History of Te Aroha RSA
On 17 July 1931, barely 13 years after the end of the 1914-18 War, and in the middle of the great depression, 60 ex servicemen of the Te Aroha district met in the Masonic Hall and resolved to form the Te Aroha District Returned Soldiers Association.
There may have been an earlier organisation in the town, possibly as a branch of Auckland, but no records exist to prove or disprove this.
Mr GH Nicholls, a local solicitor and Great War veteran, was elected President, and a further 15 members representing the town and all the rural areas in the immediate district formed the committee.
The Association became incorporated on 19 October 1931. In keeping with the National body’s rules, the name was later changed to The Te Aroha Returned Services Association Inc to include returned servicemen and women from other branches of the armed forces.
The early concern of the RSA was the welfare of ex servicemen and their dependant families, and it is this concern that continues today.
Early committee meetings were held in professional offices around town, and general meetings in various halls.
The first AGM was held in April 1932 where subscriptions were set at 7/6 (About $36 in today’s money). Attendance at general meetings was generally good, with 200 attending the AGM in the Parish Hall in 1946.
On 31 May 1944 a building permit was granted so that building could be started when finance was raised. The section on the corner of Rewi Street and Bridge Street (now Lawrence Avenue) was gifted by Mr Jack Loughlin, and Mackie’s Builders provided much of the materials for the construction of the first clubrooms, which were opened in 1945.
The influx of returning second war veterans was significant. At first they weren’t universally accepted by the old diggers as they ‘hadn’t fought in a real war’ i.e. hadn’t fought in the trenches. The first 2NZEF veteran was elected to the committee in 1942, and the first WW2 President was Jim Hunt in 1955.
In 1945 a club committee was formed to run the club for the Association. Early rules prohibited the sale, possession or consumption of alcoholic drinks in the clubrooms. The club was dry, a place to meet, play cards or snooker and have a cup of tea, although socials and ladies nights were held, often in other halls in town until the clubrooms were extended.
A couple of extracts from the early minutes make interesting reading.
In 1942 it was resolved that the Association would extend hospitality to US servicemen stationed in the area.
In 1950 the Association ‘wholeheartedly supported the application for a wholesale liquor licence in the town’.
The membership was extended with the admission of returned servicemen from J, K, Malaya and Vietnam Forces, and the members of the Home Servicemen’s Association.
The clubrooms were extended in 1950 to accommodate 4 snooker tables, in 1956-7 the hall (now the lounge) was added. In 1974 the existing games area was constructed and the bar moved from the current kitchen to where the pool tables are now. In 1993 the new hall area was added and the bar moved to its present position.
Licensing rules advanced from dry, through locker systems and bottled beer in June 1954, through to draught beers, and from club charter to the club licence that we now hold.
The Women’s Section was formed in 1956, but early on ladies were only admitted on special occasions, and separate facilities were provided. Wives were initially allowed in the club on Friday nights only, to wait for their husbands in the social hall.
A limited number of non service (associate) members were admitted from the 1960s on.
In the 1970s, the NZRSA recognized the inevitable decline in numbers of returned members, and in the absence of a major conflict the eventual winding up of the Association was a definite prospect. The introduction of the Service Membership category was approved.
The first Service Member was elected to the Executive in 1983, the first woman in 1995, and the first Associate member in 2000.
Gaming machines were introduced in 1986. They provide a significant source of income to supplement the bar operations. In-house catering and the kitchen/dining room is a major part of the club scene today.
In 1976 the formation of the Te Aroha RSA Club Inc as a separate incorporated body to run the club for the Association, and to get around the limitations of the Flags Names and Emblems Act, allowed the admission of more associate members, provided the majority of members were Returned Servicemen. The Association owned the land and buildings, but the Club owned most of the other assets and managed the bar operations, and financed the building extensions.
For a period the Club Committee had to comprise a majority of Returned and Service members, and the President and other Officers had to be elected from this group of members.
This situation lasted 25 years until the club was wound up in 2000, and all assets and membership were transferred to the Association, now renamed The Te Aroha Memorial RSA Inc. The realization was that the future of the organization lay with the Associate members. Preference for membership was originally given to sons of returned servicemen, but now the admission of persons of good character, who have the interests and principles of the RSA at heart, will ensure the continuation of the club for years to come.
The Association and its club operations are now run by the Executive Officers and Committee elected at large from the full membership.
The welfare of ex-servicemen and women and their families is still one of the prime functions of the RSA. We receive good support from the community in the form of Poppy Day donations which are disbursed solely for the welfare of ex servicemen, and we are pleased to note the increasing interest and support on ANZAC Day, when we honour the sacrifice of 100 local men who lost their lives in WW1, 69 lost in WW2, and to recognise the service of all members of the armed forces. We also recognise the current serving members of the NZ armed forces, and welcome them into the RSA family.
