Bluff RSA Open Day This Saturday

The Bluff RSA are holding an Open Day at their premises at 44 Gore Street in Bluff this Saturday, 2 July. Everyone is welcome and it is a great chance to look behind the scenes of this innovative organisation and learn more about some of their recent and upcoming projects.

Proceedings will commence at 2pm and Peter Robertson (Robbo) of the Bluff RSA says the day will be very casual and informal with some short talks on some of the club’s most interesting projects and plenty of opportunity for questions.

There is no cost to come along and afternoon tea will be provided.

Topics covered by Robbo will include a new bar leaner within the premises which remembers the Military Service of people from Bluff, the search and recovery of the McKenzie flagpole from Bluff Hill, and the Bluff RSA Museum and future plans for the Museum area.

The new bar leaner was a project started several months ago when family members of Bluff military personnel were invited to donate significant items based on their service. “Sixty-nine items were donated,” says Robbo. “They have been mounted on a macrocarpa top and covered in Doming, a resin that sets as clear glass. It is a real mix of military memorabilia and a wonderful tribute to those from Bluff who served.”

The story of the McKenzie brothers’ flagpole will also be told. Many will know of it but Robbo was very involved in the search for, and recovery of, the pole. In short, the flagpole was erected on Bluff Hill by Alexander McKenzie after his sons George and Ian were killed on the same day in World War 1 at the Battle of The Somme in France in September 2016. The flagpole was sited where the boys’ mother, Beatrice, would be able to see it from the kitchen window of the family home. However, the flagpole had not been sighted for approximately 50 years and it took an extensive search by many dedicated people to locate it. Upon it being discovered in November last year it was taken from the hill and brought to the Te Rau Aroha Marae.

Robbo will also talk about the Bluff RSA Museum, sited upstairs in the Bluff RSA premises. “We have a range of items from the Boer War through to our latest stuff that takes us to the end of the Vietnam War. It covers Air Force, Navy, Army and Merchant Navy.
While the exhibits go through to the end of the Vietnam War New Zealand has been part of many peacekeeping missions around the world since then and we are hoping to bring together the next era to add to our history.”

It promises to be a fascinating look at the Bluff RSA so come along this Saturday 2 July at 2pm. The Bluff RSA is situated at 44 Gore Street (SH1) next to The Galley Takeaway shop.