Bush Search and Rescue Victoria

Bush Search and Rescue's steep snow and ice training was conducted at Mount Hotham in good winter snow conditions on the 18-19 August 2009.  The focus this year was training with our new avalanche transceivers followed by recreational rescue techniques including z-pulleys and self arrest.  The weather was overcast and windy on both Saturday and Sunday.

BSAR attended the search for  a young boy at Gormandale on the weekend. Gormandale is south of Traralgon. The 3 year old went missing late on Saturday afternoon. Overnight, the Police, SES and CFA volunteers searched for the boy.

The latest edition of our newsletter Behind the Log is out now. This edition contains details on the Lorne search earlier this year and upcoming training events.

An excellent article on the various forms of communications useful for bushwalkers is available on the Bushwalking Victoria website. This article was prepared by Rik Head, one of our Field Organisers. You can find the article at Bushwalking Victoria

The GPS and Radio competency notes, used as part of the GPS and CB Radio Training in recent months, have now been added to this site. The GPS notes provide useful information on using GPS units and how to use them in conjunction with paper maps. The Radio notes provide important material for searchers on how to use the Police and CB radios on a search. Refer to the Technical Notes section to grab these documents.

Also added to the admin section is a new document for making expense claims for BSAR related activities.

April 11, 2009 - 10:32AM

Police Search and Rescue teams and the Air Wing combed Victoria's Alpine National Park for a 38-year-old missing woman.  Friends said the woman, from Lara, southwest of Melbourne, was reported missing at about 7pm on April 10 after she failed to meet up with a walking group.

It is indeed a tragic time for those affected by these bushfires.  The Board of Bushwalking Victoria have already agreed to make an immediate donation on behalf of its members as a start.  Further support is still under discussion.

In the meantime, I contacted Police Search and Rescue on Monday Feb 9 to offer BSAR's support to fire relief efforts.

Two walkers, Ryan Hurley and Harry Wild, were reported missing in the forest near Lorne on Tuesday 30 December 2008.  Fifteen Bush Search and Rescue members joined Police Search and Rescue, the SES and Parks Victoria on the search on Wednesday 31/12/2008.  Our four teams deployed on their search tasks late on Wednesday afternoon, camping out for the night. We targeted a search area near where Ryan and Harry where last seen off the Mount Sabine Road.

Police activated a callout early on Monday November 3 2008 for Bush Search and Rescue to assist with a search for two lost people missing overnight on Mount Buffalo.  The missing people were located later in the morning so the callout was cancelled.