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THE Bega District Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA) has been saving lives in the Bega Valley since it was formed in 1976.
Bega VRA patron Bevan Goldberg is a foundation member who has been involved in the squad since the day it opened, and still continues his participation today.
“It’s been very interesting - I love it,” he said.
Mr Goldberg said initially all funding was provided by the town.
“Everyone knew they needed our services, because there was no-one else,” he said.
Back then the VRA’s area stretched from the Victorian border to Dignams Creek and out to the escarpment.
Members travelled even further if needed – they had a part in the Thredbo landslide in 1997.
Bega VRA had its roots when a plane travelling from Wagga Wagga crashed into Bald Hills near Pambula.
As in those days there was no rescue squad, the police asked Trevor Page from Balmain Brothers if they could use his hydraulic equipment.
After that, Mr Page started forming the local VRA.
Mr Goldberg said one member, Ken Larkin, who joined in 1977 and worked as a radio technician at the ABC, invented the “larkin frame” during his time in the squad, which is now used all over the world.
The larkin frame is a vertical product that sits on the edge of a cliff at an angle, so a rope attached to it doesn’t rub against the rocks.
The original larkin frame is in the Bega VRA shed today.
The organisation’s first headquarters was at the ambulance station, before they moved to a shed at Elgas then to their current shed on Tarraganda Lane.