 Well good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome here to the memorial service for the 80th anniversary of the Tarawingee fire. My name's Gary Nash and I'll be your master of ceremonies here this morning and I feel very honoured and privileged to conduct this service with you. Firstly I'd like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we've gathered and pay my respects to their elders past and present. Everyone welcome to our dignitaries. We have CFA CEO Natalia McDonald, our Chief Officer Jason Heffernan, CFA Board Member Ross Coyle, CFA Deputy Chief Officer Ross Sullivan, CFA AFCO in Steve Contessa, our CFA Chaplain in David Poole, CFBV Executive in Mr Adam Barnett, CFBV State President Samantha Collins, FRV Acting Deputy Commissioner Gary Mann, Red Cross State Manager of Emergency Services Fiona Norton, State Member of Parliament Mr Tim McCurdy and the Federal Independent Member for Indy, Helen Haynes and we have our Rural City of Wangerata Mayor, Councillor Dean Reece and Deputy Mayor, Councillor Harvey Benton. A very welcome to you all to this service. I have an apology also from Deputy Chief Officer in Gary Cook, known to many of us here and it's very rare for Gary to miss this service, he is State Duty Officer acting today. So ladies and gentlemen as we go through this service today, I'd ask you to cast your minds back to what it was like 80 years ago. Extreme weather conditions, hot dry winds and many of us have experienced this when you turn and face these winds, they're that hot, they almost list to your skin. The pastures similar to this but maybe a lot drier and 100% cured that as you walk across it, the grass fibres go into little microbes and that is really a massive thing to combat in a fire. The road bitumen out here, the reports say that it was bubbling so hot. So as we hear from our presenters today, just cast your mind back to those conditions that the community and firefighters have to contend with. So just remember what it may have been like. On remembrance, I'd like to call Mr David Gillard, the captain of the Tarroinji Fire Brigade, to do a reading on the call of remembrance. David. Friends, firefighters, we are gathered here in the sight of God as loyal citizens of Australia to honour the memory of those who dived in service, the CFA and our state. We have gathered at this time to let us thank God for the remembrance and sacrifice made for those members, some we know to us and some not known to us. We give thanks to their devotion of duty and will pray for those still mourning their sad loss. We ask we continue to do our duty and honourably walk in the service of the CFA and our community. Thank you David. Our next presenter is our Chief Fire Officer, Mr Jason Hevenin, who has a wealth of experience in firefighting and leads a great spirited organisation of volunteers in CFA. So I'd like to welcome Jason to a lectern. Good morning. Greater love has no man than this that he giveth his life for his friend. Today we come together to remember those brave and selfless firefighters who lost their lives while protecting the Tarroinji community 80 years ago. We honour the sacrifice and the memory of the 10 firefighters, eight men, two schoolboys, 14-year-old who lost their lives in service to their communities in fighting this devastating fire. Today we stop, reflect and acknowledge the family members, the mothers, the fathers, the sons, daughters, uncles, brothers and relatives who were all touched by this tragedy on this day 80 years ago. We acknowledge them, those that are with us here today and those that have passed before, in the sadness that they must have experienced at that time, but also the great pride that they may have had and must have had that their family members gave of themselves in protection for the district. What occurred on this day 80 years ago was the largest loss of emergency service personnel in Victoria's history at that time. And we must pause to remember the sacrifice that our emergency service personnel give and when they put their lives on the line on a daily basis to protect our communities. The Tarroinji fire, 1943, is a poignant reminder of the sacrifice that our members make and the danger that they face when they go out and protect their local communities. I pause right now. Some of you may not know that as I speak and as we sit here, the New South Files Fire Brigade and New South Files Royal Fire Service are putting to rest firefighter Michael Kidd who was killed only a few weeks ago during internal firefight. Again, a poignant reminder of the dangers that all our members not only hear in Victoria face, but also across the country. Regardless of the passing of the years, the shadow of the tragedy that stays with us, it will stay with the families, it will stay with the brigade members, it will stay with the community and it will stay with the CFA. However, the CFA must always honour and remember these fallen heroes. We must honour them by continuing our vital work and protection of communities. We must honour them by ensuring that we provide the best training, the best equipment, the best PPC to allow them to go out and do their vital work. We honour them by learning from these fires. We honour them by learning of the tragedies of the past so that we may improve things that that not be repeated into the future. And we come together and honour them by coming together today at this monument to pause and reflect on what occurred 80 years ago. In doing so, we will ensure that their lives live on in spirit and that they will never be forgotten. Thank you. Thank you, Jason, for that touching speech there about protection of our community and done by volunteers as well as many first responders in other emergency services as well as we go forward. The next is a reading, The Spirit