The 1994 State Championships was hosted by West Tamworth at Scully Park, part of the West Tamworth Leagues Club complex.
Training segments were conducted by the NSWFB Training Section throughout the week. Cordage, Recue, BA/Hazmat, Appliance Driving & Pump Operations and First Aid made for a busy week for all the competing teams.
With 96 teams entered from across NSW, Victoria and New Zealand, making competition intense. The turn out of this State Championship with so many teams meant that events such as the Cart and Reel needed to be conducted at night under Scully Park’s excellent lights to be able to keep to schedule.
The single competitor events saw repeat results from previous winners such as Graham Gibbons of Bathurst, who repeated his 1992 win in the Hose & Hydrant 1 Competitor.
Leura’s Richard Harris won the Portable Extinguisher after his 1990 win, second to Richard was Trangie’s John Terry, a regular competitor at Championships, John will be competing with his team at Wagga this month, some 30 years since his first ‘Demo’.
Canowindra’s Richard Hodge won his seventh Ladder Practice title, though fortunate that Russell Lambourn of Lakes Entrance Victoria, was competing as a visitor, as he bettered the record time set by Richard.
South Grafton were outstanding in the four cart and reel events, a third place in the Hose Reel was followed by wins in Hose Cart, Hose Reel & Ladder and Hose Cart & Ladder, establishing new records in each of their wins. Winning three of the four Cart and Reel Events, South Grafton joined Lithgow, Orange, Yass and Finley as teams having previously achieved this result.
Port Macquarie exhibited their skills on the Bedford Appliance, winning four events, whilst Blackheath, Dorrigo, Nowra and Casino each won an event and Muswellbrook were successful in the Discipline Event.
The team won the Scaling Ladder, Hose & Hydrant 5 Competitor, Hose & Hydrant 2 Competitor, 450 Suction, Hose Hydrant & Breeching Events.
Final results saw Port Macquarie clear winners of the Alfred Webb Cup with 108 points, from South Grafton 70, Blackheath 50, Canowindra 46, Nowra 34, Casino and Balgownie each scoring 30 points.
(Points were awarded for the first five places, 16, 10, 6, 4 and 2 for team events, 8, 5, 3, 2 and 1 for one and two competitor events.)
Lakes Entrance (Vic) were the best of the visiting teams, finishing ahead of Havelock North, Orere Point and Featherstone, our New Zealand visitors.
The trophy for new brigades or those competing after a 10 or more-year absence was won by Bowraville, from Glen Innes, Quirindi, Griffith, Lithgow and Toronto. Lithgow of course winners of the first two State Demonstrations under the control of the NSWFB in 1932 and 1934.
-Blog by Guest Author, John Hand, Championship Historian
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