Bells, sirens for appeal shake

By CHRIS EARL

JOE Watts vividly remembers a vintage fire engine arriving in Inglewood on Good Friday ready to boost coffers for the Royal Children’s Hospital appeal.

Inglewood was one of the key stops for the truck travelling from Donald to Melbourne.

“They would unload it at the top of the street, drive around collecting donations and then be loaded again onto a trailer ready for the next town,” said Joe who has been part of the Loddon’s Good Friday Appeal team for more than half a century.

“We would also do collections around town before the truck arrived until a few years later we thought, let’s do our own local collections for the appeal and let Inglewood get credit.”

Joe, who officially joined Inglewood brigade in 1972, was originally out driving the streets with teams of volunteers until Nigel Elston retired from co-ordinating the local effort and tapped Joe on the shoulder.

Tomorrow, Joe will be at the station making sure tins are handed out and counting the contents collected by brigade members and their children and grandchildren.

He’s also been visiting businesses in the district who have had collection tins filled with customers’ spare change since last Easter.

“There are many brigades active across Victoria supporting the Royal Children’s Hospital appeal,” Joe said.

“It’s a good cause and everyone wants to support it.”

He remembers one big supporter being then local police sergeant Ron Hinton.

In the early days of Inglewood brigade co-ordinating local appeal efforts, Ron would run auctions and raffles.

“He had a grand-daughter who was in and out of the hospital at the time,” said Joe.

While Joe’s official involvement with the CFA is just over 50 years long, his introduction to firefighting came when he jumped on a Charlton truck with uncles Bill, Ken and Arthur Bramley and headed to the KIngower fires in 1965.

Work in Gippsland as PMG telephone linesman kept Joe away from the area until returning in the early 1970s. Applications for a transfer were rejected so Joe resigned and eventually secured a job with the local council.

As a volunteer fireman, Joe was in a team from Inglewood that arrived at Macedon the day after Ash Wednesday in 1983, putting out spot fires still breaking out.

He says they went all day without food and when finally at a relief centre in Gisborne, were given just two pieces of chicken.

A Red Cross volunteer saw how hungry the firemen were and brought out a tray full of food to devour!

“When I first joined the brigade, we had an Austin pumper with room for a driver and passenger ... everyone else sat on the back,” he said.

“We kept seeing the trucks replaced and getting better. And raising funds ourselves for some of the vehicles,” said Joe who

Volunteer fireman Joe is ready for another year counting generous donations for the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday appeal. served for many years as a brigade lieutenant.

Last year Inglewood brigade received one of the latest fire fighting units.

That will be one of the trucks driving the town’s streets for the appeal collection.

Joe will be at the station waiting its return to start counting generous donations.