Community & Business
23 October, 2025
Quiet space offers serenity
A QUIET, peaceful space has been created for palliative care patients and their families at the Mareeba Hospital.
Officially opened on Thursday afternoon, the new Serenity Garden next to the new palliative care wing, was made possible with the support of the Mareeba Friends of the Hospital Foundation and other community donors and groups.
The courtyard-styled garden has benches and seats, decorative panels to section off the space, a water feature and pot plants all set under a large shade cloth.
“The benefit of this space is immeasurable,” Mareeba Lions Club Director Tom Braes said at the opening. “People in end-of-life care appreciate beauty and ‘serenity’ outside the confines of the hospital ward, and the garden offers a quiet space for palliative loved ones.”
The garden is the latest in a long list of support services and equipment provided for the hospital through the work of the Friends to compensate for the “numerous financial constraints” it faced.
“Importantly, all funds raised locally are spent locally,” Mr Braes said.
One of the largest donors to the garden was 95-year-old Grant Lawrence, who, with his daughter, assisted in officially opening the space that has a plaque dedicated to his wife Claudette Lawrence.
“Our volunteers have been hard at work providing trolley services to patients, collecting donations from donation tins, and conducting weekly bingo (which had grown to up to 60 players),” Mr Braes said.
Volunteers also work at events like the Field Days and were currently selling Lions Christmas Raffle tickets.
He noted that Mareeba Hospital Accident & Emergency Department was the busiest of all of the rural hospitals, with over 2000 presentations/occasions of service per month.
“The community support for our Friends of the Hospital and the hospital itself is overwhelming. I am confident that with the increasing services available at the hospital it will continue to be the most important health facility for the people of Mareeba/Dimbulah and surrounds.”
Other donors included: Mareeba Lions and Rotary clubs, FNQ Growers, Mareeba Toyota, Mt Emerald Windfarm Community Benefit Fund, and Wheelbarrow race teams from St Stephens Saints, Siren Squad, Council Cruisers, Duesbury’s Tax Tigers, Cairns Total Physio, Hot Mess Express, Kickin’ It for Kev, and from private donations.
