Community
8 April, 2026
Peterborough raises money for cancer research
PADDLE Peterborough are hosting a night filled with music, activities and prizes to raise money for cancer research this Saturday evening.
Starting at 6pm at Peterborough Hall on Saturday, April 11, tickets are only $5 and include a slow cooked pork slider, salad and slices with the money raised to go towards vital cancer research.
Organiser Sally Loveridge said this was the event’s sixth year running.
“For the first two years we did it for the Cancer Council and now we do it for Love Your Sister,” she said.
“All the money that they raise goes directly to cancer research, in particular targeted treatment for people.
“We have been doing it for six years and we’ve raised over $100,000.”
As part of the event, Mrs Loveridge and close friends and family will do a paddle in the morning before closing out the day with the event at Peterborough Hall.
Mrs Loveridge said the paddles started several years ago when her husband, Jamie, was in Lorne and met a young man on the beach who had taken some photos of him out on the water.
“This young bloke had a scar on his neck and my husband is not tactful – he said something to him and it turned out this boy had had melanoma and had it removed,” she said.
“Jamie’s sister had only died two weeks previously from cancer as well so Jamie ended up crying on this poor bloke’s shoulder.
“The bloke told Jamie he should come to Melbourne because they were doing a paddle across the bay, which was an organised event with 300 or 400 people, and Jamie raised nearly $2000 for that.
“The next year they did hold it as well and Jamie did it again but the year after that it was cancelled because of COVID.
“One of them said we should do a paddle at Peterborough and that’s how it came about.”
The young man, Patrick Wilson, ended up passing away from melanoma that first year.
His brother, Andrew Wilson and his wife Jackie, as well as Mr and Mrs Loveridge, have been organising the paddles as well as the events in the hall to raise money for cancer research ever since.
“It’s a bit of a community event that focuses on Patrick Wilson, the boy who died, and Jamie’s sister Kath Loveridge, who died the same year – it celebrates their life,” Mrs Loveridge said.
“Everybody is touched by cancer so if we can raise some money that progresses some level of treatment even just for some people it’ll make a difference.”
The fundraising event includes a raffle with some big prizes to be won, as well as a paper plane competition for the kids with its own set of prizes.
“We have pretty good prizes – even this year when I thought it might have been tougher, people have been so generous,” Mrs Loveridge said.
“Midfield Meat come to the party every year, they donate the meat.
“My husband’s brother makes surfboards so he donates a custom-made surfboard each year.
“Ripcurl donates prizes, Billabong and Quiksilver have given us great prizes over the years and Mitre 10 have been really helpful.
“Anyone that we ask pretty much, they’re just so generous.”
There will also be an auction on the night for trailers of wood and drums for wood burning, with the drums coming from a place in Melbourne called Woodpecker.
A local band, The Flamin’ 80s, also volunteered to play for the night.
Alcohol would also be available on the night, but as a family friendly event, Mrs Loveridge anticipated all the festivities would be wrapped up by 11pm.
Mrs Loveridge thanked all in the community for their generosity and said she was looking forward to the night ahead.
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