FORESTS NSW AND THE FAIR
Once again Forests NSW will be the sponsoring partner of the Forests NSW Heritage Timber Display in 2012. The Forests NSW Heritage Timber Display is a truly interesting look at Oberon’s heritage and present day association with the New South Wales timber industry.
The display is again co-ordinated by The Wood Guys, a local business specialising in sourcing and recycling native timber mainly for the timber hobbyist. John and Holly are promising an interesting and diverse display in 2012 including many active demonstrations.
BRIEF HISTORY
John Smillie from The Wood Guys co-ordinates the heritage timber display
Oberon NSW has always been a timber town. The earliest recordings of timber harvesting are from the 1880’s when timber was harvested in the Lower Kowmung area and floated by river to Penrith NSW for distribution in the Sydney market.
By 1915 two sawmills operated in the Oberon Shire processing native hardwood especially Blackbutt for the local market. By 1929, the Forestry Commission of New South Wales had recognised that the Oberon district was suitable for growing softwoods. The first plantations were the Vulcan and Jenolan State forests.
1941 saw the Broken Hill family, the Cottons move to Oberon to establish a sawmill to harvest local timber and transport it back to the mines at Broken Hill. Operating under the business name of Timber Industries Pty Ltd production and transport of that timber began in 1942. 1954 saw timber plantations double and the industry had begun to mechanise.
The first particle board factory in Australia started operations in Oberon under the name “Pyneboard” a name that became synonymous with the building industry. It was a joint venture by CSR, Timber Industries and Fletchers a New Zealand Company and made use of the “thinnings” of the Pine plantations
In 1966, plantations barely covered 1000 acres and today Forests NSW manages more than 60,000 hectares.
Borg Manufacturing operates the MDF plant in Oberon today
The 1980’s saw Oberon’s timber industry starting to really expand and compete on the global market. That growth contributed enormously to the village’s prosperity and today Oberon boasts one of the highest employment rates in regional New South Wales.
Today there are also small experimental plantations of hardwood and Christmas tree farms are dotted through the district. In times past, Eucalyptus Oil processing was an industry in the region.
FORESTS NSW ROLE
Forests NSW is a public enterprise within NSW Department of Primary Industry. They manage more than 2 million hectares of native and planted forests for a wide range of economic, environmental and social values to internationally recognised standards. They harvest over 2.5 million cubic metres of logs and over 1.5 cubic metres of pulpwood and other products every year ensuring the supply of timber and other products to the industry in New South Wales.
