Locals have turned out in force to support the new flagship Sunshine Mitre 10 store in Nambour.

Block TV show series winners Jimmy and Tam were there to celebrate, and there were huge specials and giveaways throughout the day.

Sunshine Mitre 10 is one of the largest independently operated and owned hardware suppliers in Queensland but their new Nambour store is special, because Nambour is where the company’s 110-year history began.

David and Tim Lanham are two of the five brothers whose family started Lanham’s in 1910. “The business was started in 1910 by our great-grandfather Walter Lanham,” said Tim. “It was born out of a basic need to supply himself as a builder. There was very little sawn timber. So as a by-product of that, the saw mill was set up.

“It was located down where The Shack is now. Product for customers was basically onsite. It was all very simple operation in those days, was milled on site, stored on site and sold on site. The business moved from its location in Price Street to Court Road  after the second world war.

“The present day business is an amalgamation of two families, the Lanham family and Melville family. Both traditional families in the area, both doing what they did very well, but there was always the potential for the two to become a stronger unit. So families merged and formed a company called MelcoLanhams, which is today what we call Sunshine Mitre 10.”

David said he hoped the presence of a larger Mitre 10 would keep Nambour people shopping locally by providing a viable option to big box shopping on the Coast.

The new site at 980 Nambour Connection Road employs 40 staff and offers a large variety of products to retail and trade customers.