Generations: Coco Moysey and her 96-year-old grandfather Colin Moysey (second from right), with Maureen (second left) and Rob Skinner (right).
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
A reunion for Echuca Regional Health staff was hosted at Echuca Workers on Saturday, April 27 for past and current staff members and their families.
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Sue Swalling and Beth Baker organised the event, which saw 100 people attend from a range of hospital departments and eras.
“It’s just great to have them all here and to see them all chatting is just amazing,” Mrs Baker said.
Success: Event organisers Sue Swalling and Beth Baker with their husbands Mark Swalling (back right) and Bob Baker (bottom right).
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
Many decades of the hospital’s history were represented, including the oldest guests, Elaine Holschier at 99 years of age and Colin Moysey at 96.
Dr Moysey practised with Dr J. Jones at Heygarth House in Echuca for close to 50 years.
He was joined by his granddaughter, Coco Moysey, who is following in Dr Moysey’s footsteps, studying to become a doctor.
Catching up: Some of the guests had not seen each other in 30 years or more.
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
Smiles and embraces were shared, with some guests telling organiser Beth Baker they had not seen their former colleagues in more than 30 years.
Mrs Baker worked at the hospital for 12 years as an enrolled nurse, and Mrs Swalling was there for 15 years as a nursing assistant and a crèche assistant.
“The hospital was a great place to work. I mean it’s different now, but when we worked there we had such fun,” Mrs Baker said.
“We worked hard ... there weren’t as many rules back then!”
The last ERH reunion was six years ago, with 60 attendees. The organisers were happy to see the numbers increase for this event.
Winning ticket: Guests checking if they were the lucky raffle ticket winners.
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
One of the afternoon’s highlights was the raffle, with 17 prizes donated by local businesses on offer.
The raffle raised $913.52 for the ERH Cancer and Wellness Centre, which opened in June 2023.
“The Echuca businesses, owned by Echuca people, are really very generous,” Mrs Baker said.
“Moama Bowling Club is amazing, they gave us $500 worth of vouchers, and (Echuca Workers) here gave us $100.
“They’re all owned locally ... the people who live, work and own Echuca businesses are just great.”
All smiles: Enjoying the function were (from left) Ronnie Dunham, Adrianne Kirton, 99-year-old Elaine Holschier, Marie Scurrah, Pat Curson, Judi Mead and Wendy Arnold.
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
Echuca Workers hosted the group, providing nibbles like sandwiches, cakes, tea, and biscuits for the crowd.
“They’ve done a really good job,” Mrs Baker said.
“It’s central and easy for everyone to get to. If they want to, they can even get the courtesy bus home, which makes it ideal.”
Memories: A slideshow of photos played throughout the event.
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
Some guests brought photo albums with memories dating back decades. Stories from 1970s editions of The Riv featured in one.
A slideshow of photos from across the years also played during the event, with photos of former staff at work and at play.
“We used to have great parties at the hospital,” Mrs Baker said.
“We did have fun, way back then.”
Archives: Articles from the Riv featured in a photo album.
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
The $913.52 will be donated to ERH Cancer and Wellness Centre this week.
Full list of raffle prizes:
Two $250 Moama Bowling Club vouchers
Two $50 Echuca Workers vouchers
Happy plant worth $85 from Echuca Moama Plant Farm
ERH chopping board and knives
Six Jonny & Lyle coffee vouchers
Bottle of Cape Horn Picnic Brut and $50 Cape Horn voucher
$50 Wren Café voucher
Nutrimetics hamper and voucher from Laura Burt
Quilt made by Helen Schier
10 Paramount Cinema tickets
Chopping board, knives, wine and glasses from Lyn and Brian Wills
Trilogy For Hair trim and blow wave
Generous: Some of the donated raffle prizes.
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
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