22 December 2012: REMEMBER THE NEW YEARS RESOLUTION WE ASKED YOU TO MAKE

Join us at our SAA Queensland meetings and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow submariners and our wives as we all grow old with dignity whilst still enjoying the fellowship.

There are so many of you out there with whom we have dialogue but you we cannot put a face to the name so please make the effort just this once in the New Year and join us just to see what we are about.

The first meeting of 2013 is being held a the Galaxy Room within The Coorparoo RSL at 1030 Sunday - 20th January 2013.

The President will most certainly be putting forth his vision for us being a flexible and open organization into the future, one that is interested in your welfare and assisting you if needed and most importantly an association which is open to new ideas and is wanting you and your participation in our fun activities.

TALKING OF FUN ACTIVITIES
The year is the year of the BIENNIAL SAA QUEENSLAND DINNER DANCE/PARTY once again to be held at the Kedron Wavell RSL on Saturday 3rd August 2013 starting at 1900 and to be followed by the SAA Qld Inc. Annual General Meeting to be held the following day at the same venue.

There will be music and dancing and good fun so please come and be part of our major Biennial Party and we also wish you to make up a group say that your friends are also welcome. So if you wish to make up a party/group they will be most welcome.

Remember in line with our policy on money the costs to you will be kept to the absolute minimum so we will do a best to give you “the best bang for your buck”

So remember that New Year’s Resolution I asked of you and come and join us for the meeting at the Coorparoo RSL on Sunday 20th January 2013 and whether a member or not you are welcome and we want you to join us.

“Pete” Sellars “Daffy” O’Donnell & Rob Woolrych
(Your SAA Qld Social People)

8th December 2012:  Presidents 2012 Christmas Wishes

Fellow Queensland Submariners & Families

It is that time of the year that I reflect on the year that has been and look forward not only to Christmas but also the coming New Year. To all of our submariner friends out there in the wilds of Queensland both Miss Wendy and I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and we pray that you stay safe and keep well in the coming year of 2013.

2012 has been a very busy year for the Association now that our major project ‘Submariners Walk Heritage Trail’ is complete. I thank the committee, especially Mike and Wanda Davis for their outstanding support and the many generous donations from the members that saw such a wonderful amount of money raised. This project has seen over $56,000 spent that will educate the community about our Submarine Heritage from 1914 to current and it is timely as we head towards the Centenary of Submarine Celebrations in 2014. We welcome your comments when you visit New Farm knowing what your Branch has done for submariners. The Governor, Her Excellency Penelope Wensley AC, will launch Submariners Walk Heritage Trail on Saturday 23rd March 2013, please diarise this event.

I now look to the future and the years ahead of the Association. There are so many of you out there who I know enjoy reading about what we get up to at our meetings and our parties and we really enjoy seeing you all at our functions.

To all the submariners in Queensland, and not to forget our northern NSW friends, please continue to keep in touch with us during 2013 and please don’t forget that Miss Wendy and I hope to see all at the official launch of “Submariners Walk Heritage Trail”.

Once again, Best Wishes for a very Happy Christmas not only from Miss Wendy and myself but also from the Members of my Committee and their wives and to all of you stay safe and well in 2013. Those of you who are not “sailing well” please get better and if there is anything we can do for you to improve your well being please contact us – we can help even if it is only moral support.

Happy Christmas and have a prosperous & safe New Year

Don “Duck Run" Currell
President, Queensland Branch

25th August 2012:  Our President has taken on a monumental task and is very close to fulfilling his dreams of getting the “Submariners Walk” up and running. This walk is dedicated to those submariners who are on “Eternal Patrol” with special reference to those who operated from Brisbane in the dark days of WW2 from the RAN/RN/USN, our own relatively recent losses, plus AE1/AE2 who visited Brisbane prior to their final voyages and of course you all know AE1 has never been located, though the search continues.

To achieve “his dream” he has so far raised over $50K, some of it from the Govt. some from private donations and some from fellow Submarine groups and other Ex-service Organizations (ESO’s). This “Walk”, as you all should know by now, is along the Brisbane River foreshore in the vicinity of New Farm and just up the road from where the old HMAS Moreton used to be.

