Huon Pine is Tasmania’s most iconic timber.
Huon Pine is distributed over 8,900 square kilometres in western and southern Tasmania along riverbanks, lakeshores and in swampy or very high rainfall locations. Over 85% of Huon Pine is in formal reserves, mostly within the Tasmania Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Huon Pine is easily recognised from its feathery foliage and drooping lower branches.
Only a small volume of Huon Pine is presently salvaged harvested from Sustainable Timbers Tasmania’s Permanent Timber Production Zone on Tasmania’s West Coast.
Maturing at 20-35 metres in height, the trees take around 400 years to reach this. Huon Pine can live for several thousand years.
Huon Pine’s durability and ease of working, combines with its rich golden timber to make it one of the world’s most desirable furniture and boat building timbers. It is these characteristics that made Huon Pine a prized and highly utilised resource in the establishment of European settlement in Tasmania.
Huon Pine is also one of the world best boat building timbers due to its high level of resistance to natural decay and marine borers.