Rhodesian Services Association (Incorporated)

Our aim is to preserve the history of Rhodesia covering from when the country was established in 1890, to the end of 1980 by which time it had become Zimbabwe. The public can visit The Lion and Tusk Museum located at Unit 10, 14 Portside Drive, Mount Maunganui.

Internet access to our digital records, called the Rhodesian Forces Archives Project, which is a searchable on-line database of Nominal and Roll of Honour records as well as images and details of all the artefacts in the Museum Collection is accessible through our website.

The Rhodesian Services Association was formed in New Zealand in 2002. We now have membership throughout the world. Membership is not restricted to ex services personnel. We welcome anyone who has a Rhodesian connection or interest. Financial Members receive our monthly publication 'Rhodesian Dispatches', by email.

It all began for us in 2002 when the Commanding Officer of the 6th Battalion (Hauraki) Regiment, Lt Col John Dick ED, was most complimentary of the kind of spirit that Rhodesians represented and insisted that we should have the opportunity to be able to preserve the record of our country and invited us to form a museum display as part of his unit’s history room. This was done with funding and contribution from all over the world. The display was officially opened in April 2003 during a visit to New Zealand by Lt. Gen. Peter Walls.

In 2006 the Classic Flyers Museum invited us to form a display in their museum on Jean Batten Drive, Mount Maunganui. We went on to build a number of displays and installed a storage container.

We expanded to the point where on the 1st May 2018, we leased the unit in which we set up The Lion and Tusk Museum. This is the largest Rhodesian museum outside Africa.

Our goal is to ensure that we are able to continue to maintain and expand on the displays and establish a secure future for The Lion and Tusk Museum in order to preserve Rhodesian history in a publicly accessible location.

Please help us to reach our goal and preserve Rhodesian history for the benefit of future generations.