Woolgoolga RSL sub-Branch

26/04/2026

Woolgoolga RSL sub-Branch is most grateful for the excellent, well-drilled, and well-turned-out catafalque party provided - from C Company, 41st Battalion, The Royal New South Wales Regiment, that Company headquartered in Coffs Harbour - to our ANZAC Day Services.

The sub-Branch would offer to young adults in Woolgoolga and District that there is no finer way to serve Australia and to connect, directly, to the ANZAC spirit, than to enlist as a part-time soldier in the local Army Reserve Battalion. Service is well paid too, so a great job to have during studies or as a second income stream to save for your future!

16/04/2026

ANZAC DAY 2026 AT WOOLGOOLGA

Dawn Service and Gunfire Breakfast. Assemble, facing the Memorial at the Diggers Club, from 5.00 am (from 5.15 okay) for a 5.30 am sharp start. A hearty bacon and eggs etc 'Gunfire' breakfast will be served straight afterwards in the Club at no more than $25.00pp, payable at the Beach Street Dining counter.

March. Assemble at the Post Office from 10.30 am to step off, at 11.00 am, along Beach Street to the Memorial at Diggers.

Main Service. Will commence after the March has arrived, from about 11.15 am, and will conclude at about Noon. Although there will be seating under the Club awning for very Senior Citizens and those unable to stand, younger, able persons should expect to stand facing the Memorial during the Service. If seats must be guaranteed for able persons, they should please bring their own portable camp chair.

Other Individual Preparations. Each person taking part in the March and/or Main Service is advised to wear sun-screen and a shady hat, to have a small bottle of water available for hydration, and to take those bottles away following the Main Service. If rain is forecast, umbrellas should be brought or raincoats worn. Toilets, that will be open near the Post Office, should be used before the March sets off.

Wreaths. Craft-made Wreaths or those made up from home-garden flowers are appreciated. Fresh Wreaths may still be available to order from Lotus Floral Studios - 6654 9494 - forthwith. Wreaths, including pick-up, storage and handling, are a Layer/s' responsibility, although tables will be available adjacent to the Memorial on which Main Service Wreaths may be placed from 10.00 am. If not already advised, please inform the RSL sub-Branch (0432 127 071) of the name/names of your Wreath Layer/s at the earliest opportunity. Layer/s will be called forward during that part of the Service. The procedure is: retrieve the Wreath from the table if placed there; walk up with the Wreath to the point of lay and stand to attention; lay the Wreath against the Memorial; step back to attention; and, following men/boys only removing hats/caps, bow from the neck; then turn right and return to position in the Assembly.

Lunch. Following the Main Service, a Community and RSL sub-Branch Lunch will take place in the Diggers Club at reserved seating but from the normal Beach Street Dining menu - pay at the counter. Please call/text 0432 127 071 if you or your family/group/organisation, with numbers attending, would like to be included in reserved seating. During Lunch, entertainment will be provided by the fabulous Coffs Coast Pipes and Drums.

Thank you, from Woolgoolga RSL sub-Branch

21/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/100064378281523/posts/1348074340681829/

🎺 Australian Army Band Concert – Honouring SGT Matthew Locke, MG

Following the charity match in Bellingen, the commemorative weekend continues with the Australian Army Band Newcastle performing a special concert at C.ex Coffs C.ex Group

This concert has now been running for 15 years and is always a moving and uplifting event, bringing together veterans, families and the wider community.

The performance will feature a variety of ensembles including Pipes & Drums and full military band, with support from the Coffs Harbour Regional Brass Band.

📍 C.ex Coffs
📅 Sunday 29 March 2026
⏰ 11:00am – 12:30pm (doors open 10:30am)
🎟 Tickets $15: https://cex.com.au/event/australian-army-band-2026/

Funds raised across the weekend support the Grub Club Education Fund, continuing SGT Matthew Locke’s legacy of service by helping improve education opportunities in Timor-Leste.

If you're able to attend, it would be wonderful to see members of our community there.

08/02/2026

WOOLGOOLGA RSL SUB-BRANCH
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Woolgoolga RSL sub-Branch will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Diggers Club on Saturday 14th February 2026, commencing at 10.30am. Annual Reports and Financial Statements will be presented. Following the presentation of Reports, the Election of Officers, for the next three year term 2026-8, will be conducted. The Election of one Trustee will also be conducted.

All positions will be declared vacant prior to the Election and nominations will be from the floor. Voting will be by show of hands.

The February 2026 Monthly Meeting will follow the AGM and a light snack lunch will be provided to Members after the Meetings.

30/01/2026

GREAT WAR MEMORIAL REINSTATEMENT AT RISK!

The Reinstatement of the Woolgoolga and District Great War Memorial, conditionally approved to proceed by Coffs Harbour City Council last month (December 2025) and at the Beach Reserve, may now be at risk!

The Memorial Project holds the Memorial Plaques and Rolls of Honour, the most important components, but has been unable to recover the stone blocks and column that make up the 1923 structure. The Project would be most grateful if any Member of the Community who is aware of the situation could assist in the good-natured recovery of the stones.

As an alternative, the Project may present a proposal for the construction of a close replica, to which the Rolls of Honour may be affixed. A replica may be less expensive and more durable than the original. However, it would be a great pity not to reinstate the stones, funded and emplaced by the Community over 100 years ago, to commemorate the Great War Fallen of the District: The Glorious Dead, their name liveth for evermore, who gave everything for us and our futures.

We will remember them.

