Sole survivor to be at event

THERE were 1600 Rover Sunbeam ambulances built during World War 1.

But only one has survived. And, it will be at the Armistice Day celebrations at Lake Hawea.

Owner Jason Rhodes, of the National Transport and Toy Museum, and his band of mechanic volunteers have been busy this week making sure it is ready to run.

Some of the problems with owning the last of a line are that there are no spare parts if there is a breakdown, and there is no instruction manual to answer such simple questions as what sort of oil it needs.

For those reasons, it is rarely used on the road, although it will trundle through Lake Hawea on Armistice Day.

‘‘We don’t take it out willy nilly; it’s just special occasions

. . . just run it every couple of years.’’

Mr Rhodes said this week the ambulance carried New Zealand soldiers from the battlefield and had the silver fern on its side to differentiate it from Australian and British ambulances.

It was made in Wolverhampton by the Rover Company, and after the war was one of many distributed around the Commonwealth. It has previously been used as a mortuary van and a campervan.

PHOTOS: MARK PRICE One of a kind . . . The sole surviving World War 1 Rover Sunbeam ambulance is prepared for the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day by National Transport and Toy Museum owner Jason Rhodes (right) and mechanic volunteer Ross MacFadgen.