Generators for Airlie Beach and Proserpine

Proserpine's 4800 postcode counts 11 cyclones, four of them severe, and Debbie and Ului passed within 10 km of both towns. Debbie crossed the Whitsunday islands as a category 4 before making landfall near Airlie Beach on 28 March 2017. It slowed to about 7 km/h over land, so both towns had destructive winds for hours, with gusts to 165 km/h at Proserpine. Boats were wrecked at Abel Point Marina and Shute Harbour, and cane fields around Proserpine were flattened and flooded. In Airlie Beach, a GP ran a makeshift triage on a small generator, using fuel donated by locals.

Ului crossed near Airlie Beach as a category 3 at about 1:30am on 21 March 2010. It took roofs off homes in Proserpine and cut power to about 60,000 households around Mackay, Proserpine, Sarina and Bowen.

Floods can isolate both towns. The council's emergency guide says Shute Harbour Road at Myrtle Creek typically closes for 1 to 12 hours, and the Bruce Highway across the Goorganga Plains for 5 to 48 hours. At Hamilton Plains, floods can cut the Proserpine to Shute Harbour road for up to two days, blocking access to the airport and hospital. The guide also says power failure is almost a given in a cyclone, and without power, service stations can't pump fuel.

A storm doesn't have to cross here to cause trouble. Koji crossed between Ayr and Bowen in January 2026, yet brought storm tides of 0.5 to 1.0 m near Airlie Beach. Its power outages were mostly in the Mackay and Whitsunday region. And in 2021, the state government cited a run of unpredictable outages around Airlie Beach to explain a substation upgrade at Cannonvale.

Tourism provides about 40% of jobs in the Whitsunday region, and 215 farms around Proserpine grow about 22,000 ha of cane. If you run a holiday let, shop or farm, size for the business as well as the house:

• Fridge, lights, phones and a laptop: a 2 to 3.5 kVA inverter.
• With the TV, microwave and fans: 3.5 to 5 kVA.
• Kettle and toaster, a few minutes at a time: a 2,400 W power station handles most kettles (check the label), leaving a 2 kVA inverter for the fridge, lights and phones.
• Most of a house or unit, including a split system: 7 to 10 kVA petrol, or 8 to 12 kVA diesel for long runs.
• A whole house with ducted air: 10 kVA and up, usually diesel.
• Shop, office or cool room backup: 10 to 20 kVA diesel.
• Farm pumps and motors started direct on line: about 3.6 kVA for every kW of motor.

For a holiday let, a standby diesel with an automatic transfer switch starts itself when the grid drops. Our Generator Finder works out the size in about a minute, or browse inverter generators, the quietest choice near neighbours or guests.

In Airlie Beach's units and holiday lets, neighbours and guests are never far away, and nobody wants a generator running till dawn. A power station is silent, so you can switch the generator off overnight and still keep the essentials going.

Our Hyundai HY2000Si and HYPS2400 bundle covers the morning cuppa too, and it costs less than buying the generator and power station separately. Plug the kettle or toaster into the HYPS2400: at 2,400 W it suits most kettles, but check the label. The 2 kVA HY2000Si stays on the steady loads (the fridge, lights and phone chargers) and recharges the power station between jobs. Browse all our portable power stations, or see every generator and power station bundle.

The council suggests five days of water and food in your cyclone kit, so plan generator fuel for days too, and store it safely. Buy before November, while the roads are open and there's time to test-run it, then start it once a month.

Most units up to 10 kVA ship free, and the rest are priced at checkout. Checkout prices are based on delivery to capital cities and major centres, so if your address costs more to reach, we'll call before dispatch with the difference. You can go ahead or cancel for a full refund. Orders ship from our store or direct from the supplier warehouse closest to you. Most are dispatched within 1 to 5 business days and arrive within 3 to 8 business days of ordering. Sets over about 1 tonne take 1 to 2 weeks to dispatch and need a forklift, crane or tractor forks on site. We'll call before dispatch to confirm access, whether it's a resort or a cane farm.

Never run the house off a generator plugged into a power point. Backfeeding is illegal and puts line workers' lives at risk. A licensed electrician fits a changeover switch and inlet so the generator can run your circuits safely. Here's how a changeover switch installation works. Run it outdoors, never on an enclosed balcony or in a garage, and well away from doors and windows, because the exhaust can kill.