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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/17/new-zealand-town-has-itself-to-tank-after-solving-petrol-drought
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| New Zealand town has itself to tank after solving petrol drought | New Zealand town has itself to tank after solving petrol drought |
| (1 day later) | |
| Residents of remote rural Pongoroa build their own service station so they don’t have to drive two hours to fill up | |
| Eleanor Ainge Roy in Dunedin | |
| Tue 17 Oct 2017 02.03 BST | |
| Last modified on Tue 17 Oct 2017 07.30 BST | |
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| A tiny New Zealand town has built its own petrol station after local people got fed up with driving a two-hour round trip to stock up on fuel. | A tiny New Zealand town has built its own petrol station after local people got fed up with driving a two-hour round trip to stock up on fuel. |
| Pongaroa in the lower North Island is home to just 120 people and has been without a petrol pump for four years. As a result residents faced a journey to other towns to fill up, often carrying extra jerry cans in the back seat to make it worth the expense. | Pongaroa in the lower North Island is home to just 120 people and has been without a petrol pump for four years. As a result residents faced a journey to other towns to fill up, often carrying extra jerry cans in the back seat to make it worth the expense. |
| Frustrated with the commute and determined to keep their rural town viable, Pongaroa’s residents fundraised NZ$250,000 to build a petrol station. Petrol company Allied Petroleum contributed close to NZ$600,000 to the project, despite being initially sceptical the isolated fuel stop would ever pay off. | Frustrated with the commute and determined to keep their rural town viable, Pongaroa’s residents fundraised NZ$250,000 to build a petrol station. Petrol company Allied Petroleum contributed close to NZ$600,000 to the project, despite being initially sceptical the isolated fuel stop would ever pay off. |
| Around New Zealand essential services are increasingly withdrawing from small towns and postal deliveries are being scaled back. | Around New Zealand essential services are increasingly withdrawing from small towns and postal deliveries are being scaled back. |
| “We are a rural community and farming is the main economic activity here. We are just trying to grow and future-proof our town,” said Andrew Casey, a local resident. | “We are a rural community and farming is the main economic activity here. We are just trying to grow and future-proof our town,” said Andrew Casey, a local resident. |
| “It is that or die I suppose. Community spirit is oozing out of the ground, there is a local joke that there are more committees than there are residents in Pongaroa. We are looking after ourselves very well, as much as possible.” | “It is that or die I suppose. Community spirit is oozing out of the ground, there is a local joke that there are more committees than there are residents in Pongaroa. We are looking after ourselves very well, as much as possible.” |
| To keep costs low, local people helped build the petrol station, holding working bees to prepare the site, supplying equipment and contributing to basic jobs. | To keep costs low, local people helped build the petrol station, holding working bees to prepare the site, supplying equipment and contributing to basic jobs. |
| The pumps opened over the weekend and some locals say the home-grown effort has taken on a “spiritual” quality. Patrons at the Pongaroa Hotel couldn’t stop glancing proudly at the product of their sweat and toil. | The pumps opened over the weekend and some locals say the home-grown effort has taken on a “spiritual” quality. Patrons at the Pongaroa Hotel couldn’t stop glancing proudly at the product of their sweat and toil. |
| Allied Petroleum general manager Alastair Tennent told RNZ he suspected Pongaroa’s determination in getting a fuel pump would inspire other New Zealand towns in isolated regions to do the same. | Allied Petroleum general manager Alastair Tennent told RNZ he suspected Pongaroa’s determination in getting a fuel pump would inspire other New Zealand towns in isolated regions to do the same. |
| “I would say it’s been a real vision and tenacity by a local committee that’s got them to where they are today … it was a tremendous effort by the locals.” | “I would say it’s been a real vision and tenacity by a local committee that’s got them to where they are today … it was a tremendous effort by the locals.” |
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