Richmond’s first motorised fire engine has been brought back to the region for the first time since the mid-1960s.
The Ford V8 was originally bought by the Richmond Borough Council in 1945 from the Airforce War Assets. It served as Richmond’s fire engine for 21 years until 1966 when it was sold to the Collingwood Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Nicknamed Flick the Fire Truck, it was tracked down in Wellington by a group of Richmond men who wanted to bring it home and display it in the town it served for over two decades.
Eddie Lammas, who served in the Richmond Volunteer Fire Brigade from 1960 until 1999, is one of those behind the purchase of the fire truck and hopes to see it restored to its former glory.
He says the first step is to raise some money to help pay for its restoration and to pay back the loan of $25,000 used to buy the truck. After that, they would like to see a permanent display area found, ensuring that the truck could still be used for community events like the Richmond Santa Parade.
There are five Richmond Fire Brigade members who used the truck, still alive: Maurice Hunter, Gerald Holland, Geoff Mead, Fred Waldner and Eddie.
Fred had fond memories of the truck.
“I remember when I was pretty new in the brigade, the alarm went and we went down to the station and the officer in charge said ‘Fred, you’re driving’. It was only 500 metres up the road, it was a chimney fire on Croucher St. Anyhow, I took off and I thought, ‘man, this thing can go’ but stopping was another story. By the time we stopped I think we were two or three houses passed the fire, which was rather embarrassing for me and I got plenty of stick for it after.”
Geoff Mead says the truck had very good pumps but a “bastard of a connection”.
“We would have to crawl under the truck because the pin had a habit of jamming halfway through, so you’d be under the truck trying to sort it out and while all this is going on the house is burning down and the owners are getting anxious.”
Despite being away from the region for many decades, Phil Nicholls says the vehicle is in original condition. “It’s only done 6000 miles from new, everything is pretty much original.”
The group says they’d like to have the truck fully restored and on display in time for the Richmond Volunteer Fire Brigade’s 150th anniversary in 2028.
In the meantime, members of the public will be able to get their first look at the fire truck at the Top of the South Motor Show at the Richmond A&P Showgrounds on Saturday, February 22.
Anyone with information about the truck, including photos, stories or memories are encouraged to email flickfiretruck@gmail.com
