General Background Other Common names: Australian Oak.

Tasmanian Oak is light in colour, varying from straw to reddish brown with intermediate shades of cream to pink. It is recognised for its excellent staining qualities, which allow ready matching with other timbers, finishes or furnishings.

Tasmanian Oak is a warm, dense and resilient hardwood. It works extremely well and produces an excellent finish. It can be used in all forms of construction as scantlings, panelling and flooring, and can be glue-laminated to cover long spans. Veneers, plywood and engineered products are available. It is also a popular furniture timber, and Eucalypt fibre is sought after for reconstituted board and production of high quality paper.

Tasmanian Oak is the name used for three almost identical species of eucalypt hardwoods that are normally marketed collectively. E. delegatensis occurs at higher altitudes, while E. regnans is found in wetter sites (and rainforest margins). E, obliqua has a wide distribution, occurring in wet forests but also extending into drier areas.

The name Tasmanian Oak was originally used by early European timber workers who believed the eucalypts showed the same strength as English Oak.

Eucalypts are light demanding and grow best where they are not overshadowed. Regeneration occurs after fire, and seedlings establish best on bare mineral soil in the absence of leaf litter. In Tasmania, eucalypts may live for 400 years or more and regularly attain a height of 70m; some individuals have been recorded as reaching 100m. Old growth trees may be 3-4m or more in diameter.

Over 1 million hectares of eucalypt forest on public land are managed for sustainable multiple uses that include tourism, recreation, timber production, and conservation. There are also 2.7 million hectares of land secured in dedicated reserves in which logging is not permitted. These reserves comprise 40% of the area of the state. A substantial area of forested land is owned privately and managed for its timber production. Approximately 500,000m3 of logs are sawn each year.

Qualities
Tasmanian Hardwood is warm, dense and resilient. It is a versatile timber perfect for flooring, panelling, architraves, skirtings, window reveals, cupboard doors, stairs - in fact any application where strength, beauty and durability are essential.

Tasmanian Hardwood is light in colour varying from straw to a reddish brown with intermediate shades of cream to pink. It readily accepts staining.

Uses
Since the days of settlement Tasmanian Hardwood has been recognised and sought after as a strong durable timber suitable for a wide range of applications. Timber used in some of the early homes and buildings is still as strong and beautiful as it was when they were built over one hundred years ago.

In recent years there has been a resurgence in the use of solid timber products. Seasoned to a moisture content of approximately twelve percent it is also very stable for use in flooring and furniture. Consumers recognise not only the natural beauty of timber but also its renewable nature and the health benefits of timber when used as a flooring.

Gunns Timber produces a wide range of hardwood timber products in order to maximise the value of Tasmania's forest resource.