YALLOURN GIVES GENEROUSLY
The following extract was published in the ‘Morwell Advertiser’ and again exemplifies the collective generosity of the people of Yallourn in raising funds for a ‘good cause.’
Former residents of Yallourn would be aware that there was ‘always’ a project or campaign unfolding to assist someone or a local community organization. The families of Yallourn always responded well to charitable events; and the quest to raise money for needy mothers and their children in 1954, as outlined below, was no exception.
The footnotes accompanying this article endeavour to explain the background to the story and also to give some insight into the history of the Yallourn Hospital.
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DECEMBER 9TH 1954 MORWELL ADVERTISER PAGE 2
YALLOURN WINS £1,000 AWARD
On Thursday last, Cr. T. Forristal, Chairman of the Yallourn Advisory Council acting on behalf of the public of Yallourn, was summoned to Government House and presented by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Dallas Brooks, with a cheque for £1000 won by the Borough of Yallourn for having raised the most money of any municipality in Victoria (pro-rata to population) for the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Trust Fund for Mothers and Children.
To be eligible to compete, the Council of a municipality must raise at least £100 by its own efforts. The Borough of Yallourn raised in all a total of £184/6 /1 from all sources within its boundaries.
The undermentioned submission by the Council of the allocation of the amount, in accordance with the wishes of Her Majesty, was accepted by the State Management Committee of the Fund… "The sum of £900 to be allocated to the Latrobe Valley Community Hospital to be spent on the purchase of equipment for the Maternity Department, to include one 'Isolette' and two sets of Trilene apparatus, and for the children's wards, to include apparatus for administering steam and oxygen.”
"The sum of £100 to be allocated to the Yallourn Infant Welfare Centre, to be spent on equipping, for the use of mothers, a library on maternal and child welfare matters."
The cheque was presented to the Yallourn Advisory Council by Cr. Forristal at its meeting last Friday night, and a decision was taken that the cheque be paid in to a special trust account, to be opened by the State Electricity Commission from which would be paid certified accounts submitted covering the purchase of the equipment mentioned above.
Commenting on this procedure, Cr. Lynch said that the Council could watch the expenditure from progress reports presented monthly on equipment purchased and accounts paid.
FOOTNOTES
1. It appears that the ‘Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Trust Fund for Mothers and Children’ was officially launched in Australia during 1953.
2. One article, which made specific reference to the Trust Fund, was unearthed in ‘The Argus’ (5th December 1953; page: 6), and it stated that £2000 (pounds) had been donated to the ‘Trust Fund’ by the Felton Bequest Committee.
3. According to the article mentioned in Footnote: 1, by December 1953, the ‘Coronation Trust Fund’ had raised £35,000 (pounds).
4. An isolette, as mentioned above, provides controlled temperature, humidity and oxygen to premature babies. It is better known as an incubator or humidicrib these days. A trilene apparatus assists in administering anaesthetic to patients.
5. Some younger readers may not be aware of the level of excitement that was created by the opening of the town’s hospital. It was a ‘red letter day’ in the history of Yallourn. The hospital was formally ‘opened’ by Sir John Monash on the 13th January 1929; and the ceremony was attended by some 2,500 townsfolk and guests.
6. The Yallourn Hospital was located quite a distance (approx. 3 km) from the township (on the road that led from the end of Railway Avenue, past No:1 Oval and further on towards Morwell).
7. It is known that the residents of Yallourn were very proud of their hospital; and there was never a shortage of volunteers to assist with working bees, fund raising drives and other activities.
8. According to records, that first child born in the Yallourn Hospital was a baby with a family name: ‘Stepnall.’ According to one reliable source, ‘baby Stepnall’ was born on the eve of the official opening of the hospital.
9. The names of the first senior members of staff at the Yallourn Hospital were: Matron Allan and Nursing Sisters Grenda and Harvey.
10. It is known, that in in 1954 the Ladies Auxiliary had more than 100 members. In August that year, Mrs Warren, the Secretary of the Yallourn Hospital Ladies Auxiliary, said in her Annual Report to members…
"I feel that this is a very important day in the history of our Auxiliary. Twenty-six years ago the late Sir John Monash approached the late Mrs. J. M. Bridge and requested her to call a meeting of Yallourn ladies; the object being to form a hospital auxiliary for the Yallourn Hospital, which was then being built. ……. Over the years there has always been a loyal band who has kept the Auxiliary alive, and so we come to our 25th Annual meeting, and although the hospital has expanded beyond our wildest dreams, and the whole setup has changed, I am happy to say that the future of the Auxiliary seems even brighter for the coming year, as by holding a member ship drive, we have now enrolled over 102 members for this coming year against 17 members in the past year.
11. In 1954, the population of Yallourn was 5580; and the total of money collected as stated above (£184.6.1 pounds) is equivalent to approx. $ 6000 (six thousand dollars) today.
12. A story regarding the Yallourn Infant Welfare Centre can also be found on this website.
13. Mr Forristal (as mentioned above) served as the Government appointed Chairman of the Yallourn Town Advisory Council from 1948 until 1965. An earlier story, in this series: ‘From the Newspapers’, provided details of Mr Forristal’s significant contribution to the township and the state of Victoria.
14. Cr Lynch, mentioned in the news report, was Austin Lynch. Mr Lynch served on the YTAC from 1952-69 and was an active and enthusiastic member of numerous organizations in Yallourn.
15. As a final point of interest regarding the above article, the strict and transparent control of the £1000 cheque (as mentioned) was highly commendable. Such rigorous administration of the funds would have given the people of Yallourn unshakeable confidence that the money raised for the hospital was in secure hands; and was being prudently used in purchasing hospital equipment.
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The above story is part of an on-going project regarding the history of Yallourn. The story was researched and written by and Roger Spaull and presented and posted by Julie George for the Virtual Yallourn website in September 2017.
Julie would welcome any photos or anecdotes regarding the above article to post on the website; and for a full list of titles in this series, which commenced in December 2014, please contact Julie.
The above article from the ‘Morwell Advertiser’ has been faithfully reproduced. The only amendments to the original copy are the font style, font size and spacing, so as to enhance the article for purposes of posting on the Virtual Yallourn website.