Ravi Tiku has been managing the Gull Service Station for 15 years. Gull has been there in Monk Street for 20 years. Now, it is no more. “It is all a part of change”, says Ravi. “Change is inevitable. The Gull lease is completed. The supply agreement finishes when the lease is finished. It is time to make some changes. The company who owns the property will decide what happens on this piece of land.”
At 7.30am on Friday 31 August the Gull station looked as it always did – clean, well-lit and ready for cars, boats and trucks to re-fill. However, by 8.15am, Pro-Fuels engineer, Stuart Foster was onsite with his truck and staff removing all the fuel left in the pumps themselves. Elcon Electrical had two vehicle–engineers there to remove the pumps and electrical connections. Xtream Signs had started removing the branding, mostly all signs of GULL. A GULL representative had arrived and Peninsula Hi-Ab Towing came soon after to carry away the very tall pieces of signage.
In a very streamlined and co-operative manner, with four hours of teamwork, all pumps and signs were gone. The engineers and company representatives all knew each other. This kind of turnover is not unusual in most towns. There have been many brands of service station on this site.
Ravi’s shop will still be open every day but there are no petrol pumps. Raman Deep Kaur will be there at the shop to greet you as she has for the last three years.
We know that Waitomo owns the land, but we will have to watch to see what happens with the space. Monk Street has been a petrol pumping venue for over 70 years.
Winter hours for the shop and the service station site are still: 8.00am – 4.00pm Monday to Friday. 8.00am – 3.00pm Saturday and Sunday
