Tasman row for a cause Digging deep for Turkiye

A week long fundraiser, initiated by Gülçin Töpel of Saltwater Cafe, has raised over $15,000 to help those affected by the devastating earthquakes.

With the help of friends in the Turkish community and other local businesses, she launched an appeal to encouraging people to come and eat Turkish food, with all of the proceeds going to Turkiye’s most trusted independent aid agency, Ahbap.

Gülçin and her family moved to Kiama in 2020, after arriving in Australia in 2010, and since then she’s done everything to become involved in the local community.

affected as some of the other ten cities, it is heart breaking to see the damage.

feeling and I have to do what I can to help them, as every little bit can help.

cept it before, but now I have set up a fundraising appeal through mycause.com.au that all the money has gone through.”

Well known in Sydney for her previous roles in running restaurants and hospitality businesses, Gülçin’s friends came down to help get the fundraiser off to a great start. All of the money from the food sales went to the appeal, with Gülçin’s family covering the costs.

Despite swells, seasickness and blistered hands, eight South Coast women – including three from Kiama Surf Club – have rowed across Bass Strait in a surf boat to set an epic all-time record. Their efforts are being celebrated at an event in Berry to contribute to the reason they did it – to raise funds for Red Nose Australia (an organisation which funds research into and offers support to people affected by the death of a baby or child through miscarriage or SIDS).

After meeting up with each other nine months ago on Zoom to plan their strategy for undertaking the trip, over seven days the women rowed a gruelling 320km across Bass Strait, from Port Welshpool in Victoria to Little Musselroe Bay in north-east Tasmania.

Half suffered sea sickness, but continued to row like champions. Over the week they slept on the sands at a couple of islands in the Strait. In making their crossing, the women set a world record for the longest one day surfboat row – 89km in 12 hours.

“All the girls are surf life saver rowers,” says Elle Pannowitz, who at 50, was the oldest of the MusselRowers crew. She lives in Berry, but is a member of the Kiama SLSC, along with Katherine McKeever and Anna McGlynn.

“It takes a certain mindset to be able to finish that crossing. But we were determined girls, wanting to make a difference and doing it for a good cause. I had such a ball.”

Anna says she felt great after the row, “apart from blistered hands and an infected toe. It was such an amazing trip in terms of the sights, rowing, and lovely people to share the experience with.

“Red Nose/SIDS is such a great cause, it made the trip even more special.”

Elle is a nurse and midwife who now trains doctors in robotic surgery.

“As a midwife, I remember looking after the mum of twins and at three months they lost one of their children. It was so devastating.

I couldn’t see any better cause than raising money for this kind of support and research,” she says.

“The common denominator was Rob Pollock [OAM, Eurobodalla Councillor] from Moruya who I had raced against and trained with 20 years ago, and Beck Hamilton [Women’s Surf Rowers most decorated and longest-running female sweep] from Kiama Surf Lifesaving, who I also raced against and rowed with about 20 years ago.

“Rob said he was looking for some ‘tough old birds’ to do the crossing. And I thought, I fit that description! He already had five girls [Taryn Carver, Ashley Bujeya, Topaz Eaton, Michelle Cottington and Shannon Small] from his area who he knew were capable.”

She credits Beck Hamilton with the resurgence of boat rowing at Kiama, “She grew up a Jamberoo local and is now back at Kiama Surf Club, building the boating fraternity back up from scratch, making it a force to be reckoned with.”

The Berry Red Nose fundraiser (details below) is being held to celebrate this amazing feat of ‘girlpower for a good cause’.

“Elle is a stalwart of Berry,” says Kate Dezarnaulds, WorkLife Founder and President of the Berry Chamber of Commerce and Tourism.

“She’s always happy to help people having a tough time. She is an incredible role model and one of the most courageous and modest women I know. I am petrified of the open sea – to think that they spent 7 days out there in a surf boat blows my mind.”

Donations can still be made at: fundraising.rednose.org.au/ musselrowers

Event on Thursday 2 March, SocialLife, Albert St, Berry, 6-7.30pm. $50 covers a (mock or) cocktail and platters ($40 goes to SIDS). Dress in red.

by Perrie Croshaw

“My home town of Adana is so much bigger but it is like Kiama – everyone knows and helps each other,” she says.

“While it is not as badly

“My family is OK, they have just lost houses, but I feel so much for people who have lost loved ones.

“I know what they are

“People know and trust me, and had been coming in offering money as they want to help.

“I wasn’t been able to ac-

Central Perk, which has a Turkish chef, also got into the spirit offering Turkish breakfast platters on the weekend, and Dentalcalm offered a day’s proceeds to the cause. The latest figures for the two earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria are 47,000 people dead, thousands of others missing and millions homeless.