1945 — suggested by station records
Foundations
An informal residents’ brigade
The compiler says station records suggest an informal residents’ brigade began in 1945. The formally recorded inauguration follows in 1951.
1951 — 2026 • 75TH ANNIVERSARY
Glenhaven RFS
A history of service to the community.
A snapshot of its history, 1951-2001
This website re-presents material assembled for the 50th anniversary of Glenhaven RFS (formerly Glenhaven Bush Fire Brigade) for its 50th anniversary held in 2001.
It adds new material rediscovered from the archives of the Holland family and is offered in celebration of the 75th anniversary held in November 2026.
With thanks to Phillip Bradac and Ian Iredale, who compiled the original history for the brigade’s 50th anniversary in 2001. Additional material, Nathan Zamprogno (2026) from the Holland Family Archive.
Explore the timeline Start with a story ↓
From the Holland family archives · 1976
Read the names and caption ↗Additional material courtesy of Helen Zamprogno (nee Holland) and Councillor Nathan Zamprogno 2026
A new chapter for an old collection. The complete 2001 history, brought into view.
1945—2001 RECORDS · PEOPLE · PHOTOGRAPHS1945—2001 / The history in view
Explore timeline.
Drag the timeline or scroll sideways to explore. Choose a moment to read its story.
19452001
The chronological record
Highlights from the collection. Every entry links to its evidence.
11 December 1951
Foundations
Thirty-four people form a brigade
A meeting at Glenhaven Public School resolves to form a brigade and submit its officers and members to Council.
26 February 1952
Equipment
Learning the hydrant and standpipe
A Water Board officer demonstrates the use of a hydrant and standpipe at a field day arranged through correspondence with secretary Eva Bonnard.
April 1952
Equipment
Buckets, knapsacks and a private truck
The inventory includes fourteen metal knapsacks, a 200-gallon tank carried on a private truck and watering cans used for back-burning.
5 September 1956
Station
A £75 shed is approved
Approval is given for a storage shed, but Council has no land nearby and seeks a small donated site.
19 October 1956
Station
The Progress Association offers land
The association offers a site for the shed, to revert to it if the brigade ceases.
20 October 1958
Equipment
The secretary still has no telephone
N.A. Nou asks Council for help with a telephone connection awaited since November 1957. Council writes to the PMG that day.
21 July 1959
Station
A twenty-foot-square site
A registered twenty-year lease covers a twenty-foot-square parcel in Glenhaven Road.
Around May 1961
Station
The equipment shed is completed
May accounts from the electrician, plumber and builder indicate completion around this time, after years of planning.
Late 1962
Vehicles
An ex-army Blitz becomes the tanker
The milestones record receipt of a 1943 Chevrolet Blitz, already nearly twenty years old.
18 October 1963
Equipment
The station siren is tested
A handwritten note records that the new warning siren was installed and tested to the brigade’s satisfaction.
21 January 1964
Community
Glenhaven takes on the old Dural area
Glenhaven agrees to cover the former Dural brigade’s area, seeking local representatives and residents willing to care for equipment.
20 October 1964
Equipment
Some volunteers cannot hear the siren
The brigade proposes an additional siren near Mills Road because wind sometimes prevents members at the Kellyville end from hearing the existing alarm.
1965 — year on the accompanying names sheet
Community
Faces and names at the Castle Hill Field Day
A photograph and its names sheet identify eleven Glenhaven volunteers by row at the Castle Hill Showground. The sheet records several roles, including D. Symes as captain, without giving an exact date or establishing continuous tenure.
April 1965
Equipment
Helmets become part of the equipment
The milestone chronology dates the introduction of helmets to April 1965, alongside the year’s adoption of navy boiler suits.
8 May 1965
Vehicles
A new tanker is requested
The brigade requests a new fire tanker and a twenty-foot extension to the fire shed.
Reported 22 October 1965
People
Doug Symes becomes captain
A letter records Ray Bonnard’s resignation and the election of Doug Symes as captain.
1966
Equipment
Walkie-talkies at fires
The milestones describe Glenhaven as the first brigade in the shire to use walkie-talkies at fires; they also credit it with early use of dry chemical extinguishers.
