By J. H. Watson (Rover Ramblers Club)

from The Bushwalker (1945)

Not once but on several occasions in the past eight years has the phone rung about teatime for members of the Search and Rescue Section of the Federation; lifting the receiver, a familiar voice is heard, "Hello! Paddy speaking. There’s a party overdue: can you get out to-morrow’!" In every such circumstance, the Section has been able to furnish valuable assistance.

The need for an efficient organisation for search and rescue work was first realised in 1936 following the big Grose River search. A party of four Sydney hikers had set out over Eight -Hour Week-end to journey down the Grose from Blackheath to Richmond; by the following Friday grave fears were entertained for the safety of the missing youths, for whom planes and land parties (led by police) were conducting a search. Following a meeting of various members of the walking clubs of the Federation, convened by Paddy Pallin, an offer was made of a search party to enter the Grose Valley from Faulconbridge.

Some eleven walkers then caught the Mudgee Mail as far as Faulconbridge, to move off at 12.30 a.m. and stop for the night at 2.40 a.m. just above the river. Up again at 5.30 a.m. on the Saturday to descend to the Grose for breakfast and then move upstream to find a cave marked with the names of two of the missing lads. Nearing Linden Creek we heard the planes roaring up the valley and attracted their attention; they thought that we were the missing party until we signalled to the contrary. We reached Wentworth Creek at midday to find that the police had been through the same morning. As the afternoon wore on, lack of sleep on the previous night began to exact its toll and we made camp at 5.30 p.m. as another plane passed over. We lit a smoky fire to attract attention and on the return journey the plane dropped four paper bags to signify that the missing party had been located. Thereafter chief interest was in the speediest means of leaving the valley.

We continued upstream on the Sunday and about 8.30 a.m., beyond Porcupine Creek, we met three bushmen from Bilpin who had just descended via Tomah Creek, they informed us that the police were taking the missing youths back to Blackheath,and gave us notice of an easy way out along the spur between Hungerford and Porcupine Creeks. We followed this route and after some bother with bushfires, reached the Bell Road at 1 p.m. and followed it to Bilpin for lunch and a wash. Thoroughly refreshed we returned by car to Kurrajong for the train home.

The Search and Rescue section then came into being and its first call to take the field came in January, 1938, when two hikers were reported missing after their failure to return home from a hike through the bush near Heathcote on a Sunday. The request for assistance was received at 5 p.m. on Monday and at 4 am Tuesday eight members of Federated Clubs met at Railway Square to travel by lorry to Heathcote. We ate and drank; meanwhile police and relatives of the missing pair had arrived.

After consultation police and relatives moved down the regular track and Goondera Ridge. The lorry continued along the highway to drop walkers in pairs to descend Gooingal and Kangaroo Ridge and to cross Uloola Heights. Two of the parties converging at the junction of Goondera Brook found a note to the effect that the missing walkers had proceeded downstream; hastening downstream, they found that the lost walkers had already been found by the police and relatives at Karloo Pool.

The activities of the Section commenced to arouse considerable interest among the various clubs, which in some instances arranged club exercises, using pigeons as message carriers, and gathered some valuable data. In August, 1938, an extensive exercise was carried out in the area between O’Hare’s Creek and Princes Highway with about sixty searchers covering the allotted sections - and finding the "lost party". A subsequent valuable exercise operative from a base at North Springwood also attracted much attention.

With the outbreak of war, walking activities were restricted and the Search and Rescue Section (many of whose members were serving at home or abroad) was not called upon to assist the police in finding lost hikers. With the recent improvement in the war situation and the resumption (despite travel restrictions) of walking in its various forms, it has been considered opportune to quicken interest in the activities of the Search and Rescue Section of the Federation.