Tuesday, 5 April 2022

Country Women’s Association, Sebastopol

Ms SETTLE (Buninyong) (13:02): Yesterday I had the absolute honour of attending a very special birthday. It was the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Sebastopol Country Women’s Association. It was a genuinely joyous affair. They had fabulous performances, songs from the choir, lovely sandwiches and of course amazing sponge. The strong sense of togetherness and support for each other and their community is what has united the Sebastopol branch for 70 years. That was so clear yesterday when so many women laughed and supported each other. It was wonderful to be there.

CWA state deputy president, Jennifer Nola, travelled to Ballarat for the event on Monday afternoon, and she was keen to meet the women who are following in her mother’s footsteps in Sebastopol. She described a childhood surrounded by these loving and caring women in the warm embrace of the Sebastopol RSL Memorial Hall. The Sebastopol CWA has been a strong supporter of several really important organisations in our area, like Berry Street, the Eureka Mums and the Ballarat SoupBus, in their mission to support women and children. Ms Pitman said the CWA as a whole had played some vital roles in establishing maternal and child health services. As their motto says, it is ‘Through countrywomen, for countrywomen, by countrywomen’. Happy birthday, Sebastopol CWA.