It was lovely to see so many local and former local members of the community come together at the Finley RS Club on Saturday evening for the Finley Rotaract 1971 to 1992 reunion.
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More than 55 former members travelled from Perth, Tamworth, Melbourne, Canberra, Wodonga, Leeton and the surrounding area to spend time together and reminisce of the valuable lessons they learned during their time with the group.
The reunion was completed with a barbecue breakfast at the Finley Showgrounds on Sunday morning.
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Finley Hospital Auxiliary Op Shop volunteers gathered together recently to help Shirley Randall celebrate her 90th birthday.
President Helen Wastle took advantage of the morning tea to present Shirley with a certificate for her time and dedication to the Op Shop since 1987.
“Shirley is a Life Member and a valued part of the team,” Helen said.
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Plans are well underway for the Matheson Family Reunion to be held on November 1 at the Finley Bowling Club.
The Matheson family is well known and involved greatly in the history of Finley.
This year will be 100 years since Ken and Alice Matheson were married, and in early 2026, it will be 100 years since they moved to Finley.
During the reunion, the family is planning on visiting the Finley Anglican Church where an old stained-glass window was donated in honour of Ken and Alice.
The inscription reads “To The Glory of God. In loving memory of our parents Alice Eva Matheson 1899-1983 and Kenneth William Matheson 1902-1968. Loved parents of Betty, Marjorie, Joan, Edward and Allan”.
They also plan on visiting other treasured places such as old family homes.
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‘Unlocking Hope No. 17 – Understanding Dementia’ will be held tomorrow at the Finley Returned Soldiers Club, commencing at 10.15am for a 10.30am start.
Guest speaker will be Associate Professor Alam Yoosuff, who will be familiar to those attending these presentations, having taken part twice before and will further develop the material he has presented previously.
Interaction with Dr Yoosuff and members of the Berrigan Shire Dementia Alliance - who are vitally interested in providing assistance and education to members of the surrounding communities - will be possible.
All welcome to attend.
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Did you know there is a silent epidemic occurring in Australia right now? There are 450,000 people in Australia are living with a chronic wound.
Finley community nurse Megan Vallance recently attended the Finley Local Health Advisory Committee meeting (LHAC) to share the vital services she can provide to anyone living in Finley who may need care for a chronic wound.
Community nurses can provide a range of services for anyone living in Finley and the Murrumbidgee Local Health District. They have a particular focus on wound care.
If you need assistance, call the community intake service on 1800 654 324.
For more information, go to the Finley LHAC Facebook page or email finleylhac@gmail.com.
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Next weekend, the Anglican Parish of the Newell which consists of Holy Trinity, Finley, St Alban the Martyr, Tocumwal and St Stephen’s, Jerilderie will celebrate the church’s centenary.
On Saturday, the annual fete will be held in the grounds with the theme being ‘The Roaring Twenties’.
It is expected there will be some amazing outfits coming forward.
The hard-working parishioners will no doubt produce the wonderful array of stalls, including delicious cakes and slices and many other interesting produce to attract interest.
The newly made parish banner will be blessed by Bishop Rickson Maomaoru of the Diocese of Southern Malaita and Sikaiana, in the Solomon Islands.
He is the first bishop of this brand-new diocese, which came about last year with missionary support from the local diocese.
On Sunday, there will be a special Eucharist service with Bishop Donald Kirk and Bishop Rickson.
Guest preacher will be Archdeacon Robert Murphy, currently the Rector of Leeton, and former Finley High School teacher.
After the Sunday celebratory service there will be a champagne lunch with a history display. All welcome to attend.
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The response to the Finley Public School’s 130 years celebration was a huge success, and thanks must go to principal Owen Gill and assistant principals Amanda Lyons and Cherilyn Tait.
There were many others who worked so hard and consistently to bring everything together.
One of the first to arrive at the school on Saturday morning was local John Taylor.
John is a former student, and one of the first displays he showed an interest in was the ‘Punishment Book’. No doubt just to make sure his name was not recorded there!
David McNair, from Melbourne, is believed to have been the oldest in attendance - aged 95. He also attended the school’s 100 years occasion and Maree and Allan Matheson were delighted to catch up with him again.
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