Mobile : 0433 902 551
Mobile : 0433 902 551

About Us

We Can Cover Your Event

In February, 2010 Shade4hire commenced business, based in Canberra ACT. It was managed by Ian Bassingthwaighte, who has had over 30 years experience with the marquee hire industry. It now has a new owner – Justin James who has 20 years experience with the entertainment industry.

Initially, the idea to hire marquee middle sections for shade, without using the marquee ends, came from a client at the 1991 NSW Water Skiing Championships. This was during mid summer at Wyangala Dam and when told there were no more marquees left for the weekend, Bill Brien said, “Basso, you must have a tarp or something to put up in the air that can shade our spectators. We really need it.” So we experimented with a shade top and it worked. This was made from the three middle sections of an 11m wide marquee, forming a gable shape of 11m x 16m

During the 1990’s aluminium frame structures replaced the peg and pole marquee as the main unit for hiring to weddings, parties and events. These structures are a brilliant invention with better protection from wind and rain than the peg and pole marquee. However they are a lot more expensive per square meter to hire, take longer to erect and are difficult to build on uneven ground. Also they are not as cool as our blue canvas shade tops. That is why we felt there was a need to start Shade4hire.