About

Found only in west and south west Tasmania (in a broad arc from the Pieman River in the north to the Huon River in the south), Huon pine trees grow in climax wet temperate rainforests, especially on river banks or very wet areas.

For distribution maps, see:https://huonpine.com/resources

The trees grow very slowly – often less than 1mm in girth per year – and reach prodigious ages; scientists agree that many individuals are aged 2,500 years and older. The average timber tree is likely to be at least 1,000 years old. We take very seriously our responsibility to treat such venerable forest denizens with respect and care; all Huon pine used by our licensed sawmill comes from stockpiles or stumps and long-dead trees retrieved from the forest floor. Every log is thoroughly assessed and carefully cut and seasoned to maximize the timber quality and quantity, and even the smallest offcuts and sawdust are made available to craftspeople for value-adding.

These trees reached up for light when Jesus walked on Earth

A thousand years of rain and sun sealed their archival growth

A thousand more they stood in state

In their lost world, inviolate

                                               Michael Thwaites

The timber contains quantities of a natural preserving oil called methyl eugenol which allows it to survive on or under the forest floor for centuries. A buried Huon pine log was documented by scientists to have been lying there for 38,000 years! As well as being a preservative, the methyl eugenol provides the timber with natural lubrication, so it can be bent, shaped or sculpted without splitting. It is also waterproof and insect resistant, making it prized as a boat building timber.

Huon pine is both butter and steel.    Sculptor Roger Landstrom

The quality of Huon pine is that it is forever. Sculptor Anne Ferguson

Huon pine ‘leaves’ are small and unremarkable, with the stalks covered by tiny scales, similar to the cypress hedges familiar in urban environments. In spring they develop pin-head sized male and female cones.

Huon pine was once the most prized boat-building timber in the world, and our sawmill still regularly supplies boat grade timber to boat builders and repairers. Furniture and wood-turned items are other major uses.

Huon pine embodies the gravitas of history.

You can almost feel the blood running through its veins