General News
27 January, 2026
Meal service turns 50
LAST year, Innisfail Meals on Wheels celebrated its 50th anniversary and marked the special occasion with a luncheon and cake cutting at Brothers Leagues Club Innisfail.
A public meeting was held in 1975 to establish Meals on Wheels in Innisfail, where a steering committee was formed, and Reverend Bob Paten was president.
Innisfail Meals on Wheels first started with captains, Joyce Burke, Doris Petersen and Valmae Dempster, under the direction of convenor, Irene Hughes. Over the years, this changed to one convenor, Jean Hoban, who remained in the job until 1987. Mrs Hoban became president after Reverend Paten’s transfer in 1980.
Prior to 1985, the secretary's books were lost, believed to have been burned and most of the organisation’s history was lost.
In 1985, Trevor Van Bael took on the position of treasurer, a role he held for close to 30 years.
Mrs Hoban became president again when Eddie O'Farrell left to join the air force. For the next few years, Mrs Hoban and Trevor Van Bael ran Meals on Wheels with no other support.
The first kitchen was in St Albans Hall, then it operated underneath the hall, before relocation to the Masonic Hall in 1981.
Innisfail Meals on Wheels delivered their first meals on 4 November 1975, to 10 clients, which consisted of soup ladled into their own bowls, a main meal of meat pie with potato, pumpkin and mushy peas, followed by rice custard for dessert.
In 1987, Meals on Wheels found a permanent home at Allan Maruff House, as part of the Council-let initiative, under the Home and Community Care Program (HACC). Here it operated for 20 years, until the building was sold, just weeks after Cyclone Larry in 2006.
At the time, Jeanette (Jan) King who was president suggested to the committee they sell bricks to help fund a new kitchen and build on State government land beside the Innisfail SES depot. The group raised $40,000 by selling Besser bricks for $20, and together with a government grant, a new purpose-built kitchen came to fruition.
This new kitchen designed by Jan and Des King, with the help of CaZead Design and countless tradespeople, officially opened on 6 November 2010, the service’s 35th anniversary, with the ribbon fittingly cut by the first convenor, Irene Hughes.
Innisfail Meals on Wheels volunteers continue to deliver 80+ nutritious meals across several routes, including Flying Fish Point, East Innisfail, Wangan/South Johnstone, Goondi/Palmerston, and Kurrimine Beach/Mourilyan. Meals are now prepared in the Cairns Meals on Wheels kitchen and delivered to Innisfail twice a week.
The community based not-for-profit group is always looking for more volunteer delivery drivers and assistants on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am - 11am (except on public holidays). Fuel vouchers are available for drivers to offset running costs. For further information, phone 4061 1919 or send a message via the Innisfail Meals on Wheels Facebook page.
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