Inside is the usual op shop fare: shoes, hats, books and clothes selling at a lower price than most, and a bustle of women, mostly seniors, sorting bric-a-brac.

It is a central place to the women who volunteer their time there. It's the place they catch up with each other, see friends and meet all the odd and wonderful faces of Katherine.

For the team of ten, it's a place of refuge in a town with not a whole lot to do.

But it is also a way for the women to help others outside of their small scope.

Since it opened almost 60 years ago, thousands of dollars have been donated to causes across the globe.

The charity store has given up its time, money and resources to sponsor children in developing countries and help people through almost all of the natural disasters to cause destruction in and around Katherine.

For the past five years, the op shop team has been in the fight to eradicate obstetric fistula - a fissure, or hole, between the rectal and vaginal passages caused by an obstructed childbirth, which leaves women incontinent and cut off from their communities.

At 84-years-old, Gillian Hagger is by far the longest serving volunteer at the op shop.

She arrived in Katherine in 1969 and started almost immediately.

For her, volunteering has always been a part of life. It is part of her service to the Anglican Church, and a way to stay connected.

"If I didn't have the op shop as a way to give back it would be a loss in my life," she said.

She said the current charity the ladies support is a cause close to all of their hearts.

"One of the members had close contact with a women in Ethiopia and she saw the great need for much more support," Ms Hagger said.

"It is a really serious health issue, the baby quite often dies, women are ostracized, and as a group of women we thought it was very important."

The Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation was founded 60 years ago by pioneering Australian surgeons Catherine and Reg Hamlin.

In five years, more than $5000 has been donated to the foundation through the op shop. The rest of the profit keeps the church afloat. The ladies have also sent over large hand-stitched patchwork blankets.

Ms Hagger said the op shop has been helping others since the day it opened its doors.

It was started by a bishop named Ken Mason who saw a need for clothing to be available to underprivileged people in Katherine.

He arranged for clothes to be brought from down south on the train, and on Saturday morning, boxes filled with affordable items would be piled outside the church for people to rummage through.

The volunteers gave out free clothes during the devastating cyclone Tracy in December 1974, and when there was a flood through Kalkarindji, and more recently when cyclone Trevor displaced people from the remote town of Borroloola.

It was in the 70's the women decided to also provide aid overseas.

"Some of the issues here like homelessness are too big to tackle by ourselves. We do what we can, we donate to as many services in town to help, but we decided to help overseas as well," Ms Hagger said.

Over the years, a portion of the op shop's proceeds have been used to sponsor 12 children, and support other charities including the Tear Fund fighting poverty, and the Barnabas Fund - supporting Christians who face discrimination or persecution as a consequence of their faith.

They have also helped local children access higher education, and always sends clothes to communities like Timber Creek.

The op shop ladies have no plans to extend the hours of operation, currently 9am to 11.30am, but they definitely have plans keep supporting important causes.

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