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The First 25 Years 15/10/76 - 28/10/01

A group of 26 interested landholders met in the Neales Flat church hall on the 15" of August 1975 to express their concern at the lack of fire fighting facilities within their area. This meeting was presided over by Mr ASK Holding who at the time was the fire Supervisor for the District Council of Eudunda. Mr Holding explained to those present that Eudunda was shortly to receive a new unit. When this occurred it was then highly likely that the council would allow the surplus 1943 Austin unit to come to Neales Flat provided it could be housed and maintained properly. A motion was passed to ask the Council to allow the unit to come to Neales Flat. A committee was formed, consisting of Mr WT Hage (President), Mr AH Kleinig (Secretary) and further members Mr VG Diener, Mr PA Schiller, Mr PH Heidrich. This was the beginning of the Neales flat Country Fire Service.; .

In January of the following year the Council advised that the unit was available but despite looking at several proposed sites to house the unit, it still did not have a home. For the time being it was decided to keep it in Mr WT Hage's new shearing shed. Mr PH Heidrich was given the task of obtaining quotes for material to construct a suitable shed. By April of that year it was resolved that the unit be housed on the property near Mr TR Stienborner's home and the committee negotiated with him for an easement. This was at the meeting place of six roads and would make quick and easy access for the crew.

By the first AGM in July of !976 the shed had been completed and the unit was housed in it. Even though the District Council of Eudunda had contributed $200 towards the cost of the shed, in view of the financial position it was resolved that the committee organise a door knock and that non resident landowners be circularised to ask for donations. On 15/10/76 the Emergency Fire Services recognised the Neales Flat unit as an official part of its organisation and a certificate was sent to the brigade. In 1979 there was a name change and since then the organisation has been known as the Country Fire Services.

A roster of members was drawn up and the unit was serviced regularly. The unit, with at least two crewmembers on board, was also made available to landowners for burning off land for a donation of at least $10 for the first hour and $5 for each additional hour. As with all things there were small breaks and leaks from time to time but in December 1978 the water pump broke a shaft and it was decided to replace it. A new GAM200 pump and fittings was to be purchased at a cost of $2000. Some of this we could raise but an appeal went out to landowners and through the local paper the 'Eudunda Courier'. Council assisted with some of the funds required and the former Neales Flat Cricket Club gave a donation of $200. At a later date a plaque was fitted to the pump to acknowledge this generous gift. This pump is the one that has now been fitted to a trailer to be used for training and pumping water from dams and waterholes when out at an incident.

The Austin truck was becoming outdated and so an advertisement was placed in the Stock Journal in the wanted to buy section for the purchase of a suitable replacement truck. In March of 1981 an ex-highways 1969 twin cab Bedford truck was purchased. Tenders were then called for the sale of the tip body tray and hoist. Members worked tirelessly to build and fit the truck to the standard required for a fire unit. This new truck caused another problem for the members; it was too long to park in the shed. So the shed had to be extended. Due to a number of successful fund raising events the finance on hand was surplus to that required for works and a special account was opened to invest the remainder. The new truck was then commissioned at the end of the year in conjunction with the Neales Flat Agricultural Bureau's annual social. The old Austin truck, which had faithfully served the crew, was then sold by tender to Illeroo Pastoral Co of Port Augusta for $350. Today it is still being used as a water truck on the station.

With more demands on the volunteers and the necessity to become a more professional organisation, it was decided at the AGM in 1989 to purchase a filing cabinet, UHF radio, and topographical maps of the area. Eight members had completed up to the standard of a level 2 course and one had completed a level 3 and instructor's course.

By 1990 the Bedford unit was becoming dated. Eudunda was shortly to receive a new unit and again we could take over their old unit. Before this could happen the shed would have to be modified to fit the 1975 International truck. More space was also required for a radio room and meeting place so the suggestion was made to retain the existing shed for these purposes and to add a larger shed at 90 degrees to house the truck. At this time a cement floor was placed into the whole area. The brigade became part of the Rufus Group, consisting of units in the Kapunda, Eudunda and Robertstown council areas. New radios would soon be fitted to all units in the Region and a new design for overalls was being considered. The new unit arrived during the 1990/91-fire season and the extensions to the fire shed were commissioned on 16" August 1991.

