Tuesday, 30 August 2022

 Ms WARD (Eltham) (15:38): Since 1973 Diamond Creek’s Austin Health community op shop has been an incredibly important and loved local resource, and it came about by chance. After watching a film in the early 1970s about the Austin Hospital seven women were so moved by what they saw that they decided to commit a significant part of their lives to fundraise for this much-loved hospital.

Fundraising started with packing show bags at the Whittlesea show, then went on to stalls at Northland, Chadstone, Greensborough and Diamond Creek. Reflecting their community’s wants, locally made handknitted garments were offered for sale and outlets were visited to buy new goods to sell. These resourceful women raised funds in any way they could think of: raffles, baby shows, fashion parades and bingo nights. Over time these women’s efforts became widely recognised. The first Austin Health op shop was opened in 1981, and volunteer numbers have increased tenfold. Today the shop is a thriving business, having raised over $4 million for the Austin Hospital. One of these amazing women is Yvonne Dunt. Yvonne was the first secretary and served in a variety of roles, including 15 years as president and vice-president and another 25 years as secretary. For over 50 years Yvonne has been a continuous joy to customers and is still a friendly face to many people who wander into the shop. Thank you to the Austin Health op shop for the incredible work they do for our community and the ongoing service of their amazing volunteers.