22/12/2025

REINSTATEMENT OF THE WOOLGOOLGA AND DISTRICT GREAT WAR MEMORIAL - AND RSL NOTICES

At its Meeting on 11th December 2025, Coffs Harbour City Council:

RESOLVED (Cr Gurminder Saro / Cr Cath Fowler)
That Council:
1. Note the outcomes of the community consultation on the proposal to reinstate the 1923 Woolgoolga Great War Memorial and endorse the community’s preferred location within the Woolgoolga Beach Reserve (Option 1, facing the beach).
2. Note that the reinstatement of the 1923 Woolgoolga Great War Memorial in the Woolgoolga Beach Reserve will be subject to the Northern Beaches War Memorial Project submitting a Development Application to the City of Coffs Harbour, securing funding for the reinstatement, and working with the City of Coffs Harbour around the design.
3. Issues a licence to the Woolgoolga RSL sub-Branch for the 1923 Woolgoolga Great War Memorial to be located within the Woolgoolga Beach Reserve (Option 1) that includes responsibilities for ongoing maintenance and insurance.
4. Assist the Woolgoolga RSL sub-Branch in targeting grant funding to realise the project, subject to a Development Approval.

The Northern Beaches Memorial Project will now proceed towards the Reinstatement in accordance with the Council Resolution.

RSL Members and the public please also note that the Woolgoolga sub-Branch Office at Diggers will be closed from 23rd December 2025 to 5th January, reopening at 10.30 am on Tuesday 6th January 2026. In case of an urgent matter, please call 0432 127 071.

A very Happy Christmas to All, and best wishes for the New Year!

03/11/2025

RSL SUB-BRANCH OFFICE CLOSURE

Due to Melbourne Cup Day - hooray! - the Woolgoolga RSL sub-Branch Office will be closed on Tuesday 4th November 2025.

Urgent calls may be made to 0432 127 071.

30/10/2025

HAVE YOUR SAY BEFORE 9TH NOVEMBER!
WOOLGOOLGA GREAT WAR MEMORIAL REINSTATEMENT
COFFS HARBOUR CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY CONSULTATION

Over 100,000 Australians gave their lives in the Great and Second World Wars. Seventeen courageous Woolgoolga and District Servicemen, who made the supreme sacrifice, are commemorated on plaques to be reinstalled on the proposed reinstatement of the 1923 District Great War Memorial (presently in storage). The reinstatement is a RSL sub-Branch/Rotary Club initiative. The sub-Branch prefers a site on the Woolgoolga Beach Reserve (see impression and map). It is intended that the reinstated Memorial will be the place for ANZAC Day Dawn Services - complete with surf boats rowing in, in recognition of the ANZAC landings - and other Great and Second War Commemorations. If other beachfront Memorials are a guide, those Services and the Memorial alone should be very well attended, including by visitors, to the great benefit of the town and the prosperity of our Community.

However, the main purpose of the reinstatement, in its original form and design at the optimum, prominent location, is to properly honour those residents who gave everything, for us, and also those who first commemorated their sacrifice in constructing the original Memorial.

Woolgoolga residents are advised that Coffs Harbour City Council has opened its Community Consultation for the reinstatement of the Memorial. The Consultation can be found at the Council's website at https://haveyoursay.coffsharbour.nsw.gov.au/memorial - The RSL sub-Branch would be most grateful for support, from organisations and individuals, for the Memorial at its preferred Beach Reserve location - Council Option 1. Two other sites have been offered by Council: one less suitable and also on the Beach Reserve; and one in the centre of the village beside Beach Street, which would require costly road closures and has insufficient space for safe Commemorations at scale. It is politely requested that they, and any other location, not be supported. Other locations are at least one of: too exposed to bad weather including wind; not all level for Commemoration attendance, particularly by older folk; lacking in easy, level access, or parking or toilets; not as prominent and less respectful to the Fallen; or lacking a direct view of the beach and the planned tribute, by surf boats, to the ANZAC Landings.

The Consultation closes on 9th November 2025, and a great response and input from the Community would be appreciated.

For further information please telephone 0432 127 071.

15/10/2025

REMEMBRANCE DAY 2025 AT WOOLGOOLGA

In the 80th year since the end of the Second World War, and 107 years since the Guns fell silent on the Western Front of the Great War, Remembrance Day will be commemorated at the Memorial at the Woolgoolga Diggers Club on 11th November 2025. Those who would like to take part should assemble at the Memorial from about 10.30 am for a 10.45 am sharp start, in order for the Minute's Silence to be observed at the 11th Hour.

Ex-Service personnel are requested to wear Jacket and Tie, or Ladies' Equivalent, with Full Medals. Members of Community Organisations and the Public who wish to lay a wreath are kindly requested to advise the Honorary Secretary, Woolgoolga RSL sub-Branch, telephone 0432 127 071. Wreaths may be ordered, forthwith, and purchased from Lotus Floral Studio on 02 6654 9494.

Those who would like to attend are advised that there will limited seating, under the Club entrance awning, for less able folk and the elderly. Please arrive at least 5 minutes early if you require a seat. Otherwise, please wear a hat if the day is hot and sunny, bring a small bottle of water to stay hydrated, and an umbrella if rain threatens. Thank you...

04/10/2025

MEN'S HEALTH EDUCATION ROTARY VAN

At Woolgoolga Diggers Carpark, 17 Beach Street on cnr Bultitude Street

Mon 13 Oct: 9.30am - 4.15pm
Tue 14 Oct: 9.30am - 4.15pm