BUSHWALKERS WILDERNESS RESCUE SQUAD ^INC.

A volunteer group of experienced outdoors people.

History of the BWRS

The Bushwalkers Search and Rescue unit was established in 1936 after a party of four young men set off to follow the Grose River. They left word that they would return in three days. Instead, eight days later, after a frantic search by land and air, they were found almost dead from hunger and exposure.

Both the Police and the Federation of Bushwalking Clubs realised that some sort of organisation was necessary to assist lost or injured people in the bush. Half a dozen keen walkers, including Paddy Pallin, then formed the Search and Rescue section.

Bushwalkers, though, had already realised the potential dangers of their sport and as early as 1932, two clubs conducted a practice search near the Royal National Park. A newspaper of the day reported the exercise and noted that "no club members had been lost to date".

As Search & Rescue's expertise became known, its role expanded to include assistance to other members of the community where their bush skills were applicable e.g. looking for missing children. For 50 years then, the Search & Rescue Section has acted as a community service and self help organisation for bushwalkers, thus making it the oldest land based volunteer rescue organisation in Australia.

In 1970, Bushwalkers Search and Rescue joined the NSW Volunteer Rescue Association. The member squads of the Association assist the statutory emergency services e.g. Police and Ambulance, when asked to do so.

Restructure of S&R and Formation of the  Present Squad

In more recent times , appointment of the NSW Sate Rescue Board has lead to changes in the way search and rescue is conducted. These changes necessitated that Bushwalkers Search and Rescue change to fit into the new requirements. BWRS has to integrate seamlessly with the other emergency agencies.  To facilitate this we needed to implement a rigorous new training program based on State Rescue Board requirements and National Training Information Service competencies.

In 2001 Bushwalkers Wilderness Rescue restructured to form as an incorporated body.  Bushwalkers Search and Rescue is now known as Bushwalkers Wilderness Rescue Squad ^inc, reflecting its expanded role in providing rescue services for all in wilderness situations.

Today

Our members today are, still experienced Bushwalkers and canyoners, who can travel through rough terrain safely and quickly, day or night, in any weather. Each member is completely self contained with food and shelter for an overnight stay in the field with reserves for a further 24 hours. We always wear clothing and carry equipment and food, appropriate to the conditions. 

Our membership includes a wide range of skills and expertise: -

• vertical rescue,
• canyon search and rescue,
• rock climbing,
• alpine work,
• a number of members have professional guiding experience in all these disciplines.
  

We are proud of our history as the oldest volunteer land rescue squad in Australia.

The BWRS would like to thank Andy McQueen for his kind permission to use the 5 black and white photos at the top of this page :- Hist2, Hist3 Hist4, Hist5, Hist6. These are from his book "Back From The Brink", about the saving of the Bluegum Forest area in the Grose Valley.