In our “A Drink with Jeff” series, Campbelltown Catholic Club community liaison Jeff McGill has been catching up with a diverse selection of club identities. This time, he caught up with Sue McGarrity.
Let’s go back to 1974. Gough Whitlam is PM, our TV shows are black and white, glam rock dominates the charts, flares and platform shoes are smart fashion choices
— and Sue McGarrity makes her first visit to The Catho.
She’s just a young teacher, with her workmates, unwinding on a Friday night after a long week in the classroom. And that’s all the club was to Sue back then. A place to share a few drinks and a laugh.
Little did she know . . .
Fast forward 50 years, and Campbelltown Catholic Club has become a touchstone of her daily life: from small things like playing cards, going for a swim, or watching a show, to the really big things like supporting the local charity that she is a key part of: Macarthur’s own 24 Hour Fight Against Cancer.
Yes, Sue is living treasure of our community — so we decided to invite her to sit down as our latest “Drink with Jeff” interview.
We met in The Cube, just as her Collegians Bridge Club was wrapping up its latest meeting. For Sue, this trick-taking card game is more than a mere pastime; it’s a
passion. She’s been the club’s secretary since 2013, working alongside her best friend, Christine Edge, who is president.
After snagging our drinks from Cafe Sage and exchanging the usual cheeky banter with longtime staffer Gemel, we settled into the Harvest dining area. I kicked off our conversation by asking when she first made her way to Macarthur.
“It was 1974 — my first year teaching — and I was appointed to Camden High. So, that’s where I lived at first, but [my husband] Ron and I later built a home in Campbelltown at Glen Alpine. I taught at Busby High, Ashcroft High, a brief period at Glenfield Special School, then Ambarvale High, before moving into other things within the Education Department.”
“I was raised in the Earlwood/Marrickville area, and blessed with wonderful parents. Mum was from an old Australian family but Dad was Maltese, so I got a bit of the cultural thing. My maiden name was Pisani.”
Did that later give Sue a shared link with the late great Fred Borg, founder of the 24 Hour Fight Against Cancer Macarthur, who just happened to be one of Campbelltown’s best-known immigrants from Malta? “Yes, that was interesting, but nothing big. I don’t speak Maltese, and I’ve only ever been to the island as a tourist. Fred and I hit it off on a personal level. We just clicked immediately.”
Sue said it was when she was a young teacher at Camden High that she began coming to Campbelltown Catholic Club in 1974. “I joined as a member because Friday afternoon was drinks, after a hard week of teaching. The Catholic Club was only a very small establishment in those days — an auditorium, sports bar, and foyer. But because teachers at Camden High tended to come from all directions, the Catholic Club was a handy central meeting place for
everyone.”
“I do remember that the club was very friendly — and it still is — but, to be honest, I didn’t have the sort of links to the club that I now have.” And, she added, she certainly had no idea that one of the club’s directors in 1970s was Fred Borg! “No, I wouldn’t have known who he was back then if he walked past,” she laughed. “It wasn’t until many years later, in 2005, that I first met Fred and got involved in the 24-Hour Fight Against Cancer.”
That homegrown charity is now well on its way to raising
$6 million for cancer care at the Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre, the Oncology Ward and Paediatric Ambulatory Care Unit at Campbelltown Hospital, and Palliative Care Unit at Camden Hospital. The annual walkathon and associated events helps fundraise for resources and cutting edge equipment that aren’t available from any other source. You know, things like
specialist surgical equipment, or palliative care equipment pool resources, or a patient transport bus, or cooling caps to help women patients retain their hair during chemo, or comforts for kids undergoing treatment. The list is endless.
So, how did Sue get involved?
“Well, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. I had a routine mammogram in the breast-screening van — every woman MUST get their regular screening checks! That’s the reason I’m still here now 20 years later. Thankfully it was a very early diagnosis.”
“While I was undergoing the radiation treatment, I took time off work (I had a mile of sick leave owing) and saw an article in the local paper, the Advertiser, about this person called Fred Borg who was starting a homegrown local cancer charity. He was looking for volunteers. I guess I was a bit bored, being at home as I was treated, so I thought to myself: I might have an hour or two to spare.
We both burst into laughter. Fast forward twenty years, and Sue has devoted slightly more than an hour or two. She is still the charity’s Deputy Chairperson— and, I reckon, a vital thread weaving it all together.
She humbly brushes off that praise, rattling off a list of others who deserve more credit. I can’t disagree; the charity is filled with truly remarkable people and it really does feel like a “family”. But to me, Sue is a den mother, sounding board, voice of reason, and beating heart of it all.
When she was recently named as Campbelltown Local Woman of the Year, our local MP Greg Warren told State Parliament she was simply amazing. He said: “Sue has served as deputy chairperson and secretary since 2006, and she works tirelessly to support this great cause and the team of volunteers to bring world-class cancer treatment facilities to the Macarthur area.”
