Brisbane North District charges up support

When a local RSL Queensland member mentioned the Arana Hills and Moreton Bay SES Unit had experienced some difficulty charging their new radios away from base, the District donated the funds needed to purchase 11 portable single unit radio chargers. 

HELP TO POWER UP 

The new equipment will make it easier for SES volunteers to communicate when travelling. 

Brisbane North District President Merv Brown, OAM says it all started with a coffee. 

“We were having coffee and a general chat with a veteran member who also volunteers with the Arana Hills SES, and he happened to mention that although the new radios are supplied with spare batteries, during periods of deployment, it’s difficult to recharge the batteries.”    

Arana Hills SES Group Leader Graham Bartlett says that with their volunteers travelling as far as NSW and WA to help when needed, portable battery chargers are essential.

“The radios our teams use are vital to our operations,” he says.  

“Safety is number one and being able to communicate situation updates between members is paramount. 

“In times following a disaster, our teams travel intrastate and interstate to support our fellow SES volunteers in their communities, and it is more difficult to travel with our bulk base radio chargers.”  

The donation of the portable single unit chargers means both Arana Hills SES volunteers and the wider Moreton Bay SES groups can now deploy with greater flexibility. 

“Arana Hills is one of eight SES groups in the Moreton Bay region,” Graham says. 

 “We look after a population of around 400,000 people in that area and this donation means we are better able to help the community when called. 

 “It’s one way we can step out and show veterans that we’re here to help them,” Merv says. 

 “There are so many ways RSL Queensland can show up for our veteran community.”  

LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE

Brisbane North District President Merv Brown, OAM (centre) with members of the Arana Hills and Moreton Bay SES Unit.

Merv also discovered that a lot of veterans volunteer in the SES.  

“Throughout the conversation, we discovered that there are about 20 veterans in the Arana Hills SES group and many times they have assisted veteran members in the community,” he says. 

“We find the SES is another way veterans can express what they have been doing in the military. They learn map reading, radio procedures and those types of things in the Army. And volunteering gives them structure and another community to belong to.”  

Graham agrees: “There’s a parallel between serving in Defence and the SES structure. There's a similar chain of command, structure and skills that we naturally see veterans bring to our groups. We just use different tools. 

“And we’re always looking for more members. We currently have around 350 members in the Moreton Bay Region. That’s about one percent of the 400,000 people in our region. When big events happen, we can’t get to as many people as quickly as we may like. 

“If anyone is interested in joining the SES, most groups will be conducting an intake for new volunteers early next year – you just need to be trained, willing and able to help when called.” 

 Anyone interested in registering to volunteer for SES Queensland should visit either Queensland Fire and Emergency Services or Moreton Bay State Emergency Service to register their interest. 

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