General News
8 October, 2025
CFA groups merge
A NEW Country Fire Authority (CFA) group has been officially launched in District Six, known as the Apostles Group.
Formed through the merger of Cobden and Timboon groups, this new team reflects a proactive, volunteer-led effort to build a more sustainable group for the area.
Like many rural areas, CFA groups in District Six are dealing with fewer volunteers, leadership gaps and heavier workloads.
For Cobden Group in particular, maintaining viability was becoming harder.
“It really came down to people – just not having enough of them,” group officer Mark Roberts AFSM said.
“Running a group with only six brigades just wasn’t going to cut it long term.
“We needed a group that was the right size for the years to come.”
A working party was established with representatives from each group in District Six.
Its focus was to plan for the future and identify ways to strengthen the role of groups.
“With the trending change in the community’s values around volunteering, it was time for us to be proactive,” deputy group officer and captain of Port Campbell Fire Brigade Katy Millard said.
“Exchanging ideas and considering other points of view as part of the working party was a positive way of being able to influence change.”
The working party’s first recommendation was to bring Cobden and neighbouring Timboon groups together to create a single, stronger group with shared resources, experience and people power.
The new group includes Bostocks Creek, Brucknell-Ayrford, Carpendeit-South Purrumbete, Cobden, Cobrico, Ecklin and District, Jancourt, Kennedy’s Creek, Lower Heytesbury, Port Campbell, Princetown, Scotts Creek-Cowleys Creek, Simpson and Timboon.