2010
Jeffrey Brian Smith	Ex Entertainment Contingent - Vietnam	Died 10th December 2010, Aged 79
Frank (Tiny) Anderson	Ex Army WWII	Died 8th December 2010, Aged 88
Robert (Bob) George Phillips	Ex RAAF WWII - 3 Aircraft Depot	Died 22nd November 2010, Aged 90
Frank Kenneth White	Ex RAAF WWII	Died 7 October 2010, Aged 87
Walter Charles Essing	Ex 2nd AIF WWII - 2/11 Australian Field Regt RAA	Died 28th August 2010, Aged 89
Donald Sharp	Ex WWII RAAF - RAAF Station Darwin; RAN 1950-1956	Died 11th August 2010, Aged 84
Allan Frederick Appleby	Ex WWII RAAF No3 Communications Unit	Died 18th July 2010, Aged 88
John Nigel (Bob) Birch	Ex WWII 2/61 Aust Infantry Battalion	Died 12th July 2010, Aged 89
John Joseph McDade	Ex RAAF WWII	Died 13th May 2010, Aged 88
John Morson	Ex 2nd AIF WWII	Died 3rd May 2010, Aged 87
William George Tyner	Ex RAAF WWII	Died 30th April 2010, Aged 105
Francis (Harry) Henry Grills	Ex Army Reserve	Died 18th April 2010, Aged 83
* Neil Verland Harcourt, OAM (Honorary Pension Officer)	Ex 2nd AIF WWII	Died 17th April 2010, Aged 86
Thomas Raymond Mooney	Ex RAAF WWII	Died 27th March 2010 Aged 85
Kevin Matthew Slattery	Ex RAAF WWII & 30/9/1946 - 3/12/1976	Died 26th February 2010 Aged 82
William Patrick (Bill) McCall	Ex 2nd AIF Ex-POW(Germany) WWII	Died 23rd February 2010 Aged 88
Desmond McDermott	Ex RAF Allied Service	Died 2nd February 2010 Aged 80
"Lest We Forget"

I would like to welcome the new members who have joined the Sub-branch throughout the year, and sincerely hope your stay with Burleigh Heads RSL Sub-Branch is a long and happy one!

2010 started with a great sub-branch 71st anniversary BBQ, fifty-seven members, three Women’s’ Auxiliary ladies and six visitors were in attendance to enjoy a few hours. Attendance at meetings and socials has been reasonable, the eleven meetings we had, we averaged fifty-five per meeting and the nine socials we averaged thirty- seven, in total one thousand, two hundred and seven attended meetings and socials, members, visitors and ladies of the Auxiliary. That has been a great effort!

All these events held by the Sub-branch could not proceed as well, without the great teamwork of committee & members, who contribute so freely of their time and efforts. I assure you it does take a lot of time and effort, I must thank them all from the bottom of my heart.

The ladies of the Auxiliary have again contributed much to the Sub-Branch operations and all I can say is, well done ladies and thank you. The Auxiliary turned 58 in September 2010 and continues under the leadership of President Ruth Connelly and Honorary Secretary Jeannie McKenzie. I hope the ladies of the Auxiliary continue to for a long, long time. The Auxiliary hopes 2011 will bring a renewed interest from members wives to come along and join, as they need new members to survive.

95th Anniversary 2010 ANZAC Day continued to grow in Burleigh and has become a very important part of the coasts commemorations. The ANZAC Day service attendance was one of the largest march and attendances at a commemoration service ever seen in Burleigh and the Dawn service was a huge increase to previous years. In the last few years Burleigh seems to have gone from strength to strength! Ninety-two, Members and visitors returned to the Hall for food and refreshments, and enjoyed the comradeship; we missed Jeff Smiths’ music, as he was unwell and had been for awhile, sadly Jeff passed away in December.

65th Anniversary VJ/VP day service 2010, was well attended, we will continue to remember the sacrifices made by so many! We should take every opportunity to remember the supreme sacrifice that many of our comrades made for us, VJ day is a day to celebrate and commemorate, as it is very significant day in all our lives and should never be forgotten. Funding was received from DVA for the Sub-Branch to provide a 65th Anniversary luncheon for those in attendance, which was arranged at the Burleigh Bowls Club. Lisa and her catering Staff did an absolutely wonderful job in providing a great roast and sweets! As usual the Burleigh Bowls staff looked after us, royally!

Remembrance Day 2010 turned out to be lovely day, weather is always important on these days. The Burleigh Heads War Memorial Park and Cenotaph was spruced and ready for the service. The Army cadet unit, 133 ACU from Palm Beach high school mounted the guard and made the service something very special for Veterans and the public. It was very heartening to see members of the younger generation put so much effort into this event.

2IC Army Cadet Officer Lt Bernadette Shelley was the OIC; a huge thanks goes to the cadet officers and cadets for their participation. The cadets, provided a flag officer, their total contribution was most appreciated and invaluable. Approximately 100 Veterans, over four hundred members of the public were in attendance. Considering the age of many veterans this was a wonderful effort and they should be congratulated!!

