556 Govan Mbeki Avenue, North End
Page creator: Straton Electrical
At present 556 Govan Mbeki Avenue, North End, is home to the oldest petrol station in Gqeberha.
Established 100 years ago in 1925, Sharwoods Service Station is the oldest petrol station in Gqeberha.
The founder of Sharwoods, Alec Sharwood, was born in Kimberly in 1899 during the Boer war. He was a pilot in the first world war and, on returning to Kimberly, trained at de Beers.
He then moved to Grahamstown in 1923 where he started a business selling Dort cars. A year later he moved to Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) and started a petrol filling station selling Atlantic petrol. This was a successful venture and the number of petrol stations grew to five.
A tyre retreading factory was started in 1930 and remained in operation for many years while retreading was a good and viable business. The Honda motorcycle franchise was added in 1968 and grew to consist of all the major motorcycle agencies in Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha).
The original North End station at the foot of Mount Road was built in 1925. Two years later the building was demolished and a modern filling station erected.
References
- Sharwoods - https://www.sharwoods.co.za/
- The Sharwoods Story - https://thecasualobserver.co.za/port-elizabeth-yore-sharwoods-story/
