A town that rebuilt after a cyclone
Mackay knows what wind does to houses. The council's heritage guide says about 70 per cent of the town's building stock was destroyed in the 1918 cyclone, and that almost all of its older homes are single storey, timber and raised on stumps.
The rules today are written with that in mind. Mackay is one of four cities shown in Wind Region C on the 2011 map in a 2023 report for the Australian Journal of Emergency Management. In that region, the NCC 2022 Housing Provisions want any garage door in an opening up to 3 m high to meet AS/NZS 4505, and the Queensland Reconstruction Authority says it must be rated to the classification shown on the plans.
Motors and power cuts
A cyclone does not have to hit Mackay to cut its power. When Ului crossed near Airlie Beach in March 2010, 60,000 homes between Mackay, Proserpine and Collinsville were reported without power.
An opener with battery backup keeps the door working through that. Some models have it built in and others take an add-on, so ask which yours is. Everyone at home should also know the release cord: Chamberlain says to use the emergency release only when the door is fully closed if possible, and never to pull it to raise or lower the door.
If the garage has no power point near the ceiling, a licensed electrician puts one in. Plugging the opener into a point that is already there is not electrical work in Queensland.
Electric gates in Mackay
Gate motors are chosen the same way: first by how the gate opens and what it weighs, then by power. Merlin says its Slide 600 can run on mains, solar or low voltage, and CENTSYS says its D5-Evo keeps a gate going on battery in a power cut.
Mackay M.O averages 20.8 MJ of solar exposure per square metre a day across the year, but only 14.7 in June, so a solar gate needs a panel and battery sized for winter. Our automatic gates page goes through the choices.
Around Mackay
Storm tide areas
The council has storm surge evacuation maps for low places such as Midge Point, Seaforth, Ball Bay and Grasstree, Sarina and Campwin Beaches. In one of those, ask how high the opener and its power point should sit.
The wet season
December to March brings heat, humidity and heavy rain, and February averages 313.3 mm at Mackay M.O. The drier months from June to October suit a service.
Older raised houses
On a timber house on stumps, ask the door specialist to check that the framing round the opening can carry a wind-rated door's loads.
The grant
Queensland's Household Resilience Program closed to new applications on 2 October 2026, so it is no longer a way to pay for a new door.
What we would do
Before you choose a new motor in Mackay, ask whether it runs on battery and how long that lasts. After a cyclone, the garage door you can still open is the one you will be glad of.