scuttlebuttBox Hill R.S.L. Sub- Branch Inc.

Box Hill RSL Sub-Branch Incorporated - trading as Box Hill RSL, 26 Nelson Road, Box Hill 3128. Ph: 9898 5992, Fax: 9899 1740 Manager: Denis Fernando, Sub-Branch Secretary: Ray Wall, Association Registered No: A0057903U

Over 55’s ExpoAn over 55’s expo is being held in the Upton Room on Friday 27th November between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

This expo will provide an opportunity for members to meet with organisations and businesses that cater to the needs of the Community with a focus on the addressing the changes that arise with ageing.

On our last day in Canberra we were invited to attend and participate in the closing ceremony at the Australian War Memorial. Pictured above, John Haward representing our Vietnam Veterans and Terry Nolan (ex Brig.) representing all members of the Sub-Branch. Both laid wreaths in memory of all our members past and present.

With the cold winter months of June, July and August still in most of our traveller’s minds, the winter woollies were top of the list of what to pack. Then to everyone’s surprise summer came early, or at least the four days of our Canberra sojourn – early September provided temperatures well above the 20 degree mark.

My observations were that everyone enjoyed the coach ride, the accommodation, the variety of foods and the visits to the nation’s capital and its many outstanding edifices.

FOUR BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAYS IN CANBERRA

TURN TO PAGE 5 FOR FURTHER REPORT...

MORE INFORMATION NEXT ISSUE

Issue No. 195 Editor: Tony Bowden OAM JP October 2015

Contributions to each issue of Scuttlebutt must be with the editor by the 20th day of each month. Editor's e-mail: heraldry@sub.net.au

Trip to The National Vietnam Veterans MuseumThe trips organised by Box Hill RSL welfare are underpinned by a recognition of the value of social inclusion. On our next trip we are going to Phillip Island to see the Australian Cartoons of The Vietnam War at the National Vietnam Veterans Museum on 25th November. Priority will be given to Servicemen and those who have not been on previous trips. The trip will include lunch.

To register your interest contact Kathy (Welfare) on 9898 2044.

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Welfare Report For all welfare matters - telephone Faye Clark on 9898 2044

Our best wishes are with those members who are, or have been in hospital since the last issue.

Merle Evans, Eva Boon, Joanna Eden, Gordon Hang Gong, Edward Woods, Norma Yendall, Pat Sloan, Lois Eade, Allan McDonell & Mavis Atkinson

Members' in Aged CareBEULAH ANDERSON Alawarra, Inala, 220 Middleborough Rd, Blackburn Sth

JOHN BANKS-HUGHES BUPA Donvale, 296-304 Springvale Rd, Donvale

JOHN BYDDER, Broughton Lea, 9 Broughton Rd, Surrey Hills

FRANK & ISOBEL BOLTON, Faversham House, 27 Shierlaw Ave, Canterbury

MAUREEN BRAYNE, Alawarra, Inala, 220 Middleborough Rd, Blackburn Sth

KEN BUDGE, Adventcare, 163-165 Central Rd, Nunawading

EARLE BUTTERFIELD, Alexandra Gardens, 42 Old Warrandyte Rd, Donvale

WILLIAM CAHILL, Uniting Agewell, 75 Thames St, Box Hill

DON CAIRNS, Nazareth Care, 16 Cornell St, Camberwell

MYRA CAMPBELL, Dorothy Henderson Lodge, 157 Balaclava Rd, Marsfield, NSW

FAY CLARK, Uniting Agewell 75 Thames St, Box Hill

ROBERT CLARK, Faversham House, 27 Shierlaw Ave, Canterbury

NOEL & LOIS DUNN, BUPA, 296-304 Springvale Rd, Springvale

ROY EDWARDS, BUPA, 18-22 McGlynn Ave., South Morang

JACK GIDLEY, Faversham House, 27 Shierlaw Ave, Canterbury

GEORGE & DOROTHY GIRLING, McGarvie Hostel, Strathdon, 17 Jolimont Rd, Forest Hill

GEOFF GLEESON, St Catherines, 1 Clayton Rd, Balwyn

GORDON HANG GONG, Alexandra Gardens, 42 Old Warrandyte Rd, Donvale.

