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Thursday, September 17, 2026 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Government kicks in $473k to reopen Chifley gym

Protesting former Chifley gym patrons, from left, Chris Walburn, Tom Walker, Albert Oberdorf and Pam Harris…“It’s a mental thing as well as a physical one. At the front, you’ll see a notice, ‘the gym that feels like family,’ and it does,” says Tom. Photo: Katarina Lloyd Jones

The Chifley Health and Wellbeing Hub will re-open under new management following the closure of the gym by the YMCA in April.

The ACT government has spent $350,000 for new clinical and gym equipment for the hub and an additional $123,000 for upgrades and improvements to the facility.

Equipd Allied Health will provide access to clinical and gym services, opening the gym in two stages with clinical services starting from August 1.

There will be a new clinical treatment room and testing equipment, and exercise and resistance training equipment for National Disability Insurance Scheme and Department of Veteran Affairs community members.

Stage two will be the re-opening of all gym services from September 1.

In April, Chris Walburn, 76, one of a group of upset senior members of the former Y Chifley Health and Wellness Centre, told CityNews: “We might be old, we might be disabled, but we’re still part of the community.”

Former doctor Tom Walker, 88, said: “It’s a mental thing as well as a physical one. At the front, you’ll see a notice, ‘the gym that feels like family,’ and it does.”

 

News all day, every day at CityNewsQBN.com.au.

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