One of the more interesting stories regarding the suite of new licence plates types introduced by the Territory in 1970 involves tow trucks.

Unsure of what prefix designation to use on the plates, the Territory asked Oakalla for input. The matter was referred to the shop foreman and his staff who examined the issue and suggested the designation "WRE" as an abbreviation for the word "Wrecker" as the first option and best description of these vehicles. A second choice of "TOW" was put forward and the Territory was advised that "either one would be fairly simple to make as we have the necessary die inserts for them. This would restrict the design to a dash in the centre as there is not sufficient room to provide a space between the letters and numerals."

Upon reading this correspondance, the Territory's Registrar of Motor Vehicles, H.J. Taylor, scribbled a note in the column of the letter stating "possibly a single letter such as "R" for recovery would be better" - and "R" it would be.