of CFA, in which I mentioned before, we have an outstanding spirit within the volunteer organisation of CFA. And I can think of none better to perhaps come and do this reading, is a local Tarrawinji firefighter, recognised as firefighter of the year in Charlie McGrath. Thank you for all walks of life. You are our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, our grandparents, neighbours and our friends. You help and protect us without wanting of recognition or reward. In our time of need, you are there, your courage and compassion are inspiring, your loyalty unquestionable. You comfort us with a tender hand, you stand at the face of nature's beast and fight for our lives and our land. You are the essence of the true meaning of community. You epitomise the Australian spirit, the spirit of CFA. Thank you Charlie, very poignant words, particularly when you think what we're celebrating or putting in memory today over this great sacrifice of these people here. Our next presenter, ladies and gentlemen, probably from a local perspective leads no introduction to us. He's a stalwart CFA volunteer of some 60 plus years, always with the Tarrawinji Brigade and has helped so much in always putting on this memorial service here for us to recognise the sacrifices of these wonderful people. I'd like to invite to the podium Mr Graeme Norman, extraordinary firefighter and a great proponent of CFA Graeme. Thanks Gary, I'm not as good as what he just told you so don't take that as gospel. It's great to see the turnout we've got here today, it's fantastic and I can imagine those 10 men, okay two of the boys, but 14 years old you were a man in those days. They're probably up there looking down on us and saying, well for us this by the look of it and I can just imagine them saying, you know if the fire didn't happen we wouldn't be here and there'd be no service. Well as we know the fire happened. Started down at Bowser about 4.30 in the afternoon, an open finding on how it started. We won't argue over that one. The local station master at Bowser Railway station rang Wenger Atta and set the alarm going and get wheels rolling and the Shire Wenger Atta municipal fire officer that's Bill Richardson was notified and they had to find a driver for this new elite firefighting unit. Probably wasn't brand new but it was pretty new. Way above anything else around the district. Anyway George McLaughlin was working in the menswear and Reed Street was the man they contacted. George made a dash down to where the truck was kept. It was kept at Dr Henderson's house. It's just on the first little bend on Rowan Street. I can remember the house there with a big hedge in front of it. They kept the fire truck there. When George got there Bill was already there and they got and sped out the fire. Meanwhile out on the fire ground a young fellow by the name of Ron Morrison was probably the first person to be there. Ron was about six days off, been 16 years old. He went with his knapsack, he got up the road and the car came along and said jump on the running board. Ron and I'll get you up to the corner, the Coleman's corner as we called it in those days where the Elgarado Road crosses the freeway. Anyway that was alright, he hung on the side of the car and got through up there. Meanwhile there was the odd farmer's truck turned up. One of them was a Wally Swan from over here in Laundragon. He had a 100 gallon square tank on his truck which the Tarrawidgy Brigade owned three of them and he had one of them and they had a hand pump. No motorer, just a hand pump on it. So of course he had to find somebody that was game enough to get up on that truck and work that hand pump. And that particular person happened to be a Dave Norman that had ridden his bike down and got on the truck and he worked the pump and he told me years later he said I went home that night, I never slept, my arm was that sore and my shoulders were no good and he said I never want to see another hand pump again in my lifetime. Anyway between them all there was some come from Bourham and Dockers Plains, McDonald's Ute and Laurie O'Keefe turned up in his truck with a couple of 44 gallon drums of water on board and he had nobody on the back but at that particular time young Kevin Dunkley, he was still home, his father had gone out to hunt the sheep in the yards to get them out of the case of fire come their way, the neighbour said oh you want to come Kevin, yep I'll come, Kevin finished up on the back of Laurie O'Keefe's truck so they tried to stop at the Eldrade Road, it just beat him when inter-Claude Yaimans and then inter Tom Norman's place and the owners were trying to get the livestock to the sheep out of the road, it crossed the what we call Croce's Lane, the elite fire truck run out of water so Bill Richardson told George get back to Wankerator and get it filled up and get back out here quick so away he went, anyway it was heading towards Jack Bell's house, a no-weatherboard house down there next to the reedy creek and at McDonald's you went down there they had 20 gallons of water on board which is not even a hundred litres, no doubt there would have been a tank full of water around the house somewhere but they saved that house and that house is still still been used this day right up the now and it will be in the future, meanwhile the the Bell told him Wankerator and there was a lot of people volunteers that decided well we've got to go out and help, there's a lot of people away at war so they organise themselves to get out there to help, the fire crossed the reedy creek it was only a cricket pitch in length when it crossed the reedy creek and at that particular time the captain of the Tarawindu Fire Brigade Arthur Stewart and his two nephews Ken and Harold Stewart they arrived there they had one knapsack which Harold