To all the ANZAC Badge and poppy sellers, thank you! Your support is much appreciated. Jeannie McKenzie has done a marvelous job coordinating these events, thanks Jeannie!

I would like to mention the Burleigh Heads Councillor Greg Betts in my annual report and congratulate and thank him for his continued support of the Burleigh Heads RSL Sub-branch. Our deep appreciation also to the Gold Coast City Council for assisting with equipment for commemorations and with maintaining the Burleigh Heads War Memorial Park, thank you! The park is always an absolute picture, an oasis for reflection!

The Sub-Branch Christmas Party was absolutely fantastic, 100 in total attended. Thanks to Rodger Munsie, who was engaged to play music for the troops at very reasonable fee, well done Rodger! The Auxiliary ladies conducted their usual Christmas raffle, what a great effort, thank you ladies! In attendance our new MP, Karen Andrews MP for McPherson who presented a huge hamper as a prize, thanks you Karen! Also present Christine Smith; Member for Burleigh, Greg Betts, Burleigh Gold Coast Councillor and Honorary Padre Fr Pat Molony shared their time with us, great to see them all. Kathy Nelson DVA came to say farewell and good-bye as she was retiring and we wished her well for her retirement!

I would like to thank the many sponsors and supporters, please should you need any of their services, please use these businesses and mention your Sub-Branch by name, so they may be aware that their money is going to good use. Not only will you get good service but also a good price. Their generous donation and contributions in kind, enables the Sub-Branch to continue in the BLUE rather than the red!! Burleigh Signs, Burleigh Blooms, Cheap as Chips, ProMed Physio & Podiatry, Copy Plus & Heritage Bros Funerals.

I did mention the work in the RSL Hall earlier in my report; I should fill you in on the 2010 activities. The Hall needed three new fire doors installed due the huge increase in usage, now over one thousand people per week use the hall, health and Safety issue. The front Kitchenette area in the hall and back stage area had to be rewired due to old electricalwiring which had perished over fifty-five years, almost caused a fire in the building. This was a major three-day task with the main fuse box having to be replaced also. Fire hose perished needed replacing, created a new issue, Lights and fans switches had to be moved from the old position to two metres from the fire hose, fire safety issue! Additional out side security lighting was installed to prevent a vandalism, that’s about it for 2010!

I would like to thank our Hall cleaner Noel Hull. Since taking over the cleaning he has maintained the hall in a very presentable manner, he has been on call all hours of the day or night and has been very dependable. Thank you, and I wish you good health. To the Many helpers, members and ladies of the Auxiliary that contribute so much, month in and month out, thank you! There are so many that it would be difficult to name all, and I wouldn’t like to offend anyone, but your assistance is invaluable!

A huge thanks to the caterer, Suzanne Vassella, Suzanne has provided our sandwiches for meetings, socials and food for our ANZAC and Christmas functions.

My duties as the Burleigh RSL Hall Manager, Rental Manager, ANZAC Day/Ceremonial Organizer, School Liaison Officer, Funeral Ceremonial officer, these duties have been progressive since 1997. I have been the official Sub-Branch appointed Welfare officer since April 2005. You can see, I have kept myself pretty busy! So don’t forget any assistance you can give is always most appreciated!

Mr. Neil Harcourt, OAM the Burleigh Heads RSL Sub-Branch appointed Honorary Senior Advocate/Pension Officer, had worked very hard and was successful with many cases right until the last few weeks of his life in April. All the Sub-Branch members, whose cases were successful with Neil, know the amount of hard work that Neil put into gaining the results! “Vale Neil”

Ralph Thompson has been appointed the Burleigh Heads RSL Sub-Branch Honorary Senior Advocate/Pension Officer and will continue to carry on the good work that Neil started. Ralph’s results will become better know as time goes by< thanks Ralph for accepting the appointment to carry on the important work of looking after our Veterans!

Finally I would like to thank the following immediate committee members who have assisted me throughout the year: Trevor Taylor our Sub-Branch honorary Secretary/Treasurer has worked very diligently for the year and has been my right hand man, we have concluded the year in the blue. David Grant, Senior Vice President has been to there to step in my shoes every time I was absent; David has been a very dependable executive member. Les McKenzie, Junior Vic President, who as usual helped to maintain the hall in its present state and has also been a very dependable executive member, Thank you Trevor, David & Les!

To all the 2010-committee members, I would like to personally thank you for your contribution to the smooth running and operation of this great Sub-Branch and look forward to 2011! Kevin Cook, Allan Price, Brian Williams, Bruce Weir, Noel hull, Jock Black with George McCabe and David Parsons the able assistants, thank you one and all.

Robert Jones, Assistant Honorary Secretary/Webmaster has again provided an up to date website for the year by providing his valuable service for free! Thank you Robert, ery much appreciated by thousands who visit the site monthly, this site is a great vehicle to relay the Veteran news to the IT community and members.

Thank you, each and everyone for your assistance, support and attendance, most importantly Members, keep up your attendance!

In conclusion, my impressions of 2010, it was a busy year; I hope 2011 will be better! I would like to wish everyone the very best of Health for 2011!

Christopher Peter Keating, C dec
President