News
15 April, 2025
Cheers to SES history
AS the Queensland SES prepares to celebrate its 50th birthday in November, the Caboolture SES team was able to revisit its retired truck of over 30 years, as it was restored at the Caboolture Historical Village last month.
The truck, a 1962 International AB 110 Series, was the first and only truck the Caboolture SES unit had from 1975 until it was replaced in 1997, being then donated to the Historical Village.
Caboolture SES Leading Field Officer, Carrollyn Hennessy, said these trucks are one of the very few ways in which Queensland SES history is recorded.
“I’ve got lots of newspaper clippings but all accounts of people who were there have left and I don’t know there is any SES history anywhere except the truck and what we have ourselves,” she said.
“New people and things come in and you tend to just throw out the old and throw out the history.”
If the original truck hadn’t been donated to the Historical Village, it would have been sold at auction, as most trucks are.
According to Caboolture SES Leading Field Officer, Henk Van Den Ende, who has been with SES nearly since its inception in 1975, recalled how hard the first years were for the SES to have funding and equipment.
“SES started very low on the ground, where our headquarters used to be under schools, and over time councils became aware they had a responsibility and it slowly grew to what it is today,” he said.
“In those days every truck and everything we had was what we could scrap together through fundraisers and raffles, which is why we used these old trucks for so long, until we got proper funding for a new, more modern one.
“Not many people know where we came from for the first 10 years before councils started taking on more responsibility.”
Heritage Officer of the Caboolture Historical Village, Roger Dunstan, said having the truck at the village is “fantastic”, as historical vehicles are a big part of the Village.
“We’re all about local history and preserving it, from our old buildings to the trucks and vehicles,” he said.
“I’ve got a deep feeling of appreciation and so glad the SES offered it to us to look after all these years.”
The truck is fully running again and remains on display at the Caboolture Historical Village.
