Nambour Community Centre

About

Building Community by Working Together

Story

Nambour Community Centre (NCC) provides a range of support and resources for the local community. NCC directly provides a family support program, multicultural community development program, general community development program & info & referral services. Additionally it is the "hub" for a variety of weekly outreach services & a place where about 40 community groups hold their regular activities & events.

Our History

In 1980 Gail Perry had a vision and dream of a place where people from all walks of life could come together, share and participate in their own health, education and lifestyle. Gail’s vision was about bridging the gap between the new age, spiritualism and regular mainstream society.

The Meeting Place began as a grass roots, self- help centre that all people could utilise. 23 Howard Street Nambour was the first home of the Meeting Place. These premises are currently used by the Sunshine Coast Environment Council.

The founding members of The Meeting Place were;
Margaret Edwards, Dorothy McMullen, Eileen Nettleton, Kate Roberts, Gwen Clarke, Gail Perry, Alan Smith, Jack Smith and Marjorie Smith (treasurer)

The Meeting Place was involved in a wide variety of activities and groups. It brought together many people to engage in activities and form ‘communities of interest’ around a range of topics. During the early days many ‘movements’ were also initiated by members of the Meeting place. Some of these activities included;
Movement for Peace (Des Ritchie)
Campaign against Nuclear Power (Ivan Guy)
Constructive Strategic Planning for the Sunshine Coast – a concept now widely adopted for land usage (Barbara Camplin)
Maleny Folk Festival
L.E.T.S. (now Letshine Nambour)
Lifeline Services
The Man of Trees (saving threatened species)
The Rainbow Alliance
Permaculture
Nambour Recycling depot (before the council had their own facilities)

In 1988 The Meeting Place moved to new larger premise at Coronation Avenue, Nambour. This move came about partly through the allocation of funds from the state government in response to the increasing demands being placed on the Meeting Place. The Meeting Place responded by providing support for young people of Nambour, ethnic communities, disadvantaged people, young mothers and other groups whose needs were not meet by mainstream services.

All sorts of community activity took place with the larger space including yoga, massage, meditation, relaxation classes, multicultural dinners, educational classes and the development of community resources.

This period of change and growth meant that over time the Meeting Place shifted its focus away from ‘alternative’ ways of living and began to place more emphasis on family and personal relationships. Some activities that occurred during this period included;
The first Health & Lifestyle Expo
Women’s Health Expo
DOVES program
Happy as Punch Street theatre
publication of Secta (an informative community magazine)

Also during this period funding was received for several part – time workers spanning areas such as Women’s Health, Child abuse prevention, Men’s Health (SMERI – Suncoast Male Emotion Resource Initiative), Domestic Violence Prevention and Community Development and Administration.

In 1996 the management of the Meeting Place Community Centre, as it was known then, took steps to raise funds for a new user- friendly premise in which the work could continue, grow and develop. In 1998, a name change took place with the Nambour Community Centre Inc coming into being as well as a shift into a new purpose building at the current location of 2 Shearer Street, Nambour.

The committee members to be appointed at the first AGM held at the Nambour Community Centre the on the 3rd November 1999 were;
Evvalyn Vanderpoel (chairperson), Pam Lenthall (vice chairperson), Donna Justo (treasurer), Judy Pidcock (secretary), Coleen Giles, Steven Jarvis, Francis Banks, Ross Felmingham, Peter Cooper, Vanessa Betts & Marjorie Smith

In November 2008 the Nambour Community Centre celebrated the 10 year anniversary of the Shearer Street building.
Sadly in the same month Gail Perry passed away. We hope to honour her work and commitment to the community by naming a room at The Nambour Community Centre after her. This will ensure her memory lives on.

Our area of work

The catchment area for the Nambour Community Centre (NCC) includes Palmwoods, Woombye, Kenilworth, Yandina, Mapletone, Eumundi and Nambour. Nambour is generally acknowledged to be the service centre for these outlying communities. At the last census the combined population for these townships was just under 20,000 people.

Mission

Nambour Community Centre’s activities are inspired by a vision in which people experience healthy relationships and create sustainable communities that are safe & just.