Taking advantage of one of the benches donated to Longreach Hospital are – back from left – Dominic Morgan and Travis Browning from Centwest Engineering and Steel Supplies, Joanne and John Milne from the former Longreach Rural Ratepayers Association, and Longreach Hospital Operational Services Supervisor Tracey Green. At front are Longreach Hospital Director of Nursing Sue Bardon – left – and former Longreach Rural Ratepayers Association representative Rosemary Champion.
A generous donation by the former Longreach Rural Ratepayers Association is providing Longreach Hospital patients, families, visitors, and staff with a place to sit and relax outdoors.
Association representative John Milne said while the group – which was first established in 1950 – was now disbanded, they wanted to donate remaining organisational funds to a worthy cause.
“We thought about hospital patients and family and just a way of getting outside of the hospital and sitting for a while, Mr Milne said.
Rosemary Champion, who was also a former member of the association, said the group’s priority had been to champion rural areas, the outdoors, so providing a means for people to sit outside and enjoy the open air was thought an appropriate use for remaining association funds.
Remaining funds totalling about $4800 were used to design, build, and deliver six sturdy outdoor steel benches for positioning around the Longreach Hospital grounds.
“The seats are built for the outdoors, to allow visitors to look upon our beautiful big sky, under the shade, breeze in our face, with the grass at their feet,’’ Ms Champion said.
“These are the people who probably need it more than anyone.’’
Longreach Hospital Director of Nursing Sue Bardon said the donation of outdoor seating was generous and would be well utilised by everyone at the hospital – patients, families, visitors, and staff alike.
“We’re very grateful to the members of the former Longreach Rural Ratepayers Association for thinking of the hospital and giving us this seating,’’ she said.
Ms Bardon said the benches were designed and built to be quite low to the ground to accommodate those in wheelchairs or using wheely walkers.
“It means everyone will be able to use them,’’ she said.
The seats were designed locally and built by Ian Harris and Travis Browning from Centwest Engineering, in consultation with former association members John and Joanne Milne and Warwick and Rosemary Champion.
Longreach Embroidery provided the plaques, which were paid for by the Country Women’s Association of Longreach.