1941-1970

Sorell Newsagency

Miss W. 1941-1970, Businesses ,

The Sorell Newsagency is at 15 Gordon Street, Sorell Tasmania 7172.

Interview with Lisa Peacock 2008

Ken and Lisa Peacock bought the Sorell Newsagency because they wanted to try something new and have a new outlook. They have four staff at the moment. Their opening and closing hours are 6:30AM till 6:00PM. They, personally, first opened it in August 2007. It has never been rebuilt. It has always been a newsagency. Four people has owned it including them. No disasters have happened. Originally it was bigger but it was split in half to make a lolly shop on one side.

The Sorell Newsagency was built in 1962 and it was built because it was the only one in Sorell. The size of the building is 468 square metres. The wall material is brick veneer. It has got a tile roof and its Valuation Property Classification is Retail/Business.

In 1983 it was sold for $65,000 but in 2004 it was sold for $400,000.

Orielton Fire Brigade

Miss W. 1941-1970, Services

The Orielton Fire Brigade opened in 1951 by Rex Kemp to look after the fires in the valley. It moved to Sorell then back to Orielton in 1990. The new building began in 1990, was built by Charlie Macthie and cost $2000 to build it all with a double shed. The first owner was the Tasmanian Fire Service, and they had a Dodge fire truck.

 The biggest fire was in 1967 at the Orielton Musket Mill. They were there for 8 hours then they called back because of saw dust going in their eyes. It lasted 6 days long. They have had no one die in fires yet.

Midway Point Fire Brigade

Miss W. 1941-1970, Services ,

The Midway Point Fire Brigade was opened in 1970 by a man named John Lions.

The Midway Point fire brigade was re-opened on the 1st of April 1994.
The Midway Point Fire Brigade runs a junior fire fighting program for kids aged 10 and above.
They built the fire station there because they needed one after the 1967 fires that occurred in the area.

They have had around about nine chiefs in the past.
The first chief was Mr Jack Quarrel.
The present chief’s name is Mr Andrew Dare (2007).
In 2007, there were 28 members and 9 of them were ladies.

During 2007, they put out 78 fires. During 2008, they put out 205 fires.
There are 2 trucks at the fire brigade. One of them can hold 3000 litres and the other can hold 1300 litres
They haven’t saved many cats yet.

The way that they know that there is a fire is that they have a little thing called a pager. It tells them where the fire is.
They have to wear yellow or orange overalls so in a big bush fire they can be seen better.

To find out more about the current Midway Point Volunteer Fire Brigade, check out their Facebook page here.

Ben Lynch brings the fire on his property under control.

Information gathered by students when interviewing Mr Danny Reid & Mr Peter Krakowski in 2008