12/12/2025
To kick off our first social media post why not our end of year write-up featured in the SIN!
It was a busy and productive year for the southernmost fire brigade in New Zealand. We had just five emergency callouts, but plenty of action going on behind the scenes. Here are just some of the many achievements of the Oban Volunteer Fire Brigade this year:
We celebrated 50 years in the fire service for Nev towards the end of last year, awarding him his Double Gold Star. This is an incredible achievement, from his time across three brigades - Oban, Tuatapere and Winton. The beginning of this year also marked Nev's retirement from operational service with FENZ. We welcomed Piper, a Qualified Firefighter who came to us from the Franz Josef brigade, and Jaega, as a new recruit.
In March, we hosted the Otago and Southland Wajax competition - the longest-running volunteer firefighting competition in New Zealand! Stewart Island was one of the original four teams that took part in the very first event held in Omarama in 1971, so it was great to be able to host the event this year, with firefighters from all over the southern region coming to the Island for a weekend of friendly competition and fun. Emma competed in the Skytower Challenge in Auckland in May, achieving an impressive fifth placing in the open age woman's group, fully donned in BA gear and with a time of 15 minutes and 15 seconds!
Phoebe became an official Firefighter after passing her week-long Recruits course held at the Woolston Training Centre in Christchurch. Ian, Emma, and Dale passed their Qualified Firefighter courses, held at the National Training Centre in Rotorua, and Ian, Emma, and Jimmy passed their Pump Operators course held here on the Island and now move onto Emergency Response Driver training. Mike, Karl, and Mitch are undergoing Officer training. Mike, Dale, Karl, and Emma also attended a vehicle extraction and USAR course held in Wānaka; their travel and meals were entirely funded by the South Seas Hotel Quiz Night fund! These courses all require months of preparation and study beforehand and are a testament to the commitment of our firefighters.
Between all of these courses, our weekly Monday training nights carried on as usual, to work on the skills needed to both attend these courses, and more importantly, to ensure that we are ready and able to respond to any emergencies that might occur on the Island. It is worth mentioning the effort our Station Training Coordinator, Mike, puts into organising this training, and supporting firefighters to attend their courses. As a brigade, we have spent about 1230 man-hours in just the regular training for 2025 at the time of publication.
We recently held our annual Honours Night, celebrating the many achievements of our firefighters. This year’s Nathan Pasco cup was awarded to none other than our very own police officer, Constable Stuart Newton! Stu is sadly leaving us next year so it was an excellent time to recognise the time and effort he has put into our community across not just with NZ Police and FENZ, but all aspects of Island life. The firefighter with best attendance to our Monday training nights was of course Karl, with an impressive 50/51 nights. We also recognize firefighters for their length of service at regular intervals, this year: Emma and Stu - 3 years, Piper and Rose - 5 years, Mike - 11 years.
Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who supports our Brigade - family, friends, employers, local businesses, other emergency services and volunteers, and the wider community. We wish everyone a safe festive season and summer beyond, and look forward to 2026!