had and one beater if you know what a beater is a strip of leather strips tied to a stick anyway they tried to light a burner break off a sheep track and the sheep track of course only about eight inches or 200 millimeters wide but anyway it beat them in the finish they couldn't hold it there was no they thought they had a sort of truck coming to help them but never turned up and I was always told by Ken Ellis from out of Greeter he was on his way out to help Ken Ken eventually finished up the group officer the Wankerator group in later years but there was petrol rationing in those days if you had any know anything about wartime and his his vehicle run out of petrol on this side of Wankerator on that one's highway so he said oh if I got there I would have had a water we would have stopped it but anyway didn't happen so it beat them at over that break meanwhile George McLaughlin come back with the Loot Fire Truck the volunteers from Wankerator I think some got on in Wang and the rest of them got on there at the Detour Road but it was about that time that Laurie O'Keefe they'd to get around on this side of the Breedy Creek and they had to go down the Croucher Lane and get on the Detour Road and it's just at that particular point is where young Claude Hill and his family lived and Claude and his mother were sitting out the front watching because it could have gone down that way too and because Claude would have seen young Kevin on the back and thought oh dear I wonder can I get on there and Laurie pulled up and yelled out you're coming with us Claude and Claude's mother said no too dangerous you know like that anyway Laurie said no we'll look after him we'll look after him they'll be that's a stop on the back they'll just soak the bags in the in the drums and give it to the men on the ground anyway she relented and let him go she found a pair of shoes for him and a hashing bag to take with him so he was on there with young Kevin so back on the fire front the decision was made to to leave there and come up and do a break on Whiten's Road just back down here he jumped the Crabhole Creek as we call it and also Brussels Road I think ducklings old house down there they had a bit of fun saving it but they did hit headed up this way them Bill and Arthur and the fire lighters were in front they got up the pedigree up to Whiten's Road down here and so we're going to burn a break here well the wind and the ash and the smoke was already coming over the top of them and they sort of said the fire lighters said oh we can't we can't see what we're doing we're going to get smothered and smoke and ash and and that and Bill says look get your hand here wet it and they said but we got no water with us how are we going to wet it his reply was oh P on it well you imagine how that would have went down plus the fact they would have all been dehydrated and they wouldn't have had any moisture in their bladder anyway so it was abandoned no we'll make we'll come up to Pettigate Lake we'll get up here quick and then we had the lake come up in front and the elite fire truck was traveling behind back a bit plus Bill Richardson's own fire truck which is son Wallace was driving Laurie O'Keefe with the two boys on the back were in that convoy here like the they come up down here fire was going that fast so I was struggling to keep in front of it that's how strong the wind that Gary referred to earlier they got around those two little bends up here and all of a sudden mother nature turned against them the fire actually split into two fronts one kept going through to Pettigate Lane and the other one just turned and come straight across here the they didn't have much time to think that hit them that quick and the ash and the smoke George thought he'd try to turn the truck around and go back well it wasn't quite righty it's a little bit further up there actually where where that happened but he couldn't see the table drain which you can see the table don't even there nowadays front wheel when in the table drain belly to chassis on the side of the road wouldn't move an inch if it wasn't for you know didn't have four wheel drives in those days so it's stuck so you can imagine the fire hit him you can imagine the confusion the panic and you know and they would have been all scared out of their wits what was going to happen some of them head behind trees some of some of the head behind trees did eventually survive some didn't some of them made a run for the river apparently the driver had got burnt on the way through but they would have had to get over the fence here probably might have been a person rough ends in those days I wouldn't know hit the place yeah they've copped it left right and center burnt the truck you've seen the failure of the truck and meanwhile there was some up here and had come over from Markwood there was John Marks and Arthur Wellings in and and the news agent from Wenger out of Vic Edgar he he was on board with them they got off their tractor grabbed some leaves off branches off trees the truck went off and left them behind Arthur got in a culvert John tried to make a run for the river didn't even make the fence and Vic got in a stationary car there and he always had a story that car apparently got a light he got out eventually he got very badly burned but the bitchman was boiling to him now if you know what degrees you've got to boil the bitchman out to get it to boil it's got to be at least 150 degrees Celsius so you'd imagine we'd rumble about been 40 degrees matter what those men went through that day it would have been horrific anyway back here on the local police officer he collected a few of them to take them in the hospital the another farmer from Upspringers come down here and his little truck said Humphrey he picked up well we've pretty sure it's three men we're