Brigade History

The brigade originally consisted of the farmers and their families and local residents of the area who all pitched in when fires occurred, to defend their homes and properties. At first an old farm shed at "Oakvale" was used to house the equipment and vehicle, an old Army "Blitz" wagon, of the Williamtown - Salt Ash  Volunteer Bushfire Brigade.

In 1972 a single bay station was built by Port Stephens Shire Council in Lemon Tree Passage Road near the intersection with Nelson Bay Road and housed a Studebaker 6WD truck replacing the "Blitz" wagon. This can be considered the official commencement date of the brigade with Barry Sansom as Captain. Barry remained Captain until late 1994 when he sadly decided to call it a day. As the years rolled on, the importance of the brigade being situated at the hub of both the Tilligerry and Tomaree peninsulas and the dedication of the members, the brigade gained two more vehicles. A Landrover 4WD was jointly purchased by the Council and the brigade and converted to a Category 9 light tanker or "Striker". The Studebaker was replaced by an ex-army Acco 6WD with hydraulic pump and an ex-army Acco 4WD was later supplied. The "Striker" was housed at the Captains property and the Acco 4WD in a shed behind Fielding Madden's general store at Williamtown. Fielding (Phil) was also a founding member of the brigade and a Deputy Captain until he retired in 1994. Apart from the "Striker" being replaced twice by newer units the brigade remained this way for the best part of 20 years.

In the early days fund-raising was the life line of a well equipped brigade and the Captains property was host to many bush dances and the very popular gymkhanas. The brigade has always been well supported by the community, particularly the women who provided the the back up support of refreshment both at bushfires and fund-raising events. One wonders if the brigade would have progressed without the "Ladies Auxiliary". After the fires of 94' $5000.00 was raised as a joint effort between the community, Salt Ash Church of Christ and Oakvale Farm and Animal World. Along with a grant from Port Stephens Council much needed extensions were completed to the station allowing the 25 current members to have all vehicles housed in the same station as well as much needed training space. In 2001 our station now has an Isuzu category 1 heavy tanker for village protection, a Mitsubishi category 7 light tanker and our ever faithful Acco 6WD (these days with diesel motor). The need for fund-raising is less but the brigade is still very social and community based. The Community still provides funding for the Brigade through the Salt Ash Public School community and business's such

as Unimin Mining, Ken Dark's Mobil & IGA, Paul's Corner, Saxby's, Midway Timber, Midway Caltex, Williamtown Metro Service Centre and Newcastle Airport.

A new Station is currently under construction in Michael Drive Salt Ash and should be completed before the 2005 fire season. It will also encompass a Zone Training Facility.

The new Station has now been commissioned with an official opening on December 10th, 2005. It encompasses 3 truck bays, Brigade area which is fully lined with kitchen, toilets, showers, laundry, hot water and an officers office. The upstairs level is a large meeting room with kitchenette for Zone training purposes. The complete structure was funded solely by Port Stephens Council in support of the work of the volunteer firefighters and for the protection of the community. This building has become the standard for Port Stephens in their station upgrade program.

The stories from members past and present could fill reams of paper. This is just a synopsis of our story so far. I hope to add a separate page for members tales later. 

Some text is an extraction from an article in "A History Of The Tilligerry Peninsular" by William Howard and Members of the Tilligerry & Districts Family History Society Book Committee.