About Us

History:

Beginning in 1970 a small group of mothers and children met monthly at the Bundoora Uniting Church, arranging guest speakers and demonstrations each month.  To fulfill the needs of the community it was decided it would be more beneficial to meet weekly. With the Uniting Church unavailable for weekly meetings the local council was approached with a view to hiring Bundoora Hall each Wednesday morning.  An agreement was reached for a weekly fee of $10.00.

As the group was born of the need to bring people together it was decided to call the new group Contact.  It commenced in 1975 and quickly became the tonic needed to combat isolation and loneliness within the community.  It was set up as a meeting place to pursue interests, develop new skills, and make friends.

Members letterbox dropped 500 flyers to advertise Contact and on 11th February 1976 over 200 women along with over 150 children arrived to join classes.  By the end of the second week all the women were placed in classes and the children were supervised in a makeshift creche.

It was decided to offer some activities weekly and keep the monthly speaker. An entrance fee of 50 cents was charged to cover the hall hire. Members paid the teachers directly. With the unexpected huge numbers Council was approached to obtain access to Bundoora Hall on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

The partitioned area used for child minding quickly became inadequate.  After consultation with Council, it was agreed to extend the hall with an annexe.  Contact was to contribute $10,000.00 to the project. This amount was raised in less than two years.  One member volunteered to run the creche and mothers were rostered to provide support.

The Annexe expanded opportunities for Contact, including an annual Art and Craft Show displaying and selling members’ work. These shows were extremely popular and an important source for fund raising and publicity.

From its first chaotic beginnings, Contact has evolved into a well-run, well-managed centre. It was set up and managed by a volunteer committee with no external funding and no paid coordinator.  Today it is run by an enthusiastic, hardworking committee of 16 who are responsible for paid employees (hall set-up, pack-up and cleaner), ever increasing health and safety demands, competition from other community centres as well as the internet, and a global pandemic.

Contact Overview

  • The incorporation name is Contact Bundoora Community Centre
  • Contact aims to provide a place where the community can come together in a caring and sharing environment to socialise, learn and share new skills, support one another, and keep membership and classes affordable to the majority.
  • Membership is an admission fee paid on a weekly basis.
  • Contact is a not-for-profit organisation managed by a voluntary Committee
  • Any adult who supports the ethos of Contact is eligible for membership.
  • All members have a right to vote, to submit items for discussion at general committee meetings and to attend and be heard at general committee meetings.
  • General Committee meetings are held monthly
  • The annual general meeting is held prior to May 31st each year.

The ethos of Contact Community Centre is ‘Caring and Sharing’.