Lady Bjelke-Petersen, left, officially opened the meeting; she is pictured with QCWA State Vice-President Central Region Mrs Joy Coulson, QCWA State President Mrs Jennie Hill and Lady Mayoress Eleanor Kratzmann who welcomed delegates to the South Burnett

June 6, 2013

It’s not the picture you’d expect, a room full of Queensland Country Women’s Association members going “Nuts About Wine” …

But that’s the official theme for the QCWA’s Central Region conference which is being held in Kingaroy this week.

The conference, hosted by the Gympie and South Burnett Division of the QCWA, was officially opened on Wednesday by Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen (a QCWA member) after delegates paraded with banners along Short Street to the Kingaroy RSL Club.

The conference runs for two days – Wednesday and Thursday – but the 70 or so delegates from seven QCWA Divisions all over central Queensland also attended other activities in Kingaroy in the lead-up to the official meeting days.

Tuesday was a training day where the delegates listened to talks about workplace health and safety, positive thinking, conflict resolution, insurance and how to prepare  grant applications.

southburnett.com.au was honoured to be invited to present a short talk on how to get your message published in the local media (and we didn’t spot anyone going nuts, or getting stuck into the wine while we were there!)

Lady Flo praised the QCWA for what it achieves in rural and remote communities, and reminisced about visits to branches all over Queensland during tours with her husband, the late Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, and during her 12 years as a Senator.

She said “CWA” stood for “Certainly Working Always”, as she had found that wherever she visited, the members were always working for the people of Queensland.

Mrs Eleanor Kratzmann, wife of South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann, deputised for her husband at the official opening as he was involved in Council Budget deliberations.

Mrs Kratzmann officially welcomed the delegates to the region, thanking them for choosing Kingaroy for their conference and for the help the QCWA had provided local farmers affected by this year’s floods.

Special guests were Warren Cockburn, from the RSL Sub-Branch, and Marion Campbell, Kingaroy

Shirley Maguire and Margot Harris were visiting Kingaroy from the QCWA’s Capricornia
Division 
Gympie and South Burnett Division President Elaine Ballin (Maidenwell branch) with Division Secretary Mollie Kratzmann (Kumbia Branch)