CFA captain Terry Hedt honours lives lost in his 55 years of service

Little River volunteer fire captain Terry Hedt, 79, looks back on five decades of CFA service, with poignant memories of the tragic day 52 years ago when 23 lives were lost at Lara.

Little River Captain Terry Hedt at the brigade’s station. Picture: Chloe Smith

Terry Hedt is a nominee in The Weekly Times Heart Volunteer Awards, supported by the Powercor Country Festival. Nominate a rural volunteer and learn more about the awards here.

Terry Hedt will never forget the events of January 8, 1969.

The 79-year-old Little River CFA brigade captain was three days shy of his 27th birthday when a fast-moving grassfire rushed through his community and Lara, near Geelong, killing 23 people.

“I was three years into my CFA career then,” said Terry, an engineering business owner and one of the few farmers who are still part of the volunteer-run brigade.

Terry remembers battling the 1969 blaze, and was at the scene where 17 people died in their cars trying to outrun flames on the Princes Freeway.

“I witnessed those deceased people on the freeway. It is probably the worst thing that I have ever seen,” he said.

Terry Hedt with the plaque memorial for the people who lost their lives on the Princes Freeway during the Lara bushfires of 1969. It took Terry two years to organise and build the memorial. Picture: Chloe Smith

This is Terry’s 55th year of volunteer service to the Little River brigade, and his 47th as captain. He has made some significant contributions in that time, building three firefighting vehicles including a 17,000-litre bulk water carrier, which has been in service since 2014.

He said the most rewarding contribution, however, had been creating a monument to honour the people who perished in 1969.

With support from the City of Greater Geelong, the Little River and Lara CFA brigades and local council officers, Terry built a commemorative plaque in 2019, marking the 50th anniversary of the fire.

“Descendants of most of the people who died on that day came, from all over Australia. The biggest thing was the way they thanked us for doing it, for not forgetting them,” Terry said.

He said volunteering in the community, and for the CFA specifically, gave him great satisfaction and he had no plans to hang up his fire helmet any time soon.

“I’m still happy to do it if the brigade and community want me to do it,” he said.

Terry Hedt is a nominee in the Heart Volunteer Awards.

MORE

NOMINATE SOMEONE FOR THE HEART VOLUNTEER AWARDS

RUPANYUP VOLUNTEERS KEEP RURAL HISTORY ALIVE

WALWA DAIRY FARMER ON A MENTAL HEALTH MISSION