Our Story
131 Years of Service to Our Community
PROUDS OF OUR JOURNEY
BlueLine Laundry is a registered Charity with a long and proud history of service to the people of Tasmania. Commencing operations in 1893 as BayView Laundry, the service was developed by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd to provide employment for disadvantaged women and girls.
Since then Blueline Laundry has evolved to a fully commercial and competitive company while continuing to offer employment, training and personal development to disabled and disadvantaged people.
Through 131 years of service to the community, our business has survived through two World Wars, the Polio Pandemic, the Spanish Flu, the 1967 Bushfires, the Global Financial Crisis and COVID-19.
OUR TIMELINE
1835
Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier founded the Catholic religious order in Angers, France.
1893
Operations commenced as a laundry at the Magdalen Home at Mount St. Canice. It was started by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd to provide employment for disadvantaged women and girls.
1913
A modern boiler house was added to the existing facilities in the laundry which included a wash area, an ironing room and a packing room.
1955
Laundry operations continued with business having steadily grown throughout the two world wars and into the 1950s.
1968
A new laundry association was formed and the facility was renamed Bay View Laundry. Lat the following year the laundry commenced operation as a sheltered workshop.
1974
On Thursday 5 September 1974, workmen were testing a new boiler in the laundry when it exploded. Eight people were killed with many more injured.
Following the incident, the decision was made to rebuild the laundry at Mount St. Canice with the aim of providing employment for disable people.
1986
Pope John Paul II visited Mount St. Canice.
1993
On 25 January the laundry was incorporated and a voluntary board of management appointed.
1995
Bay View Laundry ceased operations at Mount St. Canice on 9 December 1995. Operations moved to Creek Road, New Town and the name was changed to Blueline Laundry. Blueline became a Registered Training Organisation. At the start of accredited training the laundry had 52 employees including 30 people with a disability.
1996
The new factory was blessed by His Grace Archbishop D’Arcy. Blueline remains part of the Archdiocese of Hobart and is a Catholic values based agency.
2006
Modernisation of the laundry commenced with installation of the CBWs and more recently new ironers.
2012
With the securement of work from the Launceston General Hospital, Blueline took a step to becoming a statewide operation by committing to establish a laundry in Launceston.
2014
Statewide Linen was acquired by Blueline in further progression to having a statewide presence. Number of employees increased to 197 including 44 people with a disability.
2016
Re-brand of the organisation commenced, resulting in a new logo, website and truck signage.
2020
Emergence of a global pandemic established Blueline as an expert advisor to Public Health, serving hospitals and quarantine hotels with accredited procedures to manage infectious linen and enhanced workplace safety equipment to protect staff.
2024
We expand our operations to Commercial, Industrial and Factory cleaning and preventative maintenance, maximizing our social purpose and impacting more lives.
Vision for the future
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