Hard, dense, gutsy, bold, beautiful - all appropriate words for Blue Gum. This is a timber that has gone into railway trestle bridges, wharfs, boats and axe handles - it's recognised as an ideal plantation timber.

When the first settlers arrived on our shores they found working with various Eucalypts back breaking. Not surprising with Blue Gum, for at around 900 kilograms per cubic metre this ranks as one of the heaviest timbers in Australia.

So what should we do with it now? Well diamonds are pretty hard too and we have no problem knowing what to do with them. As concrete and steel have replaced the need for timbers in heavy construction, what Blue Gum comes onto the market can now be used for a highly polished dance floor, a piece of sculpture, a glorious cabinet, soaring wood panelling - something beautiful and enduring. As with all Victorian hardwoods we will only be limited by lack of imagination and the prejudices of the past.