Get your build started with us. 

Curragundi shops, Jindalee. Photo by Neil Cooper taken from the Centenary Suburbs Historical Society. 

---

This year marks 45 years of trading for Air and Gas Industries so we thought it would be appropriate to dedicate a section of our newsletter to the history of our business.

One of the most challenging times the business has ever faced was in Air and Gas Industries' first week of trading. The first contract secured by owners Bill and Faye Jenkins was for the Gas Supply Company (now Origin Energy) and involved doing changeovers for two LPG trucks. The trucks were moved to the first premises in Seventeen Mile Rocks and were left for the weekend. Unfortunately, that weekend marked the beginning of the 1974 Brisbane floods. It was another two weeks from that devastating weekend until Bill and Faye were even able to gain access into their Seventeen Mile Rocks property, only to find the trucks floating in water. Bill, Faye and Frank Daw then spent the following weeks drying all the electrical boards with hair dryers, towels and cotton buds. A sincere thank you to Mr Gordon Leslie from Gas Supply Company who stood by Air and Gas Industries during this difficult time.

The other major hurdle Air and Gas Industries faced following the floods was communication. Telephone lines were severely damaged during the floods and it was not until 6 months later that Air and Gas Industries’ phone lines were finally reconnected. In the days of no internet and mobile phones, all of Air and Gas Industries’ landline calls were diverted to the Jenkins family home. Faye had the challenge of answering calls in the Moggill home and communicating them to the Seventeen Mile Rocks premises until Air and Gas Industries’ phone line was reconnected. For a new startup they certainly faced what may have seemed like insurmountable challenges in their first year of operation, but here we are now celebrating 45 years of operation.