MARK Daw has spent more than a decade responding to floods, fires and road accidents across the Mornington Peninsula as a volunteer with the Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) – and that commitment has now been recognised with one of the country’s top honours.
The Rye resident has been awarded an Emergency Services Medal (ESM) in the King’s Birthday 2026 Honours List, recognising his distinguished service as a member of an Australian emergency service. An official ceremony is set to take place in August.
Daw found out about the award by email, before he even knew who had nominated him.
“I had to accept the awards, and I didn’t even know that someone had nominated me for it at all,” he said.
Daw joined the VICSES Sorrento Unit in 2012 and has held the role of controller, the officer in charge, since 2019. In that time he has responded to countless calls dealing with storms, floods and road crash rescues, and was deployed to the East Gippsland fires in 2019-20, as well as helping coordinate the return of evacuees brought to Hastings from Mallacoota.
“We do such a variety of different jobs, from helping Ambulance Victoria, to road accidents, to building damage,” he said.
The most significant test of his leadership came in January 2025, when a landslide brought a house down a hill at McCrae. Daw served as incident controller for a multi-agency operation that ran for 10 days.
A council worker carrying out an inspection of the property was injured when it gave way, and the response quickly grew into a broader evacuation effort, with around a dozen properties cleared in the initial stage, rising further as the operation continued over the following days.
“It was pretty intense for the first couple of days, from when the house actually slid,” he said. “There were lots of learnings from it, but fantastic work with all the other agencies and all the members at Sorrento SES as well.
“Hearing over the radio that the house has come down the hill – that one definitely sticks in my mind,” Daw said. “You’re worried is there anyone else involved? Is there anyone trapped in the house? I think that was one of the biggest events I’ve dealt with.”
Daw now leads a team of about 55 volunteers, drawn from across the peninsula, from Dromana through to Sorrento. He said the role demanded a significant time commitment, given the unit is on call around the clock.
“I would hate to actually think of how many hours I put in a week, but a lot,” he said.
It was Daw’s wife who first suggested he join VICSES.
“There’s the irony to the tale,” he said. “My wife said it would be great for me to join, and now she probably hates that I ever joined.”
As well as emergency response, the unit runs community engagement programs in local schools and kindergartens, and supports the Teenagers Road Accident Group at presentations for Year 12 students across the peninsula.
For Daw, the reward has never been about recognition.
“I’ve always had a big community spirit, and I suppose it’s a cliched thing, but it’s just giving back to the community – being able to help someone else out when they’re having a really bad day and seeing the difference in the look on their face. That’s what makes the job worthwhile every day.”
First published in the Mornington News – 30 June 2026
