Members of St John in the township, district and region joined Sir Eion Edgar, Queenstown-based chairman of the Central Lakes Trust, and supportive residents in bowing their heads when the chaplain thanked God for the provision of the 4WD prototype and the ministry of care it will make possible.
''Watch over all who travel in it, the sick, the injured and those who minister to them. May the dying be comforted and the sick speedily recover health and strength and give thanks for the care received,'' the chaplain said.
Central Lakes territory manager Kelvin Perriman, of Queenstown, praised the three voluntary ambulance officers in Glenorchy. He was delighted there was now ''a tremendous vehicle to use in difficult country''.
It was not so long ago Glenorchy's first responders used a shopping trolley to push their gear from medical rooms to their private cars, he said.
Sir Eion said the trust looked upon applications from Glenorchy, such as for the new ambulance, ''very favourably because of the wonderful way the community looks after itself''.
''They get stuck in, raise money themselves, then ask for a helping hand,'' he said.
