G. & D.V.V.A.A. Home Page

The Geelong and District Vietnam Veterans Centre located at 31 Mt Pleasant Road, Belmont, is currently closed due to Level 3 Restrictions imposed by the State Government, and to comply with a directive from the City of Greater Geelong.  The closure is expected to last until at least late October 2020.                    Other information as to the future of meetings and events will be posted on the website or communicated to members directly when it becomes available.  In the meantime, continue to take care and keep your family and friends safe.**(See the Presidents  report (dated 05/08/2020 ) below)

Vietnam Veterans Centre, Belmont

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 Please Note:  The Geelong Vietnam Veterans Museum has been closed due to former premises no longer being made available by the City of Greater Geelong, and no alternate location currently available.

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A selection of Rememberance panels and inlaid plaques along the walkway, part of the Vietnam Veterans Avenue of Honour and Memorial Park Precinct, Melbourne Road, North Geelong.  If you are in Geelong, make a point of visiting the Avenue of Honour, take a walk along the avenue and see for yourself the plaques and panels commemorating those who served in Vietnam – 1965-1972.

 
  • Avenue of Honour Large Image Panel: H.M.A.S. Sydney
  

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  FROM THE PRESIDENT

MEMBER UPDATE

During this unprecedented time the Committee has continued to do what it can to keep the Geelong Vietnam Veterans Ass. going. We have now removed all of our museum items from Osborne House and members have been sorting these items for eventual return to those who donated them, this is a slow process and must be done carefully so as not to create problems.  We were also able to remove some display cabinets from storage and relocate these to the VV Centre in Belmont.  We also removed the large bar fridge, commercial dishwasher and domestic dishwasher from Osborne House and placed these into storage in our container at Ceres. These items will be offered for sale to members in the future.  The Osborne House Sustainability Plan, which we have had some input into through the OPA, will be presented to the Council on 25th August. If accepted it will be followed by 6 weeks of public consultation and then returned to Council for endorsement. We hope to see some action in the 2021.

We were able to re-open the VV Centre for a time but now due to new COVID restrictions the City of Greater Geelong requires us to close our Vietnam Veterans Belmont Centre once more.                                                                                                 

If you require assistance then please contact one of the following:
Gary Ryan   (Secretary)
Rieny Nieuwenhof   (President)
Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling Service – 24/Hr – 1800 011 046

Membership

Our membership co-ordinator has been updating our membership register and provided me with a list of unfinancial members, who I have contacted personally. Membership dues are our only source of income at present and we don’t want to lose any member’s support, especially during these difficult times. Remember being financial entitles you to receive our newsletter, the Fire Support Bulletin and the national VVAA Newsletter Debrief. It is important to know what is going on and the campaigns that are being followed and advocacy taking place in the veteran community.

Keeping in touch:

At the start of the Pandemic we had the Committee members contacting all of our Sub Branch members by phone to see how they were going and we have recently commenced doing that again. So you should get a call checking on your welfare and seeing if there are any needs that we can assist you with.

Fortnightly PayDay Lunches/ Ladies Monthly Lunches                                                         

Have been on hold for some months now and we will be looking forward to when we can get together again socially.                             The Committee extends its greetings to all Geelong & District Vietnam Veterans and their families and trusts all continue to be safe and well. 

Rieny Nieuwenhof

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Information for members:  Subject: RAAF 100 year celebration

The flyers below are forwarded for an expression of interest from all those
who wish to attend the Air Force 100th Anniversary Celebration in Canberra on 31st March 
next year.  This is not the Radschool event which is being held over the ANZAC
Day weekend.

Could members please spread the word around to all members who may not have
email access or to any ex-Air Force personnel who may wish to attend the
celebrations.

“INFO BROCHURE”

“REGISTER YOUR INTEREST FORM”

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Contact the Geelong Surf Coast Veterans Centre for all matters relating to welfare and pensions. You can visit the centre at 14 Griffith Street, Grovedale, or call 03-5222 6003.

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OPEN ARMS – VETERANS and FAMILIES COUNSELLING

“Open Arms – Veterans and Families Counselling” formerly known as “Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service (VVCS)” and Veterans Line can be reached 24 hours a day across Australia, for crisis support and free  and confidential counselling.                                                                                                                                                         Open Arms – Veterans and Family Counselling is a national mental health service that provides 24 hour free and confidential counselling, group programs and suicide prevention training for current and ex-serving ADF members, and their families. To get support or to find out more, call 1800011046 or visit “www.OpenArms.gov.au“.

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“Honour The Dead But Fight Like Hell For The Living”

VVAA (Vietnam Ribbon Bar)