Shipping containers for Howard

Burrum coalfields country

Howard grew up on the Burrum coalfield, and the old mining history shows in the town and along the Burrum River. These days it's mostly rural-residential: acreage lots on both sides of the Bruce Highway, a lot of people who have moved up from the south-east, and small hobby farms with a few head of cattle or horses. Many of those blocks were bought as bare land, with no shed or only a small one.

That's why a container is often the first building on a Howard block. It turns up ready to use, keeps tools and materials locked and dry through the build, and stays useful after the house is finished.

Building on bare acreage

If you're building on bare land, a 20ft on site from the start holds tools, fittings and materials, and saves a lot of trips to Maryborough or Hervey Bay. Builders appreciate a lockable space on site. After the build, it becomes the garden shed, the mower store or the workshop.

A 40ft suits people who are bringing a household with them from the south-east and need somewhere to store it until the house is ready. It holds roughly two 20ft loads of furniture, and it's cheaper per cubic metre.

Long sandy driveways and old gums

Access around Howard is decided on the driveway rather than at the drop point. Many drives here are long, sandy and lined with old gums whose limbs hang across the track at a height that suits a ute but not a loaded truck. Sidelifters also need clear air above the drop point, not just above the cab.

Walk the drive before you order. Measure the narrowest gate, note any low limbs, and check whether sandy patches have been churned up by rain. Send photos of the drive and the spot, and we'll tell you whether it's a tilt-tray or crane truck job.

Siting it on a paddock

Low corners of Howard paddocks hold water after summer storms, and a container sitting in water rots its floor from underneath. Choose level, slightly raised ground that drains, and have blocks or sleepers ready for the four corner castings before we arrive.

If the block runs down to a creek or the Burrum River, stay well back from the flats. A container keeps rain off from above, but it is not sealed against rising water, and an empty one can float. Keeping truck access clear also means it can be moved later if you change your mind about the spot.

Localities around Howard

Howard itself, Burrum Town, Burrum Heads, Pacific Haven, Beelbi Creek, Cherwell and the acreage along the old Bruce Highway. Torbanlea is just along the road and has its own page, as does Maryborough to the south.