Tickets to Thunderball will go like lightning

by SUSAN FOREMAN
21st April 2025

TICKETS ARE about to be released for the “flashest” event of the year.
Thunderball is a gala ball being held at Bramleigh Estate, Warrandyte, on August 16.
The event is the culmination of two years of work by the Foundation for Volunteer First Responders, aka the Thunderball committee.
The Thunderball committee has spent the last 18 months strengthening community connections by raising awareness of the mammoth task performed by Manningham SES volunteers during flood, storm, and swift water rescue, and laying the foundations for the Thunderball gala.
Thunderball’s goal on the night of August 16 is to raise enough money to allow Manningham SES to purchase a new vehicle.
This will enable them to more effectively assist police, ambulance, and fire services in a range of emergencies.
Manningham SES’s current fleet does not provide enough carrying capacity for all the equipment they need, given the range of emergencies they attend.
Precious time is lost having to remove gear and replace it with other equipment, depending on the job.
Do they need the marquee, the stretcher, or the boating gear for this job?
An additional vehicle will enable them to have all that gear ready to go.
Chairperson of the Thunderball committee, Sandi Miller, said when she heard the Fireball committee — an initiative that fundraised for CFA brigades in Warrandyte, North Warrandyte, Wonga Park, and South Warrandyte between 2014 and 2023 — were standing down in 2023, she couldn’t think of a better way forward than picking up the mantle for our hardworking SES.
The owner of Bramleigh Estate, Mary-Anne Lowe, agreed and immediately offered to supply the venue, including food, drinks and staff — for free — for the event.
General Manager of Bramleigh Estate, Dave Munn, said they were delighted to support such a great cause.

“We love to support fantastic organisations, and it’s a really good cause.
“The SES does great work for the community, and we want to help them continue that by supporting Thunderball.”

Sandi said the SES provides an amazing service to the community.

“The men and women at Manningham SES are out in all weather, all year round, responding to life and death emergencies.
“It’s not all chainsaws and tarps, although that is critical work; it’s also recovering bodies from the river, cleaning up after floods, and reuniting families with their missing loved ones.”

And she said to enable them to do all that there is hours and hours of training, and community education.
And if that’s not enough of a time commitment, the unit has to do its own fundraising to pay for essential equipment.

“The unit has to pay for uniforms, boots, stationery, phones, tools — the funding they get from the government isn’t nearly enough to allow them to do everything the community expects them to do.”

Sandi added the community connection the committee has fostered is already making a difference.

“When we first met with the SES, they showed us the phones their duty officers were using for communicating with the dispatchers and the community.
“The phones they had were still running on the 3G network and had a battery life of perhaps 20 minutes.
“Something had to be done urgently as the 3G network was about to be shut down.
“We spoke with some local organisations, and the Warrandyte Riverside Market stepped up and not only became a major sponsor of Thunderball, but they went out and bought brand new iPhones for the unit.
“So, it’s not just the ball, but it has been about making connections with the whole community and supporting them over the two years it takes to organise the event.
“We have been turning up to community events like Run Warrandyte, Finns Festival, and the Warrandyte Festival to show our support.
“Next month, to coincide with our ticket launch, we are planning to be at Heide Market selling a range of SES merchandise, lunchboxes, drink bottles, stickers and toys — we are doing the fundraising, so they don’t have to.”

So, head down to Heide Market on May 10 and say hi, book your table for the event, and get yourself some SES goodies.
All SES merchandise sold at the Heide Market will see funds go straight back to Manningham SES.
To find out more about the Thunderball gala, visit thunderball.net.au.