Devoted ambo’s final call

AN INFLUENTIAL figure in the history of the Queensland Ambulance Service who got his start serving with the Cairns Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade has been remembered as a devoted family man with thousands of stories to tell.

Ernie Bradley (left) died on July 14 after a short battle with illness at his residence in Freedom Aged Care at Rochedale. He was just shy of his 98th birthday.

Mr Bradley had been a passionate member of the ambulance community since he was 14, when he joined QATB as a clerical assistant and cadet ambulance officer.

During his time with the ambulance service in Cairns, Mareeba, Ingham and Nanango, he rose through the ranks as deputy superintendent and later superintendent.

His daughter Steph Pollock said during the time he spent as superintendent in Nanango, 1956 to 1963, he never took a holiday.

“He had a wonderful work ethic and was utterly dedicated to his job,” she said. “He was also a very family-oriented man – even in his later years when he and mum were living in Rochedale. He had trouble with his mobility but always made time for people.

“He loved a good yarn – you could give him the name of any town in Queensland and he could tell you which person’s mother’s brother set up the ambulance committee there.”

After retiring in 1987, he worked on the History of the Queensland Ambulance, which was made into a book cataloguing the first 100 years of the service since 1892, for which he was awarded an OAM.

Ms Pollock said he loved Cairns and felt a yearning for the city after moving away in 1956, but opted to stay in Brisbane to be with his children, grandchildren and great-grand children.