By Ron Lane
In every society there exists that special type of person that could quite justifiably be referred to as the rare breed.
They will crawl inside a burning car to rescue a child or enter a house where those inside are in immediate peril. The fact that they may do so is of no consequence to them for it is the path that they have chosen; a path that will on occasion see them go in harm’s way.
When it’s over no drums no bugles are expected: just another day and another job. For these are the people, police, paramedics, firemen, lifeguards and others, who in our community are refer to as the essential service.
For us in the Sunshine Coast community of Noosa there is one person (just one of many) who during his work hours is referred to as Sergeant Craig Law, Officer in Charge Sunshine Dog Squad. Based in Coolum it is this squad that covers a wide area from the Sunshine Coast to Gympie.
Then on the weekends and sometimes during week nights, he wears his other title: President of the Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club.
Having just completed a total rebuild of their clubhouse, a club that is populated by some of the state’s finest, it would be only right to say that Craig Law and his entire team of nippers, parents, lifesavers, lifeguards and supporters, are well on the way to upholding a reputation that in all aspects of lifesaving will be second to none.
However, with our present medical climate it only serves to emphasise the character, strength and dedication of police officer and lifesaver Craig Law.
For Craig he entered this world in 1974 in Sydney and was educated at Laguna Primary School and Caringbah High.
“After leaving high school,” he said with a laugh, “my first job was that of a vacuum cleaner salesman, but as you can understand I didn’t stay at that for long.”
He then worked in various jobs such as bar man at Cronulla Leagues Club and following this did some time in security work.
His sporting interests had been a short stint with the Cronulla Nippers but his main interest for the summer months was to be cricket; a sport at which he was to represented NSW school boys.
In the winter months his success followed the path of his summer, when he was again selected to represent his state, this time in schoolboy rugby league.
However, in the Law family something of a tradition had developed as both Craig’s father and grandfather had been police officers.
As a result of this, Craig in 1998 decided his future also lay in the police force. Following discussions with his father, who suggested he join the Queensland force because Queensland was a great place to raise kids and the cost of living was cheaper, he in 1998 made the decision to join over the border.
“I joined in Brisbane and graduated in 1999. My first posting was to Redcliffe for three years then back to Brisbane where I was to spend a further three years,” Craig recalls. “Then, following this in 2005 I arrived in Coolum and have been there ever since.”
His time spent in Brisbane saw him returned to his winter sport of rugby league by joining Brisbane Wests, playing in the backs under the coaching of former Broncos legend, Tony Currie. ‘’These were good years and Currie was a great coach, so my time with them was something I really enjoyed.’’
Regarding his choice of the dog squad as a career Craig said: “All my life I have had a love of dogs so it only seemed natural that I followed this basic instinct and applied for the dog squad. It has worked out well for me; we have a great squad of handlers and dogs and being on call for the Sunshine Coast and Gympie region, saw us involved in a lot of major incidents. Over the years we have developed good team work and complete trust in each other: this in our line of work is absolutely vital.”
The breed of dog which they choose for their work is the German Shepard; this is a breed that they find to be bold, confident and above all, are very protective of their handlers.
“Their training starts when the dog reaches 12 weeks and continues for a period of 12 months. By that time, you can rest-assured that the relationship between the handler and the animal is really tops; at that stage the dog will be ready to work.
“With regard to the handlers we always find that when we are looking for new personal there is always a big number of applicants: all good men thus ensuring that those chosen will be of the right character.”
For Craig his move to Coolum was one big positive. Happily, settled in Coolum with wife Abby and family Jackson, Ashley and Nathan, his career in both the dog squad and the lifesaving movement really started to move.
In 2004 Jackson and Craig joined Sunshine Beach Surf Club, with Jackson going into the nippers and Craig obtaining his bronze.
The commencement of his beach patrolling saw him rostered on to Patrol 5, captained by Bill Twigger.
“When Craig joined us, we found him to be very efficient: this plus his great sense of humour made him popular with our team,” said Bill. “It didn’t stop there, for he then went on to get his IRB crew ticket; add to this his involvement with the nippers saw him appointed JAC (Junior Activities ) chairman a position he was to hold for four years, during which time he helped take the juniors to a new level. “
Because of his work ethic and police background he quickly drew attention and this resulted, in 2007, to his being invited to join the elite Emergency Response Group; that dedicated team of lifesavers on 24 hour callout regardless of the time or conditions.
His work within the area of Surf Sports has been both dedicated and successful. The year 2009 saw him appointed to the position of branch team manager and selector. Then seven years later he was appointed to the same positions only this time it was at state level; and as with the branch positions both are still current.
Apart from his surf sports commitments he was, as always still heavily committed to his club.
The year 2015 saw him appointed club vice-president; then the following year he stepped up to club president.
“We now have a great club and all our achievements have been a team effort; something we can all be proud of.”
With regard to teamwork it is interesting to note that three of the very dedicated Sunshine seniors, Bill Twigger, Warrick Redwood and Craig Law are all Sydney boys and all came from the Sydney Shire of Southland.
“We all grew up in the same area and we are roughly around the same age, but our paths never crossed till we became members of Sunshine Beach Surf Club,” said Warrick. “Now we are all clubmates and enjoying every minute of it; and we are not just doing it for our club but also for the betterment of our Noosa Shire.”
For Craig Law the 2018-19 season saw him receive full recognition for his outstanding contribution to lifesaving when he received the high honours of Branch, Queensland and Australian Volunteer of the year. And finally, the Clive Hammond Silver Medal for services to Lifesaving.
Family man, officer in charge of the Police dog squad Sunshine Coast and President of the Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club (a club responsible for patrolling one of our dangerous open beaches) definitely a man whose contribution to our community knows no boundaries: proud to say – he is one of our people.
