Projects honouring Australia’s servicemen and women will benefit from $238,688 in funding announced today by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin. Mr Griffin said the funding would support 96 projects which commemorate our wartime history and honour those who have served, and continue to serve, Australia in wars, conflicts and peace operations.

“Saluting Their Service grants provide funding to help communities build and maintain memorials, capture the wartime history of their towns and preserve memorabilia for future generations,” Mr Griffin said. “Today’s funding has supported a range of initiatives across the country including building new places of remembrance for communities, restoring and repairing existing memorials and improving security at memorials."

"Commemorative projects, such as those funded today, play a major role in encouraging Australians, young and old, to learn about our wartime heritage. Community and ex-service organisations can also apply for funding to support significant anniversaries of wartime events.”

This year marks some significant anniversaries for Australia including the 95th anniversary of the Gallipoli Campaign, 65th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific as well as 50 years since the end of the Malayan Emergency and 60 years since the start of the Korean War. Many communities will be holding special ceremonies throughout the year marking these anniversaries.

“Australian service has been a part of the history of every city and town across the country and through projects like those funded today, we can help ensure the contribution of our servicemen and women is remembered, and their sacrifice not forgotten,” Mr Griffin said.

Mr Griffin encouraged local community and ex-service organisations interested in applying for funding to visit www.dva.gov.au/grants or contact their nearest DVA office on 133 254 (for metropolitan callers) or 1800 555 254 (for non-metropolitan callers).

· The Beenleigh RSL Sub-branch will receive $4000 to help install an honour roll at the War Memorial at Beenleigh RSL to commemorate those from the Beenleigh area who have lost their lives serving their nation.

· The Blackall-Tambal Regional Council will receive $4000 to help restore and upgrade the Tamboo War memorial and precinct. The upgrade will include the installation of an eternal flame, a granite cenotaph with engraved or bronze plaques featuring the names of local veterans and relocating the flagpole.

· The Caboolture-Morayfield & District RSL Sub-branch Inc will receive two grants: $110 to help restore the Memorial plaque at the Albert Street bus shelter in Caboolture; and $1670 to help restore the memorial in King Street, Caboolture.

· The Far East Strategic Reserve Qld will receive $378 to help install a plaque in the Chris Cunningham Memorial Park in Tweed Heads dedicated to those who served in HMAS ships attached to the Far East Strategic Reserve in South East Asia from 1955 to 1971.

· The Mt Archer State School P&C Association will receive $4000 to help install a commemorative plaque and erect a flagpole in a memorial garden at Mt Archer State School.

· The Submarine Association Australia (QLD Inc) will receive $1400 to help install a display case in the Coorparoo RSL Galaxy Room to house RAN and RN Submarine memorabilia from the First World War to the present.

· The 4th Field Regiment, RAA, will receive $3000 to help hold an event at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville on 1 May 2010 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the formation of 4 Field Regiment.

· The Elliott Heads & District Ratepayers & Residents Association Inc will receive $466 to help install a brass plaque at the Submarine Lookout Anzac Memorial to commemorate Vietnam veterans and all service people who lost their lives in Vietnam.

· The Eumundi RSL Sub-branch will receive $1500 to help restore 20 plaques on the Eumundi War Memorial Trees which are dedicated to local service personnel who lost their lives in both World Wars.

· The Far East Strategic Reserve Qld will receive $3000 to help hold a reunion at the Twin Towns Services Club in Coolangatta/Tweed Heads in May 2010 to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the formation of the Far East Strategic Reserve.

· The Mt Mee Community Cemetery Inc will receive $4000 to help install a one metre high polished black granite obelisk representing the Army, Navy, Air Force and Women’s Services in a formal garden at Mt Mee Cemetery to be used on days of commemoration.

· The Queensland University Regiment Association will receive $2000 to help sculpt a Queensland University Regiment Regimental badge on one of the sandstone columns in the Great Court of St Lucia Campus of the University of Queensland.

