Our history

Hall Contracting started as a one-man operation in 1946 when Les Hall established a sand and gravel supply business on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. For a man who was raised in poverty, received a limited education and was crippled with polio, starting his own business with an old surplus army truck was no small feat.

Determined to provide for his young family, Les drew strength from the values his mother had instilled in him to succeed at whatever he turned his mind and heart to. Not only was he a man of integrity but also ingenuity, and in the late 1950s, Les designed and built his first dredge (a gravel-pumping barge) from 44-gallon drums. This was the start of much bigger things to come.

Les’ eldest son Brian joined the business in the 1960s followed shortly by Peter in the early 1970s when, in addition to dredging, they became specialists in ready-mix concrete.

Following the sale of the concrete business in the late 1980s, the family turned its focus towards the expansion of Hall’s civil construction and contract dredging services.

Les’ grandson, Cameron Hall, joined the business in 2005 following several years working throughout Australia and overseas as a civil engineer. Now the CEO & Director of Hall Contracting, Cameron leads a highly skilled and diverse team in Australia, South-East Asia, Europe and the Pacific Islands.

Les was immensely proud of what he had achieved in his life. He loved his family and was proud to see his legacy passed along to the next generations. Today, Brian, Peter and Cameron, along with more than 200 committed staff, continue the journey that Les started all those years ago with the same integrity and commitment to excellence.

In time: The Hall Contracting journey

1946

Les and Mary Hall purchase an army surplus truck and establish a sand and gravel contracting business at Mooloolaba.

Early 1950s

Les and Mary Hall acquire a Diamond T truck and an Austin truck. Les builds a gravel-pumping barge with the help of Sunshine Coast mechanic Alex Smoothy.

1963

Brian Hall joins the business. Peter Hall joins the Royal Australian Navy, specialising in marine engineering and serving for 11 years.

1968

Hall purchases a cyclone wash plant for washing sand.

1967-1973

Hall purchases and upgrades multiple dredges.

1974

1974 Peter Hall joins the business.

1977

Hall undertakes its first civil contracts for small subdivisions on the Sunshine Coast.

1983

Hall spreads its wings further afield, carrying out small dredging contracts in Cairns, Mackay, the Gold Coast, the Whitsundays, Adelaide and Melbourne.

1983

1983 Hall purchases a concrete plant and launches its ready-mix concrete-supply division.

1985

1985 Hall expands its concrete-supply division with the purchase of a second plant.

1986

Hall starts Ban Ban Mining Co. and begins mining for gold at Ban Ban Springs Gold Mine.

1989

Hall sells its concrete, sand and gravel supply business to concentrate on civil construction and dredging services and is awarded its first major dredging project in the Torres Strait for the Australian Government.

1990

Hall is appointed as principal contractor of the Pelican Waters development, where it remains the only principal civil contractor used on the project in 30+ years.

1990

Hall undertakes its first major dredging project, dredging access channels and conducting land reclamation for seven islands in the Torres Strait.

1992

1992 Hall purchases cutter suction dredge, Everglade.

1996

Hall purchases cutter suction dredge, Warraber, and becomes one of the first contractors in Queensland to adopt GPS machine-guidance technology for earthmoving equipment.

1998

Hall completes the Mackay Small Craft Harbour project and commences work on the Greg Norman-designed golf course in Pelican Waters.

1999

Hall acquires cutter suction dredge, Scorpio, and carries out the Dampier Marine Supply Base project.

2000

Hall purchases cutter suction dredge, Mabuiag.

2001

Hall uses cutter suction dredge Scorpio to dredge the Darwin East Arm Rail Bund project.

2002

Hall expands its dredging services into Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei using small cutter suction dredges.

2003

Hall commences dredging projects in four ports in Papua New Guinea.

2005

Hall opens its Pacific Islands branch and commences flood mitigation dredging for the Fiji Government.

2006

Hall expands its civil construction business to deliver projects for major developers including Stockland, FKP and others.

2007

Hall carries out its first project for Fortescue in Port Hedland.

2009

Hall purchases cutter suction dredge, Navua.

2011

Hall establishes its board of directors and acquires 10,000hp cutter suction dredge, Eastern Aurora.

2015

Hall carries out major land reclamation works at Pelapas, Malaysia using Eastern Aurora.

2015

Hall undertakes its first major climate adaptation project in Tuvalu.

2016

Hall wins a major capital dredging contract in Port Hedland for Fortescue, undertakes major works on the Brisbane Airport New Parallel Runway project, and expands its civil footprint to Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

2017

Australian private equity firm Crescent Capital acquires a stake in Hall.

2018

Hall wins a major contract for dredging the Lumsden Point wharf facility in Port Hedland for Pilbara Ports Authority.

2019

Hall acquires the largest Australian-owned backhoe dredge, Woomera, and commences work on the Cairns Shipping Development Project.

2019

Hall expands its presence in the Pacific Islands, undertaking its first marine infrastructure project in Tokelau.

2020

Hall starts work on the Port of Townsville Channel Upgrade, constructing a 2.2-kilometre rock wall.

2020

Woomera journeys to Gladstone to undertake major capital dredging works in the Clinton Channel

2021

Hall celebrates 75 years in business and acquires a second backhoe dredge, Nulla Nulla, in readiness for dredging an entrance channel at Spoilbank Marina in Port Hedland.

2022

Woomera journeys to Townsville to undertake Hall’s largest capital dredging project to date, dredging 3.4 million m3 of material for the Port of Townsville Channel Upgrade.

2025

Hall commences its first project in the Solomon Islands, the Western Border & Patrol Boat Outpost project.

2025

Hall is awarded the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project in the Pacific Islands, and commences work in Funafuti, constructing a new 78,000m2 foreshore reclamation area to protect the atoll from the impacts of climate change.

2025

Hall sells its South-East Queensland-based civil construction division and focuses on expanding its dredging and marine civil capability in Australia and the Pacific Islands.

2025

Hall undertakes its first project in the North Pacific, constructing a 1.8km seawall in the Republic of the Marshall Islands on behalf of The World Bank.

2026

Hall expands its presence in the Pacific Islands, upgrading the wharf and workshop facilities at Betio Port in Kiribati.