The Wattle Range Country Fire Service Group is set to split next month and adopt new names.
Local CFS insiders expects 11 brigades will form the Millicent-based Woakwine Group while the remaining 11 brigades will become the Penola-based MacKillop Group.
‘Woakwine’ is an Aboriginal name meaning ‘elbow or bent arm’ and refers to the shape of the large watercourse near the Woakwine Homestead at Beachport.
St Mary MacKillop co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph at Penola in 1867 and became Australia’s first Saint.
Following the split, the Wattle Range CFS Group will lose its status as the largest CFS group in South Australia which it has held for the past 27 years.
Talks about the restructuring of the 600-strong volunteer organisation have been under way for a number of years.
The split into east and west will not follow exactly the old council boundaries.
The current Wattle Range CFS Group was formed in 1997 at the same time as the former Millicent, Beachport and Penola councils merged to form the Wattle Range Council.
At that time, Mike Kemp was the Millicent/Beachport group officer with Fred Stent holding this role at the Penola group.
Under the expanded group, Mr Kemp was amicably elected as the group officer with Mr Stent his deputy.
When Mr Kemp stepped down nine years ago, Mr Stent was elected unopposed as his successor.
Penola volunteer firefighter Christian Fraser is a deputy group officer along with Glencoe’s John Critchley, Millicent’s Chris Mathias and Kalangadoo’s Mariska Hawke.
