Vietnam veterans end Save the Repat protest on steps of South Australian Parliament

Updated

Vietnam veteran Augustinus Krikke, 64, has camped on the steps of South Australia's Parliament House for 161 days, fighting to save the Daw Park Repatriation Hospital.

But today, he gave up his post.

"We're not going to achieve any more than what we have done here on the steps, so it's time to leave," he said.

Mr Krikke is one of several veterans who slept outside Parliament since the State Government announced it would close the hospital, which has served the veteran community for decades.

Its services will be moved elsewhere under the Government's Transforming Health Plan, when the hospital closes in 2017.

A petition has been tabled in Parliament with 85,000 signatures against the closure, most of which were collected by the veterans.

It has now been signed by about 120,000 people.

It's been torrid at some stages of the game, very cold, a bit wet but it wasn't insurmountable but the job had to be done and we did it. Gary Owens

Mr Krikke said the group had set a huge precedent by camping on the steps for such a long period.

"It needed to be done. We needed to raise public awareness.

"We needed to raise the petition to let the Government know how strongly the general public felt about the repatriation hospital.

"Not only as a hospital but as an icon in this state and we achieved that.

"I'm very proud of the guys who have been involved in this, they have stood up to absolutely beyond any sorts of expectations that I had."

The steps have been painted with Save the Repat signs and filled with food and sleeping bags since their fight began.

Mr Krikke said it had turned into their home.

"It has been, we've been living here and we've been getting food donations from the general public ... we've had eskies here to keep the food preserved and cool," he said.

Another veteran, 70-year-old Gary Owens said conditions through winter had been hard at times.

"It's been torrid at some stages of the game, very cold, a bit wet but it wasn't insurmountable but the job had to be done and we did it," Mr Owens said.

He said great friendships and bonds had been made over the months.

"It has been nothing short of amazing how we've all sort of come together with a minimal amount of fun and minimal amount of fuss."

The group has vowed to continue their fight to save the hospital, but from the sidelines.

Opposition vows to fight Repat closure

Meanwhile, the Opposition today continued its campaign against the closure by unveiling a poster near the Lower Light statues on Port Wakefield Road near Dublin about the hospital's closure.

A poster stating "Snelling have a heart" was erected next to the tin man monument, which sits alongside rat, cockroach and space ship sculptures.

The monuments were built by residents in the late 1990s as a protest against the then-state Liberal government's plans to build a waste dump in the area.

Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said the Save the Repat protests would continue until the Government overturned its decision.

"I think we are now heading towards 120,000 people who have signed the petition either online or delivered to the Parliament or on the steps of Parliament," Mr Marshall said.

"It doesn't matter where you go, people are saying the Government has got it wrong."

Topics: health, healthcare-facilities, government-and-politics, daw-park-5041, adelaide-5000, sa

First posted