The first branch of the Australian Red Cross was established in King Street, Sydney on 12 August 1914, just 8 days after Australia joined the First World War. 

Lady Helen Munro Ferguson, the wife of the Governor General, established the Australian Red Cross in Melbourne on 13 August 1914.

Volunteers from the NSW Division sometimes assist with natural disasters that occur interstate – such as Cyclone Tracy in 1974.

All the Red Cross volunteers made their own uniforms using patterns provided by the organisation. However, no guidelines for the size of the red cross to be sewn onto the uniforms were provided, so they are all different sizes!

The Red Cross volunteers based in Mosman established the Anzac Buffet in Sydney’s Domain in 1916, which provided free meals and entertainment to soldiers for three years. You can read more about it in this blog post.