He is just $2.5K short of his goal.

To achieve this final amount he has entered himself in the Father’s Day to Run in Brisbane(10Km) over the Gateway to the “EKKA” Grounds and is asking for 2 things:

• a. For you to sponsor him up to $1 per Km for the run, which he hopes to complete in 75 minutes; and:

• b. Would you be interested in joining him as moral support on this task for a bit of fun and to help raise that final bit of “loot” which will go to a great cause.

I know Ian Roberts and myself were very interested in running with him but our wives suggested that as we were both well over 70 and not in peak condition “it was not a very intelligent idea”. Needless to say we acquiesced so now we will just have to resort to sponsorship.

I feel sure some of you younger members will be only too willing to step into the breach that we were told to leave vacant!!!!!!!

Don is doing this run for a very special cause to remember those who have gone before us so, if you are able to participate or sponsor Don's run, let myself (robjan_w@launch.net.au) or Don (duckrun@aapt.net.au) know in what way you are able to support the cause.

The design work for the submarine seats has been completed and construction of these benches commences on Monday so we have a project that is really coming together and for this project please give us all the support you can. It covers over 300 metres of the Brisbane River foreshore and will add much to the profile of submarine history and naval operations out of the Brisbane River over the past years

Rob Woolrych
Secretary

29th July 2012: The SAA Qld Inc. Committee for 2012-2013, elected at the AGM on the 29th July 2012 are:

• President Don Currell

• Vice President Derek (Daffy) O‟Donnell

• Treasurer Dean Barr

• Secretary Rob Woolrych

• Welfare Ian Sinclair RSL/ESO

• Liaison Ian Roberts

• Committee Graeme Caesar, Adrian (Pete) Sellars, Pete Jensen

All are congratulated on the appointments.

Notes on the Meeting are available at the Branch website at http://saaqld.org

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27 July 2012: Submarines Association Australia, Queensland Branch Inc has been awarded $1845 towards installation of aluminium etched signs along the proposed Submariner's Walk, Teneriffe. The award was made under the Saluting Their Service program.  See current status at http://saaqld.org/walk/intro.html

Hardwicke, Mark.  Ex LSUCSM.  Served on HMAS Otway 86-87, HMAS Otama 87-90 & HMAS Onslow 91-92.  Date Joined 10/01/2012. 

Worthington, Dominic.  Ex LEUT MESM.  Served on HMAS Collins and HMAS Farncomb (Crew-2).  Date Joined 25/11/2011. 

Date & Time	Event	Remarks
20th January 2013	QLD: General Meeting	Venue:  Coorparoo RSL Club.  Arrangements TBA - delayed by one week to allow for break Xmas New Year period) Contact Branch Secretary Rob Woolrych ((07) 54421991) for further details.
23rd March 2013	QLD: Dedication - Submariner's Walk	Submariners are invited to the “Opening and Dedicating Submariners Walk”. Contact Branch Secretary Branch Secretary Rob Woolrych ((07) 54421991) for further details.
14th April 2013	QLD: General Meeting	Venue:  Coorparoo RSL Club.  Contact Branch Secretary Rob Woolrych ((07) 54421991) for further details.
25th April 2013	QLD: ANZAC Day	Coorparoo RSL and Brisbane Contact Branch Secretary Rob Woolrych ((07) 54421991) for further details.
7th - 10th June 2013		The submarine community of Australia will be meeting in Townsville in June 2013 for four days of reunion and fun. Visit the website for more information.
3rd August 2013	QLD: Biennial Party	Venue: Kedron Wavell RSL (our major fund raiser) Contact Branch Secretary Rob Woolrych ((07) 54421991) for further details.
4th August 2013	QLD: Annual General Meeting	Venue: Kedron Wavell RSL Contact Branch Secretary Rob Woolrych ((07) 54421991) for further details.
13th October 2013	QLD: General Meeting	Venue:  Coorparoo RSL Club.  Contact Branch Secretary Rob Woolrych ((07) 54421991) for further details.

Branch Minutes are promulgated at the Branch website.

 

Visit the Branch website at http://saaqld.org