from the publisher GREG T ROSS remember it as early November, during a trip to Sydney. Like surfing, tennis is an integral part of Australian summers. We But it had been going for some time before that. feature too, in this edition, tennis great Rod Laver’s latest book, Memories blur doing events like the recent bushfires but The Golden Era. it started in northern New South Wales and Queensland. We also look at famous Green Bans activist Jack Mundey and Then it seemed like there was a new fire every day in the book on Jack, by his friend and architect, James Colman. The Idifferent parts of the country. It became the greatest natural book, The House That Jack Built, underpins the knowledge that disaster in Australia’s history. preservation of Australia’s historic regions and buildings is just as It impacted The Last Post. I was in Adelaide putting the 21st important now as it was back then. edition together when I received photos of fires close to my house Writer and filmmaker Jemma Pigott writes for The Last Post with in Long Beach, NSW. I flew home and had to spent two nights her story of indigenous veterans, The Coloured Diggers and Wing in Sydney before the roads south opened long enough for me to Commander Mary Anne Whiting takes us to Point Cook in Victoria return home. I walked into an ordeal of some magnitude. Over for a story on the Rededication of the AFC and RAAF Memorial. the next week or so there were orders to leave, as the fires drew We have too, an update on the amazing work being done by closer. There were notices that it was too late to leave. Then Veterans SA, Justin Brown and the Partnerships Hub. Since there was packing of bags and belongings with a plan to head opening in 2018, The Hub has facilitated visits from over 3,000 to the beach as separate fires closed in from the north-west and veterans. north-east. Then the power went off. I met those stranded at the We interview Dr Mark Hinton, who is working on studies with Hanging Rock Evacuation Centre and met Hamish McDonald Phoenix and Uni Melbourne to find new, more personalised and and his crew from the ABC. I also met the crew from a television effective ways of treating PTSD. station in Paris, France. Over in Western Australia, young veteran Dane Greenstreet, So now, at last, we have this monumental Issue 21 of The Last the Bunbury RSL and Forrest Personnel are helping to deliver Post. Since 2011, each edition has carried its own indelible stamp disability employment services to veterans. It’s an example but this one will forever be remembered for its association with of “cutting through the crap” of negative news and showing the bushfires of 2019/20. We will have a close look at this disaster Australians engaging in positive, intelligent work. in the Anzac Day edition but meanwhile, here we are with Issue It’s another packed issue and you’ll find 21. plenty to read. We continue to bring you In this edition we take a look at the magnificent town of Robe modern stories from great writers and a in South Australia. There has been a combination of good salute to our veterans that have dedicated people doing good work here, aimed at improving the health their time to ensuing we’re able to live in a and outcomes of veterans, with the Robe To Recovery program. community that strives to be fair to all and On Anzac Day this year there will be an historic football match is able to debate without recrimination. in Robe and, with the help of Jacqui Bateman and Robe Mayor Alison Nunan we have been able to bring this story to the world. I will be there over the April weekend and look forward to catching up with people I first met during my magazines first coverage of Robe in 2018. We introduce you to new RSL NSW CEO Jonathon Black. In his Foreword, Jon speaks of the changing face of the RSL and the importance of its engagement with younger veterans and the community. Cold Chisel are an iconic Australian band. They have become, over the years, almost an institution. In this edition we look at the group teaming with NSW Rural Fire Service and staging a concert on Friday, January 24th, with Hoodoo Gurus for RFS volunteers and their families. All proceeds from the sale of Cold Chisel/RFS T-Shirts at the concert with go to the RFS. The concert is part of the groups Blood Moon Tour. Jose McLaughlin is a former member of England’s Gerry and the Pacemakers and since moving to Australia, has played in a number of great Aussie bands and over 150 albums. In our chat with Jose he tells of his growing up in Liverpool, his mother’s musical legacy and his time in Australia. Jose reckons everybody · The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) acknowledges the in Liverpool’s a comedian and here he displays his great scouse central role of the Navy protecting our vital sea lanes and humour. borders, in both peacetime and times of conflict In this edition we have poems from myself and New Zealand’s amazing Jeremy Roberts and a review of former Dingo John Bois’ · The MUA also acknowledges and salutes the role of new album, If I’d Gone To Nashville. the merchant fleet in supporting the Navy and pays We also look at Jo Stone and Paulo Castro’s Theatre for Change tribute to the many civilian seafarers who have lost that is using performances from veterans to help fight Post their lives in supporting the defence effort Traumatic Stress Disorder. Photographer Tim Page is a good friend of The Last Post. Within · The Navy and the domestic civilian fleet remain these pages we look at Tim’s NAM Contact and the sheets of as active partners in supporting and facilitating proofs and the art of capturing the perfect 35mm frame from his Australia’s shipping dependancy as an island nation time in Vietnam, recording this defining conflict. Surfer Nat Young has been a famous Australian since he rose to public attention as a young surfer in the 60’s. I have interviewed · The MUA looks forward to continuing to work closely Nat and that will soon be online and in the meantime, in this issue, with Navy on the many synergies that exist in Navy we feature an extract from his latest memoir, Church of the Open operations and commercial shipping operations Sky. Alongside that we also look at surfer and author Murray Walding’s latest book, The Last Dance. For more information go to www.mua.org.au t was only after speaking to a fellow former serviceman who I have always respected that I decided to apply for the leadership role at RSL NSW. Like many others I had not joined the RSL when I left the Army in 2005 because I only saw it as a club where you could gamble on pokies, Ienjoy a cheap ‘parmi’ and ale. This image had not changed until I started to prepare my application for the CEO’s role. No wonder so many alternative ‘ex-service organisations’ had sprung up, many of which I have been asked to get involved with over the intervening years. The RSL’s core purpose of looking after veterans and their families has been hidden behind the façade of clubs and arguably a lack of strategic leadership to modernise the 100 year old institution to enable it to refocus on its purpose. Now that I have ‘jumped inside’ the organisation in NSW, my first impression is one of great potential. There are so many passionate and committed people who want to respect the past but unlock and mobilise its resources and reclaim its position as the leading ex-service organisation. My youngest son has joined the Army this year. He is now a rifleman in the 6th Battalion, RAR and I’m pleased to report that teamwork and initiative are values he has experienced and told me about so far.in his journey. ‘Mateship’ and camaraderie are strong and according to him he’s already “sorting things out with his ‘Q ee’ and ‘clerk’ mates!” While the look and equipment worn has changed (thank goodness) since I retired, the most important aspect reflected by these values has not. Therefore, I’m now asking myself why, from my observations, has the most recent history of the RSL in NSW not reflected these core values of our armed services? Long periods of introspection, closing the doors to change and localised self-interest have stifled the potential of the RSL foreword to modernise and more effectively meet the needs of younger veterans. In saying this, I have also learned very quickly that what sets us apart from other organisations are our members and the JONATHON BLACK camaraderie that RSL sub-Branches around the state and across CEO RSL NSW the country can offer all veterans. I’m seeing membership, sense of belonging and participation to help others as a strength. It’s not the time to change the fundamental basis of this iconic institution, but work out how to turn this strength into something truly special. We can’t just talk about changing, we have to do something to make it happen alongside and with the support of our members. The wicked sense of Aussie humour and larrikinism is alive and well in our older generations and it is fun to be around.