A Remembrance Day Ceremony was held at the Veterans Support Group Nerang premises at 11am on November 11 2024.
The ceremony adhered to the accepted protocols, beginning with the lowering the Australian flag to half-mast at 10.40am. Veterans Support Group personnel from both the Qld. Branch and the Men’s Shed gathered around the flag pole, and Padre Gary Stone began proceedings with prayer. This was followed by the reading of an appropriate poem of battles past, and then The Ode was spoken.
The Last Post was then played, followed by one minutes silence at 11am. Then, as Rouse was played, the flag was raised back to peak height, timed to coincide with the ending of Rouse. That concluded the ceremony.
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Monday the 7th October 2024 saw Steve and Wendy Clare take final delivery of their newly purchased 4.3 metre boat and outboard at the sale price of $12,000.00.
Noah (Don Lees) spent the last two weeks adding flotation foam in order to meet the latest regulations, and also adding the final paint touches as needed. For Noah and his team it was the culmination of some 18 months of long hours and hard work, ending in the craftsman built clinker boat. The funds from the sale will go towards helping our veterans and members.
The transfer papers for both the trailer and boat registrations were completed, with the much appreciated assistance of Wendy Clare, and with several commemorative photos, we wished Steve and Wendy many happy hours of boating enjoyment.
Wednesday 6th September 2023 was the anniversary of the establishment of the first Men’s Shed in South Australia. Since then, the idea has spread around the world, and now there are approximately 3,000 sheds in 12 countries. An open Day celebration was hosted by the Labrador Men’s Shed, with six other sheds from the region participating and displaying the wares and activities of their sheds. The main guest speaker was Maxine Chaseling, who was responsible for the original idea and impetus for establishing the first shed in Goolwa, South Australia. Additional guest speakers included Gold Coast Mayor, Tom Tate, Leader of the Queensland Opposition, David Crisafulli MP, and Sam O’Connor MP for Bonney.
Len Thomson, Secretary Labrador Shed, welcomed everyone, and invited all to stay after the guest speeches and have a look through the Labrador shed and the other shed displays, and then to enjoy the lunch provided by the local QCWA and shed BBQ.
Our display, showing a PowerPoint slideshow and brochures, was manned by Frank Bosio and Andy Bryson, and Members Ken Bridges and Tony Scroope also attended. The event was well attended by both shedders and public, and Labrador shed had a shuttle bus service to the car park at the Tigers Football Club carpark for visitor parking. Channel 9 news filmed a segment which was aired on the local news that night. Labrador shed ran a well organised event and are to be congratulated on a successful day.
Open day marquees.
Labrador Men’s Shed activities board.
Principal guest speaker Maxine Chaseling.
Guest speaker Mayor Tom Tate.
Guest speaker David Crisafulli, Leader of the Qld. Opposition.
Long Tan Day Service (Vietnam Veterans Day) – 18/08/2023.
The Long Tan Day (Vietnam Veterans Day) service at our premises at 18 Leagues Club Drive, Nerang, on Friday 18th August went smoothly, aided by good weather, despite the forecast of rain. Attendance was similar to last year, with approximately 60 to 70 people, including Federal, State and Local government representatives, as well as a contingent from the Land Warfare Centre Canungra. Federal government was represented by Scott Burgess, standing in for Angie Bell MP, although Angie was able to come for a short stay just as the service was finishing. State government was represented by Meghan Scanlon MP, state minister for housing, and Local Government division 8 by Cr. Bob LaCastra.
QLD. Branch President, Peter Handy, welcomed everyone, and then Padre Gary Stone gave blessings for the service. Sub branch Secretary/Treasurer Peter Cameron read a short prologue of the Long Tan battle, followed by Sub branch President Andy Bryson reading a summary of the valuable contribution by the RAAF in the form of two Iroquois helicopters delivering much needed ammunition to the battle zone at a crucial time.
Lt. Col. Wendy Say, CO LWC Canungra, gave an appropriate address on the significance of the battle, and the service continued with wreath laying, Last Post, Ode, Rouse, NZ and Australian anthems, along with the appropriate flag raisings. After the service, all were invited to partake in an assorted sandwich luncheon (catered for by Clancy Catering Nerang), and a cool or hot drink of their choice.
As with all these events, then came time for our volunteer members to pack up the marquees and chairs and put them away in storage until the next event, which will be our Christmas party on the 6th December.
Padre Gary Stone giving service blessings.
Service attendees.
Angie Bell’s representative Scott Burgess.
Lt. Col. Wendy Say. CO LWC Canungra.
Meghan Scanlon MP, State member for Gaven and Housing Minister.
Peter Cameron, Sub Branch Sec./Treas.
Diedre, representing the Nurses.
Zeke Wuff, representing the Navy.
Don Lees, representing New Zealand.
All flags raised, representing all three services.
Angie Bell speaking with Bob Graves.
Lt. Col. Wendy Say speaking with Peter Cameron and Andy Bryson.
A chartered bus trip to the RAAF Museum at Amberley Air Force base on Thursday June 22nd was organised for the members of the Men’s Shed on June 22nd. Leaving at 8am sharp, we arrived at Amberley well before our 9.30 am tour time, only to have to wait for our guide Brittany to arrive and process us through the base security system and receive our visitors passes. The waiting time was not wasted however, as there was a photo opportunity just outside the front gate, that being a beautifully presented F-111 , quite a sight.
We then reboarded the bus and we’re escorted through the base to the Museum, where we were given a briefing on what to see and do while there. There were four hangars containing various aircraft and memorabilia, ranging from a WW1 Sopwith Camel to the recently retired F-111. A short video was shown featuring the F-111’s features, including the “dump and burn” party trick and the emergency ejection of the entire cockpit.
There were many fixed wing aircraft, but also several rotary wing, ranging from the ubiquitous Bell 47, or Sioux as it was known in the Air Force, to the Black Hawk, demonstrating the huge advances in size and technology. All the aircraft were in pristine condition, a great credit to the museum staff. An adjacent open hangar contained a well preserved twin radial engined Caribou, one of the versatile work horses of the military, and this aircraft looked like it was ready to fly again.
Once we had seen all we desired, the bus took us to the Walloon pub for a refreshing meal and drink and a chance to sit and talk about our experience. A short one hour’s drive saw us back at the Shed, having had a most enjoyable outing away from the usual shed activities.