Waiuku’s extended and refurbished St John Ambulance station and hall was officially reopened recently by Regional patron, Lady Blundell.
St John Area Committee Chairman Kevan Lawrence says the reburbished station and hall is a vast improvement on what was there before.
“When the original station was built thirty years ago, it was regarded as more than adequate for the one ambulance and two officers who lived locally, and certainly an improvement on the 19th century Court House which the ambulance staff shared with Waiuku Search and Rescue.
“With the subsequent growth of Waiuku and districts, there are now six full time ambulance officers and a pool of volunteer ambulance officers serving the district as well as two vehicles to be accommodated, so improvements were necessary,” he says.
The station has been extended with two bedrooms, upgraded showers and toilets, new kitchen and larger working and living space. At the same time, the hall has been totally refurbished with a new kitchen and toilets, new blinds, flooring, ceiling and wall covering and the windows lowered to allow more natural light in. The hall is widely used by the community as well as being used by the St John youth group.
The total cost of the project, including furniture and equipment for both the station and the hall is around $515,000.
“Waiuku is very fortunate to now have first class, modern ambulance facilities. The Area Committee wish to thank committee members, Linda Baker and Roy Leaming for managing the project on our behalf,” says Mr Lawrence.
Waiuku’s Operations Team Leader, Tony Ballard commented, “The new extended and refurbished facilities have exceeded our expectations and we are very grateful for all the work everyone has put in. I would also like to say a huge thank you to the patrons of the Wolf & Beaver, the then owners of the Wolf & Beaver, Brian Palmer and Stephen Donald and to Gary Pye of 100% Electrical for the donation of a flat screen TV.”