Chapter 8

The Basin Fire Brigade

Last Revised 06/04/2017

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Summary..............................................................2Before Organised Fire Brigades...........................3The Basin Bush Fire Brigade...............................5

Early Days......................................................5Doongalla Bushfire 1932................................5Black Friday (13 th January, 1939) ...................61939 – 1949....................................................7

The Basin Rural Fire Brigade...............................81949 – 1962....................................................81962 Bushfires..............................................10

Sunday.....................................................10Monday...................................................11Tuesday...................................................11Aftermath................................................12

1968 Bushfires..............................................141968 – 1983..................................................14

The Basin Urban Fire Brigade............................151984 – 1996..................................................151997 Bushfires..............................................151998 – 2007..................................................162008 – 2013..................................................16

Fire Brigade Groups...........................................17Ladies Auxiliary.................................................17Christmas Eve Santa Trips.................................17Santa’s Letter Box..............................................18Fire Alert Systems..............................................18Carols by Candlelight.........................................19Good Friday Appeal...........................................19Fire Equipment Maintenance.............................19Junior Fire Brigade.............................................19Community Involvement....................................20Sources of Information.......................................20More Information Required................................21Media Clippings.................................................22Appendix I Honour Rolls...................................23Appendix II Vehicles..........................................25Alphabetical Index.............................................26

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Summary

Summary

The Basin Bush Fire Brigade was formed in 1927with Jack Hern Clarke as Captain. The BasinRural Fire Brigade was constituted in 1949 withJohn Chandler as Captain. The Basin Urban FireBrigade was formed in 1984 with Alan Small ascaptain and is known as The Basin Fire Brigade.

The most serious bushfires in The Basin areaoccurred in 1939, 1962, 1968, 1980 and 1997.

The 1962 bushfires had the most serious ef-fects in The Basin area. If not for the efforts ofCaptain Don Maguire, The Basin could have beenwiped out. Don Maguire was the most wellknown Captain of The Basin Fire Brigade,serving for 25 years. He also served on variousother related bodies.

The Basin has been the source of many bush-fires that have ravaged the Dandenongs. In partic-ular, the 1962, 1968 and 1997 fires all started inThe Basin on days of high temperature and strongNortherly winds.

The Brigade has had five “fire stations” dur-ing its existence. The first was a small shed be-hind The Basin Progress Hall used to store equip-ment and used for over 30 years. The second wasthe first “real” station built by voluntary labourcompleted in 1953. The third replaced the previ-ous one and was completed in 1967 to coincidewith The Basin centenary. The fourth was a tem-porary one used for about a year whilst the fifthone was being built which was completed in

1976.Over the years, there has been a variety of

warning devices used. The first was a bell,donated by T. M. Burke, that hung near the shedbehind The Basin Progress Hall. The first sirenwas installed on a tower beside the station com-pleted in 1953. A siren is still used on occasionsin conjunction with silent personal devices.

The Brigade has an active Ladies Auxiliary,Junior Fire Brigade and is a member of the KnoxBrigades Group.

Regular events are the annual Carols byCandlelight and Christmas eve Santa trips.

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Distinguished Resident

Don MaguireIn January 1962 The Basin, and indeed the whole Dandenongs area was threatened by bush fires. During four memorable days,the safety of The Basin was in the hands of The Basin Fire Brigade Captain Don Maguire. To Don’s credit The Basin camethrough relatively unscathed. But it did not happen by good luck as Don had fire fighting experience dating back to 1935.

In those days he learnt a great deal from the then captain, his uncle Bert Chandler, especially in the practice of “back burn-ing”. Don was captain of The Basin Fire Brigade from 1955 to 1977 and later became President. He was Chairman of theFerntree Gully National Park Committee from 1965 to 1977 which were torrid times for Don. He acted as Group Officer of theKnox Fire Brigades Group from 1975 to 1987. He is a life member of the CFA His involvement with the CFA spanned a total of57 years and he experienced the big Dandenongs fires of 1939, 1962, 1968 and 1983.

Even with his involvement in the CFA, Don found time to excel in other fields. He scored 229, a club and district record,while batting for Church of Christ, and won the district batting averages twice. At football he has represented Boronia and attennis played country week for AMT. His work at Batterham Reserve is known to most and together with all this he ran a suc -cessful nursery, specialising in Boronia and daffodils. He was an active member of Legacy and was on the Board of GlengollanRetirement Village.

Don’s services to the community were recognised in 1974 when he was awarded The Queens Long Service & Good Con-duct Medal and in 1977 when he was awarded a B.E.M. for services to the Victorian Fire Services.

Don Percival Maguire passed away on 25th August, 1994 at the age of 73.

Before Organised Fire Brigades

Before Organised Fire Brigades

Forest, bush and grass fires have been a part ofthe Australian scene from the beginning of time.Our flora have developed as part of the overallenvironmental story where indigenous trees andshrubs adapted to regular and irregular burning byboth cool and hot fires, and indeed without theheat so created, the seed would not have gainedaccess to the soil to re-establish the forest bal-ance.

It is not necessary to go far to find confirma-tion of these facts. Sherbrooke Forest, that magni-ficent area so close to Melbourne is not theSherbrooke that early settlers first sighted. Theoriginal forest was cut down entirely for use astimber for the growing Melbourne and by the late1890’s the area was almost completely cut out. Asimilar thing happened on the foothills of TheDandenongs on the western slopes, where the Eu-calypts, although not so useful for building tim-ber, were used extensively for firewood, fencing,shedding etc.

Fires which occurred in 1891, 1908, 1914,1919 and 1926, re-established Sherbrooke to themarvellous forest that we now see and these firesand others, re-established the foothill slopes aswell.

Aborigines used fire in all parts of Australiaand still use controlled burns to clear areas andreplenish new growth so that kangaroos, walla-bies and other animals which make up their staplediet, would have food and therefore be more ac-cessible.

A priceless piece of early bushfire fire experi-ence in The Basin comes from the pages of MrsJanet Dobson’s diary (summer 1904-05 and also15 years later, in 1920) It also highlights the con-cern and brave resolution with which our pioneersettlers wives faced this ever present threat.

“Very bad bushfire all over One Tree Hill,another up side of the Observatory [Burke’sLook-out], all around Kerrs’, Barnes and MrsDavis nearly burnt out. Joe went over to help,they are burning a break between Baldwin’s andKerrs. Weather fearfully hot.”

31st December, 1904

“Fires still racing.”1st January, 1905

“It rained some nice showers today.”2nd January, 1905

“Weather very hot. There is a big fire allaround J. Maguire’s, A. E. Chandlers and E.Hansen’s and another up near Mr Farlands.”

10th January, 1905

“The heat almost unbearable. The fires areraging all day. The wind is blowing quite a gale.There is a big fire all around Hazel Dell and rightto the top of the mount.”

11th January, 1905

“Joe went up to Dodds after dinner. Thebushfire was all around the house. All their haygot burnt. Joe stopped to help them. It was nearlyfive when he got home. The fire travelled down toS. R. Matthews in the evening. There were about20 men up there keeping the fire from the house.Some stayed all night, some of the sheds wereburnt down. It is a dreadful fire, it is comingdown toward Mr Jacksons now. Weather is veryhot.”

13th January, 1905

“The bushfire was all around Mr Jacksonstoday. The Army boys were over helping him keepit back from the house and the barn. The fire wasall around the house at Hazel Dell. They werenearly burnt out. All the Chandlers were uphelping them. They had two of their bridges burntand their fern gully was all burnt out. The firewent from there up to Dickensons. The same wentover the mountains and burnt down Mrs Leak’sand a Mr Fitzgeralds’ house. It is still very hot.”

14th January, 1905

“There was a cool change Saturday night(14th January) and on Sunday morning we hadsome welcome rain. It rained for two or threehours.”

16th January, 1905

It has been dreadfully hot all day with a hotnorth wind blowing very hard and there are somedreadful bushfires about. There was a very big

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Before Organised Fire Brigades

one at Mitcham this afternoon. It burnt downseven houses.

11th February, 1905

“There is a large bushfire over near Dickson’sand right up around “Switzerland” [This was oldname for the area of Government Road hill &Toorak Avenue] Some of the houses have been indanger and the neighbours beat it back. My twoboys went over, so did Harry Chandler, JackWicks, and Mr Agar, Staff Captain Stevens(Salvation Army), and several others. If it is hottomorrow it will spread up round the Mill. Itlooks very red tonight.”

19th February, 1920

“The fire is still spreading up in MrMcKenzie’s property. It looks very beautiful thisevening, up the side of the mountain.”

20th February, 1920

“Today has been dreadfully hot. At dinner

time, a big bushfire started up in Ferndale andcame down toward Uncles’ (Jack Wicks orchard).They went over and all Mr Griffiths men andUncle Arthur (Harris) and Mr Agar and severalothers burnt a break along the Mill track. Theycarted all the mill wood out through Jack Wicks’paddock. They had to work very hard to keep itfrom Mr Grumonts house. The boys did not gethome until 10.30 pm. There was another big fireover in Goodwins paddock. It started from aburning stump left from last week’s fire. It gotvery close to Mr Medways house. There weremore than a dozen men keeping it back. It gotinto Maguire’s cut scrub and it looked somethinggrand at night. We could see our shadows, it wasso light.”

23rd February, 1920

With the coming of European settlement, theface of many parts of Australia changed forever.The early settlers, with no knowledge of thevolatile nature of our indigenous flora, must have

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Members of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade in 1936 with Como Gardens’ Morris Truck.Standing on Truck: Bert Clarke, J. Williams, W. Williams.

Standing: A. Jennings, Jack. Manders, Joe Jackson, Unknown, Gretton, D. Smith, Unknown, George Bravery.Squatting: Jack Linton, George Langdon, Lloyd Caughey.

Photo courtesy Knox Historical Society

Before Organised Fire Brigades

faced terrifying conditions, when armed only withthe experience of the northern hemisphere. Theytried their first burn-offs in order to make roomfor agriculture.

In January 1851 one of the most widespreadand devastating fires hit Victoria and was knownas “Black Thursday”. One can only imagine howmuch this fire set back the state, just seventeenyears old. Records of this catastrophe are sketchy,but it is known that loss of stock and property inisolated areas must have been high and loss of hu-man life a certainty.

