Wyee Ladies Bush Fire Brigade - Gwen Deaves
Gwen Deaves joined Wyee Bushfire Brigade in January 1967 as a member of the first documented all women operational brigade in Australia. Gwen held the position of Captain until the brigade was disbanded in 1977.
This oral history was recorded with Gwen at her home in Wyee in November 2021.
Along with countless local fire incidents Gwen has been part of deployed teams to major incident fires in Sydney, Mangrove Mountain, Cessnock, Newcastle, Gosford and Wyong areas. Gwen attended missing person searches in Watagan Mountains and surrounds. Gwen attended motor vehicle accidents, assisted the SES and other agencies to support the community following major storm and flood incidents. Gwen helped with removing trees, debris and supporting families. As the Team Leader on the Lake Macquarie Catering van Gwen, and her team, attended Newcastle Earthquake supporting the emergency agencies for an extended period.
Gwen has assisted with training, maintained the archival records, provided historical information to media, Council, Fire Control and in later years continued her service by supporting the fire fighters with catering, fundraising, Public Relations and mentoring youth. Gwen was a long time Field Day participant – Lake Macquarie, Wyong, Gosford, Sutherland, Terry Hills. Gwen assisted at Brigade fundraising events such as Bunnings BBQs, Wyee Markets, School Fetes etc. To support Westpac Helicopter, in 2007, 2008 Gwen was a member of the Dragon Boat team and in 2009 was oldest rower at age 70. Gwen presents to local schools and preschools explaining Home Fire Safety Plans to the children.
Roles held
| Wyee Brigade volunteer supporter | 1960 to 1967 |
| Captain Women’s Brigade | 1967 to 1977 |
| Member Wyee Bushfire Brigade/RFS | 1967 to current – 54 consecutive years. |
| Deputy Captain Full Brigade | 1969 to 2009 |
| Fire Truck driver | 1979 to 2010 |
| Catering Officer | 1968 to 2016 |
| President Social Committee | 1984 |
| Assistant Secretary | 1984 to 1986 |
| Welfare Officer | 1985 to 2000 |
| Secretary/Treasurer | 1986 to 2012 |
| Crew coordinator – callouts | 1986 to 2012 |
| Manager Lake Macquarie Canteen Van | 1989 to 1995 |
| Lake Macquarie Radio – Brigade Callouts | 1980 to 1998 |
| Active firefighter | 1967 to 2011 |
| Crew Leader | 1990 to 2010 |
| Executive Committee Wyee | 2010 to 2017 |
Awards
| National Medal and 3 clasps | |
| RFS Medal and 3 clasps | |
| Life Member Wyee RFS | 1991 |
| Hunter Valley Emergency Services Volunteer of the Year | 2011 |
| Premier’s Award for Outstanding Service to Wyee Brigade and RFS.Alongside husband Russell Deaves AFSM | 2017 |
Other Community involvements:
- Wyee Hall Committee 1970 to current
- Wyee Neighbourhood Watch
- Wyee P & C Association 1966 to 1972
- Australia Day committee
- Australian Canal Jump events
This work by Lake Macquarie City Library is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License