Kojonup farmer George Church leaves long-lasting memory

For war veteran and decades-long Kojonup medical contributor George Church, giving back to the community was the only fitting way to say goodbye. About $530,000 later and six years on from his death, the people of Kojonup paid tribute to the late Mr Church by delivering on one of his final wishes — to use his hard-earned money to help build a medical facility for the community he so dearly loved. The people of Kojonup came together on Friday afternoon to honour the man who made it all possible at the opening of the George Church Community Medical Centre, called Korrinup House. Close to 100 people attended the opening ceremony, which long-time friends of Mr Church said was a testimony to the generosity of one of the town’s most beloved sons. “George, he related to everybody, he was very encompassing and was a man of principle,” long-time friend Madeline Suann said. Madeline and her husband, Robert, drove from Perth for the opening ceremony. “He was just a marvellous man...it was always so wonderful to see him,” she said. George Church Community Medical Centre chairman Robert Sexton said the contribution of Mr Church and his family had made the town’s medical service what it was today. “George Church’s family is the model of public service that the board adopted in this endeavour,” he said. “George’s mother, Emily, was at the forefront of the push to create the district hospital. “George served for many years with the hospital board as a member and chairman. “His future wife, Patricia, was a nursing sister at the hospital.” Centre treasurer Kevin Broome praised Mr Sexton and the committee for turning Mr Church’s vision into a reality. “He had one focus and one focus only, to provide the people of Kojonup with a world-class facility,” Mr Broome said. The $1.4m medical facility contains eight clinical rooms to meet the needs of surrounding areas. O’Connor MHR Rick Wilson said the new centre would encourage doctors to work in Kojonup. The Federal Government contributed $750,000 to the project in 2019. “Attracting health professionals to regional towns can be challenging, but this new medical centre will help create a modern space to cater for the needs of doctors and allied professionals,” Mr Wilson said. “You can’t expect doctors to work in regional areas with sub-standard infrastructure. “For $750,000, we have leveraged a medical centre that would cost another community $3 million to construct.” Mr Wilson, who grew up in nearby Katanning, said the new facility would be a valuable asset to the Great Southern. “In my seven years of being in parliament, I have never seen a project move more smoothly,” he said. Mr Sexton said the location of the centre held special significance to the town of Kojonup. “The connection between this place of healing to the life-giving Kojonup Spring, the Springhaven Lodge, the district hospital, and the cluster of independent living units is quite apparent,” he said. “This is the place where the local Noongar people led the first Europeans to water that saved their lives in this unforgiving land. “This says unequivocally, we are in the right place for a medical centre.” Mr Sexton said planning for the medical centre started in 2012 on the basis the project must be “community driven and community owned”. “We managed this project from start to finish using the offered free expertise and help from the people of Kojonup,” he said. “This medical facility belongs to the people of Kojonup.” St Luke’s Family Practice will provide medical services from the building, but the centre will remain under the ownership of The George Church Community Centre. Mr Broome said the next stage of the project was to fund and build housing for doctors.