Red Cross, president, Meg Sheaffe, vice-president Shirley Pither and long-term member Ruth Gissing cut the cake in 1997 to mark 80 years of Red Cross Service in Wagga.
The Red Cross formed as an Australian Branch of the British Red Cross Society on the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and soon after the Wagga Branch of the Wagga Red Cross League was formed with eighty women immediately volunteering. The first president was Mayoress Margaret McDonough and all of the executive positions were held by women. The Red Cross in Wagga was particularly active during the two World Wars but in times of peace it was also involved in a variety of important humanitarian and health projects.
The Wagga Red Cross volunteers celebrated their one hundredth anniversary in 2015 but in 2016 declining numbers and the increasing age of members resulted in the group moving into recess.
Red Cross Programs including the blood bank at 67 Berry Street and Regional Office at 88 Murray Street remain.
Click here to go to the Australian Red Cross Heritage Collection
Click here for more about Wagga 25 and 50 Years Ago
