A century

Duncan and Betty Holman do not do anything by halves. The couple have been married for 61 years; lived in Longwarry for 55 years, and combined, have more than a century of service to the CFA under their belts.
The way we fight fires has changed significantly since Duncan first joined Drouin Fire Brigade, at age 14.
Now 85, Duncan is Victoria’s longest serving CFA volunteer, with just over 70 years of service, 35 of those as Captain of Longwarry CFA. He has received various awards of recognition, including one from the Queen.
“The captain of the Drouin Fire Brigade was a friend of my father’s, and he was a butcher. He brought us over a piece of meat for tea one night, which happened to be my 14th birthday. He said, how old is he turning? Why doesn’t he join the brigade?”
So not long after, young Duncan started his long association with the fire-fighting.
“You would not believe the differences in the technology and equipment from when I first started – we had nothing; we had knapsacks and beaters,” Duncan said
Meanwhile, Betty Holman (nee Eacott) was working in the Longwarry corner shop, owned by her father.
The couple were married on 1 May in the Longwarry Presbyterian Church.
“Well, you know how they call ‘Mayday! Mayday!’ for disasters,” laughed Betty, who turns 80 on 13 June.
They have enjoyed a long and happy marriage despite barracking for different football teams – Betty for Essendon, while Duncan is a Richmond supporter.
The couple set up their home on a quarter-acre block on the corner of Bennett Street, in Longwarry. The lane next door was later named Holmans Lane in their honour.
“When I first went to Longwarry we had nothing at all. No station, no trucks,” Duncan said.
“We didn’t even have a siren in those days. We had to use the butter factory whistle, and we stored our knapsacks in a shed down behind the butchers.”
With no trucks of its own, the brigade relied on using utes owned by the members, and in the absence of official CFA uniforms, they donned their own navy blue overalls when attending fires.
One of the biggest fires was at the Longwarry wooden toy factory.
“It was a Saturday afternoon and we had an old tanker that carried 200 gallons of water – it was worn out when we got it. It was parked at a house and someone pinched the petrol out of it the night before and we had to tow it to the garage and fill up,” Duncan said.
“Well, through lack of equipment we lost the toy factory, so we had an appeal to see if we could buy some equipment and raised 600 pounds. We gave 500 to the CFA for some new equipment and they gave us a brand new truck, with equipment.”
Longwarry became part of the Drouin district group of fire brigades, with 13 brigades from Longwarry to Warragul forming a group to ensure all worked together cohesively. Duncan was at one stage Deputy Group Officer.
Betty was the inaugural president of the Longwarry CFA Ladies’ Auxiliary, a position she held for about 30 years. She was also the brigade’s communications officer.
The brigade was registered with the Country Fire Authority on 6 January 1945, and a tin shed was built for a station in the early ’60s. It was later upgraded to a brick station, built opposite the Holmans’ home.
“It just happened that way, the railway had land and they just happened to use the block right opposite our place,” Duncan said.
“He was up, up and away when that siren went off. Duncan took off, our son took off, and I took off,” Betty said.
The couple have two sons; Peter, who now lives in Boronia and is involved in The Basin CFA, and Gavin, who lives in Adelaide with his wife and two sons, one of whom is continuing the family tradition of service through his role in the army.
Duncan was in World War II, serving in New Guinea. He is a life member of the Longwarry RSL and has received its highest honour, the meritorious medal, for exemplary service.
The couple have been on “every committee to do with the town” and were involved in starting the monthly market that still runs today.
They moved to Bunyip’s Hillview Aged Care about five years ago, after maintaining their home and garden became too much for them.
On Black Saturday, the couple were on the other end of the fire spectrum – fleeing the flames instead of chasing them, with all Hillview residents evacuated. But Duncan still felt compelled to help, somehow.
“Duncan was sitting here, saying at least I could be making cups of tea or something,” Betty said.
While they say it was a bit of a shock moving to Hillview from their home of more than half a century, the couple enjoy Hillview’s lifestyle.
“It was the best thing we ever did – it is a home away from home,” Betty said.
“It really is marvellous here. They do everything,” Duncan said.
Duncan has been a member of the residents’ association for the past few years and has a vegetable patch out the back.
The couple has a double room and have kept their car for drives, often back to Longwarry.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think Longwarry would be what it is now,” Betty said.