http://www.woodreview.com.au 91TIMBERlike “food miles” we can talk about
“timber miles”, where in this case we
don’t ship it off somewhere, have it
made into low quality furniture, and
then ship it back, only to see it go to
the tip in five years time.’
Quality Timber Traders represents
an alliance of two other groups,
south-east Queensland Specialty
Timber Growers and northern NSW
Sub Tropical Farm Forestry.
Aiming to create a sustainable
timber marketing and sales system,
the project has been seeded by a
$250,000 grant from the federal
government Farming Together
Program. The grant was to kickstart
the project over an eight month
period, the end of which would be
marked by Woodfest, an event which
has now brought together growers,
portable mill operators and end-users
to showcase their products.
Verifying timber quality is seen
as critical, and to this end backup
technical support and analytical
research has been carried out by
Southern Cross University who
are providing research data into
strength and hardness properties
of the sawn timber.
The project is ultimately about
expressing the viability of farm
forestry as measured by both
environmental and commercial
benefits. ‘Our members are
conservation farm foresters who
are passionate about restoring
the landscape,’ says local grower,
renowned furniture maker and QTT
member Tony Kenway. ‘It’s about
encouraging use of this timber so that
people will plant more trees,’ he said.
‘We’re trying to demonstrate that it’s
possible to generate a small income
from this forestry to promote the idea
that if you start planting these trees,
you’re going to get sucked in, you’re
going to get passionate about it’, said
Joe Harvey-Jones who noted that even
four to five hectare plantings of mixed
species can be viable.
‘The beauty of this whole movement
is that we’re specialising in the
rainforest cabinet timbers that used
to grow in the red soil of The Big
Scrub and in the hinterland of the
Sunshine Coast. What starts as just
a simple idea with a limited range
of species attempting to mimic to
some extent what the original forest
would have been like, ends up acting
as corridors for animals and birds.’Some growers, like Joe Harvey-
Jones and Martin Novak, a farm
forestry consultant, have 25–30
year stands that can now be
selectively thinned. At the other end
of the spectrum there are others
who are at the start of the planting
journey, or within it seeking support
with best practices.The main Northern Rivers species
currently being harvested and which
were showcased at the Woodfest
event were silky oak (Cardwellia
sublimis), silver quandong (Elaeocarpus
grandis), and Queensland maple
(Flindersia brayleyana).With acess to a mobile mill, a solar
kiln and a storage facility the group
is set to provide a resource that
buyers can tap into. Membership
from established and potential
growers is invited, as are enquiries
from those who wish to buy timber
from association members.
Words: Linda Nathan
Learn more from http://www.qualitytimbertraders.comMain: Quality Timber Traders board members
Dr Joe Harvey-Jones (left) with Martin Novak.