Contributed by Steve Hodder


The increase in car ownership in the 1960s brought with it a corresponding rise in the number of service stations to fuel and maintain them.
At its peak in the 1960s and 70s, Dubbo had 14 service stations within the boundaries of Macquarie, Cobra, Darling and Talbragar streets. It now has 14 service stations across the entire city, with only one remaining in the CBD.

The 14 servos located in the centre of town were mostly on corners, and some sites, though no longer operating, remain in place. One of the better-known stations was the Shell Roadhouse on the corner of Cobra and Macquarie streets which, during the 1980s, was the pick-up and drop-off point for intra- and interstate passenger coaches.
There was a BP servo on the site which is now Shooter Real Estate. This servo was demolished sometime in the 1980s to make way for the Blockbuster video store.
There was another one, brand unknown, across the road on the eastern side of Brisbane Street. It traded more recently as a Caltex and is now the Ampol Foodary.
Further along, on the corner of Cobra and Darling Street was a Caltex outlet, operated by Eric Patis from 1960 to 1969. The site is now occupied by a furniture store.
On the corner of Darling and Wingewarra Street was another servo, owners and brand unknown. This site remains largely intact and is now the location of Budget Car and Truck Rentals.
Most of the old servos had their own workshops and in-house mechanics to service, maintain and repair vehicles. Some also had ancillary services operating out of their work bays, like Dubbo Mowers and Chainsaws, which began its operations at the former Ampol station on the corner of Talbragar and Darling Street. This site is largely intact and currently unoccupied.

Harold Johnson operated a Shell servo on the corner of Talbragar and Brisbane streets from about 1965 until his retirement in the early 1980s. The closure of Harold’s servo coincided with the opening of the Shell Roadhouse, now the site of Raine and Horne Real Estate in Cobra Street.
Many of the old servos were known as garages, because the main part of their business was vehicle repairs and maintenance, and fuel was more of a sideline. An example of this was Paull’s Garage located on the current site of the Dubbo Library on the corner of Talbragar and Macquarie streets.

Another fuel outlet further along Macquarie Street was Harold W. Taylor & Son, the local Ford dealership, which had bowsers on the footpath in front of its store. Taylor’s Ford dealership was established in 1934 and operated continuously on that site until the business changed hands and was relocated in 1996.

Further along, on the corner of Macquarie and Wingewarra streets, Roy and Keith Brown operated a Holden dealership which traded under the name Ezi Drive. This business also sold fuel from bowsers located on the corner; it traded on the site until the dealership changed hands and relocated to the corner of Darling and Bultje streets in 1971.

A bit further south on Macquarie Street was an Ampol service station operated for some time by Dick Whittington, who sold it to Roger and Diane Mackay in 1980. The Mackays ran it until 1984 when it was sold and demolished to make way for Dubbo Square.

In Bultje Street, behind the Milestone Hotel, was a Nissan dealership and Total service station operated by John McClennon in the 1960s. This site is now home to a drive-through coffee shop.
Back up the hill in Bultje Street, behind the Service NSW offices, was another service station, brand unknown. This site remains largely intact and later became Beaurepaires Tyres and is now the premises of Goodyear Auto Care.

Further along Bultje Street on the corner of Brisbane Street was an Amoco service station. It replaced a sprawling old red-brick home, which Mrs Graham ran as a boarding house in the 1960s.
The Amoco servo was later demolished and replaced by commercial offices.

A couple of blocks north, on the corner of Brisbane and Church streets, was a Caltex servo, which operated there in the 1970s. This site is now occupied by the offices of federal MP Mark Coulton.
The only remaining servo among those above is the Ampol Foodary.