St. Patrick's Day 24

---- We open most Fridays from 5 pm. Everyone is welcome ---- This year we want to get more happening at the Hut (see banner photo) located at the Tanunda Recreation Park off Bilyara Road, Tanunda.

Several of our Members

Instead of opening only on Friday evenings, we plan to have some ad hoc openings like we had today for St Patrick's Day.

This was our first "test run" called at short notice and we were pleasantly surprised that numerous of our members attended. Some rose to the occasion and had a Guinness or two for St Patrick. 

Most ad hoc days will be for military-related events such as the end of the Malaya Campaign. However, there is also room for some additional open days for significant international or national events that may be of interest to our members and visitors.

As we head into 2024 we will give you more notice of special openings of the Hut and as always, look forward to having you join us.

Did you miss our super soup night?

---- We open most Fridays from 5 pm with meals on the first Friday of a month. Everyone is welcome ---- The super soup night on Friday, 2 June was one of the best attended, most enjoyable nights we've had for a long time after months (years?) of interruptions due to COVID lockouts and long-term construction and landscaping projects within the Tanunda Recreation Park.

Last Friday night made us feel as though we had put all that behind us and are now back to normal.

Our table setting at the Hut

Over 40 people attended and had options of four soups: pumpkin, mushroom, chicken noodle, or potato, bacon, and leek. These were accompanied by soft, tasty white bread rolls and of course a sweet consisting of apple crumble and custard or cream. Nobody was heard to say they didn't like the soup or the apple crumble.

As usual, a range of beverages was available at happy hour prices.

Making our night even more special were the presentation of cheques to three local organisations that provide services to us during ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day commemorative events, and a couple of poems by our in-house bush poet, Maurie O'Brien who has presented on several occasions.

Maurie has a collection of 31 poems titled, "ANZAC Poems and Other Sprigs of Wattle" that is available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback versions. It's well worth a look if you're interested in poetry or military history.

On Friday evenings when the Hut is open and we aren't having a meal, we have a variety of snacks available, happy hour beverage prices including tea and coffee and plenty of friendly chat. If you live in the area or are passing through, please do come and join us after 5 pm. 

ANZAC Day 2023 - An Enormous Success

---- We open most Fridays from 5 pm. Everyone is welcome ----

ANZAC Day at Tanunda was another enormous success.

Outside the Hut

An estimated 1,500-2,000 people attended Tanunda RSL's commemorative dawn service at the Tanunda Memorial Gardens yesterday. Both President, Trevor Klose and member Patsy Biscoe, who had provided entertainment to troops during the Vietnam war, reminded us that this year is the 50th Anniversary of the Australian engagement in South Vietnam. 

The Australian Government plans a commemorative year of dedicated events for this anniversary.

Serving Army chaplain Father Mark Sexton led the commemorative services as he has for many years.

More than 165 people joined us at our Hut after the service for a Gunfire Breakfast we provided with the support of the Barossa Valley Rotary Club volunteers who did an excellent job yet again preparing and distributing food and refreshments.

As we marched along Murray Street to the Soldiers' Memorial Hall in Basedow Road, hundreds of people lined the street to watch and acknowledge us by clapping. It's very encouraging to see so many people turn out for ANZAC Day here, and across Australia.

Some people return every ANZAC and Remembrance Day, we remember their faces; some visit our Friday evening happy hours, and others were visitors to the Barossa Valley who took time to join us. Visitors like Lyndie and Gordon Minett from Rosewood, Queensland. Whoever they are, we are always happy to welcome them to our small club.

Lyndie and Gordon Minett

Behind the scenes, a lot of organization goes into organizing our commemorative days. Our Tanunda RSL management committee volunteers work for several months planning, ordering memorabilia, and liaising with all of those involved to ensure things run smoothly on the day.

We appreciate very much all those who help us organize, plan and run our commemorative days. There are too many to list here, but they know who they are, and they know they are appreciated.

A couple of additional photos of the occasion are shown below.

Get your Memorabilia - 18-19 April 23!

---- We open most Fridays from 5 pm. Everyone is welcome ----

Image credit: Militaryshop.com.au

Before ANZAC and Remembrance Days each year, we hold a kiosk outside Foodland Tanunda where we have an extensive range of fantastic memorabilia available for sale.

There is a range of prices from $3 and items include pens, badges, water and other drink bottles and mugs, stubby holders, poppy umbrellas, baseball caps, wrist bands, poppy hold-all bags, and much more.

We update and renew our memorabilia collection twice annually, so there's always something new, novel, and interesting for sale. It's a gold mine for collectors of militaria.

We buy our memorabilia from the Military Shop, Australia's premier supplier of all things military and their catalogue for 2023 may be viewed here. If we don't have what you want, the Military Shop will undoubtedly have it. Anything you buy after clicking the two links above will accrue a commission for Tanunda RSL. 

