The new paid firefighters with their vehicles in 1919.
Whanganui firefighters are celebrating 100 years of professional firefighting in the district.
The professional brigade officially took over from the voluntary brigade on June 30, 1919.
Operational support Senior Station Officer Bryan Barkla said there was no special event planned to mark the occasion but it was a significant milestone in the fire brigade's history.
Barkla researched the evolution of local firefighting from voluntary to paid service for the Wanganui Fire Brigade 150 Years of Service book for the brigade's 150th jubilee in 2016.
The establishment of a paid fire service followed an investigation into the voluntary brigade's handling of a fire at Fosters Hotel in 1918.
"In 1918 so many volunteers were still away at war and we don't know how much impact the Spanish flu had on the brigade," he said.
Barkla said while there had been quite a large number of volunteers, there were initially many fewer paid staff working for the new Fire Board, which took over from the volunteer brigade.
"There was no training - the firefighters learned on the job. I imagine they would have advertised the paid jobs outside Whanganui to get people from other brigades who had some experience but they also took on local people.
"They were looking for locals, like Harry Delves the motorman, who knew the streets and could drive. The Fire Board took over a petrol-driven fire engine plus a steamer.
"It was the end of an era, with other brigades starting to go to petrol-driven vehicles."
Abridged text from Wanganui Fire Brigade 150 Years of Service, reproduced with permission
The Wanganui Volunteer Fire Brigade was officially formed in May 1866 and continued to serve the town until a Fire Board employing professional firefighters took over on June 30, 1919.
The move to a professional local fire brigade came after the volunteer brigade received a lot of criticism following a fire on February 19, 1918. That night the brigade was called to a fire at Fosters Hotel where the crew's efforts were hampered by major problems with the town water supply. The hotel was beyond saving and the fire broke through to neighbouring premises, destroying several of them.
After the volunteers had gone home, thinking the fire had finally been extinguished, the alarm was again sounded - this time for the adjoining printing premises of AD Willis.
To address the public unrest, a few days later the mayor set up a commission whose task was to investigate all aspects of the incident, the Fire Brigade, its equipment and the town water supply.
The commission heard evidence over the next three months and in June 1918 reported to the mayor a number of inadequacies during the fighting of the fire and the fact that for years the Brigade had been hampered through lack of finance and equipment. They recommended that a Fire Board with paid staff be formed or a paid staff brigade be set up under municipal control.
The report was forwarded to the Borough Council which resolved that a Fire Board be set up.
Immediately Captain George Spriggens, the officer commanding the Wanganui Volunteer Fire Brigade, tendered the resignation of the Brigade to take effect from June 30, 1918, but with the volunteers offering their services as an interim measure for the following three months. This was on the proviso that they received payment of 2/- per hour whilst on duty.
Agreement was reached and the Volunteer Brigade continued until June 30, 1919, when the changeover to the Fire Board took place. There was a significant amount of animosity from the volunteers who felt that they were being kicked out through no fault of their own.
In October 1918 the formation of the Fire Board was gazetted and George Bullock, sub-editor of the Wanganui Herald newspaper, was appointed as the government representative.
The Wanganui Borough Council was represented by grocer W Luxford, plumber L Sigley and A Thomson. Three insurance company representatives, all from Wellington, were also appointed.
These appointments came immediately under fire from local ratepayers who objected to the payment of expenses for these members to attend meetings.
The Board met for the first time on November 13, 1918, with L Sigley elected chairman and George Murch, Town Clerk, as the secretary. One of the first items on the agenda was to advertise Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent positions.
Fourteen permanent staff were initially appointed. They included Superintendent Jack Williams from Auckland, Deputy Superintendent Angus Craig from Remuera, Foreman W Armstrong, H Lightfoot, W Downey from Onehunga, F Glasgow, G (Hop) Henley, A Nicol, A Wilton (Nightwatchman), E Owles (steam engineer), R Peterson, P Beauchamp, A Hall from Auckland and H Delves (motorman).
When the Fire Board took over they assumed that they would also take over the assets of the Volunteer Brigade. However, the Borough Council claimed that the land and fire station was their property. In the days of the provincial government, a Crown grant of land in St Hill Street was made to four trustees of the Brigade on which they could provide a firefighting service for the town.
The dispute over ownership of the land and building was taken to the Supreme Court and heard by Chief Justice Sir Robert Stout at a sitting in Wanganui. He informed both parties that the land and building belonged to the Council. However the Solicitor General advised the Fire Board that he intended to appeal the decision and the decision of Sir Robert Stout was reversed.
The Borough Council then paid £400 ($37,100) for a further legal opinion and was advised that the only remedy for them was to take the matter to the Privy Council which would cost over £4000. After deciding to go down that avenue and having the necessary papers prepared, they then decided not to proceed.
During this period of litigation there were times when the Wanganui plant was not available to the Wanganui Volunteer Brigade but on such occasions the Gonville Brigade made itself available. On the evening of June 30, 1919 the remaining members of the Volunteer Brigade and the new permanent staff met at the old Fire Station for the official handing over.
George Spriggens handed over the keys to Superintendent Jack Williams who in accepting them stated that members of the old Brigade would always be welcome at the station. The evening concluded by all those present joining hands and singing Auld Lang Syne.
For some of the volunteers this was not the end of their service to the citizens of Wanganui. A number of them had already accumulated many years of service which put the United Fire Brigades' Association (UFBA) Gold Star service medal within their grasp.
The change from volunteer to permanent brigade meant that the volunteers wouldn't be able to complete their service. To overcome the problem, George Spriggens and a number of others formed the Wanganui Racecourse Brigade in 1919. Their job was to attend agricultural shows and race days and generally protect racecourse property.
They became affiliated to the UFBA the following year and eventually disbanded in 1932, three years after the last member received his award. Five members received their gold stars as members of that unit.
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