There may have been an earlier organisation in the town, possibly as a branch of Auckland, but no records exist to prove or disprove this.
Mr GH Nicholls, a local solicitor and Great War veteran, was elected President, and a further 15 members representing the town and all the rural areas in the immediate district formed the committee.
The Association became incorporated on 19 October 1931. In keeping with the National body’s rules, the name was later changed to The Te Aroha Returned Services Association Inc to include returned servicemen and women from other branches of the armed forces.
The early concern of the RSA was the welfare of ex servicemen and their dependant families, and it is this concern that continues today.
Early committee meetings were held in professional offices around town, and general meetings in various halls.
The first AGM was held in April 1932 where subscriptions were set at 7/6 (About $36 in today’s money). Attendance at general meetings was generally good, with 200 attending the AGM in the Parish Hall in 1946.
On 31 May 1944 a building permit was granted so that building could be started when finance was raised. The section on the corner of Rewi Street and Bridge Street (now Lawrence Avenue) was gifted by Mr Jack Loughlin, and Mackie’s Builders provided much of the materials for the construction of the first clubrooms, which were opened in 1945.
The influx of returning second war veterans was significant. At first they weren’t universally accepted by the old diggers as they ‘hadn’t fought in a real war’ i.e. hadn’t fought in the trenches. The first 2NZEF veteran was elected to the committee in 1942, and the first WW2 President was Jim Hunt in 1955.
In 1945 a club committee was formed to run the club for the Association. Early rules prohibited the sale, possession or consumption of alcoholic drinks in the clubrooms. The club was dry, a place to meet, play cards or snooker and have a cup of tea, although socials and ladies nights were held, often in other halls in town until the clubrooms were extended.
A couple of extracts from the early minutes make interesting reading.
In 1942 it was resolved that the Association would extend hospitality to US servicemen stationed in the area.
In 1950 the Association ‘wholeheartedly supported the application for a wholesale liquor licence in the town’.
The membership was extended with the admission of returned servicemen from J, K, Malaya and Vietnam Forces, and the members of the Home Servicemen’s Association.
The clubrooms were extended in 1950 to accommodate 4 snooker tables, in 1956-7 the hall (now the lounge) was added. In 1974 the existing games area was constructed and the bar moved from the current kitchen to where the pool tables are now. In 1993 the new hall area was added and the bar moved to its present position.
Licensing rules advanced from dry, through locker systems and bottled beer in June 1954, through to draught beers, and from club charter to the club licence that we now hold.
The Women’s Section was formed in 1956, but early on ladies were only admitted on special occasions, and separate facilities were provided. Wives were initially allowed in the club on Friday nights only, to wait for their husbands in the social hall.
A limited number of non service (associate) members were admitted from the 1960s on.
In the 1970s, the NZRSA recognized the inevitable decline in numbers of returned members, and in the absence of a major conflict the eventual winding up of the Association was a definite prospect. The introduction of the Service Membership category was approved.
The first Service Member was elected to the Executive in 1983, the first woman in 1995, and the first Associate member in 2000.
Gaming machines were introduced in 1986. They provide a significant source of income to supplement the bar operations. In-house catering and the kitchen/dining room is a major part of the club scene today.
In 1976 the formation of the Te Aroha RSA Club Inc as a separate incorporated body to run the club for the Association, and to get around the limitations of the Flags Names and Emblems Act, allowed the admission of more associate members, provided the majority of members were Returned Servicemen. The Association owned the land and buildings, but the Club owned most of the other assets and managed the bar operations, and financed the building extensions.
For a period the Club Committee had to comprise a majority of Returned and Service members, and the President and other Officers had to be elected from this group of members.
This situation lasted 25 years until the club was wound up in 2000, and all assets and membership were transferred to the Association, now renamed The Te Aroha Memorial RSA Inc. The realization was that the future of the organization lay with the Associate members. Preference for membership was originally given to sons of returned servicemen, but now the admission of persons of good character, who have the interests and principles of the RSA at heart, will ensure the continuation of the club for years to come.
The Association and its club operations are now run by the Executive Officers and Committee elected at large from the full membership.
The welfare of ex-servicemen and women and their families is still one of the prime functions of the RSA. We receive good support from the community in the form of Poppy Day donations which are disbursed solely for the welfare of ex servicemen, and we are pleased to note the increasing interest and support on ANZAC Day, when we honour the sacrifice of 100 local men who lost their lives in WW1, 69 lost in WW2, and to recognise the service of all members of the armed forces. We also recognise the current serving members of the NZ armed forces, and welcome them into the RSA family.