rsmmia

is a sociery hewn

from

t;mber. irs early setllemenrs

&shioned from wood felled
from irs seeningly lirnitles
ancient forests and woodlands.

In the euly, difiicult days of

Van D;emen's Land, sertlers
relied on the abundant timber

ro construct simple dwellings

6r
in

shelter. Rough conages could be asembled

of horrrs. with borrs of "a house

r rnter

vareltighi' before sunser.

.\fooden boat building *as vital

rendered

to

rhe

colonvk suwival. otating the sturdy vesels thar

;n rurn facilitated succeslirl industries: sealing,

whaling, coxtal trading. As fomrnes greq the

timber :llowcd
craftsmen ro produce qualiry turnirure for rhe
dnwing roons of rhose prospering in lhis mosr
distanr ofBritisb outposrs. Almosr mnaculoullr

*me

ready

ac,-s

to old-grcwrh

wo
In an era of 3D printing and
soulLes enent'slab consrucrion they are
rcnnrder of a simpler rine.
Yer rhe i,rure is increasingly uncenain. The
these oadnional skills suwive more than

cennuies larer.

fr

A I'IEW BAITLE TllllMS 11{ IASMAI'IIA'S

IIIRESIS - IHIS IIME IT'S llVER SPEGIAT
IIMBEBS FOR IURI{ITURE A1{II BllAIS
By Matthew

Deddm

Photography Man Newton

dhbe.s thar shaped a srare d irs people

appe to be in short suiply; so much so that
todayii wooden boar builders, turniture makers
md boad ud shingle cutters beliere they mry
be rhe ldr. There rema;n plenry of trees: mr
eucalypr plarrations as well as surviving pre,

Euopd virgin forests. The dimcdry

obmining the r;ght specis of old-grc*'rh

is

Dd

ninforest tihbers - knom s ':pecial' or

ipecialitl' timber - needed for specidc cmfts.

qtorc

For builders md
ofTisftniat aJny
of srong, elegmr wooden boais, ihat means the
rot{6isrmr Darive pines Huon, K;ng Billy,

lbr

designds and make6 of file

tumirm, irt the ;diosyncratically patterned
ninforst timben witb characterisric as ooerive d rheir I,des sllggesr: tigo nide, bndt
celerl' rop.

e1c Huon, blackhean sma&u. For bushmen

sril able to spl;t a ftesl y feled rru < into dre
nardals for a mftftistu homc, irt oid-grcnth
eucalpts: black peppernint, stringAdc

"We have a srer liftlc niche nuket here,

mak;ng beaudirl boa6, rhat de in
demand,

with some of the wonds

best timbos,"

ser

Ross

J3mes,

nanaser of

rie Vooden Boat Cen e, a boer

wooden boat building school in
FDnHin, sfth of Hoban. "Thar indNtry md
dur repurarion .re abour ro be otinguished."
There simply isnt enoud dmber o Leep the

of the shary decline in supply of quality boat

rrd md

timber, pariculrly follow;ng turthe.

caft afoat for arother goenrion. "Ifsomeone

me to ne md said, 'Build me a trs boat out
ofcelery top p;ne, Id have to sy, 'Perhaps re
night be able to,' Jmes cplains "It could be

shadow ofwhat it was

a case

ofhaving to

ruch hish dd low

tfor rhe

timbed throush primre resources. For boar

building you ned the best ofthe bat. It's gorio
be pofecdy cla, str:ight-grained timber, ad
drn qualiry is rery, very difficult to 6nd od very
dpcive when you can. It is dishenoing."
Itt a f,r cry frorn the 1860s when Frmklin, a
slepy harJet nesded otr rhe banls of rhe Huod
Rive, w:s one of rhe busiesr boar build;ng
towns in the Australim colonies.
The industry also helped shape the nearby
D'Ertrecastau Chdnel region where Andrew

Dennu,

anorher wooden boat builder, is

b6ed. "Weve alredy seen an indw
try-wide conttaction sine dre mod
supply was reduced," sals

