LEST WE FORGET RSLs in the line of fire
GOLD Coast RSLs admit they’re struggling in the wake of COVID-19 forcing them to miss out on the biggest trading day of the year.
Social distancing restrictions meant memorial clubs had to keep the doors shut on Anzac Day and cancel all official functions for the first time.
While saving lives, the measures mean clubs have taken a significant financial hit, with Surfers Paradise RSL alone missing out on upward of $50,000 in trade.
Surfers Paradise club president Len Guest, who led an unofficial wreath-laying at the foreshore cenotaph on Saturday morning – attended by several hundred and not the typically 10,000-plus – said all RSLs were in the same boat.
“It was disappointing we could not put on a normal Anzac Day, but what we were able to do was great,” he said.
“It costs us a lot of money to put it on but we do it for the veterans and their families because it is important.
“But it’s the same situation with everyone, this has affected every club and venue.”
Southport RSL Memorial Club president Mark Tull said the economic devastation had cast a shadow over venues but welcomed Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s move yesterday to relax some restrictions.
“It has been a real struggle but our club is in a good place and we are happy that 70-80 per cent of our staff who are eligible are receiving JobKeeper benefits,” he said.
“In these times of shutdown we have to try and stay relevant and offer something to distract our members from the reclusive environment we have found ourselves in. We are pushing hard to be the first clubs to reopen, before the pubs.”
Ahead of the Surfers RSL service broadcast by speakers on trucks, the Surfers Paradise Surf Life Saving Club belted out New Zealand and Australian national anthems, and other music from its sound system to ring in the dawn.
Surf club attendee Shane O’Connor, OAM, on the balcony sipping a stiff drink, said he was thinking of his grandfather who served in World War I: “It brings back so many memories. We always attend and it’s very disappointing. The whole thing could’ve been managed better, particularly for today.”