It is roughly around this time that the discov-ery of gold brought great changes, particularly tocentral Victoria, and not many years later, volun-teer fire brigades being formed in many of the de-veloping country towns. Ballarat Brigade held itscentenary in 1983 and Bendigo, Eaglehawk, Cas-tlemaine and Geelong City all had their beginningabout the same time. Closer to home, Lilydalehad a Fire Brigade about 1890, but it has been dif-ficult to re-establish an actual starting point.

The Basin was a farming community withseveral large family groups, going back as far asthe 1870’s The Dobsons, Colliers, Chandlers,Kerrs, Popes no doubt banded together to supporteach other in times of crisis, be it flood, fire or ac-cident. The loss of produce due to fire was veryreal and could have a bad effect on the wholecommunity, who took most of their agriculturalproduce direct to the Victoria Market.

Bad fires in The Basin area around the turn ofthe century may well have prompted the locals toorganise themselves into some sort of organisedFire Brigade, but facts are sketchy about the1910’s and 1920’s. The Great War of 1914-1918had a devastating effect on every small com-munity in the land, depleting the areas of the fityoung men who would normally have been avail-able to volunteer for fire fighting activities.

In early part of the 20th century the onlytransport available was horse-drawn vehicles andthe odd bicycle, together with volunteers onhorseback. Communication was practically nil,with the “cooee” being used effectively over shortdistances and a man on horseback where greaterdistances were involved. The only fire fightingtools available were rakes and hoes, heavy metalbuckets, hemp in bags and branches broken offsuitable gum trees to act as beaters. However, it is

incredible how quickly the early pioneers learnedto use back burning and other passive methods toachieve their objectives and their knowledge offire behaviour in a variety of weather situationswas remarkable.

The Basin Bush Fire Brigade

Early Days

During the first few weeks of 1926, a series ofdisastrous bushfires claimed more than fifty livesin Victoria and laid waste to more than 900,000acres of prime forest in Gippsland.

No loss of life was recorded in the Danden-ong Ranges, but a fire raging from Monbulk toSouth Belgrave exacted a heavy toll in livestock,property and bush land. This event, and the moveto form Fire Brigades in surrounding areas of TheDandenongs, pushed the move toward an organ-ised brigade in The Basin. This was formalised bya The Basin Bush Fire Brigade being formed in1927 as a member of The Bush Fire Brigades As-sociation of Victoria. The Captain was HerbClark. His two sons, Graham and Wayne, servedwith the Brigade in the 1950’s and 1960’s. JackManders later became Captain.

The equipment available to the Brigade wasbasic, but included buckets, knapsacks and beat-ers. When The Basin Progress Hall was com-pleted in 1931, the equipment was stored in asmall shed beside the hall.

With the lack of equipment, fire fighting wasa hit and miss affair. Two trucks eventually be-come available, an old International truck belong-ing to Ferndale and Bert Chandler’s Morris Com-mercial truck. The latter served as a Brigadevehicle from 1928 until 1945. Harry Chandler’sMorris Commercial truck also gave support overthese years.

Doongalla Bushfire 1932

In 1932, the Brigade was involved with a fire thatlasted several days on its eastern boundary. Theclassic stately home of Doongalla was burnt tothe ground on January l9th 1932 and the grand-children of the owner of that time, T. M. Burkeand others, were led to shelter under the bridge onthe creek until the fire danger had passed.

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Doongalla Bushfire 1932

1935-36 was quite a change in leadershipwith Bert Chandler as Captain, George Langdonas his Lieutenant and George also took on Secret-ary and Treasurer positions and retained theseposts until 1945. The 1930’s were bad years forfires, mainly because an arsonist was very activein the area and this continued until an arrest wasmade in 1938.

Black Friday (13th January, 1939)

Summer of 1938-39 saw much of Victoriadrought stricken, particularly the eastern, heavilytimbered parts. Uncontrolled fires were burningall through the state and during the week prior toBlack Friday, The Basin Fire Brigade was keptbusy fighting fires along its eastern boundarieswhere many houses were saved. Unfortunatelymany homes were lost, but there was no loss oflife.

Much of the subdivided land around TheBasin had small sub-standard timber homes on

them. These were known as “Week-enders”,where inner suburban people spent the weekends“getting away from it all”. These were of course acomplete embarrassment to the Brigade in anymajor fire, with no water reticulation and possiblyonly a half empty 500 gallon tank to call on foremergency use.

On Black Friday a hot north wind blew at asteady 60 kph with a temperature of over 40 Degand very low humidity. Fires erupted all over Vic-toria. These weather conditions continued for 3days and the smoke over much of eastern Vic-torian reduced visibility to a few hundred yards.Some of the younger The Basin Brigade memberswent to Warrandyte to assist fighting the BlackFriday fires.

Judge Stretton’s Black Friday report to theVictorian Government still makes fascinatingreading. Black Friday must go down in history asVictoria’s worst fire day of the 20th century. Notonly from loss of life (71 persons) and buildings,but complete devastation and destruction of the

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The Basin Rural Fire Brigade first building built in 1953 by voluntary labour on Forest Road opposite the Triangle.Doug Greenwell fixing flagpole on top of building.

Photo courtesy Elsie Greenwell.

Black Friday (13th January, 1939)

magnificent Mountain Ash, Messmate forests andthe loss to the milling industry.

Only 9 months after Black Friday, World WarII erupted and many of the young men volun-teered in another way, to join one of the three ser-vices. The Basin area faired badly with some fif-teen to twenty regular Fire Brigade membersleaving the district in the next 18 months. Someof these did not return.

1939 – 1949

1939 to 1945 saw Captain Bert Chandler with agallant bunch of oldies taking over a very heavyresponsibility. In July 1942, Boronia formed a vo-lunteer Brigade and The Basin had to call onBoronia and Ferntree Gully during those criticaltimes. The Brigade personnel were expected tooversee security and act as air raid wardensshould the need arise, as many felt a Japanese in-

vasion of Australia was certain. 1944 was again adrought year, with devastating grass and bushfiresover the State, particularly the western district.The Basin had its share of the action, togetherwith its sister Brigades.

Because of the magnitude and loss caused bythe 1944 fires, the Victorian Government decidedto make widespread changes and The CountryFire Authority came into existence, encompassingboth Urban and Bush Fire Brigades and dividingthe country area of Victoria into zones and re-gions.

The end of World War II saw a lot of TheBasin fire fighting men returning to the district,but many had made the “supreme sacrifice”. Ofthose who did return, there seemed to be a reluct-ance to become involved in organised Brigadeactivity as many were busy re-shaping their livesto civilian ways. When fires did occur, the re-sponse was always very good. However, a full

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The first official The Basin Rural Fire Brigade vehicle, an Austin 400 gallon small town unit c1954. The fire truck ison Forest Road looking South from near Conyers Street just in front of the first Fire Station. Howe’s Greengrocer

(later Forest Lodge Restaurant) behind fire truck on right. Presbyterian Church, later Scout Hall (in 2017 house onsite) in background on left.

On fire truck Laurie Turner, Victor Battersby. Left Harold Hardinge. Right Brian Petrie, John Gribble.Photo courtesy Elsie Greenwell

1939 – 1949

leadership hierarchy could not be maintained andThe Basin Bush Fire Brigade was disbanded.

With some urging from Regional Officer‘Mac’ McLaren, a public meeting in The BasinProgress Hall saw the Brigade formally reconstit-uted. Mac McLaren served Australia in a specialway during the War. Working in Rabaul when theJapanese invasion took place, he joined that gal-lant body of Coast Watchers whose efforts willnever by fully appreciated and their valiant effortssaved thousands of allied lives.

The Basin Rural Fire Brigade

1949 – 1962

The Basin remained a member of the Bush FireBrigades of Victoria until 1949 when due to ap-proaches made by Regional Officer H. McLaren,of the newly formed Country Fire Authority, apublic meeting was called at The Basin ProgressHall and The Basin Rural Fire Brigade was con-stituted with John Chandler Captain, DonMaguire 1st Lieut., J. Ashbury Secretary, and F.Eaves Treasurer. Bert Chandler donated a blockof land, opposite the present fire station that waslater used as the site for the first fire station.. TheCFA provided the Brigade with a trailer mountedFurphy tank with a low down pump and a shortlength of hose.

In March 1953, the first The Basin Fire Sta-tion building was completed on the plot of landdonated by Bert Chandler in 1949. This was thefirst official “fire station” building. Before this,equipment was stored in a small shed behind TheBasin Progress Hall. Voluntary labour built theStation using funds raised by Brigade members.The Regional spare Austin 400 gallon tanker washoused there and the Brigades first electric sirensinstalled on a windmill adjacent the Station.

In 1953, Arthur Cooper became President,Charlie Ashby Secretary and V. Poole Treasurer.

In June 1954, Chairman Mr. Seaton presentedan Austin 400 gallon tanker to the Brigade whichwas the first official Brigade vehicle. DonMaguire became Captain and Bill Wright 1stLieut.

The Basin was reticulated in 1959 and withthe spread of housing, additional equipment wasneeded. After much letter writing a new Austin

Small Town Unit was acquired which proved veryuseful.

In 1960, a serious fire prompted the Brigadeto raise funds to enable the purchase an ex-Forestry short wheel base Land Rover and equipit with a radio. This vehicle served the Brigadewell for many years and acted as a forward con-trol and scout unit, not only for the Brigade, butquite often in Group fires. It was left to the Bri-gade to outfit the unit and to maintain it entirelyas no CFA support was forthcoming due to theirpolicy on second hand vehicles.

The extension of the high level water supplyby The Melbourne and Metropolitan Board ofWorks saw a whole new deal in fire-fighting tech-niques throughout much of The Basin. Wherepreviously water had to be laboriously carted bytankers to the higher areas, The Brigade couldnow plug directly into mains with a huge savingin time and efficiency. Another first in techniqueswas introduced about this time. Blacking out theedges of a large fire in steep and difficult terrain(Ferntree Gully National Park), had always beenextremely hazardous and inefficient. Many firesthought to be completely extinguished wouldbreak out into unburnt areas and the danger wouldbe on again.

With the increase of available and diverseequipment it was possible to clear a bulldozedbreak down the fire flanks and run small volumehoses down from the top of the fire, fed bytankers. In this way it was possible to completelyblackout the fire edges, remove burning stumpsand trees thus making a complete job of securityin one effort. The hoses were always taken downand out of the area to a point where they could bereadily collected. This method of fighting largefires was an adoption of a successful techniquedeveloped by the Dandenong Ranges Group todeal with large static fires with no readily avail-able water supply and was called a “GungaDhin”. A large tanker was set up adjacent to thefire and a pumper at the nearest water supply.Smaller tankers were filled by the pumper and rana water shuttle service until the blaze was extin-guished. This also proved a very worthwhilemethod of dealing with fires under difficult condi-tions.

