Portrait of Darnley Montgomery by Vicki Wilkinson 2013
The Foundation was established, in 2018, in honour of the late Darnley Montgomery, a long term sufferer of Parkinson’s Disease and active member of the Parkinson’s Victoria’s Shepparton Peer Support Group. The foundation’s purpose is primarily to act as a means of directing funds, generously donated by community organisations, to projects, at a local level, benefiting the care of and facilities available to persons with Movement Disorders.
Growing up in post war Tallygaroopna, where he toiled away on the family farm, not only did Darnley excel at sport, but he earned to love and respect of his small community, with his never give up attitude and the fire in his belly. Although, he would be the first to say he was annoyed by his circumstances and the affliction of Parkinson’s Disease, he never dwelled upon the negative, demonstrating, not what he couldn’t do, rather, what he could. He would not take a backward step and did not apologise, when bumping into someone, whist walking down the local street, rather, he would see this as an opportunity to educate someone on this insidious disease of Parkinson’s, with which he endured, rather than suffered.
With great foresight, Darnley was integral in initiating the idea of creating a position for a Movement Disorder Nurse, to be based in the Shepparton Region and he set about fundraising toward this goal. In conjunction with GV Health, Parkinson’s Victoria and its Shepparton Peer Support Group and with significant local contributions, his goal was reached, with a nurse commencing the role in 2013.
Our aim is to support the professional development of health professionals, including nurses, speech therapists, physiotherapists and other allied health workers, through sponsorship of specialist education and training, specific to movement disorders.
Having identified a need for ‘up to date’ information on services and products available, not to mention current best practices and the latest in research, we are planning to hold an annual Movement Disorder Expo. This event will detail locally available services, likely to enhance quality of life.
We hope our website will be further developed to become a comprehensive resource, providing information about and links to, as many local resources as we can identify.
The foundation is open to suggestions for other programs or services might be implemented locally, especially those that might improve the day to day life of those with movement disorders.
We are registered charity, funded by the generosity of local private benefactors and donors as well as support from fundraising by service clubs and other groups. Membership is open to any member of the public and like any charitable organisation, we are always looking for interested people with a desire to contribute.