25 years ago and new to the salvage industry, I had a moment of obstinacy over the sale of floorboards - and was bluntly informed thus: No one buys old Hoop. There's only old Kauri.  The reliance on uncomplicated truths and the resonant jingle of money-words still characterises the salvage marketplace, but in these times of obdurate belief, and poorly-informed expertise, it is a form of therapy to expose a few myths and be ever-curious about the historical background.

Melbourne has a verifiable record of New Zealand Kauri pine in construction. Kauri has been available as salvaged floorboard, shelving, cabinetry, joinery and benchtops from many period buildings. Moreover, there is a documented trade in Kauri timbers from New Zealand's Northlands and the Coromandel Peninsular in the decades leading up to World War 1. (Australasian Builders & Contractors News,  Shipping reports 1880-1912). Like all instances of early softwood logging, this harvest in the North Island was a crash and burn affair. Logs were felled, snigged and 'chuted' down hillsides; marshalled in dammed ponds, then released downstream. Only 20% of felled log was recoverable as sawlog. Technology? There was none till the log reached a coastal mill. In a logging boom lasting 40 years, records show a near exhaustion of log availability by 1907 and declining fortunes of the timber enterprises involved. Diminished in supply, Kauri pine board continued to appear on Australian suppliers lists till the 1920s.

Hoop Pine in native stands grew in accessible valleys close to rivers and towns from the Clarence River to the Mary River on the eastern Australian coastline. Since it was a softwood, it could be felled, snigged and brought to mill with all the non-mechanised technology of the 19th century. Rope, chain, horse, river, raft, cart and bullock team. On the steep slopes in the upper reaches of the valleys, Hoop pine reached heights of 60m and diameters of 1.0m to 1.8m - at 1.3m above ground. In a closed-canopy forest, it was branch-free to a considerable height from log butt. Native stands harvested from 1880 till 1940 produced clear, knot-free, wide boards in considerable volumes. (Unlike today's plantation Hoop flooring which has regular knot pattern in the boards). It is estimated that 75% of a Queensland house built from 1860 to 1900 was Hoop pine in material content. Queensland Kauri (Agathis robusta ), genus-related to its New Zealand cousin (Agathis australis ) was found in stands on Fraser island and along the Mary River. It too was logged and milled, but by 1912 the Dept of Lands had declared the species ' .. almost trees of the past.' And by 1922 there were no available sawlogs. The plentiful native stands of Hoop and Bunyah pine were milled to sawn boards and marketed as Queensland pine to the Melbourne building industry - supplied by coastal shipping. Much of the salvaged clear pine boards in houses from 1910 to 1930 are Hoop pine or Hoop/Bunyah mix. In Melbourne Argus  of the time, they are sold as Queensland pine or Hoop pine - but sometimes sold generically as clear pine or deal. Deal - an old-fashioned word, refers to planks exceeding 6 foot in length, and 6 inches in width - usually of fir or pine. The term underscored the contemporary (1910-1940) lack of interest in specific species. Pine flooring was a utility product. In residential construction it was a platform to which a surface in the form of japan or stain was applied. Decoration came too in the form of rugs and carpet. No pine floorboard was considered Appearance-grade timber in its day. What species it was, from whence it came, these matters the consumer gave little thought to.
	Hoop Pine flooring in a Queenslander

So what timber apart from knotty Baltic pines were used before the advent of kiln-dried hardwoods? If the house is a Melbourne, Adelaide or Sydney house with clear white pine flooring built after 1910, it is still possible that it is either Qld or NZ Kauri pine since we know the trade existed in much diminished form. But the majority of floorboards in this era must be Queensland Pine (Hoop/Bunyah) because the supply is plentiful. 

Nowadays we recognise a dollar-driven reluctance for salvage merchants to sell a clear pine board as anything other than Kauri Pine. Is there a similar reluctance on the part of today's home owners to believe their floor is anything other than Kauri? In an age-wearied board with acquired patinas, this subtle recognition is not always possible. But sanding and polishing will reveal a tonal and textural distinction. And what are the implications for tradies and owner builders attempting seamless repairs or additions in old floors? 

There's 80 of them. And I just want to gaze fondly at 'em over a cup of tea. 80 posts in River Red Gum and Jarrah 180 x 180mm square in lengths 2.5m to 3.5m - but mostly around 3.0m. Rate $180 per mtr inc gst. Part of the timber salvage from the Gaffney St, Coburg redevelopment for a new Bunnings store. Right where a redbrick sawtooth-roof factory complex of the 1930s once stood.

Plenty of renewed trade interest in our new runs of Messmate Overlay 100 x 12mm (rate $48.00/m2). The secret-nail profile replaces the old topnail T&G with reversible face. It's a trade-off, but the flooring trades find this SN profile a much quicker and cheaper installation.
	Secret-nail 100 x 12mm Messmate Overlay in beach house - Ocean Grove

This month of May brings a new production run of wideboard Messmate. With large runs we can produce several packs of colour-graded dark stringybarks and include Southern Mahogany, Blue-leaf Stringybark with the Blackbutt and the richer-toned minor species in a southern forest mix. (rate $110.00/m2)

Expect a couple of packs of high-feature grade messmate in this run - for those looking for a wild, featured and battle-scarred timber installation, and who are not terrified by the journey. (rate $90.00/m2)
	Rustic Messmate has black-filled gum  pocketing and medium to heavy checking,  but is a popular beach house look.

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