| Description |
This working 1948 Dennis Heavy Pumper Motor 36, license plate number UDE614 served in the Western Australia Fire Brigade at Perth and Melville Fire Stations.
A Meadows 6 EXA 8 Litre 115 HP motor powered this chassis. The vehicle was fitted with a large capacity Dennis rear mounted pump. The pump was a two stage centrifugal with a rated capacity of 4500 l/m (1000 gpm). The body was fitted by Baines in W.A. it has a full timber coachwork frame. Once completed, the appliance was commissioned in 1951 for use at Perth Fire Station 01, (now the Perth Fire Museum) and later the Melville Fire Station 36 on the corner of Murray Rd and Canning Hwy. This appliance was the first of the powerful and highly efficient heavy pumpers. The weight of the pumper fully loaded exceeded 3 tons. Apparently, it later set a speed record attending a fire in Clackline.
On Monday 26th March 1956, unfortunately, Motor 36 was involved in a crash whilst responding to a call with fatal results. Firefighter Arthur.F.H. du Boulay received severe head injuries and died at the Fremantle hospital 3 hours later. Station Officer Humphries was uninjured and firefighter Wennstrom was treated for minor injuries. Motor 36 received severe damage to the body work, radiator and front chassis.
In 1974 when the Dennis was taken out of commission, MFB Commander Ian Hunter AFSM & Bob Armstrong AFSM negotiated the purchase and transport of the Dennis F3 pumper from Western Australia and began the task of bringing it back to Wandin Victoria. As we understand it, the Dennis was purchased for a cheap price and it also had all brand new tyres on it. The Dennis was transported by ship from the Port of Fremantle to Melbourne and arrived at Appleton Dock at the Port of Melbourne soon after. On the day the truck arrived, Ian, Robina, Bob and Judy their wives waited for hours at the main gates of the docks with the plan to drive the Dennis back to Wandin. No one was permitted in the yards but when the dock workers realised they didn’t know how to start or drive the truck, Ian was permitted to come in and drive the truck off the dockyard area out onto the street.
The journey to Wandin took hours but the four of them didn’t care, they had a ball according to Robina, Ian’s wife at the time. Robina tells us they felt like Kings and Queens on their journey home with people waving and tooting the whole way.
Once the F3 had received some suitable restoration work, Ian & Bob would regularly drive the appliance to various events and parades. The first event where they displayed the Dennis F3 Pumper was at a Country Fire Authority (CFA) Group Picnic day at the Lithgow’s property in Coldstream, on a Polo Field. Being a CFA Group Rural Competition, the Dennis was entered into a hessian bag versus slowest vehicle race that was put on the event list using 2 historic vehicles.
Every year over the next 35+ years, the Dennis F3 attended many events, that included:
National Steam Centre Rally in Wantirna.
Australia Day Rally at Treasury Gardens.
Upwey Mountain Motor Show.
Eastern Hill Fire Station Fire Mural Unveiling.
Kalorama Fire Brigade Fete.
Australia Day Pageant.
Preserved Commercial Vehicle Display at Croydon Caravan City.
MFB Training College Abbotsford.
Dandenong Army Drill Hall.
Tatura CFA Fire Brigade Annual Fair.
Sadly Ian Hunter and Bob Armstrong passed away within six weeks of each other in 2017. In November 2017, the Dennis F3 was sold to Rick Ramadge from Wandin who intended to restore the truck. For 2 years little progress had been made on the truck and Rick decided that the project was larger than he ever expected. Motor 36 was sold to Tony and Brett Eastwood from Montrose, Victoria in 2019.
The truck was transported to their workshop in Bayswater Nth and held in storage for a short time. Mechanic Jim Nicolaus spent time on the truck and had it fired up and running in no time. Jim enjoyed working on the vehicle but unfortunately passed away suddenly in August 2020 and the appliance sat idle for a short time while Tony and Brett worked out what to do next. In May 2021 the truck was transported to Stylerod Panels in Kilsyth and the continuation of the restoration began. Fast forward to May 2022 and the coach work and body of the appliance had been completed. Progress slowed in the second half of 2022, but now in 2023, work has continued and the appliance has now been is completed. On club rego, sold in immaculate driving & working condition, a rare Museum restored quality truck believed to be the only one of its kind in Australia.
Note : sold unregistered, and with no roadworthy
for inspections contact Gary on 0413575494 as vehicle is located in Bayswater, Vic.
9.9% buyers premium applies to this vehicle..
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