Dmu

loss

of

accss ro old growth foresrs in *tensions m the

Tasndim wilderness \ro d Herirage Area in
2013. "Wirhout tunher resource, it wiil be a

it will buielly

run n

cortrge indu$ry"
The problem ;s not confined to wooden 6oar
buitding. The entire special sp<ic dmber sector,

into

which in 2009 Na

ni

ion

srimred to be wonh

to Tasmmia's

$70

@nomy, enployng

)rr
up to 2000 people, is stugglilg ro obnin the
quaadq' and q?e of rimber ir ftqui$. High
end ftrniture naker Cnig Hovdd fers his
sonJack r fifdr-sen@iion dmberworker is

in

ind6t.y
;!! de.nb throes.
is probabiy not enough rcs;u.ce to Ny
rain ir ar i$.urent lvel," says How3rd, himself
dr grcat grddson ofa tumitur makci.
inheriting

"Ther

BMd dd

sh;ngle nakers craham Gren ad

whose skiIls hare re.rored sone ot'

Joln Gmlnn,

Tasmia's nost imponmr hqrirage buildings,

induding at Poft Arrhu md the ]srmriar
Museum and tur Gallcry hrve loldcd rheir
htsines. Gren now worlrs in Lnd Hhmr;.n

od

He

Graham keep their mdidon d;ve on a

volmtary bois, restoiing tndirional timber

bush hu$ in renote places. Greo, founder of
the lobby group Timber workers for Forests,
estinates that 62,500ha of specialrytinberrich
foresr

hr

bcen

clerfelled

since 1996.

Mosr spccial tinber calismen hy muci of

blame for t\e energing crisis on the poliricies
and timber bmns who peided over a fomrry
indrrsry that 'wxred" mt rc1umes of special
dnbers in a headlong ruh to clelr old grctrth
fonrs Driven largely by opon nlkea for
wmdchips, the industry f,rcn rhe 1980s to L\e
2000s

lm

"Fpm 2027

narked by the onvcion of nst

o plarratiom aod shon

swads of old groxth

rcution eucalipr crops. "There were deedes of

mismagment,"

say's

Kevir Perkins, one of

halfro jusr 50 cubic nenes 1er. Blackwood, m

the sraei; nost etablished special specia dmber

qrftsnen. "\re had such a huge pmtry of really
good woods
this state. \fe wse rhe lucky
country unril the pohicians squmdered n."

anractive dark timber. holds up best bff ir is Dor

c covered by line furnirure cralisrnen dd rheir

ir

orromer. King Billy md Huon pine ue no

longer hawe*ed; instad drcy are supplied front
stockpila or sahaged fton ma flooded by pct

nillo

and turnitm rnaker

Richard Davis agrees. Davis salvaged special
dnbers Fom fooded hydro-electric schemes in
the 1970s and iater from logging are?i known
c coupes. "I brought home whar I could from
the coupes, but n w:s jct a fraction of what
had been there - youd see beaurituL 300-yeaiold dnber ju$ ashed in a couple ofsecondr;
Special specia

ad bunt," Davis says. "Ninerr per cent

the special spaies rimberl wx mred"
left

[of

hydro elccric schemes or fton historic Iogging

sites. Forcstry Trmnia declincd to revel tle
exrent ofits special species stockpiles.

The most mdical solution to the emerging

snmes ofTamaniat forestry debae.

The raulr is a diminished remre l\at is
to bodr

extnordinuily *pensive. The combined special

hm*t hu halved in the p,$ 15 yds.

Supply of celety top pine, the staple tinber for
wooden boat buiidem. has fallen liom 902 cubic
nefts a yed i! 2010 to jst 170 cubic m*res
rhis yed. At the same tine, boat builders say the
price has doubled to $8500 per obic mare.
The laest assasment of spaial specie rreer
remaining in Forestry Tasmdiat 800,000ha
production foress rnakes turihtr dire readins
species

In the pat decade in panicr ar, oafismen

have faced oorher mmult on then sryply
from the consmation morement. Reecting ro
rhe destruction of old-growth forats, green
groups dernanded more md nore areas be set
side in reser.,s. Federal govdnnents, scared of
prcvoking a backlash &on timber commun;
ties, nmtheles saw rhe need ro plae sone
ares out of dre loggers' reach ard to appeal to

ovironmotally minded voters.

