AUSTRALIA WIDE TIMBERS PROJECT 2010

THIS PROJECT HAS NOW CLOSED

A new forestry based Managed Investment Scheme (subject to an Australian Taxation Office product ruling) has been released by W.A. Blue Gum Limited.  The Project will be developed on land in the south-west of Western Australia (Blue Gum Eucalyptus globulus), the Green Triangle region (south-east of South Australia and south-west Victoria) (Sugar Gum, E. cladocalyx) and central Victoria (Red Ironbark, E. tricarpa).

Plantation Timbers will be providing the forestry services for the Sugar Gum component in the Green Triangle region.  Sugar Gum is a lightly coloured native timber, valued for its dense and durable wood.  Historically this timber has been used in such areas as bridge timbers, railway sleepers, and fencing where the durability and strength which gives a long life.  It has also been traditionally used for firewood, posts and rails, and in recent times, it has become increasingly recognised as a valued construction and furniture timber.Thus Sugar Gum timber can be used in high value applications such as decking, internal floor boards and cladding and also has the advantage of being highly attractive, native to Australia and extremely durable in the harsh Australian conditions.The establishment of local hardwood plantations will reduce harvesting pressures on Australian native forests and also in the tropical forests of Asia and the South Pacific.  Well managed and maintained plantations meet society’s demand for sustainable forest management.These hardwood plantations will also fix large amounts of carbon dioxide from the environment contributing to the reduction of this greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.

When an emissions trading system in introduced, these plantations may qualify as carbon sinks and the resulting “carbon credits” may be tradeable.The silvicultural regime aims to produce Sugar Gum sawlogs at age 22 years.  To achieve this, an intensive thinning and pruning program will be undertaken to concentrate growth on the better trees.  The growing regime will involve planting 1000 trees per hectare, early form pruning followed by regular stem pruning to about six metres to produce knot-free, clearwood timber.  The thinnings and periodic harvests will commence from age 8 and will generate a range of by-products including posts, poles and firewood.