Copyright ©2006
Sacred Hollow
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THE TIMBER WE USE
The timber we use comes from several different regions of Australia. We support Aboriginal communities that sustainably handpick all of their timber. The root system is always left intact, allowing the trees to quickly regenerate.
We believe the didjeridu is the most raw organic instrument known to humans and should be made with that feeling in mind. A major advantage of us making Australian eucalyptus didjeridus in the states, is it gives us the ability to use our own quality control. Many instruments exported out of Australia are mass-produced with little or no regard to the culture or the environment. Having spent a lot of time in Australia has enabled us to find reliable sources for timber. The timber is sent to us raw, giving us the creative freedom to build some of the best eucalyptus didjeridus on the market.
In the past, a lot of didjeridus were cut in the remnant vegetation of the wheat belt of Western Australia which has lead to a rapid degradation of those precious small patches of native vegetation. Those small islands of native vegetation could have helped to regenerate much larger degraded areas.
A licensing system for didjeridu cutters in Western-Australia was set-up by CALM (Department of Conservation and Land Management) in an effort to protect the resources. The terms and conditions of the license lay down very strict rules and areas for the harvesting of didjeridus. No more than one stem may be taken at a time from a Mallee plant. Stems must be hand drilled to test for hollowness before they are cut. Licensees must only use existing tracks and should not make new tracks.
We obtain our mallee eucalyptus from a small family in western Australia who practice these sustainability practices and harvest all their timber without the use of chainsaw's.
There are over 515 different types of eucalyptus.
The following five are what we primarily use to craft our didjeridus.
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Stringybark, often associated with the Darwin Woolybutt, extends from the northern Kimberleys in Western Australia, through the Northern Territory and into northern Queensland. The name Woollybutt has originated from the persistent bark on the lower portions of the tree. It consists of numerous thin papery flakes, which, after decay has taken place, remain on the lower parts of the trunk, like pale brown netting. This is the timber that some people say was the first to be used to make didjeridus in Arnhem land.
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Yellowbox, is a common tree in Australia on the western slopes of the Great Dividing range in Victoria and New South Wales. It thrives in a temperate climate with cool wet winters and hot dry summers. The ironbark and blackbox eucalyptus trees are closely related. The timber is pale yellow, hard, strong and durable, with a close grain. This makes this timber great for didjeridus. |
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Blackbox, is a medium to large size tree, which is extremely widespread throughout the dry plains of western New South Wales, and extends into Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia. The blackbox we use comes primarily from Queensland. It is a low-branched tree, 33-82 feet high, with a trunk up to 4 feet in diameter. Its rough bark is persistent, often to the smaller branches, dark gray to black, and deeply furrowed. The timber is pink to reddish brown, heavy and hard. This timber offers great resonance for didjeridus and is naturally a beautiful timber. |
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Ironbark, is a medium size tree found commonly in undulating woodland, extending from north central Victoria, through the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales to Southern Queensland. These trees are easily recognized by the hard, deeply furrowed, rough bark, which is dark gray or almost black in color. The timber is valued for its durability and strength, being hard and dense with an interlocked grain. |
pictures courtesy of Wandoo
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Mallee, is considered a growth form rather than a particular species, that is, a eucalyptus having many stems arising from a large, underground, woody swelling composed of stem tissue called a ligno tuber.The ligno tubers are large, woody, convoluted swellings often 0.3-0.6 m in diameter and sometimes up to 1.5 m. The largest recorded is 10 m across, which carried 301 living stems, in Mulette, 1978. These trees secrete a resinous gum, hence the common name gum tree. Mallee is widespread throughout the drier regions of southern temperate Australia. The bark is usually gray and smooth, which makes this a popular didjeridu to paint. The term mallee is also widely used to describe the plant communities and regions where these plants predominate. |
Copyright ©2006 Sacred Hollow
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