We also had a Women's Section with 12 or 14 members.
Every 3 months or so we organised a dance and New Years we had a fancy dress
ball. Fred Blank’s report on RSA in Tokirima
The RSA was formed as a sub branch of the Ohura RSA on the 5th of May 1948. The first President was Mr C. Little and Secretary Stan Monrad who was a shepherd at Maraekowhai. When he left Vern Fallon took over ( he had that farm where Bill Penny lived.) I was proposed as Secretary at the November meeting 1951. At this stage meetings were held every 8 weeks. This proved unsatisfactory so it was decided to have meetings on the last Saturday of every month and the hall was booked accordingly from year to year.
When it first started the RSA had 35 men members including
11 First World War men. We also had a Women's Section with 12 or 14 members.
Every 3 months or so we organised a dance and New Years we had a fancy dress
ball.
The boundary of the Tokirima RSA district was the top of Whites Hill, Saddlers Road, Harvey Junction going to Ohura, top of Paparata Hill going to Stratford and the end of the road at Bunns. This boundary was for the purpose of the roll of Honour, otherwise any member could join. Sometime in December we had a Christmas tree for the children. Every child in the district up to the age of 15 got a present. As Secretary it was my job to do the shopping for this and what a job! After a couple of years or so I was told that Woolworths in Auckland would send presents so I contacted them and they agreed to do the job, so I would send each child’s name and age and the amount to be spent per child in each age group and they sent down the presents wrapped with each child’s name on. It saved me a lot of worry.
We also had a picnic every year for the district with everything free including ice cream and soft drinks. A few of us would spend a Sunday every month or so and go around the district and gather up empty bottles and send to the ABC at Waitara. I remember one lot we sent out was 750 dozen. That was how we financed the things we did. This will make you laugh, at one meeting a big discussion was held to shift the price of beer from 1/3 to 1/6 a bottle.
When Mr Little left the District my brother Jim took over as President and when he left Alan Bunn became President. By the middle of the fifties all the first world war men had passed on and some of the second war men had left the district. The meetings were getting fewer and fewer. In 1960 when the Golf Club started it was the death knell to the RSA, so in ’64 we decided to wind up. The money we had in kitty was paid, half to the hall and half to the school and so ended a social chapter of the district.
Thanks to Lyn Neeson for the typing & Rosemary Corbett for the recording