In the 1990s, a familiar radio advertisement promised drivers a cheaper commute by converting their cars to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Today, that promise has faded into memory as LPG availability across the Illawarra region dwindles to near extinction.
The Heyday of LPG Conversions
Larry Mulder, an 88-year-old mechanic who has operated his workshop in Keiraville since 1962, recalls the boom years vividly. "I probably would have done about 3500 conversions," he said, describing a time when his business was "flat out" with demand. "It was very popular, I did all the taxis here ... I had three people working for me then, and we were running around like idiots."
This surge was partly fueled by a $2000 grant introduced by the Howard government in 2006, encouraging vehicle conversions from petrol to LPG. At the time, LPG prices hovered around 50 cents per litre, offering significant savings as petrol costs rose.
A Vanishing Resource
Two decades later, the landscape has transformed dramatically. From his Keiraville workshop, Mr Mulder has witnessed the industry's decline, with far fewer cars using LPG. The service station connected to his workshop once housed a 12,000-litre LPG tank, but it was removed due to prohibitive maintenance costs.
"I looked at the economics of it, and it was going to cost me a bloody fortune," Mr Mulder explained. "It was going to cost me more than the profit I was going to make on the sale of gas, so I said, 'No, I don't want it, take it away'."
This decision sparked a chain reaction. "All the service stations that used to sell gas, they said the same thing ... and so all the tanks disappeared from different service stations." According to fuel price checking app Petrol Spy, only five petrol stations in the Illawarra now sell LPG.
Drivers Left in the Lurch
The scarcity has left LPG vehicle owners struggling. "So now people phone me up all the time, 'Where can I get gas?'" Mr Mulder said. "There is nothing in Wollongong at the moment, you've got to go all the way to Dapto ... There are only a few around."
He reminisced about guides that once helped travellers locate LPG stations, a convenience now lost. "You used to have these guides which would tell you where you could buy LPG, and if you were travelling a lot, you would ask, 'Where can I get gas on the way?'"
Parallels to Electric Vehicles
Mr Mulder draws a striking comparison between LPG drivers and modern electric vehicle (EV) users. "If you have an electric car and you run out of electricity when you're between charges, what are you going to do?" he asked. "So you have this constant range anxiety, can I make the next station?"
He noted that early LPG adoption was driven by environmental concerns, similar to today's EV movement. "I've got a feeling with electric cars, people are starting to think about it now, they jumped at first because it was climate change. We're helping the world, and of course, we're all climate warriors. One of the reasons why I started LPG was because it was clean, the gas was clean."
A Plea for the Future
Mr Mulder hopes for a revival, urging petrol stations to reconsider LPG. "Just for the poor people that were on dedicated gas only cars, what are they going to do?" he said. "I feel sorry for these people; they went through all that, but it's almost like the government conned them in a way."
His words underscore a broader issue of infrastructure abandonment, leaving dedicated LPG vehicle owners stranded in an era of shifting energy priorities.
