Michael Wilding and I spent several hours with Sid and Clyde sorting through some of their memories of the Shoreham Fire Brigade. It was they who were able to provide us with an accurate update of the 31 original members who are still alive. They include Ian Hosking, Colin Hosking, Christopher Johnstone, Thomas Dowling, David Wall and of course Sid and Clyde. Interestingly David Wall who also lives in Flinders is 99 years of age.
As a 7 year old boy, Sid clearly remembers the 1939 bushfires. His father went out on a pony to fight the fires and on his return spent a fortnight in bed. These fires, according to Sid, swept through Red Hill and down to Shoreham to about Ed Buxton’s place. Sid and his mother went to Mary Kennedy’s and there were spot fires beneath the pine trees. The tea they were preparing in the milk buckets was poured over these outbreaks.
All fires in those days were fought with wet bags, or even tree branches. The most effective way of controlling fires was to back burn.
Clyde remembers one fire, formed by a very strong northerly wind which stopped just short of his house. Up until 1949, there was no coordinated effort in fighting fires. Every able bodied person in the district just turned up to do their bit. The women supplied the food and drink using a horse and jinker. Sid’s mother used to walk to the fires, to help with the provisions for the fire fighters.
Sometime in 1948, Jack Wright, through the Progress Association, proposed that a Shoreham brigade be formed and contact was made with Jack Purdey the Regional Officer. The rest, of course, is history.
The advent of the telephone exchange made communications easier. It even allowed for conferences to take place. Clyde’s number was 41, Neil Wright’s was 42, Geoff Raws 4 and Ron McKillop 38.
Many of the fires in the 1950s came up over Red Hill having originated around Moats Corner. As Sid remembers, Shoreham Fire Brigade became involved when they reached the end of Tuck’s Road. Sid also mentioned they were always putting out fires out at Clyde’s place when he had his little burn offs, just as we still do these days.
Somehow our conversation got onto fishing and that is a topic, Sid in particular, they could fill volumes. They are very interesting gentlemen and we thank them for their contribution to our brigade.
Roderick McKillop
An extract from Shoreham Rural Fire Brigade, 50th Anniversary Booklet (1999)