Number 88 August 2016 A MESSAGE FROM TRUSTEE HARRY You will note from the program that we will be asking members with vehicles to help transport members with no Greetings to Wood Collectors from Staghorn Flat, vehicles between the conference venue and accommoda- tion. On two days we will also be asking those with 4WD’s As this will be probably my last DownUnder report as your Trus- to help ferry other members with no 4WD’s . tee for Australasia, Esther & I would like to thank all who have If you are planning a private tip prior to or after the made our term and enjoyable & productive. Thank you to Pete & meeting, Avis and Budget both have an office at Charle- Jan who have produced the DownUnder, Brian & Lyn Fraser and ville. Prior bookings would be advisable. 4WDs start at Jim & Shirley Schubert, our membership secretaries, Morris Lake about $150 per day with reductions for longer bookings. distributing WOW, State Trustee Reps; Charles & Laleen (WA), An accommodation guide was printed in earlier editions of Brian & Lyn and Dennis (SA), Morris & Robin and Neil (Qld) and DownUnder. This and a registration form are also available John & Susie (Vic). All former trustees who have been generous on the IWCS website at https://www.woodcollectors.org/. with their time and help when I asked them for guidance. I also thank Brian & Pam from whom we took over as Trustees. Preliminary planning is already taking place for the 2017 AGM in the North Island of New Zealand. Graham Trost has It is with sadness we report the passing of Erica McCall from indicated his willingness to coordinate this event for our Queensland and Brian Foreman from SA. Australasian members. Planning has continued for Charleville 2016 - International & If you have friends with an interest in timber, I encourage Australasian AGM. We have had meetings with the events coor- you to share this DownUnder with them and to draw their dinator and other key personnel and have, as I write this, 55 attention to the membership form at the back of this edi- attendees registered. A copy of the program is included in this tion. Out fees are quite reasonable at $65 for 1 year, $180 edition of DownUnder. The registration fee has been set at $475 for 3 years, and $275 for 5 years . and the registration form is available on the IWCS website. Good wood collecting & crafting to all Members of the International Wood Collectors Society are devoted to advancing information on wood, distributing Esther & Harry Dennis information on collecting word, correctly identifying and naming wood specimens, and using wood in a creative and sustainable way. AustralAsian Region Trustee Harry & Esther Dennis 566 Wodonga-Yackandandah Rd, Staghorn Flat. Vic 3691 Phone: (02) 6020 8637 E-mail: [email protected] Newsletter Editor Peter Simpson 33 Heath Lane, Kureelpa, Q 4560 Phone: (07) 5445 7748 M: 0408150624 E-mail: [email protected] Australian Membership Secretary Jim and Shirley Schubert Not many sleeps now until the Charleville 18 Adelaide St, Magill SA 5072 Phone: (08) 8332 5293 M: 0434935112 Conference ! E-mail: [email protected] What a great opportunity to connect with State Representatives others who hold the Victoria: John Lyons (03) 9899 0063 Queensland: Neal McDonald (07) 3281 1342 same interest, and South Australia: Dennis Murray 0431 834 472 who love to experi- Tasmania: Vacant New South Wales: Vacant ence our Australian Western Australia: Charles Broadbent (08) 9752 2111 outback. New Zealand: Graham Trost + 64 (03) 3389363 Page 1 AROUND THE STATES VICTORIA Coming events Friday 11th Nov. DAY TRIP TO MAROONDAH DAM This social meeting at the Maroondah Reservoir Park is an opportunity to catch the sights of Melbourne’s catch- ment area and get together with members, particularly if you didn’t make it to Charleville. We’ll gather for a BBQ lunch, followed by an informal meeting including show & tell and swap opportunities. After that we’ll have a gentle stroll around the gardens and a tree quiz. Maroondah Reservoir Park is managed by Parks Victoria and is claimed to be one of Melbourne’s most attractive parks. The park has several short walks rated easy to moderate including one that crosses the dam wall and a sce- nic lookout. LOCATION: Maroondah Reservoir Park is located 65 km east of Melbourne, entering from the Maroondah Highway, 3 km east of Healesville (Melways 270 K11). Meet in Henderson’s Picnic Area adjacent to the main car park, near the electric barbecues. PROGRAM: 11.00 am Arrive for a cuppa and chat with members 12 Noon BBQ Lunch at park, meal provided, BYO Drinks 1.00 pm Meeting 1.30 pm Show & Tell, Swap Session 2.00 pm Stroll around gardens with Tree Quiz 4.00 pm Departure RSVP to Harry Dennis for catering purposes either by phone, e-mail or by post (using this form) Phone 02 6020 8637 DAY TRIP TO MAROONDAH DAM 11th NOV 2016 Registration Form Names: ……………………………………………………………..