ONE look at Carapook’s volunteer fire brigade, which has marked its 80th year on the front lines against fires near and far, says it all – a long and proud history, centuries of combined experience and the several families with whom volunteer firefighting is a heritable trait in the genes, continued through the generations.
They regularly put their lives on the line to protect communities, whether it’s from a fire springing up two kilometres down the road at the neighbour’s place, or a major bushfire crisis calls for their help in the Gippsland region or beyond state borders.
All were recognised for their contributions at the brigade’s awards presentation in August – an event which for many local brigades like it, from Dergholm to Digby and Strathdownie to Konongwootong, is the greatest show of respect for the longstanding work of our neighbours.
Awards were given out to 24 individuals for their milestones – equivalent to around 35 per cent of the whole of Carapook’s population – acknowledging a combined 540 years of service and experience between them.
John Tindall was recognised for the longest service of them, with 55 years of experience.
Mr Tindall was not alone in marking 50-plus years of firefighting, with Graeme Jenkins recognised for 50 years as he finished up his tenure as captain at the brigade.
Mr Jenkins spoke highly of his time with the CFA and said it was his “calling”.
“It meant a great lot, right from when we left school,” he said.
Before Carapook, he started with the fire brigade at Telopea Downs, in the West Wimmera region north of Edenhope.
He has since been involved in various roles – not only as a captain, but also as an air observer for five years as well as a mentor for young captains in the region.
Not only has the local area been helped out by his part in fighting fires, but also Gippsland, the New South Wales Blue Mountains and South Australia too.
He said one of the major changes within the CFA over the years was the level of training, which has since become more significant.
“We learned on the job from the old-timers,” he said.
He also expressed concern about the numbers making up the brigade, now at just 15 part-active members, compared to the days when every dairy farmer in the district had a truck for going out to a fire.
Graeme was one of six members of the Jenkins family to be recognised for a combined 180 years of service to the brigade.
The Edges were another family full of experienced CFA members, with 105 years between them.
Marking history
THE presentations also welcomed much-loved retired faces, including Brian Day and Stan Rooke.
Mr Rooke penned the history of the Carapook brigade in 1992, for its 50th anniversary, which goes into great detail on the way rural firefighting has evolved.
According to his book, the formation of the brigade was most likely influenced by two events.
The first was the Black Friday bushfires of 1939, which ravaged much of Victoria including the south-west, destroying hundreds of buildings and claiming dozens of lives.
The second was the Second World War, which sent many capable of firefighting, off to defend land elsewhere.
“The remaining men would have to be better organised in firefighting, rather than depend on just sheer weight of numbers, as had previously applied,” wrote Mr Rooke.
A public meeting was held in January of 1942 in Carapook Hall, forming the Carapook Bush Fire Brigade as the newest member of the Victorian Bush Fire Brigades Association (which would become the Country Fire Authority just two years later).
To add to the 28 fire beaters already on hand in the area, the membership fees from the inaugural 42 members went to purchasing six knapsack pumps, an ajax low down pump, an 80-gallon tank and around nine metres of hose.
Of course, over the many years it would be able to equip itself with the best available firefighting technology.
There was also a welcome shot in the arm for Carapook with the return of more young men at the end of the war, ensuring membership remained high through the remainder of the 1940s.
Among the technological advancements through the years were the establishment of a wireless network across the Casterton group of brigades in the 1960s, the regular updating of the trucks used by the brigade and the more recent introduction of mapping systems to ensure accurate reporting of fires.
The storage of the brigade’s trucks was also helped by the construction of a dedicated shed in the early 1980s.
This year’s presentations were also an opportunity to dust off some of the relics of firefighting days gone past.
One such piece of history was an old leather flapper which, in its time, was a technological advancement from the previously used hessian sacks for being able to hold water longer and not burn so readily.
