Operating his own business out in the rural town of Gayndah, Director of Gayndah Crane Hire Dan Leggett opens up about his business, connection to the town and the importance of community.
“There are no other cranes for 150 kilometres.”
So says Dan Leggett, Director of Gayndah Crane Hire and resident of the rural Queensland town, in the state’s North Burnett region.
“We suffer from a lack of resources,” he says bluntly. “You’re looking at quite a lot of money spent on transfers to get one in from Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Gippy or Maryborough.
“They won’t just send a crane alone either. They’ll send a rigger – which is policy, and that’s okay – but it’s just expensive. I saw an opportunity to fill that gap here with the two machines I own to complete all the jobs that needed to be done around here.”
You can hear his voice start to perk up and become more conversational as the discussion switches to the work he does in his community, and his family’s longstanding connection to Gayndah.
Known for being the oldest town in Queensland, the Leggett family arrived from Adelaide and settled there in 1884, with Dan’s great-great-grandfather being the centre’s longest serving mayor over a duration of 35 years.
During that stint he contributed to vital infrastructure projects such as the construction of a hospital, improvements to the railway and a new town hall – work that Dan describes as “instrumental”.
Helping the local community is something that runs in the Leggett family’s blood. Dan’s father still cultivates his crops as an 85-year-old, whilst his brother still works in construction. Dan, at 61, is still running his crane hire business to aid the town, which is mainly known for its agriculture – particularly of the citrus variety.
“My family’s been here for seven generations,” he explains. “I had the opportunity to buy these two cranes and, well – here we are.”
The machines themselves are two Linmac AWD 12 cranes, manufactured back in 1990.
Holding a 12-tonne capacity, they also possess a 17.5-metre powered boom, and are run off a Cummins engine – in Dan’s own words, the cranes are a “predecessor to the Frannas”.
“They’re good machines,” he says. “They’re in compliance with their 10-year check-up, and they get through their annual servicing really well.”
And he puts them to good use too. Big jobs, little jobs, whatever the Gayndah community needs, Dan and his two Linmacs are there to help.
“We’ll do work for the local authorities, Sunwater, on main roads, builders, farmers, anyone,” he said. “All the good people – that’s who we work for.”
Working for over 40 years in the construction industry – whether it be civil construction, concreting or cranes – Dan holds a wealth of experience, and it’s something he wishes to bestow on his community because – in his own words – “everything spent in a small community stays in a small community”.
With a population of just 1,981 people as of the 2016 census, Gayndah is exactly that.
“I like it here,” he says. “All the local groups – the showgrounds, the racecourse, the museum – they get one free lift a year.”
“There’s lots of agriculture here, and they need help setting up their sheds and putting in heavy, complicated machinery.
“Our community means a lot to me. We struggle with government facilities – there’s plenty of government contractors, but the supply of materials is an issue,” he says.
And so, what can a local, generationally committed man like Dan do for his community in Gayndah?
“We just make do with what we have. My great-great-grandfather wanted to make a better place here, and so do I.”