Northcott was established as the New South Wales Society for Crippled Children in 1929 by the Rotary Club of Sydney, in response to the growing number of children left with the effects of illnesses such as

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

and

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

History

Northcott was established in 1929 as the NSW Society for Crippled Children by the Rotary Club of Sydney to provide services for children with disabilities due to polio, tuberculosis and other diseases. In 1992, the name changed to The NSW Society for Children and Young Adults with Physical Disabilities, and in 1995 to The Northcott Society. Northcott is named in honour of NSW's first Australian-born Governor, Sir John Northcott, who was patron from 1946 to 1957. On 18 March 1930 the first auxiliary was formed at

Killara Killara () is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Killara is located north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. East Killara is ...

. Auxiliaries continued to assist the society for many years; the service of the North Shore Auxiliary'se members provided 70 years of dedicated support. In 1957, Northcott president, Sir Kenneth Coles, held the role of President of the International Society, later Rehabilitation International. Many other organisations started with the support of Northcott.

Cerebral Palsy Alliance Cerebral Palsy Alliance (formerly The Spastic Centre) is an Australian nonprofit organisation helping babies, children, teenagers and adults living with cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in ...

began in January 1945 with a grant. Muscular Dystrophy Association NSW was founded as an affiliated organisation in 1957.

May Gibbs Cecilia May Gibbs Order of the British Empire, MBE (17 January 1877 – 27 November 1969) was an Australian children's author, illustrator, and cartoonist. She is best known for her gumnut babies (also known as "bush babies" or "bush fairies"), ...

, creator of the Gumnut Babies,

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie ''Snugglepot and Cuddlepie'' is a series of books written by Australians, Australian author May Gibbs. The books chronicle the adventures of the eponymous Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. The central story arc concerns Snugglepot and Cuddlepie (who ar ...

, bequeathed 50% of her royalties, from the designs of her bush characters, to Northcott in 1969 when she died. In 1997, the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

awarded Northcott a Community Heritage Grant that enabled the organisation to house a collection of historical papers and memorabilia. In 2003, Ability First Australia was formed, being a national body of not-for-profits in a strategic alliance of 14 of Australia's leading disability service providers, of which Northcott has been a part since its creation. Member organisations are in all states and territories. In November 2017 Northcott acquired 109 group homes, respite homes and specialist supported living services from the NSW Department of Family and Community Services (FACS).

Description

Northcott is a not-for-profit disability service provider. It provides services from metropolitan and regional locations throughout

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

. It is a registered National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provider. Today, Northcott helps more than 13,000 children and adults with disabilities, their families and carers across NSW and the ACT, providing more than 100 services and programs. Northcott's purpose is to build an inclusive society. This is achieved by assisting people with disabilities to develop their skills, achieve their goals - including their potential for independence and ability to participate in their communities. Northcott provides services from 31 sites across metropolitan, regional and rural NSW. There are offices in regional NSW including;

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 a ...

Dubbo Dubbo (; ) is a city in the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the ...

, Moree,

Oak Flats Oak Flats is a suburb of Shellharbour, New South Wales, Australia situated on the south western shores of Lake Illawarra and within the Illawarra region of New South Wales. It is a residential area, which had a population of 6,840 at the . Oak ...

, Penrith,

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the Queanbeyan-Pale ...

, Tamworth,

Casula Casula () is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 34 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Liverpool. Casula is the first suburb immediately ...

, Ballina, Mayfield, Campbelltown,

Wyong Wyong () is a town on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately South-South-West of Newcastle and North-North-East of the state capital Sydney. Established in , it is one of the two administrative centres fo ...

, Hornsby, Mona Vale and

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

References

External links

* {{official website, https://northcott.com.au/ Medical and health organisations based in New South Wales Disability organisations based in Australia 1929 establishments in Australia

History

Description

References

Further reading

External links