The call came after the 1977 bushfires that killed five people and destroyed 79 homes.

Mr Pickering, a police officer at the time, was one of several members who founded the Lismore SES unit the following year.

The next four decades saw him attend hundreds of incidents that ranged from road rescues and fallen trees, to the 2010 and 2011 Skipton floods and a deadly road accident where a truck and train collided on the Camperdown-Lismore Road in 2006.

Today Mr Pickering is the last remaining founding member of Lismore SES. 

He was awarded a life membership by VICSES chief executive Stephen Griffin on Sunday. 

“I didn’t join to be a life member,” Mr Pickering said. 

“It’s just the way that things have happened.”

SES Assistant Chief Officer south-west region Alistair Drayton said Mr Pickering had been an instrumental member of the Lismore unit. 

“From seeing it grow from its humble beginnings at the local ambulance station with very little equipment, to being very hands on with the construction of their current local headquarters,” he said.

“Colin, along with another member of the unit, were representatives on a committee to raise funds to purchase the Jaws of Life for the Lismore district. The main fundraising idea was to be a coffee stop, which is now known as Driver Reviver.” 

Mr Pickering was appointed unit controller in 1983 and again in 2011.

He has held the role ever since. 

“There’s a lot of self-satisfaction in helping the community and getting the job done,” he said. 

“Of course there are lows, when you go to a scene and there’s a fatality or multiple fatalities, but there are also the highs when you finish with a good outcome.

“That’s why I joined in the first place - to help my community.”

Mr Pickering is also a CFA volunteer and the froup officer of the Lismore Fire Group. He said he plans to stay an active volunteer in the community for “as long as possible”.