1887 The Fire Brigade Arrives
	Like many the Government services  that  we take for granted  today, the "Boy's Own" dream of becoming a fireman, policeman or soldier in the nineteenth century was very much a case of volunteering (something our football club of today still wildly hopes for).   The Preston Fire Brigade took a little time to come into being but was soon a apart of the local community ...

What is believed to be Australia's first organised fire fighting unit was organised by the Australia Fire and Life Assurance Company of Sydney in 1837.   By 1840, it had two stations, two horse-drawn engines and 25 men.

Other companies followed suit and put their own distinguishing plate, a "fire mark" on buildings that they had insured.   In one case, four insurance company brigades turned out for a fire, but the first three to arrive did nothing because the building was not insured with their company, and by the time the "fire mark" engine arrived, saving the building was a hopeless cause.

With a high proportion of wooden buildings, most of Melbourne's inner suburbs had organised volunteer brigades by the 1880s.

Although the insurance companies no longer ran their own brigades, they supported the volunteers with annual donations and further contributions when a local brigade managed to save one of the buildings they had covered.

After a minor fire early in 1887, the Collingwood Mercury took the locals to task for their lack of action, claiming, "Preston and Gowerville are about the only two suburbs in Melbourne where there is no fire brigade" and a spate of fires soon after provided the catalyst for the formation of the Preston Fire Brigade.

In January, five timber shops in Plenty Road, South Prestion were burnt to the ground in less than half an hour and only a fortuitous change of wind prevented the blaze spreading to another shop only metres away and to an adjacent timber yard.  Fortunately there were no injuries, a Mrs. Walkerden, the wife of the owner of three of the shops, smelling smoke when she arose just after midnight to fetch a glass of water.

Although not as potentially serious, another fire in April that destroyed on the town's landmarks was the final straw.

The blaze demolished one of the oldest homes in Preston, the timber building constructed by Mr. Hurlestone alongside the flourmill that he had removed from Janefield to Wood Street in the mid-1850s; the mill by the time of the fire having been moved again to Plenty Road in South Preston.   The original mill lent Mill Park its name, the first sighting coming in 1848 when a race meeting at the Plough Inn was advertised in the "dailies" of the day.

Men from the Coburg brigade attended the fire, but arrived far too late to do much to save the building.  The "Brunswick and Northern Suburbs Reformer" castigated the locals, suggesting "this is another reminder to the men of Preston that they should form a fire brigade.   After each fire, a little flutter breaks out but the enthusiasm dies out almost as quickly as the embers".

The locals finally took the hint and early in June, a deputation led by Messrs J. and R. Story and Mr George Smart applied to the Council for monetary assistance, suggesting, "a brigade had been formed and a reel ordered".  George R. and James Story were both builders in the district after being born six years apart in Prahran, but although they followed the same trade, they were not in partnership.

James Short left the trade and established a large timber yard; the one so nearly destroyed by the earlier fire.

The estimated costs of the brigade were set at about £100, planned to be raised via subscriptions from the public, Council and the insurance companies.   Cr. Short subsequently moved a motion, later passed, that the Council contribute £25 to the brigade.

The first fire station was established in wooden stables adjacent to a house on the south side of Bell Street opposite the corner of Clifton Grove (probably lent by a member of the brigade, but there is nothing to suggest who the generous donor was).

The brigade's first big test came in September and struck an immediate problem.

A fire broke out at Henry Hearn's ham and bacon curing plant described at the time as the "at the junction of the Epping and Yan Yean Roads", in fact, the corner of High Street and Plenty Road.   Whether or not the plant was in operation at the time isn't certain, but obviously business rivalry didn't stand in the way and the employees of Watson and Paterson's bacon factory on the opposite corner formed a chain with buckets and helped control the blaze.

Fortunately most of the buildings were of the old wattle bark and mud daub style, similar to the mud-bricks of today and fairly impervious to fire.
The Preston Fire Brigade arrived with their new reel, but struck an immediate problem as their 500 feet of hose could not reach the flames after being connected to the nearest hydrant.

A nearby resident, Mr. James Strong, managed to provide another 400 feet of hose and whilst "the pressure from the Yan Yean was not great", the brigade soon had the fire under control.  Damage was estimated at £50 and The Reformer suggested that "the Imperial Insurance and their agent Mr. George Martin would make a handsome donation to the brigade through whose expertise a larger claim was avoided".

By August 6, the Brigade had a new reel and under the supervision of Smart, now officially Captain of the Brigade, showed off its capabilities at a practice session at Preston Park.   After the problems encountered at the Hearne fire, pressure mounted for better articulation of the water supply, the Brigade noting in a submission to the Shire Council that most of the buildings in the town were of wood and mostly out of reach of the existing fire plugs.   (The Preston Leader Jubilee Edition in 1935 suggests Shire in 1876 rejected Water Commission proposal to install hydrants as they were not necessary, but this has yet to be confirmed).

The new Preston Brigade also pressed for "direct communications with the authorities at the Preston reservoir direct from the Fire Brigade Station by telegraph or telephone", noting a the telegraph line to the Preston Post Office passed within 100 yards of the station (along High Street) and proposing an extension to the reservoir.

As well as regular operational competitions between forces, there was a steady stream of other sporting contests, and by January of 1888, the Preston Fire Brigade was fielding a cricket team, their first match (and win) coming against the well-known Simpson's Road Brigade team.  
Simpson's Road features prominently in the early histories of Collingwood and Richmond.   The thoroughfare dates from the 1840s when it was a private road to the riverside property of Robert Simpson, Melbourne's first c Chief Magistrate, but you won't find it in this year's street directory; the name having been changed to Victoria Street as the logical extension of Victoria Parade at the end of the nineteenth century.

The Preston brigade does not seem to have extended its sporting endeavours beyond the occasional challenge match, but slightly closer to town, Northcote district was represented in the Victorian Junior Football Association Second-Rate Division by their Fire Brigade team.   Despite their enthusiasm, the Fire Brigade team (noted as playing in red and blue) was often short of players with members rostered on duty on Saturday afternoons and dropped out after just one season.

Just where the Preston brigade played isn't known, but at the time there were grounds alternatively described as "behind the Gowerville Hotel" and "opposite the Presbyterian Church in David Street", basically the playing fields still used by the Sacred Heart school of today.  Given the land was more or less directly opposite the Brigade's "station" in Bell Street, there seems a strong likelihood they were used for their sporting competitions.

In February 1888, the Brigade asked the Council for a plan of the district showing all the fire plugs and also suggested that plugs be installed at all the main intersections.  The plan was forthcoming but the fire plugs had to wait, the Council holding over any work "until the installation of the gas lighting is completed".

By February of the following year, the Brigade had purchased a fire bell from Vickers & Sons of Sheffield in England, setting aside £25 for the acquisition.  To the Brigade's disgust, the Customs Department refused to release the bell until a total of £6-17-6 in duty was paid.   The money was finally found and finally refunded by the Department after several months of  bureaucratic wrangling.

In 1912, plans were drawn up for the two-story brick building which now operates as xxxxxxxxx standing today as  the Brigade operating out of a one-roomed wooden shack during the construction period  

(further to come)