Bush Search and Rescue Victoria CIMG3256

Bush Search and Rescue Victoria (BSAR) is a volunteer

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

group active in the state of

Victoria (Australia) Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

and is affiliated with Bushwalking Victoria. Bush Search and Rescue participates in land-based search and rescue activities for persons lost in the bush, in conjunction with and under direction from the

Victoria Police Search and Rescue Squad The Search and Rescue Squad is the Search and Rescue unit of Victoria Police and provides specialist expertise, advice and practical assistance in land search and rescue. This expertise covers most terrains including snow and vertical cliff sear ...

. Members are selected by bushwalking, mountaineering and outdoors clubs affiliated to Bushwalking Victoria. From 2007, members could also be selected from individual members of Bushwalking Victoria. Bush Search and Rescue has provided volunteer search and rescue services to the people of Victoria on over 100 occasions, usually in bush or alpine areas. BSAR volunteers are often asked to participate in searches at short notice, in adverse weather conditions and in rough and extreme terrain. BSAR has the ability to send out small self-sufficient search groups which can navigate accurately without landmarks and stay out overnight.

History

Bush Search and Rescue was formed in 1949 after several volunteer bushwalkers were involved in an extended search at

Wilsons Promontory Wilsons Promontory, is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland, located in the state of Victoria. South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promontory and hence of mainland Australia. Located at nearb ...

. Until the 90s, the organisation was known as the "Federation of Victorian Walking Clubs Search and Rescue Section", often abbreviated to "The Federation". In the 90s, the organisation name transitioned to "Bushwalkers Search and Rescue". In 2008, the organisation name Bush Search and Rescue Victoria was formally adopted. Bush Search and Rescue is registered as an Emergency Service in the Emergency Management Manual Victoria.

Notable searches

Some notable searches that Bush Search and Rescue has participated in include: * Search for a solo walker at

in 1949 (not found) * Search for 6 walkers at Paradise Plans near Marysville in 1952 * The "Snowgirl search" at

Mount Donna Buang Mount Donna Buang is a mountain in the southern reaches of the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. Approximately from Melbourne with an elevation of , Mount Donna Buan ...

in 1953 * 10-day search for a walker at Baw Baw Plateau in 1955 (not found) * Search for a female walker at Mt Magdala in 1961 (found dead on cliffs) * Search for 16 missing teenagers at

in 1966. Found with frostbite. * Search for lost schoolboys at Lake Mountain, evacuated by bush stretcher in 1972 * 12-day search for a lost child at Toorongo Falls (not found) in 1972 * Search for a large school group on Wellington Plains in snow in 1974 * Search for 2 resort skiers at

Mount Hotham Mount Hotham is a mountain located in the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, in the Australian state of Victoria. The mountain is located approximately north east of Melbourne, from Sydney, and from Adelaide by road. The nearest m ...

in 1978 (found dead) * The Bicycle Man search in the vicinity of the Wongungurra River in 1982 * Search for a lost boy at

in 1987 (not found) * Large scale search for Minister

Tim Holding Timothy James Holding (born 21 August 1972) is a former Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2013. He served as minister for water; minister for finance, WorkCover and the Transp ...

Mount Feathertop Mount Feathertop is the second-highest mountain in the Australian state of Victoria and is part of the Australian Alps and is located within the Alpine National Park. It rises to and is usually covered in snow from June to September. Unlike m ...

in August 2009 * 5-day search for a missing deer hunter, at Tomahawk Creek near

Mount Stirling Mount Stirling is a mountain in the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia. The mountain has an elevation of above sea level. Mount Stirling is also an abbreviation of the Mount Stirling ...

in June 2011 (not found) * Large scale search for lost boy in

Lake Eildon National Park The Lake Eildon National Park is a national park in the Central Highlands region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is set in the northern foothills of the Central Highlands, approximately northeast of Melbourne and abuts the shores o ...

in April 2015Missing boy Luke Shambrook found alive at Lake Eildon

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

, 8 April 2015

References

{{Reflist

External links

Bush Search and Rescue Victoria
Organisations based in Victoria (Australia) Volunteer search and rescue organizations Emergency services in Victoria (Australia)