Tasmania’s largest provider of children’s disability services has turned 80 years old.
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StGiles celebrated 80 years of supporting the Tasmanian community on December 13.
All three sites across the state – Launceston, North-West, and Hobart – held a birthday party with their staff, and each simultaneously cut their birthday cake at exactly 12.30pm.
Danielle Blewett, general manager of profiling and engagement, said StGiles came to be after the polio epidemic.
“On December 13, 1937 a public meeting was called by The Examiner in Launceston.
“The Examiner ran a campaign after the polio epidemic in 1937, where hundreds of children passed away,” Ms Blewett said.
“A large amount of children who contracted polio passed away, and those who didn’t die required a lot of support to recover.
“Some prominent Launceston doctors at the time looked around Launceston. They came back to the public meeting and said that there is an ongoing need, and that we need to do something now,” she said, “From that public meeting on December 13, StGiles was formed.”
StGiles chief executive Ian Wright said he’s humbled by its journey.
“Our journey from a therapeutic hospice on an orchard for children recovering from polio, to the state’s most trusted provider of child allied health and disability and lifestyle and support services, is remarkable. We are humbled by our history,” Mr Wright said.
StGiles has a year-long celebration planned, with some of the events including a staff reunion, exhibition, and trivia night.