Sandy Creek Bushfire Brigade members and their families recently gathered at Pine Ridge Station south west of Cobar to celebrate 100 years of the brigade’s service to the community. It’s reported to have been a wonderful day catching up on the banks of Sandy Creek sharing stories, enjoying meals, a birthday cake and overnight camping. Insert is a photo of the brigade’s first members from 1921
One hundred years ago, a young lady
named Grace Griffiths took a classic photo
of a group of men heading off to fight a fire
south west of Cobar.
Many of the men were returned soldiers
who had drawn blocks on the Ivanhoe Road.
One of the returned soldiers in the photo
was Clif Hyde (Snr) of Kia-Ora Station, as
well as members of the Griffiths family of
Double Gates Station. These men were among
the founding members of the Sandy Creek
Bushfire Brigade and both the Hyde and the
Griffiths families continue to hold positions in
the brigade to this day.
Clif’s son, Bob Hyde (AFSM), was Captain
for 51 years before handing over to Ray Anderson
of the Meadows Station.
Ray was succeeded by Brian (Stumpy) Anderson
who was followed by Paul Whytcross.
Bim Griffiths was a deputy captain of the
brigade for many years. The current brigade
captain is Clif Hyde (Jnr).
The brigade members recently gathered at
the site of the old Sandy Creek Hotel on Pine
Ridge Station to celebrate 100 years of continual
service to their community.
With sponsorship from the Rural Fire Service
Association (RFSA), brigade members
and their families had a wonderful day on the
banks of the Sandy Creek, sharing stories,
meals, birthday cake and camped overnight.
Family members also travelled from
Queensland and Tasmania to help celebrate
this historic occasion
