Our Story
Diggers Rest – ‘A Soldiers Retreat’ is set up as an eco-friendly bush lodge based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
PROUDLY SUPPORTING THOSE WHO SERVED OUR NATION
Due to Australia’s involvement in ongoing military conflicts over the last 20 years, our country has witnessed an increase in the number of Veterans who are failing to assimilate effectively back into society on their return from active duty or their resignation from the Defence Force.
Many of our Veterans may be aware that they need help at some level but continue the struggle in private. We are seeing more of these scenarios as time passes as this is taking its toll on our Veterans and their families.
Tragically, statistics show we are losing around one Veteran a week to suicide.
After attending an Army Rugby Old Boys Game vs Navy game in 2014 and listening to a heart wrenching speech given by a young SAPPER who returned from 2 deployments to Afghanistan, we knew something had to be done locally and after a brief discussion with our family we opened our doors and home to reach out and connect with young men and women affected by their experiences overseas and have not looked back since.
Diggers Rest – ‘A Soldiers Retreat’ was thus born out of the desperate need to reconnect with these young men and women who have served our nation as we believe that no soldier needs to struggle alone.
Healing does not mean the damage never existed – it just means it no longer controls our lives.
OUR VISION
CREATE, REDUCE & PROVIDE
- To create: –
- a friendly, relaxed environment on 22 privately owned acres providing self-catering short stay accommodation free of charge, for any active or former member of the ADF and their families who feels the need to reset their minds and reconnect with family and society.
- An environment where they will feel welcomed should they wish return as and when they feel the need.
- Social inclusion
- A bridge to reconnect with family and mates
- To reduce: –
- Social Isolation
- Family stress due to social isolation
- The feeling of worthiness in the community
- To provide: –
- programs in the form of working bees, designed to give the soldier a mission or task to work towards.
- Long and short-term goals
- Connection between those who need and those that can assist. Working and collaborating with other like-minded ESO’s.
Click on the image to view our building project video
Our Mission
To bring any serving member or contemporary Veteran of the ADF along with their families to a friendly environment to help them reconnect with family, society, and themselves where accommodation is offered at no financial outlay to them.
Many of our guests have served in Afghanistan, Iraqi, East Timor and Somalia and may now suffer various levels of PTSD, some with suicide being on their mind.
We opened our doors with one mission and that was to hopefully be instrumental in preventing one of these potential suicides.
We have also assisted with accommodation for five homeless young Veterans for various periods of time –offering them a safe place off the streets.
The construction of our Main Cabin in 2016 – built by Veterans for Veterans
Our Objectives
RELAXATION & CONNECTION
- To bring any serving, or ex member of the ADF to a friendly bush setting environment to recoup and reinvigorate to help them re-establish themselves confidently back into family and society.
- To give these guests some good old fashioned ‘bush time’ around an open fire with their families in an eco-friendly lodge environment.
- To take groups to Fraser Island annually for camping and fishing and bonding with ‘family’
- To Organise 4×4 adventure trips all along the East Coast from Tasmania to the Cape.
- To organise adventure trips into Southern Africa on a yearly basis. These Safaris are designed to push comfort zones and re awaken ones senses and receive the right mentoring to set goals and make life targets on their return to Australia.
- An extract from a letter received from a 27yr old Afghanistan Veteran who accompanied us in 2018 who in his own words says he “has been having a hard time dealing with the reality of being home”
….“Well let me tell you… Africa can bring you out! The safari that I was fortunate enough to experience was absolutely resurrecting. It shocked energy and enthusiasm back into my soul. All the excitement and adrenaline I had been missing was suddenly back in my life. I felt as if my brain had been switched back on. On safari you never know what might be around the next corner, it may be a giraffe, or a zebra, or leopard and buffalo. It could be a water hole full of crocodiles and hippo. And when a full-grown bull elephant is standing less than 5m away from you, with his trunk outstretched smelling your face, you sure do remember what adrenaline feels like! There is an extreme excitement that rushes through your body when you scan the surrounding bushes of your campsite under torchlight and the bright green eyes of a Hyena pierce the darkness. Or when you are lying in your tent and hear the distant ethereal roar of one of the most devastating predators on the planet, the Lion. Everywhere you go there is wildlife and beauty to be seen. The sunsets are magnificent and inspiring, and relaxation flows through your entire body and mind. There is no place on earth like Africa and the feeling you get when you are there. Africa is Alive! And so am I!
Our Founders
Nick & Karen Forster-Jones
About Nick & Karen Forster-Jones
Nick Forster-Jones, a fervent family man and a fourth-generation soldier, came to Australia as a young man from Rhodesia in the early 80’s. His family settled in Perth where he played rugby (union) for Nedlands and represented WA from junior levels through to senior levels. (Captaining the WA u21).
He served 7 years in the ADF mainly with the 3rd battalion Royal Australian Regiment. He played rugby for the Australian Army as well as ASRU.
On his discharge he returned to Southern Africa where he was involved in anti-poaching and club rugby. He and his wife, Karen, ran a successful chain of franchise restaurants whilst serving 2 years in the South African police based in Johannesburg.
He returned to Australia again with his wife Karen and their 4 children again in 2008 settling in Queensland, where they run a very successful business that takes Nick around Australia on a regular basis.
Nick brings to the table not only his great sense of humour of his experiences as a former soldier but many great stories about his travels and life experiences in Africa and further afield and he is looked up to as a business mentor by many.
Karen works alongside Nick in his business, co-ordinating sales despatch from a warehouse in Brisbane and runs the day to day operations for Diggers Rest. Karen oversees catering, cleaning and preparation of the cabins for our guests and although has no military background is considered to be the heart and soul of Diggers Rest in her ability to ‘adopt’ each guest as her own family. She unjudgementally offers unconditional love, a shoulder to cry on and emotional support to Veterans, their partners, wives and families and especially to the mothers of our fallen.
The execution and streamlining and of the annual Safari can only be contributed to the great teamwork shown between Karen and Nick – and their hard work and dedication to ensure that everyone has only great memories of their African experience.