The kindest cut

Maths and car crashes are two areas that many would shy away from – but Nar Nar Goon’s Geoff Bramley is an expert in both.
Geoff, a lynchpin of the Nar Nar Goon CFA, was a mathematics teacher at Pakenham Secondary College for two decades.
The CFA, just a few kilometres up the road from the dairy farm he shares with wife Debbie, is one half of Pakenham’s Road Rescue Unit (PRRU).
Together with the Pakenham SES, volunteers attend serious crashes from Longwarry to Berwick, cutting crash victims from their mangled cars and provide a life-saving service to the community.
His road rescue work and passion for teaching kids are perfectly married in his latest role, as a speaker in the Fit to Drive Program.
“The program is really good. It is pitched at Year 11 (students), the 16 and 17-year-olds. We talk about peer pressure, and we take a car and cut it just to show them what happens,” he said.
“It really is very fulfilling and worthwhile – you don’t know if you’ve made an impact, but hopefully you’ve reduced accidents, and maybe even fatalities.” The program has visited several local high schools and even a juvenile detention centre.
Ever the mathematician, Geoff can easily reel off the stats: the PRRU attends about 70 crashes a year, with about half requiring some kind of assistance; about 20 per cent are major accidents.
One such smash involved Todd Hansen. This crash, and its effects on Todd and his family, has now been turned into a DVD called Todd’s Story. The film is shown at schools to demonstrate the ramifications of road trauma.
“It was in Archer Road, Garfield. He was really battered around,” Geoff said.
“They rang later and asked if I would do an interview, and I did, but I haven’t seen the video. To be honest, as bad as it sounds, I really don’t try to think about jobs after you do them – otherwise you would go totally gaga.”
The worst smash he has ever attended was a multiple fatality in Kooweerup on Australia Day, 2001.
The Pettet family – William, his wife Cherylynn, and their teenaged children Robert and Sharnie – died when their car was hit by an out-of-control petrol tanker.
A fifth person, Rosa Guajardo, was killed when the car her husband was driving was also hit.
“It was a wet and stormy day… that is by far the worst motor vehicle accident I have ever been involved in,” he said.
The PRRU work is of course accompanied by the regular CFA duties – attending everything from smoking microwaves to one the biggest disasters in Australia’s history.
The First Lieutenant was a strike team leader on Black Saturday, covering Longwarry, Labertouche and Drouin West.
“I think there were about 50 tankers lined up at Nar Nar Goon by 9am that day.
“When we left, we were confronted with flames approaching the (Longwarry) BP service station – huge flames.
“(Son) Evan was on the truck. He was only 18 at that stage and that was his first major fire. It was pretty horrific for an 18-year-old to be confronted with flames like that.”
In 2001, Geoff was awarded the national medal for more than 15 years’ diligent service to the CFA
His CFA career started at Noble Park, when he was 18. His teaching career also started at Keysborough Tech.
He taught mathematics and science at Pakenham Secondary College for about two decades. He finished teaching two years ago.
“I guess I was a nerd,” he joked.
“I love mathematics; I’m really passionate about it. Whether you are helping a smart kid, or a kid that is progressing, it’s great to see. I love kids and I love teaching. I think teaching kids is one of the best jobs you can do.”
He also loves hearing about the fortunes of past students.
“You can do so much for those kids that want to raise their standards, and it gives you a bit of a kick that you’ve been part of that,” he said.
“I try to tell them a story about themselves – most of the kids I taught I can remember something.”
He is now focusing on family – Geoff’s wife of 33-years, Debbie, is the editor of Nar Nar Goon’s monthly newsletter, the Goon News.
They have four children – Kristin, 28, Lisa, 25, Geoffrey, 23 and 20-year-old Evan, and two grandsons.
Geoff has stepped back a bit from the dairying. He used to milk cows before and after school, but now has a share farmer.
But production is stronger than ever – last year it was 2.2 million litres of milk from about 260 cows.
Since he started teaching, Geoff said that Pakenham had changed immensely, while Nar Nar Goon ‘hadn’t changed a bit.’
He said he would like to see a small amount of development in Nar Nar Goon – just a couple of new houses to attract young families to the town so that the sports clubs, pub and of course, his beloved CFA, continue to thrive.
In the meantime he is calling on Nar Nar Goon locals – men and women, age 16 and above – to sign up.
“We are currently in desperate need of further members. We’d love to get another five, six,” he said.
“We’d love to have more people on board and in July we will do a doorknock appeal.
“Being in the CFA you gain skills, skills that can benefit you in the workforce, like being able to cope with stressful situations, first aid, your truck licence, all kinds of things.
“The CFA also has a great culture of friendship; wherever you go, you are one of us.”