Site 8 – Service Station and Garage Site
The arrival of motor vehicles in the early twentieth century transformed life in Burren Junction and created new opportunities for local businesses. As horse-drawn transport gradually gave way to motorised vehicles, blacksmiths became less essential and mechanics, engineers and garage operators took their place.
One of the earliest garage businesses in Burren Junction was established by the Reverend H. E. Robinson. Another early garage operated in the centre of the block between Houlahan’s and Bracken’s properties, although it was destroyed by fire not long after it was built.
The name most closely associated with the motor trade in Burren Junction is Conyard. Nat Conyard arrived in the district in 1912 and became one of the town’s pioneering motor mechanics. At a time when very few people owned motor vehicles, he helped introduce the new technology to the district. Some of the earliest local residents to acquire motor cars included John Slack-Smith of "Rothesay" and Peter Radford of "Boraba".
Nat Conyard later entered into partnership with Ted Dorrington and established a garage business in Burren Junction. Following a fire that destroyed one of the early premises, the business was re-established in Slack-Smith Street. Over time, the Conyard garage became an important service centre for local residents, farmers and travellers.
Several young mechanics and apprentices gained their training at the garage, including Cyril Radford, Jim Brumby and Don Brumby. Cyril Radford worked there from 1935 until 1939 before enlisting in the Royal Australian Air Force during the Second World War. After returning home, he purchased the business in 1946–47 and operated it for approximately thirty years. In 1976 he sold the garage to Brian Radford, continuing another chapter in the long association between the Radford family and the town.
The district’s motor industry continued to evolve. During the 1960s, Don Dubois established an engineering works and service station on the corner of Waterloo and Alma Streets opposite the Coronation Hotel. The business later changed hands several times and expanded to include hardware and takeaway food, reflecting the changing needs of the community.
For many decades, local garages and service stations were more than places to buy fuel or repair vehicles. They were gathering places where residents exchanged news, sought advice and maintained the machinery that kept farms and businesses operating across the district.
Although the service station has long since closed, the site remains an important reminder of the transition from horse-drawn transport to the motor age and the local businesses that helped keep Burren Junction moving.
Even though the fuel pumps and workshop have long disappeared, the building remains a reminder of the days when mechanics, garages and service stations became essential to life in rural Australia. Today the former garage has been converted into residential accommodation, continuing its service to the community in a different way.
Today the former garage building has found a new purpose as residential accommodation, providing two self-contained units for visitors and residents.
Today fuel is available from the Junction City Hotel, where diesel and AdBlue continue to service travellers, transport operators and local residents
Historical information sourced primarily from Visions of the Plains – A History of Burren Junction and District (2nd Edition) by Judy Field, together with local community records and recollections.
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The former garage and service station building as it appears today, now converted into residential accommodation.
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An artist’s impression of the Conyard Garage and Service Station as it may have appeared during its years of operation.