April 30 was a significant day for the NSW Ambulance as the service marked its 130th anniversary.
Originally known as the Civil Ambulance and Transport Brigade, the first recognised ambulance service in NSW commenced operations in April 1895.
The first ambulance station in the State was located in a borrowed police station in Railway Square, Sydney, and two permanent officers transported patients on hand-held stretchers and handlitters, wooden structures that resembled large wheelbarrows.
Singleton’s first transportation, an Ashford Litter, was acquired and donated to the town by the Ladies’ Glee Club in December 1909 and is currently on display at Singleton Historical Society and Museum.
Society member Diana Heuston said this was a time when the road to Singleton Hospital was gravel, making for a not so comfortable trip for the injured.
Today, NSW Ambulance receives more than 1.2 million triple zero calls each year and has more than 7,500 staff, including paramedics, control centre staff, corporate and support staff, doctors, nurses as well as clinical volunteers and chaplains.
With more than 1,800 vehicles in the NSW ambulance fleet, staff travel approximately 55 million kilometres by road in a year. The service also has specialised snow vehicles, 12 helicopters and six fixed wing aircraft to access patients in remote areas.
If you would like to see that very first form of ambulance transportation, visit Singleton Historical Society and Museum at the weekend from 12noon to 4pm or on Tuesdays from 10am to 1pm.
