| 09 May 09 : C19th Sydney Firemen |  |
 Saturday 9th May 2009
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Conflict between firemen in Nineteenth Century Sydney
Dr Michael Wright
According to recent press reports, the upcoming Royal Commission into Victoria's bushfire disaster will hear evidence that division between firefighters led to a less than optimum response to the fires. Such a problem is neither new or limited to regional Victoria.
Nineteenth century Sydney was plagued by similar turf wars, that at times led to acrimony, bitter division and sometimes violence between Sydney's paid and volunteer firemen. After decades of debate and failed attempts at regulation, with the complete demise of independent volunteer fire companies in Sydney in 1902, this conflict was eventually extinguished. Post war urban development saw its re-emergence in Sydney's outer metropolitan areas and hinterlands at the urban/bushland interface.
Venue: City of Sydney Fire Station, 211-217 Castlereagh Street, Sydney (Map)
Photo: Fire Station, Castlereagh Street. c. 1884-1917.
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