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

Strathalbyn Brigade - 1940 to Present

In the late 1800’s and early part of the 1900’s the St Andrews Church bell was used to call local residents in the Strathalbyn district to help extinguish fires. These early volunteers used crude methods such as beating out the flames with wet wheat bags with limited coordination.

In 1916 the first Strathalbyn District Fire Control Officer was appointed. Under state legislation the fire Control Officers had the power to do anything that was warranted to prevent, protect people from and extinguish a fire. This most commonly involved back burning and fuel reduction.

As technologies developed knap sack sprays were introduced to the district in the 1920’s.

During the 1930’s it was decided it was time to form a civil defence force (CDF) in Strathalbyn. Following large bushfires in 1939 the red buggy shed in the Catholic Presbytery paddock was purchased to store the emergency response equipment. However with the outbreak of war in Europe at the time the pool of available volunteers was limited.

On the 9th of October 1942 Lieut. Co Shaw, director of Air Raid Precautions in S.A. held a meeting in the Strathalbyn Town Hall to discuss air raid precautions, civil defence and fire control. The advert for the meeting stated: “It may concern YOU in the future and Can not be left to the next man”

Around the same period an air raid siren was installed in the Strathalbyn Corporation Chambers and used to call the civil defence volunteers to respond to fires. By the end of 1942 the Emergency Fire Service (EFS) had been formed within the CDF. The Commonwealth Government also provided a Beresford trailer mounted pump to the district in the early 1940’s.

In 1948 the CDF was disbanded and the Strathalbyn EFS came under the control of the S.A. Police department.

In 1949 an ex-army Blitz truck was purchased with donations from the local community to be converted into a fire appliance by the volunteers. The abandoned truck had to be recovered near Darwin before being delivered to Strathalbyn. Soon afterwards another ex-army vehicle, a jeep was acquired as a command vehicle. The jeep, truck and pump continued in service within the district until retired to the Strathalbyn National Trust museum where they remain on display.

In 1953 the brigade moved to Sandergrove Road. The “red shed” was relocated to this site by the volunteers and was officially opened by Mr McEwin on the 1st of November. The alarm siren was also relocated to the site from the Corporation Chambers. The Strathalbyn and Districts Fire Fighting Association was formed and raised funds to improve the fire station and equipment. 2 appliances, an Austin and a Nissan, were purchased in 1968. Another Strathalbyn appliance during this period was a Holden FB utility which was replaced in the mid 70’s by a Holden HZ utility.

The brigade under the control of the Country Fire Service from 1977, continued to operate from the “red shed” until the Council moved from the old District Council offices on South Terrace in the Early 1980’s. The Chambers were converted, again with a great deal of voluntary labour, into the Strathalbyn Brigade and District Headquarters. The minister for Agriculture Mr Ted Chapman opened the new station in October of 1982. By this time the Blitz had been replaced with an International C1800 purchased from Tailem Bend in 1978. In the mid 1980’s the Austin and Nissan were both replaced by a Mitsubishi (Strathalbyn 32) and a Toyota. The current Isuzu 24P pumper replaced Strathalbyn 32 in the early 2000’s. The Toyota being replaced by a Ford F100 14 unit until replaced in 2006 by the current Toyota Land cruiser. (32 remains in service with the CFS as a promotional vehicle.)

Strathalbyn also received a Hino 34 unit in the early 2000’s this was replaced by the current Isuzu 34 in March 2006.

In 2004 the South Terrace building was sold for development and a new site for the Strathalbyn CFS Group Base was selected in its current location on Forrest Road. The Region 1 commander Mr Mark Thomason opened the new base on the 28th of March 2006.

The Strathalbyn Group consists of the following brigades ·

• Ashbourne – 34 and 24 appliances
• Blackfellows Creek - 24 appliance
• Clayton – 24 appliance
• Langhorne Creek – 2 X 24 appliances
• Milang – 24 appliance
• Strathalbyn – 24P 34 and 14 appliances
• Woodchester – 24 and 14 appliances

In Addition the Group also has 3 command vehicles. The new base consists of a 3 bay appliance shed, group communications centre, group office, lecture room, galley and amenities. The Strathalbyn Brigade currently hosts 3 appliances and the region 1 HAZMAT trailer. We have an energetic crew from a diverse cross section of the community. We work in cooperation with the other services in the district to attend a wide range of emergencies. Our entire focus is on protecting the community. The current Strathalbyn crew wishes to acknowledge the efforts and commitment of all the past Strathalbyn and surrounding districts CDF, EFS and CFS volunteers who served, and the private landowners who have fought fires in the district. Without the efforts of these people the consequences of fires on our community would have been devastating.

This information has been sourced from the Brigade website.

Brigade Stations

2006 - Present - Forrest Road, Strathalbyn
Photographer, CFS Promotions Unit - Jul 2009
Google Map reference - Longitude 138.896819 Latitude -35.270165

Captains

Life Members