Barry Short
 

Federation Search and Rescue has always played a part in the lives of bushwalkers. A bushwalker develops survival skills and an acceptance of the bush and its lore. These skills and understanding have long been used to assist in searches for people lost in the bush. Over the years various members of our Club have attended numerous searches. Some have been successful, some have not; and many make interesting stories. Here are a few such stories.

One of the earliest searches in which Club members were involved was in 1949 when a walker, Alfred Howie, went missing on Wilsons Promontory. The Federation Search and Rescue had not as yet been formed, and this search helped to convince the police that bushwalkers had something unique to offer the community. The story of this search was told in the News , June, 1949. Twelve searchers arrived and stayed the night at Toora. By 5.00 a.m. the next day they were on their way to Sealers Cove - by boat. They arrived four hours later and commented on the picturesque sunrise they had seen as they sailed past the rugged coastline of the Promontory. They searched all weekend but found no sign of the missing walker. The News concluded:

Although the trip was a failure in regard to finding Mr Howie we are sure that the trip was a success in regard to co-operation with the police. We went down as a self-contained unit, the police only had to provide us with the transport from Toora to Sealers Cove, we had our own food and camping gear and this the police admitted was of great assistance to them.

We worked in great harmony with the police, taking our instructions from them after consultation with them.

This we hope is the start of a Search and Rescue Organisation of the Victorian Federation of' Walking Clubs.

The search in August 1953 for a young couple lost on snow-covered Mt Donna Buang for three to four days hit newspaper headlines. Kirk