Paynesville RSL

18/06/2026

Life can be busy, which is why it's important to make time to connect.

Wind-Down Hour is a relaxed monthly gathering for current and former ADF members and first responders to come together over a drink, share a conversation and enjoy the company of others in a welcoming environment.

📍 Paynesville RSL, 57 Main Road, Paynesville
📅 Friday, 19th June 2026
🕔 From 5PM

We look forward to seeing you there.

03/06/2026

Nothing brings people together quite like good food and good company.

Bairnsdale Authentic Wood-Fired Pizza will be joining us for our Food & Catch-Up Night at the Paynesville RSL.

Come down for a relaxed midweek catch-up, enjoy a meal, and spend some time with friends, neighbours, and fellow community members

Wednesday | June 10 | From 5PM
Everyone welcome.

22/05/2026

Sometimes the best evenings are the simple ones, good conversation, a familiar face and a chance to unwind at the end of the week.

Join us for Happy Hour at the Paynesville RSL on Friday, 29th May from 5PM.

Whether you’re catching up with friends or just dropping in for a quiet drink, everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy a relaxed community atmosphere.

21/05/2026

On this day, we commemorate the Australian Army’s worst training accident.
26 young lives were lost in an underground bunker explosion at the Kapooka Army Base near Wagga Wagga on 21 May 1945. The day of the tragedy was like any other, but at approximately 1445h, as soldiers were counting detonators with safety fuses, an explosion occurred. The bunker collapsed and smoke and debris filled the air.
A commemorative service is held at the Kapooka Tragedy Memorial on 21 May each year to honour those lost in the accident. Although a small and intimate service, it provides the local community the time and opportunity to silently reflect on the tragedy. We carry on the memory of the Kapooka tragedy as time continues to claim those who remember that day.
Lest We Forget.

📸 Defence Australia | Australian Army soldiers standing guard as part of a catafalque party at the Kapooka Tragedy Memorial.

On this day, we commemorate the Australian Army’s worst training accident.

26 young lives were lost in an underground bunker explosion at the Kapooka Army Base near Wagga Wagga on 21 May 1945. The day of the tragedy was like any other, but at approximately 1445h, as soldiers were counting detonators with safety fuses, an explosion occurred. The bunker collapsed and smoke and debris filled the air.

A commemorative service is held at the Kapooka Tragedy Memorial on 21 May each year to honour those lost in the accident. Although a small and intimate service, it provides the local community the time and opportunity to silently reflect on the tragedy. We carry on the memory of the Kapooka tragedy as time continues to claim those who remember that day.

Lest We Forget.

📸 Defence Australia | Australian Army soldiers standing guard as part of a catafalque party at the Kapooka Tragedy Memorial.

13/05/2026

Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Thailand

Today was an incredibly special day to me, to finally get to set eyes on the Bridge over the River Kwai and the notorious Burma-Siam railway was a moment in my life that I’ll never forget.
Paying my respects to the fallen brought a tear to my eye as the reality and the enormity of what these men went through hit home, graves are a sobering reminder of the cost of war.
Built by Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war the railway and bridge was a Japanese project driven by the need for improved communications to support the large Japanese army in Burma. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway.

From October 1942 to October 1943 the Japanese army forced about 60,000 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) – including 13,000 Australians and roughly 200,000 civilians, mostly Burmese and Malayans – to build a railway linking Thailand and Burma.
The railway has entered the Australian consciousness as a byword for courage and resilience in the face of extreme hardship and cruelty.

About 2800 Australians died building the railway.

More than 90,000 Asian civilians died on the railway, as well as 16,000 POWs, of whom about 2800 were Australian.

Lest We Forget.

12/05/2026

This week’s Wednesday Food & Catch-Up Night will feature Little Balls and More serving from 5PM at the Paynesville RSL.

A good excuse to take the night off cooking, enjoy a meal, and catch up with familiar faces in a relaxed community atmosphere.

Wednesday, 13th May | From 5PM
Everyone welcome.

12/05/2026

Good conversation, familiar faces, and a welcoming place to unwind.

Join us for Wind-Down Hour at the Paynesville RSL for current and former ADF members and first responders.

Friday, 15th May | 5PM

Feel free to come along and connect with others who “get it”.

25/04/2026

I’d like to express my gratitude to the many individuals who made our ANZAC Day Commemoration services the wonderful success that they were, it was a very special day indeed.
Having my first ANZAC Day Commemoration service as Paynesville RSL President be such a success was wonderful and every bit of that success is due to being surrounded by an incredible team of individuals who helped make the day everything that it was, thank you all.
We broke our attendance record with well over 350 people at the Dawn service and close to 500 people who attended the morning service and march.
Our Two Up game was so much fun to run, it’s getting bigger and louder every year.
It was an incredible turnout for our small country town of Paynesville, our RSL Sub Branch Members, Committee and Office bearers thank you all for making our ANZAC Day so very special.
Our RSL was looking resplendent after our renovations, this is thanks to the incredible and very generous support of our brilliant local community and the Bendigo Community Bank who made it all possible.

Thank you all.

Kind regards, James Brown.

25/04/2026

The bagpipe lament during our main service

24/04/2026

Lest We Forget