Funding delivered for Port Lincoln veterans’ cemetery
The state government has granted funding for the Port Lincoln RSL branch to maintain a veterans’ cemetery after the group launched a GoFundMe page last year.
Veterans affairs minister Geoff Brock and Sarah Game delivered funding to the Port Lincoln RSL for maintenance of the veterans' cemetery. Photo: supplied
InDaily reported last November that the Port Lincoln RSL had sought public help to fund cemetery maintenance after a previous state government grant of $100,000 delivered over four years ended.
Veterans Affairs Minister Geoff Brock and One Nation MLC Sarah Game visited the cemetery yesterday to deliver a new $75,000 grant from the state government, which will provide $25,000 annually to the RSL branch over three years for the cemetery.
Port Lincoln’s Garden of Remembrance is the resting place of more than 550 veterans and their spouses, and is one of four cemeteries in Australia owned and maintained by an RSL sub-branch.
The Port Lincoln RSL branch reported a total income for 2023 of $142,962, including $50,000 from government, with $150,694 of expenses over the same period, leaving them with a deficit of nearly $8000. Cemetery expenses were reported as $29,532, making up 29 per cent of the charity’s total operating expenses.
Last year’s GoFundMe campaign raised $6225 from a target of $5000.
Port Lincoln RSL sub-branch president Gary Clough said the grant would assist the RSL in maintaining the veterans’ cemetery “to a standard that their sacrifice demands”.
“It’s not just a cemetery but also a teaching platform, allowing us to preserve local history for all and is utilised by schools for history and other programs,” he said.
“The funding gives the RSL sub-branch some surety in going forward with maintenance, administration and refurbishment and development of the site.”
The grant will be used to replace an automatic watering system, with Clough previously telling InDaily there were around five volunteers who maintained the cemetery, saying “most of them are in their late 70s and above”.
The cemetery had previously been funded through a combination of internal fundraising and a one-off grant negotiated between Veterans SA and the previous Port Lincoln RLS committee.
Brock said that “honouring veterans and their families and the sacrifices they have made must not be forgotten”.
“This investment will ensure the final resting place of our returned service personnel is kept in pristine condition and maintained to a standard the community deserves,” he said.
