Save our services Australia

03/10/2026

Jump on this one and help support our mates at Veterans For Fishing without funds they can't run a charity and therefore run the programs they do for our Veteran and First Responder community.

08/09/2026

A great group of Veterans volunteering for the benefit of others 🎣🎣🎣🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

05/09/2026

Great opportunity for our VicPol followers to attend

𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐃𝐆𝐄

Last Friday, Hawthorn RSL hosted its first evening exclusively for police officers.

Behind the Badge is a new monthly gathering where serving police members can connect, socialise away from the public gaze and, most excitingly, have a new portrait photograph taken.

Policing shares many similarities with ADF service. Coppers are regularly exposed to horrific scenes and experiences, yet there are few places where they can decompress, speak openly and spend time with people who understand, outside work and away from the public.

Enter the RSL.
We want Hawthorn RSL to be one of those places: private, welcoming and built around the bonds of service.

If you’re a serving police officer and would like to attend a future Behind the Badge evening, please get in touch.
To everyone who joined us for the first one, thank you. We’ll see you next time!

05/09/2026

13/08/2026

If you've always wanted to give fly fishing a go, or you're looking to improve your skills, check out the upcoming Fly Fishing tutorial with Veterans For Fishing this September.

All the details can be found at the link below.

Fish on! 🎣

Veterans For Fishing is excited to host a fantastic Fly Fishing Tutorial Day on Saturday 19th September at Eildon Pondage, Victoria, presented by internationally renowned fly fishing guide and casting instructor Bo Nikolic.

12/08/2026

Spots still available at this free event, hosted by our friends at Hawthorn RSL Sub Branch

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BZYL9DR3G/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Come and make a pot with us! 🏺

On Saturday 22 August, we’re hosting something a little different at Hawthorn RSL.

Veteran artist Bek Herron will be joining us for a day of pottery workshops as part of Fragments of Service, a project that will eventually see 5,889 ceramic vessels made by veterans across Victoria.

That number is important.

5,889 individual submissions were made to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Su***de. Bek’s aim is to create a vessel for every one of them, with each representing an individual story of service and lived experience.

Over the next two and a half years she’ll be travelling to RSL Sub-Branches across Victoria and working with veterans to make them, and we’re really pleased Hawthorn gets to be part of it.

Bek knows the veteran community pretty well herself. She’s a former RAAF nurse who served for 21 years before being medically discharged in 2023, and is now a veteran artist, RSL Victoria ANZAC Day Ambassador, and Shrine Of Remembrance Governor.

We’ve got four one-hour sessions on the day:

9.00am
10.30am
1.00pm
2.30pm

We’ll also put on lunch between 12.00pm and 1.00pm, so stick around before or after your session for a feed and a chat.

You don’t need to be artistic and you definitely don’t need to know anything about pottery. Just come along, have a go and help us add a few Hawthorn contributions to the 5,889.

Places are limited, so grab a spot using the link in the comments 👇

📅 Saturday 22 August
📍 Hawthorn RSL

27/07/2026

After back-to-back closures across the state, RSL Victoria is reckoning with its identity and drawing a line.

30/05/2026

Chris McAleer - President of Veterans For Fishing was recognised for his hard work and commitment during volunteer week. Congratulations mate! 

19/05/2026

We sand by Doug Baird and Hawthorn RSL Sub Branch on this matter. Absolutely disgraceful from Matt Keogh’s office.

When you do as much good as the Baird family has done for the veteran community, our government should be asking how they can support them further, not taking that support away.

Cameron Baird VC MG is one of the giants of the Australian Defence Force. He remains an inspirational figure, and a powerful example of courage, leadership, and selfless service. For the generation who’ve served during the Global War on Terror era and through to today, Cam Baird is our Albert Jacka.

We are deeply grateful that Kaye and Doug Baird have made it their mission to continue telling Cam’s story, ensuring future generations understand the character of the man, the sacrifice he made for his mates and his country, and the values he represented.

But in the same fortnight that the Australian Government announced caps to veteran entitlements, funding has been removed from the family of one of our nation’s greatest heroes as they work to preserve his legacy. All for a measly couple of grand. The sort of money a big DVA office would spend on stationary.

As a country, we need to be better than this.

10/05/2026

President of Veterans For Fishing Chris McAleer talking about what this organisation means to himself, the committee and veterans within our community. Thanks to all sponsors behind this great charity.