Twenty representatives from across the renewable timber value chain met in Queanbeyan, near Canberra, on 9 April to mark the UN International Day of Forests under this year’s forests and economies theme — a gathering that organisers Helen Murray and Matt de Jongh told Wood Central was long overdue for a region whose industry rarely gets a room to itself.
“People genuinely appreciated the chance to come together,” Murray said “There was a diverse array of businesses and organisations from Queanbeyan and nearby regions — they all work with their own skin in the game, every single day. The chances to celebrate their efforts and network with others across the timber value chain are few and far between locally.”
The Ultimate Renewable™ Timbers event, supported by Responsible Wood and Timber NSW, drew a full cross-section of the regional supply chain — timber merchants and installers, a batten manufacturer, a traditional framing specialist building high-end housing and commercial structures in durable native NSW hardwood, industry advisors, foresters, and a furniture designer who pressed the group on the need to keep investing in young people. Builders present commended timber’s contribution to home quality, including measurable benefits for indoor air quality.
Evan Dunstone, of Queanbeyan-based Dunstone Design, brought three pieces of locally manufactured furniture to give the forests and economies theme physical form. “These pieces represented the connection of forests and economies and people — a fine hall table in Tasmanian blackwood featuring an unusual touch of African Wenge, and stools in West Australian jarrah and Tasmanian blackwood,” de Jongh said.
Responsible Wood, the Gottstein Trust, Timber NSW, the Timber Textiles and Furniture Union, and the Canberra-based Australian Forest Products Association were all represented in the room, giving the event a breadth that stretched from certification and capacity-building to peak body advocacy.
The region’s representatives were also invited to hear directly from operators, with the Hon. Nichole Overall, MLC NSW, attending and expressing strong support for the industry. Apologies came from the Hon. Steve Whan, Member for Monaro and NSW Minister for Skills; the Hon. Tara Moriarty MLC, Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Regional NSW, who was raised in Queanbeyan; and federal Member for Eden-Monaro, the Hon. Kristy McBain, Minister for Regional Development — all three indicating they hoped to attend in future.
Murray and de Jongh have confirmed the network will reconvene later in 2026 at Bungendore’s newly refurbished Royal Hotel, a venue the builders behind its restoration say holds some of the region’s most remarkable original timbers. “Many attendees were keen to meet again,” de Jongh said.
