10ft Shipping Containers
Side access is pinched, the setback leaves nothing to manoeuvre in, or all that is needed is a lockable spot for the mower, an air compressor and a wall of hand tools.
Port Macquarie, NSW
Shipping containers Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie is the furthest south we run from the Grafton depot, and we will be straight about what that means: this is a scheduled run rather than a next-day town, so the honest window is four to seven business days and we would rather quote that than promise Tuesday and ring you on Thursday. What you get in exchange is a truck that arrives knowing what it is walking into, which on the Hastings matters, because between the dune sand, the backswamp behind it and the covenants in the newer estates there is plenty to walk into.
- Delivered from
- the Grafton depot, on a scheduled run south down the highway
- Typical lead time
- Usually 4–7 business days, scheduled around the southbound run
- Usual truck
- Tilt-tray for 10ft and 20ft; crane truck for 40ft, village deliveries and anything lifted over a fence
Every enquiry answered within one business day.You hear back from a person, not an autoresponder. Enquiries that land on a weekend are answered the next business day.
What matters locally, first.
What the containers get used for locally
Around Port Macquarie we deliver containers for oyster gear, punts, baskets and marine equipment on the Hastings and down through the Camden Haven, boards, boats and beach gear for households at Lake Cathie, Bonny Hills and Port itself, timber, tools and mill equipment around Wauchope, beef and dairy gear on the river flats out through Beechwood and Rollands Plains, site stores for the trades working the Thrumster and Sovereign Hills builds, downsizers who moved into a village and found the storage cage was optimistic, storage for the events, markets and sporting clubs the town runs on, and dry storage on the escarpment blocks toward Comboyne.
Access, ground and the last thirty metres
Ground is the first conversation on the Hastings and it changes over very short distances. The coastal strip from Port itself down through Lake Cathie, Bonny Hills and North Haven is dune sand over a shallow water table. It drains superbly and carries almost nothing, so a loaded truck sits down into a nature strip that looked perfectly firm, and a corner casting punches through thin turf inside a season. Behind the dunes there is backswamp, low ground that holds water and stays soft a long way below a surface that looks dry, and much of that lowland is acid sulfate country, which matters the moment anybody starts talking about digging footings rather than sitting a unit on pads. Inland along the Hastings and Wilson river flats through Wauchope, Beechwood and Rollands Plains it is alluvium, excellent ground that goes to grease after rain and comes up quickly when the river runs. The town itself splits into old and new. The older streets around the CBD, Settlement City and the coastal pockets have short pitched driveways, houses close to the boundary, mature figs and Norfolk pines and low service lines across the frontage, so a crane lift over the fence is frequently the sensible answer. The newer estates at Thrumster, Sovereign Hills, Sancrox and the growth areas out toward the highway have the standard pattern of narrow streets, cars parked both sides, service pits and stormwater grates on the kerb line that will crack under a loaded rear axle, cut-and-fill blocks where the ground has not finished settling, and covenants that will have an opinion about a steel box. Then there is the escarpment. The climbs west toward Comboyne and up through Byabarra are steep, tightly wound and narrow, with low canopy in stretches and turning space that runs out at the top of long private driveways. Those runs are 20ft country. A 40ft up there is a conversation about the approach long before it is a conversation about the container.
Grade moves the price more than size does, and it is what decides whether a unit is sold watertight — the full rundown is on the grades page.
The range
Containers we deliver to Port Macquarie
Priced with delivery to your address - one call, one number.
20ft Shipping Containers
There is about seven metres of straight, reasonably level ground for it to sit on, and you would rather not discover in half a year that the bigger box was the answer.
40ft Shipping Containers
You have the space, the approach is genuinely open, and the aim is the largest amount of storage per dollar spent that anybody sells.
Port Macquarie
A scheduled run, and why we tell you that up front
Stock for this stretch of coast comes from our Grafton depot, which is a genuine distance south of here rather than around the corner. Some suppliers will quote a next-day delivery to Port and then explain later why it did not happen. We would rather say at the enquiry that this is a scheduled run, that the realistic window is four to seven business days, and that it is worth telling us your date at the start so we can put you on the right truck rather than the next one.
The practical upside of running it that way is that the delivery is planned rather than improvised. We know before the truck leaves whether your block is sand, backswamp or a slab, whether there is a village window to land inside, whether it is a crane job, and what materials need to be on board for levelling. That is the difference between a container going where you want it on the first attempt and a driver ringing you from the kerb. If your timing is genuinely fixed, a settlement, a site start, a removalist already booked, say so at the enquiry and we will schedule to it instead of explaining afterwards.
