St Agnes’ Hostel Port Macquarie celebrated its 30th anniversary with a special morning tea for residents, staff and special guests.
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Prior to its establishment in Lochinvar Place in 1987, Parish Priest Father Donnelly’s vision was a loving, caring and faith-filled place where older people in the community could be comfortable when they could no longer live at home.
Since then, the Hostel has undergone extensive refurbishment and is now home to 56 residents, many of whom joined in celebrating the 30-year milestone.
Chief executive officer of St Agnes’ Parish, Adam Spencer, paid tribute in his welcoming address to the pioneers of Catholic Care of the Aged (CCA) in Port Macquarie, who established the facility, and to those who continue to ensure it offers a high standard of care in modern surroundings.
“Congratulations to the current site executive manager, Heather Nicholson, and to the hostel manager, Colleen Banks, and their incredible staff for the work they do to ensure the tangible faith-base of CCA is felt by the residents,” said Adam.
“A special mention to Joy Walsh, current director of care for CCA, for her contribution to making sure St Agnes’ Hostel facilities kept pace with the expectation of what a modern facility should be during recent years,” he added.
There was such a homely atmosphere in the hostel - everyone felt like family.
- Margaret Thomas
Honor Morcom, who was head of CCA when the Hostel first opened, and Heather Nicholson, who has been with Catholic Care of the Aged for 20 years, shared the honour of cutting the celebration cake.
Margaret Thomas, who worked from the time the Hostel opened for 20 years as a hairdresser for residents, attended the event with her husband, Peter, a plumber, who also provided maintenance services to the St Agnes’ Hostel and Village Units.
“There was such a homely atmosphere in the hostel - everyone felt like family,” Mrs Thomas said.
“I remember having to move cows out of the paddocks when they were working on the Village Units before the establishment of the hostel,” Mr Thomas said.
After the official cutting of the cake and morning tea, the Country Women’s Association choir group gave a special performance, singing some for the residents’ favourite tunes.