Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
Melody Camm, Nigel Kellion, Alen Sanderson and Karen Conserdyne. All Photos supplied: Nikolai Romanov
Whitsunday Leisure Activity Centre is celebrating 50 years of helping community members find support, friendship and connection.
Supporting older residents and people with disability, the Centre reaches across the Whitsundays, from Dingo Beach to Midge Point, including Airlie Beach and Cannonvale.
Alongside special outings, such as a weekend getaway to Townsville, the Centre’s everyday services help people build confidence and independence. Whether through learning daily life skills, going out into the community or spending time with friends, the Centre creates a welcoming space where people feel comfortable, connected and supported.
“We help them with shopping, cleaning, like just and daily life skills,” said Office Coordinator, Kym Hiscox.
“[Townsville’s] just something different for them to go out of the area to also experience what’s out there.”
Days at the Centre are also something to look forward to, offering morning tea, a two-course lunch and afternoon tea, with transport available to help participants get there and home again.
A monthly activity program offers plenty of ways to spend the day, from bingo, karaoke and card games to cooking, candle making, woodworking and gardening. Community lunches, picnic outings and visits to Morning Melodies at the Proserpine Entertainment Centre also keep people connected to life around the region.
Those wanting to stay active can enjoy the therapy pool, armchair DrumFun and breathwork, while art and music activities offer time for creativity and self-expression.
That help extends beyond the Centre, too, whether someone needs a hand at home or company getting out and about.
“We try as much as we can to cater to what they require,” Kym said
Established in 1976, the Centre began when a local parent sought somewhere for young people with disabilities to go after finishing school. With support from local service clubs a committee formed and began meeting at the Proserpine Showgrounds, offering activities and opportunities to learn everyday life skills.
The Centre found a home of its own on Stanbury Street in 1983, after the council granted a 99-year lease on parkland beside the high school. With no government funding in those early years, keeping the doors open depended entirely on community fundraising. Raffles, lucky number tickets sold at the local Show, bingo at the Proserpine Bowling Club and items made and sold in the centre’s workshop all helped pay the bills and keep people coming together.
From Monday 26th to Friday 30th October, the Centre will be celebrating 50 years of service at 17 Stanbury Street, Proserpine and will be open for the public to join in the celebration.
And on Friday afternoon, the weekly celebrations conclude with a special Gala Fair with market stalls, games, week-long cent sale, a light display, free BBQ and more.
Helen Deighton has witnessed much of that history through her more than 30 years with the service, with some familiar faces still coming through the doors decades after it began.
“There's still participants coming here today that went 50 years ago to the showgrounds,” she said.
“But this is still like a home for them, where they’re comfortable.”
Volunteers played an important part in those early years, like the cook who prepared hot, two-course lunches in an ordinary household kitchen. Meals were kept affordable, with Meals on Wheels prices used as a guide.
The Centre later received government funding, but Helen said community fundraising remains essential to meeting the costs of running the service.
“To this day, we still have to do that because Government funding [Aged Care & NDIS] doesn’t fully cover everything,” she said.
Alongside its history of community care are the personal stories that make the Centre special. Participant Melody Camm’s father, Stanley Camm, helped establish the Centre 50 years ago so local people with disabilities could find connection and purpose after leaving school. Then, there’s the love story of Colin and Kaylene Giles, whose connection in the Centre blossomed into love, with the couple meeting through their association with the Centre, later marrying.
The Centre has grown over the years, opening extensions in 2000 and now employing more than 20 staff. Its next step is renovating the house purchased next door, with plans to offer supported independent living once repairs are complete.
“We’ve had to evolve to stay relevant,” Helen said.
“If you don’t change with the times, you get left behind.”
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