September 4, 2024 • 10 mins
It was reported in the NT News earlier in the week the Darwin RSL sub-branch has bought a prime CBD office building as it continues to bounce-back from the devastating 2018 fire that razed its social club and offices.
Weeks after announcing the veterans group had bought Admiralty House on the Esplanade as a new home for its services club, the RSL has revealed it has finalised the purchase of a new administrative headquarters and consultation suites in Edmunds Street.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now you may have seen it was reported in the
Northern Territory News earlier in the week that the Darwen
RSL sub branch has bought a prime CBD office building
as it continues to bounce back from the devastating twenty
eighteen fire that will totally destroyed the social club and offices.
So weeks after announcing that the Veterans Group had bought
(00:21):
Admiralty House on the espnatas a new home for their
Services Club, the RSL have revealed that they've finalized the
purchase of a new administrative headquarters and consultation suites in
Edmond Street. Now joining me on the line is Paul Winter,
Darwen Services Club Chairman and the RSL Treasurer.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Good morning to.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
You, Paul, morning Katie. How are you yeah?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Really good? Great to have you on the show now.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Paul, we have had years of not much happening since
the former RSL burnt down. Talk me through the plans
for the new facilities.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Oh well as most listeners and Darwen nights would know.
So twenty eighteen the RSL of Darwin burnt down on
Kavanagh Street. It housed both the RSL and the Social
Club and so nothing happened for well essentially six years,
not even a sign in Darwin saying RSL, and even
(01:21):
in small country towns it's one of those. So the
new committee, which is now been involved by younger committee members,
six of whom are contemporary guys, contemporary service members, have
decided and are trying to push forward a new approach
(01:43):
within the Darwen RSL to get it up and running again,
get our name forward, let people know we're back up
and running by purchasing of these new properties and us
get us back on the map.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Look, I think this is really great storm. You know,
any other location really that you go to around Australia,
so many of them have an RSL. They have somewhere
where you can go and have a meal, you can
go and you know, sit down with your family. Maybe
you've got a family member who has served and it's
and it's a place where you can gather and you know,
(02:19):
and and just sort of pay your respects as well
to those servicemen and women both past and present, but
also like it's it's somewhere where you can just go
and enjoy yourself.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
One hundred percent right. The job of the RSL is
obviously to support serving and ex serving personnel, regardless of
the service you did. If you're a serviceman, then you
get support from the RSL proper. So that's that's our
(02:51):
intent in terms of the administry, purchase and an office
there to support advocacy and administration of the RSL it self.
The property on the Esperanade is there solely to have
the as you just mentioned then, is have the fun. Yeah,
come in and talk with your mates over a beer
and look at the location on the Esperanade and what
(03:14):
near the opposite us is the Senator So Anti Day
is the perfect location for Yeah, Dalances.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Club, it really is.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Now, tell me, Paul, how soon are you expecting the
work to get underway and how soon might you be
able to, you know, to have these two locations operational.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Well, the first one's real easy. That's Edmond Street. It's
already an operating office. We just got to go in
there and tidy up some paint. Maybe a new carpet
place are starting there, So I'm expecting that one. So
it settles mid September and we should be operating within
a month of that. So we'll just move all our
(03:55):
stuff out of a little office that we currently have
in Smith Street and then start operating proper. It's just
a nice sign everyone knows where we are. The other
one's more difficult. It's got quite a lot of work
to be done to it. Terroritish lists, we've got to
get approvals, there's planning decisions, engineering and so forth. But
(04:15):
the intent there would be operating by one February. It
would have been ideal to be operating on eleven November day,
and then a second date would have been twenty one
in December, which is this commemoration for the fiftieth anniversary
of Cyclone Tracy, which the headquarters for the rebuild of
(04:38):
Darwin was out of the old abblithe House. Historically, we've
really stepped into a really good purchase.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yeah, you certainly have, and you know, I would imagine
that there's a lot of people that are probably wanting
to maybe rejoin as well.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Well. That's a really good point. In the last week,
some of our committee guys have really stepped up, gone
personally and physically to the military establishments around Darwen. As
you know, with the largest military garrison in Australia and
we don't have much of a membership base. When the
(05:19):
old Darlin RSL Incorporated, which is the social club, was
operating from Cavanah Street. It had a membership of two thousand.
