The Syd Rostron Community Safety Award is named in appreciation of the City’s first ranger and in recognition of his significant contribution to the City of Stirling.

This award will encourage and recognise people who contribute to community safety across the City.


The Syd Rostron Story
On 31 March 1966, Syd Rostron was appointed by the Shire of Perth as its inaugural Shire Ranger, the first reported appointment for any Perth municipality.

Prior to Syd Rostron’s arrival in Australia, he was employed as a fully operational fire fighter in the Lancashire County Fire Brigade for some fourteen years, gaining experience in emergency procedures involving road accidents.

At 36 years of age he was considered too old to join the WA Fire Brigade, so he considered that the City of Stirling was in need of a rescue squad in order to deal with the many natural and man made disasters that could require the services of such a team, such as the earthquake in Scarborough in October 1968.

Syd Rostron responded by submitting a report to the Town Clerk, outlining his proposal for a rescue squad to be created under the City’s Civil Defence Plan. Mr Rostron subsequently attended a rescue instructor’s course at the Australian Civil Defence School at Mount Macedon, Victoria. Mr Rostron is reported in the book, “Stirling City”, by Mr Leonard A. Easton as having,

“. . . achieved very credible results at the Rescue Instructors’ Course at Mount Macedon in October 1970.”

The Commandants remarks in his report of Mr Rostron stated that he,

“Developed to a remarkable extent during the course. He is now a first class instructor and is capable of holding any rescue appointment in a Shire or Municipality. Gained top marks for the course in the written examination.”

Syd Rostron was also commended by the City of Stirling in 1973 for his actions over a continuous period of 23 hours, in attempting to rescue a man and his son who were trapped underground in a collapsed well that was being sunk. Based on his exemplary actions and as a direct result, Council resolved to make provision for adequate insurance coverage for City of Stirling officers engaged in a voluntary capacity on civil emergency operations.

Syd continued to receive praise for his leadership and training of the City of Stirling Rescue Team, including from the Premier’s Department and the Civil Defence Emergency Service of Western Australia. Respectively, this recognition included,

“The demonstration, which was carried out most efficiently, reflected great credit on the training carried out by Mr Rostron . . . the bearing and appearance of the team, the excellent state of their equipment and the precision with which the demonstration was carried out brought favourable comment from many quarters.”

“To me it was not unexpected as I consider the standard of training reached by the three teams taking part is probably unequalled in Australia. Will you please pass on to Mr Syd Rostron my personal congratulations on the effort of his team.”

In 1977, Syd Rostron was also reported as being a long time member of the St John Ambulance Brigade where he received the Bronze Medallion and Australian Red Cross Society Long Service Medal.

Mr Harold Sydney Rostron passed away at 6pm on 11 November 2008.

Award Information

The award will be presented annually to a City of Stirling employee, community group or resident of the community that has made an outstanding contribution in the field of community safety in the past 12 months in the following areas(s):

Reducing graffiti, vandalism, litter or anti-social behaviour; and/or Promoting responsible dog and cat ownership, parking, safer suburbs or crime prevention.

Selection criteria

• No age restriction or minimum years of service required.

• Nominees should reflect the City of Stirling Community Safety ethos - ‘Working Together, Creating a Safe and Secure City of Choice’.

• Community safety activities must take place in the City of Stirling, although the nominee does not have to be a City of Stirling resident.

Entries to be considered for the awards must focus on:

The nominee’s achievements in the year immediately prior to the year in which the award will be granted, as well as their past

achievements and ongoing contribution to their local community in the field of community safety;

• Initiative: the degree to which problem solving initiative has been demonstrated;

• Effectiveness: the degree to which their behaviour has positively impacted on the safety and security of the City and its residents;

• Enhancing positive perceptions of safety; and

• Community focus.

In assessing and comparing nominations against the above criteria, the selection panel will also give consideration to the following:

• Degree of difficulty of the achievement and commitment to the outcome;

• Identifiable safety and security outcomes for the community; and

• The use of a partnership approach to address community safety and crime prevention issues.

Nominations

Anyone may nominate another person for this award - City of Stirling staff, elected members, volunteers, residents and/or beneficiaries.

In submitting your nomination please use the criteria above as a guide to telling us why you believe the person you are nominating should receive the award. Ideally, submissions should be less than 500 words.

Complete your nomination by supplying all relevant information including both the nominee’s and your own contact details on the form provided. Ensure that you state why you think the nominee should be recognised with the Syd Rostron Community Safety Award.

Supporting material will strengthen your nomination and give the Award Committee a clearer idea of why you believe the nominee should receive the award. This may include personal references or endorsements, portfolios, photographs, newspaper articles or anecdotal evidence.

Nominations and any supporting documentation must be submitted to the address below by 5pm on Monday, 31 August 2009.

Syd Rostron Award Committee
City of Stirling

Administration Centre
25 Cedric Street
Stirling WA 6021