Bendigo’s Frances & Harold Abbott Foundation, has with links many community groups links but perhaps one of the most recent and colourful is with the Sun Loong dragon – part of the rich Chinese heritage of the region.

The Foundation was the legacy of well-known Bendigo businessman Harold Athelstane Abbott, who passed away aged 90 in 1979.

The Abbott Foundation became a part of the Equity Trustees stellar list of leading philanthropic trusts following Equity Trustees purchase of the Sandhurst trusts and estates business in March 2017.

The grant of $50,000 supports the Sun Loong 750 campaign which aims to raise $750,000 to replace Sun Loong with new dragon Dai Gum Loong, to preserve and repair Sun Loong. The dragon has been an important feature of the Bendigo community since 1970 when it was first paraded – bringing the community together for the spectacle as well as fostering pride in the region’s Chinese heritage.

Bendigo’s Golden Dragon Museum is a tourist attraction and an incredible part of the culture of Bendigo, home to a superb Chinese collection of antiquities that are rarely seen outside of China.

In 2017, the Foundation also supported the following Bendigo organisations in its latest distribution of grants: Bendigo Heritage Attractions $9,850, East Loddon Food Share Program $10,000, Bendigo Art Gallery $50,000, Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services $5,394, Bendigo Community Health Services (partner with Bendigo Interfaith Council): $10,000 and Big Hill Primary School $15,000.