CARING FOR OUR DEFENDERS
Volunteers were integral to a hostel in the 1940s for men of our fighting forces
Had it not been for a booklet thanking the numerous volunteers of Geelong’s Fighting Force Hostel during World War II this record of the hostel’s achievements might have been forgotten.
Similar hostels were established throughout Australia, notably in Sydney, providing rest and recreation for men in the armed forces during World War II. A booklet celebrating the work of the various volunteers who laboured at the hostel recently came to light and might otherwise have been largely forgotten.
Situated in a familiar row of shops near the corner of Ryrie and Moorabool streets, the hostel has been a well-kept secret.
The Geelong Hostel operated from 1942 to 1946, and it was situated in the upper level of what is today a classy housing interiors business know as Greenhouse Interiors.
Next door to the interiors outlet is former Geelong mayor Hayden Spurling’s Squire Shoppe clothing and suit hire business.
The Squire Shoppe has been a long-term tenant of the group of shops, however Mr Spurling was unaware of the former fighting forces hostel.
The booklet contains a collection of commendations about the hostel from several of the men who were accommodated there, coming from every state of Australia.
There were even men from overseas, including England, Scotland and America.
Each listing was accompanied by a comment, and a man from England said: “Eleven years in the Royal Navy, and this is the best place I have visited.”
As I explained, the recently unearthed booklet about the hostel was produced in 1946 at the end of the Second World War and includes a commentary from the then mayor of Geelong, John James Young, who was mayor from 1945 to 1948.
The mayor wrote to the chairman of the hostel’s board of management and outlined the city’s thanks on behalf of the city council to the voluntary workers at the hostel.
“It is particularly to the women of Geelong that I would like to say thank you.”
The booklet also starts with an introduction thanking all the voluntary workers who ran the hostel.
“This is a simple record of your achievement as a voluntary worker.
“Therefore preserve it as evidence of a great effort, made possible by continuous and loyal service to the requirements of your servicemen.
“Four years ago today your Hostel, under the control of the Geelong Branch of the Australian Comforts Fund and the Returned Servicemen’s League, commenced to function as a Home away from Home.
“Today it closes down with an incomparable record of service.
“May this effort of service be forever a tradition up to which we, and our children after us, will live forever.”