Obviously you've burnt down, so none was going to join.
So in the last two to three weeks we've had
over one hundred members, which is quite astounding, and it's
growing every single day. We get new membership applications because
they understand that they're not there just to become a
(05:41):
member and enjoy themselves, that they're actually there to support themselves,
particularly the membership of the military guys.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Paul.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I don't want to get into you to like a.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Slanging match or anything, but do you think people are
getting a bit for one of a better word pieced
off at how long it was taking to sort things
out and find a new site.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
I don't blame them. There was obviously a period after
the fire that it took for the insurance plan to
come through, and then there was a period there where
the decisions within the committee were should we rebuild or
should we sell and move on? Now economically, it just
(06:24):
didn't make any sense to actually rebuild it for the
insurance payout amount, which is insufficient to do a replication
of what was there, so logic would play it that
we'd buy other established buildings. Cost of construction is way
too high anymore. And I agree with anybody that is
(06:45):
to coin your phrase there pissed off. I agree with them,
and I think they've got every right to be. But
give us a little bit of a bit of time,
pay us some bit of respect and wait wait for
the outcome, because they're coming now.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
It does sound like you're doing your best as well
with your plans to recruit members.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
How many are you hoping to sort of to recruit.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Another contentious question. We are a good one. So we've
got approximately two hundred now to fifty probably in the
range with the new recruits. We need six hundred to
become a state branch of our own. At the moment,
we are subservient to South Australia. We're a sub branch
(07:37):
of South Australia, one of their eighty. They support our
break free and becoming a state branch, so we need
We've been advised by RSL National that we need six
hundred as a minimum, and I think we'll probably achieve
that before the end of this year. With their support.
(07:59):
The new state branch could be raised within two years.
It'll be the first state branch in over one hundred years.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Well, mate, I'm already getting messages. Hi, Katie, could you
please ask the RSL person if they're able to provide
a phone number and email address.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I want to.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
There's numerous service personnel who want to rejoin the RSL,
but they're not sure how to get in contact. That's
one of the messages, and other ones just come through
saying Katie, how do I rejoin the RSL? Is there
a web page? There's somebody else asking how do I rejoin?
So there's definitely a bit of interest out there.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Excellent. Well, the simplest way is without me giving a
phone number over the line and no one will be
able to write it down anyway, is jump on the website.
On the front page of the darn RSL website is
a button click here to become a member and it's
as simple as that online. Awesome if you're a serving member,
(08:58):
it's free.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Some stuff.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Well, Paul Winter, really good to speak with you this morning.
Please keep us up to date with how everything progresses.
I reckon people are going to be super keen and
I know that we do have you know, a lot
of current serving members that listen to the show also
ex servicemen and women, So do keep us up to date.
Will be keen to let people know how it's all tracking.
(09:21):
But thank you so much for your time this morning.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Ah are you welcome, Katie, And thanks for the support
by the way, it's enlightening.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
No worries, Adam, you want some support us as well, Yeah,
no worries at all.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
And look, like I said, I think that a lot
of people really want to see the RSL back up
and running. They want to be able to, you know,
to get into the RSL. I was saying to you
off air yesterday. It's you know, whenever I head to Cans,
it's one of the things that I do. We just
go to the RSL and have dinner, have a feed
and it's a good thing to be.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Able to do.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
So I hope that we're in a situation where we
can do that in Darwin again pretty soon. Lovely good stuff,
Good on you, thank you. That is Paul Winter there,
he is indeed the Darwin Services Club chairman and RSL treasurer.
And yeah, I've got a few people getting in contact
to it. Just keen to rejoin and I've got. Well,
(10:13):
what you can do is you can head to their website.
You can obviously jump online and head to their website.
You'll be able to just then join. Basically, it's pretty easy.