….. Number attending: ….. The Victorian Wood Workers Association is providing an opportunity to tour Maton Guitars' workshop 10:30-12:00 on 29 Sept. 6 . Clarice Rd Box Hill 3128. Numbers are limited to12 people. If you are interested contact Stephen Ziguras. ste- [email protected] SOUTH AUSTRALIA Coming events October - static display highlighting Australian trees with photographs, wood samples and leaves at the North Lodge in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens 4th December - Christmas Picnic at the Waite Arboretum Page 2 The 2016 IWCS International and Australasian QUEENSLAND Conference Charleville, Qld. Australia Royal Flying Doctor base Outback Native Timber Walk A mature bowyakka Maryvale Historic Homestead Photo from World War ll Convoy Tour, USA Air Force Bilby SEPTEMBER WEATHER Population: 3,278 (2006) Record High: 38.5 CHARLEVILLE QUEENSLAND Postal code: 4470 Average High: 26.0 Charleville is a town in south western Queensland, Austral- Lga: Shire of Murweh Average Low: 9.9 ia, 683 kilometres west of Brisbane. It is the largest town Elevation: 963′ Record Low: −0.4 and administrative centre of the Shire of Murweh, which Distance from Bris- Average Rainfall: 23.8 bane: Average Rainy Days: 3.6 Page 3 Two boxes of 40 selected timbers, mostly from the Mulga Bio Region of Western Queensland have been meticulously prepared by Col Martin and will be offered for sale at $235. Weighing eight kgs each, the boxes measure 34 x 31 x 11 cm. One box is made of Northern Silky Oak (Cardwellia sublimis) and the other of Red Cedar (Toona ciliata) and will appeal to members who want to purchase a ready-made collection of local timbers. Email Col for a complete listing, including common names. Acacia aneura Eucalyptus intertexta Acacia peuce Acacia excels Eucalyptus melanophloia Acacia salicina Acacia harpophylla Eucalyptus populnea Acacia shirleyii Acacia maranoensis Eucalyptus thozetiana Allocasuarina inophloia Acacia microsperma Flindersia maculosa Alphitonia excels Alectryon oleifolius Geijera parviflora Archidendropsis basaltica Alstonia constricta Grevillea striata Brachychiton populneum Atalaya hemiglauca Hakea lorea Eucalyptus cambageana Cadellia pentastylis Owenia acidula Eucalyptus microtheca Capparis mitchellii Psydrax oleifolius Lysicarpus angustifolius Capparis spinosa var. nummularia Ventilago viminalis Maytenus cunninghamii Casuarina cristata Santalum lanceolatum Petalostigma pubescens Citrus glauca Acacia cambagei Terminalia oblongata Corymbia terminalis Acacia crombiei Xylomelum pyriforme Eremophila mitchellii Acacia melvillei Species encountered during 2014 IWCS trip to Maryvale Station Common (Scientific name) and wood density (kg/m3) ilga (Geijera parvifolia) - 900 mulga (Acacia aneura) - 1200 bowyakka (Acacia microsperma) - 1250 silver-leaved ironbark (Eucalyptus melanophloia) - 1100 wild orange (Capparis arborea) - 900 western rosewood (Alectryon oleiofolius) - 1150+ sandalwood (Santalum lanceolatum) - 930 false sandalwood (Eremophila mitchelli) - 1050 emu apple (Owenia acidula) - 930 belah (Casuarina cristata) - 1150 rough-barked apple (Angophora floribunda) - 880 leopardwood (Flindersia maculosa) - 960 yapunya (Eucalyptus thozetiana) - 1120 whitewood (Atayla hemiglauca) - 850 supplejack (Ventilago viminalis) - 980 beefwood (Grevillia striata)- 960 kurrajong (Brachychiton populneus) - 450 corkwood oak (Hakea lorea) - 1130 poplar box (Eucalyptus populnea) - 1150 myrtle tree (Psydrax oleifolius) - uk Page 4 ID Workshops Gathering Pace! - Harry Dennis Astounding to report, we have just held our fourth meeting of the Identification Group this year. Following on from the inaugural two meetings held in 2015 it’s hard not to think we must be getting very good at this business. However, Ian Mac our convener, keeps trotting out new and improved ways of baffling us, so the task remains daunting. The group included eight members, Ian McLaughlin, Harry & Esther Dennis, Eugene Dimitriadis, Merv Bullas, Ian Heffernan, Carl Lutz and our host, John Lyons. We started off with a general meeting, dealing with forthcoming activities, OH&S policies etc., and during “Show & Tell” had an opportunity to admire some hand-crafted items in- cluding a metre-long replica of Eucalyptus caesia, hand carved from Mrytle Beech by Merv. Also Merv had ac- quired a copy of Dutch member Willem van de Groep’s new text with 491 colour photos of transverse sections. The book is printed in Dutch and Merv’s language skills are coming along in leaps and bounds. One interesting fea- ture is the authenticity rating of each sample based on a four level scale with the highest being fully vouchered material. This is a subject of some significance in our own collections and worth thinking about. Ian created his most elaborate quiz yet: 15 samples including nine conifers, with five points each for family, genus, species, common name and whether it was a conifer or not. Despite the home ground advantage that the conifers provided, Eugene was top dog again! Eugene largely relies on his senses and encyclopedic recall of timber. This provides a counterpoint to the systematics we are trying to develop in the workshops. I think we will have to get Keith Towe to make a guest appearance just to give Eugene some serious competition.