Australian Primary Industries

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INTRODUCTION
There are many different sorts of timber. Some 25-30 percent of timber grown in Australia is based on sandy soil which is naturally low in organic matter and nutrients. There are two main groups of trees - softwood and hardwood. Softwood trees have needle-like leaves and are evergreen. Hardwood trees have broad leaves and may be ever green or lose their leaves in Autumn

HISTORY
Timber has been used for many things for thousands of years. Early aboriginal people started using timber for weapons, huts and simple tools as some still do today. When the early settlers arrived in 1788, they went straight to work clearing the land to build their huts. Huts would be made from slabs of timber with a roof held down by poles and stones. Furniture on their huts consisted of timber chairs, tables and beds.

GROWING
Australia is short of native softwood trees so thousands of hectares of pine trees have been planted mainly in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. Most of the pine trees grown in Queensland and the Northern Territory are different from those grown in other parts of Australia becuase fo the hot climate.They also require less fertile soil. Most hardwood plantations are eucalypts and poplars. These plantations are limited because the suitable lands are needed for agriculture and other land uses. Trees in plantations are being raised as crops that take thirty or more years to grow.

HARVESTING
To cut timber in state forests,saw millers must get a licence. Trees are cut with chain saws. The saw first cuts a wedge of timber from the side towards which the tree will fall. When the tree is cut down, its branches are cut off, leaving the trunk. Tall trees need to be cut into several lengths to make loading easier. Each log is towed by a bulldozer to the nearest road, where they are loaded onto a truck. Once the timber truck is loaded, it often travels long distances to a saw mill.

When logs reach the saw mills, the sawing of the log begins by cutting a slice down one side. Then it is rolled onto a new flat side. Several more cuts are made along the length of the log. Freshly cut timber has too much water in it, so it has to be stacked and air dried in sheds for several months.

USES FOR THE PRODUCT
Timber is used for many things needed every day. Timber produces frames for our homes. Many floors, windows and door frames use timber. Most furniture and fencing around the home is made of timber. Tools and most railway sleeoers require timber. Electric and telephone poles are still timber. Timber is burnt and used for fuel and people use wood for cooking and heating. Australia has 43 million hectares of native forests. About 7 million hectares (les than 25%) is used for wood production. The rest is National Parks and publicly owned.

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BY-PRODUCTS
Almost all modern paper is made from wood fibres. In Australia, paper is made from a mixture of hardwood and soft wood fibres. Australia needs to produce more than 30 000 hectares of pine trees each year to keep up the demand for paper production. One reel of paper, once produced at the paper mills, can hold up to 30 tonnes. Every time a piece of wood is cut, left over bits such as sawdust and small chips are collected, treated with chemicals, made into pulp and used to produce hardboard, plastics, rayons and other products.

EXPORT
Australia does not export any timber. By 1978, Australia was exporting nearly 4 million tonnes of woodchip a year to Japan. However due to government changes and conservation of our forests, wood chip exports are not as much today.

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CONCLUSION
Bushfires cause damage to our forests. After a bushfire, dead trees are quickly cut before they rot. Trees that are blackened are not dead. Many special kinds of seeds grow only afte a bushfire. Forests do recover again, but it takes 30 years or more.

Trees produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide.
Trees near streams or on slopes are not cut. This is to prevent soil erosion and to leave homes for wild life.
Termites, fungi and beetles destroy timber.
Usable timber in each log is from 40% to 70% of weight of the log.
Eucalypt trees make up about 60% of Australia's forests.
The age of a tree is found by counting the rings once the trunk is sliced through.

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Through history, timber products have been used and re-used. Forests have to be properly managed, so timber can continue to meet the needs of Australians today, tomorrow and in the future. For environmental reasons, many forests are set aside to ensure they are not cleared for their land value.

Map of Australia showing Timber growing areas.

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