General News
17 April, 2025
Toora CWA celebrates 100 years
Nestled on the main street of Tooraweenah, a small building steeped in history and full of character, celebrates a milestone birthday.
The Tooraweenah branch of the Country Women’s Association (CWA) celebrated 100 years of service to the community and beyond on Saturday, April 12, 2025.
The special centenary event was held at the Tooraweenah CWA Tea Room, a building that has stood on Denham Street for over a century.
Members and friends of the CWA gathered at the tea rooms, to reflect on a century of friendship, resilience and tireless community work.
Gilgandra councillor Brian Mockler was the master of ceremonies for the event. Mayor Doug Batten addressed the crowd with a reflection on the importance the CWA has in the community.
Vice-president of Tooraweenah CWA, Heather Larkin followed with a Welcome to Country, prayer, and the reading of the CWA motto.
Throughout the day, former and current members of the CWA reflected on the rich history of the Tooraweenah branch, hearing from Leila Blackman whose grandmother was one of the founding members of the branch.
Ms Blackman’s grandmother had many of her recipes featured in the CWA cookbook.
Cathy Watt, Elizabeth Estens, and Sue Armstrong reflected on the work of the Tooraweenah branch of CWA and the legendary visit by Dick Smith who donated $5000 to their branch for much-needed renovations of their kitchen.
Guests travelled from near and far to celebrate with branch representatives from Collie, Fairfield, Gilgandra, Coonabarabran, Dubbo, and of course Tooraweenah.
Secretary Jill Blackman told The Gilgandra Weekly she was overwhelmed by the amount of people who came to celebrate the remarkable milestone.
“We had over 70 people RSVP for the event, but I would say we probably have over 90 people,” she said.
“We’ve run out of chairs!” Inaugurated on ANZAC Day in 1925, the Tooraweenah CWA has achieved a lot in its 100 years of service and has long been a cornerstone of the small rural community.
The achievements of the Tooraweenah CWA include its fundraising efforts to support the local school, agricultural show and other activities like the local endurance ride. “There is a lot to celebrate about our branch, from establishing our rest rooms; supporting the war effort; teaching cooking, embroidery and craft,” Mrs Blackman said earlier this year.
The pinnacle moment of the day was the unveiling of the cemetery plaque by Tooraweenah Branch Patron, Cluna Gale and CWA Macquarie Group president, Majorry Blatch. Mrs Gale is the oldest serving member of the Tooraweenah CWA at 96-years-old. Mrs Blatch told The Gilgandra Weekly it was a pleasure for her to be a part of the celebrations.
“It is such an amazing turnout for everyone who came to celebrate this fantastic milestone,” she said.
“For such a small community, it is great to see the ongoing impact of the Country Women’s Association”.
