Golden Fleece Servo

[2.8L Hilux]

Hi Fellers, I'm in the process of restoring a '67 Morris Mini Deluxe. I was stripping out the interior and found this stuffed down the back seat.
I'm 21 and have never seen a Golden Fleece service station before. Does anyone have any idea of when it might have been printed? Or any idea of the cars shown in the second photo?

[foxtrot3]

Hi. The distances in kilometres would make it mid 70,s or there abouts but I cant remember when they closed. Cheers MD
Just checked wiki, taken over by Caltex in 81.

[TC200six]

Wow, that's quite a find. The Golden Fleece company dissappeared in 1981 I think.

The brochure you found came from the later years of the company when was opening roadhouses in the late '70s. This is one of their ads from around that time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXVkKayp8h8

edit: after a Google search, I discovered there is still a servo with golden fleece signs in Kondinin, WA.

[Jim Goose]

awesome find!

as for the cars... a old Nissan on the left... a kingswood in the carport? and still trying to work out the car on right

[Evgeni]

Here is a photo I have from an old magazine from the late 70's. An age gone by. 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!


Is the car on the right an old Valiant? (original brochure scan).

[Road_Warrior]

Well then what a blast from the past.

I remember being able to see the Golden Fleece sign at their depot in North Fremantle from my booster seat in my Mum's Datsun 1000

Hang on to that brochure. That's a piece of our motoring history right there.

[greencapri408]

The pic i'n the brochure looks like the servo at border town

[blackf6]

My Granddad used to deliver fuel for golden fleece.

[Geez Louise]

I would have been about 6yrs old when I saw my first Golden Fleece station (well that I remember anyway)

Great find. Thanks for sharing. What a blast from the past!

Cheers
Col

[flappist]

We love you Stanley, your service is the best.
Coz you give Golden service, golden service nothing less.......

[KIWI-1]

Looks like Valiant VH indicators and C-pillar. Have emailed bro-in-law for confirmation.

[wrongwaynorris]

Golden Fleeces were renowned for really good food at very reasonable prices . As a kid whenever we went on long drives we always ate at a Golden Fleece .

[Rodp]

Yeah, I'm thinking VH or VJ Regal. Looks like the headlight is round on one photo and oblong on the other. Round, VJ, Oblong, VH.

[LTDHO]

Golden Fleece reminds me of the long drives when the family used to go camping.

[SLO247]

Awesome.

[aussie muscle]

At least when you went to golden fleece you knew what they were going to do to you.

[GA_0009]

Anyone else got a great hatred towards caltex now? Bring back the fleece!

[GA_0009]

I also found a road map in the back of a XB I'm restoring.

[sarrge2001]

They where phased out but still around in the country towns in the early 80's.

If I was doing a long trip i'd always try to stop at a Golden Fleece roadhouse for food.

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??

[2011G6E]

Great find!!! Hang onto them, as they're an interesting part of your cars history, or if you sell them later on, collectors pay stupid money for some of those things.

The cars look like something big and American, possibly a mid to late sixties Chev, driving out, and a Datsun 1600 parked near the bowsers out the front. A HQ sits under the awning over in the background.
EDIT: Now that I have a closer look, yes, the headlights look like that big car is a VH/VJ Valiant sedan...not a Chev. Whoops.

I've seen the Golden Fleece light up yellow plastic ram from the top of the old bowsers going for rediculous amounts...really big sums of money for a good one.

Apparently the real hens-teeth-rarity treasure are the super-rare black plastic rams, which were on diesel pumps...you have to remember that way back then, diesel was only for dirty old four wheel drives, trucks, and the occasional (very occasional) oddball French car like a Puegeot. Diesel was usually sold from depots, and it wasn't many "normal" servos had a diesel pump.

[Mr Hardware]

what about solo?

[TC200six]

Originally Posted by Evgeni

Here is a photo I have from an old magazine from the late 70's. An age gone by. 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 wonder was his name Stanley?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4HZcUGPr3A

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by GA_0009

Anyone else got a great hatred towards caltex now? Bring back the fleece!

Caltex have been allowed to swallow up quite a few iconic brands over the years. Remember AMPOL?

[Mr Hardware]

There's still a dozen or so AMPOL's in Brisbane

http://goo.gl/maps/EUlC

[starkersEB]

I grew up in clare and as you see on the brochure there was one there. I was born in 1981 and remember that being a golden fleece at least till the late 80s (when I left). whether it was a caltex but still had the golden fleece sign im not sure though. I do know though that everyone I know that lived there when it was a golden fleece still calls it that, even 30 or so years on

[FGII-XR6]

the name golden fleece would be more relevant today as servos fleece you of your gold

[TMC]

Well that takes me back to being a kid. They were much more common in the country than the city in WA. To me, they kind of meant that we were miles from anywhere when you saw the big yellow sheep. Fond memories of travelling with the family as a kid in the Valiant.

That large car in the first picture is definitely a Chrysler. Rectangular headlights put it at a 71-73 VH Chrysler Valiant. Once very common and now very uncommon on the road.

[B&D Racing]

To qoute Roney Rude

"He was 21 years old, before he found out service stations didn't sell seashells and yellow sheep"

[csv8]

There is an abandoned GF in Yalata SA..
Golden Fleece was a brand of petroleum products and service stations operated by H.C.Sleigh and Company. A partnership was founded in Melbourne, Australia in 1893 by Harold Crofton Sleigh (1867-1933 shipowner and merchant,) and John McIlwraith (1828-1902 manufacturer and shipowner). In 1913 the company took delivery of its first consignment of motor spirit from the United States and marketed it in Australia as "Golden Fleece".[1]
Initially, motor spirit was sold in drums only, the first Golden Fleece pump being installed in 1920. Golden Fleece was a pioneer of single-branded service stations (as opposed to the more common multi-brand offerings of the era), and its distinctive "golden merino" trademark was soon a common sight for Australian motorists.
The post-war era saw a massive expansion of Australia's motor industry and car ownership soared. The company was made public in 1947. These were boom times for Golden Fleece and expansion and acquisitions were the trend throughout the 1950s and 1960s. H.C. Sleigh Limited acquired the fledgling "Kangaroo" and "Phillips 66" brands in 1962 and 1967 respectively. During these years, many (if not most) Golden Fleece service stations became roadhouse-style outlets with restaurants and bold signage.
Golden Fleece was itself acquired by Caltex in 1981 and no longer trades under that name, though its unique livery can still be seen on some older roadhouses in rural Australia. A particular treasure for objets d'art collectors are the globes (in the shape of the Golden Fleece ram) that sat atop the company's pumps until the 1970s, when the pumps were standardised.
From: Wikepedia

[SirHenry]

Car on the right, Valiant Regal my ol' man used to have one.