General News
12 May, 2026
Local firefighters left “stunned” after Maryborough Lions Club’s $150K donation
Maryborough Lions Club has donated over $150,000 to local firefighters to purchase a specialised vehicle once thought out of reach.
Local firies have received a donation exceeding $150,000 from the Maryborough Lions Club for a life-saving firefighting vehicle.
A Forward Command Vehicle (FCV) has been on the top of the CFA Goldfields Group’s wishlist for some time — but thought out of reach of community fundraising.
However, they were proven wrong yesterday when the Maryborough Lions Club handed over a cheque for $154,251.58 paying for the vehicle outright.
CFA’s Goldfields Group Officer Peter Higgins said it turned a 10-year fundraising plan into a six-month wait to see it on the road.
“We just sat stunned for four or five minutes trying to absorb it,” he said.
FCVs are specialised 4WDs used in a range of incident management roles and are equipped with communication tools, computers, and workstations.
CFA’s Acting Assistant Chief Officer (ACFO) Archie Conroy said a new FCV would improve local firefighting responses — helping both save lives and property.
“It’s great for the CFA, great for Maryborough, and greater for the Central Goldfields community,” he said.
Maryborough Lions Club’s administrator Lorraine Parker said the club’s members thought the project was a worthy cause.
“It’s a wonderful idea and beneficial to the whole community,” she said.
This follows the recent Harcourt fires which, Mr Higgins said, highlighted the need for a group-owned FCV.
During the fires, he drove to Bendigo to get a vehicle which he said contributed to a communication breakdown among local brigades.
“When we got there, there was houses burning at the back and our guys knocking on the front door unaware the people’s house was on fire,” he said in March.
Back at home Mrs Parker saw the devastation of the fires, and later other community fundraising efforts in The Maryborough District Advertiser, and recognised the need.
“It made me realise just how important it is to have these vehicles because it could happen anywhere,” she said.
It’s the latest in a long history of the local club giving back to the community thanks to their bookstore, however, Mrs Parker said this was different.
“It’s not a donation from community raised funds in our bookshop but from other money we had that we can gift,” she said.
It follows other community fundraisers whose contributions Mr Higgins said would go toward other Goldfields Group needs.
ACFO Conroy said it was local groups like the Maryborough Lions Club that move the community forward.
“People like this are the backbone of the community,” he said.
“Come and join these organisations that make Maryborough a better place to live.”