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Thought to be Vincent Klein speaking with an unidentified in a crowd at the Shell Roadhouse Meeting, Gailes Ipswich, September 1980
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TitleThought to be Vincent Klein speaking with an unidentified in a crowd at the Shell Roadhouse Meeting, Gailes Ipswich, September 1980Date Created4th September 1980AcknowledgementThe Queensland Times
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DescriptionThe advent of self-service petrol stations hit Australian shores in 1976 and there was a great pressure on franchise owners of petrol stations to embrace this new technology. Self-service was touted as the freshest way to offer consumers the cheapest prices for fuel.
The previous system involved customers driving into a petrol station and being met by an attendant, a paid employee of the petrol station, who could pump the desired amount of petrol into the purchaser's car and also perform other minor maintenance tasks on the vehicle, such as checking tyre pressure. This was considered to be a good job for students working weekend and part-time jobs. With self-service, the customer themselves would pump their own petrol and the use for an unskilled, entry-level, casual employee was impractical.
Mr Vincent Klein, proprietor of Shell Roadhouse petrol station at Gailes, was a vocal proponent of full-service petrol stations and refused to allow his business to change to the new self-service system. According to Brian Douglas Austin, Member for Wavell (an electorate in Brisbane which was eliminated in 1986) of the Queensland State Parliament, who discussed Klein's situation in a parliamentary debate on the 9th of September, 1980:
"Mr Klein operates one of the Shell Company's most profitable sites and was rewarded for his efforts in winning Shell dealership overseas trips and even a silver plate for performance and service. However, this man now finds himself in the position of being evicted from that station site because he dared to conflict with the company in not going self-service, and because he was a prime-mover in organising other Shell dealers in exposing some of the practices that the company was involved in. It is very evident from Shell's dealings with Mr Klein that they do not know the meaning of loyalty to their employees."
It is believed that these images were taken of a meeting held in support of Klein and in rejection of the self-service pumps in order that jobs, including Klein's own, would be preserved. The outcome of this meeting is not known.References (online)Parliamentary Debates [Hansard] Legislative Assembly - TUESDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 1980 - Queensland Parliament - [Accessed 21 Nov 2024]Austin, Brian Douglas - Former Member Details - Queensland Parliament - [Accessed 21 Nov 2024]Nicklin - QLD Election 2024 - Antony Green - 7 Nov 2024 - ABC News - [Accessed 21 Nov 2024]FLASHBACK FRIDAY- Photos from the Leader’s archives - Murray Trembath - August 2017 - [Accessed 21 Nov 2024]
The previous system involved customers driving into a petrol station and being met by an attendant, a paid employee of the petrol station, who could pump the desired amount of petrol into the purchaser's car and also perform other minor maintenance tasks on the vehicle, such as checking tyre pressure. This was considered to be a good job for students working weekend and part-time jobs. With self-service, the customer themselves would pump their own petrol and the use for an unskilled, entry-level, casual employee was impractical.
Mr Vincent Klein, proprietor of Shell Roadhouse petrol station at Gailes, was a vocal proponent of full-service petrol stations and refused to allow his business to change to the new self-service system. According to Brian Douglas Austin, Member for Wavell (an electorate in Brisbane which was eliminated in 1986) of the Queensland State Parliament, who discussed Klein's situation in a parliamentary debate on the 9th of September, 1980:
"Mr Klein operates one of the Shell Company's most profitable sites and was rewarded for his efforts in winning Shell dealership overseas trips and even a silver plate for performance and service. However, this man now finds himself in the position of being evicted from that station site because he dared to conflict with the company in not going self-service, and because he was a prime-mover in organising other Shell dealers in exposing some of the practices that the company was involved in. It is very evident from Shell's dealings with Mr Klein that they do not know the meaning of loyalty to their employees."
It is believed that these images were taken of a meeting held in support of Klein and in rejection of the self-service pumps in order that jobs, including Klein's own, would be preserved. The outcome of this meeting is not known.References (online)Parliamentary Debates [Hansard] Legislative Assembly - TUESDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 1980 - Queensland Parliament - [Accessed 21 Nov 2024]Austin, Brian Douglas - Former Member Details - Queensland Parliament - [Accessed 21 Nov 2024]Nicklin - QLD Election 2024 - Antony Green - 7 Nov 2024 - ABC News - [Accessed 21 Nov 2024]FLASHBACK FRIDAY- Photos from the Leader’s archives - Murray Trembath - August 2017 - [Accessed 21 Nov 2024]
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Businesses4IP Radio Station4BC NewsPeople & FamiliesVincent KleinCurated CollectionsWhat's the Story?Taxonomy20th Century | 1980s | 1980
Subjects
Queensland Times Collection
Queensland Times CollectionThe Queensland Times CollectionSeptember 1980 - Queensland Times
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Reference IDQT-1980-09-04-0082QT-1980-09-04-0083QT-1980-09-04-0084QT-1980-09-04-0019QT-1980-09-04-0020QT-1980-09-04-0021QT-1980-09-04-0022QT-1980-09-04-0023QT-1980-09-04-0024Asset TypeImage - JpegImages, Maps and Artefacts (Trove mapping field)imageColour or Black & White ImageBlack & WhitePhysical DescriptionNegativeCopyright NoticeThis work was created after 1st January 1955. It is protected by the Copyright Act 1968. Copyright duration is for the life of the creator plus 70 years.
The creator retains ownership of the copyright of this work. The creator has granted Picture Ipswich a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use and reproduce this work.
Under the Fair Dealing exception of the Copyright Act 1968, you can use this work for research or study, criticism or review, and parody or satire. Moral rights remain and the work MUST be correctly attributed to its creator (photographer, studio, author, etc.) with acknowledgement of Picture Ipswich as the source of the work.
You CANNOT use this work for any other purpose (including redistribution on social media platforms) without seeking permission first.
For more information, or if you require a higher resolution copy of this work, please contact Picture Ipswich.CopyrightPicture Ipswich Copyright Information
The creator retains ownership of the copyright of this work. The creator has granted Picture Ipswich a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use and reproduce this work.
Under the Fair Dealing exception of the Copyright Act 1968, you can use this work for research or study, criticism or review, and parody or satire. Moral rights remain and the work MUST be correctly attributed to its creator (photographer, studio, author, etc.) with acknowledgement of Picture Ipswich as the source of the work.
You CANNOT use this work for any other purpose (including redistribution on social media platforms) without seeking permission first.
For more information, or if you require a higher resolution copy of this work, please contact Picture Ipswich.CopyrightPicture Ipswich Copyright Information
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Curated CollectionsQueensland Times Collection
Copyright
This work is protected under the Copyright Act 1968
This work was created after 1st January 1955. It is protected by the Copyright Act 1968. Copyright duration is for the life of the creator plus 70 years.
The creator retains ownership of the copyright of this work. The creator has granted Picture Ipswich a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use and reproduce this work.
Under the Fair Dealing exception of the Copyright Act 1968, you can use this work for research or study, criticism or review, and parody or satire. Moral rights remain and the work MUST be correctly attributed to its creator (photographer, studio, author, etc.) with acknowledgement of Picture Ipswich as the source of the work.
You CANNOT use this work for any other purpose (including redistribution on social media platforms) without seeking permission first.
For more information, or if you require a higher resolution copy of this work, please contact Picture Ipswich.
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Thought to be Vincent Klein speaking with an unidentified in a crowd at the Shell Roadhouse Meeting, Gailes Ipswich, September 1980. Picture Ipswich, accessed 27/09/2026, https://www.pictureipswich.com.au/nodes/view/34929