There are many in the community who would rather forget the flooding that wreaked havoc on the state in late 2022/ early 2023, but there was an army of orange clad volunteers who have been recognised for their hard work during that period of emergency.
NSW SES Volunteers from the Upper Hunter Cluster who answered the call to help during that period received their New South Wales Premier’ s Flood Citations last month at a presentation in Aberdeen.
When Lithgow was inundated with record breaking flood levels that attracted national attention, and closer to home Broke and other rural communities were cut off, many of our own volunteers answered the call.
Jess Whyte, the Upper Hunter Cluster Local Coordinator, shared that the citations are not just about the hours worked, but the spirit, resilience and teamwork that shone during the response.
“We all have our own reasons for being here but seeing when people don’t have hope and you see that hope in their eyes when they see us come along, that’s what lights my fire,” Jess shared.
“Having those neighbours come together and just helping a mate out, that’s what Australia is about, and that’s what volunteering is about.”
There were 63 volunteers from the Upper Hunter Cluster, which encompasses Aberdeen, Murrurundi, Muswellbrook, Scone and Singleton, who received the citation.
Special mentions were made for Raymond Butchard from Muswellbrook and Judith Felton from Singleton who have sadly passed before receiving their pins for their contribution to the response.
“We don’t do it for recognition, but I think it’s really nice to give our members that little bit of recognition and that little bit of something extra and also thank those support people that allow them to go out and do that extra bit, they’re putting in a lot of hours that go unrecognised,” Jess explained.
There is always room to accommodate more volunteers with our local SES crews in the Upper Hunter.
“When I was 16, I joined up and there’s all this cool stuff that you can do,” Jess shared.
“You can do chainsaw, you can do storm, you can learn about roping. I’m now in water flood rescue as well, you can learn about boats. These are opportunities that I didn’t have elsewhere.”
To find out more about your local SES crew, fill out the application form on www.ses.nsw.gov.au and a representative from you area will get in touch.
