THE TWEED SHIRE Volume 1 #24 Thursday, February 19, 2009 Advertising and news enquiries: Phone: (02) 6672 2280 Fax: (02) 6672 4933 editor@tweedecho.com.au adcopy@tweedecho.com.au www.tweedecho.com.au
Pottsville SES halted Plans to establish a dedicated State Emergency Service (SES) unit in Pottsville could be abandoned, leaving coastal residents to fend for themselves in floods. A $200,000 facility for the new branch, which already has eight trained members, was approved by the Tweed Shire Council last week. But the Centennial Drive shed and offices may never be built because of new studies into flooding patterns on the Tweed. SES officials have decided to halt work on the facility, which was to be finished by June 1, to await the release of the Tweed Byron Coastal Creeks Flood Study and Tweed River Flood Study. A council spokeswoman said both studies would take three months to complete. SES Tweed local controller Brian Sheahan said the delay was disappointing but that the SES wanted to get the location of its newest unit ‘spot on’. ‘The plans have been finalised but we have got to determine if we proceed with them, if we build something smaller, something larger or if we don’t go with Pottsville at all,’ he said. ‘We need to see the impact of this new flood model to determine where the need for units will be.’ The decision to establish the SES at Pottsville was made following heavy flooding in the Tweed in 2005. Officials had feared Tweed Heads and Murwillumbah units would not be able to access the coast and would be unable to assist if flooding cut major roads into the area. ‘The decision was made that we needed to look after the extra growth in these coastal areas by establishing a new unit in the region,’ Mr Sheahan said. Eight coastal residents were trained for the unit and a boat and four-wheel-drive has already been acquired. ‘We had hoped to get it up and running by June 1 but, depending on this model, we might have priorities in other areas,’ he said. ‘It would be foolish to spend the money and in 12 months realise we have made a mistake.’
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LOCAL & INDEPENDENT
Celebrating the centenary of surf life saving
Part of the team who will re-enact the first recorded surf rescue: in the foreground patrol captain Moose Morley, on the reel Jason Clarke (kneeling) and director of Surf Life Saving Peter Whitaker. Photo Jeff ‘Mad Mal’ Dawson Roxanne Millar
It was February 21, 1909 and a group of men on Greenmount Beach in Coolangatta were learning the latest surf life saving rescue techniques with a line and a belt. As they broke for lunch, they noticed four women and a man in trouble off the shore. Thinking fast, they put their newly-learned rescue techniques and high-tech line and belt rescue equipment into action – managing to save all five people. The incident was the first recorded surf rescue in Queensland and will be commemorated with a 100th anniversary re-enactment on Saturday. Hosted by the Tweed and Coolangatta Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) – whose founding member John ‘Bluey’ Gray was involved in the
rescue – it will demonstrate the advances in lifesaving over the past century. Surf Life Saving Queensland members, including athletes Kristy Harris, Jacob Lollback and Kathryn McKenzie will don Victorian swimming costumes to re-enact the fateful rescue of the four Murwillumbah women and a mystery man. Alan Hickling, life member of the surf club, said little was known about the old rescue but that it was believed lifesavers went out three times to save the people. ‘We aren’t sure why they got into trouble, if a rip was involved or not,’ he said. ‘But the men fed the line out and someone in the belt went out and rescued them. ‘It was a great result and has put our club into the history books.’
Mr Hickling said the surf club had tried unsuccessfully to locate relatives of the rescued women. ‘A lot has been lost in the fog of time, all we know of the rescuers were that they were led by Bluey Gray,’ he said. ‘As for the ladies, we know their names were Mary Smith, Edith Hoskins and Ethel and Jenny King.’ The re-enactment promises to be a fun day for the family. It will run from 12pm to 6pm at the Tweed and Coolangatta SLSC, with the march past, re-enactment and demonstrations of modern life-saving equipment commencing at 1pm (all NSW time). Families or friends of the rescued women should call Mr Hickling on 5536 2714 or the surf club on 55361506.
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