A tight-knit retirement village community

Oakfield Rise Retirement Estate has found a unique way to pay respect to those who died or suffered for Australia's cause in all wars and armed conflicts, and it’s brought residents together.

On Remembrance Day they unveiled their 4.2 metre long cross made up of more than 1,600 hand-knitted and crocheted poppies, before joining many Australians to observe one minute silence at 11.00am.

Whether it was buying wool, donating wool or knitting the poppies, around 25 residents pitched in to help. Each poppy took between 15 and 30 minutes to make - that means the whole thing took up to 800 hours to make! The cross is located adjacent to the recently opened Oakfield Rise Community Centre.

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Oakfield Rise Resident, Heather Merritt, who was part of the group that made the poppies said the idea started when the retirement village’s gardening group wanted to start a project that would involve many residents.

“The one thing that my husband Kevin and I enjoyed the most is that it’s been a project that has brought a lot of people together,” Heather said. “It gave us something in common that everyone could talk about.”

This follows Oakfield Rise residents putting a similar cross of around 1,300 poppies in front of nearby Oakfield Lodge Residential Care for Anzac Day. Heather said it was enjoyed by Oakfield Lodge Residents who could see it from their balcony. 

She added that there are plans to use any leftover wool for rugs, blankets and other items that can be gifted to local charities.