Every Wednesday morning, Rose Gordy and her Woolworths colleagues meet for a cuppa at Cafe 63, located about 17 kilometres south-west of Townsville. But their conversation drifts far beyond workplace matters. Rose is there to meet her mother, Ellen, and sister Dannelle – two of her fellow teammates from the Riverway Plaza store in Queensland’s Rasmussen.
A family affair in regional Queensland
2:54 min read
“The cafe is just outside the complex, so we go and sit out there before we start our shift,” says Rose, who has worked as a store services and compliance officer for the past 11 years. “I really enjoy sitting down with my family and seeing how Mum and Dannelle and everyone’s doing.”
The Gordy family’s multi-generational ties to Woolworths extend even further. When she’s not at school, Rose’s niece Brooke handpicks online orders for customers at the Riverway Plaza store. Rose’s other sister, Charlotte, works in the Bakery at the Woolworths Willows store just 10 minutes down the road. Rose’s other niece, Kimberley, also prepares customers’ online orders at the Willows store between her schooling.
Rose, who started at the Riverway Plaza store in 2004, credits the Woolworths Group for creating an environment that has supported the Gordy family for more than two decades.
“It really means a lot,” says Rose. “Family is everything to me and I love having my family around me every day. I really enjoy what I do, and I really enjoy the people I work with.”
Ellen, a team supervisor, is equally appreciative of the opportunity to nurture meaningful relationships with her daughters and extended family. “It’s wonderful, I love every Wednesday morning,” Ellen says. “On weekends, you hardly see each other outside of the odd gathering … everyone’s busy. [Wednesdays] are just such a wonderful opportunity to be with my girls.”
Dannelle was in fact the first Gordy to work at Woolworths, launching her career behind the checkout at the Riverway Plaza store in 2000. She ducked out of the workforce briefly to start a family and returned to work in 2010. Today, she’s a team member at Riverway Plaza, and feels extremely grateful to be working alongside those who mean the most to her. She says that Woolworths Group fosters a unique workplace designed to help her and her family thrive.
“It’s so good to have the extra support,” Dannelle says. “If you’re down or whatever, you’ve got someone right there to talk to. It’s that extra bit of comfort every day.”
Dannelle adds that while her daughter, Kimberley, only joined the company in 2023, the teenager is already gaining confidence as a result. “She’s more open to the world since working at the Willows store,” Dannelle says. “This is her first job, just like it was mine, and she used to be really shy. She’s opened up a lot since joining Woolies.”
This year, as Woolworths marks 100 years since the first store opened, it's people like the dedicated and hardworking Gordy family who deserve to be celebrated. “I actually don’t start work until lunchtime on Wednesdays,” laughs Dannelle . “But I love being there early. I love having a coffee with Mum. Every day I come to work, I just love it.”
