1947-48 PARLIAMENT OF NEW SOUTH WALES THIRTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONE NEW SOUTH WALES FOR 1947 Ordered to be printed, 13 May, 1948 T1JO Honourable J. ::\1. Baddel y, l\LL.•\., FIRE DISTR1CT' AXD ADDlTIO.·S. Colonial Secretary, Rix new fire districts "'ere created when the Act was applied SYDNEY. 1>y Proclamations to the Municipality of Bombala (Govcm­ ment Ga::ette, 27th June), and the towns of Culcairn and Sir, Henty in Culcairn Shire (Government Gazette, 31st October); The Board of Fire Commis iOllers of T ew South Wales also by Notifications to a fUI'ther part of Wyong Shire, viz., presents its report for the year 1947, in pU1'sua~lce of S~tioll The Entranco (Covenlment Gazette, 19th September), to a 19 (2) of the l!'ire Brigades Act, 1909-19H; beIllg the tlnrty­ further part of Gosford Shire, "l'iz., Terrigal (Got'ernment eighth annual report. Ca::etfe, 3rd October), and a further IJart of the hire of Kear Icy, embracing Bran.xton and Greta (Government Gazette, BO.\RD. .;th Reptember). In addition the boundaries of the Raymond The personnel of the Board remained the same as that of Terrace Fire Di trict were altered and ext~'nded to embrace the pre"l'ious year. ~riJ]er's Fore~t, being pm·t of the Lower IIunter Shire (Gov­ lI'lllllcnt Gazettc, 10th October). The Governor-in-Coullcil approved the re-appointment, as from 1st April, of the Honourable Thomas Januarius Smith Unde]' thcr provisions of the Local Government Act, the as President. lIIunieipality of Taree was reconstituted by the addition of portion of Manning Shire, and action was taken for the' re­ CIIIEF OFFICER OF FIRE BRIGADE . application of the Fire Brigades Act. Similar action was taken ill respect of l\IurwUlumbah and Tweed IIeads Fire Dis­ Mr. W. n. Beare, Chief Officer of Fire Brigades, retired t ricts in consequence of the amalgamation of the Municipality m the Service at the end of the year 011 account of physical of 1lurwillumbah U!Hl Tweed Shire, and the constitution of pacity after a serl'ice extl?l1ding oyer forty- even years. the area as a shire named the Tweed Shire. The Municipality pursuance of Section 27 of the Fire Brigades Act, 1909, of Go ford and the Shires of Erina and Woy Woy were dis­ amended, the Governor on th" recommeudation of tIle Board ~oh'cd and constituted as the Gosford and Wyong Shircrs. The pointed Mr. EdlYard James Griffiths, Deputy Chief Officer, Act was aceordillgJ~' rc-applied to the Go ford, Woy Woy and the position of Chief Officer of Fire Brigades as on and Wyong Fire Districts within their respective shires. The rom the 1st January, 194. !\fr. Griffiths ,joined tbe 8ervice Municipalities of WoJlongong and North IlIawarra. and the on 2nd August, 190D, and passed through the va1'iou ra~ks fo'hires of Bulli and Central Illawarra were united aud con­ with distinction, being promoted to tbat of Deputy CbIef Etitutl'll a municipality named the City of Grcater Wollon­ Officer on 1st Octobl'r, 1946. gong; also the Municipalities of Katoomba and Blackheath and the Shire of Blue ~Iountains were united and constitnted ESTDIATES OF EXPEXDITl·RE. a municipality named the City of Blue Mountains. In these instances, aJ. 0, steps were taken towards the re-application of For the maintenance of the Fire. en'ice in the various Fire the Act to the Fire Districts concerned. The Municipalities Districts thronghout the State, the e timates of expenditure of HomeiJu. hand Strathfield were united under the name of for the year 1947 totalle!} £740,192. as shown in AppendLx IT. the Municipality of Strathfield. The estimate in respect of the ydlley Fire District was £5 8,936, while tho~e for the one hundred and thirty-dx other By rea. on of th" foregoing, the number of Fire Districts has Fire Di tricts amounted to £151,2.)6. increased to onc hundred and forty-three. Contributions were rccei"ed from onc hnndred and thirty­ two insurance companies and forty-se"l'en firm and which fol' IXCRE.\SE OF STATUTORY LDIlT. the Sydney }'ire District replesented 19.29 l?er .cent. of thr> In order to maintain the efficiency of the Fire Senices at amount of premiums returned by the compames 1Il l'(~spect of Broken Hill, Ces£l1Ock, Lithgow and West Wa]]send and to that di trict. establi. h brigades at Bombala, Culcairn, IIenty and Branxton­ The number of contributing 1ITuniripal and Shire Councils GI'eta, the eonsent of the Minister was obtained in pursuance in the Sydney Fire Di trict was fifty-five. The percentage of of ection 31 of the Act to the statutory limit of one-fourth their total contributions for 1947 to that of the as~essed annual of a penny in the pound 011 the unimproved eapital value of value of all ratahIe property l' turned by them in 1946 was all ratable land in the respective Fire Districts being exceeded. 