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Aileen May GRIFFITHS OAM JP

   Community Leader

Aileen Griffiths, OAM, JP, was born in Annandale in 1918, the daughter and only child of Thomas William Atkinson and his wife Teresa Elizabeth nee Peters. She was the grand-daughter of John Atkinson, a noted pioneer resident of the Sutherland Shire.

Aileen grew up in Leichhardt and attended Leichhardt Public School, then Petersham Intermediate High School. After leaving school, she attended Miss Hale’s Business College which offered a business education, including typing and shorthand, ‘leading to opportunities for the modern girl’. This training led to her employment, after 1933, as a receptionist, solicitor’s secretary and office administrator with Everett’s Dunlop until 1947. Her business experience also helped in later years when Aileen was elected to the committees of many Shire clubs and was involved in many community activities.

 Until 1932, Aileen lived with her family in Leichhardt near the Cockatoo Island dockyard where her father Thomas, worked as an engineer. She had two half-sisters from her father’s first marriage to Amy C Dunkerly.  The family spent all their weekends and holidays in Cronulla where her grandfather, John Atkinson, had purchased land in 1895 and was regarded as a pioneer settler.

 In the early days, travel to Cronulla was by steam train to Sutherland then horse coach to the village of Cronulla. Between 1911 and 1931, a steam tram ran from Sutherland station to Shelley Beach until it was replaced by buses. In 1926, the rail from Sydney to Sutherland was electrified. Tom Ugly’s bridge was opened in 1929 and buses, including double deckers, also ran from Hurstville to Cronulla. In December 1939, the branch line from Sutherland to Cronulla was opened shortly after the declaration of World War II.

 After her father’s retirement in 1932 Aileen moved with her parents to Richmount Street, Cronulla, in a property which was part of her grandfather’s purchase in 1895 and where she would live until her death in 2007. Aileen enjoyed life in Cronulla. She played tennis, swam and surfed at the beaches, went to the local cinema and the Saturday night dances at the Cecil Ballroom.

 

Aileen Atkinson married George Frederick Griffiths in 1947 at St Aloysuis’ Catholic Church in Cronulla. George was born in Glebe in 1907, the son of George Sydney Griffiths and his wife Alice nee Kirby. He was a photo engraver and accomplished musician, playing in ‘swing’ bands in the 1930s through to the 1950s. George and Aileen lived in the family home in Richmount Street and, in 1948, their only child, Jannelle, was born. They joined the Sutherland Orchid Society where Aileen became secretary won many awards for their exhibits. George Griffiths died at Cronulla in 1975.

 In 1938, Aileen was one of the original twelve members of the Ladies’ Social Committee officially formed by the North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club. Aileen had been heavily involved in the organisation of the first carnival at North Cronulla Beach and continued to be involved with the club for many years. During WW II she helped produce a monthly newsletter which was sent to every club member on active duty. She served as Secretary, President and Lady Patroness. In1952, she was granted Life Membership.

 From the mid-1940s, there was pressure to build a major hospital in the Sutherland Shire. Fund raising began in 1944 and Aileen became heavily involved, organising annual balls and hospital fetes for three decades. On 3 September 1950, Premier Joe Cahill laid the  foundation stone for the hospital to be built on the former Lehane Estate at Caringbah. When delays held up construction, she joined a protest march to pressure the Government. The hospital was officially opened on 29 March, 1958. She was a member of the Hospital board from 1981 to 1983 and for over 58 years a volunteer for Sutherland Hospital support groups including Meals on Wheels.

In 1966, the Sutherland Shire Historical Society was established with Aileen a foundation member. During the next 41 years of her membership, she held every executive position including President. She was awarded Life Membership of the Society and the position of Co-Patron of the Society along with the Mayor. She received a Certificate of Achievement from the Royal Australian Historical Society and the Cook Award for preserving the Shire’s History.

 Aileen Griffith was a tireless worker for several organisations within the Shire and held many prominent positions in many of them including Woolooware Golf Club of which she was a foundation member and the first to record a hole in one. Other organisations were the Southern Branch of the Association of Civilian Widows, Cronulla Women’s Bowling Club, Sutherland Shire Branch of NSW Association of Justices, the Sutherland Shire youth music awards, Sutherland Shire Community Radio, Sutherland Shire Access Committee for the disabled, Sutherland Shire Australia Day Committee, Kirinari Aboriginal Hostel, Sutherland Shire Heritage Committee and the Pioneer Women’s Association.

 In 1988, Aileen Griffith received a NSW Premier’s Award and in 1995 she was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in recognition 60 years of outstanding contribution to the community and especially Sutherland Hospital. In 2003 she was awarded the Centenary Medal and in 2006 was one of the Faces of the Shire in the booklet published to mark the Centenary of the Sutherland Shire and named as Sutherland Shire Citizen of the Year.

Aileen Griffith died in Cronulla on 7 August 2007. Her ashes were scattered at sea by members of North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club.

 ‘If you want something done, give it to a busy person- they can always find time to do more’. Aileen Griffiths

 

Colleen Passfield 2020

 

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