Kingfisher RSL Day Club
Kingfisher RSL Day Club is a community Day Club which is seed sponsored by the Kingscliff RSL. The club, which in now into its 16th year, is located in and hosted by the Cabarita Sports and Bowling Club. The Day Club boasts about 25 members and six to eight volunteer staff members depending on availability. The club offers a variety of activities for senior members of the community including day trips, games using large size cards and dominos etc, trivia competitions and singalongs with guest artists. Luncheons are held at Christmas and Easter.
The club meets most Mondays and a bus pick up around the Tweed Coast villages can be arranged. The RSL also provides specially arranged services for the members of Kingfisher RSL Day Club around Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.
The responsibility for organisation of events and staffing falls upon the Coordinator of Kingfisher RSL Day Club Ms Liz Baker who is a veteran of community volunteering.
Background:
The RSL Day Club program is a joint venture between the Returned and Services League of Australia (NSW Branch) (RSL) and the Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), NSW & ACT. The partnership dates back to 1977 when DVA was seeking an ex-service organisation’s support and involvement in setting up volunteer community based day care centres. Agreement between the NSW RSL and DVA was reached and the first “RSL Frail Aged Centre” was established in Miranda in 1977.
The First Club:
August 1977 saw the formation of the Captain Cook Club at Miranda. Over the years, other RSL sub-Branches arranged to set up Day Clubs in their area. Auburn/Lidcombe Gumbuya Club was the second Club to open in May 1978.
Between 1980-81, eight new Clubs were established. They included the Yaralla Club, Concord, Parramatta RSL Community Club, Parramatta, Bundeena Village Club, Bundeena.
The Dubbo Orana Club established itself as the first country club in August, 1981. This was the sixth Day Club. In October 1981, Tom Thumb Club at Wollongong commenced. It was the first on the South Coast and the seventh Club in NSW. In November 1981, the Sir Henry Parkes Club was established at Ashfield. 5 more Day Clubs were established in 1982.
RSL Day Clubs Today:
- As of July 2013 there are Sixty nine (69) sponsored by NSW RSL sub Branches
- The RSL Day Club Committee consists of RSL State Councillors, the State Coordinator of RSL Day Clubs and representatives from Day Clubs and from DVA. The Committee meets 4 times a year to address issues regarding the administration of all the Day Clubs.
- In 1978, the name official name for the program was changed to “RSL Day Care Centres”, and later to RSL Day Care Clubs. In 2006 the name was officially changed to RSL Day Clubs.
- The program, which celebrates 36 years in 2013, is regarded as highly successful by the RSL and the veteran community in terms of its ability to provide health promotion activities, social contact and carer relief for the veterans and war widows.