15 April 1966
Vehicles
A proposal for motorcycle goggles
After complaints that rust from the windscreen threatened the driver’s eyes, a Council note suggests motorcycle goggles.
27 June 1967
Community
Council and brigade settle an accounts dispute
A meeting involving councillors and six brigade officers resolves differences over payment of brigade accounts. Council agrees to settle the outstanding accounts.
4 September 1967
Vehicles
A fire call while the tanker cannot run
A complaint about battery failure records that a fire call arrived while the tanker was inoperable.
June 1968 — announced 30 May
Station
The rear extension is due to begin
The final entry in the 1960s chapter says shed extensions are to commence in June. The milestones place the extension in 1968.
13 February 1970
Station
Toilets and showers requested
The brigade asks for amenities for personnel using the hut as a base during extended fire operations.
20 March 1970
Equipment
An apology for the hooter delay
The Bush Fire Committee recommends purchase of a four-horn hooter and attributes the delay to a shortage of technical staff.
13 August 1970
Vehicles
The brigade demands a vehicle and radio
A two-page letter presses for a second vehicle before the fire season and proposes a $400 Council contribution toward a brigade-selected purchase. Council’s reply defends its equipment record.
27 October 1970
Vehicles
Council buys a Land Rover
After inspections of unsuitable used vehicles, Council buys a 1967 long-wheelbase Land Rover for $1,350. Overhaul and brigade contribution correspondence follows.
12 December 1970
Vehicles
Residents’ donations go toward the Land Rover
Council requests $784.50 as half the cost. The brigade offers the full $712.35 raised from residents, recalling its original $350 budget.
17 March 1971
Vehicles
Council accepts the brigade’s contribution
The chronology records acceptance of the $712.35 contribution. The cheque had been offered in December; the image bears a 15 December 1970 receipt.
6 May 1971
Station
Can the timber floor carry the tanker?
The brigade asks for the rear timber floor to be reinforced so the loaded tanker can stand there, leaving the Land Rover ready for a quick exit.
October 1971
Community
A Ladies Auxiliary is organised
An informal group prepares to provide refreshments during burn-offs and major fires. The compiler records uncertainty about whether its services were called upon before a Council canteen replaced the arrangement.
22 February 1972
Vehicles
The plan says no vehicle change
Council’s five-year equipment replacement plan says the existing vehicles need no change and proposes reinforcing the garage floor.
21 March 1972
People
Ernie Hallenstein becomes the first life member
The archive records the brigade’s first honorary life membership.
End of 1972
People
Tom Muston succeeds Doug Symes
The compiler records Muston taking over after Symes resigned and moved to Maraylya.
12 March 1973
Community
Four hours of nursery help
The brigade thanks Five Dock Nurseries for offering equipment and personnel for the first four hours of a serious fire, giving time to call members from scattered workplaces.
25 January 1975 — corrected in the source
Fires
The major Glenhaven fire
The retrospective describes more than seventy vehicles, two houses destroyed and no injuries. The compiler corrects its Australia Day date to 25 January.
25 January 1975
Fires
Footage of the January 25th 1975 bushfire
16mm footage of the January 1975 bushfire; raw film for a Channel 10 broadcast, has sat in the Holland family archive for over 50 years. Digitised for the 75th anniversary of the Glenhaven RFS, it is seen publicly for the first time, with thanks to Councillor Nathan Zamprogno, Deputy Mayor of Hawkesbury City Council.
29 January 1975
Community
Thanks to the base radio operators
The brigade thanks the base radio operators for their work during the Glenhaven fire.
31 January 1975
Station
“Nothing has happened about this”
Five years after the first request, the brigade again asks for a toilet, describing the need made evident by several brigades gathering at the shed.
1 May 1975
Station
Toilet consideration linked to the tanker
Council says the toilet block will be considered alongside replacement of the tanker. The archive does not establish the toilet’s eventual completion date.
2 September 1975
Equipment
Red-orange spots mark hydrants
Roadway marks opposite hydrants aim to help visiting brigades find water in unfamiliar areas.