If you are in the area on Tuesday, 18th, or Wednesday 19th April, please view our display and have a chat with our volunteers. We'd love to meet you. 

We're always happy to have new members too, so if you're interested in supporting Tanunda RSL, please ask one of our volunteers about membership which is open to everyone 18 years or older.

Hooray! We're now listed on Google Maps

---- We open most Fridays from 5 pm. Meals on first Friday of month ---- 

Now we are on Google Maps more people may find us. Feedback suggested that even some locals didn't know where our Hut is so we decided to do something about that. 

When we checked Google Maps, the Tanunda Recreation Park toilet, the show hall, playground, and the football club were flagged on the Tanunda map, but absolutely nothing appeared indicating our beloved Hut.  It was just a grey shape after one zoomed in on the map but if you didn't know what it was, it remained just a grey shape.

After contacting Google Maps administration several times we managed to get both the Hut flagged and the new entrance off Bilyara Road as previously our address was shown often on Park Street because it's parallel with it.

Google still has some updating to do, but you can find our location here marked as 18.

Now that you know exactly where we are, please come visit us on Friday evenings.

 

We're Opening - 4 March 22!

 

We're delighted to advise that our Hut will be open on Friday, 4 March 22 with one of our usual meals available.

The Management Committee decided it will be safe to open for business from that date and proposes to provide one full meal per month and three Happy Hours where snacks will be available for purchase. These are expected to include party pies and sausage rolls etc on ad hoc occasions.

The water to the Hut has been turned off for some weeks during the ongoing construction and it's possible that construction will still be underway. The Bilyara Road entrance will most likely be inaccessible, but entry through the Elizabeth Street entrance and a temporary gate situated at your right when you enter the park will be possible. This gate will be opened shortly before 5 pm and locked when the last of us leave the park.

This is an arrangement we have with Barossa Council that will enable members to drive through the park to the Hut. An alternative is to park in Park Street near Langmeil Road and walk into the Hut via the tennis courts, however, the steps into the tennis park aren't easy to negotiate and will be best avoided if you have mobility challenges.

We look forward to seeing you at our first 2022 opening and if there is a significant change in arrangements between now and then, we will advise you.

Annual Subscriptions

Annual subscriptions of $40 for both affiliate and service members were due on 1 Jan 22. If you haven't yet paid but would like to pay by electronic transfer (EFT) now, you will find our bank details by clicking here:

While you're here, visit our Events page to get an update about forthcoming events.

Management Committee Meeting

The sub-branch Management Committee is to meet on 14 February 22 at a yet to be determined location. 

The Committee will determine whether we can safely open our Hut and if so,  schedule opening dates for the first semester.

All members will be advised when the Committee has made a decision which will be largely dependent upon the works program currently underway and whether there is safe and timely access to our Hut.

At the time of posting, it looks as though there is still a lot of work to be completed.

Stay tuned.

The Hut Access and Opening

As The Barossa Council has construction works in progress across the Tanunda Recreation Park restricting access to our Hut, the Committee Executive has decided that it will not be possible to open The Hut until late February, early March. 

 

The Bilyara Road entrance gate was locked on 7 January. A temporary fence (see photo) installed inside the park near Elizabeth Street will be locked at 5 pm daily and on weekends.  

The Council has said it will approve a limited number of people to access the digital lock on the Elizabeth Street temporary gate and these people will be responsible to open and close the gate on entering and leaving.   

Already many of the huge trees surrounding the oval have been removed and a few stumps remain as you can see in the photo below. 

 

This extended closure is disappointing for all of us and is also worsened by the current Covid-19 situation and the need to keep ourselves safe. 

The Management Committee will meet in mid-late February to reassess the situation with a view to open The Hut at the earliest. 

A fund-raising Fashion Show being organised for April may be at risk of postponement or cancellation but ANZAC Day is expected to go ahead. 

 

Subscriptions Due

Subscriptions were due on 1 January 2022 and are $40 per annum for both Service and Affiliate members.  

 

We will appreciate it if you pay your subscription directly into our bank account by EFT. Please include your name so we know who’s paid. 

 

Our sub-branch uses Bank SA and the EFT details should you wish to use them are: 

 
BSB 105-024 
Account 112036140 

 

If you are unable to pay by EFT, we will accept a cash payment when next The Hut is open. Receipts will also be available for collection at that time. 

We value your membership and continuing support. 

 

Further Information

Further details about the works being undertaken at the Park can be found on the Council’s site by scanning the QR Code or by visiting the site. 

 

  

President Trevor Klose

and Management Committee

10 January 2022 

NB: This Special Notice is posted to members without email