It was a luscious day of shopping lunch and laughter as 600 women descended on the blink-and-miss-it town of Weengallon for one of the most glamorous charity days in the bush.
The 2015 Weengallon Picnic Pink Ladies Day on Wednesday, August 19, raised in excess of $30,000 to support the positioning of the breast care nurse, breast cancer research and the Olive McMahon Lodge in Toowoomba which provides free accommodation for country cancer patients and their carers.
Women undertook massive road trips to arrive at Weengallon,130 kilometres east of Goondiwindi and 60 kilometres south of St George, for a day of joy and togetherness. The ladies were greeted with complimentary bubbles thanks to Bentleys Chartered Accountants, shopped at 25 stylish stores and snacked at the Graincorp Cafe Pink before entering the Toowoomba Party Hire marquee.
This year's NAB guest speakers, mother and daughter Barb and Sally Johnstone, formerly of Toobeah, received a standing ovation after sharing their breast cancer journey. Barb Johnstone told of losing her mother and cousin to breast cancer and making the radical decision back in the '70's to have bilateral mastectomies to ensure she would survive and be able to raise her two young daughters.
She then introduced her daughter Dr Sally Johnstone who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32 and has gone on to marry and have two sons.
Their intertwined story of dignity and courage gave hope and reinforced the power of family and friendship.
The guests then enjoyed the McConachie Stedman gourmet lunch before bidding up big in the boisterous Rabobank Decorative Bra Art Auction.
Prue Turnbull from Graincorp paid $1,400 for the artwork of St George resident Annette McLean. Sonya Morgan from Condamine paid $1,600 for a garden sculpture created by Natalie Dingle from Roma and her Aunty Jenny Shaw from Injune.
Jocelyn Miorandi from the Talwood Store paid $800 for a painting by Rosie Jones and Lauren Frith from the Grey Street Emporium St George paid $1,700 for Amanda Brooks' work Precious Petals.
For the first time three Weengallon Pink Ladies Day aprons made by Cathy Gundill from Bruce Gundill Grain Cleaning were auctioned and were bought by Sonya Morgan from Condamine, Edwina Robertson from Toobeah and NAB's Alisha Gower, ranging in price from $400 to $550.
The Perpetual Weengallon Pink Ladies Day apron was bought for $700 by Pam Sullivan 'Tooroora' Dirranbandi and her daughter Jacqui Henwood, in memory of Pam's husband Sully who recently passed away. The Aitches Boutique Best Dressed Prize was won by Amanda McLean and Kirsty Schmidt won the McCartney and Creed Best Accessory Prize.
In the raffles Jill Bassingthwaighte won the $2,500 Panda Pearl necklace, Mary Hollingworth won the holiday escape to Newport Apartments at Mooloolaba and Donna McCartney won the $1,500 Lost Sea Opal pendant.
2015 Weengallon Pink Ladies Day co-ordinator Janene Bowman thanked all their sponsors including Black Volkswagen and St Hilda's School for making the day possible. She said the success of the day is testament to what can be achieved when a small community works together.
"The smiles on the ladies faces and their kind words at the end of the day really reinforced that our day is special because it allows women to stop and enjoy time together while raising good money for great causes," she said.