A walk back in time

This year the Heart Foundation celebrates 60 years of saving Australian hearts. In 1959, 22 percent of Australian deaths were caused by heart disease and a group of cardiologists, lawyers and business people decided to take action. They started an organisation to fund research and develop education programs to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart disease in Australia.  

From its first fundraising in 1961, the Heart Foundation quickly established itself as a leader in the fight against heart disease. The Heart Foundation helped establish cardiac rehab programs, funded the development of the first automatic pacemaker, pursuaded Telecom Australia to make the '000' a national free call, and helped get the ban on smoking advertising. 

Helping Australians to find ways to stay healthy and prevent heart disease was key to the Heart Foundation mission, and that's where the walking program came in.

Starting as a fundraising event called 'Heartwalks' in the 1990s, the Heart Foundation team realised that we need to encourage people to participate in physical activity for the longer term not just for one-off events. 

"We wanted a physical activity program that was more sustainable long-term, as well as easily accessible, simple, and low cost", explains Rachelle Foreman who was part of the health team at the time. "We came up with the idea of having lots of little groups within their community setting, with the Heart Foundation supporting the guides and encouraging them to get their neighbours and wider community to join in". 

The logistics of getting the program going involved promoting the idea of walking as exercise, and established a name and a logo - 'Just Walk It'. The first Just Walk It group stepped out in Queensland in 1995 and then spread to the other states. Once it was a truly national program in 2007, it became Heart Foundation Walking. The program has gone from strength to strength, with a boost in Federal government funding in 2017 and over 40,000 members across the country walking with us. 

Were you part of one of the first Just Walk It groups? We'd love to know your story and share it with others. You can also see the full story of the Heart Foundation's history here.