Old Ambulance Station
80 Howard Street, Nambour
Throughout its past and present history, the building on the corner of Howard and William Street Nambour has served the local community.
Known as the Old Ambulance Station, or affectionately just the Old Ambo, it is now an iconic centre on the Sunshine Coast that houses and showcases creative industries and social enterprise. It comprises, two exhibition galleries, a fully equipped 80 seat theatre and business incubator spaces for creative and social innovators.
The history of the current site goes back to November 1922 when the Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigades (Q.A.T.B.) purchased the then building for the accommodation of Nambour station’s first Superintendent, a Mr T.E Beech on the corner of Howard and William Streets. Additional land in William Street, behind the ambulance centre was purchased in the 1950’s for the relocation of the Superintendent’s house.
On 23 August 1958, the then premier of Queensland, Sir Francis Nicklin, opened the existing brick building, constructed at a cost of 13,500 pounds. This new station had eight staff and six ambulance cars.
Subsequent updates were made in 1976 for a new training area, workshop and storeroom and in 1990 for a top floor communications centre, a rear workshop with its own roller door access, a new light on the front of the building and a new main office (the former superintendent’s house). In 2001, the Nambour Ambulance Station moved to a new location in Rigby Street, Nambour.
More recent improvements to the interior of the building have included the creation of the two exhibition galleries and the Black Box Theatre. A recent and welcome change was made in November 2017 with the addition of sliding glass panel doors to the front of the building to replace the previous shutter doors.