The Northern Rivers Times Edition 187

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+3(#&',"*&(4"%.(%.&(#&# By Sarah Waters Each Wednesday morning, you’ll find Harry Cramer OAM, 81, with a small but dedicated team of volunteers at the Tweed Heads SES Unit in Banora Point, servicing chainsaws, fuelling up rescue vehicles and emptying the bins. After 61 years as a State Emergency Services (SES) member, he no longer goes out in the field, but rather does all the behind-thescenes work, which often goes unnoticed. “People don’t realise there is always that type of work that needs to be done by somebody,” Harry said. “They’re all still important jobs.” Although he may not be at the forefront of the action anymore, when it

comes to natural disasters, Harry knows a thing or two about assisting people in emergency situations. The humble and likeable personality was awarded an OAM in 2022 for his outstanding service and dedication to the SES. He also holds the OBE award - he proclaims that his OBE stands for ‘Over Bloody Eighty.’ Harry joined the Civil Defence in Ku-ring-gai, Sydney, on August 18, 1963, when he was 21 years old. “Over the years I had been a scout leader and a member of Belrose Bush Fire Brigade, then a retained firefighter at 37 Station, so it just followed on from that,” he said. “As a young man, a group of us were all in the scouts together and

then we joined the Civil Defence. “The Civil Defence’s first director was Major General Sir Ivan Noel Dougherty. The Civil Defence later became the State Emergency Service of NSW. “I have seen the unit go from what some would call ‘Dads Army’ to the very professional organisation it is today. “We had little equipment back then, no vehicles or chainsaws; we were issued blue overalls that were surplus from the Second World War. “Radio communication was initially WW11 radios being ex-army 122 Radio sets that operated on shortwave in the beginning.” Harry was an electrician, and his skills became

EXTENDING A HELPING HAND: Harry Cramer is a SES life member with 61 years of service under his belt and counting

sought after. He became one of the leaders of the Civil Defence Signals Section Unit and assisted the State Training Team in teaching new SES volunteers in

cable laying for field telephones. On January 18, 1977, Harry led a seven-man team from Ku-ring-gai to the Granville Rail Disaster, which remains

the worst rail disaster in Australian history. Harry and his team were one of the first group of responders on site. Story continues page 2

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