Ambulance station celebrates 80 years in Grafton

A NEW exhibition at Schaeffer House Museum recognises the history of this lifesaving service

FOND MEMORIES: Former Grafton ambulance officers gathered at the opening of Schaeffer House Museum’s display of ambulance history and memorabilia to mark the present station’s 80th anniversary. Picture: Adam Hourigan

WHILE their sirens commonly send bolts of dread into a community's airspace as we wonder what tragedy lies out yonder, not having the Ambulance Service around would be a much more alarming prospect.

A new exhibition at Schaeffer House Museum recognises the history of this lifesaving service as it marks the 80th anniversary of the Grafton Ambulance Station building in Prince St.

A small group of retired officers and the families of officers no longer with us, gathered at the museum on Wednesday, signalling the historical display's official opening.

The fascinating collection showcases myriad changes to the service over the decades through old photographs, newspaper clippings, medals and badges, uniforms, and even toy ambulances from the private collections of the men who serviced the Grafton community.

Attending former officers included Ken Reardon, Paul Jones, Roger Green, Rus Wesslink, Harry Layton, Robin Smith and Trevor Green, who enjoyed an afternoon tea while catching up on lost time.

Ken Reardon worked as an officer at Grafton for 32 years, retiring in October 1988 "before the bus crash" .

Among the tragedies he attended "drownings and about six shootings were the worst", Ken said, there were some enjoyable aspects to the work he was doing.

"With seriously injured people, it was when I saw them walking around again."

Ken said although some scenes could be quite confronting, there was no counselling for officers in those days. "We used to just talk to one another to get it out of our system. At least that worked for me," the 87-year-old said.

Schaeffer House volunteer and Life Member of the Clarence River Historical Society Suzanne Gibson curated the exhibition after seeing the 80th anniversary date of the current Grafton Ambulance Station building was coming up on the museum's timeline.

"The ambulance service is an interesting topic and we hadn't done anything since its 60th. Trevor (Green) put me onto everybody so everything we have here is on loan from former officers or their family members."

The exhibition will be on display at Schaeffer House Museum until July 7.

Originally published as Ambulance station celebrates 80 years in Grafton