John Howard saled viaory in the 2004
federal election by outfoxing Mark

l:thm

on

forct policy, resewing aboft 140,000ha of old

grcEt}r wlrile m[ying tinbd workers agai$r
l-athmt nore anbitious consmtion plan. A
2012 "pea del' bet*eer the forct induq and
consenationisrs led rc a 170.000ha drension to
the Tasmaniar \fildernss Vorld Heritage Area.
The enension indudcd 15,600h4 ofa 98,000ha
rcne s* aside in 2010 for speiial timber hmsting The Abbott governmot aied r.rnsum6 y
o panly rescind t}te deal lct yea.
The special tirnber sator, rhen, has lost out

rhere is esentially no wooden boat

indutry. od it is derh by sumrion undl then."

For furnitm naken, the ssssment r;ngs
alann bells. Blackheur sassafras ;s already had
to secure; fton 2027, supply will drop by almosr

for wooden boar buildes, whose comtructions

can fetch

o1tl

ng Gon $24,000

ftr

a 10

6or

dinghy ro $i.5 minion for a 50 ftot yacht. lt

suggetr a avemge mnual supply of only 130
cubic metres of celery top pine to 2026-27 t
srdL .ontia$ to the 500 cubic me.res p.om;sed
in rhc s@e.nment's Speci.l Tinbem Smteg in
2010 - hlling even funher ro jNt 10 cubic
metres a

"Even

)c

after 2027.

ifit m

all absolutely

stu

rgly per-

fect sawlog, Ihat would only yield enough fbr a

f*

small dinghia," says boat builder AndJ

Denman. "tlt;sl my shom of:rnything required
for a vessel of ihe 20 io 40 foot mark." Ncither

will it

be enorgh

ftr

rcpain to existing vesels.

crisis ;s ! propos,l m 1og some forst rsene,

including some iDside rhe T6manim wilderns
World Herit.rge Area (T\fWHA). The plm hc
srrcng backing lion sectiom of rhe indust4a
includjne Denman md his group, the
Txmmiu Special Inben Alliance, ard the
statet Liberal governnent.
The govcmenr changed the lam in 2014 to
allow spmlal spccia rrees m be loesed nom

16 md reg;onal reents

that
million hecmres ofthe srate and is
drafting a nm world heritage aia mmasement
plan wirh this in mird (logging is ]tt to begin).
The plar is liercely opposed not only by rhe onsemtion novement, bur als by mmy widin
dre special species sector la July, I-NESCOI
consen?tioo
cover almost

Vorld

Herirage Conmirrce srepped inro the

en re that login is

debrte, urging Audralia to

'not

permimed

within the entite pmperry',

ovm

about a quana ofTasmanir

The federal government hd uldnat resporsibility uder dre \0or1d Her;tdge Convention. lr

which

has securaj r gume Fom Tiumia th* it

will nor force nc isue if the \gorld Hedtage
C,miftee sticlG ro i$ gm. Hower, the sete

g<mot:ndthe

SpaialTinbmAllime hope

ro dulSe the commitee's

nind when it

sends a

delegnion ro Tasrmnia, expc-tol in Nolmber,

to invctlate the nanagement ofthe T\?\?ltA.
Dennm a forner Greens voter disillusioned with what he ses a the pany's berrayal
of the special spccis sector - is leadilg the
charge. "we
a

m lookiry to acess

iry light torch, ssraimble

those

md

on

basis, including a

rery snall ponion of the T\?!?HA, which

equates to half a per cent of d,e toral atea," he

9000ba out of 1.58 nill;on."

is using IINESCOI reognition of

*phim. "It's

Dmm

tnditional cnfts and the lrodd Heritage

Commire's suppolt for "surtainable consumptive ue of mources" to lobby dre global
body for a moe It*ible stane.

nuler Craig Howatd will alm

urge the comnittee to aglee to selective hmat
ing inside pdts of dr TVWHA. "I'm nor a
rednrck dmber guy saying, 'kri; go in thm
Furniture

md mpe and pillage fu my finucial grin,"

Howad insisrs. "Ifwe need some speciGc logs
which I think we ate going to, I think that
should be allored. But ;t has to be on a very
6ne footprint m that we dont snxh the ecology of the
ness

fion

T\7V}IA,
everyone's

becau thar would be a

point ofview."

