General News
13 April, 2026
Call for memorabilia to celebrate 100 years
TWO historic Gordonvale organisations are marking their centenary in 2026, with celebrations planned and a call for the community to help preserve their legacy.
The Mulgrave Shire Historical Society is supporting the milestone of the Gordonvale RSL Women’s Auxiliary and the Gordonvale Soldiers Memorial Hospital and is seeking stories, photographs and memorabilia to produce a commemorative booklet.
The Gordonvale RSL Women’s Auxiliary commenced in 1920, with membership records from 1926 listing 125 members. Originally known as the Women’s Auxiliary of Gordonvale sub-branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia (R.S.S.I.L.A.), the group played a key role in fundraising and community events.
Newspaper records show the women hosted events, including the Diggers’ Ball in 1923 and the Peace Ball and Armistice Ball in 1925. Their fundraising efforts ranged from catering for dinners, weddings and fashion parades, to making wreaths for Anzac Day and Remembrance Day, as well as contributing to improvements at the RSL hall in Gordonvale. A recent sale raised $15,000.
Gordonvale RSL secretary Peta Ison is seeking contact from descendants of auxiliary members with the surnames Norrish, Goodhew, Gelweiller, Griffen and L. Frazer.
The Gordonvale Soldiers Memorial Hospital was officially acknowledged on 9 August 1926, when Lord Stonehaven unveiled memorial gate posts. By October 1926, the hospital was admitting patients.
The hospital began with a meeting on 14 October 1920 at Nelson Hall, Gordonvale, where women-initiated fundraising for a cottage hospital. Over five years, more than 2000 pounds were raised, of which 1270 were paid to the government for construction under the Public Works Department. Support groups, including the Gordonvale Soldiers’ Memorial Sewing Guild, helped fund furniture, linen and equipment. In recent years, the Gordonvale Hospital Friends of the Foundation, established in September 1990 as the Gordonvale Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, has continued to support patients and families at the Gordonvale Palliative Care Unit. A centenary lunch will be held on Saturday 18 July at 11.30 am at the RSL hall, 94 Gordon Street, Gordonvale, with past and present auxiliary members and their families invited to attend.
The Mulgrave Shire Historical Society is encouraging anyone with information to contribute to the historical record of both organisations.
