Welcome!

The recent shocking floods in NSW and south-east Queensland have yet again shown the selflessness of our country’s volunteers. In the case of the floods, the State Emergency Service have again team member, Jude, also has first hand experience of the SES. Early one Saturday morning about 10 years ago, a huge tree fell onto her house, landing just inches away from where she was sitting up, reading, in bed. ‘There’d been torrential rain for days,’ said Jude. ‘I heard a crack and leaves rustling, and although I didn’t know it was the whole tree, I knew something was going to hit the house. I don’t know why, but I didn’t move. I think I was too terrified, to be honest.’ The tree crashed through the roof and landed right beside her. ‘My son Billy rushed in to check I was okay, and I could hear our neighbour yelling to see if we were alright,’ said Jude. ‘It was the neighbour who called our local SES. Not long after, we were surrounded by these wonderful people – men and women of all ages – who worked for hours in the rain and cold to make sure we were safe and to clear the wreckage. To this day, I’m in awe of all of them.’ Like Jude, Jack is incredibly grateful to his rescuers, as are all the other ordinary Aussies who are helped through all sorts of crises, by volunteers in so many similar services around the country. They really are our everyday heroes and from the bottom of our hearts, we thank them.