MARJ HASLER, Charlesbrook, 1 Innisfallen Crt, Templestowe

MARY HODGETTS, Faversham House, 27 Shierlaw Ave, Canterbury

LORNA HUNTER, Cameron Close, Warrigal Rd, Burwood

LORNA HOUSE, Wattle Glen ACF, 45 Silvan Rd, Wattle Glen

LOLA INGLEFINGER, Banksia Lodge, 2 Jones St, Foster

RAY JACOBS, Uniting AgeWell, 75 Thames St, Box Hill

KEITH JONES, Livingstone Gardens, 39 Livingstone St, Vermont South

JOHN & MYRA KELLEHER, Clovelly Cottage, 16 Stewart St, Boronia

JEAN KING, Opal by the Bay, 185 Racecourse Rd, Mt Martha

CLARE KNYVETT, Alexandra Gardens, 42 Old Warrandyte Rd, Donvale

ALBERT KNOP, Ston, Uniting AgeWell, 75 Thames St, Box Hill

SYLVIA LANG, Donwood Aged Care, 17 Diana St, Croydon

DOROTHY LEITH, Alawarra, Inala, 220 Middleborough Rd, Blackburn Sth

BETTY MADDOCK, Faversham House, 27 Shierlaw Ave, Canterbury

SIDNEY MANN, Roseville, Apt.10, 130 King St, Doncaster East

DAWN MAY, Jack Faichney Hostel, Strathdon, Jolimont Rd, Forest Hill

HARRY & JOYCE MCEWAN, Gregory Lodge, 2-58 Newmarket St, Flemington

ALLAN MCFARLANE, McGarvie Hostel, Strathdon, Jolimont Rd, Forest Hill

BRUCE MCLEAN, Templestowe Pioneer Village, 16 Herlihys Rd, Lower Templestowe

LEIGH McQUALTER, Uniting AgeWell, 75 Thames St, Box Hill

BETTY MONK, Blue Cross, Springfield, 40 Dorking Rd, Box Hill

ALAN MUIR, Parkview, Millward, 31 Blackburn Rd, Doncaster East

PHYLLIS O’REILLY, Richard McGarvie Hostel, Strathdon, Jolimont Rd., Forest Hill

NOEL OUTHRED, BUPA Donvale, 296-304 Springvale Rd, Donvale

SHIRLEY PASCOE, BUPA, Heidelberg Park, 222 Serpells Rd, Templestowe

TED PHILLIPS, Faversham House, 27 Shierlaw Avenue, Canterbury.

MILLIE RAYNOR, Faversham House, 27 Shierlaw Ave Canterbury.

DOROTHY REID, Blue Cross, Springfield, 40 Dorking Rd, Box Hill

DOREEN ROCK, Camberwell Gardens, 15 Cornell St, Camberwell

DICK ROSE, Clovelly Cottage, 16 Stewart St, Boronia.

IRENE ROSEVEAR, Vincent de Paul Hostel, 13 Strabane Avenue, Mont Albert North

MAUREEN SAVAGE, Covenant House, 181 Canterbury Rd, Blackburn

BETTY SMITH, Arcare, Cnr Plenty and Gremel Rds, Latrobe

ERN TRELOAR, Broughtonlea, 9-17 Broughton Rd, Surrey Hills

EDNA TREWIN, Regis Lake Park, 40 Central Rd, Blackburn

RALPH VAN DER HOEVEN, Ruckers Hill, 14-24 Pearl St, Northcote

NORMA VENDY, Dorset Lodge, 362 Dorset Rd, Croydon

EILEEN WADDELL, BUPA Donvale, 296-304 Springvale Rd, Donvale

PHIL WALTER, Regis Lake Park, 40 Central Rd, Blackburn

HELEN WILLIAMS, Glen Waverley PNH, 982 High St, Glen Waverley Kevin Pittman

VX140792 - 9th Aust Sigl

Ted O’Toole Affiliate

Ellen Ryall Affiliate

Vale lest we forget

Box Hill Legacy NewsOnly two more meetings for 2015 - I can't believe how quickly the year is passing.

Our AGM is held in November, so the Committee would like any Legacy ladies to join the Committee. We meet once a month in the RSL library and the meetings last approximately an hour. We would be pleased to have your input into the activities of our Club. Nominations for the Committee need to be in the Secretary's hand 7 days before the November meeting so ask me or anyone on the Committee for a nomination form.

