By Dongyun Kwon
Bartholomew (Bart) Wunderlich, a longtime volunteer for the Kinglake community, was named in the Australia Day’s Honours list.
Mr Wunderlich was awarded the Ambulance Service Medal (ASM) for his service during emergencies.
The ASM receiver started his service as a volunteer in the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Kinglake in 2005 and has served for 19 years.
As a volunteer, he provided first aid at numerous community events and held various committee positions, including team leader and president.
The longtime volunteer said he was grateful and honoured to get recognition.
“CERT is run by a group of volunteers who are auspiced by Ambulance Victoria, and they respond to medical emergencies up in Kinglake,” Mr Wunderlich said.
“They have an ambulance up there only during the daytime, and the volunteers look after first aid emergencies after hours.”
Mr Wunderlich was a nurse, who is now a nurse practitioner.
He said he joined the CERT because he wanted to give back to the community with the unique skills that he had as a nurse.
“Back in 19 years ago, there wasn’t an ambulance in Whittlesea and Kinglake,” Mr Wunderlich said.
“I have a unique skill set that can help people.”
The ASM recipient also advocated for and helped establish a Kinglake ambulance station in 2013 and ensured the team had training facilities prior to it being built.
“We were very lucky to get an ambulance branch that allowed us to train many years ago,” Mr Wunderlich said.
“Before then, we were training at a church and school. Ambulance Victoria has been very supportive and put an ambulance up there.”
His service shone during the Black Saturday bushfires as he risked his life to help others.
Despite the hard effort, Mr Wunderlich said there were still people whom he couldn’t get to help out during the Black Saturday bushfires.
“It was very chaotic. There were a number of jobs we went to that we couldn’t get to people who needed our help because flames were blocking us,” he said.
“Unfortunately, our car got burnt pretty significantly on the side. We were very lucky to make it out from there.
“In that evening, we set up a first aid post at Kinglake West and looked after patients until Ambulance Victoria and all the other emergency resources could get back out on the hill.”
His testimony to the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission led to significant changes in emergency response protocols.
After the fires, he played a crucial role in rebuilding Kinglake CERT, which remains vital to the community.
Mr Wunderlich was known for his dedication, he also mentored future paramedics and was highly valued for his support during challenging emergencies, even while managing his duties at Northern Hospital Epping.
