The shipping container as a work of art
JUST 63 years ago global trade was forever transformed when a modified oil tanker transported a humble load of 58 shipping containers from Newark in New Jersey to the Port of Houston in Texas.
From that inauspicious beginning, this standardised mode of freight became the norm and allowed trucks, transport depots, ports and ships to develop a one-size-fits-all method of moving goods around the world.
Shipping containers took more than a decade to achieve widespread adoption, but as people began to understand how it could slash costs it began to gain ground.
The seemingly unlimited supplies being sent to provide for US forces fighting a war in Vietnam underscored the potential of “The Box”.
Dubbo’s Western Plains Cultural Centre (WPCC) is currently staging an exhibition of shipping containers fitted out to document the story behind this trade revolution and they invite you to “Step inside the box that changed the world”.
Six 20-foot containers are now sitting in the WPCC carpark for this unique exhibit, each container espousing a different theme.
Ship: Learn the history of transporting goods in crates, bales, sacks and barrels loaded by hand, and how the container now allows the world’s 1.5 million seafarers to deliver 10 billion tonnes of trade each year.
Cargo: Discover the intricate world of trade, customs, and biosecurity, and how perishable goods are transported around the world in the ‘cold’ chain.
Port: See the radical transformation of ports and port cities in Australia and around the world. Have a peek behind the scenes at Port Botany, one of Australia’s busiest ports and the gateway for 99 per cent of NSW’S container demand.
Ocean: Explore the challenges mass shipping poses to our oceans, including lost shipping containers, cargo spills and acoustic pollution, and the current focus on sustainable shipping.
Build: Be delighted by the quirky and innovative ways containers are used beyond shipping, including ‘small homes’, food trucks, art installations and even swimming pools.
Things: Enter a glass-fronted container demonstrating the origins of everyday objects in our homes. The total number of kilometres travelled by sea by all the products in this container is 887,082km.
• “Container: The Box That Changed The World” is on display at the WPCC until October 13. View the full exhibition during normal WPCC hours. One container is able to be viewed 24/7.