Our Guest Speaker at the September meeting was Lyn Creek, who brought along some really interesting memorabilia for "show and tell". She certainly brought back memories of the days gone by.

Gordon McKenzie will be our entertainer at the October meeting.

After the AGM and our monthly meeting in November, Barbara Kearney will tell us about her trip to Gallipoli earlier this year.

Tuesday 8th December is the date for our Christmas luncheon in the Upton Room - hope you'll all be well enough to attend.

Pat Douglas (Sec)

Nepalese Earthquake AppealOne of our active members of the Sub-Branch, Ray Jones of Box Hill North has over the past few years visited a small village in Nepal to help build their greatly needed primary school. Then following the recent earthquake the school and most of the village homes were reduced to rubble. Ray quickly organised an appeal to assist the villagers in rebuilding their homes and his beloved school, the Laliguresh Bright Future English Language School.

As of today Ray has raised $14,174.31 all of which has been transferred to the village elders – it is great to see one of our members who is in his twilight years actively engaged in global issues.

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Womens AuxiliaryHello Ladies

Our August meeting was attended by 49 members and, with warmer weather coming on (we hope), our numbers should get higher.

Our guest speaker was Joan Green from Eastern Health Box Hill Hospital. The role of the group is to speak on spiritual care; they deal with grief, loss, change, patient and family. They are there when people need them to talk to, make decisions when it sometimes it is hard to talk to the people close to you. The Box Hill Hospital also have a “Butterfly Wall” where people not so well at all, leave their fingerprints shaped like a butterfly with their name and date, this is a lasting memory for loved ones.

These volunteers are very caring and loving people, I don’t think it would be an easy task talking to people in their sad times. Some of our members were very touched and it bought back sad memories of their own.

Our in house function was Kula fashions. I believe it went very well and they sold quite a lot of garments and the club did well out of the sales receiving 10%. It also should be noted that 2 of our committee members were so anxious to get there they arrived at 9am instead of 12.30 (check your calendars ladies) ha ha

Welcome also to our new Sub-Branch Secretary Ray Wall; We hope all goes well.

Happy 90th Birthday to Alice Winter. Well done Alice from all your friends at the Auxiliary

Well that’s about all for now. Keep warm & healthy and for the ones not feeling so heathy I hope you will be feeling better soon.

“Remember – Whichever way you look at it ‘stressed’ is just desserts spelt backwards.”

Joan Clarke Honorary President

Meeting Dates

Monday 28th September Monday 26th October Monday 23rd November

Function Dates

Wednesday 14th October – Divine Gems 1.30 small plate $5.00 Wednesday 11th November – Bus Trip to Yan Yean

A bold fusilier came marching down to Rochester,

Bound for the wars in the Low Country;

And he cried as he marched through the drear streets of Rochester;

“Who’ll come a-so’jering for Marlborough with me?”

“Who’ll come a-so’jering? Who’ll come a-so’jering?

Who’ll come a-so’jering for Marlborough with me?”

And he cried as he marched through the drear streets of Rochester; “Who’ll come a-so’jering for Marlborough with me?”

This is the first verse and the chorus of “The Bold Fusilier,” a very bawdy song current in England from the sixteen-nineties onwards. You recognise the meter, of course. It’s the tune we in Australia know as “Waltzing Matilda”. Sing it as it was sung by the English troops fighting under Marlborough on the continent of Europe and you will sense the blare of trumpets and the rattle of drums; for it was a very famous march.

At that time the great Austrian Empire was shaky but still powerful. It had stretched from the Mediterranean to the

North Sea, and from the Russian frontier to the east to Alsace in the west. English troops had been fighting in the Netherlands (the Low Country) since the 1650’s, and knew the haunting Austrian march well. They took it back with them to England. As is usual with British troops and tunes they love, the fitted it with lewd words which – with local variations – became “The Bold Fusilier.”

If you look east of London, along the southern shore of the Thames estuary, you will find Rochester a few miles from Chatham. Rochester was the embarkation port for Marlborough’s armies, which is why such a small and relatively insignificant town should be linked by song with years of fighting from one end of Europe to the other. For, after the Low Country, the English troops advanced through Spain, seizing Gibraltar as a base and holding it ever since.

