The Perth SES (in its original form) was established over 30 years ago. There was no plan - when storms hit, half a dozen Perth City Council officers in blue overalls travelled around in the council vehicles responding to requests of the then assistant city engineer, who was also travelling around in his own vehicle spotting problems.
Shortly after that, two rescue trailers, equipment and a truck were supplied, and following completion of a rescue leader course, Ian Lush became the first Perth SES unit manager.
Up until relatively recently, the unit operated as a closed shop whereby the only volunteers were council employees, as the emergency operations centre and storage facilities were within the council depot at James Street, and security was a problem.
For quite a while the original SES coordinator was a Councillor of the City of Perth, and many of the older folk would remember competing for the Arris Bertogna Shield at the annual rescue competition. Councillor Arris Bertogna was a very keen and interested supporter of the SES generally and in particular the Perth unit. After Councillor Bertogna's death 1981, Councillor Eian McDonald, who was also very supportive of the unit, took over responsibility. However by this time, the strength of the unit had dropped considerably, and training evenings would result in the attendance of only 3 or 4 members.
In 1989 the unit vacated the James Street depot (following the announcement that the site was to be sold and redeveloped) and moved to 60 Frame Court, Leederville (the original Cullity Timbers Office and Yard), and became known as Northshore SES in lieu of Perth SES. These changes enabled a new drive to recruit volunteers from outside the Council ranks. To the present day, there is still a core element of council employees including the Local Manager, Jim MacLean, a link which encourages close relationships with the Councils.
During the severe storms of 1994, the entire unit was involved with operating water pumps and sandbagging in an all night effort to prevent water from entering buildings on Riverside Drive and Mounts Bay Road.
In 1997, the unit was on the move again, this time to Lynton Street in Mount Hawthorn, where we currently remain.
In 1999, FESA was formed and took over as the controlling entity for the SES. In 2003/2004 the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) was introduced, and it is through this channel that the unit is now primarily funded, although extra funds are obtained by members themselves through fundraising and from the unit being involved in community activities such as the Christmas Pageant and Opera in the Park. Historically, the unit has also been involved in Rally Australia, the Big Walk, Skyworks, Chung Wah Dragon Boat Races, The Vines Classic, and the Festival of Perth.
2005 saw severe storms hit Perth in both May and September, and the Northshore volunteers were kept busy for days on end attending hundreds of damage callouts in the areas of Mosman Park, City Beach and Subiaco.
Assistance was provided by other SES Units, from areas that had been less affected by the storms and, at the peak of the emergency, 117 volunteers, from 11 SES Units, including Northam and Serpentine and Jarrahdale Units were operating from the Northshore unit in 17 teams.
During 2007, Northshore underwent a real change. Ian Lush, who had been the unit manager for over 30 years, resigned, and Jim Maclean took over his role. Nick Elliott followed in Jim's footsteps as the new deputy manager, and Matt Boots became the new training manager. The new Northshore truck was delivered, the rear extension to our unit was finally completed, and our new website was launched.
In 2009, the Kings Park bushfire, and in particular the the Black Saturday bushfires (VIC) saw an outporing of grief around the state that had never previously been witnessed. This resulted in the FESA Volunteer Recruitment line recording an unprecedented volume of enquiries from those wishing to volunteer as SES members. Along with the website enquiry tool, this new wave of recruits coupled with the new management and training teams have catapulted Northshore to previously unseen highs. We have never been in a better place, and we are now better equipped to serve our community than ever before.
