Golden Fleece Servo

[kevino]

That wage sound right, I remember being on a salary of $9000 a year in 79.

[SirHenry]

Originally Posted by TMC

Are you sure it's not just a Valiant????

Just having a lend of ya.

Funny enough your right I think it's a Valiant Ranger definitely a Valiant VH model give away is the body shape and headlights on it.

I remember being a kid about 7 years old being in the back seat of my parents old HR from Rocky to Brisbane used to always have to be awake to see the big lit up Giant Sheep!

They should start that company up again

[KIWI-1]

Originally Posted by SirHenry

Funny enough your right I think it's a Valiant Ranger definitely a Valiant VH model give away is the body shape and headlights on it.

As you said, the single rectangular headlights & grill give it away (the Regal had twin rectangular headlights). Probably straight Ranger, not Ranger XL, because it doesn't have the whitewall tyres.

When I was 16-17 I was sober driver for Girlfriend's old man who owned a VH Regal powered by the 318 Fireball V8 (230hp 340 lb-ft ) teamed up with the 3-speed TorqueFlite auto. Beautiful. About four grand new.

Anyone seen the fully restored Golden Fleece tanker at the Hunter Valley museum?

[justrod]

what about --cor10 ?? vaguely remember something about this one --

[Yaw]

The Red Dog Servo at Kallangur Started out as a Golden Fleece before it became Caltex, and then when there was no redevelopment oportunity for that site, they sold it to the franchisee which turned it into Red Dog. If you look between the pumps, there are still some Golden Fleece Fill Points marked out.

Solo was a lot of old Ampol sites that were not great sites, When Solo was sold part of the deal was that the guys that owned the chain stayed out of the petrol game for a certian period of time. When that time expired they restarted as "National" by leasing the Caltex/Ampol sites that needed to go so Caltex Ampol did not have too big a market share and allowed the merger to get past Fair Trading. They turned into Liberty, and Liberty sold most of thier sites to Woolworths, which brings them back to Caltex.

The CEO of Caltex/Ampol at the time, Doctor Ian Blackburn which was originally an Ampol man got his *** hauled over the coals by the Chevron big wigs when they saw he rebranded all the sites to Ampol on the gold coast. (Chevron and Texaco are the joint venture owners of Caltex)

I used to work for Caltex for quite a few years

[H.G]

Originally Posted by au3xr6

not as good as the old oak diner at the milk factory in Hexham (Newcastle)

good point.. I remember those.. parents use to take us there once every few weeks after going Greenhills Big W..
off topic.. remember buccaneer burts??

[wombat30x]

I seem to remember an initiative from Golden Fleece aimed at kids(To get the parents to stop there) It was a book or several books filled with games and activities for travelling, remember back in the seventies an AM radio in a car was still a luxury item let alone an eight track or cassette player and local radio was abysmal especially in country areas, anyway these books had a section in the back and when you stopped at a Golden Fleece the operator placed a stamp in your book, when you had collected a few I think they were redeemable for prizes like a magnetic travel game(Chinese Checkers or regular checkers maybe chess etc.) Does anyone else remember these?
Also I remember” Wimpy” which was attached to Mobil servos they had the best Fish Burgers I have ever tasted they seemed to start in the mid to late seventies (The one I remember was at Ballina) but they had all disappeared but the early nineties, The last one I seem to remember was at Warwick in Qld (maybe my memory’s going).
There were also Esso service stations...I also remember a gimmick but I’m not sure which chain it belonged to it was a mannequin dressed in Overalls and mounted on what looked like the base of a Victa lawnmower that was placed on the footpath near the driveway, with it has a mechanical arm that operated and waved you into the servo it was operated electrically with a lead I remember one of these in Toowoomba in the late sixties and have also seen another I think In Brisbane or it may have been Newcastle.

[CustomG6ET]

there was a golden fleece at Tumblong that's trippy

[Kevaclone]

Originally Posted by Yaw

The Red Dog Servo at Kallangur Started out as a Golden Fleece before it became Caltex, and then when there was no redevelopment oportunity for that site, they sold it to the franchisee which turned it into Red Dog. If you look between the pumps, there are still some Golden Fleece Fill Points marked out.

Solo was a lot of old Ampol sites that were not great sites, When Solo was sold part of the deal was that the guys that owned the chain stayed out of the petrol game for a certian period of time. When that time expired they restarted as "National" by leasing the Caltex/Ampol sites that needed to go so Caltex Ampol did not have too big a market share and allowed the merger to get past Fair Trading. They turned into Liberty, and Liberty sold most of thier sites to Woolworths, which brings them back to Caltex.

