Monbulk RSL in Monbulk, Victoria, Australia | Non-profit organisation

Monbulk RSL

Locality: Monbulk, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 3 9752 1100

Address: 48 Main Street 3793 Monbulk, VIC, Australia

Website: http://www.monbulkrsl.org.au

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23.01.2022 On this day... in 1942, the last of three hard-fought battles finally stopped the Japanese advance along the Kokoda Trail at Ioribaiwa. The three days of fighti...ng centred on a high feature known as Ioribaiwa Ridge, south of Ofi Creek on the Kokoda Trail, in the Territory of Papua. Although the Japanese were successful in pushing the Australians back in the centre of their defensive position on the trail, heavy fighting on the flanks of the position brought the Japanese attack to a standstill. Following the battle, the Australian commander, Brigadier Kenneth Eather, commanding perceiving that the attack could not be held any further and that Ioribaiwa Ridge was unsuited to launching a counter-attack, withdrew his force back to Imita Ridge. The Japanese, however, had reached the limit of their supply line, and strategic factors and reverses elsewhere forced the Japanese commander, Major General Tomitaro Horii, to pursue a more defensive approach in Papua and New Guinea. As a result, in October the Japanese began to withdraw towards their beachheads at BunaGona, with the Australians in pursuit. During the Battle of Ioribaiwa, 49 Australians were killed and 121 were wounded. Lest we forget. Ian Smith Chair Anzac Day Committee Members of the 2/14th Battalion resting near Ioribaiwa after the battle: AWM

22.01.2022 The Lilydale & District Historical Society is disheartened at this time to find that someone has vandalised and taken the Commemorative Brass Plaque that has be...en on the iron tree guard that surrounds the Mafeking tree in Melba Park since the 1900s. If any one knows or has seen this being stolen, or finds this plague we would appreciate it being returned or reported to the local police. We are shocked to think that someone could destroy a significant part of our town history at this time during lockdown and curfew. The last 2 pictures show the original plaque in situ before this vandalism. See more

21.01.2022 Thank you Simone we are so very greatful here at Monbulk RSL and Monbulk Emergency group

21.01.2022 For anyone who needs the rsl is open via MEMG to charge phones etc

19.01.2022 On this day in 2008, the Battle of Khaz Oruzgan took place. A combined Australian, American, and Afghan patrol was ambushed by Taliban fighters near the villag...e of Ana Kalay, Khaz Oruzgan, Afghanistan. The battle was one of the most intense for Australian forces since the Vietnam war at the time. Outnumbered and surrounded the battle would last over nine hours before the patrol managed to break out from the ambush and return to FOB Anaconda, having expended nearly all ammunition. During this contact, Corporal Mark Donaldson would perform acts of exceptional gallantry in the face of accurate and sustained enemy fire that ultimately saved the life of a coalition force interpreter and ensured the safety of the other members of the combined Afghan, US and Australian force and for this he would later be awarded the Victoria Cross. Australian Explosives Detection Dog (EDD) Sarbi would spend almost 14 months missing in action (MIA) in Afghanistan after disappearing during the Battle of Khaz Oruzgan. She was rediscovered alive in late 2009 by US forces and returned to Australia. From the 37 man patrol there was 1 KIA (US), 11 WIA (9 Aus) & 1 MIA (EDD Sarbi). : Australian War Memorial

