North Queensland FIGURED Butt Maple

TIMBER WITH A STORY AS DRAMATIC AS IT IS RARE

As far as we can ascertain, over 200 years ago, a massive Maple tree in tropical North Queensland became twisted and bent by the brute force of a Pacific cyclone. Against all odds it remained, damaged, twisted and bent, but still alive and standing. Over the next century, it continued to grow, its trunk now leaning heavily under the strain, its grain slowly compressing and contorting into something hidden out of sight under its heavy bark. Something quite extraordinary.

1901 was the year that Australia became a Commonwealth federation of states. It was in that same year that this tree finally fell in another huge storm. It was salvaged and brought to a country sawmill outside Cairns. There, when the log was being cut up for house framing timber, the hidden brilliance of its chatoyance, the compressed flashing grain inside it, was discovered. Eventually the log was shipped to Sydney, sliced into veneers, carefully stored, and left untouched for decades. Many years later we heard of its existence through our woodworking grapevine and went to considerable efforts to acquired it. What an incredible treasure.

We’ve been privileged to create some extraordinary pieces from this amazing timber. One of these very special creations was a Writing Compendium for Her Majesty The Queen in celebration of her Diamond Jubilee. It was commissioned by the then Governor General of Australia and presented to Her Majesty as a gift from the people of Australia