9 August, 2019

Devonport’s newest bar – at the RSA

Ninety years after it opened, the Devonport RSA has finally obtained a liquor licence and stocked a bar, one of the last RSAs in the country to do so.

The local association is sprucing up its grand historic hall overlooking Victoria Rd, with the intention of marketing it for a range of community events, from pub quizzes to yoga, school functions and weddings.

The move will help meet the costs of maintaining the hall and is a way of engaging with the community to ensure a future, especially as war veteran numbers dwindle and membership changes, treasurer Tymon Porter says.

“It is a way to have the public investing in the RSA. Through starting to use the hall again, people have an interest in keeping it going,” Porter says.

The walls have a new coat of paint and there are plans for a feature artwork, a poppy by Devonport artist Tony McNeight.

An RSA mid-winter function tested screening off some of the formal RSA features, which Porter says transformed the hall into a “stunning” venue.

Devonia Hall dates back to the early days of the RSA, being purpose-built around the time the Devonport RSA was formally established in 1927. Membership is relatively stable, Porter says. Although the number of veterans has declined, service people can join and any member of the public can become an associate member.

This article originally appeared in the August 9 edition of The Devonport Flagstaff. Download PDF.