1948-49-50 J?ARLIAMENT OF NEW SOUTH WALES REPORT (together with Appendices I to VI) OF THE BOARI) OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS OF NEW SOUTH WALES FOR 1949 Ordered to be printed, 14 April, 1950 The Honourable C. H. Matthews, M.L.A., ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE. Colonial Secretary, In respect of the yal'ious fire districts throughont the State the estimates of expenditure amounted to £904, 20 as shown SYDNEY. in appendix H. Of thi, the estimate of the Sydney Fire District was £726,820 and those of the one hundred and forty­ Sir, four other fire districts £178,000. For the year 1950 the Pursuant to the prO"l'1 IOn of ectiou]9 (2) of the Fire e timates total £1,075,208 j that for Sydney Fire District being Brigadcs Act, ] 909-1949, the Board of Fire Commissionel's £ 79,0 0 and the onc hundred and forty-six other fire districts £196,1~ of New South \Vales presents its report for the year 19,19 j collectively . • being the fortieth annual report. 'l'hil'ty-three Municipal and Shire Councils contributed in the Sydney Fire District and the percentage of their total contribution for 1949 to that of the assessed annual value of all ratable property therein l'etu1'l1ed by them in 1948 was FIRE BRIG.\DES (AMENDME.'T) A T, 19,19. s. 9d. Howeycr, for 1950, on account of the altered ratio the contributions by these Councils will be equivalent t~ Tho Fire Brigades (Amendment) Act, 1949 (Act Ko. 16), 4s. H~d. pCI' £100. The total amount of the asse sed annual was assented to on 30th June. This measure was enacted -ralue fumi hed in 1949 was £44,459,33~, an increase of to make further provision in relation to the borrowing powers £2,92.),7]2 compared with the pl'evions ~'ear. and the fund of the Board of Fire Commissioners of Jew South Wales and fOl' this purpose to amend tile Pire Brigades . One hundred ~nd thirty-six insurance companies and forty­ Act, 1909-194 _ ection 17 of the principal Act was amended mue firms contl'1buted to the Board during the veal'. The so that the amount of the Board's borrowings shall not at eontributions repre. ented 17.9 per cent. of the amount of the any time exceed £.:;00,000, iu lieu of £230,000. Section 34 premiulllS in respect of the Sydney Fire District, and from was amended to provide that the Estimatcs of tho Board shall 1,79 per cent. to ~2.04 per cent. in other Fire Districts. be so made that the amount of the contribution to he paid by the Councils of the fUllicipalitie and 'hires in a fire FIRE DISTR.lCTS-ADDITIO_-S AND MTJillB.TIONS. district (previously limited to ld. in the pouncl or a higher figure where the Minister accorded consent) shall not exceed Two new tire districts were created when the provisions of such rate in the pouncl on the unimproyed capital value of the l-'ire Brigades Act ,,-ere applied by Proclamations to the all ratable land iu the fire di tric,t as the Governor from )Ioama Toml Impro-rement Arca in the Municipality of Moama time to time b)' Proclamation published iu the Gazettc lUay (GorCl'lllllcnt Ga::ctle, 15th July), and the Macksville Urban determine. Section 34 was further amenued to prO\'iue that Area in the Shire of Nambucca (Govc1'1!ment Gazette, 18th the proportions of contributions by tile Colonial ~'reasurer November), By notification in Govcmment Gazette, 4th and the Municipal and/or hil'e Councils shall be reduced Marc,h, the Act "-as applied to an additional part of the from one-fourth to one-eighth aud that by the In urance I,lire, of Warringah and the boundaries of the ydney Fire Companies increased fro111 one-half to three-quarters i to take Dlstnet were altercd and extendcd to include that area. effect from 1 t January, 19GO. The boundaries of the Coff's llarbour, Crookwell Griffith and :;\Iurwillumbah Fire Districts were extended t~ include additional parts of the Dorrigo, Crook"'ell Wade and Tweed Shire respectively. ' BOARD. Under the provision of the Local Go-rerument Act the The Election of memhers of the Boanl which llad been 10undal'ies of the :llunicipalities of Dubbo and Orange were postponed from Fehruary, by order, until June by reason of extcnued to incorpora.te parts of adjoining Shircs, and action the effect of the Local Goyemment (Areas) A·t 194 l' suited wa taken to re-apply the Fire Brigades Act to the Munici­ in the re-election by the Insurancc Compalli~s of' Mcssrs. palities conce1'lled as re-con tituted. By Proclamations in Waiter Le lie Currey and Le lie han Skeltoll and the election G01'cnllllellt Gazette, 14th January, the steps taken to remove of Mr. Stacy M01'1'ison in the room of