A dummy and the real thing

By Jade Lawton
HISTORIC ambulances will be just one of the attractions at an open day for Cardinia Waters Retirement Village on Saturday 9 October.
Resident Ron Forth has a 1964 ambulance, which is quite a talking point in the retirement village. He is a member of the Ambulance Historical Society, who will bring another three historic ambulances, dating back to 1914, to the open day.
Mr Forth said he discovered the ambulance languishing in a back paddock at St Albans 25 years ago. “I’ve done it all up. It has a stretcher and a dummy and it’s set up like a real ambulance. I’ve found a few (other) wrecks, but not anything that goes,” he said.
Mr Forth, who has owned about 100 cars over the past 50 years, said he took the ambulance to car rallies and other events. “It’s different, and I always have to have something different,” he said.
Visitors to Cardinia Waters will have the opportunity to go through the restored ambulances and see how paramedics worked over the years. The village, off Racecourse Road, Pakenham and will be open to the public from 10am to 3.30pm.