By the sounds of it. I haven't had to crack
myself Bush. It does sound as though it's going to
be pretty easy to do. Again, other people going, Katie,
how can I join the RSL? Where's the webpage? So look,
(10:36):
I'll go and try and have a little look myself
and then let you know just how fast you can
do it. I'm sure it's going to be something that
you can do really, very easily.
Now you may have seen it was reported in the
Northern Territory News earlier in the week that the Darwen
RSL sub branch has bought a prime CBD office building
as it continues to bounce back from the devastating twenty
eighteen fire that will totally destroyed the social club and offices.
So weeks after announcing that the Veterans Group had bought
(00:21):
Admiralty House on the espnatas a new home for their
Services Club, the RSL have revealed that they've finalized the
purchase of a new administrative headquarters and consultation suites in
Edmond Street. Now joining me on the line is Paul Winter,
Darwen Services Club Chairman and the RSL Treasurer.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Good morning to.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
You, Paul, morning Katie. How are you yeah?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Really good? Great to have you on the show now.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Paul, we have had years of not much happening since
the former RSL burnt down. Talk me through the plans
for the new facilities.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Oh well as most listeners and Darwen nights would know.
So twenty eighteen the RSL of Darwin burnt down on
Kavanagh Street. It housed both the RSL and the Social
Club and so nothing happened for well essentially six years,
not even a sign in Darwin saying RSL, and even
(01:21):
in small country towns it's one of those. So the
new committee, which is now been involved by younger committee members,
six of whom are contemporary guys, contemporary service members, have
decided and are trying to push forward a new approach
(01:43):
within the Darwen RSL to get it up and running again,
get our name forward, let people know we're back up
and running by purchasing of these new properties and us
get us back on the map.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Look, I think this is really great storm. You know,
any other location really that you go to around Australia,
so many of them have an RSL. They have somewhere
where you can go and have a meal, you can
go and you know, sit down with your family. Maybe
you've got a family member who has served and it's
and it's a place where you can gather and you know,
(02:19):
and and just sort of pay your respects as well
to those servicemen and women both past and present, but
also like it's it's somewhere where you can just go
and enjoy yourself.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
One hundred percent right. The job of the RSL is
obviously to support serving and ex serving personnel, regardless of
the service you did. If you're a serviceman, then you
get support from the RSL proper. So that's that's our
(02:51):
intent in terms of the administry, purchase and an office
there to support advocacy and administration of the RSL it self.
The property on the Esperanade is there solely to have
the as you just mentioned then, is have the fun. Yeah,
come in and talk with your mates over a beer
and look at the location on the Esperanade and what
(03:14):
near the opposite us is the Senator So Anti Day
is the perfect location for Yeah, Dalances.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Club, it really is.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Now, tell me, Paul, how soon are you expecting the
work to get underway and how soon might you be
able to, you know, to have these two locations operational.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Well, the first one's real easy. That's Edmond Street. It's
already an operating office. We just got to go in
there and tidy up some paint. Maybe a new carpet
place are starting there, So I'm expecting that one. So
it settles mid September and we should be operating within
a month of that. So we'll just move all our
(03:55):
stuff out of a little office that we currently have
in Smith Street and then start operating proper. It's just
a nice sign everyone knows where we are. The other
one's more difficult. It's got quite a lot of work
to be done to it. Terroritish lists, we've got to
get approvals, there's planning decisions, engineering and so forth. But
(04:15):
the intent there would be operating by one February. It
would have been ideal to be operating on eleven November day,
and then a second date would have been twenty one
in December, which is this commemoration for the fiftieth anniversary
of Cyclone Tracy, which the headquarters for the rebuild of
(04:38):
Darwin was out of the old abblithe House. Historically, we've
really stepped into a really good purchase.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yeah, you certainly have, and you know, I would imagine
that there's a lot of people that are probably wanting
to maybe rejoin as well.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Well. That's a really good point. In the last week,
some of our committee guys have really stepped up, gone
personally and physically to the military establishments around Darwen. As
you know, with the largest military garrison in Australia and
we don't have much of a membership base. When the
(05:19):
old Darlin RSL Incorporated, which is the social club, was
operating from Cavanah Street. It had a membership of two thousand.
