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

Mallala Brigade - 1958 to Present

On 28 May 1923, a letter was sent to the fire brigades board requesting fire protection for the Mallala area. A letter of acceptance was received on 4 September 1923 recommending Albert Henry Huxtable to be the Auxiliary Foreman and he was paid a retainer. At first he was equipped with a bell and a handcart with which he ran to the scene of the fire.

Albert Henry Huxtable completed 27 years of service with the Mallala brigade and his attendance and duties were recorded until the day before he died.

The station was on the corner of Dublin Road and Railway Terrace.

During the early years the employees of East Bros Co. (machinery construction firm) comprised most of the fire fighting team.

On 6 October 1945 a Chevrolet Hose Carriage (with 2,497 miles on the speedo) was delivered to Mallala and the hose carriage was returned by goods train to Adelaide.

Mr A.E. Algar was instrumental in seeking the installation of the first siren (a World War 2 air raid siren) installed by headquarters’ electricians on 16 October 1945 and Mrs Les Jury (a member of the brigade) operated the alarm system as she lived nearby. The siren was tested every day, except Sundays and Christmas Day, until 17 August 1949 after which it was tested every Saturday at 12 noon. Mr A.E. Algar usually did this. This siren was used until 1994.

Extensions were made to the station on 19 October 1945 by the District Council of Mallala and completed on 10 November 1945. The station was lengthened to house the Chevrolet and a hose trailer.

In 1957 the fire service moved and commenced operation from the former council office on Aerodrome Road. The Ambulance were next door until a new station was built years later and the fire brigade used that building as a meeting room and communications room equipped with radios as the council office and radio had been used during callouts up until then.

In 1985 the old 1923 Reo Speed wagon fire truck (now housed in the Mallala museum) was replaced with a new Ford trader, which held 1000 litres of water. Mallala also had a Ford F500 with a 3,000 litre water capacity. The Ford F500 was replaced in 1989 with a Hino 22 (2,000 litre capacity, 2wd truck). The Ford trader was replaced in 2003 after it was damaged while fighting a crop fire in November that year. This truck that replaced it was a second hand Hino 22 (2,000 litre, 2wd). The first Hino 22 was later replaced by a new Hino 34 (3,000 litre, 4wd) in 2007.

The brigade also has two trailers. A small trailer is used to transport a cable used for haystack fires and also carries a portable dam. The second trailer is a support trailer, which has tea and coffee facilities, generator, lighting and spare equipment for use when incidents become prolonged and during the night.

In January 1994 the fire service moved to a new building on Railway Terrace with the relocation occurring whilst several members were in the midst of fighting fires in Sydney.

A new siren was installed but is now only used for major fires in the district. All crew are now equipped with a pager that alerts them of incidents.

This information has been sourced from the Mallala Museum Wiki 'Now & Then'

Brigade Stations

1994 to Present - Railway Terrace, Mallala
Photographer, CFS Promotions Unit - May 2009
Google Map reference - Longitude 138.508603 Latitude -34.438748

Captains

• Mr A.H. Huxtable
• Mr Cam Huxtable
• Mr Reg Bristow
• Mr Kevin Thompson
• Mr Graham Pontt
• Mr Tim Jenkin

Life Members