Tasmanian timber is a thing of beauty.

Tucked discretely away in Hobart’s bustling Battery Point neighborhood sits the newly designed Finlay Street House by Christopher Clinton. Once a stable or coach quarters, the heritage listed building has been carefully redesigned to improve the livability of a small space and to restore the charm of the existing building’s footprint. The home has received two Tasmanian chapter awards at the Australian Institute of Architecture Awards, including Award for Heritage and Award for Alterations and Additions. Using Tasmanian Oak as the hero material on the internal fit out of the award-winning home, the prized timber was chosen for its beauty, locality and low embodied energy, establishing a link between the old and new.

Eucalypts are quintessentially Australian. They have quite literally built our nation. With the closure of the Victorian timber industry there has understandably been fear that other states would follow, but Australia’s most loved hardwood, Tasmanian Oak is here to stay. Our supply chain is secure, and Tasmanian timber suppliers are eager to work with architects, joiners, stair-makers, merchants, builders and wholesalers to fill the gaps left by Vic Ash. We can’t solve the whole problem, but engage early, communicate your needs and we’ll help find a local solution. We need to work together to keep Australian timber in Australian homes.

Nina Schubert is a real estate agent and director of Insitu Property in Hobart Tasmania. Nina was interviewed on the Original Thinkers Podcast to represent that last stage in the timber supply chain, the estate agent. Nina spoke of the advice she gives property developers when they plan to build, and why buyers will always be attracted to timber and natural fibers when looking for their new home.

As part of the University of Tasmania’s Northern Transformation Project Program, the $45.5m River’s Edge development is a jewel in the crown of the state’s new education precinct. Home to the schools of Humanities, Social Sciences, Law, Education and Business, the four storey River’s Edge building was designed by Wardle Studio and built by local firm Fairbrother with spectacular views of the lakekeller/North Esk River. Overseeing the construction of this extraordinary building was Fairbrother’s Project Manager for Construction for North West Tasmania, Dylan Graham.