Tea Gardens Red Cross, which meets on the fourth Monday of every month at the Tea Gardens Uniting Church Hall on Myall Street, is bolstering its output by hosting monthly knitting groups.

“If anyone wants to join the knitting, they are welcome to come along on the fourth Tuesday of the month – 9:30am to midday,” TGRC President Helen Janes told NOTA.

“There is no need to bring wool or tools as we are well-equipped, and no need even to be a current Red Cross member. It can also be a bit of a social thing.”

By Thomas O’KEEFE