Brigade profile - Koo Wee Rup

by Roger Smith, Koo Wee Rup brigade

Koo Wee Rup Urban Fire Brigade began in November 1943 and has been active ever since.

(l to r) Firefighters Nathan Hallisey, Samantha Smith, Councillor Doug Hamilton, Bank Director Glenn McGregor, Bank Manager Richard Roach, Bank Director Tania Hansen, Firefighters Grant Russell and Jarrod MacDonald proudly show off the new KooWeeRup Support vehicle.

During the 65 years it has been going we have only had six Captains and, as with most brigades from small country towns, have had the same families involved throughout the generations. The current captain, Michael Duff, follows his father into the role, but also has had several other relatives serving the brigade. Other current serving members, such as Michael Huxtable, Darren Oudeman, Dean Alderson and Mark O’Hehir, have also had relatives serving the community.

Dick Florence, having served 25 years as Captain, is still a regular attendee at brigade functions.

Koo Wee Rup is situated 12 kilometres south of Pakenham in the middle of the countryside that grows the best asparagus in Australia. It forms part of the four brigades known locally as “The Swamp Brigades” with the other brigades being Lang Lang, Bayles and Heath Hill-Yannathan. KooWeeRup is in Region 8 and is a member of Cardinia Group.

KooWeeRup competes in the Urban Competition Championships and has attended championships in Tasmania and Western Australia with great success in the past. We have a very active Ladies Auxiliary who, over many years, have raised in excess of $120,000 for the brigade.

The highlight of the fund-raising year is always the Christmas Stocking Raffle. The “stocking” is the size of an old fashioned telephone box and contains a huge range of toys and other items, which are mainly donated by the local shop-keepers.

The brigade has always had an extremely close relationship with the local community, an example of which is the strong support from the Bendigo Community Bank, which has recently helped the brigade to purchase a new Ford Transit support vehicle.

Awards night 2008

Councillor Doug Hamilton shakes hands with Captain Michael Duff with Operations Officer Jimmy Dore looking on

The Koo Wee Rup station housed a joint function earlier this year when the brigade celebrated the handover of a new support vehicle and the end of the 2007/2008 season for the competition team.

The support vehicle, a Ford Transit, was purchased with the aid of a large grant from the Bendigo Community Bank in Koo Wee Rup with local branch manager Richard Roach and some of the bank directors present for the occasion. Cardinia Shire Councillor Doug Hamilton, who is also a Community Bank Director, was on hand to give the keys to brigade Captain Michael Duff.

Trophies won by the team during the year were on display for the evening and two members of the Competition Team were presented with individual awards on the night. Samantha Smith was presented with the Coaches Award for Best Team Member as chosen by the joint coaches Michael Duff and Chris Seuren, with Grant Russell winning the H.K.R. and F.J.A Judges Award for Most Determined Runner. This award was presented by May Ridgeway and Fred Alderson.

The KooWeeRup competition team with their trophies. Left to Right - Grant Russell, Nathan Hallisey, Sam Smith, Jarrod MacDonald, Dean Alderson, Craig Lansdown, Michael Duff and Chris Seuren. Missing are Team Manager Roger Smith, Matt Grogan and Matt Abbey