HUNDREDS of households around Australia will be tucking into very special Christmas puddings this festive season - and all for a good cause.
For the past six decades Broken Hill Women's Auxiliary members have made thousands of these prized puddings to raise money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
"This year we've sent out 1650 handmade boiled puddings all over the country - to as far away as WA and Tasmania - and they've all sold out and we've raised about $40,000," Broken Hill Women's Auxiliary president Coral Ford, 78, said.
The pudding drive starts every October, with volunteers working hard combining hundreds of kilos of flour, spices and eggs. "It takes about three weeks to mix, wrap, boil and package them up," said Coral. "It's very hot work."
The tradition began back in the mid-1950s when 75 puddings were made in an auxiliary member's home. Over the years they were made in hotel kitchens, an old pathology building at a hospital and a staff room. While the secret recipe has remained the same, the puddings are now made in a hall provided by local mining company Perylia.
"It's the same recipe that's been used forever - and it's a good recipe," said Coral. "And they're still handmade, just like Grandma used to make, and boiled in very old coppers."
The current longest-serving member of the auxiliary, Pam Lord, joined the pudding club for the first time in 1965.
"I've enjoyed every minute of it and made the most wonderful friends," Pam said.
While these days Pam can't work for long hours, she still prepares the 2000 calico squares that must be torn to shape, washed and ironed for wrapping the puddings.
This year the auxiliary has raised $95,000 for the Royal Flying Doctors, including money raised from their annual Flying Doctor Ball.
And for Broken Hill resident Coral, like other auxiliary members, it is her way of "saying thank you" to the invaluable service.
"Years ago my father and daughter had to be taken to Adelaide to hospital and I thought this is my way of repaying them. I was so grateful I decided to contribute. It is a wonderful service to everyone in town and the Outback," she said.
While it's too late now to order your puddings, Coral's tip is to get in early - around September time - with your order for next year.