Commemorative Services
Are held for
ANZAC Day, Remembrance Day and Vietnam Veterans Day.
Our Museum has an extensive collection of wartime memorabilia from the Boer War through to recent conflicts and peacekeeping operations.
Poppies Restaurant
Please call the RSL to book your table now!
Every Weekend Is A Different Menu
You will NEVER see a dish repeated on our Specials
Running Rabbits Museum
The Running Rabbits Military Museum is located at the Upwey-Belgrave RSL and has been named in recognition of Kokoda Campaign.
The Museum displays weaponry, documents and equipment from the Boer War through WWI and WWII to the current day. There are over 2,500 items of memorabilia, photographs and artifacts on display and a library of books and magazines available. There are some major items on display in and outside the Museum. The Museum will educate and entertain all ages and take them on an emotional journey through time.
Tour of the Museum via video – Look Here
- Location: 1 Mast Gully Road UPWEY, Vic. Off Burwood Highway – Melways Map 75 A8
- Open: Thursdays 10am to 2pm
Sundays 10am to 3pm – View our brochure - Other Times – by appointment only contact RSL Admin or Memorabilia Officer
- Entry: Gold Coin Donation
- Light refreshments are available from the RSL Bistro/Bar – With prior arrangements.
- Guides are available for groups by arrangement, this includes Scouts, Guides, Nursing homes, and family groups.
The Museum has a school program in place for all levels. Computer access is available for individual and general research. Volunteer guides are available for groups by arrangement.
Email the Memorabilia Officer For personal enquiries regarding memorabilia
Donate Items to the Museum
The Running Rabbits Military Museum has the authority and capability to accept donations of uniforms, equipment, all types of firearms, accessories, ordinance, relics, letters and photographs that may have been returned to Australia by service personnel as souvenirs of their experiences.
These items are an intricate part of our history and any such donations may be made in the strictest of confidence if desired. If the item has a history or its acquisition history is known we would also like to obtain that so the ties to past deeds are not lost in time.
Our aim is to ensure that these historical items may be retained and displayed for the public to view to better appreciate the military commitment to the nation. If you wish to discuss donating items to the museum, please speak with any of the committee members who will answer your questions when you visit or alternatively contact –
Curator Running Rabbits Military Museum
Mail: Running Rabbits Military Museum PO Box 1106 Upwey 3158 Email: museum@upweybelgraversl.org.au
or Vaughan Atherton 0411 575 239 (in regards to firearms) or Leigh Baker 0409 228 455
The Sunbeam S7
The motorbike was used to deliver mail to the Australian Army bases.Kunick used the bike every single day until several weeks before his death in 1984, aged 82 years.The Sunbeam S series, 1946 to 1956 was based on the BMW R 75 motorbike which was captured in WW2.British designers felt they couldn’t copy the enemy machine, it was decided that some changes would be made when building the Sunbeam S7.
An inline 500 CC twin-cylinder engine replaced the BMW horizontal opposed motor and a worm drive on the rear wheel replaced the BMW crown wheel and pinion. The result? High wear of drive components and extremely poor reliability. The unusual engine layout was certainly the S7’s most notable feature, resulting in extremely poor sales and mechanically unsound.
The inline engine made this technologically feasible (flat-twin “boxer” engines on BMW motorcycles had already used shaft drives.)Before long, the Sunbeam S7 was improved and sold as the “S7 Deluxe.” The new model was not only available in black, but also in the “mist green” shown on the motorbike in the Upwey/Belgrave RSL’s foyer. The simple answer was to detune the motor and call in a gentleman’s router. This created a bike that was extremely underpowered, however, its balloon tyres, oil dampened front forks, sprung heel rear suspension and rubber motor was comfortable, quiet and could be ridden at long distances, cruising up to 80mpH.
The Sunbeam S7 will be on display in the main foyer of the RSL over the next few months, which is sure to excite many bike lovers out there!
HMAS Australia photograph donated to the Upwey RSL
Open Day for a tour of the HMAS Cereberus will be held on Tuesday the 20th of October. Open Day registration will be required by the RSL before the 20th of September. The bus will be leaving the Upwey RSL by 8:30am and returning in the late afternoon, guaranteeing an amazing and eye-opening day for everyone. Lunch will also be provided. Zoe Preston
Last Thursday the 6th of August, The Running Rabbits Military Museum have presented a beautiful, hand-painted mural in memory of the ANZAC soldiers.
For the last month and a half, class 11B at Mountain District Learning Centre have been working on an ANZAC mural with materials that have been generously donated to the creative students.
Mural presented by the Mountain District Learning Centre
For the last month and a half, class 11B at Mountain District Learning Centre have been working on an ANZAC mural with materials that have been generously donated to the creative students. The students were asked to think about the mural beforehand and agreed on the design together. The final masterpiece features vibrant red poppies around the border, the hats of the soldiers in the foreground with a bold sun rising in the distance. Though the main focus of the beautiful mural is the silhouette of a soldier playing the Reveille on a trumpet.
The student’s created the mural to pay respect to the ANZAC’s who lost their lives in war and remind the community of the hope of a new dawn. The mural will be mounted at the Upwey RSL with the appropriate signing from the VCAL students of MDLC. Thank you all very much for your wonderful, thoughtful contribution to the community!
