Dennis Fire Engine 1932
The Dennis 250 Fire Engine originally came to Australia in 1932. It has been fully restored by our volunteers and includes all of the original brass fittings etc. including the original wooden ladder. It was placed in service in Hunters Hill, Sydney in 1933 and in 1935 was transferred to Queanbeyan, Canberra. In 1958 it was transferred to Maclean, Northern NSW and in 1969 was sold to a private owner. At that time there were 5600 miles on the speedometer.
The original purchase price was £1417 2 shillings and 4 pence ( Approx. $2834.00 at that time)
We discovered it languishing inside a derelict building at the site of the original Torbanlea Museum. We approached the Council as we were concerned that vandals may break in and damage it. The Council gave us permission to re locate it to our site. We eventually convinced the Council that it should be fully signed over to us, to which they agreed. Now owning the vehicle, we set about fully restoring it to it’s former glory.
A major expense was acquiring new tyres as the originals were not in good condition.
It took pride of place at our 40th Birthday Celebrations with Federal Mp Keith Pitt enjoying being driven around. We will eventually build a Fire Station to house the vehicle along with other Fire Station memorabilia.