Carinity Brookfield Green, which officially opened in the Brisbane suburb of Brookfield as Resthaven in May 1972, has celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Carinity CEO Jon Campbell paid tribute to the thousands of staff who have helped to care for seniors at Brookfield over the past five decades.
“Every day for 50 years, our dedicated nurses and support staff have displayed a determination to care for our most vulnerable. I praise them for the legacy of professional care they continue today,” Jon said.
“The perseverance of our people at Brookfield has been inspiring, from rebounding from a severe storm which demolished buildings in 1973, to being cut off by floodwaters on numerous occasions, and adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Gwen Billing (pictured below) started working with Carinity one year after Brookfield Green opened as Resthaven, and supported seniors during 45 years of dedicated service as an Enrolled Nurse.
“I enjoyed my work in aged care and I just love to care for the elderly. I didn’t ever ask for any praise, it was my job, my duty. I’m sure I have made a contribution to aged care, and I feel proud about it,” Gwen said.
Largely funded through public donations, the Resthaven ‘home for the aged’ was built on land at Gold Creek Road acquired by noted Baptist contributor Samuel Dart in 1869.
Samuel and his wife Eliza helped start the first church in Laidley with subsequent generations of their family involved in Baptist endeavours.
Their Great-Great-Grandson, Steve Dart (main picture, holding a photo of his Great-Great-Grandmother Eliza), currently works for Carinity.
The late Dr John Leslie Dart gifted 34 acres of land to the Baptist Union of Queensland in 1964, on which Carinity Brookfield Green is set.
Self-contained retirement units were built adjacent to the initial aged care home in the late-1970s, with the on-site Resthaven Chapel opening in 1981.
“Carinity is proud of its strong links to Brookfield and is honoured to continue the legacy of the Dart family which has served the Baptist Church over several generations,” Jon said.
The original Resthaven nursing home dwellings were replaced by the $30 million state-of-the-art The Residences at Brookfield Green aged care building, which opened in 2018.
The 50th anniversary of Brookfield Green is one of a number of special milestones for Carinity services in 2022.
