THE important role the Queensland Country Women’s Association plays in the local region has been praised by Charters Towers Regional Council Mayor Frank Beveridge.
Cr Beveridge has attended recent annual general meetings of the Charters Towers and Mingela branches of the QCWA and was impressed with what he experienced.
“There’s a wonderful sense of community service and helping each other with our CWA ladies,” Cr Beveridge said.
“I was also very impressed to meet four of the members, Mavis Wheatley, Helen Alford, Dot Weinheimer and Margo Nimmo who each have given 49 years of service to the Mingela branch. A fifth member with the same length of service, Vi Murphy, couldn’t attend on the day.
“I was made very welcome at both the CWA meetings I attended.”
In her report to the Charters Towers branch’s AGM, president Lyn Prichard thanked the 26 members for their support during the year.
“We’ve had a very busy, yet fulfilling year doing many and varied activities for fundraising and quite a bit of social fun throughout the year,” Mrs Prichard said.
Fundraising by branch members has included monthly hoy, Sunday markets twice monthly, hiring of the hall, various stalls including the Christmas Fair stall where gingerbread houses and many other Christmas goodies are sold.
Community involvement has included participation in Australia Day, the Excelsior Library’s 10th birthday, heritage day at the 140th anniversary of the Charters Towers Jockey Club, Anzac Day, Charters Towers Show, assisting Girl Guides, making knitted and crocheted poppies for the Poppy Project for a Field of Flowers in Melbourne for the Centenary Anzac commemoration and window displays at the doctor’s surgery in Gill Street.
Members have also had numerous social activities which Mrs Prichard said were held just to have fun. These have included birthday cake and cards each month, quizzes, puzzles and jokes at meetings and functions, monthly handcraft and social mornings, cooking competition, Calendar Girls live show, Christmas break up, a baby shower, trips to Townsville, fun hats and costumes for theme days and a fancy cup and saucer for the queen’s birthday.
Mrs Prichard said the QCWA was always anxious to promote itself and spends quite a bit of money on publicity at a state level.
“However we got worldwide publicity last year when we allowed packet cake mixes into our cooking contest,” she said.
At the time a CWA spokeswoman said allowing packet cake mixes into the cooking contests would make the competition more accessible.
