Documentary on Caroline Springs RSL Sub-Branch to screen nationally

The Caroline Springs RSL started from humble beginnings but has grown into a thriving Sub-Branch with hundreds of members which has made a major impression on the surrounding community.
On the 24th of April 2010 the first War Memorial was unveiled in the newly young suburb of Caroline Springs in the outer west of Melbourne. The memorial was created through community fundraising led by Peter Burquest and Murray Lewis, both Vietnam veterans.
So successful was the fundraising campaign that they started receiving suggestions that they open a Sub-Branch of the RSL. Neither man wanted to be involved, fearing the amount of work that would be required to open and operate a Sub-Branch.
“Murray and I said no way,” said Peter Burquest. “We are not going to be involved in that sort of stuff because it takes a lot of work to open an RSL.”
But the requests kept on coming until the manager of the local hotel, then owned by the Collingwood Football Club, came to Peter and said he had heard he wanted to open an RSL.
“No, I don’t,” Peter said. “But what do you want.”
The manager gave Peter and Murray the option of opening a Sub-Branch within the hotel. After a couple of months of people “annoying him” Peter and Murray decided to give it a go.
“I thought I don’t know if I can get through this,” Murray said one month became ten months, ten months became twelve months and after twelve months the RSL was opened.
The creation of Caroline Springs RSL Sub-Branch is the subject of a documentary screening on SBS TV and SBS On-Demand from this week.
Like the Sub-Branch, the documentary itself started with a simple idea from hard working volunteers and took on a life of its own.
The Sub-Branch applied for funding to the Victorian Government and Veterans Council through the Victoria Remembers program to make a documentary.
Wendy Mason is the communications officer at Caroline Springs RSL and by her own admission knows nothing about documentary-making but suddenly found herself to be a documentary producer and had to learn the ropes fast.
The documentary was written and directed by Brett Williams of Side Trip Productions.
“I knew nothing about producing a documentary and Brett knew very little about military history,” Wendy Mason said. “It was a steep learning curve for everyone. Brett put his heart and soul into the documentary.”
The purpose of the documentary was to tell the story of the Caroline Springs RSL Sub-Branch and, as with all Sub-Branches, the story of the RSL is the story of its people.
The documentary interviewed members of the Sub-Branch from the Second World War to the present day. The interviews are a raw and honest account of military experience including the last interview with Second World War veteran Allan Godfrey who recounts his private grief about an aborted mission to rescue the Australian prisoners of war before the Sandakan death march.
But the documentary shows how the Caroline Springs RSL Sub-Branch is not only a place for people who fought in conflicts in the past. With more than 300 members the Sub-Branch has veterans facing the same issues whether the served in the Second World War, Vietnam, East Timor, Iraq or Afghanistan.
Wendy Mason says the documentary shows the value of a local RSL Sub-Branch where veterans can meet up and connect with other veterans who understand their experience.
“The RSL creates an enduring camaraderie of spirit and community, that makes it so much bigger than any one member,” she told Peter Carlyon, the Herald-Sun reporter who assisted with the production and narrates the documentary.
The documentary looks honestly at the impact on service of veterans. Bryan Ross served in Timor in 2002 and struggled with the transition to civilian life after his return finding himself snapping at his wife and children.
The turning moment for Bryan came when his son told him that he had never been the same since he came back from East Timor. It was then that he knew that he needed help and turned to Open Arms for counselling.
The documentary also looks at how the Sub-Branch worked with the local council and property developer to incorporate the military history into the area. A local housing development was built on a Second World War signalling station and the developer worked with the RSL to create a Walk of Honour; a 500-metre walk honouring Australia’s military history over the previous 100 years.
Completed in 2024, the documentary will go to air at 2pm on Thursday 14 August and will be available to view on SBS On-Demand.
“We are overwhelmed with how this project turned out,” Wendy Mason said.
“From a small idea that we thought we might be able to play in schools it has gone on to be screened nationally.”