Saving lives where it’s Christmas every day

You’d be forgiven for thinking Western Australia’s most remote St John sub centre was somewhere in the eastern desert, or in the Kimberley region, but it’s actually even further away and – technically – not even part of the state.

Christmas Island, which is more than 2600 kilometres away from Perth, and which celebrates 25 years of St John this year, is a volunteer-run centre set in paradise.

It’s not all tropical palm trees and baby red crabs, though.

The dedicated team who run the emergency ambulance service for the island’s almost 2000 residents live closer to Asia than Australia, but the St John WA spirit is alive and well.

With some of Australia’s best beaches, and awesome snorkelling and diving spots, St John volunteers are kept busy with coastal jobs.

But the surrounding jungle also provides a challenging environment for volunteers, with limited communications on the island presenting a unique set of circumstances the local vollies are adept at overcoming.

The team works closely with other emergency services, including the Australian Federal Police, Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services, and Volunteer Marine Rescue, on the island, which is administrated by the Federal Government.

The Christmas Island St John team runs regular training for volunteers and are always on the look-out for new legends to join St John.

Check the St John WA Christmas Island team out on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/StJohnWA.ChristmasIsland/