The CEO of Caltex/Ampol at the time, Doctor Ian Blackburn which was originally an Ampol man got his *** hauled over the coals by the Chevron big wigs when they saw he rebranded all the sites to Ampol on the gold coast. (Chevron and Texaco are the joint venture owners of Caltex)

I used to work for Caltex for quite a few years

I was about to post almost the exact same thing, I was working for a Caltex Distributor(Based at Hamiton) when all this took place, Used to deliver Caltex oils to those servos that became "National". Then continued to deliver oils to them, I was transfered to (Here's one for the buffs) "Circle Petroleum" in 95 when the Caltex/AMPOL merger took place.
There were still a couple of Solo servos(Buranda taxi depot and another one near Camp Hill) that we delivered fuel to

Circle Petroleum was merged with IFS to become SEQ Fuels in 97(April 1st and it was no joke, end of an era for some)

The Caltex on the Warego Hwy at Blacksoil is still called Blue Star due to it being an old Golden Fleece, it had a Caltex right next door called Bremer Star, which was closed down in the mid 90s

Brisbane had quite a few areas with Caltex servos next to or on the same street block or opposite each other as some were ex Golden fleece, they operated like this for 10 years before the sites were closed or converted to National, This then started another dilemma for the remaining Caltex sites as the National sites got fuel cheaper

Interesting things happening with the Caltex/AMPOL merger
Since AMPOL was 100% owned by Pioneer
And BORAL had very close ties with Caltex
Word was that BORAL didn't feel easy about buying all their fuel/oil/bitumen from their biggest rival and Caltex nearly lost their biggest supply contract in Australia because of the merger.... seems BORAL were convinced to stay with Caltex as they are still being supplied by Caltex

[Kevaclone]

As for old Servo Brochures
I have two very old Vacuum/Plume/Mobiloil road maps from the 1920s/30s
One is of NSW(with interstate routes) and the other is WA(with overland routes)

I found these while doing the Cleanout of the old Circle petroleum site at Labrador


featuring ads for plume petrol
"Plume" and "Super Plume with ethyl" and "Mobilubrication"

They are very fragile now but are still in their original envelope/sleeves
I probably should get these maps scanned proerley

Might scan parts of them later and post here

[CustomG6ET]

haha i said wow there was one in Tumblong just realized there was one in cootamundra the town i live in we have a few servos around town i wonder which one it was

[washoutbeach]

Back in the day kids, when you drove into a servo, it was an experience.

You never got out of the car.

Back in the day kids...

You'd pull up next to a pump and a guy with a clean uniform and a cap would run out and say

"Good morning Sir, fill 'er up?"

You would open the bonnet.

The pumps were auto and hed set the trigger up and while it was filling, he'd wash your windscreens, fill up your windscreen washer, if you needed wiper blades, he would fix those, then check your oil and then pump up the tyres. If you needed oil, he would top you up using a old glass oil bottle full of muck.

You didn't have to move from your seat at all.

You'd give him $5.00 and he'd run off and get your change.

Then he'd stand to attention as you started the car and smiled at you as you wished him good day and waved him goodbye.

"See you next time" they used to say.

And kids, even after all this, if he didn't wait until you had left, you had something to complain about!

If they charged you for anything other than the actual petrol, that was a total rip off too

And back in the day, service stations where about service, they weren't trying to sell you a grossly overpriced Coke, toilet papar or a special on icecreams and lollies. There were no newspapers, cigarettes, coffee etc.

They only stocked oil, maybe the odd fuse.

And back in the day kids, more than three cars in a row was a traffic jam.

And people knock the performance of old cars and stuff, bt for the gentle quiet conditions, they were wonderful.

And kids, back in those days, families actually had meals together at a place called a "dining table"

And only Dad needed to work, so you got taken care of really well.

And almost everyone in Aus drove a Ford or a Holden and there were heaps of good jobs where you could no almost nothing and get paid, in todays terms, a small fortune.

Most people were happy and there was no such thing as stress.

[IDT]

Wow that is a find, I bought my first Sling shot and fireworks from a golden fleece. Can you even imagine a servo doing that these days?

[Silver Ghia]

Originally Posted by washoutbeach

The pumps were auto and he'd set the trigger up and while it was filling, he'd wash your windscreens, fill up your windscreen washer, if you needed wiper blades, he would fix those, then check your oil and then pump up the tyres. If you needed oil, he would top you up using a old glass oil bottle full of muck.

Just to note that windscreen washers were a luxury back then, not many cars had them. And I always wondered how much muck was in those oil bottles sitting in the sun, rain or hail, in a stand next to the petrol pumps. Also how much dirt was on the rag hanging out of the pocket of the attendant, which he used to wipe the oil dipstick with.

