Women in Rescue

Echuca, Victoria · 2026-03-21

Turbo 360 provided same-day photography and video production for VICSES Women in Rescue 2026 in Echuca — including a standout night-time search and rescue scenario at Billabong Ranch.

On 21 March 2026, Turbo 360 headed to Billabong Ranch in Echuca to document one of the most distinctive versions of VICSES' annual Women in Rescue event yet — the first-ever overnight edition of the Loddon Mallee regional event.

VICSES female volunteer in orange SES uniform and headlamp smiling at night during Women in Rescue training scenario, Echuca 2026 — A VICSES volunteer at the night-time search and rescue scenario, Billabong Ranch, Echuca.

About the event

Women in Rescue (WIR) is an annual VICSES initiative founded in 2018 by female volunteers, for female volunteers. Its goal is straightforward: give women hands-on time with tools and equipment, build confidence, and strengthen cross-agency connections in a supportive environment. In 2026, the program ran as seven simultaneous events across Victoria, bringing together over 300 women and gender-diverse members statewide.

The Loddon Mallee event at Echuca was the standout this year. Rather than a standard day format, it ran as a 24-hour practical training exercise — a first for the WIR program. More than 40 volunteers from across the region converged on Billabong Ranch, working alongside Victoria Police's Missing Persons Squad on a realistic multi-agency land search scenario. Skills covered on the day included map navigation, portable lighting setup, and safe casualty transportation.

VICSES volunteers in SES rescue uniforms treating a simulated casualty on a stretcher during a night-time land search exercise at Women in Rescue Echuca 2026 — Volunteers practise casualty transportation during the night-time rescue scenario.

Large group of VICSES female volunteers in orange uniforms and Victoria Police officers walking through bushland during Women in Rescue multi-agency land search training, Echuca — A multi-agency search line moves through bushland at Billabong Ranch during the training exercise.

What we covered

Turbo 360 was engaged to provide full photography and video production services across the entire event, with a same-day delivery commitment. That meant being on the ground from the opening activities through to after dark — capturing the full arc of a training day that deliberately stretched into genuinely challenging conditions.

Our key coverage included:

Documentary-style event photography throughout the day and into the night
Video production for a highlights reel capturing the breadth of the training scenarios
Vox pop interviews with participants, giving VICSES authentic voices to use in their communications
Aerial photography, providing a bird's-eye perspective of the search scenarios playing out across the property

Aerial drone photo of VICSES SES volunteers discovering a simulated casualty lying in bushland during Women in Rescue land search training at Billabong Ranch, Echuca — An aerial view of the land search scenario unfolding across Billabong Ranch.

VICSES SES crew leader briefing Victoria Police and SES Rescue volunteers beside SES rescue vehicles at Women in Rescue multi-agency training event, Echuca 2026 — A crew leader briefs SES and Victoria Police personnel ahead of a training scenario.

What we delivered

Everything was turned around on the same day. By the time the event wrapped, VICSES had in their hands a complete photo gallery and a finished highlights video, including the vox pop interview segments. Same-day delivery at a 24-hour event is a real logistical challenge — our team was editing while the training was still running, ready to hand over assets the moment the day concluded.

The content gives VICSES exactly what they need: real imagery of their volunteers in action that can be used for recruitment, internal communications, media, and social channels.

VICSES State Emergency Service female volunteers inspecting an SES operations support vehicle and equipment during Women in Rescue training day at Echuca 2026 — Volunteers examine SES operations support equipment during the daytime training activities.

The standout moment

The night-time scenario was something else. With no artificial lighting beyond the headlamps on every helmet, our photographer was working in near-total darkness, finding compositions among sweeping torch beams and the ambient glow of the bush. The resulting images capture something a daytime shoot simply cannot — the atmosphere of a real after-dark search operation, and the focus on every face in it.

Group of female VICSES SES volunteers in orange uniforms and hard hats walking along a rural property track during Women in Rescue training event, Echuca Victoria 2026 — Participating in line search training at the Billabong Ranch property.

If you need a production team that can keep up with your event from sunrise to well after dark, we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch with the Turbo 360 team here.

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