· The Queensland University Squadron Branch RAAF Association will receive $2000 to help sculpt a Queensland University Squadron RAAF badge on one of the sandstone columns in the Great Court of St Lucia Campus of the University of Queensland.

· The RAAF Association Queensland Division Inc Pine Rivers Branch will receive $1250 to help hold a final reunion on 17 April 2010 in Kallangur for members of 548 and 549 Squadrons.

· The Royal Australian Artillery Association North Queensland will receive $2800 to help restore two 25 Pounder Field Guns and Ammunition Limber for display at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville and Kissing Point Regional Army Museum.

· The Samford RSL Sub-branch will receive $2177 to help purchase three display cabinets to house wartime memorabilia at the Samford Sub-branch.

· The Toowoomba RSL Sub-branch will receive $2959 to help create a Boer War Roll of Honour plaque to be placed on a cairn next to the Boer War Memorial gates at Mothers’ Memorial Park in Toowoomba to honour the five local servicemen who died during the Boer War.

· The Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council will receive $4000 to help erect six plaques on a new memorial at Mapoon to honour the war service of the community’s Indigenous ancestors.

· The Australian Special Air Services Association SA Branch will receive $1750 to help repair the vandalised Special Air Services Memorial on the Pathway of Honour at the Torrens Parade Ground in Adelaide.

· The City of Holdfast Bay will receive $3000 to help purchase a bench top with drawers to house wartime memorabilia and a bench top with ‘memory files’ on locals from the Holdfast Bay district who served in the armed and auxiliary forces, forming part of the Memory Cove exhibition in the Battery Room area of the Glenelg Air-Raid Shelter.

· The RAAF Association South Australian Division will receive $2005 to help restore, preserve and frame three silk pilot survival maps from South West Pacific areas for display at the RAAF Memorial Room at the Torrens Parade Ground in Adelaide.

· The 2/48th Battalion Social Club will receive $1750 to help hold a dinner at Daw Park on 8 August 2010 for members of the 2/48th Battalion Social Club to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the formation of the 2/48th Battalion.

· The City of Tea Tree Gully will receive $4000 to help create a memorial plaque at the Tea Tree Gully Memorial Garden to honour the men of the Australian Light Horse Brigade, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles, the Imperial Camel Corps and the Australian Flying Corps who lost their lives in Egypt, Palestine and Syria between 1916 and 1918.

· The Hampton RSL Sub-branch Inc will receive $1040 to help install an honour board at the Woomera Area School dedicated to former students who served Australia in post First World War conflicts.

· The Lyndhurst and District Progress Association will receive $4000 to help build a cairn in Farina incorporating two plaques and an honour board to commemorate local servicemen and servicewomen who served in the First and Second World War.

· The Magill RSL Sub-branch will receive $3000 to help install two glass display cabinets at the Magill RSL Sub-branch to house wartime memorabilia.

· The Naval Association of Australia Whyalla Sub-section will receive $250 to help install a honour board at the Whyalla RSL Club dedicated to servicemen from the local area who have served our nation.

· The Peake Community Centre Inc will receive $3393 to help install an honour roll on the memorial in Peake to commemorate those locals who served in the First World War, Second World War and Vietnam War and install an information board explaining the Lone Pine tree plantings.

· The Peterborough RSL Sub-branch will receive $500 to help upgrade the replace concreting around the Terowie War Memorial to ensure the safety of veterans and other visitors.

· The Strathalbyn National Trust Museum will receive $879 to help purchase three mannequins to display military uniforms and to purchase a small flat-screen television/DVD player for the Strathalbyn Museum to continuously display names, photographs and the service details of the First and Second World Wars and local service personnel who paid the supreme sacrifice.

· The War Veterans’ Home Myrtle Bank Inc will receive $2090 to help erect a flagpole in the Lower Kapyong Garden at the War Veterans' Home in Myrtle Bank where memorial services are held during inclement weather and refurbish the flagpole in Alexander Park at the front of the facility, which is a focal point during community commemorative services.