The years 1960-1962 saw the Brigade in-crease in efficiency, although still hampered with

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1949 – 1962

equipment of poor standard and simply not up tothe job. The H.F. radios were valve types, largeand unreliable and in many cases left overs fromWartime disposals. Quite often a caller could be

picked up in Fiji, but it was impossible to call an-other fire vehicle on the far side of a small hill.

The small town Austin Tanker, although anhonest workhorse, with its 400 gallons of water,

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The 1968 fires in The Dandenongs prompted considerable discussion in local papers about The Basin being thesource of the fires.

Article courtesy Knox News

1949 – 1962

was too slow in hilly areas and was limited withits two wheel drive configuration. It was foundwanting starting cold on the hill up from the FireStation, particularly as Forest Road was startingto become very busy.

The thought of relocating the Fire Station bypurchasing a block was being discussed at thisstage, but no positive moves were made until1965.

1962 Bushfires

The 1961-62 fire season shaped up early as a seri-ous one both locally and Victoria wide. A verywet winter, spring was quite warm and thingsgrew well, and by December the area was quitedangerous. To add to the Brigade’s worries therewas a fire-bug active in the area and the policewere alerted. Unless the offender was caught inthe act, nothing much could be done.

Sunday 14th January, 1962 dawned as a typ-ical blow-up day with northerlies already gustingstrongly and temperatures heading toward the 100degree F. mark (38 degrees C), with low humid-ity. The scrub and forest had dried out early underthe effect of a hot dry summer.

Sunday

At approximately 10.40 am a fire was deliberatelylit about 150 yards up Wicks Road on the easternside. The Basin Brigade members, already onalert at the Fire Station, were on the road immedi-ately and Captain Don Maguire in his ownvehicle radioed a message to Group Headquartersto send all the support possible to the area aroundClevedon. Boronia and Ferntree Gully respondedas did Sassafras-Ferny Creek and Olinda. The tac-tics were to try and stop the head of the fire andprevent it taking hold in The Ravine area, whereit would by nature of the terrain and the fuel, belost. The heat of the fire and the speed with whichit advanced, led the attack to fail and the unitswere forced to fall back to The Ravine to againtry to contain the head of the blaze. Due to lack ofwater and some serious incidents where vehiclesbroke down with vapour locks and other mechan-ical problems, units were again forced back, andthe fire raced on toward Ferny Creek along thenorthern slopes of the Ferntree Gully NationalPark.

All the available local Brigades together withmany from far and wide were directed to OneTree Hill Road and the Mount Dandenong TouristRoad to try and save some of the homes that weredotted around that area, while brigades initiallyinvolved at The Basin found themselves doing asimilar job on the eastern flank of The Ravine. Achange of wind direction during the afternoonsaw the fire take off to the North-East towardOlinda and the Mt. Dandenong Ridge Road. Itwas during the next hour that the second of thestately homes in The Basin, Ferndale, burnt to theground, along with a number of other homes. Thestory of Ferndale and Doongalla are told in an-other part of this history, but it is interesting tonote that both these beautiful homes were des-troyed by fire, almost 30 years to the day, apart.Doongalla, 19th January, 1932 and Ferndale, 14th

January, 1962.By Sunday evening the first day of the 1962

bushfire, the area burnt was very substantial.Apart from most of the eastern and north easternareas of The Basin being virtually burnt out, thefire was lapping Olinda and was now runningnorth through Doongalla Forest. In an attempt tosecure the area above Montrose, a back-burn wasinitiated on Glasgow Road extension using volun-teers from below and above. Due to the steepnessand rough nature of the area and quirks of windpatterns, this proved a costly error, with the firejumping the track in a number of places. CaptainDon Maguire recalls that apart from all the nor-mal problems such as terrain and a number of illequipped helpers, he was faced with a number of

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Lady KnoxLady Knox was well known for her community work andin particular, her support for the Fire Brigade.

Her son, John Knox, relates an interesting story abouthis mother in a letter to the Fire Brigade in 1988. Hewrites ...

“…. I go back to about 1926 to a terrible fire whichstarted in The Basin and came up the side of Mt. Danden-ong along the 1 in 20. My mother and I in her Austin 7 –the first in Victoria – had driven down from the top withtea, drinks etc. to be confronted by the fire with no space toturn the vehicle around. Six very large men picked me, mymother and the red car up and turned it round! My motherwore a red hat and I can still see it. I was four years old atthe time. This is my first memory of my mother”. “….There was, I believe, Chandler, among those six men, aGilbert, all names of families who have made a contribu-tion to the Basin district”

1962 Bushfires

serious heat exhaustion cases and three suspectedsnake bite cases in an area where the only evacu-ation was on foot to the Glasgow Road, SheffieldRoad intersection. It was now well after midnightso the plan had to be disbanded as most volun-teers had been engaged for over 12 hours andwere completely spent. Another physical problemwas quenching their thirst from privately ownedknapsacks used for spraying agricultural poisons.

Monday

Monday morning, 15th January saw still wearycrews and ill equipped volunteers trying desper-ately to secure unburnt inaccessible areas beforethe predicted high temperatures, brought on a fur-ther crisis. The main area of concern was thetownship of Olinda, where a mass of fire vehiclesand private pumpers, concrete mixers etc. hadbeen assembled. The first strategy was to deployvolunteers and equipment to hold the fire on thelow side of The Basin-Olinda Road and save asmany homes as possible in the operation

A few homes were lost, as the fire was con-stantly spotting on the high side of the road, andthis meant that Olinda itself was soon threatened.The township itself came through unscathed, butthere was a casualty with the body of an elderlyman being discovered during the morning. Thismeant that if the police established that the firehad been deliberately lit, they had a case of man-slaughter to deal with. Acting on information re-ceived from a number of sources an arrest wasmade on Wednesday 17th January.

During the afternoon of Monday 15th underthe influence of a strong southerly sea breeze, theunsecured fire which had been a source of worrythe night before, flared up and headed towardMontrose. A plan organised by Captain DonMaguire was to encourage able bodied homeowner residents to stay by their homes and to-gether with a sprinkling of Montrose and TheBasin volunteers, hold the fire on the high or east-ern side and save the homes thus threatened. Thisplan was working very smoothly with house afterhouse being saved, but it was nearly brought un-done by police patrols driving into the area andwith loud hailers at maximum power, orderingeveryone to evacuate. Some very strong wordswere exchanged between Captain Don Maguireand the O.T.C. in charge of the police backed up

with some very discouraging exchanges aboutCaptain Maguire’s parents!

As the fire moved through toward Mt. Evelyna mixture of volunteers and home owners savedmany homes. Around 5.30 pm on the Monday af-ternoon, a radio call came through informingCaptain Don Maguire to return home as his ownhouse and farm property, which included hisMother’s home and sheds, were threatened. Cap-tain Maguire recalls that this came as a completesurprise as the fire above Chandlers Hill wasthought to be completely contained and wellblacked out. However, the sight that greeted Cap-tain Maguire as he sped along Liverpool Road inhis old Chevrolet Ute was one he believes to beunique in his experience of fire behaviour. Thefire at the northern end near Montrose was stillheading steadily North-East, whilst the fresh out-break above Chandlers Hill in the region of ShortStreet, was racing South under the influence of astrong northerly. Thus there was two fires only afew miles apart, heading in almost opposite direc-tions.

The fire in The Basin was indeed serious andwas soon completely out of control. It crowned ina most spectacular fashion, right along the ridgein the Ferntree Gully National Park, aboveBayview Crescent, and spawned spot fires inCaptain Maguire’s property and these fires ranright through to Albert Ave/Mount View Roadcorner. It was indeed fortunate that the usefulnessof large cement mixers filled with water werenow fully appreciated, and these were used toblack out the edges of the fire in Mount ViewRoad most effectively. The use of these units wasfound to be effective by driving them along thelower sides of roads, with shute extended, send-ing a cascade of water into the scrub when theseroads were being used as a holding point for thefire.

Tuesday

Tuesday, the third day of the 1962 fires, sawproblems in many of the unburnt areas, with tem-perature again nearing 100 degrees (38C) by midmorning and after reaching the 100's by noon, re-maining in that high figure until after 7pm thatnight. The main areas of concern were Upper andLower Ferntree Gully on the southern side whereFerntree Gully National Park still had large areas

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1962 Bushfires

alight. At one stage when the fire in that area wasmost threatening it was thought that the WilliamAngliss Hospital should be evacuated. However, alate wind change turned the fire back to theNorth-East and late in the afternoon a fire stormof dramatic proportions developed in the FerntreeGully National Park, near The Devil’s Elbow,which observers described as awesome indeed.

The fire continued to cause grave concern atits Northern extremity, with volunteers andForestry crews battling to save parts of Mt.Evelyn and West of the Silvan Dam. The StatePine Forest burnt fiercely and was completelywiped out and toward evening was burning eastof Olinda and Sassafras and on towards Kallista.It seemed unstoppable and The Basins’ unit wassent to Kallista late evening to assist in defendingthe town. About 11.30 pm the first few drops ofrain were felt and about 1 & ½ hours later it wasraining steadily and the 4 day ordeal was over.The cost in housing will never be accuratelyknown but homes were lost in every part of thenon blackened Dandenongs and hardly a sectionof the mighty mountain range had escaped,Sherbrooke Forest being a remarkable exception.

Aftermath

A lot of criticism was levelled at the fire services,voluntary and professional, but the Chief Secret-ary, Sir Arthur Rylah, roundly supported the ef-forts of all those who had fought so had in such

extenuating circumstances. There were plenty oflessons to be learned from this fire and someshould be outlined here. The use of untrained per-sonnel, no matter how well meant, was a badmove, for some of the following reasons: Manywere undisciplined and were inclined to head offand do their own thing, so that the Officers incharge had extra problems on their hands. Eachperson who came and volunteered to help, had tobe registered and approved in case of accidentand injury and this proved extremely time con-suming, for already overworked key personnel.Again, many who turned up to help were dressedin shorts and thongs or similar and could not beput in any area of real danger. In addition, therewas no useful equipment available to set them upto give real assistance. On the plus side, the use ofthe large concrete mixers who not only ferried anenormous amount of water to all points of TheDandenongs, but were also put into active firefighting using their shutes to blackout roadsides.

