QCWA Sandgate will mark 100 years since the original local branch was formed with a fashion parade and morning tea at Sandgate Town Hall, recognising a community service and fundraising history dating to 1926.
The QCWA Sandgate Fashion Parade will be held on Tuesday, 15 September, from 9:30am to noon, with Australian-made clothing and accessories from Portofino Fashions forming part of the morning’s program.
A morning tea prepared and baked by QCWA members will also be served as part of the event.
QCWA Sandgate Looks Back To 1926
The centenary marks the formation of Sandgate’s original QCWA branch in 1926, when it developed from a Circle of Women.
Among its early community activities was support for Linga Longa on Flinders Parade, which provided holiday accommodation for disadvantaged rural women and children. The branch also raised money for community projects and disaster relief.
Its work continued across several decades. Between its establishment in 1926 and closure in 2003, the original Sandgate branch raised funds for rural communities, supported the war effort and assisted local families affected by disasters.
That included helping after the 1980 hailstorm, which damaged thousands of homes across Brighton and Bracken Ridge.
The fashion parade is intended to recognise the founding members and the women who served through the branch over the decades.
Fundraising Continues Community Focus
The 2026 event will raise funds for Queensland rural communities affected by floods and droughts, with money from the parade supporting the QCWA State Rural Crisis Fund.
QCWA Sandgate’s other community activities include helping provide hygiene kits for people experiencing domestic crises locally and supporting disadvantaged schools throughout the Pacific Islands with educational materials.
The wider Queensland Country Women’s Association has its own longer history, having been established on 11 August 1922. The organisation marked 104 years in 2026.
Across that period, QCWA members have supported regional, rural and remote communities through periods including droughts, floods, cyclones and bushfires, while the organisation has also worked across areas affecting women and families.
The Sandgate centenary places that statewide history in a local context, focusing on the branch established four years after QCWA began and the community work undertaken in the district over subsequent decades.
The fashion parade will take place at Sandgate Town Hall. The event is now sold out, with TryBooking listing no tickets as currently available.
Published 8-September-2026
