Once again Anzac Day is upon us

A day that is fundamental to our perception of ourselves as a country.

A day where we commemorate the sacrifices of previous generations. Selfless sacrifice for country and higher ideals of nationhood and values. And a day where we celebrate the communal spirit of those who bonded together to protect the freedoms we take for granted today.

But with each passing year the generations, we commemorate get further from our day to day reality. And that’s because despite the threats that confront humanity daily the reality is that it’s been 70 years since a truly World War.

I often wonder whether we really understand what the war generations did. The average men and women from average New Zealand suburbs who traversed the world and did extraordinary things in the name of freedom, Queen and country. The unity of those times has dissipated. We are in the age of the individual forged in comfort and peace and prosperity

So if there’s something we can do in these pettily divisive times is to remember the solidarity of the past when we united against a common foe.

With the slow passing of the war generations, we’ve seen the slow decline of the Returned Services Association. The RSA or razzer as some call it is changing.

Manurewa RSA announced in April that it was considering closing its club rooms due to a lack of membership.

RSAs in Levin, Johnsonville and Taita in Hutt Valley have closed, while Hobsonville was considering merging with a bowling club or community group.

Already North Shore's East Coast Bays RSA and New Plymouth RSA merged with local bowling clubs to survive.

So it’s pleasing to hear of a RSA that has adapted. The Avondale RSA this week has opened its doors to a new building. Their old building was closed and sold in 2015 and the Association thought long and hard about its future. Now they have a new building and a new vision.

Their President Duncan McDonald says the new Avondale RSA is bigger and better, and more friendly to the community.

"The whole concept of RSA has to change to survive. Instead of people just sitting down having a drink we want the community to be able to come in and share a cup of coffee and muffin with us.

So the new Avondale RSA is going to be for all the community to use, with a wide range of activities including a community hall, library and art gallery. And on the walls the memorabilia that reminds us of the reason for it all.

War brought us together in the 21st Century and it’s good to see that the RSA is recognising that they have a renewed mission to once again bring us together in a new century