Central goldfields
Cottage streets in the middle, grey clay once you leave town
Stock held for Bendigo and central Victoria is matched to the yard, and the delivery cost is calculated for that street. Eaglehawk, Golden Square and Long Gully were laid out for miners' cottages, so a long shell often will not thread them. North of town the ground becomes heavy grey clay, sound in a dry week and greasy after rain.
- Where it is loaded
- Drawn for this district, then delivered to the address
- What sets the day
- Which goldfields drops can share the truck, and the ground that week
- Usual truck
- Tilt bed on a straight drive; side loader or crane when the street was built for a cottage
Map
Town postcodes, then the plains
Strathdale and White Hills share 3550 with the centre. Kangaroo Flat is 3555, Epsom and Strathfieldsaye 3551. Elmore is 3558 on the way to the Loddon, Heathcote 3523 toward the ranges. Castlemaine, Maldon and Marong sit on the same goldfields work. Ballarat and Geelong are separate runs.
Streets
A mullock heap is not a free pad
Eaglehawk, Golden Square and Long Gully leave little room for a long reverse. Plenty of those streets take a crane, or a short unit only. A mullock heap can look flat and still be loose fill over old workings. Hobby blocks through Axedale and Marong are steadier, and the industrial edge can take a longer shell.
Heat
What should stay out of an unlined shell in February
Epsom in February is a closed steel room in full sun. Tools and fencing do not care. Batteries, aerosols and paint do. Extra vents are cheaper before the first hot week than after. North of town, grey clay shifts the day after rain even when the highway is fine.
Farms
A grid cut for a ute at Elmore
An Elmore drive with an unrated grid and a ute-width gate needs both measurements before anyone rolls. A truck already on the district can often take Harcourt, Castlemaine or Heathcote if the dates flex a little. Kyneton and Gisborne, beside the Calder, are still judged on the gate.
Cottage streets, mullock and February
What decides a Kangaroo Flat delivery this month?
Whether a shorter shell fits the street, and whether a truck already on the goldfields can take Castlemaine or Heathcote the same day. A date that can move a little is easier than a single morning with no slack.
Can the shell sit on the mullock heap out the back?
Only if you know what is under it. Old workings and loose fill settle under a corner casting, and the doors go out of square. A duller patch of natural ground, packed and levelled, is the safer seat.
Our Elmore gate was cut for a ute. What should we send?
The width of the gate, the grid if it has no rating plate, and a photo of the turn-in. If the truck cannot enter, we set down on firm ground by the bitumen or lift from there. Guessing the width wastes the trip.
Get a price
Cottage street or a gate on the plains?
Kangaroo Flat, Epsom, or a farm past Elmore. The figure is for that access.
Rather talk? Call us on 0477 410 500, Mon–Fri 7:30am–5pm, Sat 8am–12pm