Step into the history of Ambulance Victoria

March 28, 2025 | in News

On Sunday 6 April, the Ambulance Victoria Museum is opening its doors, giving visitors a unique opportunity to explore the history of Victoria’s ambulance service and how emergency care has evolved.

On show will be the volunteer-run museum’s extensive collection of vintage ambulances, medical equipment, uniforms, communications technology and more.

Ambulance Victoria Chas Martin OAM Museum Curator Ralph Casey said the historical vehicles are always a drawcard.

“We have 30 ambulance vehicles in our collection, including ambulances used as far back as 1887, and most will be on display at the open day,” Ralph said.

“The collection also includes ambulance motorbikes, the first Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance vehicle and even a mass casualty bus which could have transported up to 12 patients on stretchers and six seated patients.

“At the open day, visitors are welcome to sit in the ambulances, take photos, touch the uniforms and equipment, and meld into what it was like back in the day.”

The museum was the brainchild of a group of retired ambulance officers who formed the Ambulance Historical Society of Victoria in 1986 and began acquiring and restoring vintage ambulances, starting out with just six vehicles.

Currently, the museum is open between 10am and 2pm on Mondays and by appointment-only on other days, so the open day is an opportunity for more Victorians to see the collection on display.

Ralph said visitors will walk away with a better understanding of how far pre-hospital emergency care has come since ambulance services started in Melbourne in the 1880s.

“There have been huge improvements in medical and communications technology and equipment, and the open day will give people the opportunity to physically see how these things have evolved,” Ralph said.

“Most of our volunteers who help run the museum are former paramedics and they will be on hand to tell visitors more about the items and vehicles on display, as well as give presentations throughout the day on ambulance history.

“Most of our visitors go away in awe with an appreciation of what it was like in the past, and that’s exactly what a museum is meant to do.”

Around 20 volunteers help run the museum, including retired paramedics, mechanics, presenters and more. The museum is on the lookout for more volunteers interested in the archiving of documents and incoming memorabilia.

The open day is a free, family-friendly event running from 10am to 2pm at 1/55 Barry St, Bayswater VIC 3153.

Guided tours and light refreshments will be available, with books and merchandise available for purchase.

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