A Labor Party lunch last Sunday to honour Frank Ward may have been held in Nelson Bay but Campbelltown stole the show.
Sure, Chris Minns, the leader of the opposition and almost certainly the next premier of NSW was there, as well as several of his MPs.
They included the local member, Kate Washington, who was behind the function, Auburn MP Linda Voltz, Campbelltown MP Greg Warren and the member for Maitland Jenny Aitchison.
There was one more person there who harked back to Frank Ward’s time in an orphanage, but more of that later.
The lunch in Nelson Bay Golf Club was attended by around 80 people and while they heard all about Frank Ward’s long life – he’s in his nineties – Campbelltown was never far from the limelight.
Greg Warren presented Frank Ward with an achievement award (pictured below), before updating the guest of honour, and everyone else present, with how things are going in Campbelltown.
Frank Ward also spoke at length about his links to Campbelltown, including how he found out that his maternal grand father was the second mayor of the town.
Ward himself was an alderman [now called councillor]on Campbelltown Council for most of the 1960s and went within a whisker of becoming the local MP in the 1969 state election.
During his speech, Chris Minns made the important point of how the Labor Party has always relied on branch members like Frank Ward.
Mr Ward told the South West Voice that his local MP Kate Washington wanted to have a lunch that “recognised my length of service to the ALP and the community I have served to rally our members for the coming election’’.
“I agreed to this and said if there was any profit from the event it should go to her campaign.
“In my address I recounted my activities in Campbelltown and the amazing coincidences that my maternal grandfather had been before me which I never knew about because of my life in the orphanage.
“It was a wonderful surprise to get the certificate from Greg and to get the up to date report on what was happening in Campbelltown.’’
Also at the lunch was a lady by the name of Hazel Parker, so we asked Frank to explain the connection to him.
“Hazel recently contacted me following a story about me in the local paper and she was a student at St Patrick’s Orphanage Armidale at the same time I was there and now lives locally.
“It was a great experience meeting up with her as she confirmed my memories of life at the orphanage and our affection for the Sisters that gave us care in the depression years and for me the example of service to others that has been a guiding example for my sister, Joan Bielski OA, AM and my brother Dr James Ward and myself.’’
Mr Ward moved up north for health reasons a few years ago, but he still keeps an eye on things in Campbelltown by reading news online, mainly via this publication.
MAIN PICTURE: from left, Linda Voltz, Kate Washington, Chris Minns, Hazel Parker, Frank Ward, Greg Warren and Jenny Aitchison.
