Gulf / Concord Kerosene Store [c.1971-2012] | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Gulf / Concord Kerosene Store [c.1971-2012]

Current condition: 
Demolished / No longer exists
Date Place completed: 
c.1971-01-01 (Year, Month, Day are approximate)
Date Place demolished: 
c.2012-01-01 (Month, Day are approximate)

Gulf/Concord Kerosene Store was located on Chung Hau Street in the No.12 Hill District. Opened in 1970 or 1971, it first appears on the map dated March 1971. Kerosene was used for household cooking in these days, later replaced by LPG which was also sold here.The building is on the slope of Partridge Hill (name from the 1960 map on HKMS 2.0) with direct access from Chung Hau Road. Construction of this road started in the 1960s, it was finished not before the mid-1970s.

The store would normally be of no great interest, but it caught my eyes when I posted a 1980 photo of Wylie Court:

Wylie Court 1980
Wylie Court 1980, by Klaus

It's the large sign reading GULF. I originally thought it would be an oil tank, but it's large billboard, possibly 10x10m wide. The place is very exposed above Chatham Road North. The photo above was taken from the Peak, so it's visible from many locations. On Flickr, many people report that they regularly saw the sign when they drove on Princess Margret Road or when they went to school (Carmel or Holy Trinity). Here is a close-up photo that shows the advertising billboard.

Gulf Kerosene Store
Gulf Kerosene Store, by nahmsai

Probably in the 1990s, the store was taken over by Concord Oil Company (HK based and founded in 1991). The name GULF was replaced later by Concord. In 2012, the store was demolished. On this place a bus stop was built, in connection with the new MTR Ho Man Tin Station.

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Photos that show this place