pretty sure of the three PMG Leinsman he took them in on the back of his truck in the Wang he went down Templeton Street and for those and they wanker at it there's a row a hotel down there and they demanded that he pull up so they could get a whiskey at the pub which he truly did and they took him down the hospital one of two makes he walked in they wouldn't go in wheelchairs but but said didn't know who they were and what happened to him and he to our knowledge the whole three of them passed away which he didn't know until I told him one day the as far as the the other men went with a lot of it wasn't such a thing as an ambulance much in those days well there was one but it was the local funeral undertaker they used to use his hearth as a as an ambulance but a lot of people had to sort of as sort of said yeah we're in the back going to hospital two weeks later we were lower in the back in a coffin down to the cemetery so it was a long got carted in by just individuals and police officer along the line with a pretty a riffy scene that would have been here at the time the for you know after that the two boys they they got down got behind a log they both perished behind the log unfortunately and this the two up here that I mentioned before from Markwood but it was a you know just one of those things it was a frequent so do what it did that day I think if it happened this day and age I could hear some experts saying oh climate change caused that well so we had climate change back in 1943 at that rate but they it's it was a pretty you know traumatic they didn't pull fire up until they got to the way up here past over the ground with our wedgie road right up to Hodgson's Creek up there I know Harold Stewart that had the had the knapsack he went all walked all the way from down there ready creek right through to the end helping out the various landowners on the way through is it's just one of those I don't know how you know the ones who went to hospital I know in some cases I know I think this story is true like a doctor made him drink a hot long neck of beer straight down for you imagine what happened after that but those two survived they were pretty pretty good but but the story goes that they never drank another beer for the rest of their life the and of course they the doctors in the hospital wanted blood serum so a call went out to Melbourne to the Red Cross we've got a lady from the Red Cross here today there's gonna so few words but the clear call went out and they said oh we haven't got much and the doctor said look I want whatever you got anyway two ladies just transferred it from Melbourne to Wenger at her in a car on the here highway and the police the police commissioner given the okay to travel at whatever speed they were comfortable so you'd imagine the police probably sent messages through to each had to go through every little town on the way through in those days and they divided right and they they would have probably phoned through and said look trying to give them a right away through the town as I had to cross the line about four times by my calculations I don't think the trains we're going to pull up from but I made them three hours okay it might and sound real quick but in those days it would have been very quick and you can imagine driving up the road and no divided road so you had to be very careful if you're going to pass somebody not there would have been a lot of traffic on the road but a fair bit but they say oh it saved two people I reckon it would have saved more out of that tragedy the the funerals you know some of them died that day some died the next day and funerals were one after the other and the two boys were buried on Christmas Day well you'd imagine those families every Christmas day after that what they would have been thinking hit the premier of the state visited at the time he guaranteed that they would get a new fire truck and also some of the local brigades would get a fire truck as well the governor actually visited he apparently went around every family and said and paid his condolences to him and he actually donated a fair lump out of his own pocket towards the relief fund the relief fund I know got up to about 18 and a half thousand pound in those days and that was wartime and money was pretty tight along the line and this monument here in front the locals donated that the money to build that monument it cost a hundred and sixty pound in those days which is three hundred and twenty dollars imagine we wouldn't get much for three hundred and twenty dollars nowadays and probably wouldn't even get the bottom cement base on it but it was a great great thing for the locals to remember those men that come out to help the I know I haven't covered a lot of it but there's an information board up in the hall that's going to going to give you a little bit of a clue of what some people said that it's not all there but but you can have a look at that up in the hall but the other thing is the rule of the way we're at a group of published a book make tankers 10 now it does cover this fire it covers a lot of fires covers a history of all the brigades in this group and that's it there and they'll be for sale up at the at the hall and it's a great book you won't regret buying it got a good heart cover it'll last a lot of generations now I would say to the descendants of the deceased fire fighters I know you're probably the ones that were alive at the time when that happened and probably pretty young probably you would have been probably I found it very hard to you know the memories would be terrible but the next generation down and the generation after that we've had a generation you could have three generations of what I say to them stand tall and be proud of what your ancestors did that day they come out here to help the