On the ground
Sand in front, swamp behind
There is a reason we ask which street rather than which suburb. On the beach side the ground is dune sand, which carries very little and lets a concentrated corner load sink unevenly within a season. Behind the dunes the ground is low backswamp that holds water well below a dry-looking surface and does exactly the same thing for the opposite reason. Both end with a frame out of square and doors that need a shoulder, which is the complaint we hear about badly placed units everywhere on this coast.
The answer for both is the same and it is cheap. Concrete pads or hardwood sleepers under the four corner castings, bedded and checked level in both directions and on both diagonals, so the point load spreads over a proper footprint. Get the floor a hundred to a hundred and fifty millimetres clear of the ground so air moves underneath and the bearers are not sitting against damp for a decade, which counts for more here than inland because the water table is shallow. And if your plan involves excavating rather than sitting it on pads, check the acid sulfate soil position with the council first, because a lot of the low country around the Hastings and the Camden Haven is mapped for it.
Worth knowing
Villages, covenants and the estate rulebook
Port Macquarie has a very large retirement and lifestyle village population and a fast-growing set of covenanted estates, and between them they generate more delivery conditions than anywhere else on this coast. In a village, expect the manager to want written notice, a nominated time window, insurance details from the transport operator and a route that avoids a height-limited entry or a driveway they know will not carry weight. In a covenanted estate, expect rules about what may be stored on a lot, whether it can be seen from the road and whether anything may sit forward of the building line.
We will not guess at the rule that applies to your address, because it varies and it is yours to check before you order. What we can say is that the questions are always the same: how long is it staying, can it be seen from the street, is it storage or a conversion, and does a covenant or a body corporate have a say. It is also worth asking what size will be accepted before you decide on one, since plenty of villages and estates will approve a 10ft or 20ft in a nominated spot and will not consider a 40ft anywhere. Get the approval and the window first, then ring us and we will book a truck to land inside it.
What delivery to Port Macquarie costs
Freight to this area is quoted per job. The truck the site needs is usually the bigger variable, not the kilometres.
Give us the address and a rough idea of the entry and we will do the working out at our end.
Nearby towns we cover
We also deliver to Wauchope, Lake Cathie, Laurieton, Bonny Hills, Kempsey and the surrounding district. If your town is not on the list, ring — it almost certainly still works.
Common questions
Buying a container in Port Macquarie
Why is delivery to Port Macquarie slower than to Coffs or Grafton?
Because the stock is held at our Grafton depot and Port is a solid run south of it, so we work this stretch of coast as a scheduled run rather than an on-demand one. Four to seven business days is the honest window. The upside is that the job is planned before the truck leaves, with the right materials on board and any village window or crane requirement already sorted. If you have a hard date, tell us at the enquiry and we will put you on a truck that suits it rather than the next one out.
What goes under a container on a sandy block at Lake Cathie or Bonny Hills?
Concrete pads or hardwood sleepers under the four corner castings, bedded and levelled in both directions. Dune sand drains beautifully and carries almost nothing, so a corner casting dropped straight onto sand or thin turf will settle unevenly and the doors will start binding inside a year. On this coast it is also worth getting the floor properly clear of the ground, because the water table is shallow and a floor sitting against damp sand never dries out underneath. Tell us the ground type when you enquire and we will bring the materials.
Can you deliver up the escarpment toward Comboyne or Byabarra?
Yes, and the road decides the size rather than the block does. Those climbs are steep, narrow and tightly wound with low canopy in stretches, and long private driveways up there often run out of turning space at the top, which matters because a tilt-tray has to line up straight before it unloads. A 20ft goes up comfortably. A 40ft needs the whole approach checked first, and where it will not work, two 20ft placed end to end usually gives you more usable space and a much simpler delivery.
Do I need approval for a container in a Port Macquarie estate or village?
Almost certainly in a village, and very likely in a covenanted estate at Thrumster or Sovereign Hills. Villages typically want written notice, a nominated delivery window, insurance details from the transport operator and an approved route. Estate covenants often restrict what can be visible from the street or placed forward of the building line, and many will accept a 10ft or 20ft but not a 40ft. Check it before you order rather than after, get the window in writing, then ring us and we will schedule the truck to land inside it.
Get a price
Get an honest answer on timing
We deliver to Port Macquarie and the surrounding district. Tell us what is going in it and what the access is like, and you will get a price with the cartage worked out. Every enquiry answered within one business day.
Or skip the form and ring us — 1300 467 776, Mon-Fri 7:30am-5pm, Sat 8am-12pm