Ambo station centenary marked

The Pomona Ambulance Station on Saturday celebrated 100 years since its opening. The station was set up two months after requests from residents called for an ambulance centre in the town.
At the time, senior bearer Rookwood was appointed officer-in-charge. Two years later, the sub centre was converted into an independent centre with Rookwood appointed superintendent, but he passed away only a year later and was replaced by senior bearer W. G. Nash.
The following year in 1921, the ambulance committee replaced their horse wagon with a Dodge motor ambulance, enabling coverage of a wider area.
In 1949, the centre was moved to its current location.
The Pomona Committee purchased a parcel of land in the middle of town, and the residence that had been built for the superintendent in Ambulance Street was relocated to the site and raised, providing space for the brigade premises below.
The centenary celebrations included displays of historic equipment and uniforms and the original wheeled stretcher from the Queensland Ambulance Service and Pomona museums and demonstrations from the Cooroora Emergency Service cadets. A formal presentation was made to recently retired officer-in-charge Lee Mangan who began his career as an honorary ambulance officer in Walget, NSW, in 1974.