OCTOBER 2022
Happy 75th CHP RSL!
An amazing ride back in time & launch into the future!
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL Club we thank the Members who joined us in this celebration of 75 years of the evolution of Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL Club, and an exciting announcement about our future. For those who were unable to attend, we share the evening with you here.
1947 was indeed a year of ‘firsts’.
The Club opened the doors for the first time, Australians experienced Nescafe ‘the 30 second coffee’ for the first time, and our first Holdens were in planning to roll off the production line in 1948.
We welcomed our community and industry partners into the Club with pre-dinner drinks where we set the scene of our establishment era with Australia’s first Holden sitting proudly in the foyer!
Guests entered ‘The Arena’’ through a mystical time tunnel to enter the classically set and beautifully lit Arena, an elegant affair with chandeliers and fairy lights that shimmered to the beat of 1940s music.
We respectfully began the evening with a Welcome to Country delivered by Uncle Allan followed by the showing of a powerful video production of the ODE.
Sub Branch Hon Secretary Muriel Buckland spoke to past and present, with the CHPRSL Sub-Branch continuing to support veterans in our community, hold commemoration services at our Bert Crook memorial, and continue the legacy with younger generations.
Queue – the playing of a scratchy record ‘In The Mood’ and a group of ‘swing’ dancers from the post war period crashed the party, “finally, a place to dance!”
Hosted by MC Deborah Krizak, the audience was taken on a reflective journey back in time, from the post war days when people were looking for a place to gather with like-minded people, to the establishment of our great Club. Our history book retells the story of many more ‘firsts’ achieved by the Club, as we pioneered our way through the Modernisation era.
Our feature entertainer ‘Mr Magic’ Adam Mada didn’t disappoint his crowd of CHP RSL Members, performing a magical interactive experience that was as amusing as it was mystifying!
To mark our 75 years, we reached out to some of our Members and Community Partners, to reflect on their connection to CHP RSL, and showcased a short video that highlights what our Club means to them.
Our 75th birthday cake was ceremoniously wheeled into the Arena candles blazing by Brad, and together with Dean Thomas, CHP RSL Board Senior Vice President Malcolm Tyler, Suzie, Jess and Carmine candles were blown, confetti was sprayed and the cake was cut! (it was a big cake)
The entire Arena sang Happy Birthday to our great Club, led by our MC Deborah Krizak. certainly a memorable moment to mark 75 years in preparation for an announcement about our future plans.
Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL Club CEO Dean Thomas shared the evolving story of our continuing legacy, the growth of our business so far and announced exciting news about the future of the business.
“Our past is the key to the creation of our legacy. It is this knowledge, this shared history that allows us to remember our roots, our very own origin story, the creation of our heritage.”
“I hope that our pioneers would be happy that as we have grown from one place to many we still retain the central idea of places for locals that are real, perhaps a little unvarnished and possibly even a little imperfect. But places where people can go belong.”
“We can continue to evolve, move forward and meet the changing needs of our community without forsaking our identity. We are officially launching a group brand. A new family name that connects our people, our places and our community across our venues and establishments.”
“We have created a new identity that draws on heritage and our common purpose, across all our venues. We are excited about our future and we embrace all the responsibilities and opportunities that come with it. We call it CMNL – a place to belong”
“We welcome you on our communal journey.”
– Dean Thomas, CEO of CMNL
Guests were then taken into future with the spectacular LED Dancers putting on a bedazzling show, with the finale putting our new brand – CMNL up in LED lights!
After the formalities guests were served our great cake and partied with the High Rollers Big Band, showcasing the best of Buble and other great hits!
It was an entertaining night, and we thank all our Members and special guests for joining us to be a part of this great occasion.
