Peter Newland
Peter Newland joined the Army Reserve, 9 RQR, Kelvin Grove, as a Private in 1960 and rose to the rank of Major. After owning a retail computer store for several years, he now develops database systems for clients around Australia.
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Our Home Capt Frank Moran Memorial Hall
I was commissioned and posted in 1965 as an officer to 9RQR which was then located in the drill hall opposite the main gate at Kelvin Grove. Our mess was the Frank Moran Memorial Hall. Capt Frank Moran was area officer at Kelvin Grove prior to the outbreak of the First World War. He was wounded at Gallipoli in 1915 and died at sea on the way back to Egypt on 28th August 1915. Prior to leaving, he raised some 200 pounds for amenities for the Kelvin Grove area. A public meeting was organised and a trust was formed which in about 1930 arranged for the construction of the hall. It was first used as a gymnasium and was subsequently taken in charge by the Army and used for many purposes, including officers’ messes of 7th Infantry Brigade, 1RQR and 9RQR. In about 1967, Lieutenant Colonel John Simpson had a friend, a Brisbane architect, who re-designed the interior of the hall as an officers’ mess. Using us junior officers as workers, it was transformed from a bare hall with a folding table and a grotty second-hand fridge to a friendly, inviting and a warm environment. It was to be our home for the next fifteen years or so.
Many social events were held there, including the annual reunions of the first 9th and 9th Moreton members. I remember well one CO who had a penchant for darts, continuing the competitions until dawn. He also delighted in throwing his empty beer glass over his shoulder for some poor junior officer to catch and refill. The mess was always a hive of activity on Anzac Day, with even a hint of gambling activities. When the battalion moved to the other end of Kelvin Grove, the hall reverted to Seventh Brigade as their mess. It now stands as a lonely reminder and a memorial to Frank Moran, alongside memories of our military social life for so many years.