18.01.2022 The Mt Evelyn RSL is very sad to report the passing of our esteemed colleague, Bill Smart. Bill was born in Cardiff, Wales and came out to Australia at a young ...age with his parents, both WW2 veterans. He grew up in Mt Evelyn, attending the Montrose State School and Lilydale High School. At the age of 15 he enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy, after his initial training in WA his first sea posting was on HMAS Sydney and was with it on it first tour to take troops and equipment to Vietnam in 1965. In 1968 he was transferred to HMAS Hobart and was with them as they patrolled the waters of the coast of Vietnam. On June 17th, 1968 HMAS Hobart was attacked by a US fighter jet, claiming it thought they were the enemy. Two ship mates of Bill's were killed in the attack and Bill was wounded in action. The following is his recollection of what happened that night from the book 'Yarra Valley Vietnam Veterans': 'That night is still a sore point with me and a lot of other people. It was 2.15am and we weren’t far from Tiger Island (Gulf of Tonkin). Because my job was on the tartar missile, and you can’t really do that at night, they wanted someone to give a hand up at anti-aircraft control because of the limited people in the one area at that time of night. As it was a quiet night and I was doing nothing I said I’d help out when they asked for someone to operate the night vision telescope. So, I went up there with Able Seaman Williams. Next thing they said ‘slow moving aircraft - unidentified’. They then said ‘slow moving aircraft twelve miles bearing such and such’. So, I went over to the repeater and next thing they said ‘it’s coming from straight Astern two miles’, he had covered ten miles in fifteen seconds. So, I went back to the night sight to see if I could see it. Then ‘BANG’. It was just an instant ‘BANG’, no lingering explosion, it just stopped quiet, different from the movies where an explosion lasts three or four seconds, it was just a ‘BANG’ and that was it. It turned out it was an American plane and he later claimed he thought we were a helicopter. If he can see a helicopter on his radar at twelves miles he must have a damn good radar, I mean how could you be so stupid, excuse me but this thing weighs 4600 tonnes and it was a bright night and lit up with the moonlight. He also reckoned his IFF (transponder code) was not working, yeah right, switched it off on purpose probably. So, there was this instant ‘BANG’. I thought Bungy Williams had hit me because I got a thump under the arm pit. It worked out later that I had got a bit of the missile casing, it went under the sleeve gap and hit the bone but it didn’t go any further and the heat of it quarterized it. The only thing that stopped anything else going in to the ticker was the sleeveless flak jacket. So I then looked at Bungy but he was slumped, I soon found out he’d been hit in the back. He fell forward and I picked him up as he couldn’t walk and I had to carry him. So I grabbed Bungy and swung him around and yelled out to them for help. I gave him to those two and they got him down. Then the next thing, he’s come around for another go. 'BANG' again. I reported the damage, I thought we’d been hit in the forward funnel because that’s where the big hole was, but no, it had gone through the aft funnel, slashed the radar and immobilised the missiles, you couldn’t use it,. It sliced down the hull to where the missile directors were. Straight down, slashed straight through it, straight through the deck. Ray Hunt, he was my boss, he was the chief weapons electrician, he was killed there. The stupid part about it is the fact that the aircraft came back for another go, he would have seen all this stuff going off when he came around to have another go, right to the bow, you would have seen the difference between a 4600 tonne ship and a helicopter then. That night on the ship there were eleven wounded and two dead, Butterworth and Hunt. They got Bungy right in the back so he was a long time on the operating table and then evacuated back to Australia'. Bill later went on to serve on the patrol boat HMAS Ardent. LEST WE FORGET Image: Greg Carrick

16.01.2022 This years floral sign done by Monbulk CWA again Thankyou

15.01.2022 We're open today 11am - 7pm and have power - the emergency generator is up and going for the community. Come and charge your phones - tea and coffee free.

15.01.2022 A message from the COCKATOO RISE WAR VETERANS RETREAT inc.

14.01.2022 21 years ago today, the first Australians from the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) arrived in Dili to assist with the restoration of peace and sec...urity in the region. What followed was the largest deployment of Australian troops since the Vietnam War, with 5,500 #YourADF personnel contributing to the 22 nation regional force. Today, we say thank you to #OurPeople and their families for their support to the INTERFET mission. We continue to support Timor-Leste and its people, and commemorate the courage, sacrifice and solidarity shown throughout our shared history. #GoodSoldiering

