Long before gala dinners, fun runs and online appeals, Geelong rallied around its hospital with something far more humble: eggs. Yes, the humble chicken egg.
In 1921, schoolchildren across the district carried baskets of eggs to the Geelong Hospital following a call out from the then hospital committee president, Mr James Wighton. By the end of the appeal, they had given 3,500 dozen. Imagine the sight - cartons stacked high, children arriving by foot, by cart, by bicycle - all bringing what their families could spare. A year’s worth of nourishment, gathered by ordinary people who understood that the health of their hospital was the health of their community.
By the mid-1920s, the “egg appeals” had become a much-loved tradition. Notices in the local Geelong Advertiser urged families to donate, schools to compete, and farmers to bring in their surplus. In 1927, the hospital received around 1,500 dozen eggs, carefully preserved to be used in custards and meals for patients for the months ahead. By 1928, the community was proudly aiming for 2,000 dozen. Each egg represented a gift of care, a small but vital contribution to healing strangers they might never meet.
What makes this story remarkable though is not the number of eggs = it is the spirit behind them. A child’s basket of half a dozen, a farmer’s crate of 50, an elderly neighbour’s few spares from the backyard coop. Together, these simple gifts sustained a hospital through times when resources were scarce.
This is Geelong’s story. We are a unique community. A community that has always stepped forward, in big ways and small, to look after our own. In good and tough times.
Today, University Hospital Geelong looks very different to that small infirmary that first opened in 1852. It is now one of the largest regional hospitals in Australia, caring for more than half a million people. The cranes rising over Ryrie Street mark the building of the new Barwon Women’s and Children’s - a once-in-a-lifetime project that will transform care for generations to come.
But some things have not changed. Just as in the days of the egg appeals, philanthropy remains essential. Community generosity still funds the above and beyond - medical equipment, advancing research and clinical, and creating spaces of genuine compassion and dignity. And just as every egg once mattered, still does every gift given today - whether it’s $10, $100, or a gift in a Will – together it all makes an immeasurable difference.
A gift to the Barwon Health Foundation may not come in the form of a basket carried by a child, but it carries the same heart. It is one person choosing to give, knowing their generosity will ripple into the future. It is a legacy of love, care and community spirit.
When I reflect on the egg appeals, I see more than cartons stacked in a storeroom. I see a community that understood that the hospital belonged to them, and that we all can play a part in its strong future.
That is the legacy of Geelong. And it is a legacy we must continue.
So next time you walk past the hospital on Ryrie Street, remember the eggs. Remember the schoolchildren, the farmers, the families who gave what they could. And ask yourself: what will my legacy be?
Because one egg, one gift, one bequest - joined with others - can build something extraordinary. It did a century ago. And it will again today.
Zoe Waters
Executive Director
Barwon Health Foundation
An 1874 drawing of the Geelong Infirmary and Benevolent Asylum