By 2 January 1976
Vehicles
The Blitz has a replacement
A dated press release announces that the brigade has recently received a used International tanker. This is earlier than a later editorial “13 years” comment implies.
7 January 1976 — date on the photograph’s caption
People
Harry Holland and fellow brigade members
The photograph’s caption names Tom Muston and Bill Cooper at the top, with Norman Bent, Harry Holland and Cliff McMaster below. Its date records this photograph, not an appointment, departure or vehicle delivery.
7 June 1977
Station
Only five inches each side
The brigade asks for a wider doorway because the large tanker has minimal clearance past its mirrors.
16 November 1977
Station
A two-bay station is approved
Council advises that a two-bay station has been approved, with work expected early in 1978 if the site owners agree.
May 1978
Station
Eight weeks to build the new station
A Council report recommends a $10,647.50 tender with an eight-week completion period.
3 October 1978
Station
A station the brigade cannot fully use
A scanned letter describes the missing concrete access pad, unresolved handover and vehicles stored at separate locations.
9 March 1979
Station
The new station’s official opening
An invitation to Council sets the opening for 7.30 pm on Friday 9 March.
April–June 1979
Community
The brigade insists on “Volunteer”
The brigade wants its station sign to make clear that members are unpaid. After an exchange of letters, Council reports removal of the incorrect sign.
25 February 1983
Community
Helping Panton Hill after Ash Wednesday
Glenhaven sends $1,200 collected at a local nursery to support families of five Panton Hill brigade members who died.
5 February 1984
People
A new captain after Tom Muston
The AGM records E. Woodcock as captain and Tom Muston as senior deputy. Muston did not seek re-election.
15 January 1987
Equipment
Yellow overalls are promised
Council advises that it intends to provide yellow overalls before the end of 1987. This is a promise, not a recorded delivery.
5 June 1989
Vehicles
The replacement tanker’s first call
A motor-vehicle accident on Glenhaven Road is recorded as the new tanker’s first run.
September 1989
Community
Selected for the State Field Day
After success at the Warringah field day, Glenhaven is selected with Hornsby HQ to represent the Sydney region. The accompanying image is captioned “First at the State Field Day”.
October 1989
People
Tom Harris takes over as captain
The 1989/90 list records T. Harris replacing T. Woodcock after resignation; Woodcock takes the senior deputy role.
3–7 January 1990
Fires
Glenhaven crews at Cootamundra
The archive records a Glenhaven crew attending the Cootamundra fires.
May 1990
Community
Six hundred hours at Nyngan
The source records 600 hours of flood work and names Rod and Stuart Posner, Greg and John Girle, Darren Ellen, Eddie Watts and Tom Harris.
11 May 1990
Station
Part of the station lies outside the old lease
A Council memo describes the building as partly outside the land covered by the 1971–79 lease and says a proposed plan has apparently not been registered.
August 1990
Community
Flood relief at Wisemans Ferry
Station records note ninety hours of flood-relief work.
August 1992
Equipment
A telephone reaches the station
Station records note the installation of a telephone.
29 March 1993
People
After-hours radio operators give notice
Tom Harris and Sue Barry write that they can no longer continue as after-hours radio operators.
January 1994
Fires
Four hectic days during the NSW fires
The account describes twenty Glenhaven members working during the fires, including operations near Wisemans Ferry and Canoelands and a return to North Rocks.
1994/95
People
Philip Willsallen is listed as captain
The 1994/95 officer list names Willsallen as captain. The 2001 roster still records him in that role.
7 April 1995
Vehicles
A tanker from Kenthurst fills a gap
Glenhaven thanks Kenthurst for agreeing to pass on its Category 2 tanker; without it the brigade would have been one vehicle down for an indefinite period.
May 1995
Fires
An unforgettable first call for the tanker
The first recorded call with the new tanker is to a fire-bombed portable toilet in Sandhurst Crescent. The source relates Stuart Fisher’s memorable discovery of what the crew had extinguished.
July 1995
Community
Rotary donates a generator
A brigade letter records a generator worth more than $1,500 and invites officers to a 25 July presentation. The milestones instead give 1996; the dated correspondence is used here.