Overall, the Brigade equipment of CFA andBrigade owned units showed many inadequaciesover 3 days of continuous work. Engines boiled,vapour locks were frequent and put vehicles ingreat danger and it is incredible that only minoraccidents were reported. Pumps also gave theirfair share of trouble, especially when using waterfrom some of the static filling points. The radionetwork previously mentioned proved totally in-adequate, with prolonged break-downs and at the

12

The 1968 fires in The Dandenongs prompted considerable discussion in local papers about The Basin being thesource of the fires.

Cartoon courtesy Knox News

1962 Bushfires

end of the fire, the whole system was in tatters.The 1962 fire generated enormous interest in

Melbourne through radio and television coverageand it was anticipated (correctly) that the follow-ing Saturday and Sunday would see the roads intothe hills from the city, cluttered with sightseers.The Brigades of The Dandenong Ranges Groupset up collection points at strategic spots and overthe weekend collected the princely sum of 2001pounds Then Lord Mayor of Melbourne hadalready started a fund to aid those who had lost somuch over the whole State and demanded that thecollection be added to his appeal forthwith. How-ever, The Group withstood this pressure and asvery high frequency (V.H.F.) was just emerging asa viable alternative in radio technology, TheGroup was able to equip a base station in Upweyand a repeater station on Channel 9’s Mt.Dandenong tower, to cover bad areas of recep-tion, as well as enough mobile sets to outfit mostof the tankers in The Group. As far as The Bri-gade was concerned, it seemed that some goodhad come out of a very ghastly few days.

On the Friday following the fire, all the Bri-gade Captains, Group Officers and key personnelwere invited to attend a debriefing in the old Up-wey Progress Hall. It was attended by The ChiefOfficer, Mr Alex Larkins, as well as local Vic-torian M.P. The Hon. Bill Borthwick, who wasknown affectionately as “Bushfire Bill” becauseof his support of local volunteer brigades.

The meeting started in a friendly enoughfashion until a general plea to the Chief Officerfor better (and more) equipment, from most of thebrigades present. Bill Borthwick had to excusehimself at this stage to attend another meeting. In-stead of answering the questions and requests dir-ectly, The Chief Officer unfurled a map coveringThe Dandenongs and made this extraordinarystatement. Pointing to The Basin, he claimed thatif the Captain of the brigade at this point had as-sessed the danger of the situation more seriously,this huge blackened area would not havehappened. Captain Don Maguire defended him-self strongly but was disappointed that not one ofthose present gave him any moral support. Thiswas interesting, as although CFA units were pre-dominant during this fire under the old “MarginalMile”, which was in force in Forestry areas,9/10ths of the area burnt had come under the area

controlled by Forestry and yet they had emergedscot-free as far as criticism was concerned.

Captain Maguire, although deeply hurt by theChief Officers comments (to the extent that he al-most gave the fire service away), decided the ser-vice was bigger than individuals and stuck with itfor another twelve years.

Soon after the 1962 fires, a public meetingwas held in a Church Hall in Bayswater to pressfor a brigade to be formed there. At this stageBayswater acted as an out-station in conjunctionwith Boronia. The need for a Bayswater Brigadewas indeed a pressing issue, with a tremendousbuild up of both residential and factory areas. Al-though well attended and lots of promises weremade, it would be another 7 years before Bayswa-ter was given the green light to form its ownUrban Brigade. It was a natural transition with thetiming just right, for Bayswater to join and be-come a very strong member of The Knox Group.The only other brigade to join the group wasMontrose, after the changes to the original Lily-dale Group.

The Brigade has always been active in otherareas including searches for young and old. TheBrigade provided considerable assistance withfighting at fires at Strath Creek 1963 and fielded astrong team to the Gippsland fires in 1965. TheLand Rover was stationed on Mt “Tassy” andused as a communication vehicle and the old Aus-tin tanker was crewed and sent to Bruthen andfinished up at Gelantipy where rain finally extin-guished what had been a huge fire. The CFA Of-ficer in charge of this fire was Deputy Chief Of-ficer Arthur Pitfield.

Soon after this, Chief Officer Larkinsresigned due to ill health and Arthur Pitfield tookover CFA leadership.

In 1965 Captain Don Maguire was invited tojoin the Committee of Management of FerntreeGully National Park, becoming its Chairman thefollowing year. The Park, bordered as it was byhousing, had always been a worry to the neigh-bourhood fire brigades and Don found himselfwalking a tightrope between fire protection andconservation. A lot of hard work was put intobuilding concrete tanks at strategic ridge posi-tions, which served well until the high levelM.M.B.W. scheme came into being.

In 1967, a new brick Brigade station was

13

1962 Bushfires

built on the site where the present fire station islocated. The station was completely financed byfund-raising and local contributions. CFA Chair-man R. Eason opened the new building as part ofThe Basin Centenary celebrations.

1968 Bushfires

In the summer of 1968 drought hit the Danden-ongs. On February 19th, which was a hot gustyday, a fire starting in The Basin spread throughFerntree Gully National Park, to Upper FerntreeGully and Upwey, destroying 65 homes and theUpwey Progress Hall.

On March 18th, another fire was lit nearFerndale Road and threatened Sassafras andFerny Creek. The lives of several Firemen were atrisk and Fire Brigade vehicles were damaged anddestroyed. The CFA allocated an 800 gallon Bed-ford tanker to the Brigade to give extra strength.As a State Emergency vehicle, it was oftencrewed by volunteers from The Basin and sent tofires around the State over the next few years.

After 1968 fires the Chief Secretary, Sir Ar-thur Rylah directed the Parks Service, Forestry,the C.O.M. and brigades bordering the Park tocome up with a fire protection and preventionplan incorporating the entire Park, fire bufferzones and upgrading and extensions to fire accesstracks. Many meetings were held and finally “TheFerntree Gully National Park Fire Protection &Prevention Plan” was adopted in 1968.

This plan was upgraded slightly in 1969 andstill remains in place as the basic strategy, shouldfires start within the Park or around its perimeter.The buying back of private land that was unfortu-nately subdivided in the 1950’s had almost ceaseddue to lack of funds, but a lot of progress wasmade in a buy-back scheme, particularly on thenorthern boundary in the old New Mystic LakeEstate and this is now part of the Park’s fire buf-fer zone where a thinning programme of Euca-lypts was carried out in the late 1960’s and theseareas are given cool burns when this is considerednecessary. New tracks were created in the park,water storage tanks installed and communicationsystems upgraded.

Don Maguire remained Chairman of FerntreeGully National Park Committee of Managementuntil restructuring of the National Parks Service

saw the committee relegated to advisory status.After three years the Advisory Committee disban-ded as it seemed to be serving no useful purpose.

The 1968 fires also prompted considerablediscussion in local papers about The Basin beingthe source of fires. An article reproduced on pageand a cartoon reproduced on page 12 indicate thefeelings of residents of the Dandenongs.

1968 – 1983

The years of 1968 to 1971 were torrid years forThe Brigade. These were the years of arson, localsuspicion, great tension and pressures, Police in-vestigations and Court appearances which finallylead to disenchantment with the Country Fire Au-thority. Arthur Cooper, as President and DonMaguire as Captain, are to be commended fortheir leadership in steering The Brigade throughthis torrid period.

The years of 1972 and 1973 saw many prom-inent buildings in The Basin destroyed by fire,some under suspicious circumstances. The ScoutHall, Clevedon, Seventh Day Adventist Camp,Salvation Army Special School and a number ofhouses were lost.

The Fire Station built in 1967 was replacedby a new urban station in 1977 which was openedby Brigadier R. Eason, Fire Brigade Chairman.The new station was financed by the CFA afterthe foundations of the previous station becamedangerous and the building was condemned anddemolished. Whilst the new station was beingbuilt, a temporary fire station was erected acrossthe road on the site of the second fire station. Ona tragic note, a worker was killed during the con-struction of the new station.

Late in 1977, Captain Don Maguire stooddown, after 22 years of service, to take up the jobof Knox Group Officer. Alan Small was electednew Captain.

In 1979, a hose drying tower and siren plat-form was supplied by the CFA Former CaptainDon Maguire was awarded a B.E.M. for servicesto the community, particularly the Victorian FireService. The Brigade raised $20,000 for a newFord 350 chassis and cab and built up a high per-formance pumper unit to serve the needs of therapidly growing community.

A bushfire in March 1980 burnt out a large

14

1968 – 1983

area of the Doongalla forest area. This fire burntfor three days and stretched the resources of theBrigade to its limit.

In 1980, the Brigade purchased two sets ofbreathing apparatus, followed by two additionalsets and four spare cylinders. A grant from KnoxCouncil in 1981, enabled the Brigade, as part ofthe Knox Fire Brigades Group, to introduce per-sonal pagers as a means of “turn-out”, thus elim-inating much of the siren use.

In 1983, a Mazda Diesel Twin Cab was pur-chased at an initial cost of $20,000, with a further$10,000 spent on outfitting it. It served as trans-port for up to 7 fire fighters and carried a gener-ator, elevated lighting towers, smoke extractors,cutting gear, chain saw and other equipment.

1983 saw Victoria’s worst bushfires in mod-ern times known as Ash Wednesday. In firesacross the state, forty-seven people died, includ-ing thirteen volunteer fire fighters. Over 2,000homes destroyed. Entire towns are virtuallywiped out. The Basin tanker rushes from fire tofire until its drive shaft disintegrates.

The Basin Urban Fire Brigade

1984 – 1996

The granting of Urban status to The Basin FireBrigade in 1984 was indeed welcome (after yearsof trying). The Brigade became a D Class Unit,with 20 uniformed members in reserve and fullmembership of around 45. In the same year, RoyRitchie decided to stand down as Secretary, after19 years of dedicated service.

In 1992, The Brigade owned 2 vehicles of itsown, and 2 CFA owned vehicles. The Brigadeowns a Mazda Salvage van and a Ford Pumpercomplete with two sets of breathing apparatus andspares. An Annex was built on the north side ofthe Fire Station to house the Mazda Van. The FireBrigade owned vehicles are a Hino Diesel Tanker(Tanker 1) capable of carrying 3,000 Litres of wa-ter and also carrying two sets of breathing appar-atus, and an International petrol Tanker (Tanker 2)capable of carrying 3,000 Litres of water.

In 1993, five Brigade members received TheNational Medal for Long Service in the VolunteerBrigade. These are: Ray Cotter, Colin Hart, KevinHand, John Gribble and Captain Alan Small.

