An historic ‘Huey’ helicopter from the Vietnam War may be moved from its home in the Caloundra RSL’s Memorial Garden to make way for a major four-lane road.
The UH-1B Iroquois Helicopter A2-1022 from the Battle of Long Tan has hovered over the garden since 2012 and has been a prized addition to the green sanctuary.
But a proposal to build a major intersection and four-lane road from Nicklin Way – extending and double-laning Third Avenue from Nicklin Way to the Caloundra CBD – would have sliced off a chunk from the RSL’s Memorial Garden.
The $37.8 million Caloundra Transport Corridor Upgrade would have reclaimed 7 metres of the garden which the RSL described as a “savage slice” of their space treasured by veterans and their families.
They initially opposed the move and rallied the community, but faced with the prospect of the Sunshine Coast Council forcing the reclamation, the RSL agreed to negotiate for an alternative.
Caloundra RSL sub branch president Heather Christie said the group had convinced council to reduce the amount of garden lost from 7 metres down to between 2.5 metres and 3 metres.
A new section of garden would then be created in an area north of its current location near an aged care centre next to Ben Bennett Park.
But even that would have left the helicopter in its original home abutting “an ugly barrier” with cars whizzing past along a four-lane Third Avenue which the council has projected would be used by 20,000 cars a day.
So the helicopter will be relocated along with other items like the flag pole, cenotaph and bofors gun, Ms Christie said.
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She said a new pavilion would also be built to provide shade during commemorations such as Anzac Day because new plants would take time to reach their potential.
“We would like them not to go ahead with Third Avenue at all. To us Arthur Street would have had less impact but it’s apparently not on the cards for council so we have to work towards the best outcome for the community and veterans,” Ms Christie said.
Ms Christie said the RSL was in the process of evaluating the move and getting quotes and was appealing to the community to “come on board” and help with donations of plant and equipment and to help move the helicopter.
“We would like the community involved because the community was behind us when we launched a petition (against the Third Avenue extension).”
The Huey helicopter was one of two involved in the Battle of Long Tan in 1966 in which the troops were vastly outnumbered -108 Anzacs to an estimated 2500 Viet Cong – in torrential downpours in a rubber plantation.
The RAAF helicopter took off in the treacherous conditions to replenish supplies in the middle of a firefight as ammunition was running low.
Major Harry Smith and a number of the survivors from the battle, which has been immortalised on film, reside on the Sunshine Coast.
