Our History
From Humble Beginnings To Global Impact
Established in 1998 by Scarborough Rotary Club, Wheelchairs For Kids Australia (WFKA) has grown from a humble volunteer-driven project into a charity with global impact. Our dedicated volunteers have made and gifted over 65,000 wheelchairs to children with disabilities in more than 80 countries, all free of charge.
The inspiration for this project was Queensland Rotarian Des LaRance. In the mid-1990s, Des, a member of the Rotary Club of Surfers Sunrise on the Gold Coast, witnessed disabled children in Fiji struggling to move—some dragging themselves across the ground. Moved by what he saw, he set out to design a low-cost, rough-terrain wheelchair.
Des put a call out asking other Rotary Clubs in Australia to take on the challenge of helping to fulfil the enormous need he saw for getting suitable wheelchairs to children in less developed countries.
In 1996, Scarborough Rotary Club, located in Perth answered the call from the Surfers Sunrise Rotary Club. The journey began with an early prototype made from old bike frames and wooden bases. However, the design process was time consuming and the wheelchairs cumbersome to freight.
Scarborough Rotary approached Br Olly Pickett who had a metalworking factory in Wangara, working with young people who had dropped out of school. After a few trials, Olly told RC Scarborough that the current design wasn’t practical and withdrew from the project.
Always keen to lend a hand, the wheelchairs stayed on Br Olly’s mind. With the support of long-time friends Bob Sheridan and Beppie deKuyer, Olly designed a new model using readily available materials and took it to Scarborough Rotary. Needless to say, the wheels began turning and in 1998, the first regular shipments began.
Through continuous innovation and refinement, our volunteers have developed a world-class design that adheres to 2008 World Health Organisation (WHO) “Guidelines on the provision of manual wheelchairs in less resourced settings”. At the heart of these guidelines, is the need for wheelchairs suited to rough terrains, that can be individually fitted, offer postural support and are safe and durable.
This led to the design of our flagship "Adjusta" model introduced in 2009, a world-first design that can grow with a child from pre-school to late teens and is suited to all environments.
The Power Of Our Volunteers
Volunteers are the driving force behind the growth of WFKA. From just a handful of volunteers, today we have a ‘workforce’ of over 250 regular volunteers, most of whom are retirees. Our factory operates five-days-a-week with a dedicated team who manufacture, assemble and pack around 30 wheelchairs per day.
Within the factory we have teams who cut and sew a range of durable fabrics for cushions and accessories, along with the ladies who work in our Beppie deKuyer Toy & Rug Room, sorting thousands of donated rugs and toys each year.
Hundreds of volunteers also assist from their homes, sewing covers or making rugs and toys that accompany each wheelchair. This incredible dedication has allowed us to maintain a low-cost, high-impact charity model for almost three decades.
A handful of our founding volunteers have been with us since 1998, with many others clocking up 10, 15 and 20 years of service, demonstrating an extraordinary commitment to improving the lives of children in need.
Our Future Vision
Demand for wheelchairs continues to remain high with millions of children in less developed countries awaiting their first wheelchair. As part of our strategic goals, we hope to continue to increase annual wheelchair production in line with the capacity of our factory and our ability to secure sustainable funding.
We also recognise the vital role of correct assessment and custom-fitting for each child and are committed to increasing our training and support for our distribution partners. Our goal is to fund occupational therapists and/or physiotherapists to accompany each container of wheelchairs, ensuring specialist training and a perfect fit for every child we serve.
Through the ongoing dedication of our volunteers and the support of our partners, we will continue to provide not just mobility, but also hope, dignity and a brighter future for thousands of children around the world every year.
Timeline Of Achievements
Our story is marked by key milestones, each representing a significant step in our mission to bring mobility and independence to children in need.
1998
Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
2000
The Christian Brothers help secure a factory unit in Wangara and soon after Scarborough Rotary help secure a second factory two streets away.
2001
A third factory unit is rented also in Wangara and Br Olly is now volunteering fulltime. The project continues to expand and is now operating from four factory units.
2007
February; the team celebrates 10,000 wheelchairs donated.
2009
A major breakthrough is achieved with the development of the flagship "Adjusta" model designed to meet 2008 WHO guidelines for use in developing countries.
2011
September; the team celebrates 20,000 wheelchairs donated.
2015
February; the team celebrates 30,000 wheelchairs donated.
2018
March; the team celebrates 40,000 wheelchairs donated.
2020
A new site is secured at 10 Buckingham Drive, Wangara with a loan from Bill Gibbins, a generous long-time supporter of the project.
2021
August; the team celebrates 50,000 wheelchairs donated. October; WA Premier Mark McGown officially opens the new factory.
December; Eileen and Bill Doyle, owners of Dixie Station and generous benefactors, make a transformational gift that repays the building loan, granting ownership of the factory to WFKA.
2022
August; Greg Hebble, bringing significant experience in not-for-profit leadership is appointed CEO as inaugural CEO Gordon Hudson retires.
2023
Gordon Hudson Conference Room named in honour the legacy of founding CEO.
November; our Patron Graham Edwards AM is appointed.
2024
June; the team celebrates 60,000 wheelchairs donated with an event attended by WA Premier Roger Cook. The 60,000th wheelchair is tracked and goes to 10-year-old Ketut who lives in a small village in the hills above North Bali.
2025
January; Br Thomas Oliver (Olly) Pickett is awarded 2025 Senior Australian of the Year. At 84 years old, he humbly dedicated the award to his fellow volunteers, emphasizing, "Nothing can be achieved unless you have good people around you."
Beppie deKuyer Toy & Rug Room is named to honour Beppie’s 27-year commitment to WFKA.
Track the Design History of our wheelchairs.