History revving for revival
A SPECIAL piece of the Miles district’s history was discovered at a deceased estate in Chinchilla.
A 1969 Chrysler Valiant which had been converted into an ambulance was sitting in dense scrubland when a Burncluith man found it while clearing the estate.
The car is now being restored to its former glory by the Toowoomba Highfields Ambulance Museum.
Retired emergency medical technician and curator of the museum, Vincent Little, said he was proud to be given the opportunity to bring the old ambulance back to life.
“We’re constantly searching for local history, and old ambulances that might be lying around in old barns and paddocks,” Mr Little said.
He said the vehicle found in Chinchilla had been used as an ambulance in Miles in 1969.
Mr Little said the ambulance was special and was important to the community as some were born in the back, saved, or spent their last moments there.
“It’s so valuable to the community, it has a vast past, and is strongly linked to the community by the fact that they paid for it – they essentially owned it,” he said.
“That caused a huge political uproar in 1991, when the government took over and
made it the Queensland Ambulance Service.
“A few years later they reinstated a link and reinstated the local ambulance committee.
“That’s why it’s important to preserve history, because our predecessors put a lot of
money into these services, they realised the value of having it – there was very little in the way of government subsidy.”
Mr Little said the museum used fundraising money to buy the Chrysler for $3000.
“Now that money is going
back into restoring a wonderful piece of ambulance heritage,” he said.
If you have information or photographs of the original ambulance or would like to donate funds for its restoration, contact Mr Little on 0418 826 649.