General News
29 May, 2025
Storms, rescues and volunteers
WITH Wear Orange Wednesday on May 21st this year, The Advocate sat down with three dedicated members of the local State Emergency Service (SES), Fiona Jackson, Wayne Kinnersley, and Moya Carroll, to talk about their experiences, motivations, and the importance of volunteering.
For Moya Carroll, it was the aftermath of the Pomonal fires that sparked her desire to get involved.
“I realised I need something to do, I spent a week making elaborate art projects and then looked at my life and ‘I was like you need to get out of the house Moya,’” she said.
With a complete 180, Moya made the leap to join the local SES.
“I turned up and they were really welcoming and I’ve been really enjoying it,” she said.
Moya highlighted the real-world impact that SES volunteers can have.
“You get to be useful, you’ll never get me out of bed to go on a job for the fun of it but we’ve been out of bed at 6am to pull a tree off the highway before someone crashes into it,” she said.
Despite being part of an organisation there to help people in dire straits, praise and recognition isn’t even in the minds of SES members.
“Most of us don’t make a big deal out of it, but it is cool to be a part of an organisation that’s really organised and committed to making people’s day a bit better when they are having a bad day. In small towns you feel a much stronger sense of community,” she said.
Fiona Jackson, who moved to the area from Beaufort just a few years ago, has been a member for three years and said joining the SES helped her connect with her new community.
“I got involved for a few reasons, I’m fairly new to the community so there’s an opportunity to meet people and to make friendships. I found sometimes when we were having storm events I was sitting on my hands at home just not being useful. I’d prefer to be more useful for my community in these situations,” she said.
Wayne Kinnersley has a long history of community service, having volunteered for both the SES and CFA for over the past 30 years.
Joining up to the local SES 33 years ago, he too wanted to return something to his community.
“It would be something to give back to the community,” he said. Wayne has also appreciated how through the service he has been able to expand his skills well beyond expectation.
“It can be very hands-on, chainsaw accreditations, road crash accreditations, land searches, all these qualifications you can get and you can help the people out in need. It’s quite good with the experience because you get the opportunity to get into bigger roles like section leaders, that’s good, gives you a bit of authority,” he said.
Wayne also emphasised the range of roles within the SES.
“You don’t have to do road crashes, there are numerous things you can do. You can do comms, you can do search and rescue. You do not have to do road crashes if you aren’t interested, there are other roles.”
As Wear Orange Wednesday shines a light on the tireless work of SES volunteers, these local voices reflect a broader truth, that in every town and every storm, it's neighbours like Moya, Fiona and Wayne who show up, gear up, and give back.