So that stirring Austrian march, adopted by the English and embellished with words mostly unfit to print, flaunted its way throughout Europe. It is not surprising that it arrived here a hundred years or so later. What is surprising is the sad fact that we in Australia accept it merely as the tune to which we sing some words by Banjo Paterson.

Frank Cooper, North Balwyn

MARCH THAT BECAME "WALTZING MATILA"

TREV’S COLUMNWHAT’S HAPPENING AT YOUR RSL? In October renovations to the Bowls Room downstairs will commence which will bring the area up to the standard of the rest of the Clubrooms. Also preliminary investigations are underway for the construction of a 4 level carpark above the existing southern carpark.

MEMBERS LOYALTY CARD Don’t forget to swipe your Member’s Card at the kiosk when you enter the Club and you could win a Bonus ticket to enter the October promotion to be one of three members drawn every Friday invited to “Grab the Cash” at 8.00pm on 29 October to win a share of up to $6,000.00. You can also win a bonus ticket from the kiosk. Also present your card over the Bar or Bistro with each purchase and you can obtain additional tickets when you spend $20.00 or more. Each purchase accumulates until you reach $20.00 so present your card even if you are only buying one drink.

RACE DAY Our next race day has been arranged for Kilmore Race Course on 1 December 2015. See advertisement elsewhere in Scuttlebutt for details.

Trevor Symes Vice President

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Above: Members of the Sub-Branch in the fore-court of the AWM – a most imposing building and with a closing ceremony equally imposing and moving.

Below: A rather large statue representing Australian diggers waiting to disembark onto the shores of Gallipoli.

On our way to the Australian War Memorial the buses stopped at the Vietnam War Memorial on Anzac Parade for those who had served in that war. Pictured above are our eleven Vietnam Veterans in the memorial.

A group of Box Hill RSL members waiting for the AWM’s closing ceremony to commence.

Coach one “boss” Judy Coates in the new Parliament’s House of Representatives chamber – the following day all hell broke loose, the PM was deposed and Malcolm Turnbull was installed as the new PM. We wonder if Judy had something to do with it?

One of the many statues representing Australian soldiers during the First World War – while this statue is small compared to some of the others on display, it was very life-like.

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FOUR BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAYS IN CANBERRAOne highlight of the trip occurred on our last afternoon in Canberra. With the entire travelling group in attendance, we were part of the closing ceremony at the Australian War Memorial. An integral part of this 5pm closing is the Stand To ceremony and the laying of wreaths by members of the wider community, both local and Australia wide. With John Haward representing the Box Hill Vietnam Veterans and Terry Nolan representing the members of the Box Hill RSL, they were just two of the six who laid wreaths on that afternoon. It was an extremely moving ceremony with the closing part being a bugler playing the Last Post – in the confines of the fore-court the echoing and professionalism of the bugler was something to behold and there were quite a few wet eyes amongst our members.

Special thanks needs to be directed to the two coach captains – Judy Coates and Bob McLellan – who did an excellent job of managing the demands of a full bus. Also there needs to be a special thankyou to Mandy Wallace for coming to the aid of Ian Ward in his hour of need and accompanying him to the hospital.

Well done Mandy!

Tony Bowden Just a passenger.

The Race Day program continues

A DAY AT THE RACES KILMORE RACE COURSE

TUESDAY 1ST DECEMBER 2015

SPECIAL PACKAGE FOR SERVICE, AFFILIATE AND SOCIAL MEMBERS

ONLY $35.00 PER HEAD

Includes• Coach Fare• Entry to Racecourse• Race Book• 2 Course Luncheon

Bus leaves clubrooms at 10.00AM sharp and returns to clubrooms, departing 15 minutes after the last race.

Book early to avoid disappointment Please pay at reception.

THIS WILL BE ANOTHER GREAT DAY OUT!

PROSTATE CANCER AWARENESS EVENINGHosted by The Box Hill Prostate Cancer Support Group

Speakers:

Dr. Joseph Ischia MBBS PhD FRACS, Urologic Surgeon, Honorary Fellow Melbourne University

Mr. David Parkin OAM AFL Legend & Men's Health Advocate & Prostate Cancer Survivor

Carla D'Amico BN CNS Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse

Symptoms - Diagnosis - Treament Options & a forum with survivors

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 18

Where: Upton Rm - Box Hill RSL

Time: 7:00 - 9:30 pm

RSVP by Nov 10 Roger Criag: 9888 6140

PROUDLY AFFILIATED WITH THE PCFA & GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY THE BOX HILL RSL

More information: Frank Blackwell – Convenor Ph 9877 2440 Roger Grigg – Secretary Ph 9888 6140 Email: prostateboxhill@yahoo.com

Parking: RSL Car Park

FREE MOVIE FOR MEMBERSTHURSDAY, 22ND OCTOBER, 2015 AT 10.30Presented by Ray Wall

A successful psychotherapist loses his mind after one of his most dependent patients, a manipulative, obsessively compulsive narcissist, tracks him down during his family vacation.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1...

