The secret to a special community

Trying out new activities and events is the key to an engaged community according to the Oaklands Park Retirement Living Social Committee.

Through trial and error the Committee has found the weekly exercise session is popular, while the happy hour and afternoon tea on alternating fortnights, film afternoons and men’s barbecue are well loved.

Events for yearly celebrations like the Cancer Council’s Biggest Morning Tea, Melbourne Cup Day and Christmas are also filled with socialising and laughter. 

The Social Committee, made up of six residents ranging from some of the first residents in the village to some of the newest (and three of them called Margaret), is a very active group that meets often.

The Committee admitted it was difficult to strike a balance between too many events and not enough but thinks there will be the right balance in 2025 with an event on average every second month.

Although the events are important, Oaklands Park has many more everyday chances to connect with neighbours.

The Gardening Group and roster for watering the Community Garden “do exactly what they were set up to do”, Social Committee member Trevor said, because they encourage residents to meet up at the garden for a chat while they work.

Another member, Jeannette, said neighbours also share a chat every bin day while they take their bins out.

Jeannette gets to enjoy a chat with every one of them on the way past as she lives right by the laneway where all the bins are collected.

She said staying connected is important for mental health, particularly if people are living on their own.

One of the Margarets on the Social Committee also benefitted from the connectedness of her neighbours recently when she had a fall at home. 

“It’s lucky people were there to check on me because otherwise I’d still be on the floor,” she said.

It’s this awareness of the importance of social connection that makes the Oaklands Park community special. 

The community does have another special trait - 10 percent of the villas are occupied by ladies called Margaret. 

With 50 homes included in the community, that’s a lot of Margarets!