to protect us citizens and the landowners of this district no main feet and they sacrifice their life doing it now what we've got what I hope you can do is continue that story you know all that's are going to be dead and drawn is shortly and we've got to have people that continue on with that story and keep so I'm I'm asking all you younger ones descendants of these fire 10 deceased firefighters make sure that it gets in front of the media every year make sure that that monument there is there for a purpose we said to play respect to the those 10 men so I'm asking you and I know you can do it is to continue with the stories of this tragic fire you probably heard enough and Gary's probably wouldn't chuck me off here but I'll finish on this note and to the 10 men who lost their lives in that fire so the firefighters that survived that day that we're fighting a fire who have all passed away since may they continue to rest in internal peace and as it says on the front duty nobly done thank you very much Graham for that summary and of what the horrendous conditions that were out there and mother nature hasn't changed continues to throw up massive conditions for us in rural and regional Australia for firefighters and for citizens and out of that also the equipment that we really need to in which we still continue today to have on our tankers is that wonderful knapsack so that's a really integral part of our our equipment as we go forward and also it was very interesting with Graham mentioning a number of those names in his early part of his presentation I have had back many years ago the privilege of meeting some of those people and listening to the stories that they could talk about that fire and as with any situation with the emergency services there's an organization that we continue to rely on and have for many many many years in both nationally and internationally and that's the Red Cross and Graham alluded to that the support and the effort that they had in helping bring I suppose some of our people that were needing assistance and Red Cross stood up and was very tall so I'd like to call to the podium Fiona Norton on their Victorian State Manager for emergency services of Red Cross ladies and gentlemen colleagues and honored guests I acknowledge the traditional owners on the lands on which we meet and I pay my respects to elders past present and emerging today we gather to commemorate the lives of those affected by the devastating bushfires that swept through this region in 1943 in recognition of their unimaginable loss we come together to remember honor and celebrate those involved as we stand together and reflect on the fierce and unpredictable nature of disasters in this country we pay tribute to the spirit that defines us in the face of adversity and of the grit of those who responded and to those who step and stepped up to support them in reviewing the Red Cross archives in preparation for today's memorial I found that the terror wingy bushfires of 1943 stand as an indelible chapter in our shared history that galvanized our collective strength and established a legacy of collaboration that has carried forward to the present day it was compelling yet humbling experience to read about the contribution of Red Cross for those impacted by the bushfires at the time Australian Red Cross was actively feeding clothing and caring for those impacted by World War two this preparation and dedication paid off when Victorians needed at most stockpiled supplies were dispatched to devastated areas along with volunteers offering solace and support to families and communities grappling with the aftermath while understanding the solemnity I couldn't help but smile when reading about the plucky Red Cross girls and could vividly picture them driving at speed through winding roads and smoke to get blood serum to those who were injured some of whom were undoubtedly saved by that pluck the courage and resilience demonstrated in 1943 is just as evident and strong in those who respond to disasters today as we reflect on the significance of the terror wingy bushfires we pay tribute to the spirit of those affected and involved in closing let us remember that while disasters can shape us they don't define us rather we are defined by the legacy of compassion community and shared humanity that we have all built together and will continue to nurture into the future thank you Fiona Graham's presentation mentioned calling on our younger generation to continue on with the cause and the and the quest of what these this sacrifice meant and I guess our next speaker Mara Spencer from across right across the ditch not just across from Tasmania but from New Zealand is a great granddaughter of Godfrey Spencer I'd now like to ask her to come forward and present her speech my name is Maya Spencer and I am the great granddaughter of Godfrey Spencer to Graham's point it is an honor and a privilege to be here today Pericles once wrote you leave behind not what is engraved in stone monuments but what is woven into the lives of others and I think we are all living proof that that statement is true I never knew my great grandfather however like many of you here I have grown up with the stories of their heroic fight in this very spot 80 years ago even though I was born and raised in New Zealand my Victorian heart still beats strong kept alive by regular visits to Wangerata which has always included a compulsory visit to this monument and also the Beechworth lolly shop thanks to my late uncle Jim Gregory and his meticulous record keeping I have at least had an insight into Godfrey's life like many others of his time he was a world war one veteran joining the 38th battalion in the Australian imperial force fortunately he survived this war and was awarded the military bravery medal for his courage