In November 1982, Merton Court Hostel was opened.  Then it was a 14 bed, 9 room facility.  Now it has 17 beds with 17 rooms and ensuites.  Merton Court Hostel was built by the community for the community, so we felt that we should invite the community to help us celebrate!

So, we have planned not one, but two events for Saturday 19th November 2022.  There will be a day event on the vacant blocks adjacent to Merton Court, which Merton Living has purchased with the view for expansion/rebuild down the track.

This event doubles as an Open day and market day.  We will have numerous market stalls and displays.  We plan to open the day in our marquee which will be located on the Village Croquet Lawn, located just through the fence from the vacant blocks, with a Djembe drumming activity.  This activity is for the residents and staff to participate in to get into the groove of the day.  This marquee will also host the Sydney Swing Katz dance troup who will do some performances during the day.

We will have some activities for the kids, as we would love to have lots of kids come along for our residents.  Shazzi will do face painting, there will be a plucka duck activity, plus our Friends of Merton Living will be selling lots of lollies decorated in fun shapes.

For the adults, there will be a coffee stall by Rusty Gutts Coffee to keep up with the kids when the sugar high kicks in!  The Clydesdale Experience will have their beautiful clydesdales on display, the Denman Heritage Village will also have a display, and there are numerous market stalls including the Friends of Merton Living with their craft and commemorative wine glasses for sale, Maggie & Me Sweet Treats, Rachel & Me Designs, Gracie Jane & Co, plants & pots, tie dye, hand made goods, etc.

Denman Lions Club will be on the BBQ providing lunch to keep us going.  After lunch, we will have some official proceedings in the main marquee, to cut a delicious cake by Maggie & Me Sweet Treats, and also unveil a new plaque commemorating the event to add to the original opening plaque at Merton Court.

Hopefully there might be time for a little siesta before our evening function kicks off.  This anniversary dinner will be held at Denman Anglican Hall in Palace Street, Denman.  Special guest speakers will be Craig Hamilton from ABC Newcastle, and Murray Hartin the bush poet.  The event will kick off at 6pm with a Welcome Cuvee from Two Rivers Wines and canapes by Eat at 153, who will be catering for the evening.  We won't go hungry with main and dessert to follow.  This event is ticketed as numbers are limited.  Tickets are $80 per person.  We have a monster raffle which will be drawn at the dinner.  The main prize is a glamping experience at Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary.  Our event  is  a fundraiser for Merton Court, as the old girl needs to be rebuilt to continue to provide care for the next 40 years and to better cater for the needs of people entering residential aged care now and in the future.  So, Merton Court 2.0 or 50 and new in 2032 is the goal!

During the day and evening events, we also hope to catch up with staff and community involved at Merton Court over the years, so we can share some stories together.

Special thanks to the NSW Regional Growth Fund for getting the event kicked off and made possible, Bengalla for sponsoring the main marquee and marquee for our Friends of Merton Living, and MACH Energy for funding the evening catering.  We couldn't do it without you!

Invitations to the evening function have just been mailed out, and then tickets will be made available to everyone from 8th November.  We hope you can join us for the day or evening event, or even both.  We look forward to welcoming our community to our community!