TEA GARDENS Red Cross members celebrated the 90th anniversary of their branch’s creation at a fitting luncheon in The Promenade, Palm Lake Resort on Thursday, 18 September.
The date was specially chosen as it was 90 years to the day since the first Red Cross meeting was held back on 18 September 1935.
“The foundation president was Mrs Mable Avery, matron of the maternity hospital (the building now occupied by Myall Coast Realty),” Red Cross member Jenny Kelly told the room.
“Mrs M Kidd was the Secretary and Mrs E Holbert the Treasurer and they were joined by 33 other local ladies back in 1935.
“The cost to join was one shilling and one penny and was to be paid monthly, placed in a donated money box with the Treasurer, and the branch was expected to send 10 pounds to Sydney to maintain the branch.”
In total more than 70 people attended the Tea Gardens branch’s biggest ever event, representing several other local clubs including Tea Gardens Lions, Myall River VIEW, Pearls of Port Stephens, Tea Gardens RSL-Sub Branch, the Free Clinic Bus, CWA Bulahdelah, Hawks Nest Meals on Wheels, Boomerang Bags, and members from the Red Cross branches at Paterson-Vacy and Maitland.
Special guests included Zone Representative for Australian Red Cross Country Zone 4 Judith Jackson, Australian Red Cross Emergency Services Recovery and Resilience Officer Karen Maloney, and Red Cross Community Mobilisation Team Officer Savitha Damie.
The event was as grand as it was local, with entertainers Ol’ Spice and the Palm Lake Resort residents’ choir Villa Voce providing the musical entertainment, and bush poet Bob Bush reciting a few selected works.
The meal was a lavish salmon hollandaise or beef provencale with roasted vegetables, provided by local chef supreme Lee Romstein, and dessert was a magnificent 90th birthday cake that had been hand-crafted and decorated by Mema’s Bakery in Tea Gardens.
Tea Gardens Red Cross patrons Dorothy Thompson – who has been with the group since 1987, and was with the Red Cross in New Zealand before that – and Jennifer Wenham – who held many positions including President for 15 years – had the grandest honour of cutting the enormous birthday cake while the whole room sang ‘Happy Birthday’.
Jenny Kelly also recited the poem ‘The Caring Cross of Red’ by Heather Prentice, the local poet whose works have graced many landmarks around Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest, after delivering a very interesting historical account of the last 90 years, much of which has been carefully archived by local Red Cross members over the decades.
Many of the anecdotes, such as free beers at the donation collection point, or a stainless-steel bedpan being first prize in a raffle exemplified just how much things had changed, while other concepts, such as mobilising community generosity and donations have, thankfully, remained the same.
“Tea Gardens Red Cross is a team of lovely local ladies (and a few men) who do an amazing job, let’s see it continue until the 100th in ten years’ time,” said Zone Representative Judith Jackson.
Red Cross Paterson-Vacy members, who were warmly welcomed to the event, will be celebrating their own branch’s centenary in 2026, and are hoping to see many Tea Gardens members also attend.
By Thomas O’KEEFE
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