EVIE WALLACE

Evie Wallace turned 100 in December 2009 and Housing for the Aged Action Group would like to pay special tribute to her.

Evie has been a constant campaigner for consumer, housing, health and aged care rights. Evie began her work as a volunteer in 1966 in Moe, at the time of the change over to decimal currency. At this time Grocers began charging inflated prices and ripping customers off particularly in country Victoria. Evie noticed in the small townships of Warragul, Trafalgar, Traralgon and Morwell this was particularly the case.

In response to this issue Evie and her fellow towns folk formed one of the first consumer organisations. In fact one of the many letters of acknowledgement Evie has received over the years was from the then Chair of the Australian Federation of Consumer Organisations Inc, Suzanne Russell, who stated that Evie’s group was a unique group and perhaps the only one of its kind in Australia. After taking on the retail grocery industry, Evie and her group tackled many and varied issues including energy prices and the privatisation of essential services.

In more recent years Evie has drawn on her personal situation of living in a rental village to take up the issues of low nutritional food standards and housing design for older people. During the year Evie very kindly made a donation to HAAG to assist us through our difficult financial patch, but in honour of Evie the donation will be used for a project on disability bathroom design.


Apart from her community activism Evie is an accomplished artist and poet and we have all enjoyed the many pieces of poetry that Evie has contributed to our newsletters and forums. Evie, you are an inspiration to all of us who strive for Social Justice and from all at HAAG we wish you a very happy birthday with many more to come.

Ena Ahern from Housing for the Aged Action Group has compiled a report into many of the issues Evie has advocated for over her years of volunteering.

Click here to here to download a copy ( 287 KB)

Beth Wilson, Health Services Commissioner for Victoria, has the following to say about Evie Wallace.

"A very special lady sometimes writes or leaves telephone messages for me. Her name is Evie Wallace and she doesn't mind me describing her as a social activist, particularly for aged-care issues".
read more
This article appereared in the Sunday Age 31st January 2010.