90 years of outstanding service for Harvey volunteers  

Three volunteers from the St John WA Harvey Sub Centre have each achieved 30 years of outstanding service. 

Chris Sabourne, Carol Gale and Troy Bates have given a collective 90 years of service to the Harvey community. 

It was the loss of his daughter in a tragic accident that motivated Chris to become a volunteer. 

The care and support he received at the time, and his family’s long-standing history of volunteering, inspired him to become a Volunteer Ambulance Officer with St John WA. 

While Carol took the plunge with her volunteering journey after seeing a local ad in her hometown of Collie.  

Described by Chris as ‘Eddie Everywhere’, Carol’s commitment to the Harvey team is just one of the many hats she wears in the community.  

A common theme amongst our dedicated country volunteers. 

So, what have been the highlights over the past 30 years?  

For Chris, it was delivering a baby on a lounge room floor, and for Carol, the stars aligning within the local emergency community to save the life of a Harvey local with a heart condition.  

It is not always easy being a St John WA volunteer in a small community when you know the patients though – they could be neighbours, mates, family.  

But for Chris and Carol, there is a lot of satisfaction in seeing people back on their feet and out and about in town again. 

The friendships gained, as well as training the next generation of volunteers, make the hours worthwhile too. 

“Chris has been a great mentor to a lot of people, including myself. He’s very passionate about what he does, about the community, about Harvey,” says Carol. 

The last 30 years have not been without change at the Harvey Sub Centre. 

It was transformed into a cutting-edge hybrid station – with paramedics and volunteers – in 2023. 

The passion and commitment of the volunteers hasn’t changed however, with over 13,000 hours worked by Harvey volunteers in 2024. 

And with Chris set to retire from his day job at the end of this year, it looks like he will be adding even more hours to his volunteering roster in 2026. 

Become a volunteer today.