· The Unley High School will receive $3290 to help construct a roll of honour at Unley High school to commemorate former students who served in the First World War.

· The Pinaroo RSL Sub-branch will receive $3796 to help install a plaque in the foyer at the Pinnaroo Soldiers Memorial Hospital to commemorate First World War Military Medal recipients from the Pinnaroo district and for an event on Anzac Day to unveil the plaque.

· The 57/60th Battalion Association will receive $4000 to help install an honour roll in the Memorial Garden at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital dedicated to the 57/60th Infantry Battalion 3rd Division.

· The Bendigo Health Joan Pinder Nursing Home will receive $915 to help erect a commemorative flagpole and establish a memorial garden at the Joan Pinder Nursing Home in Bendigo for residents to use for commemorative services.

· The Birregurra District Historical Centre will receive $4000 to help upgrade the Birregurra War Memorial by installing a new plaque, restoring the lettering and installing new seating in memory of local servicemen of all conflicts.

· The Carranballac College will receive $3000 to help create a memorial space and install a plaque at the Jamieson Way P-9 School Campus of Carranballac College at Point Cook to commemorate those who have served in war.

· Innovative Care Pty Ltd will receive two grants: $1265 to help install a flagpole at the entrance to the Kyneton Community Aged Care Centre which will be the centrepiece for the residents on days of commemoration; and $670 to help install an honour board in the foyer of the new Kyneton Community Aged Care Centre.

· The Northern Health (Bundoora Extended Care Centre) will receive $2794 to help install a display cabinet at Bundoora Extended Care Centre to exhibit wartime memorabilia.

· The Richfield Retirement Village will receive $1095 to help install a flagpole for use by residents at the Richfield Retirement Village on days of commemoration.

· The Scarsdale Town Hall Committee of Management will receive $729 to help replace the deteriorated flagpole at Scarsdale Town Hall.

· The Naval Heritage Foundation of Australia Inc will receive $4000 to help install a bronze statue of a Second World War sailor titled Answering The Call on the foreshore at Bay Street, Port Melbourne, to commemorate all ranks and rates, male and female, who have served the Royal Australian Navy in both war and peace.

· The 2/22nd Battalion Lark Force Association will receive $798 to help install a flagpole at the memorial commemorating the formation of the 2/22nd Battalion Lark Force in Trawool.

· The Derrinallum & Lismore Community Association Inc will receive $3,450 to help construct a memorial at Gnarpurt Estate to commemorate soldier settlement in the district post the Second World War, followed by an unveiling ceremony and refreshments.

· The Edenhope RSL Sub-branch will receive two grants: $914 to help restore the Gallipoli Lone Pine memorial at Edenhope; and $3000 to help restore a First World War field gun for display at the Edenhope RSL Sub-branch Memorial Hall.

· The Mitchell Shire Council will receive $4000 to help construct Stage 1 of the Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Walk involving interpretive displays located within a replica Luscombe Bowl, and landscaping.

· The Park Lane Croyden Residential Aged Care will receive $3000 to help install a medals board and a display cabinet to house wartime memorabilia at the Park Lane Residential Care in Croydon.

· The South Gippsland Shire Council will receive $2575 to help purchase two mannequins and a mannequin display case for use in the Anzac Room at the Coal Creek Community Park & Museum in Korumburra.

· The Bays Hospital Group Inc will receive $4000 to help construct a memorial garden at the Bays Hospital Aged Care Facility in Hastings and install a flagpole and plaque for residents to use during commemorative services.

· The Welshpool Memorial Hall Committee will receive $4000 to help restore the Welshpool War Memorial Cenotaph and flagpole.

· The Yarram RSL Sub-branch will receive $3000 to help construct a display cabinet at the Yarram Country Club to display an extensive collection of wartime memorabilia.

· The Anglican Parish of Mount Dandenong will receive $510 additional funding to help restore the Peace Memorial located at Ellis Reserve in Kalorama.

