BADGE 15 YEAR COA VOL BUSHFIRE SERVICE
c. 1992Body of the badge is round disc with wreath at the base giving a plain bar. The disc has the City of Armadale coat of arms in the centre and on the annular area around it the words [CITY OF ARMADALE / VOLUNTEER BUSHFIRE SERVICE] with a blue enamel infill.
[C.Clay] is engraved on the bar and on the back of the medal is [15 years / Bedfordale Brigade].
There is pin and clip fixed to the back of the badge.
Cam Clay first joined the Bedfordale Volunteer Bushfire Brigade in 1972. Even when he and his family were living outside of the area Cam was still involved with the Brigade and became fully active again in 1979 when he and his family moved back to Bedfordale. Cam was awarded his 35 year active service medal in c2012. Cam was awarded his 15 year medal in c1992 and his 35 year active service medal in c2012. When not volunteering for the Brigade can was volunteering his time to help improve the local environment. He was a member of a number of environmental groups and in 2011 was awarded the City of Armadale's Citizen of the Year Award.
Volunteer bushfire brigades were not only active in their own area but also responded when required to bushfires in other parts of WA and, at times, other states in Australia. Before the 1980s the volunteer brigades were the only defence the local community had against all types of fires. In the mid 1980s paid firefighters were stationed at Armadale only in the summer before eventually becoming a permanent fixture.
This collection tells the story of the role volunteer bushfire brigades have and continue to play in protecting communities and local bush from out of control bushfires. Bushfires have and continue to pose a threat to homes, businesses, farms and communities in the hills region. The threat of bushfires impacts how people in the hills and bush areas choose to live their life when they have to make the decision to stay and defend their home or flee and hope that their home survives.
Details
Details
Text on the back [SHERIDAN / PERTH]
This object is part of a collection of items associated with a community organisation that played a significant social, economic and or spiritual role in a local or City wide community or was of a significant social, economic and or spiritual importance to that community. These organisations could have an impact through their influence on the communities religious, social, sporting, economic, welfare, educational, or community service activities and interests.