The other service you got at these service stations, was that they always had a workshop attached, so your car could be serviced there rather than these days at the dealers.

[Cobramad]

Neighbour has one old large Golden Fleece ram atop his junkpile in his shed and refuses to part with it... Nice piece of history there!

[washoutbeach]

Originally Posted by Silver Ghia

Just to note that windscreen washers were a luxury back then, not many cars had them. And I always wondered how much muck was in those oil bottles sitting in the sun, rain or hail, in a stand next to the petrol pumps. Also how much dirt was on the rag hanging out of the pocket of the attendant, which he used to wipe the oil dipstick with.

The other service you got at these service stations, was that they always had a workshop attached, so your car could be serviced there rather than these days at the dealers.

Yes thats it.

leaving them to the elements ( no lids on them readers-in case you are wondering what we are discussing!).

And they would never clean those oil bottles. Even the glass at the top was stained brown through glitch.

About 10 year ago I was passing through the small Central West NSW township of Coonabarabran and indeed I did spy some of the old bottles. I knew it was authentic because there was a stack of them only half full. So I poured a dash in. Glug glug glug, remember that sound? And the nasty chinkahh when you hit the bottle on the engine!

Alas, I do the basics myself and get my mechanic to do the harder yards (he once left my oil filter on display on the workbench to use as an example to his customers of how not to treat a car-true story).

Even as an avid backyardee, I know my limits, besides, mechanics are modern day sages and most of them, deserve a good living.

I saw my dealer on the weekend, the car was only a few months old and here he is, trying to sell me another:-

Think of a face wth the biggest smile on record ( nice shiny teeth):

"G'day mate, how the ....are you? Look weve got some nice Fords in and...."

He just couldn't help himself and after all the financial love Ive given him and his family too.

I guess for the most part, having a car was a big deal and there was a significant amount of romance and adventure attached. Car parking fees and tolls (except for the Sydney Harbour bridge) were unheard of.

And when we drove around, it was a lot more of social enterprise, people were more relaxed and kindly. They let you in because they cared. Now most people whiz past. If someone broke down, it would be rare not to see at least two people trying to help. And by help, I mean getting their mits dirty and grubby.

You consider yourself lucky these days if the guy who stops to help you doesn't try to rob you- and theres been a lot of accidents lately from people who speed up close to the lane when they see someone broken down.

I gotta couple of beautiful kids, I deeply regret they wont see too much goodness in society. I guess our era has been lucky.

Dad had a Cortina before they became slick. I wasn't allowed to touch it. I could look only. Not because he was mean, but because he thought Id wreck it somehow. And dad was right. I meant well, but in those days, cars were precious. The average Ford car in say 1965 cost a whole years salary. Thats big money.

It never broke down, never even looked like it was going to break down. And grandma had a valiant regal torque flite. Bush button automatic in two tone.

As a small child, I found it breathtaking. I couldn't get my ahead around it at all. Id spend two days on it with a chamois. We didn't have polish and wax in those days. That was for the furniture.

We had "elbow grease!!" Thats as sophisticated as we got.

I forgot to mention, when you went to a hospital you got seen to straight away. I mean immediately, a few seconds after you walked in.

Back in the day!

[Olbucko]

I remember in the early 70s when the local Esso station had bikini girls pumping the petrol, got me in!

[TC200six]

Esso, there's another name.

It's funny today how in this ad they claim those old 1 quart oil cans were genius... until they heard of the plastic bottle.

http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...ian_oil_14.htm

[big_landau]

car on right is most likely a vh regal
vh ranger and ranger xl didnt have the rear pillar badge and the regal 770 had the r/t driving light grille.

[Lightning Strike GT]

Originally Posted by TC200six

Esso, there's another name.

It's funny today how in this ad they claim those old 1 quart oil cans were genius... until they heard of the plastic bottle.

http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...ian_oil_14.htm

Put a tiger in your tank

[Lightning Strike GT]

There use to be a Golden Fleece on the Cnr of Rudd and OSullivan Rds at Leumeah (Campbelltown) - where the Bottle o for the Leumeah Inn is now and on the other cnr there was an AMPOL or AMCO - I think the Caltex is there now

[Kevaclone]

I still have some glass oil bottles, however they are Litre and 1/2 litre and have the plastic pourers and caps, I did sell a carton of 24 1/2 Litre bottles for a few hundred $$ a few years ago

There are still some servos from the 20s-30s still operating around Brisbane, Days Rd, the Grange. I think it's a still a Matilda, they have a pic on the wall showing all the grease monkeys in white, new cars for sale(early 30s models I think) and the same pump island that is still used today

The pump Islands in a lot of older sites were usually curved, so when you see one you can usually guess the site is quite old

