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The first European settlers of Australia obviously did not have any name for a particular Australian tree and consequently tended to call them by some similarity, be it in the appearance of the trees themselves, their fruits, their wood or some other factor, to a tree from their own homeland. Often these first names have now become the common name, which can be very confusing and misleading to non-Australians.
For instance, the Quercus spp. (the northern hemisphere Oaks) and the Fraxinus spp. (the Ashes) have no indigenous representatives in Australia, although there are many Australian trees which have either Oak or Ash in their common name, indeed there is a whole group of Eucalyptus species which are called the Ash Group. Other common names include Cedar, Elm, Box, Teak, Mahogany, Box, Myrtle, Walnut, Beech, Maple, Rosewood, Poplar, Ebony and Apple.
Australian Woods
Listed below is information on some of the woods, all of which are indigenous to Australia, that are, and/or can be, used in our pieces, except of course for Wollemi Pine, Wollemia nobilis, a completely new genus found within 200 km of Sydney in late 1994. Only 25 mature trees were found in this stand and an intensive propagation program is being carried out to produce seedlings for the market.
Although Australia does have some native softwoods, the majority of Australian trees are hardwoods, both physically and botanically. To assist in ascertaining the relative weights/densities of our woods, we give some comparisons of various woods seasoned to approximately 12% moisture content:
BALSA, Ochroma pyramidale : 110-170 kg/cu.m.
WESTERN/BRITISH COLUMBIA RED CEDAR, Thuya plicata : 370 kg/cu.m.
Texture: Usually straight but sometimes interlocked grain with an even texture.
Comments: Blackwood, one of the largest of the Australian "Wattles", is usually found as an understorey species to the large eucalypt forests of the cool, moist temperate regions but does grow in pure stands especially in north-west Tasmania.
In fact the main source of Blackwood timber is from the 'Blackwood swamps' of north-west Tasmania where the tree grows quite profusely and is in abundant supply. If it were not for Wallabies eating the shoots of young seedlings then there would be even more available. It is the practice of foresters nowadays to fence off coups of Blackwood to keep the Wallabies out. The swamps themselves sometimes limit the supply of timber because heavy harvesting machinery can often only operate during the drier months of high summer.
It has been used in high quality furniture production since the days of the early settler English craftsmen and many examples of their work can still be seen today. Because of its colour, grain, character, durability, working facility and strength to weight ratio it is an ideal medium for fine furniture making and some experts reckon it is one of the best furniture timbers in the world.
Aborigines used the bark as a fish poison and roasted bark as a treatment for rheumatism.
Common Name: AUSTRALIAN RED CEDAR
Botanical Name: Toona ciliata (F.Muell.) Harms
Height to: 60 m. Diameter to: 3.0 m.
Wood Colour: Light to dark red colour.
Weight (seasoned 12% m.c.) approx: 450 kg/cu.m.
Texture: Very soft and open textured, easy to work, distinctive odour.
Comments: Formerly classified as Toona australis Harms. syn.Cedrela toona Roxb. ex Rottler var.australis (F.Muell.) C. DC.
This tree was once the pride of the east coast rainforests from the Shoalhaven River (south of Sydney) to Cape York.
Apart from the physical beauty and ease of working of the timber from this tree, the early settlers, with only axes at their disposal, would presumably have preferred to cut down a tree that was huge, soft, relatively easily transportable to market by bullock team than, say, a huge, hard to cut, heavy Rosewood tree. Exploitation of this tree unfortunately almost eliminated one of the great forest trees of Australia and is today banned from being logged in State forests. What the early timber-getters did achieve, though, was to open up the country for further settlement far quicker than the search for any other material, including gold.
Red Cedar needs a relatively dark environment in which to grow up in, such as its natural environment in a rainforest. When too much light falls on the tree, it is attacked by the "Red Cedar Tip Moth" which burrows its way along small branches eventually killing the branch. The vertical growth of the tree is then hindered as it grows new branches which in turn are attacked. The moth attacks Red Cedar trees in the rainforests too, but by the time it has broken through the rainforest canopy, it is a huge, mature tree and it can withstand the moth's attack. For this and other reasons it is almost impossible to grow it as a plantation tree, which is a pity, because the timber is worth a small fortune these days.
