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After her breast cancer journey last year, Donna Martin began swimming in the Tumut River, making the plunge at the beach near the Tumut racecourse.
“I got in for the cold-water therapy, to help my body recover from treatment, and I ran into some other local girls who swim at different parts of the river and we got talking,” says Martin, a local businesswoman before retiring in 2024.
“One of the girls stayed at [Tumut] Reflections when her house was painted and formed a friendship with the park manager, Bryan. She asked him if we could swim at the beach and he said ‘Go for it’, and we’ve been here ever since because we all reckon it’s a great spot.”
On June 21, the women will encourage other water lovers to join them for a swim for a good cause at the inaugural Winter Solstice swim Tumut River. Participants can register for the event at Humanitix and donate funds to support the Tumut branch of Can Assist, a charity which offers financial assistance and practical support to cancer patients in rural areas to help them during their treatment.
“I have a family history of breast of cancer and have had ongoing surveillance and a fabulous team of people supporting me. We found my cancer in January, 2025,” Ms Martin said.
“I spent the whole year doing breast cancer – diagnosis, surgery to remove the cancer, chemotherapy, a double mastectomy with reconstruction surgery – and I understand the costs of cancer, including the financial ones.”
Ms Martin and the Women Who Swim hope to rally up to 200 swimmers to take on the icy Winter Solstice Swim and there are plans to make it an annual event.
On June 21, the winter solstice, Tumut Reflections Park Manager Bryan Curran will have fire pits active near the beach area to help warm up participants before and after they dunk mark the winter solstice.
The local canoe club will be on hand to provide safety support, and after the swim, participants can have hot showers at the nearby amenity block before tucking into a sausage sandwich cooked by Can Assist.
For those not facing the cold water, a stretch class will be held at 11am, when the swim will begin.
Mr Curran said Reflections was pleased to facilitate the inaugural event and offer as much support as possible to support the community.
“Our park team supports other local charities in many different ways but this certainly raises the bar as far as being brave enough to plunge into the river in winter,” he said.
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Media contact: Penelope Green 0437 144 526
About us:
Reflections Holidays is the largest holiday park group in NSW and a Category One Crown Land Manager. A certified social enterprise, Reflections reinvests profit back into the 40 holiday parks it operates and 45 community reserves it cares for across the state.
Contact details:
Penelope Green
0437 144 526
