A CBD branch of the peak veterans group has outmanoeuvred its own members to sell their building to pub tsar Justin Hemmes for $19 million.
Hemmes’ Merivale Group on Tuesday completed its purchase of the Barrack Street building formerly occupied by the Combined Services RSL sub-branch, weeks before the planned settlement date, after RSL NSW stripped dozens of members of their voting rights amid claims of branch stacking.
The branch-stacking allegations have outraged veterans who joined the branch in the past 14 months, many of whom served recently and claim they were courted by RSL NSW to revitalise the organisation, only to have their integrity called into question.
They wanted the branch to retain the building, which is centrally located close to their city offices and the Martin Place cenotaph. But RSL NSW chief executive Mick Frewen said the sale gave the sub-branch the opportunity to secure modern premises in the CBD while putting millions of dollars towards supporting veterans and their families.
“It turns an unsuitable asset into something that can make an immediate and lasting difference to veterans,” Frewen said.
The property fills in the missing piece of Hemmes’ plans to develop an entertainment precinct in the western CBD, where he already owns adjacent properties. Its purchase represents the second time he has capitalised on the financial woes of an RSL sub-branch sitting on prime real estate.
Last year he secured the rights to manage a hospitality business on the waterfront at Rose Bay, where the local RSL had fallen into voluntary administration, after negotiating a profit-sharing agreement with the club. Sources not authorised to speak publicly confirmed Hemmes has sounded out similar arrangements at asset-rich clubs Palm Beach RSL and North Bondi RSL, though neither club was interested.
“Just a lick of paint … We just settled on this property in Sydney CBD (just in time for the latest rate rise),” Hemmes posted on his personal Instagram account. “It’s the old RSL on Barrack st and was originally accomodation [sic] for return soldiers. And so begins the journey for its next chapter in life.”
Combined Services RSL members voted in favour of selling 5-7 Barrack Street to Merivale in March, but some members later claimed that the vote had been deliberately held at a time veterans of working age would not be able to attend and without proxy or online voting being made available.
At a general meeting in July, members turned up in strength to sabotage the completion of the sale by voting against the RSL custodian being appointed among the trustees, which was a condition of the sale contract. RSL NSW held a second vote earlier this month, and again the members voted down the pre-sale condition.
Two weeks later, the board of RSL NSW announced it was transferring the memberships of people who had joined the branch after July 2025 to an “unattached list”, meaning they no longer had any rights attached to the Combined Services RSL sub-branch, while it investigated possible branch stacking.
On Friday, the board informed those members that their transfer out of Combined Services RSL was confirmed, and they were no longer eligible to attend the next meeting, where a vote would be held on the sale contract.
One affected veteran claimed in a letter to the state secretary that questioning the legitimacy of their membership was a slight on his character and had caused distress to many veterans.
“We chose this sub-branch as our home,” he wrote.
“We legitimately joined as first time members of the RSL, despite generational antipathy towards the organisation, in good faith … The people who have recently joined bring vast networks, skills and diversity to the organisation, yet you are pushing them away and questioning their validity.”
Another Combined Services RSL member, Nikhita Sahay, said she had encouraged her fellow veterans to join and membership had grown through word of mouth, while acknowledging that some had joined after details of the Barrack Street sale became public.
“I don’t think veterans joining because they have seen the underlying value of the asset is a bad thing,” Sahay said.
“They are veterans who have served, who have seen the strategic value of the building, and they prize it.”
RSL NSW said the branch-stacking investigation was not related to the sale of Barrack Street.
The board decided to approve the sale without the pre-sale condition being met, after the trustees provided them with a deed that ensured the proceeds would remain in trust until the RSL custodian was appointed, a spokesman said. Ultimately, the proceeds of the sale would flow to the Combined Services sub-branch.
“The sale will allow the Combined Services RSL sub-branch to turn an ageing, rundown, and unsuitable property into a significant long-term and sustainable investment to support veterans and their families,” the spokesman said.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
