Australian Hardwoods

Most Australian Hardwoods are durable and strong enough to use for any type of building project. However, each Australian hardwood has distinct characteristics. We've specially designed this page to help you find the Australian Hardwoods that have the exact characteristics you need for your building project.

Grey Ironbark: (Eucalyptus paniculata)

A very hard and durable timber adds mystery and depth with colours that vary from dark red-brown to deep shades of chocolate.

Grey Ironbark is a tightly grained, straight grain Australian hardwood. A high resistance to decay, even when in ground contact or in persistently damp or poorly ventilated situations, is a quality that makes Grey Ironbark an excellent choice for your outdoor building projects such as outdoor furniture, decking, fencing, and retaining walls.

In fact Grey Ironbark is so dependable it will even "float your boat". Its strength and resistance to damage made it the preferred timber for wooden hulled vessels used in Antarctic exploration.

Australian Beech: (Eucalyptus pilularis)

Australian Beech is also known as Blackbutt and Pink Blackbutt. A strong Australian hardwood, Australian Beech varies in colour from cream to pale brown.

Noted for its versatility of use, Australian Beech is rated 2 in hardness on a scale of six.

A high tannin content makes Australian Beech less desirable for furniture building, since it may leech its colour to both fabric and other painted areas when wet. Yet when allowed free air circulation and erected in a well-drained area, Australian Beech is highly durable and resistant to decay.

Like most Australian Hardwoods, Australian Beech readily accepts paint, stain, and polish. Its best use is in fencing, landscaping, retaining wall construction, and furniture building.

Tallowwood: (Eucalyptus microcorys)

An inherent shine makes Tallowwood an excellent Australian Hardwood choice to "lighten up" you décor with colours ranging from near white to dark-yellow brown. The shine comes from a natural greasiness that also makes Tallowwood easy to handle with hand tools. Tallowwood was actually named for this quality.

Often used in fencing, landscaping, and retaining wall constructions, Tallowwood is also an appropriate choice for both indoor and outdoor flooring and outdoor furniture. The wood is moderately coarse in texture with an interlocked grain that is usually free from gum veins.

Rated very hard (1 on a scale of one to six), Tallowwood is also highly resistant to decay, even in the dampest conditions or used in areas with poor ventilation.

Spotted Gum (Corymbia citriodora)

The Spotted Gum is also called lemon-scented bum and spotted irongum Colours range from light brown to dark red-brown. The wavy grain of the Spotted Gum is moderately course and varied. In some applications, this Australian hardwood may display an hourglass or fiddleback pattern.

Rated class 2 for durability, the Spotted Gum is rated 2 (on a 1 to 6 scale) for hardness. The Spotted Gum shows strong resistance to weather damage when used in well-drained and ventilated areas that are clear of contact with the ground and moderate resistance in in-ground applications. An example of the strength and durability of spotted gum is that it is the main Australian hardwood species used in the manufacture of high-impact tool handles such as axe handles and hammer handles.

A notable attribute of the Spotted Gum is that it has a lower tannin content than most other Eucalyptus and therefore isn't as likely to leech colour onto paintwork or brickwork.

Spotted gum is used in a variety of applications from framing to fencing to flooring to furniture and additionally is available as structural plywood and hardboard, timber in cladding, internal and external flooring, linings and joinery. Also in fencing, landscaping, retaining walls and as structural plywood and hardboard.

Sydney Blue Gum: (Eucalyptus saligna)

The Sydney Blue Gum is also fondly known as the Woollybutt and often mistaken for the Rose Gum (Eucalyptus grandis).

A well-known Australian Hardwood, Sydney Blue Gum has a straight grain that is sometimes slightly interlocked. The main appeal of the Sydney Blue Gum is the wood's diverse colour range that spans nearly a full range of reds from dark, blushing pinks to deep red-brown.

Sydney Blue Gum (or just Blue Gum) is used in furniture construction, hardwood flooring, cabinetry, and general carpentry applications such as crossbeams, posts, and pilings. Red Mahogany: (Eucalyptus. resinifera; E. pellita)

Red Mahogany is found in two Eucalyptus subspecies that sport a variety of colourful names such as red stringybark, red messmate, Daintree stringybark, and large-fruited red mahogany.

Ranging in colour from red (in younger wood) to dark red, the wood of the Red Mahogany is usually medium textured with an even grain that may interlock to produce a pleasant pattern.

Red Mahogany is a very hard Australian Hardwood, rated 1 on a 6-class scale and is an excellent choice for a number of applications including flooring, fencing, and fine furniture construction.

Brushbox: (Lophostemon confertus)

The Brushbox is an Australian Hardwood with interesting detail. Close and even textured, the grain of the Brushbox is often curly and interlocking. From pink-brown to red-brown, the colours of Brushbox wood vary from tree to tree.

Although not recommended for in-ground application, the Brushbox is moderately decay resistant to weather damage when clear of the ground in a well-ventilated area. Rated 2 on a 6-class hardness scale, the Brushbox is best used in indoor flooring applications, laminations, and parquetry.

Turpentine: (Syncarpia glomulifera)

Also known as luster and red luster, Turpentine is a fine to medium textured Australian Hardwood with a curly grain that's frequently interlocked to produce interesting patterns. Rated very hard, (1 on a 6 class scale), dark red to red-brown colour and inherent sheen make Turpentine a great choice for both interior and exterior flooring, parquetry, and lamination applications.

Rose Gum: (Eucalyptus grandis)

Also known as the flooded gum and scrub gum, the colours of the Rose Gum are true to its common name, ranging from palest pink to red-brown.

The Rose Gum is a straight-grained wood, moderately coarse in texture but uniform. Rated as a 3 in both durability and hardness, Rose Gum is best used in above ground applications such as fine furniture construction, mouldings, and fascia.

Australian Cypress: (Callitris glaucophylla)

The Australian Cypress is Australia's traditional building material and is suitable for every temperature and climate. Moreover, the Australian Cypress is the only commercially milled hardwood species that is naturally termite resistant. Although its strength and durability make the Australian Cypress the preferred wood for framing and foundation work, its warm, dark honey colour along with its knotty character makes the Australian Cypress a natural for flooring and wood paneling applications.

Tasmanian Oak: (Eucalyptus regnans, E. elegatensis, E. obliqua)

Pale brown to white brown and often tinged with pink, the Tasmanian Oak is as diverse in name as it is in nature. Also known as mountain ash, Victorian ash, alpine ash, messmate stringybark, and brown-top stringybark, this Australian hardwood is generally a straight-grained wood with an open to moderately open texture.

Tasmanian Oak is best used in furniture, parquetry, laminations, and interior flooring.

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