6 November 1995
Vehicles
A meeting stops for a new vehicle
The brigade adjourns its meeting to take possession of a Nissan Patrol Category 9 vehicle.
1996
Equipment
Message pagers enter the chronology
The milestone list dates the introduction of message pagers to 1996.
31 August 1996
Station
Council argues for the brigade’s future
Council tells the landowners that the brigade is expected to continue for many years and seeks a further ten-year lease after 1999.
April 1999
Community
Repairing homes after the Sydney hailstorm
The archive records 600 hours contributed by Glenhaven members repairing storm-damaged homes.
9 September 1999
Station
The renewed lease is registered
A solicitor confirms registration of the lease. The compiler identifies its term as August 1999 to July 2009.
June 2001
Vehicles
A brand-new Category 2 tanker
The final-year chronology records a new Isuzu Category 2 tanker.
November 2001
Community
Sydney storm damage
This is the final dated entry in the 2001 history’s main narrative. It gives no further detail.
December 2001
Foundations
The fiftieth-anniversary endpoint
The milestone list closes with the brigade’s fiftieth anniversary, fifty years after the recorded inauguration.
From the Holland family archive
The footage of the 1975 Glenhaven Bushfire lost for 51 years
16mm footage of the January 1975 bushfire; raw film for a Channel 10 broadcast, has sat in the Holland family archive for over 50 years. Digitised for the 75th anniversary of the Glenhaven RFS, it is seen publicly for the first time, with thanks to Councillor Nathan Zamprogno, Deputy Mayor of Hawkesbury City Council.
Watch the footage on YouTube ↗
Behind the dates
Explore moments from the archive
Fighting fires was only part of the story. There were sheds to build, funds to raise, letters to write—and a community to bring together.
011945–1952 / Foundations
A brigade of our own
An informal local effort became a formally organised brigade on 11 December 1951.
Read the story
021956–1961 / Station
Five years to a shed
An equipment-shed request in 1956 led through land, leases, estimates and tenders to completion around May 1961.
Read the story
031962–1976 / Vehicles
The tanker that would not retire
The 1943 Chevrolet Blitz generated repeated repair complaints before a replacement arrived by January 1976.
Read the story
041958–1996 / Equipment
Calling the volunteers
Getting word to volunteers was an infrastructure problem long before pocket pagers.
Read the story
051970–1975; outcome unconfirmed / Station
The long wait for a toilet
A request in February 1970 was still being pursued after the January 1975 bushfire.
Read the story
06January 1975 / Fires
The day before Australia Day
The compiler corrects a repeated Australia Day date to 25 January 1975 while preserving the original account.
Read the storyFrom the Holland family archives
Castle Hill Field Day,
1965.
Read the names and roles
Glenhaven Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade
CASTLE HILL FIELD DAY 1965.
SHOWGROUND
Top Row:
C.L. HORWOOD. Vice Pres. & Eq. Officer.
E. OVERS. President & Dep/Cap.
D. KENNEDY. Dep. Cap.
Middle Row:
R. BAILEY.
R. SCHOFIELD. Dep. Cap.
W. STAPLES. Eq. Officer.
F. THOMAS.
D. SYMES. Captain.
W. NICHOLS.
Front Row:
B. GRAHAM. Secretary,
E. HALLENSTEIN. Dep. Cap. Tres. & Publicity
Officer.
ooOoo
Additional material courtesy of Helen Zamprogno (nee Holland) and Councillor Nathan Zamprogno 2026
The people behind the brigade
Every name
has a place.
Captains and secretaries. Fundraisers and radio operators. Families, friends and neighbours. Find a familiar name in the original membership list and discover the service recorded alongside it.
Meet the people ↗This website adapts and adds to the Glenhaven RFS 50th anniversary CD-ROM created in 2001. Read the documents, follow the evidence and discover photographs once hidden in its folders.
With thanks to Phillip Bradac and Ian Iredale, who compiled the original history for the brigade’s 50th anniversary in 2001. Additional material, Nathan Zamprogno (2026) from the Holland Family Archive.
Additional material courtesy of Helen Zamprogno (nee Holland) and Councillor Nathan Zamprogno 2026
About the collection ↗