At 90, Marian Gallagher’s probably entitled to retirement from voluntary organisations.

For nearly 43 years Marian had been an active committee member of the Ōtaki Women’s Community Club, and most recently patron. She was a founding member of the Ōtaki Lioness Club. The women’s club took over the activities of the Lioness Club when that group disbanded several years ago.

Although resigning from the women’s club in December, Marian, has not entirely given up her voluntary work, still helping out where she can.  She can no longer drive herself around, but she gets a taxi twice a week to the Birthright op shop, where she sorts and sells the donated goods.  She’s been helping there for the past eight years.

“I’ve got pretty good health so I can still do these things,” she says. “I count myself really lucky at my age.”

Her garden also gives her great pleasure and keeps her active. Most days she’s out dead-heading flowers or pulling some errant weeds.

“The trick is to do a little bit every day so it doesn’t get away on you.”

The first president of the Lionesses was Marian’s daughter, Gwen. She had been instrumental in establishing the club.

It was set up as a separate women’s organisation to operate alongside the Lions Club, which was largely run by men. It was a way in which women could organise their own activities, and it acknowledged the work of women in the community.

Other key members in the early days were people such as Anne Thorpe, who put a huge amount of effort into many community organisations around Ōtaki. Olive Parkin, the wife of prominent Ōtaki accountant husband George, who was president of the Lions Club – was another early committee member.

Like Marian with the Ōtaki Women’s Community Club, Olive became president and later patron of the Lionesses.

The Women’s Community Club has in recent years developed the Ōtaki Market into a much bigger one than the original market set up by the club. It’s allowed even more money to be distributed within the community, but Marian feels that the more commercial focus has resulted in a loss of the “fellowship” she used to enjoy.

“We would have dinners together and go to the movies,” she says. “We put a lot of work in to help the community, but we enjoyed it. We supported each other and had a lot of fun. I know all the effort was valued by the community. It felt so worthwhile.”

Apart from the market, the projects the women’s club initiated were establishment of the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, and the sewing group at the Presbyterian Church. It organised the building of a wooden fort – which still stands – by the Army at the Children’s Health Camp.

It helped families struggling with cancer and other major diseases – money raised at the market and from other activities helped wherever there was a need.