Greg Carter transforms Macarthur Hotel to house Cockatoo Rise War Veterans Retreat

Greg Carter purchased the Macarthur Hotel in early December.

No longer a pub, he's transformed the 163-year-old blue stone site to offer respite for veterans.

It's not a first for Mr Carter, who established the Cockatoo Rise War Veterans Retreat in 2006 at his former Bairnsdale property, where he welcomed hundreds of returned service personnel.

Now he's moved himself and that retreat to Macarthur after deciding a small-town atmosphere would suit those in need, some simply seeking a roof over their head.

"Everything was right here," Mr Carter said.

"It's more isolated, it's quieter, the people I've met so far have been very supportive. A lot of vets really struggle with socialising, going to a supermarket, a small-town environment suits them well."

A block at the property's rear accommodates veterans visiting with caravans, while two bedrooms inside are available for homeless veterans. An outdoor area at the southern boundary will become a memorial.

But the site's former restaurant also now welcomes tourists and school groups after Mr Carter installed a museum with hundreds of uniforms and pieces of equipment from a range of countries dating to World War I.

"That will mean people can come out to Macarthur not to just look at the wonderful old buildings but there will be a tourist attraction," he said.

Mr Carter said he wouldn't earn a salary off the retreat, had dug into his own pocket to establish it, received private donations, and sought no funding from formal veterans groups.

"There is no funding from Veterans' Affairs and none from Melbourne's Anzac House," he said.

A former Australian Vietnam War veteran, Mr Carter has experienced post traumatic stress disorder and set up the initiative to help people also recovering from the condition.

"Being in a war zone at 9am one morning and then being back in normal day-to-day life at 6pm that night, no counselling, no talking about it," Mr Carter recalled of his own service in 1969.

Half a century later symptoms of PTSD still interrupt his everyday life.

"It puts thoughts in your mind about something that might happen that most likely in 2019 won't," Mr Carter explained.

"My first thought is securing where I am, I know it's 2019 and nothing will happen, but the training has put me in a position to assume there may be a threat."

He said for some veterans socialising with others without shared experiences of service was challenging.

"The question for Vietnam vets and those who have served always seems to be 'did you shoot anybody?' Nobody asks what the food was like, or what was it like sleeping in the jungle for a month in the same clothing?" Mr Carter said.

"The issue these days with long-term service people is they are being told what to do 24-seven and they leave the service and they're on their own.

"They have to make a decision what to do when they get up in the morning and they've been told what to do for possibly the past 20 years."

Australia has about 20 veteran retreats, Mr Carter said, but his was on the only that housed homeless veterans. He said he was networking with the region's support workers to dovetail with their services.

"I'll physically go around and have an appointment with those people and ask them if they're willing to help," he said.

Mr Carter said one reason he helped veterans was that he doubted they were receiving appropriate support nationwide.

"The process of getting support is extremely protracted. Sometimes by the time the vet does the paperwork and goes through the system that can be enough to tip them over the edge, to the point they consider doing something to themselves physically, or to the point they say they can't be bothered," he said.

"When you're through the system and you're qualified the support is very good, but it's getting that support to start with."

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