Agmates

It’s not all boots, utes and country music at Queensland regional town of Gympie.

While Gympie might be famous for it’s Country Music Muster that attracts 10’s of thousands of visitors from around the country, it does have a more gentler and philanthropic side.

Springtime at Springhalls held in the gardens of Gympie locals George and Kim Springhall last saturday has to be one of the most pleasant afternoons anyone could spend in the country.

The Springhalls opened their magnificent country home and gardens set on the banks of the Cedar Pocket dam to the public to raise funds for the tremendous local charity Little Haven Palliative Care.

The afternoon, a delight in the glorious country garden was attended by about 130 mostly local people with a sprinkling of in-the-know visitors from as far away as Brisbane.

The happy crowd seated across the manicured lawn was blissfully entertained by the Underground Opera Company who sang up an operatic and braodway storm from the front verandah of the meticulously restored Queenslander.

Fine food prepared on site in the gourmet kitchen was served by aproned waitresses accompanied by good champagne and drinks from the garden bar.

What a fabulous way to spend an afternoon in beautiful rural Australia. Mingling with great folks, listening to fine music wafting around manicure lawns and gardens, accompanied by fine food and wine was just a delight. All the while raising money for the betterment of the local community.

Photo below: Mesmerized by the Underground Opera performance is ‘host for the day’ George Springhall and the appreciative audience.

A highlite of the afternoon was the fund raising auction conducted by ex livestock agent and current Gympie Shire councilor Graham Engeman [pictured below]. Little Haven Pallitive Care is a tremendous local charity that cares for local terminally ill people.

The good folks of Gympie and surrounding districts through their financial support enjoy what is possibly the only completely free, in home 24 hour on call Palliative care service in Australia.

The day raised just on $10,000 thanks to the support of all who attended, those that volunteered their time and many various local business that donated their goods and services to the event.

Little Haven offers free 24 hour on call fully qualified nursing care with a full range of equipment that allows the terminally ill members of the Gympie community to stay at home with their families rather than be forced into a hospital environment.

Little Haven supports around 120 people and their families each year in their time of need and only exists through the generosity of the local community. The service only receives 20% of its funding for QLD health with the balance, about $250,000 a year raised by fund raisers in the local community.

Personally I’d like to thank George & Kim Springhall, Little Haven Business manager Sue Manton [pictured above with volunteers Diana Harris to her left and Little Haven founding member Phil Moran at back] and her wonderful band of volunteers for a beautiful afternoon in rural Australia.

Gympies Little Haven is a wonderful story of a community taking care of its own and only exists through the ongoing support of the community and the philanthropy of community leaders like George and Kim Springhall.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Update: 1.54pm

Bruce Edwards Underground Opera Company next performance is at the Prophet Gold Mine at Kilkivan on the 26th and 27th of September. They are tremendous entertainers.

Have Your say!

Do you have a Charity in your community that makes it a great place to live? Why not let us know about it?

.

……………………………………………………….

Related Posts

• The Arts & Rugby League Team up for local Community.
• QLD Farms For Sale - Gympie Property Specialists
• A Milestone in Agmates Community History With It’s First Successful Online Auction.
• 33.5% Growth In The Agmates Community for October.
• Meat & Livestock Australia - Updating The Agmates Community on the Global Credit Crisis

This entry was posted on Monday, September 8th, 2008 at 11:55 am and is filed under Community, Feature Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.