February 1994 saw severe bushfires erupt inNSW. A contingent of CFA members and vehiclestravelled to NSW to assist with fighting the fires.The Basin Brigade was represented by GrahamLinaker, an experienced member of The Brigade.On returning from NSW, all contingent memberswere showered with accolades for their services.

1997 Bushfires

The 21st January, 1997 was a hot summer’s daywith a strong Northerly wind blowing. Around12.00 noon, a number of fires erupted in the Mon-trose area. A short time later, fires erupted in To-bruk Avenue, The Basin and at 2 other placesaround towards Ferntree Gully. The Montrosefires were extinguished in the early afternoon, butthe Tobruk Avenue fire raced up the hill at an in-tense speed towards Ferny Creek and destroyed anumber of houses. Two residents sheltering intheir homes were killed when their homes weredestroyed. The other 2 fires merged in theFerntree Gully National Park and headed towardsUpwey.

Enormous resources were thrown into bat-tling these fires including water bomber planesborrowed from SA, helicopters and vehicles fromaround the State. In the Alamein Avenue and To-bruk Avenue areas, bulldozers were called in toconstruct fire brakes to prevent the fires spreadingto the West. By late afternoon, the fires were stillthreatening areas around Upwey, but were no im-mediate threat to The Basin. The situationchanged dramatically around 6.00 pm when thewind changed to a strong South Westerly. Thisblew smoke back towards The Basin and re-kindled any small fires in The Basin area. Around7.00 pm the fire jumped Mountain Highway nearAlamein Avenue and threatened houses in TheRavine. This fire was quickly extinguished butthe smoke in The Basin area was very thick andacrid. This prompted many residents to pack upand leave.

Late evening saw the hillside above TobrukAvenue glowing from the fires. At least 10tankers were stationed along the top end of Gov-ernment Road to prevent the fire sweeping upover Government Road and into The Basin. Thefires were eventually contained within the Na-tional Park and by midnight the risk to The Basin

15

1997 Bushfires

was minimal.Three people died and forty-one homes were

destroyed along with a CFA truck. Police invest-igations in the months following the fires re-vealed that the fires were deliberately lit. How-ever, by the end of 1997 the Police were no closerto finding the culprits and had conceded that therewas little chance of any arrests.

Dandenong Ranges brigades received consid-erable assistance from strike teams elsewhere inthe state. Fully crewed teams from as far afield asCamperdown and Warrnambool were on the roadfor as much as five hours before they got any-where near the flames.

Other heroes of the fires included the LadiesAuxiliary who worked throughout the day andnight preparing food and drink for the fire crews.Each time a unit called in it was restocked withsandwiches, fresh fruit and cold drinks.

The generosity of local organisations and in-dividuals was overwhelming. GlaxoWellcomedonated 2,000 cans of soft drink, 100 loaves ofbread, 85 crates of orange juice and milk, 30 kilosof ham, 35 packets of cheese and huge amountsof fresh fruit.

Franklins and The Basin Bakery donatedfoodstuffs, locals dropped in with cheques, twonuns walked in off the street to volunteer theirservices, a local woman came by at 10 o’clockone night with a huge plate of freshly bakedscones and a truckie donated an esky full of coldcans.Fires erupted in Sydney in 1997 and The Basintanker answered the call with both night and dayshift crews.

Late in 1997, The Basin Brigade celebrated70 years of establishment. At a special annualdinner a number of important awards were made.Long Service awards were presented to Ray Cot-ter (35 years), Allan Small (30 years), JohnGribble (30 years), Alan Dixon (25 years), SteveSmith (25 years), Terry Maro (20 Years) and Gl-enda Gribble (30 years). The DP Maguire Award,founded by former captain Don Maguire, givenfor community service and as a measure of the re-cipient’s having given of themselves to their fel-low people and the community, providing a tan-gible benefit or support to the fire brigade wasgiven to Matthew Ahern. The Fire fighter of theYear Award was presented to Simon Chapman.

The Captain’s Award was presented to Ron Tyler.The Dunkan Award, a nicely polished woodenseating device rescued from a building fire waspresented to Martin Jennings.

1998 – 2007

Fires in Sydney over the 2001-2002 summer sawmajor strike teams deployed from Victoria includ-ing The Basin tanker 2 and crews.

For 71 days in 2003 the North-East of Vic-toria and Gippsland were on fire destroying forty-one homes, three bridges, over 10,000 livestockand 1.2 million hectares of land. The Basin tanker2 and rotating crews were in the action from startto finish.

In the 2004 Queen’s Birthday Awards, AlanSmall was honoured with the Australian Fire Ser-vices Medal (AFFIRM). Allan had thirty-fiveyears experience as a volunteer fire fighter in-cluding two decades as captain of The Basin FireBrigade and later as President. He was also GroupOfficer with the Knox Group of CFA Brigades.

The summer of 2006/2007 saw devastatingfires in Victoria’s high country. Strike teams fromThe Basin with tanker 2 and the pumper wereaway almost continuously.

2008 – 2013

On Sunday, 16th October, 2009, members of TheBasin Fire Brigade gathered with members of thelate Colin Hart to unveil a memorial plaque inThe Triangle and plant a flowering gum in hismemory.

Colin William Hart was born 1916 and died28th August, 2010.

He served with the Fire Brigade for fortyyears, filling many roles. He is best rememberedfor the key role he played in the introduction ofthe Wajax fire hose couplings into the CFA To an

16

“Fire Fighter”During the 1962 fires The Basin Hall was like Bourke St.The Red Cross was in full swing and had recruited many ofthe local young girls to assist them. Reporters were in ac-tion and media cameras were whirring. One local firemanwas so impressed by all this, that he was seen rubbing char-coal over his face before entering the hall, to ensure hedidn’t miss out on any attention.

2008 – 2013

outsider this may seem a small thing, but for anyfire fighter who has chased fires through theforests and hills, the quick release coupling is alife saver.

In 2009, the Brigade decided to deregister theThe Basin Rural Fire Brigade. After the VictorianRural Fire Brigades Association and the VictorianUrban Fire Brigades Association combined toform Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria, The BasinRural Fire Brigade was no longer relevant.

In March 2013, Terry Maro and VickiLinaker received certificates in appreciation ofover 20 years service to the Victorian Urban FireBrigades Association and Volunteer Fire BrigadesVictoria. Terry Maro received the National Emer-gency Medal for service during the 2009 bush-fires.

Fire Brigade Groups

The Dandenong Ranges Fire Brigades Group wasformed around 1950 and The Basin Fire Brigadewas an active member of the group until 1965when the Knox Group was formed.

After the 1962 fires, officers in the Brigadesin the lower areas, Boronia, The Basin, LowerFerntree Gully, Lysterfield and Rowville, met todecide their future and a deputation met withChief Officer Larkins to request that these bri-gades be allowed to form a new group. This wasmet with a firm refusal on the grounds that such agroup would not be strong enough.

After the Brigades of the lower areas involve-ment in the Strath Creek fires in 1963, a numberof officers put to the Deputy Chief Officer ArthurPitfield who was in charge of these fires whatwould be some of the many advantages of thebreak-away group. Again, this was met with re-fusal.

In 1965, the Brigades of the lower areas againapplied to secede from the Dandenong RangesGroup and form their own Group and their applic-ation was upheld. This coincided with the break-

away of Knox from Ferntree Gully Shire and thesuggestion was accepted that the group be calledThe Knox Group of Fire Brigades. This move wasnot accomplished without a lot of opposition, par-ticularly from members of The DandenongRanges Group who felt it would weaken the over-all strength of the group.

The Basin Fire Brigade’s involvement withthe Knox Group has been extensive, with mem-bers filling a variety of key roles in administra-tion, as well as operationally, with a Group Of-ficer, Deputy Group Officers, Group Communica-tions Officers and others.

Ladies Auxiliary

The Basin Fire Brigade Ladies Auxiliary wasformed in 1955, with Mrs Betty Turner as firstPresident. They worked tirelessly to raise fundsfor a number of projects. One of the first majorefforts was the raising of funds to construct ameeting room for the first The Basin Fire Station.This was completed in August, 1957 on the northside of the vehicle bay, which greatly improvedfacilities.

The Ladies Auxiliary has given the Brigadeunwavering support. They have always been onhand to feed the volunteers at the fire-front andwhen they return after operations. They have alsoraised funds to support and equip the active Ju-nior Fire Brigade.

For many years at Christmas time, the LadiesAuxiliary has organised a raffle for a Christmasstocking. Local shopkeepers have providedenormous support for the raffle which has raisedmuch needed funds.

In 1997, Glenda Gribble was awarded a LifeMembership of The Basin Fire Brigade LadiesAuxiliary.

Christmas Eve Santa Trips

The Christmas Eve “Santa Trips” that startedback in the 1960’s have grown to an almost em-barrassing stage, as has the supplying of Santa’sand vehicles for Christmas parties.

On Christmas Eve, Fire Brigade tinsel-covered fire trucks circulate through The Basinwith Santa stationed on the back. The routes arecarefully planned so that two Santa’s are not seen

17

Helping Hand for Victims

Loanne Lane, of The Basin, wanted to help the victims ofthe devastating 2009 Black Saturday fires. On the Mondayafter the fires she organised a collection and sorting depotat the garage in The Basin. She soon had an overwhelmingpublic response and many truck loads of relief goods weretransported to centres close to the fires.

Christmas Eve Santa Trips

in the same street together. The trucks have an on-board sound system playing Christmas carols asSanta waves and distributes lollies to children andadults. Some people set up tables on the footpathwith cheese and biscuits and wait for the truck.Santa is sometimes lucky and receives food andgifts in return. The trucks are forbidden to use theon-board sirens but occasionally they are “acci-dentally” set off.

There are plans set up for the eventuality ofan incident requiring a call-out during the Santarun. Trucks have been diverted from the Santa runa few times in the past to attend incidents. Santaeven attended a fire once.

These trips started when The Brigade onlyhad one vehicle but these days all vehicles areutilised along with other trucks borrowed fromother brigades. The first Santa trips only visitedBrigade family members with a comic as a gift.

The Basin Fire Brigade considers the Santatrips as an important community service and con-tinues and enhances the service every year. Its be-come an institution and creates a close affinitybetween residents and the Brigade.

Les Trotter holds the record of being Santafor 25 years.

