“TEACH us to put into action our better impulses, straightforward and unafraid.”
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This line from the Country Women’s Association collect has certainly been taken to heart by a group of Wodonga branch members.
For more than 350 years in total, these women have served their organisation and the wider community.
An afternoon tea on Thursday saw Wodonga mayor Anna Speedie present certificates to Irene McRobert, Mary Simmonds, Elaine Vincent, Mary Smith, Betty Veen, Kathleen Woolford, Clara Chick, Muriel Baldry and Coral McCreadie.
As well as individual service of up to 62 years, the group includes past branch presidents, group presidents, group secretary, state chairman, afternoon tea hostesses and talents in cooking, craft and performing arts.
Mrs McRobert, 84, joined Tallangatta CWA in 1956 as a young mother after church friends invited her along.
“It had a lot to offer really,” she said.
“I was always interested in drama and I think I got roped in on that to begin with.
“It’s just something that’s always lasted, it’s something that’s been constant in my life.”
Mrs McRobert, now a great-grandmother 12 times over, remembered festivals, conferences, lobbying, catering and supporting people affected by bushfires and floods.
A particularly satisfying project was interacting with patients at the former Mayday Hills asylum in Beechworth, with CWA members even stepping in during staff industrial action.
“That was an experience, we did that a couple of times when they went on strike,” she said. “You’d come away and think, ‘There but for the grace of God’.”
Wodonga CWA vice-president Nerida Scalzo said the members, all still active, provided wonderful knowledge and history of the Country Women’s Association.
“It’s such an inspiration to have the mentoring of our older ladies,” she said.
“CWA is, first of all, friendship.
“Friendship to each other, to the club, to the groups and to the wider community.”
Mrs McRobert said she appreciated how her involvement extended her horizons.
“Overall, CWA has got a great umbrella of interests and it’s grown on me,” she said.
“It’s the family you choose.”