13.01.2022 'I probably should have been killed doing what I was doing' As a 17-year-old army recruit, Corporal Daniel Keighran VC would stand to attention outside his room... each morning and stare at the portrait of Albert Jacka, one of Australia’s most famous Victoria Cross recipients from the First World War. I have a vivid memory of getting off the bus at Kapooka on my first day in the Australian Army and being assigned to 32 Platoon amid much yelling and screaming, he said. In our barracks was the Hallway of Valour, funnily enough, so every morning when we’d run into Hallway 32, with your bed sheet over your shoulder, there was Albert Jacka across from me, and I would stand there reading and rereading his citation, or the others around it, as we were doing roll call and I was waiting to hear my number yelled out. Little could he have imagined that one day his photograph would appear alongside that of Albert Jacka’s. But that’s exactly what happened. Ten years ago, on 24 August 2010, Daniel repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire during a three-hour battle in the village of Derapet in Afghanistan, identifying targets and drawing fire away from his mates who were trying to save the life of a mortally wounded comrade. For his actions that day, Daniel became the 99th Australian to be awarded the Victoria Cross, the pre-eminent award for acts of bravery in wartime and Australia’s highest military honour. I look back and think I was just doing my job that day, he said. I probably should have been killed doing what I was doing. I could see the bullets strike the ground in front of me and behind me, and I could hear them fly past my head And then the Victoria Cross came along and changed everything; how could it not? A humble man who describes himself as a classic introvert, Daniel Keighran was born in Nambour, Queensland, in June 1983, the youngest child of Judith and Ian Keighran. He spent his early years with his mother and his older sister Susan at Maleny on the Sunshine Coast where he was close to his grandparents. When Daniel was 11, his father showed up for the first time in Daniel’s life. It would turn his world upside down. His father uprooted the family, moving his wife and children four hours away from their grandparents and their home on the Sunshine Coast to live in a rough shack with dirt floors on a property at Lowmead, 100 kilometres north of Bundaberg. They bred paint horses and were involved in dressage and rodeo, but it wasn’t an easy existence. Daniel did his homework by candlelight and lamplight and would run two kilometres to catch the bus to school each day. I grew up with dirt floors and no main power and all that sort of bizzo, so it was tough, he said. We’d often go without, so it wasn’t a normal Australian upbringing I would imagine, although lots of people out in the bush had upbringings like me. I’d ride bulls and break in horses, and work from sun up to sun down on the weekends, and after school I’d go home and muck out stables and all of the stuff that you do; the life of a kid on the farm, I suppose. I look back on it now quite fondly, and was happy, but we didn’t have much. We grew up in poverty essentially. Inspired by his beloved grandfather, Allan Pyburne, a Second World War veteran, Daniel joined the army at 17. It’s no secret that there were limited options for me, he said. Employment opportunities up there in rural Queensland were just non-existent It was either stay on the farm and work on the property, which wasn’t really that enticing to me, or Defence. Realistically, that was the only other option to, one, get a job, and two, get out of there, let’s be honest, but I think it was always destined to happen My grandfather served in the Second World War, and without a doubt, he was my mentor my hero even and the reason why I joined Defence. He was certainly my father figure growing up my dad went MIA so he was very much an influence in my life from a young age. Daniel’s grandfather served in the Middle East and New Guinea with the 2/4th Field Regiment during the war and married his grandmother while on leave. He was a sergeant on the 25 pounders for the majority of the time, but he didn’t talk about the war with me until I said that I was going to join up, he said. "He spoke about the adventures that he had, but he also talked about the ups and downs, and the highs and lows that you go through in the service of your country; the good times and the bad. Then when I met my dad, I found there was a proud history of service there as well; his father [John Keighran] was a Rat of Tobruk and had fought at El Alamein, so the army was always in the back of my mind from a young age. Daniel joined the Australian Regular Army in December 2000, three weeks after finishing high school. I still remember getting yelled at getting off the bus at Kapooka, and I don’t think the yelling stopped for the entire time that I was there for basic training, but I found it pretty easy in all honesty I was a single guy at 17 who had just finished school and was on the adventure of a lifetime. I was used to hard work, and I was used to getting up early and working all day on the farm, so it wasn’t much of a