Family of Balderton Parish Councillor and owner of the Sewing Box, Newark Olga Newstead pay tribute
Tributes are being paid to a parish councillor who loved people, and had a “sense of social responsibility”.
Olga Newstead, who has passed away aged 81, was well known in Newark and Balderton, and her family have spoken of their wife and mum as someone who put her heart and soul into the community.
She was born in 1943 in Sunderland, and her family moved to London shortly after due to the World War Two bombings.
The family emigrated to Australia in 1955 and ran two businesses — a dress-makers and a post office and general store — in Adelaide, with Olga working in both while her father worked as a Justice of the Peace.
She met her husband Paul, originally from Beckingham, in 1964 when he was serving in the Royal Air Force, as Olga’s father was a supporter of the forces soccer team he played in.
“There wasn’t much football in Australia at the time so he liked to come and watch us, and that’s where we met,” Paul recalled, “We liked each other on sight.”
Olga and her family moved back to the UK in 1964, on a ferry which took six or seven weeks sailing around the world, and the couple kept in touch by letter.
When Paul was posted back to the UK just before Christmas that year, the two reunited and were married in March 1965 in Beckingham’s All Saints’ Church, and they settled at RAF Mareham, Norfolk for five years, where they had their daughters Paula, in 1966, and Julie, in 1968.
They moved to Newark in 1970 as the closest town to Paul’s family, where they lived for nine years before moving to Meadow Road in Balderton, where they lived ever since with Paul working in electricals at British Sugar until his retirement.
Olga was most well-known for operating her dress making and alterations business, The Sewing Box, which she ran from Newark’s market for more than 20 years.
During this time, she not only made Newark’s Mayoral robes, which are still in use to this day, but also the town hall’s flag, with the second one she made sent out to Newark’s twinned German town of Emmendingen.
Olga served on Balderton parish council for 40 years and only stood down in 2023.
On top of her parish councillor duties, which her daughter Paula said was one of her proudest achievements, Olga stood as a governor at Magnus Academy for a number of years, and also ran the Newark and Sherwood Age Concern group and founded the Balderton Art Group.
Olga was involved in a large number of other community organisations, including making meals for pensioners for the Salvation Army, volunteering for the Citizens Advice Bureau, and was an active member of the Friends of Balderton Surgery support group as well as supporting the local scouts, including making desserts for 100 people during a scout exchange scheme with the Czechia scouts.
Her four grandchildren — Gregory, Benjamin, James, and William — also kept her very busy, and the family have just introduced the latest addition, great-grandson Thomas.
Paula said: “She was very much a people person, they were the most important thing to her.
“She had a sense of social responsibility before that was even a known thing.
“I always knew she was very popular because as a child, we would be stopped and interrupted by people talking to her every time we’d go out, which was annoying, but it showed how well liked she was.”
Jane Buxton, chairman of Balderton Parish Council, paid tribute to Olga.
She said: “It was with great sadness that we heard of the passing of Olga Newstead. Olga served her community as a councillor on Balderton Parish Council for many years.
“She was committed to public service and always had the interest of residents at heart. We are truly grateful for the time she gave to our community. Our thoughts are with her family and friends.”
Olga’s funeral will be held on Monday February 17 at Sherwood Forest Crematorium in New Ollerton at 2pm. Donations are invited for Beaumond House, Newark.
