Seems to be a stack of servos just off the highway between the 2 points mentioned in the article though.. maybe it's just poor planning they run out of juice.
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Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
I live in WA, and I was amazed at all the whoha about not having servos on the new part of the highway/freeway! Most cars can travel at least 500km on a tank of fuel! But now big business wins again, and approval given. I've travelled that stretch several times and never seen a car on the side of the road - except for those enjoying a break in their journey. Personally, I'd rather turn off into some of the smaller towns and give them the money.
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Glen
A diesel Nissan Pathfinder towing a Coromal Element 542.
Hear Hear Glen !!!!! The multinationals and Westfarmers/Woolworths are closing down small businesses and whole small town shops. Im in Charlton and half the shops are empty as the locals go to Coles and Woolies at Bendigo once a week. Its sad to see how many keen folk tried to set up a shop, spent a small fortune getting it ready and then going down the tubes.
We always stop in small towns and buy something other than fuel - food, lunch - something............
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
Hear Hear Glen !!!!! The multinationals and Westfarmers/Woolworths are closing down small businesses and whole small town shops. Im in Charlton and half the shops are empty as the locals go to Coles and Woolies at Bendigo once a week. Its sad to see how many keen folk tried to set up a shop, spent a small fortune getting it ready and then going down the tubes.
We always stop in small towns and buy something other than fuel - food, lunch - something............
Charlton is only one of thousands of small towns where the locals shop elsewhere, its not the Coles/Woolworths these town started to decay f our rural towns, it's when farms got bigger, motorcar's became more prevalent, the consumer wanted more choice, iconic country buying groups disappeared SSW Four Square etc.
I grew up in the Mallee, towns like Charlton, Boort, Lake Boga, Lalbert, Quambatook, Nyah, Nyah West, Piangle, Managatang, Ultima, all suffered the a similar fate first the banks started leaving, medical services, population shift to the bigger regional towns like Swan Hill and Kerang became the economic centre. my parents never owned a car until the 60's.
Those of us who grew up in the bush, fondly remember going to the corner store, where biscuits were sold out of 20lb tins we would buy a penny's worth of broken biscuits, bread and milk were home delivered, Coles and Woolies didn't have groceries we got our groceries from Hadlow's or Swan Hill stores, then came Roberts & Martin along with Permewn & Wright.
Its not the fault of the big 2 for our rural towns becoming ghost towns its out fault for wanting more in one place.
I live in Bunbury, 180klms south of Perth, when travelling to Perth I get just enough fuel to get to Perth then go to full tank to go home as Perth servos up to 12c cheaper, mid
highway servos dearer and Gull fuel is crap [Myalup]. Only serious idiots would need fuel between Perth & Bunbury, cheers
Bear in mind that servo's are also places to pull up for a coffee or snacks (and an additional toilet stop) especially if you have kids on board. A good move IMHO
Yep, always good to have a convenient stop on highway stretches. But if you run out of fuel on a short hop like that, then yeah, that's just a lack of planning. Not that any of us are immune to the occasional brain f#rt
And just to prove that all of us "Easteners" aren't completely useless... I just did a solo trip to bring a bus back form Perth to the Sunshine Coast in QLD and didn't get below a 1/3 of a tank the whole way. I think the longest stretch between servo's was about a 170k's.
I think everyone sympathises with small towns withering, but Gundog is right, you can't blame the supermarket chains, they're just supplying what we demand.
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Cheers, Steve.
"Any day above ground is a good day... unless you're a spelunker :)"
~~~SNIP you can't blame the supermarket chains, they're just supplying what we demand.
Gday...
Not sure I fully agree with the above comment, although I understand why it is said.
I think it is a bit of a 'chicken and egg' situation. Did supermarkets develop because "we demanded it" or because the 'marketeers' made it attractive. Rather than a walk to butcher/baker/grocer/green grocer/newsagent/chemist etc, one clever bloke decided to "put it all under one roof in a big shop" for the "convenience of the public".
OH yeah - let's not have staff to serve the customer either, let them get the goods for themselves and then present it to our operator to pay. They are even now progressively removing the 'operator to pay' ... we are being encouraged to even do our own 'check-out'.
So - did "we demand it" or were we 'encouraged/educated' into the centralising of things we used to have as a community?
I reckon the days when we used to deviate from the major 'bypass' highway into the smaller towns for fuel/tucker/loo/kids on the swing/leg stretch were much better for all.
Not only did it break the trip, but we got to see some lovely towns. Now some of businesses in those towns either shrink, stagnate or fold. Sad really.
Or do we all now prefer the antiseptic and impersonal 'big servo' with the Maccas/KFC/Subway/Latte shop?
Perhaps, like too many old farts I am past it and clinging futilely to the past.
Cheers - John
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2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 SE Auto - 2008 23ft Golden Eagle Hunter Some people feel the rain - the others just get wet - Bob Dylan
Just the way of the world John, always has been... if I could turn back the hands of time I would. People have been having the same conversation since Adam was a boy, every advancement in technology means change... and people are naturally reluctant to accept change. But, as with everything else in life, ya just gotta take the good with the bad and make the most of your short time above ground.
On the subject of the chicken and egg... the egg came first. Birds evolved from dinosaurs.. and they were egg layers
Hmmm... maybe every thread should be subtitled 'I digress"
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Cheers, Steve.
"Any day above ground is a good day... unless you're a spelunker :)"
The main aim of the Forrest Highway was to reduce the travel time between Perth and Bunbury and for those travelling further south. Most users of the Highway do not have the time to divert to the small towns off the highway while that may be an option for those travellers who have no timetable to speak of.
I live in Bunbury, 180klms south of Perth, when travelling to Perth I get just enough fuel to get to Perth then go to full tank to go home as Perth servos up to 12c cheaper, mid
highway servos dearer and Gull fuel is crap [Myalup]. Only serious idiots would need fuel between Perth & Bunbury, cheers
Peter
If you come home via Southwest Highway you could fuel up at Coolup (Placid Arc) you will find it 10 - 15cpl cheaper than anywhere in Perth.
Check on Fuelwatch.
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Neil & Lynne
Pinjarra
Western Australia
MY23.5 Ford Wildtrak V6 Dual Cab / 21' Silverline 21-65.3
