THEY say a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and local residents who purchased bare-rooted rose bushes from the Country Fire Authority last season have confirmed this.
Those lucky buyers will be delighted to know that the beautiful Firestar rose and Firestar Phoenix will again be available from May 31 at the cost of $26 each.
A brigade nominated by each individual purchaser will receive $11.50 from the sale of each specimen. Deliveries of the roses will be available for springtime planting until the end of August.
The Firestar rose was the first of the rose series following the Black Saturday bushfires and it is a memorial to those who lost their lives, and to the many dedicated CFA members who risked their own lives to save others. The Firestar celebrates the regeneration of life.
The Firestar Phoenix is a symbol of hope, and is named after the mythical bird that builds a nest which ignites and it rises from the ashes to begin life anew.
The roses have been hand grafted and have won national and international recognition not only for their colourful beauty but their robust qualities.
To purchase the roses and for more details, log on to firestarrose.com.au
Proud of our firefighters
I have every reason to be proud of our CFA firefighters, both paid career personnel and volunteers, and particularly firefighters at the Dandenong brigade.
It was at a dance at the former Robinson Street fire station I met my first husband, Ron Stork, who was a third generation of his immediate family to serve as a volunteer firefighter.
I worked at that time at the Scott Street office of the Dandenong Journal (now the Greater Dandenong Weekly) and I can recall when the first CFA resident fire officer Dave Foss took me to the early Narre Warren bushfires and we rescued a dog under a tank stand. It was badly burned and blistered, particularly on its paws and we got a veterinary surgeon’s help.
The householders had fled the scene in their panic and had forgotten the terrified animal was chained under the tank. The home owner’s dwelling was destroyed but they and their pet survived.
CFA division busiest in the state
A CFA incident statistics map of Victoria published recently has revealed that division 8 – which incorporates Dandenong fire brigade – with its total of 69 brigades is the busiest in the state.
Operations officer Paul Carrigg, of the Dandenong brigade, in expressing his admiration of the efficiency and dedication of the work of the firefighters from the four platoons and 40 career firefighters who man Dandenong’s busy station 24 hours a day, said: “Our 69 brigades include from Springvale and Noble Park to Nar Nar Goon, Phillip Island, French Island, and Sorrento. We answer 35 per cent of all calls to the CFA in the whole of Victoria.”
Do you have a milestone, memory or question for Marg? Email marg@yourweekly.com.au or post submissions to A Moment with Marg, c/o Greater Dandenong Weekly, PO Box 318, Dandenong 3175.
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