Santa’s Letter Box

In 1992, The Basin Fire Brigade introduced aSanta’s letter box which is located outside TheBasin Post Office every Christmas. The box wasmade and donated by the staff of The Basin PostOffice.

The Basin Fire Brigade help answer all chil-dren’s Christmas letters and the letter box is nowan established tradition, particularly for thekindergarten and primary school children whoeagerly await participation is this activity everyyear.

Fire Alert Systems

Until 1932, the Brigade had no formal alarm sys-tem. A “cooee” was a popular method of raisingalarm but this was very limited. For the few resid-ents who had cars or telephones, these were used.Horses and bicycles were also used. Any visiblesigns of smoke always provoked investigation incase it was caused by an uncontrolled fire.

In 1932, as a token of his appreciation of theBrigade efforts at his Doongalla property,. T M.Burke donated a large bell, which was mountedon a pole above the shed on the side of The BasinProgress Hall. This was the first formal alarm thatthe Brigade utilised. The first person in attend-ance rang the bell by pulling a wire to summoncrews to attend any fire. Jack Manders, who livednear Toorak Avenue, also had a bell mounted overhis gate.

At this time, the telephone system consistedof a manual exchange in a tiny room at Bayswaterwith only a small percentage of residents connec-ted to the system. It was operated by one dedic-ated lady, Miss Baker, who lived on the premisesand seemed to be available at all times to pass onmessages, particularly when a crisis existed.

In 1953, when the first The Basin Fire Stationwas completed, the Brigade’s first electric sirenswere installed on a windmill adjacent the Station.The bell donated in 1932 by T. M. Burke wasmoved from The Basin Progress Hall to the wind-mill. For a time sirens were also installed onWright’s and Langdon’s stores for local warnings.

In 1967, when the second fire station wascompleted, the electric siren was moved to thetower built with the station.

In 1979, a hose drying tower and siren plat-form was erected at the rear of the new stationerected in 1976. The bell donated by T. M. Burkewas no longer needed and was mounted in a standand given pride of place in the station meetingroom.

The siren was the primary warning device forbrigade members to attend the fire station. Certainmembers of the Brigade also had “Fire RecallSystems” (FRS) installed. This entailed a modi-fication at the local exchange whereby when acertain number was called, the call was also auto-matically redirected to certain Brigade memberslandlines.

Fire sirens have always been tested on aweekly basis and residents are used to regularlyhearing the siren at the fixed testing times. Until

18

Santa’s DrinkThe annual Brigade Santa trips are an institution in TheBasin with some residents offering refreshments to Santa.One time Santa drank what he thought was ginger ale butinstead was whiskey with dire consequences.

Fire Alert Systems

April 1975, the siren was tested at 8.00 pm. everyTuesday. After complaints from residents withyoung children, the testing time was changed to10.00 am. on Sundays. This time conflicted withthe St. Mary’s bells that were rung at the sametime, and the time was changed to 9.50 am. onSunday.

The original use of the siren was to alert Bri-gade members, as well as the community, to in-cidents. Developments in Brigade communicationmeant that the siren was no longer needed to alertBrigade members of an incident. The introductionof pagers in the 1980's started the move of dir-ectly contacting Brigade members. Some resid-ents also complained that the noise of the sirenwas a nuisance. In the 1990's, the siren use wasstopped.

After the disastrous fires in Feb 2009, the useof sirens to alert communities in particular localit-ies was recommended by the Royal Commissioninto the bushfires. Consequently, in 2013, the useof The Basin Fire Brigade siren was reintroduced.The siren may sound for up to 90 seconds to in-dicate the Brigade has responded to an emergencyincident nearby. A prolonged, 5-minute signal in-dicates that a current emergency has been identi-fied in the local area and people should seek fur-ther information. In addition, the siren is testedevery Sunday morning at 10.00 am.

Mobile phones, the internet and social mediahave dramatically changed the way people obtaininformation about incidents that may affect them.Information can sometimes be obtained fasterthan fire or other services can report them. Cheapand sophisticated scanners that can monitor CFAradio frequencies can also be used.

The introduction of smart phones haschanged the way fires are managed. Applicationssuch as BART (Broadcast Alert Respond Turnout)allow participants to respond faster, communicatebetter and work smarter.

The Basin Fire Brigade’s main response areacovers some 16.18 square Km. This area extendsfrom Canterbury Road area in the north, to theChandler Track area in the south. To the west toAlbert Ave and to the east the Channel 10 Trackarea. The Brigade also supports neighbouring bri-gades in response to calls.

Carols by Candlelight

After the disastrous fires in 1983, the Brigademade a determined effort, as a voluntary groupand a necessary part of the community, to involveother people in a community activity, with theside agenda of generating fire awareness.

And so began in 1984 the first “Carols byCandlelight” at The Triangle with the help of theSalvation Army, local schools and other localgroups. It was so successful that it has become anannual local event. The local Federal member,Steve Crabb, who lived in The Basin at the time,conducted the first Carols by Candlelight andcontinued for many years.

Good Friday Appeal

As part of the Knox Group, The Brigade assistsyearly with the Royal Children’s Hospital GoodFriday appeal with the Group collecting nearly$30,000 in 1992.

Fire Equipment Maintenance

Fire Equipment Maintenance (FEM) involves ser-vicing fire fighting, fire prevention and safetyequipment predominantly located in business loc-ations.

The Basin Fire Brigade provides the serviceto areas of The Basin and surrounding suburbsand is conducted by qualified CFA personnel.FEM has been in operation since the 1950's.

All money raised from FEM is used to assistin running the brigade and purchasing replace-ment equipment. It is undertaken by brigade vo-lunteers in an unpaid capacity.

FEM includes all types of fire extinguishers,(water type, foam type, dry chemical, carbon di-oxide CO2 and wet chemical) fire blankets, firehose reels, hydrants and lay flat hose.

All servicing is done in line with CFAGuidelines, and to relevant Australian Standards.

Junior Fire Brigade

Cr. Guy Turner encouraged the formation of a ju-nior firemen’s club in 1959, by donating a trophyfor “keenest junior”. The concept was to give as-

19

Junior Fire Brigade

piring fire fighters a place to train and preparethem for moving up into the senior ranks. Train-ing is carefully overseen by officers and firefighters from the senior brigade. Though the Juni-ors do not attend fires, the training given familiar-ises them with experience and knowledge of therunning of a Brigade, use of equipment and car-ries this knowledge into the senior ranks. Theclub continued for many years until interestwaned.

The club restarted shortly after the 1983 fireswhen there was a surge of interest in Fire Bri-gades. In accordance with modern naming, theclub was renamed the Junior Fire Brigade. A run-ning team was formed later that year.

Each year, the team competes in a number ofcompetitions including the State Championships,where in 1992, a second place was gained in anevent for two competitors.

Although junior’s have a lot of fun, they alsolearn serious and valuable skills that can benefitthem throughout their lives, no matter what careerand/or volunteer paths they may later choose.Many junior’s go on to join The Basin Fire Bri-gade as full volunteer fire fighters when theyreach 17.

Community Involvement

As well as managing bushfires, the brigade alsodeals with other incidents and runs various educa-tion programs.

The brigade responds to house fires, car firesand road accidents as well as dealing with fallentrees and power lines during storms. To deal withthe various incidents, the brigade draws on theskills of its members trained in everything fromfirst-aid to chainsaw usage. Members are continu-ously building their skill set, with numerous train-ing courses on offer through the CFA and an in-house training regime.

The CFA runs a number of community educa-tion programs, many of which are administereddirectly by brigade volunteers. From the pre-sum-mer Bushfire-Blitz program which educates homeowners on asset protection and fire safety, to bri-gades in schools which teaches children about firesafety.

A brigade Community Relations Officer co-ordinates most of the above programs.

In 2012, the brigade commenced using socialmedia to inform local residents of brigade activit-ies and issues of interest to the local community.

A tailored website provides the communitywith comprehensive information about The BasinFire Brigade.

A static message board located at the front ofthe station provides the passing public with im-mediate notices such as total fire bans days andbushfire education evenings. Electronic movableroadside message boards are also used.

A recent innovation are open days at the firestation which have been very successful. A vari-ety of events are held including demonstrations,fire safety information with fire-fighters on handto answer questions.

In November, 2013, the brigades CommunityRelations Officer, April Himmelreich, won theEducation Award at the 2013 CFA Fire AwarenessAwards. April devised “The Captain Koala andFriends Show as an innovative approach tospreading the CFA’s Fire Safety messages andtravelled around Victoria staging the show.

Sources of Information

- The Basin Centenary booklet.- “Fire on the Hill, Flowers on the Valley”.- 1962 bushfires and early Brigade history – DonMaguire.- Local Residents and The Basin Fire Brigademembers.- History of the Ferntree Gully Fire Brigade.- Various internet sites.

20

More Information Required

More Information Required

1. Does anyone have the original Certific-ates of Registration of The Basin BushFire Brigade, The Basin Rural Fire Bri-gade or The Basin Urban Fire Brigade?If not, where can we get them?

2. Appendix II has vehicle information Iobtained from your website and Face-book. Estimations of dates used wouldbe useful.

3. Major activities of Junior fire brigadesince 1993.

4. Is Good Friday appeal still going? If notwhen did it stop?

5. Info on Ladies Auxiliary major activitiessince 1997

6. Anything to add to The Basin involve-ment in Knox Fire Brigade groups

7. Update honour rolls.8. Is Carols by Candlelight still going?9. Have I got all the awards to various

people over the years.10. Any information on plans to move fire

station (off The Triangle)?11. Any recent developments in radio com-

munication in the truck and station?12. Where is formal training done. Is Fisk-

ville still used?13. Major Brigade activities 2008 to now. In

particular, Brigade involvement in BlackSaturday 2009.

14. Uniforms. When did the Brigade startwearing them and who pays for them?

15. Any interesting or strange stories.16. Marking of places where roadside fire

hydrants are marked on sealed roads.Blue reflective markers are used now.How did it used to be done?