A group of our ladies outside of the AWM waiting to entrain back to our hotel.

Box Hill R.S.L. Sub-Branch Inc. trading as Box Hill RSL 26 Nelson Rd, Box Hill 3128 Victoria.

T 9898 5992 F 9899 1740 E secretary@boxhillrsl.com.au

General Manager: Denis Fernando Sub-Branch Secretary: Ray Wall Association Registered No: A0057903U

scuttlebutt

MarathonRichard A. Billows

Our Library No. C10 356

The author’s statement is “How one battle changed Western Civilisation”. Richard A. Billows is a professor at Columbia University specialising in Ancient Greek and Roman history.

He states that the inspiration for our modern-day marathon comes from the legend of Philippides, who is said to have run 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to deliver the news of the Greeks’ victory over the Persians.

In order to understand the significance of the Battle of Marathon and its impact on Western Civilisation, Professor Billows goes into the history of the Medes and the Persians. He also goes into the history of the Greeks and the various city states that evolved over time. This background illuminates the reasoning behind this battle and how the Greeks were finally victorious.

He describes the battle plans of the Greeks as they faced the more powerful Persians. The Greek Commander Miltiades devised a completely new strategy of going forward rather than remaining behind the city walls. He also utilised the Phalanx differently – making it weaker in the centre, so that he could stretch his line further. This would keep the Persians from surrounding the Greeks with their more numerous forces. Many historians, including the author, feel that Miltiades should be giving him better recognition that he has received in the past due to his clever plans.

The author argues that because the Greeks won the battle, they went on to establish many things which are only

possible in a society of free thought. Entertainment, which most today would take as part and parcel of our lives is based on the Greek “theatre” – both the tragedies and the comedies. Many of our current plays are based on the ancient Greek scripts. He goes through the lists of famous Greeks of the period, including Pericles, Demosthenes, Socrates, and many others. None of this explosion of ideas would have been possible under the Persian system of the time.

There are several maps included, but it might be well to have a detailed atlas handy to consult from time to time. There is also a glossary of terms which is most helpful to those of us without knowledge of classical Greek. Best of all is the Chronology of the key events in the Greek and Persian empires.

After reading the book and you are still keen to learn more, there is a wonderful bibliography

It is not an easy book to read due to its complexities. However, it is fascinating and well worth the effort to have a better understanding of that part of our world in the early days and its impact on ours of today.

Beth Davis Librarian

STORY WRITING COMPETITIONWith our Story Writing Competition now closed, the assessing of the quality of the essay is now being adjudicated by our three experienced judges. We had no idea as to the total number of entries, and we didn’t anticipate the lack of fictional essays compared to the factual ones especially the number pertaining to the authors’ families.

Initially we thought of dividing the prize money in two: half to fictional and half to factual entries, but with non-fiction greatly outnumbering fiction, it has been decided to judge all entries together.

Overall, the quality of the entries has been high with the readability of each essay exceptional, and as the judges responded – it gave them a better understanding into the lives of Second World War families, their fighting relatives and how the families survived through the lack of many essentials.

It is expected an announcement will be printed in the December issue of Scuttlebutt naming the winners and it is anticipated some of the winning entries will eventually be published in Scuttlebutt in 2016.

Tony Bowden Hon. President

LOOKING FOR A HANDYMAN?Normally we don’t advertise in Scuttlebutt, but sometimes we do make exceptions – in the case of Trevor Moody we have decided to assist him in finding work. Trevor has just commenced working for himself as a handyman, I do know he is an excellent painter/plasterer as he has just completed some work at my home.

If you need the services of a handyman then you should phone Trevor on 0413 423 980 or e-mail: all.thumbs@bigpond.com.au

Tony Bowden, President