Community
1 May, 2026
Sunnyside celebrates 75 years
CAMPERDOWN’S Sunnyside House will celebrate its 75th year with a special Open House next weekend.
To mark this special milestone, the community is invited to join staff, residents and their families for a tour of the facilities and morning tea next Saturday, May 9 from 10am-11.30am.
Sunnyside House chair Tony Dupleix said the facility was built “by the community, for the community” so it was only fitting the community was invited to celebrate.
Sunnyside’s first residents arrived in 1951, but the story began years earlier, with the town banding together to establish a place where its senior citizens could spend their old age in comfort and security.
In 1945 the newly established CWA (Country Women’s Association) Old Folks Home Committee led the fundraising effort, raising 1200 pounds for the project.
When Miss Hill’s Private Hospital at 5 Adeney Street came onto the market in 1949 it was the perfect building to convert into the new ‘Old Folks Home’.
The CWA purchased the property with a contribution of 1000 pounds, with the balance coming from the Hospital and Charities Commission.
With property in hand, a public meeting was held at Oddfellows Hall, where 25 people were elected to oversee the project as a provisional committee of management.
The shire president at the time congratulated the CWA on a “man-sized job”.
The first official meeting of contributors was held on July 28, 1950 at Temperance Hall to elect the newly named Sunnyside House’s committee of management.
“When I joined the organisation in October 2024, I found boxes full of original documents and records going back to the very inception of the project. It’s a remarkable history and one we need to preserve,” Sunnyside House chief executive officer Jo Forrest said.
The archives, some of which will be on display at the Open House next weekend, include committee minutes detailing its management throughout the years.
“These reveal fascinating snippets about the day-to-day concerns and activities at Sunnyside,” Ms Forrest said.
“They also show the tireless support received from the Sunnyside House Ladies Auxiliary, which continues today.”
While new buildings were added and adapted as surrounding land became available, the original hostel arrangements became unsuitable for the diverse health care needs of the aging population.
In 1991 Sunnyside reached out to the community to support a major capital works project.
The old hostel buildings were demolished to make way for the current building, providing aged care to 40 residents.
“Life expectancy has increased from 68 when Sunnyside was first established, to 85 today; that’s a fundamental shift in what aged care looks like and the level of care needed,” Ms Forrest said.
“We are continually looking at best practice and upgrading our facilities to maintain the highest quality of care and comfort.”
One of the guiding principles of the original Sunnyside project was to provide a place that felt like home, not an institution.
This remains key to Sunnyside’s ethos today, providing all residents with a comfortable living space, not just a bedroom.
Another point of pride is remaining independently owned and operated, but this presents financial challenges.
For the first time in many years, Sunnyside’s board has decided to reach out to the community to help fund essential upgrades to its facilities.
A fundraising appeal with a $125,000 target for a complete refurbishment of the common living areas will be launched on May 8.
“We’re proud that Sunnyside has remained an independent, not-for-profit, community-run organisation for all these years,” Mr Dupleix said.
“Many regional aged care organisations have been taken over by industry groups.
“We haven’t reached out directly to the public for many years, but we need to now. We hope that they will support us once again.”
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