Obviously you've burnt down, so none was going to join.
So in the last two to three weeks we've had
over one hundred members, which is quite astounding, and it's
growing every single day. We get new membership applications because
they understand that they're not there just to become a
(05:41):
member and enjoy themselves, that they're actually there to support themselves,
particularly the membership of the military guys.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Paul.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I don't want to get into you to like a.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Slanging match or anything, but do you think people are
getting a bit for one of a better word pieced
off at how long it was taking to sort things
out and find a new site.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
I don't blame them. There was obviously a period after
the fire that it took for the insurance plan to
come through, and then there was a period there where
the decisions within the committee were should we rebuild or
should we sell and move on? Now economically, it just
(06:24):
didn't make any sense to actually rebuild it for the
insurance payout amount, which is insufficient to do a replication
of what was there, so logic would play it that
we'd buy other established buildings. Cost of construction is way
too high anymore. And I agree with anybody that is
(06:45):
to coin your phrase there pissed off. I agree with them,
and I think they've got every right to be. But
give us a little bit of a bit of time,
pay us some bit of respect and wait wait for
the outcome, because they're coming now.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
It does sound like you're doing your best as well
with your plans to recruit members.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
How many are you hoping to sort of to recruit.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Another contentious question. We are a good one. So we've
got approximately two hundred now to fifty probably in the
range with the new recruits. We need six hundred to
become a state branch of our own. At the moment,
we are subservient to South Australia. We're a sub branch
(07:37):
of South Australia, one of their eighty. They support our
break free and becoming a state branch, so we need
We've been advised by RSL National that we need six
hundred as a minimum, and I think we'll probably achieve
that before the end of this year. With their support.
(07:59):
The new state branch could be raised within two years.
It'll be the first state branch in over one hundred years.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Well, mate, I'm already getting messages. Hi, Katie, could you
please ask the RSL person if they're able to provide
a phone number and email address.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I want to.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
There's numerous service personnel who want to rejoin the RSL,
but they're not sure how to get in contact. That's
one of the messages, and other ones just come through
saying Katie, how do I rejoin the RSL? Is there
a web page? There's somebody else asking how do I rejoin?
So there's definitely a bit of interest out there.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Excellent. Well, the simplest way is without me giving a
phone number over the line and no one will be
able to write it down anyway, is jump on the website.
On the front page of the darn RSL website is
a button click here to become a member and it's
as simple as that online. Awesome if you're a serving member,
(08:58):
it's free.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Some stuff.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Well, Paul Winter, really good to speak with you this morning.
Please keep us up to date with how everything progresses.
I reckon people are going to be super keen and
I know that we do have you know, a lot
of current serving members that listen to the show also
ex servicemen and women, So do keep us up to date.
Will be keen to let people know how it's all tracking.
(09:21):
But thank you so much for your time this morning.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Ah are you welcome, Katie, And thanks for the support
by the way, it's enlightening.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
No worries, Adam, you want some support us as well, Yeah,
no worries at all.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
And look, like I said, I think that a lot
of people really want to see the RSL back up
and running. They want to be able to, you know,
to get into the RSL. I was saying to you
off air yesterday. It's you know, whenever I head to Cans,
it's one of the things that I do. We just
go to the RSL and have dinner, have a feed
and it's a good thing to be.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Able to do.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
So I hope that we're in a situation where we
can do that in Darwin again pretty soon. Lovely good stuff,
Good on you, thank you. That is Paul Winter there,
he is indeed the Darwin Services Club chairman and RSL treasurer.
And yeah, I've got a few people getting in contact
to it. Just keen to rejoin and I've got. Well,
(10:13):
what you can do is you can head to their website.
You can obviously jump online and head to their website.
You'll be able to just then join. Basically, it's pretty easy.
By the sounds of it. I haven't had to crack
myself Bush. It does sound as though it's going to
be pretty easy to do. Again, other people going, Katie,
how can I join the RSL? Where's the webpage? So look,
(10:36):
I'll go and try and have a little look myself
and then let you know just how fast you can
do it. I'm sure it's going to be something that
you can do really, very easily.
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