LOCAL citizen historian Dorothy Kirk turned 92 in September.
She has a trove of stories, having spent all but three years of her long life in the Gloucester region.
Ms Kirk attended Stratford Primary School and Gloucester Central School before attending Methodist Ladies’ College as a boarder for three years.
“I remember being terribly homesick when I was a boarder,” she said.
Her first job when she returned to Gloucester was as a cashier in Street and Parish Department store in Church Street, where IGA is today.
She then went to work for the shire council as a cashier and rates clerk.
“We were only paid 75 per cent of the adult male wage at that time,” Dorothy recalled.
She joined the CWA in 1959, where she remains an active member.
Ms Kirk still participates in the annual Land Cooking Competition.
In 1973, supported by fellow CWA member Christine Bolton, she campaigned to start the Gloucester branch of Meals on Wheels.
Meals on Wheels originated in the United Kingdom, when many homes were destroyed in the Blitz.
From 1943, meals were delivered by pram, carts, bicycle or car to residents who couldn’t cook for themselves.
Hence the term Meals on Wheels was adopted by the service.
In March,1957 Sydney City Council pioneered Meals on Wheels in the State. In the first week,150 meals were cooked in the Town Hall’s kitchen.
Recognising the need for the service in Gloucester, Ms Kirk galvanised local businesses and service organisations to set up a kitchen to cook meals for the first eight recipients in 1974.
“We did more than just deliver meals,” she said.
“We provided magazines, posted letters, prepared hampers to tide them over Christmas and gave recipients presents on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
“At Christmas, students of music teacher Vera Davis performed in a concert.”
Dorothy was often referred to as Mrs Meals-on-Wheels.
She remains an active member of St Paul’s Anglican Church and is its longest-serving member.
“I was christened there, and I married my husband, John, in the church in 1962.
“My children were christened and confirmed in St Paul’s. While my daughters both taught Sunday school, my two sons were altar boys.”
To raise money for the church, Dorothy organised 40 mystery destination bus trips over 20 years, which were very popular and successful.
Ms Kirk was a founding member of the local Floral Art group as well as a member of Probus.
While her four children were at school, she was an active member of Gloucester P&C.
She is a member of the local historical society.
While most nonagenarians might prefer to let others take up the baton, she maintains her interest and enthusiasm for events in the community and is currently working towards celebrating the building of the Anglican church hall 40 years ago.
She counts herself lucky to live in Gloucester and delights in the remarkable small things.
Her friends Bill and Frances recently gave her a bucket of very large oranges.
One weighed 650g and measured 34.5 cm in circumference.
‘The crop was so heavy it broke branches on the tree,’ Dorothy told News Of The Area.
Asked if she had eaten the largest orange, she replied: “No, I want to show it to more people.”
By Marilyn SANDERSON
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