Innisfail Meals on Wheels™ celebrated a remarkable milestone on 8 November 2025, marking 50 years of dedicated service to the community. The occasion was commemorated with a buffet lunch at the Brothers Leagues Club, attended by seventy clients, volunteers and members of the community and honouring those who served before us.
Innisfail MOW began through the combined generosity of local service clubs and townspeople. A public meeting, organised by Methodist Minister Rev. Bob Swain, sparked the initiative. From that meeting, a steering committee was formed under Councillor Vicki Kippen, who was tasked with finding a kitchen, a convenor, and volunteers.
The first meals were cooked at St Alban’s Hall, led by Mrs Irene Hughes, with daily captains Mrs Joyce Burke, Mrs Doris Petersen, and Mrs Valmae Dempster. On 4 November 1975, ten clients received the first home-delivered meal. A moment that marked the beginning of five decades of service.
The operation soon moved beneath St Alban’s Hall before relocating to the Masonic Hall in 1981, where around 40 meals were served daily. By 1987, Meals on Wheels™ found a permanent home at Allan Maruff House, as part of a Council-led initiative under the Home and Community Care (HACC) Program.
Meals were simpler in the early years, served on dinner plates with soup ladled from large tins and kept warm under metal covers. Yet the spirit of care was unwavering.
Dedicated community members such as Rev. Bob Painton, Mrs Jean Hoban, Mr Trevor Van Bael, and Mrs Jeanette (Jan) King guided the organisation through decades of change. Incorporation in 1986 formalised operations, and by the late 1980s, Meals on Wheels was serving up to 70 meals per day, also catering to the day respite service upstairs at Allan Maruff House.
In 2006, Cyclone Larry tested the strength of both the community and the service. Though the Allan Maruff House kitchen survived, power outages made meal delivery difficult. President and Convenor Jan King, supported by volunteers, worked tirelessly to ensure clients were safe and fed, whilst also making sure the SES volunteers were provided with soup and sandwiches to keep their sustenance up.
The event inspired a new beginning. With community fundraising and selling symbolic “bricks” to build a new home. Innisfail MOW established its own purpose-built kitchen beside the SES depot. Designed by Jan and her husband Des, with help from CaZead Design and countless local tradespeople, the new facility opened on 6 November 2010, the service’s 35th anniversary. The ribbon was fittingly cut by the first convenor, Mrs Irene Hughes.
From the beginning, volunteers have been the heartbeat of Innisfail Meals on Wheels™. Names like Myrtle Weiland, Gwen Bosworth, Betty Ledlie, and Joyce Terry are remembered fondly for their dedication. At its peak, up to 90 volunteers helped prepare and deliver meals from Garradunga to Kurrimine Beach.
Now, five decades later, Innisfail Meals on Wheels™ continues to operate with the same compassion and community spirit that began in 1975. Albeit with a slightly different business model. In January 2025 a partnership was born with Cairns Meals on Wheels™ to provide fresh and frozen meals, whilst Innisfail MOW volunteers continue to provide a delivered meal with kindness, care and community connection.
Innisfail MOW paid tribute to the hundreds of volunteers, committee members, and supporters who have kept the wheels turning. Their collective efforts have ensured that, for half a century, no one in the community is left hungry or forgotten and that community, care and connection is still very much our focus.
The service was presented with their 50th Anniversary trophy by Lea Readdy, Area Manager FNQ, and a highlight of the event was President John Kremastos presenting Lois Toms with a beautiful bunch of flowers in appreciation of her 33 years of service to the Innisfail service. Lois, along with her mother and grandmother, was a key contributor to the service over the five decades. The celebration recognised the incredible dedication of the Toms family and their lifelong commitment to supporting the community through this essential service.
Congratulations Innisfail!
