The Top Ender Magazine February March 2021 Edition

Robertson Barracks
Family Group
Over the last 5 months, the Robertson Barracks Family
Group centre has been under renovation. During this
time, we have made the most of what Darwin has to
offer by heading out to catch up each week. The
opportunity to venture out to different coffee shops,
play centres and parks has been warmly welcomed and
it has been a great opportunity to support local
businesses as well.
Unfortunately, without our usual space, we have had to
postpone quite a few activities, however we are able to
now add these activities to our 2021 plan! Everyone on
the RBFG committee are looking forward to reopening
our centre in late January. Throughout 2021,
we will have a few of our usual sessions returning each
week and we have some new and really exciting things
coming! Our Monday coffee & cake will be back, as well
as Friday playgroup and lunch and dinner catch ups. A
few NEW sessions we will be organising include sensory
play, nature-based sessions and.......... LEGO CLUB! We
cannot wait!
Our kids club bunch (ages 6-12) were able to utilise
the amazing Salvation Army building at Roberston
Barracks to hang out and use the table tennis table, air
hockey table, board games and tv’s. They also met up at
Flip Out, where they had a stack of fun and it was a
lovely opportunity for parents to catch up as well. We
look forward to running more of these sessions in 2021.
Our little play-groupers, (ages 0-5) have been loving all
the adventures off base with their friends, attending
Adventureland, the Play Shack, the Jape Markets indoor
playground and so many more activities during the last
school term of 2020. We finished off with a bang,
where we hosted our annual Christmas party! We were
lucky enough to have face painting by our favourite
fairy, a bouncing castle, a beautiful Christmas craft
activity by Playgroup NT and a visit from Santa! Santa
brought beautiful books for every child and it was a
wonderful morning to share with all of our Robbo
families! Thank you so much Santa for visiting us and
making our morning extra special!
In October, DVA held their annual Veterans Health
Week and with their support, RBFG were able to host 3
VHW activities. Thank you to Lauren Keys for running a
fantastic mental health session, it was very informative
and there were some great ideas and strategies to help
and support others in
need. We also held two
‘Mind your Paws’ dog
therapy sessions, this was
a great opportunity to
chat with one another and
make social connections
with the 2 gorgeous dogs,
Harlow and Scout. Kristy
does amazing work with her pair of 4 legged friends in
our community and it was a pleasure to be able to have
her come in and support us for these sessions!
After a challenging year for all Defence families, RBFG
felt it were fitting to host an end of year cocktail event
at the Landmark in Palmerston. It was a great night with
delicious food and drinks, and we mustn’t forget our
generous lucky door prize of a $150 spa voucher, which
was kindly donated by the Australian Military Bank.
Thank you everyone who attended, we look forward to
hosting more of these events throughout 2021!
The Robertson Barracks Family Group
support all defence members, families and
spouses from the Tri-services. We offer a
range of social activities for children and
adults. Please feel free to head over to our
Facebook group Robertson Barracks Family
Group for all event information or email
robertsonbarracksfamilygroup@gmail.com
and we will assist you.
We hope you had a safe and
wonderful Christmas break,
and we look forward to
meeting you in 2021!
Samantha Maloney
Centre Coordinator
RBFG
Larrakeyah Neighbourhood
House
The past few months have been filled to the brim
with our Christmas activities! It was wonderful to
see everyone who came along to these events,
enjoying the Christmas festivities.
I am the Community Support Coordinator for the
Larrakeyah Neighbourhood House. My family and I
have been living in Darwin for the past three years
and we are loving all the amazing things Darwin has
to offer! I have been in the role for more than a
year and have enjoyed meeting so many amazing
Defence families, as well as watching other families
make new connections that grow to become lifelong
friendships.
Many of our amazing families are preparing to
leave Darwin and we wish them every happiness in
their new location and hope that new adventures
will be even better than life in the Top End.
If you are new to the Top End this year -
welcome! We hope that your experience in
Darwin will be filled with many exciting adventures
and you find plenty of opportunities to make some
amazing lifelong friends. My advice to you would
be to get out and try to attend as many of the
wonderful events and programs that our Defence
community has to offer - it has been a great help
to me and my family. Make sure you also join all
of the local Facebook groups to ensure that you
stay up to date with the latest information.
Our programs and activities are designed to help
all members of your family settle into their new
location, engage with other families and embrace
life in the Top End. We offer a weekly program
including Bumps & Bubs, Playgroup, Yoga for
beginners, Coffee catch ups and Kids Club. Our
monthly events may also include Ladies Nights,
luncheons and craft nights, plus we even run
special six-week programs, such as; Introduction to
Pilates, Self Defence and Drama classes. Our
Community House also organises special
events throughout the year, including;
Australia Day, Easter Celebrations, Children’s
week, First Aid courses and our Annual
Christmas Party. Our goal for 2021 is to
continue organising fun and engaging activities
for the whole family to enjoy, with the
possibility of some new and exciting initiatives
that we look forward to sharing with you!
www.larrakeyahhouse.com.au
larrakeyahhouse@hotmail.com
We kickstart every year
with our ‘Australia Day
Welcome to the Top End’
event. This year’s event was
slightly different with some
exciting changes and we hope you
were able to enjoy the day with
us!
We look forward to welcoming
you to the Larrakeyah
Neighbourhood House very soon.
Charné Saunders
Centre Coordinator
LNH
20 The Top Ender | Tri-Services Magazine Incorporated FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 21