stretch for me to get into the groove of army life. After completing recruit training at Kapooka and corps training at Singleton, he was posted to the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) at Enoggera Barracks, in Brisbane. I hadn’t even turned 18 yet, he said. And apparently I was a fully qualified infantry soldier, in a battalion, ready to go. He deployed to East Timor in 2003, Iraq in 2006, and went to Afghanistan in 2007 and 2010. It was a bit of the Wild West back then, and the seriousness of operations became apparent very quickly, he said. Up until that point, I could count on one hand the number of times I’d been shot at, and then I got to Afghanistan, and I lost count of how many times someone tried to kill me. Daniel’s life would change forever during his second tour of Afghanistan. On 24 August 2010, he was part of a joint Australian and Afghan patrol in the village of Derapet in the Tangi Valley in Uruzgan Province. While the vehicles were going in, droves of women and children were leaving the village, he said. We could see them picking up and leaving, so by the time we managed to get the vehicles securely in without getting blown up, and our full patrol marched off, we already knew that potentially something was going to happen. We’d been there a couple of days beforehand and there were kids playing and people working out in the fields, but none of that was going on. There were a few tumbleweeds, and a few dogs running around, but there were no real people, and no one waved at us so there was already a heightened sense of awareness. I remember walking around one of the last buildings, and hearing that very familiar sound of a machine-gun firing at you. There was that thump, crack, as the bullet passes very close to you, like a whip cracking, and sure enough we were getting shot at. I knew pretty quickly it was pretty serious, and I remember running up this hill on the right-hand side. I was on this hill, on and off, for nearly three hours, but I nearly got killed straight away. I’d gone too far, and I’d exposed myself, so they could clearly see me, but it wasn’t just one guy shooting; it turned out there were probably 100 people waiting in a defended position an ambush and here I was standing on the hill like an idiot. Everyone saw me, and started shooting at me, and there was a little wave of bullets striking the ground around me. It was probably half an hour into this battle that I remember hearing a scream, or a shout, or a yell, or something, which was odd, and I remember looking over to my left-hand side. It was probably some 50 metres away, and I saw my mate Jared [MacKinney] lying on his back on the hill. It came over the radio not long after that we’d taken a casualty, and I assumed straight away that it was him, but it took another five or ten seconds to realise the seriousness of what was going on. I remember looking over again and all of sudden there’s not just him there; there’s five or six people around him, and they’re ripping his clothes off, and his armour off. I could see them doing CPR, and one of the engineers was on his knees doing compressions, and then another soldier grabbed this guy’s helmet, and ripped his helmet down just as a burst of machine-gun fire went through where his chest had been. It would have killed him, and I remember seeing that, and thinking if someone doesn’t do something now, and make a decision, they’re all about to die. So I came up with a quick plan, and my plan was pretty simple; it was to run along this hill, expose myself and my position, and let people know where I was so that they would start shooting at me and hopefully stop shooting at Jared and the rest of the guys. It was more of a gamble than anything, but I thought it would also give our guys time to get into position and identify targets. It was a very quick plan, and I still remember the look on the gunner’s face when I told him what I was going to do. As soon as he stood up, he heard the thump, crack of a bullet travelling past his head. Sure enough, it was like if you’re watering the garden with a hose, he said. The bullets were chasing me like a stream of water along this hill in front of me, behind me, and all around me. I should have been dead the first time, and I ended up doing it three times in total because it was working; they were literally following me instead of the team doing CPR and dragging my mate off the hill. After the third run, he ran back across the hill to provide security to his fellow soldiers as they fought to save his mate’s life. Probably one of the hardest things in my life was that walk back from the contact site to our patrol base, he said. It was probably only about 1800 metres in total, but we knew Jared was dead. I wasn’t frightened or concerned for my own life, but I was fearful of letting the team down, or not doing enough. I expected to get shot when I was doing those runs, let’s be honest, but I had my body armour on, front and back, and my helmet, and I had faith and trust in my team. I had no other option. There was nothing else we could do. We couldn’t identify the target, and it was better than doing nothing, so it was one of those things, where I’m like, ‘I hope this works.’ I probably should have been killed doing what I was doing, and I remember my body shutting down around me, but I wasn’t going to stop. Two years later Daniel learnt that he had been awarded the Victoria Cross. By this time he had left the army and was working at a gold mine in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. It was a whole other world, he said. I was blasting underground this particular day, and I have no idea why, but I came up, and checked my phone. It’s a 30-minute drive from the bottom of the mine, and the phone was ringing, and it was the Chief of Army. He said he had the jet and he was coming to Kalgoorlie to see me. I was starting to get worried, as you would, and I’m thinking, what’s happened, what have I done, and all that sort of business, but it was the Chief with the letter on behalf of the Queen, saying do you accept this nomination for the Victoria Cross? I was stunned and tremendously honoured, but also reticent, for I was not the only person on the battlefield that day. I remember talking to my now ex-wife, Kathryn, and saying this is an opportunity to tell their story my mates’ story and shine a light on the great work that the Defence Force has been doing, and that was the only reason I accepted. He was presented with the Victoria Cross at an investiture ceremony at Government House in 2012, surrounded by his mates and his family. I would be dead without these guys, and I say that all the time; I would not be alive if it wasn’t for these guys on the ground there supporting each other, he said. I wouldn’t have made it, so it’s for all those guys who were there that day, and it’s an opportunity to tell all of our stories. Those experiences change you for good and bad and I’m one of the lucky ones The mateship and the bonds you forge with will no doubt remain for the rest of our lives. Today, he is proud to be a member of the Council of the Australian War Memorial. Once upon a time, the Memorial was about other wars, but now it is very close to home, he said. A lot of guys I know are now on that Roll of Honour, so for me, it is a special place to go and remember them, and that’s exactly what I do; I go and remember those that I served with, and those that have lost their lives, and are no longer there. I don’t know how many mates have told me how much it means to them; it’s a place where they can tell their stories and tell their sons and daughters what they did. The Memorial is currently undergoing a $500 million development to help tell the stories of more recent conflicts, peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. When it’s finished, it’s going to be world class, and I really look forward to seeing the doors open, he said. It’s important to continue to tell the stories as our history evolves, and I don’t think it should be 30 years later on, I think it should be told as soon as possible, and as accurately as possible; the good and the bad. Today, Daniel’s photograph and citation are on display in the barracks at Kapooka, and his medals are on display in the Hall of Valour at the Memorial. It’s nearly a lifetime ago now, and there I am on the wall with the other Victoria Cross recipients, he said quietly. I still look at it, and I don’t believe sometimes that it is there a great mugshot of me with the red hair and that, on the wall with the citation. I’ve got more used to it as much as you can, I suppose as the years have gone on, but a tremendous honour like that changes your life, and it continues to change my life. When you go into an RSL even, and there’s your photo on the wall with the citation; I’ll never get used to it, I don’t think I really won’t. It is one of those things; you should be dead for an action like that, and we all say the same thing, for what we did we probably shouldn’t be alive. I never regret anything, and I’d do it again, but I tell you what, I really wish my grandfather had been around to see that because he really was my hero my mentor and I really looked up to him as a kid. I often think about how he would have reacted and how he would have felt, but he would have been extremely proud without a doubt. I think he would have been absolutely over the moon, and I know he would have been so proud of me. Daniel Keighran's medals are on display in the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial. His book, Courage under fire, written with Tony Park, is due to be published by Pan Macmillan Australia in October 2020. Photo 1 Corporal Daniel Keighran VC at the Australian War Memorial. Photo 2 Albert Jacka was the first Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross in the First World War. Photo 3,4,5,6 Corporal Daniel Keighran VC Photo 7 Corporal Daniel Keighran VC at a Last Post Ceremony at the Memorial Photo 8 Corporal Daniel Keighran VC was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia at an Investiture Ceremony at Government House in Canberra on 1 November, 2012. Photo 9 Corporal Daniel Keighran VC reads excerpts of letters and diaries of Australians who experienced the First World War firsthand prior to the commencement of the Anzac Day Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra in 2015 See more

