SA Country Fire Service Promotions Unit - History Section
Promoting the Historical foundations of the Service

Eden Hills Brigade - 1951 to Present

In 2001 our brigade celebrated its 50th Anniversary and invited both current and long-serving past members to a party held at our Fire Station. This event was attended by the CEO of CFS, local MP Iain Evans as well as representatives of other CFS brigades in our Group and other VIPs. It was a great event and excellent opportunity to reflect on and celebrate our history...

The seeds for the growth to the present Eden Hills CFS were sown in early 1939 when disastrous fires in the Adelaide Hills prompted the Premier of South Australia, Sire Thomas Playford to issue a booklet titled "Standing Orders for Metropolitan Councils Bushfire-fighting Organisations of South Australia". On the outbreak of World War 2 that year, the organisation formed for peacetime requirements, became a branch of the Civil Defence, and the Emergency Fire Service (EFS) was formed.

Eden Hills was part of the Mitcham fire district, being district no. 1 and included in the Blackwood sector with its own Fire Control Officers. The Eden Hills Emergency Fire Service (EFS) was formed on 10th May 1951 at 8:15pm.

NOTE: The Ladies Auxiliary was in place early on but no formal inaugural meeting was recorded. They became part of the Mitcham Hills CFS Group Auxiliary and later the Sturt CFS Group.

Brigade Timeline:

May 1951: A meeting is called to form the Eden Hills Emergency Fire Service (EFS) on 10th May 1951 at 8:15pm. This meeting was held in the Friends Hall in Wonoka Street, Eden Hills. Approximately 15 people attended this meeting. Formation of the brigade was moved by Mr Green and seconded by Mr Robertson.

June 1951: The first meeting of the unit was on 7th June 1951 with 15 members present. The following members were elected to positions: Leader Mr G Whitridge, Deputy Leader Mr J McClintock, Equipment Officer Mr A Tregenza, First Aid Officer Mr K Fitton, Secretary / Treasurer Mr W Clarke. At this first meeting, offers to store the small amount of hand fire-fighting tools were made by several people and they included: Mr Ashby and Mr G Whitridge. There was much discussion regarding a suitable site for erecting an equipment shed although at that stage the brigade did not own a fire engine, only some hand tools.

November 1951: Equipment acquired consisted of 5 knapsacks and an Alcon 1 1/2" 3hp pump with a 200 gallon tank and rubber hoses. Mr Ashby's Buckboard was made available to carry this equipment. Some of Mr Ashby's land is now called Wittunga, on Shepherds Hill Road, Eden Hills, which the Botanic Gardens look after.

January 1952: First 6 months to January 1952 had 8 callouts.

March 1952: Acquired 5 pair of overalls and a standpipe and key. First competed in EFS competitions held at Belair National Park, Belair. This tradition continued with many successful regional and state titles won, until the late 1990's.

November 1952: Purchased 1938 Ford V/8 3 Ton truck for £ 145. The Alcon pump setup was installed on this truck.

May 1953: Our members started training on Friday nights, this tradition has continued to the present day with formal training followed by a social chat between the members.

September 1953: Purchased 200 feet of 2nd hand canvas hose for 16/-

October 1953: Construction of a Fire Station in Parham Road, Eden Hills, was started by members of the unit, with some materials being donated. The land was donated by Mr J C Cheney on the 19th April 1953.

May 1954: 9 knapsacks and 2 fire extinguishers were purchased.

January 1955: 'Black Sunday Fires' raged through the Adelaide Hills, our crew was there.

February 1955: The truck was put in the fire station for the first time.

October 1955: Siren purchased and the first meeting was held in the station.

August 1956: Members volunteered for flood relief work at Murray Bridge.

May 1957: A HF radio was purchased for the truck.

July 1957: Purchased a Beresford pump, 300 gallons per minute driven by an Austin motor, and a 1952 Triumph twin motorcycle fitted with a red light and a siren, which was used to relay messages prior to radios.

September 1958: Gordon Whitridge and his father were made life members of the Eden Hills EFS.

