While snow and cold might bring the Christmas
spirit to some parts of the world, here on the
Tweed Coast there is nothing that evokes the
feeling that Christmas is upon us more than the
sound of a fi re engine siren.
Every year the brigades of the Tweed Coast,
aided by local businessmen including Alan
McIntosh, put smiles on the faces of children
from Wooyung to Fingal and everywhere in
between, as they traverse our streets.
Kilos and kilos of lollies are distributed by
Santa and his band of Firey Elves on Christmas
Eve in one of the region’s favourite traditions.
The Santa run starts at 4.30pm on Christmas Eve
and includes most streets of the Coast, thanks
to men and women of the Tweed Coast and
Cudgen Bush Fire Brigades and the “townies”
from Kingscliff.
“We get through four large eskies of lollies,”
Tweed Coast “We have been doing it for 17 years down here
now and we cover the area from Caba to Wooyung.
I get phone calls every year asking when it is on. I
even get emails from holiday-makers from Brisbane
asking when it’s on.
“A few people said they missed out last year, so
we are doing it a lot later – starting at 4.30pm on
Monday night at Pottsville.”
Chris said even fi re callouts don’t really stop
them.
“Four years ago we didn’t get to do the run
because of fi res, so we did a run at Easter instead,”
he laughed.
And it’s not just the kids that love the Santa runs
either, according to Chris, the 35 members of the
brigade are just as excited.
“ They love it,” he explained.
“There’s never enough room on the truck.”
Kingscliff do the northern end of the Coast,
Cudgen taking the middle and Tweed Coast cover
the southern end – in a Christmas tradition which
started at Kingscliff in the early 90s and quickly
spread across the Tweed Coast.
Now it’s defi nitely not Christmas along the Coast
without the sound of fi re sirens and
