Portarlington Ladies Auxiliary is celebrating half a century of community service and fundraising support for Bellarine Community Health (BCH).
It all began on April 29, 1974, with a public meeting in Portarlington to establish a community health centre and the Ladies Auxiliary was formed the following year.
During those 50 years the auxiliary has raised funds for equipment and furniture and contributed significantly to building funds for the Fenwick Street facility.
Aline Dunn has been a member of the auxiliary for 35 years, initially starting as a volunteer helping to establish a palliative care service.
“I love it, it’s part of me,” she said.
“I’ve volunteered here since I moved to Portarlington. The community looked after me when I needed help when I first moved here, and I’ve given it back to the community. The health centre was always the community – if you needed help you came to the health centre.”
The Ladies Auxiliary has done most of its fundraising through their op-shop, which was first established at the Portarlington rotunda. After many years it was forced to move and ran from cramped quarters in a tin shed and even a shipping container while the health centre underwent renovations. Now it is housed in a large new space at BCH’s Portarlington site.
Past and present members of the auxiliary along with BCH staff and invited guests recently celebrated the milestone with an afternoon tea and display of memorabilia.
