person icon new car icon phone icon Get a Quote Dollar Icon Book a Service Spanner Icon Specials Discount Tag Icon Search our Stock Icon Search our Stock Icon location marker icon location marker icon location marker icon for Locate a Dealer Icon arrow down icon of Facebook logo icon of Twitter logo icon of YouTube logo icon of LinkedIn logo icon of Google+ logo Icon of Instagram Logo icon of Pintarest logo Question Mark in a Circle Icon Download a Brochure Icon Book a Test Drive steering wheel Icon icon of Share logo View Right Arrow Icon of Left Arrow Icon of Double Left Arrow Icon of Right Arrow Calculator Icon Calculator Icon Icon of 3 Horizontal Lines Icon of a 4 square Quandrant Icon of a car Hand Offering Cash Icon Buy Online Icon Envelope Icon List Symbol of Lines and Dots Icon Calculator Icon Icon of two cars from the front Icon of square speech bubble with dollar symbol Book a Test Drive steering wheel Icon Get a Quote Dollar Icon Icon of a magnifying Glass Icon of a Dollar Symbol Video Click to Start Icon Printer Icon Close Button X Close Button Circle X Icon of 3.5 star rating Icon of 4 star rating Icon of Empty Star Outline Icon of Filled Star Icon of Half Filled Star Icon of Specials Tag and Star Icon of a Left Arrow for a Carousel Icon of a Right Arrow for a Carousel Icon of a Add to Compare Clock Speed Clock Speed Clock Speed Clock Speed Icon of a truck Icon of a machinery Icon of a bike Icon of a Caravan Powered by I-Motor - link to I-Motor website Icon of Arrow Pointing Left Icon of Home Used on Error Pages Icon of Llewellyn Motors Finance Icon of truck tanker trailer Icon of truck curtainsider trailer Icon of truck pantech trailer Icon of truck flat top trailer Icon of truck drop deck trailer Icon of truck flat top trailer with vertial line indicating a Skel Trailer Icon of a gallery

Blog: Post

Back
blog large image - Shopaholics, luxury escapes and the cars to match – 1987 to 1996

Shopaholics, luxury escapes and the cars to match – 1987 to 1996

Brian Hilton Motor Group has been a part of the vibrant Central Coast community for 50 years. This series of blog posts looks at how we’ve grown with the community over the past five decades.

By the late 1980s the Central Coast had become a bustling community, and with the population now nearing 110,000 in 1987 there was a huge demand on the retail industry.

A now institution of the region opened that year, originally called Central Coast Fair but better known now as Erina Fair – meaning boot loads of shopping for Brian Hilton customers, and a plenty of cheques (remember them?) being written at Big W, Target and Grace Brothers.

The opening event saw 51,000 people through the doors for the incredible sales, with Angus and Coote Jewellers selling 10 rings worth $400 for just $10.

While the Erina drive in had closed just years before, 1988 saw the opening of a new destination for movie-goers, the stunning, Art Deco inspired Kincumber Ritz Cinema. The first film shown? The Aussie classic Crocodile Dundee.

1988 also saw another one of our icons spring up, with the Crowne Plaza at Terrigal built at the site of the Florida Hotel.

The following year saw the opening of the Wahroonga to Berowra section of the Freeway, making it a simple drive to the Coast from Sydney, with the toll then removed from the road in 1990 along with the Freemans Waterhole Interchange to Palmer’s Road.

It was another few years before the F3, now known as the M1 or Pacific Highway got its own roadside landmark, with Dino the life-sized Diplodocus taking its place on the side of the highway in 1996.

Originally built in 1963, it is considered the oldest ‘big’ roadside landmark in Australia. With the Australian Reptile Park moving from Wyoming to Somersby, a publicity campaign saw Dino renamed Ploddy after his famous parade through the streets of Gosford on the back of a truck and up Kariong Hill.

Brian Hilton The Big Dinosaur
Brian Hilton The Big Dinosaur
Brian Hilton The Big Dinosaur
Brian Hilton The Big Dinosaur

Photos from Gostalgia - an incredible archive of Central Coast photo's that we highly recommend you look through.

BROWSE BY BRANDS
Toyota
Kia
Renault
Honda
Suzuki
Peugeot
Skoda
Citroen
GWM-Haval
Ineos Logo
Ssangyong Logo
RCA
RCA
Tyreplus Logo
Used Cars Logo
Adventure Cars Logo