The Castlemaine Returned Services League (RSL) has been gifted a new commercial dishwasher thanks to their friends at the Lions Club of Castlemaine and Lions Australia.
Castlemaine RSL president John Whiddon said the local community organisation was extremely grateful to the local Lions Club and Australian Lions Foundation for their support.
“Our last dishwasher was generously provided by the Lions about 15 years ago. It has been out of action for almost two years and our hardworking Ladies Auxiliary and members have had to wash all our dishes by hand,” Mr Whiddon said.
“This can be a big task particularly at major events such as Anzac Day and Remembrance Day when we are catering to hundreds of people,” he said.
Castlemaine RSL secretary Barb Templar said the RSL Hall is also regularly used by the RSL, Legacy and the Ladies Auxiliary for meetings, district gatherings and also for exercise classes.
“We also enjoy welcoming groups such as the Scouts and Guides,” she said.
Local Lions member Ian ‘Gags’ Gallagher noted the dishwasher was broken at this year’s Anzac Day event and approached his fellow Lions about replacing the machine.
“Unfortunately Gags couldn’t be here today. His mother Myra was in the RSL Ladies Auxiliary and he has really driven this project. We are delighted to see it come to fruition to support the RSL and Ladies Auxiliary in their important work,” said Lion Marie Elrington.
Ms Templar said the state-of-the-art machine washes and dries dishes in just three minutes which is extremely handy during busy events.
“And its design means that there is no back-breaking work for our volunteers,” she said.