On a beautiful autumn morning in the Upper Murray Region of Victoria, the Biggara Fire Brigade welcomed Chief Officer Euan Ferguson and his wife Kristin to open their new fire station and to present service medals representing over 900 years’ service to the brigade and the community.
The new A2 rural fire station was built on the Biggara recreation reserve adjacent to the existing station by Yackandandah Engineering and funded by the State Government Rural Fire Stations program. The new station has a two-bay motor room, toilet and kitchen facilities, external drying rack, turnout provisions for volunteers and a 15,000-litre water tank that feeds the station amenities and will allow the brigade to fill the tanker without going off site.
The new station was opened in the presence of Towong Mayor David Wortman and his wife Ann, Corryong Group Officer Colin Brown, and 40 members of the brigade and the community. District 24 Operations Manager Paul King welcomed everyone to the opening ceremony and introduced the local member Bill Tilley MLA who thanked all those for their service to the community and said how important infrastructure like the new fire station is to identify Biggara as a community. Bill Tilley then introduced Chief Officer Euan Ferguson who emphasised that brigades like Biggara are not only very important to the district but also to the whole CFA community. He then invited Captain Gordon Nicholas and Bill Tilley to assist him in opening the new station.
In turn, Captain Gordon Nicholas thanked the Chief Officer and his wife for making the trip to Biggara and making themselves available for what is a significant day in the history of the Biggara Fire Brigade. He then spoke about the history of the brigade, emphasising the change in fire management and the equipment that is now available compared to the days of beaters, knapsacks and Furphy tanks.
Gordon related one story of a past captain who told his family when off fighting a severe bushfire that "if I am not back in three days don’t come looking for me”. Gordon acknowledged CFA for building the new fire station, and how it really identifies with Biggara as a district and a community. He was grateful for the support from the staff at District 24, the local community and fellow brigade members.
After the opening, 31 service medals were presented, and of these four member received 40-year awards, two members received 50-year awards, and three members - VFF Roscoe Damm, Keith Whitsed and William Whitsed - reached 55 years’ service.
Biggara is a community situated on the banks of the Murray River, and is true Man from Snowy River country. Being on the New South Wales/Victoria border, Biggara supports New South Wales when required as the community in the Upper Murray is not hindered by borders, only the need to help each other when needed.
Author: Alex Todd