17. In the BBCN of Oct 2007, there is photoof first Fire Station. Can I get a copy.

18. See link to newspaper clippings on theinternet on page 22. Any others would beuseful.

19. Need old photographs of buildings,vehicles, people.

20. The information on Facebook from RayCotter about old call signs. Can it be ex-plained?

21. When did open days start?

21

Media Clippings

Media Clippings

22

Media Clippings on the Internet

Appendix I Honour Rolls

Appendix I Honour Rolls

23

The Basin Fire Brigade Ladies Auxiliary Honour Roll

President Secretary Treasurer

Year Name Year Name Year Name

1969-73 H. Robinson 1969-72 M. Dommett 1969 M. Gardiner

1973-76 P. White 1972-74 S. Trotter 1970-74 N. Radford

1976-79 G. Gribble 1974 G. Gribble 1974-77 P. Hartin

1980 B. Collins 1975 H. Robinson 1978 J. Groves

1981-87 V. Linaker 1976-80 D. Lawrence 1980 D. Davies

1988-90 C. Pearl 1982 M. Ahern 1981-83 H. Viney

1990- V. Linaker 1984 L. Smith 1984-02 G. Gribble

1986 D. Lawrence 2002 J. Rankine

1988-90 L. Smith

1990-04 N. Maro

2004 A. Killian

The Basin Fire Brigade Ladies Auxiliary Life Members Honour Roll

N. Radford G. Gribble

The Basin Fire Brigade Life Members Honour Roll

D. Maguire A. Cooper R. Ritchie C. Hart K. Hand

J. Gribble S. Smith R. Cotter A. Small A. Dixon

T. Maro

The Basin Fire Brigade Honour Roll

Captain President Secretary

Year Name Year Name Year Name

1927-32 H. Clarke 1947-51 B. Chandler 1932-36 G. Langdon

1932-36 J. Manders 1951-53 A. Cooper 1936-47 E. Gilbert

1936-47 B. Chandler 1953 E. Turner 1947-51 V. Hornsby

1947-55 J. Chandler 1953-78 A. Cooper 1951-53 L. Edwards

1955-77 D. Maguire 1978-99 D. Maguire 1953-63 C. Ashby

1977-99 A. Small 1999- A. Small 1963-65 R. Robinson

1999- C. Killian 1965-66 R. Turner

1966-86 R. Ritchie

1986-90 G. Linaker

1990-06 R. Brown

2006- P. Shaw

Appendix I Honour Rolls

24

The Basin Junior Fire Brigade Honour Roll

Captain Vice Captain Secretary

Year Name Year Name Year Name

1985-86 T. Small 1985-86 R. Ahern 1984-87 M. Ahern

1986-87 R. Ahern 1986-88 T. Small 1987 D. Maro

1987-89 M. Ahern 1988-89 D. Maro 1987-89 D. Blood

1989-90 J. Small 1989-90 J. Lawrence 1989-90 T. Maro

1990-91 J. Lawrence 1990-91 K. Linaker 1990-91 B. Lawrence

1991 N. Brown 1991-93 A. Gribble 1991-92 N. Brown

1991-93 K. Linaker 1993-94 D. Linaker 1992-93 D. Linaker

1993-94 A. Small 1994-95 H. Balkwell 1993-94 H. Balkwell

1994-95 D. Linaker 1995-96 R. H. Balkwell 1994-95 D. Smith

1995-96 H. Balkwell 1996-98 D. Maro

1996-98 R. Balkwell 1998-99 L. McCleary

1998-99 C. Albantow 1999-00 K. Taylor

1999-00 K. Tyler 2000-01 K. Tyler

2000-02 K. Taylor 2001-02 M. Priest

2002-03 M. Priest 2002-03 R. Priest

2003-05 R. Priest 2003-04 S. Van Der Velden

2005-06 S. Riddell 2004-05 C. Riddell

2006-07 K. Ratcliffe 2005-06 K. Ratcliffe

2006-07 B. Ratcliffe

Appendix II Vehicles

Appendix II Vehicles

25

The Basin Fire Brigade Vehicles

Vehicle Years Used Information

Morris Commercial Truck 1926 – 1945 Owned by Bert Chandler.

Austin 400 Gallon Tanker 1954 to late 1960's Presented to the Brigade in 1954.

Land Rover 1960 -? Ex Forestry vehicle

C1310 International Tanker 1967

Austin Tanker (Region Spare) 1980's

International 1410 Tanker 1981 -? Heat shields later fitted.

Bedford 1968R series 4×4 Tanker 1970 – 1985 Used in Ash Wednesday (1983).

Ford F350 Pumper 1979 – 1999 Water Capacity – 700 ltrs. Pumping Capacity – 1800 ltrs per minute. Equipment included - Breathing apparatus and other auxiliary equipment. Crew capacity – 6. The Brigade raised $20,000 to purchaseand fit out this vehicle complete with 2 sets of breathing apparatus.

1610 ACCO International 4×4 Tanker.

? - 1985 Water Capacity – 3000 ltrs. Pumping Capacity – 910 ltrs per minute. Used mainly for wildfire fire fighting. Crew capacity - 8 (later reduced to 6 with the addition of a role over protection crew cabin on the rear).

Hino FF 4×4 Tanker. 1999 - Water capacity – 3000 ltrs. Pumping capacity – 900 ltrs per min. Used mainly for wildfire fire fighting. Crew capacity - 8 (later reduced to 6 with the addition of a role over protection crew cabin on the rear).

Izuzu 4×4 Tanker. ? - 2007 Water capacity – 3000 ltrs. Pumping capacity – 900 ltrs per min. Used mainly for wildfire fire fighting. Crew Capacity – 6.

Mazda Crew Cab Salvage. 1983 - Purchased for $20,000. Further $10,000 spent on outfitting. Equipmentincluded – 5kva generator, lighting, salvage tarps, other auxiliary equipment. Crew capacity – 6.

Hino Crew cab Type 2 Pumper. Pumping capacity – 2000 ltrs per minute. Water capacity – 1800 ltrs. Urban appliance, reliant on reticulated water supply.

Landrover Defender TDI 4×4. Crewsupport & forward Control.

Equipment included – 5kva generator, lighting, chainsaw and cutting equipment. Crew capacity – 5.

Hino 4×4 Tanker. Water capacity – 2000 ltrs. Pumping capacity – 910 ltrs per minute. Used for mainly wildfire fire fighting. Crew Capacity – 6.

Izuzu Crew Cab Type 3 Pumper. Pumping capacity – 3000 ltrs per minute. Water capacity – 1800 ltrs. BClass foam capacity - 200 ltrs. A Class foam capacity - 90 ltrs. Urban appliance, reliant on reticulated water supply. Equipment carried - Breathing apparatus, chemical splash suits, steel cutting equipment, forcible entry tools, Positive Pressure smoke extraction fan, salvage tarps.

Hino Crew Cab 4×4 Tanker. Water Capacity – 3750 ltrs (3000 for fire fighting, 750 for crew protection sprays). Pumping Capacity – 910 ltrs per minute @ 700kpa. B Class foam capacity - 80 ltrs. A Class foam Capacity - 50 ltrs. Crew capacity - 5. Crew protection sprays fitted around vehicle deliver 100 ltrs per minute water spray to cover vehicle if trapped by wildfire.

Alphabetical Index

Alphabetical IndexA

Agar, Mrbushfire 1905..................................................4

Ahern, MatthewThe Basin Fire Brigade DP Maguire Award. 16

Albert Avenueand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............11

Ashbury, J.The Basin Rural Fire Brigade first Secretary. 8

Ashby, CharlieThe Basin Rural Fire Brigade Secretary 19538

B

Baker, Missearly Bayswater Exchange operator.............18

Baldwinbushfire 1904..................................................3

Barnesbushfire 1904..................................................3

Bayswater Exchangeearly manual exchange.................................18

Bayswater Fire Brigadeformation.......................................................13

Bayview Crescentand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............11

Bendigo Fire Brigadecentenary.........................................................5

Black FridayThe Basin Bush Fire Brigade involvement.....6

Boronia Fire Brigadeassistance with 1962 bushfires......................10assisting The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1940’s........................................................................7Bayswater as outstation................................13formation of Knox Group of Fire Brigades. .17volunteer Brigade formed 1942......................7

Borthwick, Billdebriefing after 1962 bushfires.....................13nicknamed “Bushfire Bill"............................13

Bravery, Georgemember of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1936- photo.............................................................4

Burke, T. M.1932 Doongalla bushfire.................................5first fire station and donated bell..................18

Burke’s Look-outbushfire 1904..................................................3

C

Caughey, Lloydmember of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1936- photo.............................................................4

Chandlerearly farming communities.............................5

Chandler, Bertinvolvement in The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1940’s..............................................................7Morris truck - used by The Basin Bush Brigade 1930’s................................................5The Basin Bush Fire Brigade Captain 1935.. .5The Basin Rural Fire Brigade land donation. .8

Chandler, Harrybushfire 1905..................................................4Morris truck - used by The Basin Bush Brigade 1930’s................................................5

Chandler, JohnThe Basin Rural Fire Brigade first Captain....8

Chandlers Hilland involvement in 1962 bushfires...............11

Chapman, SimonThe Basin Fire Brigade Firefighter of the year award.............................................................16

Clark, Grahamserved in The Basin Rural Fire Brigade..........5

Clark, HerbThe Basin Bush Fire Brigade Lt. 1927...........5

Clarke, Bertmember of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1936- photo.............................................................4

Clevedonstart of 1962 bushfires..................................10

Cooper, ArthurThe Basin Rural Fire Brigade President 1953 8The Basin Rural Fire Brigade torrid years....14

Cotter, RayNational Medal For Long Service in the Volunteer Brigade.........................................15The Basin Fire Brigade long service award 35 years..............................................................16

Country Fire Authorityformation 1944................................................7when formed encompassed Bush Fire Brigades..........................................................7when formed encompassed Urban Fire Brigade............................................................7

Crabb, Steveconducting Carols by Candlelight................19

D

26

Alphabetical Index

Dandenong Ranges Group of Fire Brigadesbreakaway group...........................................17collection after 1962 bushfires......................12developed “Gunga Dhin"................................8purchase of VHF equipment after 1962 fires13

Davis, Mrsbushfire 1904..................................................3

Devil’s Elbowand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............11

Dickensbushfire 1905..............................................3, 4

Distinguished ResidentDon Maguire...................................................2

Dixon, AlanThe Basin Fire Brigade long service award 25 years..............................................................16

Dobsonearly farming communities.............................5

Dobson, Janet (diary)bushfires in The Basin 1900 - 1920................3

Doongallabushfire 1932..................................................5

Doongalla Forestand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............10

E

Eason, R.opening of third The Basin Rural Fire Brigadefire station 1977............................................14

Eaves, F.The Basin Rural Fire Brigade first Treasurer. 8

F

Ferndaledestroyed in 1962 bushfires..........................10International truck used for fire fighting 1920’s..............................................................5

