1906 Orange Demonstration

The Firefighter Championships began as 'Demonstrations' or 'Demos', where fire brigades exhibited their skills to the local community. Events in the Demos were based on real situations firefighters faced daily and were designed to highlight their talent and expertise, whilst having the extra benefit of being a form of training.

This week, our Championship historian and guest blogger John Hand takes us back to 1906, when the State Demonstration came to Orange.

Orange team that competed at Dubbo in 1908, winners of the Engine Aggregate [Museum of Fire Collection]

Before Federation in 1901, brigades from across the colony gathered in Sydney for 'Grand Inter-Colonial Demonstrations'. As the new century began, the event moved out to the regions, with State Demonstrations held at Armidale in 1904 and Forbes in 1905. On 26 and 27 January 1906, it was Orange's turn to host, followed by Dubbo in 1908, and Corowra in 1909, which became the last Demonstrations held before the Board of Fire Commissioners of NSW was formed in 1910.

Twenty-Eight Teams, One Big Weekend

The Orange Demonstration drew an impressive field of twenty-eight teams from right across New South Wales: Adamstown, Albury, Bourke, Braidwood, Broadmeadow, Carrington, Coonamble, Forbes Central, Dubbo, Hamilton, Lambton, Lithgow, Maitland West, Merewether, Minmi, Morpeth, Narrandera, Newcastle City, Newcastle West, Orange, Parkes, Stockton, Tighes Hill, Wallsend & Plattsburg, Wallsend West, Wagga, Wollongong and Yass.

Getting that many brigades to a country town wasn't a given. Late in 1905, the local brigade grew concerned when no assurance came from the Government that rail passes would be issued for visiting firefighters. Without them, many country teams simply couldn't afford to travel. Only after several approaches was the matter resolved, securing the same level of brigade support Forbes had enjoyed the year before.

A Warm Welcome, and a Bill on Everyone's Mind

Captain Bartle of Orange Fire Brigade, in his sixth year in the role, welcomed the visiting brigades at the official function on the Monday evening, with a special welcome for Superintendent Webb of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade. Alfred Webb, Superintendent from 1898 to 1909 and later Chief Officer of the NSW Fire Brigades from 1910 to 1913, would go on to lend his name to the Alfred Webb Cup, awarded to the highest-aggregate team at the State Championships from 1932 to the present day.

Talk that evening wasn't only of hose reels and ladders. Delegates discussed the Fire Brigades Bill, the legislation that would come into effect in 1910 with the establishment of the Board of Fire Commissioners of NSW, and ‘the effect on country brigades, whether it be Grenfell or Cobar.’

On the Ground

The competition program featured Alarm & Rush with Reel for 6 Men, Hose & Ladder Practice for 8 Men, 4 Men Engine Practice, Men's Engine Practice, Ambulance Rescue and One Man Ladder. New Lambton, Hamilton, Orange, Wallsend & Plattsburg, Forbes Central and Stockton emerged as the most successful brigades of the weekend.

Beyond the competition ring, the program made room for celebration too, with band performances and marching displays, a Friends and Bandsmen's bicycle race, and a Firefighter's and Bandsmen's flat race rounding out the weekend.

-Story by Championship Historian, John Hand