Mary Valley Timbers is a hardwood sawmill based in the heart of timber country, near Gympie. Operating from the site of the original Dagun Sawmill, Mary Valley Timbers is one the few remaining working sawmills in a region long synonymous with forestry.
The historic sawmill has passed through different hands in the community over the years and in 1988 was taken over by Wayne and Kaye Morris and their friends Ken and Maree Walker.
Mary Valley Timbers began operations by sending sleepers and posts back down to Melbourne.
Daily operations are now managed by Wayne’s daughter and son-in-law Sara and Tom Hooper and partners Jason & Annika File.
From little things big things grow.
Today Mary Valley Timbers is an eminent name in the Queensland timber industry. With two green mills, including a newly commissioned mill, a dressing shed and multipurpose timber yard, Mary Valley Timbers services the needs of builders at home and abroad.
Servicing Gympie and the Mary Valley all the way out to Noosa, Cooroy and the Sunshine Coast, as well as a regular customer base, their longstanding industry knowledge allows them to provide customers with priceless advice for all their hardwood, pine and hardware needs.
Responsible Wood certified, and proudly so, Mary Valley Timbers invited Responsible Wood’s Jason Ross to visit its newly commissioned saw mill.
Mary Valley Timbers’ partner, Jason File, discusses the benefits of Responsible Wood certification:
“Using wood as a primary building material has many benefits for the environment.
“Responsibly sourced, certified timber can provide our customers with assurance that the timber is sourced from forests that meet the requirements for Sustainable Forest Management under the Australian Standard.”
In 2017 the Gympie Regional Council became the second Queensland municipality to adopt a Wood Encouragement Policy (WEP), which aims to drive the use of timber products in local building and construction projects.
Mary Valley Timbers owner Tom Hooper is delighted with the backing his industry receives from the council’s Wood Encouragement Policy.
“We need it,” Mr Hooper said.
Today more than 20 jurisdictions, including the Western Australian and Tasmanian State Governments have adopted Wood Encouragement Policies (WEP). The adoption of similar policies around the world is growing steadily, including New Zealand, Canada, Japan, France, Finland, Switzerland and the UK, who are all encouraging the use of nature, timber-based products in construction.
For more information about Wood Encouragement Policies please visit Wood Solutions.
For more information about chain of custody certification, a pre-requisite for Responsible Wood and PEFC claims on timber please visit Responsible Wood.