Tasnanid resoure ninister Paul Huriss

is dweloping a new srrarcsJ. for the special
species indurtry Harris confirm that sdective
harcsting in the rcewc, c well as a sepmte
400,000ha previosly prorated under dre
forest peace plan, is on the table. "\flhat we re
talking about ;s ensuing l\e survival of
Trnmiis highly valued cmft ad boat building sectors through potential prcvision of
dghdy conrolled, susrainable aces to snall
quantitis of special dmbers Fon small arero

w;thin [esocs]," he sa1s. "Seledive haryestiry within the TVwllA will only ocur if rhe

Vorld Heritage Comirree is satisfied dnt it

will not impact on the outst$ding univeBal

school requirer ar ongoing srpply ofcelery rop

pine, doa not suppon loging rhe TW\flHA to

However Hariss faca stiff resistance from

nany of the cnftsnen in whose nane he is
acting. They night be mited in condemnation
ofpr*ious'wcte" of dreir resource, but they
ae divided who ir @mes to securing new
supplie from widrir the T\0\?HA.
Kevin Perkim tuds dre prospat "honifting'. He believes cuxtons at rhe top end of
the mker wont have a br of producs made
lion wodd heritage tinber. Pe*im agues that'

seue it. However, he belim other raerves

nay ncd to be acersed. "If a goverment decision v6 talen to hawest iruide r world hedtage
rea, I dinl w muld sutrer a bacllth," James
says. "wd iut have m accepr thrr dr world

cralamen should learn to adapt dd nuk. bener

use of les rue mtive specia. tud the special
dmberresouce should be fixused or h;ghod
products, mther dm ms-prcduced furnitm
or llooring. "Let's use whar weve got sensibly

md leve
na]<en

lepcy"

Cr:hm

he sa1s.

Old-growth shingle

Green md lohn Graham are

firnriy opposd m resing rcelm, even if

it mems an end to then ceft. "\7e should save
what w have left ard not trke ay more," sals
cnlrd. "\Y'e have seen too mucl mtc already.'
also

Ros

Jna,

whose wooden boar

bsine$

dd

mr

heritage
ae there and we have to honour
then. Bur lett be r bir more realistic about other
areas

that hak been rserved ard foos our

effons on s!$taimble logging within drore."

The Wildernss Sociely mms sectiois of the
special6pec;es indutry m otr a "conflicr rmiecroal with conserationisrs. Campaign mmager
\4ca Bayley says this ould include everything

fron internadonal lobbying md diplomacy to

in forct lprotestl empaigns. "There is no such
thing in l"mmia as light touch logging," Bayley
"Ary logging inside a conremrion resewe,
alone r world hernage a.ea, is simply incompat;ble wi$ prorccring rhat area."
says.

l*

Bayley warts lideral environment minister

o intenene md'thow leadcmhifl'.
"Tasmanian politicid dc rogue on this they
s<m to 6e lead;ng the Australian govermot
inro ignoring a decision of dre international
leading body on wond heritage," he *ys. "This
is a saiou asult on the wodd hoirage are1"
Greg Hunt

He wrns a Fmnklin Damxtyle dash would

undernine not jusr the special timber indusny
but the "da, green md clevei' imge rhat
underpins T*mia's conomy. "To mcs with
that would be foily of rhe highesr order," Bayley
He argues dnr sections ofthe indusrry ae
strlins ro retu.n to unssrainable supply l*els
says.

ad

prices enjoyed before forestry collapsed.

dd musr adapt to a nN ralirJa

Hmt will not publicly denod that

his

Tanmio

Liberal colleagua abmdon their

plam. Howoer, having reendy sdambled to
head off"in doger" status ftr drc Creat Barier
Reel he is determircd to avoid anoder Potential global embrrsment. "I an onfident the

\forld

Heritage Connittee

andTtmnia will

work constructively on a long+ern plu which

witl be acceptable ro borh panies ald which wiil
enhane rhe forets," Hunt says.
Logging ;nside ay resewes - wodd heritage
or othevise - would risk nigniring Tanmiat
foresr irus. This time ir would be special timber

cnftsmu, nther thm woodclippers md dnbcr baoro, in the thick of batde. Whichever
way the isue plays our the spccial dmbes ad
tradirional skils thai shaped

a state are

ofbeingomigned to ia put. o

I
a
:

in drnger

i'