12.01.2022 In accordance with today's Government announcement of a 7 Day 'Circuit Breaker' Lockdown, all Victorian RSL Sub-Branch club and meeting facilities will be close...d from midnight tonight. Thank you for your patience and understanding as our staff and volunteers adjust to this news. Veterans and families can continue to receive assistance, support and connection to programs by calling 1300 MILVET (1300 645 838) or emailing [email protected]. To access 24/7 emergency support please call Open Arms - Veterans & Families Counselling on 1800 011 046 for immediate, free and confidential support.

11.01.2022 We will be live streaming a small service from the RSL this morning from 10:55. Please tune in and remember those who gave all. We will remember them

08.01.2022 Free showers in monbulk at the rsl. Bring your toiletries and a towel.

08.01.2022 #OTD George Ingram, VC, MM On the 5th of October 1918, Lieutenant George Ingram participated in a series of actions that would see him awarded the Victoria Cr...oss, becoming the 64th and final Australian to do so during WWI. On the 4th of October 1918, Ingram’s Battalion was taking part in the attack on Beaurevoir in what would become the final engagement for Australian infantry in WWI. Advancing with the 24th Battalion, Ingram’s platoon became the object of severe sniper and machinegun fire, halting the unit’s advance. Under the cover of a Lewis Gun, Ingram dashed ahead of his men and led them against a German strong point. After a fierce fight, the platoon captured nine machineguns and killed 42 Germans Ingram accounted for 18 of them himself. Soon after, the company came under heavy fire from an old quarry occupied by over 100 Germans with as many as 40 machineguns. Taking command of the attack after his company commander was killed, Ingram jumped into the quarry, charging the first post himself, shooting six German soldiers and capturing a machinegun. The Germans were soon overcome and 30 men surrendered. Whilst his men were securing the position, Ingram scouted ahead in search of machinegun nests in the village. He soon located one positioned in a house which had been firing from a position in the cellar. Managing to enter the house, he shot the gunner through the cellar ventilator and rushed into the cellar, taking another 30 Germans prisoner. For his bravery during the day, he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Ingram was the last Australian to be awarded the Victoria Cross during WWI. --------------------------------------------------------------- If you spot an error, please send me a message. Join our group here: https://business.facebook.com/groups/2626189084317964

08.01.2022 Hello Seville, just a quick update regarding the damage done to the CWA Seville War Memorial Bus shelter in Seville. We had a discussion with council and they h...ave agreed to repair the vandalised lettering to its original form. You can find more information regarding this War Memorial at monumentaustralia.org.au See more

07.01.2022 Today was another big day We would like to thank Bruce Bennett for coming and assiting in dropping a large spruce that was blown over in the wind and leaning toward the members whilst leaving his own damaged property. We would also like to thank CWA for feeding us today and helping in the hall while people were charging their devices. Also a big shout out to all other members who came and helped clean up the damage. Clean i also say that if you are out walking please look ...up and pay attention to your surounds Legends of Monbulk

04.01.2022 For anyone in need of emergency supplies we have been given some care packages from SP Ausnet to distribute

03.01.2022 A few photos from a couple of years back. We cant attend the shrine this year but ‘we will remember them’ Lest we forget