PETER Maloney never went anywhere near an RSL for 40 years, yet now the Vietnam veteran is not only the Emerald club president but an integral part of the town he adores. He spoke with the Gazette’s RUSSELL BENNETT.
PETER Maloney’s view on the Returned Services League used to be fairly cut and dried – he figured they didn’t want him, so he didn’t want any part of them.
But a kind of cathartic experience four years ago changed his whole outlook.
Now Peter is the Emerald RSL president, overseeing the biggest growth the club has seen and playing a major role in guiding it through an exciting new chapter in the lead-up to next year’s Anzac centenary.
It all started with him watching an Anzac march through the heart of Emerald.
“I saw the kids marching and I thought to myself: ‘The last 40 years has been about me not wanting to (get involved),’ he told the Gazette in the lead-in to Anzac Day last year.
“I thought I should change my attitude and think about my father, who was in World War II. I should think about my kids and grandkids.”
So, last year, for the first time in Peter’s life, his six grandchildren walked proudly beside him as he led the march down Emerald’s main street.
In less than six months, he’ll lead the march along the town’s newly-created Anzac Walk up to Anzac Place for a ceremony to remember.
“It’s all a dream come true for us at the RSL,” he said over a nice hot coffee at the Emerald Village Bakery and Cafe during the week.
He knows the Kilvington Drive eatery well – given that he’s part of the furniture of the main shopping precinct, helping to run the Emerald Village Newsagency.
“It’s been 18 months since we dreamed up the idea.
“After the walk is completed, Anzac Place will follow and it’ll all hopefully be finished by Christmas.
“It’s not very often you get three levels of government all supporting a project, but that’s what we’ve got with this and they’ve all really embraced it – they all see how important it is to the town.”
By his own admission, Peter has always been a community-oriented person who just loves making things happen.
“I have a history of that – going back throughout my whole life I’ve been involved in getting things back together when they look like they’re going to fall apart,” he said.
“I think it’s something in my DNA. I did it with the footy club that I was involved in down in Beaumaris, and I did it with the Rotary Club I was involved with down in Cheltenham.”
About five years ago he saw a sign up advertising for an early morning manager’s position at the newsagent’s in Emerald. Peter moved up to the hills in the mid-’90s and was in the plastics industry for 30 years – since returning from Vietnam.
He’d long commuted from the hills into the city, and back out again each day.
“The beauty of Emerald is that it’s surrounded by this green circle. It’s like an oasis, in a way,” he said.
“You come to Emerald and you come through the green and you just relax … you’re home.
I love the fact that this place is what I’d call an ‘oasis of friendliness’. It’s just really nice.
“I have no inclinations of going down to Melbourne any more, apart from going for a certain reason.
“Every time you watch the news and there’s a pile-up on the Monash, I just think ‘thank God I’m not driving on that’.”
While the plastics industry had more than its fair share of highs for Peter, it also had soul-destroying lows.
After a change of pace, which involved a stint running the former Soul Nourishment restaurant in the Main Street, Peter relished the chance to sink his teeth into his role at the newsagent’s and further immerse himself in his community.
“I work for two lovely people – Carl and Mary (Mardirian) – and they’ve given me carte blanche to get out into the community and build the business,” Peter said.
“We’re by far the biggest stationery supplier in Emerald and I’ve been trying to emphasise ‘buy local’.
“Why go down the mountain when you can buy from us and it’s cheaper and you’ve got me to look after you?”
People looking after people … that’s a real theme in Emerald.
“There’s a real friendliness here,” Peter explained.
“Everyone knows each other, and you can see it everywhere. You walk down the street and straight away you can pick up the sense of community.
“I guess my profile in the community has been a little bit deliberate because people relate me back to the RSL.
“(But) I’m just the figurehead. People will have a go at me for being ‘Eddie Everywhere’ type of thing, but it’s been a deliberate thing to increase the profile of the club within the community.”
Peter said people within the community still had different perceptions of what an RSL was, and the role it played.
“It used to just be where returned servicemen went to have a drink. If you walked in the door you’d get ‘who are you?’,” he explained.
That’s something that probably, in some ways, kept me away from RSLs for so long – as well as the Vietnam factor.
“But what I love about being involved is being able to tap into people’s potential and making sure they know they can contribute – to make sure they know it’s their club.
“We had 200 members last Thursday and that’s up from 70 when I first started (at Emerald).
“It’ll continue to grow as that perception of RSLs changes, but that’s what we’re about. We’ve got a great team with Marg (Megarry) and Matty (Cocks) and all the great people on board.”
For now, it’s all about the build-up to Anzac Day.
“There’s going to be a fair bit of work involved to make the Anzac Walk and Anzac Place come alive,” Peter said.
“We don’t want them to just sit there until next Anzac Day.
“We’ll have the audio trail going, but we’ll probably also have our own iPhone app and that’ll make it a bit more interactive with our website.
“I see the website and social networking as one of the projects for next year to make that walk come alive.
“So much work has gone into it, it’s not just for one day – it’s forever.”
But soon enough it’ll be time to move on to the RSL’s next step.
“We don’t want to grow the club just for the sake of growing – we’ll grow our members; I’d like to see 300 members or maybe more – but getting back to the community side of things we’re the only real club in Emerald that has the potential facilities for opening a bit more often.
“We’re open on Tuesdays and Thursday nights and we have functions and the like, but I’d like to see maybe next year if we can have meals. A lot of people say they don’t want to go to a pub – they’d prefer to come to our club.
“I think our committee would like to work towards that end next year and potentially, if we have the funds, we could build on a bit more and maybe have an office and function room.”