Ferntree Gully Fire Brigadeassistance with 1962 bushfires......................10assisting The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1940’s........................................................................7

Ferntree Gully National Parkand fire fighting techniques 1962 bushfires....8and involvement in 1962 bushfires...............11and involvement in bushfire 1962................10Committee of Management..........................13

Ferntree Gully Shirebreakaway of Knox from..............................17

Ferny Creekand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............10

Fire Buffer Zonesfirst mooted...................................................14

Fitzgeralds, Mrbushfire 1905..................................................3

G

Geelong City Fire Brigadecentenary.........................................................5

Glasgow Roadand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............10

Goodwinbushfire 1920..................................................4

Government Roadbushfire 1905..................................................4

Grettonmember of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1936- photo.............................................................4

Gribble, Glendalife membership of The Basin Fire Brigade Auxiliary.......................................................17The Basin Fire Brigade long service award 30 years..............................................................16

Gribble, JohnNational Medal For Long Service in the Volunteer Brigade.........................................15The Basin Fire Brigade long service award 30 years..............................................................16

H

Hand, KevinNational Medal For Long Service in the Volunteer Brigade.........................................15

Hansen, E.bushfire 1905..................................................3

Hart, Colinmemorial plaque in The Triangle..................16National Medal For Long Service in the Volunteer Brigade.........................................15role in introducing Wajax coupling into CFA......................................................................16

Hazel Dellbushfire 1905..................................................3

Honour RollsThe Basin Fire Brigade.................................23The Basin Fire Brigade Ladies Auxiliary.....23The Basin Fire Brigade Ladies Auxiliary Life Members.......................................................23The Basin Fire Brigade Life Members.........23The Basin Junior Fire Brigade......................24

J

27

Alphabetical Index

Jackson, Joefire stations........................................................

member of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1936 - photo..............................................4

Jackson, Mrbushfire 1905..................................................3

Jennings, Amember of The Basin Fire Brigade 1936 - photo...............................................................4

Jennings, Martinwon The Basin Fire Brigade Dunkan award in 1997..............................................................16

K

Kallistaand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............12

Kerrbushfire 1904..................................................3

Knox Group of Fire Brigadesformation 1965..............................................17

Knox, Ladyitem about 1926 bushfire..............................10

L

Langdon, Georgemember of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1936- photo.............................................................4The Basin Bush Fire Brigade Lt. 1935...........5

Larkins, Alexdebriefing after 1962 bushfires.....................13formation of Knox Group of Fire Brigades. .17resignation from CFA...................................13

Linaker, Grahamassisted in 1994 NSW bushfires...................15

Linton, Jackmember of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1936- photo.............................................................4

Liverpool Roadand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............11

Lower Ferntree Gully Fire Brigadeformation of Knox Group of Fire Brigades. .17

Lysterfield Fire Brigadeformation of Knox Group of Fire Brigades. .17

M

Maguire, Donawarding of B.E.M.......................................14became The Basin Rural Fire Brigade Captain1954................................................................8bushfire 1962....................................................

own property threatened..........................11plan to save Montrose.............................11police problems.......................................11problems with terrain, equipment and helpers.....................................................10start of.....................................................10strategy attacked......................................13

Chairman of Ferntree Gully National Park Committee of Management..........................14distinguished Resident....................................2Group Officer Knox Fire Brigades Group 1975 - 1987...................................................14joined FTG National Park Committee of Management 1965........................................13stood down as Captain 1977.........................14The Basin Rural Fire Brigade first 1st Lt.......8The Basin Rural Fire Brigade torrid years....14

Maguire, J.bushfire 1920..................................................4

Manders, Jackhad fire bell on gate - 1930’s........................18member of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1936- photo.............................................................4

Maro, TerryThe Basin Fire Brigade long service award 20 years..............................................................16

Matthews, S.R.bushfire 1905..................................................3

McKenzie, Mrbushfire 1920..................................................4

McLaren, H.and The Basin Rural Fire Brigade formation 1949................................................................8reconstitution of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade........................................................................7

Montroseand involvement in 1962 bushfires.........10, 11

Montrose Fire Brigadejoining Knox Group of Fire Brigades...........13

Mount Dandenong Tourist Roadand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............10

Mount View Roadand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............11

Mt. Dandenong Ridge Roadand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............10

Mt. Evelynand involvement in 1962 bushfires.........11, 12

N

New Mystic Lake Estate

28

Alphabetical Index

buying back land...........................................14O

Olindaand involvement in 1962 bushfires...10, 11, 12

Olinda Fire Brigadeassistance with 1962 bushfires......................10

One Tree Hilland involvement in 1962 bushfires...............10bushfire 1904..................................................3

P

Pitfield, Arthurbecame Chief Officer CFA...........................13forming Knox Group of Fire Brigades.........17in charge of Strath Creek fires 1963.............13

Poole, V.The Basin Rural Fire Brigade Treasurer 19538

Popesearly farming communities.............................5

R

Ritchie, Roystood down as Secretary The Basin Fire Brigade 1984.................................................15

Rowville Fire Brigadeformation of Knox Group of Fire Brigades. .17

Rylah, Sir Arthurand 1962 bushfires........................................12

S

Salvation Armyand Carols by Candlelight............................19

Sassafrasand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............12

Sassafras-Ferny Creek Fire Brigadeassistance with 1962 bushfires......................10

Seaton, Mr.presented first The Basin Rural Fire Brigade tanker..............................................................8

Seventh Day Adventist Campfire destroyed hall 1973................................14

Sheffield Roadand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............10

Sherbrooke Forestand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............12bushfire re-establishment by...........................3originally cut down.........................................3

Short Streetand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............11

Silvan Damand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............12

Small, AlanAwarded Australian Fire Services Medal in 2004..............................................................16captain The Basin Rural Fire Brigade 1977 - 1997..............................................................14elected Captain 1977.....................................14National Medal for Long Service in the Volunteer Brigade.........................................15The Basin Fire Brigade long service award 30 years..............................................................16

Smith, Dmember of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1936- photo.............................................................4

Smith, SteveThe Basin Fire Brigade long service award 25 years..............................................................16

St. Marys Church of Englandbells clashing with fire siren testing.............18

Stretton, JudgeBlack Friday report.........................................6

T

The Basin Bush Fire Brigadearsonist 1930’s................................................6bushfires............................................................

1932 Doongalla.........................................5disbanded 1945...............................................7early equipment and storage...........................5fire stations........................................................

1931 - first.................................................5first 1st Lt. Herb Clark 1927...........................5first alarm bell donated by T. M. Burke........18first vehicle - photo.........................................7formation 1927................................................5loss of membership after WW2......................7members acting as air raid wardens in WW2. 7photo of members 1936..................................4reconstituted 1946...........................................8vehicles.............................................................

1920’s - International Truck......................51930’s - Bert Chandler’s Morris Truck.....51930’s - Harry Chandler’s Morris Truck...5

The Basin Fire Brigadeassistance with Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday appeal.......................................19building of annex 1992.................................15bushfires............................................................

1994 NSW...............................................15

29

Alphabetical Index

1997 Dandenongs....................................151997 NSW...............................................162001 NSW...............................................162003 Victoria...........................................162006 Victoria...........................................16

Christmas eve “Santa Trips".........................17first Carols by Candlelight............................19granting of Urban status 1984.......................15junior Fire Brigade - State Championships. .19junior Fire Brigade reforming.......................19junior firemens club disbanded.....................19junior firemens club formation.....................19Knox Group of Fire Brigades - formation....17Ladies Auxiliary fund-raising.......................17memorial plaque for Colin Hart....................16Santa's letter box...........................................18siren...................................................................

testing......................................................18vehicles.............................................................

1992 - Ford Pumper................................151992 - Hino Diesel Tanker......................151992 - International petrol tanker............151992 - Mazda Salvage van......................15

The Basin Progress Hallfirst fire brigade bell moved from.................18first The Basin Fire Brigade bell beside.......18reconstitution of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade........................................................................7The Basin Bush Fire Brigade equipment stored in shed beside - 1927............................5The Basin Rural Fire Brigade constituted 1949................................................................8

The Basin Rural Fire Brigadebuilding fires.....................................................

Clevedon 1972........................................14Salvation Army Special School 1973......14Scout Hall 1972.......................................14

bushfire 1962....................................................arrest of fire-bug......................................11fire-bug....................................................10

bushfires............................................................1960 The Basin.........................................81962 The Basin.......................................101963 Strath Creek....................................131965 Gippsland.......................................131968 Dandenongs (first)..........................141980 Doongalla Forest Reserve..............141983 Ash Wednesday..............................15

fire stations........................................................1953 - photo..............................................6

1953 - second............................................81967 - third..............................................131977 - fifth..............................................141977 - fourth............................................14

first purchase of breathing apparatus............14formation 1949................................................8introduction of pagers...................................14item about fire fighter...................................16siren...................................................................

eliminated by pagers...............................15first - 1953...............................................18once at Langdon’s Store..........................18once at Wright’s Store.............................18platform 1979....................................14, 18

torrid years 1967 - 1971................................14vehicles.............................................................

1949 - Furphy tank and pump...................81953 - Regional Austin 400 gal. tanker.....81954 - first tanker......................................81959 - Austin Small Town Unit................81960 - Land Rover....................................81979 - Ford 350 chassis and cab.............141983 - Mazda Diesel Twin Cab...............15

The Basin-Olinda Roadand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............11

The Ravineand involvement in 1962 bushfires...............10threatened by 1997 bushfires........................15

The Trianglefirst Carols by Candlelight............................19

Toorak AvenueMr. Manders had fire bell 1930’s..................18

Turner, Bettyfirst The Basin Fire Brigade Ladies Auxiliary President.......................................................17

Turner, Cr. Guyformation of The Basin Junior firemens club......................................................................19

Tyler, RonThe Basin Fire Brigade Captains Award.......16

U

Upwey Progress Halldebriefing at after 1962 bushfires.................13

W

Wajax hose couplinghow introduced into CFA..............................16

Wicks Roadstart of 1962 bushfires..................................10

30

Alphabetical Index

Wicks, Jackbushfire 1920..................................................4

William Angliss Hospitaland involvement in 1962 bushfires...............11

Williams, Jmember of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1936- photo.............................................................4

Williams, Wmember of The Basin Bush Fire Brigade 1936- photo.............................................................4

Wright, Billbecame The Basin Rural Fire Brigade 1st Lt. 1954................................................................8

Wrights Storeonce had fire siren.........................................18

31