? Lighting up the night with Carol services
Petone Club opens arms to local RSA
This week the Lower Hutt RSA will march down and set up a new headquarters at the Petone Working Men?s Club. ?The last days of the [Lower Hutt] RSA will be on Saturday 28 November. ?We are still awaiting approval from the Minister of Internal Affairs for our gaming licences, we can?t move those down yet and they are an important source of revenue,? says Lower Hutt RSA president Allan Beardsley. The club will have its own space on the top floor of the Udy Street club where their memorabilia will find a new resting place. RSA members will become Working Men?s Club members and the upstairs room will be open Thursday to Sunday. ?In lower Hutt we were not open seven days a week, but our club days will be the same and if members want to come during the week they can use the other bars,? he says. Transport for RSA members is a major hurdle as many live in the Lower Hutt area. Mr Beardsley hopes to address the issue by funding a shuttle or cheaper taxi fares for members. ?[Transport] is a bit of a bear bug for members and we will support them in getting them down there. ?We feel good about this, the RSA will survive because of the move,? he says. Petone Working Men?s Club president Barry Priest is enthusiastic about the amalgamation. ?We are very happy about it; we don?t want to see the RSA disappear in the Hutt Valley. ?A lot of them are already members, so it?s just bringing it all together,? says Mr Priest. The 300 odd RSA members will be accommodated easily in the club. He says the Working Men?s Club already has gaming machines and additional ones will boost the amount they can give back to the community. ?As a club we give back 100 percent of the gaming profits to the community,? he says.
