Stafford has honoured one of its most beloved community figures with the official naming of Jack Pool Place, a lasting tribute to a man who spent nearly 30 years volunteering at Stafford and District Meals on Wheels and became one of the most recognised volunteers in Queensland.
The unveiling ceremony took place on what would have been Jack’s birthday, with his daughters Bronwyn and Gayle present to witness their father’s name permanently woven into the fabric of the suburb he devoted so much of his life to serving. For the hundreds of volunteers, staff and clients whose lives Jack touched across nearly three decades at Stafford and District Meals on Wheels, the naming of a place in his honour is a recognition long overdue and entirely fitting.
Jack Pool passed away in March 2025. He was in his nineties.
A Life Devoted to Others
Jack Pool began volunteering with Stafford Meals on Wheels as a delivery driver in 1998 and quickly stepped into leadership, serving as Vice-President and President from 2001 to 2021, and later as Patron of the organisation. He also contributed at the state level, serving as a Board Member of Meals on Wheels Queensland from 2011 to 2018.
The role of a Meals on Wheels delivery driver is, on its surface, a straightforward one: pick up freshly prepared meals from the kitchen and deliver them to clients who cannot cook or shop for themselves. But Jack Pool understood from early in his involvement that the meal was never really the point. The daily visit, the joke shared at the door, the few minutes of genuine human contact with someone who might otherwise go an entire day without seeing another face: that was the service Meals on Wheels actually delivered. Jack loved to share a joke with his clients and other volunteers and was always happy to help with an odd job, embodying the Meals on Wheels philosophy that the service is more than just a meal.
Stafford and District Meals on Wheels operates across north-west Brisbane, with more than 90 volunteers delivering approximately 100 freshly prepared meals each weekday to elderly, disabled and infirm residents who need support to remain living independently in their own homes. Jack’s three decades of involvement spanned the organisation’s growth into one of Brisbane’s most respected community services.
What He Built
During his time as committee president, Jack worked to build contacts with other agencies, which led to younger people with disabilities helping to deliver meals alongside their carers, strengthening social connection for both the volunteers and the clients they served. He also organised for Year 10 hospitality students from the local high school to work alongside the Meals on Wheels chef, giving young people meaningful community experience while building the organisation’s capacity.
One of his most significant contributions was helping to secure much-needed repairs to the Stafford Meals on Wheels facility, a project that spanned nearly a decade of persistent advocacy and effort. Even as he moved into his nineties, Jack remained actively present at the organisation, fostering the welcoming environment for volunteers and staff that had always defined the culture he helped build, and representing Stafford Meals on Wheels at community events and expos across Brisbane’s north.
The awards that came his way across those decades reflected a community and a profession that saw clearly what Jack was doing. He was recognised as a Westfield Local Hero in 2020, with the associated $10,000 grant directed to Stafford Meals on Wheels to fund groceries, equipment and running costs. In 2024, he received the Mary Lowe Living Legend Award from Meals on Wheels Queensland, the sector’s highest recognition for volunteers who have shaped the organisation’s foundations. He was also a finalist in the Queensland Volunteering Awards in 2025, recognised posthumously for the remarkable impact of a life spent in service.
A Name That Will Last
The naming of Jack Pool Place ensures that every person who passes through Stafford carries a reminder that ordinary people, choosing consistently to show up for their neighbours, leave marks on a community that outlast them by generations. Jack’s daughters Bronwyn and Gayle were there to see it made permanent on what would have been their father’s birthday: a detail that turned a civic ceremony into something genuinely moving.
Stafford and District Meals on Wheels welcomes new volunteers at any time. Roles include meal delivery driving, driver’s aide assistance, fundraising and community events. Anyone interested in volunteering can visit staffordmealsonwheels.org.au or call the kitchen directly to find out more.
Published 1-March-2026.