7s. 5~d.; while for 1948 the eontrihutions by the councils will be efjuimlent to s. Id. per £100 of the asse sment in FIRE STATIONS A.m SITES. accordance with the returns of values fnrni.. hed in 1!J47, which totalled £3!l,!J89,137; an increase of £471,0!J8. 'fhe temporary fire station (in replacement of the Circular Quay Fire tation) on the site adjacent to the southern The estimates for thc year 1948 amount to £.16,992, nn approach of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, referred to in last increase of £76,800; that for the ydney Fire Di trict is rcport, wn~ completed and oeeupied on 29th December. The £647,292, and for the one hundred and forty-two other fire IIunter's Hill Fire Station from which the staff was removed dLtricts, £169,700. as a result of the Board's re-organisation plan in the Sydney The area of the Sydney Fire District is 302.26 square miles. Fire District was sold to the local council for use as a Baby *76695-1 1948-245 2 Health Centre. Portion of the site for a new Pire Station at OFFENCES AND CONVICTIONS. Souih Bankstown was resumed for road widening purposes, .\.t Brokcn Hill, youths were apptehended for calling the and consideration is now being given to ohtaining an alter· Brigadc to fnlse alarms of fire and a lDan committed for nate site in that lo(·ality. Action is al"O being taken towards trillIon a charge of attempted arson. securinlC new ite for fire ,tatioll at CuLr mattn, CII tie Hill and Cronulla. BRIGADE. LE.\SEs. Following upon tht' retircmeut of Fourth Officer E. n. Parks LeM'es :11" 1,cing ('nt~rcel into in rl'spt,(·t of fir" station allll .Firlh Oflil'cr (temporary) J. Goodwin and in view of the pl't'miSt,s at ('ool;lh :lnd Gloucester lllld thos(' in respet't of PIOPOliC reti 'el11t'nt of Sixth Officer (temporary) B. Rodney, :\faelean anti L:uyson W<'re Ienewed for fh'e y'alll, thoRc at tht' fulln\ 'ing l1Jlpoiut1Dmts were made iu the ranks of Senior ('urdiff and Dorrigo for three years. and at Gul,{onJ; and H.I'll:d· Officers :- ~'ear. mere for two The agrecment ill respect of the site at .Mr. J ..Jolm,·, who fOl'lJl<'rly held the rnnk of Fifth Officer, ~lorpdh was rene,Yed for onc year. ,,'a~ appointcd Fourth OlIh'er, and In pectors J. 'Walsh and G, P. Con don w('rc appointeel Acting Fifth Officer and Acting FIRES. Sixth Officer re pe(·tivcly. In Rytlney and !'1I1Imbs, 5,5,i9 lthrlllS of tires \ 'cn' rcronh',1 The nuthoris tl ~trength of the Brigade in the Rydney Fire during the year, being a decrease of 1,:330 eompared with the District i~ ](i:! oJliccr', 'i'i:! pCl'manent, 268 volunteer and ]ll't'Yious yt'ar. Of this number, 1,5tl wcre fulse a lurllls, 440 re el"\' IIre11lell; in th, On'nter Newcastle 12 officers, 39 sixtY'one dlimllt" fires ana :l,fl30 othcr fircs. The lIuml'cr of }lel'lll:lllcnt, JO Yoluutct'r nnd 54 l'eserve firemen; in Broken malleiou' false alarms was 5110, needless :?9 , anel ae(:ir]ental Hill ~ otlil'eI'S, 9 pt'l'lUanent, 16 volunteer and 14 reserve fire­ 60D; forty were elnssified ns suspicious in origiu us eOlllpan',1 111cn; in ~rnitlan(1 :! officers, a pel'mancnt, 4!1 volunteer and with thirty,two in 1fl46. 30 I'e.-en-e fir men: aud in othcr districts 40 officers, 1,512 The mo t notnhlc fircs were:- "oluntt't'r nnt! ],14:: reSCl"\'e firemen. The total authorised stren/{lh of the III igatle is thus 21 officers, 823 permanent 1.~th .Tune--Underwood,strect, C'it.y-I'o. tllla t r,Gcnt'rars fil'cmen, 1,fl,i,i HJlunteer and 1,oflO reser\'e firemen. At the ])epartment and others. I'ostal Stores an I TclPplHJIH' t'nd of the ~'l':lr thc at'tuul litn'ngth of permanent firemen was Exchange. 884, the additional numht'r (61) having been recruited in 1st ReptemlJer-Pyrmont Bridge rond, PyrmOllt-Clclands )lrl'pnrnlion for the intl'Olllletioll of the 56 hours week for Bond<.'tl aJl(1 Free •'tores I't~·. Ltd. Bow!. offieers. ~;:;th i'leptemhcr-Edth·stred, Botnny-F. 'Y, Hught" Pt.,·. Tht' ne\\' nrigatlt'~ establi, hed nt Dt'rrigan, Coolnh, Dunedoo, Lt,!. Wool Car1l0ni. ing 'Yorks. Finlcy. (,JOUet', tn, Hnymond 'l'crraec, Ht.