Hawkesbury RFS

Karen Hodges thank you

Thank you to Superintendent Karen Hodges AFSM for your service

Superintendent Karen Hodges has been with NSW RFS - Hawkesbury District since the late 1980s. When I joined the Oakville Rural Fire Brigade around the same time as a teen and later the Hawkesbury Communications Rural Fire Brigade as a volunteer, Karen was already a rising star, serving as Deputy FCO under Bill Rodger. She has been the Fire Control Officer for over 25 years, a unflappable, caring and completely professional fixture in our community.
Now, after over 35 years of service, she is moving on and has accepted a position as Deputy Chief Officer of the South Eastern Region of the Queensland RFS.
Last night at Council Councillor Danielle Wheeler brought a motion of thanks and farewell, which I was happy to support.
Rather than have the remarks buried as part of a longer meeting, I wanted to pull out what was said for the broader public.
Karen, thank you for your long and faithful service. We will miss you.
List of the 24 “Section 44” (major bushfire emergency) declarations Karen Hodges commanded since 2000:
• 3rd December 2001 to 11th December 2001
• 24th December 2001 to 16th January 2002
• 10th October 2002 to 17th November 2002
• 23rd November 2002 to 16th December 2002 (Wellums Creek)
• 24th September 2006 to 25th September 2006
• 22nd November 2006 to 18th December 2006
• 20th November 2009 to 2nd December 2009
• 30th August 2012 to 2nd September 2012 (Bowen Mountain)
• 28th September 2012 to 30th September 2012 (Mountain Lagoon)
• 8th January 2013 to 9th January 2013 (Pre-emptive)
• 3rd November 2013 to 11th November 2013 (Laws Farm)
• 11th January 2013 to 14th January 2013 (Pre-emptive, Tinda Creek)
• 10th September 2013 to 19th September 2013 (Windsor Downs and Tizzana Road)
• 10th October 2013 to 11th October 2013 (Pre-emptive)
• 13th October 2013 to 23rd November 2013 (State Mine, Webb's Creek and Howe's Swamp)
• 27th January 2014 to 28th January 2014 (Hell Hole Fire Oberon and Bathurst)
• 11th December 2015 to 23rd December 2015 (Budda Creek and Terraborra North)
• 27th September 2017 to 30th September 2017 (Lower Hunter)
• 19th January 2018 to 26th January 2018 (TJ's Fire)
• 6th January 2019 to 11th January 2019 (Lidsdale)
• 8th October 2019 to 17th October 2019 (Purgatory Creek, Shark Creek 2)
• 24th November 2019 to 27th November 2019 (Little Boree)
• 26th October 2019 to 10th February 2020 (Gospers Mountain, Wrights Creek, Thompson Creek, 3 Mile)
• 26th October 2023 to 31 October 2023 Baerami Bulga

by Clr. Nathan Zamprogno

Condolence Motion for Dick Petrikas of Tennyson RFS

We lost one of the Hawkesbury Community's greats recently with the passing of Dick Petrikas from Tennyson, at the age of 83.

Dick ran his business on Tennyson Road selling all manner of farm equipment for over 50 years. He spent 43 years as Captain of the Tennyson RFS from 1976 to 2001 and further 14 years as Deputy until semi-retirement in 2015.

Dick, his mother and sisters fled their ancestral home in Lithuania towards the end of WW2.

Travelling by rowboat, they were intercepted by fisherman and ended up interned in a migrant camp that was eventually liberated by the British.

The family decision to emigrate to Australia instead of Britain was apparently sealed by the impression the family gained of Australia from watching Chips Rafferty movies.

They arrived at the Migrant Hostel in what is now Scheyville National Park, just up the road from where I live, in 1948 and the rest is history.

Dick and his family have been fixtures in the Hawkesbury Community ever since. Dick’s business traded with Colo Shire Council and Hawkesbury Shire Council.

He was awarded the National Medal in 1993 and had since added two clasps for his extraordinarily long service.

Dick could be proud that his whole family went on to become contributors to the Hawkesbury community in their own right in the RFS, SES and elsewhere.

I acknowledge Dick’s wife Julia, and their children Chris, David, Merien, Greg and Steve.

I enjoyed speaking with Chris, who is himself decorated with the Australian Fire Service Medal to put together these notes.

Dick left behind 11 grandchildren, 8 great grand-children and more are on the way.

We’ve lost too many of our local greats recently, with the passing of Aub Voller, then Albert Newton, Peter Speet, Lionel Smith and now Dick Petrikas.

I invited my fellow Councillors to join me in a moment’s silence to mark Dick’s passing.

This video also shows the remarks made by my colleagues Councillor Les Sheather and Councillor Mary Lyons-Buckett.

 

by Clr. Nathan Zamprogno