Fifty years of service to sick and injured patients and the hardworking nursing staff at Dubbo Base Hospital was celebrated last week when the Pink Ladies gathered for a special morning tea at Western Plains Cultural Centre.

It all began in 1976, when Vonnie Lowing and other members of the Dubbo Red Cross recognised the need to form an auxiliary to assist patients at the hospital.

Their first meeting as a hospital auxiliary was held on June 28, 1976, in what used to be the “Nurses Home”. They started providing non-nursing support at the hospital, initially five days a week but later increasing to seven days to accommodate those ladies volunteering around full-time jobs. This continued for several years, but today, Pink Ladies only volunteer five days per week.

Since July 1977, Dubbo Base Hospital Pink Ladies have been an auxiliary with the United Hospital Auxiliaries of NSW Inc, under the umbrella of the Orana Far West Region.

Unlike most other auxiliaries that primarily raise funds for their hospitals, the Pink Ladies are service-oriented. While they do accept donations – and donated items to the value of $21,500 last year, purchased with the support of local community groups and businesses – their fundamental work is carried out volunteering on the wards.

What they give in time cannot really be reconciled with the value of the work they consistently undertake as volunteers supporting patients and staff at the hospital.

The Pink Ladies clocked up 2000 hours from 31 volunteers in their first year of operation, and 50 years on, volunteered 2300 hours in 2025 from its team of 40 active volunteers.

Ahead of their golden anniversary, Dubbo Photo News sat down with Pink Ladies’ president Jane North and former president Jenny Kelly.

Jane, 77, has been involved with the Pink Ladies for 12 years and has served as president for the last two years, taking over from Jenny, 71, who has been with the group for 20 years and served as president for about seven years.

Is there a secret to keeping the Pink Ladies going for so long? It could be that the work they do supporting patients and staff provides so much personal satisfaction and the routine gives purpose, especially to retired volunteers, Jane said.

“People appreciate what we do at the hospital, and knowing it provides a bit of relief from the patients’ struggles means a lot to me,” she said.

“And, as a retired person, you need a bit of routine in your life. Well, I find I do!” she added.

Jenny is similarly motivated and enjoys being an active volunteer.

“I've been volunteering on a Monday with Pink Ladies for about 20 years. It's like Jane said, I like a routine plus the social aspect and the appreciation that you do get from the staff and the patients,” Jenny said.

“The hospital staff certainly appreciate what we do. We go around and do the washing, clean up, take the rubbish off the trolleys, and freshen the flowers, and you know, so it's just a matter of being a help where we can,” she added.

“There’s the social side as well. It's an opportunity to meet new people,” Jane said.

“I've met a whole cohort of new people since I retired as a result of my work with Pink Ladies.”

On the subject of pink… it’s also important not to confuse the Pink Ladies with the other pink-named volunteer organisation in Dubbo – the Pink Angels – as they are two very different organisations. As mentioned, the Pink Ladies operate as a service-oriented hospital auxiliary that volunteers across the Dubbo Base Hospital, while the Pink Angels are Dubbo’s breast cancer support charity. Both do extraordinary work.

The morning tea on Thursday, June 25, was a very special occasion. Many current and past members of the Pink Ladies enjoyed looking at the memorabilia collected, as well as a video and pamphlet with a potted history of the group collated by Angela O’Brien.

Dubbo mayor Cr Josh Black and Sally Cronberger, state president of the United Hospital Auxiliaries of NSW, joined Jane Diffey representing Dugald Saunders MP and hospital staff including Tim Williams (head of oncology), Samantha Quarmby (director of nursing and midwifery) and Lisa White (deputy director of nursing and midwifery) at the event.

As the Pink Ladies head into their next 50 years, they’d love for more women in the community to join them. Membership costs the princely sum of $2 (unchanged since 1976!) and all volunteers need to do is give their time on the hospital floor helping patients and staff.

For contact details, see the Dubbo Pink Ladies’ entry under MONDAY in the Dubbo Photo News Community Diary.

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See more photos from the event in the socials pages of Dubbo Photo News. We'll also feature some Pink Ladies' volunteer reflections in a future issue.