Seating celebrates special woman

AN influential figure in community health, women’s equality, and farming safety for Rokewood and beyond was commemorated last Friday with a memorial unveiling.

The ceremony saw the official opening of commemorative seating honouring Dulcie Long, who passed away in 2016. It is located off Kuruc A Ruc Creek north of Ford Road.

A longtime staff member at Rokewood’s Hesse Rural Health, Ms Long was involved in community initiatives such as Rokewood Primary School’s breakfast club, the Rokewood Walking Group, Planned Activity Group, the Seniors Club, and the Sunset Club.

She was also instrumental in establishing the Golden Plains Rural Women’s Network as well as the Rokewood Men’s Shed, and developed the Childless Tractors Farm Safety in Schools program which was adopted and expanded statewide.

Golden Plains Rural Women’s Network president Hannah Stevenson said the event was a well-attended commemoration for Ms Long and her impact on the region.

“We had guest speakers in Geraldine Frantz and Margaret Bufton who spoke about their time with Dulcie and the Golden Plains Rural Women’s Network when they first started that up,” she said.

“Dulcie was also about of getting other clubs running like the Men’s Shed and a few other bits and bobs in the community.

“It was a nice turnout. A lot of the people had known Dulcie through the community for a long time so it was a reflection on her.”

About 50 to 60 people attended the event including Ms Long’s immediate family and local schoolchildren.

“We had the old school display that students used to use for Dulcie’s Tractors in Schools program and the primary school kids drew farm items all over the reveal sheet as a bit of a tribute,” Ms Stevenson said.

The seating and adjacent information installation was joined by a display of photos and memorabilia of Ms Long provided her family as well as Hesse Rural Health staff.

The commemorative seating is set to be expanded upon with Golden Plains Rural Women’s Network members aiming to have the site’s walking track named after Ms Long, set to be finalised within the next few weeks.