Tuesday, 9 June, 2026
Sarah Ward receives OAM for community service
Antique fair fundraises for FFAR
Collaboration sees new infrastructure for Mt Evelyn
See Real Estate liftout inside
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A Star News Group Publication
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Five years since freak storm Five years have passed since the 9 June storms hit the region and left a trail of destruction in its wake. Recovery and healing are still woven throughout people’s reflections of that fateful night, but so too are stories of community and connection. This editions takes a look at how residents banded together immediately after trees fell, the work of the emergency services and how survival was possible because of strength and love. See the full coverage on pages 4, 5 and 7
Five years have passed since the 9 June storms hit the region. (Amber Williams Photography)
Captain honoured By Mikayla van Loon More than a century after his sudden death, the founding captain of the Lilydale Fire Brigade has finally received national recognition. Captain Joseph Smith, who died of heart failure while responding to a fire at Cave Hill Quarry in June 1906, was posthumously honoured at the National Emergency Services Memorial in Canberra on 8 May. The event, attended by GovernorGeneral Sam Mostyn AC, officially marks Captain
Smith as the first volunteer firefighter in Victorian history to die in the line of duty. The breakthrough is the result of a years-long research project spearheaded by current Lilydale CFA Lieutenant Dan Nolan. After discovering that Smith’s sacrifice had been overlooked, Mr Nolan championed a movement to rewrite the state’s firefighting history. “If someone died at the job normally there would be a memorial,” Mr Nolan said. “We didn’t have anything and I thought, ‘that’s not right’.”
Captain Smith, who died at age 34, was a popular local figure whose funeral was one of the largest Lilydale had ever seen. However, having no children and with major global events like World War I soon following, his story was lost to time. During his brief tenure, Captain Smith secured Lilydale’s first fire shed and its alarm bell, which tragically rang for the first time on the night he died. Kate Torpy, a descendant of Captain Smith’s
wife, Isabella, accepted a memorial medallion on behalf of the family. A permanent plaque has also been installed at the Lilydale Fire Station, dedicated to both Captain Smith and Isabella, honouring the partners who wait for firefighters to return home. Captain Smith’s name will soon be added to the CFA headquarters honour board and the Victorian Emergency Services Memorial in Melbourne. Turn to page 10 for the full story
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