HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT IND 151 December 2022 | Page 13

LIFE & STYLE

Want an enchanted evening ?

by Greg Martin
I found myself singing that marvellous song “ Some Enchanted Evening ” out of Rodgers and Hammerstein ’ s 1949 hit stage musical , South Pacific , on the drive home after interviewing Virginia Sparkes and Julie Chapman .
Julie is the president of the Hawkesbury Evening Branch ( HEB ) of the revered Country Women ’ s Association and Virginia is one of the branch ’ s small band of hard-working members .
A mountain of meals ready for distribution . Pictured ( l-r ) are Hawkesbury Evening CWA branch members . Sandy Wesselink , Julie Chapman , Goldie Dries ( The Living Room ), Laurelle Douglas and Virginia Sparkes . The Living Room is a drop-in venue in Richmond where the homeless and poor find food and comfort .
Some Enchanted Evening came to mind because evenings , strangers meeting and seeing each other again and again were used in our conversation .
We met at the Kurrajong home Virginia shares with her husband , John , whose skills as a carpenter and work ethic is , like many other members ’ spouses and partners , called upon again and again to lend a helping hand .
“ Our other halves do a tremendous job and for that we ’ ll be forever thankful but we still need to boost our membership numbers so we can continue providing help to those in need ,” Julie said .
The old proverb “ many hands make light work ” applies across the board but the HEB needs more hands on deck so they can continue the incredible work they do in improving the lives of country folk in dire straits . For those of you who have never sampled a CWA scone with jam and whipped cream , here ’ s a quick rundown of what this amazing organisation contributes to our bushies right across the nation .
The CWA was formed in 1922 when country women were faced with isolation and a lack of health facilities .
Group and membership numbers increased markedly over the following year with members working tirelessly to set up baby health care centres , fund bush nurses , build and staff maternity wards , hospitals , schools , rest homes , seaside and mountain holiday cottages .
The women of the CWA have been initiators , fighters and lobbyists - they have transformed localities into communities by providing social activities and educational , recreational and medical facilities .
There are around 45,000 members across the nation , with NSW boasting close to 9500 members .
Earlier this new century , those numbers were boosted due to the initiative in creating evening branches which enabled working women and others tied up with other daytime duties , to become proud members of the CWA .
The HEB was formed in 2004 and two of those founding women are still very active members – Laurelle Douglas and Jennifer Turnbull .
The current members ’ ages range from women in their 20s through to more mature ladies whose ages shall remain undisclosed .
“ The advent of the evening branches allows working women to become members ,” Julie said .
“ Among our membership we have teachers , a nursery owner , office workers , a beekeeper , a veterinary nurse , university students and retired women .”
“ But we need a stronger membership to lighten the load on our current 15 members ,” stressed Julie Chapman .
So dear readers , if you are interested in joining or seeking information on this inspirational group go to Cwaofnswheb @ gmail . com
HEB members have done a tremendous job throughout the past 18 years , especially after the advent of COVID-19 .
Another adage – ‘ if you can ’ t stand the heat , get out of the kitchen ’ – well , the HEB mob could stand the heat !
They have been working hot in preparing nutritious and delicious meals for the district ’ s homeless and disadvantaged .
“ For most of the time the virus impacted on us , we would be cooking , packing and distributing hundreds of meals but even now with COVID not affecting us so intensely , we are still producing 100 meals a week .”
And lemme tell ya , those meals aren ’ t just corned beef with white sauce and cabbage fare ( not that corned beef and cabbage isn ’ t a healthy and enjoyable meal !).
“ Our menus include a range of roasts and vegetables , a variety of pastas and Chinese and other Asian cuisines ,” Virginia said .
Every meal is prepared from goto-whoa by members , who source the ingredients , do all the slicin ’ and dicin ’ and peeling of vegetables , cook the meals to perfection , package and then distribute .
And you must remember most of this work is done in the evenings after the members have been at their own workplace or doing those multitude of chores ensuring their own happy household .
“ If you can peel a potato or dice a carrot , your membership of our branch would be welcomed with open arms ,” Julie said .
The HEB ’ s main source of income is primarily from the CWA Hut in Richmond Park , which is open each Saturday morning , selling hand-made jams , chutneys and handcrafts .
Another source of income is that the club does return-and-earn on plastic and glass bottles to supplement its costs .
Each and every one of those dollars raised is used to help benefit those community members down on their luck . “ There ’ s no healthy pay cheques handed over to administrators ,” Julie quipped .
During the latest drought , these extraordinary women across the 400 NSW CWA branches raised in excess of $ 19 million which was distributed to rural families .
This is an organisation of which anyone would be proud to be a member . Why not you ?

BE THE REASON SOMEONE SMILES THIS CHRISTMAS !

DONATIONS ARE ACCEPTED UNTIL 16 DECEMBER

Accepting NEW unwrapped toys , gift vouchers & non-perishable food items
ALL donations will head to Forbes and Parkes this year .
WESTERN SYDNEY
WESTERN SYDNEY
DROP POINT : 230 Windsor Rd , McGraths Hill
For more information call Emma McCulloch 0439 499 006
THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 151 // DECEMBER 2022 13