Southern Cross Care Celebrate 45 Years of Caring

South Australian aged care provider Southern Cross Care has written a book detailing the history of the organisation over the last 45 years.

The book From a vision to a reality: History of Southern Cross Care South Australia & Northern Territory by local author Vincent Burke, was released on the 21st of June, coinciding with the 45 year anniversary of the organisation.

Mr Burke is a well known writer in the South Australian arts community, has written five books and worked at the Adelaide Festival Centre.

Mr Burke originally intended to write the book as a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Southern Cross Care, however the book was placed “on the backburner” during a period of significant change at the organisation.

“The final draft coincided with a period of significant change… It sat on the backburner and we thought we’d review where we got so far and update it for the next five years” he said.

“It takes time to write a book like that, you rely on a mixture of going through the archives and talking to people…and archives aren’t always well maintained” he said.

“It’s quite different in the sense a lot of it was depending on talking to people about their recollections, people have their own memories and their own… perceptions, viewpoints. When I started, there were a lot of people who were in the foundation of Southern Cross Homes (as it was called at the time) but quite a number of them have passed on (now), so you have to rely on the written record” he said.

The book was eight years in the making and tells the history of the aged care provider, as well as providing an insight into the history of the Catholic Church, the Knights of the Southern Cross and aged care services in South Australia.