· The Cobram Barooga RSL Sub-branch will receive $4000 to help restore the Cobram and District War Memorial involving repairs to damaged tiles and cleaning the resealing tiles in the walkway.

Saluting Their Service grants West Australian recipients

· The Royal Australian Corvettes Association Western Australia will receive $2000 to help repair and restore steps and damaged decking tiles which are part of the Royal Australian Navy Corvettes memorial at Monument Hill.

· The East Hamersley Primary School will receive $3350 to help construct a memorial at the front of the school dedicated to local ex-service personnel.

· The Honouring Indigenous War Graves Inc will receive $4000 to help construct a Memorial Garden at Bruce Rock dedicated to the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels and those who served in the Papuan Infantry Battalion and the New Guinea Infantry Battalion during the Second World War.

· The Shire of East Pilbara will receive $4000 to help construct a memorial at Marble Bar commemorating all wars.

· The Totally & Permanently Incapacitated/Extreme Disability Allowance Association Mildura will receive $1546 to help restore the Eighty Mile Beach Memorial that was damaged during a severe cyclone in 2009.

· The Upper Swan RSL Sub-branch will receive $1155 to help refurbish the Memorial Gates at the Baskerville Memorial Hall.

· The Korea & South East Asia Veterans Association Western Australia Branch Inc will receive $3000 to help hold a commemorative service on 25 June 2010 at the Flame of Remembrance in Kings Park to mark the 60th anniversary of the commencement of the war in Korea, followed by a luncheon at the Royal Australian Air Force Association Club at Bull Creek.

· The Australian Peacekeeper and Peacemaker Veterans’ Association Tasmania will receive $4000 to help construct a sculpture at Anglesea Barracks, Hobart, as a memorial to those who served in international peacekeeping and peacemaking operations.

· The Military Heritage Foundation of Tasmania will receive $3000 to help publish a book based on the First World War diary of Albert Orchard who served with the artillery from Gallipoli through to the Western Front.

· The Oaklands RSL Sub-branch will receive $800 to help restore the Mt Pleasant Community War Memorial Cross and Honour Board dedicated to local veterans who served in the First World War.

· The Queenstown RSL Sub-branch will receive $1600 to help restore the Strahan Cenotaph and install a plaque commemorating Peter Penneyston, the only soldier from the west coast of Tasmania killed in action during the Vietnam War. A Rising Sun Badge will also be added to the Cenotaph.

· The South Channel Ratepayers Association Inc will receive $1444 to help construct a cabinet at the Middleton Community Hall to house the area’s First World War Honour Roll and photographs and memorabilia relating to servicemen from the Middleton and Flowerpot areas.

Saluting Their Service grants Canberra recipient

· The Royal Australian Army Service Corps Vietnam Supply Platoons Association will receive $2,750 to help install a plaque at the Australian War Memorial to commemorate the service of Vietnam veterans who served in the Royal Australian Army Service Corps during the period 1965 – 1972 and for a dedication ceremony on 26 March 2010.

Saluting Their Service grants New South Wales recipients

· The 4th Australian Infantry Battalion (AIF) 1939-45 Association will receive $1387 to help install a plaque in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial dedicated to the 4th Australian Infantry Battalion (AIF) 1939-1945.

· The Australian Air League Inc Riverwood Squadron will receive $3000 to help install five bronze plaques on the commemorative memorial wall at the Australian Air League Hall in Riverwood.

· The Courtlands Retirement Village will receive $2300 to help install an indoor flag station in the Courtlands Retirement Village's Auditorium for use by residents on days of commemoration.

· The MacKillop College Bathurst will receive $2113 to help purchase commemorative wreaths and pay for the printing of the commemorative tour booklets for MacKillop College's History Tour in which 30 students will travel to France and Belgium in mid 2010. Each student will research an Australian veteran from the First World War who is buried or commemorated at one of the cemeteries or memorials there.

· The Maitland RSL Sub-branch will receive $4000 to help restore the Angel of Peace on the First World War Memorial in Maitland Park.

