JourneyOnline
Blue Care Wynnum is celebrating 50 years of service and Community Care Manager Noela Sorensen said the service is extremely excited about celebrating the milestone.
“Our service has, in some way, touched the lives of nearly every person who has lived in the Wynnum-Manly area,” she said.
“Whether it’s you, your mother or father or a dear friend, one in five people has come into contact with our service.”
The Wynnum service began through the vision of Reverend Ralph Heaton.
He was inspired by the Christian message of care and compassion to reach out to people in the community who were sick, unsupported and vulnerable.
In September 1956 he organised a train tour to North Queensland, which raised enough money for the church to buy a Morris Minor car.
It was Sister Wilma Kleindienst who drove the Morris car to see the first client on February 18, 1957 — a Mrs Hoare who lived in Bay Terrace, Wynnum.
Sr Kleindienst’s base of operation was the home of Mr and Mrs E Lewis at 112 Glenora St, Wynnum.
“The service has grown from very humble beginnings,” Ms Sorensen said.
“It was the willingness of ordinary people, taking small but significant steps that made possible the Blue Care Wynnum we have today.”
Photo : First Wynnum Blue Nurse Sister Wilma Kleindienst with the Morris car
