Old Timers Fete in its 45th year

Hunting for a bargain? Want to meet your mates? The Old Timers’ Fete tomorrow (Saturday) from 11am to 3pm is where it’s all at.
The fete, now in its 45th year, is run entirely by volunteers and each year raises tens of thousands of dollars for Old Timers.
Director of Nursing Mary Miles says: “Come fete day there are usually people lined up before the gates have even opened. The cake stall is
almost always sold out within the first hour.”
There will be more than 40 stalls, boxes of books for sale, tables of clothing, toys, craft, cakes, jams and preserves, face painting, food of all varieties, rides, music and more.
The fete committee, made up of Old Timers staff and resident family members, began planning four months ago for the big day.
Old Timers was the first residential aged care service established in the Northern Territory. In 1949, Rev John Flynn, the founder of the Australian Inland Mission (AIM), began the project to give “old timers” a place to rest in the shade of Mount Blatherskite.
Today, Old Timers Nursing Home provides residential care for 68 residents as well as transitional care and respite services for elderly people. Flynn Lodge provides a further 20 places and is soon to be extended to accommodate another 20 residents.
The Fred McKay Day Therapy Centre is also located at the Old Timers Village, and there are 43 self-care independent cottages on the site.
Photo: The book stall two years ago.