'We are the backbone of the community' – A look at the Career of Chief Officer Vivian Lowther

Life Before the Brigade

Born on the 12 August 1911, Vivian Lowther began his career in 1927 working as an apprentice with the NSW Government Railways as a fitter and turner. Once he had completed his apprenticeship in 1932, he began looking for work as a tradesman, however, due to the ongoing Depression he was unable to find work. During his job search he enquired about working in the NSW Fire Brigades (NSWFB) workshops, but while they didn’t have any positions going, they did suggest he apply to become a firefighter instead. So, six months later Lowther was accepted into the NSWFB at the age of 22, on 31 October 1933.

Becoming Chief Officer

Lowther spent most of his early career as a firefighter at the now-closed George Street West Fire Station. However, he soon began moving up the ranks. On 30 April 1948, he was promoted to Sub-station Officer B-grade and became the assistant to the Bushfire Officer. He would go on to spend most of his career in the Bushfire Section, attending many significant bushfires, including the fires of 1951-1952 in the Blue Mountains which saw heavy property losses in Springwood and Warrimoo. Once he was promoted to District Officer on 1 July 1955, he was a relieving officer at Waterloo and Headquarters for a short time, before moving back to the Bushfire Section. Around this time, he also became assistant to Chief Officer Pye.

Bushfire Field Day at Morisset, NSW, 22 September 1963. Left to right: Councillor Pickering, Viv Lowther, Bushfire Officer, and Jack Moss Resident Country Inspector of NSW Fire Brigades [Museum of Fire Collection]

Lowther was then appointed as the Bushfire Officer on 8 May 1959, which saw him join the Bushfire Committee. In this role, he travelled across NSW interviewing Bushfire Brigades and examining hazardous areas. Lowther was promoted to Inspector on 11 November 1960 and would continue to work in the Bushfire Section until he was promoted to Deputy Chief Officer on 10 March 1964. He would serve as Deputy Chief Officer under Chief Officer Herbert Barber, until Barber retired on 19 May 1967. Lowther and the other Deputy Chief Officer, Jack Meeve, were both up for the role of Chief Officer, but after they were both interviewed for the role, the Board of Fire Commissioners of NSW voted to appoint Vivian Lowther as the fourteenth Chief Officer of the NSW Fire Brigades.

New Chief Officer Vivian Lowther with the Former Chief Officer Ray Barber on the day of his retirement, 1967 [Museum of Fire Collection]

Career as Chief Officer

The NSW Fire Brigades went through many changes during Lowther’s career as Chief Officer. There was a strong focus on increasing the training for volunteer firefighters (now called on-call or retained) and Captain’s, with training schools being introduced in April 1968. With the introduction of the national emergency number in 1969, Triple Zero (000), the NSW Fire Brigades began implementing changes to be able to receive these calls. Initially, this was just rolled out across Metropolitan Sydney. This saw the withdrawal of the previous fire call number, 2233, in 1970.

Chief Officer Vivian Lowther, 1975 [Museum of Fire Collection]

Also in 1970, Lowther attended the International Conference of Fire Chiefs Association of Asia, which was the first time an invitation was extended to an Australian fire brigade representative. The conference was held in Osaka, Japan, on 8-11 June, where Lowther also spoke on the subject ‘Fire Brigades in Australia and their Problems.’ While he was overseas, Lowther also visited fire brigades in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Osaka, Los Angeles, San Franciso, and Honolulu. Upon his return, he submitted a detailed report on what he learned, specifically praising the use of snorkel units (aerial appliances). The first aerial appliances, the International Simonitor and a Simon Snorkel Unit, were put into service in 1974.

In 1971, land was acquired to build a new training college in Alexandria, which was completed and became operational in 1974. To read more about the history of Alexandria, click here.

After 42 years of service, Chief Officer Vivian Lowther retired on 15 August 1975. A few years after he retired, he moved to Cowra to be closer to his family, where he lived a fulfilling life until he passed away on 11 October 1995 at aged 84.

“To fully comprehend where he came from, you've got to understand how he felt about the fire service. He basically thought it was the greatest act of public service in existence. He really believed that, and he thought there was nothing that could compare with the NSW Fire Brigades. He saw the role of Chief Officer as the absolute highest level of public service. Dad said, 'We are the backbone of the community'.” – John Lowther, son of Vivian Lowther.

Chief Officers Rex Threlfo, Vivian Lowther, Edward Griffiths, and Fred Davies [Museum of Fire Collection]

Notable Incidents Chief Officer Lowther Attended

Buckingham’s Fire Sydney, 25 April 1968

One of the most iconic fires in Sydney’s history is the Buckingham’s Department Store Fire which occurred on ANZAC Day in 1968.

The building on the corner of Oxford and Riley Streets in Darlinghurst was an iconic feature of Sydney having been established by Ashley James Buckingham at the start of the twentieth century. Buckingham’s store became popular amongst the “respectable working class” of the surrounding suburbs because unlike many other high-end stores he catered to working families. Buckingham’s was one of the earliest stores in Sydney to offer an easy credit system by which customers were encouraged to buy now and pay later. The goods sold at Buckingham’s were affordable but still of a good quality which attracted many customers, especially young women through its doors.

The store remained in the family until 1967 when it was sold and shortly thereafter destroyed by fire.

At the time of the fire the building had been unused for some years and was thus in the process of being demolished. The blaze spread quickly, radiating heat so intense that the paint on the fire engine parked at the intersection blistered.

Buckingham's Fire, 25 April 1965. [Museum of Fire Collection, courtesy of Bauer Media]

1968 Bushfires

The spring of 1968 saw major fires spread across the Illawarra and Blue Mountains areas. Firefighters from the NSWFB and the Bush Fire Brigade (now the Rural Fire Service, RFS) came together to fight the blaze from late October until early December. Fires were first reported at Mount Kembla on 25 October and spread across the Illawarra area until early November. Meanwhile in the Blue Mountains, fires had been burning in the Grose Valley for weeks before breaking out on 28 November and went until early December. In total these bushfires claimed over 2,000,000 hectares and 88 houses.

Blue Mountains Bushfires, 1968 [Museum of Fire Collection]

Golden Fleece Petroleum Terminal fire at Matraville, 9 September 1973 [Museum of Fire Collection]

Petroleum Peril at Matraville, 9 September 1973.

A fire broke out at the Golden Fleece Petroleum Terminal in Matraville when tradespeople were moving petrol from one tank to another to be able to repair a faulty tank valve. When a discharge hose split, petrol was sprayed over a truck and when the vapours combusted the truck was engulfed in fire. The workers immediately shut off the pump valve and started using the hydrant system which automatically set off the alarm at Waterloo Fire Station. Brigades from Waterloo and Matraville turned out immediately, followed by Mascot, Botany, Redfern, and Maroubra after further calls were received at Headquarters Control. At 12:59pm the red message was sent with a total of 12 stations being called in to assist. Leaking petrol flowed under the foam blanket and re-ignited, however, further foam concentrations drove the fire back. Converging jets and sprays from three Angus Water Gun’s allowed firefighters to approach closer against the heat and through thick smoke. After one hour their efforts were rewarded when Chief Officer Lowther sent the stop message at 2:03pm. Remarkably the intensity of the fire had only caused moderate damage to pipelines.

-Blog by Acting Curator Ella Murtagh