Taupō woman receives rare RSA honour

Taupō RSA life member and Women's Section patron Ngaire McIntosh. Photo / Dan Hutchinson

Ngaire McIntosh has become one of the few women to receive a life membership to the RSA.

The rare honour comes after 43 years’ membership with the Taupō RSA Women’s Section, including two stints as president.

She is now the patroness and vice-president of the Taupō RSA Women’s Section and said “I thought they must have the wrong place” when president Diane Wilson came around to the house recently to present the life membership.

Ngaire and husband Graeme McIntosh moved to Taupō in 1979 to take over the only funeral business in town at the time, Taupō Funeral Services, which is still in the family.

Graeme had done his compulsory service, Ngaire’s father had been in the Home Guard and her grandfather served as a baker during WWI but died from the influenza pandemic sweeping the world at the time.

The reason for joining RSA in 1980 was that it was a way of meeting people, although it later became much more than that, especially for Ngaire.

“When we came to Taupō in 1979, we didn’t know a soul or anything about it.”

They were invited to join and “jumped at the chance”.

“Betty was the Women’s Section president, and they were having a birthday or something out at Wairakei and would I like to come and meet all the ladies, and so I did and it sort of went from there.”

“It was great. Every Saturday night we had a great dance and good bands and it was very strong then.”

Ngaire said her husband would have liked to be more involved in the RSA.

“But of course he was the only one in the funeral business at the time and whenever we went to go out the phone would ring.”

By the end of her first stint as president, in the 80s, the Taupō Women’s Section was close to its peak membership of 160.

“I was so pleased to pass it over with all those ladies. Oh my God, you say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing, but I got through it all right and ended up staying seven years as president.”

While the camaraderie has always been a huge part of Women’s Section, it was and still is, first and foremost, about serving the veterans and their families.

Taupō RSA life member and Women's Section patron Ngaire McIntosh (front), Taupō Women's Section president Diane Wilson (left) and committee member Betty Kiff. Photo / Dan Hutchinson

Diane said Ngaire’s advice to the other women and her knack of keeping them “on the straight and narrow” has been valuable.

“She is the go-to girl. If we want to know anything we go to Ngaire.

“I keep up with the rules changes, that are changing regularly within the national head office, and Ngaire keeps us on the straight and narrow of remembering that we are here to serve veterans and families and helping people.”

Ngaire said the welfare side of things was a really busy programme, and they had a good group of people working on it.

“Every Christmas or Easter we would go to all the elderly people who couldn’t get out, with a tray of goodies.

“We all used to home-make them — biscuits or whatever. They always got a gift if they couldn’t get to the RSA. We were forever going around the houses and I enjoyed doing that.”

Diane said Ngaire organised Poppy Day for many years, organising every stall, every table, and where all the boxes went.

“Finish one and then you are already planning what you are doing next year, the rosters were out.”

Ngaire said they always had lots of fun on Anzac Day.

“We often catered for about 300 people for breakfast. It’s not that many now of course. We would do it all ourselves.”

Diane said the women are the “unsung heroes” behind an RSA.

“So often, on Anzac Day, the men are out there and that’s what they are looking to see — the men in their uniforms — but behind the scenes, working hard, in those kitchens or out organising Poppy Day are these women who have been doing it for 106 years.”

Ngaire said there was a group of about 12 women that did the breakfast and lunch, in several shifts, with about 500 meals in total at one stage.

It was a military exercise in itself, with the women down there by 5am to cook breakfast, then after breakfast a cleanup crew moved in and after that the lunch crew would move in to start preparing.

“We used to set up the day before. We used to set up the sacks of potatoes and we used to butter how many loaves of bread, and the men were very good and used to shout us a couple of wines while we were working — that was the good part,” Ngaire said.

“Get there at 5 in the morning and probably go home about 9 o’clock at night.”

Diane, who has been a member for 45 years, said they just did it without thinking.

“We just enjoyed it. It wasn’t about the pat on the back, it was about we need to make sure we are looking after these veterans.

“When you have got a good leader like [Ngaire] we are all happy to follow, because you don’t look like you are lost so we are happy to follow you.”

The various badges gained by Taupō RSA life member and Women's Section patron Ngaire McIntosh. Photo / Dan Hutchinson

There are about 43 members of Taupō RSA Women’s Section today, and depending on whether it is winter or summer, about 20-25 women attend the meetings, Diane said.

“Overall in NZ, we are still a very strong group and gaining members throughout the country but that is over to each individual organisation.

“We sometimes forget about the people behind the scenes and this is where I really believe Ngaire has shown her strengths and still is. It is not easy for a woman to get an RSA membership.”

It was not all hard work for the women and Ngaire’s bus trips away were the stuff of legend too.

“A busload of ladies, can you imagine the chatter in the bus? Stay in motels and go to different shows, visiting other RSA women.”

Diane said everyone was and still is on the same page and women are still out there doing hospital visits, making sure members are okay, delivering food and organising events such as Poppy Day.