Elizabeth Av, Clontarf, Matilda quite an old site that was on the main road before the Snook St bypass was built, the Matilda on Caloundra Rd, Caloundra, also a very old site

The oldest site I have ever delivered to was the old Samford Garage. before the rebuild in the early 90s. it had been there since the late 1800s


I also remember the Roadhouses all had names
Old Bribie Rd had a Shell called, The Wagon Wheel Roadhouse
Kilcoy has a Pondarosa(still operates as a United)
The old Mobil at Burpengary was Wimpys
There was a Milky Way at Deception bay or Morayfield(can't remember)

[Riksta]

Originally Posted by Evgeni

I remember the servo's used to have an attandant filling up the car for you and the bowser had a little glass window with little coloured balls in them to prove fuel was actually going into your car. At least that what I thought it was meant to be for!

I long for the day I randomly find a bowser with those coloured balls. I reckon they'd all disappeared by the time I started driving & needing to fill up (1997) but always remember as a kid, the guy coming out to fill up the car and dad paying cash through the window! And those little balls - they were hypnotising...

Originally Posted by sarrge2001

On a slightly related note, anyone remember the King
Neptune holding the trident (i think it may have been a fountain?) next to the Neptune Service Station on South Road, Sturt??

I was only discussing that Saturday night with a mate at the pub. Along with Marineland (remember that one?) and everybody's favourite, DazzleLand.

[music189]

Im 53 and my old man had a Golden Fleece servo, my first job at 13 was pumping petrol checking tyres, under the bonnet levels, cleaning windscreens, etc used to love it too. I can remember throwing out the Golden Fleece "supreme" oil 1 pint and 1/2 pint glass and tin oil bottles when metric came in If only I had keep them worth a bit now.
should have keep all the sheep from the pumps too.

we used to put out the petrol price every morning and when litres came out it was 11.5 cpl!!!!!

We used to clean those oil bottles every week and ours all had little caps on them.

Before that he worked at a place that sold Esso petrol still got one of those little Tigers in a key ring in the shed!

[Kevaclone]

Originally Posted by Riksta

I long for the day I randomly find a bowser with those coloured balls. I reckon they'd all disappeared by the time I started driving & needing to fill up (1997) but always remember as a kid, the guy coming out to fill up the car and dad paying cash through the window! And those little balls - they were hypnotising...
.

The little plastic balls were a recent thing, before that, and for many more years they had a revolving finned disc in a round glass

if you want to find and old pump, try your local dodgey independent servo, especially if they have an old shed on the site that looks like it's not been used for a long time, they can be full of old memorabilia

[greencapri408]

I was going thru my nans house today finally she died 2.5 yrs ago and none of us had the interest and i found 3 maps
One from esso one. From ampol and one from Atlantic there all from around the 60s

[BA-XT]

I know this is an old thread that I've stumbled across but had to comment on it. I'm 32 so I missed out on the Golden Fleece. Amco, ESSO brands (well maybe not maybe ampol).

I got my first Golden Fleece barrel 10 years ago off ebay for $45. Most sell for $200+ The smaller one I paid $93 for recently.

It's a pitty this great Aussie icon didn't survive. Everything to do with Golden Fleece is highly collectable. Don't expect much change from $2000 for a well preserved oil rack with 10 bottles!

I'm only just getting back into it but it is very addictive. I wish I had been around 40 years ago :-( Only have the 2 Golden Fleece tins at the moment. I'm collecting Shell as well so will get the 1 gallon tin next. That's another $160 for a good one.

[Crazy Dazz]

Bit of an old thread, but I hadn't read it before, and it got me thinking.
I remember as a kid growing up in Como, there were 8 or 9 servos within walking distance of my house. There were 3 BP's, Caltex, Mobil, Ampol, Shell, Amco(?), and the one on the highway that only closed a few years back and went through several name changes. I can recall The Golden Fleeces, and there may have been one at Applecross. In those days they only opened after hours and on weekends on a Roster basis. So you'd go to the nearest one and their would be a sign in the window saying "nearest roster is..."
Of all those stations, the old SHell (which has been a Gull for many years) is the only one remaining, and maybe the BP at the shops?

[LG17]

My uncle who is 95 next month (and still playing golf twice a week!) used to drive tankers for Golden Fleece. He has any number of drums and tins of Golden Fleece products in his shed still to this day. I hope to get a couple off him shortly.

[Blue Oval Mopar Man]

Our Family owned the Caltex servo on the corner of Bloomfeild st and south st Thornlands Queensland up till about 1985 . There was a Gloden Fleece servo at the end of Bloomfeild st in Cleveland , just beside the Cleveland Sands Hotel .Here is a picture of my Grandad at his bowsers .tn.jpg