Samarinda Ashburton Aged Services Incorporated

In 1961 the Ashburton Elderly Citizens Club was formed as an independent community project in response to the needs of the local community, to provide services to elderly citizens in Ashburton. This included the formalised provision of home-delivered meals to people in need, a service which had been informally happening since the 1950s. To fund the services, this led in 1962 to the creation and opening of the ‘Golden Opportunity Shop’ (now The ‘Ashy’ Op Shop) in the former temporary Post Office building on land owned by Victorian Railways. In 1963, the then Camberwell Council set aside the land on the corner of Welfare Parade and High Street and fundraising began for the building of a Senior Citizens Centre. In 1966 the Ashburton & District Senior Citizens Welfare Association was formed and ultimately this led in 1967 to the opening of the Ashburton Senior Citizens Club building. From this point in time, the Ashburton & District Senior Citizens Welfare Association (which later became known as Ashburton Support Services) became involved in many projects and services. Ashburton Support Services and its predecessors played a significant role in the building and development of the community fabric within the region and have assisted in providing many services to people who are ageing or who have a disability.