Vollie Profile - Margaret Cunningham

Margaret Cunnngham

Entally Estate Volunteer (centre)

Margaret is a warm, bubbly person, who seems always to be bustling around the House, making sure it always looks its best. Margaret & her sister Helen started volunteering at Entally in 2010, after their young families had grown up.

It was shortly after they had started, when they started researching the history of previous Entally workers, and discovered they were descended from Norm Dent – an old Entally worker, who was born in Entally House.

Norm’s parents were John & Ellen Dent, who came to live at Entally around 1891. John managed the Estate on behalf of Thomas Reibey III, until John’s retirement in 1902, when he moved into the Hadspen township. Norm continued the family tradition of working on the Estate, and so did his daughter Molly Reita Beams (née Dent), as a housemaid until 1942.

This might be why Margaret feels she has such a connection to the Estate, and why she feels “house proud”. Once a week, Margaret comes in, cleaning the House until it is spick and span! She manages our annual Winter Clean, which includes the polishing of all the silver, brass, copper, and pewter, plus the dusting of books, wipe down of furniture, and deep clean of all surfaces. Under her watchful eye, other volunteers assist but everything must be done to Margaret’s high standard.

Margaret’s natural leadership abilities come into play for our bi-annual Gardenfest – Margaret takes charge of our Devonshire Teas, served on the Verandah of the House. Every scone passes through Margaret’s hands, and if it isn’t perfect, it won’t be served. The Entally Scone Recipe has been perfected over the decades by the vollies, but Margaret’s are easily some of the best – fluffy, a decent size, and beautifully served with a spoonful of raspberry jam, and luscious pillows of whipped cream.

Whilst you won’t find Margaret guiding tours or working in the garden, her back-of-house work is essential in keeping the Estate operating at its optimum standard.