Century of war memories
DARWIN RSL has touched the lives of thousands of Territory families and returned service men and women.
The planning for the 100th year celebrations of the Darwin RSL is well underway with official celebrations to start on September 13, 2017.
Darwin RSL sub-branch, president Don Milford BEM, explained the significance of the September 13 date.
“On September 13, 1917 a fundraising ‘Concert and Dance’ was held at the then Darwin Town Hall in front of a full house who wanted to form a branch of The Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia in Darwin,” Mr Milford said..
“The evening raised forty pounds ten shillings, which was the starting funds for the establishment of the first RSL in the NT, and what is now a multi-million dollar business.
“What we have amongst our collection of historic memorabilia is only the tip of the iceberg.
“We’d love to hear from Territorians that may have stories or photos to share about their memories and involvement with RSL in Darwin.
“Our goal is to create a historic timeline and archive of the last hundred years of RSL Darwin, which can be pre- served and available for future generations.
“Territorians can get in contact with us to send in stories or photos to our Facebook page or by emailing darwinrsl@internode.on.net.”
The Darwin RSL plans to celebrate the centenary of this first meeting with a number of events in September 2017.
The calendar of events includes a memorial church ser- vice at Christ Church Cathedral on Wednesday, September 13, 2017, followed by a cocktail party at RSL Darwin Social Club for current and past members.
There will also be a formal dinner on Saturday, September 16 at Skycity Darwin, with guest speakers and live entertainment. Formal dinner tickets can be purchased online at https:// www.ivvy.com/event/RSL17/.