Our history.

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• 1950.

  Arnold Cook returns to Australia with his UK-trained Guide Dog ‘Dreena’. Arnold Cook was the first Guide Dog handler in Australia.

  
• 1951.

  Guide Dogs for the Blind Association is established in Perth, with financial assistance from the Claremont Apex Club.

  
• 1952.

  ‘Beau’, the first Australian-trained Guide Dog, is matched with a handler, Mrs Elsie Mead.

  
• 1957.

  Guide Dogs for the Blind Association of New South Wales is formed, along with a new national Guide Dogs association.

  
• 1962.

  Guide Dogs are permitted to travel inside planes.

  
• 1964.

  Jim Jones was appointed the first full-time secretary, organiser of Guide Dogs for the Blind Association of NSW.

  
• 1966.

  The addition of mobility aids to the provision of Guide Dogs necessitated extra staff numbers and an increase in fundraising activity.

  
• 1973.

  Juliet Jones was appointed our first Australian-trained Orientation & Mobility Instructor.

  
• 1979.

  At the request of clients, we changed our name to Guide Dogs Association of New South Wales, reflecting the fact that not all people with low vision are blind.

  
• 1984.

  Therapy Dogs Program, a community service providing companion dogs for people who may have limited social contact due to disability, age or ill health, is launched.

  
• 1991.

  NSW and ACT Associations merge to become the Guide Dogs Association of New South Wales and ACT.

  
• 1999.

  The Association, in conjunction with the University of Newcastle, develops a new course for the training of Orientation and Mobility Instructors.

  
• 2000.

  The new state-of-the-art Guide Dogs Centre at Glossodia is opened by the Governor of New South Wales.

  
• 2003.

  The company is renamed Guide Dogs NSW/ACT to reflect current thinking and style, and moves its head office to Chatswood.

  
• 2021.

  A puppy breeding program is established to enhance control of Guide Dog quality and graduate numbers.

  
• 2017.

  Guide Dogs NSW/ACT celebrated 60 years of assisting people with low vision and blindness, enhancing independence and mobility through world-class service provision.