Shipping container is home

PHIL Murphy is the man on the Hummock, building the shipping container house.

PHIL Murphy is the man on the Hummock, building the shipping container house. 

Mr Murphy is from Gympie and said he was initially attracted to the land 20 years ago after sitting on his friend's balcony on the neighbouring property.

"I remember sitting on their veranda and thinking 'You lucky bastards - you've got a great view'," he laughed.

Over the years that followed, Mr Murphy said the land was never in his price range.

That was, until 12 months ago when passing through, Mr Murphy saw the land had been subdivided into smaller parcels and up for sale.

"I thought, that's got to be for me," he said.

Mr Murphy said he was able to negotiate a good price with the owner and snapped up the parcel to build his retirement home.

"I was going to keep travelling, then I thought maybe I'll build a house on it first because I'm not getting any younger," he said.

GRAND DESIGN: Phil Murphy is building a unique house on The Hummock out of shipping containers. Photo taken on 27 April 2015. Photo: Max Fleet / NewsMail. Picture: Max Fleet

Mr Murphy said building a conventional house on the sloping land would have priced him out of the market.

"So I looked around and I looked at removal houses but by the time you pull roofs off and cyclone-proof it, there's that much work to be done, I may as well build a house anyway," he said.

"I thought what about a shipping container house, so I got on the net and I did some research."

GRAND DESIGN: Phil Murphy is building a unique house on The Hummock out of shipping containers. Photo taken on 27 April 2015. Photo: Max Fleet / NewsMail. Picture: Max Fleet

Mr Murphy said that before he got his hopes up he checked if the Bundaberg Regional Council would approve it.

"They said 'As long as it meets all the criteria'," he said.

"So I put it through the council and it all went through, no worries."

Council planning and development spokesman Ross Sommerfeld said Bundaberg was a great blend of demonstrated structural individuality which added to the character of the region.

"I can appreciate the imagination of many people as they contemplate the design of their homes," he said.

"The plans for the residence have been approved though the appropriate certification process."

With five shipping containers costing just over $30,000, Mr Murphy said his total construction budget was $200,000.

Container House - April 2015

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Originally published as Shipping container is home