Mr. l<', \V. Walton. from the operations of the Fire Brigades Act as on and from Aluermen Le lie Edye Dun and Hector Kenneth West the 1 t Januaq, 1949, parts of funicipalities reconstituted Mackenzie were re·elected by the Couucils of the Municipalities under the provi. iOllS of tile Local Government (Areas) Act and Shires mentioned in Part I and II of Sehedule One of 1948, "'ere coneluded, thereby retaining for the time being the Fire Brigades Act, respecth·elv. :Mr. Frederick Alfred the exi ~il1g boundarir; of the Cabramatta, Call1den, Campbell­ IIarrison was elected by the Members of the Yolunteer Fire town, LIverpool, Pennth, St. Mar~'s, and , ~'dney Fire Districts. Brigac~cs and Mr. Maurico S.tolmack by the permanent Fire­ ~en VIce .:Messrs. J. F. Beswlck and S: II. A. Jordan J'espec­ IN<'RE,ASE OF STATUTORY LlliIT. hYely, neIther of whom sought re-elechon. By resolution the As previously mentioned, the Fil'e Brigades (Amendment) Board placed on record its appreciation of the valuable ser-rices Act, 1949, amended the pro\'i ions of ection 34 of the prin­ rendered by the retil'ing members. cipal Act nnd in lieu of one-fourth of a penny there wns *4l52G-l 1050-510 2 Ilubstituted "such rate" as the Governor may determine and in those areas. Twenty-nine sprinkler installations are con· by Proclamation in GOVC1'/t1nent Gazette, 7th October, it was nected to the fire stations at Newcastle, 4 at Albury, 8 at declared that the contribution to be paid by the Coun 'ils of Bathurst, 2 at Broken Hill, 3 at Orange, 7 at Goulburn, 3 at the Municipalities and Shircs in the Fire Districts shall not 'faUlworth, 5 at West Maitland, 1 at Wollongong and 2 at exceed the rates on the unimproved capital value of l'atable Wagga Wagga. There arc 3 thermostatic fire alarms connected land in the fire districts set out thereunder, viz.:- to the fire station at Broken IIill, 10 at Newcastle and 1 at lId. in re peet of Barham and :Uoama Fire Di tricts. West ~[aitlaud; 1 9 private fire alarms are also in communi­ cation with various country fire stations. ~d. in respect of Alstonville, Berrigan, Coolah, Duneiloo, lIillston, J erilderie and 'l'oeumwal Fire District. Additional fire alarm pillars were provided in the Sydney and Country Fire Districts, making a total of 563 and 189 ~il. in re peet of BOlH'ke, Ces 'uoek, "obar, Coolamon, respeeth'ely now installed. irens were installed at Armidale, Coraki, Cukairn, Dorrigo, l'illlcy, Gulgoug, ][ent~·, Balliul1, Bellbird, easino, Coff's IIarbour, Kempsey, Lake Car­ Lak Cargclligo, Lithgow, Lin'rl'ool, Loekhurt, ~lul'­ geHigo, ~Iackslille, .:Iloallla, Wauchope and West Wyalong. J'urundi, 1\"arrominc, Paxton, \\"entworth and \Vetit Electric bells were connected to the re idences of Volunteer Wallsend Fire Districts. Firemen at Bahanald (9), Glen Innes (4), Grafton (5), id. in respect of all other Fire Districts. IIl\'erell (3), Lismore (:~), South Grafton (3) and Tamworth (4) . FIRE STATIONS AND ITES. New temporary fire stations were provided a.t Bellbird and 'fIlEFTS AND DAMAGES. Lake Cargelligo, while at Moama, a new fire district, the It is a continued matter of regret that thefts of parts of Council removed to a new ite and restored the fire station street fire alarms and damage to instruments occurred during building which had been previou Iy in u e by a locally-con­ the }'ear; the following localities being affected :-Auburn, trolled volunteer Brigade. The alienation of the lIarhord Bankstown, Bondi, Burwood, City of Sydney, Crow's Nest, Fire Station property to the Wal'l'ingah Shire Council fOl' Elltieltl, Gladesvillc, Glebe, Granville, llurstville, Kingsford, use as a Baby Health Centre and the tiale of that at t. Peters Kogarah, l'urri KUl'l'i, Lakemba, Leichhardt, Liverpool, Mait­ to the Marrickville Council for a similar purpose 'were com­ land, Manly, )Iaroubra, Mal'l'ickville, Matraville, Mosman, pleted. 'egotiations were entered into in respect of new Newtown, Orange, Paddington, Parramatta, Randwick, Red­ sites at Griffith and Peakhurst. fern, Revesb)', Rockdale, Ryde, St. Peters, Waratah and \\"entworthville. LEASES. The lease of the Belmont FiI'e tation wa renewed for O}'FENCES AND CoNVICTIONS. five :rears, those in respe·t of Dorrigo and Gloucester for A prosecution was succes fully launched under the Fire three years and for Gulgong two years. A 11("'1" lease "'as Brigadcs Act against the man giving a false alarm of fire at entered ilIto for the Wauchope Fire Station with a currency Moroo, while at Gosford a man was convicted of setting fire of three }-eal's, and the tenancies of the eoledalc and TODli­ to buildings.