Regional RSL Thrives Thanks to Volunteers & Its Role as a Community Hub

Secretary Leeanne Dalitz says the Club’s survival is a direct result of unpaid hours put in by a number of its members.

“If we had to pay a manager, we would not survive,” Leeanne says. 

“Because we don’t pay a manager, and because there’s quite a few active people that volunteer — and that can be up to 15 to 20 hours a week free — we can stay financially stable.”

The Club has the aim of entrenching itself as a true community hub.

“We’re trying to brand the Club as a community club,” Leeanne says. 

“We do a lot of functions and funerals. We have a lot of harvest meetings and AGMs. We had two meetings there last night, we had a sit-down dinner three weeks ago, and the footy club is using the venue for their senior presentation this Sunday.”

Oaklands RSL’s facilities allow them to host a wide variety of events.

“We’ve got a really big dining room that opens up into the ladies’ lounge, a men’s bar area, the gaming area, and a big veranda out the front that looks over the bowling green,” Leeanne says. 

“We’ve just installed a brand-new sign which is focusing on Oaklands Community Club, too.”

Food service at the Club is also a unique operation.

“We only pay the bar staff and a cleaner — everything else is voluntary,” Leeanne says. 

“We don’t lease out the kitchen because no one would want to come and cook. The people that do the meals have free access and use our kitchen because if they’re attracting people for meals, people buy drinks. It’s a win–win.”

The Club’s kitchen, branded Okie Eats, has recently introduced online ordering, which has helped them capture harvest season trade.

“A lot of the truckies live in their trucks for six weeks,” Leeanne says. 

“They can now order their tea online, pick it up at the back door, and take it back to their truck. The kitchen is even going to open up the dining room for big breakfasts during harvest so truck drivers can have a proper meal before heading to the grain site at 6:30.”

The Club’s calendar is becoming packed with meetings and events, keeping the venue busy many nights of the week.

“We do book club once a month, we host spray courses and pre-harvest training, we’ve got grain companies that do meetings there — there was 50 or 60 at the last one,” Leeanne says. 

“Basically, if it’s happening in Oaklands, it’s happening at the Club.”

For Leeanne, the Club is about far more than just bowls and beers.

“We open every night at 5:30, and on a Sunday night after rain every farmer in town will be here comparing who had the most rain,” she says with a laugh. 

“It’s the social hub of town. If we didn’t have volunteers, we’d be like a lot of places around here that just shut their doors.”

To find out more about the Club, click here.