St George Association 50 Years of fellowship
On May 25 1954, a small group of people with disabilities met in the R.S.L. at Rockdale and established the St George District Fellowship of The Poliomyelitis Society. The founding President, Ashley Coope, and the Committee at that time probably had no idea that this simple beginning would still be a thriving organisation fifty years later, the St George Association for People with Physical Disabilities Incorporated.

Today, fifty years and four days later, we are delighted to have with us two of the original members of the Fellowship, Wendy Nolan and Vilma Easey. Two other original members, Jenny Stanzel and Shirley Roach, could not be here due to the tyranny of distance but have sent messages of congratulations and best wishes to all their friends.

There are numerous members here today that may not have claims as "originals", but do have continuous involvement with St George for almost our entire history. Also, there are members that began with other Fellowships many years ago and joined St George as those groups closed.

We must also recognize the fabulous contribution of so many of our members that are no longer with us, the vision, the planning and tireless years of dedication that have allowed the foundations of this wonderful Association to remain strong and permit the growth and warmth of long held friendships to continue to flourish.

Irrespective of the years of membership, though, we are all part of the family of St George. We are here today to celebrate our golden anniversary, a wonderful achievement for a self help, self funded organisation created by and continually managed by people with disabilities. And we have done it all with the unstinting support of most generous supporters, individuals and organisations alike. We are proud to say that the Association has not drawn on the Government purse to achieve our goals, as we long ago decided that the needs of our members were more important than fitting into the restrictive criteria of so many of the Government's funding programs.

The Associaion has undergone significant change through the years, growing from a fellowship of the Polio Society to take in members with other physical disabilities; expanding its horizons to establish an innovative project aimed to achieve accommodation for people with disabilities based purely on their need rather than their finances; realizing its potential as a separate entity, moving in a different direction to its former parent organisation; taking a strong stance on issues for people with disabilities as the advocacy movement grew; and eventually purchasing a property at Belmore, providing accommodation and a beautiful meeting facility for the Association's activities.

The Management Committee has put a huge effort into the planning for today's celebration and 1 thank them enormously. I also thank you, the many members and friends that have joined us here today to mark this momentous occasion.

We can be justly proud! We have lived up to the Association's motto, "Capabilities Conquer Disabilities!" Here's to the next fifty years!

Kevin Byrne A.M.
President
29th May 2004