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Titirangi RSA ‘museum dream’ comes true Cartons full of treasures from “The main dawn service had times past from old local soldiers always been in town and we went and their families, have found to Bob Harvey who was then new life in a museum due to mayor of Waitākere City to see if open in the Titirangi RSA this he could help us get a local one month. going. He just told us to get on The curated space has been with it, so we did. a long-time dream of welfare “We’re the only RSA in New officer, Matt McMillan who says Zealand that fires real cannons the local club has for years had at the dawn service. We’ve been pictures and articles spread from doing that for about seven years one wall to another, and while now. The week before ANZAC there was always talk about Day we have a day out for local setting up a museum, the idea community groups when we do “didn’t really grow legs until a special firing for them with two Covid-19 came along. cannons.” “A group of us were sitting The aim of the cannon firing around talking and then went is to recreate the atmosphere of through boxes of stuff to see just Titirangi RSA’s welfare officer and museum curator, Matt McMillan: talking World War One and the earlier what we had. There was a lot about history, not war. firing alerts the community near of memorabilia from the Māori Wars in the 1840s to present day the cemetery that there will be extra noise on ANZAC Day, just before deployments, memorabilia from local soldiers telling stories of local 6am and again just before the service finishes. The cannon are owned Titirangi families,” he says. by clubs and borrowed for use on ANZAC Day. “Ninety per cent of the material had been donated to the RSA and I “At the first local dawn parade, we were shocked when about 300had a tremendous number of things from old chaps from World War 400 people turned up. Now it’s 3,000-4,000,” Matt says. One onwards – photos, medals, weapons, you name it. They really “ANZAC Day commemorations are now bigger than ever with a lot needed to be displayed correctly and now they will be.” of interest from school children and young service personnel who turn Matt says Titirangi RSA is a real family club and while many of the old up with their families. There’s also another parade at 11am at the soldiers are gone, their families are still in the area. Titirangi War Memorial Hall, and a lot of people come to the club after “When we open the museum they’ll be able to see a lot of material that, to pay their respects to those who’ve passed and also to younger from people who pioneered this area and we’re confident we’ll see personnel in the scouts, cadets, the armed services. a lot of visitors interested in the amazing things here. We talk about “It’s all about community, a huge family day with food for the children history here, not war and there are some terrific exhibits. first and then later, the adults. There might be entertainment, singing, “As it is, it’s not unusual for people to come in asking where their guitar playing. We’d have well over 1,000 people through this little club family members are buried, from way back. We have a huge amount of – children, service people, cadets, fire, police, ambulance personnel. data, lots of references I can go through to see where their ancestors “I can’t emphasise enough that this is a family club. While we are served and what battalion they were in.” an RSA first and foremost, the days of old fellas on the turps are gone. Matt says that while the museum will open this month (there is an Anyone can come in have a meal, bring their families, have a soft drink, open day from 11am on Saturday March 13), the club is expecting a a beer or wine perhaps, play darts or have a game of pool,” Matt says. great deal of interest in it on ANZAC Day, the busiest day of the year for “A lot of people think RSAs were built as booze barns but that’s not RSAs throughout the country. so. They were built for looking after the wellbeing of widows and other The doors to the club open early with perhaps a tot of something family members of those who served in the forces. The concept goes before the gathering heads to Waikumete Cemetery for the dawn back to World War One with welfare schemes really getting set up in service, a commemoration that begins with a pre-dawn march by WWII.” returned service personnel. The Titirangi RSA museum will be officially opened on Saturday Matt says he is the only survivor who started the Waikumete parade, March 13 at 11am followed by a public open day. working alongside people from Glen Eden RSA 21 years ago. – Moira Kennedy
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