Aged care home celebrates 50 years in operation
01/04/2026
Carinity, a Not For Profit, Christian-based care organisation, has celebrated 50 years of caring for seniors in Brisbane with a gathering of residents, family and staff at the Hilltop aged care home.
Sunsetholme aged care was taken over by Carinity in 1976 and later renamed Hilltop.
The first aged persons home on the Kelvin Grove site actually opened in 1923, under the auspice of Queensland Council of Churches. It was previously the Brisbane Industrial Home, a rescue home for young women and girls which operated on the site from 1887 until 1922.
Construction of the current Hilltop aged care building started in 1977. Built at a cost of $950,000, it welcomed its first residents in 1978. A dozen independent living units were built in 1983 to complement the aged care centre, at a cost of $538,500.
Hilltop is the Carinity seniors’ home which is located closest to the Brisbane CBD. The 50-year celebration of Carinity Hilltop was a well-attended event, with most of the aged care home’s residents joining the festivities.
One of the longest residing residents, Marjorie Blankley, has lived at Carinity Hilltop for 11 years.
She cut a special anniversary cake with long-serving staff members, Ozelle Hutley, Janelle Steer and Ramandeep Gill. Carinity CEO, Kevin Griffiths, was also in attendance at the celebration.
He said Hilltop is “a powerful example of Carinity’s broader mission”.
“Our mission began with a simple but courageous idea: that vulnerable people deserve care grounded in compassion, respect and firmly anchored in Christian love,” Kevin said.