Busselton RSL Club is negotiating with the RSL WA over a proposal to demolish its outdated existing building, purchase an adjacent block and build a new clubhouse, a centre for veterans’ health needs, plus 50 one- and two-bedroom units.
The proposal is similar to those currently being undertaken by RSL NSW and its partner charity RSL LifeCare in Wagga and a recently opened facility in Nowra which delivers a range of support services, including physical and mental health, veterans’ advocacy, education, employment, housing and financial assistance.
“We want like for like,” says Club secretary and former servicewomen Melanie Sorokine of the proposal to demolish the old brick club which features a hall that can accommodate up to 200 people as well as providing a place for veterans to meet.
Busselton RSL Club is also in the middle of relocating and restoring its dilapidated stone memorial which has stood in now-busy Victoria Square since 1919. There are also some 187 old and new plaques to accommodate in the restored memorial’s new $500,000 home at Rotary Park up on the hill, out of the middle of traffic.
“As traffic has become busier in Busselton, it’s encroached on the memorial. We are working together with council on the changes,” Melanie says. “But it’s not just a war memorial, it’s a hub as well.”
- A Sydney-based child care developer has bought Bomaderry RSL on the NSW South Coast at auction for $4 million. The RSL Club had only been open three days a week in the past few months with the club previously announcing it would close and the site sold. The RSL Club had already amalgamated with Bomaderry Bowling Club in 2015 but the costs of restoring the club and a decline in membership prompted the sale.