March 1960: New International truck delivered. This 5 ton model AA148, 6 cylinder, petrol motor costing £ 5,000 was fitted with a General Motors built pump driven by a Ford 10hp motor providing 300gpm. The truck had a 300 gallon tank fitted and the cab was open style. The registration number was SA 343-647

June 1961: Opening of the new fire station on Northcote Road, Eden Hills, site of the present fire station. This too was erected by unit members. The Mitcham Council generously donated materials and assistance.

January 1962: Third and fourth Senior Firemen elected (T. Pearce and P. Hayden).

January 1963: Letter re no beer at station.

August 1964: Eden Hills brigade won the 'Best and Most Efficient Appliance and Crew" competition for the 3rd time in a row. The shield was donated by The Fire and Accident Underwriters Association of SA.

October 1964: Change of callouts to Austas

April 1967: First fire station extensions started to include a kitchen and toilet.

December 1967: Changed radios from HF to VHF.

March 1968: GMH pump became unusable, bought a Magirus pump

December 1969: 2 Breathing Apparatus acquired (Sebie Gorman sets) and members were given some basic training in their use.

July 1970: Lining of the Engine Bay of the fire station by members.

February 1971: Leather boots were issued to members who had served over 4 years membership. These were issued in order of rank at the rate of 2 pair per month until all members had boots.

October 1972: New truck arrived, this D18180 V/8 petrol driven International truck was purchased for $15,000. The body build up cost $7,000. It was fitted with the Magirus main pump with a 10hp Briggs and Stratton along with a Gaam pump as an auxiliary pump. The body for the truck was built by Anderson Body Builders located at Brompton. This was to be the last red fire truck our brigade was to have. Registration number RPU-131 1977

June 1978: Pool table purchased by the members of the brigade.

February 1980: Ash Wednesday number 1 devastated the Adelaide Hills and its people. Our crews were there doing what they could.

February 1981: First 'Ash Wednesday' Fires. Eden Hills Brigade assisted at Bridgewater.

February 1983: Ash Wednesday number 2 hits the Adelaide Hills even harder than its predecessor 3 years earlier. Several days of extreme conditions are faced by crew after crew. Eden Hills Brigade assisted at Eagle on the Hill, Mt. Barker Road.

August 1983: Station extensions again, and brick cladding.

August 1984: New vehicle (Eden Pumper, still in service), Ford Louisville LN8000 with the body built by Phil Wotton at Carey Gully engineering. The main pump being a PTO driven American "Darley JMP400" two stage pump capable of delivering 800psi or 400gpm. The auxiliary pump is a Darley 1 1/2" pressure pump. Equipment carried on this truck include all of the standard gear required for a 'Pumper class' appliance as dictated by the SA Country Fire Service as well as hydraulic rescue equipment and Dangerous substance management equipment.

September 1985?: Hosted, together with other brigades in the Mitcham Hills CFS Group, the State Finals of the CFS competitions at Belair National Park, Belair.

December 1985?: Hydraulic rescue equipment bought (FAG Lukas hydraulic gear including spreaders, cutters, ram, and a variety of air operated tools such as air-hacksaw, air-chisel and air-bags).

June 1986: Eden Hills CFS brigade recognised as VAR (Vehicle Accident Rescue) and DS (Dangerous Substance) brigade.

September 1986: "Black day - the first women joined the brigade as active fire-fighters!" - tongue in cheek quote from a past member. Still active members to this day they were quickly adopted and respected as equals having already served as cadet firefighters with the Mitcham Hills CFS Group cadets for a number of years. Female firefighters are treated completely equally to the men wearing the 20kg knapsacks, 15kg Breathing Apparatus and driving both fire appliances.

November 1986: The International truck (Eden 22) was painted the colour white due to CFS policy on all appliances being purchased or repainted had to conform to being white. This was considered very sad for our members, and a end to some history.

1987: Fence and side enclosure built for car storage at side of station.

1988: Mt Remarkable fires become one of our most memorable couple of days fighting fires in another region far from our own area while the rest of our crew stay to protect our home patch.

1990: 'Oxyviva' oxygen resuscitation equipment purchased.

May 1991: 40th Anniversary of brigade celebrated by past and current members.

December 1993: Major flooding at Two Wells and Langhorne Creek areas gives our crews many opportunities to perfect their sandbagging techniques and furniture stacking.

