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Story: Energy supply and use

Single-supplier service station

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Single-supplier service station

Branded service stations saved oil companies money and increased profits. Oil-company petrol tankers made fewer stops and discharged more petrol or diesel each time. Among motorists brand loyalty was weak – the location of a service station was more important, and companies with the best sites sold more petrol. This Caltex station is in Wellington, in the 1950s or early 1960s.

Using this item

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Reference: B.026650

by Gordon Burt

Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Megan Cook, Energy supply and use – Oil storage and distribution, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/21439/single-supplier-service-station (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Megan Cook, published 12 April 2010.