Sebastian Calderon, Murray Pioneer

A historic fire truck which serviced the Renmark district for two decades now has a new home at a local museum.

The vehicle will share space alongside a Garford fire appliance from the early 1900’s, as a key exhibit at Olivewood museum, aiming to honour the region’s rich firefighting history.

The Olivewood Historic Homestead and Museum, in Renmark, is now home to a Kenworth L700, known in the Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) as the Renmark 6142, which made its final journey on Monday, travelling through Renmark, before being officially donated to the Museum.

The decommissioned MFS Bulk Water Carrier fire appliance was built in 1988, and was originally used as a Skyjet aerial appliance for the New South Wales Fire Brigade. MFS regional commander Garrick Lehmann said “a piece of our history has been donated to the Olivewood museum”.

“They will be able to show it to the public and showcase its connection to the local town communities,” Mr Garrick said.

“This vehicle responded to hundreds of fires over its 20-year service within the district, and it is a unique vehicle that was actually made in Australia.

“It is a really good piece of history that we’ve been able to donate.

“Renmark 6142 has served the Riverland community in times of devastation and need. “Now it will take its place alongside another retired fire appliance at Olivewood museum, becoming an interesting and educational exhibit. We are pleased it will remain in the community for all to see.”

Olivewood Historic Homestead and Museum chairman Ann Ryan said “when they were decommissioning the water tanker, the plan was for it to go overseas”.

“The local fire crew said that they’d prefer if it stayed in Renmark,” Ms Ryan said. “We already have the Garford that they restored, so this new piece adds to the local fire brigade’s display.”

In 2004, the MFS purchased the vehicle and made suitable modifications to give it a new life as a Bulk Water Carrier. Stationed at Renmark, the vehicle served the Riverland for 19 years, where it remained until its decommissioning, in November 2023.

Important upgrades were done in 2016, including the fitting of a new 11,000L water tank, with the capacity to exert 580L/min of water.

Renmark 6142, which was been replaced with a new Bulk Water Carrier, carried a long history within the Riverland, having responded to hundreds of incidents over nearly two decades of dedicated service for the MFS.

This article appeared in Murray Pioneer, 23 July 2025.