January 1994: Eden Pumper together with crew was sent to Sydney, New South Wales, to help with fighting the bushfires there. This was the first interstate callout our brigade had ever gone to.

Eden 24 purchased. This Isuzu FTS700 twin crew cab is a diesel engined, four-wheel-drive with a body built by Moore engineering, Murray Bridge. It has a Darley HM500 main pump with a Darley 1 1/2" auxiliary pump and 70m 25mm high pressure rubber hoses. The added benefit of the crew cab is in all the crew having safe and comfortable seating traveling to and from fire and emergency conditions.

Eden 22 (International truck) was retired from active duty after 22 years of faultless, reliable service with the exception of a few minor differential problems. This truck was sold through the government auction system and has since been seen by some of our members being used as a farm truck.

1998: Mitcham Hills CFS Group merged with Coromandel Valley and Cherry Gardens CFS brigades (formerly from Happy Valley CFS Group) to form the Sturt CFS Group together with the Sturt National Park CFS brigade housed in the Belair National Park.

June?: Mitcham Hills CFS Cadet Group formed, now called Sturt CFS Group Cadets, changed their training to be based at the Eden Hills Fire Station but still utilises the skills and dedication of members from all over the Sturt Group area to teach and train our future CFS firefighters and volunteers emergency skills, safety and volunteer ethics.

August 1994: First female Senior Fire-fighter elected - (who said it'd never happen??)

May 2002: 40th Anniversary of brigade celebrated by past and current members.

January 2002: Two members are sent to NSW to crew CFS vehicles from other areas to help battle their bushfires. These bushfires raged for 19 days until rain finally arrived.

October 2002: Four members are sent to NSW to help battle more bushfires. With summer not even started yet New South Wales is facing their worst ever bushfire season - much of Australia is in severe drought and the long term prognosis is one of extreme fire danger this summer in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and here in South Australia. A major fire in Flinders Chase National Park on Kangaroo Island signifies the start to our own 'busy' Summer.

November 2002: Our 'Fire Danger Season' is brought forward one month to November 1st due to poor rainfall levels which increase the bushfire risk, this brings in extra fire restrictions to our area.

January 2003: Our brigade's web site goes 'live'. Two members are sent to Victoria to help their local crews working on several fires throughout the alpine region. Meanwhile the Australian Capital Territory is hit by devastating fire hitting Australia's capital city, Canberra, in what is one of the most destructive killer fires in Australian history, destroying over 500 homes. As most of Australia is suffering severe drought conditions, including our own state our ability to send crews to help is very limited as we are also in the midst of extreme fire danger conditions with very high temperatures, strong winds and high risk fuel conditions throughout the state.

May 2003: Our brigade is asked to supply personnel and a Fire Truck (2 officers and our 'Eden Pumper' Fire Appliance) to 'star' in an Australian movie 'Thunderstruck' which is being filmed at the local community RSL (Returned Services League). It took 11 hours to complete the scenes we were involved in. The film is scheduled to be released in January 2004 so keep an eye out for our stars! Autographs available.

A slightly sad end of an era as our original Fire Station at Parham Road (built in October 1953) is demolished by the owner to make way for a newer, larger garage.

January 2005: Lower Eyre Peninsula was devastated by fires that killed 8 people, destroyed more than 50 homes, damaged 235 farming properties - many of them completely, and destroyed 83,000 hectares. This incident was later to be named 'Black Tuesday'. In the days that followed, several of our brigade members were sent over to work on the fireground using Edilillie's appliance to relieve local crews who needed a rest. Other members from our brigade were involved in management roles for this incident in the days that followed.

July 2005: Arrival and commissioning of our new Type 2 Appliance - the new Eden Pumper as well as the decommissioning of the original Eden Pumper (Formerly 'Eden 51'). Changeover of hydraulic rescue equipment from FAG Lucas Heavy Rescue to Holmatro Rapid Intervention gear including Combi-tool, Ram and Pump. Removal of Air-bags.

December 2005: One member sent to Cleve fire in combined crew from Sturt Group.

This information has been sourced from the Brigade website at this address

Brigade Stations

1961 to Present - Northcote Road, Eden Hills
Photographer, CFS Promotions Unit - Nov 2010
Google Map reference - Longitude 138.603172 Latitude -35.027236

Captains

Life Members