General News
22 February, 2023
Milestone 60 years celebrated
MACKINNON’S Bridge resident Alma Whitington has been recognised for her 60 years of dedicated service to Red Cross.
MACKINNON’S Bridge resident Alma Whitington has been recognised for her 60 years of dedicated service to Red Cross.
She was awarded a gold rosette in recognition of her dedication, surrounded by friends at the Wheatsheaf Hotel last week.
Ms Whitington began her time with the Civil Defence Service in the 1960s in the then Shire of Kowree, in north-west Victoria.
The Civil Defence Service, the forebear to the State Emergency Service in the 1970s, was formed as a precaution to any potential attacks on Australia following World War II and the Cold War.
With the encouragement of Horsham ambulance station superintendent Geoff Bansgrove, Ms Whitington had pursued training through the Goroke Red Cross Unit and gained her Medallion in first aid after three years.
“The only trained ambulance officers were at Horsham, which was 60 miles away through a sand trap which is now the Wimmera Highway,” she said.
“It wasn’t a 10 minute drive, and our ambulance drivers were usually farmers or townspeople who had no official training.
“They decided we needed to have training in various areas, grab the bull by the horns and incorporate a whole area to start off the Civil Defence Service.”
Ms Whitington then began teaching first aid classes at Charam, Wombelano, Qulegas and Ullswater for the Red Cross and St. Johns Ambulance.
After meeting her future husband, George, and moving to Telangatuk East to join the Balmoral Red Cross, her impact had already been felt across the region.
“By the time I got married, I had trained over 200 Red Cross trainees – most of whom got their medallions,” she said.
During her time with the Balmoral unit she served as secretary, five years as assistant shop manager and a decade as shop manager.
Under her guidance the shop transformed from opening one day a week to five and a half days a week with more than 40 people on the roster.
“The little Red Cross shop was in the oldest house in Balmoral; just a small lounge room we started with, which had possums in the roof that really added to the atmosphere,” she said.
“With the support of my husband and a few volunteers we cleaned out other areas such as bedrooms and began selling merchandise from Melbourne and second hand clothing from the area.
“We had an exchange with Melbourne where we would send them adult clothing and they would send adult clothing back; Mrs Smith didn’t want to be wearing Mrs Brown’s old dress.
“Eventually we were bringing in more money than Geelong Red Cross, and we sent away over 1000 boxes of clothes each year; it was very popular.”
Ms Whitington and her husband had made their living in farming, and volunteering became an opportunity to escape the daily grind and give back.
“It’s been a fascinating journey,” she said.
“Volunteering was a release off the farm.
“We had a great team of volunteers.
“It was a good time, at times a worrying time, but that’s the way it was.”
After her move to MacKinnon’s Bridge she joined the Terang Red Cross unit. Age has proven no barrier, as she continues to be a valued member of the unit today.