Gympie War Widows host Friendship Day as Premier announces annual day of recognition

Hundreds of war widows from across Queensland are set to gather in Gympie, amidst multiple important anniversaries. Read the latest:

Hundreds of war widows from across Queensland will gather at the Pavilion on Thursday, September 15, as the Gympie War Widows host this year’s Friendship Day for the first time.

This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the Gympie War Widows sub-branch.

Gympie War Widow president and state board director Maureen Rush said this year would be extra special as it marked the first event since the start of the pandemic.

“We’ve got 224 people coming from as far north as Townsville and west to Ipswich,” Mrs Rush said.

“Friendship Day is the day they all look forward to.”

Mrs Rush said Queensland’s war widows had been bonded over their shared tragedy.

“Most of these ladies are Second World War widows ... a lot of them are in their 90s,” she said.

“To them, it means basically a gathering of the clan - we get together and we know that we’ve always got someone to rely on.”

Gympie War Widows sub-branch president Maureen Rush is excited to welcome women from across the state to Gympie.

The excitement will be palpable at this year’s event as widows are set to be acknowledged for their sacrifice with a recognised day in October.

Earlier this year, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced that October 19 would formally recognise war widows across Queensland.

October 19 marks the birthday of Jessie Vasey, a Toowoomba woman who started the first branch of the War Widows Guild in 1947.

This later became the organisation now known as Australian War Widows Queensland.

Queensland is the first state in Australia to recognise the day.

Ms Palaszczuk said the day would be an important one, especially approaching the 75th anniversary of the War Widows Guild.

“I can think of no better way to celebrate next year’s 75th anniversary of what is now AWWQ, than to formally dedicate this day as an annual recognition of the people left behind by those who have served Australia,” Ms Palaszczuk said.