“The 24-hour Fight in 2005 was starting off with nothing, fuelled entirely by unpaid volunteers, as it still is to this day,” Sue explained. “Fred had a way of bringing people together. As a teacher I had computer skills and writing skills, and the charity at that time had no brochures, and needed letters to be written to sponsors, and some administration was also needed, so these were areas I thought I could help a bit.
Getting good publicity to help get our charity off the ground was particularly important, and that’s where the local papers came in. ”
We laughed again. Back then, I was the editor of the Macarthur Advertiser and I still clearly remember the day that Sue and Fred came a knocking on my door. Little did I know that I’d also be swept into the same 24-Hour Fight vortex, happily becoming a front-page provider for the local charity for many years. The Advertiser also fielded a team of journalists and photographers each year, and published hundreds of interviews. “The Advertiser put us on the map,” Sue kindly smiled.
We both then sighed — deeply mourning the demise of local newspapers.
We also spoke of how much everyone misses Fred Borg. “What really strikes me is Fred’s lasting influence,” Sue said. “He’s been gone since 2016 and, to be honest, I didn’t know if the 24 Hour Fight would survive without him. He had such a strong personality. But he also taught us the ethics of what we do, he taught us about volunteerism, he taught us not to worry about who gets credit. He was a true leader who touched so many people. There are some people who will read this and might disagree with me, perhaps they had issues with Fred via his time on Campbelltown Council, or other things he was involved in, but I won’t hear of any of that.”
“Lots of wonderful people are to be thanked but [current chairman] Warren Morrison is probably the only person who could have carried on the 24 Hour Fight without Fred, and got us to where we are today. Warren has got the contacts, and the time, to devote to it. He’s also got the same passion that Fred had.”
Sue, looked around and also heaped praise on the very place we were sitting. “Campbelltown Catholic Club is a foundation sponsor of the 24 Hour Fight from
- They came on board, through Aquafit, in that first year and have been on every shirt that we’ve ever had since. That sponsorship is so important because it helps cover all our costs. That’s means we can say to people that every dollar they donate will go to the cause. On top of that sponsorship, I should add, Aquafit also fields a team, and holds a number of their own fundraising activities like the Duck Dive, and Sunrise Yoga, and the Aerobics Class at the Cube, so they not only give us a donation, but they actually have built a culture within their membership to get behind the cause . . . and you can’t buy that! I’m so proud to be a member of Aquafit.”
That brought us to Sue’s other longtime connection: Collegians Bridge Club. “My friend Christine Edge and I decided about 17 years ago to see what this card
game was all about. Tony Wolf was the president back then, and we had lessons at
the club and discovered it is a wonderful game. It’s a difficult game, but that’s what I like about it. We’ve been playing it ever since.”
They are particularly thrilled by funding that The Catho gave them recently to invest in a new electronic scoring system. “The club supports us with grants each year, and gives us a venue to play, and we have our Christmas party here, but last year we sought a much higher grant than usual to buy our new machines. Bridge has a very complex scoring system, and you’d previously record results on paper, but then someone would have to go home and enter them manually for about 30 to 40 minutes, then email the results out. Now, after each hand, we enter the score and, magically through the internet, it’s all calculated and we get the results immediately at the end of the game. A computer also decides and deals the hands. We can’t thank the Board of the Catholic Club enough for investing in us. We were one of last
bridge clubs in Sydney without electronic scoring, and this new system should last us forever.”
I suggested to Sue that The Catho’s board members are the sort of people who have no problem supporting loyal, longtime sub-club patrons. In fact, they’re perhaps the deepest weave of our club fabric.
As we had earlier entered the club, I noted that Sue was immediately recognised and greeted by Kevin the doorman, Gemel at the Cafe, and Sonia Ferraro, manager of Aquafit’s Cafe Blue, who was walking through the foyer. I told Sue she was obviously well- known.
“Oh well,” she smiled,” that’s what comes with age.” Heart, too, I suspected. Indeed, as we chatted about
The Catho a bigger picture suddenly emerged. Beyond her water aerobics at
Aquafit, and get-togethers at Harvest, she said she loves taking in shows at The Cube. “I particularly like the Robertson Brothers.” Sue also meets friends for coffee and high teas at Rydges, and sometimes has a meal at the Campbelltown Bowling Club. Like so many other local people, The Catho is a backdrop to her life.
Sue pointed out her late husband, Ron, was also a member of Campbelltown Golf Club. He died in 2009, and she still misses him every day. “Ron was the most wonderful man on the planet,” she said. “A true people person, family orientated, and so much fun. I truly miss him.”
Sue then returned to the subject of the Catholic Club and insisted it was more than a series of venues. “It’s a wonderful thing to have a corporate body so supportive of its community — from funding our local schools and sporting teams, to all the support for things like Share the Dignity, Escabags, and mental health awareness. Its not just place to come, its a true community hub.”
Which brought our chat to a natural conclusion . . .
Sue might feel thankful to The Catho. But the truth is, The Catho is enriched by the inspirational and big-hearted members it attracts.
Just like Sue.
