Moree RSL Sub-Branch president Jeff Biddle, right, with sub-branch member Robyn Geary at the Vietnam War memorial in Anzac Centenary Park on 8 October 2026. Photo: Moree Online News.
A $786.65 donation from Moree Golf Club has arrived as the Moree Returned and Services League Sub Branch prepares for a much bigger fundraising task: planned memorials at Centenary Park recognising Australians who served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Korea.
Moree RSL Sub-Branch and Military Museum president Jeff Biddle has put the likely cost at about $150,000 as an early ballpark estimate, with the Sub-Branch preparing to raise funds and pursue grants to get the project off the ground.
Mr Biddle said the donation came from this year’s Anzac Day two-up run at the Golf Club and would help the Sub-Branch continue its work supporting veterans and their families and maintaining commemorations.
But that begs an obvious question: why does the Moree RSL Sub-Branch need to fundraise in the first place?
Mr Biddle said there is confusion locally about whether the RSL Sub-Branch is part of Moree Services Club. The two are separate organisations.
Mr Biddle said the Sub-Branch is self-funding. Its income comes from donations, badge sales and fundraising, including members selling second-hand goods at local markets, and none of it comes from the Services Club.
The Sub-Branch is part of RSL NSW. Mr Biddle said it has been involved in service and ceremonial duties in Moree since 1919, and it has been responsible for the town’s Anzac Day commemorations, including the march and services, since 1947. It is also involved in Remembrance Day and other commemorations.
Its work extends beyond commemorative services. The Sub-Branch supports veterans and their families, provides opportunities for camaraderie and works to preserve and teach the history of military service.
That includes the Moree Military Museum, where school groups visit and Sub-Branch members share military history with younger generations.
“It’s not about glorifying war down there,” Mr Biddle said.
“It’s about remembering service.”
Keeping that work going costs money.
Mr Biddle estimated the Sub-Branch spends about $23,000 to $24,000 each year on administration, insurance and other expenses.
Now the Sub-Branch is preparing to fund another major piece of its commemorative work.
Mr Biddle said Centenary Park already contains monuments recognising National Service and Vietnam veterans, as well as First World War plaques. The Vietnam Memorial in the park commemorates the 521 Australian servicemen who died during the Vietnam War.
Mr Biddle said the intention was to add memorials recognising Korea and the Afghanistan-Iraq era, creating what would effectively become a timeline of Australia’s major conflicts and military service across the site.
The Afghanistan-Iraq memorial is still being developed and does not yet have a formal name.
“Budget about $150,000,” Mr Biddle said.
“And we have to raise it all.”
The Sub-Branch is already running a raffle for the memorial and Mr Biddle said it would also pursue potential government and RSL grant funding.
He said representatives of Moree Plains Shire Council had given verbal support to the proposal, although the project remains in the planning and fundraising stages.
But the reason for building it goes beyond adding another monument to Centenary Park.
Moree’s veteran population is changing. Mr Biddle said Moree had lost its last Second World War veteran, Des Hurst, while the town’s remaining Vietnam veterans were getting older.
At the same time, another generation of veterans is reaching its own significant milestone. This year marks 25 years since Australia began its military commitment to Afghanistan, which began with Operation Slipper in October 2001. Mr Biddle said Centenary Park has no memorial recognising those who served there.
Mr Biddle said there were Afghanistan veterans living in Moree, and recalled a comment from one of them which stayed with him.
“One bloke said to me, ‘Well, 25 years, we’d be due to do something, wouldn’t we?’” he said.
“That sort of strikes home.”
For Mr Biddle, the proposed memorial is about ensuring Moree’s commemorations continue to recognise successive generations of Australians who served.
The Sub-Branch is also considering how service in places such as East Timor could eventually be represented at Centenary Park.
For now, the fundraising continues.
