Sub Branch Museum Feature Story

We recently caught up with 4 of the youngest members of the Ballina RSL Sub-Branch All four are locals, from Ballina or Alstonville, and as the ‘next generation’ of our RSL Sub-Branch they’ve had varied military experiences.

Peter Crossingham, the youngest at just 30, served in the army for 9 years. He travelled to East Timor three times between 2000 and 2005. In East Timor, he was involved in water patrols. He described his first trip to Timor as being ‘adrenalin-filled’ and a ‘big adventure’. However, things changed by the third time round. He said, “You go over there to do what you’ve been trained to do. Of course, once you’re there, it’s not what you expect. What I remember most about my third visit is the smell … and then counting the days until we could depart”. With a young family back home, Peter decided it would be best to return to civilian life.

Tony Grant served for 19 years in the Australian infantry and as a medic. He saw service in East Timor, Malaysia and Ashmore Reef Naru. Tony spoke of incidents from survival training in Malaysia and his experiences as a medic in East Timor... from giant monkeys descending upon his camp in the middle of the night … to helping a Timorese mother who had been badly brutalised. Medically discharged three years ago, he said that support from both his wife (also associated with the military) and his army mates was priceless.

Andrew Collinge has been in the Army for 16 years. He started in Sydney as an Assault Pioneer building bridges and has been in many different operations since, including the Ready Reaction Force set up after 9/11, Border Patrols and jungle warfare training. His service has taken him to Malaysia, Singapore and the Solomons. He was aboard the HMAS Ballarat the day it ran aground at Christmas Island and recalls the vast movement of the ocean near Christmas Island the day the tsunami hit. Andrew says his family copes well during his times away, but admits that it can be hard on the kids.

Darren Murnane has served part-time with the army over the past 15 years. Training exercises have taken him to various locations in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. Such exercises see him away for around 2 – 4 weeks at a time. He called severe training exercises in the mountainous areas of New Zealand ‘enjoyable’ and gave a humorous account of hot meals dropped to the forces from a helicopter in Hawaii … they were authentic ‘KFC’!
Asked about the importance of the RSL Sub Branch and their reasons for joining, Peter, Tony, Andrew and Darren all strongly emphasised the “community” aspect and the irreplaceable bonds that exist between ex-service personnel.

The RSL is about carrying forth a legacy, it’s about learning and understanding, commemoration, remembrance and reflection. It’s about the tight community that is forged when one has served their country. Such mateship bonds were forged many years and wars ago … and similar bonds are still being forged today.

(pictured with Ballina RSL Sub-Branch President, Noel McCallum … left to right … Peter Crossingham, Tony Grant, Andrew Collinge & Darren Murnane)