Authors David Salau, Graham Colson, Neil Brock, Jim Buchan, with CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan
Cane handled fire beaters, pack horses carrying gallons of water and the introduction of fire trucks are just a snippet of what you can discover about the history of CFA’s Wangaratta District in their recently published book of recollections.
The book, Make Tankers Ten – A History of the Wangaratta Fire Brigades Group was launched last night by CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan at the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre.
This biography of CFA Brigades in North East Victoria describes the development of cooperative firefighting in the community, the formation of the brigades and the creation of the Wangaratta Fire Brigades Group.
The book took ten years to collate and includes the story of the infamous Tarrawingee tragedy that resulted in the death of ten people and ultimately contributed to the formation of CFA.
The individual stories of the 16 Brigades that form the Wangaratta Group is detailed within the book, but goes further than recent history, taking the reader back to the 1800’s.
The finished product is a 236-page, large format, pictorial account that describes through words and images a large part of the social history that the community reflects on passionately to this day.
Wangaratta Group Officer Lachlan Gales said the book was driven by authors, Neil Brock, Jim Buchan, Graham Colson and David Salau.
“Each of the authors have been active leaders in CFA for decades. Their diligent, forensic research over the last ten years has resulted in an extraordinary historical record that will serve to inspire the generations of CFA firefighters to come,” he said.
“Make Tankers Ten tells the story of how CFA has evolved from the determination of local people motivated to serve a greater good.
“To this day, we remain true to the values those before us created and that’s what makes CFA a world class emergency service organisation, one that touches every part of the Victorian community.”
