Our People in NSW
Ross Macraild - Local Cop On Sumatra Rescue
Local police officer Ross Macraild is now leading his other life in Sumatra.
He has been in Army uniform and on the ground in Sungai Geringging village near Padang for over a week. He is helping establish a primary health care facility that has treated over 400 people so far.
“The NSW Police is always supportive of my reserve duties and even though I had only two hours notice to deploy, they were more than happy to release me,” he said.
Ross was an electrician in the Navy until 1990 when, wanting to spend more time with his family, he transferred to the Army reserves.
“Now I am a reserve electrician with Sydney’s 1st Health Support Battalion and I’ve been brought over to help keep the health-care unit running – so they can provide the medical assistance.
“We have been working a lot with AusAID and other local agencies and it is good to see how well we have been accepted into the community.”
In his down-time, Ross has been able to interact with the local children who are always eager for some contact with the Australians.
“Seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces makes the job even more important to me, we are genuinely appreciated here,” Ross said.
Ross is deployed as a part of the government’s response to the earthquake that hit nearby Padang in Indonesia.
Operation Padang Assist is providing primary health care to outlying regions, rapid structural assessments in Padang and clean water to over 78,000 households in the poorest regions of that city.