Kannella opened in February 1972 at the Cavanbah Hall with 169 members & was known as Cavanbah Physical Culture Club. The original instructresses were Vonda Lucas & Marie Robinson.  The club grew so quickly in numbers that in 1973 the club held additional classes at Coffs Harbour Primary School & the name was changed to Kannella Physical Culture Club to better reflect both locations.   Carol Gordon joined the teaching ranks in 1975 looking after the junior girls.

In 1976 the club introduced the ‘Club Spirit and Effort’ awards to boost club spirit & feeling amongst the members.  These trophies were awarded to a junior & senior club member & the inaugural recipients were Alison Purkiss & Dot Hildebrand.  To this day Kannella Physie still awards this trophy (now just an overall winner) to a deserving club member and is a source of great pride to the recipient.

Current head teacher Ann Fletcher took over the teaching role in 1978 and has spent the last 46 years providing outstanding physical culture classes to the girls & women of Coffs Harbour.  Ann is passionate about physie & the benefits of exercise all conducted in a safe & nurturing environment.  One of the highlights of Ann’s teaching career was when Kannella won the prestigious Open Senior Teams event.  To date Kannella is the only regional club to achieve the ultimate goal of being the top Open Senior team in the State.

Kannella has achieved many team & individual results.  Kannella girls/ladies have represented the club with distinction at the State Grand Finals held in the prestigious Sydney Town Hall every year and the club has produced many Grand Champions & placegetters.  In 2023 Kannella Physie attained the highest achievement for Ladies with Nikki S winning the Open Advanced Ladies Group 2 section and then winning the prestigous Shirley Bullock Memorial Trophy awarded to the Overall Ladies Champion.  However, team competitions are the heart of the club where every member is encouraged to participate & experience the thrill & challenge of working in a team.  It is not unusual to find 3 generations of the same family involved in Physie at Kannella.

Ann Fletcher is the current EP School of Physical Culture North Coast Zone Supervisor & is an EP Board Member bringing a wealth of experience to the school. 

The origins of the word Kannella is the perfect embodiment of our club: To dance, caring, compassionate, reliable & loyal…