About Our Place, Our Woollahra

Our Place, Our Woollahra is a community inclusion and cohesion initiative that is proudly funded by Woollahra Municipal Council in partnership with Holdsworth. Built around three objectives – Inclusion, Participation, and Recognition – the program celebrates the people, cultures and stories that make our community what it is. 

Each month, our Diversity Spotlight shines a light on a resident, local business, or community group whose story reflects the richness of cultural diversity in our neighbourhood. These are authentic voices, shared in their own words, to help us all feel a little more connected – and a little more at home – in the place we share. 

This month, we sat down with Brittany.

Written by Angie Vriens 

Finding Your Village

Brittany Bloomer was in Year 12 when her family moved to Woollahra. Her parents had met in the Eastern Suburbs years earlier and always hoped to return, so the move felt, as she puts it, “full-circle”. Having grown up between the North Shore and the Northern Beaches, Brittany joined Kambala for her final year. It was an unusual time to start at a new school, but she quickly felt at home. “There’s a buzz here,” she says, “and I felt that as a teenager too.”

That buzz has stayed with her. Queen Street is still a favourite: cafés she has been visiting since high school, independent businesses and plenty of familiar faces. “Despite being so close to the city, Woollahra can still feel like a little village,” she says.

Brittany’s own sense of belonging began early. As a teenager, she set up an informal fundraising stand on Queen Street to talk to passers-by about animal welfare. “Everyone was so warm and receptive,” she remembers. That passion grew into Pound Paws, the animal welfare charity she founded and has run for the past 10 years. It began with lunchtimes in the school library, where she tried to talk friends into adopting pets from the pound, and today hosts community adoption events across NSW, many in the Eastern Suburbs. 

After COVID, Brittany moved to Estonia, her partner’s home country, where she gave birth to her son Max. Winters there were dark, snowy and very cold, a world away from Sydney. Pregnant and far from home, she found her footing by connecting with other mums, and those friendships changed her experience of motherhood. Back in Sydney for Max’s first birthday, she was struck by how different it felt to be a new mum without that ready-made community. 

That contrast inspired Villagehood, the community app she now co-founds, which helps mums meet other mothers in their local area and then connect in real life. “I’d love any mum who is feeling isolated or lonely to know that she doesn’t have to navigate motherhood alone,” she says. “One small step towards connection can completely transform your experience.”

Now living in Darling Point, Brittany still finds that connection close to Woollahra. Holdsworth Community Centre has been, in her words, “such a lifeline as a mum”, a place to get out of the house with Max in the mornings and spend time with other parents and carers. “Having somewhere you can simply show up and feel part of a community is incredibly valuable.” 
 
For her, belonging matters more than any single background or heritage. “Regardless of someone’s cultural or heritage background, there is something incredibly important about feeling connected to the people around you.” 
 
Her wish for Woollahra? A Queen Street community street party, with local businesses, families and community groups all involved. “I would absolutely love to see Queen Street come alive.” 
 
 

Our Place, Our Woollahra is proudly funded by Woollahra Municipal Council in partnership with Holdsworth. If you'd like to share your story for a future Diversity Spotlight, we'd love to hear from you.

Please contact Angie Vriens.

1300 882 962
ourplaceourwoollahra@holdsworth.org.au