· The Merewether High School will receive $3000 to help assist students from the school to research local military history, including background of Sister Ellen Savage, a local Army nurse who survived the sinking of the Centaur.

· The Merewether RSL Sub-branch will receive $946 to help restore the First World War honour board at St Augustine's Anglican Church in Merewether.

· The National Servicemen’s Association of Australia NSW Branch Inc will receive $498 to help restore the frame holding a print titled The Menin Gate at Midnight to be displayed at the Lakemba Services Club.

· The North Ryde RSL Sub-branch will receive $1257 to help restore and frame a silk HMAS Perth handkerchief for display at the North Ryde RSL Community Club.

· The Raymond Terrace RSL Sub-branch will receive $1716 to help replace the damaged concrete apron at the base of the Raymond Terrace War Memorial.

· The Armadillo Museum, Mona Vale, will receive $3000 to help purchase display cabinets to house wartime memorabilia at the Armadillo Museum in Mona Vale.

· The Asquith Girls High School Parents’ and Citizens’ Association will receive $4000 to help install a War Memorial Garden within the Asquith Girls High School grounds to be used on days of commemoration.

· The Australian Army Artillery Museum, Manly, will receive $3000 to help install display cabinets to house wartime memorabilia at the Australian Army Artillery Museum.

· The Australian National Servicemen’s Association Inc Coffs Harbour will receive $350 to help install a plaque on the memorial wall at the Coffs Harbour Ex-Servicemens' Club dedicated to members of the Australian National Servicemen's Association.

· The Barham & District RSL Sub-branch will receive $2100 to help purchase two spotlights to illuminate the Barham Cenotaph to deter vandalism and enhance the memorial and install two power points for amplification purposes.

· The City Of Albury RSL Sub-branch will receive $4000 to help upgrade the Albury War Memorial on Monument Hill by installing security cameras around the monument to deter vandalism.

· The Griffith RSL Sub-branch will receive $4000 to help erect a new honour roll at the Cenotaph in the Memorial Gardens in Griffith dedicated to the servicemen and women from the Griffith area.

· The HMAS Warrego Association NSW will receive $770 to help install two memorial plaques at the Garden Naval Island Dockyard dedicated to RAN Sloops, HMAS Yarra, HMAS Swan, HMAS Parramatta and the HMAS Warrego.

· The Krambach Chapter of the Wingham RSL Sub-branch will receive $2805 to help install a flagpole at the First World War Memorial located at the Leo Carney Park in Krambach.

· The Mid-Western Regional Council will receive $4000 to help install a Cross of Sacrifice Memorial on Flirtation Hill to commemorate those from the Mudgee area who died during the First World War. This monument will replace the Avenue of Trees which were planted post First World War. These trees have since died and had to be removed.

· The National Servicemen’s Association of Australia Goulburn & District Sub-branch will receive $4000 to help construct a memorial in Belmore Park in Goulburn to commemorate National Servicemen who served from 1951 to 1972 and those who paid the supreme sacrifice.

· The Old Bar Soldiers Memorial Hall will receive $4000 to help upgrade the Old Bar Soldiers Hall War Memorial.

· The Rotary Club of Junee Inc will receive $4000 to help restore the Broadway Memorial Clock in Junee.

· The Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company will receive $3000 to help restore a Second World War Artillery Tractor No 6 (Aust) for display at the National Artillery Museum at North Head, Manly, as well as being used for other ceremonial occasions.

· The Saint Ignatius’ College, Riverview will receive $3000 to help publish a book titled To Give and Not to Count the Cost that details the service rendered by 310 former Riverview students who served in the First World War.

· The Wollondilly RSL Sub-branch will receive $633 to help install a plaque on the memorial in Thirlmere Memorial Park to commemorate local veterans who served in Afghanistan.

· The Norfolk Island RSL Sub-Branch will receive $4000 to help repair and restore the RSL's roll of honour starting with the Boer War through to Vietnam.