in the battle of Mercedes in Belgium however on this day in 1943 that bravery we put him on the truck to Tarawindy with such tragic consequences for eight men and two boys we remember here today little did he know that for generations afterwards his memory and legacy in our family became far-reaching and in each generation we have paid our part to serve the communities all in the same way his own daughters one in the Australian Army Medical Woman service served in Japan the other a king community advocate until her 90s in Wangerata his nephew in the Royal British Navy and his grandsons New Zealand Coast Guard and the other in the Kabago CFA and finally to me a volunteer firefighter in New Zealand we're all proud and privileged to keep serving our communities in the same way that he did however I'm sure our family is not alone in this with multiple generations involved in the CFA all with the same common purpose. According to Jim's records I found a newspaper clipping from the Wangerata Chronicle Dispatch in 1944 that states this monument will be a lasting tribute to the future generations of men who have given their lives while helping others looking at you all here today with a descendant CFA or part of the wider community I am sure you will all agree that this has certainly achieved this so to my great-grandfather Godfrey Spencer and the nine others who courageously fought this fire 80 years ago to the past to the current community members of the CFA thank you for your service your legacy will live in the hearts and minds of everyone for generations to come. Thank you for those very kind words and so I think Graham things will continue along exceptionally well for us there. So next stage of our service the ladies and gentlemen is the wreath laying and these will be taken around and laid at front of the memorial stone our first wreath party will be our CFA board member Mr Ross Coyle and a junior member from the Ororado Brigade in Rachel McKenzie our second will be CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan accompanied by Springhurst Brigade junior member Emily Lewis thank you followed with our CFA Chief Executive Officer Natalie McDonald and junior Springhurst Fire Brigade member in Matilda Lewis thank you next we have our VFBV Chief Executive Officer Adam Barnett and VFBV State President Samantha Collins thank you to Tara Wingy District Fire Brigade with Charlie McGrath and junior member from the Wangerator Urban Scarlett McAndrew thank you Libby next our Wangerator Group represented by Group Officer Lachlan Giles and a junior member from the Wangerator Urban Kayla Joss we have the Victorian State Manager Emergency Services Red Cross Fiona Norton and junior member from the Wangerator Urban Brigade Emma Joss representing the Ural City of Wangerator is Deputy Mayor Harvey Benton and accompanied by junior member from Wangerator Urban Brigade Jack Ambrose following next we have Mr Tim McCurdy State Member thank you Tim and I'd like to invite any other members of the community here today that if you'd have anything a wreath or flowers well thank you very much well done everybody apologies beautifully done thank you anyone else has something thank you well the next part of our service is the Roll of Honour and this will be read out by Tara Wingy Captain David Gilbert and the bell told by Lieutenant Jameen Google Honor Roll Godfrey Spencer 53 School Teacher Wangerator Andrew Joseph Godfrey 45 Farm Manager Tara Wingy John Walson Home Mark 29 Farmer Markwood Arthur Lizzie Wellington 46 Farmer Markwood Theodore Luke Leah 32 Foreman Huntons but Bacon Factory Wangerator Postal Linesman Wangerator Lawrence Seymour 33 Telephone Linesman Wangerator Norman Johnson Robinson 49 Postal Linesman Wangerator Kevin Dunkley 14 Schoolboy Longwigan Henry Claude Hill 14 Schoolboy East Wangerator thank you final part of our service is coming up here ladies and gentlemen and that's the reading of the fireman's prayer and I'd like to welcome to the podium Deputy Chief Officer Ross Sullivan when I'm called to duty god wherever flames may rage grant us the strength to save lives whatever be their age help us embrace a little child before it's too late we'll save an older person from a horror of that fate enable us to be alert and hear the weakest shout to quickly and efficiently put the fires out we want to fulfill our calling and be the best we can in guarding our every neighbour and protecting their property and if it be while on the job I should lose my life please bless with your sustaining hand all those I've loved in life amen thank you Ross and that comes to the conclusion ladies and gentlemen of our service and obviously none of these things occur without a great deal of work both from the Tarrawinji local brigade and the district 23 and then moving further fulfilled to our CFA headquarters in in Melbourne so thank you and congratulations to everybody that put this service together it's very very fitting and very very well done also thank you for coming out yourselves and recognizing the great sacrifices the family and community have done here over the over the 80 years ago and they continue to do in in the northeast here of Victoria so thank you very much we look forward to getting you back to the Tarrawinji Hall where there's some light refreshments there for you and also we wish you a very happy and safe Christmas there and talking of Christmas if you're looking for a great gift to give to family you could not go past mate tankers 10 we've actually went to the extent to have our authors sign them so there's quite a few copies up there with the authors signature and for $40 I would suggest it's a $50 to $60 book so it's a great great investment for the future so thank you very much and we'll make arrangements to get you back to Tarrawinji good good morning