Birchip RSL Sub-Branch

The Birchip RSL Sub-Branch:

1. Facilitates the sharing and commemoration of our district's history of service men and women.

2. Provides a safe and inclusive environment for peer-to-peer support.

3. Provides members with an opportunity to come together for emotional and functional support.

4. Hosts commemorative services on ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day

5. Maintains the RSL hall for general community use and social functions like our quarterly Kelly Pool nights.

6. Maintains the Birchip Cenotaph and other monuments that commemorate our war veterans.

The Birchip RSL Sub-Branch War Memorial:

Is located at the entrance to the Soldiers' Memorial Park in the main street of Birchip and holds significance as an important commemorative and aesthetic landscape in the centre of town.

The site of the park was originally the Birchip stock yards that was sold to the Birchip Shire Council in 1920. Returned soldiers from the First World War were employed to clear the site, then paths were laid out, fences constructed, and trees planted in the 1920's. The 'Peace Park' as it was first called, was not officially named the 'Soldiers Memorial Park' until it was officially opened in May 1931 by the Governor of Victoria, Lord Somers. The two Morton Bay fig trees (now over 100 years old), the Cenotaph (1952) and the Lone Pine (planted in 1955), which all still stand today, act as a fitting memorial to those who fought and died in the First World War, and since then, for returned service men and women who have fought and/or died in subsequent wars.

The Cenotaph was built as a result of a proposal by the Birchip RSL in 1952 with the cooperation of the Birchip Shire Council as a permanent reminder of the sacrifices that were made by the men and women of the district. In 1952 the Cenotaph was unveiled by Mr. Winton Turnbull MP in a position as close as possible to the main street. The area is recognised and highly valued by the Birchip and district community for commemorative and recreational purposes.

Source: Shire of Buloke Heritage Study, 2000/2011 Place No. BIR(T)-23.

For more information contact Secretary Noeline Hogan noelineleon@bigpond.com or follow us on Facebook Birchip RSL Sub-Branch