Of course after W.W.2 a lot of R.S.L sub branches were formed all over Australia, and one of those was in Wanilla.

As Wanilla was a soldier settlement district all the new farmers were returned soldiers. The first meeting to form an R.S.L. sub branch of Wanilla was held in Stan Morgan’s shearing shed. In the year 1952 Wanilla joined its charter to have a sub branch of the Returned Services League.

The first customary annual dinner was held in the old Edillilie hall as there were no facilities in Wanilla.

There were three army huts erected at Wanilla to house families while houses and sheds were built on their allocated farms. One of these buildings was renovated to become the Wanilla R.S.L. clubrooms, commonly known as “The Hut”.

The first one or two dinners were held in "The Hut" but due to Wanilla’s reputation, and of course the ladies' cooking, numbers became too numerous for The Hut so dinners were moved to the newly built Wanilla Settlement Hall.

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During the 53 years “The Hut” stood it served the community well, of course housing the monthly R.S.L. meetings, also a healthy Social Club, many of whose members were sons of the original settlers of Wanilla.

The Wanilla Sub branch was probably legendary when visiting other Sub branch dinners, as they were always last to leave, and often turned it into a 2 day event.

We must not forget the wives of the Sub Branch members, who behind the scenes prepared a magnificent array of food, whether it be the annual dinner, or other social functions.

This astounding feat was often accomplished in cramped and basic conditions.

The wives of the settlers are really the unsung heroes of the Wanilla Soldier Settlement Scheme. They toiled on the farms with their husbands, raised children in pretty basic conditions, and also had to learn to live with and understand their husbands who had returned from spending up to 4 years over seas, defending our country, and bringing back emotional problems, that back then could only be dealt with in oneself.

So the Wanilla R.S.L. became a good place to have a yarn over a beer or a cup of tea.

Sadly, in January 2005 “The Hut” was completely destroyed during the tragic Black Tuesday bushfires. There is a monument standing where ”The Hut” once stood, and some memorabilia on the walls of The Wanilla Settlement Hall.