The Outback Collection - Order ref #outbk
Many families of tree and shrub which grow on the mainland of Australia are found nowhere else in the world, or in a few other countries only. This collection of ten different bobbins as shown is selected from the beautiful range of Australian outback timbers.They are supplied with a descriptive leaflet which has some information about each of the woods. This set makes a memorable gift.
Price for ten bobbins, post paid, with spangles fitted: only A$ 120.00 *to order individual woods from the collection ex-stock, please see the current stocks pages
Outback collection (above) Woods in picture, left to right: Gidgee, Mulga, Cooktown Ironwood, Wilga, Brigalow, Queensland White Ebony, Dead Finish, Sandal Box, Berrigan, Beefwood. please note actual woods in sets may vary from the ones shown above
about some of the woods
Australia has an enormous diversity of trees and shrubs which form woods suitable for wood turning. Some species only occur in Australia, whereas some are also found in other countries. Some of them are well known, others far less so. Many of these are not sold in large quantities and are quite difficult to obtain. The woods used to make up the set may therefore vary. Your set of bobbins is made up from a variety of the woods described here.
Beefwood (Silver Oak) - Grevillea parallela
The grain structure of this wood looks a little like some oaks, but it is one of the Grevilleas. The tree occurs sparsely across a broad range of the far north of the continent, from the Kimberley to Queensland. The dense pink-brown heartwood is strongly figured, and some pieces are quite spectacular. The tree grows only to 8 metres in height, in a wide range of habitat.
Belah - Casuarina cristata (NSW) Pale mid-brown colour with lighter and darker highlights and streaks in some pieces, very strong and smooth, takes a fabulous polish.
Bowyakka Acacia microsperma Bowyakka is a shapely small tree to 10m tall occuring in Queensland, Australia. Its bark is hard, fissured and dark grey with lighter patches. The species grows on shallow soil. It derives its botanical name from its small seeds.The timber is a rich brown red in colour, fine textured and hard. It is a beautiful timber for small fine craft objects.
Brigalow - Acacia harpophylla
This member of the acacia family grows in the southern half of Queensland and extensively in New South Wales. Frequently it occurs in very dense stands, and can reach 25 metres in height. The timber is very dense and hard, and remarkably durable. The wood tends to blunt tools. Makes excellent furniture as well as being useful as a heavy duty construction timber. As a turnery wood it is of the first quality, and has a greyish brown colour, darkening with age.
Coachwood - (northern NSW and southern QLD) no other information available yet
Cooba - Acacia salicina (NSW) Dark red-brown, slightly open grain, uniform colour
Cooktown Ironwood - Erythrophleum chlorostachys
A medium sized tree widely distributed across tropical northern Australia, from north east Queensland to the Kimberley region. It may reach a height of 18 metres and one metre diameter. It grows in a variety of habitats but does best on creek and river flats. It is the only member of its genus found in Australia, related species occur in Africa and Asia. The wood is pinkish brown, very hard with a slightly granular texture.
Emu-bushes (Poverty-bushes)
The emu-bushes are a small family of woody shrubs and small trees, some being highly decorative with brightly coloured flowers, and are found mostly in semi-arid areas of the southern states of the Australian mainland.
Gidgee - Acacia cambagei
Another member of the extensive acacia family, Gidgee occupies a similar range to Mulga and is another large bush to small tree in size, growing best in semi-arid areas. It has an extremely hard and dense dark brown wood, which is used for traditional wooden implements by Aboriginal Australians. The wood may have spectacular figure - Ring Gidgee or Figured Gidgee. As a turning material it has few equals, being superb to work and polishing almost naturally as it is worked, and producing very durable items.
Gutta percha (Star apple) - Palaquium gutta, also Mimusops browniana, Planchonella arnhemica.
This group of trees belongs to the Sapotaceae and is closely related to the ebonies (Ebenaceae). The wood is very fragrant and has a greenish tinge with brown streaks.
Gympie Messmate - Eucalyptus cloeziana. subspecies Idiogenes
This tree is the only member of its group, having no closely related species. It is found in eastern Queensland, doing best in the Gympie area from which its common name is taken. The tree reaches 55 metres in height and 2 metres diameter. The wood is known as Dead Finish and is very dense and hard, and extremely durable, and takes a very smooth finish. The colour varies from reddish brown with marked red colour, to a dark brown.
Jamwood - Acacia acuminata
Found only in the south of Western Australia, this large bushy shrub may reach 5 metres commonly, and in very suitable conditions become a small tree up to 10 m high. Jamwood trees are used in shade and shelter belt plantings. The wood is hard with dense grain and may have attractive figuring, and is an ideal woodturning material. The wood is named so because of the sweet fragrance it exudes when freshly cut, which is very similar to raspberry jam.
Mineritchie Acacia cyperophylla
Mineritchie is a small spreading tree up to 10m tall occuring in the western part of Queensland, Australia. It dominates isolated watercourses and waterholes. The flowers are yellow, and the bark is grey on the outside and curls back to reveal red inner bark. The timber is a lovely deep even dark brown, and very hard and smooth.
Mulga - Acacia aneura
Mulga is found in the central and southern parts of Australia, and in areas of warm arid or semi-arid climate. Mulga is considered the most important fodder tree owing to its widespread distribution. The deep brown coloured wood is very dense and close textured, and takes a beautiful polish. Aborigines have long used Mulga for boomerangs and spears, and it is also a fuel wood. Mulga is widely used for woodturning today.
Redgum Eucalyptus camaldulensis
An Australian tree important to the early drovers as redgums were often the only species to be found in drought stricken areas. Used in the past for very utilitarian purposes like railway sleepers, Redgum is in fact a fine and beautiful timber with a mid to deep red-brown colour.
Satin Sycamore (QLD) - species uncertain, lovely silvery grey colour with very delicate and attractive figure. Light but strong, finishes well.
Sandalwoods
True sandalwoods are a root parasite on other tree species, notably including jamwood and emu-bushes.
Wilga - (QLD) pale to whitish hard timber, no other information available
Whitewood -family Sapindaceae species Atalaya hemiglauca (mainland Aus except Victoria) pale yellowish-brown timber with occasional darker streaks, evergreen, grows up to 10 metres tall and 4 metres in diameter.
Rarities and recent listings
All the woods in this section are only available in very small quantities.
Acknowldgements This section has been compiled using the following sources to which I am indebted: B.D. Morley & H.R. Tolken Flowering plants in Australia Ridgway Publishers, Adelaide, 1983 Forest Trees of Australia, CSIRO publishing, Collingwood, Victoria, 1984 edition L. Costermans, Native Trees and Shrubs of South-Eastern Australia, Rigby, Adelaide & London, 1981.