With new regulations the International unit wasn't with us for very many years before it needed to be replaced. In November of 1995 a new Hino 24 unit arrived at the Neales Flat fire shed. The 1990's saw many changes within the CFS and within our district. A new ERS7 phone alarm system was installed and the Rufus Group disbanded. Councils amalgamated and we were now to be part of the larger Gilbert Group, consisting of 12 brigades and come under the responsibility of the Regional Council of Goyder. The radio room and meeting room got a facelift with the walls being lined, and carpet and a few extra comforts added. The updated station and the Hino 24 unit were then commissioned in March of 1998 by Owen Glover who also presented service awards to members. Later that year National Medals were presented to eight members for serving over 15 years and a cadet's programme was begun.

In the most recent years there have been even more changes within the various levels of the CFS. Strike Teams are now formed to attend larger fires and the Neales Flat brigade has been a part of several of these. They attended the fires at Tungkillo, Rhynie and Wilmington and were asked to be on standby for Sydney and more recently Pt Lincoln and Kangaroo Island. Funding is now supplied by the government through the Emergencies Services Levy and finance for the needs of the brigades is handled through the Administration Officer for the Gilbert Group. Overalls, helmets and safety equipment is updated regularly. Government grants have become available to brigades and we have been fortunate through this method to purchase a Television and Video for training and more recently a pressure pump to give us a better supply of water for topping up the tank and cleaning the truck.

Over the last 25 years a tireless and supportive group of members have given of their time and expertise to initially set up and then to continue to operate the Neales Flat Brigade. Voluntary hours too numerous to count have been given in service to protect the life and property of others within our community. Along with the trained brigade members we must not forget the family and friends who have supported them by operating radios, supplying food, running errands and keeping the home fires burning (forgive the pun) while the brigade members are answering their call of duty on the fire unit.

Since our beginnings a lot of money has been raised to build and equip the fire units that have been housed at Neales Flat. Some of it was straight donations from generous people and the members are grateful to them. Other monies were raised by catering at various functions. The first of many to be recorded were the
clearing sales for Kevin Materne, Oscar Steinborner and Arnold Rohrlach in 1979. Over the years it has been sad to see these people move from their properties and in some cases from the district but we are grateful to them for giving us the opportunity to raise funds for our brigade. Food provided for the Neales Flat Ag Bureau's tractor pull-a-thons in 1981 and 1982 again provided the CFS with extra funds. The July of 1982 saw the start of a long association with the 24 Hour Reliability Trial. This annual motorbike event raised substantial funds for CFS, not to mention a lot of laughs and wonderful memories. Not only did we cater for the 24 Hour event but the Keyenton Motor Cycle Club also asked us to supply food for a number of events that they held here in our district. The real source of horse power also asked for our assistance with the supply of food and drinks for riders and water for horses at a local cross country event. In September of 1983 the Back to Brownlow committee had a catering job for us to do. Dinner was required for all those returning to the district for the day and once again the members and families of the Neales Flat CFS generously rose to the occasion. Many events both large and small have taken place over the years but not all can be mentioned here,

A quick calculation through the caterer's books gives us some interesting statistics. Over the years we have sold; 2660 steak sandwiches, 3465 sausages, 621 hotdogs, 180 chicken sandwiches, 475 beef sandwiches, 680 ham sandwiches and peeled 293kg of onions. Cups of tea and coffee and are just too numerous to mention, Over and above these figures are the bowls of salads and the slides of cakes that have been produced to help with catering.

The standard of fire unit and shed you see here today was probably not even dreamed of 25 years ago when those concerned landowners met to discuss the gap in fire protection within our area. A very big and heartfelt thankyou must go to any person who has contributed in any way to assist us in getting to where we are now and we appeal to our community to continue to help us to keep a presence here to protect our property and community.

Positions held in 2001

From: The Neales Flat CFS, The First 25 Years 15/10/76 - 28/10/01