River Red Gum

Eucalyptus Camaldulensis

Our flagship timber, sourced from several riverland locations, is available in a range of rich red tones and with varying degrees of gum pockets which, when filled with clear or stained resin, add lots of “personality” to any furniture piece. Additionally, fiddleback/flame effects will make for spectacular looking items. Redgum slabs can be used to great effect on table/cabinet/bench tops and Redgum burl, with its deliciously chaotic grain patterns, lends itself to very special coffee tables, mirrors or giftware pieces.

River Red Gum is one of Australia’s best known trees. It has a widespread distribution along many of the river systems in Australia, particularly along the rivers and valleys of the Murray-Darling river system. It ranges from the eastern states, through eastern South Australia and into south-western Western Australia. It is a medium sized to tallish woodland tree with a whitish-grey smooth bark that is typically shedding over the whole trunk.
The species, given the riverside habitat, is often subject to submersion in flood conditions, and can withstand such conditions for long periods. River Red Gum has developed an enviable reputation for its timber properties which offer durability, strength and aesthetics. It has been widely utilised for heavy construction throughout Australia’s history. Applications include bridges, and even timber street paving which was very common throughout Sydney’s major streets and thoroughfares in the late 1800’s.
Blackheart Sassafras

Atherosperma Moschatum

Sassafras grows as an understorey tree in Tasmania's wet mixed forests and rainforests but also grows in Victoria and New South Wales. Timber from the plain sassafras logs was once used for clothes pegs because they do not contain any tannin. Today sassafras is famous for its spectacular black-heart stain caused by naturally occuring wood fungi which produces a range of contrasting brown to black colours in the heartwood. Black-heart sassafras timber is used in wood turning, furniture, joinery, for veneers and in many souvenir items. Creative veneer lay-ups can produce stunning effects with even slight amounts of heart stain.

Blackwood

Acacia Melanoxylon

Perhaps the best known and most widely used Tasmanian special timber, blackwood is produced in moderate commercial volumes and grows across a broad range of forest types. The biggest, straightest, tallest trees come from the wet forest and swamps of the far north west. However, straight grain timber is not the most prized or valuable, blackwood with intense fiddleback figure is the most valuable. Blackwood timber colour ranges from a very pale honey colour through to a dark chocolate with streaks of red tinge..

Tasmanian Blackwood is very similar in its properties, colour and figure to Hawaiian Koa Acacia koa which is highly regarded as a wood for acoustic guitars. As Koa is becoming very difficult to legally source, Tasmanian Blackwood from managed forests is becoming a sought-after substitute and special wood in its own right. Luthiers have used highly figured Koa and now blackwood in their best instruments.
Blackwood is our most popular timber and used in many furniture, fitout and turning applications. Its highest value uses are fiddleback veneer, gunstocks and acoustic guitar backs and sides.
Myrtle

Nothofagus Cunninghamii

Myrtle is the dominant tree in the cool temperate rainforest and is the dominant understorey tree in the mixed wet eucalypt forests found in Tasmania’s wetter regions. The wood has been used since European settlement and has become a sought-after cabinet timber. Colour varies from pink to a deep red brown and the intense figure and burling is highly coveted.

Tiger Myrtle is perhaps the rarest of the Myrtle colour decorations, the “tiger stripe” of contrasting dark brown - black is caused by fungal discoloration. Tiger Myrtle is most often produced from cull trees with too much centre defect to meet pulpwood specifications. The most dominant tiger stripe is displayed in quarter sawn timber.